Sunday 15-09-06 Removing Malicious Apps from Facebook

So yesterday morning I woke up and was looking at Facebook. I saw that my neighbour had posted articles and links about Ariana Grande, and as I was expecting to see him later, I reminded myself to tease him about it. We're both in our 40s and have no business looking at Ariana.
Anyway, when I buttonholed him about it, he denied all involvement and was completely mystified. Someone suggested he should change his password, on the suspicion that his account had been hacked. But I thought that maybe he had given permission to a malicious app which was accessing his account and posting on his timeline at will.
We went through the apps he had given permission to, and removed the ability to post to his timeline from all that we could. I thought that might have done it, but strangely less than an hour later, another improbable post appeared on his timeline. When I looked at it more closely, it seemed that it was posted by "Coso", which was an app I had seen that he had granted permissions to. I got him round and removed the permissions and deleted the app's activity on his timeline. I hope that that will do it, but we will monitor his account and see if any other unexpected activity occurs.
Changing his password wouldn't have helped, I don't think, as he had given the app permission to post to his account. And when I clicked on the link to Coso, even Facebook identified the link as potentially malicious, so I guess that they are hoping that people will slowly remove Coso's permissions over time.
So the message is, be careful which apps you give permissions to, and if you see errant posts on your timeline, check if a specific app is posting them. And then nuke that f***er. These apps are taking us for a ride and need to be reined in. Happy hunting...!

Saturday 15-08-29 CM Nightlies for the OnePlus One

So I have switched to using CM Nightlies on my OnePlus. what that means is, updates to the software are released daily (overnight), and I can choose to add them into the existing software on the phone or not. I have an app installed on the phone, called CyanDelta, which identifies the changes and can download just those bits of software necessary to update the phone. This means I am applying small (~9mb or ~13mb ) updates rather than replace the whole ROM.
This has been fine for the last few weeks, until this week one of the updates broke Chrome, i.e., I just couldn't use Chrome as my browser. But that was fine because they fixed that the next day, and I was able to use Dolphin in the meanwhile.
The update on Thursday however, wasn't good. It seemed to cause stuttering in a few apps I was using, and I did experience what I believe was my first reboot while using CM Nightlies. Then, on the way to work on Friday morning, I had another reboot, and my wifi seemed to be a bit wonky.
So I made the classic schoolboy error and performed a factory reset. That meant that all apps were wiped from my phone, although the basic data was still there, I had for instance my progress on Temple Run saved. But I lost my call history, my SMS (what is the plural of SMS?), and some financial records which were of personal interest only. I could not get wifi to work though, and was beginning to panic. I spent most of the morning trying to connect to wifi, to be told that I was connected, but there was no data transfer. Then, after lunch, I rebooted the phone and voila, the wifi returned.
So the basic upshot is, I used a hammer to crack a nut, and I am still fine-tuning the phone to get it back to how I like it. Once I've done that, I am going to perform a nandroid back-up, so that if I get flustered again, I can just apply the back-up. I should probably see if I can schedule regular back-ups in Titanium Backup, so that I have a recent version to fall back on in case of emergency.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I have the 29th Aug Nightly to flash... Have a good weekend.

Wednesday 15-08-26 Thoughts on Camping on the Isle of Wight

So we have just got back from the Isle of Wight, a camping trip. while we got wet on the way home, the stay itself was very nice. We went with friends and it was most relaxing; so much so that it seems strange to think that we were only there for three whole days. We went on Thursday and came back on Monday, so had Friday to Sunday on the Isle.
Friday was good weather, so we went to the outdoor pool and then to the beach at Sandown in the afternoon. Saturday we spent at the Needles, and TW was quite surprised that I went in the chairlift down to the beach. It was a bit of a heart-in-mouth moment, but I made it down and up again, which was the scarier part of the journey. We had a lot of vouchers to spend in the sweet shop at the end of the day, so much so that the children still have some sweets left (!). On Saturday night we were treated to a natural lightshow, thanks to the lightning over Sandown, but the rain missed us and we were kept warm by the wind. It got noticeably warmer by a couple of degrees in a matter of minutes, it was quite a phenomenon.
Sunday morning was when our luck broke; the rain came in and we had to spend all morning in our friends' tent, all nine of us. However, apart from the occasional moment, the kids all got on well together and it was quite relaxing. Sunday  afternoon we went to the indoor pool and our friends took their tent down while we swam with our and their kids. I stepped into the jacuzzi and didn't realise that there was an extra step down to the floor of the jacuzzi, so fell face first into the water, causing great hilarity for the children. Then in the evening we went for a big nosh up at Pizza Express; as someone said, how middle class can you get?
Monday morning it rained and we had to dismantle the tent; it didn't go too badly, but we got horrendously soaked when we went to the Bembridge windmill. The journey home was a bit of a chore, as a result, but we got here.
It was a good break and I would do it again, at least we were able to laugh at our damp misfortune. But I'm damned if I'm going camping again next week...

Monday 15-08-17 Move More 2015

So I've signed up for Move More 2015. It's a nationwide movement to get people fitter and Work have signed up for it as well. They've given me a pedometer and I'm supposed to log my steps via a link they're going to send on a "weekly" email, which is yet to arrive. So it's been a good start to the month of enforced exercise; the aim is to manage more than 10,000 steps per day. I went for a 35-minute walk at lunch and managed over 12k steps on my first day. I'm planning to walk further over the next few days, but I've bought some new shoes and my feet are covered in blisters. I'm hoping they'll improve over the next few days and allow me to really get the steps in and feel better about the whole thing.

Thursday 15-08-06 Funding for Trades Unions

So I see that the Conservatives have decided that "ordinary working folk" can't have their union dues deducted at source:

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/06/tories-labour-trade-union-funding-public-sector

It's a clever move, it means that people will have to see money come into their bank account and see it go out again. If people are looking at their outgoings, trying to reduce their expenditure or save some cash, their union dues will have to be considered.
But it seems to me that if Labour got into power next time round, they could just reverse the bill. It would be a game of political ping pong. There seems to me to be no reason for it.
People have already opted in to paying their dues, so they are paying voluntarily. Having the dues deducted at source just means they don't have to think about it.
I think the Conservative Party are trying to get a lot of stuff through while the Labour Party are leaderless and rudderless, and maybe they'll regret it later. I'm not sure, but we'll see.

Sunday 15-08-02 Two Bites of Bushwalla

Since I last wrote, I've been to see Bushwalla twice. One of our friends enjoys his stuff and asked if we wanted to go and see him perform in Brighton at the Latest Bar. We decided to make a night of it and we asked M & P to babysit.
We headed into Brighton, and had dinner out before the show at Sawadee. We used to go to Sawadee regularly when we lived in Brighton, and it was as delicious as ever. TW insisted on the fishcakes, as that was always her favourite. I like Thai, it always tastes cleaner than Chinese. I love Chinese as well, we had a Chinese takeaway last night (oh, the decadence!), but somehow Thai food seems sharper and lighter than Chinese. So, after the Thai meal and a couple of glasses of wine, we went off to the Latest Bar. We were the first ones there, at about 19:45, which was a bit of a worry, as the show was due to start at 20:00.
Bushwalla himself came and sat with us to eat his falafel, and then went to get ready. There was a bit of a delay, as they waited for more people to show up. Eventually there were 11 of us in the audience (you couldn't call us a crowd...) and the show got underway. The support was a singer-songwriter called Tom Price-Stephens, or TPS for short. I really enjoyed his stuff, it was laidback and mellow. There were a couple of funny songs, especially "That's What She Said", and the first song, the opener which got me was "Between The Lines".
So that went well, and then Bushwalla came on. Apparently he writes with Jason Mraz, although I had to google Mraz to work out that I had heard his stuff ("I'm Yours" is one I've heard before).
Despite the fact that there were only 11 of us, Bushwalla pushed ahead, and gave us a show. It was really good, he played with his music and he's got some really good stuff, especially "Gangster" and "Freaky Guy". He had a lot of musical jokes going on, and was able to make up raps on the spot. He also threw in some juggling and some illusions, and it was a good show. It was a damn fine evening, and it was an awful shame that more people weren't there to see it. Still, we will always know that we were part of the #Brighton11.
After the show I spoke to both Bushwalla and TPS, and TPS gave me one of his CDs - that has had a couple of outings in the last week, and it is really good, and certainly a reminder of bits of the live show.

This Friday we also saw Bushwalla at the Tangerine Bar in Worthing; although bits of the show were the same, it was a completely different vibe, as the room was filled with 30 or so friends who were all in to his stuff. As I understand it, he was staying with friends in Worthing, and he apologised to some of the audience for eating their cookies. It was another good evening, and we really enjoyed it.

