Sin ton ni son*

Depressed? Auch, you're just feeling a bit down; it'll pass.

2010-04-15T20:07:00.007+01:00

No, it won't. But what IS depression? I guess if we really knew what it was, we'd beat it, but at least learning and writing about it may help fight it next time we come across it on a dark, dank, greasey Tuesday night...

So, take a look at the cactus. Looks like a pretty normal cactus eh? Hell, it even has a flower on top...check it with it's flower-flaunting and posing. However, looks can be deceiving. Yep, that cactus is depressed. The cactus' closest friends are aware, but you wouldn't know to look at - nary even a quiver of the lip or a tear - but that is one miserable cactus...goes to show that just because something appears to be fine, there's no guarantee it actually is. True story.

OK, so that was a wee bit of a random way to bring it up, but since I'm actually feeling a bit better today for the first time in a long time, I thought I would write about depression, as I think firstly it may help me next time I'm feeling low, and can read about it, and also maybe it'll help other people understand a bit more. I don't know...it depends on how well I manage to express myself, but I'm going to go ahead and give it a try.

If you're interested and would like to read more, about my experience, the symptoms, and some of the most accessible ways to alleviate depression, hit the jump and I'll see you on the other side. Click here and then scroll down to carry on reading...

So, where to start? Apparently around 25% of the population suffers from depression to some extent at some point in their lives, but what is it? Scientifically, in theory, it is a chemical imbalance in the brain, and therefore nothing to do with simple sadness. The frequently cited argument is that depression results from low levels of seratonin (a neurotransmitter) in the brain, as it is reabsorbed too quickly and that therefore the answer is to take Selective Seratonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) to make sure it stays where it's needed. Thing is, not everyone wants to be on pills forever (hello!), and in addition, the side-effects on beginning and ending a course of SSRIs are not pleasant: when you begin, for up to 6 weeks or so, the only effect you're likely to feel is constant nausea. Not enough to make you actually sick, but enough to make you listless and uncomfortable all day, and this without any positive effect on your mood, as that can take a month or more to begin. Much the same happens at the end, even if you progressively reduce your dosage over time, so SSRIs are clearly not ideal. That said, while I was on prescribed SSRIs, for about two years, my moods were a lot more steady, and I experienced very much fewer 'lows' than before and since...although at the same time, the really big 'highs' that make life truly worthwhile were also missing. In general, they just made me numb, but in terms of avoiding the desolation that could otherwise result, they were very helpful.

Anyway, I guess the first question is what despression feels like? This is an area where I'm unsure exactly what to write, not because I don't know what it feels like, but because it affects each person differently. I suppose with that in mind, there's nothing more I can do than give my own experience, accepting that others may or may not have the same feelings and others beside.

One of the major effects that really affects everything else is the way it totally robs you of energy. You wake up in the morning, and the listlessness is just overwhelming; not only does getting out of bed feel pointless, but you barely have the energy to do so anyway. Assuming you do manage to get yourself up, it's the same with every task from then on, no matter how big or small - anything from brushing your teeth to responding to an important email - it just feels impossible to tackle anything at all.

This lack of energy leads to you achieving less...which in turn leads to you feeling even less desire to begin the day, as you feel you're not going to get anything done, so it's a waste of time. Everything seems pointless - no matter whether you've previousy achieved success in the task awaiting completion, in your mind, it's futile, a waste of time and effort, and so even just starting any task is a massive operation.

This in turn compounds the lack of energy. Since each task takes so MUCH energy to begin, since you have to force yourself to do anything, to avoid just crawling back into bed and sealing yourself off from the world, if you do manage to get anything done, or even if you've tried and failed, it leaves you exhausted.

Another aspect is the desire I just mentioned to cut yourself off from the outside world. Depression makes you (well, me) utterly paranoid, doubting everything and everyone, no matter what role they fulfil in my life - from family members to best friends to worst friends, you can't help thinking that they've had enough of you, whether or not it's true. You don't enjoy your own company, so you logically figure that no one else does either, and so you cut yourself off, hide away indoors or even in bed, and thus are trapped with your own thoughts which then just spin around your head gaining in strength, making you dislike yourself more, and thus become more convinced that everyone else is better off not having to deal with you.

A major feature of depression that has cropped up in each of the points I've mentioned so far is the way it feeds on itself. Depending on your viewpoint, depression is its own best friend or own worst enemy. The inability to undertake any jobs or assignments because you feel you're not going to achieve anything becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as each day you find it harder, and so you do less and find more needing to be done, and each time you try to do it, it takes more energy, and so you're left with less energy, making it harder to start anything. As you feel people won't want to speak to you or spend time with you, as the doubts grow, you feel the need to ask, and you don't believe the reassurances, so you ask again, and again, and again, and you can tell by the responses that you're annoying people, and so it feels almost like a victory, since you're proving that you were right in thinking they don't enjoy your company. Therefore, you feel worse, and so if you do speak to people, most of what you say is negative, pushing them further away, and so the reassurances become less convincing, and so it carries on. Generally, you can only speak to close friends about it...if you speak to other people at all, you try your best to just avoid the topic altogether, not let on that anything is amiss, and yet you spend the whole time convinced that they're bored of your company, and so you begin to cut these people off, to stop talking to them at all.

And this, of course, is without mentioning the all-encumbering sadness. I didn't mention that first of all, because it's all too easy to say 'I'm depressed' when you're simply feeling sad, and therefore also to dismiss real depression as just a moment or phase of sadness that will quickly pass. In reality, the two are very different, and while each may feature aspects of the other, to class them as the same thing is very naïve. While obviously I don't know how it affects others, I know that in my case, the sadness is total, impossible, and inescapable - from the moment you wake up to the moment you manage to lose consciousness at night, it's there, in the back (or front, depending on whether or not you've got a distraction at the time) of your mind, and the pit of your stomach. It almost feels like fear, in the way you feel it in your gut, but it's not, it's just a crushing sadness, and the fact that you can't trace its root only makes it worse. That said, when sadness the root of which can be traced is added in, it's no better... In general, the depression also leads to huge mood swings - generally from happy to sad very suddenly, while the reverse takes a lot longer. In a matter of seconds you can go from feeling positive to utterly desolate and trapped. This also obviously affects and worsens some of the other symptoms I have mentioned - for example, talking to people without drifting into total negativity becomes more and more difficult.

Related to this is the fact that any issues you might have in your day-to-day life, which ordinarily might be little more than an annoyane or slight worry, become blown totally out of proportion, and get played over and over in your mind as you imagine all the worst possible outcomes, down to the tiniest detail. Personally, I have reached the point at which I can almost catch myself doing this, even if in general I am struggling with the day, but it can still cause problems, particularly in terms of 'neediness', asking for reassurance from friends and so on.

Some of the thoughts that can go through your mind are truly disturbing, when you reach the point where you're wondering if anyone would miss you...truly miss you, beyond just thinking 'oh, that's sad'. Wondering whether people might be better off if you really did rid yourself from their lives. Fortunately I've only ever been at that point once, and it terrified me when I thought about it afterwards. Trying to remain positive after thinking things like that, and more besides, is more than a little tricky. However, it was also so terrifying that even though I continued feeling low after that, to an extent, it snapped me out of the trance I'd fallen into and forced me to try to think more positively, as that is not a place I ever want to revisit.

