Not Maintaining Standards

Despite the fact I'm impressed with my iPad, Apple continue to flabbergast me with their continual ignorance of standards . Was recently at my mate Mark Tovey's had he showed an excellent Android Media player that I could install on my Samsung Note called BS Player. This works like a dream allowing you to play media from you network drives after connecting to wifi. Would love if it would connect over 4G , but lets not complain. It allows to set a home directory and then has fast negotiation of you network drive to play whatever media you want , video or music.

I thought the iPad is wifi based , but I can only do the sameby installing an Air Play server on my PC and have another Apply lump of bloatware slowing my system down. My big gripe with Apple is that device are not self contained. You need iTunes on your PC that you have to sync with your iPhone or iPad or both often ending up in horrendous autorisation knots. The softare on the device should do the job independently . Yes you can sync between machines but that should not be mandatory.

Oh yes and the iPhone 5 has a different connector to prior iPhones , when other manufacturers are moving towards a standard USB connector. So god forbid that you leave your charger at hone.

So I wont be using my iPad as a streaming player anytime soon , like I can do with my phone.

April Fools

Well it's a new month and new financial year and the school bullies (Cameron , Clegg , Osborne , Ducncan- Schmidt) have chosen the easy targets again (anyone on benefits). You can imagine them at school each September picking out the apparently weakest new pupils , then running home to mummy if they ended up with a bloody nose.

I'm lucky that I have a job and a house so am personally not affected , but was severely attacked under Thatcher , recieved no support when I had a hundred mile return commute when my daughter was severely ill in the Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital. I was helped through that by my bank manager at the Midland Bang in Tarleton who gave me the extra money I needed for petrol and said we'd sort when my daughter was better , which we did . The government gave no help at all bar still allowing the NHS to exist.

The current re organisation was tried fifteen years ago under the tories and failed then. It is designed for "private enterprise" to cherry pick profitable bits (often made profitable by tying the NHS intp extortionate contracts) . The last three governments don't seem to understand the concept of services and utilities.

The mass privatisations have just resulted in spiralling costs paid for by the electorate.

The government continually attack the low paid, the disabled and people on benefits while actively encouraging large corporations such as Starbucks, Amazon , Google  NOT to pay tax on monies earned in this country.

Benefit Fruad in this country is estimated ate 1.1 Billion though this site reckons it is more like 5.5 Billion. Corporation Tax avoidance (that we know about) is between 8 and 14 billion (see here) , yest this is not being addressed at all by this government . It's the school bully mentality , go for the easy target who cant fight back , and probably you will find that those companies are contributing to the government coffers. So even in the worst case scenarion Corporation Tax avoidance is 60% than benefits fraud.

I am not condoning either , but cutting benefits is the bullies answer. Providing living wage jobs and actually targetting fraud would mean that cuts would be minimal.

It's Still Easter

and I haven't had an Easter Egg. I'm sure that lots of people will make up for me though

Clocks Go Forward

and today for the first time in over ten years I ordered a new alarm clock. I suppose Easter weekend is an ideal time to put the clocks forward as it allows those of us who don't work in retail to easily absorb the lost hour of sleep.

One good thing about being in this digital and electronic age is you only have to adjust mechanical items such as clocks and non networked items. Phones and computers now do themselves spo to speak.

So tomorrow is time for Easter Eggs , Church Celebrations if you are so inclined . I shall just be mostly resting.

I was originally going to use Coldplay and The Buenavista Social Club's Clocks , but then remembered Marillion's Easter and thought that would be more appropriate.

A Little History Of The World

Every Home Should Have One

I've started reading this book by Ernst Gombrich and four chapters in I've convinced that any family that has children under ten should have a copy of this. It's written in a simple, generally jargon free manner and is likely to spark interest and questins from inquisitive minds.



It's nice to come across something positive for young children and also to able to promote it as I shall be doing on April 28th.




Books stimulate the mind whether on paper or in ebook format and all children should be encouraged to read from as early an age as possible even if teachers don't like it .



Both my daughters knew their alphabet and the use of upper and lower case by the time they started school and amazingly some teachers said this was wrong. Luckily their primary school in Sunderland encouraged their reading and both had finished the Lord of The Rings by the age onf 10. I only started on the Hobbit at that age!

Books and Records and Ali G

Well I've jusst finished the excellent Tony Benn biography by Jad Adams , discovering lots of things about someone who must be close on the most respected politician ever. The book is surprising readable obviously helped by it's subject mater or an caring idealist , a stunning orator who had the intelligence outspeak opponents without ever getting flustered. His encounter with Ali G / Sacha Baron Cohen  showed him taking matters seriously rather than pandering to sreotypes resulting in Sacha Baron Cohen writing to Benn thanking him for being the only person to react with skill and integrity to Ali G's inane stereotypical questioning.

Anyway this means I've started "A Little History Of The |World" by Ernst Gombrich which is the book I've chosen to distribute on World Book Night on Tuesday April 23rd 2013 on my train back from work between Darlington and Newcastle. The preface tells of the genesis of the book which is entertaining in itself , I was going to tell you about it but the copy on the Amazon page does that very well , so I'll include that here:

"In 1935, with a doctorate in art history and no prospect of a job, the 26-year-old Ernst Gombrich was invited to attempt a history of the world for younger readers. Amazingly, he completed the task in an intense six weeks, and Eine kurze Weltgeschichte für junge Leser was published in Vienna to immediate success, and is now available in twenty-five languages across the world. Toward the end of his long life, Gombrich embarked upon a revision and, at last, an English translation. A Little History of the World presents his lively and involving history to English-language readers for the first time. Superbly designed and freshly illustrated, this is a book to be savoured and collected. In forty concise chapters, Gombrich tells the story of man from the stone age to the atomic bomb. In between emerges a colourful picture of wars and conquests, grand works of art, and the spread and limitations of science. This is a text dominated not by dates and facts, but by the sweep of mankind's experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements and an acute witness to its frailties. The product of a generous and humane sensibility, this timeless account makes intelligible the full span of human history."

I've said it previous posts why I chose the book and have started reading it , and finding it well written , in terms a child could understand, really a book that should be in every household especially if there are young children. It is the sorting of book theat stimulates interest and inquisitiveness and will inevetibly have them asking "Why?" in a good way.