Saturday 15-07-18 Sussex vs Hampshire at the Sussex County Ground

It was Friday night, and therefore time to head to the Sussex County Ground for another crucial T20 fixture. Sussex have done well considering where they were in the T20 league just a few weeks ago. With one match to go, it looks like Sussex are going to be in the quarter finals, but they may have missed their chance for a home quarter final.
It was another fine evening, despite the weather during the day being a bit grey and dreary. It had cleared up and the game was played under clear skies. Sussex won the toss and decided to bat second, a strategy which had worked for them previously, but on this occasion unfortunately the Hampshire openers were too good for our bowling. Carberry fell early, but Vince batted out the innings and finished on 90 not out. It was good to see Owais Shah's brief cameo, he scored 40 from 23, and eventually Hampshire posted a total of 204-3. The pressure was on...
Wright and Nash came out and started enjoying themselves; they scored 15 off  the first over, and their intent was clear. They both played well. Wright was out in the eighth over for 42, bowled by Arafat somewhat ironically, as Arafat used to play for Sussex. Nash went on to get 88, and the win was still within reach.
Unfortunately Machan did not shine; he was out for one run, and Bailey made a useful 33, but in the end it wasn't enough. We needed five runs from the final delivery, and Ollie Robinson was at the wicket. Of course, it was a dot ball, and Sussex fell short.
We have one more game, tomorrow I think, so maybe we can get a home quarter final still, but I think that maybe the chance has gone. I sat in my usual position, in the third row back, at the end of a section, so that my view of the play was unimpeded, and I enjoyed it. I was sitting next to a particularly rowdy bunch of Sussex supporters who barracked the Hampshire players in the outfield. They were quite amusing at times, although their attempts to get a Mexican wave started were woeful.
Now we're getting into the one day season, and I have tickets for those games, so I am looking forward to those. They're more my pace; T20 games, while exciting and hectic, are over too quickly. The one day games give you time to luxuriate in the atmosphere and really unwind. Bring it on, I say...

Saturday 15-07-11 The Ashes First Test, Cardiff

Well, it should not be news to anyone by now that England won the first Ashes test in Cardiff against Australia. I think it was Botham who has the theory that the third day decides a test, and England won the third day decisively. Things were fairly well-balanced at the end of Day 2; England had put on a good score for their first innings and Australia were set fair to match it. They were 264-5 versus England's 430 all out. I did hope that if England could take three wickets by lunch, they would be in the box seat. As it was, Australia were all out for 308 before lunch, a deficit of 122.
England took their innings and lost Cook before lunch (I had a little £2 bet on Cook getting to 48, so I was disappointed). And they were all out at end of day for 289, but when the lead of 122 was added, that meant that Australia had to get to 411 to win in their final innings. England were all out with the final play of Day 3, and so Australia had two whole days, or 180 overs, to get to 411.
Unfortunately for Australia, they didn't even get to the end of Day 4 before they were all out. Only Mitchell Johnson and David Warner scored more than 50, and actually Johnson was the high-scorer with 77. But they couldn't muster more than 242 before they were all out. And so England were victorious.

I think there were small wins and benefits to both teams; Starc took five wickets in the first innings and appears to be the danger Aussie bowler. Johnson was wicketless but seemed to take it with good humour, he had a fairly good run rate of 4.44. Root, Stokes and Ali all scored highly, as did Ballance. So as expected.
It was good to see Bell get a 60 in the second innings, and I hope that is a return to form for Ronald. It is good to see him in the runs. Root also scored 60, probably without breaking a sweat, but such is the nature of cricket today.
I think at the end of Australia's first innings, the prediction was that this would be difficult for Australia to recover, and so it proved. I had a bet on Australia to win and obviously that has now fallen by the wayside, but I think an England win, so decisively, is worth a fiver...

TTFN

Saturday 15-07-11 Sussex vs Glamorgan

Another Friday night, another T20 match. The weather was glorious, the beer was flowing freely and Glamorgan chose to bat first. That was a mistake, as Sussex like to chase, and so it proved. Glamorgan didn't score enough to make it a challenge for Sussex, Luke Wright scored 92 not out and was still in at the end (obvs). George Bailey had a bash once he got his eye on and hit the winning runs.
Sussex remain second in the table and with a home game again next Friday night, hopefully they can repeat last night's result and swing a home quarter-final.
Keepin' the dream alive...

Tuesday 15-07-07 American Horror Story: Freakshow - A Final Verdict

Freakshow was an excellent addition to the American Horror Story oeuvre. Let me get that out of the way first. Jessica Lange as Elsa Mars has found her calling. Kathy Bates, with her weird Canadian (?) accent was brilliant. I felt for all of the cast, cast as they were in their hopeless, fateful roles.
Evan Peters was brilliant, as were all repeating cast members. Frances Conroy as Gloria Mott was brilliant, and Dandy Mott played by Finn Wittrock was a tour de force. Basically, what I'm saying is that the cast was brilliant, the pacing was excellent, and the story was gripping.

It was so good that I watched the final three episodes in one burst tonight. However, I don't think I will watch any more series of American Horror Story.

My concern with American Horror Story is that the protaganists are always destined to fail. The ending of Freakshow was uplifting for one particular character, and a couple of others, but as time went on it became clear that this was not going to be an uplifting and optimistic series.

I wouldn't normally complain about being served up a quality drama series which was ultimately depressing, except for the fact that when I detach myself from the fantasy of the TV show, actually real life doesn't seem much better. The characters in Freakshow were locked into their fate, and sometimes it seems that we are all locked into our fates, guaranteed to continue along the path that we've cut out for ourselves.

I feel jealous of people like Romesh Ranganathan,not because he's a famous comedian (well, yea, that is a big factor) but because he's managed to swap jobs and roles. He hasn't let his fate define him, he's managed to escape the fate of the cost analyst and the fate of the teacher. Third time lucky. I don't know, I'm spouting on a bit, maybe I should shut up now. It is quite late, and I have had drink taken watching Freakshow. Take it from me, some soft landing is required. Especially with AHS.

Tuesday 15-07-07 Some Observations on Current Affairs

It's been ten years since the London bombings and there has been coverage of the remembrance services happening today. It was a dreadful event and lots of people are still living with the after-effects of that tragedy.

Yesterday I saw that the government has handed off responsibility for free TV licences for the over-75s to the BBC. That is a bit of a surprise, as it will add almost a fifth to the BBC's annual costs. It will also reduce the costs to the government; I wonder what they're going to do with that £650 million? They're also talking about decriminalising not paying the licence fee. Currently the licence fee is classed as a tax, hence it is a criminal offence not to pay it. If it changes and it is not a crime not to pay the licence fee, then it will be more difficult to collect and the BBC will have to spend more to get the revenues it is due.

At the same time the govt is now proposing that the cap on household income from benefits will be £20,000 outside London.  Well, they've already abolished child poverty so if they sort this out then they can probably call it a day for this parliament and sold off to the golf course for the rest of the term. Let's hope they don't implement any further policies to "help" the British public.
Oh, but wait! There's the first Tory budget tomorrow,  which is expected to cut tax credits and allow more Sunday trading. So now the plebs can work seven days a week for less money than ever before. Way to go, fellas, gotta keep the general populace subjugated.

If the amount that the government is spending on people who need it is going down, I expect that they are planning a tax rebate of some mammoth proportions. Or maybe they are going to use that money to plug the gap caused by the reduced funds received from inheritance tax? That's right, they are intending to stop taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Still, they are the rich, so that's only to be expected. The trouble I think they'll find is that the poor voted for them, and it is the people who put them into power who will suffer due to the cuts in tax credits and withdrawal of other benefits.

I still don't really see an up-tick in the economy, I don't think anyone is getting better off. I'm alright, I don't get tax credits and i don't rely on the govt to ensure I have a living wage, but I'll tell you something, I'm bloody scared that one day I might, and then where will we be?

Just a thought...

Sunday 15-07-05 Oneplus One Screenshot

There's lots going on in the world at the moment, but I'm not going to write about that. I could've read about it, but TW didn't pick up a paper when she popped out to Asda earlier. I can always scan the Guardian and Telegraph websites if I need a news fix. 

The Greeks might be about to leave the €uro, we'll see shortly what the exit polls predict. That'll be interesting to follow. 

We had a "Half Christmas" party yesterday so I am feeling slightly jaded. I nearly fell asleep earlier, but unfortunately I was rudely awakened / interrupted by TW returning from the aforementioned trip to Asda. So I am comforting myself with a nice sunny warm homescreen on my phone.

That is all. 