Truth is, there are many more symptoms and feelings that come along with despression, but since I'm writing this article on an 'up' day, not all of them are occurring to me at the moment - on a 'down' day I doubt I'd be able to face writing about it though, so this is the best compromise. Also, this article is going to be huge as it is, without any more content to bulk it out!

So, what to do about it? If you're gripped by depression, how can you drag yourself out? Or at least manage to lift yourself up enough to gain a little perspective on the situation.

Firstly, obviously, it's very tricky to do anything about it when you're down on a big low, and all you want to do is hide from the world, listen to sad music, and wallow in your own sadness. Yep, pitiful really! If you can manage, switching to upbeat tunes has a surprisingly profound effect. As I mentioned in my last post, music's effect on the mind is deep and long-lasting; it's just convincing yourself to turn off the relaxed, chilled (read: depressing) songs that's the tricky part.

Exercise is also massively important and very beneficial most of the time. Once again, convincing yourself to go out for a run or lift some weights is the major challenge to overcome at the beginning, but if you can manage that, if can significantly help, by helping you either think out the thoughts that are troubling you, or clearing your mind entirely as you just focus on pushing yourself further and concentrate on the physical rather than the mental. It's also an obvious fact that exercising releases endorphines in the mind that triggers a degree of euphoria, reacting with the receptors in your brain to reduce the sensation of pain, be it physical or mental.

Not only that, but if you exercise regularly enough to see change and improvement in your body, then that is also a huge boost, as it provides you with evidence to counter your mind's subconscious arguments that no one could like you or be attracted to you. The more you can manage to improve, the more you can beat down at least this one facet of depression, and that has to be a good thing! Exercising at the right time of day (generally evening, though not too close to usual bed time) can also help you sleep, which inevitably helps you have more energy to take on the day and win.

Alcohol is also not good for depression - while a big night out on the beers, forgetting everything, can be highly uplifting, when the hangover comes around the next day, everything that was difficult anyway becomes twice as bad, so you have to weigh it up, and maybe think about restricting it.

Diet in general is highly important to mental agility and stability, fairly obviously, with vitamin deficiencies causing problems. Making sure you eat a balanced diet, no matter what, is therefore a serious issue. I've heard that many people's appetite or choice of food is affected by depression - either they gorge all the time, or just never eat, or only eat fatty foods - but fortunately that has never happened to me. Sometimes I don't have the energy to make a big meal and so eat convenience food, which inevitably isn't as good, but diet in general has not been a problem. That said, it is important to keep up the vitamin intake, using supplements if necessary:

Vitamin C relieves the extreme tiredness and generally reduces the effects of depression
Vitamin B1 helps with memory and concentration, and again generally alleviates feelings of depression
Vitamin B12 relieves paranoia, and prevents psychotic outbursts and mental deterioration
Vitamin B6 prevents psychosis and eases feelings of depression
Vitamin B3 helps avoid mood swings, memory loss, anxiety and general depression
Folic acid helps with insomnia (clearly I need more of this right now!), forgetfulness, confusion, and fatigue, all of which, if eliminated, help with depression

Vitamin B is therefore known as the anti-depression vitamin, as it helps in such a variety of ways. Eating foods rich in these vitamins is oviously highly beneficial. A number of nuts are highly beneficial - for example walnut and almonds are renowned for their mood-lifting abilities.

An injection of sugar can also be good - a glucose tablet can give an immediate lift, but the trouble is that the fluctuating levels of sugar can then cause problems.

Finally, when you can face it, simply talking to a close friend can be a big help. Indeed, for me, talking, either about the confusion going on in my head, or simply talking about something totally different, is what helps me the most. Even when I'm at my lowest, if I can convince myself to start chatting, while I may not initially notice, I'll very soon be feeling a lot more positive, and generally more relaxed about everything, allowing me to gain some perspective and to eliminate the most ludicrous thoughts going through my mind. Quite often chatting to my closest friends is even more beneficial, and totally rids me of the low feelings, at least temporarily. Either way, support from those around you can be almost essential, even if at the time you don't feel like you want it, or you give off the impression that you're better off without.

And so, after the most colossal post I've written to date, I've come to the end. That is my general opinion on depression...it's far from complete, both in terms of my own perceptions, because I don't recall all of what I feel when I'm down if I'm not in that frame of mind (but I'm happy to skip it!), and in terms of how it affects others, because I have only written this based on my own experiences, opinions and light research around the subject. I think it's interesting though, in terms of how the human mind works (or fails to work).

And wow! Just looked back over this post, and it is biiiiiiiig! I hope it's interesting though. Luckily, today, I am not feeling particularly like the cactus above. In fact, I feel more like this at the moment (serene, bizarrely!):

Brain mush and exhaustion

2010-04-12T17:49:00.005+01:00

How is it possible to be this bad at sleeping?!

So, it must be a month now since I have slept properly. I am even more tired than Terrence Petersen, the tired penguin in the photo. Now and then I think I have, and then find myself exhausted again two hours later - such as today, for instance. Woke up feeling pleased that I'd managed to get myself to sleep fairly early (around 00h45), and had stayed at least resting until quite late. Within a couple of hours, though, I was so tired I couldn't focus on anything, and could hardly stand up, and almost collapsed while doing the shopping. Whilst that is pretty funny to think about, just keeling over in the cheese section or face-planting into the toilet rolls, it really gets in the way of general existence.

I eat well, I eat healthily, and I eat at 'normal' times. I also drink plenty of water and fruit juice, and have even given alcohol a pause again for a while to help both save money and feel healthier, so it's not because of that. Yes, I worry about the fact I don't have a job, and am short on cash, but to be honest, that's more annoying than worrying, and I certainly don't lie awake at night thinking about it.

I would like to be able to ignore it and just carry on, hoping that it improves soon, but it's getting to the point where everything I do takes twice as long, I can't maintain concentration, my mood is up and down like a yo-yo. Makes it tricky. Did you know that if you deprive a person of sleep, he or she will die sooner than if you had deprived him/her of food? Shows the importance of it, and why sleep-deprivation torture methods can be so powerful.

Auch well though, there really isn't much I can do about it at the moment. Despite what I just said, I guess I simply have to try to keep on functioning, get myself a job and keep onwards and upwards. Everything takes a lot longer when you can't concentrate for more than five minutes at a time, but I'll get there...

Addendum at 22.30h:

So, I just received an email today proclaiming, "10,000 Year Old Yoga Secret For A Good Night’s Rest!", which sounds ridiculous, but here is the technique it suggests:

Lie back in bed on your back, close your eyes, and “be in the moment”.

You have to completely erase any pictures, thoughts or “words” from your mind (like “The Pina Colada Song” you heard right before going to bed!).

Focus your mind on the blackness you see and any time a thought, picture or word creeps into your consciousness, let it gently fade away by bringing your back to “nothingness”.

