“If you can’t beat ‘em sue ‘em”.

Just as the behemoth finally gets it’s collective **** together and releases a software OS which actually shifts the world forward – I’m talking Windows 8 and the Metro interface here we get the losers coming out to claim once again that they’re being cut out of the pie.  Sorry but this is just the way fo the world – if you want to change it go to court-  but hey if you’re going to take that route make sure you the even bigger guys who are playing a walled garden game (aka Apple)!

Mozilla: Windows 8 a ‘Return to the Digital Dark Ages’

According to Mozilla’s Asa Dotzler we’re back to the days before the EU fine imposed on Microsoft yet he bleats that this isn’t the same as what Apple are doing! (Yah boo sucks!)  Sorry but if I buy a Windows ph0ne I can do what I like with it – if I buy an Apple Phone I’m ****ed – I have no choice at all.

“Dotzler points out that at least part of what makes this different than Apple’s iOS — which imposes similar restrictions on software and prevents Firefox from running on iOS — is that Microsoft still has binding agreements with the EU about browser choice on Windows, and Windows RT is still Windows.

The new restrictions, writes Dotzler, “are in direct violation of the promises [Microsoft] made to developers, users, and OEMs about browser choice.” So, while Microsoft may be aping Apple with these new application limitations, Apple has the advantage of not needing to worry about past anti-trust agreements.”

Sound like a whining techie to you?  It certainly does to me…. I’d rather that Mozilla focussed on producing something that Microsoft just had to include because it was so cool rather than rolling out their “top lawyer”.  Seems more like a case “if you can’t beat ‘em sue ‘em”. Pathetic, simply pathetic!

Finally the bad headmaster gets his come-uppence

Just been given the news that the headmaster of a local junior school has cleared his desk – mid-term.  Thank heavens foir that – at tleast the children now have a chance to be inspired instead of being told – and I quote – this was to a group of 9 year olds after their christmas play/presentation to parents “at least you were better than you were this morning”.

What an asshole!

More than that he, and the governors, covered up or more strictly kept quiet about one of the teachers – in fact my daughters teacher at the time – who was “grooming” young girls.  How both of them could ever be considered as the right sort of people to be educating our children is simply beyond me.

Teachers can have such a powerful impact on our childrens lives – I have been inspired by some – the late Mark Vincent’s lesson on Brownian Motion when I was in the 2nd year of senior school is still a vivid memory! My director of studies in the 6th form was a brilliant teacher but at the same time treated me appallingly, and when I went back having been told I would amount to nothing yet having got my Masters he avoided me.

It’s a shame that these people are allowed to keep their jobs!  They should be dumped pronto – let the good teachers run the place not the wasters and weirdos.

The worst case of rubbernecking – ever!

This morning, the 1st of May has been another dreadful day weatherwise, grey skys, rain, and more rain.  Obviously for those of us who have to drive to work the weather is a major contributor to the quality of our journeys – rain just adds to the misery.  There is however one other thing that can dramatically impact on travel times – “Rubbernecking”.

This is the “lemming-like” practice which requires every man, woman and dog to slow down as they approach the site of a traffic accident and take a good hard look at someone else’s misfortune or stupidity.

Naturally the already kangaroo like procession of traffic during rush hour is transformed into a barely mobile linear car park on the carriageway.   Now this is almost bearable when it’s on your side of the carriageway – that’s just bad luck and you have to grin and bear it.  When it’s on the other carriageway it’s bloody infuriating, but when it’s not even on the main carriageway (as in on a slip road) it simply beggars belief!

I’ve marked the spot on the image – it’s the black X in the red circle.  This screengrab from Google was taken 90 minutes after I crawled past heading south – you can see the traffic is still held up by what would appear to be a continuous stream of rubberneckers. Why must you all do this?

So to finish a personal plea – whilst I accept, as does the Association of Advanced Motorists, that you need to be aware of what’s going on around you why do you need to slow to a crawl in the fast lane to stare at something that is of absolutely no relevance to you or your driving whatsoever?  Keep on going, don’t slow down and cause a hazard to other road users.

