Crush A Grape…
Posted: Thu 13 March, 2008 Filed under: Cynicism, News, Thoughts Leave a comment »I’m pleased to see that the accountant who tried sueing M&S for supposedly slipping on a grape in their carpark has lost his case. It was pretty spurious, obviously – with evidence based on the fact that once he’d fallen, the fruit was found on the sole of his shoe.
So I’m not surprised to see that the case has failed – to my mind it would’ve led to even more stupid Health and Safety notices, regulations, and general faffery, and to be honest we’ve got enough of those already.
Mind you, it’s also a surprise that the case was lost, because logic doesn’t seem to apply in these things, and particularly when a case is spurious and stupid, and could cause a whole bundle of new Health and Safety regulations.
BBC Screwup
Posted: Mon 10 March, 2008 Filed under: Cynicism, News Leave a comment »Now here’s something you don’t see every day…
Yes, a healthy screwup of the front page for the BBC news. It’s been fixed now, but still, a rarity saved for posterity.
Jeff Healey
Posted: Mon 3 March, 2008 Filed under: News Leave a comment »RIP Jeff Healey, who died today from retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. (which was also the reason he was blind, as he had another retinoblastoma as a baby)
Another musical talent gone.
Getting Away With It
Posted: Fri 22 February, 2008 Filed under: Cynicism, News, Thoughts Leave a comment »I’ve written about a similar subject before, but I have to say that the news yesterday infuriated me. To me, the fact that some utter cockwad can film himself driving at 130+mph using his mobile phone, brag about it by uploading the video to YouTube, get prosecuted and get away with a four-month suspended sentence and an 18 months ban (oh, let’s not forget the 210 hours of community service) is just astonishing. It shouldn’t be, with the knowledge of the guy who drove at 172mph only getting a 10-week jail sentence, but it is.
I don’t understand the mentality of someone who films themselves speeding by taking one hand off the wheel, and filming it with a mobile phone, to me that’s a charge of dangerous driving right there. Doing it at 130+mph, that’s another charge. Posting it up to YouTube? OK, Terminal stupidity isn’t a criminal offence (although sometimes I think it should be) but still, I do think the sentence is still completely out of whack with the offence(s).
Local Discoveries.
Posted: Wed 23 January, 2008 Filed under: Green, News Leave a comment »Isn’t it bizarre sometimes, the way you find out about things?
For instance, despite having been here a year now, and being fairly interested in Green/Ethical energy sources and the like, I had no idea that the local poultry company was also creating a power station fuelled by chicken carcasses.
While I can’t deny that I have certain issues about an industry that’s producing enough chicken “by-products” (as they call them) to provide a power station with enough raw material to power the town of Attleborough year-round, I’d rather see it going to this use than others. For example, as the site says, these by-products used to go into cattle feed and the like, although that process was stopped with the event of BSE. And if the choice is between just incinerating everything, or using the generated heat to create power, well I suppose that’s better than nothing.
Cookery Lessons
Posted: Tue 22 January, 2008 Filed under: Cynicism, Domestic, Health, News, Thoughts 1 Comment »On first read, the news that cookery lessons are to become part of the compulsory school schedule is great news. I did cookery lessons way back when I was in school, and it was a useful grounding. (Admittedly, I don’t do a great deal of cooking, but at least I can cook, and can do enough to mean I’m OK without needing to go to a takeaway for meals.)
But then you take a look at the fine print. One hour a week, for one term? Not really a comprehensive course then. (Or a grammar one – ha, education joke. I slay me.) If it were one hour a week for the full school year, you’d have pupils with a decent knowledge of cooking, basic recipes, and general nutritional knowledge that might actually go some way towards the end goal.
Once a week for one term? It’s hardly worth the effort. Of course, even a tiny bit of effort is better than none at all, but still, there’s so much more that could be done with this.