Literally within minutes, you’ll notice that you enter a “dream state” of complete relaxation and the next moment, you’re sound asleep.

I suspect it's all utter bollocks, but it's short and simple enough that it's got to be worth a shot, so I shall try it tonight, and maybe tomorrow, and try to remember to report back on it here. Can a grey-bearded man from the East really hold the cure to my insomnia? I doubt it, but soon, we shall find out... Watch this space.

Isn't music incredible?

2010-04-02T12:00:00.001+01:00

As a means of managing your mood and mental stability, and for changing your outlook, music is second to none. It is a necessity.

Well, in my incredibly humble opinion, obviously! This was brought to light only recently: I, at the moment, am broke. I'm as poor as a church mouse whose wife has just run off with another mouse, taking all the cheese. And yet the other week, when my earphones broke and needed replacing, I spent upwards of €50 on the new set, because music, to me, is not a luxury or a caprice, but a simple necessity of life, and so therefore, when I listen to it, I want to hear it in the best quality possible.

When I am working, chatting, emailing, cooking, cleaning, driving, sometimes even sleeping, I have my music playing, and it just makes life better. I must listen to 10 hours or more of music each day. I remember an Italian teacher at university bringing up the subject of music during one tutorial, saying she didn't understand why her daughter liked to listen to music while studying, and that she had effectively banned it as she felt it was reducing the quality of her daughter's studying, but I totally disagree. If the music is well matched to the situation and the task, I think it has the opposite effect, and in fact improves productivity, as it reduces stress, and thus helps you to focus on the task at hand. If I had an essay to write at university, or if I have a report that needs writing for the following morning, or an application letter that needs producing, having some of my favourite songs playing gently at the same time helps me calm down, focus, and prioritise to get the job done as efficiently as possible, every single time.

Music can also help my mood significantly, in a matter of minutes (or totally crush it, depending on whether my brain's trying to sabotage me when it chooses the next song to play). If I'm feeling down (which, let's be honest, happens a lot, unfortunately), and a song like 'Diner' by Martin Sexton comes on, I will frequently be feeling significantly more able to deal with the world by the end. I'm not saying I go from blowing-my-brains-out desolate to running through the street jumping for joy and clicking my heels together, but the effect is noticeable, and more pronounced than many supposed treatments recommended by the 'experts' for low mood. For helping my mood in this way, music is second only to being able to chat to my best friend. That said, if I put on the wrong song (although my playlist is somewhat eclectic, with everything from drum & bass to classical, I have quite a penchant for very mellow, relaxed songs - the kind that others might class as 'music to slit your wrists by'), it can have the opposite effect. As long as I'm aware of this, though, it's generally not a problem, and still goes to show the power that music has over the mind.

Sometimes, when everything's just getting too much, you can pick out a great album, preferably something super relaxing, turn off everything else, shut yourself off from the world, and just immerse yourself in music for half an hour or so, and the sense of calm that it produces is profound - in my experience anyway. I can't think of anything else that can produce this effect in us...can you?

Conversely, when it's Friday afternoon, you know the work will be done soon, and the evening will begin, beers will be drunk, dances will be danced, moves will be cut, and awesomeness will be distributed to all close enough to experience it, changing the playlist to an upbeat dance and drum and bass mix can just lift the mood higher and higher, sending you out on a wave of euphoria that's intoxicating (or is that just the Spanish-sized gin and tonics??) and addictive.

One of the absolutely greatest aspects of music for me though, aside from the pure joy of listening to a good song, is how vividly it can bring back apparently forgotten memories in an instant - and the music doesn't even have to be good! I was again reminded of this recently when I switched craptops, and in the process discovered probably 400 songs that had been lost in amongst all the other files and not played in years. I put on on an Audioslave song that I came across, "Like a Stone", and in a second, I was transported to a pool bar in the town of Hastings, New Zealand, on a night out towards the end of my time working on farms out there. I can picture every person around me, the drinks we had (mine was a triple gin and tonic, because the barman knew I was leaving soon and kept adding extra free shots to each drink I bought!), even the exact conversations that were taking place, and all this just purely from hearing the first few notes of a song that was popular there at that time. I absolutely love this about music, and I freely admit that amongst all the awesome, I have a number of really terrible songs on my playlist purely because they bring back happy memories, and as long as they keep doing so, I'm not getting rid of them!

Nowadays, I actively work to use this to my advantage: for example if I go on week's holiday, I will make a mix CD, or buy a new album, especially for the trip - just one or two at most - and listen to it frequently over the time I'm there, safe in the knowledge that from then on, those songs will be inextricably associated in my mind with that time. "Marta" by Nena Daconte is a recent example of a song that was playing frequently on holiday in Málaga, and now takes me back there in a second when I listen to it.

So, that is my thought for the day :). And what's playing right now? "In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction" by Idlewild - a truly great song, and one that reminds me (with a sweeping pang of nostalgia and regret at leaving) of Scotland. Caledonia, I miss you :(

Crowd management and eye contact

2010-03-26T18:15:00.002Z

There's more to it than you might think...though chances are, you don't think about it.

After my year in Spain back in 2006, I remembered that negotiating crowds of Spanish people was quite different from doing the same in Britain, but I'd forgotten to what extent...

In Britain, even though we're apparently more closed and less likely to initiate interaction with other people than our continental European brethren, it's habitual to make eye contact with the people coming towards you, the people you will have to negotiate to continue on your chosen path (see fig. 1.1). This can frequently result in a ridiculous kind of dance where both people, trying to double guess the other, move to one side and the other, both in the same direction, at the same time, several times, before finally managing to pass each other. Ridiculous though it can be, it is a polite and courteous means of crowd negotiation...but time consuming and confusing when the number of people is higher. This method also purveys a sense of openness and welcome.

In Spain, there's none of this crazy eye contact malarky when negotiating crowds, ohhh no. That is reserved exclusively for checking out the hot chick walking past the newspaper stand. Nope, in Spain, and in the absence of said hot girl, the focus is always on where you want to get to - eyes dead ahead, focus on middle distance, look of intensity but slight vagueness - see fig. 1.2 below.

This method, while not as courteous or friendly as the UK method, is far more effective, as everyone else likewise focuses on their destination, so there's very rarely any confusion or dance issue. Indeed, the only time confusion is likely to arise is if you put an untrained Brit on the scene, and he or she attempts to make eye contacts with each Spaniard encountered. The usual result then is that the Spaniard simply walks into them.

While sounding simple, there is an elegant art to perfecting the Spanish method, as you must remain focused on your destination at all times, while at the same time also being aware of the people approaching your path, but not making eye contact, in order to be able to pass without contact. In general, when two people are walking directly towards each other, they will continue to do so right until the last minute, with no hint of moving out of the way or allowing passage. Right when it seems inevitable the two are to crash into each other, each pulls a slight shoulder twist to one side or the other (you get a sense for which side it's going - this is an instinct here, not something you stop to think about!), and thus manage to pass with milimetres to spare, barely moving from the original path, and never breaking step or slowing down. And of course, if you do choose to check out the fine lady, it's not a problem, because the huge guy bearing down on you wasn't actually looking at you anyway, so he'll just go straight on past. Unless she's his girlfriend. In which case you might want to move.