Three days before that it's National Record Shop Day which will mean long queues out of RPM , Reflex and Beatdown in Newcastle and bands playing and street entertainment and chasing limited editions onf vinyl artefacts worldwide.Every year it's getting bigger and better , and as for the demise of record shops , don't believe a word of it , the best ones are still with us . I was recently surprised to find excellent record shops in York and Bakewell , and as long as a shop is welcoming and able to adapt they will attract customers. Often people complain about the cost of music and I point outthis fact:

In 1975 Pink Floyd released Wish You Were Here in an unfeasible shrink wrapped plastic bag, containing postcards etc (maybe that was Dark Side of The Moon which did contain posters and stickers). Anyway I'd just left school and was geeting job seekers allowance which was £3.25 .... the same price of the new Pink Floyd album. Needless to say I didnt go out that week.

So if albums had kept pace with Job Seekers Allowance the cost of an album would now be around £60 !! I recently took deliver of The Blue Oyser Cult's Columbia Album box set (17 discs) which cost me £46 and that was funded by a MyVoice voucher and Hilton Honors voucher so I didnt rwally even pay for it. So music today is better value than ever.

Fighting With My Left Hand

A few weeks ago I was in York in a brilliant Indian restaurant called The Bombay Spice (check it out if you are ever there , and i realised I couldn't hold my fork properly. Co-ordination and strength seemed to have gone. I was concerned as  this was similar to ten years back when I lost the use of three fingers to what may have been a stroke as a result of ITP which was as a result of a bad 'flu attack.

By Sunday I could hold a fork reasonably well dining in the superb Blue Bicycle . Ive been forcing myself to do things since then , but still can't really control holding reflexes and my little finger is full of pins and needles anda bit useless.

Bee messing about with a guitar as that makes you do things with your fingers , but still can't play any chord that requires a little finger , but can obviously play bass!

Reading books and taking the tops of yoghurt pots was difficult at first , but is getting better.

Finally saw my doctor at nine o'clock last night and she put me through a lot checking for signs of a stroke , nervous and diabetic related degradation but everthing looks in order so it's off to see a neurologist.

It's awkward but could be much worse . The strength is definitely there , it's just a case of relearning to apply it. Also I'm reading a rather large tome about Tony Benn and turning pages and holding the book is a bit akward.

On the upside looking forward to the summer festivals and we're close to the Easter Weekend . Which sort of reminds me I've been listening to the excellent new Eric Burdon album and currently playing is the superb "Devil and Jesus".....

"The Devil and Jesus

 Controlling My Soul

They Fight With Each Other 

But I Pay The Toll"

Wonderful stuff:

Like A Big Company

I'm not really surprised but I do find it annoying that Facebook keeps prompting me to like a big company because some of my friends have liked it into order to get fed into a free draw to win something. I don't "like" any big companies , they are just a fact of life and if they can help me get something I want then I will use one of them.

The only certain thing is they are all competing for the money in your pocket. Some offer you loyalty cards which helps them track your spending even better so they can target you with things you are likely to buy. They want your email address , phone number , postal address in the hope they can use the knowledge they gain to take even more money from you.

That doesnt mean I have to like them , I just tolerate them . I haven't mentioned any because to may have your favourite and you will definitely see them if youi are on facebook unles of course you use Adblock.

I installed it , but ironically my main websirte is based on adverts and it cut out a lot of stuff I needed to see . The website is Song of The Salesman. I disabled the rather excellent ad blocker. It does make Facebook look very spacious!

There's Always Something On TV

I'm sort of worried about my TV viewing habits , well not really , but I am a creature of convenience. Despite having a few hundred DVDs I very seldom actually but one into my player to watch. Also , despite how cheap they are re , I very seldom buy any these days because 1) I've no room to put them and 2) most of the time I might not actually get round to watching the damned thing.

The problem is they have so much competition now from the likes of Youtube , On Demand TV such as iPlayer , 4OD  , and my Virgin hard drive and catch up TV box,  pay rental sites such as Blinkbox and Netflix. So unless it's a specialist music DVD I very rarely buy the things these days.

I want everything at the touch of my remote control , becoming the not so mythical "homo sedens" , not wishing to move from his chair , while wanting permanent tailored entertainment. You can even pause live TV while you answer the door or go to the toilet.

It still amauses me to hear people say there's nothing on TV when between BBC4 and Film4 I have intelligent viewing on tap , that's before dipping into the other 160 channels I have. Sky viewers have similar options. Watch what you want , when you want , where you want.

How good is that?

I Can't Stand The Rain and Security

The continuing snow rain of the last week has caused a leak in the front bedroom requiring professional curtain cleaning and me to ascend the ladder at some point to check out the situation. This will probably require someone who knows what they are doing to sort out the situation , though employing people to do things in areas where you don't normally go , you wonder whether they cause more damage than the fix. Oh I also managed to get BT to finally come and remove a ten year old unused telephone wire that had damaged my guttering after many ping pong phone calls between them and Virgin , everyone denying responsibility. I was about to just cut the thing myself but the Openreach guy who came out was prompt , efficient and courteous. This is how things should be.
The we have Google's annnoying security. I have a Panasonic Blu-Ray player with internet access which includes Picassa and Youtube applications. While trying to access my account it kept telling me by credentials were invalid. Then I get an email / warning from Google saying that an unauthorised attempt to access my account has been made. I clicked the stuff and it tells me I have to access the device in ten minutes to authorise . Well i'm sorry I'm off to work. Whikle I know we need security , you shouldn't suddely stop access that I've had for two years becaus you are changing your systems.

Four And A Half Books

I'm not a fast reader , but am a great advocate of books and reading . As well as paper we also have the option of ereaders such as Kindles and iPads and other tablets. For some reason I've been reading a lot of music related books. One was Bass Culture (When Reggae Was Great) by Lloyd Bradley which was heavy going because of the small type, but nevertheless a great read but an obvious candidate to read on a Kindle.

