Showing posts with label olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label olympics. Show all posts

Saturday 21 July 2012

Windows Vista and 7 gadgets threat fix: Park and taken for a ride: Chinese day at the beach: Nice pair of melons: and the Goat Man.


Yet another wet/dry, cold/cold, windy/calm start to the day at the Castle this morn, but it looks as if I may be able to do a bit of vandalism in the garden later.
Orf out early tomorrow so no post, and the interweb thingy is still behaving like a spoilt child and his Maj keeps bringing me frogs...




Some useful information:

Microsoft has issued an urgent security warning to all Windows 7 & Vista users: apparently you must disable the Desktop Gadgets feature immediately.

It turns out that hackers have discovered a security flaw in the Desktop Gadgets subsystem, which can allow them to take over your PC, if you install an infected Gadget.

Gadgets, in case you aren't sure, are the small desktop tools which display the weather forecast, large clock and so on  your desktop. In Windows Vista, these Gadgets sit in the desktop sidebar on the right-hand side of the screen. Windows 7 has no sidebar, so the Gadgets 'float' on the desktop.


You can add and remove Gadgets via the Control Panel

The attack allows a malicious Gadget to run with the same privileges as your logged in user account, so if you are an administrator they can take over the whole machine. According to Microsoft, "Gadgets installed from untrusted sources can harm your computer and can access your computer’s files, show you objectionable content, or change their behaviour at any time".

Microsoft originally intended the system to be expanded by third-party developers, so that, for example, Facebook could provide a gadget that allowed you to keep an eye on your status. But, because of the threat posed by this attack, Microsoft has now closed down their site that allows you to find and install third-party gadgets.


To prevent this type of attack, you need to disable the feature in the registry. Before applying a registry fix, first create a backup of your registry by following the steps here:
Press [Windows Key] + [R], type REGEDIT and click OK.
Go to file on the top of the registry, click on export and save somewhere you can find it again.


Next, apply the fix as follows:

Press [Windows Key] + [R], type REGEDIT and click OK.

Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, expand SOFTWARE, expand Microsoft, expand Windows, expand CurrentVersion, and then expand Policies.

Right click on Policies, select New, select Key, and then type Windows as the key name.

Right click on Windows, select New, select Key, and then type Sidebar as the key name.

Right click on Sidebar, select New, select DWORD (32-bit) Value, and the type TurnOffSidebar as the name.

Right click on TurnOffSidebar, select Modify and then change Value data: to 1 and click OK.

Reboot your system to apply the fix.

With the fix in place, you will of course no longer be able to use the Desktop Gadgets you have installed, but this is a small price to pay for the security the fix will bring you.

Microsoft has removed the Gadgets feature completely from Windows 8, so if you are using a test version of that operating system you don't need to worry about the problem.



Simples-ish, sort of.......I did the “fix” above and the interweb thingy seems to have sorted itself out?

.


It seems that Councils made more than half a billion pounds profit from parking last year, despite warnings that they should not treat motorists as “cash cows”.
Authorities in England and Wales saw their surplus from parking rise to £511.6 million in 2010-11 from £489.4 million a year earlier, according to an analysis of local authority accounts by the RAC Foundation.
Town halls are supposed to use their powers to control parking to improve traffic flow and prevent gridlock on their streets.
They are prohibited from using these powers to bolster their income. However, many councils seek to get round this by earmarking the cash raised for other transport projects.
Currently motorists can be fined up £130 in London and £70 outside the capital for parking offences. Ministers are considering a plea from councils to increase the fines. The RAC Foundation figures show that the Tory-run Westminster council in central London made a £38 million profit from parking. Drivers now have to pay £4.80 an hour to park on the street in prime spots, such as near Oxford Street.
Outside London, Brighton, where motorists can wait more than a year for a residential parking permit, racked up a £12.7 million surplus, with drivers in the centre of the city now paying £3.50 an hour. Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Local authorities need to be transparent about how they spend these 'profits’ and demonstrate to drivers that the money raised is being used to make their lives easier, not more difficult.”
Peter Box, chairman of the Local Government Association’s economy and transport board, defended councils.
“Parking charges and fines are an essential part of keeping traffic flowing, pedestrians and motorists safe and deterring irresponsible drivers,” he said.
 

