A diary of sorts, but with thoughts and views on the topics of the day!
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Check out the video file I have just uploaded, it was sent to me via email from a friend. Looks like the little guy could be a candidate for the next England striker.
The weather has taken a turn for the worse the rain is now horizontal makes me home sick for Yorkshire moors, where I was brought up.
Rabbit
My desk is on the top floor of our office block and next to the window. I have a great view of the world outside. Currently it doesn’t look good, high winds and driving rain is not making it a pleasant day. It could be worse I might be out there fortunately I’m indoors. I have about half an hour before I’m due to attend my training course so I am just doing a little blog just to pass the time.
One of the architectural features of our offices are a number of steel cables that run vertically on the outside of building, due to the high winds these are singing away in the wind. Thankfully they don’t hold the building up they are there just to secure the steel sun blinds on the outside.
I seem to have become addicted to blogging, and have now elevated this site to my favourite, while I decided that the other I belong to is worse that useless.
Have to go, time for my education.
Rabbit
God, its training day, well if you want to be precise it’s a training half day, all about the company safety management system. Boring I know, but it’s important and we all have to do it. But the best news today its pay day, yippee, thank god for that, it’s been six weeks since the last payday.
In Nottingham Social Services removed a baby from her mother without a court order. The mother and her son, just 2 hours old were separated while the 18 year old woman was still receiving treatment. However, a court ruled that its was illegal and ordered Social Services to return the infant. The woman is now seeking damages. There is no doubt more to this, than was reported in the media. The woman does have mental health problems has and just finished treatment for her condition. I fully understand that a small number of parents do inflict harm upon their children. But from the news article it appears that this is not the case in this instance. Therefore what justification do Social Services have for removing the child? It must have been so distressing for the mother. I suppose that if they hadn’t removed the child the and something had happened then there would have such an out cry. Unfortunately they are in a no win situation, damned if they something, damned if they don’t!
The Olympics are always in the local news at present. For those of you who don’t listen to the London news it seems every day there is an item about the 2012 Olympics normally about the budget. Originally when we won the bid, the budget was around £2 to £3Billion pounds. Now that has risen to about £9.5Billion pounds. Last nights news item was about the swimming arena. The budget for this venue was around £75Million pounds. Now the Olympic Delivery Authority thought this was high, so ordered the designers so go away and redesign. It did, and came back with a new design and budget, £235Million. The games will probably we good but its going to be interesting watching how we get there.
Rabbit
Hello world, its 11.45 and I have just arrived in the office. No it’s not a late start; once again I had to go to Canterbury Hospital for a meeting with the hospital trust. I hate going down there, it’s an extra 55 miles to drive and because of that it’s always an early start. Still not long now and I’ll be rid of it, thank god.
A little bit of news after yesterday’s bog. The men convicted of the £53Million robbery in Kent have been sent sentenced. Four of the men were sent to prison for a minimum of 15 years, the fifth man has to serve a minimum of 10years. Still when they get out, they have £32Million hidden somewhere. A very nice retirement plan.
During the last few weeks, while watch the advertisement on TV I have been amused to see that a number of banks have sales on. I struggle to find what they can offer in a sale, perhaps and this may only be speculation that if you withdraw £50 from your account then they only take £45 off your balance. It also may be that if you use an ATM then the next time you go you get money for free. Buy one get one free! Well it’s a thought.
Yesterday, evening while watching the London news I was a amazed to see that new restaurant has opened in London offering set meals. For those who are standing I recommend you sit down at this time, the cost, a staggering £1000. A bottle of wine will set you back £700. It showed the meal on TV, it consisted of a small piece of steak and 4 chips. Observably this is not aimed at Joe Bloggs, but at bankers and traders who have made loads of money after losing all ours. I knew I should have gone into finance instead of engineering.
