DeathOwl's DireRead

Whisky Awards

2009-04-24T10:07:00.002+01:00

Hmm:

http://www.whiskymag.com/awards/wwa/

They really like Highland Park. Which is interesting - as it's my least favourite of all the single malts I've ever bought (admittedly I have the 12 yr old not the 21 or 40 yr old one). In fact I've been using it to cook haggis after we ran out of cheap blended stuff!

Still if whiskies I like don't win awards - then they're less likely to inflate in price!

Eligibility for Parliament

2009-04-17T15:27:00.003+01:00

A colleague sent me the following stats about sitting MPs in South Africa.

29 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad cheques
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Puts Jacqui Smith's pay per view pr0n in perspective! Anyway this led me to wonder what restrictions were placed on eligibility to stand for parliament in the UK.

One would have thought that at the very least crimes that speak to a lack of integrity in the person standing (e.g. Fraud) and crimes that indicate psychosis (e.g. Murder) might disqualify people from standing.

Interestingly there isn't really a clear list though. Certain things are enshrined in different bits of legislation. So insanity does prevent you from standing (so murderers and rapists might be prevented from becoming MPs depending on their mental health classification). Treason and being bankrupt also prevent you from being an MP. But being convicted for fraud doesn't appear to, which appears to be a pretty bad oversight.

I agree that people shouldn't be prevented from standing based on spent past transgressions that aren't indicative of current behaviour. (e.g. shoplifting as a teenager, speeding, having a bar fight, taking drugs etc) But crimes which indicate a complete lack of moral fibre (rather than just social deprivement) really ought to get you banned from standing.

Also currently if you commit a crime that gets you sent to jail whilst serving as a UK MP, you only lose your seat if you are imprisoned for a year or more.... Surely it should be a maximum of a month - you can hardly serve your constituents well from inside a cell.

Cheapskate your passport photos!

2009-04-05T12:03:00.002+01:00

I found this site - http://www.photomat.eu/ took some photos against a magnolia wall in the house with our digital camera until some looked reasonable, and then processed em using the house. You then get an image block of 8 photos you can process with any online photo service as a 4"x6" image. At 10p for 8 (+ processing charge) that will work at hella cheaper than the £4 photo booths!

Conficker - Are you infected?

2009-04-04T14:59:00.003+01:00

Well April 1st came and went without incident - so it appears the threat was somewhat overhyped - what a surprise.

The Conficker Working Group are offering a helpful chart to help people test whether their machine is infected.

See Conficker Eye Chart here [confickerworkinggroup.org].

No fun with protestors and no picket lines - boring!

2009-04-03T15:39:00.002+01:00

Well my opportunities to express my ultra right wing free trade views have been scuppered twice in a week.

First I worked from home Thursday in the hope that the G20 protestors would make it round the dock and I could engage them in a nice debate on free trade - and hardly any turned up. I saw one group of about 3 punks chatting to a policeman and pretty much knack all else. So I didn't get a chance to throw any of my free hotel soap bars at anyone - boring!

And today the planned strike action at work has been called off by the unions pending further discussion, so I didn't get to cross picket lines and have a debate with the union reps. Again - boring!

New Zealand wine tips

2009-03-12T13:49:00.002Z

A friend of mine (who is a fine wine fan) recently returned from a New Zealand wine tour - he recommended the following reds to me:

Stonyridge Larose 2006
Esk Valley The Terraces 2006
Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2007
Seresin Rachel Pinot Noir 2006
Felton Road Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2007

And suggested I try some Muddy Water rieslings as some of them were quite pleasant. (He knows I'm a bit of a riesling fan).

Sent from my Blackberry handheld / iPhone - Gah!!!!

2009-02-26T15:52:00.003Z

I hate lame autosignatures. Turn them off!

I don't care if you have the latest gadget. I'm not interested in excuses for bad spelling/grammar or for writing emails in abbreviated text message language.

Appeals, Forest, My Crummy Commute and Conception!

