tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89946985437902659022024-03-06T06:15:55.458+00:00Bluffield's BlogsBluffield's blogs is a collection of my articles. Some have been previously published in conventional magazines; others have been written specifically to reflect my opinions. You may agree with my views; or you may not but if you have any comments; good, bad or indifferent, please post them as this might encourage some lively debate.Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-16306313715399734542015-06-12T13:19:00.001+01:002015-06-12T13:40:19.010+01:00HOW THE STOP SMOKING SCHEME CAN HELP YOU GIVE UP THE HABIT FOR GOOD<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I have never smoked; it is something that has never interested me, so I appreciate the efforts of the inventor of an electronic cigarette designed to really help those that wish to quit who has also devised the Stop Smoking Scheme (SSS)" </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bob Bluffield</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In what is
believed to be the only scheme of its kind, a Hertfordshire business owner has endorsed
a way to wean cigarette smokers off their habit using a specific brand of
electronic cigarette. The plan is pro-active and is believed to be one of the
most effective methods available to quit smoking. The Scheme works on the
premise that by reducing the nicotine levels a smoker takes in until this
reaches zero, will completely remove the desire to continue smoking. The
<a href="http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2344.aspx?CategoryID=53" target="_blank">dangers of smoking</a> are well known.<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3kpj8843mP058wN10p0tLwV/cigarettes-tobacco" target="_blank">Tobacco</a> contains over 4,000 toxic chemicals,
at least 19 of them cancer causing ingredients; but nicotine is the one substance
that hooks smokers in the first place and creates the addictive desire to
continue the habit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The <a href="http://stopsmokingscheme.com/" target="_blank">StopSmoking Scheme (SSS)</a> has been created to work over a period of weeks or months
(depending on the individual) by reducing a smoker's dependence on nicotine by
using only one specific brand of electronic cigarette recommended by the
Scheme. By adhering to the Scheme's recommendations, it is believed that
existing smokers that join SSS will be more likely to quit smoking for good
than by using any alternative anti-smoking products currently available including other,
non-recommended brands of e-Cigs, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine" target="_blank">nicotine </a>flavoured gum and patches.</span></span><br />
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It may come
as no surprise to learn that the innovator of a brand of electronic cigarette,
Black and White, which is recommended by the Stop Smoking Scheme, is a lifetime
non-smoking entrepreneur who has never been able to understand the attractions
associated with tobacco or smoking in general.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Having grown
up in a family environment of regular smokers, and with many of his friends
addicted to cigarettes - Tony Miceli believed that the best way to give up
smoking was never to start smoking in the first place. </span></span><br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However
while those around him continued to smoke - and become seriously ill from the
habit - he was angered at being subjected to passive smoking and felt strongly
commitment to assist those around him to quit the smoking habit. At one point
he even took various family members to a hypnotist in the hope of finding a
cure. But did t work? Well yes - but only briefly - as within 2-3 days all had
started smoking again! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"It is
not just the inherent serious health risks we are all familiar with that
concerned me" he said, "but the devastating affects it can have on
families. There are literally millions of poor parents around the world that
are struggling to provide even basic food for their children, yet they always
seem to find the means to buy cigarettes. When everyone is aware of dangers of
smoking, this can no longer be acceptable. Families are being crippled financially
and babies are dying because they are living within close proximity of those
that smoke. It concerns me ... it really does". </span></span><br />
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</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tony
considered that being a silent bystander was no longer an option. He needed to
act and realised that the explosion in the popularity of electronic cigarettes
provided a massive opportunity to try and make a difference by assisting those
smokers who genuinely wanted to quit smoking. After racking his brain for a
solution he came up with a new and positive way to get smokers to quit by
linking flavoured electronic cigarettes to a stop smoking campaign that he is
confident will really work. </span></span><br />
</div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When he
researched the e-cigarette market, he was shocked to discover that the majority
of these products were actually being produced and distributed by the major
tobacco companies. This, to Tony, was like waving a red flag at a bull. He was
unable to equate how commercial considerations were driving the morals of the tobacco
industry. "They are not content to reap unbelievable profits from selling
tobacco products to smokers, but, they have turned their attention towards
those that are already making an effort to quit smoking by making money out of
e-cig products that are meant to discourage smoking. The tobacco giants are, of
course, only interested in making vast sums of money for their shareholders, so
they are promoting e-cigs as a 'cool' and desirable way to smoke (or vape as
they refer to it) that is comparable to the cigarette advertising we used to
see until it was banned. Instead of discouraging people from smoking, I believe
this could lead ultimately to some people losing their battles to quit smoking
by using high nicotine e-cigarettes as a vehicle. I also feel by promoting
'vaping' in a positive way as the tobacco companies are tending to do <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>could encourage those that have never smoked,
to take up the habit. This, in my opinion, includes young people who may be
taken in by glamorizing e-cigarettes and 'vaping' in advertising in a way that
might lead youngsters to start smoking".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tony
believes the major cigarette companies have a hidden vested interest in
attracting young people that could ultimately lead them to take up smoking tobacco
products once they have become hooked on vaping using electronic cigarette
products that contain high levels of nicotine flavouring. "The real
message they should be promoting is that smoking in any form is definitely
'un-cool'. But, instead of trying to actively encourage smokers to quit the
habit, the evidence suggests they are doing quite the opposite"</span></span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"My aim
in setting up Black & White is not just to encourage existing smokers to
quit, but more specifically to dissuade those that have never smoked from ever
starting by joining the Stop Smoking Scheme. My aim is to two-fold, to help as
many existing smokers as I can to quit; and to prevent non-smokers, especially
teenagers, from taking up smoking in the first place". </span></span><br />
</div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Stop
Smoking Scheme will be recommending Black & White as the e-cigarette of
choice specifically because it is the only low-to-no nicotine electronic
cigarette. It is widely accepted that electronic cigarettes are a much safer
option to tobacco smoking as none of the <a href="http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/whats-in-a-cigarette.html" target="_blank">4,000 known toxic substances</a> are
contained in them that is present in tobacco smoke. Unfortunately, the majority
of e-cigs still contain sufficient doses of nicotine to keep users hooked. "Adding
high doses of nicotine to electronic cigarettes may benefit the major tobacco
companies - but it is of no benefit to anyone genuinely committed to giving up
smoking. This is where the brand officially recommend by the Stop Smoking
Scheme is different as it has been specifically developed as the first
e-cigarette brand in the world that actively discourages users to stop smoking
- entirely. </span></span><br />
</div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Our
philosophy is to attract smokers to our approved brand by removing the element
that gets them hooked on smoking in the first place - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NICOTINE"</b>. </span></span></div>
</div>
Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-77360832152844387252015-06-10T16:04:00.003+01:002015-06-12T13:33:00.133+01:00IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 'WHIGS' & 'TORIES' OF 17th CENTURY ENGLAND THAN TODAY'S POLITICAL PARTIES?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I though this article published in the '<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chronicle-Britain-Ireland-Chronicles-Henrietta/dp/1872031358" target="_blank">Chronicle of Britain and Ireland</a>' is interesting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>England 1679</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"New names for old faces can now be heard mentioned in the houses of
parliament with the advent of tags for adherents of different political
philosophies.'<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whigs_%28British_political_party%29" target="_blank">Whigs</a>' and '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tories_%28British_political_party%29" target="_blank">Tories</a>' - both terms of abuse - denote
government supporters and opponents. Broadly, the Whigs form the court
party; they back the established church and the monarchy, and their
instincts are conservative. The To<span class="text_exposed_show">ries are broadly anti-government and support the Roman Catholic <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/299989/James-II" target="_blank">Duke of York</a>. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The word 'Tory' was originally used to describe a particular unpleasant
type of Irish robber. A 'Whig', on the other hand, is a Scottish
outlaw, covenanter and sanctimonious prig. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Political commentators
go further. "A 'Tory' is a creature with a large forehead, prodigious
mouth and no brains," says one pamphleteer. A 'Whig' "has principles
like chaos" and "prays for the kind with more reservations than the
honest man" says another.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The 'Whigs' were a major political
party from 1679-1832 that held liberal principles and favoured reforms
and later became the Liberal Party. In later use the term was used to
refer to conservative members of the Liberal party.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The article
therefore seems quite apt when considering our political parties today.
