The mark 1 eyeball

What is it with some people that they will put common sense to one side when dealing with technology?

Express.

A RED-FACED trucker stranded £150,000 worth of brand new cars when he followed his sat nav directions up a mountain cattle track.
Markus Lutz, 38, drove his truck up a woodland path in Cochem, Germany, that was normally used by local dairy farmers taking their herds to and from pasture.
"I just did what it said on the screen and the road got smaller and smaller. In the end I couldn't go forward or back," the driver told police.

It's not the first time I've heard such tales either, it's not just Germany after all, back in 2008 there were reports that Sat Navs had caused up to 300,000 accidents in the UK because drivers tended to rely on them more than common sense. Back in February a 4 year old girl died because her parents following the instructions of a Sat Nav turned right into traffic despite there being sign saying no right turn. The highway code is actually quite clear about sign-age, Signs with red circles are mostly prohibitive. Plates below signs qualify their message. No right turn means no right turn regardless of what the Sat Nav says. But people are far more trusting of the Sat Nav than their eyes and I'm not sure why, they'll follow its instructions in the face of practically anything else. No I'm not blaming the Sat Navs themselves, they're programmed by people and they are only as good as the info in them, the problem seems to be people. Little Britain seems to have the whole thing nailed with their "computer say no" sketches, where technology was the be all and end all of the whole thing no matter what the people involved seemed to want and very humorously done too.
So I guess that I'll stick to my maps and my common (road) sense and my route planning for now and ignore the blandishments of over 50's insurance with their offer of a free Sat Nav and trust that the next car I see coming the wrong way up a dual carriageway or one way street isn't another victim of technology, I don't need technology to get me into trouble, I'm pretty good at finding it without additional help.

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Minor inconveniences and irritations

There are some days it just doesn't pay to be me, last night I worked a 12 hour nightshift, wasn't a bad shift as these things go, but by the end of it you just want to go home and sleep and that's where the problems started. The damned car wouldn't start, oh yes it would turn over, but I had a pesky engine management system light flashing. Nothing wrong with the car, just a "safety" issue caused by a minor electrical fault (dodgy fuse connector) meaning the injection system control wasn't working. Took a very nice RAC guy and his computer 5 mins to track it down, but it was still 2 hours later that I finally set off for home. On the way I called at a garage to stick a bit of fuel in the car to cover me coming into work tonight on a wing and a prayer + diesel fumes and discovered that the money in my wallet wasn't legal tender anymore.
Seems if you're lucky enough to have £20 notes in your purse/wallet/under your mattress/in a biscuit tin, you should check that you haven't got any of the old style notes as they ceased to be legal tender on 1st July.  Fortunately I had a credit card, unfortunately it's one that I couldn't remember the pin for as I usually only use it for online shopping. So a frantic phone call to Lady QM ensued and a queue behind both me and my car gathered in the usual patient English style. Fortunately my good lady has a better memory than I do, or at least knew where to look for the details, though she didn't appreciate being woken up herself, still, it got sorted. I also went to the cash machine at the garage and changed the pin to one I tend to use for everything, it's only as secure in the detail that I only know it now, but I really can't be arsed to learn 5 or 6 different pins anymore, I'll take my chances.
Later on after a less than usual sleep I headed down to the bank/building society, with various £20's from around the cookie jars in Castle QM only to discover that it's at their discretion whether or not they change them I was given a form to send them to the Bank of England to be changed. I'm afraid lack of sleep and stress over the car overcame me and the red mist descended and I demanded to see the manager in preparation to closing my account, this seemed to do the trick and apparently they decided to use their discretion, but shouldn't have to lose it just to get them to do their job, yes I know about discretion, but I've been banking there for nigh on 9 years, longer if you add on the times as a customer at another branch.
As it is, I'm sitting here fuming at jobsworths, the car and the fact I still have another 11 hours to go before I go home.
Still at least I'm not out of pocket and I got my moneys worth out of the RAC.

More about → Minor inconveniences and irritations

Domestic stuff

The shower failed to work today, one of the elements appears to have burned out and tripped a secondary thermal fuse (non resettable please send your shower away for repair, gits) and irritated the heck out of me as I had to replace the whole unit.
Normally I try to go like for like or even manufacturer for manufacturer, at least the general stuff will work the same way.
No such luck this time, Gainsborough showers don't appear to be stocked by B&Q, Homebase or even Argos who are in easy reach of me, so it's Triton shower time.
1)  Drive out to DIY suppliers, pick up half price shower, things looking ok, so far.
2) Triton showers allow water plumbing from the top which is good news, bad news is it's the left side as opposed to the right, so, new hole in ceiling required.
3) Decided to fit chromed pipe too, makes it look professional, discovered that moving pipe to new hole required the shortening of the supply pipe, no 15mm olives in the house, out to plumbing suppliers I go (again) 10 olives at 18p each later I'm heading home (again).
4) Drilling tiles is an absolute nightmare, but careful use of electrical tape stops drill slippage so I'm on a roll now.
5) Plumbing in, no leaks, ceiling looks awful.
6) Electrics in, tripped RCD unit for some reason, my good Lady on pc at time, not a happy Lady.
7) All powered up, but rotary switch on wrong, thought it would only go one way, I was wrong.
8) It, works, it works, I am a hero again!
9) Ye gods tidying up is no fun at all, but a jobs not done properly till it's looking like you've never been there (or the cleaners have been in) Repaired ceiling too.
10) Forgot the lagging in the loft is fibreglass (ouch)

All done, never again, at least till the next time.

