Andy Ramblings

Yes, we got rid of him, rather he buggered of with the longest good bye. Rather boring 40 days, but we were happy to see the back of him. Who's he, I hear you ask? You mean you don't know? It was our lovely (puke) leader, Tony Blair. Now, we the voters of the UK didn't have the pleasure of kicking him out, he buggered of to Save the middle east!? Save the middle east? for crying out load, he made a bad situation worse than before. Not only has he not been very good at bringing peace to the middle east.

So why am I talking about this political loser? Well, some people in the EU, think he is just the man to take up a newly created job of 'President of the Europpean Union' Jesus! How bleedin' mad are they ? the least you can do, is sign a petiton to tell the Euro MP's saying that really shouldn't allow a person who believes that the voices in his head is God!

So, click in the image and sign the petition.

Oh and to read more about it go to this site www.stopblair.eu.

So says the headline. This is Alcohol Concern's attempt to try and stop the problem with underage drinking.

Parents who give alcohol to children aged under 15 should be prosecuted, a charity has said.

The call comes in an Alcohol Concern report on the government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy.

The study highlights figures that suggest a large increase in the amount of alcohol drunk by 11 to 13-year-olds.

Alcohol Concern also wants a 16% rise in alcohol taxes, a ban on brewers selling to retailers at a loss, and a crackdown on under-age alcohol sales.

'Stronger message'

The charity would include meal times at home in the ban on giving alcohol to young people.

Frank Soodeen, a campaigns officer for Alcohol Concern, said: "We are facing a new social reality where children seem to be adopting older behaviour at a younger age.

Source

What get's me is this? Why this obsession with sending people to jail for silly things, considering that drinking a glass of wine (or two) diluted with water for young children,

The problem with drink in the UK is that it's acceptable to get drunk, it's acceptable that you black out, it's acceptable that you throw your guts up, it's also quite acceptable to have a massive hangover the next day.
Personally, when I was growing up, you were shunned if you did any of the above, you were giggled at the next day, it was sort of a dis-honour so to speak to loose control of yourself.

So, that's the route of the problem, it's a cultural problem, it's an educational problem and where should you have the best education? yes, At home!

I've never been a fan of the red tops, the way in which they seem to be very happy to come up with claims that so and so went out with so and so and Oh it is such an important story that the 'Nation Needs To know'
What got me to write this entry, is the way in which they go around to sort of legitimise their methods, Yes, they will try and contact you, they will send you a car to collect you for a photo shoot.

The tactics they use, in particular a certain Nicholas Hellen to are downright despicable, they way he outed 'Abbey Lee'  the blogger behind Girl with a one-track mind One just has to look at the e-mail Nicholas Hellen set to Abbey. To quote some lines:

We have matched up the dates of films you have worked on - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Batman Begins and Lara Croft Tomb Raider - and it is clear that they correlate to your blog. We have obtained your birth certificate, and details about where you went to school and college.

We propose to publish the fact that you are 33 and live in [my address] -London, and that your mother, [her name], is a [her address] -based [her profession]. The article includes extracts from your book and blog, relevant to your career in the film industry. We also have a picture of you, taken outside your flat.

The fact that they have been getting hold of her birth certificate and I can assume, trying to contact her old school friends to get some 'quotes' about her when she was at school. It's the way the gutter press work and for me, another reason why we need better laws protecting the personal  privacy of everyone.
There was no way Abbey could have prevented the Sunday Times from publishing the story.
So, to Nicholas Hellen and the 'investigative/stalker journalist like you are not worth anything, you don't provide news, you don't even know what it is. You sit in your office, getting it off seeing who's life you can piss off now.

Anyway, that's my rant over for today.

So the BBC has an article on Tesco (UK's biggest retailer) that it was entering the software market, to compete with the likes of Symantec and Microsoft. Haaahhahah

Tesco is to launch a range of budget own-brand PC software, in a move that will pitch the grocery giant against the likes of Microsoft and Symantec.