Tuesday 15-06-30 My Wife The Good Samaritan

TW was awake at 01:30 this morning, which was a miracle in itself (since no alcohol was involved), but actually she had set the alarm and intended to be awake at that time. We are taking in students who are visiting the UK to learn English, and she had agreed to take in a Chinese boy. Unfortunately we were expected to collect him from Worthing Station at 23:30.
Why set the alarm for 01:30 instead, then? I hear you ask... Well, at about 23:00 we got a text message advising that our visitor was delayed, and not expected into Worthing until 01:30. Up until that point, I was going to collect him, but at that point TW told me to go to bed and get some sleep, and she would collect the new arrival. So she set her alarm for 01:00 or 01:10, and dressed and set off to the station.
She was a few minutes early, our arriving student had not yet arrived, so she busied herself surveying the scene. She noticed a young woman who appeared to be visibly upset talking to a member of the station staff. The young woman ended the conversation and was crying. TW, being the person she is, wandered over and asked the woman what was the matter.
It turned out that she was a Mexican lady travelling to Milan, and she had been in London, intending to get to Gatwick. She had boarded the last train out of London Victoria, which as any fule kno runs fast to Brighton and then along the coast to Worthing. Unfortunately not every Mexican fule kno that though... She had spoken to the taxi drivers at the station, and they wanted £100 to drive her to Gatwick; she only had £13 about her person. So that was a no-go. And her flight was at 06:00. TW took control of the situation, told her not to worry, explained why she was loitering at the train station at that time in the morning (I would have been a bit suspicious myself) and promised to get the girl to Gatwick.
So TW collected the student and brought the student and the young woman back to our house, settled the student, came and woke me up and told me what she was up to (not that I took it in at the time, apparently I mostly blinked and looked dazed), and set off driving the girl to Gatwick. TW got back about 03:30 and slept.
I made sandwiches for the students when I got up, and a neighbour offered to take the girls to school, and I left for work.
Speaking to TW in the evening, she said that she hadn't done anything special, that anyone would have done the same thing and that she hoped that if she or any of our daughters were in that situation, that someone would have helped in a similar way.
I beg to differ though; I think that what she did was extraordinary, and it's not something that "anyone else would have done". TW is extremely empathic, and she helps people wherever she can. This was an extreme example of the sort of thing that she does every day.
In a world where people are getting shot while they sunbathe, and state support is being taken away from those most in need, and where all our heroes have turned out to be grubby self-interested child-molesters, this is the sort of act which restores my faith in humanity and reaffirms the fact that I've got the best wife in the world.
I hope others can appreciate that a little help here and there makes the world a better place.

Saturday 15-05-27

Here we are, Saturday morning again. TW is upstairs in bed, the girls are next door watching some sort of trash TV, and I am here with my thoughts and a keyboard. That's a dangerous combination.
The students have been here a week now, and so far they have been no bother at all. They're very polite and quiet, although there have been a couple of evenings when it has sounded like they've been keeping elephants up in their room. That's the only way to explain the foundation-shattering bumps and thuds emanating from upstairs. They've been out to a disco (arranged by the school, they've not been clubbing it up at Ben Ten), they even went to the bowling alley last night, although I'm not sure they did any bowling; I think they were just "hanging out". And they said they thought they would be home by 21:30, and they got home at 21:30 on the dot. I wonder what the Spanish is for "hanging out"?
Today is the school summer fair, so that will take up most of the late morning / early afternoon. We will be meeting the MiL and the GiL there, as the Middle One is doing some country dancing, and singing in the choir as well.
TW wants to head off to Worthing Rugby Club this afternoon, as all her mates from Splashpoint are going to be there, and Murdoch's Crazy Eyes are playing as well, later. I shall probably leave her there, although that might mean that I don't see her until 3am tomorrow morning; but that's a risk I just gotta take. It'll mean I can get through a couple of episodes of Freakshow tonight, at least...

TTFN.

Sunday 15-06-21 Now We Are Seven

TW has decided to "retire", at the ripe old age of 38 (don't tell her I told you) and so in order to maintain some kind of income she has decided to take in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. Our first two arrived last night, they are Spanish boys aged 14 & 15. They seem polite enough, TW made most conversation with them, of course, and at least they didn't murder us in our beds as we slept. But as I've pointed out elsewhere, they are here for three weeks, there is plenty of time yet. So now we have five children in the house, and we are getting another one next Monday as well. At least it will bring in a penny or two.

Today of course is Father's Day (or is it Fathers' Day?), and so I was given the choice of what I wanted to do. My first choice is always to sit on my bottom and surf the internet, learning things and following stories in the news. However, I don't think that's what TW was offering. I did suggest Sleepy Hollow, but then I decided I wanted to see some views, so we went up to Highdown instead. We sat at the top of Highdown looking out across Goring and Ferring, out to sea, and it was lovely. The sun was shining, it wasn't too hot, it was very restful. Then we walked over Highdown, out towards Arundel, and we did consider striking out for The Spotted Cow, one of the GiL's favourite watering holes. Our only concern was that we did not know how far it actually was. Well, it seems that there and back is approximately 3.75 miles, which was maybe a bit further than we were intending to walk. As I write this, TW is having a nap, and my calves are beginning to complain about the amount of extra work they've had to do today. But it was a good walk, we had a soft drink and some chips when we got to the pub, and the youngest children didn't complain too much on the way back. Result. The students are up in London today, so they weren't with us, but they'll be back later.
All in all, it's been good. I should go and wake TW up in a bit, but I might let her sleep on...
TTFN.

Sunday 15-06-14 Sussex vs. Essex Friday Night T20

Friday night is cricket night around here, and so when work wrapped up it was off to the Hove County Ground for an evening's T20. A colleague gave me a lift into Hove, and I schlepped it to the ground after popping into Tesco to stock up on provisions. I was going to buy a ticket for the Euromillions lottery, as the jackpot was £92 millions, but unfortunately (or otherwise?) the branch of Tesco which I popped into didn't sell lottery tickets. It could have been me...

Anyway, to the ground, where I asked the stewards on my way in if it was going to rain. They reckoned not, apparently they had received word from the groundsman. I was sceptical; it had rained on and off during the day up to that point, and the clouds were hanging heavy and gray overhead. But so it turned out - we stayed dry throughout, and the rain only came once I had returned home.

Essex won the toss and decided to bowl, putting Sussex in to bat first. Of course the openers were Nash and Wright, and I really hoped that they would take the game away from Essex from the start. As it was, they got in, but then unfortunately they both got out, Wright for twenty and Nash for twenty-two. Then Jayawardene had a go, and scored 53, but unfortunately no-one could stay with him, and Sussex could only post 140 from their twenty overs. Topley took two wickets, as did Bopara, and Shaun Tait (used to play for Australia) took three.

I had a couple of pints of Amstel during the first innings, as I couldn't face the Sharks Gold bitter, apparently it's made by North Laines brewery, so it's a good local effort, and it's good for both partners, I reckon, but unfortunately I don't like the taste.

Sussex came out into the field then, for the second innings, and Essex were in. They opened with Jesse Ryder and Mark Pettini. I guess Jesse is New Zealand's answer to KP - explosive, exciting to watch, and with his own off-field issues. Tonight he hit two lovely sixes to get the innings off to a good start, and then was promptly out. No matter though, Pettini scored 48 and Westley 47, both at a pace, and so at the tail-end of the innings the required rate per over was two or thereabouts. As it was Essex wrapped it up within seventeen overs, and I was already at the train station by then, waiting to get home.

It was good to be able to see some stars of the game playing; Bopara, Ryder, Tait and Jayawardene. It was a shame that Sussex did so poorly, but to me the result is immaterial, really. I don't get into a fug about it. I had a nice chat with a Welsh guy who supported Glamorgan, of course, and was hoping for Wales to win against Belgium in the World Cup qualifiers. I was able to hook into the Sussex wi-fi and keep him updated on their progress (Wales won 1-0), and we discussed England's chances against New Zealand, and it was just a relaxed evening where I could focus on me and my wants. I have a fairly relaxed life any way, but there is something restorative about spending time at the cricket and aligning with the rhythms of the game. Focusing on the game and forgetting the demands of work and life at home takes me out of myself, and brings down the blood pressure, or at least it feels like that sometimes. I'm off again to see Sussex play Surrey at Arundel, I just hope they put on a better show today than they did on Friday.

TTFN.

Thursday 15-06-11 Selling the Nation

So, George Osborne reckons it's time to sell off the RBS shares.  He's been advised by Rothschild and the Bank of England that the time is now. I wonder who will take care of the sale for the government? It wouldn't be Rothschild, would it? I wonder who will actually make money out of this sale? The government, and therefore, we the people, aren't going to make any money. The shares are going to be sold at a loss, despite the fact that we've held these shares for seven years. RBS keep getting pinged for illegal business practices, and other assorted penalties. It's almost like they weren't being regulated those few years ago...
I have some shares personally in RBS, and they cost me about £100. They are still worth about £100. I'm not going to sell them until they're worth about £200. I don't know how long it's going to take, but I can hold onto them until then. I think the govt. should take the same approach. Ironically, on the news that Osborne was going to sell the shares, the price went up by 8p. That's not going to change my fortunes but it's a move in the right direction. Another 42p, and it would be worth selling. As it is, the govt. has an asset and they can sell it only once. Selling those shares now, at this price, is a mistake. Combine that with the sale of the shares in the Post Offoce, and it looks like there will be no assets left for any future govt. The good thing about valuable assets which keep appreciating in value, is that they create wealth and mean that the general population don't have to contribute so much in tax. Anyone would think, looking at the current general sell-off, that the Tory Govt. would like to keep the general population under the yoke. That can't possibly be the case, can it?

