The New Wolfs Howl

Brief Notes

2009-10-23T17:26:53Z

1. Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP, appeared on Question Time and seems to have caused a bit of a stink. He’s now complaining about being faced with a ‘lynch mob’. Seems a bit ironic, considering that he’s supposed to have said that he was a fan of a former head of the KKK.

What gets to me about the whole thing is that regardless of your opinion of the BNP, they are a legitimate political party and the BBC has a duty to present an unbiased, balanced view of UK politics. Like them or not, the BNP are part of that.

2. Jan Moir has caused a bit of an uproar with her comments about the death of Stephen Gately. As with the whole Ross / Brand issue, I wonder how many of the 21,000 that have complained to the PCC actually read her article? A lot of the uproar seems to have been stirred up via Twitter by the likes of Stephen Fry, and from what I saw there seemed to be a lot of bandwagon jumping and not too much reasoned debate.

3. An American man is trying to sue Bank of America for $1,784 billion trillion. I know it’s US dollars, but it still counts as money. Trouble is, there isn’t that much money in the world and – even if there was – he hasn’t presented any evidence to support his claim. Apparently, he suffered poor customer service but if he that means he can sue, I think we’ve all got a case to go after our banks.

4. Looks like Donnington is going to miss out on hosting the British Grand Prix from next year. Despite Bernie giving them more chances to come up with the necessary financial backing than he ever gave Silverstone, it looks like they can’t manage it. Big shock!

All that remains to be seen is whether Bernie sticks to what he said a few months ago and takes the GP back to Silverstone, or whether he reverts to what he said when Donnington were first announced as new hosts – that the GP would leave Britain rather than go back to Silverstone.

Personally, I’d like to see the BDRC tell Bernie where to go, but unfortunately without the GP they’re a bit buggered so they can’t really afford to do that.

5. Jean Todt has been elected to replace Max Mosley at the FIA, so no surprise there – and probably no change in the way the FIA is run either. Todt was Mosley’s choice as replacement and the FIA seems to have been run solely for the benefit of Ferrari, Mosley and Ecclestone for years so it’ll likely be business as usual.

SOTD #188

2009-10-17T10:57:19Z

Today’s song is God Gave Me An Angel by Chris Rea

I was never born with the face of a movie star
I was never blessed with an easy load along the way
I have taken the wrong turning
So many times I can’t remember
But one thing I have for sure
I can always smile and say

God gave me an angel with a smiling face
God gave me an angel this I know
My churches are all empty and I’m guilty every day
But God gave me an angel anyway

Hadn’t heard this for quite a while when it popped up iTunes. I really listened to the words for the first time in I can’t remember how long, and realised that I, too, have been blessed with an angel.

[You Tube]

Pick me again

2009-10-01T19:53:47Z

After yesterday’s entry – tulips in April – I’ve also added a second photo to the National Trust competition.

This one was taken on my recent holiday in Cornwall. What it shows is the beam of the working beam engine at Cornish Mines and Engines at Cambourne. In the periphery, modern day Cambourne can seen – built on the site of what used to be a major Cornish tin mine. The casting on the side of the beam and the traditional Cornish flag place let the viewer know exactly where they are, what they’re seeing and the history that comes with it.

As yesterday, if you like the image click here to vote.

Pick Me! Pick Me!

2009-09-30T17:22:51Z

Thanks to Gareth for giving me the heads up on this one: the National Trust and the Sunday Times are running a photography competition and I’ve just entered one of my favourite NT snaps. If you like the picture, please take a moment to vote for me by following this link.

Formula One – May The Farce Be With You

2009-09-26T16:52:18Z

You thought that I’d given up writing, didn’t you? It has been nearly a month since I last wrote anything, so I apologise for that. I’d like to say that I think it has been worth the wait, but I think we all know that’s probably not true.

Formula One has been in the headlines a bit recently, with the Renault F1 team being found guilty of ‘race-fixing’. Flamboyant Flavio Briatore has been banished, possibly forever, Pat Symonds is out for five years and the team has a suspended two year ban.

It’s a very serious situation and needed to be dealt with severely, but I don’t think that it has been. Nelson Piquet Jr, the third point on the triangle, has basically got away scot free – given immunity from prosecution for providing evidence. But why should he? The whole situation only came to light after Piquet was dumped from the Renault F1 team for not achieving results. He attempted to play the hard man and blackmail Flavio to regain his place and when Flavio told him where to go, he threw his teddy out of the pram and went to the FIA.

But the whole thing could not have happened without his involvement and his complicity. If he wasn’t happy about doing it, he should have gone to the FIA at the race last year. But he didn’t. Instead, he risked his own life and that of spectators and marshals and then kept quiet about it all.