In Winchester 3000 people turned to welcome back troops, who recently returned from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 300 service personnel from The Rifles, the King's Royal Hussars, the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, the frigate HMS Richmond, RAF Odiham and the 4 General Support (Medical) Regiment marched through the Hampshire city. This is what I was saying the other day, we need to support our troops it makes them feel appreciated and valued. It is difficult and stressful spending so long away from their families operating in dangerous and arduous conditions.
Rabbit
I find myself once again at Canterbury hospital for another design review meeting. Hopefully this will be one of my last, I have finally be told to hand the project over to Project Engineer who be going ahead with the work. He was always going to do the job, but was working on another part of the hospital, now that is finished he take over the project. Yippee.
I don’t mind the job, but it’s a pain for me to get too and I came in half way the design process, a design that I may add seems to change every week. We were supposed to have the final design on Friday, and we still haven’t received the drawings. The meeting today was supposed about the final design.
Yesterday, five men were found guilty of robbery, kidnap and fire arm offences in respect of the £53M robbery in Kent in 2006, two other men have been cleared of all chargers. The men will be sentenced today. Only £21M of the money has ever been recovered. I wonder where the rest of the money is and surely there must have been more people involved. I suppose the investigation will go on, it will be interesting to see how long the sentences will be. Hopefully it will be life!
A friend of mine lives about a mile from the depot, he did say that security has been tightened and before the robbery he didn’t know what it was. It has no markings on the building at all.
Armageddon is coming; well not quite an asteroid is set to pass close to the earth according to reports. Well if you can 334,000miles close, but I suppose it is in astronomical terms. The asteroid designated 2007 TU24 (who thinks these names up) is only 250m across, I don’t think we need to call for Bruce Willis yet, but we better put in on stand by. The average interval between impacts is about 37, 000 years experts say. One thing I would like to know is how can anyone see something so small from so far away in the darkness of space, someone somewhere has some great equipment.
Rabbit
I said in my blog on Saturday, Saturday it seems so long ago, that I would review the film ‘ I am legend’ staring Will Smith as Dr Robert Neville who believes he his the last human survivor on the planet. I thought it a good film with an underlying story about messing around with human DNA and the consequences it may have on the human race.
In the film a doctor claims that she has cured cancer using a modified measles virus. Unfortunately the virus mutates and plague that follows kills most of mankind. Those that don’t die suffered horrendous mutations and can only live in the dark as the UV light kills them. The film centres on his survival techniques and on his deteriorating mental state. He his trying to develop at cure in his basement but his attempts are unsuccessful.
He his trapped by the mutants and just escapes with life but his dog his only companion his killed. His mental statement at this point goes down hill fast and he tires to kill the mutants and myself by driving his 4 x 4 at them.
He his just about to be killed when he is saved by Anna and her son Ethan who have heard his broadcast, unconscious she takes him to his home. Unfortunately the mutants have trailed them back and are posed to attack. She believes that there are a group or survivors in Vermont and tries to persuade Neville into coming with them. At this point the mutants attack and they are forced into the basement where they discover that his attempts have been successful and the mutant he has been working his recovering. But the mutants are relentless and have trapped them in the basement. Neville realises that he cannot escape but allows Anna and Ethan to hide with some of the blood he has taken from the mutant.He kills the mutants with a hand grenade and himself along the way. Anna finds the survivors camp and gives them cure, end the of film.
The climax of the film is very rushed and the ending was typical clichéd nonsense. Pointless religious and philosophical overtones and dialogue are added to try and create a moral- based story, but just turn into fodder that is annoying to have to listen to. Certain important questions are never even answered like why certain people like Neville are immune. Finally, the infected humans look more like sci-fi monsters than actual mutated and deranged beings and are not present nearly enough until the end of the film.
Final Verdict: 5/10. Pretty much only worth seeing for the first half of the film and for Willy's powerhouse acting. Such a shame really. The post-apocalyptic genre is very interesting to me and I love films like 28 Days Later, Mad Max, or Escape from New York, but Legend's poor narrative pulls it down.
