Shock Horror! Public Transport Does Its' Job!

I read an article!

I know what you're thinking - me reading any article is unlikely but I really did, in the Independant no less!

It stated the fact that public transport really does do its job. [Please bear with my in reading this, as the point I am about to make will indeed calm any fears that I am actually pro this "giving back to the people" service provided by the Government.]

The point, as stated by LJK Setright's article on the matter, is a truly inspired argument dealing with the issues of congestion, and rather then just complaining about the fact that people throughout London are charged to sit in their traffic jams through the delights that are congestion charges, Setright actually goes on to discuss potential cures for these traffic ailments.

I must draw particular attention to the paragraph on Bus Lanes. The nemesis of unobservant drivers everywhere, these Frankensteins Monster of the roadway are truly the icing on the cake.

To paraphrase, the real objective of the bus lane is to give the impression that public transport is better then private transport, which it accomplishes by preventing private transport from functioning as it should. I have nightmares about the faces of pensioners passing me by in these red jugernauts, laughing at my near cardiac arrest, suffered due to the sudden and violent shaking of my waiting car as these beasts go tearing past, inches from my lowly automobile.

Oh well... I suppose I could be on a bike...


Well... if you're going to act a fool and try and ride a mountain bike down an actual mountain...

Write to educate, Educate to write

It's been a while... what can I say?
I've been busy...
Just for the one person that I know will actually read this with some interest [actually that's a lie, I know they read it just so they can dissuade any notion that I could have anything of any value to write] I thought I should write something political, especially seeing as I had the audacity to nearly get involved in writing something that resembled an arguement, here's a site that some would enjoy.

By no means do the views of those expressed in the aforementioned website represent the views of either the individual to whom this blog is responsible for, or the company on whose webspace server this website is held.

Over the past few days, I have been pondering a ponderance, one so confounding that I believe even the finest minds in the world, both scientific and artistic, educated and unlearned (i.e. not the finest minds?-ed), would have a difficulty coming to any conclusion about it.
Is it a matter of nature vs nuture, breeding vs whatever the other side of breeding is...?

WARNING : THINKING ABOUT THIS QUESTION TOO HARD COULD CAUSE MILD IRRITATION TO ALL AROUND YOU, ESPECIALLY IN THE WORKPLACE!

The ponderance itself is, if all babies are cute, how come there are so many ugly people in the world?
Is ugliness learnt? if so can it be untaught? If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, why do people try so hard?

There are further issues that could be explored, for example, why do I waste my time thinking about rubbish? (Answer-because it distracts me from the usual flicking a pen around my index finger for a few minutes-ed)

Another ponderance... are there are much more interesting people in the places where people have nothing to do? (relatively speaking, yes-ed)

I'm off to Brighton now to see lots of uninteresting people watch a tv screen like thousands of others around the country, nay-world, to see England play football against the mighty mighty Spain. (dodgy ground-ed)

I might not announce to everyone that I'm part spanish...

We'll see...

[Listening to : "Hate" - The Delgados]
[contemplating : how late am I?]

Remember, remember... why bother?

What can I say? I'm a cynic.

"Remember,
remember,
the fifth of November,
Gunpowder,
treason and plot.
We see no reason
why Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!"

So what's so great about this bonfire night? And why exactly should we celebrate these guys who tried to destroy our government and monarchy?

Start at the start shall we?
On the 5th November, 1605, in the tiny little old island of England, a dissentive group of Catholics who were a bit unhappy at the treatment they were subjected to under the rule of the paranoid King James, decided that the best way to protest about it was to kill the king...?(can't really blame him for being paranoid. People were trying to blow him up-ed)
Come on... That's the King! And this King didn't even like the parliament he was going to open! Encyclopedia Brittannia says that James' "extravagant spending habits and nonchalant ignoring of the nobility's grievances kept king and Parliament constantly at odds". Ha! So where have I seen the monarchy spending extravangently? (shouldn't complain really, they bring in more then enough revenue from the tourist industry-ed) (plus this isn't about the monarchy...get back on track-ed)

One of the dissentees, (whatever that word is meant to be-ed) Thomas Percy hired a basement beneath Westminster Palace, where he, Guy Fawkes, Francis Tresham and some others hid 36 (!-ed) barrels of gunpowder to make a big explosion.

They were found out when Francis Tresham (this is so funny it hurts-ed) sent a letter to his brother in-law Lord Monteagle advising him not to go the event at Parliament. Guy Fawkes, unaware that the plot had been blown wide open (nice one idiot-ed) enterred the basement to meet a troop of Englands finest who promptly arrested and beat the names of the co-conspiritors out of him.