Yeah right....robbing bastards.
 


Although we on our more than slightly damp island have only managed about one day this year to meander to the seaside over in China it seems that the pastime is quite popular.








Fruit has always been one of the higher-priced commodities in Japan. A single apple, for example, can cost 1,000 yen (£8). A package of 20 cherries will run you 8,000 yen (£64).
However, it seems that the value of melons has gone down this season.
Yubari, a city in the north famous for its enticing, wonderful melons, has started a bit of a craze.
In the most recent harvest, two particular melons caught the attention of everyone, for their perfectly circular form and an evenly patterned rind. The set of melons, weighing 4 kg, were auctioned at a relatively lower price than the highest paid melons ever, reflecting the still unstable economic climate.
In 2008, the most expensive pair of melons was sold at a whopping price of 2.5 million yen (£19,000).
 

That’s nearly as dear as my favourite retailer...


And finally:
 


Allegedly A man spotted dressed in a goat suit among a herd of wild goats in the mountains of northern Utah has wildlife officials worried he could be in danger as hunting season approaches.
Douglass said a man hiking Sunday along Ben Lomond peak in the mountains above Ogden, about 40 miles north of Salt Lake City, spotted the person dressed like a goat among a herd of real goats. The person provided some blurry photographs to Douglass, who said they did not appear to have been altered.
Coty Creighton spotted the goat man Sunday during his hike. He said he came across the herd, but noticed something odd about one goat that was trailing behind the rest.
"I thought it was a deformed goat," Creighton told the Standard-Examiner of Ogden. "It was clumsy, not nimble."
He said he pulled out binoculars to get a closer look at the herd about 200 yards away and was shocked. The man appeared to be acting like a goat while wearing the crudely made costume, which had fake horns and a cloth mask with cut-out eye holes, Creighton said.
"He was on his hands and knees, crawling along the mountainside," he said. "Something was definitely off with that guy."


No shit....




And today’s thought:
Solo Tantric sex Olympics#3




Angus

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Olympic License: Capone’s Cadillac: Calcio Storico Fiorentino: Wishful thinking: Eucharistic ice cube: and Men only parking.


Same again at the Castle this morn-wet, windy and wobbly, still waiting to fettle the garden but I did have a close up of a Wellington bomber, a spitfire and something that was very, very loud and moved so fast I couldn’t recognise it as they flew under the low cloud cover yesteraftermorn.

The ears have stopped bleeding now.....





The TV Licensing body has launched a campaign to remind businesses of the need for a TV licence if they allow staff to watch the Olympics at work.
If employees have devices such as mobile phones or laptops plugged into the mains at work, their workplace will need to have a licence.
Catch-up TV services, such as iPlayer or ITV Player, are not subject to licence requirements. However, live streams of sports events, press conferences and news channels are.
Most employers will only need one licence per premise, although it depends on the type of business and how it operates.
People at 2,800 business addresses were caught watching TV without a licence across the UK during 2010 and 2011.


You have been warned....



Gangster Al Capone's green 1928 Cadillac is up for sale.
With bulletproof glass and 1,360kg (3,000lb) of steel armour, the mobster’s customised car was painted like the police cars of the time and even had a flashing light, siren and the first police-band radio in private hands.
The 1928 Cadillac V-8 has inch-thick windows with circular holes for machine guns and the rear screen could drop down quickly during gunfights.
It will go under the hammer in Monterey, California, next month.



Sounds like they will need more than a hammer......




Direct Google “translation”-There is an ancient game, a game without rules, where the companions are blood brothers, sworn enemies and opponents.
Four teams, four colours, they play for their women, they win their district. Many men, only one desire; to conquer fear, self-discovery, including fists, caresses and fireworks.
Or just an excuse to beat the crap out of anyone in range-and if there are no rules why is there a referee and linesmen?