Vodafone not telling customers about technical problems

#Vodafone are keeping technical problems to themselves! They’ve known about the latest for 2 weeks and not told us.

I upgraded both my kids phones in the past month – Vodafone is the carrier.  I’ve been using them for a number of years but right now I’m considering ditching them -why?  Because they’ve been keeping secrets from me and you all – about their service.

I wanted to log into my online account last night so I could add my son’s phone to our Sure Signal (yep #Vodafone’s signal is so crap where I live I need one of their boosters) – they’d just sent me a note that I could see my latest bill -so I thought I’ll kill two birds with one stone!  Yeh, right!

I can log in fine – no problems – well actually yes there is a problem – their website now says:

Registration Error

Your Phone number is currently Inactive/Suspended. Please CONTACT US

…despite the fact that I am apparently logged in!  So this morning I called Voda’s customer service team to find out what had happened.  I spoke to a nice lady called Rana – in Egypt(!) – who let me into the secret that Voda had known there was an issue with their system ditching registered phone details when you upgraded your plan – they’d known about it for a couple of weeks now and in fact they have a team of people working on sorting the problem out.

In the meantime I and heaven knows how many other people will have to re-register their phones!

Ah, surely I asked – why don’t you back up the system – restore it to a point when this problem didn’t happen…. ah, they can’t do that apparently, so you and I the customer have to re-enter data which we’ve already done.

Rana said I will have £10 credited to my account for the inconvenience.  £10 for keeping schtumm about a problem they’ve known about for a couple of weeks?   £10 for sending my emails encouraging me to go online to my account – they have the perfect opportunity in that email to warn me there might be a problem?

Personally I’d like a written apology, an explanation of what went wrong, why they didn’t tell me or you and some idea of why they can’t restore the system, why I (and you) have to re-enter data, details of what they’ve done to stop the technical issue happening again and most importantly a statement of what they will do to change their process to notify customers of potential issues.

Right now I’m seriously considering sending this to #Offcom and wondering if this constitutes a breach of contract – it most certainly constitutes a breach of trust.

Has anyone else had the same problem? Let me know if you have.

 

Thanks to the Daily Mash now we really can move on!

Many thanks to Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation for tweeting this earlier – you can read the original article here – it’s very very good indeed!!

But if you’re too lazy….

Suarez to sing ‘I Will Always Love You’ to Patrice Evra

13-02-12

THE Football Association has ordered Luis Suarez to sing I Will Always Love You to Manchester United’s Patrice Evra on Valentine’s Day.

The table decoration was designed by Adele and Ron Atkinson

The FA said the move would draw a line under the ongoing race controversy and form the centrepiece of the Association’s official tribute to Whitney Houston.

The row was reignited on Saturday when the Liverpool player refused to shake Evra’s hand confirming recent speculation that he does not think the Frenchman is a very nice person.

An FA spokesman said: “The combination of Valentine’s Day and the Whitney Houston tragedy should remind us all that Patrice Evra is probably telling the truth.

“We have ordered Luis Suarez to learn his lines and then sing the song really, really well. It would be particularly nice if they could have dinner in the centre circle at Old Trafford and then a string quartet would appear out of the darkness and Luis could get up and sing while holding Patrice’s hand.

“Don’t tell Patrice about the song though. We want it to be a lovely Valentine’s Day surprise.”
Kenny Dalglish has backed both the dinner and the song and pledged to once again behave in a manner befitting a Liverpool manager by not winning the league.

Meanwhile, the FA is among dozens of organisations planning a Whitney Houston tribute including Network Rail, Little Chef and the Association of British Insurers.

Labour MP Tom Watson will organise his party’s official tribute and has also called for the Queen’s 60th Jubilee celebrations to be renamed in honour of the tragic singer.

Prime minister David Cameron added: “I will never forget the night I became the MP for Witney, which I now realise sounds the same as Whitney.

“It’s so very sad”

Ferguson – you’re the disgrace

Riot my arse – what was Evra doing at the end and what you doing with that sort of bile.  That’s all that needs to be said.