Guy Fawkes was later hung, drawn and quartered a year later... that's a lot of beatings he took, either that or he had a lot of names to remember!

Some jokers have coined the phrase, "Guy Fawkes was the only man to enter the Houses of Parliament with honest intentions". (not wrong-ed)

Irony is, this plan promptly made either Parliament, or the King, maybe both, think that the Catholics should be punished for this treason along with the now late Mr. Fawkes. So they made the laws worse against the Catholics. (erm... D'oh!-ed)

So why do we celebrate Guy Fawkes night?

The evidence isn't exactly stacking up in his favour is it?

-The plot, that he didn't necessarily even plan himself, failed miserably.
-The only reason he is rememberred is because he was the first person to get caught! Could've been Francis Tresham night, though it doesn't quite have the same ring does it?!
-He actually made things worse for those he was trying to help out.

And, while I'm on the subject (could be here a while-ed) why do we burn a guy?

-Guy Fawkes, admittedly makes quite a good focus point for all our hate about people trying to destroy our beloved western way of life, but he was hung drawn and quartered. So why do we burn the Guy? You know why? BECAUSE FIRE IS FUN and DANGEROUS!

No-one wants to hang up a guy and then cut the stuffing out of it... We want to blow things up too! That's why we do fireworks! There's no two ways about it! Blokes like blowing things up and making fire. It's makes them feel manly. (MAN MAKE FIRE-ed)
Girly women like watching the pretty fireworks. Girly blokes like that too. (watch it-ed)

Pretty lame excuses for doing it hey?

That's quite enough ranting for tonight.
I'm now going to go and put a tin of baked beans in the bonfire and makes some people who are clearly standing too close to the hot hot heat, remember why there is a warning line around it.
(I didn't know it was there to make sure people don't get cover in flying food produce-ed)

[listening to :- Diamonds on the Inside - Ben Harper]
[Contemplating :- learning to be more to the point]

To sleep, perchance to dream...

So much to do...

Well good day to one and all who is taking time out of their busy schedule to read this...
For the record, following last rant, ed (editor) = me [sad I know but hey, it needs to be said because I'm like that]
Things are going a touch on the slow side today. The system at work has decided to go on cyber-strike and therefore very little work can actually be done.

Lets quickly recap on things since I last wrote:

Tuesday night - Church meeting, many items discussed, rejoiced in, mourned at.
After the meetind I proceeded around S's house where I was fed homemade lamb (I think) curry, which has to be said was quite enjoyed.
M was round S's, suprise suprise, and so conversation was limited, though caught the end of "Showtime" which was quite amusing.

Wednesday - Day - Work... T wasn't in the office and things proceeded with a gentle flow, no arguements today, following the verbal battering I have taken over previous weeks this was a welcome relief.
Evening - Joined a few old friends for drinks in Brighton, despite having arranged to phone *R* the same evening, excused myself from teh bar and made the call anyway. Arranged to drive up to Oxford on Saturday and many things have been planned to keep both *R* and myself amused for the few hours for which I am able to stay up there. [Note to self, buy Red Bull for emergency during sleep depriving drive home.]
Evening continued (post telephone which had left a distinct Cheshire style grin across my face) with me declining going clubbing at the risk of losing consciousness at work [again?-ed].

Babies don't sleep as well as I did last night.

This morning, woke late, rushed everything, got to work early.
System down.
Big hairy spanner magnets!
Work is nearly impossible. Have already prepared all the files on my desk, and some not on my desk, for action when the system is available again.

Lunch time have a Christians at Work meeting. Never been before and may be shocked at the average age being over twice mine...

Closing thought: If sunflower oil is made of sunflowers, what is baby oil made of?

[Listening to:- noisy colleagues, sob no music]
[Contemplating:- plans for my new 2005 company diary]

Hmmm...

You'd think that somone, having gone to the trouble of actually setting up a blogsite, would actually have something of some worth to write.

Truth is, I was just pretty bored, which for me makes a change, and was reading my fellow Jonathan Eats Hon-ian blog and thought, well, why not?!

I'm still very much trying to get the hang of all this technology stuff. [Use of the word stuff would normally give the impression that I don't know what I'm doing even touching a computer, let alone being allowed unrestricted access to this interweb doobery-whatsit...]

Anyway!

From time to time this site may be updated and even have postings responded to. (I just wish this had an editor as this would be a fantastic chance for a quick "not likely" quip of some description)

[listening to :- Shatterproof Is Not A Challenge - Hundred Reasons]
[contemplating :- the coming weekend]-(if you dont know why you don't need to know)