Ethical Companies – The Blog

Just a quick one ….

DirectX mode or OpenGL mode when starting Google Earth ?  Does it even matter ?

Steve

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Ok so most of us know what Google Earth is by now (previous post was for anyone who didn’t know !) and many of us have either used it or at least heard of it surely ?  It seems to me that no matter what any company does there’s always someone ready to criticise ….  Yes, there has been much criticism over Google Earth and Google Street View:

Google faces storm over naked child on Street View.

“Google has apologised after its Street View photo mapping service showed a frontal view of a naked child on a family day out. Images of the blond boy, aged four or five, went live on Thursday in an update for the service. They pictured him with his trousers down after going to the toilet on Wimbledon Common, South-West London. The photos, showing the child’s mother or nanny helping him dress and a man looking on, have sparked fears that paedophiles will have a new way to search for photos or targets online. Google had blurred the child’s face but not the registration plate of the family’s car, making it possible to trace their address.”

Has this country (well the media anyway) gone paedophile mad ?  How likely is it that someone seeing this image would seek to track this child down ?  Especially when they could find hundreds of children at the local primary school ?  And how exactly do you trace someone’s address from their number plate ?  Can I do this ?  If so I would like to get the f*&^%$£ pain in the a^&* driver of the blue Nissan Micra who nearly forced me off the road the other day and *&*%$ his Micra where ….  You get the idea.  No seriously, Joe Public can’t find someone’s address from a number plate can they ?

Google Street View has also been criticised for being a “burglar’s charter” and privacy campaigners have “demanded” Street View be “shut down”:

‘Shut down Google Street View’, privacy campaigners tell watchdog.

Some people need something serious to worry about methinks. The chances of me being spotted on Google Street View are about a zillion squillion to one, and the chances I’d be doing anything compromising even worse odds (more chance of winning the lottery). Ok so they got a picture of a man urinating in Birmingham, and a child urinating on Wimbledon Common. Are we really that paranoid that we care ?

Steve

PS for the record:

• Google obscure faces shown on Street View and number plates and phone numbers etc, ok it’s not infallible but they look to me to have done a pretty good job.
• Google will remove images of people and/or people’s property on request.

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Google Earth

Many years back when I was working for Mason Communications (now Analysys Mason after a corporate buyout or two) I worked on the project to find and acquire “property” for locating 3g mobile phone masts.  In other words we found a farmer who wanted to earn a few extra quid a year and worked from there ….  Ok, so it wasn’t always farmers but there were a fair few farmers involved.   You can see some of the masts on which I was involved with (in a small and humble part) in various fields alongside the M1 and M6 whilst travelling through the Midlands.  One “tool” we had to help us in this project (which I never used particularly) was a selection of compact discs with overhead photography of various parts of the United Kingdom.  The idea was we could zoom in on various bits of land and see “what was there”, personally I found the “go and have a butchers” approach to be more useful ….  I don’t recall much about the actual CDs, other than being told the licence to have them was very expensive and so on ….

Nowadays of course we have Google Earth.  For the uninitiated it’s basically satellite photography of the entire globe either via your browser or a standalone application which you can download right here, and it’s free. How far you can zoom in and what level of detail you can see seems to depend on where you’re looking at. For some bizarre reason 75% of the road I live on is in far higher detail than the top 25%, go figure ? Then there’s Street View, when you get “low enough” you can click on the little camera icon and you get a street view as taken by a car with a large camera on the roof. So yes you can see my house but you can’t see that I haven’t cleaned my curtains in years nor see me walking around in my birthday suit (which is a relief trust me, I am no Adonis).

Ok it has a lot of practical uses for some of us out there, but for most of us it’s just novelty. I’ve recently applied for a job in Kuwait, so yes I’ve been zooming on Kuwait City out of sheer nosiness. I also look at places to get a sense of “how to get there” (why, I ask myself ? I have a TomTom after all) and have recently looked at places in London, Birmingham, Biddulph and miscellaneous other places (including Kuwait City, which looks “hot”, the desert gives it away). So anyway, I recommend it, go and download it and have fun looking at places you’d like to visit, places you know that probably never will visit and places you used to live and so on.