The science behind sunburn- When our skin cells are exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, a specific  form of RNA, called micro-RNA, is damaged (RNA is similar in structure to DNA, which makes up our genes.)
This damaged RNA is then released as a signal of solar injury, and prompts neighbouring, healthy cells to stimulate the production of factors that promote inflammation, the researchers said.


Just thought you would like to know what happens if the sun ever comes out again...




The congregation at Brentwood Cathedral, Essex, were undertaking the Eucharistic prayer when they heard a “massive explosion” which left them “trembling”.
Father James MacKay, who was leading the Sunday service, described seeing slate and white ice falling from the roof, damaging the structure and beams.
An usher who inspected the damage believed it had been caused by a block of ice falling from above, which could have come from an aeroplane, he said.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the body received about 30 reports of ice blocks dropping from aircraft in a year, but said they were frequently caused by natural weather conditions.
Fr MacKay told the BBC he was trembling with shock after hearing the collision, but had continued with the service.
 

Him/her upstairs was probably having a glass of Pimms while watching Wombledon and dropped an ice cube....


And finally: 



To the small German town of Triberg.
Mayor Gallus Strobel hit the headlines this week after unveiling the new car parking plan for motorists.
Under the new system, each space in the town's main car park been painted with a male or female symbol, depending on its difficulty rating.  
While female drivers have been assigned wider and well-lit spaces located closer to the exit, male drivers will need to pull in at more difficult angles and avoid cement pillars.

The 58-year-old mayor wants to 'challenge political correctness' with his new policy, claiming the tight spaces will be an 'attraction' for ambitious drivers.

 'Men are, as a rule, a little better at such challenges,' the 58-year-old told German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.

 Oh dear......




And today’s thought:
110 metres hurdles 2012 London Olympics




Angus


Friday 6 July 2012

Up your energy bills: Meteosat soars: El Papa in the red: Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop in the can: Some Old Russian Geysers: and Driving into the office.


Atmospheric conditions are back to “normal” at the Castle this morn-cold, cloudy, damp and dismal. The garden is still in need of a ginormous fettling but, unless I use a rowboat to do it there isn’t much of a chance.



Managed to increase our ‘Energy Bills’ by more than a few squids per annus horriblis as his shit for brains scheme for simpler gas and electricity deals threatens to backfire.
Consumer groups yesterday warned that government plans to offer fewer, simpler tariffs will leave many people “much worse off” as energy companies scrap discounts and cheaper online deals.
The warning comes as the Prime Minister prepares to meet the bosses of Britain’s biggest energy companies to discuss soaring gas and electricity bills, which remain at near highs of £1,300 a year per household.
According to the Torygraph major suppliers have already begun quietly removing their best tariffs from the market, including many “fixed” and online saver deals.
According to USwitch, the price comparison website, hundreds of thousands of British Gas, E.On and EDF customers have seen the very cheapest bills rise by an average of £249 since September 2010, a third more than customers on standard tariffs.
In a second blow for bill-payers Ofgem, the energy regulator, is trying to abolish discounts worth up to £130 for around 20 million customers on standard gas and electricity deals.
Four in five British homes are on these deals, qualifying for discounts if they have “dual fuel” accounts, settle bills promptly and opt for paperless billing.

Under current plans, customers on these tariffs would no longer get money off for any of these options.

They would also lose discounts for using energy at off-peak times, collecting loyalty points or low consumption rates.

The plans were drawn up by Ofgem, after the Prime Minister last year urged companies to “clear up their bewildering array of tariffs and special offers”.

Fuckwits U-Turn Cam and Chris (no nuclear) Huhne, the former Energy Secretary, suggested simplifying deals would lead more people to switch their supplier and ultimately save people money.

Since then, Ofgem has argued that scrapping discounts on standard tariffs will give a single clear rate that can be quickly compared across all suppliers.
 

Thanks Dave, you have done it again...will this Piss Poor Policies Coalition Millionaires Club Coalition ever think things through before they vomit their “ideas” into the bucket of the population of dear old Blighty?




