Friday, March 31, 2006

SOS - What are you thinking about!

I love the German accent when speaking in English.


A German trying to speak English


If the embeded player does not work, click here to play the video.

Have a nice Friday.

Note: Please don't steal my bandwidth by hotlinking this file, if you want to post a link on your blog, point to the article and not directly at the file, otherwise I will remove it. Thanks Shola

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Ken Livingstone must go!

Ken LivingstoneI recently received my 2006/7 council tax bill, and it has gone up by 4.3%. While that is not too bad an increase, the actual breakdown shows that my local council has only increased it's share by 1.9% while Ken Livingstone's Greater London Authority has increased it's share by 13.3%! This is totally unacceptable!

The reasons the Greater London Authority give for this include safer stations, safer neighbourhoods, transport improvements, but the real reason for the jump is the cost of staging the 2012 London Olympic Games! Of the 13.3% increase, 7.8% is for hosting the 2012 Olympics games.

The GLA goes on to say that there are great benefits for London hosting the games, but what about the cost? Many businesses have closed as they have been forced to relocate due to the building of the games village, every Londoner is levied a hefty financial penalty just to bear the costs of hosting the 2012 Olympics, I'm not sure for how many years, we will have to pay this.

The GLA claims that there will be a legacy left behind after staging these games, but at what cost? It is not as if Londoners will be able to use these facilities free of charge!

Even the improved transport links that are promised, would probably cost us an arm and a leg to use. The only people that are really going to benefit from the staging of the London 2012 Olympics is the Olympic organising company that will maximise the profits it can make from such a global venture.

Over the years that Ken Livingstone has been in office, he has implemented so many changes most of which have penalised the average Londoner just for living in London! As if London was not expensive enough, things like Congestion charging, free bus transport for under 16s (nothing is free, some is paying US), cuts in Police and Fire worker's pensions and other levies have meant the cost of living has risen drastically since the mayor of London was introduced!

I never voted for him in the first election, and would have thought that Londoners would have been wise enough not to give him a second term but they did, and penalised them by promising to increase the congestion charging zone. With almost 3 years left to run in office, I wonder what more he plans to implement to make our lives harder over the next few years!

Ken Livingstone, you must go and wipe that smirk off your face!

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Remember this?

2 legit 2 quit


2 Legit 2 Quit
By MC Hammer
BestVideoCodes.com

Visit MC Hammer's Blog

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Sick People

Some people still live in the dark ages!

Caution! This link is not safe for work environment.

http://nimbusters.com/forum/read.php?board=8&id=110067

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Elbow Licking!

Okay how many of you after reading my Friday fun post tried to lick your elbow?

I must confess I tried with little sucess, but surely someone must be able to do it.

Incidently the source of those facts claims 75% of those reading the information try!

Friday, March 24, 2006

Friday Fun

Here are some interesting facts to liven up your boring Friday. Apologies to those who have seen it before.

In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his
wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of
thumb".

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled
"Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered
into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred
and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king in history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in
the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in
the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the
horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural
causes.

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until
you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand

Q. What do bullet-proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser
printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by
ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the
bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep
tight."

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month
after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with
all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their
calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which
we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old
England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them
"Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the
phrase "mind your P's and Q's"

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the
rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they
used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase
inspired by this practice.

Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you
can read it.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the human mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be
in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed
it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed
ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh?

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

World Water Day

Today is the 14th United Nations world water day, and with many parts of the South East of England on alert about low water resovouir levels, it is time we reflect on our use of this natural resource as well as think of those in countries where water is not a luxury.

This World Water Day, WaterAid is encouraging people to take a minute to consider the 1.1 billion people who do not have access to clean, safe water. During the course of that minute, four children will have died of water-related-diseases. This is not inevitable and it certainly isn't acceptable.

WaterAid are asking for help to change the lives of millions of people who lack access to clean water and sanitation. Visit their website for details of their work and how you can help.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

A new regime

Yesterday saw the beginning of an attempt to keep a new healthy regime for me.

Following my health screen last week, I decided to do a bit more exercise to keep in shape, as though I don't feel an older than I was 10 years ago, I realise my body is getting older and I need to work harder to keep excess weight at bay, but more importantly need to keep my heart in tip top working condition.

I have now added a second 15 minute walk to my weekly schedule, not much, but I'll aim to keep that going for a while, then might add another one later.

I'm also thinking of buying a bicycle and resume riding, something I haven't done in a long time.

Hopefully this won't be something that will fall by the wayside, and would become a regular part of my routine as I grow even older, only time will tell.

All Good things come to an end

For Chico it was Sunday when he was knocked off pole position of the charts.

He is still at number two, but now its going to be down hill. I hope he has lined up some other things, as even if he does release an album, I doubt it will be as sucessful as the single.

He is to wishing Chico all the best, and hope that his sucsess story has inspired someone to go for their dream.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

I am Healthy!

Bupa Classic health checkThe company I work cares about the health of its employees, so yesterday I had my company BUPA Classic Health Assessment". This thorough 2 hour test involved over 35 separate tests, and is designed to find anything that is not right in one's health. Two things came to light during the test, first of all I've grown shorter, I've always known my adult height to be 5 feet 10 inches, but yesterday I was measured at 5 feet 9 inches! I asked this to be measured again, and still I was an inch shorter. The other surprise was my weight was 70Kg, 5 KG more than my usual weight, but within acceptable range for my height.