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New year predictions

A lot of bloggers go in for New Year predictions, the few times I've tried it, my success rate has been such that I know never to place money on anything at a bookies.

I suppose I could go for the obvious stuff, ie there will be a general election in 2010, then again the possibility of Gordon Brown trying to abrogate centuries of (apparent) democracy by engineering a crisis to stay in power simply because I have predicted a general election is too much of a risk to take for me.
I could go for areas where whatever happens wont affect me too greatly but then again why should I saddle anyone else with my wish list or the anti-version of it more likely.
Generalities wont work anyway people want specifics and more often good stuff, this is why fortune tellers never tell you bad things, just the old tall dark stranger myth, keeps the punters happy. Then again, why should I keep you lot happy?................Oh, you'll stop reading my ramblings and I'll return to being a social pariah, good point.
Political predictions are probably best left to those who have insider knowledge anyway, Iain Dale, Guido etc. I just can't bring myself to care enough about politicians in general, though I can bring myself to care enough to hate what they've done, but hate is a corrosive thing so I try not to dwell on their corruption, arrogance, wilful blindness to the wishes of the people and incompetence, at least whilst I'm away from the blog. I do believe the political classes in the UK are in for a rude awakening one day, I just can't predict when, probably the day the sheeple get tired of endless X Factor re-runs. But beliefs aren't predictions either, otherwise Newcastle United would be a top team at least on the level of belief I can generate anyway.
I suppose that I could try making a set of predictions with the view that the opposite will happen such as a Labour win in 2010, but that's a bit like washing the car to make it rain, it only happens when you don't want it too and knowing my luck Labour would win and I'd have hordes of bloggers tracking me down to beat the crap out of me.

So, I predict that 2010 will be pretty much the same as 2009, same shit, different year.

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Murderess on the loose.

People occasionally ask me why I blog (not normally other bloggers thank God) and there are a wide raft of reasons. Most in common with other political bloggers such as feeling the need to say or do something/anything. Needing to let off steam in an ever state intrusive environment, sheer pleasure at seeing your thoughts writ large. Even knowing that some people agree with what you think as well as those who don't agree, but who are prepared at least to put you right on matters.
However occasionally I can point to stuff like this, where something really needs to be said.

Woman killer flees on shop visit

A woman convicted of murder has gone on the run during an escorted visit to the shops in south London.
Patricia Gillette, 41, from Streatham, south London, was detained indefinitely in 2007 for killing Mark Murphy, 38, at his home in Streatham in August 2006.
Gillette, who was being held at Bethlem Royal Hospital, was on a visit to shops in West Wickham High Street, Bromley, when she escaped on Friday afternoon.
Police described her as "dangerous" and warned people not to approach her.
Det Supt Gary Gornell said: "This individual is dangerous and we need to apprehend her as soon as possible. If anyone sees her, please don't approach her, but call police immediately."
Gillette is of large build, has moles under both eyes, a scar on the left side of her neck and another scar on her left ear, police said.
She was last seen wearing a red hooded coat, a blue jeans shirt, black jogging bottoms and black shoes.

 Oh, where to start.

1. If she's so dangerous, why was she out shopping, even escorted?
2. She was being held in a hospital (mental) so why was she out shopping, even escorted?
3. If they need to apprehend her quickly, why was she out shopping, even escorted?
4. She's clearly a violently inclined utter loon, so why was she out shopping, even escorted? 
   

Ok you can see where this is going, however the question that has to be asked is.....

Why was she out shopping, even escorted?

The whole point of dealing with those who may be a danger to the public is that you don't let them anywhere near the public, I can see that, my good Lady can see that, I expect the guys I work alongside will be able to see that, so why can't those responsible for our safety see it?  Where's the "Tough On Crime, tough on the causes of crime" ethos here? She'd only been inside for 3 years, she was detained indefinitely  (hint she's really dangerous) so they let her out amongst the public to go shopping! Even escorted that's simply not good enough, whatever happened to locking them up and throwing the key away? And how will it look if she re-offends and injures/kills some other poor sod who happens to get in her way?