The latest spacecraft in Europe's long-running Meteosat series has just gone into orbit on an Ariane rocket.
It is now being manoeuvred into a position some 36,000km above the Earth from where it can keep a constant watch on developing weather systems.
The spacecraft is the 10th Meteosat platform to go into service since 1977.
Its pictures will soon be feeding into the daily forecasts provided to the public by national meteorological agencies right across Europe.


That’ll help-I can do the weather for nowt-just have a look out of the window.....




Allegedly the place where ex-Nazi El Papa lives has registered one of its worst budget deficits in years, plunging back into the red with a (EURO) 15 million ($19 million) deficit in 2011 after a brief respite of profit.
The Vatican on Thursday blamed the poor outcome on high personnel and communications costs and adverse market conditions, particularly for its real estate holdings.
Not even a (EURO) 50 million gift to the pope from the Vatican bank and increased donations from dioceses and religious orders could offset the expenses and poor investment returns, the Vatican said in its annual financial report.
The Vatican said it ran a (EURO) 14.9 million deficit in 2011 after posting a surplus of (EURO) 9.85 million in 2010. The 2010 surplus, however, was something of an anomaly. In 2009 the Vatican ran a deficit of (EURO) 4.01 million, in 2008 the deficit was (EURO) 0.9 million and in 2007 it was nearly (EURO) 9.1 million.


Seems that Him/Her upstairs maybe a Banker.....





The Capital Times reports that Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop was arrested last week after residents complained of excessive drinking and drug use near Reynolds Park in Madison. Authorities say he was arrested in another local park last April after police found a loaded handgun in his backpack.
He's tentatively charged with carrying a concealed knife, and possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana.


Beezow is in the Doo-Doo then...





In the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia is the only geyser field in Eurasia and the second largest concentration of geysers in the world. Approximately 200 geysers exist in the area along with many hot-water springs and perpetual spouters.
The valley is one of the few places in the world where geysers occur naturally, along with Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. and sites in Iceland, Chile, and New Zealand. In Kamchatka more than 20 large jets and 200 smaller thermal springs punch through Earth's crust in a 2.7-square-mile (7-square-kilometer) area.
Over thirty geysers have been named; among these was the Giant geyser (Velikan), capable of producing a jet of water reaching up to 40 meters. At least 20 such geysers erupt on a stretch of the Geysernaya River Basin in the Valley of Geysers, along with dozens of smaller gushing vents and hundreds of hot springs. The largest of these geysers erupts with 60 tons of water once or twice a year.


But at least it is warm there-who says you can’t learn anything on this blog?


And finally:




An out of control Volkswagen Sharan mounted the pavement and crashed into the reception area of John Stokes Ltd in Tipton, West Midlands on Tuesday.
The footage of the crash, which was captured on firm's CCTV, showed a woman walking in front of the business just seconds before the people carrier drove into it.
The vehicle is seen tearing through bricks and windows before being brought to an abrupt halt by a metal safe.
Minutes before the crash, business owner Dene Stokes, 59, was standing in the reception area, which had undergone a £25,000 refurbishment the previous month, with a client.
At the time the people carrier hit the building he was on the phone talking to his son.


Should have had a No Parking sign on the front of the building...
 



And today’s thought:
Catching the Javelin Olympics


Angus

Friday 29 June 2012

No smoke without a bung: HMRC waste and mismanagement: Big Bird in Fife: Canned menu: Catapult crime: and a Bulgarian Mermaid.


Coldish, blowy and a drizzle of skywater at the Castle this morn but at least it will wash away the sand from all over the Honda that appeared yestermorn.

I see that the boss of my bank has decided that he will remain in his rather well paid job because it wasn’t his fault but a "small number" of employees who had tried to make profits for their own benefit.

And whether or not the weather will banjax Blighty for the second day.