And Max Moseley’s contention that parent company Renault should not be punished, as it was not their responsibility? Sorry, that doesn’t wash either. Ultimately, they are responsible for everything that their employees do – whether sanctioned by them or not. The team, the parent company and all of the individuals directly involved should have been banned with immediate effect.

Of course, the reasons they weren’t are commercial ones. If you exclude Renault from F1, then a number of other teams are going to be unable to compete because they won’t have engines. And then Bernie and Max’s little money-spinning empire comes crashing down around their ears.

On the face of it, though, that wouldn’t be all bad – having seen Bernie’s tap dance today when being ‘interviewed’ by the BBC at the qualifying session for this year’s Singapore race, my opinion of the man has not improved – we need someone straight running F1,

Going mobile

2009-08-28T15:50:10Z

Thanks to the ever-wonderful Stephen Fry for the heads-up on this one.

If, like me, you’ve ever browsed The Wolfs Howl on a mobile device like an iPhone or an Android phone, then you’ll be pleased to know that I have recently installed a great little plug-in called WPTouch. This small addition to the WordPress installation makes a big difference when you browse the site with a mobile, as it acts like a mini-App and presents the site in an easier to read, easier to navigate fashion that if you’d simply looked at in your mobile browser.

If you do read the site from a mobile device, let me know what you think of the change.

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

2009-08-22T15:59:37Z

Ah, there’s nothing like it – the lazy life! It’s Saturday, so there’s no work, the sun is out and I’ve got no particular place to be.

I was actually up quite early this morning, and when I looked out of the window and saw glorious sunshine at 7am, I knew we were in for a good day.

First order of the day was breakfast. Freshly showered and dressed, I then sat down to a perfectly cooked bacon sandwich (they’re always so much nicer when they’re cooked by someone else). Having devoured this fine repast, it was a quick trip into town for some bike cleaning sundries.

Yes, it has taken six months but the Bandit is now back on the road. And I thought that, as she’s been a bit neglected recently, the least I could do was to give her a bit of a clean.

Of course, a freshly cleaned bike just cries out to be ridden so it was on with the gear and off for a quick spin. Despite not having ridden for six months, it’s amazing how it all comes flooding back within about the first six feet. You don’t forget any of it – the observational skills, the ability to read the road, the way you know what the guy in front is about to do even before he does; it comes flooding back.

And bike riding is just one of life’s great pleasures. You don’t need to be screaming along at 100+ to enjoy the unique experience that is a motorbike ride; pootling along at 30 can be tons of fun too.

50 miles of bliss later, and it was time to return home for lunch. A quick trip to the local carvery to satisfy the hunger pangs and now here I am, sat in the back garden in the sunshine, pint in hand and some tunes on the iPod. At this moment, I can’t think of a single thing I’d rather be doing.

Long may it continue.

Gadgety goodness

2009-08-20T18:24:56Z

Anyone that’s read this blog for a while will know that I’m a fan of Apple computers; I use an iMac on a daily basis and I love the simplicity and the ease of use of the OS X operating system.

I’ve sat and watched numerous keynote addresses by Steve Jobs, demonstrating the latest software and hardware advances and I’ve drooled over them just like anyone else, and wished I had the wherewithal to rush out and buy them.

I’ve wanted an iPhone since they were released, but it costs a fortune and the phone functionality isn’t terribly impressive, from what I’ve read. Couple that with a low-spec camera and a bunch of included stuff that I would never use and I’ve steered clear.

Likewise, I’ve never owned an iPod. Again, high price for what you get. Couldn’t really justify it.

And then last week, I got given a second generation iPod Touch as an early birthday present (despite my protestations that – even at the Amazon price – it was way too expensive) and I’m totally hooked. In much the same way as when I first I tried using OS X I didn’t want to go back to Windows, I now wonder how I ever lived without this amazing little gadget.

Firstly, it’s a great little unit from a tactile point of view. It’s lovely to hold, and to use. It fits perfectly in the palm of your hand, and the much-talked-about multitouch screen is so smooth and responsive. Joyous.

Then there’s the fact that it syncs so seamlessly with my iMac. My current devices – a Nokia 6500 Slide and a Palm Tunsgten E – don’t, so they’ve become more and more sidelined over time. I used to put all my stuff on the Palm when I was still using Windows, because it was easy. With OS X, it only sort of works so I gave up.

With the Touch, it syncs with iCal, with iTunes, with Address Book, with Safari and so on and makes it all so much simpler. The addition of To Do from Appigo has given me a great task manager – which also syncs with iCal – and suddenly my Touch is indispensable. Just today, I’ve lost count of the number of tasks I’ve added and which – when I complete this post – are all completed.

