Respect

Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol

Great episode of Doctor Who today, I can't wait for the new series in 2011, which was previewed at the end of the episode.

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Ubuntu 9.10 now available

Download the new Ubuntu from
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

Ubuntu 9.10 is nearly here

Ubuntu is the best alternative to Windows 7

Train drivers on strike again on the London Underground

Another day of warfare and the casualties are mounting. People left stranded and unable to move forward. The dictator, Bob Crow, has immobilised the majority of the TfL Underground fleet, and many innocent victims are suffering.

We thought the bankers and their bonuses were bad, and were outraged at the MPs' expenses. We have taken hit after hit, losing jobs or getting less pay. So why does Bob Crow think that tube drivers should get a pay rise? He is just making tube drivers look even more greedy than the bankers and our MPs.

This war is far from over and will only end when TfL make a decisive victory by removing Bob Crow from power completely. Time to rethink how our tube trains are run, maybe go DLR-style with driverless computer-controlled trains.

Obama should metricate America

Metricate America

New US President Obama should complete the metrication of the USA as soon as possible.

The USA started off using metric at one time. But over time, the silly old imperial units gained more prominence, becoming known as "English" units, despite being different in their definitions to those used in England, even though most of the world was changing to metric.

Why stay in the dark ages with US Customary Units? If Obama wants change, the way forward is metrication now.

Vote now at the Obama Ideas site: http://ideas.obamacto.org/

Currently the idea to complete metrication is at number 4, with 5,535 votes, so there is a significant number of Americans who do appear to want the USA to change to metric completely. Let's hope that Obama makes it happen.

Americans can look at http://www.metrication.us/ if they need any help with using metric.

Ross and Brand must go

Here in the UK the BBC recently broadcast a radio programme, hosted by Russell Brand and with guest Jonathan Ross, in which they phoned former actor Andrew Sachs and made lewd and disgusting comments on his answerphone. The BBC have since received over 18,000 complaints about the behaviour of Brand and Ross, and the two presenters have now been suspended from all broadcasting.

I believe that both Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross should be sacked for their disgusting behaviour. The BBC was right to apologise to Andrew Sachs and then suspend the two, but these two "presenters" should no longer be allowed to represent the BBC in any capacity. We would all be better off without the immature Russell Brand in entertainment ever again.

Brand is young, immature and childish. The BBC should not have even hired him in the first place. Now they should sack him, as they have allowed him to get out of control. Jonathan Ross is old enough to know better. He should have stopped Brand from continuing and distanced himself on the day of the phone calls from Brand, and told Brand to stop.

They both should be sacked without delay. Ross costs the BBC millions of licence-payers' money which could be better spent elsewhere. Also, Ross in general is a poor presenter, who often resorts to vulgarity and obscene words, which the BBC have been happy to broadcast in the past.

The Radio 2 production team should have had better judgment and stopped this programme from being broadcast. They must be disciplined as well. The BBC Director General was on holiday and this was probably the last thing he wanted to ruin his break. Until he returns to work, do the staff at the BBC think they can get away with anything? Well this time they got caught out.

The whole thing shows just how bad society has become in the world of "entertainment". Decent people are outraged at the way the BBC has handled this as well the bad behaviour of the presenters. Some people might think there was nothing wrong with Ross and Brand or that it is just a small incident, but I think that people are outraged because this has been building up for a long time, with many disgusting, rude and vulgar people and programmes being broadcast by the BBC and other TV and radio channels.

People are fed up with the immorality and lack of decency in broadcasting today and are now making their voices heard. This recent incident is just too much and people have been pushed too far in the direction of having an open sewer coming into their homes bringing too much filth from the BBC and others.

Things have got to change. Sacking Ross and Brand, and their production team at Radio 2, is just the start. We need to get back to true values, Christian values, those found in the Bible. We need a return to decent wholesome entertainment. Gone are the great entertainers who made us laugh without shocking us, such as Morecombe and Wise, The Two Ronnies and programmes like The Good Life and Dad's Army. They made us laugh without swearing or resorting to nasty pranks to get cheap laughs.

We need a return to a Bible-based society. A good place to start would be to visit these websites:
Online Bible
United Church of God

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1 Year of Smoke-Free Living

It is now 1 year since the smoking ban started in England on 1 July 2007. It is good that about 400,000 people have given up smoking. But what a shame that so many still smoke and try to justify it, quoting such things as civil liberties.

But why do smokers think that they are free? They are slaves to the tobacco companies, spending a fortune every year on a drug that will eventually kill them, and making the shareholders of tobacco companies very rich.