It’s all harmless fun …. Apparently …. More to follow.

Steve

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Sweet-toothed toddler climbs INSIDE lolly machine to grab sweets… and gets trapped.

“A toddler thought he had a lolly machine licked when he spied a way of getting his hands on the sweets for free – by climbing inside. After clambering through a tiny hatch and up into the arcade machine where he was surrounded by his sugary feast, little Cohen Stone, 2, realised there was no way back. The youngster was stuck inside the machine, imprisoned in four walls of glass.”

Did he find the bottle of drink in there ??

Must say he doesn’t seem too bothered.

Imagine your disappointment going to the “grab some sweeties machine” and winning a child ….

Steve

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So, who’s laughing now? The moment a clamper got clamped himself.

In the natural world, it’s known as the hunter becoming the hunted. On the mean streets of Britain, it is poetic justice. This was the moment a clamper got a taste of his own medicine when his vehicle was impounded by council parking wardens. The white Renault van was spotted without a valid tax disc and clamped before being loaded onto a flatbed lorry and driven away.

Unable to contain his fury, the driver made an obscene gesture at a passerby who captured the scene in Southend, Essex, on their mobile phone. The vehicle is owned by LSB Enforcement, who clamp and tow vehicles across the county and charge drivers up to £500 to retrieve them. The photographer, who asked not to be identified, said: ‘He couldn’t believe it when he saw a yellow clamp on his van. He was swearing furiously. ‘For once the shoe was on the other foot and I hope it makes the people running this company think a bit before leaving people severely out of pocket.

‘Wheel clampers are parasites and they hold driver to ransom for the smallest infringement.’ Southend Council confirmed one of its wardens had sprung into action on the morning of March 5. Spokesman Imran Kazalbash said the decision to tow the van away was authorised by the DVLA.

Love it.  Made me smile

Steve

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Met Office seasonal forecasts to be scrapped.

“The Met Office is to stop publishing seasonal forecasts, after it came in for criticism for failing to predict extreme weather.  It was berated for not foreseeing that the UK would suffer this cold winter or the last three wet summers in its seasonal forecasts.  The forecasts, four times a year, will be replaced by monthly predictions.”

I’m still waiting for a “barbecue summer”

Steve

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S.Yorks Police Farce – at it again – negiligent, abusive cowards.

I’m not going to cut and paste the whole article but here’s a “highlight”:

There are six police officers stood intimidatingly outside the club. A call comes in over the emergency radio (given to all venues in the City) from another venue. Its kicking off and they need police assistance urgently. The CCTV centre tells them that “there are no units available”. Oddly enough our lying eyes can see six “units” doing f^&* all stood outside our venue. The member of staff in the box office who looks after the radio comes out to the front and demands that the police go to assist immediately. After a bit of grumbling they p^&* off.

Ten minutes later they are back, “looking for drunk people”, Oh and holding the club responsible for what people half a mile a way are doing through being “too drunk”. Meanwhile, calls are coming in again over the emergency radio from the same venue, more desperate this time, saying that the situation is escalating and they really really need the police there. The “units” outside our place stay put, busy “looking for drunk people”.

Blimey, getting drunk in a nightclub, whatever next ?  Oh, go on have another “highlight”:

Brett Blake was stabbed to death last year in a city venue. Here’s what the news reports didn’t mention: The police were already outside the venue in force when it was kicking off inside. They refused to go in. Multiple people were hurt with knife wounds, including staff. The venue in question only had two exits, easily covered. The police could have easily nabbed the people responsible literally red handed. One of the doorstaff who had been fighting to protect customers inside from at least one knife-wielding assailant came out, covered in blood. He demanded that the police go in. They refused. He called them “a bunch of useless b^&*^&*^”. They arrested him.

Amazing isn’t it ?  The whole article (for anyone who doesn’t want to scroll back up !)  is here again:

S.Yorks Police Farce – at it again – negiligent, abusive cowards.