Tesco said it would offer six packages, including office software, security systems and a photo editing tool.

Britain's biggest retailer said each title would cost less than £20, challenging what it described as the current "high" price of PC software.

Source

Now I would have taken that seriously if Tesco was also producing an Operating System then I would have had a second look.
I decided to have a look to see what they were selling. what software packages. I looked up Formjet Plc. They are a holding company for a group of companies.

Six trading units which currently make up the Formjet group are described in detail on a dedicated area of this site These are . . .

•   Panda Software (UK) distributes Panda Software antivirus and security products in the UK.
•   Ability Software International distributes a powerful suite of office products.
•   FileStream (UK) is involved in applications ranging from the backup of computer resources to highly sophistcated graphics solutions.
•   Software Dialog UK is a specialist security reseller to the corporate marketplace.
•   South Coast Distribution is an established supplier to the OEM market.
•   Ideal Innovations.co.uk is an online marketplace. It services the electronic trading requirements of the Formjet Group and third party vendors.

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This poor gnome is in a bit of a pickle, by whom I here you ask? yep, it's in a pickle from the old bill its self. (The Police). Ok, it's not the gnome its self, it's the owner who is in trouble.
You see it's disturbing the neighbour(s) a bit, well one neighbour who happens to be a retired member of her majesties constabulary how happens to be trying to sell his house. No doubt to sun of his retirement in the sunny version of England, yep that's Costa del Crime? or is it Costa Brava or somewhere similar. Where there are more English that Spandiards.
Anyway, the owner, a certain Mr MacKillop.
The local bobbies decided that they should server notice to him at a very social hour of mid-night!
Why they couldn't have done it during they day, like tea time, when all good serving English person will be having their cuppa I don't know.

Mr MacKillop, 46, was woken in the night by two officers who warned him that the gnome was offensive to his neighbours.

The notice, under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997, also accuses Mr MacKillop of intimidating potential buyers of Mr McLean's £209,000 cottage.

Mr McLean has told officers that the garden gnome, which comes complete with police dog and solar light, was in an "annoying position".
Mr MacKillop denied having harassed house-hunters viewing his neighbour's property.

Mr MacKillop, a marine surveyor at Devonport Dockyard, said: "When you hear a knock at the door at quarter to midnight you don't expect to be served with that.

Source

All I can say, is there has been a wee bit of :

• A: Abuse of Police powers (Mid-night for some really baddy, not over a Gnome)
• B: I would like to see this going to a court!

There you go, No time to catch really thieves, just people with Solar powered lights that happen to be a Policeman and his doggie!

The UK doesn't have one of the best transplant systems, the system is primarily and opt in system. This basically means that you have to have your I would sign up to be added to the list, incidentally, you can do that here and if your based in the UK, I urge you to do so. There was one main problem with the system, ok there are many, but you work with what you have. The main problem was that if you, had joined up, but your next of kin or relatives said no, then that was it, you would not donate anything. This happened in 1 in 10 cases.

Chris Rudge, managing director of UK Transplant, said the wishes of approximately one in 10 possible donors were overturned by their families under the current system.

Source

From next week, the system will be changing, if you signed up, yes sign up here, your wishes will be respected.
Ok, I am totally aware that this is an emotive subject, but there are people here in the UK who are waiting for a life changing transplant, and believe me, I know it's life changing, I've had 3 kidney transplants, and believe me, I do think of the donor families and the loss that they have had for me to live on.
All I can say is this, if you do sign up, don't keep it to yourself, tell your family, tell your friends, and most of all tell your loved ones. It makes it so much easier for them, if they know that you wanted to donate.

Oh did I tell you? You can register to the UK transplant list here. They also allow your to amend you details.
As some slogan went, You don't need to go to heaven with all your organs, as they are sure to hell needed down here.
Ok that's it, that's my public announcement over. I don't need to advise you... Read More

Yep, have you every seen what it's like to see approx 55,000 fireworks going of in 5 seconds looks, let alone sounds like? Don't ask me... And also, why would someone be mad enough to let of that many in that short a time needs to be, either mad! or trying for a world record!