Wednesday 15-06-10 American Horror Story - Freakshow I

I've started watching the new series, and it's full of the normal grotesques. Jessica Lange and the usual cast are in it, all performing out of their skins. Kathy Bates is particularly fantastic as the bearded lady, but even more remarkable is her accent.
Anyway, I am finding it hard to get into; I know how it will all end - in despair and hopelessness, the same as always.
The brilliant conceit though, is that the series is set in 1952, but the songs that Madame Elsa sings modern songs - "Life on Mars" by Bowie, "Gods and Monsters" by Lana Del Rey, and I'm sure there are more to come. I will keep watching, out of some ghoulish fascination.

TTFN.

Saturday 15-06-06 A Saturday Morning Ramble about Nothing Very Much

I love it when the date does that, I mean that the month starts on a Monday. Then it's easy to work out what the date is. Today is Saturday, that's the sixth day of the week, so it must be the sixth of June. Sorted. Sometimes numbers just work, you know?
Anyway, as I sit here slightly jaded (that's code for hungover), there's not much that I want to write. I had a small win on the Euromillions last night, £7.50, but it wasn't the full-on £72 million, was it? I've decided that I'm not going to play the lottery any more, I think I'm spending £8 a week on it. What with the Euro millions on a Tuesday and Friday, and the National Lottery on a Wednesday and Saturday, that's £8 a week or £32 a month, which is £380 a year, give or take. So I have decided to save that instead. I pay weekly into a savings account, so I shall just up my weekly amount. Paying weekly makes it seem smaller and it's therefore less noticeable. I only have less than £200 saved, but it normally comes in handy during months where I've overspent.
Speaking of overspending and overdoing things in general, Tuesday was the only night this week that I didn't buy booze for me and TW on the way home. Aside from the fact that constant boozing is not good for the body, the drain on my wallet is also not good. A bottle of prosecco and a bottle of wine these days is about £13, and that's in addition to the money I spend during the day at work on tea and pastries; I shall have to slow down.
I prefer an ascetic life I think, without many possessions. Despite what TW asserts, I am not a hoarder. I've decided that I am going to sell off the majority of my comics, as I'm buggered if I shall ever read them again. So hopefully that will bring in a pound or two during the month. It's just a bit hit and miss whether anyone will want them. I can sit here and value them by myself, but when I put them on eBay that's when reality strikes and I realise they're not worth that much at all. Still, I've got three boxes full, so even if they go for 50p per comic, that's still £150 or so. Which would be nice.
And I am also going to stop drinking. I know I've said it before, but with so many comics to read and shows to watch, I can't be doing with it. I watched two episodes of The Walking Dead last night and I can barely remember what happened. I shall find it hard to stop completely with a bottle of whisky in the cupboard, but let's give it a go, shall we. Even if I limit myself to a double per night, that would get rid of it and prevent me getting stocious. And I'm not getting my running in when I drink in the evenings, so it would be better all round, I think. I've probably chosen the wrong day as we are having two of the girls' friends for a sleepover, but actually if I am in charge of other children, I probably shouldn't be drinking anyway. I guess we'll see; it's an aspiration, aren't we an aspirational nation? At least Labour would have you believe that.
Oh, and politics in the mix as well! I wasn't planning on that! Well, in fact I am going to keep my powder dry for the time being. I just hope that as people see what is happening (and what will happen over the next five years), they start to say to themselves "I didn't want that to happen when I voted Conservative back in 2015". But we'll have to see how it turns out. More to come on that.
TTFN.

Tuesday 15-06-02 Your Train Has Been Delayed

I was up early yesterday  morning, about 05:10. I laid in bed, revelling in  the warmth of  the duvet and putting off the time I had to rejoin the human race. The kids had an INSET day (I'm assured that's how it's supposed to written, in CAPITALS), and TW would be looking after them, so it was like they had an extended weekend, and I was the only one to step back onto the treadmill. TW had even volunteered to look after some of our neighbours' children, but she had advised them that she would still be in bed when they arrived at 08:15. So it was just me getting back into the "routine".
So, I played Candy Crush, and completed my daily challenge on Temple Run 2. I dismissed the idea of going for a run. Then, as it got closer to 06:30, I got up and had a shave. I did intend to get up and iron a shirt too, but the warmth of the duvet prevented me. And my own lethargy. let's not pretend. After all, I did read once in Dune that (as a ruler) if you rule on a subject, you will be forever expected to rule on that subject. And the way I've integrated that into my own life, is that if I ever do anything, I will be forever expected to do that thing. So although it might look like I have adopted the philosophy and the lifestyle of the sloth, I am merely managing other peoples' expectations, and reducing future demands and expectations on my time.
Anyway, time passed, and it was time to get up properly, so I showered, dressed and went downstairs and made myself breakfast. I did consider making myself a chilli wrap, but decided not to, in the interests of getting to work early. And that's when things started to go wrong...
I was considering going into work late yesterday, due to the fact that I had to post a comic off to an eBay buyer. The Post Office doesn't open until 08:30, so getting into Brighton any earlier than 08:20 is a bit silly. But, as I mentioned earlier, the girls were on a day off, and so I made it to the station by 07:39. I looked at the arrivals board and saw that the next train was due at 08:39, so I chuckled to myself and told me that they had got their timezones wrong, or they hadn't taken account of British Summer Time (BST). But then I looked at the announcement below, and it seemed that someone had been hit by a train near Angmering, so actually the times given were correct. Dammit.
Of course I looked on Twitter to see what Southern Railways were saying, and they mentioned that SWT (Southwestern Trains) might be running normally. I normally catch the SWT train from Worthing station at 07:59, so I thought I could probably make it to there by 07:59. I bumped into a work colleague as I walked off West Worthing station and explained the situation, and we walked together to Worthing station.
Worthing was no better; all the trains were delayed. As it was, the first train arrived at about 08:15, It was too crowded for me to get on, so I bid my companion good luck, and I waited for the next train. Five minutes or so later, I was heading eastwards, with my own seat, with my earpods jammed deep in my ear canals, and I travelled to work in comfort. It was only as we drew closer to Brighton that I looked around and realised that my train was as busy, if not more busy, than the previous train which I had refused.
Eventually, after dropping in at the Post Office, I managed to get into the office at 09:15. It was a shitty day, made up of bits and pieces, and my mind was concentrated not on work, but on the person hit by the train at 05:18 this morning.
I have no idea how anyone can get into the state where throwing oneself under a train is the best way out. I can't see that anyone should ever get into the position where they feel they have no-one to talk to, and if people feel that they have no support, I am sorry for that. Flippantly, if I was going to commit suicide, I think Monday morning might be the optimal time because then at least you avoid the treadmill of the week at work. I imagine that the guy worked in London; can you imagine a journey of two hours (from Angmering) to a job you hated, only to spend two hours travelling home again at the end of the day, in order to go to bed and sleep so that you could get up and travel to London the next day? And that's assuming  the guy was of sound mind and not depressed, where these challenges take on disproportionate importance. It may be that the journey had become such a symbol of all that was wrong with the guy's life that he couldn't take it any more. But conversely he must have experienced those days when the trains were disrupted by a jumper. I'm not saying we shouldn't know that someone has decided to end it all, but disrupting the south coast train network for one person is a bit disproportionate.
Anyway, it wasn't me. So that's a plus.

TTFN.

Sunday 15-05-30 Sussex vs Middlesex Friday Night T20

Friday night was another chance to see Sussex in some T20 action. The day had been mostly grey and rainy, but I had faith in the weather forecast, and at ten minutes to four o'clock the rain stopped and the sun started to shine. Work had been a bit of a bind on Friday, so I didn't actually get stuff wrapped up until 5.30pm, and then I headed off to Hove.
I stopped in Tesco and did my usual pre-match stock up, taking advantage of the £3 meal deal, and then walked to the ground. Despite the fact that it was a quarter past six, I was able to get a seat in the third row at the end, in the general area at the Cromwell Road end, which gave me a completely unfettered view of the wicket. I was quite pleased with myself. The only trouble with going to the cricket by yourself, is a slight concern about leaving bags unattended while going to the loo / bar. I don't want to lose my seat, so I don't want to take them with me, but I don't want them to be stolen or taken by an attendant. So when I use the facilities, there is always a slight fear that my bags might not be there when I return. So far, this has been a completely unfounded fear, it has to be said.
Middlesex won the toss and decided to bat first. As it got closer to 7pm, I wandered up to the bar for an ale They had Shark's Ale, obviously brewed specifically for the cricket ground, but unfortunately it didn't taste that great, and so I only had the one pint. I had a second pint in Sussex's innings, Amstel that time, which was more refreshing.
Middlesex got off to a flyer, Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling piled on the runs for them. Stirling got 88, and Malan ended up not out on 115. Eoin Morgan came in at #3 and I was looking forward to seeing him play, but unfortunately he was out first ball - shame. Middlesex ended on 221-2, and it was going to be tricky for Sussex to equal that.
I was glad I took my fleece, because although it was sunny, as soon as the sun disappeared, either behind a tree or a building, the heat went out of the day. After all, it is still May, and so there isn't really any underlying warmth. Bring on July, I say...
Sussex tried, but failed. Luke Wright did well though, he got 91, and when he partnered with Chris Jordan I thought they might be in with a chance. The required rate was 15, but it was sticking at 15, and they were doing well. I had to pop off for a minute though, and when I got back they were both out. It was all over at that stage really, but I stayed another over and saw Beer fall, and that sealed it, it was time to head off.