As a result of this I have come to a few “personal” conclusions:

1. I’m glad I don’t live in South Yorkshire.
2. I’m glad I don’t go to nightclubs.
3. I’m glad I don’t drink (well very rarely enough to get anywhere near “drunk”).

Stev

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This morning I went to an interview. Nothing stunning about that in particular, the interview was at 10am and was in Edgbaston in Birmingham near Five Ways. I knew I was going to be flustered though because it meant travelling on the M6. Yes I know there are such things as “trains”, but at 8am in the morning when train trips cost a zillion times more than they do after 9.30am my desire to investigate getting from Congleton train station in Cheshire to Five Ways station in Birmingham wanes. Actually I say 8am, but I strongly suspect in reality I’d need to leave significantly earlier than that ….

Anyhow, the M6 it was. It was a slow start, it takes a good twenty minutes just to get on the M6 from where I live and despite being half 7′ish the A500 was slow for no apparent reason getting down to junction 15. I then proceeded to work my way down towards the point where the M6 turns into the toll road at varying degrees of unsatisfactory speed due to:

• Too many lorries.
• People hogging the outside lane despite nobody being anywhere nearer than a mile ahead of them.
• Yet more lorries.
• Roadworks.
• And some more lorries.
• Average speed cameras.

Unsurprisingly the M6 crawled down to a snail’s pace at Hilton services, like it always has done.  But, wait a minute ?  Wasn’t the toll road supposed to take all this “strain” ?  I thought the whole idea of the M6 Toll was to make driving past Birmingham way more pleasant (arguably much more pleasant than driving into Birmingham !)  I can only assume the following:

1. The M6 Toll was designed and built to solve the M6 congestion past Birmingham.
2. Then the price was set and people were unprepared to pay this much.
3. Ergo not as many people use the M6 Toll road as had been intended.

I find it hard to believe that the hundreds of vehicles I saw between junction 12 and junction 7 today were actually going into the Birmingham conurbation or down the M5.  I’ve used the M6 Toll road at that time of the morning, there’s not much traffic on it ….  It has to be the cost ….  I refuse to pay £10 to use a road ONCE, when I’ve already been subjected to road tax.

I don’t know what the answer to the M6 congestion problem is.  The only thing I can suggest is scrap the toll charge on the toll road and make it just another motorway, but that’s not very likely to happen so I’m all out of ideas (aside from nukeing Birmingham perhaps, and that seems extreme !)

Anyone got any bright ideas ?

As for the job interview, don’t ask how it went.  I don’t know, I really really don’t know.  It seemed to go alright but I’ve thought that before and not been offered the job, and I’ve also been to interviews where I thought I hadn’t got the job and been offered it after all.  If I get offered the job I’ll let you all know here on the blog, it looks good and I feel confident that I would enjoy it so fingers crossed I guess ….

Steve

PS over two and a half hours from ST8 to B15, only 55 miles; not good in my opinion.

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Birthdays today are ….

• Freddie Prinze Jr – You know him, he played err wotshisname in the Scooby Doo films, not Shaggy, the other one.
• Lynn Redgrave – She’s been in loads of films including the Happy Hooker and Georgy Girl.

Steve

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“These criminals are fast realising that they are not above the law. They may think that they are getting away with it, but we are determined to make a long-term impact in this area” – Strathclyde Police

Should I sneer, sigh or snigger at this ?  Cynical, moi ?

Steve

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MPs demand right to travel first class.

MPs have demanded the right to first class train travel in a move that threatens to reignite the expenses row.  They say they need the perk in order to be able to work during journeys to and from Parliament. One MP even said he needed a first class seat because of his height.

Presumably the rest of the populace (eg the proles, no offence intended) don’t need such a perk; and presumably MPs are taller than us mere mortals ?

The attempt by some MPs to retain some of the most controversial aspects of the expenses system is likely to provoke further anger among voters and accusations that politicians are engaging in special pleading.

No kidding Sherlock.  The people certainly won’t be impressed, whether they’ll actually get vocal about it or not is another matter.  Are the politicians not listening ?  We want these people, paid for by us (essentially employed by us) to stop “pushing the boundaries” and just request FAIR and minimal expenses.

