December 30, 2003
Best and Worst
It's a tradition or a law or something... ;)
Best Album
Lemon Jelly - Lost Horizons
Yes, I know this actually came out in 2002 but this is a list of things I got or experienced in 2003. Superb album and, sorry to say, it easily beats out everything else I bought this year music-wise.
Worst Album
Difficult one this, as I didn't buy much music this year and what I did buy I've enjoyed. Not sure I can nominate a "Worst" Album!
None
Best Film
I wasn't expecting much from this but it was excellent and a superb way to waste a couple of hours. Jonny Depp totally stole the show.
Worst Film
Astoundingly bad. Nothing more needing to be said!
Best Airport
As it's the only airport I've flown from/to this year ;)
Worst Airport
Oh dear. Never have I seen such chaos and such a badly designed airport. Nowhere to wait, no even half-decent restaurants. Surly staff. Tear it down and start again! I will never fly through Toronto again if I can avoid it.
Best Day
Even though I didn't feel too well (see next category) this was a good day spent walking round Calgary's parks with friends. I look forward to doing it again.
Worst Day
This is another tie...
March 4 - Mum passed away suddenly in hospital
July 11 - Admitted to hospital with DKA
Both are life-changing days in the very worst way possible. Life will never be the same again.
I do not consider being made redundant a "Worst Day" simply because I see it as a liberation from the back-stabbing two-faced morons I used to have to work with.
December 29, 2003
Dido
OK, I really don't get it. Why is Dido so popular?
Is it because she's coffee-table music? Is it because you can leave it on in the background and forget it's there?
To my ears there is no passion in any of her music at all. None whatsoever. It's just bland bland bland. Instantly forgettable.
She's got a good enough voice but, again to my ears, doesn't deserve the heeeee-uuuuuge sales she's achieving. The latest album has been number one in the UK for ages now (can't be bothered finding out how long).
I've listened to both the albums and wow, they did absolutely nothing for me. They were both instantly forgettable with all the tracks sounding like each other. I even made the mistake of buying the first album (thankfully only cost me a fiver) because a friend assured me I was definitely going to like it. How wrong he was! I gave it to a local charity shop within a couple of days because I didn't want it contaminating any of the rest of my music collection.
I just don't get why she's so popular? She's certainly not good enough to get the top-selling album of 2003 in the UK which she looks likely to.
Can anyone enlighten me? Am I missing something?
December 27, 2003
Remind me...
Remind me, why did the Bush regime go to war with Iraq?
December 26, 2003
Boxing Day
Boxing Day used to be another day that the stores were closed and that everyone used to use for another day off work and be grateful. The sales used to start in January...
Now we get the ridiculous situation of TV adverts stating things like "Our January Sale starts Boxing Day at 9am"...
Erm... Sorry? It's not January yet! How can your January sale start in December?
Apparently, according to Auntie Beeb, there were queues a few thousand long to get into the Trafford Centre at 3:30 in the morning! Seeing as the centre didn't even open til 10am it seems like a waste of perfectly good sleep-time to be out there in the cold and the rain waiting for 6 and a half hours...
No way would I subject myself to that torture to save a few quid.
You can save as much or more by ordering online and stay in your nice warm house with a nice cup of tea and a sit down and have most things shipped to you.
Why on Earth would you put yourself in the midst of 10's of thousands of people all jostling each other around just to save a few quid on something you don't need anyway?
I, for one, long for the days when the shops would close on Sundays; when shops would close early on Bank Holidays; when Britain wasn't quite the rabidly consumerist society it is now.
People constantly whinge and whine about being tired and burned-out. No wonder! Have a rest! Stop trying to keep up with the Jones' and be happy for what you have!
It's nice to save a few quid but a savvy shopper doesn't need to get up at 2am to do so!
December 25, 2003
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers or anyone who just pops along and happens upon this blog.
December 24, 2003
Close the border!
OK, so the states has finally ended up with a case of mad cow (properly known as BSE).
Time to close the Canadian border to US Beef then.
What's that? The Americans would be up in arms? You'd rather wait to see what happens? Hang on just a second there buddy... America closed the border to Canadian beef in May 03, literally hours after a single cow was found with the disease in Alberta. The border is still essentially closed to Canadian beef even now.
It really is time for Canada to stand up for itself against the bully downstairs. The softwood lumber issue is still rumbling on, despite the U.S. being ruled against by NAFTA and the WTO and these are just two examples of the bullying protectionist attitude the U.S. has developed.