Rabbit
Well, yesterday was the first I have missed posting my blog for ages. I had a little problem with my internet connection. I found out later when my stepdaughter returned from visiting her father. She had unplugged the router at the mains to plug in her hairdryer. Why, oh why didn’t I check that? Never mind as the saying goes these things are sent to try us.
Well here we are again Monday, the start of another working week. Not a very good drive in this morning thick fog made driving a little treacherous, not helped by a 5 car accident on the A13, I suppose I was little lucky in that the accident happened only a few minutes before I got there. I managed to get round and be on my way before the police arrived and closed the road.
Reports in the news are stating that overstretch of service personal is driving them away from the services. This is a subject on which I can speak with some authority after all I did spend 24 years in the Army. I left the Army in 1999 and even then we were overstretched. I didn’t leave the Army because of that, I had finished my time and it was time for me to leave. But what I do find ironic is that the Conservatives are blaming the present Government for this. It was the previous Conservative Government who destroyed our services. Back as far as 1990 and 1991 the then Tory Government was drawing up plans to drastically reduce the strength of our Armed forces.
That was before the first Gulf war, when we did go to war some service personal were receiving their redundancy notices before going into battle. Then of course there was Yugoslavia where I may add we still have troops deployed and we first sent Troops into Afghanistan in and I think I might a couple of years out here 1998. Then came the second Gulf war and of course a major increase in Troop deployment in Afghanistan. We have further areas where we still deploy troops, the Falkland Islands and other little wars in Africa. On the whole I am amazed that the question of overstretch has not been raised before.
Neither the present or pervious Government’s have any respect for our Armed Forces, they say they do and they praise them in media. But in reality they could give a toss about our men and women; they are just a political tool to score points against each other. It would be good to see some of our leaders send their children to war, see them come in home in body bags, and then we might see some change. I support our troops and they need the help and support of all our people.
Rabbit
Great, Saturday at last. I do love the weekends, time to relax, put your feet and just have a good time. Today, we are going to the cinema, we are of to the watch Will Smith in ‘I am legend’ it had some good reviews, but tomorrow I will give you my own opinion.
Yesterday, I was at Canterbury hospital; don’t worry nothing wrong with me. I have a project running down there and I had to attend a meeting. We are refurbishing a new renal outpatients department. We are due to start to the installation very shortly and there are a few issues that require attention before we begin. It’s actually not my project; I am just standing in for someone while he’s away on holiday. My project is an office development in London. I am looking to getting back to that project.
I suppose the main news at the moment, is that of Jerome Kerviel, the French trader who has said to have lost some 4.9bn euros ($7.1bn; £3.7bn). He his now being blamed for the world wide stock market crash this week. Nick Leeson the ‘Rouge Trader’ who lost £827 Million pounds and caused the closure of Bearing Bank was sentenced to six and a half years in Changi Prison Singapore. So what can Jerome Herviel expect than. But what does need to be answered is how this happened. After the case of Nick Leeson I would have thought tighter controls would have been brought in. These are the people who look after our money, ok this happened in France it may not affect directly but am sure it will in some way. But this also may be happening in this country are we sure that the controls are adequate. I doubt it, these people gamble with our money, they get huge bonouses every year, I doubt that all of them are honest.
Rabbit
I posted my article on the two of the big cats, although some scientists say the snow leopard is a medium cat because it can neither purr nor roar. Apparently if a cat can roar then it classified as a big cat and if it purrs then it is a small cat. As far as I am concerned it does bother me it is still a magnificent animal.
Yesterday, the minister for work and pensions was forced to resign as police have been called in to investigate alleged corruption with donations made to him during his campaign for the deputy leadership of the labour party. Of course the opposition parties are once having a field day at labours expense. Stating sleaze and corruption are once at the heart of labour party. Lets face it most politicians are same, not one of can tell the truth, and they can never answer a simple yes or no question. Not one of them is in politics to help the people or for the good of the nation. They are into for power and money.