Next up was Shaun Ryder's "Twistin' My Melon" autobiography , which was much as you myight expect veering between entertaining and annoying. I never regarded him as a style icon so his continual harping on over his designer label clothes became very wearing , but I did eventually hit the final page . The fact that I completed it must mean it's not that bad a book.

Next up was Keith Richard's Life. I think it's remarkable , I was expecting it to be on a par with the Shawn Ryder book , but , it is is coherent , unrepetitive , informative , and has a lot of humour and honesty in there as well as loads of practical tips for guitarists and songwriters , as well a bits by friends and acquaitances of "Keef" . Als the truths behind many of his escapades that found their way into Rolling Stones urban legend , such as Mick , Marianne and the Mars Bar and the fall from the coconut tree. Highly enjoyable and recommended.

Currenty I'm reading Tony Benn: A Biography by Jad Adams . Tony Benn is one of the handful of politicians that I have ever had any respect for , and the book is so well written that it makes politics seem almost interesting , with goodies and baddies and comedic episodes. It's another 500 pages but a great read , and surprising because it is not something I would normally have picked up , but was given it in a Facebook promotion. A brilliant read which I hope to finish this week.

Finally I have to read A Little History Of The World by  , which is my chosen book for World Book Night 2013. This is the first one where I haven't actually read the book , but I intend to have in completed within the next three weeks. It seems similar in scope to Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything"  which is what attracted to the book. No doubt when I am finished I will post back here.

Bloat

I don't know about you , but it seems to me that a lot of software is written with the prime aim in mind of bringing you device to a halt. Anything that is to do with media , seems to want to grab all the system resources , fill your whole screen , try and sell you anything , while making it as difficult as possible to leave the applicattion.

Many years ago I used musicmatc which had a low footprint , was fast at ripping and burning and was perfect for managing my music. Then Yahoo bought it out and trashed it with malware making it unusable and forcing you to use their iTunes-a-like software , which didnt work either. I was then forced to use Winamp , which is the best of a bad bunch , a resource hungry annoying piece of software.

However even that pales in the face of the latest rubbish that iTunes have given to us. Just in case you didnt realise it was grabbing all your system resources , it fills your screen and thows all sorts of things at you that it thinks you may want. Then all the other bloatware it forces on you Bojour, Quicktime , iPod Helper (I don't have or want a f**king iPod as well as about 20 other programs that you have to unpick from your system. Oh and went you update you have a 43 page terms and conditions document , that no one can read or understand.

It seems to me that everyone thinks that Terms and Conditions need to emulate War and Peace. They dont , the need to be clkear and concise and should fit on a sheet of A4 in at least a 14pt font , with lots of white space so you can easily understand what you are taking on. I recently picked up a brochure from a mobile phone company and the Terms and Conditions took about 5 pages at the end of the catalogue in closely typed difficault to read font. I bet anyone over thirty would not be able to read it and anyone under thirty wouldnytt bother anyway.

Anyway I want a simple suite of small footprint software that does the job , not takes over your machine.

Rant over

The Price Of A Van

I was just checking through my music that I had ripped to my network drive and was suprised to find that apparently I've never owned a Motorhead album (I know I've had a few compilations) , and also had ripped any David Bowie or Van Morrison barring a few recent aquisitions.

I noticed a few Van Morrison gaps in my collection such as Beautiful Vison , Poetic Champions Compose and St Dominic's Preview. Now Van Morrison is a major artist , and I was surprised to see that a lot of his music is no longer available on CD or , if it it is , it is ranging fromexpensive to exhorbitant (£200 for "One Night In San Francisco") . I had a similar problem with Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart , which I though I would pick up for a tenner for a Christmas present , but could not find it under a £35 at the time which came as a slight shock.

I thought I'd put them on a carousel so you can check them out for yourself. I'm just wondering if anything from these artists will appear on National Record Shop Day. It looks like in the digital streamimg , age that tangible media is being edged out and therefore actually becoming more valuable and a better investment.

You can still get you Robbie Williams and Take That complete back catalogues for untder a tenner from That's Entertainmant , but that's just the nature of the beast .....

Back on Twitter , and Storing All World Knowledge

It's been about a month since I ditched Twitter and Instagram. One of the reasons for doing so is no matter how good your picture or text is , it generally goes into a black hole. But twitter can be used for keeping an eye on events , and since taking the time ro watch a few TED talks , I have a reason to follow someone on twitter . I need to find a few people worth following because of what they do , so am slowly building things up. I posted one tweet , which I nicked from a place in York, so will see how things go.

I promise not to post pictures ogf my food or any video at all , but will share things worth sharing. My new id is @mikeydred96 if you want to follow me , and if you don't that's fine.

I'm looking forward to National Record Shop Day and World Book Night this year and have a couple of ideas mulling around for both events.

The video is another brilliant TED talk from Brewster Kahle on a building a digital library, sort of like Project Gutenberg . The Book-Mobiles are an amazing idea , great fun .Watch the video

TED is just Brilliant

Just started watcheing TED talks , which is essentially the spreading of good ideas. I know most people will be too busy watching soaps and reality / Lowest Commom Demonitor TV to take any notice of using TED to expand their mental horizons , but it is both educational and entertaining and long may it run. That's why I chose the Neil Young / Stephen Stills song. Well worth a visit you will find something that takes your interest and YOU WILL learn something

This is the mission statement lifted from their web site:

"TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference on the West Coast each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TED Talks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize."

Here is a typical TED talk:

Record Day In York

Quite a surprisingly successful day today in York with the discovery of three sort independent record shops. HMV is still lurching along and I  believe there is a That's Entertainment within the city environs. I'm also writing this on the iPad and the performance is completely atrocious. Keys don't act as they should so I may wait until I can get to a PC before I finish it properly.

Anyway these shops are not places to visit if you want the latest number one or X-Factor product.

Anyway got a laptop to finish this . The Attic is the smallest almost entirely vinyl , up two flights of stairs and run by the owner as a hobby. They have a facebook page here. The address is 1 Patrick Pool and it's next to a camera shop. Directions are here and it's worth a visit.

Next on the list is a sort of retro shop , with books, vinyl, 78s , comics and a number of record players. The ower is a really friendly hip-hop loving guy extremely knowledgeable about his stuff and  currently getting to know David Bowie's back catalogue.It's called The Inkwell and it's on Gillygate in York. Their web site is here. Well worth a visit if you are into anything retro. Oh abnd they serve tea and coffee. Oh and their very interesting blog is here.