Another example would be the steel tariffs Bushie imposed on European steel. Another ruling against by the WTO then... Even more astonishing, the tariffs were declared a success by the American Government.
I am amazed Canada sends its beef south to the states anyway. It really does feel astonishing to me that Canada sends beef south then imports some American beef. Like Canada doesn't produce enough beef of its own? There's a reason Calgary gets the nickname Cowgary! I understand the economic imperatives of imports and exports but jeez, come on...
So come on Canada. Stand up for yourself for once! You know it makes sense!
December 23, 2003
Check that junk mail!
This is pretty amazing...
A Dutch jeweller mailed out 4000 envelopes of which 200 contained a real diamond and the rest of which contained cubic zirconia which is worthless (unless of course you're buying it from QVC UK).
It was, obviously, a promotion and the letter accompanying what he'd sent out asked the receiver to go into the shop and have it checked. If it was a real diamond they could keep it, free of charge.
Unfortunately for the jeweller most of his clients did what I suspect the vast majority of people do, including me (apart from the fact that I ensure everything with my name and address on it gets shredded). They threw the letter in the bin!
Only 35 customers turned up with their stones (zirconia or not). Oh dear! :)
This venture cost him €40,000 or $50,000 US. Oooooooppppssss.....
You can read the full story here.
December 22, 2003
Oh, just great
Well... According to GTI's latest graduate trends survey it appears that the IT sector is gearing up for further contraction in 2004 rather than expansion. Just marvellous.
A snippet - "This year sees once again the nightmare scenario of thousands of well-qualified IT graduates looking forward to an uncertain future that they could not have imagined when they started their degrees three or four years ago." Read more at ananova. For some reason I can't find the report on GTI's website.
If someone newly qualified faces a bleak future in IT, then someone with over 10 years experience in networking, purchasing, people and vendor management stands virtually no chance as employers and recruiters don't seem to be interested once your age starts with the number 3. Experience obviously counts for absolutely nothing in this day and age.
Where are the jobs that Phony Tony assures us are out there? Oh, hang on, I know where - India. Seems like I may as well resign myself to a life on minimum wage in warehouses or supermarkets as these are the only types of jobs I see advertised in the local rag...
December 21, 2003
Christmas number 1
Woohoo! There is some justice in the world!
It's official! Gary Jules has the Christmas number 1 single for 2003.
This is a track myself and Carla have been listening to for nearly 12 months, well before Radio 2 cottoned on to it...
Most of the rest of today's charts are rubbish but every now and then a decent song cuts through the dross to shine.
I, for one, am glad this cover of Mad World did...
December 19, 2003
Now then...
... wouldn't we all like to write a letter like the one which elicited this (fake!) response from the Inland Revenue! Originally printed in the Guardian on 27 Sept 03.
Dear Mr Addison,
I am writing to you to express our thanks for your more than prompt reply to our latest communication, and also to answer some of the points you raise. I will address them, as ever, in order.
Firstly, I must take issue with your description of our last as a "begging letter". It might perhaps more properly be referred to as a "tax demand". This is how we, at the Inland Revenue have always, for reasons of accuracy, traditionally referred to such documents.
Secondly, your frustration at our adding to the "endless stream of crapulent whining and panhandling vomited daily through the letterbox onto the doormat" has been noted. However, whilst I have naturally not seen the other letters to which you refer I would cautiously suggest that their being from "pauper councils, Lombardy pirate banking houses and pissant gas-mongerers" might indicate that your decision to "file them next to the toilet in case of emergencies" is at best a little ill-advised.
In common with my own organisation, it is unlikely that the senders of these letters do see you as a "lackwit bumpkin" or, come to that, a "sodding charity". More likely they see you as a citizen of Great Britain, with a responsibility to contribute to the upkeep of the nation as a whole. Which, brings me to my next point.
Whilst there may be some spirit of truth in your assertion that the taxes you pay "go to shore up the canker-blighted, toppling folly that is the Public Services", a moment's rudimentary calculation ought to disabuse you of the notion that the government in any way expects you to "stump up for the whole damned party" yourself. The estimates you provide for the Chancellor's disbursement of the funds levied by taxation, whilst colourful, are, in fairness, a little off the mark.
Less than you seem to imagine is spent on "junkets for Bunterish lickspittles" and "dancing whores" whilst far more than you have accounted for is allocated to, for example, "that box-ticking facade of a university system."
