An Infuriating Website
I’ve just booked a couple of Eurostar tickets.
It is rather an infuriating web site.
1. I have used it many times before and it wouldn’t let me login using my normal profile.
2. I thought I might have got the password wrong, but then it kept asking me to type my e-mail address, despite it being the right one.
3. When I created a new profile, I made the odd mistake and had to type in things again.
4. It also made me type in a city, when all I need is a house number, a road name, London and a post code.
5. Printing out the details was five pages.
The First Metric Railway In The UK
I just found this small piece of trivia on the Wikipedia entry for the Tyne and Wear Metro.
The Tyne and Wear Metro was the first railway in the UK to operate using the metric system; all its speeds and distances are stated in metric units only.
Do you think I should tell UKIP?
A Discount For Doing The Washing Up
As I often do, I popped over to my local cafe t0 get a coffee. As I wanted to drink it at home and I took my own mug, they gave me a discount for doing the washing up.
The Curry’s Still Working!
Last night’s curry seems to be still working. I feel quite refreshed this morning, despite getting up at three to put some posts on this blog. In fact that is a good thing, as I always used to work through the night before I had the stroke.
Wikipedia says this on the health benefits of curry.
Some studies have shown that ingredients in curry may help to prevent certain diseases, including colon cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. A number of studies have claimed that the reaction of pain receptors to the hotter ingredients in curries leads to the body’s release of endorphins, curry is claimed to be one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs.With the complex sensory reaction to the variety of spices and flavours, a natural high is achieved that causes subsequent cravings, often followed by a desire to move on to hotter curries. Some refer to this as addiction, but other researchers contest the use of the word “addiction” in this instance.
I don’t go along with wanting stronger curries. But here are a few observations on my life.
- I was born a day after modern India and I’ve always had a psychological connection to the sub-Continent. I’ve also enjoyed my visits there.
- C and myself regularly ate curries.
- I do get a craving for going for a curry at times. Last night was one of those days.
- When I moved here I seemed to ask several people, where there was a good Indian restaurant. I was finally sorted in Boots by a combnation of an Asian pharmacist and a customer.
- I was very disappointed when Waitrose stopped making curry and rice for one. Does anybody still do them?
- The day C died, I went for a meal in one of the Indian restaurants we used.
I should say that when I have a curry out, it’s usually in a proper restaurant, where they have tablecloths and use gram flour.
Perhaps it’s just down to releasing endorphins, as is stated in the extract from Wikipedia. After all, I feel better when Ipswich win.
How To Stop Spam!
A few days ago, someone stared sending masses of spam from a Hotmail account faking them so that it appeared they came from one of my business e-mail addresses. This technique is used to try to get round spam filters. The consequence though, was that I got masses of bounces from mail systems that rejected his junk.
I reported him to abuse@hotmail.com, but all I got was a simple acknowledgement.
Then yesterday I sent the spammer a short e-mail saying.
I have a friend with connections to Mossad and that they have means of stopping spam.
A few hours afterwards and the messages stopped. He could have course just got bored or been chopped by Microsoft.
But who cares! The messages stopped.
Are The BBC’s Troubles Down To Manchester?
The BBC has now lost their Director General as reported here.
I do wonder how much the troubles at the BBC are down to the ill-thought-out move of much of the Corporation to Manchester. How many of their better managers and journalists have left, because they didn’t want or were unable to leave London?
I know that Newsnight is a London-based program, but even so just the threat of a possible move to the North was a reason to jump ship. Especially as this year, London was the media centre of the world, with this years events in the capital, like the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee.
It is one thing to decentralise drama and factual programming, but news and probably sport should be in the capital.
It was a daft decision to move so much to Manchester.
Is Curry Good For Me?
Last night I had a good curry at the Angel Curry Centre in Chapel Market at the Angel.
My throat hasn’t been good lately, but it certainly seems to have improved after the curry.
But then it’s not just curry that does that. Marks and Spencer’s roast pork in a cider sauce has a similar calming effect. There are various articles on the web, which say curry does have good effects. like this one.
But then C and I always used to go for a curry on Monday nights, although in later years we didn’t go quite as often.
So I know one thing I’m going to do to improve my health and that is have a weekly curry.
Scotland Taxes Tobacco And Alcohol
Scotland has added extra taxes to large stores that sell tobacco and alcohol. It seems to have had the effect of getting some Sainsbury supermarkets to not sell tobacco. It’s reported here on the BBC.
Although I applaud any measure to reduce smoking, I’m not totally sure about this one. It will harm the profits of the big supermarket groups and they will react, by perhaps not investing in stores and jobs north of the border.
And of course, smokers will still get their fix, by probably buying tobacco from bootleggers and others.
I would prefer to see all tobacco sales in large supermarkets as that would perhaps make it more difficult for kids to get hold of them. After all, when did you hear of a large chain of stores selling cigarettes or alcohol to those underage.
The Anonymous Widower 