It might also be considered appropriate for Labour MP <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Skinner" target="_blank">Dennis Skinner</a> to
refer to the Tories in a statement he uttered in Parliament by saying -
"50% of those on the benches opposite are criminals". After the Speaker
had asked him to withdraw his remark, the quick-witted Member for
Bolsover responded: "50% of those on the benches opposite aren't
criminals".</span></span></div>
</div>
Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-80392809339374543782015-06-09T16:26:00.002+01:002015-06-12T13:32:07.692+01:00HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) COULD SPELL THE "END OF THE HUMAN RACE"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A Special Report by Bob Bluffield</b></span></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Those old enough to remember will
recall the sensational 1968 Stanley Kubrick film, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_%28film%29" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2001: A Space Odyssey</i></a> that was adapted from Arthur C Clarke's short
story <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sentinel_%28short_story%29" target="_blank">The Sentinel</a>. </i>The theme revolves
around human beings encountering black monoliths that are affecting human
evolution. The storyline involves two astronauts on their way to Jupiter on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Discovery One, </i>a spacecraft that is
under the control of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_9000" target="_blank">HAL 9000</a>, a computer that has been ordered to withhold
vital information about the mission from the astronauts. HAL 9000 eventually
breaks down with 'acute emotional crisis' caused by being unable to come to
terms with his own fallibility. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Critics
have compared the artificial intelligence (AI) of HAL 9000 with the threat AI is
already posing to humanity that is being deployed in computers and robots that
could be programmed with a superintelligence far superior to that of our own
species.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With the knowledge that scientist
will be able to develop robots with artificial intelligence that can give
machines the capability of reproducing themselves ad infinitum may sound fanciful,
but the threat of machines so powerful they could threaten the very existence
of the human race is in fact very real and might only be a few decades away. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a powerful book published last
year, <a href="http://www.nickbostrom.com/" target="_blank">Nick Bostrom</a> an eminent professor at Oxford Martin School, and Director
of the Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology at Oxford University,
argues that AI is the most important issue the human race has ever faced. In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">S<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superintelligence:_Paths,_Dangers,_Strategies" target="_blank">uperintelligence: Paths, Dangers,Strategies</a> </i>Professor Bostrom offers a compelling warning of the dangers. He
states how one only has to compare cleverer human brain to the brains of
animals to realise that we have capabilities that other creatures lack. In
turn, animals are equipped with stronger muscles or sharper teeth and claws
that we do not possess. This falls into insignificance when AI machines can be
created that surpass the intelligence and strength that man and even the
strongest mammals possess. Take the gorilla for example; for the species to
survive gorillas depend more on us humans than on other gorillas. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the same way, if left unchecked, the fate
of the human species would depend on the actions of the machine
superintelligence. Before you dismiss this as hyperbole, you should first take
the time to read Professor Bostrom's book and also consider the warnings being uttered
by some of the world's most respected scientists. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One such is the distinguished
theoretical physicist, <a href="http://www.hawking.org.uk/" target="_blank">Professor Stephen Hawking</a>, who has issued a stark
warning that if scientists' progress in creating thinking machines, this could
lead to a shocking Doomsday situation. Despite his warning, Hawking nevertheless
agrees that some forms of primitive artificial intelligence have proved useful.
This includes a technology developed by the British company <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SwiftKey" target="_blank">Swift Key</a> (the
creators of keyboard software for IPhone and Android) that has developed a system
designed to predict what Hawking is thinking by suggesting words that he may
want to use next. By typing in around 15-20 per cent of what he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wants</i> to say, the software predicts the
rest. But, according to Hawking, this technology still comes with the familiar
American electronic accent that makes the professor sound robotic. With his
usual wicked sense of humour, Hawking jokes that he does not see this as a
downside, because it has become his trademark and he "wouldn't change it
for a more natural voice with a British accent".</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The millionaire founder of Pay
Pal, Space X and Tesla electric cars, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk" target="_blank">Elon Musk</a>, describes the threat as being a
real life scenario between Terminator-style robots and mankind that is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"... more dangerous than Nukes". He did
not mix his words by describing the creation of artificial intelligence as ...
"like summoning the demon", adding: "If I had to guess what the
biggest threat to our existence is, it's probably artificial
intelligence". He believes fictional depictions of AI such as the lethal
computer HAL 9000 in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2001: A Space
Odyssey </i>and the robotic child David in Steven Spielberg's 2001 film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">AI - Artificial Intelligence </i>would be
like a "puppy dog" in comparison to the power and threats we are
likely to face from real, self aware AI. Musk again: "I'm increasingly
inclined to think that there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the
national and international level, just to make sure we don't do something very
foolish".</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yet, according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil" target="_blank">Ray Kurzwell</a>,
Google's director of engineering, by 2045 artificial intelligence will be here,
and 'mind uploads' will herald immortality in a world of super-human machines. He
should know because Google is showing no signs of slowing in its rapid acquisition
of companies including those involved at the sharp end of AI. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wikipedia </i>states that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google" target="_blank">Google</a> has bought
'on average more than one company per week since 2010', 178 since February
2001. In the two years up to February of last year, according to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">CBS News </i>it had spent 'a staggering $17
billion US on acquisitions'. It also has a secretive lab known variously as;
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_X" target="_blank">Google<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> X Lab</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Google X</i> or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Google (x)</i></a>
that experiments with ambitious future technologies. There are claims too that
Google is secretly working to develop robots that use artificial intelligence
to "...make a large, positive impact on society". Sources within the
Google hierarchy are alleged to have said the company is aiming to become "AI
complete" by producing machines that are as intelligent as a human brain.
The company's founders, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Page" target="_blank">Larry Page</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Brin" target="_blank">Sergey Brin</a>, have both expressed
positive views on AI and have publicly stated their aim for Google to be "...
artificially intelligent so that it understands exactly what information we are
seeking so that it can be interfaced directly with our brains." Larry Page
was quoted to say: "Artificial intelligence would be the ultimate version
of Google. The ultimate search engine that would understand everything on the
Web. It would understand exactly what you wanted, and it would give you the
right thing. We're nowhere near doing that now. However, we can get
incrementally closer to that, and that is basically what we work on". This
will come as quite a worrying thought for most of us even though this announcement
was not made recently by Page ... but 15-years ago!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And Google are not alone. In
February <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/europe" target="_blank">Bloomberg Business</a> </i>suggested
that there have been 'a dozen start ups now forming a mini-boom in AI.' The
report goes on to say 'After two decades of the field suffering from scant
research funding and little corporate attention, a rebirth is being spurred by
interest from Google, Facebook Inc, Amazon.com and others, with <a href="http://www.alibabagroup.com/en/global/home" target="_blank">Alibaba GroupHolding Ltd</a> chairman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ma" target="_blank">Jack Ma</a> saying that the Chinese e-commerce company will invest
significantly in the area'.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Research into artificial
intelligence dates back to the 1960s particularly involving its use in military
equipment and ordnance as well as in security systems. If you think the
theories of leading scientists on the dangers of AI are still 'pie n the sky'
then consider some of the innovations that have already been introduced. These
include computers that can beat human beings at chess, driverless cars, eye
glasses that provide a head-up display and Samsung televisions within our homes
that capture our voice commands and transmit conversations to third parties. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/people/400" target="_blank">Dr Stuart Armstrong</a> of Oxford's
<a href="http://www.fhi.ox.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Institute for the Future of Humanity</a> has said that "Predicting artificial
intelligence is hard" but warns "...they might be extremely alien.
They might have tastes completely incomprehensible to us". This really is
a frightening scenario because it implies that AI programmed machines might
turn against us! A similar opinion has been shared by Professor Stephen Hawking
who said AI could spell the "...end of the human race" whilst
Microsoft founder <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bill-gates-fears-ai-ai-researchers-know-better" target="_blank">Bill Gates</a><a href="http://www.popsci.com/bill-gates-fears-ai-ai-researchers-know-better" target="_blank"> </a>confirmed that he is "...in the camp that is
concerned about super intelligence". He added: "First, the machines
will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be
positive if we manage it well. A few decade after that though the intelligence
is strong enough to be a concern. I agree with Elon Musk on this and don't
understand why people are not concerned". Stephen Hawking described the
threat from artificial intelligence by commenting <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"...it would take off on its own, and
re-design itself at an ever increasing rate ... humans, who are limited by slow
biological evolution, couldn't compete, and would be superseded". </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But not everyone agrees. The