Lastly , also on Gillygate is Rebound Records. A great selection of CDs and vinyl , well laid out and a welcoming chatty proprietor. Lots of jazz , Americana, 50s , 60s , folk and I picked up a Terry Reid retrospective and 5 CDs of music banned by the BBC. There is a facebook link here but I don't think they have a website.

Here's another guide to York's record shops worth following up if you are in York. Link here.

So York has small selection of excellent record shops still , which has really mead my day.

Security

When I logged on to this account Google asked me again for my phone number. They already have my alternative email, they just want to know even more about me.

When I log into Facebook on my mobile they want to get all my contacts. I want control of my contacts. Facebook already have 400 of my contacts as friends on Facebook so why do they want more. Are they going to spam those that already aren't on there?

I feel secure in having things under my control. Its like storing stuff on the free Cloud space that Amazon and iTunes give you. You may have paid for the items but Amazon and iTunes have n qualms about wiping accounts on the flimsiest of pretexts.

Reminds me of the Sony debacle where their CD security software screwed up thousands of computers resulting in a multi million dollar settlement.

Im doing this using the Google Blogger software on my iPad so haven't got the hang of jumping around getting links. I may ad the later

How To Win At Bettin ...

..be a bookie.

My biggest winning bets have always been on the most random selection criteria. The nearest thing to a certain winner is a five horse race where the favourite has odds of about 1/20 , the second favourite 20/1 and the other horses about 100/1.

A five pound each way bet on the second favourite would pay thirty pounds a 200% return if it cam second and be hundred and thirty five pounds if your horse won.

Thing is I've seen that twice in 15 years of betting.

I'm just amazed and the number of guaranteed systems that people are selling. If they worked they wouldn't need to market them.

So if you feel the need to bet just go with instinct , its as good a method as any. You can actually work out high probabilities but expect to put in 15 hour days. Chip Taylor writer of "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning" among others took time out from the music industry to become a professional gambler, and was successful, but returned to music as it was more profitable and less stressful.

So when you are next passing by William Hills or Ladbrokes , dont go in unless you can afford to lose the money

Finding The Good

The easiest thing in the world is to find something to complain about . I once knew someone who , if the couldn't fault something or someone , would dismiss it or them as "too perfect".

So we've had the unexpected snow , but it does make you feel festive and seeing the landscape covered in white snow often make it look mmore beautiful.

Today Swansea lifted the League Cup by beating Bradford City . It was a mismatch but Bradford have disposed of Arsenal , Wigan and Aston Villa on the way to Wembley and Swansea showed Bradford what they could be one day , because not too long ago Swansea nearly lost their league status. Last year they showed a profit of nearly £15 million, and now for the first time in their 111 year history they have their name on one of the three main English Football Trophies, a shining example to other clubs.

Newcastle United disposed of Metalist Kharkiv to progress to the next round of UEFA's Europa Cup, and followed it up by defeating Southampton , and moving above Sunderland in the league. Happy days on Tyneside.

My team , Preston North End , finally ditched their old manager , appointed Simon Grayson and have had two good results against top of the table sides, so that makes me happy.

And while in all these situation success often comes at the cost of someone elses failure , the thing to remember is to enjoy your success. Although Bradford lost today , they were the first bottom tier club to reach the final since 1962 , and their bank balance will have been majorly improved by their Cup run , and they gave their fans a day at Wembley.

So essentially there have been lots of good things happening this weekend that have brought a smile to my face. As Kool & The Gang state ... "Celebrate Good Times"

Snow Still Here

Front Window

Across The Road

 Just thought I'd let you know that we have lots of snow. My next door neighbour made a snowman. It is melting but so much came down the garden still has a white carpet.






The snow is still everywhere , covering the gardens , footpaths and lots of the local hillsides and parks.

Whickham

Trees at the back

Was quite funny, in my local William Hill's two old numpties going apoplectic because the weather had caused the cancellation of Newcastle Races . I'm not sure whether they were blaming the Government , the Council or the betting shop manager



It was quite an amusing interlude. These are the same guys who try and push you out of the way to put a 25p each way bet on the greyhounds!!

 
Anyway it almost feels like Christmas ..... but it's nearly March!!

4:49 Sunday Morning

..and I've woken up , or rather been woken by an annoying tickly , chesty cough, In an Alan Bennett-esque piece of situationanist observation I'm sure I made myself a LemSip , well Boots own brand equivalent last night , but can't finsd any trace of it, and I'm still wondering whether I imagined it!!

Anyway it's one of those times where it's too early to get up and too late to go back to sleep. There's a thick carpet of snow outside and though it started to melt , it's now freezing , so not driving weather and the roads are very, very quite.

Was listening to an album of protest songs last nightfron the 40's and 50's from the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and many others about the oppression of the average man by a combination of banking and government. It's funny how banks and governments should be there to serve us , but in fact just exploit us. I'm one of the lucky ones in that I am keeping head above water , but lots of people arent so lucky, with fuel and food prices rocketing and wages either staying static or jobs just going and then people expected to take minimum wage jobs.

In yesterdays paper there wasreported a push by the Tory right to curb union power by not allowing strike action unless 50% of the members turn out. Be interesting to apply similar criteria to bills but through Parliament . Nothing gets passed unless 50% of MPs turned up. Can you imagine a company functioning with it's members have such a blatant disregard for their work and responsibilities?