A man has attempted to set a new world record by launching more than 55,000 fireworks in just five seconds. Roy Lowry wanted to beat the existing record of 39,210 at the National Fireworks Championships in Plymouth.

So you want to see what it's like letting of 55,000 fireworks in 5 secs?
Well It's not an almighty bang, nope, it's 55,000 small ones going of at the same time!
You can see it all here thanks to the BBC. Make sure your sound isn't too high...

Further to the current issues of the ID cards pending disaster, So far the whole project has been critisied by The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee inquiry into the thinking behind ID Cards, published today, found the government had decided what it wanted to do before it had determined if it would even work.
Not only are the trials not really upto the real world, but they now one of the main technologies that underpin the ID card scheme, RFID, is now under attack. This technologie is now begining to be used in delevery systems, as it is, to be honest very good for tracking loads of boxes in a Lorry, no need to go through the whole lorry too see what's in there, just scan all the RFID tags and the jobs done.
Practical for stores, to track their stock, but once it's bought, is the things turned off? Do I know, not really. I just have to trust the cashier has deactivated it. That's all I have.
Back to ID cards, yes, RFID is usefull, all you have to do is scan the passport and your details pop up on a screen, if your Bin Laden in disgues, in a I Love George Bush T-Shirt, your gonna get caught. Yes, sounds good, it can catch the bad guys. Yippee, easy work for the home office.

BUT No, it's not that easy! If the Police and other autherities can read the card, then so can other people, people who I don't want to read the card. As all the cards have to be able to be read by all nations, it means a standard has to be thrashed out, with standards, come published stanards, once they are published, then any one can read your passport details without you knowing? right? yes, right they can.



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As we all know, it has been over one year since London was hit by it's first suicide bombers, but not the first time  London has been bombed many times in the past 30yrs by the IRA,  Did we get any draconian laws that took away our civil liberties? No we didn't, what's the difference now?  A terrorist is a terrorist, be they Irish, be they English, be that black, be they blue, be they from anywhere, there is no difference between them, they all use the same method to try an put forward their view of the world, and they only know one way and we know what that is.

The London bomber say they had grievances,  that the West tends to have a very hypocritical policy towards the middle east, This I hear, this I understand but I don't support their way of expressing their grievances.

The prime minister told MPs it was down to moderate Muslims to stand up to extremism and tell those with "grievances" against the West they were wrong.

 Souce

This shows that someone is just NOT listening to what people have to say, someone who clearly doesn't understand why some people will go to extremes to express things.
I will pass you over to Rachel North a survivor of the London bombing who has so eloquently expressed what I think thousands of us have felt.  Read her comments on  A 'completely false' sense of grievance

Not much to say today, but it's London, It's June and it's raining... This can only mean one thing!
Yes, Wimbledon has started! Why can't they chose another month? August would be better? but then we might have the same issue, It's August, In London and It's Raining, Hey, must be Wimbledon!

So, Tim Henman will not be winning this year, less likely now than before, why? his only getting older and so the young blood comes in and will beat the crap out of him.

Who will win? No idea, but some one will win and all the rest will lose. simple and easy tip.

A poll shows what us IT folk (we are very nice really)  have known for years, that IT support is one of the most stressful jobs around. Well so says Skillsoft after it polled over 3500 IT 'experts', if it's the same experts I have heard of, I'm not surprised they find it stressful, most don't even know how to install more than 1 operating system, know how to fix a BSOD (a nasty problem that when happens can be a bit of a worry, but most times it's ok)
So what are the other jobs? Well the folks at El Reg have a report on it, here are the results.