British creator of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleverbot" target="_blank">Cleverbot</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rollo-carpenter-and-cleverbot-2014-6?IR=T" target="_blank">Rollo Carpenter</a> has said "I believe we will
remain in charge of the technology for a decently long time and the potential
of it to solve many of the world problems will be realised". Cleverbot
software has been developed to learn from its past conversations and during the
Turing test*, it deceived people into thinking they were having a conversation
with another human being instead of a machine. Carpenter believes we are still
a long way from developing algorithms that are needed to create full artificial
intelligence but he does agree that it will be with us during the next few
decades. If it is not going to destroy human lives the world's authorities must
find a way of controlling it to maintain a balance, yet the worrying factor
will always be of the devastation the science of AI could cause were the
technology to fall into the hands of a rogue state or terrorist organisation. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">* The Turing test is a means of testing a machine's ability to exhibit
intelligent behaviour equivalent to or indistinguishable from that of a human. </span></span></div>
</div>
Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-61564500242883823412015-01-02T17:21:00.003+00:002015-06-09T17:44:52.980+01:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'OVER EMPIRES AND OCEANS' - PIONEERS, AVIATORS AND ADVENTURERS</span></b></span></b></span><span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"> - Forging the International Air Routes 1918-1939 (<a href="http://www.thetatteredflag.com/" target="_blank">Published by Tattered Flag Press</a>)</span></span></span></b></span></b></span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By Robert Bluffield</span></span></b></span></b></span></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a story of pioneers, intrepid aviators,
adventurers, tycoons and innovators. It is also a story of dedication and
determination, for despite fixed-wing aircraft proving their value over the
battlefields of the Western Front during the First World War, convincing governments
and public alike that they had a role in peacetime proved far more challenging. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Americans, as inventors of heavier-than-air powered flight
had briefly courted with a passenger airline across Tampa Bay in 1914, yet it
took a further nine years for mail to be flown coast-to-coast. In 1919 a British
company made the first international scheduled flight between London and Paris,
but the continuation
of regular services was thwarted by a less-than-enthusiastic government that
allowed its generously subsidised French competition, for a short time at
least, to fly cross-Channel passenger schedules unimpeded.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The British eventually realised that fast links
with their Empire were vital, and followed the example of the French and Dutch
who had forged air links with their cousins in North Africa and the Far East. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meanwhile, in South America, the Germans, forbidden under the Versailles Treaty
from any major aircraft-building, were establishing cunning supremacy by
forming airlines throughout South America and in China. While America awaited a
transcontinental passenger service, Juan Trippe’s Pan American Airways was
crossing swords with Ralph O’Neill of New York, Rio and Buenos Aires Line
(NYRBA) for air supremacy between the US, Brazil, Argentina and
elsewhere in Latin America, which led to the formation of arguably the world’s
greatest airline.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Russia, Igor Sikorsky had built a vast
passenger-carrying aircraft, the Il’ya Muromets, and politicians debated
whether giant airships or fixed-wing aircraft should rule the skies – an issue
that was put firmly to bed when the mighty German airship, <i>Hindenburg</i>,
exploded while mooring at Lakehurst in 1937.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Robert Bluffield’s highly researched and detailed account tells the dramatic
stories of explorers such as Kingsford Smith, Lindbergh and Cobham, and
flamboyant entrepreneurs, some well known, others forgotten, who risked
fortunes and reputations to follow their dreams of reaching and ruling the
skies over empires, continents and oceans. Against bewildering adversity,
corruption, underhanded deals and dwindling resources, these tenacious
individuals braved the elements using primitive, entirely unsuitable equipment
to establish earth-shrinking aerial services that criss-crossed the great
oceans and the globe’s most inhospitable territories. These are the stories of
those pioneers – of Aéropostale, CNAC, Air Orient, Imperial Airways, KLM,
Deutsche Luft Hansa, Pan Am, SCADTA, The Condor Syndicat, Qantas and others –
which had a far-reaching impact on the way the modern world would
travel. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-32908770052202029312013-01-05T14:57:00.000+00:002013-01-05T14:59:57.299+00:00IS THIS AN ACT OF DECEPTION BY EON?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have just received my energy bill from EON (both gas and electricity) that has strangely arrived 3-WEEKS EARLY. <br />
<br />
The bill's early arrival and the fact that it has been estimated I think is very significant. <br />
<br />
With
EON price rises of around 9% due to be implemented this month (on 18th
January?) it seems to me that EON, in their wisdom, are at least trying
to pull a fast one or they could even be committing a deliberate act of
fraud or deception. <br />
<br />
My reasoning is this:<br />
<br />
1) Many
customers will probably be delighted to find that their bills are lower
than they anticipated. Some people may not even realise it is an
estimated bill and will take it as accurate and pay it.<br />
<br />
2) With many
people finding they are short of money after Christmas, they could
realise the bill is lower than it should be, and pay it now thinking
that they will be saving money. <br />
<br />
3) Those that pay it could be in for
a major shock when they receive their next bill because the difference
in energy units used will be corrected - presumably by their meters
being read between now and the raising of the next bill ... but THE
DIFFERENCE WILL. PRESUMABLY, BE CHARGED AT THE NEW, INCREASED RATES,
when they certainly shouldn't be.<br />
<br />
If you are a subscriber to EON .. then you should take the precaution of taking a meter reading yourself - or of you are unable to reach your meter - call EON and insist that they send a meter reader out to do this for you ...and then ... insist on a revised bill. </div>
Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-69050077497722864162012-09-16T12:08:00.001+01:002012-09-16T12:15:50.556+01:00A NEW WARNING TO DRIVERS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">This is a warning to all motorists that should be taken seriously and it has apparently comes from a bulletin issued by the Metropolitan Police and emphasises how low criminals will stoop to catch innocent people out.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="color: black; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While driving on a rural end of
the roadway on Thursday morning, I saw an infant car seat on the side
of the road with a blanket draped over it. For whatever reason, I did
not stop, even though I had all kinds of thoughts running through my
head. But when I got to my destination, I called the Police and they
were going to check it out. But, this is what the Police advised even
before they went out there to check.<br /><br />"There are several things to
be aware of. Gangs and thieves are now plotting different ways to get a
person (mostly women) to stop their vehicle and get out of the car".<br /><br />"There
is a gang initiation
reported by the local Police where gangs are placing a car seat by the
road, with a fake baby in it, waiting for a woman, of course, to stop
and check on the abandoned baby. Note that the location of this car seat
is usually beside a wooded or grassy (field) area and the person --
woman -- will be dragged into the woods, beaten, raped and usually left
for dead. If it's a man, they're usually beaten and robbed and maybe
left for dead, too".<br /><br />DO NOT STOP FOR ANY REASON. DIAL 9-9-9 AND REPORT WHAT YOU SAW BUT DON'T EVEN SLOW DOWN.<br /><br />IF
YOU ARE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND EGGS ARE THROWN AT YOUR WINDSCREEN, DO NOT
STOP TO CHECK THE CAR, DO NOT OPERATE THE WIPER AND DO NOT SPRAY ANY
WATER BECAUSE EGGS MIXED WITH WATER BECOME MILKY AND BLOCK YOUR VISION
UP TO 92.5% AND YOU ARE THEN FORCED TO STOP BESIDE THE ROAD AND BECOME A
VICTIM OF THESE CRIMINALS.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE USED BY GANGS, SO PLEASE INFORM YOUR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. THESE ARE
DESPERATE TIMES AND THESE ARE UNSAVOURY INDIVIDUALS WHO WILL TAKE DESPERATE MEASURES TO GET WHAT THEY WANT.<br /><br />This is a new tactic being used. Please be safe.</span></span></div>
Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-75692958072713187342012-07-19T17:18:00.002+01:002012-07-19T17:18:48.820+01:00HOW TO INCREASE YOUR BUSINESS BY BARTERING<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The art of Bartering has been around since time immemorial
and it has been proven to be an acceptable and enjoyable way of doing business
with other like-minded people. Bartering can also be a satisfying and
advantageous way of obtaining essential goods and services especially when
money is tight. Yet, while doing trade by barter has been common practice that
is acceptable across much of the world, and frequently used by governments to
trade commodities such as oil, in Britain there has been certain scepticism
surrounding it despite the advantages it can bring. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As any small business knows, a lack of cash flowing in can often
be a burden especially during these hard pressed times while the banks are
refusing to extend lending and overdraft facilities to viable enterprises. During
periods when cash sales are scarce, you still need to obtain essential raw
materials or services from your suppliers in order for your business to
survive. You might also be sitting on excess stock that is taking up valuable
storage space and costing you money that you want to shift. Those in a service
industry are also likely to have excess capacity that they need to fill to keep
the business ticking over. This might include an hotel with empty rooms that
need occupying, a graphic designer that has time on their hands or a
publication with spare advertising space going begging. Restaurateurs will know
that it creates a bad impression when a few paying customer are<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>surrounded by an otherwise empty dining
room. Customers prefer eating in vibrant establishments; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>empty
premises create a bad ambience and can damage a reputation by suggesting the
food is not good. It makes good sense to fill empty tables with diners even if
these customers cannot currently afford to pay in cash but are willing to exchange
something else your business may need? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When customers want to buy your products or services but do
not have the cash in the bank to pay for them, it really can be advantageous to
retain them as customers if they are able to offer some form of barter? Turning
a customer away may resort in the loss of a long term business arrangement.
Conversely, by retaining their custom often leads to recommendations to others
who may be cash buyers. Turning away business is never a good idea and can
cause things to stagnate. So how should you use barter to improve your business?