The freedom is when a person is no longer addicted to smoking, plus the freedom for everyone to eat or drink in a smoke-free environment.

The scientific facts clearly show that smoking kills. It is not only the smoke that the smoker breathes in that is damaging, but also there is the smoke from the cigarette and that which is breathed out, that can harm other people in the vicinity of the smoker.

We really do need to consider a programme of phasing out smoking altogether. All those who still smoke should be given help to quit, which can be paid for through the taxes raised on smoking. I realise that the British Government makes a lot of money from the tax they add to tobacco sales, but this money should be used wisely. If everyone gave up smoking, then although the taxes from tobacco would cease, there would be less expenditure by the Government on getting people to quit, on treating smoking-related diseases, and if the taxes were being used just for getting people to quit, then as more people quit, there would be less people still to treat.

Although people have a right to smoke, they do not have a right to smoke in places where smoking is banned by law or by the owner/occupier (e.g. a private home). Everyone has the right to be enslaved to large corporations if they so wish. But everyone also has the right to enjoy life without being adversely affected by those who wish to be slaves to smoking.

I have never smoked in my life, and never will. I made the choice not to when I was a young boy, and I will never change that choice. I will not choose to endanger my own health or that of others in such a way.

If you are a smoker, then you owe it to yourself to at least consider how much of a slave you are and whether you wish to continue in this, or whether you would prefer to be free.

The best choice is to choose life.

Congratulations, Boris!

Congratulations, Boris Johnson, you deserved to win the London Mayor elections! I look forward to the great improvements you plan for London.

God bless you.

Time for Ken to go home and leave City Hall. Don't forget to hand in your security pass on the way out, Ken.

Boris, good luck in your new job!

Time For A Change, London

It is time for a change in London. Today is the day voters throughout Greater London can finally get rid of Ken Livingstone as Mayor and get a new London Mayor who can change things for the better.

If you live in Greater London and are registered to vote, go out and vote for a new Mayor, otherwise we will have four more years of arrogance, indifference and sleaze from Ken Livingstone.

This election is very tight and it could go either way. Every single vote counts – including yours. Imagine how you’ll feel if you don’t vote today and tomorrow Ken Livingstone sneaks back in because you failed to vote.

There are plenty of candidates to choose from, some extremely to the left or the right, some in the middle, some with fresh ideas, some with stale ideas.

There is a good candidate in Alan Craig, a Christian and quite possibly a good mayor. Also there is Boris Johnson, the only serious contender to replace Ken Livingstone.

Whoever you vote for, get out and vote, and please do not vote for Ken Livingstone, there are at least two decent alternatives. If Ken wins, he will hire more police, but only so they can fine everyone for minor offences like dropping litter. Suppose you are walking down the street, a sweet wrapper falls out of your pocket as you pull out your mobile phone, and then a police officer sees this and fines you £100. Is this the London you want? Do we really want a police state? That is what Ken Livingstone wants.

I would suggest you make your two votes for Boris Johnson and Alan Craig, but the choice is yours.

London Mayor Elections

Soon it will be time to vote in the elections for the London Mayor, on 1 May 2008. Currently we still have Ken Livingstone as major, but I hope that he will soon be replaced by someone much better.

Ken's achievements have been mixed: he managed to almost bring the office of the London Mayor into disrepute; he has lowered bus fares (after increasing them), at least for Oyster PAYG users; he has increased the costs of cash fares on buses and trains, as well as that of Travelcards; he has introduced to London the hated bendy buses, loved only by those people who travel on it for free; he has given children free travel in a way that encourages them to steal free travel when they longer are entitled to it and a whole children being unruly on buses culture; he has increased our Council Tax bills through his increased spending on pointless projects and things that the London Assembly really should not get involved in; he has broken his promises (e.g. he promised to keep bus conductors, but they soon went); and he is really not a nice man.

I personally would prefer Boris Johnson to be the new London Mayor. If you live anywhere in Greater London (the area covered by the London Mayor, although you would be surprised at how many people who live in Greater London but deny it and deny the truth that the London Mayor has jurisdiction over their town), and you are registered to vote, then please do not vote for Ken Livingstone. He has done enough damage to London already, so it is time for a change.

I cannot tell you who to vote for, but here is Boris Johnson's website: www.boris-johnson.com and read about Boris's plans for small businesses at the Startups website.