I do like going to the cricket, regardless of the outcome, although it is nice when Sussex win. It's a combination of things I suppose; the atmosphere, the fact that it's outside, the communal focus on the action, the lack of distractions (i.e., kids, I suppose), the pace of it... Even with T20 and its insistence that an innings take no longer than 1hr 15mins, it is still relaxing. And it was certainly what was required on Friday night after a tough day at work. More to come over the next few weeks about cricket, hopefully better news for Sussex. They're in the bottom half of the table, but with a few good results, they could get back on top.

TTFN.

Tuesday 15-05-19 A Win for Sussex

Sunday saw the start of the cricket season, for me. They have already played several county games, and last Friday saw their first T20 game away from home (they lost to Kent), but as this was the first T20 match at home, this was my opener. I have again bought a Sharks Membership, although they have renamed it to T20+ this year, as it includes the home One-Day Cup games as well.
I packed my old rucksack, brushed down my wide-brimmed Sussex cricket hat, ferreted out my binoculars and the old red fleece, and set off to the station. We were held up at Worthing for a few minutes, but eventually moved on. We got to Hove and I headed to Tesco to stock up on supplies; I had already made myself a sandwich but I fancied a little something extra. I searched for a pork pie, but they were sold out. I briefly considered a sausage roll, but quickly dismissed that idea as there was no brown sauce, and moved on to the sweets. I surveyed the pastry shelves but at that time of day (14:00) they were pretty thin on the ground. I settled on a Reese's Nut Bar and scuttled out (after paying, of course).
As I got to the ground, I thought they should have been playing Slight Return by Bluetones, with its refrain of "I'm coming home...". I was immediately relaxed and the weather certainly helped; it was sunny with a slight breeze and still had the coolness that you expect in May. Gloucestershire had already won the toss and decided to field first, so I found a seat and sat down sharp-ish, as play got underway.
Wright was out pretty quickly, but Nash stuck in and partnered Jayawardene pretty successfully; coincidentally they both got 43 each before they lost their wickets. Jayawardene was bowled, and Nash succumbed to an injury before he was caught. The rest of the batting was nothing to write home about, so I won't, and Sussex got to 167 for 5, which I thought was a bit low. I seem to remember Gloucs ran Sussex's score down fairly easily last time, so I was worried for Sussex.
So Gloucs came into bat, and Dent was out first ball, which was a good start. Cockbain was out in the third over, and they weren't scoring quickly, so they started to appear to be under the cosh. But Marshall and his improbable hair dug Gloucs out of a tricky situation; eventually he was out for 45 off 29 deliveries. After that, Sussex always had the upper hand; Gloucs came back at the end and needed 19 off the last two overs. They stayed in touch too, until the penultimate delivery; they still needed 8 to win but only scored one. The crowd, who were subdued most of the day, cheered, and then the final delivery fizzled out and Sussex had won their first T20 game of the season.
During the Gloucs innings they did manage to smash a six, and it came pretty close to me. I ducked out of the way, and another spectator tried to catch the ball - but failed. That was quite exciting, but I've been going for a few years now, I suppose it was going to happen one day.

A brilliant day, in summary, and I am looking forward to more games during the summer. Possibly more reports to come.

Tuesday 15-05-19 Tunisian Holiday I

So we went to Tunisia on holiday at the beginning of May. It was TW's idea, she realised that since the bank holiday and the General Election coincided in the same week, we could take the girls out of school and only miss eight sessions. At the moment, there is a bizarre scheme in place in our local education system where if you take your children out of school for more than five days without authorisation, you get fined. And of course, "holiday" is not a good enough reason to obtain approval. So we did tell them in advance that we were going to take the children out of school, and the school marked it as "unauthorised absence". TW had searched the internet thoroughly and found a holiday through Sunmasters, which came in at just over £1,000, which wasn't bad for the five of us. I'm sure that it would be at least double that during the school holidays. We were flying Monarch and staying at a hotel in Monastir called the Delphin Ribat. TW chose not to book any luggage into the hold during the flight, so we were restricted to 10kg each of hand luggage. Actually none of us packed more than 7kg, and that was with the children taking a cuddly toy each. Working to that limit really concentrates the mind, and we don't normally max out our luggage anyway - we normally pack the 23kg to book into the hold and travel light in the cabin. So I packed one pair of trousers, one pair of shorts, trunks, two short-sleeved shirts and a t-shirt and obviously had what I was wearing; trousers, a long-sleeved top and a jumper, and sandals. I chose to travel in sandals and was planning to wear them for the week, but unfortunately I developed a blister and had to switch to my back-up sandals after a couple of days.Anyway, we got to Gatwick in good time, this was to be the girls' first overseas holiday and TW wanted to make the most of the experience with them, so that meant immersing ourselves in Duty Free and generally having a good look around the airport. We booked the car into "Summer Special" car parking, with a special deal which meant it was only £40 for the week, which was cheaper than the train tickets would have been, and it was so straightforward - we booked online, they told us to turn up after a certain time, we left the keys with them and then jumped on the shuttle bus to the North terminal. It was really simple, and it's certainly a service we'll use in the future. We had a go on the inter-terminal shuttle train to get to the South Terminal, which I think they enjoyed; actually they enjoyed the whole thing. Then we checked in, and they told us that since the flight was busy, we could check in our luggage free of charge, if we so chose. Result! That saved us about £200, not that we needed to check it in, but it meant that we could wander the airport unencumbered by luggage which was threatening to kneecap or seriously disable unsuspecting members of the public. So of course we agreed, and then we skipped joyfully to the security checkpoint. It was there that we hit our first hurdle; although we took all our metallic items (coins, rings, phones, etc.) out of our pockets, our middle child pinged as she went through the scanners. She had to go into one of the new-fangled complete body scanners to be scanned in more depth. I think it was due to the sequins on her top, but she looked very worried as she went into the "scanning chamber" - she'll probably never wear that top again :). We had a look around airside, and went for lunch at Frankie and Benny's; I have to say it was great value, and maybe the kids enjoyed it more than Pizza Express. The portions were large, and the drinks were refillable, which is the main concern for our children, at least. I had the Full English breakfast which was delicious; the bacon was a bit dry but apart from that, it was a full plate of deliciousness. We had to stock up on sun tan lotion because we thought we were taking hand luggage only, and so we hadn't packed large bottles of sun tan lotion; TW went to Boots and picked up some of their own-brand stuff, which came with after sun too. And then it was time to fly. It was amazing how the time sped by, and suddenly we were in the air. More to come next time...

Thursday 15-04-30 Meh.

Meh.

So last night I got on the scales and weighed myself, and I'm up to 14 stone 10 lbs. That was fully dressed, but even this morning when I was wandering around my domain, lording it up naked, I still weighed in at 14 st 3 lbs.
No wonder I've been so lethargic recently. Life, it seems, has all been a bit "meh", and really it shouldn't be like that. I have a lovely lively wife and three beautiful girls, and I wasn't taking pleasure in any of them.
This week I've not been drinking, I thought that might help, and perhaps it has, but I think that when we get back from holiday I am going to have to take some serious action. I'm talking about running again, and keeping it up this time. I may even start going to the gym, I'm not sure if TW can still get me half-price membership, I'll have to check. I was looking in the mirror yesterday morning and I know I have a belly, right, there is no way I can be three stone overweight and not have a belly. But I noticed that I now have saddlebags too, above my hips and to the back? That's a new development I've not noticed before. So that's kind of like a call to action.
The trouble is that we go on holiday tomorrow, for a week, and so I'm not sure what state I'll come back in. Should I take an ascetic approach on holiday and live like a monk, watching my calories and limiting my booze intake? Or should I forget it all and pick it up when I come back? At which stage it'll be harder to achieve my aims, or it will take longer, at least.
Well, looking at that, it seems that I have answered my own question, and I have been thinking that I would limit my booze intake anyway, since the children will be with us. It seems like I shall probably do a lot of reading. Hopefully the children will be occupied with activity clubs, and TW & I can get some time to relax.

Sunday 15-04-19 Easter at Petworth

As part of our strategy to keep the children occupied and happy, on Saturday 4th April (the day before Easter Sunday) we went to Petworth with some friends and their kids. Petworth House is managed by the National Trust and they tend to do seasonal activities for the kids, which is nice.
Our girls immediately tried to climb up to the folly using quite a steep approach, and as it was still slightly wet underfoot, they ended up slipping and getting muddy within five minutes of getting there, the muppets.
This time the NT had arranged an egg hunt in the gardens of the house, which ended with them receiving a chocolate egg - quite sizeable it was too, but then it was £3 per child to take part, so fair's fair. It took quite a chunk of time, 40 minutes or so, during which the children were rushing here and there, and we didn't see them, which was nice. They were playing nicely with each other and rushing around trying to find the eggs, which were quite well-hidden. Once the hunt had finished, we walked down to the lake, and had our picnic at a building (possibly an old boathouse?) on the lake.
After lunch we went up to the house and wandered through the rooms and the kitchens. Again, the children loved it and played nicely with each other. A lovely day was had by all, really.
We finished the day off with fish and chips from Old Nick's, and that was another day down. I can't believe that we're already midway through April and almost a third of the year is gone. It's Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary today, 46 long and happy years. I hope TW & I manage as long, and longer even.
TTFN.

