traffic wardens slapped seven tickets on a parked car over a two-week period without noticing the driver was dead inside the vehicle, the tickets were placed on the windscreen of John Waldo's silver BMW after it was illegally parked in Gainesville, Florida, whoa! back up there a little, dead for two weeks! not one of the seven times an issuing officer issued a ticket they did not tap on the window to ask the driver to move on? the local council claimed the black tinted windows prevented the wardens from seeing the body, well they would wouldn't they? I wonder if any of the wardens over there wants a job over in the UK? trouble is they seem over qualified!
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Well I Always Thought That UK Traffic Wardens Were Pretty Clueless When It Came To Handing Out Parking Tickets,
but their American cousins have really out shone them in this ticket frenzy!
traffic wardens slapped seven tickets on a parked car over a two-week period without noticing the driver was dead inside the vehicle, the tickets were placed on the windscreen of John Waldo's silver BMW after it was illegally parked in Gainesville, Florida, whoa! back up there a little, dead for two weeks! not one of the seven times an issuing officer issued a ticket they did not tap on the window to ask the driver to move on? the local council claimed the black tinted windows prevented the wardens from seeing the body, well they would wouldn't they? I wonder if any of the wardens over there wants a job over in the UK? trouble is they seem over qualified!
traffic wardens slapped seven tickets on a parked car over a two-week period without noticing the driver was dead inside the vehicle, the tickets were placed on the windscreen of John Waldo's silver BMW after it was illegally parked in Gainesville, Florida, whoa! back up there a little, dead for two weeks! not one of the seven times an issuing officer issued a ticket they did not tap on the window to ask the driver to move on? the local council claimed the black tinted windows prevented the wardens from seeing the body, well they would wouldn't they? I wonder if any of the wardens over there wants a job over in the UK? trouble is they seem over qualified!
Do Not Mess With Fish 55!
and you thought fish were fun!
well scientists did when they found this one bouncing along the ocean floor, the frogfish - which has a swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes that extend from its aqua eyes to its tail - was first discovered by scuba diving instructors off Ambon island in eastern Indonesia, but it is different to other known species of of the genus, Histiophryne, they contacted Ted Pietsch from the University of Washington, who submitted DNA work on the fish this month to prove it is a distinct species.
well scientists did when they found this one bouncing along the ocean floor, the frogfish - which has a swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes that extend from its aqua eyes to its tail - was first discovered by scuba diving instructors off Ambon island in eastern Indonesia, but it is different to other known species of of the genus, Histiophryne, they contacted Ted Pietsch from the University of Washington, who submitted DNA work on the fish this month to prove it is a distinct species.
A Knight Of The Road,
paving firm owner James Dunne
could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Stanley Murphy, on his electric mobility scooter in the slow lane of the six-lane A27 at Shoreham, West Sussex, although the retired builder's electric mobility scooter had been traveling along it for some 30 minutes or so James was the first person to stop, Mr Murphy, who lives in Shoreham with his daughter Karen Edie, drove tractors during the war and has had a driving licence all his adult life, he said: 'I went out to get a paper and took a wrong turning, I ended up on the A27 and I couldn't find a turn-off and didn't know which way to go, all I can say is well done to James for stopping as so many people had not - a true Knight of the road.
could hardly believe his eyes when he saw Stanley Murphy, on his electric mobility scooter in the slow lane of the six-lane A27 at Shoreham, West Sussex, although the retired builder's electric mobility scooter had been traveling along it for some 30 minutes or so James was the first person to stop, Mr Murphy, who lives in Shoreham with his daughter Karen Edie, drove tractors during the war and has had a driving licence all his adult life, he said: 'I went out to get a paper and took a wrong turning, I ended up on the A27 and I couldn't find a turn-off and didn't know which way to go, all I can say is well done to James for stopping as so many people had not - a true Knight of the road.
Friday, And We Did Absolutely Nothing!
it was just a lazy day,
we seem to have been so busy lately that for some reason we just watched TV during the day which of course was a mistake as tiredness crept up on me and I fell asleep for a while whilst watching one of my favorite programs, the Simpson's having said that I did pop around to see Don for a cup of his famous coffee (many thanks) but even that could not shake off the feeling of just wanting to sit around, well today will be different as it is Saturday and hopefully a few friends will call round for the afternoon get together, so wake up! and get down to Friendship for this afternoons supplies!