Mail Strike

The Royal Mail workers going on strike recently should carefully consider their future. They may well be jeapardising it with many businesses and individuals looking for alternatives to using the postal service. The mail workers have their grievances, but surely if they strike, then they are harming the British economy, as many businesses rely on the postal service for their turnover. They will surely find alternative ways of doing business if the Royal Mail is not available or is unreliable (more so than usual).

As the strikes continue, businesses will no longer want to rely on Royal Mail and so the Royal Mail will lose custom and have a smaller revenue, which in turn must lead to job cuts. The first people they should get rid of, when this happens (I believe it is inevitable, and the longer the strikes last, the more staff will have to be made redundant) should be those who were the most militant in their strike action.

The striking workers should be grateful they have a job and are not signing on at the local Job Centre. If they do not like the pay and conditions they should try living on benefits for a few weeks instead of a salary.

I have already cancelled paper statements on my current account in favour of online statements, something I previously resisted as I like to have a printed statement. But as the mail workers are just being stupid and nasty to their customers, I want to reduce, as much as possible, reliance on the Royal Mail.

So, Royal Mail workers, if you are afraid of losing your jobs and that's why you are striking, then get ready to lose your jobs as you ruin the business you work for.

Floods in England

For the past few weeks there has been terrible flooding in parts of England. This seems to have coincided with Gordon Brown becoming Prime Minister of the UK, and not an easy situation for a new PM to deal with.

Here is a map of areas affected so far:

Hopefully the floods will soon come to an end, but I wonder if maybe this is a warning to the people of this country to change their ways before it is too late. The USA suffered terrible flooding in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina paid a visit. These floods have not happened before in recent history, so something must be different that is causing this to happen.

Could it be that God is sending a warning to the people of the USA and UK (the descendants of ancient Israel, in part) to wake them up to their sins? Although it might remind us of Noah's Flood, a great worldwide flood like that will not happen again, but local floods may well continue.

Will the people of the USA and UK realise their sins and repent before it is too late? The Bible reveals that there will be a great tribulation at the end of this age before Christ returns to set up the Kingdom of God on earth.

For more on prophecy visit this site.

Metric is not so foreign, more English than the Imperial system

In a bit of a blow to those who want to cling on to good old British Imperial measures like pounds and ounces - it turns out it was an Englishman who invented the "foreign" metric system.

Or so claims Pat Naughtin, a metrication specialist from Australia, who carried out his research at Wadham College in Oxford, at Trinity College in Cambridge, and at the Royal Society in London.

He says John Wilkins, founder of the Royal Society, first published his ideas for a metric measure in 1668 → 120 years before the French adopted the metric system.

Wilkins' system was complete in that it was based on decimal numbers (10s, 100s, and 1000s) and its measurements were to be based on an internationally agreed 'universal measure', which would become the basis for other measures.

Our modern measuring methods now use all of Wilkins' ideas: we use prefixes to go from millimetres via metres to kilometres, we have a universally agreed definition of a metre, and a litre of water has a mass of a kilogram.

Although Wilkins did not use the word 'metre', its use became common after Tito Livio Burattini translated Wilkins 'universal measure' to its Italian equivalent, 'metro catholico' and, it seems that this was later translated, and shortened, to the French word, metre.

(From a Press Release issued by the UKMA)


Metric was invented by a good Christian bishop, rather than an atheist or someone of another religion. I have found that many well-meaning christian people have erroneously thought that imperial was better than metric and that God invented the imperial system. Yet the imperial system is almost totally pagan in its origins, whereas metric is christian.

“Bishop John Wilkins among other things:

• Was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.
• Was Warden of Wadham College, Oxford.
• Married to Oliver Cromwell’s sister.
• Wrote “the first book in English on cryptography”.
• Was one of the Chief Founders of the Royal Society, the UK’s most important science academy.

Let’s hear it for rational polymathic Bishops who have no trouble reconciling a rational faith in a rational God with a rational outlook on the rational world.”

(Quoted from the Wardman Wire blog)

Further commentary can also be found at Metric Views.

Alan Johnston Is Free

Our prayers have been answered, God has been merciful to the kidnapped British journalist, Alan Johnston, who has been held captive for 114 days in Palestine. But now he has been freed.

Be thankful that he is free. This is a victory for journalists, the British people and the free world.

Trouble at the Station

Yesterday I tried to get to work as usual in the afternoon and caught a bus to the station in good time. However, when I arrived there were police and an ambulance outside the station and the station was closed. A sign on the door said it was closed due to a fatality, not a pleasant thing to happen to anyone.