It amazes me the amount of money is sent on elections, it runs into millions of pounds and for what the people with the most money and can lie the best get into power and make our life’s a complete misery, and it’s worse in America. The amount of money spent on their elections would help a large number of countries in Africa with their national debt.
A report into the prison service has criticised a prison in Chelmsford, Essex for failing to deal with the safety of prisoners. After a number of suicides it stated that 40% of prisoners felt unsafe and 32% said that staff did not treat them with respect. Well if prisoners treated the public with respect and did not commit crimes then they wouldn’t be in prison. Prison is meant to be both punishment and rehabilitation not a holiday. They get what they deserve, I agree we do not want to go back to days when all they got was bread and water and they lived in their own mess. But many think that they should be housed in a 5 star hotel with room service, to those I say get real. You committed the crime now pay the price.
Rabbit
The snow leopard is one of the most elusive cats on the planet, very littl e is known about and it wasn’t even filmed in wild until very recently. Snow leopards are medium-sized cats which can neither roar nor purr. They have white, yellowish, or smoky-grey fur patterned with dark-gray to black spots and rosettes. Their hide camouflages them against the rocky slopes, helping them sneak up on prey.
Their fur is dense and woolly to help the cats stay warm in the bitterly cold habitat. The fur on their bellies is up to 12 cm (nearly 5 in) long. Their thick furry tails, which are up to 1 m (40 in) in length and nearly as long as the rest of their bodies, are used as both as a balancing aid and to provide warmth.
Snow leopards are well known for their beautiful fur and agile movements. They are superb jumpers and can spring and pounce on their prey up to 45 ft away! They have been spotted at heights of 6,000 ft. Long; powerful hind limbs help the snow leopard leap up to 30 feet - 6 times its body length!
I got it a little wrong yesterday, all the stock markets are not rallying there is still some uncertainty in the markets, according to reports this is caused by the Bank of England’s reluctance to lower the base rate at this time. I’m not an expert in the stock market, I an engineer so if you need any questions answering on money matters please doesn’t ask me. However, if you need to know anything on electrical engineering then I may be able to help.
Many thanks to Susan who left a comment on my last blog ‘Money and Crime’. It’s very true the majority of the problems in today’s society may be down to the parents, who could not give a toss where their children are or what they get up too. From what I have seen it’s only a minority who cause trouble the majority of children today are good kids who I must say are far more intelligent then I am. I am unable to offer any assistance to my stepdaughter any more; she has gone beyond my level of learning.
Her friends and her, always seem to be studying, although sometimes I believe she spends to much time on the computer, she doesn’t play games, I admit she is sometimes in chat rooms she appears to spend most of her time writing or studying for her A levels.
The Japanese Prime Minister has defended his country annual whale hunt in seas around Antarctica. The Japanese saying they are only doing for scientific reasons and are not breaking any laws. The question that is on most peoples lips is why they need to kill whales for scientific purposes. I doubt it gives any useful scientific data and the requirement for whale meat is falling. Most of the Japanese people no longer eat whale meat.
I love wildlife and the environment it’s a passion for me. At present we have a number of good organisations who are protecting our environment and the animals who live in it. They are doing a great job and raising their awareness to the public at large. They need all the help we can give them, if we fail to help then they will fail and a large number of endangered animals will disappear from our world.
In future blogs I intended to include photo’s of the wild life that means the most to me, not that I forget the rest, but I do love big cats. I promise I do have some great shots!
Rabbit
Wednesday, we are half way through the working week and it seems to be flying by. I have been kept busy, well not that busy as those of you who noticed the time stamp on my blog’s will have guessed that they have been posted during normal working time. No excuses, I have taken a little time from my work to post the blog. Well, I do get in the office at about 07:00 in the morning.