The simplest way is to exchange your goods with somebody that has something of
equivalent value that you need. This is okay in theory – but it does severely limit
your options by throwing up a second problem; what happens if you have no need
for the goods the customer is offering?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The solution can be found by joining a group of like-minded
businesses that are willing to exchange their wares with each other in an
organised way. This has been attempted by various communities and can work well
if, for example a local gardener is able to exchange his freshly grown
vegetables with his local pub for beer, but the system is very restrictive and
is hardly likely to create any business growth for the participants. Unless
this form of bartering is conducted on a formalised basis it is also likely to
attract unwanted attention from the authorities.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is needed is a nationwide system that allows members to
exchange their goods and services by accessing a vast network of other businesses
indirectly instead of just locally within a single small community. Such a
nationwide organisation already exists; it is called <a href="http://www.bartercard.co.uk/" target="_blank">Bartercard</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Realising that there is an ongoing need for a single, well
organised structure capable of offering bartering opportunities to a wide
number of different business types offering a vast variety of goods and
services without the constraints of cash, Bartercard was formed in Australia in
1991 with one hundred members. Within two years it had expanded to New Zealand
and by 1996 had set up in the UK. Bartercard International now has more than
35,000 active trading members spread across six countries; the UK, Australia,
New Zealand, Cyprus, United Arab Emirates and Thailand but also has agreements
with other barter networks worldwide. It is the world’s largest computerised
Barter network and currently there are around 4,000 trading members in the
United Kingdom.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bartercard works by simplifying the trading process created by
bartering by matching a member’s requirements to other appropriate members who
can supply the products and services that they require. It is a business
exchange that removes the restrictions imposed by having to exchange your goods
in a straight one-to-one swap at a local community level. Instead, once you
have concluded a sale, the value of it will be credited to your Bartercard
account so that it can be ‘spent’ to obtain any goods or services from any
other Bartercard member worldwide. This is achieved by conducting transactions
in what are known as ‘Trade Pounds’, a form of invisible ‘currency’ that is
used when one member trades with others. Thus, when you make a sale to another
Bartercard member, the transaction is conducted in Trade Pounds for the value
of the sale including VAT when applicable. When you decide to eat out, stay at
a hotel, buy items or services you need etc from another Bartercard member you merely
present your Bartercard (similar to a debit card) and pay using Trade Pounds
instead of spending cash. The same thing happens in reverse when you sell items
to a fellow member. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bartercard is not intended to be used as a replacement to
cash trading; but it does offer an alternative source of income, and will
remove the need to reduce your vital cash flow when buying from other members. Bartercard
membership also encourages members to trade with each other. This can be
particularly beneficial during lean trading periods or when you have excess
stock that you need to sell that another member may require. Bartercard also works
by introducing new customers to your business that you might not otherwise have
had. Bartercard is extremely flexible. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although Bartercard has a joining fee, its income is derived
by charging a small monthly administration charge and a transaction fee of 5.5%
plus VAT on sales and purchases that pass through a member’s account. However, these
charges are extremely small compared to the equivalent cash that is saved. It
is a great way of doing business and is approved by HMRC and therefore completely
legal – with members paying tax and charging VAT on transactions in the normal
way. Members are also assigned an account handler who actively works to
introduce additional business opportunities by matching the needs of other Bartercard
members. Another advantage of Bartercard membership is that it fosters strong working
and social relationships through regular networking events and other member
services that include a quarterly magazine, online directory, auction site and
the ‘Daily Trader’, information that is emailed to members giving details of
any special offers or business opportunities that are available to them.</div>
</div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-46341087787272683382012-07-05T09:13:00.002+01:002015-01-02T19:18:05.897+00:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br /></div>
Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-91302323819881714052012-06-29T14:04:00.002+01:002012-06-29T14:04:27.333+01:00WHY I WILL NEVER TRUST THE BANKS!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The latest issues regarding certain banks rigging the Libor
rate should not come as a shock to most people particularly in view of previous
wrong-doing that has shaken our trust in the banking institutions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know from personal experience of the type of things they
get up to. At the time of my divorce from my first wife during the 1980s,
amidst the turmoil that usually accompanies a marriage breakup there was
however just one thing my ex-wife and myself did agree about. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At that time I had an unsecured overdraft for my business account
with Barclays that, as far as I was concerned had never been an issue either
for the bank or myself. Suddenly, out of the blue I received a High Court writ
from the bank demanding immediate repayment of the overdraft. There had been no
previous discussion, no letter from the bank - just this unannounced writ. I
telephoned Barclays London office to demand a reason for what I considered to
be grossly underhanded tactics and was merely told that they wanted their money
back. I won't repeat my reaction but let's just say I was more than a little
angry by their attitude and their proposed court action. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Subsequently my former wife and me were called to a meeting
with a business manager at our local Barclays business centre whereupon we were
pressured in an attempt to force us to agree to a second charge being placed on
our matrimonial home. My ex-wife and I both refused to sign the charge papers
that Barclays had already prepared because neither of deemed it necessary and,
as it was, the overdraft was not for an overly large sum. However, under duress
I agreed to convert this to a loan on a normal monthly repayment basis. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it came to selling the matrimonial home following our
divorce, we were confronted with a second charge on the property in favour of
Barclays Bank. We both knew full well that we had never signed the second
charge documents that Barclays had produced and advised our respective
solicitors accordingly. My solicitor immediately wrote to Barclays with an
allegation of fraud. This is exactly what it was because my former wife
concurred with me that the signatures that appeared on the Barclays document
were certainly not ours but had been copied from other documents by somebody in
an attempt to make them look like ours. They weren't even very convincing
forgeries!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Barclays received the communication from my lawyers
they responded by telephoning me. I was told by the caller, who refused to give
his name, that he was speaking from the bank's head office. I was told in no
uncertain terms that if I refused to withdraw the fraud allegation 'I would
never work again'. I responded by asking whether I should take this threat as
an indication that 'some personal harm would be done to me, or whether they
intended somehow to put me out of business?'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The man responded by stating 'That will be for you to find out, if you
refuse to withdraw your allegation'. I was left feeling totally stunned and
from that day on I have never trusted the banks. </div>
</div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-15181618992569375202012-06-03T11:08:00.000+01:002012-06-03T11:35:03.098+01:00ENGLAND 1 BELGIUM 0 - STILL NOT MUCH TO CHEER ABOUT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I am grateful to my good friend Barrie Harding for his reflection on last night's England international. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The overall performance was better. But it was poor in Norway so the
only way was up. Belgium are a good technical side but forty something in the
world ranking because they cannot score goals. As they showed last night.
Welbeck took his goal well but, as with the Young goal against Norway, it was
pretty much a solo effort and not the result of good team play. And in both
cases the defending was poor and certainly not up to the highest international
standard England will face in the Euros. Other than that, Welbeck made no real
impression even though Kompany wasn't playing. I like the look of Vertongen,
even though he was playing out of position. Very calm and assured and left
footed as a bonus. I hope Spurs buy him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Defensively England coped well against a team that played in front of
them and not around or behind them. And without a goal scoring
forward Belgium had no outlet for their pretty football. Joe Hart still
had as much to do as their keeper but mainly from long range.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Offensively it was only when Defoe came on and Belgium were a little
more tired did we see any pressure play. With lesser teams it is
even more important that we maintain pressure on the opposition to get the
goals and, while we can build that pressure, we cannot sustain it because our
traditional game is based on bish-bash football. We lose the ball too easily
and then have to wait to get it back and we suddenly find that pressure turned
on us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Roy is struggling to find the best team. He's not changing anything and
that's understandable. He cannot make wholesale changes at this late stage but
he can, at least, put players in positions where they are the most comfortable
and the most effective. And so far he hasn't done that. Rooney is by
far our best attacking weapon so don't have him chasing back to the half way
line trying to get the ball back. If he wants to contribute then have him
go wide, not deep, to put pressure on the other team. Put Gerard up just behind
Rooney and let him make those runs beyond Rooney when he drags central
defenders out left or right. Get Young wide, switching left and
right as the attack builds to provide that width. With those three
attacking the middle three can hold the midfield. Parker is now pretty
much established and has good holding qualities but very limited in passing
beyond twenty yards and usually sideways. With Barry injured but with two left
sided full backs and the need to maintain balance he should play both. A
creative playmaker is needed now but we don't have one.. Roy should
resist using another wide player and is probably left with
Milner to occupy (and that's all he does) the right side of midfield. This
looks a very defensive team, and it can certainly play that way and be very
solid right up to the last third of the pitch. It's here we have the problems -
as most teams do. Scoring goals at the highest level is tough and England won't
score many. We just need to score one more than the other side. So far we've
done that in the two matches but, as I say, with individual efforts and not
team play. </span></div>
</div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-62506737755664712432012-05-27T17:42:00.002+01:002012-05-27T17:44:22.196+01:00ENGLAND HAVE TO PERFORM MUCH BETTER THAN THIS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">FOLLOWING LAST NIGHT'S ENGLAND GAME IN OSLO - I BELIEVE THIS REPORT BY MY GOOD FRIEND BARRIE HARDING SUMS THE SITUATION UP PRETTY WELL. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The most disappointing part of the game with Norway last night was
the post match interview with Hodgson. Seems he has already had the
obligatory operation to give him one-eyed vision with the rose-tint added as an
extra. And who's the moron who thought the dark blue/light blue
second strip would look nice....? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Listening to him I must have been watching a completely different game.
He seemed to think our number 9 had a good game while I watched Carroll jumping
aimlessly at high balls while not once directing a header towards one of
our players.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Halfway through the first half the idiot commentator was almost purring
with delight as our boys in (various shades of) blue stroked the ball back and
forth, back and forth across the pitch - but going nowhere. This metronomic but
otherwise pointless passing movement was only interrupted once Gerrard decided
he wanted to test, yet again, how far he could kick a ball and how aimlessly.
He succeeded in this several times. He then felt he needed to demonstrate to
Hodgson - almost in front of him - how easy it is to injure an opponent. Now
Gerrard is almost as bad as Scholes at tackling fairly; and last night, if any
further proof was needed, he showed that yet again. Even though it was a
"friendly" match he should have received a caution at best and, in
anything other than a friendly, he'd have been sent off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Downing: what a muppet! Andy Townsend, who must have had
the same eye operation as Hodgson, said he had talent but lacked confidence.
Well, he's been picked consistently for England recently as well as Liverpool
so don't think it's a confidence issue. It's am over-estimation of talent
issue.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Ashley Young - made the space well but, then again, playing against
Hangeland - and I've seen milk turn faster, scuffed his shot and it
bobbled, almost apologetically, into the corner of the net. Other than
that, nothing!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">"Phil Jones" muttered Townsend
breathlessly "what an athlete"..... Yes, but pity he doesn't
have any ball control to go with it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">And don't get me started on Milner. What's the point of playing
him? Can someone please let me know as I'm baffled as to what his role is other
than running up and down the wing and occasionally getting in the way of the
ball.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Every time the ball went towards Rob Green I had to close my eyes.
