Unloading in Taiwan: Finnish pig in a poke: Cat-nav: Miserable old farts: and a very old hot cross bun.

Amazing amounts of lack of warm, not even a whimsy of atmospheric movement, nary a drop of skywater and Dawn’s crack has buggered orf to somewhere else at the Castle this morn, the elbow is still iffy, but I do have a “tennis elbow clamp” which is about as easy to put on as a posh accent and works as well as the NHS.

 

East to the land of bamboo and stuff

 

A Taiwanese lorry driver makes a delivery.

 

Elfandsafety would have a seizure if they knew......oh shit.....

 

Up to the even colder bit of what is left of Europe

Hotel Finn in the heart of Helsinki is seeking a "professional sleeper" for 35 days to test their rooms and write all about it.

Hotel manager Tio Tikka says he thought up the stunt to help promote the hotel after lengthy renovations.

Tikka said Wednesday that they were looking for a "dynamic person to write a quality blog" about their daily experiences at the basic hotel, which has no bar or restaurant.

Requirements: Fluent Finnish and English, Russian a plus. The job opens May 17 with applications closing end of April.

So far more that 600 would-be hotel sleepers have applied.

So I could stay in the nice warm Castle with food and drink or spend a month and a bit in one room without a menu or libation....hmmm, tough choice.

 

Norf of the border

A cat owner has developed a tracking device which enables owners to map the exact whereabouts of their pet.

Dave Evans created the device, known as the ‘cat-nav’, as he wanted to know where his cat Yollo was travelling to and why he was gaining weight.

He is now marketing the product as G-Paws, and curious pet owners will be able to purchase the gadget for £50.

The device weighs just half an ounce and is attached to the pet’s collar. When the animal returns, owners can download information stored on the device to a website, where they will be able to see exactly what their pet has been up to via a series of Google Earth satellite images.

Evans is now working on developing a social networking site to work with G-Paws. He says it will enable users to see where their pets have been, share photos, videos and other information.

 

Think I would rather stay in ignorance and save the fifty quid.

 

Are you H.A.P.P.Y or not

Apparently low expectations about the future and a gloomy outlook could be the keys to a longer, healthier life, according to a surprising new study published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

In the study, older people, ages 65 to 96, who thought life would get worse had much better health outcomes and lived longer than those who anticipated better days ahead.

The researchers also point out that optimists may look at life through rose-colored glasses and ignore the truth about the health risks associated with aging, while the pessimists have a more realistic view of the threats ahead and thus may be more proactive about taking care of themselves.

For example, seniors who anticipate that their health is likely to decline may get more medical exams, exercise more, lose weight, avoid smoking, or eat a better diet to ward off disease, while those with a “don’t worry, be happy” outlook may not consider it necessary to take steps to protect themselves.

To find out how accurate the participants’ expectations about the future were, the researchers contacted the participants five years after the initial interview. They also tracked rates of death and disability during that time span, with the following results:

43 percent of the oldest group (the pessimists) had underestimated how satisfied they would be

25 percent predicted accurately

32 percent (the optimists) had overestimated their future satisfaction

The more overly optimistic the seniors were about the future, the higher their rates of disability and death were during the study period. Each increase in overestimating future life satisfaction was associated with a 9.5 percent rise in disabilities and 10 percent increased risk of death, the study found.

 

Looking on the bright side:
 

Researchers have linked not being a miserable old fart to these benefits:

Greater resistance to colds and other infections

Lower risk of death from heart disease- Duke researchers tracked 2,800 patients who had been hospitalized for heart disease. Patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire about their feelings about their diagnosis, treatment, and prospects for recovery. Ten years later, 46 percent of those with a bleak outlook had died, compared to 32 percent of those with the positive outlook.

Better emotional health

Superior athletic performance- A study by Martin Seligman found that optimistic sports teams were more successful than those who expected to lose.  