Ann Widdecombe, the Conservative MP for Maidstone and the Weald, accused him of being guided by media “spite” rather than value to the taxpayer, and pointed out she had written two books while travelling first class.  She said: “If I travel first class, I can plug in my computer, not a facility that is universally available in second class. I can therefore work throughout the journey.  ”The ‘at seat’ service means that I do not have to interrupt the work to go and queue in the train’s buffet bar.  Sir Ian’s proposal that MPs should only be allowed to travel first class in “exceptional circumstances” – such as a journey of more than two and a half hours – met with particularly strong opposition by parliamentarians.

Oh dear, what a shame, you’ll have to eat from the “trough” on the train like the rest of us, or as you work through the madding crowd at Euston (I pick Euston because I detest the place and have been there on numerous occasions, I feel confident other stations are equally grim) gagging for some food grab a Burger King whilst juggling a holdall and a heavy laptop bag like the rest of us to be faced with the prospect of nowhere to sit down and eat in peace whilst waiting for a train which is running late.

“Second class being more of a thoroughfare, interruption and engagement in conversation is a great deal more frequent.”

You’re public servants, surely the public have a right to be able to talk to you ?  Maybe, just maybe, you might actually learn something beneficial if you actually conversed with us mere mortals from time to time ?  As for “thoroughfare”, that’s because everybody is walking up and down the train looking for a working little boy’s/girl’s room (probably because they object to having to pay for the toilets at Euston (yes, PAY).

Tom Levitt, the Labour backbencher for High Peak, said: “I invariably work on the train, something I can only do in a first class carriage for three reasons: that I have a table, space and privacy to work there; that I have a seat (as the standard class carriages between Manchester and London are often standing room only); and that (as I am over six feet tall) I have the leg room for comfort.”

Poor lamb.  Of course the rest of us are all short munchkins so we’re ok ….

Sandra Gidley, Lib Dem MP for Romsey, said: “I find I can usually do some useful work which is not always possible in standard class.  ”Also, as a woman travelling alone late at night I feel safer in first, particularly on the later trains when there are often a number of people who have been drinking.”

I bet the 30 million or so other members of the UK’s female populace would feel safer in 1st class as well, join 2nd class travelling and share their “pain” ….

Angela Smith, Labour MP for Sheffield Hillsborough, remarked that IPSA members travel first class and MPs should be treated no differently.

How about IPSA members should be expected to travel 2nd rather than MPs be allowed to travel 1st ?

Many MPs have also expressed their anger over the proposal to scrap resettlement grants of up to £65,000 paid to them on leaving the Commons.

Nobody ever pays me a “resettlement grant” when leaving a job.

In its 86-page consultation document IPSA stated: “MPs voluntarily accept a career with a high level of uncertainty and we understand that many would want arrangements in place to help mitigate that uncertainty.

I suspect a high percentage of the UK populace goes into a new job with similar levels of uncertainty, with potential redundancy in the future.

But Karen Buck, the Labour MP for Regent’s Park and North Kensington, said: “The removal of any resettlement grant for sitting members will place real pressures on those without personal resources; those in middle/late middle age and those with long service who have little prospect of returning to a career that they left for Parliament.”

Being a MP is a job, like any other job.  Do older employees have anything to help them when made redundant ?  I’ve been job hunting now for 6 months, and I’m 45.  I didn’t get any “help” when I lost my job, all I got was a P45 (does anyone reading need an eCommerce operations director ?  07903 627086 )

The decision to scrap the controversial “golden goodbye” is known to have prompted some MPs to retire at this year’s General Election in order to still qualify for the payment.

Good, maybe people will go into the profession in future out of a genuine desire to serve their country, instead of seeing it as a gravy troughing “career” for “loadsa money”.

There is loads more in the article, but seriously my blood is getting towards boiling point and I really can’t stomach any more whingeing tripe from a bunch of overpaid politicans.  If your job is so bad give it to me, I’m happy to take a sensible wage, relocate to London (if necessary) and claim SENSIBLE and REALISTIC expenses ….

Steve

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I can’t work out which man I should be marrying.