Friday, 27 February 2009
I Do Not Know If You Have Tried This,
but if you go to the bottom of this page there is a world map,
if you click on to it you will see how many people have viewed our blog and where they are in the world, the map clears every month so I have listed the hits below before it clears for March 1st.
Current Country Totals From 1 Feb 2009 to 26 Feb 2009
United States (US) 184
United Kingdom (GB) 169
Thailand (TH) 166
Australia (AU) 88
Malaysia (MY) 51
Philippines (PH) 29
Canada (CA) 27
Denmark (DK) 16
United Arab Emirates (AE) 12
Sweden (SE) 12
Vietnam (VN) 7
India (IN) 5
Taiwan (TW) 5
Ireland (IE) 5
Japan (JP) 4
China (CN) 3
Brazil (BR) 3
Germany (DE) 3
Kuwait (KW) 3
Indonesia (ID) 3
Croatia (HR) 2
Greece (GR) 2
Asia/Pacific Region (AP) 2
Mexico (MX) 2
Iceland (IS) 2
Saudi Arabia (SA) 2
Netherlands (NL) 2
Slovenia (SI) 1
Italy (IT) 1
Norway (NO) 1
France (FR) 1
Europe (EU) 1
Russian Federation (RU) 1
Belgium (BE) 1
Poland (PL) 1
Lebanon (LB) 1
Venezuela (VE) 1
Guam (GU) 1
Colombia (CO) 1
Argentina (AR) 1
New Zealand (NZ) 1
Chile (CL) 1
Virgin Islands, British (VG) 1
Dominican Republic (DO) 1
Georgia (GE) 1
Romania (RO) 1
Turkey (TR) 1
Portugal (PT) 1
Israel (IL) 1
Serbia (RS) 1
I am so amazed by the diversity of countries and peoples that look at what is just our own diary, I enjoy writing it I just hope all of you keep coming back to read it.
Living So Close To The Sea I Have Always Fancied A Boat
you know the sort of thing I have in mind,
you shout out "Full Ahead Both And Bring Me A Pink Gin!" no but really just a gentle cruise around the far islands, a spot of fishing here and there, then cocktails watching the sun go down, well I will never have that sort of money - but wait the American government says I can have this one - FREE! there is a slight snag, interested parties must also accept a submersible dry dock the size of a football pitch as part of the package, well I could live with that, the US Navy has been trying to give away the £110 million Sea Shadow since 2006 after Pentagon chiefs said they no longer had any use for it,
I just wonder what the fuel charge would be to get it over here to Pattaya? and James Bond would be sooo jealous!
you shout out "Full Ahead Both And Bring Me A Pink Gin!" no but really just a gentle cruise around the far islands, a spot of fishing here and there, then cocktails watching the sun go down, well I will never have that sort of money - but wait the American government says I can have this one - FREE! there is a slight snag, interested parties must also accept a submersible dry dock the size of a football pitch as part of the package, well I could live with that, the US Navy has been trying to give away the £110 million Sea Shadow since 2006 after Pentagon chiefs said they no longer had any use for it,
I just wonder what the fuel charge would be to get it over here to Pattaya? and James Bond would be sooo jealous!
A Few Amazing Pictures
just a couple,
from the camera of photographer Clark Little, Clark, 39, swims in terrifying seas and crouches on shorelines with his waterproof camera to capture the rarely seen views,
many of his unique photographs are shot at Waimea Bay in Hawaii - the home of surfing and immortalised in the lyrics of the Beach Boys' song 'Surfin USA' for more of Little's work go here.
from the camera of photographer Clark Little, Clark, 39, swims in terrifying seas and crouches on shorelines with his waterproof camera to capture the rarely seen views,
many of his unique photographs are shot at Waimea Bay in Hawaii - the home of surfing and immortalised in the lyrics of the Beach Boys' song 'Surfin USA' for more of Little's work go here.
All Dulux Paint Tins Are Banned Under Health And Safety Rules
that is what a heavily pregnant mum was told when she tried to board a bus,
Abbi Irwin, 30, was told by the driver the tightly-sealed new tins contravened health and safety rules, she tried to board the 57A bus in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, yesterday bus operators Go North East defended their decision even though it meant the mum to be in three weeks time had to walk with her two tins of paint, eventually she was forced to leave the bus and had to stump up £7 for a taxi home to Felling,
message to Dulux, for publicly declaring your product unsafe and being sold in unsuitable, accident prone, life threatening containers that do not conform to Go North East's self imposed Health and Safety rules, sue the pants off them!