Also yesterday the UK's triple AAA credit rating was downgraded to AA by the banks , who , don't forget put the whole world in this mess AND were bailed out by the governments of the world. George Osborne said that was justification for continuing austerity measures (ie tagetting people on benefits and the pensions of those on minimum wage). Yesterday the Inland Revenue was trumpetting the success of it's anti tax avoidance measures , apparently a Liverpool hairdresser and a Northumbrian Pipe Fitter were the top ones recovering about £20K. Letters of congratulation were probably sent to Amazon , Starbucks and Google. I am not getting at those companies for legally avoiding tax , I'm accusing our governments (and this goes back a long way) for facilitating this: Check this article on tax avoidance (which remember is legal and encouraged and facilitated by goverments all over the world)  and here are some telling figures:

• 1% - Income tax rate reportedly available to members of the legal K2 tax scheme used by Jimmy Carr.  Source: The Independent
• 98 – Number of FTSE 100 companies operating out of tax havens. Source: ActionAid
• £25bn – Estimated annual cost of tax avoidance, according to 2008 research. £13billion of this is lost to individuals and £12billion to the 700 largest corporations. Source: Tax Research UK and the TUC
• 10% - Average rate of tax paid by top earners, according to a confidential HMRC study seen by George Osborne. Source: The Telegraph

Plus a few telling figures from  1227 QI Facts:

• In 2005, the 54 billionaires in Britain paide less that £15 million in income tax between them. £9 million of that was paid by James Dyson. To put it in perspective it's like me and you paying less than 10p a month on our earnings.
• In 2011 only 9 of the 62 owners of apartments in One Hyde Park, London (the world's most expensive block of flats) paid any council tax.
• Over 600,000 companies are registered in the British Virgin Islands (populaton < 29K)
• In 2009 Exxon posted $19 billion profits and received a $156 million federal tax rebate from the US Government

So you can see goverments and big business are still in cahoots , taking profits for themselves and leaving us to pick up the tab. Anyway it's time to go back to bed now...

World Book Night 2013 - I'm In

I've just receved my email that I'm been chosen as a giver for World Book Night 2013. One shocking fact is that a third of the homes in this country don't possess a book. So this is trying to address that little problem , we will see.

The book I've chosen is "A Little History Of The World" by EH Gombrich , which is a history of the world for children. A few of the reviews are here:

• 'Conversational in style, as of a grandparent talking with a child, the story of humanity from prehistory is told.' --Peter Andrews, School Librarian, vol. 54 no. 2, Summer 2006
• '...a perfect present for a child with an enquiring mind. I wish it had been available when I was young.' --Literary Review, September 2005
• 'Had I a dozen grandchildren...I'd order two dozen copies, one for the children, the other for their parents.' 

A full list of the books being given away is here.

This is the first book I'm giving that I have not read , but I will do before I give the book away. Unusually , World Book Night is on a Tuesday this year , April 23rd , 3 days after National Record Shop Day which I will also be taking part in.

One thing is that it costs ten pouns to distribute each box of books so if you can donate something via Justgiving it would be most appreciated.

Sort of Missing Instagram and Twitter

A Photo

I was wondering whether I would get withdrawal symptoms from ditching Istagram and Twitter , and I definitely have. Although the problem is it's like any addiction. Sometimes I want something extra to do on my phone.

Then I think 99% of the posts and pictures will go unnoticed and unread no matter how good the picture is or how witty the riposte on Twitter is. And then the desire goes away.

If I want to post something I can do a blog post like this one or just post a status on Facebook, it just takes a little more effort.

The problem with Instagram and Twitter is that often it's more about getting followers and the way to get followers is to follow people and hope they reciprocate. If you have a big following base then people will hopefully take notice of what you say or take a picture of , although often it's just about what they've had do eat.

I've been very guilty of that, and people aren't interested in what I've had to eat , although people may be interested if I recommend a good restaurant or pub. Anyway I am happy with what I'm doing and when I see things I want to photograph I can take them for my own pleasure , share them on Facebook or Picassa for people to check out.

Riddle Me This ...

A short follow on to last night's post. When I went on to Blinkbox to check the price of Soylent Green it was £2.49 to rent and £7,49 to download. This is a film that is forty years old and , yes , it's a decent film.

The problem with films is that unless they are very special you only tend to watch them once or twice. Music and books which also have their e-quivalents are similarly expensive when new but prices tend to drop after time. Novels are like film , but music does tend to be played and replayed, but film not so.

In my collection I have 400 DVDs , many of which havent come out of the box and some of which I have only watched from recording to my hard disc from Film4 or some other digital channel. So why are digital copies of old films so expensive given their nature. The DVD equivalant will be around £2.99 and for that you get a hard copy that , with the appropriate software , you can make a digital copy of.

iTunes has a similar pricing structure and on demand service will charge £3 to £4 for a rental , but they are usually newer films. 4OD gives you free on demand stuff (admittedly padded with unskippable adverts , but I don't mind that, they are giving me something I want) and the BBC iPlayer and other TV companies give similar service (although the BBC iPlayer has no adverts , it comes from the license fee).

If films were a couple of quid to download a copy I would happily buy them if I fancied them but I won't pay 7-10 pounds for something that I will only watch once. Youtube has it's own channel with a lot of free movies here such as the excellent Kung Fu Hustle . Also Blinkbox have advert supported free stuff and special offers , but the question remains , why ore downloadable DIVX movies so expensive? Bring the price down and you would see and explosion , like with MP3 and eBooks

Pause For A Hoarse Horse

I nicked the title for this post from a seventies album by the band Home, which you can sample here . This is going to be a short post just about the whole kerfuffle of Findus Beef Lasagne and Tesco's burgers being contaminated with "horse meat". It's not poison !!

How often have you be so hungry you could eat a "scabby horse between two bread vans" ? When you go to a restaurant and order steak , you just expect beef , but it could really be any meat and the vendor would not be done under the trade descriptions act.

There's talk of criminal activity and nefarious dealings but the basic facts are that beef costs ten times as much as horse , and let's face it , when it's minced it becomes even further removed from the source animal. Also it's the risk and price you pay for eating ready meals and convenience foods.

It really isnt that difficult to make meals fronm scratch. Get meat from your local butcher (NOT Morrison's Market Street or Waitrose Meat Counter) , support your local butcher . The meat will be local , and visible and trustworthy . And you will probably find it's a lot cheaper.

Also did you know that supermakets plump up their bacon by injecting it with water , which means when you cook it , it shrinks to about a tenth of the original size you thought your were getting.

Anyway I still can't get over the media and gullible public's reaction to this . I'm surprised David Cameron hasn't applauded them on the meat suppliers cost cutting initiative ,I mean he expecte deveryone else to do it. But the Mail and Express et al continue on about the scandal . I mean it's not like we're eating Soylent Green ...... yet 

Forecast Cloudy

The lyrics to the Joni Mitchell song are remarkable pertinent to to The Cloud we know todow.