Cast your mind back to your schooldays, and you will most likely recall a subject that you were desperate to give up as soon as possible; a subject that made a small part of you die inside when you glimpsed it on the timetable. For me, that subject was maths. I hated maths so much that the night before a double period, you could find me, head pressed up against a radiator, trying to feign a terrible temperature. I don’t know if they even teach maths any more. It’s no doubt been renamed something trendy like “alcohol unit evaluation studies”. I probably would have paid more attention had that been the case. But instead, it was all quadratic what-nots and proving theories that had already been proved by much brainier people many moons ago. Frankly, beyond the basic arithmetic stuff, I saw little use for it.

But perhaps I was wrong. For this week, it was revealed that scientists have come up with a mathematical formula to find the perfect husband. Glory be! At long last! Hold the front page, stop those presses – and thank the Lord and Little Baby Jesus that it has happened in my lifetime. All that pain and all those tears over James the skateboarding graphic designer from Yorkshire, eradicated by one simple statistical formula. Boffins from the Geneva School of Business have discovered that for a happy and long-lasting marriage, the bride should be five years younger than the groom, but 27 per cent more intelligent. “If people follow these guidelines in choosing their partners,” says Nguyen Vi Cao, who led the research, “they can increase their chances of a happy, long marriage by up to 20 per cent.”

The romance is almost too much to bear. Imagine being married to Nguyen Vi Cao, and all the scientific calculators wrapped in red ribbon one might receive on anniversaries – or perhaps, touchingly, as a reward for having solved the killer sudoku at breakfast. But I must stop daydreaming. For the reality is that I have a problem with this mathematical equation: I can’t work it out.

I don’t know how they operate at the Geneva School of Business, but if I were to present a date with an IQ test, they would think me quite mad (or more mad, I suppose). They wouldn’t pretend to laugh at my jokes, wouldn’t do that thing where they pretend to yawn in order to put their arm around you, and they certainly wouldn’t try to kiss me.  Even if I did sneak the IQ test past my date, it is doubtful, given my mathematical ability, that I would be able to work out their intelligence as a percentage of mine. Which leads me to my final issue: do I really want to marry someone 27 per cent dimmer than me?

The author of this article (Bryony Gordon) has of course hit on the problem here, which is that any attempt to quantify these “qualities” in a prospective partner is of course likely to knock the romance aspect on the head. However, I’m not convinced that the process of romance and partnering is something that can be reduced to one single “optimum” process. How could it be ? I look back at my list of “committed” partners (eg established relationships and/or marriages, a shortish list) and none of them have been 5 years younger than me and those that were anywhere vaguely anywhere near the 5 years criteria most certainly weren’t 27% more intelligent than me, in my opinion (which is presumably why they were in a relationship with me in the first place, lol !)

My formula for a successful relationship ? I don’t have one; well I don’t have an objective one that is, not one that can be applied to everyone. In my case, marry an older woman¹, don’t worry about the intelligence level at all. We all know that “intelligence” is a vague concept anyway. Ask any psychologists you like, half of them can’t even work out how to measure it, the other half can’t even agree on what it is. So exactly how do you work out if a potential partner is 27% more intelligent than us ?

Steve

¹ Your mileage may vary, marrying a woman 18 years your senior won’t work for every man. Has it worked for me ? No comment ….

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SHARON OSBOURNE: The dark side of fame… and why the cult of celebrity is destroying today’s children.

In this article Sharon recalls a time when she and Ozzy met Andy Warhol, he of the “15 minutes of fame” notoriety, and talks about the cult of celebrity and how children aspire to be “famous”:

“Of course, Andy Warhol is most famous for saying: ‘In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.’ These days I’d put that figure closer to five minutes. I thought of Warhol’s prediction when I was watching a morning chat show on TV recently. It featured a girl aged about 14. Her one aim in life was to have surgery so that she would look like Katie Price. Her reasoning seemed to be that if she looked like the glamour model, she would become as famous as her idol. How depressing that the loftiest ambition a child of 14 can summon up is to have breasts the size of barrage balloons. It was bad enough that she regarded ‘being famous’ as a worthy goal – not ‘being talented’, you note.”