Towards the end of the match when we were under severe pressure - and remember
we were playing NORWAY and still struggled to cope - I was behind the sofa
whimpering with fear. Maybe the FA should provide Hodgson with a sofa to hide
behind instead of those silly looking Recaro seats.....</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The studio panel pretty much got it right. They tried to be polite -
even Roy Keane - but must have thought to themselves "Bloody Hell, England
are in deep shit if this is the best they can do against a third rate
team"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It must have been bad, even Adrian Chiles noticed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Seriously, I know that Hodgson has only had a few days with the players.
They've had a full season, but then again, so have the Norwegian team. England
have at least three separate teams of similar quality players to choose from,
so it's specific team selection and tactics that will win games. Norway
are a big team and in Hangeland they have one of the biggest. Hodgson was
his manager at one time so he knows what he can do/not do. Selecting
Carroll to play directly against him was the most obvious selection error.
The only goal - pay attention at the back there Hodgson - was when Young turned
Hangeland yet Hodgson kept Carroll on the pitch and England continued with the
same unsuccessful tactic of hitting long balls forward. That, to me, is the
most worrying sign of all. Hodgson was made manager - ahead of 'Arry - because
he supposedly had international experience and superior tactical ability. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">England need to get to the Euro semi's otherwise Hodgson will be under
big pressure. And he doesn't seem to me to be a person who copes well with
pressure. He seems a very decent sort of guy who can work well when not
much is expected of him. In that case, taking the England job was as big a
mistake for him as it would have been for 'Arry. Both, unfortunately, too old
without the necessary international experience either as a player or a manager
at club or country level. So, if Hodgson either falls on his sword or gets
tripped up and someone obligingly shoves a sword under his falling body, then
please, FA, look for a manager who has the right blend of youth and
international experience. You missed the opportunity last time by being led
around by the nose by the media reflections of public opinion - and still
managed to alienate that opinion by choosing someone else. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">What a farce</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-44335400197092951572012-04-16T18:01:00.000+01:002012-04-16T18:01:41.391+01:00IF YOU'VE EVER HAD THE URGE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT RYANAIR ... CONSIDER THIS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Ryanair may not be your favourite airline but compared to what the Russian carrier Aeroflot was like in the 1950s flying with the Irish company would certainly present a more attractive proposition. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I have recently acquired a copy of a most interesting series of books by the respected American journalist of the 1930s to 1960s; John Gunther called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inside Russia Today </i>who wrote a series of in-depth books that documented the social and political events in many countries across the world.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Russia </i>volume was written in 1957 and in it Gunther describes some of his flying experiences as a passenger with Aeroflot, the state owned airline. Some of his observations are worth recounting especially as much of what he said had me in fits of laughter.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"All civil aviation within the Soviet Union is, of course, a state monopoly: </i>he explains."<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aeroflot has no competition, except on flights outside the country, and is run by the Ministry of Defence. Flying in Russia is apt to be pretty rough. This is an understatement. It is extremely rough. It is also fun, and comparatively safe". </i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He continues by stating that as a general rule at the time Russian aircraft did not have seat belts. "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is because the Russian didn't like them</i>" and that only seldom did anyone know when the plane was about to land and nobody bothered to extinguish cigarettes during take-offs or landings. There were no emergency exits on domestic flights and some planes had one seat that was fitted with a seat belt that the author presumed was used if a passenger was sick or for some <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"old fashioned</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">crank"</i> who required it. Some planes apparently had seats that were equipped with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">half a seat belt; </i>the buckle end was there but the other piece was missing.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">We learn that Aeroflot used newer, better equipped aircraft on international routes that had a stewardess that wore a uniform who handed out sweets and blankets to passengers. This was in contrast to those on domestic routes that carried a female crew member that did not wear a uniform who was disconnected from the passengers and seemed to be only there to inform the pilot if something went amiss in the cabin. She never left her station that, for some reason, was always the third seat from the front. The newer planes had carpets, were newly painted and the wheels of the aircraft were fitted with tyres that had tread.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Gunther said that although the baggage allowance was 22 pounds, he never experienced any checks and he and his wife carried well over this amount without ever being charged for the excess. Only the jet aircraft were pressurised and the propeller aircraft usually flew extremely low at <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">treetop or chimney level</i>. Sometimes they flew at 4000 feet but seldom higher. There would be a panel of instruments consisting of an altimeter and airspeed indicator in the cabin that were there to keep passengers informed. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Meals were seldom served in flight but the aircraft on long distance routes would land every two or three hours so that passengers could be fed almost identical meals at each stop. Sometimes, they would have six or seven meals in a row on a flight across Russia. The planes seldom taxied up to the terminals at these stops and passengers were forced to trudge through the snow that covered the aprons to the terminal. The writer recalled how in remote places such as Siberia and Central Asia the facilities consisted of rough wooden buildings with a single wash bowl in the waiting room - although he neglected to mention if there were any toilet facilities. But he noted that there was usually a telephone on a table and next to this, for some reason, would be a 'flat iron' presumably so passengers could iron their clothes before the next stage of the flight. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">There were no flight announcements and if passengers were lucky they would be tapped on the shoulder while eating their meals by a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">babushka </i>wearing thick padded clothes assigned to each flight to tell them the aircraft was about to depart. Passengers were often left behind and Gunther tells how he watched from the aircraft window as some unfortunate passengers ran along the runway to trying to keep up with the departing plane. These were picked up in an open truck and driven to the end of the runway where the plane was about to take-off. The door was opened and the pilot left his seat, and in the absence of a ladder, he physically dragged the passengers on board by their wrists. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a pilot was friendly he would sometimes delay departure until he was sure everyone was aboard and if the stewardess failed to show up, one of the passengers would commonly be assigned the job. The author told of how the flight deck door was left open and couldn't be shut on one flight that he took. This resulted in it banging open and shut throughout the seven hour flight. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">In the absence of proper equipment, pilots would check the weather by telephoning the next airport along their route before deciding whether they would fly. But they would fly in weather that other airlines elsewhere would consider to be unfit. They carried very little extra fuel (just 6%) unlike in Europe or the US, in case they had to divert as the Russians felt there was no need. The margin was just enough to provide an extra hour during daytime - 90 minutes at night. Gunther reflected that the pilots, including many women, were very skilled and accidents were rare, although he did acknowledge that when a crash did occur it was never reported in the press as it was not considered by the Russians to be of any importance. At the time the book was written it was the only country in the world flying full jets (the Tupolev TU 104) with a full load of 50-70 passengers on regular services. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">A British resident of Moscow, mentioned but not named in the book text, was said to have remarked: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"If Russia didn't cover such a large part of the earth's surface and if there weren't so many Russians, this country would be one long laugh". </i></div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-48454918392020173562012-02-21T09:37:00.005+00:002012-02-21T09:44:45.688+00:00HOME THOUGHTS FROM ABROAD - ON ARSENAL!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">A really great letter from my good friend in Western Australia, Dave Todd of <a href="http://www.davidtoddphotography.com.au/portrait-photographer-perth/" target="_blank">David Todd Photography</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">What is happening?? Major problems. </span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">In the last week I have been on many ‘Arsenal blog sites’ just looking for something positive, but everyone is so annoyed & frustrated. </span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">For me it seems Wenger & the players on the pitch all have a similar mindset.</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">When a player gets tapped it’s all handbags and complaining. Get on with it. How many times does one of our midfielders stop play & shout when a tackle is made?</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Every person in the land can see how Arsenal currently play, it is so telegraphed & predictable, goalie to centre back to full back , back and forth side to side. Yes we always have 60-70% of possession which amounts to stuff all if we don’t score a goal. Other teams love to give us all this possession, then they pick us off. We are too one dimensional, very little midfield imagination, we are still trying to thread the ball along the floor through six defenders at RVP’s feet. </span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><a name='more'></a><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">We should play balls into spaces & let Walcott & Chamberlain & co run on to them, not play it to their feet whilst surrounded by two players, where they then have to play it back and the whole predictable cycle carries on side to side blah blah blah…………….</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Surely Wenger & co can see this being played out each week, surely he records the game and shows the players afterwards in the team talk?</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Walcott’s frustration is that Wenger gets him to sit on the touchline all game, but when given the ball he is pinned to the line, he is better when he is allowed to cut in. If I as a 63 year old aging photographer & half the world can see this why can’t Wenger? </span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Wenger’s job as coach has definitely got to change this style of play. We are far far too slow out of defence, we give opposition too much time to get back,. How many times does Rosicky go round in circles like a pirouetting ballerina getting absolutely nowhere.</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Message to all players 20 yards out if you see HALF a chance have a shot on goal………..there’s a good chance of a deflection/loose ball etc. We cannot always try to find the perfect pass every time, we are not Barcelona et all. </span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="color: black;">WENGER SHOULD INSTRUCT THE TEAM THAT EVERY SINGLE PLAYER (exc goalie) WITHIN THE 90 MINS SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE ATTEMPT ON GOAL AND FINE EACH PLAYER $5000 PER GAME IF THEY DONT. ……AMEN.