Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Saturday, 24 May 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008 - Guess where the UK came?
UK'S EUROVISION RECORD
2008 - Andy Abraham, 25th place
2007 - Scooch, 22nd
2006 - Daz Sampson, 19th
2005 - Javine, 22nd
2004 - James Fox, 16th
2003 - Jemini, 26th
Below is the best we have done in Eurovision since 2003 - I think we are doomed...
Tuesday, 20 May 2008
Seeing Orange!
I got a call from my ex-partner whose PC had decided to stop working in the middle of a conversation she was having. You can imagine she was not best pleased. I worked through the usual list of support stuff with her over the phone, eventually concluding that she was not actually connected. A look at the Orange website suggested (well positively screamed) that all was well. I wandered over to her place and spent an unhappy four hours attempting to sort out the most puzzling of problems. Connections were intermittent and up and down faster than the underwear of a lady of negotiable affection!
Eventually my ex-partner called their technical people when around six I admitted defeat and when calling their support number (at national rate!) what did we find? They were experiencing problems with people not being able to connect to the internet.
I was pretty pissed off, having wasted hours trying to fix this machine, the problem was the idiots at Orange had not bothered to update their 'everything is wonderful' status page and therefore encouraged people to call their support service to listen to a recorded message which said the opposite. If she had called in a repair person he would have charged her anything up to a couple of hundred quid for that, since there was every reason to believe that the issue was with the rig!
"The future is Orange" I bloody well hope not!
Eventually my ex-partner called their technical people when around six I admitted defeat and when calling their support number (at national rate!) what did we find? They were experiencing problems with people not being able to connect to the internet.
I was pretty pissed off, having wasted hours trying to fix this machine, the problem was the idiots at Orange had not bothered to update their 'everything is wonderful' status page and therefore encouraged people to call their support service to listen to a recorded message which said the opposite. If she had called in a repair person he would have charged her anything up to a couple of hundred quid for that, since there was every reason to believe that the issue was with the rig!
"The future is Orange" I bloody well hope not!
Monday, 19 May 2008
We were never being boring?
Most of the time, boring people are either a) unnoticeable or b) inoffensive. Or c) newspaper columnists. In any case, they're usually easy to avoid. It's only when you're stuck in close proximity to them for an extended period that they truly cross the line from dreary to irksome.
Taxis are a classic hot spot, as are long-haul flights. In the misery stakes, few things beat being stranded beside a determined-but-dull conversationalist on a 10-hour transatlantic crossing. Unless you find some polite way of shutting them up early on, you'll be teetering on the verge of assault later.
The sensible method is to politely say, "Sorry, I'm a bit tired - do you mind if I just have a nap?" the minute they start talking, at the very start of the journey.But that might seem snooty. Plus it's vanilla and dull.
Instead, the best and most entertaining option is one I read about in a Penn & Teller book several years ago. It goes like this. Turn to your unwanted companion at the first opportunity, and explain to them that you have a condition which makes you sleep with your eyes open. It's harmless, you say, but it can be quite creepy - so you're taking the opportunity to warn them in advance so they don't freak out later. Then you sit back in your chair and silently wait a while. After about 10 minutes, slowly loll your head sideways toward them, keeping your eyes wide open the whole time, and stay there, staring at the side of their face, for as long as possible. They'll be far too weirded out to utter a word.
Brilliant.Probably doesn't work on cab drivers though, unless perhaps you're sitting in the front passenger seat. And even then it might make them crash.Worth trying though.I'll let you know.
Taxis are a classic hot spot, as are long-haul flights. In the misery stakes, few things beat being stranded beside a determined-but-dull conversationalist on a 10-hour transatlantic crossing. Unless you find some polite way of shutting them up early on, you'll be teetering on the verge of assault later.
The sensible method is to politely say, "Sorry, I'm a bit tired - do you mind if I just have a nap?" the minute they start talking, at the very start of the journey.But that might seem snooty. Plus it's vanilla and dull.
Instead, the best and most entertaining option is one I read about in a Penn & Teller book several years ago. It goes like this. Turn to your unwanted companion at the first opportunity, and explain to them that you have a condition which makes you sleep with your eyes open. It's harmless, you say, but it can be quite creepy - so you're taking the opportunity to warn them in advance so they don't freak out later. Then you sit back in your chair and silently wait a while. After about 10 minutes, slowly loll your head sideways toward them, keeping your eyes wide open the whole time, and stay there, staring at the side of their face, for as long as possible. They'll be far too weirded out to utter a word.
Brilliant.Probably doesn't work on cab drivers though, unless perhaps you're sitting in the front passenger seat. And even then it might make them crash.Worth trying though.I'll let you know.
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Friday, 16 May 2008
Music on demand
This Morgane is rather a good singer who is attempting to gain publicity for her and her band through networks like Face Book and Myspace and to whom I thought I would offer a tiny helping hand. If you are interested in a little new music why not click on the link, offer a valid email address and give her and her people a spin. If any spam comes may way as a result of this I will let readers know...
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
A note on Old Roar Gill
On my way back from the supermarket I took the opportunity to drop into Alexandra Park and grabbed the pictures you see here. On a sunny day, the park looks wonderful and I don't think the images you see here do it justice.I am planning to pay a visit to 'Old Roar Gill', which is at the Northern End of the park. Its a wonderful looking part of the world and rather beautiful to wander through on a bright day when the Gill is dry. Its essentially a gully that runs south wards and finishes in the park. Inside the gill is something like a jungle with high stone walls and plant life which you just don't see elsewhere in the park. The only shame of it is that its quite small probably no more than half a mile or so.
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