2009-01-26T09:57:00.002Z

I notice this morning the papers (well Metro at least) is covering the BBC's decision not to screen a DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) appeal for Gaza due to concerns about being perceived as partial politically. (Sky have now followed suit and made the same decision.)

Interestingly - I suspect the appeal has garnered far more publicity by the BBC choosing not to screen it, than it would if they'd screened it. Which is good news, as regardless of your views on the Israel / Palestine conflict, there are people in Gaza who need help.

* * *

Earnshaw equalised for Forest in the 64th minute at Pride Park, to force a Forest/Derby replay in the FA Cup. (We're also now one point clear of Derby in the Championship - tho' they have a game in hand. It has been some years since we last sat above them in the league iirc. Of course if we do get through to the next round of the cup - we've drawn Man Utd - who despite facing injuries will be a formidable opponent. We'd have home advantage though - so maybe there would be a small chance! Tuesday night Forest play the fowls (Sheff Wednesday) in the league. Bah! Their owl logo doesn't even have a scythe - rubbish!

* * *

My commute has been ruined by the DLR opening of Woolwich Arsenal station on the South bank. Trains are so rammed leaving Woolwich Arsenal - that by the time they get to West Silvertown the trains are unboardable. This means we have to trek over the bridge to the Beckton line (adding 5-10 mins to the commute). This is further worsened by the excessive volumes of passengers having a knock on effect on the Jubilee Line at Canning Town (I wasn't able to board that either today or a couple of days last week) - so my commute is now seriously rubbish.

* * *

Conception (a roleplaying convention in Dorset, England) is this week. So I have Wednesday/Thursday/Friday off. Wicked! There are some very funny videos on YouTube that someone has knocked up - to mock the fact the convention is always so oversubscribed!

See:

"Trouble Getting a Game at Conception?" - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=i65_-dcIVcc (3min 50s)

followed by

"Tries his hand at GMing after not getting a game at Conception" - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rmsqap0Rsfk (3min 18s)

followed by

"The FFFRG travel to Conception 09" - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7tvZKdvHkBM (2min 2s)

I must not drink half a box of wine whilst playing Living Force and start getting obsessed with Bitty! It's not healthy. Really not healthy at all!

Why does no-one make the stuff I want to buy?

2008-12-05T10:39:00.002Z

Had an annoying week - our kettle broke - so I bought a new Morphy Richards one from Argos (basically same features (and make) as the previous one - though somewhat pricier.)

The new one had a much cheaper/nastier plastic base than the last one. Which may account for why the whistle on boil function was broken out of the box - so I had to return it.

Is it really too much to ask to get a stainless steel 3kw cordless kettle which whistles on boil and doesn't have cheap plasticky bits.

Apparently it is - coz there is nothing out there. Only the Morphy Richards ones seem to offer whistle on boil (which is essential IMO - otherwise you end up forgetting and pointlessly reboiling water and wasting energy.) I did consider the tefal quick cup - but again it's horrible and plasticky and reviews say it doesn't boil the water so it's crap for making cups of tea.

So manufacturers - please can you make a decent kettle to my demanding specs - I'll happily pay!

On a similar note can someone hurry up and make an upscaling DVD recorder and twin tuner PVR in the same box. Well there are technical reasons why it's hard to get a twin tuner PVR to work with a dvd recorder[nigelwhitfield.com] but they ain't insurmountable - and some of us would happily pay for the privilege. I wouldn't buy a single tuner PVR - or a twin tuner one that only records one channel at once (some crap ones on the market do this apparently). While you're at it - make it a three tuner one!

Battery recycling

2008-10-14T09:23:00.004+01:00

I've been a bit uncomfortable throwing batteries in the bin for some time now - given the heavy metal content, but despite research, I've yet to identify anywhere in Newham that takes used batteries.

However, I have now discovered that Hammersmith & Fulham (where my office is) do offer battery recycling points in their libraries.

Also the BBC will collect and recycle them too - via facilities management.

Next steps if I can be arsed would involve contacting Newham council to try and get some better local provision.

iPlate

2008-10-12T12:10:00.002+01:00

BT have just launched an adaptor called the "iplate" that plugs into your master phone socket and disconnects the bell wire (the wire that carries the old school ringing noise for old phones) - apparently this can significantly reduce interference on the line and lead to noticeable improvements in broadband connection speeds.