A couple of technical points arising from direct queries:
1. The reason we don't simply write "Muggins" on the envelope has to do with the vagaries of the postal system;
2. You can rest assured that "sucking the very marrows of those with nothing else to give" has never been considered as a practice because even if the Personal Allowance didn't render it irrelevant, the sheer medical logistics involved would make it financially unviable.
I trust this has helped. In the meantime, whilst I would not in any way wish to influence your decision one way or the other, I ought to point out that even if you did choose to "give the whole foul jamboree up and go and live in India" you would still owe us the money.
Please forward it by Friday.
Yours Sincerely,
H J Lee
Customer Relations
Hmmm.... I'm due a tax refund. Wonder if I'll get a letter like that? ;)
December 15, 2003
Geeky
Hey Carla, according to this test I'm only 9.86193% geek! Although I guess posting this on my blog before seeing you so I can tell you is pretty geeky in and of itself... Hmmm... ;)
Kudos to Frank for posting this first! :)
Just some random links...
- Ever wondered who spammers are? Well, at least one of them is a Granny in a WWJD T-Shirt. I still can't understand why people would willingly spam... Sigh.
- Are you using Windows? Are you using any anti-spam software? No? You should be! My personal recommendation is SpamPal. Easy to set up and has a large and very active Support Forum online.
- Have you seen the Spidey 2 trailer yet? No? Here's the link to the trailer. Looks good but so did the first one and, apart from the SFX, it kinda sucked.
December 08, 2003
Quiz
Not all Americans are stupid is supposed to show the world that well, what it says... ;)
I'm not American but I took it and scored 17 out of 20 (85%), can you do better? So far the rest of the world is leading America...
Note: this is not a slight on or dig at anyone, I'm just pointing out the quiz! (I can't even believe I feel I need to put that to attempt to avoid getting flamed)
Doing my bit :)
Oh, I like this one....
Type "miserable failure" into google and the biography of a certain G.W Bush comes up as the first hit which I guess shows what a Miserable Failure he really is!
This a technique called "Google Bombing" and appears to have been spectacularly successful. Read about it here or here.
Just in case google "fix" this in the near future I have saved a screenshot for posterity which can be found here (159K 24bit jpg, 1024x768). If you're going to use this PLEASE don't link to it directly, instead save a copy to your server and link to it locally... Thanks.
I am Marlin!
What Finding Nemo Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
December 06, 2003
I feel powerless
I'm writing this very short post in one of the commercial breaks for "Bowling for Columbine". I'd forgotten what an immensely powerful and moving movie this was until tonight.
Michael Moore deserves all the awards he gets.
I totally feel moved and powerless by this movie and its message... It shows very graphically the link between gun ownership and gun crime (duh?) and should seriously be watched by everyone.
December 01, 2003
Mobile Phone Ban
So, the new law came into force from midnight today...
I must say, I support this move 100%. Using a handheld mobile phone while driving is incredibly dangerous and should have been made illegal a long time ago. Having suffered an accident in which the car I was driving was written off because the dozy git behind me was too engrossed in his phone conversation to see that the traffic had stopped I have long been an advocate for zero-tolerance on mobile phone use while driving.
While out today I spotted at least 4 drivers with phones up to their ears. This dangerous behaviour appears to be becoming endemic.
Amazingly it seems that the general public are saying they are either confused or oblivious to the new law. Apparently a survey has shown that 94% of those questioned are completely oblivious to the new law. I find this astonishing given the amount of publicity the change has had on the news and via radio adverts.
And to those who say they are confused here is my quick and easy summary of the law... If the engine is running and you are in traffic or the vehicle is moving you are committing an offence by so much as holding the phone in your hand.
It's pretty easy really... Get a handsfree kit installed. A properly fitted handsfree kit is less than 100 quid on the high street now so there really is no excuse. Anyway, NO phone call is so important that it needs to distract you while you're driving. Surely?
I have no sympathy for those who insist on carrying on using their mobile phones while driving and then moan about the fine (a paltry 30 ukp rising to 1000 ukp if it goes to court). You've had enough notice of the change in the law! Roll on the eventual 60 ukp fine and automatic 3 points on your driving licence... Even 60 quid is not enough, I'd seriously like to see a real deterrent - something like a 250 quid fine + 3 points rising to 5000 ukp + 6 points if it goes to court and you're convicted would do nicely.
Use the two month grace period that the Wales and English police forces have given you to get a proper handsfree kit installed! In Scotland the new law is already being enforced and quite rightly IMHO.