So I then had to take a bus to another station to catch a train from there. I got to work 15 minutes late in the end. When I arrived outside the building I noticed a greater police presence in the street, and security guards outside the building. No doubt in response to the recent attempted terrorist attacks.

These are difficult times and we must remain vigilant and careful.

Ocado online food ordering

I recently decided to try a different online supermarket service. I regularly read Which? magazine, which recommended Ocado as being the best in its class. It is part of Waitrose and John Lewis, which Which? also rated as the best shops in the United Kingdom, John Lewis the best overall, and Waitrose the best supermarket.
I went to their website, at www.ocado.com, and registered and placed an order for various foodstuffs. Overall the site was okay to use, nothing special. Some of the prices were slightly more than those at Sainsbury's and Tesco, which I normally use (mostly Sainsbury's), but some prices were the same.
But the main advantage I could see with using Ocado, is that they have no shops. Now, think about that. Why is having no shops an advantage for selling food? Because they have stock, but it is all in warehouses, where the public are not allowed. So they keep a close eye on stock levels, and nothing gets handled or messed around with by customers in a supermarket. Better quality control. And most of the food products are either branded or Waitrose-own brand, which Which? had already rated highly.
The main problems with Sainsbury's and Tesco is not knowing if something will be in stock on the day of delivery. They send out staff to the shop floor to pick the goods a person has ordered, and sometimes things are not available and they pick substitutions instead. But with Ocado, on the website when I ordered, if an item was out of stock it stated so on the website, and there were no options or mentions of substitutions. So I am guessing that it means that when I place an order all the stuff I see as being available I will get in my order, although I should imagine it is harder to be certain of something being in stock if the order is placed too far in advance.
Today the goods were delivered, the driver came a few minutes early (with Sainsbury's and Tesco I have had late deliveries, but also early deliveries), and the driver was very helpful. He even offered to bring everything in for me rather than just handing stuff to me at the door. Both Sainsbury's and Tesco just deliver to the doorstep.
So I can see that Ocado have a different philosophy: they want to give the customer what the customer wants in the best way and without hassle. Quality seems to be the thing they focus on. For an elderly person or someone frail, they would be ideal, as the driver offering to bring things in would be very helpful for such a customer, so long as they could place an order online (maybe with the help of a relative or friend).
So I would recommend Ocado for online shopping here in the UK. I had previously checked out Waitrose, but they do not deliver to where I live (there are no stores nearby) but Ocado deliver to a wider area so it is worth trying if you want to buy food online, as well as other household goods.

More Bird Flu

Now that we really do have bird flu in the UK, this is a more serious situation than the light-hearted post I made last year.
With a sick bird in Suffolk, with a 3-km exclusion zone, a 10-km observation zone with a wide restriction zone covering 2000 square kilometres, I think it about time we look at the whole poultry industry.
For example, why do we have factory-produced food such as Bernard Matthews turkey products? More natural foods are far more healthy for us and for the birds themselves. There is way too much demand and consumption of meat and poultry in general, mostly because the farming and food industries can make huge profits from us while encouraging us to neglect our health.
I am not against eating meat and poultry in general, but when people do, they should not overdo it, nor eat poor-quality products. The more highly processed the food is and the more time it spends in a factory, the less good it can do us -- the more of its goodness has been removed.
So if we no longer tolerated such poor food and instead went for quality rather than quantity, then maybe the farmers could start to take better care of their livestock and thus reduce the risks involved in making them sick with things like bird flu.

The map below was taken from the BBC News website, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6341389.stm



At least the authorities have taken steps to reduce the possibility of the bird flu spreading.

I will be eating less poultry in next few weeks, and hopefully all poultry in the shops is not contaminated with bird flu or other diseases, but please be sure to cook your food thoroughly and avoid eating raw poultry nor leave raw poultry next to any other food.

Snow in the UK

Today we had a heavy snow storm, at least it was heavy by UK standards. With around 10 centimetres in some parts, and around 5 cm where I live, it makes a changes from the weather we normally have. Yesterday it was sunny and dry, today I got up and saw everything covered in white outside. It is cold out today, probably about 2 degrees Celsius here. But I am warm indoors, where it is about 22 degrees Celsius.
I wonder how long the snow will stay for? We had some snow a short while ago here, but that lasted a few hours only. Today it is now 16:40 and the snow is still on the ground, but it is not snowing now, so maybe it will go soon.
A really good thing about the snow is a good photo opportunity, below is a photo I took today:


At least I had already booked a day off work today, so I can "hibernate" indoors!