Saturday 15-04-17 A Trip to Knockhatch

So it was the Middle 'Un's birthday nearly three weeks ago. As a treat she asked to go to Knockhatch, which is an adventure playpark / petting farm over in East Sussex, near Polegate. She wouldn't have asked, except she was prompted by her older sister who went there last summer for a friend's birthday day out.
It was the 30th March and it was a little nippy, but we're a hardy bunch (or TW is, at least), and so off we went. It took about an hour to get there from Worthing, which isn't too bad, and they had a lot of parking. Tickets were £10 for the children and £8 for the adults, which seems only fair since it is an attraction for the kids and not the grown-ups. Someone very kindly gave us a twofer in the carpark, and so for me and TW, and four kids, it cost £36. The vouchers are apparently freely available on t'interwebs. There are a few attractions for which you have to pay £1 or £2 extra at entry, like Laser Quest and the "rock climbing", but we didn't bother with any of that. We did buy some animal feed, a beaker-full was 50p, which was well worth it when it came to feeding the animals.
When you get in, there is a barn close by with goats, sheep, llamas, donkeys, alpacas, all of whom you can feed, using the feed you just bought from the entry kiosk. I think it was The Eldest who got a bit squeamish and didn't manage to feed any animal, but even I had a go, so it was really not that scary at all. And the attendants were very engaged in caring for the animals, and talked enthusiastically about them all, which was good to see.
Next up was a barrel ride, where a tractor pulls a load of hollowed-out barrels on wheels, the girls quite enjoyed that. Then we went into the main part of the adventure playground.
They have a "demon drop" slide, which starts vertically, and then curves out to horizontal, the girls enjoyed that too; the Middle 'Un didn't quite get the courage to do that, and The Youngest took her time, but by the end we had to prise her off it! There was also a little "air chair" sedate fairground ride for the younger ones, and the more nervous ones, that had a height restriction.
They even have a Runaway Train Simulator, which the children loved but left me and TW feeling nauseous. I have no spatial awareness on those things, and so I was gripping the handrails and holding on grimly, although I'll bet that the simulator never tipped much at all; it was more the jerkiness of it which was unsettling.
After that, the main thing which occupied our kids was the Wave Runner waterslide. Basically, they went down a watery chute on a sled, and then skipped along a water-filled halfpipe, until they came out at the end onto dry land. There was a possibility that you could remain dry throughout, but it was a remote possibility at that. Although I took a change of clothes, I didn't go on it, but the girls were mad for it.
Which was handy, because TW & I were very interested in the bird display. We saw a Red Kite and several owls and the keepers at Knockhatch were very knowledgeable and engaging, explaining about their habitat and hunting practices.
And we even got to go on the boating lake (also included in the entry price), although I did keep steering into the bank. Practice makes perfect though; if we go back I shall definitely do that again.

All in all, it's a lovely place with few pretensions and there is enough there to keep the family entertained all day. I didn't even mention the indoor soft play area! In fact it was so good that TW took the kids there again the following week with a friend, while I was at work. I'd thoroughly recommend it for a day out, even if it does take a while to get there.
TTFN.

Friday 15-04-10 Range Appliances

So a couple if weeks ago I made a cake. It was a coffee and walnut cake, and it was delicious. TW had to rescue the icing on the top, because for some reason it curdled, but other than that, it was all my own creation, and I was very proud of it.
Unfortunately, while it was cooking, the oven exploded. Well, I say "exploded", it did make a popping sound, and although I was able to finish cooking the cake, the oven didn't work again. So it was time to call out the repair man.
We called out Range Appliances before, to replace our grill. We had been without a grill for about 18 months, and when we had our fuse box replaced, I asked those guys if they had anyone they could recommend. They mentioned Range Appliances, and I gave them a call. The main guy came, checked the part, gave me a price which was acceptable, and then he came back a couple of days later and replaced it. Brilliant service.
So, on this occasion, I had no hesitation in calling them again. The cooker blew up on the Sunday, I called them on the Monday, and they came out to look at it on the Tuesday. Then the guy gave me the price, £73, and said he could come back on the Thursday. So I got two days working from home, and we got our cooker fixed.
If anyone local needs some oven repair work done, I would recommend calling Range Appliances, they're brilliant.
My only regret is that my attempt at a joke, as the guy was leaving ("thanks ever so much, but I hope not to see you soon") fell a bit flat. But as TW says, I can't tell jokes, so it's not surprising really...

Friday 15-04-10 There's an Election Coming...

Unless you've had your head buried in the sand for the previous three months, you'll know that there is a general election in just under four weeks.  And what a mouth-watering, interesting few weeks we've got coming.
We've already had the "Leaders' Debate", which of course I watched. I zoned out a bit during parts of the debate, but overall I thought it was quite interesting.
There are more debates to come, and I believe Cameron and Militant are going to be on a Question Time type show, although not debating head to head.
And then there is the question of who to vote for... It's a bit of a moot point here in West Worthing, or it has been up until now, as Sir Bottomley is our sitting MP. But I have heard that Bob Smytherman is standing for the Lib Dems, and he used to be Mayor, so he might stand a chance of challenging Sir Peter.
I don't think I can vote Tory this time around, so I am trying to see what my options are. Cameron, whom I quite like, suggested that if the Tories get into power with a clear majority, they would freeze JSA (Job Seeker's Allowance), which would save £2bn. But at the same time they've raised the threshold at which taxpayers pay the higher rate of tax, which is costing approximately £2bn. So they are causing hardship for those who have to count their pennies, and they are rewarding those, or reducing the tax burden on those who have a bit extra and can probably afford to have their wings clipped a bit. And I include myself in that; I am acutely aware of where the higher-rate tax threshold is, since my salary is slightly higher than that threshold. But then I spend a lot of my salary on comics, and wine, and electronics. I don't have to juggle necessities, and decide whether I am going to eat well or heat the house. I don't have to go to loan companies like Brighthouse and get finance on unacceptable terms. I don't have to borrow from loan sharks and put my belongings and limbs at risk. If I was a bit short one month, I could just stay sober for longer, or more likely dip into the kids' savings - they have more tucked away than I do.
Of course, with inflation at close to zero, any increase in JSA would be minimal anyway, and he probably could have got away with saying nothing, and still not increasing JSA, but it's a "dog whistle" tactic, or a policy aimed squarely at the natural Tory voter, and despite the fact that I'm 43 and getting older, it seems a bit distasteful to me.
One of the other policies or beliefs that the Tories espouse is the "trickle-down" theory, that the super-rich benefit the rest of the nation through spending their wealth. And so newsagents see more business, restaurateurs take in more in earnings, etc. It's not a belief I share, and so again I can't vote for that.
As I've said previously, West Worthing is a Tory stronghold, but they have a strong Lib Dem presence on the council, so Lib Dems might be the way to go. I'm certainly not going to vote UKIP, that's for sure :-D.
We'll see how it goes, I will have to make up my mind soon-ish. I am looking forward to the horse-trading which will happen after the election; I think that will be the most interesting and convoluted part.
Tally-ho!

Monday 15-04-06 Richard Herring @ The Ropetackle (Saturday 28th March)

So, the night after I went to see Courtney Barnett, and TW went to see Murdoch's Crazy Eyes, we treated ourselves to a second night of 'cultcha'. I've been a long-time fan of Richard Herring, I remember being blown away by TMWRNJ, and apparently it might be out on DVD this year. I've listened to his Leicester Square Theatre podcasts, AIOTM, and the Collings and Herrin chats. I've bought a couple of his DVDs and I even pay (more than) a pound a month to support his wacky and way-out internet-based ventures which are bound to end in disaster.
So when I heard he was coming to the Ropetackle Arts Centre, I was overjoyed. I bought tickets for myself and TW in a wild act of celebration, and then sat back and waited for the date to roll around.
I like the Ropetackle. It's staffed by ageing volunteers who do a damned fine job, while still leaving it a little rough around the edges. They let you pick up tickets on the door, and they serve Long Man beers, which are locally brewed, so it's all good. We turned up and the guy on the desk spent a minute or two searching for our tickets before admitting defeat and printing off two new tickets for us. The couple before us had experienced the same issue, so I think we got our tickets slightly more quickly; the guy behind the counter was muttering darkly about having a chat with someone as he handed our tickets over. We bumped into some friends so sat with them as we nursed our soft drinks; I still felt a bit fragile from the previous night, and TW was driving, so we were both on the wagon.
Then it was time to go in, so we filed in and sat near the back. Herring was a few minutes late on, apparently this was because he hadn't done his local research, the slacker. Overall I enjoyed the show. It was good, but in parts it seemed like he was reciting a speech. The bits where he freestyled, about Shoreham-BY-Sea, and chatted to a harp player in the front row were more sparky. But it was a heart-warming show, especially the finale. Now that he's married and a father, it seems that he is enjoying life, and that certainly came through. As I say, I enjoyed it, and I would recommend going to see him if you get the opportunity. I think he's added a date in Worthing, here. It would be an interesting experiment to go and see him again, to see whether the show was different at all. But I think I shan't.
We got out of the performance pretty quickly, being at the back, and Rich walked past us. He really is very short. I'm not tall, weighing in at 5' 8", but I reckon I towered over him. He was busy setting up his stall, and TW asked if I was going to get my programmed signed, but I chose not to. And then he was swamped and there was no chance. Maybe next tour? We'll see. So we got out sharpish, got back to the car, and drove home. We stopped for sandwiches at Tesco once we got back to Worthing, and relieved my baby-sitting parents, and normality resumed.