Greater career success- Another Duke study found that MBA students with an upbeat attitude received more job offers and were promoted faster than their gloomier counterparts.

 

So you can be a miserable, poor, knackered old git living to a hundred or a happy, rich, fulfilled old fart who is content with the three score and ten.

 

And finally:

 

On this not too bad Friday

A woman has the world's oldest hot cross bun - baked on Good Friday in 1821 and passed down through five generations.

Nancy Titman, 94, keeps the 192-year-old bun in a box and amazingly it still has a cross on the top and shows no traces of mould.

The fruity bun, which has even retained its smell, was made by Nancy's great, great, great grandfather William Skinner, who owned a bakery in London.

It was made in the same year as Napoleon died, George IV was crowned king, poet John Keats passed away and John Constable painted his famous Hay Wain picture.


"It is rock hard like a fossil and the currants have disintegrated, but it still smells and looks like a hot cross bun, with the cross on the top."

Nancy was given the bun, which has the date March 1821 on the base, by her mum and she plans to hand it down to her own daughter Anthea and her 10-year-old granddaughter Hannah.

"My mum said our ancestors worked in a baker's shop and they believed buns baked on Good Friday didn't go mouldy, which this has proved," added Nancy, from Deeping St James, Lincs.

"It's a relic which has been passed down through our family and we get it out every Good Friday," said Nancy.

 

I get mine out every Good Friday-for all the good it does....

 

That’s it: I’m orf to check out the Ouya

 

And today’s thought:

 

 

Angus

 

‘Worrying times’: Lansley does a half U-turn: Easter’s orf: Fast jobs: Life’s a beach: and a second hand TV.

Cold, wet and windy at the Castle this morn, the kitchen is empty of any sort of electronic adding machines and I didn’t cut the grass or wash the Rover, it’s a hard life.

I received my Local Elections and Referendum leaflet through the portcullis yesterday which I started to read but by page three I gave up after seeing “You show your choice by putting a cross (X) in the “Yes” or “No” box on your ballot paper”

Sorted…

East to the glowing island

Engineers struggling to stem radiation leaks at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have dumped 11,500 tonnes of radioactive water into the sea in their ongoing battle to restore control over its crippled reactors.

The low-level radioactive water was released into the Pacific Ocean on Monday to create space for more highly contaminated water.

"We have no choice but to safely release water tainted with radioactive materials into the ocean as a safety measure," said Yukio Edano, Japan's chief cabinet secretary.

Engineers were also planning to build a giant silk curtain in the ocean to contain contamination, the latest in a string of increasingly desperate measures.

Powdered bath salts were also being used to turn the water a milky white in order to help trace the source of radiation leaks.

That’s the last tin of Pacific Tuna I will buy.

Over in Gadaffi land

Silly Billy Hague has told Parliament that the UK is not involved in arming Libyan rebels but that non-lethal military equipment such as telecommunications infrastructure to Libya’s interim transitional council may be provided to support them.

Yeah right……

And still in our green and tottering land

The UK faces a fragile economic recovery, with a worrying overall picture, a survey has suggested.

The latest quarterly survey from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said firms faced cash flow constraints.

The survey suggested that in the first quarter the economy returned to growth.

But the BCC said "the upturn in Q1 is likely to have been only slightly larger than the decline of 0.5% seen in Q4 2010", when the severe weather caused disruptions.

That would mean output levels were only "marginally higher" than they were before the weather took its toll, the BCC said.

No……really?

National Hesitate Service

As usual the Piss Poor Policies Coalition has decided to “delay” their latest attack on the NHS, Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, has announced that the Government's controversial plans to reform the NHS are to be delayed to allow more time for consultation.

Mr Lansley told MPs there were ''genuine concerns'' with the proposals, which would see primary care trusts abolished and GPs handed responsibility for commissioning health services.

And went on-"We want to continue to listen to, engage with and learn from experts, patients and frontline staff within the NHS and beyond and to respond accordingly.