One obvious drawback to the Spanish method is that if the person approaching is someone you know, you may end up walking straight on past, and looking like a tool for doing so...

Does my arse look big in this?

2010-03-25T13:15:00.001Z

So, despite - or maybe because of - hardly ever updating this blog lately, I decided it was time for a sexy little background update, so here it is. I'm not sure about it though. I like the header, that's pretty funky, but the rest is kind of boring, so chances are I'll change it again soon. And by 'soon', I mean in about 3 months' time, when I next get around to sorting it out... Enjoy! :)

"Call that a blog? Shiiiiiing Nah mate, THAT is a blog!"

2010-02-28T18:51:00.006Z

Yes. I know. Blah blah blah never updates the blog blah blah blah. Yeah, I get it, and I know I've been rubbish lately.

What with moving to Spain, searching for work every day, and more recently also starting work on creating someone else's blog, this one has once again been pitifully under-nourished with literary fodder, but I have plans to change that. I know I've said that before, but who knows, maybe this time I'll actually follow through. No, not in that way (you have a dirty mind, you know that?!)!

Anyway, I have ideas for lots of updates, and I really hope to be able to put something together very soon, and from now on to be updating the blog on a much more regular basis. Watch this space, and feel free to shout at me if there's been no progress in two weeks' time.

-Racing Snake

Salt? Why the hell are you putting down salt?!?

2010-01-15T17:36:00.006Z

So, as most people know, it's been a weeeee bit snowy in Britain over the past month.

More so than at any time in the past several decades in fact, and we're still barely into what normally is the coldest part of the year. It's therefore understandable that authorities have been caught out, roads have been blocked, and the snow has generally caused problems - we can't expect councils to invest in massive snow-clearing technology if it is only to be used, say, once every ten years, it just doesn't make economic sense. If they did make the investment, people would then complain when other jobs got shelved because of shortages of funds...but no matter, people will complain whatever happens. People like complaining. Especially British people. Even awesome ones. And so that's exactly what I'm going to do.

My rant concerns the use of salt on our roads at this time of year. Why do we need to use salt? Let's think about what it actually does, in terms of pros and cons:

Pros:

It prevents ice from forming or thaws already-frozen roads...provided they're not too cold
Yeah...that's it

Cons:

It makes a giant mess everywhere, turning snow into brown slush, covering verges and footpaths, splattering vehicles, and generally painting everything brown (see picture for clarification...on the left: no salt - clean, dry, easy-to-walk-on snow; on the right: slippery mush)
When it turns the snow brown and partially melts everything, it actually makes it more slippery to walk or drive on.
It corrodes vehicles - if not cleaned soon afterwards, salt build-ups on vehicles can corrode the bodywork and cause significant damage. Same goes for alloy wheels.
It contributes to worsening the potholes in roads, as it thaws ice that may have already penetrated the roads, which then refreezes when the salt concentration gets too low, or when the temperature drops below -10º, and it's this freeze-thaw that breaks up the road surface.
Again, it's only effective down to about -10º, and that only when it's at its most concentrated.
We can only store just so much salt, and yes, this year has been exceptional in the demands it has placed on authorities, but we seem to run out of the damn stuff every winter. There are few places it can be mined in the UK, and so it then has to be shipped in, which is expensive and takes longer
I could go on, but you get where I'm going with this...

The use of salt is pointless in my opinion, in terms of its benefits versus the problems it causes. In Scandinavia, they receive huge amounts of snow every year, which put our little flurries nad 'drifts' utterly to shame, and they don't use salt, because they recognise that it's simply too cold for it to be effective there (OK so it isn't usually as cold here, but so far this year we've seen temperatures as low as -22.3ºC...). Instead, they use grit. Small sharp stones, which are spread on the surface of the snow or ice, and which don't melt it, but simply provide grip.

I know from experience that, if anything, it's easier to walk and drive on gritted roads, even if they are completely covered with snow, than it is on slushy salted surfaces. The grit doesn't make a mess, it doesn't melt the snow, so the snow in turn everything is much drier and less dirty, it doesn't corrode metal, it doesn't contribute to road damage in the same way... Why don't we use it here?! It would make a lot of sense, and would be much more widely available and therefore quicker and probably cheaper to get hold of, and that's apart from reducing the cost of road repairs required in the spring.

Someone the other day tried to argue that if it snows again once grit's been spread, the grit is then covered up and therefore rendered useless. Rubbish! The grit remains useful far longer than salt would, as the weight of traffic or footsteps would compact new snow and thus press through onto the grit below, which could continue to provide a little grip. Eventually, yes, it will disappear under the snow, and need reapplying. Hmm...it's not like we ever have to reapply salt now, is it? Retard. The salt is only at its most effective once it's been crushed and mixes with snow or ice to form brine, but the more snow that falls, the lower the concentration of salt, and so the higher the temperature at which this salt water freezes, and the lower its effectiveness.

I think our reliance on salt to keep our roads and footpaths open is ridiculous. It's time we changed to grit, or at the very least, supplemented the salt with grit in certain situations, such as in town centres, or when it is particularly cold. As it stands though, the system sucks.

I am prepared for people to think I have a tiny penis...

2009-12-12T16:59:00.007Z

...if that's the result of owning one of these...

Although I actually suspect that wouldn't be the case - not with an Aston. Ferrari, yes; Lamborghini, quite probably, but Aston Martin, probably not.

What an incredible car though...the other day I got to have a go in a V8 Vantage, and although I have been in love with that car since its inception, I was still bowled over by its awesomeness. They should rename it the V8 Awesome. And then there's the V12...just look at the thing! It's like the V8 Vantage, but just more so in every way, including on the awesome front. One thing that really surprised me driving the V8 was how easy it was to drive and user-friendly it was, hiding its power to some extent (except for when I got it going sideways around one of the corners). Then again, it has a 'mere' 380hp, as it wasn't the latest iteration of the car (that one has 420hp), so in supercar terms, it isn't massively powerful. The V12 Vantage, on the other hand, has 510hp, and is designed to be a much harder-edged and focussed machine. And obviously, I want to drive one, and I want to own one. As the guy giving the briefing the other day said, with the Aston, he doesn't always know whether to drive it or stroke it.

At the same time, I also want one of these beauties. And best make it the V10 version - wouldn't want to settle for 'just' 420hp, when I could have 518 afterall! Again, this Audi is a stunning looking thing, albeit in a slightly more fussy and technical way than the Aston. But it looks like a batmobile, which makes it immediately desirable in my eyes. Specced up the way I want it, the Audi comes in at around 125,000 pounds, which is an eye-wateringly painful price tag, particularly from a manufacturer that also produces hundreds of thousands of 'normal' cars each year. So the Aston V12 Vantage costs more, but it is from a small-volume manufacturer that exclusively builds this kind of vehicle, so that's to be expected.