Saturday 15-04-04 Leaders' Debate

So I watched the Leaders' Debate on Thursday night. It wasn't very illuminating. No particular leader punched through as a clear leader.
The Welsh leader spoke to her Welsh audience; I don't think she had a "national" message aimed at including England and Scotland.
The Scottish leader, Nicola Sturgeon, did okay, at least she tried to aim her message at the whole of the UK and not just Scotland.
Natalie Bennett did okay for the Greens, I think she was debating at a slower, more low-energy level of debate. Which suited her, and I think suited a lot of the viewers.
TW said that Nick Clegg did okay, but as damaged goods, the Lib Dems are a losing proposition.
In my view, Miliband looked out of sorts, and Cameron (as current PM, let's not forget) did not impress.
So I think this debate was a showcase for the "minor" parties; and as others have argued. the major parties are sitting in a winning position and can only lose from these types of debates.

And I've not mentioned UKIP; their discourse is on a completely different level which is a foreign language to me. But I would say that Farage's comments on "heath tourism" and AIDS are worth viewing if you want to see a black & white view on things.

All in all, as I said, there was no breakthrough winner in the debate on Thursday night. I guess we will need to wait for more to come over the coming weeks if there is to be a voting groundswell in any particular direction... It'll be interesting to watch the next few weeks, however things turn out...

Friday 15--04-03 Courtney Barnett @ The Concorde II, Brighton

A week ago I saw Courtney Barnett at The Concorde II in Brighton. I was at work during the day and decided to stay in town as the doors opened at 7pm and I thought that as it was a Friday, there was likely to be a club night, and so Courtney would be on early.
I started at the Great Eastern, and as soon as I walked in I was assailed by that old pub smell of stale spilt beer. It was a comforting smell, bringing back good memories of the Peds and the Park Crescent. I enjoyed my pint, and moved on to William IVth. I had another there, and then caught the bus out towards the end of Kemptown and the Bristol Arms.
By then it had gone 7pm, so I wended my way to the Concorde and started watching the music. There were two support acts, the first of which was Fraser Gorman, who was a good fella. He had a good rapport with the crowd (as small as it was, at that stage), and he had some good tunes. He did say that he was planning to come back with a full band for The Great Escape, I think he's one to watch, especially if  the record labels start looking for "the next Courtney Barnett" - although, of course, he's not a woman.
The second support was called Spring King, and their lead singer was the drummer, which was an unusual twist. They were a bit punky, which was offset by the rest of the band doing some really good harmonising, which was really nice. I had a couple of beers watching the supports, and then it was time for the main event.
Courtney Barnett came on with her band and she rocked it. I don't know that there is much more to say. She has just released her debut album, but she has previously released a double EP, which was almost as good as an album. Anyway, I only bought the album last Wednesday, and only listened to it once before going to see her promote it. Each track is brilliant, with perhaps "Pedestrian At Best" being the stand-out track, although I think that other tracks will grow on me more. She played all the good 'uns, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, although to be fair I was more drunk than I intended to be. Next time I shall ensure I stop off for a dirty burger or some other guilty pleasure rather than hit the booze straight away. She is certainly worth watching again, and I hope she comes back to Brighton at some point in the near future. Recommended.

Sunday 15-03-29 KitKat for the Huawei MediaPad M1 8.0

I took a leap of faith the other day. It was either brave, or foolhardy, and I haven’t yet decided which. Just before Christmas I bought a Huawei MediaPad M1 8.0 off of eBay, and I have been loving it.

I have caught up with series 2 of Arrow on there, and am planning to start watching The Wire series 2 (again) as well. I read articles I have saved to Pocket, as well as The Week and tablet editions of the Daily Telegraph.

One thing has been bugging me though; it wasn’t operating on the latest version of Android. Lollipop is only just out, so I am not expecting it to use that, however it would be nice if it was running on KitKat. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the tablet, I am just a neophile.

So I did my usual; I started visiting the XDA forums. Folk were talking about rooting the MediaPad, which I didn't see the need for, as there are no custom ROMs available. But there was mention of KitKat, or a KitKat version, available on a Baidu server somewhere in China. The XDA link is here, and the Baidu page is here. I tried to download the package from the Mega mirror, but after taking an age to download, the website advised that the "file is empty", so that was gutting.

Then I found something on a Russian website, which said it was for the S8-303L, which I thought was a naming error, so I downloaded that and tried to install it. I should clarify at this stage my tablet's model is S8-301LV. You need to be very careful with the naming, as there are several similarly-named versions out there. You have to do some extra stuff with the ROM, like extract the "dload" folder and paste that into the tablet's SD card. Then the download process will recognise that a new version is available. With the Russian 303L version, it started performing its checks and then advised that it couldn't be installed. Maybe there is actually a S8-303L model, it may be a Russian variant? I also saw someone asking if there was an update for a S8-306L, so maybe there are a couple of different regional variants...?

So, emboldened by the fact that the tablet performed some checks itself before installing the software, I went back to the Baidu webpage and downloaded the zip file. It took an age, but once I had downloaded it, I started the install process. I extracted the dload folder, and then transferred it onto the tablet. Then I ran the local update process.

My heart was in my mouth as the familiar black screen appeared, displaying the green android figure. The various milestones ticked by pretty quickly: checking system, writing modem, flashing etc. Then it got to "writing system", which took an age, and I was worried that I had bricked it. But eventually that message cleared (probably after only 90 seconds), and the tablet rebooted.

I could see instantly that there was a difference; the splash page had a big "Powered by Android" message at the bottom, which I don't think was on the previous version. Then it took a while for the homepage to appear, but it did.

I was relieved; I was prepared to end up with a brick. The tablet only cost me £65 off eBay, so if I did destroy it, I wouldn't have lost much. But someone on XDA had written that it had worked for them, so I was hopeful that it would work. An additional benefit is that voice calling is enabled in the update, I swapped the SIM out of my phone and tested it.

A slight downer is that people are now reporting that an OTA (automatic Over The Air) package is available, and I am slightly worried that the version I have downloaded and installed might not be on the update path, so I may be stuck on KitKat for a while. But, we'll wait and see how things turn out. So the update is good, but if you are considering installing it, you might want to wait to see whether you get the OTA.

Good luck, people!

Wednesday 15-03-25 Southern Cross

Last week I was mostly reading Southern Cross, a new story published by Image. No sauciness this week, it is the story of a woman headed towards a space station to find out how her sister died. 

It reminds me of the opening plot of Roche Limit, to be fair. But the artwork is great, the big scenes are suggestive, rather than detailed, and the living conditions on the spaceship are quite grim, not at all futuristic. In fact it is reminiscent of working one's passage in steerage, not that I've ever done that, but the heroine lives below decks and there is a scene where she goes to eat in the mess, and it is clear that the others there are workers on the ship. I'm looking forward to reading more...

Sunday 15-03-22 Coffee and Walnut Cake

So a couple of days ago I was round at a friend's house and she served up some coffee and walnut cake that her mum had made. It was delicious. I had enjoyed a slice of coffee cake a few days before that as well, I think it was probably last week, people at work made cakes for Comic Relief. Anyway, it got me to thinking, maybe I should have a go at making one.
So on Friday night, I mentioned to TW that I was considering making a cake, which took her by surprise, since most of the time I would be hard-pressed to tell you where the kitchen is, let alone use anything in it to make a cake. At least, that would be your impression if you listened to her...
She popped to Lidl yesterday and picked up some walnuts, and told me that this afternoon I would be making a coffee and walnut cake. I protested, advising that I hadn't told her when I was going to make it, and I hadn't even decided that I was going to make one at all, it was just an ambition.
But as it turned out, she headed into town with the Eldest, and the younger two were out playing, so I got the recipe from the BBC website and read it through. I got on with it, mixing and blending. The recipe said it would take about 30 mins of prep, and 30 mins to cook, and that's what it took me, so I must be getting better...! I did have to phone TW and ask about greasing and lining the cake tins, but apart from that it was quite straightforward. When making the buttercream, unfortunately it curdled, and TW helped me out with the blender. But apart from that, it was all my own work.
We tucked into it immediately after taking the pictures above, and it was delicious. I thought that maybe the crust was a bit hard, but the cake was lovely, light and moist. I'm quite pleased with my efforts, and maybe next time I'll have a go at something savoury - if I can find the kitchen, that is...