"I can therefore tell the House that we propose to take the opportunity to take a natural break in the passage of the Bill - to pause, to listen and to engage with all those who want the NHS to succeed and to subsequently bring forward amendments to improve the plans further in the normal way."

Shouldn’t ‘listening, engaging, and learning’ be considered before the bill is rushed through, not during?

Dahn Unda

A School ditched the word Easter from its Easter Hat Parade to try to teach students about religious "tolerance".

Bondi Public School principal Michael Jones wrote to parents about the decision, saying Easter was just one of many religious celebrations at this time of year.

"As we are an inclusive community which celebrates our diverse range of cultures and beliefs, I have not called it an Easter Hat parade," Mr Jones wrote in the school's latest newsletter.

"Many religious celebrations occur at this time of year but we want to include all students in any celebration at school. Teachers will talk to students about the different celebrations and the emphasis will be on tolerance and understanding."

However the ruling on Friday's fundraising event was overturned yesterday, after parents from the school in Sydney's east expressed anger.

Christians 1, all the rest 0.

Over the glowing Pacific to the land of the burger and the home of the drive through

McDonald's unwrapped Monday a Big Mac-sized hiring event, saying it hopes to add up to 50,000 employees in the United States in a single day this month.

The McJobs blitz will be April 19, when nearly 14,000 restaurants will seek new crew and managers for both full- and part-time positions, the fast-food giant said.

"Our national hiring event is an opportunity to invite more people across the country to join our team, and learn that a McJob is one with career growth and endless possibilities," said Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA, in a statement.

The company noted that Fields began her career in an entry-level restaurant position.

Stressing the chance for employees to move up the corporate ladder, McDonald's said that more than 50 percent of its franchise owners and 75 percent of restaurant managers started as crew.

McDonald's USA serves more than 26 million customers a day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald's 14,000 US restaurants are independently owned and operated by local business men and women.

The Illinois-based company has more than 32,000 restaurants in 117 countries, and a global workforce of 1.7 million.

Mmmmm…tasty.

Across to the land of-whatever.

A Swedish lifestyle magazine is looking to hire a 'beach tester' to check out seaside resorts around the world.

Duties will include receiving full-body massages, drinking wine at local taverns, and reading books on the beach.

Women's lifestyle magazine Amelia posted the advertisement with the Swedish National Public Employment Service.

Candidates will be expected to spend four weeks testing beaches in four different locations around the globe.

"Included in the job assignment is going on outings, lying on beach chairs, drinking wine in local taverns, and other ordinary assignments found in a commercial beach and tourist environment," reads the ad.

"In certain areas, receiving a full-body massage, testing drinks, snorkelling, and book reading may be required."

Candidates must be able to swim, be willing to work late nights, as well as "have the capacity to rest/do nothing for long periods of time".

"The response has been huge," said Amelia's editor-in-chief, Asa Lundegard. "The announcement went up a few hours ago and we've already received hundreds of applications."

The successful candidate will be invited to travel to four different destinations - Corsica, Cape Town, and two locations in Asia - and will be expected to blog about their experiences.

My application is already on its way.

And finally:

In these days of austerity

Britain's oldest working television set, which was manufactured by Marconi in 1936, is expected to sell for more than £5,000 at auction.

The machine was bought for almost £100 three weeks after television transmissions began. But Mr GB Davis of Dulwich, south–east London would have only been able to able to watch it for a few hours.

The nearby Crystal Palace and its transmitter burned down three days after Mr Davis bought the Marconi type–702 set on November 26. The area could not receive pictures again until 1946.

The 75-year-old set comes with a 12-inch screen and is contained in a walnut and mahogany case with the picture being reflected onto a mirror that opens from the top.

Think I’ll stick to my LCD…….

That’s it: I’m orf to send a letter to my ISP.

And today’s thought: Dogs think they're human. Cats think they're gods.

Angus