I was asked the other day which car (of these two) I'd have, should I have to choose, and I immediately went for the Aston Martin. I've not driven the R8, but from what I've read and what I know of Audi, I believe it would be a wonderful machine to pilot either on the road or round a track, and that, technically, it's virtually perfect. It's also gorgeous, unique and sounds amazing. The Aston Martin, in either V8 or V12 guise, is a flawed machine. It isn't as quick as the Audi, nor does it handle as well. In bright sunlight, you can barely read the gauges in the instrument binnacle, and instead of a key, you get the ridiculous ECU, or 'Emotional Control Unit', a block of etched glass that you push into a slot on the dashboard and push to start the car, at which point it glows red. But that is part of the Aston's charm...it has soul in a way the Audi could never manage. Each car is hand-built, in England, and when you buy one new, you have to go and pick it up from the factory. No matter that the Audi R8 is rare, it can't make you feel special the way the Aston Martin can, and there's just a certain something to knowing you have an Aston.

However, at the end of the day, I wouldn't want to choose - I want both!

Zaragoza - European Capital of Culture 2016?

2009-11-15T13:22:00.007Z

Hopefully, but it needs a new perspective and fresh ideas to stay in the fight...

So, I've just been on the Zaragoza 2016 Capital of Culture website. Having lived in Zaragoza for a year, and at least partially explored the city's culture and history, I know it is a worthy contender for the crown in 2016. However, the website is a wee bit of a disappointment... Admittedly, it's not the 'official' site...but then again, the official site doesn't actually work at all at the moment, and while the Ayuntamiento (city council) site has a section for cultural capital, it doesn't exactly pack a punch.

There is a number of other candidate cities competing, and to be honest, they all have better, more attractive and more informative websites than Zaragoza, which surely demonstrates a deeper desire to win. When I first went and placed my vote on the Candidate Cities site, Zaragoza was up there with the front runners, but now, several months later, a lack of interest and general apathy seems to have caused it to slip well back down the rankings . To be fair there are other things the ayuntamiento and authorities are no doubt concentrating on, such as the recently-passed Expo 2008, and the upcoming 'Flower Expo' in 2014, but I can't help feeling that this is a missed opportunity.

Of course, the fight hasn't yet been definitively won or lost, but it looks like Zaragoza needs a hefty kick up the arse and major improvement in motivation to get itself back in the running. For anyone that has visited Zaragoza, or lives there, I think it's obvious how much the city has to offer in terms of cultural diversity and richness, though as it stands, the city is relatively unknown outside of Spain, and is not being enjoyed and exploited as best it could be.

I shall definitely be voting in Zaragoza's favour again, and trying to get in touch with the organisational committee to get the campaign up and running again, and you could help by heading over to the Candidate Cities site and registering your vote. I'll be living there by then, so you can come visit and enjoy the show if we win! Check out the Facebook group as well - again, it seems to have been forgotten and neglected, but there's still time!

Farming, exhaustion, tardiness, and an upcoming renaissance...

2009-11-03T11:54:00.008Z

So, it's been a whole loooong time since I uploaded anything to the blog...

...more than two months in fact. Ooops... To be fair, though, I've been working 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week, and have been utterly knackered, so I think it's understandable.

Anyway, that's finished now. It was a temporary contract, and I kicked its ass and got the hell out of there, so I am once again free. And bored. For anyone remotely interested, and who didn't already know, here's what I was doing:

Yup, bit of the old tractoring. I was effectively a farmer for two months, driving a John Deere 6430 and catching up to 19 tonnes of onions of potatoes on the back. To be honest, I quite enjoyed the job most of the time, though being treated like a dog turd on the doorstep by the boss never particularly impressed me, especially as I worked harder than many of the others there...

Anyhoo, enough of that. I am now back, bored, and have excessive time on my hands (when I should be doing productive things), so no doubt the blog will be updated a wee bit more regularly for a while. Watch this space...

The future's bright...but you'll have to wait for it

2009-08-13T20:25:00.005+01:00

Perhaps it'd be a good idea to employ more than one person to operate the call centre...

I'm currently on my third call to...a certain UK telephone and internet company, and have yet to get through to anyone. I reckon I've been on hold, all up, for getting on for an hour now. Not impressed. I've tried at several different times of the day now, and it doesn't seem to make a difference - useless. How hard is it to answer the damn 'phone? Pick up the phone, the right way up, speak, answer my questions, fix my broadband. You're a PHONE COMPANY for Pete's sake. How is it possible a 'customer service' line if the customer never gets served?

My problem is that I've just bought myself a mobile broadband package, and the thing doesn't work - the computer isn't recognising the dongle, and therefore I can't get online. But usefully, when you phone the customer service line, you get a message telling you to go online to satisfy any problems more quickly. I CAN'T GET ONLINE...THAT'S WHY I'M ON THE DAMN PHONE! Damn it, sort it out!

I'm not impressed, as may have become obvious, and the woman interrupting the terrible, repetitive hold music every 20 seconds to tell me that they're "receiving a very high number of calls" isn't helping matters to be honest. Actually, having heard her about 400 times now, I would quite like to punch her in the face. Which is a pity. She might be very nice, and not deserving of punches. But it might have to be done.

Gaining Twitter followers...

2009-08-11T20:57:00.005+01:00

...turns out to be simpler than I had thought.

I've been on Twitter now for several months, and as soon as I started to get a few people following me, it occurred to me that it could be a powerful medium, if I could just figure out how to make the most of it. First step, clearly would be increasing my following on the site.

Despite my 'tweets' not seeming particularly interesting to me, I've managed to build up a little over 400 followers in a couple of months. Granted, that's nothing compared to the 'big guys' of Twitter, people with hundreds of thousands, even millions of followers, but my follower count happened virtually without any input from me. I want to increase it, and have done so for a while, but haven't been able to figure out how to do so. I tried various different programs that made you follow other people, and would apparently reciprocate and then have others follow you, and so on, but none of them seemed to make much difference.

Then, this evening, I was checking out the website of a Twitter friend, @SeanMalarkey, and decided to sign up to his newsletter, as I was intrigued by his 'Twixplode' system for finding new followers with similar interests to yourself. Along with the newsletter, Sean sent me a 'mini' version of the Twixplode course. I only started reading and trying it out earlier this evening, and I'm already showing an extra 15 followers, so I'm pretty pleased this far.

The idea behind it is dazzlingly simple: find others who have similar interests - preferably the 'gurus' in whichever field you're interested in - and then follow as many of their followers as possible. Roughly 40% follow you back. Sounds almost too simple, but it really works. Sean also shows the best ways to both speed up and automate all the processes, as well as to really quickly figure out who's not followed you back, and to 'unfollow' them to keep your numbers balanced. And this is all in the free report! Impressive.

I recommend checking out his site if you're interested in increasing your Twitter following: Twixplode (and no, I'm not getting anything out of this! I just reckon good services deserve a mention, especially when there's so much crap around on the internet).

Working out...is it really worth it? I reckon so...

2009-08-10T21:03:00.008+01:00

...if you keep it short, keep it sharp, keep it simple.

It took me a long time to start thinking about personal fitness. I was never exactly fat, but for years and years, I just kind of was the way I was, without ever actually working towards anything, or consciously thinking about improving myself. I'm the first to admit that I'm pretty lazy, so the idea of going to a gym or working out never really crossed my mind.

