Just after I moved house last year I switched on my DVD player only to find that it didn't work. It was a good quality player and I was disappointed. I did nothing about it as I was working away most of the time.
Half an hour ago I decided to take a look at the DVD player again. I thought, I am a meddler so what have I got to lose?
Let me keep a short story short. I am now watching the Shawshank Redemption on my DVD player and very old LG cathode ray tube television!
DW
26.11.11
Dear BBC, I KNOW Where Vienna is
It's happening! On top of all of the tripe that our twelve year olds at the BBC are wont to talk, they have started to use another one.
As you are probably aware, people from the USA will often say, eg, Paris, France or London, England. Now, the reason for that is that in the USA there are MANY cities called Paris so they say Paris, France to ensure the listener is aware that they are NOT talking about Paris, Maryland or Paris, Ohio ... far be it from me to suggest that it's to do with geographical ignorance.
Well, well, well, TWICE today I have heard a BBC reporter or presenter say ... Vienna, Austria. One even said something like Glasgow, Scotland.
Dear BBC, take it from me I KNOW where Vienna is and if ever I did not know the whereabouts of a town or city I could readily find out for myself were I sufficiently motivated to do so.
DW
As you are probably aware, people from the USA will often say, eg, Paris, France or London, England. Now, the reason for that is that in the USA there are MANY cities called Paris so they say Paris, France to ensure the listener is aware that they are NOT talking about Paris, Maryland or Paris, Ohio ... far be it from me to suggest that it's to do with geographical ignorance.
Well, well, well, TWICE today I have heard a BBC reporter or presenter say ... Vienna, Austria. One even said something like Glasgow, Scotland.
Dear BBC, take it from me I KNOW where Vienna is and if ever I did not know the whereabouts of a town or city I could readily find out for myself were I sufficiently motivated to do so.
DW
25.11.11
Local Food: freakinomics article
I read the book Freakinomics when it came out a few tears ago. As far as i know it was the first place to read about drug dealers still having to live with their mothers! Interesting but many of their articles/chapters had racist overtones.
Here is another article of theirs that is hogwash: the Inefficiency of Local Food. Go to www.freakonomics.com to read the article.
These are my responses to that article: I tried to post them on the freakinomics site but their publish button was dead! There are many comments already there and some of them make excellent points too.
Not a good article at all. Several people have also pointed out the idea that local farms are for local food. So potatoes are better grown here rather than there: so what? Let's eat what we can grow and who says that we MUST trade our food with everyone else?
Here's something that I didn't see in this article: the current system encourages food waste. Not only is it very inefficient to produce meat versus grain but we throw away up to a third of all the food we buy anyway. Concentrating our minds on our own needs should help us to consider such waste.
More importantly, though, is the fact that the current system of absentee farming encourages a very large proportion of the population to become obese. As far as I know, obesity has not been factored into this article yet its reach is very wide ranging.
DW
Here is another article of theirs that is hogwash: the Inefficiency of Local Food. Go to www.freakonomics.com to read the article.
These are my responses to that article: I tried to post them on the freakinomics site but their publish button was dead! There are many comments already there and some of them make excellent points too.
Not a good article at all. Several people have also pointed out the idea that local farms are for local food. So potatoes are better grown here rather than there: so what? Let's eat what we can grow and who says that we MUST trade our food with everyone else?
Here's something that I didn't see in this article: the current system encourages food waste. Not only is it very inefficient to produce meat versus grain but we throw away up to a third of all the food we buy anyway. Concentrating our minds on our own needs should help us to consider such waste.
More importantly, though, is the fact that the current system of absentee farming encourages a very large proportion of the population to become obese. As far as I know, obesity has not been factored into this article yet its reach is very wide ranging.
DW
The Twitchiest Girl?
On the flight home: sitting in a seat with extra leg room but the rest of my row was empty. Just minutes to go until the doors are due to be closed. Then swoosh! A family arrived. I am sorry but some babies are just not pretty, looking far too adult than baby like and here was such a baby.
The girl was 7 - 8 years old at a guess and she sat next to me. I have never met a twitchier child in my life. Talk about hyper active! Fortunately she slept much of the way but even then she spread herself and lolled where she wanted to loll!
Happily, the baby was calm and no one died.
DW
The girl was 7 - 8 years old at a guess and she sat next to me. I have never met a twitchier child in my life. Talk about hyper active! Fortunately she slept much of the way but even then she spread herself and lolled where she wanted to loll!
Happily, the baby was calm and no one died.
DW
24.11.11
William Hague: tweets but no action
I am following William J Hague on twitter and every now and again feel the need to write and ask him something or inform him of something. I am sure he doesn't mind because I am not aggressive or offensive but the man needs help and he does ask for hints and tips from time to time.
He said there's to be a big pow wow on Afghanistan now that the Brits are leaving: I responded that he needs help because there's much more to Afghanistan than the military problems.