1. IT
2. Medicine/Caring Profession
3. Engineering
4. Sales and Marketing
5. Education
6. Finance
7. Human Resources
8. Operations
9. Production
10. Clerical

There you go, us IT peeps get pestered by those below the in the list.
To go further, there are obviously far more stressful jobs, and again the folks at El Reg have delivered.

1. Iraqi police recruit
2. US Army bomb disposal expert
3. Baghdad A&E doctor
4. British Airways pilot
5. Naomi Campbell's personal assistant
6. Naomi Campbell's housekeeper
7. Dick Cheney's shooting buddy
8. Steve Ballmer's office furniture supplier
9. President Bush's grammatical consultant
10. Wayne Rooney's fiancée
11. IT journalist

I think the guy who does the grammar for Bush has given up! I suppose if you Cheney's shooting buddy, but not a lawyer, you may just be ok, or disguise yourself as a quail and you'll be safe. Just make sure he's not sober!

Today, the Lords debated, very vigorously and with great emotion on the issue of Assisted Death. Both sides of the debate had a lot to say, but it was defeated. So, what's my view on this issue?

I personally, agree that one should be given the choice to decide when they leave this world. This is the same argument I have used over time on this issue. I am aware that this is a very emotive issue. I also do not believe in what religious folk describe as the sanctity of life, in that God gave you life, so he is the only one who can take it.

The main arguments against were the religious groups, and I have to say, people who are, I believe of strong religious background.
What is the requirement to be accepted, if one can say that, are (with my comments) Source
Ok, this part is very clear. It's the patient that makes the first approach. The doctor then has to check if the illness in question is terminal. If the patient has to be suffering intolerable pain, one can very well assume that they are  or will be on morphine based painkillers or maybe stronger all the time. So can one be said to be of sound mind? Unless one is able to make a living will, that would say, if such or such situation arise, an example, would be that the pain and condition is being treated by aggressive drug treatment , which will in most cases have bad side effects. Making your life a misery.
One thing that is beginning to offered is palliative care, this is a very good alternative to staying in the standard ward where to be honest, are not very inspiring or inspired in the care for those who are dying and know that they are. i suggest popping over to this site on the BBC (How to have a good death)
Though I think palliative care is very good and serves a very good issue for the terminally ill. But in the end, you are going to die.
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Iain Dale and Guido Fawkes have got together to publish:
What makes this even more fun is that they're asking Bloggers to help write it. Simply take a look at their list of top scandals and follow the instructions.

So says the IPS ( Identity and Passport Service) corporate and business plan. Business Plan? A Business plan? Am I to understand that HMG are going to be attempting to make money from My ID ? Looks like it to me.
This is the vision, cue rosey flowery images of people who are all happy and there is no crime, no illnesses as all that will be banished by the almighty, all powerfull leader TB (humm that is an Illness in more than one way, but that's another story)

Accredited organisations? Who will give them accredication? I hear that cowboy carpark attendants can get access to your address by calling the DVLA and saying, 'I'm a Mr X and I work for BadParking Inc, and car number so and so is parked illigally but has done a runner, can I have the owners address so that I can send a fine?' Yes sir, here's the address ... That's it, fine sent on, no checks, nothing...

So what's to stop an 'accredited' organisation doing the same? A cowboy working in one? There doesn't seem to be any organisation that has teeth to challenge on behalf of the person affected.

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Ok, I'm not much of a royalist, quite a disfunctional family as they are and not a good example for marriage advice. They all seem to end in failure, except one, Prince Edward. But there you go.

So, It's Ma'am's (that's supposed to be the correct way to say it) will be 80 next week, the 21^st of April. So for this occaasion the roya website has put up 80 factoids about her life. Here are some that I think are rather entertaining in a way.


Ok, not 100% correct as he was born a whole month before her reign, but we can miss that one


Some one must have forgotten to bring one and poped into the local market and bought a pineapple, eggs. Someone else must have been peckish, maybe french, ate all the snails and just gave her the shells. No idea what one would do with 7Kg of prawns.


That's fact #20 and not #1 ? Read More