</span></u></span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">I believe Wenger should stay until the end of the season then move on, who can replace him that is the big question as most know that the Arsenal board do not spend freely enough.</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">On a good note, in Perth we are fortunate to receive every single Premiership game played shown live via Fox/Sky. Press the keypad to select a game. All games are also aired over the next three days.</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Aussie time is eight hours ahead of UK, and I watch every game live so bear a thought for us over here staying up till 1.15am to 3.15am to watch the Sunderland 5.15pm kick off………...and 3.45am to 5.45am to watch the Milan evening kick off! Wouldn’t mind so much if we got a result. </span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="ecxmsonormal" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">I have a very good photographer friend in UK who lives in Milton Keynes who I used to go to midweek games at Highbury many moons ago, he is a lifelong fan and corresponds a lot about Arsenal,, his name is Robert Bluffield, he’s our age would love to hear your Arsenal comments <a href="mailto:robertbluffield@msn.com">robertbluffield@msn.com</a> </span></div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-22039435868438143002012-02-11T12:53:00.000+00:002012-02-11T12:53:19.499+00:00PUB RESTAURANTS FAILING ON CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-GB</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">With money tight eating is more of a treat for many of us but I am finding going to restaurants, particularly those owned by the large chains has evolved into a lottery. I am the first to offer praise when it is due - but more often than not I feel let down. Surely I cannot be alone in my view. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">You know the kind of thing that happens; you build a high expectation in anticipation of having a tasty meal and a really enjoyable experience but you end up thoroughly disappointed by the slow, sloppy <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>service and food that fails to live up to expectations. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Last night was a classic example. My wife and I took friends to a lovely old pub, the Black Horse, alongside the Grand Union Canal at Great Linford, Milton Keynes. We hadn't eaten there for a few years. It was then called the Proud Perch and everything about the place was excellent. So, we had high hopes of renewing our acquaintance with the place by having a great dining experience. But, things didn't quite work out that way.</div><div class="MsoNormal">We'd pre-booked but found the bar to be crowded when we arrived so we positioned ourselves at a clearing at one end close to the dining area. Just two bar staff were frantically serving but ignored us for several minutes. Okay, they were busy - but a simple acknowledgement - a greeting suggesting 'somebody will be with you in a moment' would have been the kind of gesture expected. After being shown to our table it was quite a while before the waitress came. She was the only one serving about a dozen tables but she should have been able to cope. With several of the overhead spotlights not working, I had insufficient light to read the menu and my wife had to do this for me. I had to request a wine list. After asking if they had a Rioja and was informed 'we have Spanish Rioja'. Hmm! We asked for water (bottled and tap) but had to ask twice more when it hadn't arrived. We also asked repeatedly for the drinks ordered by our guests to be served. After some time <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the wine came but with no decorum it was plonked on the table and left for us to pour ourselves. No big deal - but a modicum of basic staff training - or a level of customer interest from our waitress - would have ensured she at least made an effort. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Three of the four starters were stone cold. Informing the waitress was ignored with an attitude suggesting 'Well, what do you expect?' I didn't press the issue because she was otherwise engaged kicking ice under a table that she had spilt from a neighbouring table's ice bucket. In any case we didn't want to send the food back because you fear the reaction when food is returned to a kitchen! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was the best part of an hour before the main courses were served. The food, I must say, was good although the grilled tomato garnish with my fillet steak was freezing cold, the pepper sauce barely warm. We were not offered any condiments; salt and pepper were on the table but despite asking twice for vinegar none was forthcoming. When I mentioned this the waitress explained 'You're not having a good day!' The burger ordered with bacon and cheese by one of my party was missing its toppings but he was brave enough to return it and within minutes it came back with the correct additions. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">During the waiting period we engaged the waitress in conversation. At first I felt a little sorry for her when she said some serving staff had been told not to come in because, although a Friday evening, it was the coldest night of the year. 'The manager hadn't expected it to be busy!' This may have been so but as the evening progressed we got tired of her really sloppy attitude towards customers and moaning about not liking her job. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The dining room was freezing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although having a wood burning fire, this was almost left to burn out, and the radiators were hardly warm. The occupants of two tables moved; one couple several times, just to find a warmer spot. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After asking for the bill I waited over ten minutes before approaching the bar to try and pay but was chased by the waitress who grumbled 'Do you want to pay darling?' but concluded she thought we were attempting to do a runner. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The entire experience was a thorough disappointment and none of us will go back to the Black Horse in a hurry. This is a shame because the ambience has the potential to be very good - but nobody wants to eat in a freezing cold dining area and be served by a member of staff that plainly has no interest in serving. Perhaps if owners paid their staff a little bit more and gave them more respect, customers might expect more commitment?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of my party used the gents' toilet and wished he hadn't - it was he said: 'disgusting'. There is no excuse for having filthy toilets. In my estimation - a good way to judge an establishment is by inspecting the toilets. Perhaps we should have done this before dining there!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But, who is to blame for this? I have noticed that pub-style restaurants appear to have cut their staffing levels to the bone leaving customers disgruntled by having to wait far longer than they should to be served and the food often arrives cold. Last night was no exception; although the food standard was generally acceptable, it was inconsistent because some was hot - the rest cold. I am finding the standards of food served in many chains to be falling far below expectation and the prices do not always reflect the quality. I often avoid ordering steak now although the fillet I had last night was good. However, ordering a steak at many chain restaurants is frequently a disaster. The meat cuts are too often full of fat and gristle and rarely cooked correctly. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I feel the large companies that own these restaurants are cutting their noses to spite their face. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have become too large and have lost sight of customer requirements by putting targets before customer satisfaction. Cutting staff levels creates inefficiency that angers customers who are likely to react by going elsewhere. Pub owners are constantly harping on about how difficult things are in the industry, but they are failing to address the need to provide value for money or are offering even the basic levels of an enjoyable dining experience. Paying over £30 a head for a three-course meal with drinks is not, in the course of things, excessive - but when things fail to live up to expectations and you are faced with sloppy service this certainly does not represent good value for money. It really is time that the chain restaurants started to dramatically improve their standards.</div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-81716316155140305872011-12-20T01:26:00.002+00:002011-12-20T01:31:28.518+00:00WE WAS BRUNG UP PROPER !!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="color: black;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;" valign="top"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Some of the emails I get sent are priceless and simply have to be published on my blogs. If you are, shall we say ... of a certain age, then you too will identify with this.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And we never had a whole Mars bar until 1993"!!! </span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930s,40s, 50s, 60s and 70s</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank Sherry while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, bread and dripping, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can ... and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.<br />
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.<br />
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.<br />
Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Nandos.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on a Sunday, somehow we didn't starve to death!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers and Bubble Gum.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter, milk from the cow, and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">No one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii, X-boxes, no video games at all, nor 999 channels on SKY, no video/DVD films, or colour TV, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!<br />
<br />
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.<br />
<br />
Only girls had pierced ears!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-48771412389797688382011-12-16T14:15:00.000+00:002011-12-16T14:15:40.187+00:00ALWAYS CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS BEFORE LEAVING THE CHECK-OUT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;">This was recently sent to me and it is worth reading the contents because this scam can be used against any of us. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;">I bought a bunch of stuff, over £150, & I glanced at my receipt as the cashier was handing me the bags. I saw a cash-back of £40. I told her I didn't request a cash back & to delete it. She said I'd have to take the £40 because she couldn't delete it. I told Her to call a supervisor. Supervisor came & said I'd have to take it.. I said NO! Taking the £40 would be a cash advance against my Credit card & I wasn't paying interest on a cash advance!!!!! If they couldn't delete it then they would have to delete the whole order. So the supervisor had the cashier delete the whole order & re-scan everything! The second time I looked at the electronic pad before I signed & a cash-back of £20 popped up. At that point I told the cashier & she deleted it. The total came out right. The cashier agreed that the Electronic Pad must be defective. <br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-size: 9pt;">Obviously the cashier knew the electronic pad was defective because she NEVER offered me the £40 at the beginning. Can you imagine how many people went through before me & at the end of her shift how much money she pocketed? <br />
<br />
Just to alert everyone. My co worker went to Milford , Sainsburys last week. She had her items rung up by the cashier. The cashier hurried her along and didn't give her a receipt. She asked the cashier for a receipt and the cashier was annoyed and gave it to her. My co worker didn't look at her receipt until later that night. The receipt showed that she asked for £20 cash back. SHE DID NOT ASK FOR CASH BACK! <br />
<br />
My co-worker called Sainsburys who investigated but could not see the cashier pocket the money. She then called her niece who works for the bank and her niece told her this. This is a new scam going on. The cashier will key in that you asked for cash back and then hand it to her friend who is the next person in the queue. <br />
<br />