Abbi Irwin, 30, was told by the driver the tightly-sealed new tins contravened health and safety rules, she tried to board the 57A bus in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, yesterday bus operators Go North East defended their decision even though it meant the mum to be in three weeks time had to walk with her two tins of paint, eventually she was forced to leave the bus and had to stump up £7 for a taxi home to Felling,
message to Dulux, for publicly declaring your product unsafe and being sold in unsuitable, accident prone, life threatening containers that do not conform to Go North East's self imposed Health and Safety rules, sue the pants off them!
A Bar - B - Q For The Catch,
a few things to do today,
firstly a 60 baht haircut just off Pattaya Tai on the road that runs to Soi 17,
then load up the bike with some shopping ready for the afternoon,
as we had such a successful day fishing a couple of days ago we decided to bar-b-q them, so Nick and Maureen, Mick and Mas, Mark and Uncasar called round,
first we had some pork and chicken,
whilst that was being prepared Nick and Ta-Ta had a drink upstairs,
and the first of the food arrives,
Mark and Uncashar brought a huge load of salad,
meanwhile the girls downstairs tucked into their favorite food,
bugs!
and some green mussels,
the good news was that it meant more bar-b-q food for us upstairs, cheers from myself and Mick,
Maureen brought over some jelly that the ladies enjoyed, Mas, Uncashar and Diana,
Maureen and Mas, when the jelly was topped with ice cream the girls were in seventh heaven!
firstly a 60 baht haircut just off Pattaya Tai on the road that runs to Soi 17,
then load up the bike with some shopping ready for the afternoon,
as we had such a successful day fishing a couple of days ago we decided to bar-b-q them, so Nick and Maureen, Mick and Mas, Mark and Uncasar called round,
first we had some pork and chicken,
whilst that was being prepared Nick and Ta-Ta had a drink upstairs,
and the first of the food arrives,
Mark and Uncashar brought a huge load of salad,
meanwhile the girls downstairs tucked into their favorite food,
bugs! 
and some green mussels, 
the good news was that it meant more bar-b-q food for us upstairs, cheers from myself and Mick,
Maureen brought over some jelly that the ladies enjoyed, Mas, Uncashar and Diana,
Maureen and Mas, when the jelly was topped with ice cream the girls were in seventh heaven!
Thursday, 26 February 2009
I Have Just Realised That I Have And Suffer From
Autosomal-dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst syndrome,
otherwise known as ACHOO syndrome, despite the word dominant in the name, it is the name for a crazy sneezing reflex that 20-30% of people (myself included) experience when they look into a bright light, Photic sneeze reflex is another, much less stupendous name for this, so now I know why when I look into a bright light I sneeze!
Do Not Mess With Fish 54!
and you thought fish were fun!
well this fish owner is far from happy, I thought the UK had some pretty strange ways of going about things, until I read this in the Central New York News, the state Department of Environmental Conservation today rejected appeals from the banned fish's owner to spare the 10-year-old, 28-inch-long giant snakehead, Chris Deverso, the fish's owner, said DEC officers will pick up the fish Thursday, "I've done everything I can possibly do," he said. "They're going to kill my fish." he even offered it to zoos and aquariums, including the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park in Syracuse, no one local is willing to take the fish,
the problem arises out of the fact that when he bought the fish 10 years ago it was legal to own one, then the law was changed in 2004, Deverso earlier this month pleaded guilty in Clay town court to possessing an illegal fish, he met Tuesday with DEC Region 7 Director Ken Lynch and Erickson, the meeting was arranged by Sen. John DeFrancisco, senator or not even he could not help, he showed them documents that his fish is a subtropical fish that can't live in cold water, he also showed them the Maryland law that bans only two of the 29 species of snakeheads -- northern and blotted snakeheads -- because they're the only two that can survive in cold water, so I guess that is it then, unless President Obama steps in and issues a pardon, the fish has had it's chips!
