The Telegraph Attacks Two Targets In One Article
Toby Young in Her Majesty’s Daily Telegraph has attacked both Lance Armstrong and Alistair Campbell in this article.
It is getting that Lance Armstrong is becoming a non-laurel wreath to hang around anybody you don’t like’s neck.
Manly Library Classifies Armstrong’s Books As Fiction
This story is a classic Australian put-down for sports worst cheat.
So it’s only a hoax, but everybody got the joke.
Deaths From Asthma
The previous post on asthma got me thinking, so I looked up if there was a site, that gave asthma deaths by country.
There is and it’s here.
The site is interesting , as it gives an awful lot of ways you can die. just select and click go.
For example, one of the sections is falling from trees. No-one actually died that way in the statistics they show.
A Call From The Cable-Car
As I was alone on the Emirates Air-Line yesterday, I called a friend in The Netherlands.
I don’t suppose, I’m the only person, who’s done that. But try doing that in a tunnel under the Thames.
Personal Taxation – Italian Style
This article from the BBC’s web site, describes how the Italian tax man is getting to grips with the country’s tax avoidance.
The Italians are finding it all a bit intrusive and with an election coming up, the tactics of the taxmen are an election issue.
According to the article, the United States uses a similar system, which links the amount of expenditure you have, with the income you need to sustain that lifestyle.
I’ve met many people over the years, who seemed to live very well, with no visible means of support.
So perhaps we need that sort of system here!
The Internet For Timely Information
I generally look each morning, at the list of the ten most read pages on the BBC’s web site.
This morning, only one of the ten is not about the weather and seven are concerning school closures. In order they are Notts, Essex, England, Leicester, Kent and Shropshire.
In pre-Internet days, parents would have listened to local radio.
Sending People To Coventry
This very English phrase has been used in a comment on my post about Lance Armstrong, by one of my Australian followers.
I would have thought the Australians would have used an appropriate Australian town.
We also have a few other geographical phrases like.
Carrying coals to Newcastle
So what do other countries use?
Wikipedia has an interesting explanation of the phrase Sending to Coventry. They cite the origin as.
It is believed that the city of Coventry in the United Kingdom had one of the strictest monasteries, where monks that misbehaved were sent and given the punishment of a vow of silence. therefore being “sent to Coventry” means not being spoken to or communicated with.
So it is a lot older than industrial relations.
Perhaps, we should bring it back as a legal punishment.
Smoking Bans Lead To Fall In Asthma
This report on the BBC, says there is a link between the smoking ban and a drop in the number of children admitted to hospital with asthma. Here’s a relevant paragraph.
We increasingly think it’s because people are adopting smoke-free homes when these smoke-free laws are introduced and this is because they see the benefits of smoke-free laws in public places such as restaurants and they increasingly want to adopt them in their home.
I also think, that children are also badgering their parents not to smoke.
When we were developing the metered dose inhaler for drugs, like those for asthma, I came across some research that showed any naked flame in the house increased the oxides of nitrogen in the air, that might be causing asthma. This page from the US EPA outlines the problem and gives advice.
So I would never have a gas cooker or fire in my house. There was one when I bought this house, but I sold it.
Perhaps the Funniest Address On A Spam E-Mail
I just had to laugh, when I saw this address on a typical lottery scam e-mail.
From The E-mail Lottery Winner Office Address: 23-31 Huddersfield Row, West Yorkshire United Arab Emirate HD2 5TXR
Tel: +971527819868
Contact Agent: Mr. Frank Anderson
Obviously, West Yorkshire is not in the United Arab Emirate or the United Arab Emirates even.
But the phone code, 971, is in the UAE.
The address and post code obviously aren’t valid.
I’ve checked the headers of the e-mail and it might have come from the UAE.
It did create an early morning titter, though!
Stromboli Erupts
I read that Stromboli is erupting in The Sunday Times. There are more details here.
I stayed there once on a visit to the Aeolian Islands. Everybody should try to go to these islands at least once in their life.
The Anonymous Widower 