Sharon knows all about fame of course, and presumably the “cost” of that fame and how she and Ozzy achieved it and goes on to tell how much hard work went into Ozzy’s career. She asks why young people today only aspire to fame and consider themselves as the “next big thing”. She has a point and reading the article I found myself agreeing with her.

When I left school I don’t recall any desire for “fame”, if I’m to be truly honest I didn’t really think about my future hardly at all except having some notion of becoming a chef (if someone can tell what on earth possessed me to have this notion then let me know; bearing in mind this is 1981 we’re talking about, not a celebrity chef in sight on the TV). To me you left school and became a chef, or an electrician or a builder or whatever, neither me nor my fellow school leavers had any aspirations to become a celebrity. It seems desperately odd to me when a 14 year old girl’s main aspiration in life is to have hugemongous breasts and look like Katie Price (not a pretty sight in my opinion). I still can’t imagine why anyone would want to be on Big Brother, it just doesn’t compute for me ….

Steve

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Today’s birthdays ….

• Dr Seuss – Of “Cat In The Hat” fame, I remember treading his books when I was a very small child (yeah I know it’s a long time ago before someone comments)
• Karen Carpenter – A very talented singer (The Carpenters) who died young from heart failure due to complications from anorexia.
• Daniel Craig – The name’s Bond, James Bond. Actually he has had other roles, he’s not just James Bond !

Steve

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“Character is determined more by the lack of certain experiences than by those one has had” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Steve

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Pub landlord is first person in Britain to be jailed over smoking ban.

You may have spotted the story of Nick Hogan on assorted news sites. Nick was jailed for non payment of a fine resulting from him allowing customers to smoke in his public house. I’m not going to get into a debate here on whether I think we should be allowed to smoke in pubs or not (although I don’t think he should have been jailed for this); I’m just making this post for anyone who is on Nick Hogan’s “side”. A campaign has been raised to raise money to pay Nick’s fine and get him released from prison here. You can see the story and the “how to contribute” part here:

http://bastardoldholborn.blogspot.com/2010/02/nick-hogan-jailed-over-no-smoking-ban.html

They’ve already raised (at the time of writing this) £5693 so there’s strong evidence that people care about their right to smoke in pubs.

Steve

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Millionaire BBC TV presenter Kristian Digby, 32, found dead by ex-lover in his East London flat.

BBC presenter Kristian Digby has been found dead at his East London flat.  The 32-year-old host of BBC1’s To Buy Or Not To Buy was pronounced dead at the scene after the ambulance service was called to his home in Newham at 7.45am on Monday.  His body was found by his ex-partner, a former policeman.  Police sources said that they believe he died in a solo sex game which went tragically wrong.  A belt and a bag were taken away for examination by officers, they told the Daily Mail.  There are no suggestions his death was suicide.

Can we expect a comment from Jan Moir ?

Steve

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Teen, 17, suffers horrific burns when McDonald’s tea spills on his leg.

17 year old Ben Lewis got a burnt leg when he drove over a speed bump and a “cup” (I use the word loosely here) of McDonald’s tea came open and poured itself down his leg, causing some significant burns.

We’ve all heard the story of the woman in America who sued McDonalds after burning herself with McDonalds coffee, resulting in McDonalds labelling all “cups” with “caution contents may be hot”. Whether this story is really true or merely urban legend I don’t know, and I’m not about to send 20 minutes Googling for it. However, let’s talk some common sense here and put this teenager’s burns into perspective.

Ben Lewis is apparently worried he’ll be scarred for life. Well welcome to the world Ben, as we get older we get a few burn marks, cut marks and blemishes. I’ve got more than a fair share myself, mainly due to my time as a chef. On my left hand I have a longish burn mark from when I was “working” with boiling sugar in a kitchen which was far far hotter than a cup of tea could ever be …. The mark is only visible if you point it out, can anyone reading this who knows me personally honestly say, hand on heart, that they have noticed it ? It’s just a bit lighter than the rest of my hand. Your blisters and burns will heal Ben, you’ll be fine. Tea is a liquid, it can’t be hotter than 100 degrees (and that’s unlikely as the tea starts to cool the instant it leaves the machine).