well this fish owner is far from happy, I thought the UK had some pretty strange ways of going about things, until I read this in the Central New York News, the state Department of Environmental Conservation today rejected appeals from the banned fish's owner to spare the 10-year-old, 28-inch-long giant snakehead, Chris Deverso, the fish's owner, said DEC officers will pick up the fish Thursday, "I've done everything I can possibly do," he said. "They're going to kill my fish." he even offered it to zoos and aquariums, including the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park in Syracuse, no one local is willing to take the fish,
the problem arises out of the fact that when he bought the fish 10 years ago it was legal to own one, then the law was changed in 2004, Deverso earlier this month pleaded guilty in Clay town court to possessing an illegal fish, he met Tuesday with DEC Region 7 Director Ken Lynch and Erickson, the meeting was arranged by Sen. John DeFrancisco, senator or not even he could not help, he showed them documents that his fish is a subtropical fish that can't live in cold water, he also showed them the Maryland law that bans only two of the 29 species of snakeheads -- northern and blotted snakeheads -- because they're the only two that can survive in cold water, so I guess that is it then, unless President Obama steps in and issues a pardon, the fish has had it's chips!
Can I Buy £210,000 Of Shares Please?
opps! I have pressed the wrong button and bought £21BILLION of them!
you really could not make this up, instead of ordering corporate bonds worth 30 million yen, the Japanese arm of Swiss bank UBS asked for bonds worth 3 trillion yen, the difference of five zeros meant the order would cost £21BILLION, rather than the more modest £210,000 intended, to put this in perspective, the size of the botched order by UBS on Wednesday far exceeded the 595 billion yen in total convertible bond turnover on the Tokyo exchange for all of last year (my italics)
but it was all OK, the bank insisted it was due to a computer glitch rather than the infamous 'fat finger syndrome', which in recent years has seen traders make massive mistakes by pressing too many zeros on the keyboard, thankfully for UBS Securities Japan, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was able to cancel the order.
you really could not make this up, instead of ordering corporate bonds worth 30 million yen, the Japanese arm of Swiss bank UBS asked for bonds worth 3 trillion yen, the difference of five zeros meant the order would cost £21BILLION, rather than the more modest £210,000 intended, to put this in perspective, the size of the botched order by UBS on Wednesday far exceeded the 595 billion yen in total convertible bond turnover on the Tokyo exchange for all of last year (my italics)
but it was all OK, the bank insisted it was due to a computer glitch rather than the infamous 'fat finger syndrome', which in recent years has seen traders make massive mistakes by pressing too many zeros on the keyboard, thankfully for UBS Securities Japan, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was able to cancel the order.
Out To See Tom And Juu,
but first a bite to eat,
so it was down to Third Road to the food stalls, I am really starting to like the chicken soup there, lots of chicken but with no skin or feet!
however I am still not to sure about this soup,
today we had a different chef, the stall owner was nowhere to be seen, so the lady on the stall next door prepared the food for us, also today Mark called in to drop the house keys off to us, he had been very kind by calling in to feed the fish, we did not lose a single one!
then it was time to dress up for the town,
Diana arrives on her motorcycle taxi,
although it looks crowded the numbers on the street I feel are significantly down,
we called in to Sisterz to see Tom and Grieg, whilst we were there Mick and Mas along with Jay and Precil called in followed by John Boy and Steve (B2), after a couple of hours Diana and myself popped over to see Juu in Champions, but unfortunately he was unwell, but we stayed for a couple of drinks with John Boy and B2, then it was time for Diana's pizza,
2 slices of Pizza and a orange juice for 99 baht,
so it was down to Third Road to the food stalls, I am really starting to like the chicken soup there, lots of chicken but with no skin or feet!
however I am still not to sure about this soup,
today we had a different chef, the stall owner was nowhere to be seen, so the lady on the stall next door prepared the food for us, also today Mark called in to drop the house keys off to us, he had been very kind by calling in to feed the fish, we did not lose a single one!
then it was time to dress up for the town,
Diana arrives on her motorcycle taxi,
although it looks crowded the numbers on the street I feel are significantly down,
we called in to Sisterz to see Tom and Grieg, whilst we were there Mick and Mas along with Jay and Precil called in followed by John Boy and Steve (B2), after a couple of hours Diana and myself popped over to see Juu in Champions, but unfortunately he was unwell, but we stayed for a couple of drinks with John Boy and B2, then it was time for Diana's pizza,
2 slices of Pizza and a orange juice for 99 baht, 
very few people making their way from Second Road to Walking Street and no one in the restaurant, it was about 11.45,
then on to Soi Diamond where it meets Second Road for a couple of chicken legs,
one for when we arrive home whilst watching a DVD, the other, cold, for breakfast tomorrow morning,
again looking to the right,
and then left,
and across up Soi 17 hardly a soul to be seen, a great night out, "Cheers!"
then on to Soi Diamond where it meets Second Road for a couple of chicken legs,
one for when we arrive home whilst watching a DVD, the other, cold, for breakfast tomorrow morning,
again looking to the right,
and then left,
and across up Soi 17 hardly a soul to be seen, a great night out, "Cheers!"
