Rabbit Thought of the Day

Well that’s it I’ve finished no more work until Wednesday, I about to pack up clear my desk and disappear out of the door, for well deserved break. It appears that every one as the same idea as the office is deserted. Hoe you all have a great weekend, I doubt think I will get much chance to blog, but will try my best.

KNOW YOUR SUBJECT  

Photographing animals, whether your cat at home or a fox in the great outdoors, requires patience, perseverance and an understanding of animal behaviour so you can predict how they will be likely to act or react, and anticipate the moment for a good photograph.

If you consider an animal's character in the same way you do when photographing people, and try to capture it on film, you won't go far wrong. Make sure you know what you want your images to say about the animal before you start clicking away, and then put your knowledge of composition, lighting and angles to work to get the pictures you want.

No shot is worth risking your safety when dealing with animals. Stay in the car if there is a bear or a buffalo on the road. A wild animal's reaction to your presence is unpredictable and even if they look so docile you feel you could walk up and pet them, remember, they can hurt and even kill you. Don't ever follow a dangerous animal (not too much of a problem in this country).

After the word "safety," the next three important words that govern animal photography are patience, patience and patience. Photography is like fishing in this regard. You often have to wait a long time in the right place to catch the best ones.

Patience applies equally when photographing pets and domestic animals. They sometimes seem to have a knack for being uncooperative when you bring out your camera. Keeping calm and taking things one step at a time often helps the animal to relax.

The zoo is an ideal place, because you will find animals there that we in Britain won’t see in the wild.  No zoo nearby? Visit a farm and take some pictures of the animals there. It may sound silly if you live in the country, but for someone with absolutely no experience with large animals, a farm is a good place to get your feet wet.

A car dealership in the United States is offering a free handgun with every vehicle sold. Max Motors in Butler, Missouri, says sales have quadrupled since the start of the offer.

Customers can choose between a gun or a $250 (£125) gas card, but most so far have chosen the gun. Owner Mark Muller said "we're just damn glad to live in a free country where you can have a gun if you want to".

The dealership sells new and old vehicles, including General Motors and Ford cars and trucks, and its logo shows a cowboy holding a pistol. It has sold over 30 cars and trucks in the past three days, an increase which the owners put down to their promotional offer.

Mr Muller said that every buyer so far "except one guy from Canada and one old guy" chose the gun, rather than the gas card. He recommends a Kel-Tec .380 pistol, which he describes as "a nice little handgun that fits in your pocket".

He added that the promotion was inspired by recent comments from one of the Democratic nominees for the presidential election, saying: "We did it because of Barack Obama.

"He said all those people in the Midwest, you've got to have compassion for them because they're clinging to their guns and their Bibles. I found that quite offensive. We all go to church on Sunday and we all carry guns."

The website advertisement for the offer, which continues until the end of the month, mentions that an approved background check on gun ownership is required.

"He said all those people in the Midwest, you've got to have compassion for them because they're clinging to their guns and their Bibles. I found that quite offensive. We all go to church on Sunday and we all carry guns."

ONLY IN AMERICA!

We should have the same promotion in the UK, except of course we would only give out water pistols, which of course would be very useful when stuck in a traffic jam in hot weather and could be used for the following.

• Shooting people in convertibles.
• Good for a drink, when stuck
• Cleaning your windscreen in an emergency
• Shooting people in convertibles

Source BBC News webpage

Fuel Tax
Fuel tax is an imposed sales tax put on the sale of fuel. Frequently, fuel tax is looked upon as a source of general revenue, with some being put towards the maintenance of roads and highways.

Fuel Tax in the UK

Fuel tax in the UK is constantly changing and has risen steadily over the last 15 years. Between 1993 and 1999 there was a rapid increase with duties on fuel increasing by 3% above inflation. This was due to a major change in petrol taxation in 1993 when the Conservatives introduced the Fuel Price 'escalator'. This was a way of the government making money and also to help protect the environment by discouraging people from using their cars. 