I keep getting bombarded with offers of Cloud storage (Apple/iTunes) and Cloud Players (Amazon). These are all very well and each has offered me 5GB of free storage so I can listen to my own music anywhere. However these are dependent on a reliable internet connection , so it's fine if you are at home or at a friends , or maybe in an area with reliable free WIFI. In a 4G area it will also be fine and 10GB is a hell of a lot of space to play with.

But you have to remember it's only available when you have a connection. When 4G is ubiquitous speed will not be an issue for anyone , but remember that your daya and files will effectively under someone elses control.

On the numbers involved my first desktop computer had a 10 MB hard disc , (thats 10 minutes of normal quality MP3 music!) , but I could still play colour graphic games under the DOS operating system.

The amounts of cloud storage would enable you to store 400 albums of music , a dozen DIVX movies but there wouldnt be enough room to store a High Definition movie within the 5GB, although they do offer you more space at a price. Though I would rather watch through Netflix or Blinkbox and again you come down to the issue of having a permnent reliable connection.

You are not at the moment able to watch a streamed movie in a remote Scottish Glen on on the train from Aberdeen to London.

I still havent used my Cloud Storage yet ........

Kitchen Armoury

Never really thought about before , but almost everything you have in the kitchen could be used as a lethal weapon. You have access to fires , gas , electricity , water , an explosive combination at the best of times.

Then pans and heavy roasting dishes would make effective heavy duty blunt instruments. Follow this up with meat skewers and something as innocent seeming as a cheese grater and potato peeler , in the wrong hands could do a lot of damage.

Then in the cutlery drawer you have knives and forks all of which would do your skin complexion no good whatsoever.

Oh yes then you can heat cooking oil and melt butter and spreads , which a remarkably efficient aid to skin removal.

This is before we hit the knife block and meat cleavers !! I'm just surprised that there arent an enormous number of cooking fatalities..

... and to think they let people like Gordon Ramsay in kitchens !!

Another Saturday

Well this is another post today. Interesting writing a blog post with no internet access but I'm using my iPad with my rickety case cum keyboard. Minor Injuries is quiet today at the RVI but foot is painful so hopefully can get something sorted today. But there are other things to distract my attention today.

 They have WiFi in here that will cost you a pound an hour. It's amazing that they can charge that when you can get superfast broadband for around twenty pounds a month. It's also amazing the number of people who walk in here expecting to be treated immediately. These are probably the same people who thing the NHS should be privatised to save the 5p in the pound of their taxable income.

Anyway today Newcastle United's Gallic army go to London to take on Tottenham Hotspur. Last year it was a five goal defeat courtesy of Harry Redknapp's team. They got rid of Harry and now have Andre Villas Boas , so it will be interesting to see the outcome, although it isnt likely I'll see the match and by the time I post this I will know the result. As a back for entertainment I have a copy of Stuart Maconie's Hope and Glory, which is entertaining but not as entertaining as the people watching I'm doing. An elderly couple complaining there are no shops, a group of girls , one in a wheely chair after a good night out.

The staff are al good natured and at times places like this must be dreadful. Have you ever noticed you can never easily pass an old person on a footpath. This confused me for years until it dawned on me what was happening. Normal people normally move slightly to make room so you can pass. Old people don't. It happened this morning, an old guy in front of me just stopped. He managed to take up the whole width of the footpath with his shopping bag so to get past I had to walk in the road I got to the bus stop and when he arrived he just parked himself at the front of the queue.

 Just heard the receptionist say that her husband has deleted her as a friend on Facebook. Quite funny. Apparently she now has a license to have a good time. The old couple nearby are getting on my nerves with their moaning. Well it's the wife actually. The husband is trying to make things easier and she's having none of it. Some folk are only happy when they are miserable.

 Now a charver family has appeared , screeching child in a push chair , moaning mutha and I think it's a daughter who has come for treatment. The Newcastle match is about to kick off so I am going to give this a rest.

Oh Tottenham beat Newcastle 2-1 with two excellent Gareth Bale goals

Who Will Be First?

Six years ago I walked into my present place of work (at the time Orange)  and picked up a company newspaper .The front page of the article stated that that they had a target of 30% market penetration with mobile phone ownership. The actual market penetratation at the time was something like 130% !! These figures may be coloured by the mists of time and so don't take them as gospel because they are based on my sieve like memory. However when you see suits on a train with a laptop , tablet and 3 phones trying to commandeer a table you can see the 130% market penetration in action.

Anyway, since that time companies have grown and evolved , and the things we have in our hands that we use to talk to each other bear no resemblance at all to Alexander Graham Bell's invention. In the late 80's a mobile phone required a briefcase sized battery pack and looked like you average military walkie talkie. Then battery technology came on leaps and bounds allowing creation of one piece phones that would actually fit in your hand. Sitting in the background at the the time you had the internet thing and you had the WAP protocol whence enabled very basic web access from the cutting edge phones. I always thought it looked rubbish but that's the only way progress is made. At the time it was groundbreaking , you could be in the middle of nowhere (assuming a signal) and find out the lasted horse racing results or football scores. A bit like Teletext and Ceefax on your phone.

Phones then got expanded keyboards , bigger screens , and eventually touch screen technology was integrated into the model. All the time capabilities are being enhances and phones can do more. I remember one of my Nokias had "Snake" on it , my Samsung Note 2 allows me to watch films , play "Broken Sword" , perform Office functions , connect to email , have a fully functioned web browser, and install new software if it takes my fancy. Of course this is all dependant on have a signal, but if my superfast 4G EE signal isnt available , I can connect to WiFi in Starbucks , Wetherspoons or wherever. So really it's not a phone is it?

It's a hand held computer, 20 years ago I was working on mainframes with less processing power that the device I have in my hand. It's three months since EE brought us into the 4G age in the UK , and the combined performance of device and signal means you can watch cath up TV whenever and wherever you want. My Samsung Note 2 is probably more powerful that the Star Trek communicators and tricorders. Combine with GPS if we had transporter beams we would be on a par with Star Trek. Even ten years ago you could not imagine being where we are now with these devices. EE is not , and never has been a phone company , it is about communications and connections , making the world more accessible and bringing people closer together.