See PCPro article on the iplate here.

It should give improvements on ADSL2+ connections as well as standard ADSL connections so am tempted to give it ago - if I can be arsed to shift my sofa to figure out what kind of socket I have...

Daily Mash summarising the current financial crisis

2008-10-09T17:18:00.003+01:00

Quite funny and apt - http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/banks-to-lend-you-your-own-money-200810081308/

Yorkshire photos!

2008-09-23T13:04:00.002+01:00

Bell End Farm nr Rosedale
Originally uploaded by asands

Not the most picturesque of the photographs we took in Yorkshire - but it probably sums up our maturity level that we deliberately went on a walk close to this spot so as to take this.

Alas the walk itself was excessively boggy in parts due to the crazy amounts of rain. The effect of which can be seen clearly on the River Swale in Richmond in this photo.

The rest of the Yorkshire photos taken - which cover Richmond, Thirsk, the Star Inn in Harome (gorgeous food and accommodation), Whitby and the Bridestones in Dalby Forest can be seen here.

Dive kit weighs too much!

2008-09-23T12:49:00.003+01:00

I did a test pack of dive gear into my suitcase for my forthcoming diving trip to Egypt last night. Excluding the torch, camera, camera housing and computer (which I'm taking in hand luggage) my dive kit + suitcase weighs around 22.1kg.
I took out the red sea fish book to save a kilo and take it down to 21.

But this is before I've packed any clothes or toiletries or a towel! And I have a weight limit of 25kg - since the airline only has a 5kg dive kit allowance... 10kg used to be standard.

Plus I daren't take much more than 22kg outbound because you can guarantee the BCD and wetsuit will still have some extra water related weight on the return leg.

I could shave a bit off by leaving SMB/Reel/Dive knife at home - but that's hardly sensible from a safety perspective is it.

I phear my t-shirts could be a tad mingin' by the return flight - I pity whoever has to sit next to me ;-)

Airlines are getting increasingly anal about luggage weight - but it's ridiculous that you can't buy extra weight allowance at a sensible price that reflects the true incremental fuel cost of your suitcase being a tad heavier, rather than a punitive rate.

Iris Robinson not reprimanded

2008-08-14T18:38:00.002+01:00

I missed the appalling views of this nutter[Google News] when they hit the headlines a week or so ago. I notice today[number10.gov.uk] that the government haven't bothered to reprimand her in response to an e-petition.

It beggars belief that anyone, even a scripture obsessed Christian could believe homosexuality was equivalent to child abuse. Maybe Iris Robinson should upsticks to Topeka, Kansas in the US and join those nutters at Westboro Baptist Church[Wikipedia] who would no doubt agree with her.

The Lion King and the London Bridge Experience

2008-08-04T09:51:00.004+01:00

Had the folks down for the weekend with a fairly hectic itinerary (though alas the weather seemed to decide to be cloudy and grey all Sunday and a large chunk of Saturday).

We went to the Lion King production at the Lyceum theatre on Saturday afternoon (stalls seats so we got a very good view). I have to say I was very impressed - it is certainly the most impressive theatre production visually that I have ever seen - the animal costumes were incredible - and the way they achieved animating them was very clever.

Zazu (the talking bird adviser) was great and Rafiki (the crazy baboon shaman character) was just as mad as in the film, and the actress playing the character had an amazing voice. All the best one liners from the film were incorporated plus a couple of extra ones.

Highly recommended for the costumes / visual spectacle. Also the Lyceum seems to be in a much better state of repair than most London theatres I've been to - so the whole experience was more pleasant.

