Sunday 17 July 2011

The Road To TV Dinners




You know I'm bored if I'm writing about food . I have no time for TV Celebrity Chefs bar Heston Blumenthal . But I tend to make stuff from tins , and fresh / wrapped product . There's no TV dinners in the fridge as basically they taste rubbish and are full of anything but food.



Hate buying fresh stuff from supermmarkets as they bully farmers into accepting low prices and penalise farmers if stuff doesnt sell. I use the Grainger Market in Newcastle when I can and small local shops , which Tesco and Sainsburys are doing their best to extinguish with the influx of Tesco Extra , Tesco Express and Sainsbury Local shops. Hell there's even one in Central Station in Newcastle.



 I detest when you see a street that consists of a Greggs , Subway , Tesco , Sainsburys  , that is such a downer .

Anyway the point of this was that I was using a supermarket yesterday (Morrisons) and was gonna get some cheese to grate . 400g of  cheese was £2.15 , but 2 x 200g  of grated Cheese was only £2. So I bought the ready grated stuff. How long before I buty a ready meal ??

Having said that I still dont have a microwave!!


Sunday 3 July 2011

Three Score years And Ten




Not long ago that was a man's expiry date on this earth , with ladies getting a few years more. It doesn't seem two minutes since I was watchi Roger Daltrey sing "I hope I die before I get old" on Top of The Pops , I was about seven at the time a tenth of the way there!!. Also remember at that time think how old my uncle was when he started his first job at sixteen!!!

I think Datltrey's sentiment still applies , but the context has altered subtly. There's nothing we can do about physical ageing , but we should look after ourself and keep aftive and stimulated , so we can effectively stay younger longer. I know people in their nineties who live full and active lives , and I see people in their teens who have reach "old" decades before they should have.

This week Buddy Holly would have been 75 , Paul Simon at 70 is touring his new album , Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and what's left of the Who are still performing , the Stones to ever increasing crowds in places like Rio De Janeiro.

Eventually we've all got to go , but we can have a hell of a time while we're here , and it doesnt matter what Richard Dawkins or the Pope tell you there no one on this Earth knows what happens when we shuffle of this mortal coil . So enjoy the party while you can , it can be fun!!

Thursday 30 June 2011

Diabetes .... A Young Persons Game?

Went for my annual diabetic review today and everything looks OK . I'm still doing so many drugs that certain South Americans would love to make my acquaintance , but I ain'yt to enamoured with  the alternative.

Is used to be if you were iverwight and over 40 then you might end up with Diabetes, and the treatment of it includes keeping fit , losing weight , eating and drinking the right stuff (no cake , chocolate or alcohol) . What surprised me today is that most of the people at the clinic were young and anything but overweight. So what the hell is happening . Obviously modern living is screwing up people big style.


There are a lot of diabetic sites out there which may help answer the question . You can start here!.

Sunday 26 June 2011

How The Government Effectively Fuels Us


I see a lot of folk rightly complaining about the latest price rise on fuel , but I'm lucky , mostly I'm indirectly affected. However I filled up my car at the weekend and immedietly doubled its value (the write off value is £50 , which is what it now costs to fill up).

unusually the villains of the piece are the oil companies , who let's face it DO deserve most of the flack they get but think on this. David Cameron , that brilliant responsibilty dodger (Nick Clegg knows)  is the latest in a long line of politicians not really taking responsibility just the financial fruits of a captive market. . After the petrol company and garage set their price of about 54p the government adds on fuel duty and VAT which result in another 170% being added on to the price you pay (around £1.40).

So when the goverment say they cant't do anything about the price of fuel , you what they are talking . It's an easy win for them , and will do until they can find a way of taxing the air that we breathe!!

Here's where I got some of the figures from.

This song is vaguely connected and makes me feel good , the good old Foos!!

Saturday 25 June 2011

Kindle vs Paper - The Final Verdict II


I am sold on E-Books , and I love paper , but was decided that I would buy myself a Kindle eventually. However that idea has just been blown out of the water. Why? You may ask.

Earlier this year after being tempted by the concept of Apple's iPad but well aware of the amount of Apple related garbage and baggage that would come with it , I purchsed an Advent Vega tablet which is Android based , and is an excellent piece of kit , but you cant actually add applications to it via the Android Marketplace as its a 10" tablet (too big) and doesnt have 3G connectivity built in . Marketplace has been implicitly promised and it does havethe WH Smiths e-Reader which will allow you to only read books purchased from WH Smiths.

This morning I visited Android Pit , which allowed install of their Marketplace App on my Vega and allowed me to install the excellent Aldiko e-Reader.

So no I have my e-reader , yes it's a 10 incher , but does the job excellently ,so I now don't need to purchase a Kindle because I have something else that will do the job. Yes the vega only has a 10 hour battery life and its backlit , but it does it for. It ends here , I can read e-books wherever and whener I want!!

Saturday 18 June 2011

Colin McIntyre, The Harviestoun Country Hotel and The Mull Historical Society




Just been for dinner and had a very nice meal at the Harviestoun Country Hotel and Restaurant. At reception I noticed a pile of CDs and a plaque on the wall. i was then asked if I knew of the Mull Historical Society.

It turns out the restaurant is run by Colin McIntyre's mum. Colin was the driving force behind the superb Mull Historical Society active between 2001 and 2005 , and Colin is now solo . I immediately snaffled a copy of his "Islands" CD along with complimentary signed copy of "Be My Saviour" so result all round. Enjoy The Final Arrears , superb record.


Tuesday 14 June 2011

Kindle vs Paper - The Final Verdict


Sometime in the pastI wrote an article on the fact that CDs were the MacDonaldisation of music , a situation amplified by the rise of digital music and sampled ringtones . A lot of the initial arguments for CD was that they were robust and offered far higher quality that old scratchy vinyl. This paved the way for downloaded music , and one of the huge benefits has been that long deleted music could be made available as it did not need to pressed on a run of CDs that may never sell.

Project Gutenberg is a labour of love that has seen a lot of out of copyeight books stored in digital format , which anyone can download for free.

I actually see that paper and ebook readers will co exist. The Ape of Wrath states that  "The push to digital is inevitable." , which is true because we want what we want , now and in a convenient  format. Paul Campbell the scriptwriter has been encouraging me to get a Kindle, lauding the device and extolling it's benefits. They certainly save space!! And they remember where you were in your book , and you can have it now!!!


To Be Read.....
Paper is convenient , cheap , robust , doesnt need power but does need light!! . Just wondering how much "gentlemen's relish"  is available on the Kindle for "under the sheets" perusal.


I will buy a Kindle before Christmas , but I have a few books to read before then , things to do , and by the time I get one there will be a Super Kindle. But I am sold on the idea , but I still like paper very much.