However, a short time at uni, and a few looks at the fine ladies newly arrived in my vicinity, coupled with my ridiculously low self esteem, convinced me that maybe upping the exercise a wee bit could be a plan. Having not done it before, I didn't really know where to start, and certainly had no clue about weights, workouts etc. First of all, I got myself some decent running trainers, and began running on the beach by my house each night (yeah, I lived next to a beach. Read it and weep!). This had a surprisingly swift initial effect, both on my perceived appearance, and on my self esteem, but, not really knowing what I was doing, I spent a lot of time in pain, having crippled my shins. Once my legs got built up a bit though, this problem waned away.

However, I wasn't satisfied, so I took the next step and got myself a set of weights and dumbells. I didn't really know what I was going to do with them, but as it happened, they came with a poster guide to various different exercises, so I used that to build myself a general workout scheme. The laziness fought me constantly though, so, not having a set workout regime, I frequently missed days or even weeks out, which lead me to look at other options, and eventually to buy an overpriced manual called something like "The Seven-Minute-a-Day Workout", as the idea of only having to spend that amount of time on serious exercise appealed quite a lot!

The guide wasn't bad, and certainly helped me focus my routines, as well as giving guidance on not overworking muscle groups, the best way to make each repetition have the maximum effect, best times of the day to workout and so on. However, the visible effects only went so far, and although I did become slightly fitter and stronger, I couldn't get past a certain level, so I resorted to the internet.

There's a colossal amount of information out there about exercises, working out, and so on, from specific guides to certain body parts, through to targeted weight loss or gain, and everything in between. I eventually narrowed my search down though, and this is what I've come up with:

1. "Mens' Workout Guide": it does what it says on the tin, and although there are pay sections, there is also an entire workout guide on there 100% free, as well as tips and tricks to help. This is the main site I use, and I concentrate solely on the free guide - it's pretty much everything I need really. The only thing is (and maybe this is just because I'm rubbish), I find the free guide progresses much too quickly. Whereas they say you should do each stage for two weeks, I tend to find double that time works better for me. I prefer spending this longer time on each stage, and gradually increasing the weight, before moving on.

2. Ab Firming and Flattening : This is the only paid program I've tried online, which specifically targets your abs, because that's always been the bit of me that's p*ssed me off the most, and refused to shape up as I wanted! It's early days with this program, but I'm certainly feeling better, and the exercises have clearly been well thought-out, and target the abs and core. Worth a shot I'd say.

Has the cat finally woken up again?

2009-08-09T14:38:00.025+01:00

Twenty-first century Jaguar: here to stay? I certainly hope so!

Jaguar has struggled through hard times of late. The company has been passed from owner to owner, budgets have been tighter than a Glaswegian's sporran, and the product range has been seriously lacking character and flair. Until recently. Under the new ownership of Indian company Tata (though Jag will always be British to me!), the cat is waking up and stretching its legs...

With the new XK, codenamed the X150, back in 2006, Jaguar revealed it had not forgotten what it meant to produce a great car. Not only that, but it managed to conceive, design and produce this car on a budget of about £2.75*, which makes it an incredible feat. While the car had its shortfalls, the world quickly sat up and took notice of this new fast cat, which was a big step forward over its predecessor, and the other cars in the Jaguar range.

On the back of the XK's success, Jaguar pushed onwards, displaying the stunning C-XF concept car in January 2007. Following development of the concept, this effectively became the production XF, although the styling of the latter was somewhat toned down in comparison with the beautiful features of the C-XF. However, the XF marked another giant leap in Jaguar's product portfolio, truly being a car for the 21st century, unlike its widely-unloved predecessor, the S-Type. Taking the lauded chassis of the older car, and wrapping it in sensual, modern new design had the desired effect of further raising Jaguar's profile and popularity. The addition in 2009 of the XFR model, with a 503hp V8, and the ability to compete with, and even beat the very best in the industry (namely, the BMW M5), secured Jaguar's ongoing place on the world map of great car manufacturers.

(Not an actual advert; created by Sniff Petrol)

2009 has also seen the release of the even-more daring new Jag XJ. The previous model had soldiered on with few aesthetic changes for decades, and while still a popular, luxurious and competent cruiser, and having an advantage over the competition because of its lightweight aluminium construction, it was not really a 21st century competitor. The new car addresses that, and then some, proving that design meister Ian Callum is not afraid to push design to heady levels. While most car manufacturers would initially risk a bold and daring new design only on one of their lesser models, Jaguar put its money where its mouth is, and saved its most radical design for its flagship model.

In many ways, the front of the XJ actually retains more of the original design of the C-XF concept, and is truly a thing of beauty. The side profile is made to look especially long by the low glasshouse and long chrome detailing around the edge. The C panel is painted gloss black, to create the sensation of one single window curving around the back of the car and up each side. Opinion is divided on how well this has worked, but it is certainly a striking feature, and to this blogger's eyes, it is highly successful. The overall rear design of the car has also split opinion, being possibly the most radical part of the car, with its LED taillights snaking their way up and over the boot, and leaving a wide expanse of sheet metal in between, broken only by the leaping Jaguar.

The interior of the XJ, while perhaps more 'conventional' in some ways than that of the XF, is also a thing of beauty, exquisitely crafted and magnificent to behold. It also features the kind of advanced technology that would have been virtually unthinkable on Jaguars of old, such as the split-view screen for the satellite navigation system, which allows driver and passenger to see two different images on the one screen. While the passenger watches a DVD, on the same screen, the driver can only see vehicle information, or the route to Edinburgh. The displays directly in front of the driver are also unusual, in that the entire area is a digital display, on which is shown the speedometer, rev counter and so on, but which can be moved aside to display other information. Impressive.

To realease a design of this kind on the flagship model of the range is a bold move, and only time will tell the extent of its success, but it displays Jaguar's utter determination to come out punching, and to start the new millennium the way it intends to go on. There is no doubting the scale of the turnaround that has taken place in the space of just a few short years, advancing from a staid marque producing dated designs that fell short of the competition, to a dynamic and thoroughly modern, (even cool?) brand displaying some of the most daring design in the industry.

I think Jaguar's drive and creativity is to be applauded, and they deserve to see great success in the coming years, with more exciting product in the pipeline.

*Not actual budget. Work with me here...

Flies, combine harvesters and smoking wasps

2009-08-09T14:30:00.003+01:00

We recently got an electronic fly swat. Powered be 2 'AA' batteries, it looks like a small tennis racquet, and has a metal mesh, which, when buttons are pressed in the right order, becomes electrified. Let the fly-frying commence. Man that thing is satisfying! And it reduces the need to swing wildy to try to catch the buggers...just sneak up behind them, and with a flash and a zap, they're gone.

The flies have been terrible lately, as we're right in the middle of the harvest, so there are machines ploughing up and down the fields all around, sending out clouds of dust and swarms of tiny flies. The worst are the miniscule thunder bugs, but there's effectively nothing you can do about them, a) because they're so small, and b) because there must be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of them, and the get into, onto, under and through absolutely everything. I was just looking at a picture on my wall, the frame of which is in theory sealed with tape, and there are over 30 thunder bugs in there, trapped under the glass. Gits...