On Sunday we went to the London Bridge Experience. Apparently it is being sued by the owners of the London dungeon for copying some ideas. To be honest whilst some aspects are similar in style - it is covering a different theme (the evolution of London bridges over time rather than Jack the Ripper) and it is more reliant on actors than a ride. The second part of the attraction is the London Tombs - this is a sort of haunted house done in the same style as House of Shock (an annual Halloween event in New Orleans) whereby costumed people jump out at you and try and scare you on the way round. This does work - my mum and M were both terrified several times. This latter part really isn't similar to the London dungeon at all - unless it has changed substantially since I last went 2 years ago - so I think their case is weak. And if you've never had the chance to do House of Shock in New Orleans, then this is a great taster. The first part is to be honest quite history lite - fun but you won't learn a great deal.

LCY Planning Shenanigans

2008-08-01T12:31:00.005+01:00

Well the planning decision by Newham Council has been deferred by the mayor's office - although they still don't appear to plan to address a number of wider concerns about the City Airport expansion application raised by Newham residents [Fight the Flights blog]. And the farcically incompetent behaviour of Newham's planning committee is also described in painful detail in the same post. Really their planning meetings are a disgrace. My own experience of being shouted down by the chair, prevented from asking questions, being forced to watch as the planning staff were caught out with a blatant lie - and then not called on it by the councillors, seems to be scarily representative of their shambolic processes. Frankly I'd sack the lot of them.

If you tip - use cash.

2008-07-23T14:35:00.004+01:00

An article in the Independent discussing what actually happens to the "optional" service charges you pay via credit card surcharge when eating out.

Particularly bad revelations in the article:

Some restaurants use the money towards paying minimum wage!!
One example is Tuttons Brasserie in Covent Garden - which adds 15% to the bill and then uses it towards paying the minimum wage to waiters.. Chez Gerard do the same with their 12.5% charge. As do: Carluccio's, Café Rouge, Strada and Caffé Uno.

Others, such as Zizzi and ASK, do not pass on credit/debit card gratuities to waiting staff at all. (Even worse!)

Georgetown Colonial Malaysian Restaurants, takes 100 per cent of its 10 per cent service charge.

Even Pizza Express charge an 8% admin fee from the service charge. (Though comparatively that looks like good behaviour.. though it is way above the 1.5% credit card processing cost!)

Appalling.

But then I've been suspicious for years and generally tip in cash anyway.

My standard approach is:

1) Demand the optional service charge is removed (if added by default) or skip the gratuity option on the card reader.

2) Tip 10% in cash if the service has been good, and nothing if it has been bad. If service was absolutely outstanding I might pay more than 10% (Outstanding restaurant service in London is virtually non-existent - so this doesn't happen often!) Being tight I may tip less than 10% if I don't have the right notes/coins in my wallet ;-)

I certainly won't pay 12.5% service if it is added automatically - as that is a mickey taking liberty some restaurants seem to have recently decided upon. It's 10% people - it has always been 10% - and you should not be adding it to your bills automatically....

On a better note - another article says:
"The editor of Britain's gastronomic bible, the Michelin Guide, backed the campaign and said he was considering listing the tipping policy of every restaurant in future editions to provide transparency for customers."

WOW - gone!

2008-07-16T12:54:00.002+01:00

I cancelled my account this morning, before I ended up getting any more addicted to the damn game. I wish I had the strength to play these things in moderation - but I don't (my lack of any dmoz activity over the past few weeks will attest to this) - basically it's all or nothing with me - and I can't afford to spend (waste) that much time these days.

WOW soloing update

2008-07-04T14:11:00.003+01:00

Well M was out drinking with a colleague last night so I got a few hours of soloing in. I didn't really gain much in the way of xp, mostly spent the time running around buying hard to find vendor sold leatherworking/cooking recipes and taming specific animals to get my available pet skills lists up to speed.

It won't let me raise my cooking any further without doing a quest which I need to be level 35 for (my hunter is currently level 33 only).

To be honest soloing is dragging a bit now (which is probably a good thing as I no longer feel compelled to play much). I may try an instanced battle at some point soon - or a dungeon group if I can find one (since I've not tried either yet) - although I can't do those things and drop the game instantly - so it'll have to wait til M goes to Bucharest on business soon.

