In The News I Heard...

BBC NEWS | Health | GPs flu pandemic workload warning Any chance this could have been avoided if people were aware of alternative methods of keeping healthy? I await the latest figures highlighting how much this flue pandemic has cost GB in sick leave. I am also looking forward to the heart warming stories of those selfish enough to come into work with a fever, coughing and sneezing, with packets of lemsip or paracetamol and tissues camping out on their desk, to only have to head back home after successfully infecting their co-workers. If you want to survive the onslaught of flu then how about some preventative action? Eat better, get enough sleep and look into boosting your immune system. How? Before I continue, you must ALWAYS consult with your doctor before doing what I am about to suggest. Over the years I too use to fall prey to the winter flu and suffered with hay fever. I have successfully avoid the worst of the flu and colds over last 3 years. In fact this year I only had a soa...

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Georgia attack is 'Russia's 9/11' Why don't you just admit you were wrong. You back the rebels they were losing and to save face you invaded. There is no comparison between your attack on a democratic state and terrorist slamming planes into the twin towers. If anything this is Georgia's 9/11. --- Google Translate --- Почему бы вам не просто признать, вы были неправы. Вы обратно повстанцев они теряют и сохранить лицо вы захватили. Существует не сравнение между вашей нападение на демократическое государство и террористических slamming самолеты в Твин Тауэрс. Если уж на то пошло это Грузии 9 / 11.

BBC NEWS | Business | Illegal downloaders 'face UK ban' What a ridiculous idea. How exactly are they suppose to do this? Hire more staff? That is going to up the cost of broadband and how exactly are they going to spot out of millions of connections who is downloading music and films. Software tool? Can always be worked around. Large file download, break it down to small sizes or use bittorrant. How is it going to detect a Linux OS download? How will it get into a peer to peer connection? Will the RIP Act be re-written for ISP to snoop? Powered by ScribeFire .

BBC NEWS | UK | Police guilty over Menezes case "He [Sir Ian] said officers would be left in a difficult position of not being able to use their judgement in emergency situations, out of fear of breaking the law." BBC News website. Surely the Met should be operating within the law and thus should have no fears of breaking the law? It sounds to me the police officers need training in the law. Ironic is it? All other professionals doctors, lawyers, IT staff, etc are trained to do their job respective jobs. One has to wonder what the police force training comprises of, considering it is public safety that is at risk. Powered by ScribeFire .

Firstly the headline is incorrect. It should read "Huge fine for US illegal music online distributor". As far as I am aware it is legal to provide music or iTunes and all the other would not exist. The music industry are trying to stop people who illegally distribute artist's copyrighted material via the internet. However my blog today is not the legal aspect but a reminder to all those non-techie people out there that whatever software you are using to download music from e.g. Kazaa just ensure that it is not using your My Documents folder to upload music and ensure you exit the software when you are finished or ensure that it is not set-up to allow access to your Music folder under the My Documents folder or any other folder you purchase music for downloading from... I would like to close by saying that I do not condone the sharing of copyright material. BBC NEWS | Technology | Huge fine for US music downloader Powered by ScribeFire .

BBC NEWS | Technology | New Zunes to take on Apple's iPod In general I think WiFi should not be extolled or installed on battery powered devices! I've watch several PDAs and an XDA Orbit's battery meter go from 100% to 65%, within 10 minutes of WiFi being turned on and used. It is dangerous to have WiFi available on mobile phones for this reason alone. The regular user may sit there scanning for a hotspot totally unaware of the power being quickly drained from the device. What use is a mobile phone or PDA if it has no power, just to have the latest U-Tube clip or MP3 file. Think about it. Once you have the media how long will you be able to view/listen to it for? The same goes for iPod and Zunes (what a ridiculous name!). Firstly if you can find a hotspot to connect too you may be using it illegally. Secondly there is the battery power drain. Thirdly, how many people actually walk with the power adaptor, when you are just out and about? All in one devices have never been a ...

A rather interesting point in this report comes from a government statistic which says " The government said four million fewer people were using post offices each week than two years ago.." and that a " Six-week public consultations will be held in all affected areas before the final decisions are made". Would it not be wiser to hold a six-week public consultation to find out why four million fewer people use the service and how the Post Office can improve services to encourage these people to use their service? BBC NEWS | UK | At-risk Post Office outlets named Powered by ScribeFire .

So the UK are turning out have 400,000 grads while India and Korea are churning out over twice as much. Any wonder why? With high Uni fees and get rich quick mentality it is no wonder our youth are shunning Uni. Chance of turning this around, nil. As long as we create the barrier of fees we will continue to see a fall in Uni registrations.

A ZDNet artical (02/11/06) explained the agreement between Novell and Microsoft. Its no wonder the Open Source and FSF community are suspicious. As the artical puts it these 'foes' are indeed forming an alliance, but against what? Is the alliance to deal with the (Microsoft's) customer demands as mentioned by Brad Smith? Is it to stave off the rise of CentOS and its counter part RedHat? With the biggest software company in the world plugging your software and optimising it to run on their software then which other linux vendor is getting squeezed?