Please, please, please check your receipts right away when using credit or debit cards! <br />
This is NOT limited to Sainsburys; they are one of the largest retailers so they have the most incidents. <br />
I am adding to this. My husband and I were in Sainsburys and paying with credit card when my husband went to sign the credit card signer he just happen to notice there was a £20 cash back added. He told the cashier that he did not ask nor want cash back and she said this machine has been messing up and she canceled it. We really didn't think anything of it until we read this email. <br />
<br />
I wonder how many "seniors" have been, or will be, "stung" by this one???? <b><br />
<br />
To make matters worse ..THIS SCAM CAN BE DONE ANYWHERE, AT ANY RETAIL OR WHOLESALE LOCATION!!! <br />
<br />
BEFORE LEAVING THE CHECK-OUT........CHECK YOUR RECEIPT!!!!! <br />
</b></span></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-59868274479512339312011-11-24T20:13:00.002+00:002011-11-24T20:17:05.467+00:00HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY SOME BUSINESSES CAN CHARGE VERY HIGH PRICES AND STILL MAKE LOADS OF SALES?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #0b175f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="color: black;">This morning I saw an excellent advert on TV from Lego. Now my 6 year old boy loves lego. He'll sit there for hours putting the little bricks together, sometimes building meaningful models, other times just building a wall or laying them out in colours. Whenever we're up town he always wants to go to the Lego shop to see the latest Harry Potter or Star Wars model. Up until this morning, I wondered why the little plastic bricks were so expensive and how can they justify the prices they are demanding for their kits. (The Harry Potter nightbus will cost £25 for example and the Star Wars Millenium Falcon is approximately £130) After all, they are just plastic bricks aren't they? </span></span><br />
<div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><br />
But, this morning, I saw their latest advert - It brought home to me in a very good example of selling benefits rather than features. A message where they have positioned their brand correctly and at the right place. One where price becomes irrelevant and they can demand alot more for the value that they are offering. It's a very strong message, that Lego aren't just selling plastic bricks, but their selling an experience.<br />
<br />
Take a look at the advert, it's shown on my blog <a href="https://leafletdelivery.infusionsoft.com/app/linkClick/562/7a2d2444b77569c5/56390/c6423a7111aaa050" target="_blank">click here</a> to view it and then think about how you could position yourself, your business and your brand in this manner so that you can charge what you are worth. <br />
As always, If I can help with anything, please give me a call </span></div><br />
<div style="color: blue;"><div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Trevor Nicholls</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br />
<a href="mailto:trevor@theleafletdeliverycompany.com">trevor@theleafletdeliverycompany.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">01908 760800</span></div></div></div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-78919237320490281952011-10-19T17:02:00.003+01:002011-10-19T17:12:35.999+01:00THIS IS A SCAM TO OBTAIN YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAIL, SO READ ON!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY.</span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="font-weight: normal;">This is a scam that is believed to have been passed on by the Police regarding a call people have reported receiving form someone claiming to be a 'representative' of British Telecom, informing them that because of an unpaid bill they must make an immediate credit card payment of £31.00 to avoud a reconnection charge later of £118,00. The scam caller doesn't flinch when people have told him they are not with BT, and merely claims that other companies have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!<br />
<br />
When one person asked the guy's name - he gave the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' and a the a rogue phone number SIMILAR to the genuine BT Business freephone number. </span></span></span></span></h6><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="font-weight: normal;">Obviously the fellow realized his story wasn't being believe, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT. He was asked how? The call recipient was told to hang up & try phoning someone - and he would disconnect their phone to prevent this. AND HE DID !!<br />
<br />
The phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until the caller phoned again. Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT. The unsuspecting person asked how the payment was to be made and he said credit card, there and then.<br />
<br />
The person that was called said that he didn't know how he'd done it, but had absolutely no intention of paying him, because he didn't believe his name or that he worked for BT. Not surprisingly, the caller hung up. The person who had received the call dialled 1471 - number withheld, so then phoned his fictitious 0800 number - this was not recognized; so he next called the police to let them know. I wasn't the first! It's only just started apparently, but it is escalating.<br />
<br />
The police advice was to let as many people as possible know of this scam. The fact that the phone does become disconnected may probably convince some people that the caller is genuine but it's not. <br />
<br />
This is how it is done: This is good but not that clever. The caller gave the wrong number - the genuine number to get through to BT Busines is 0800 800 152 (but the scammer added another '0' before the second '800'). The process of 'cutting off' the line is very simple. The caller stays on the line but presses the mute button on his phone which prevents you from dialling out - but the scammer can still hear you trying (because the person who initiates a call is the one that needs to terminate it). When you stop trying he cuts off and immediately calls you back. You could almost be convinced! <br />
<br />
The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable and the BT claim is being used - not to get the cash from you - but to obtain your credit card details and security number so that it can be used to make larger purchases.</span></span></span></span></h6></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-52590092498688847642011-10-08T16:11:00.001+01:002011-10-08T16:12:13.929+01:00INSTANT RECALL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">I was talking to somebody a few days ago about Hong Kong and wanted to relate three amazing occurrences that took place during one of my many visits to the former Crown Colony. Each concerns the incredible memory capabilities of some of the local Chinese that I encountered. Considering how we Gweilos (white devils) must all look similar I fail to understand how I managed to remain in their memories. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
The first instance occurred in 1989 when I arrived in Hong Kong for the first time as part of our honeymoon. On that first visit we went to an area known as 'The Lanes' in the Central district on Hong Kong Island and bought a lovely Suzie Wong dress for my wife. She has never worn it - but that's another story. About six years later we managed to locate the dress stall with some difficulty; as we wanted to buy a similar dress for one of my wife's friends. To our amazement the stall owner immediately recited day and date when we had bought the first dress as well as the size and the colour. He also recalled that we had been on our honeymoon. To this day we cannot explain this.<br />
</div><a name='more'></a><br />
Another example of recall happened after I had taken a ferry from North Point to an area adjacent to the old Kai Tak Airport where I had been to photograph aircraft movements for an article I was writing. After a few hours we arrived back at North Point, got in a taxi and before I had the chance to say where we wanted to go, the driver told me the street and the name of the block of flats where we were staying. When I asked him how he knew, he just laughed aloud. I can only guess that at some previous time this same guy had picked us up. But what I still haven't been able to figure out is how he could possibly remember us from the hundreds of passengers he carried in his cab. There is, as far as I know, something like 5,000 taxis in HK which makes the chances of me stepping into the same taxi on two separate occasions more of an unbelievable coincidence, although on a separate occasion while out shopping this happened again but this time I remembered the driver, not the other way around. <br />
<br />
On many of my visits we would stay at the Excelsior Hotel in Causeway Bay, sometimes for a period of around ten days at a time. However, a period of about three years had lapsed between staying at the hotel, yet I was surprised when so many of the staff I encountered not only remembered me by name but could recall my when I had last been a guest at the establishment. These were not front-of- house people who may have been aware of my visit, but waiters and bell boys. One instance occurred as I was walking along a corridor to my room one day and a young uniformed member of staff, probably working for room service spoke to me: "Hayo Mister Buffield, (the Chinese can never pronounce the first 'l' in my name) it is wearly good to see yu again". As I had no recollection of ever meeting this member of staff previously I was taken aback and asked him where he knew from? He told me that I had been into Caminos Restaurant that was one of the hotel's restaurants where he had worked five years previously during March. I was truly stunned that he would recognise me let alone know my name. Although I had eaten in the restaurant on a couple of occasions I had no recall of what year that had been let alone the month. My young assistant had joined us on this particular trip and she looked on in stunned silence when so many of the front of house staff came up to greet me by name as we walked into the atrium but this was really the last straw for her. "God, it is like being with a rock star; how do all these people know who you are?" she asked. I guess I must have made a lasting impression.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Truly amazing!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
It is no wonder they will never forget the Opium Wars.</div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-13210214587051910962011-09-11T23:02:00.002+01:002011-09-11T23:05:07.120+01:0010th ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11: TIME TO MOVE ON FROM HATE AND WARS TO BUILDING PEACE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Ten years ago this week, we witnessed the loss of thousands of lives during the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. <br />
<br />
As Muslims we look back with sadness at what happened on September 11, 2001, it was undoubtedly an evil and criminal act of monstrous proportion. Muslims the world over have nothing to do with such an act of hate and destruction that drove the 9/11 bombers. Our prayers today are for the three thousand innocent lives lost, and thousands of other innocent men, women and children who have since lost their lives elsewhere as a result of the senseless wars unleashed in its wake. <br />
<br />
On this anniversary, we recall with regret that this attack has been used to falsely accuse our cherished religion of Islam – a religion of humanity, being a target of irrational anger and hate, setting a global course of retaliatory action with little respect for human life, national sovereignty and rule of law. Terrorism is a crime and the perpetrators are not representatives of any faith, colour or race. <br />
<br />
A lot has changed in the last 10 years but one thing remains the same: ordinary Muslims have continued to live by the values that have always made them decent, hard-working and community-oriented citizens. These were the values shown at the recent riots, where Muslims joined with people of all faiths and none to restore normality in our communities. <br />
<br />
It has been a sad decade but has ended with grounds for optimism. It began with wars, more terror and even more lives lost. But it ended with Muslims in the Arab world demanding peace, democracy and the freedom to live their lives without fear and intimidation. The Arab Uprising was the best repudiation to the terrorists of 11 September 2001. <br />
<br />
