st pauls cathedral

We hope to visit St. Paul's Cathedral next weekend, & hope that perhaps it's not being cleaned this time.

This will be our prelude to a liquid lunch with Nick Browne of A Welsh Born Icon, and the follow up to an afternoon at Shakespeare's Globe . Should be a good weekend!

Batman Begins?

batman begins?

just thought I'd try publishing a photo straight from picasa , Google's free photo managing tool.
looks as if it works! cool!

Thump the Clouds

A google search for Thump the Clouds produces this result, & leads on to Nick Brown's recently renamed spindrift pages.....

Fame for Nick at last?

Homeopathy

There was an interesting article on the BBC website today, finally debunking the stuff and nonsense that is Homeopathy.
It's good to see common sense being published, instead of "politically correct" pseudo medical views.

In the words of the BBC :-

A leading medical journal has made a damning attack on homeopathy, saying it is no better than dummy drugs. The Lancet says the time for more studies is over and doctors should be bold and honest with patients about homeopathy's "lack of benefit"

A view I have long held.

Funnily enough, the Society of Homeopaths doesn't agree:-

A spokeswoman from the Society of Homeopaths said: "It has been established beyond doubt and accepted by many researchers, that the placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial is not a fitting research tool with which to test homeopathy."

If you don't agree with the results, attack the method, eh? Never mind that this is the universally accepted method for determining the efficacy of new drugs.

mumbles lifeboat Raftrace

Thanks to everyone, We have raised over £18,000 for the RNLI

results from the SWPD to follow.......

Mumbles raft race makes the BBC

Woooooooo!

we made the BBC!

Thanks (?) to South Wales Police, charging us £4200 for policing the event, ALL of the proceeds of which go to the RNLI, which is, of course, a charity.

Makes you think who are the cops & who are the robbers?

For more news, & piccies, see mumbles lifeboat Raftrace webpage

(that'll be me at the helm of the ILB, by the way)

Geek Joke

There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't

Mo Mowlem

So, farewell, Mo Mowlem
One of the few politicians
Of the last few years
To earn my respect.
You leave this country a better place
Than before you arrived
You will be missed


c. grumunkin After e.j.thribb 2005

top ten books

following up from Nick Browne's post, re top ten books,
my 10 of the time were:-

Lord of the rings JRR Tolkien
Magician Ray E Feist
pillars of the earth Ken follett
captain corelli's mandolin Louis de berniers
Fear & loathing in las vegas Hunter s thompson
perfume Patrick suskind
his dark materials trilogy Phillip Pullman
the wasp factory Iain Banks
the histories Heroditus
breakfast of champions Kurt Vonnegut Jnr

Its amazing how It would change if I was to compile this today.
Guess a lot depends on mood.

maybe I'll do it again soon

ICE numbers in your mobile phone

Emergency personnel look for ICE in you cell phones


A campaign encouraging people to enter an emergency contact number in
their mobile phone's memory under the heading "ICE" (for "In Case of
Emergency"),has rapidly spread throughout the world as a particular consequence of the terrorist attacks in London. Originally established as a nationwide
campaign in the UK, ICE allows paramedics or police to be able to contact a
designated relative or next-of-kin in an emergency situation.
The idea is the brainchild of East Anglian Ambulance Service paramedic
Bob Brotchie and was launched in May this year. Bob, 41, who has been a
paramedic for 13 years, said: "I was reflecting on some of the calls I've
attended at the roadside where I had to look through the mobile phone
contacts struggling for information on a shocked or injured person.
Almost everyone carries a mobile phone now, and with ICE we'd know immediately who to contact and what number to ring. The person may even know of their medical history."
By adopting the ICE advice, your mobile will help the rescue services quickly contact a friend or relative -- which could be vital in a life or death situation. It only takes a few seconds to do, and it could easily help save your life. Why not put ICE in your phone now? Simply select a new contact in your phone book, enter the word 'ICE' and the number of the person you wish to be contacted. For more than one contact name, use ICE1, ICE2, ICE3 etc. It's so simple that everyone can do it.
Please do, and pass this on at your discretion as it may save a life.