When are we going to apply common sense to cases like this, indeed to all aspects of justice or even life in general where it runs up against the state and their decrees?

And I needed to say that, because if I hadn't my blood pressure would have gone through the roof.

More about → Murderess on the loose.

You gotta pick a pocket or two

Incredible triumphalism from our overlords at the EU in wonderful wonderful Copenhagen today. They have agreed to rob us of our hard earned cash to hand out to other non EU countries so they can buy huge Limo's with air conditioning for their dictatorial leadership.
Never mind the fact that the UK is still the only first world nation in a recession, never mind the fact that not one of them thought to ask what the ordinary people really think about them extorting with menaces (yes that's what it is, you try not paying up and see what happens) This is just another naked grab for our money that we have come to know so well from the political elite that make up the fundamentally undemocratic EU.

The EU has agreed a conditional deal on how to help other nations fight global warming, ahead of a key climate summit, but set no figure on what it would pay.

The EU agreed climate change would need 100bn euros ($148bn; £90bn) a year by 2020, and would pay its "fair share", conditional on other nations.
UK PM Gordon Brown said the EU was leading the way with bold proposals.
Talks at the EU summit in Brussels had been deadlocked over how EU nations would share its costs.
A coalition of nine poorer EU nations had threatened to block a deal unless richer countries paid more.

I'm not going to get into the idiocy that is climate change, other do that far better than I do, nor the economics of having to find more money to give over to those who haven't earned it. What I do want to know is what's going to happen when the scales fall away from peoples eyes and the truth over this colossal waste of  time, effort and grand larceny that is the political wing of the lets use global warming to fleece the proles movement.
Will the money be paid back? (stop sniggering at the back there) Will the various agencies be disbanded? (Yeah right!) And will taxes go down to what they should be without the environmental levy paid out by an increasingly sceptical electorate? (The EU takes, it does not give)

I suspect the EU's days are numbered because of this, sooner or later one of the countries that make up that corrupt organisation is going to say enough is enough. I hope in this at least the UK leads the way back to a mutual trading block and not a political boondoggle for second rate politicians with Machiavellian tendencies.

Interesting to note that the Arch Enviroloons (aka Greenpeace) don't seem to think they've gone far enough into our pockets, which isn't surprising as it isn't coming out of their pockets.

Joris den Blanken of environmental group Greenpeace, said: "[The EU] failed to use this opportunity to put its money where its mouth is.

 Funny how it's the EU's money, they never seem to track back far enough to realise that it's our money and that some of us although being in favour of recycling and not polluting the environment are not in favour of handing over cash to third world dictators to fund their lifestyles (do you honestly believe that much if any of the cash will reach down to where it might make a difference?)

Where is the political party in the UK that will sort this out? The Tories won't, they can't, their hands are tied by EU legislation that binds them (another Labour legacy for our children) The public seems brainwashed into voting for either of the big 2 and both are pretty much the same on the EU and are totally out of step with what the UK public want over the EU.

It's time to leave, we know it, but they wont do it. So vote for someone who will.

More about → You gotta pick a pocket or two

Things can only get better?

Sometimes I wonder.

Record recession for UK economy

The UK economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.4% between July and September, according to official figures, meaning the country is still in recession.

It is the first time UK gross domestic product (GDP) has contracted for six consecutive quarters, since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955.
But the figures could still be revised up or down at a later date, because this figure is only the first estimate.
GDP measures the total amount of goods and services produced by a country.
The pound fell sharply after the figures were released, reflecting the fact that many observers had expected the UK to have grown during the quarter.
It was down 1.6% against the dollar, at $1.6339, and down 1.7% against the euro, at 1.0878 euros.
Quarterly growth of 0.2% had been expected in the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), although expectations had been tempered by recent figures showing no growth in retail sales in September, and a 2.5% decline in industrial output in August.

Now I'm no expert on economics and there are bloggers out there who can run rings around me quite easily. But I do know how it affects me personally. This year I received  no pay rise, the company actually reconsolidated after a takeover and lost about £1,500,000. But fortunately will make a profit next year if pre orders are anything to go by, people were also laid off too. However my rent, council tax, fuel costs, motoring costs, food costs etc all went up anyway, so I have to now budget very carefully as although I live within my means, I don't until next year have a great deal of spare income. So yes I know how badly off I've become, though by no means poor and not yet having to cancel Christmas.

So, the economy might improve next year, about July (bad luck Labour) but again as they were saying the same thing this year I have my doubts, I'm more the deal with it when it happens type, a lot of engineers tend to be. Still I do believe that things will improve, though I doubt I'll forget who caused the mess and I'm thinking politicians, not bankers here. It would have been easy enough to put something away for a rainy day, but they didn't, but as they're protected with my money paying their bills I doubt they care much other than wondering who if anyone will re-elect them.

Still, things can only get better? Can't they?

More about → Things can only get better?