Sunday 15-03-22 Six Nations 2015 - The Final Round

And so it came down to the final set of games to decide the overall winner of the Six Nations 2015. England, Wales and Ireland had all lost only one game, and so they were the three teams in contention. Although, to be fair, Wales's points difference was atrocious, and they would have to put on at least 40 points against Italy to even draw level with England and Ireland.
I was looking forward to the afternoon, but I was dreading it as well; I've watched three rugby matches in a row before, and I got rugbied out - I was hoping that wasn't going to happen again. And I would have to pause the matches to take TW into town to watch Hairspray at the end of the first match...
So the Italian-Welsh game kicked off at 12:30 in Rome, and it seemed to be a bit of a slow burner. Italy took the lead with a penalty, and then kept inching slowly ahead of Wales until at half-time Wales were one point up, and the score was 13-14. In the second half, Wales came out and scored two quick tries, to start taking the game away from Italy. And then they increased the pace, in a truly dazzling display, to add 47 points in total in the second half. Italy scored a consolation try at the end to take their tally to 20, and the final score was 20-61. The Welsh gave it their all and confirmed their brilliance in execution, and Italy fell apart, it has to be said.
In scoring their 61 points, Wales had gone past both Ireland and England, so both teams had to perform in order to win on points difference. Ireland beat Scotland, which frankly wasn't a surprise, but Scotland played some good rugby. The final score was 10-40, and so that left England having to beat France by 26 points.
England played well, and scored early, but then gave away a few penalties and the initiative. France came back and took the lead, before England reasserted themselves. They came close, and there were a lot of points scored, but unfortunately England were a converted try short. They beat France by 20 points and the final score was 55-35. That meant that Ireland were crowned Six Nations winners. England left the field dejected, but I think that the Six Nations result obscured the fact that we beat France by 20 points, and properly dominated the game for the most part.
It was an exhilarating afternoon of rugby and an excellent advert for the game. I shouted myself hoarse during the England match, and drank a number of beers as well. My nerves were shredded, and we ended up going to bed early.
A great day.

Saturday 15-03-21 The Newsroom

So I have just finished watching The Newsroom, an absolutely brilliant TV series from the pen of Aaron Sorkin, who also wrote The West Wing. This third series took long enough coming, and it was only six episodes long, but it was perfectly crafted, and worth the wait.
Jeff Daniels (pictured above) was a strange choice for the main role, I thought initially, but he was fantastic in role, and all the players acquitted themselves well. Maybe it was the snappy dialogue, maybe it was the intricate plotting, maybe it was the Don Quixote references. The story was pretty similar to The West Wing, i.e., a bunch of liberal journos fighting against the injustices of the world, but it was done in an awe-inspiring, fast-moving, glitzy kind of way.
I've been watching Arrow recently, and I only bring Arrow in to contrast against the self-effacing nature of The Newsroom. Arrow is full of pomp and overblown histrionics; I was watching it recently and took myself out of the narrative, to look at it one step removed. The music was surging, the characters were reciting dialogue that no-one in the real world would ever say, and it kind of ruined it for me slightly. I enjoy it still, but I think The Newsroom is better written.
The Newsroom is different, in that the dialogue flows by so quickly that if you don't pay attention, you've missed a vital plot twist. The characters are all modest, and although of course it's unrealistic, it shows a world I'd quite like to live in, where everyone has a snappy comeback and is intent on making the world a better place.
The romance between Jim and Maggie was a main thread in the first series, and I'm glad that it was revisited in the third series. I have to say though that Olivia Munn pulled off an absolute stunner as Sloan Sabbith. All the characters were great; Sam Waterston as Charlie was a tour de force, and Jane Fonda as well put in a strong performance when she appeared.

Basically what I'm saying is that I recommend it. It's reminiscent of The West Wing, and full of snappy dialogue and a strong ensemble performance.

Friday 15-03-20 Tyrant

So this week I have mostly been watching Tyrant. It's a TV show about an American doctor whose family happens to be a bunch of Middle Eastern dictators. The American doctor heads back to his home country for his nephew's wedding, and then he gets caught up in the domestic politics of the country.
Apparently it's by the same team who did Homeland, which I still haven't seen, but it is becoming more interesting by the episode.
Tonight we had a guest and so I missed the double episode phenomenon that we've enjoyed over the last couple of nights, but I'm hoping we'll get back to normal tomorrow night. But having thought about it, tomorrow night will be after the conclusion of the Six Nations, I'm not sure I will be fit for much. We'll have to see how it goes.

Warning! Warning! Tunisian Attack!

So, regretfully, the Bardo Museum was attacked by those mindless Islamic fundamentalists:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/eight-people-killed-in-attack-on-tunisia-bardo-museum

It won't stop us going on holiday to Tunisia though, we're going on May 1st for a few days with the kids. Still looking forward to it.

15-03-08 Fiction Squad

I can't let today go by without mentioning Fiction Squad. Fiction Squad is a six-part series from BOOM Studios, and it was pretty good stuff.

The central conceit is that a down-at-heel P.I. (think someone from a Raymond Chandler novel) is investigating crimes in NurseryLand - but every rhyme is a crime scene. Humpty Dumpty gets knocked off a wall and the P.I. needs to solve the crime. The trouble is, his partner is Simple Simon, who lives up to his name. So he is pretty much on his own. There are some really nice bits of story, where particular nursery rhymes are referred to and invoked. 

The story was very clever, the artwork suits the Nursery Rhyme theme of the story, and we also see the down-at-heel P.I., so there are really good variances in light and shade throughout the story. 

Having said that, I'm unlikely to read the story again, so I've listed it on eBay. If anyone wants it, let me know. 

TTFN.

The Week Magazine

So yesterday, I bought a newspaper, and amongst all the junk adverts inside, advertising rubbish, was a small slip of paper advertising The Week. The offer was for one free issue, as well as a USB memory stick, and I think we all know my weakness for memory sticks. Anyway, it's been a while since I read The Week, so I thought I would give it a go. Their advertising schtick is that it only takes an hour to read their magazine cover to cover, and then you are caught up on the week's essential news.
So I gave the chap my details; name, address, email, etc. All well and good. Then he tried to sell me an extra five editions, for the princely sum of £1. I politely declined, and expected that to be the end of the matter. "Oh, come on, Rob, you can't buy anything for a pound these days. Isn't that very reasonable?" Well, thank you for your offer, but no thank you. "Just to let you know Rob, when we've carried out surveys from our previous promotions, the common complaint was that one issue wasn't enough of a taster for our readers. So that's why we're now offering this additional five copies for just £1. It's a bit of a no-brainer, really, Rob. Think about what you can normally buy for one pound, Rob, it seems very reasonable." Well, no. I wasn't interested, thank you. I rang up because there was an offer of a free copy of The Week, not a free copy of The Week and the Hard Sell. I was very close to letting the kind gentleman with the Hard Sell that he could take his free issue and shove it, that I wasn't interested. But finally he took the hint, that wasn't actually a hint at all, but rather a bald statement of fact: "I'm not interested in making any further commitment today. I'll read the FREE issue which you are going to send and see how I feel after that."
So I am now waiting for my free issue to arrive. Obviously the hope is that readers sign up to the "Five for £1" offer and forget to cancel. The issues normally cost £3.10, but the subscription on a quarterly basis is ~£27. There is quite a big jump between 20p an issue and £3.10 an issue.

The funny thing is, when I looked up their website for this blog entry, I noticed that they are offering SIX free issues. So I have signed up. I have handed over my bank details, and I will be careful to ensure that I cancel my subscription before it starts costing me any money. It turns out that the joke is on them; if they had been slightly more relaxed on the phone, they might have got an extra pound out of me. But as it is, I will get an extra five issues out of them for absolutely nothing.

Pussycats #0

This week I have mostly been reading Pussycats #0.

I didn't get the gist of the story, but I think the comic might be important as it's the first porn crossover comic I've seen. I've only been collecting comics for about six years, so I'm sure someone has tried this before; after all, there's nothing new under the sun, right? But this comic has some pretty big names backing it - Karen Summer, Priya Anjali Rai, and Tanya Tate to name but three. Those links are all NSFW (Not Safe For Work), by the way. 

The comic itself is a black-and-white line drawing affair, with a few panels depicting women in lingerie or actually having sex. I was a bit confused after reading it, as I wasn't sure who was who, but I'm hoping that might shake itself out in later issues; this is #0 of 4.

Other honourable mentions must go to Descender and Suiciders, both of which I'm looking forward to reading more of:

Suiciders looks like a good read, the artwork is good and the juxtaposition of the different narrative threads works well 

Descender is a different affair, set in a future where robots are classed as living, and humans have been (more or less) wiped out. 

Both titles have started strongly and I'm sure will reward further reading.