Accepted lunch and two tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show valued at £1,132.80.
Brian Binley, along with Alun Cairns, Karl McCartney, Stephen Metcalfe, Laurence Robertson and Therese Coffey had a nice meal and a wander round the flora display in the posh part of the Smoke courtesy of  Japan Tobacco International – which owns brands such as Benson & Hedges, Camel, Silk Cut and Mayfair
Allegedly they were reportedly among 51 MPs to have expressed "serious concerns with the Department of Health's proposal to introduced standardised or 'plain' packaging for tobacco products". Health campaigners believe the measure will reduce the attraction of smoking to teenagers.
Mr Binley told the Daily Telegraph he had "not acted immorally". Japan International Tobacco, he said, "made a kind invite that I accepted on that basis. From the perspective of freedom, people who smoke are victimised. No one is doing very much about the 40,000 who die from eating too much every year".


All smoke and mirrors?
 



Wrote orf almost £5.2 billion in taxes according to a report published by official auditors today, last year it overpaid around £2-£2.5 billion in tax credits and underpaid up to £290 million as a result of fraud and error.
Over the last two years, the report found there had been a "large increase" in the amount of tax which HMRC has decided not to pursue - including £756 million worth of income tax in 2011/12 alone. Total tax debts being pursued stood at £13.3 billion at the end of March, down from £15 billion the year before.
The 2011/12 total of £5.17 billion in write-offs and remittances - debts which have been dropped because they are too small to be worth pursuing or would cause hardship if collected - included £1.5 billion in income tax, £1.9 billion in VAT, £653 million in National Insurance and £503 million in corporation tax.


Nice, but it didn’t stop them charging me £8.90 VAT on my parcel from the States....
 


An eagle owl remained on the loose in Fife after apparently escaping from captivity.
Residents in the village of Townhill are being urged to lock their doors and windows and keep their pets firmly out of reach of the beast – one of the world’s most vicious owls.
The Scottish SPCA has been notified but has said that unless an owner can coax it home, the charity will not attempt a capture.
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: “These birds are notoriously difficult to catch and we would only be able to uplift it if already contained.”
With a six-foot wingspan, it can eat a baby deer, rodents, rabbits and hares but has been known to attack cats, small dogs and even other birds of prey.
 

Don’t suppose a rolled up newspaper would be much use then......




A restaurant that serves only canned food has become quite popular; you can eat cold food from a tin with plastic cutlery and pay for the privilege.
Things have been going so well that Clean Brothers, the restaurant and cafe Company behind the bizarre “diner”, has begun franchising the idea throughout Japan, under the name Mr. Kanso, and there are currently 17 branches, 14 of which are franchises, but the number of interested franchisees is growing steadily.
There are no menus at Mr. Kanso restaurants, just shelves lined with about 300 different types of canned foods from all around the world; you can find anything from Hokkaido bear curry to French salad in a can.


And this isn’t related in any way to radiation......because there isn’t any...



Police in Maryland say a man has been charged with assault for using a slingshot to fire glass marbles at a speed camera van.
Authorities say Bruce Lawrence May of Ellicott City was arrested Tuesday. The 50-year-old Lawrence was also charged with destruction of property and reckless endangerment. He was released on $3,000 bond.
Howard County police say that at about 5 p.m. Tuesday, the van was near Manor Woods Elementary School when the operator heard something hit the side of the vehicle. The operator saw a minivan pass and saw the driver with a slingshot fire another projectile at the speed camera van.
Police say that May had received two speed camera violations recently.


No shit....


And finally:
 Not a Vampire but a Mermaid skeleton.







And today’s thought:
Oh crap! This is going to hurt Olympics




Angus

Monday 18 June 2012

No time: No fascinators: Cigar ice cream: Bacon Ice cream: and hanging out in Mexico.


Sunnyish, coldish and calmish at the Castle this Monday morn, I had a trip to the coast yesterday where it was Sunnyish, coldish and calmish too, but it was nice to get a few lungfuls of ozone.
Very late today, had oodles of things to do including the stale bread, gruel and his Maj’s food run dahn Tesco where prices are rising faster than the Greek debt, the elbow is betterish, and the garden is still in need of a complete fettle but it is too wet to attack despite the hose pipe ban.