Which brings me to the point of this post , we are not using mobile phones anymore , they are communication devices and hand held computers. However phone is a one syllable recognisable label. Mobil Phone is three but still recognisable. I am just wondering how long it will before someone instigates a new all encompassing name for these devices. If Steve Jobs were alive I would have said Apple , finally ditching the iPhone series with:

   "The iCom - It's not your phone , It's Your Life"

Twitter No More , Instagram No More ...

Not quite "Letter From America" by The Proclaimers , but it sounds sort of snappy. Today I deleted my Twitter and Instagram accounts. The real reason was that really I didnt get anything from them , and you do that many tweets or Instagram Pictures that they just get lost in the billions of posts on both planforms . Twitter is supposed to be 140 character limit yet allows pictures , and now 6 second video clips!! Instagram , while it has some interesting filters , results in a lot of dross between the good pictures , though I suppose you could say that of all digital photographs.

The other thing I think both these platforms stop you from posting anything interesting anywhere , you post almost without thinking. I know there's a lot of famous people on there , but if Stephen Fry says something really worth hearing it will find it's way out of Twitter.

I'll probably keep my Facebook account , as it has got me in touch with people who I'd lost touch with , and can enable me to do what I did on Twitter and Instagram.. So you won't see anymore hashtags from me , I don't know if my old tweets stay or will be removed , I'm not bothered either way. And if I hadn't deleted the accounts I wouldn't be writing this post.

Lot's of people like Twitter and find it useful , though some people just seem intent on following as many people as they can. Just decided they are not for me any more

Apple Are Annoying Me, Amazon get Worse, and Is Mike Ashley Newcastle's Best Ever Owner?

Apple have done some good stuff . They have made some stylish devices and via iTunes my main website enables me to have a steady income in a few clicks , or it would do if Apple / iTunes didnt keep changing the catalog numbers of items . Any reasonable company makes sure it's supplier can find products via a static reference, , but iTunes can recatalog an item in less than two wees , so my itunes link goesto iTunes and iTunes tells the customer that the item is no longer available. It actually is but iTunes have screwed the link and me and themselves out of a sale.

Not only tht the new version of itunes is attrocious , trying to load too much irrelevant information and take over your computer by filling the screen. Not good.

Amazon have now decided they will only pay commission on sales to brand new customers . So if I send an existing Amazon customer to buy something , I don't get commision. I could remove all my Amazon links but that would be a horrendous amout of work, and they can change the rules as they like because I , on my own , mean nothing to them. £50-£100 a month has dropped to £20 if I'm lucky. Amazon are the only company that do this. Having said that , at least their catalog numbers remain simple and constant and only disappear when the item does.

Le Toon Shirt

..and Mike Ashley , has had his foot in his mouth so many times , but has Newcastle United on a secure financial footing , and has Pardew (or Pardieu as he's now known)  and Carr and co building an amazingly entertaining team. They're still in Europe , which is more than can be said for Manchester City , and if you start to list list the players you enjoy wantching the list goes on. Krul , Guitierrez , Taylor , Ben Arfa , Santon , Anita , Cisse , Cabaye , Sissoko  and on and on. Remember the fans were sniffy when Demba Ba turned up but werent happy to see the back of him. Was great today to see the fans in their berets , taches with strings of onions. Ashley certainly creates the environment for the fans to feel good . Beating Chelsea 3-2 helps as well.

Casualty Blues

I'm writing this in the Casualty Department in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Hospital. I'm using a document producing office suite on my iPad , and like anything new still a bit unsure of how to use it. Text is coming out at a reasonable speed using my blu tooth keyboard and the spell checker is good but unobtrusive.

Anyway last time I was here there seemed a lot less people, but this time I've just turned up because of a possible bone fracture in my left foot. After this I have to go up a ladder to fix a gutter and that has to happen. The two situations however are mutually incompatible. I always criticise people for not following doctor's orders but I have a feeling that today I will be one of those. I've noticed the announcement system is not very in your face so I am slightly worried I may miss my appointment.

I've just had a thought I hope this office suite can do a full cut and paste or I will be more than a bit miffed.

There's no mobile signal in here so I cant even look for outside entertainment though there are plenty of people franticly messing with their phones in the forlorn hope of finding a signal. You shouldn't use your phone in a hospital for similar reasons why you shouldn't use one on an airplane. It could interfere with sensitive equipment. As I say almost everyone here is messing with at least one phone.

It is quiet and I will soon save this and go back to reading Stuart Maconie's Hope and Glory, which is proving more laborious that expected as I zipped through his previous books Cider With Roadies and Pies and Prejudice , but it may be just my current state of mind (exhaustion). I've just read Shaun Ryder's Twisting My Melon and that was a fairly easy if unexpectedly hefty read.

Anyway when I realised I would have another two hours to wait decided to make an appointment with my GP and get myself sorted that way.

A Little Success

Funny how a little success in the face of adversity can make your day so much better. Yesterday the shower hose broke, which I replaced and now it's better than ever, Today the washing machine decided not to drain and usually thi is a laborious draining process , except today I left it running as I drained it and it suddenly picked up and drained itself . Fixed , I think , but itcertainly was a good way to finish the day. The washing machine is over ten years old now so is on very borrowed time , but if I have bounght anothe six months I'll be happy with it.

After the snow we have the wind , no doubt people will be complainingabout that . Look for the good things in life , like the wonderful Shins album "Port of Morrow" that I bought at the weekend from RPM.

Was gonna use Iggy's original , but thought I'd post this Ravens as Crows one instead , another small success :)

What A Shower

Today has not been good but maybe has been a learning experience.  This morning my shower pipe snapped so shower was taken a la redneck hosepipe style.  So tonight's task will be shower head and pipe replacement which should be a simpke task but who knows ...

Then the bus decided it wasn't turning up. Been like that for the past two weeks either late or none existent , but it dies make me walk through town although got annoyed to find my shortcut through the Eldon barred because it was before nine am .