The 45 minute check with the doctor went well, with him giving me a clean bill of health. He even examined my balls, and mentioned that I was past the high risk stage of testicular cancer, for you men out there reading this, the age at which men are more likely to get this is between 20 and 35, so get yourself checked, or learn how to examine your testicles for anything abnormal, if detected early, testicular cancer is easy to treat.

The doctor also offered a rectal examination which I politely turned down! At the end of the day, the one thing they did mention was to get more exercise, as the questionnaire I had filled in indicated I was not active enough.

So here is looking forward to another 2 years of healthy living.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Chico Number One for second week.

Chico PhotoThe PR machine seems to be working, as Chico's single 'It's Chico Time' is top of the pop charts for the second week.

For those fans out there, you can visit the Chico Official website.

I'm happy for him, and hope he makes good use of this opportunity, and establishes some good business for himself, as this will not last for ever.

X-Factor

When will Bill Gates retire?

Having just taken a look at The world's richest people, a thought just came to my mind, when will the world's richest man Bill Gates retire? Currently his fortune is valued at $50 billion, surely he has no need to continue working.

Having built up Microsoft from nothing in the 70's, surely it is time for him to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labour. The truth of the matter is he probably won't retire until he is well into his 70's, and it won't be because of greed, but he probably just can't sit back and not think about improving the software he is passionate about, money just happens to be a result of his software doing so well and some prudent business measures!

Thursday, March 09, 2006

JC's Girls Girls Girls

Heather Veitch of JC's GirlsRead this report about an American who has attacked the UK Christian community for not supporting her work to reach out to ladies in the sex industry.

Heather Veitch a former stripper who is now a born again Christian is a member of an organisation called JC's Girls who have a passion to save other women from the claws of the devil and the sex industry.

Are we who call ourselves Christians so self righteous, that we forget that we were once as lost as these women are, and need to be shown the way? There is a saying to catch a thief, you need to think like a thief. Why we would snob a good cause like this, I have no idea, maybe some of us are threatened by the way they dress? Whatever the reason, it does look like the UK church is not very supportive of her vision.

Can we not learn from the example Jesus gave while on earth, when he said those famous words 'he who is without sin, cast the first stone'.

Some Christians are going to be surprised when they get to heaven, and see who else is there. Some might not even make it, and would be more surprised by those who do!

I wish Heather Veitch and her team all the best with their ministry.

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Bank charges

I received a letter the other day from my bank (Halifax), saying that they were going to charge me £30 for being overdrawn because they had paid a cheque of £25 when there was insufficient funds in my account.

Like you, I hate bank charges, and try to avoid them at all costs, so I logged onto my account via the internet, and checked the day they said I didn't have enough money in my account, and it seems I paid in £120 on that day. The way Halifax works, cheques are usually presented at the beginning of the day, so even if you pay money in later that day, this will not be make any difference, anyway I was going to call them and give it a bash, as most of these decisions are automatically made by a computer.

So I called them on the telephone, and the lady goes through the usually motion of telling me that the charge was because I didn't have enough money in my account in the morning when the £25 pound cheque was presented, so paying in money later in the day would not stop me from being charged. So I asked the lady out of interest how much was I overdrawn by that day. She looked and said £174, but something doesn't seem right she added because you have a £400 overdraft. She puts me on hold to go speak to a supervisor, after a while she came back and said there seems to be an error, and that I should not have been charged! So she reverses the charge.

Moral of the story always check to make sure the charge is justified, and even if it is, there is no harm in calling to see if it can be reversed, as most of these charges are automatically generated by a computer.

While on the subject of money, do you make a habit of checking your bank and credit card statements? I once found a transaction on my credit card statement for something I did not recognise, it was for some shoes I was supposed to have bought from somewhere overseas, the amount was about £40, I queried it, got my card changed, as I suspected that someone had cloned my card. the fact that the amount was small is a common trick used, to first verify the card is working, then they go for the big one later, so always check those statements and make sure you query anything you are not sure of.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Chico - I don't believe it!

After just one week since it was released X-Factor's Chico is top of the UK charts with his single 'Chico time'.

If you haven't heard or seen the video, then check it out, coutesty of Yahoo.

Looks like the X-Factor drop out is out to make some quick quids while the pie is still hot. He is also featuring in the X-Factor road tour, so he isn't doing badly for a guy that can't sing.

I don't like this version of the song, prefer the version he did on the live X-Factor show, but will check Top of the Pops on Sunday to see if he keeps his crown.

What time is it?


X-Factor

Anonymous Cowards and Blog Mad

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If you have something important to say to me, and expect me to listen, then be decent enough to give your name and an email address. I had people leave comments on my blog recently who want me to them serious, but I don't even bother as they can't be courteous to even leave a name. In fact one was commenting about my family which they don't know or have even met!

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Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Cold Turkey

My internet connect went faulty last night, and I couldn't surf the web for over 24 hours.

No checking of emails before I left home for work, I couldn't check emails when I got back home from work, and no blogging! I couldn't take it.

Luckly the problem was with my ADSL modem, and I had a spare one, so I was able to fix it, the only problem is that the new ADSL modem does not offer the same level of security the old one did.

I've enabled windows xp firewall, and hopefully that should keep me safe.
eXTReMe Tracker Big Brother