Time is going to run out, observations of supernovae, or exploding stars, found the movement of light indicated they were moving faster than those nearer to the centre of the universe.
But the scientists claimed the accepted theory of an opposite force to gravity, known as dark energy, was wrong, and said the reality was that the growth of the universe was slowing.
Professor Jose Senovilla, Marc Mars and Raul Vera from the University of the Basque Country and the University of Salamanca said the deceleration of time was so gradual, it was imperceptible to humans.
Their proposal, published in the journal Physical Review D, claimed dark energy does not exist and that time was winding down to the point when it would finally grind to a halt long after the planet ceased to exist.
The slowing down of time will eventually mean everything will appear to take place faster and faster until it eventually disappears.


Not this week then-shame I have so much to do...



Strict new dress codes have been introduced at the Royal Ascot races with fascinators high on the hit-list.
Favoured by Royals and celebrities alike, these little hair pieces have incurred the wrath of officials reacting to claims the standard of dress has declined at their meet.
A particular stipulation is that fascinators are no longer welcome in the royal enclosure where her Maj and other hanger ons watch the races.
"Hats should be worn; a headpiece which has a base of four inches (10 centimetres) or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat,'' the rules state.
Women are expected to wear skirts or dresses of "modest length'' falling just above the knee or longer. Men must wear black or grey morning dress with a waistcoat and tie, a black or grey top hat and black shoes.
The rules away from the royal enclosure are less stringent but women must still wear a hat or fascinator, and strapless or sheer-strap tops are barred. Suits and ties are compulsory for men.
A team of specially trained dress code assistants will reportedly be at the entry to help improve the standard of dress with waistcoats, ties, pashminas and other items available for those not quite sartorial enough.


Fuck orf........not a bit "fascinating"...




There is a new trend in cold stuff that comes in a cone-beetroot or crab sorbet, sea-salted caramel ice cream, grilled sweet corn ice cream and cigar-smoked caramel, grass, strawberry and hay, parsnip and wasabi or smoked olive oil and black pepper, or if  you have really lost it-breast milk and absinthe.


Think I’ll stick to vanilla....



Burger King that well known US haute cuisine provider is set to launch a summertime menu, featuring a heavy BBQ bias with treats such as Memphis pulled-pork sandwich, Carolina barbecue sandwiches, Texas barbecue sandwiches, frozen lemonade and sweet potato fries.
And to top it orf-vanilla BK soft serve ice cream, chocolate fudge and caramel, garnished with a piece of thick-cut hardwood-smoked bacon for dipping.


Not a vegetarian pud then.....


And finally:



Dozens of people stripped and cycled naked through the Mexican city of Puebla Saturday to protest risks they face on the road.
"With "now you see me?" painted on their bodies, participants also hoped to promote the benefits of exercise and biking as an environmentally-friendly mode of transportation.
"We want to change things," said Arturo Rivera, one of the riders.
The crowd gathered on one of the busiest streets of Puebla, located 120 kilometres (75 miles) from the capital Mexico City, to start their attention-grabbing stunt.
While some of the women wore bathing suits, most of the men decided to bare it all as they pedalled through town in the rain.


Seems to go in cycles this nude bicycle riding thing





And today’s thought:
Where's the pummice stone Olympics




Angus

Thursday 31 May 2012

Skip tax: Vehicle ransom charges: Google's image search algorithm: Green Numpty: Minge on countdown: and Mud pit jumping.


Nice and cool at the Castle this morn, a touch of atmospheric movement and still not a drop of skywater, but I did rinse all the yellow stuff orf the Honda yestermorn.
Just returned from the stale bread gruel and his Maj’s food run dahn Tesco, and I popped into the forecourt to put a cupful or two of go juice in the motor, cheaper to stuff ten pound notes in the tank....
 