I would never want to miss out on the harvest though. I am a country kid through and through, and I love this time of year, when the farmers are frequently out working until midnight or even later, sprinting to get the wheat, rapeseed, and barley in before the next deluge (which hasn't given them much time this year). Driving a combine harvester is high on my to-do list, though I've yet to convince anyone to let me have a go. Apparently they don't just let anyone loose with a £250,000 machine... It'll happen though. One fine day...

But I digress. Bugs. Fried bugs. The most satisfying are the wasps. There have been raspberries growing in the garden, and although they're mostly done, the wasps have now moved in, and decided that, while they're there, they might as well move into the house, and hell, why not sting a few people in the process. It's at this point that the electronic fly swat truly comes into its own. The smell of singed wasp might not be the most appealing in the conventional sense, but it is the scent of satisfaction. The blue flashes, electrical cracks and wisps of smoke all add to the pleasure.

Wasps are good for nothing; they've got what they deserve.

Everyone panic!

2009-08-07T14:54:00.008+01:00

Run! Scream! Trample anyone who stops you! Sue the police! Burn the banks! Eat each other! Store your money under your (fireproof) mattress! No wait, don't eat each other - they might be infected! (Don't forget to wash your hands).

OK, sorry, got carried away there. I was just momentarily subscribing to the panic mentality the government seems to want everyone to adopt. What the hell is the point in that? Good plan: get everyone terrified, and then withhold information from them for as long as possible (e.g. the swine 'flu hotline - that took them long enough eh?!). What is the point in getting everyone worked up, if there's effectively nothing that can be done about the problem? That seems to be what's happened with swine 'flu, what happened with the economical issues troubling the world, with bird 'flu the other year. Each time, we've had a trickle of news, followed by a massive torrent of "THE WORLD'S ENDING!" type headlines in the papers (so yes, I'd say mass media is partially to blame too), and some government figurehead quoting apocalyptic figures about the possible number of deaths, illnesses, strange human-pig hybrids (it could happen...), and then rounded off with the comforting ending, "...but don't panic. 'Cause that would be bad. Don't be bad".

If there are solutions, brilliant, tell us what they are. If not, stop trying to make everyone run in terror and hide under the stairs, Shaun of the Dead style. Tell us what is happening, in a reasonable, and measured way, and let us decide what to do. Tell us what the options are; if there aren't any, just tell us that. Personally, I'm tired of being treated like a four-year-old all the time by an incompetent government that struggles to govern itself, let alone an entire country.

Crazy clever crows

2009-08-07T13:01:00.015+01:00

Are we underestimating these feisty feathered felons?

Having watched this video (click these clicky words to see it) on YouTube, and a couple of similar ones, on the BBC News site (I tried to upload them here, but Blogger wasn't having it...), I was struck by how little we know about birds, or other animals in general, specifically regarding their intelligence, and how little attention we pay to them. In fact, it perhaps shows our lack of intelligence that we think in this way...

We are human, therefore we are the best, end of story.

That seems to be the general consensus, but maybe we've been underestimating the beasts around us. Perhaps they're the ones with the upper hand... We're only just realising now that crows are clever enough to use everyday items as tools, and even to create their own tools, despite apparently not doing it in the wild. That's quite a major discovery. How many people have actually looked inside a crow's house? I'm not talking about the nest here - that's just where they want us to believe they live. I mean the small semi-detached bungalow down the road. You might think that fat smelly guy lives there, but actually, it's owned by crows. He just rents a room. Has anyone actually seen inside the crows' lair? Have you seen the tools they've got in there?! Black and Decker, eat your heart out! These guys are the masters.

I think the only reason we're discovering crows' ability to use tools now is that the crows have decided we're taking so long to catch onto them, that they figure they can taunt us a bit, make us think we've discovered something crazy. They'll start nicking our bank cards and PINs when we use the ATMs next. I bet those cheeky claws could work the bank machine... Either that or they'll give us bird 'flu. While laughing maniacally. Through their maniacal beaks.

We're still going to be totally unprepared when they attack, in their tiny crow tanks, and with their miniature crow-mounted missiles (some might call them 'turds', but I think 'missiles' sounds more ominous).

Remember where you saw this first...and don't say I didn't warn you!

*This article may or may not be total bullsh*t and/or the dribbling excretions of a mind virtually melted by boredom

Sleep is for the weak...

2009-08-06T21:05:00.008+01:00

...and those who don't actually need it.

That's my thinking anyway, having had night after night lying awake, wondering why I was failing to get to sleep yet again. Each time the same, getting sleepy in the hour or so before deciding to go to bed, up until I can barely keep my eyes open, at which point I shut up shop (well, turn off the craptop), brush my teeth, and hit the sack...only to lie awake for the next three hours, turning over and over, and generally failing to do anything sleep-related.

Another tactic I tried was to get into bed, with music still playing, and try to get into a 'sleep mentality', which seemed to work fine, insofar as I would practically doze off to the soothing tunes. However, once I get to that point, and move the two metres required to kill the music and shut everything down, and return to bed, I'm back in the can't-sleep-won't-sleep phase again, no matter how tired I feel. Frustrating.

I'm not sure what to try now, as I don't know why I'm not sleeping. I've been getting up early, to try to tire myself out more through the day, as well as staying up later at night. I've tried various combinations of doing everything and nothing through the day, exerting varying amounts of energy, but to no avail.

Sleep is a wonderful thing. My bed is one of my favourite places in the world (whether or not it's sleeping that's going on). It's incredible the way the body can recharge itself like that, and pick up again with renewed energy - assuming you can actually get to sleep. And dreams...man they're cool. I wish I could remember more of my dreams, as they really intrigue me. A good dream just makes me want to stay asleep all the more.

Ayway, I guess eventually it'll resolve itself. Or I just won't wake up again when I finally fall asleep... Did you know, that if a person is deprived of both food and sleep, he will die of lack of sleep before the food becomes an issue? The more you know...

*photo is not an accurate depiction of author, either asleep or awake. Just so you know.

"Binge drinking doesn't start with a drink..."

2009-08-06T18:15:00.006+01:00

"...it starts with an excuse".

Really? 'Cause I could have sworn last time I ended up p*ssed, it was because, earlier the same evening, I'd had a drink. And then I'd followed it with a couple more. And some more. I have no need for excuses. What can I say? I like a good beer or two...

I think the government's idea of what constitutes a 'binge' is also somewhat ridiculous. I can quite comfortably drink as many as they say is too many, avoid getting drunk, have a great evening, and wake up feeling alright (OK, so not brilliant) the next day. Why must the authorities control our every move? The Thought Police aren't here yet, but judging by the way things are heading, in the UK at least, they can't be far off... Leave us alone! If someone cocks up, and ends up damaging themselves, so be it. Their mistake, their loss. One less for everyone else to deal with. Though for that to work, we need to step back from the blame culture we're in, in which everyone sues everyone else. It's a case of personal judgement, and knowing how to have fun, and not feeling the need to instantly blame someone else as soon as something goes wrong. If you're stupid, and you trip over, patch yourself up, take a couple of days off work if need be, and deal with it. Don't blame someone else, damn it!