Seems Ben and his father are talking about taking legal action. I doubt they’d win to be honest, but that’s just my layman’s opinion. My opinion is this is just an attempt at 15 minutes of “fame” achieved by complaining to the media and getting in the newspapers and newspaper’s websites.

I suspect McDonalds simply can’t win with some customers, if they dispensed it at a lower temperature someone would moan it was “cold”. You know why they fill the cups up so much that you can’t get much milk in ? I don’t know either, but I suspect it’s to stop people complaining they’re not getting a “full cup”.

Steve

PS Ben, if you’re reading this, and you are genuinely worried then don’t be, you’ll get over it.

PPS I notice it’s his right leg (picture on Daily Mail article).  Assuming he was driving a right hand vehicle can we please clarify where the cup was exactly ?

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I don’t really pay any attention to trivial celebrity “gossip”, based on the idea that if I ignore Jordan/Anthea Turner/Peter Andre/Cheryl Cole/whoever they might eventually do or say something which I (may) find interesting. I also figure that if we ignore these antics, that these “celebrities” MIGHT just get on with doing or creating something to entertain or educate us. So like I say, I generally ignore most things I read about such celebrities in the press ….

Katie Price slams Peter Andre for three-month fling with blonde model…while he renews his celibacy vow.

However, I spotted the above article on the Daily Mail website …. And I have to ask …. What the hell is “special” about a vow of celibacy, and making a big deal about renewing said vow ? I mean come on, the world is full of people who have been celibate for years (often unintentionally), it’s hardly a big deal, and this is just trivial nonsense too far just to get a bit of press coverage. Grow up Peter Andre, go and write a thesis on particle physics or something, that’d be a lot more interesting and certainly way more impressive.

Steve

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“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Believe me, rich is better” – Mae West

Steve

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Father stopped from taking picture of his son, 4, on children’s train ride ‘in case he was a paedophile’

“A father was stopped from taking a photo of his son on a children’s train ride after an over-zealous security guard accused him of being a paedophile. Kevin Geraghty-Shewan, 48, was approached by the guard after he took the picture of his four-year-old son Ben on the toy engine outside a shop. He was then threatened with arrest after refusing to hand his mobile phone containing the picture after a row with a policeman.”

The father Mr Geraghty-Shewan decided to take a picture of his son enjoying a ride on a children’s ride using his mobile phone. Nothing wrong with that you’d think ? After all capturing happy memories of your children on film and all that …. But no, some over zealous “jobsworth” security guard decides Mr Geraghty-Shewan must be a paedophile and calls the police.

I always thought paedophiles were interested in pictures of naked children ? I doubt this child (Ben) was naked in a shopping centre somehow …. And if paedophiles wanted pictures of children surely the internet is full of those ?

So are all adults now paedophiles until proven innocent ? Talk about over reacting.

Steve

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Today’s happy birthdays go to ….

• Elizabeth Taylor – You know her, she’s been married at least 7 times (twice to Richard Burton). She’s clearly an optimist ….
• Joanne Woodward – From Long Hot Summer.

Steve

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Let’s say you work for big organisation like ABC Supermarkets, and ABC goes “under”, going into administration or liquidation. You’re laid off, and you were on a company pension plan; what happens to the pension funds ? Are they liquidated as an “asset” to pay off ABC’s creditors or does something else happen ?

I’m not in this situation myself, but I’d be interested to know what does actually happen in this scenario.

Steve

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If anyone wants a large quantity of books (currently 150+ and rising, we’re only on ‘B’ so far) they are free to collect TODAY. Books are in Biddulph, North Staffordshire and must be collected today or they go to the tip. All sorts, novels, computer books, reference books etc.

01782 874945 or 07903 627086

Steve

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Birthdays today:

• Sean Astin – Samwise Gamgee from the film version of Lord Of The Rings, was also in The Goonies I believe.
• Bernard Bresslaw – Of The Army Game and Carry On films fame.

Steve

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