Son of a B......aronet George (I don’t have to worry about the doctor’s strike because I have BUPA) Osborne has come up with a cunning plan to screw drivers even more.
“Government” officials have begun private discussions with the motoring industry and drivers’ groups about an overhaul of the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rules.
One option being considered would replace the annual tax on cars with a one-off up-front charge on new vehicles when they are sold.
Allegedly ministers are “considering whether Vehicle Excise Duty should be reformed to support the sustainability of public finances and to reflect the improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency”.
The annual road tax for cars ranges from zero for those with the lowest CO2 emissions — which include electric and hybrid cars — to more than £200 for those with larger and less efficient petrol and diesel engines.
VED raises almost £6 billion a year for the Treasury, but official forecasts show that the revenue from the tax will fall as more people chose to drive low-emission cars.
The Office of Budget Responsibility this year cut its forecast for VED revenues by £100 million a year from 2014/15 to reflect the move towards cleaner cars.
Making up that shortfall would cost the equivalent of £20 a year for every motorist in the country.


Cheers George....




Britain faces a nationwide epidemic of fly-tipping and thousands of jobs will be lost because of a massive increase in charges to dump rubbish, waste companies warned last night as George Osborne was hit by a new tax row.
They also forecast that skips full of rubble would go uncollected around the country after an increase of nearly 2,500 per cent in the tax for dumping some types of rubbish in landfill sites.
The tax man has decided that the amount charged for dumping some waste materials soar from £2.50 to £64 a tonne.
The HMRC said last night it had merely acted because landfill sites were charging waste firms the wrong rates.
But the skip disposal industry, which employs between 20,000 and 30,000 people, says it will now cost £300 to empty a typical skip, compared with £144 before last week's tax rise.

 Thanks again George...that’ll help the unemployment figures.





Two U.K. artist/geeks ran some computer code and replaced all 21,000 words in an average dictionary with the first Google image that pops up for each word.
The result is a 1,240-page tome of the best and worst of Google's image search algorithm, laid out in colourful columns, in alphabetical order -- starting with a picture of an aardvark. The thumb-indexed pages are bound in a swirl-patterned hardcover.
And apparently about half of the Google Book is "revolting medical photos, porn, racism or bad cartoons"
West and co-artist Felix Heyes hope to print a small number of the books for sale. Anyone interested in signing up can visit their websites at bewe.me and felixheyes.com.
 

Now, where do I start-Aardvark?





Paulo Henrique dos Santos is green with---paint.
He coated himself head-to-toe with green paint to become the “Hulk” for a running event, sadly the paint wasn’t of the body ilk but industrial green stuff.
After scrubbing himself and having “about 20 baths”, the 35-year-old was still coated in green.
Paulo, who also works as a DJ in Rio de Janeiro, mistakenly used the hardcore paint when the shop he went to didn’t have the brand he normally used
But after a team of friends and neighbours scrubbed for 24 hours, the offending paint eventually came off-along with most of his skin.....

 


Countdown has done it again, the latest cringing cock up is-----MINGE, on yesterday’s show, maths expert Rachel Riley picked out the right sequence of consonants and vowels to spell out “that” word.
After the 30 seconds' thinking time, champion Suzi Purcell declared a seven letter word, MINGERS, which raised a small titter from the studio.
 

The joy of the English language....


And finally:



Americans have been taking part in a rather different competition - the 16th annual Redneck Olympics.
The event, which took place in East Dubin, Georgia, kicked off with the traditional lighting of a torch made from a beer can - and carried on with some rather unusual events.
Those taking part had the chance to bob for pig's trotters, throw themselves into mud pits and take part in toilet seat tossing in a bid to win one of the tournament's beer can-shaped trophies.
The Games originally began in 1996 - the year that the summer Olympics were held in Atlanta - and were created by a local radio broadcaster in response to a remark that the Games 'were being held by a bunch of rednecks'.
More than 5,000 people turned up to the first-ever Games, with a further 95,000 having attended in the past ten years.


Looks like a lot more fun than “our” multi billion pound debacle...




And today’s thought:
Slo-mo Olympics



Angus

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Is the Piss Poor Millionaires Club Cabinet worth it?: Socrates is innocent!: License to print money: Taste of a tear: and Back in the lead.