Evra – you’re a disgrace

I’ve just watched an abject Liverpool performance against the old enemy and whilst we didn’t deserve to win I was outraged by the behaviour of Patrice evra – the Man Utd captain no less – at the end of the game – actually at the end of both halves but especially after the final whistle.

I’ll agree that Suarez did himself no favours by refusing to shake Evra’s hand at the beginning-  but them he still feels that he was badly treated by the FA’s inquiry – as to many others.

So it was entirely up to him to choose not to shake the proferred hand.  Evra’s behaviour in grabbing Suraez’s arm is not acceptable.  His behaviour in seeking to remonstrate further with Suarez at half time was not acceptable.

 

His behaviour in milking the crowd’s applause at full time was entirely justified – UNTIL – he ran across the field and positionined himself not more than 6 feet away from Suarez and again milked the crowd’s applaus-  that was unprofessional conduct and I hope that the referee’s report contains some stern reference to it and that Evra is punished.

I appreciate that this is the 3rd time that Evra has claimed he has been racially abused – and the 1st time he has been successful but even so his actions were deplorable.  I hope the FA was watching and I exhort them to ban and fine Evra to show that his behaviour is also completely unacceptable given the world wide audience.

If no action is taken – and there is part of me that fears the FA will do just that FA – then they too should be ashamed of themselves!

 

On the issue of whether Ferdinand got the ball – well on my HD TV he kicked the side of Suarez’s foot – that’s a foul – he was the last man – that’s a red card.

Trade show highs and lows

Trade shows offer a weird and wonderful view of the world. From the 50 yr olds with gelled up hair to the babes in boob tubes – from the spooks to the war heroes – all human life is here!

It’s also a time which allows self reflection and toning of the calves, and your eyesight improves as you struggle to read the half hidden name badge. But most of its a time of highs and lows. Highs on meeting a new hot prospect and the lows? They’re the bits in between – like now zzzzzzzzzzzz!

Now if my colleague would just return I could at least have a comfort break and some lunch – in that order..

She did and did I….

Day 3 and the show must go on. Horrid journey in as drivers seem unable to cope with large shiny object hanging in the sky. The last day is always the quietist and this is no exception – unfortunately our friends at Vodafone seem unable to supply enough babdwidth so am unable to view Carroll’s man of the match performance as featured on #empireofthekop . b***er!

Oh well nearly over

Article from “News Frames” – Churnalism

This is a superb piece of writing.

http://newsframes.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/media-on-racism-churnalism/

Hat tip to @empireofthekop for publicising it further.

Luis Suarez & Liverpool statements in full

I will admit that my viewpoint may not be the most objective here – I am a Liverpool fan and I will be wearing my “Can’t get enough” t-shirts on my next visits to Anfield.  That said my first wife was Jamaican and I spent 4 weeks living up a hill outside of Montego Bay and the young kids all called me “White Man” – now were they being racist and was I offended-  no on both counts.

Was I offended and did I go crying to the authorities when  some rastas in a bar of a back street, off another back street in Mo’ Bay said “don’t want no white Ras Claat in here” – offended nope – shocked yes! Hey I was there with my wife and her family – all Jamaican!

Did the FA find Suarez to be a racist – not according to the report-  so how can he be deemed to have brought the UK game into disrepute around the world?  Only the f***wits at the FA know that one – hey they’ve done it themselves many times.

I am also disappointed that someone as weaselly and pathetic as Evra has been allowed to get away with it this time – remember this isn’t the first time he’s cried wolf. You only have to watch him crying like a bay when he bumps into another player on the pitch.

In a momentous week when finally justice has been seen to be done for the Lawrence family and some nasty racist bigots are about to be banged up – again(!) the reputation of an admittedly less than perfect, passionate footballer and firey person is to be pilloried around the world’s media – it would seem to be many in an unjustified manner – for the reasons I have set out above I make no apology for reprinting the full statements of Luis Suraez and Liverpool football club – YNWA.

STATEMENT FROM LUIS SUAREZ

“First of all I would like to thank everyone so much for all the help and support I have received during these last few weeks.