LCD TV production processes emit nasty greenhouse gas

2008-07-04T10:00:00.003+01:00

Despite some vendors touting the eco (power saving) credentials of their latest flat panel TVs - they neglect to mention the Nitrogen Trifluoride gas emitted during the manufacturing process. NF3 is not included in the list of gases monitored under the Kyoto agreement, despite it being massively better at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2.

Positive discrimination - You have to be kidding me

2008-06-26T11:27:00.003+01:00

I notice that Labour are now proposing to allow positive discrimination for job candidates. Frankly - that is fecking outrageous. Merit and merit alone is the only valid criteria for assessing job applications.

Of course I have yet to ever see 2 candidates who are equally good for a position (one is always better) - but this makes it more likely that an inferior minority candidate will be picked.

As for pay gaps - sorry but publishing pay will just result in higher bills for companies, and less competitiveness. If people are happy to accept the pay they are on, it is sufficient remuneration and they don't need a payrise.

Please call an election now Mr Brown so we can get rid of your idiotic, PC obsessed, party.

Firefox Download Record

2008-06-17T16:10:00.002+01:00

Mozilla are aiming for a World Record with most downloads of a product on a day - http://www.spreadfirefox.com/ I'm a bit confused since it seems to be 17th June (today) but the download isn't available yet. June 17th doesn't start on PDT!

Blog Spam and Blizzard's version of HeavyVest

2008-06-17T12:58:00.004+01:00

I got my first bits of blog comment spam yesterday - duly removed. I guess I'm lucky no-one reads this normally so I don't get much. At a rate of 2 spams per 2 years - I don't think I'll bother with the captcha yet - as it annoys me!

On a more sinister note, Mr. De Berg introduced me to World of Warcraft at the weekend, so far I'm not feeling any urges towards soiling my laundry or undergoing sexchange surgery - which no doubt M will be relieved about.

It's quite good fun - so far I've made a Night Elf Hunter (for soloing) and a Blood Elf Mage (to partner with SDB's Paladin) - the mage has impressively brutal damage output, and seems to work well with the Paladin excellent tanking abilities. I've tinkered with tradeskills too - the mage has got herbalism and tailoring. Herbalism seems a nice way to get some extra cash in the initial game - which is helpful as you never seem to have enough left after buying your spells. The hunter has gone with skinning (hides, not joints!) and leatherworking - which work very well in combination. The game limits the number of tradeskills you can do - unlike vest which just limited the number you could raise above a certain skillrank. Also the auction service (unlike vest's bazaar) charges deposit fees. (It's like ebay - and at a low level if you don't sell something you could end up losing a couple of silver - a bit annoying really - they should take a % of sale price instead.)

The Hunter seems to be quite good at soloing - at level 10 you get a pet (I went with an Owl ;-) which levels with you and you can train it with skills as it gains xp (and it becomes more loyal overtime) You can change pet if you wish - but you would lose out in the short term. The Owl's wingflapping is slightly annoying. You can name your pet too - I called mine Mushroom. The diet is authentic - you have to feed your pet and the owl only eats meat (which can be hard to find).

The one thing that keeps tripping me up is that /p (party) is used for group chat - and I played Vest for so long I tend to hit /g automatically.

Only slightly disappointed there is no monk class. The game seems very slick, nice graphics and much less buggy than Vest. (Though I guess that's because its been around a while.) The quest system is much better than HeavyVest, with interesting themes, and decent xp.

I've made a pledge that I won't join a guild, or do any raiding as I don't trust myself not to get too involved/hooked and become a bit antisocial. Also once M is back from her trip, I'll either cancel the account until her next trip is due, or agree only to play it on the rare occasions that she is out for an evening and I'm home alone.

Youf Scarers?

2008-06-09T14:13:00.002+01:00

I suspect a scarecrow would have little effect on the local youths who like to congregate occasionally in our back yard. And trespass legislation is ineffective - telling them to clear off results in retributions (graffiti last time). So what is to be done?

Maybe we should get one of these Mosquito things! (Frankly I'm shocked these are legal - but tempted by the idea for the sheer comedy value of them running around with their fingers in their ears.)

With any luck it would also scare off the urban fox which regularly leaves stool samples for us as well.