So it begins…
The summer of football and reality TV starts with a vengeance tonight, with the arrival of 13 weeks of the dullest programming since the test card disappeared from our screens… yes, it’s the 7th series of “Big Brother”…
Now, I’ve ranted before about what a total waste of airtime this show is, and how deluded the production company are at their “popularity”.
I have no doubt that it’s relatively popular, as even people who hate the concept are talking about it - but at the end of the day, watching 12 people arguing and bickering in a house designed to be unpleasant to live in is hardly riviting television… yes, people want to see romance blossom, at the end of the day, this is voyeurism at it’s most commercial. It beggars belief why anyone would give up their life for potentially 3 months, probably have to quit their job etc, and possibly come out at the end of the penultimate week with nothing - sorry, but most people can’t do that - mortgages don’t pay themselves…
Then there’s the upcoming World Cup - so many England flags being sold, again, really, does it matter, do you think I care about the result of 22 overpaid men kicking a small ball around a field?
Update I’ve added a poll to the sidebar here - vote for your favourite summer event from “The World Cup”, “Big Brother”, “Doctor Who kicking some Cybermen Arse”, and “None of the above”
Refuse Refusal
Just came across this one - the Welsh Assembly are considering charging for the collection of household rubbish - apparently to encourage recycling.
Here’s a newsflash for you - I already pay the council for the collection of my household rubbish - it’s called council tax (yes, I know it also funds such things as the police, road maintenance, and schools, but as the roads are full of potholes and the schools aren’t exactly keeping the children locked up during the day, they’re obviously not where the money is going)
To the AM’s - the way to encourage recycling is simple - make it quick, make it easy, make it kerbside. I don’t want to have to lug the occasional glass bottle down to the disposal center (using far more fuel to do so than a doorstep collection would), and I don’t want to have to collect them for months before I have enough to make the trip worthwhile. Pick up stuff that can be recycled (including plastics) from the kerbside and you’ll find that people will recycle.
Torchwood Spotting
Just a quick note - two Torchwood mentions in the “Rise of the Cybermen” episode… neither were plot-critical…
Litter
I think the council warden in this case was absolutely right, so maybe the girl doesn’t regularly drop litter - but having been caught once breaking the law, and fined, she’ll no doubt be a lot more careful in future where she drops litter (ideally, carrying it until she finds a bin, and disposing of it properly)
Now if we could get councils all around the UK imposing high fines for other anti-social behaviour which affects communities, like loud car stereos, dog fouling, litter, vandalism, so that the purportrators think twice about their actions, the UK could become a much nicer place to live.
NTL - are things changing
Well, a year or so ago, I wrote a few posts about NTL (see here and here and here) , and the problems I’d had with them, so it’s only fair to report on my latest experience of them…
Last night I called them to find out how much longer I had to run on the discounts I was being given “in apology” for the events of last summer - I got through to a helpful operative in their call center, who spoke English without an Indian accent (yes, NTL still use UK based call centers) and actually seemed to have a clue.
After getting over my initial shock, he went on to give me the information I asked for, and explained that as my package price was increasing, pointed out a new offer they had, whereby for an extra pound over what I was going to be paying, I could get a broadband speed upgrade, and access to the NTL Broadband plus package (basically, a few “free” music downloads and photo prints) - which all seemed like good value… then the big incentive, the “mid-tier” broadband package was going to double in speed in the next few weeks, so I could go from a 1Mb/s connection to a 4Mb/s connection for £1.
Needless to say, that was incentive enough! Finally, a thumbs-up for NTL customer service, let’s just hope the changes they’re making to their staffing following the Telewest merger don’t destroy the progress they’ve clearly made over the last year. Now maybe I’m speaking too soon, but I wonder what’ll happen next…
Twas a dark and stormy night
Well, last night was fun… around 8:30, it very suddenly goes very dark, and I start seeing flashes in the sky and hearing a noise like thunder.
After having disconnected the phones, computer, and turned off the cable modem, I settled down to watch one of the most spectacular lightning storms I’ve seen for some time. A storm that went on for a good couple of hours. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get any pictures of the lightning, so you’ll have to make do with this one from a stock image library.
Even so I find that although I’m not scared of thunder and lightning, I do get nervous when it’s going on…
Fuel Prices = Inflation
Final the news media (notably, the Financial Times) has figured out that the effects of extortionate prices for fuel has a knock-on effect to everything else.
If the Government wants to keep inflation under control, it’s got to do something about the spiralling costs of fuel, which are impacting everything used to calculate “inflation” (which does not include the price at the pumps of Unleaded and Diesel) - but those massive 10%+ increases in fuel in the last few weeks will start affecting everything that has to be transported as part of it’s manufacturing or distribution to customers.
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