And the Touch has become so useful so quickly because it is so easy to use. As the old Apple saying goes “it just works”. When the technology is so easy to use, it gets used a lot.

I can use it for email, for surfing the web, there’s a WordPress app so I can update this blog, I can track stocks, the weather, activity on Facebook and so much more. I can even – amazingly enough – listen to music on it.

So far, I haven’t found anything I don’t like about it – even the much-maligned standard issue headphones seem pretty good to me. All-in-all, if you’re in the market for a PDA or an MP3 player – or both- I’d recommend you take a look at the Touch.

Brief Notes

2009-08-20T17:46:54Z

Once more, a little round-up of stuff that really needs to be commented on:

1. Apparently, 40% of all Twitter traffic is babble. As Stephen Fry has eloquently stated, that’s the point; Twitter isn’t supposed to be great debate or interesting chat, or even adverts for companies – it’s supposed to be a way to tell the world what’s happening in your life at this moment. Of course, that’s also the reason lots of people think it’s a complete and utter waste of time.

What bothers me about the report is that someone has gone to the trouble to analyse Twitter’s traffic in the first place. What, exactly, was the point of that?

2. It was the Eastbourne Airbourne show last weekend. Surprisingly (well, for the Council anyway – not for anyone with any common sense) now that it’s free again, the event was packed.

What I saw of it was pretty good, but the overall impression seemed to be of an event that doesn’t know where it’s going, isn’t as big as it used to be and isn’t amazingly well run. There seemed to be lots of commercial opportunities going begging, for instance.

Given that the show loses upwards of £70,000 each year – and over £360,000 last year when they tried to charge for it – someone really needs to take it by the scruff of the neck and kick it back into shape.

Either that or get rid of it for good. After all, the only connection Eastbourne has with planes is that it was bombed in the war…..

3. The man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing has been released from prison today, on compassionate grounds – he apparently has cancer. I imagine that a number of the victim’s families may feel that, actually, he should die in prison and you can shove your compassion up your arse.

4. Given all the furore over recent times about MPs expenses, you’d think that they would have learned their lesson and would keep their heads down about pay, etc, for a little while. But you’d be wrong.

Senior Tory Sir Patrick Cormack has said that, in return for scrapping MP allowances (second home sponging, spending sprees at John Lewis, that sort of thing), MPs pay should be doubled. Given that your bog standard MP earns nearly £65,000 I must admit to being utterly lost for words. How can he think that it is even remotely acceptable to reward fraud and corruption in that way?

5. Apparently, researchers in Canada have concluded that an attack by zombies would wipe out civilisation really, really quickly. It doesn’t seem to have put them off that zombies don’t actually exist.

They’ve tried to defend their work by saying that it “could help scientists model the spread of unfamiliar diseases through human populations”. The problem with that is that they based all of their assumptions on movies and books and, I hate to tell you this guys, that stuff is all made up. So, any conclusions reached based on made-up ‘facts’ are also made-up and therefore not worth the paper they’re written on.

And the professor who adds a ‘?’ to his name so he won’t get mistaken for the lead singer from The Cure? He’s a complete dick.

6. Finally, as a bit of a geek it always warms my heart when real geeks start to sound off about how the pretend universe depicted in popular science fiction movies wouldn’t really work. The latest one is an attack on the Star Wars universe. It may or may not be intended to be a joke – it’s often hard to tell with geeks – but, if they are serious, could I just point that (as with zombies) it doesn’t really exist, it’s just made-up to entertain people. You really should go outside more!

Brief notes

2009-08-05T18:13:09Z

Some that slipped through the net yesterday:

1. New Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, seems to be picking up where his predecessor left off, at least as far as expenses are concerned. It has just been announced that he’ll be charging around £20,000 of “refurbishments” to his grace-and-favour flat to the British taxpayer. Mr Bercow, though, is “happy that this information is in the public domain, that the public know how this money has been spent”.

Would the public be quite so happy about it, I wonder? The £20,000 includes over £6,000 for a new sofa, £3,600 on planters for the terrace and over £1,000 to redecorate one room. Given that former Speaker Michael Martin spent nearly £725,000 of taxpayers money on the flat between 2000 and 2008, some might say that enough is enough and if Mr Bercow wants to redecorate he should do so from his own pocket (he is, after all, paid over £140,000 a year).

2. Lloyds / HBOS have announced losses of £4 billion, in the same week that both Barclays and HSBC announced profits of £3 billion. Lloyds / HBOS, of course, is the only one of the three to have been bailed out with taxpayer’s money, so it looks like we got value for money doesn’t it?