“Thank you to my family, my friends and everybody at LFC (the staff, manager and coaching staff, the directors, my team-mates and everyone who is working on a daily basis for this great club) and thank you especially to all the fans who made sure I never felt let down for one second. During those days I understood more than ever what ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ means.”

“In my country, ‘negro’ is a word we use commonly, a word which doesn’t show any lack of respect and is even less so a form of racist abuse

“Like many of you I was born into a very humble family, in a working class neighbourhood, in a small country. But I was born and raised learning what respect, manners and sacrifice mean. Thanks to my family, from my first club where I started playing, to my transfer to Holland in Europe, I learned the values which made me the person I am now.

“Never, I repeat, never, have I had any racial problem with a team mate or individual who was of a different race or colour to mine. Never.

“I am very upset by all the things which have been said during the last few weeks about me, all of them being very far from the truth. But above all, I’m very upset at feeling so powerless whilst being accused of something which I did not, nor would not, ever do.

“In my country, ‘negro’ is a word we use commonly, a word which doesn’t show any lack of respect and is even less so a form of racist abuse. Based on this, everything which has been said so far is totally false.

“I will carry out the suspension with the resignation of someone who hasn’t done anything wrong and who feels extremely upset by the events.

“I do feel sorry for the fans and for my team-mates, whom I will not be able to help during the next month. It will be a very difficult time for me.

“The only thing I wish for at the moment is being able to run out again at Anfield and to do what I like most, which is playing football.”

 

STATEMENT FROM LIVERPOOL

“It is our strongly held conviction that the Football Association and the panel it selected constructed a highly subjective case against Luis Suarez based on an accusation that was ultimately unsubstantiated.

“The FA and the panel chose to consistently and methodically accept and embrace arguments leading to a set of conclusions that found Mr Suarez to ‘probably’ be guilty, while in the same manner deciding to completely dismiss the testimony that countered their overall suppositions.

“Mr Evra was deemed to be credible in spite of admitting that he himself used insulting and threatening words towards Luis and that his initial charge as to the word used was somehow a mistake.

English football has led the world in welcoming all nationalities and creeds into its Premier League and its leagues below, and Liverpool FC itself has been a leader in taking a progressive stance on issues of race and inclusion

“The facts in this case were that an accusation was made, a rebuttal was given and there was video of the match. The remaining facts came from testimony of people who did not corroborate any accusation made by Mr Evra.

“In its determination to prove its conclusions to the public through a clearly subjective 115-page document, the FA panel has damaged the reputation of one the Premier League’s best players, deciding he should be punished and banned for perhaps a quarter of a season.

“This case has also provided a template in which a club’s rival can bring about a significant ban for a top player without anything beyond an accusation.

“Nevertheless, there are ultimately larger issues than whether or not Luis Suarez has been treated fairly by the FA in this matter. There are important points we want to make today that overshadow what has occurred during the past two months.

“The issue of race in sports, as in other industries, has a very poor history. Far too often, and in far too many countries, the issues of racism and discrimination have been covered over or ignored.

“In America, where Liverpool ownership resides, there was a shameful bigotry that prevented black athletes from competing at the highest levels for decades.

“English football has led the world in welcoming all nationalities and creeds into its Premier League and its leagues below, and Liverpool Football Club itself has been a leader in taking a progressive stance on issues of race and inclusion.

“The Luis Suarez case has to end so that the Premier League, the Football Association and the club can continue the progress that has been made and will continue to be made and not risk a perception, at least by some, that would diminish our commitment on these issues.

“Liverpool Football Club have supported Luis Suarez because we fundamentally do not believe that Luis on that day – or frankly any other – did or would engage in a racist act.

“Notably, his actions on and off the pitch with his team-mates and in the community have demonstrated his belief that all athletes can play together and that the colour of a person’s skin is irrelevant.

“Continuing a fight for justice in this particular case beyond today would only obscure the fact that the club wholeheartedly supports the efforts of the Football Association, the Football League and the Premier League to put an end to any form of racism in English football.

“It is time to put the Luis Suarez matter to rest and for all of us, going forward, to work together to stamp out racism in every form both inside and outside the sport.

“It is for this reason that we will not appeal against the eight-game suspension of Luis Suarez.”