Do Not Mess With Fish 53!
and you thought fish were fun!
well scientist did when they found this little fella at two inches long, swimming at depths of 2,000 feet deep, it is so dark that the fish has developed eyes in the back of his head, accustomed to living in the pitch-black of the deep sea, the animal has developed this unique and incredibly useful ability to spot predators trying to sneak up on it, as well as potential food, its amazing eyes glow a bright-green and researchers believe it may have developed a form of light filter which allows it to ignore the sunlight and spot the bioluminescence of small fish and jellyfish - it's favourite food, the two holes which look like eyes on the front of the fish are in fact nales, olfactory organs similar to human nostrils, it is known as a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma)
well scientist did when they found this little fella at two inches long, swimming at depths of 2,000 feet deep, it is so dark that the fish has developed eyes in the back of his head, accustomed to living in the pitch-black of the deep sea, the animal has developed this unique and incredibly useful ability to spot predators trying to sneak up on it, as well as potential food, its amazing eyes glow a bright-green and researchers believe it may have developed a form of light filter which allows it to ignore the sunlight and spot the bioluminescence of small fish and jellyfish - it's favourite food, the two holes which look like eyes on the front of the fish are in fact nales, olfactory organs similar to human nostrils, it is known as a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma)
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Lets Go Fishing!
our first day back and it is down to Charlie's fishing park,
Diana was fascinated by the jack fruit growing there,
so mix the bait and lets get cracking!
and time for a cold drink,
we went with Nick and Maureen,
another tourist shirt and Mas's hat,
I remembered to pull my stomach in when this photo was taken!
Diana and Mas starting lunch,
soon Mick was into a big one,
at first we all thought he was not trying, but once it was in we saw how big it was, about 2 kilos, it was a Pacu, (Colossoma macropomum) a native of South America,
after carefully unhooking it and deciding not to eat it,
Mick carefully returned it to the pond,
then it was my turn, first fish of my day a tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Thai, Phla Nin, as they are good eating we put it into the net,
only half the size of Micks,
having caught another one I then decided to go tree fishing!
Mick then caught a second one, another tilapia,
and another one for me!
then Mas cast her line,
and hooked a big one,
another Pacu,
again carefully returned to the water, in all we caught about 6 or 7 tilapia they were cleaned by the staff there and are now in the freezer! the cost of the fish was 70 baht a kilo, the bill was 280 baht for the fish plus about 750 baht for our food and drinks, a really enjoyable day out with no fuss and total relaxation, rods and bait are available for hire at the park, if you have a free afternoon try it!
then for a real treat, all of the time we were fishing a chicken hot pot had been cooking at Nick and Maureen's, that and a glass of red wine made the perfect day complete, "Cheers!"
Diana was fascinated by the jack fruit growing there,
so mix the bait and lets get cracking!
and time for a cold drink,
we went with Nick and Maureen,
another tourist shirt and Mas's hat,
I remembered to pull my stomach in when this photo was taken!
Diana and Mas starting lunch,
soon Mick was into a big one,
at first we all thought he was not trying, but once it was in we saw how big it was, about 2 kilos, it was a Pacu, (Colossoma macropomum) a native of South America,
after carefully unhooking it and deciding not to eat it,
Mick carefully returned it to the pond,
then it was my turn, first fish of my day a tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in Thai, Phla Nin, as they are good eating we put it into the net,
only half the size of Micks,
having caught another one I then decided to go tree fishing!
Mick then caught a second one, another tilapia,
and another one for me!
then Mas cast her line,
and hooked a big one,
another Pacu,
again carefully returned to the water, in all we caught about 6 or 7 tilapia they were cleaned by the staff there and are now in the freezer! the cost of the fish was 70 baht a kilo, the bill was 280 baht for the fish plus about 750 baht for our food and drinks, a really enjoyable day out with no fuss and total relaxation, rods and bait are available for hire at the park, if you have a free afternoon try it!
then for a real treat, all of the time we were fishing a chicken hot pot had been cooking at Nick and Maureen's, that and a glass of red wine made the perfect day complete, "Cheers!"