I enjoy my work, even, if I do drive to work. I would prefer to use public transport but at present that not possible. We are working on project that will be built in central London, but it’s only in the planning stage at the moment so I have to drive to the office which is in Kent and negotiate the Dartford crossing on a daily basis, it will be heaven when we get to site and I can use the train.
America acted yesterday and cut interest rates in a bid to prevent US economy from slumping into recession. The US Federal Reserve has slashed interest rates to 3.5%, its biggest cut in 25 years. The rate was cut from 4.25% and came has a complete surprise. Stock markets around the world rallied but rises in their various markets were limited due to concerns the interest rate cut would have on currencies.
Once again England has another victim of knife crime, a 14 year old girl has been attacked and left in serious condition in Lancashire, and a 21 year old man has been arrested for the attack. Not a day goes by when we don't hear that another knife attach has taken place. No matter that the police or Government do seems to do they are unable to prevent this type of crime taking place. More education and harsher prison sentences should be introduced. Last year a teenager was murdered at the rate of one every two weeks, victims of gang crime the media say. This is unacceptable we can’t have this in a civilised society. Society, Government and police must solve this problem has a whole. I never carried a knife when I was young, it’s not big and it’s not smart. I was brought up to respect people, and property by my parents, there is a minority in this country who have no respect for anything and this is where the problems lie, teach them respect and the problems will be solved, if they are unwilling to learn, well there’s always prison and only long sentences will be adequate.
Rabbit
Am still coming to grips with this blog site, from what I have I seen so far, it good. However, a few little extra things would help to create an ever better format. Maybe a search box on out dashboard/home page. I find searching for blog quire difficult or it might just be me. If anybody reads this blog please leave a comment and tell me how to search for blog’s. So far I have not been able to get to grips with it. Also how about a counter on our blog page, I know there is one on out profile page but it would be nice to know if anybody is actually reading our blog’s.
Try this out, I think it’s great!
cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs rpsoet it.
What do you think, I was amazed!
Have I have stated the USA influences all that happens in the world. The money markets believe that America is going into recession and what happens the stock markets all over world drop like a lead balloon. Billions have been wiped off the value of stocks just in the UK. This will affect my pension; thankfully the experts say they will go up again, eventually!
Monday, the being of a new week. I wonder what will be in store for this week. The weekend was a quiet affair nice and relaxing; I read the newspaper and watched a little TV. The weather wasn’t as bad a predicted well it wasn’t in this area anyway. I have briefly read the news and it appears that flooding has not been widespread. Good news for the people who have been dreading the worst. I also notices a few more mistakes in my last post, lets see if I can get through this post without any.
Industry bosses have called for the planned rise in tax to be scrapped. A rise of 2p in fuel tax is planned in April this after a rise of 2p was introduced in October. The cost of crude oil is now nearly $100 a barrel. But in the UK nearly 75% of the price of a litre of fuel is tax, making it the most expensive in Europe. Business leaders believe that if the tax increase goes ahead it will make UK haulage firms less competitive. I drive a lot to work, not through choice I may add, if I could take public transport I would. The cost off me travelling to work has risen dramatically over the last few months. This Government, and previous Government’s have increased taxes on it’s people to so an extent it has been a burden on all it’s people.
I know every one complains about the amount of tax they pay. However, some people seem to get away paying little or no tax, because they can afford to employ good accountants who exploit the system. Still the saying is true ‘the only thing that is certain in this world is death and taxes’
The Middle East is once again in the news, in response to rocket attacks on Israel it has cut fuel supplies and plunged Gaza into darkness. Israel has the right to defend itself that much is true. But it has built settlements on land that does not belong to Israel. If it returned this land to its rightful owners then perhaps it would help in attaining peace in the region. But we know that will never happen, Israel, is the America of the Middle East, a bully boy who achieves its political will though intimidation and violence. More to follow on this subject.
Rabbit