Anyway it made me use my blogger on the phone so that is a slight plus point. It's still raining but the snow has gone so I will sign off here

The Joy Of Socks

Really just wanted to post that title, but this weekend I didnt take enough pairs of socks away to Whitby because I hadn't done the washing recently , and my sock drwaer was full of odd socks. How come you either have loads or none?

It seems to be the same with lots of things, if you don't need money , you find it in pockets , that extra wallet pocket you didnt know you had , a cheque comes through the door from someone you've done some work for and forgotten about.

Same with food , toilet roll , pubs and virtually everything. Busses often come in twos and threes . There's probably a good reason and explanation for this , although the socks was just that I hadn't done my washing , so it's my own fault , but now I have more socks than ever.

Anyway the nearest video I can think of to do with socks is the Lady Marmalade sequence from Baz Lurhmann's Moulin Rouge , where there are quite a lot of stockings , which is the female equivalent of socks!!

Save The City Hall ... Remember The Mayfair

    As George Osborne announces a 33 billon bonanza for the south with the new rail links between London and "the north"  (Leeds and Manchester) , with a generous compensation package for those affected along the routes (I bet George's mates got the not nod months ago and have been buying properties up along the way , like the profiteering that occured in the East End for the Olympics) , but enough of my aleged speculation and to the point in question...

..due to the Council Tax capping and the like Newcastle City Council have decided to cut Art Funding by 100% , spend millions on refurmishing the civic centre and now are going to demolish the City Hall. I'll be honest , I'm not a husge fan of the City Hall , the seats are small and uncomfortable , but I've seen some great gigs there (most recently The Musical Box touring Genesis' Lamb Lies Down on Braodway). I think my girls first gig was there , possibly Anyt and Dec or PJ and Duncan as they were then. So it's strikes me as bloody mindedness what the council intends. If something goes nothing can bring it back . Look at The Mayfair , the greatest venue I've ever known and replaced by the slowling decaying Charver Shelter known as the Gate , while the old Odeon is left to rot.....

...anyway you can sign a petition here , and a group of musicians called the "North East All Stars" have released a single called "Save The The City Hall" . Artists included in this ensemble are the band Prelude , Paul Thompson (Roxy Music ) , Ray Jackson (Lindisfarne)  and lots of others. The song sounds like late period Lindisfarne and I think will sound great live . Pick of the bunch though is Billy Bragg and Eliza Carthy's cover of Lindisfarne's "All Fall Down" , always one of my favourites , and two other songs on the single "Marshall Rileys Army" by Alan Fish and "Mandolin Moon" by Steve Daggettmake an excellent package that may help save Newcastle's City Hall

You can get the single on Amazon here

Or iTunes here . You need iTunes on your device to buy and download it.

Hope this will help and you will get some good music for you contribution , and don't let the City Hall go the way of the Mayfair , we have enough Tesco Extras and shopping malls

Whitby Discovery Weekend

Prime Beef in The Record Shop With No Name

Just back from Whitby , whisch is a place I love , and this weekend turned to be better than normal despite the Magpie Cafe being closed for refurbishment. The weekend started on a hairy not negotiating drifting snow on the A171 in a car with low profile tyres . I am an adequate driver but not happy about being in a white out in a large vehicle with minimal traction. Still I spent five miles feeling safe behind a tractor cum snow plough which turned off , then eventually descended into Whitby ....





...arriving a Dillons. We were made to feel extremely welcome and stayed in the Troon room (check the link , it's all there). Our hosts Craig and Matt were brilliant being warm , helpful and excellent cooks (the breakfasts are ace , and I'm still full from this mornings breakfast that I had eight hours ago). The room was warm and comfortable and the situation in very easy walking distace of the centre of Whitby. Previously we have stayed at La Rosa , but both carry our highest recommendation and will be visiting again when we return next year.

 

The Formby Clock is situ at home, weekends CDs

I did my annual visit to Folk Devils where I purchased the latest Yo La Tengo album and a George Formy Clock , which is an innovative use of vinyl. The Vinyl District lists Folk Devils as in Scarborough despite having The Whitby address !!

The Record Shop With No Name

Kiss in The Record Shop With No Name

Close to Folk Devils is The Shambles Market and in there is the excellently stocked Record Shop With No Name . That's not the name of the shop, they just havent thought of a name for it despite being open for twelve months. They are well stocked with CDs and vinyl and great to see that Whitby has two record shops worth visiting.





On a sad note we found that Justin of the excellent Justin's Chocolatiers had passed away before Christmas , but his presence is still prevalent in the mood of the shop , and it it definitely worth a visit if you go to Whitby.

 
Another first was a visit to Green's for some excellent fish and chips , recommended by Matt and Craig , but despite the snow filled start the weekend turned out to be excellent , barring the sad loss of Justin a tribute to him is here.

Surfin' Safari

   

I'm writing this on the iPad from Dillons in Whitby , a truly excellent place to stay. I was just thinking how web browsers are supposed to act in the same way but  that only seems to be in the HTML commands that they accept . Often Java , Javascript , Flash , Shockwave etc act differently indifferent browsers when you shouldn't have to consider things like that.

Also why is javascript called javascript when its nothing to do with java? Though it often makes people think if you know javascript then you must know java. It should be called browserscript! Though thats just a bit sensible.

Anyway thought I'd just share that with you as I'm using iPad Notes to write this as I cant get a connection and will post when I get connected.

My First Kindle Disappointment with TV Cream and Roobarb and Custard

.. and in fact my first e-book disappointment. E-readers are great for having dip-in non linear books such as reference books , encyclopedias , Fortean Times series etc. I've not spent a great amount of money on e-books , but 99p for "TV Cream Toys: Presents You Pestered Your Parents for" , and excellent reference cum picture book off those things you had to have as a kid seemed ideal. I have the hardback edition and it is and excellent book The website is a brilliant and well worth a visit.

The e-book , well I am gery disappointed. I have it on my Samsung Note and all the items have a tiny unresizeable ratings graphic and only one or two have pictures , which are also tiny and not resizeable on my phone. So even at a pound the ebook is not worth the investment , if they add some decebt sized pictures then I may change my mind but at the moment it's a no!

So I added the titles from Roobarb and Custard which is very TV Cream....