A smidge cooler at the Castle this morn, the garden needs a good fettle-grass, hedges, borders, pots and wall boxes but it has been too hot to bovver.
The good news is that “they” are threatening vast amounts of sky water dahn ‘ere in ‘Ampshire aftermorn, which means that I may not have to hump the watering can around the grounds and the Honda might return to red instead of yellow.

And his Maj spent a while stalking a May Bug.






They have published a graphic entitled “the combined wealth of the Cabinet revealed” which as it says lets us know what the rich bastards that sit round the sideboard are currently worth.
Click on this link and you too can see why “we are all in this together” but some of us are just in it while others are sticking together...




Socrates whose teachings earned him a death sentence in ancient Athens has been acquitted-just.
A panel of 10 US and European judges heard pleas by top Greek and foreign lawyers at the Onassis Foundation in Athens.
Judges then voted on whether he was guilty on the ancient charges of evil-doing, impiety and corrupting the young.
In 399 BC, Socrates was made to die by drinking hemlock poison after being convicted by a jury of hundreds of Athenians. Unrepentant, he had insulted the judges at his trial and cheekily asked to be rewarded for his actions.
The modern judges spared him that dishonour this time, with an even vote -- five guilty and five not guilty, meaning that under ancient Athenian law he was not convicted.
More than 800 people bought tickets for Friday's event, which was also watched online at www.sgt.gr by web users who could cast their verdict.
Organisers said the issues of democracy and free speech raised by Socrates' trial was resonant for global politics in light of recent uprisings and crises.
Organisers said the event was also good for Greece in its current crisis, as it awaits a second general election on June 17 that could determine whether it stays in the eurozone.

Which explains why Greece is so deep in the shit....





When the prefix "WWW" became available on Malaysia’s license plates, more than 18,000 people submitted bids. The Road Transport Department said Monday that the most coveted plate, "WWW1," sold for a record 520,000 ringgit ($165,600) to Malaysian royal state leader Sultan Ibrahim Ismail.

Officials estimate the successful WWW bids will earn the transport department 11.3 million ringgit ($3.6 million).

The previous highest sum paid for a license plate in Malaysia was 300,100 ringgit ($95,600) in 2010 for MCA1, the acronym for a national political party.

Surprised it went for so little....



A range of salts said to be collected from crying humans experiencing a range of emotions have gone on sale in London.
The £7 salts - sold by Hoxton Street Monster Supplies - is billed as coming from tears of sorrow, tears shed while sneezing, tears shed while chopping onions, tears of laughter, and tears of anger.

Each salt is said to distinctly different flavour and could certainly add an interesting element to your next dinner party.
A spokesperson said: "Salt Made From Tears” combines centuries-old craft with the freshest human tears which are gently boiled, released into shallow crystallisation tanks, then harvested by hand and finally rinsed in brine.
 

It's all bollocks of course, the salts are really sea salt from Halen Môn and have been developed in collaboration with Studio Weave. But as a percentage of sales goes towards the Ministry of Stories, which aims to inspire a nation of storytellers, and boost the profits of Hoxton Street Monster Supplies
 

It’s enough to bring a tear to your eyes...or your wallet....


 And finally:
 


Runner Garret Doherty has become the first Briton to dip below seven minutes running a mile backwards.
The 33-year-old smashed his own British record while defending his title at the UK backwards running championships, beating his nearest rival by over a minute to win in 6min 57sec.
He said: ‘I’m thrilled that I managed to keep hold my title, and I’m chuffed that I’ve beaten my personal best time.’
Mr Doherty got hooked on the bizarre sport three years ago – when he turned around to avoid the sun’s glare while out on a jog.
He said: ‘It’s truly liberating, and there are enormous health benefits. It’s much better for your body than running forwards, as its lower impact.
‘People usually have to do a double take when they see me whizzing past.

 Oh dear......




And today’s thought:
I know I dropped that pound coin somewhere 




Angus