National Express my arse...

2009-08-06T17:23:00.004+01:00

National 'Express'? Really?! Is having to wait TWO HOURS for a two-hour train journey included in the 'express' part?

To be fair, National Express have a 'Delay Repay' policy, and so, after sending the relevant ticket back to them, my trip was refunded for the 113 minutes I was left standing in Berwick-upon-Tweed train station (yep, just as thrilling as it sounds. Not quite as bad as watching paint dry...unless it was really interesting paint. In which case, worse.). This refund was paid in rail vouchers to the value of my ticket, which could be used against future travel.

It seemed perfect really, as I'd just been invited up to Edinburgh for a quick pint or two the following week, so I figured I should be able to get my trip more or less covered by the vouchers... Wrong. After spending about an hour working out the most cost-effective way to get to Edinburgh, I discovered the vouchers cannot be redeemed online, but rather you have to go to a station, or call the National Express helpline. Grit your teeth, carry on...

So I called the helpline, told the woman when and where I wanted to go, and said I would be paying with rail vouchers. "No you won't". Apparently, "if you want to use rail vouchers for a journey booked over the 'phone, you have to allow at least two weeks before travel. But luckily, you can still go into the station. If you'd like, I can tell you how much the journey would cost if you bought the tickets this afternoon?" Having done my online research, I'd found the return journey came out at about £45, so call it £50 without the online discount (and that's return). "Your single to Edinburgh will cost £100 if you buy it today; by tomorrow, the price may have risen slightly". (Just to clarify, I'm not talking about next-day travel. This was 9 days before I was planning to go).

What?! A hundred quid for a SINGLE to Edinburgh that costs £25 if bought online? What the hell is that about?! Screw that... Suffice it to say I went back online, and just bought the tickets via credit card. The vouchers are valid for 12 months, so I can at least use them another time.

Besides, from the looks of things, it's going to take me that long to figure out exactly which circumstances I'm actually allowed to use them in - something like "to be used for travel on a Thursday, but only if it falls on either the 8th or 14th of the month, and then only if there's light drizzle, and the cows are lying down. And you have to wear blue. Sky blue." Ridiculous. And just to point out, there's no mention of these conditions on the vouchers themselves. The Delay Repay scheme is a good idea, but those vouchers need some serious work. Probably has something to do with the reason why people aren't travelling by train any more, and National Express East Coast is going to be nationalised...

RSSSSSSSSS...

2009-08-06T09:38:00.005+01:00

So, RSS. 'Really Simple Syndication', or sometimes 'Rich Site Summary'. Frankly, a ridiculous name, but now I've started to embrace it, a surprisingly useful and user-friendly technology.
It took me a while to figure out exactly what an RSS feed was, but I now have my homepage on the internet set to a massive selection of feeds, so I can see a great deal of what I want to look at each day straight from there.

For anyone that's not yet figured it out, and RSS feed is a constantly updated stream of information. You can, for example, have the BBC News Feed, which will update you on all the latest breaking news stories, without you having to go to the BBC News site and search for yourself. In order to view RSS feeds, you need a feed reader, of which there are many. Various web browsers include feed readers, but personally, I have just set my homepage to a site called Netvibes, one of the largest RSS reader sites. Once you set up your page, with a login so you can always recall the same information, you can choose the feeds you want; the two main ways of doing this are either to search directly through the Netvibes page, and then hit 'Add' on the feeds you want, or to look out for the RSS symbol (as above) on the sites you visit. Generally, if you click on the symbol, it will take you straight to that site's RSS feed, from where you can add it to your reader page. Some sites have buttons to instantly add feeds to Netvibes and other readers, while others do not. If there isn't a button available, just copy the web address of the feed, and then copy it directly into your feeder.

OK, so that's the introduction for anyone who's even further behind the drag curve than I am. I started slowly, with a few news feeds, but my Netvibes page now has nine different tabs, including news, cars, jobs, news in Spanish, technology, and I'm constantly adding new feeds each day. It is super useful to have everything there on the one site...though on the other hand, it can lead to long distractions, as you click from one site to the next, to the next. In general though, I reckon RSS feeds, despite the stupid name, are a good thing.

The end of the truly great car?

2009-08-05T21:31:00.012+01:00

Don't let them disappear...

Having just watched the last episode of the latest run of Top Gear, I was moved by the final segment, which featured an uncharacteristically downbeat Jeremy Clarkson, driving the incredible Aston Martin V12 Vantage, and saying simply that it made him feel sad. (Click through here to watch the segment on YouTube) Sad, because, in his view, the global push for cleaner, quieter, smaller cars, global economic problems, and the 'war on speed' in Britain, are going to spell the ultimate end of the super car. The halo car, the type that causes those around to stop in open-mouthed awe...gone, consigned forever to the history books, and the wandering imaginations of old people that no one pays attention to any more...

Is that really the case? Is it truly the end of an era? Are we the last generation that will ever get to experience the world's great drivers' cars? The 'concorde moment' for the automotive world?

God I hope not...but you can't help but wonder, what with talk of future cars being fitted with 'black boxes' to govern speed, and with the emphasis now placed on mpg, and g/km CO2 etc.
Hybrid sales have doubled in the US in recent years, and their numbers are increasing rapidly on Europe's roads too. People are downsizing, to save money, to save the environment... The bulk of cars produced by the mass-market manufacturers will clearly become cleaner, quieter, and perhaps more insulated from the experience of driving (click to see Google's interpretation of the future of motoring), as we are already beginning to see.

However, I believe that, as long as there are people who maintain their passion for motoring, and are willing to pay to manifest it, the halo car will live on. Maybe there will be fewer of them; maybe some companies will go bust, so the range will become smaller, but I believe the powerful, fast, agile, beautiful car has a place left in society for a while yet.

At the very least, as soon as I scrape together enough pennies, I shall be getting myself an Aston Martin - my way of helping the legend live on!

Humidity

2009-08-05T20:40:00.000+01:00

Basically, it boils down to this: humidity sucks. I don't need humid weather. It's not working for me. It's not even sunny, or especially hot, and yet after 20 minutes working outside, you're pouring with sweat. And with the thunder bugs too...what's that about?! The little b*stards get inside everything - there's about 35 of them inside the glass/frame of a picture I have on my wall, which is totally taped up round the edges. What are they for? You can't eat them, you can't ride them, you can't get them to fetch a stick, you can't train them to guard the house...useless!

In short, I'm tired of the muggy, sticky weather, and of being plagued by damn thunder bugs all the time. Bring on a thunderstorm to wash them away. Or just nuke 'em.

The nous of the Noceros

2009-08-05T17:26:00.000+01:00

Afternoon all. So, I'm now registered here on Blogger, as Wordpress decided to eat my old blog. To be fair, it was crap, but that's beside the point. Anyway, I intend to make this one way better. Starting tomorrow. Or maybe later today. We'll see. Anyway, it'll be good.