Fuel Escalator Forces Prices Up

This fuel escalator forced prices up from one of the lowest in Europe to now one of the most expensive. When it was first added, fuel prices rose by 3 pence a litre and tax contributed to 72.8% of the total cost. By 1997 the escalator had added 11.1p to the cost of unleaded petrol and was at 75%. It didn't get any better when the conservatives left office and Gordon Brown took over, as the escalator increased and 3 pence was added per litre. This took tax up to an incredible 81.5% of the total price of fuel.Fuel

Tax and the 2000 Fuel Protests

Despite the fuel escalator being abandoned in 1999, fuel prices did continue to rise rapidly, with a 2 pence a litre rise after the 2000 budget, contributing to the fuel protest. These rises were however argued by the government to be as a result of increasing oil costs rather than tax increases. This argument does hold some truth when we look at the graph above, showing that although the overall price of fuel has risen, the percentage of tax has stayed relatively constant and even dropped slightly this year.

Duty on fuel in the UK increased again on 1 October 2007, with an increase of 2.00 pence a litre on unleaded and diesel and an even greater increase on LPG and natural gas. See the fuel duty for all fuels below:

2007 Fuel Tax Figures

2007 fuel duty (as of 1 October 2007) in the United Kingdom is:

• 50.35 pence per litre for ultra-low sulphur unleaded petrol/diesel
• 53.65 pence per litre for conventional unleaded petrol
• 56.94 pence per litre for conventional diesel
• 30.35 pence per litre for bio-diesel and bio ethanol
• 16.49 pence per kg for gas other than natural gas (LPG)
• 13.70 pence per kg for natural gas used as road fuel.
• 9.69 pence per litre for rebated gas oil (red diesel)
• 9.29 pence per litre for rebated fuel oil

The bank holiday starts tonight and no doubt there will a rush to get away, either to the seaside (however the weather is not looking good for the south of England) to foreign parts where you are guaranteed warm and sunny weather. Or you might want to stay at home at home and do some DiY.

But before you pack the kids into the car and head down the beach, you might want to consider a report issued by the Marine Conservation Society, in its annual report ‘The Good Beach Guide’ it shows the number of beaches with excellent water quality has fallen by 10% since last year. The society blamed last year’s heavy rain for the decline and that the storms washed up more sewage onto the beaches.

I am lucky in that I only live about ¼ mile from the beach at Southend. I like to walk down the beach when the opportunity arises, but am disappointed at not only the quality of water but  the amount of rubbish on the beach and on the seafront. The council has provided a vast amount of large wheelie bins on the seafront for rubbish (about the only good thing the council has done in the last 5 years though), but the people of Essex don’t seem to have grasped the idea that you put rubbish in bins and not on the ground or on the beach.

One of my work colleagues who lives in Kent commented on the amount of rubbish on the beach and in particular the amount of cigarette butts on the beach, in fact he his so disgusted that he longer goes to Southend. One case I know, but it does make you think if the beach and seafront were cleaner then this would attract more visitors. I would say that this would be the same not only for Southend but for other seaside towns and villages in the UK.

If any council member reads this, just think you have been elected to help the community, do something to help!

Friday is here at last; god this week seems to have dragged. Only a few more hours and it’s a long weekend, tomorrow will travel to God’s County (Yorkshire) and not am coming back until late Monday or might even wait until Tuesday (I have booked Tuesday off).  

Rosemary is a little worried, as Caz does not to come with us, (she is sitting her ‘A’ Levels) so she is staying at home. This will be the first that she has stayed over at home over such a long period. I keep saying to Rosemary, “Looks she 17 nows, time to cut the apron strings”.  “She is a sensible girl and won’t be throwing wild parties (I hope)”.

I am sure she will be phoning her very 5 minutes to see if every thing is ok, I have no doubt though that every thing will be fine.