Just now he said he's calling former ambassadors and others together to discuss how to make British Embassies dead good. I just wrote and told him about my friend in Riyadh who had a passport/visa problem and was given NO HELP at all from the Brit Embassy. They told him either to go home to the UK or send his passport off to Dusseldorf ... and in a month it would come back. Why Dusseldorf? Is Dusseldorf a suburb of a British city now? Embassy jobs off shored now??
My friend solved his problem, by the way, without having to travel anywhere. You know how he did it? British Ambassador intervened? An Embassy clerk took pity on him? Nope: a SAUDI NATIONAL solved the problem for him.
What's going on in the FCO Mr Hague? Looks like a right mess to me.
DW
He said there's to be a big pow wow on Afghanistan now that the Brits are leaving: I responded that he needs help because there's much more to Afghanistan than the military problems.
Just now he said he's calling former ambassadors and others together to discuss how to make British Embassies dead good. I just wrote and told him about my friend in Riyadh who had a passport/visa problem and was given NO HELP at all from the Brit Embassy. They told him either to go home to the UK or send his passport off to Dusseldorf ... and in a month it would come back. Why Dusseldorf? Is Dusseldorf a suburb of a British city now? Embassy jobs off shored now??
My friend solved his problem, by the way, without having to travel anywhere. You know how he did it? British Ambassador intervened? An Embassy clerk took pity on him? Nope: a SAUDI NATIONAL solved the problem for him.
What's going on in the FCO Mr Hague? Looks like a right mess to me.
DW
Will Self ... dead loss!
Well, he's not going to respond is he: this oh so smart Mr Will Self who cannot put his money where his mouth is.
Then again, my blog postings on this man come up on google immediately after Self's own entries ... I come in at umber 5 or 6 or so, page one! At least the world can read what he said v what he does!
No offence Mr Self but we deserve better.
DW
Then again, my blog postings on this man come up on google immediately after Self's own entries ... I come in at umber 5 or 6 or so, page one! At least the world can read what he said v what he does!
No offence Mr Self but we deserve better.
DW
22.11.11
Pork Belly in Macau
Sophie Grigson was sent off to Macau to look at the place and no doubt ruin some good food ingredients. Grigson is a television cook who trades on her mother's name and she has no knife skills at all.
She just went to an up market restaurant and said the fish dish she was served was delicious. Hmm, this explains her ever spreading girth. The dish was riddled with butter, olive oil (in Chinese cooking!!!); the risotto (in Chinese cooking!!!) was sloppy and the fish was burned.
Then again, Macau looks interesting!!
DW
She just went to an up market restaurant and said the fish dish she was served was delicious. Hmm, this explains her ever spreading girth. The dish was riddled with butter, olive oil (in Chinese cooking!!!); the risotto (in Chinese cooking!!!) was sloppy and the fish was burned.
Then again, Macau looks interesting!!
DW
20.11.11
There is an App for that!
There I was snoozing away when an alarm went off. I couldn't quite work out where the noise was coming from but it lasted only a short time.
Then it went off again later. And again ...
It was a clock with an auto alarm to announce prayer times.
Forgive me but I took the batteries out and put them back in the wrong way round.
Peace again!!
DW
Then it went off again later. And again ...
It was a clock with an auto alarm to announce prayer times.
Forgive me but I took the batteries out and put them back in the wrong way round.
Peace again!!
DW
Had Haway Jimmy, man
I never met the man and nor should I have I suppose but one man who made life happy for a few years has just died.
I never saw him as a player either and that was my loss.
Jimmy Adamson was the manager at Burnley for several years and during that time I watched the best football I have ever seen, week in and week out.
I was a regular supporter at Roker Park from 1979 - 1988 too but they never shone like Adamson's Burnley side much as I was happy to go there every home game for all those years.
Well done Jimmy, many thousands of people will remember you with a great deal of fondness.
DW
I never saw him as a player either and that was my loss.
Jimmy Adamson was the manager at Burnley for several years and during that time I watched the best football I have ever seen, week in and week out.
I was a regular supporter at Roker Park from 1979 - 1988 too but they never shone like Adamson's Burnley side much as I was happy to go there every home game for all those years.
Well done Jimmy, many thousands of people will remember you with a great deal of fondness.
DW
Had Haway Jimmy, man
I never met the man and nor should I have I suppose but one man who made life happy for a few years has just died.
I never saw him as a player either and that was my loss.
Jimmy Adamson was the manager at Burnley for several years and during that time I watched the best football I have ever seen, week in and week out.
I was a regular supporter at Roker Park from 1979 - 1988 too but they never shone like Adamson's Burnley side much as I was happy to go there every home game for all those years.
Well done Jimmy, many thousands of people will remember you with a great deal of fondness.
DW
I never saw him as a player either and that was my loss.
Jimmy Adamson was the manager at Burnley for several years and during that time I watched the best football I have ever seen, week in and week out.
I was a regular supporter at Roker Park from 1979 - 1988 too but they never shone like Adamson's Burnley side much as I was happy to go there every home game for all those years.
Well done Jimmy, many thousands of people will remember you with a great deal of fondness.
DW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)