So the Highway's Agency has decided to commence with work on widening the M1 to 'ease' traffic congestion. The No Widening M1 Alliance has stacks of evidence to say its not a good idea and the HA's own report says in the long run the widening of the M1 will only cause more traffic. So everyone is right! Right? If two wrongs don't make a right, surely two rights must make a right? A spokes person for the business transport alliance said on camera that businesses need the M1 widening to ensure the travel routes used by delivery trucks are "effect". That thousands of jobs are at stake if this infrastructure was not updated (not using his own words of course). And there are traffic management measure (like toll charges which the transport alliance support) that can be used to control the amount of traffic ensuring that in 2021 the problem does not reoccur (and the needle runs horiztonally across the vinyl make that comic sratching noise)... Did the penny just ...

I read in The Press (Mirfield, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Heckmonwike) that a 13 year old female had some 'abusive and sexually explicit remarks' made about her on a website hosted in the USA. If it were my daughter, I too would be sad and angry. When I first scanned the artical my initial thoughts were of the young lady in question. How must she feel? How did things get this far? After that other questions started to filter into my mind. 1. Exactly how many people came across this website? 2. Was it a smart move to go to press with this story? 3. Do I really care? Piczo.com is a website aimed at kids. You have to sign up (which is free) and then you can create your own webpage with many bells and whistles. To answer question 1, you have to be a member to get in. Okay I know of a back door in, and had a look at the forums, but you still have to sign up to reply. There is very little intelligent life on Piczo.com forums. Skipping question 2, what wasn't known is now out in the ...

Metro 24/10/06 someone wrote into questioning the need for religon. Saying that it would be an insult to unbelievers to even suggest that it is not possible to be a decent human being without religion. Well, I don't know the stats of believer's to non-believers stand at but here are two points; 1. You had to be a believer at some point to become a non-believer (both directly or indirectly) 2. If you did not have religon as a guide then how would you know how to be a decent human being? Lets take the first point. I'll throw in words like community and peer pressure. You (in general terms) live in a land where I think the believer's out number the non-believer's. Non-believer would be directly and indirectly influenced by the believer's. As a non-believer you will want to fit in and any other behaviour outside that of the larger community would be unacceptable and you would bow to the peer pressure to conform. May be you started out as believer but choose to copou...

Metro 16 Oct covered a story about more students being hounded by the banks. For all future uni students here is a little trick. Sign up for a telephone number that pays you everytime someone calls you. Give this number to banks, utility companies, websites, etc and watch the cash roll in.

Well now this is going too far. The Metro reports that radical muslims are accusing Apple Inc (maker of Apple MacIntosh computers and iPods) of mocking Islam. The latest Apple shop, they believe, has a likeness to the Kaaba structure inside Islam's most sacred mosque in Mecca. If thats the case why haven't they complained about the rubik's cube, Apple cube iMac and all things made in a cube shape? Tell you what guys, why don't you patient the Kaaba design and whoever you think has infringed of the design you can take them to court. You jokers should do a Google search for cube buildings, then get a life or join the real world.

Now come on people get a grip! Why are you, and you know who you are, terrorising bollard cleaners for earning a wage. So what if its more than you earn? If you want to earn that much then why not join them? If you think that the wages for street sweepers, line painters and bollard cleaners are too high then take it up with their employers and let the workers get on with their job. Here is a question for you. Why don't you go hurling abuse at those train, gas, water and over paid fat cats for collecting bonuses just for turning up and delivering poor services? The answer... you're rare end would be hauled into jail so fast your necks would take years to catch up. Stop picking on the weak or pick on everyone.

Spare a thought for Caydee-Lee who was mauled to death by two Rottweilers guard dogs. As a parent of two kids, my heart goes out to the family. You cannot blame the dogs. With their track record of child related attacks well publicised and document, you have question the wisdom of leaving a toddler in the care of such beast. If that thugs and criminals cannot be control and it requires people to breed and keep such animals to provide (such a false sense of) safety anywhere, who do you blame for this tragic death?

The twins joined at the torso have been released from hospital! Something great to write about for once. I would like to wish them the best of health and life. I pray that Maliyah's kidney transplant is a success. Isn't the pace of medical advances amazing

Necrophilia, yes this is the story of three young men in Wisconsin who attempted to dig up a grave so one of them could shag a corpse. Twisted, stupid, sad or all three? What sort of losers would do such a thing? Surely there are many other beautiful women in Wisconsin. Then again looking at their ugly mugs thats probably the only way the could get sex (if you can call it that). On the bright side at least the had some sense to get some condoms on the way. I feel sorry for the family of the poor lass though my thoughts are with you...

So Hugo Chavez thinks GW Bush is the devil.Well with the attempted coup that the CIA bungled, because Chavez refused to fall in line (see: www.venezuelasolidarity.org.uk) this is a lesson in how to increase your popularity at the expense of you boss...ahhem, cough, cough... fellow leader. Don't get me wrong Chavez has done great work in Bolivia and with Cuba but hitting someone when they are down (even if they are the bad guy) is a cheap trick (though the bad guys do it).

In Metro 12/09/06 there was a reply to the previous day's headline concerning high street shops closing because more people are shopping on the internet. The author quite rightly stated facts about shopping in stores that I agree with. Examples having to go through crowded shops, 15 minute wait to pay for items, commission based sales people trying poor performing stock. Of course state the obvious, and the best thing about internet shopping, you don't have to cross the street, take public transport, drive or walk to get your favourite shops. Heck you can bring up all your usual haunts in brower tabs (nice and tidy for FireFox users) and compare prices. The question that has to be asked is, what exactly are high street shops doing to remove these problems? Is there anything they can do? I for one believe that high street shops should be banished from cities. Move them to big retail parks built on brown field land with good rail and bus links. All the empty shops should then be ...