As we express our sympathy and solidarity to the families of all those who have lost their lives and suffered in 9/11 and since, let us honour their memory by rejecting the divisive agendas and placing our faith on our cherished values of global justice, freedom, and equality. We must redouble our efforts to achieve enduring solidarity amongst our diverse communities. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The Muslim Council of Britain is the UK's largest Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For further information please contact the MCB: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The Muslim Council of Britain </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">PO Box 57330</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">London,E1 2WJ </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Tel: </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">0845 262 6786 </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Fax: 0207 247 7079 </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="mailto:media@mcb.org.uk"><span style="color: blue;">media@mcb.org.uk</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-48885714756646570672011-09-02T17:11:00.002+01:002011-09-02T17:16:30.696+01:00THE 49ers - A MOST GRIPPING & CONCERNING REVELATION<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oGUPk1VaqVg/TmD9qYONXnI/AAAAAAAAAGs/qXtGL9KXsYw/s1600/img037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oGUPk1VaqVg/TmD9qYONXnI/AAAAAAAAAGs/qXtGL9KXsYw/s1600/img037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oGUPk1VaqVg/TmD9qYONXnI/AAAAAAAAAGs/qXtGL9KXsYw/s200/img037.jpg" width="136" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">This is a most concerning book that every airline passenger should consider - but will be afraid to read. The contents should make anyone think twice before taking a seat on a commercial airliner and it certainly will force many passengers to be more discerning over their choice of carrier particularly if the culture exposed in the book is taking place elsewhere. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/49ers-True-Story-John-Warham/dp/1846245877">John Warham's</a> account of the pressures his employer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific">Cathay Pacific Airways,</a> had imposed on their pilots shows how absolutely deplorably the CX management behaved. The book clearly defines just how the 'number crunchers' dictated that commercial considerations should override flight safety issues and the welfare of Cathay's loyal employees and customers. <br />
<br />
I was once proud to be a Cathay Pacific regular flyer's club Gold Card member during the period covered by the book. In fairness the airline looked after me superbly well but most passengers could not have known about what was really going on behind the scenes. I had been aware of the action taken by the cabin crews and later heard about the pilot dispute that ultimately led to the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1430249.stm">dismissal of the 49ers in 2001,</a> but I never knew any of the details. Perhaps this was because at no time was I ever inconvenienced and the airline did a wonderful job of deliberately keeping their customers in the dark over the causes of the dispute, at least in the UK. I was invited on to the flight deck on several occasions but there was never any talk or indication of any pilot unrest and as far as I was aware, despite accusations from their management to the contrary, the pilots only ever demonstrated that they had the company's interests at heart. I only learnt about the reasons behind the pilots concerns in John Warham's book. As far as passengers were concerned - it was business as usual and Cathay Pacific certainly did a great job to paint a reputable picture of their airline to customers, although it seems from the evidence contained in this book, they were stretching the truth. </div><a name='more'></a><br />
The total professionalism of the flight deck crews and the courtesy and high level of service that the cabin crews have, in my opinion, always extended towards their passengers, at least during the nine years that I travelled regularly, put Cathay streaks ahead of other carriers. Indeed, it was the exceptional standard of the staff, its reputation for flying the best aircraft and their unblemished safety record that determined why I chose to fly with the airline whenever I ventured to the Far East from the UK and from HK to the USA. However, Cathay Pacific were in essence exaggerating the truth when in reality some aircraft were flying with serious defects. But, hindsight is a wonderful thing and had I known then, what I know now, I may have considered flying with a different carrier because nobody wants to feel that an airline is dangerous. I was appalled to read how safety was put in jeopardy and I feel that many of Cathay's passengers will, like me, be horrified at this discovery. John Warham's excellent account tells of the issues relating to rostering, cost-cutting, maintenance problems and of the severe threats and pressures that were put on pilots, including the expectation of management for them to fly when unfit, has forced me to view Cathay Pacific in an entirely different light. The true story is far removed from the glowing image of an ultra-safe caring airline with a well-maintained fleet of new aircraft that it lavishly promoted to its passengers. <a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=8094689&ticker=2343:HK">CEO David Turnbull's</a> statement that "We've done the CBA (cost benefit analysis) on accidents and we can afford a hull loss every three years" is beyond contempt and clearly supports the author's narrative that there were "serious flaws in the safety culture" and illustrates that management was prepared to take major risks with the safety of their passengers and crew. <br />
<br />
Captain Warham must be congratulated for making the complex union activities and legal aspects of the story easy to follow and I admire him and his 'band of brothers' who were on the CPA 'hit list' for having the courage to take on the might of their ruthless employers and stick with it for the 8+ years it took to expose them in court. Despite being beaten in court, the Cathay Pacific management still refused to admit they had done anything wrong and continued to tell lies to protect their own interests and reputations. <br />
<br />
Having read the book it clearly makes sense how Cathay Pacific managed to return excellent profits every year during a period when many other airlines went to the wall. They would have us believe that it was achieved through good management practices; now we all know different! <br />
<br />
A great - yet very disturbing read that exposes how greed has become the prime objective that is causing so many major corporations to cast ethics aside in pursuit of profits. I believe this book is about to open a real can of worms and rightfully so especially if, as I believe, fingers might start to be pointed at other major airlines who may be suspected of operating the same way.</div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-20556767530339304602011-08-13T18:52:00.000+01:002011-08-13T18:52:05.224+01:00PANIC ON THE STREETS OF LONDON<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h2 class="date-header"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Tuesday, 9 August 2011 </span></h2><div class="post-header"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">I’m huddled in the front room with some shell-shocked friends, watching my city burn. The BBC is interchanging footage of blazing cars and running street battles in Hackney, of police horses lining up in Lewisham, of roiling infernos that were once shops and houses in Croydon and in Peckham. Last night, Enfield, Walthamstow, Brixton and Wood Green were looted; there have been hundreds of arrests and dozens of serious injuries, and it will be a miracle if nobody dies tonight. This is the third consecutive night of rioting in London, and the disorder has now spread to Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Birmingham. Politicians and police officers who only hours ago were making stony-faced statements about criminality are now simply begging the young people of Britain’s inner cities to go home. Britain is a tinderbox, and on Friday, somebody lit a match. How the hell did this happen? And what are we going to do now?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://pennyred.blogspot.com/2011/08/panic-on-streets-of-london.html">Read the full story on Penny Red's Blog</a> </span></div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-44260470663557495662011-08-13T18:42:00.004+01:002011-08-13T23:37:12.325+01:00RIOTING CANNOT BE EXCUSED - BUT POLITICIANS MUST TACKLE SOCIAL DEPRIVATION<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal">The most poignant scene that came out of the dreadful violence of the last week has been the highly emotive and dignified speech made by Tariq Jahan, the father of Haroon, one of the three men senselessly mowed down in Winson Green, who called for sanity and to urge people not to seek revenge for the tragic events that resulted in his son's death. We must all learn something from this. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The rioting that occurred across our nation has been dreadful and can never be condoned in any way. We must make every effort to ensure that the scenes we witnessed in Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Tottenham and many other parts of the country, including some that never made the headlines, will never be repeated. In view of the scope and extend of the violence it is a miracle that so few have been killed or seriously injured but hundreds have become the innocent victims of indiscriminate vandalism and arson that cannot be tolerated. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The debates will continue long into the future and differences of opinion will prevail over the causes of the shocking devastation and the ways that we should be dealing with mindless acts of violence. But the rioting that took place has long been expected and there have been plenty of warnings that civil unrest of this magnitude had been festering just beneath the surface for some considerable time. Community leaders from areas that are particularly vulnerable have been telling the authorities of this but as usual nobody was prepared to take any notice. </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">When armed police shot Mark Duggan dead in Tottenham it was initially seen as the spark that lit the fuse for the rioting that followed and the way that the police subsequently handled things has to be questioned. While this detonated the devastation that occurred in that part of north London, this cannot be seen as the root cause for the spread of the rioting that followed elsewhere. There are of course plenty of other underlying causes that are causing major concerns, but none of them are an excuse for the events that took place. A high rate of youth unemployment, poor housing on deprived inner city estates, and a lack of future opportunities are all being blamed. But we have to be careful - not everyone who is out of work and not all of those living in deprived housing took to the streets. Much of the trouble, in Salford for example, was perpetrated by career criminals while elsewhere opportunists joined in with the flow by grabbing the free booty that was on offer from destroyed business premises. It has become evident from the numbers that have been so far charged that many looters were employed; they come from varying backgrounds and some have never been in trouble before. So, can we assume from this that some of those that became embroiled in the rioting merely saw it as a chance for instant gratification, to acquire high value goods for free with, so they thought, little chance of being caught, while others saw it as a way of getting, to use that over-used description - a 'buzz'?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We will be wrong to be flippant and we must not ignore the existence of very real underlying factors and while just punishment has to be dealt to those that offended we should not let this cloud our judgement. It is easy for politicians to cast blame on others when in reality they, and the police, should be looking at their own conduct. Many youngsters, not necessarily those involved in the rioting, have suggested the way MPs abused their expenses was a factor. This has led to a view that 'if the politicians can get away with things - then so too can we'. While a handful of errant MPs have been jailed many feel far too many who were 'playing the system' such as the former Luton MP Margaret Moran should have been severely punished and this has caused a deep resentment that will not evaporate particularly with those are struggling to put food on their tables. </div><div class="MsoNormal">It is no surprise that a large number of rioters, but by no means all, were coloured. For as long as I can remember, the police have been accused of racism and there is plenty of evidence of their heavy-handedness when dealing with the young from Afro-Caribbean backgrounds. With the gang culture that prevails there is some justification to this and there is no easy way of tackling the problem but one way might be to identify the reasons why gang culture is flourishing. The police have also been severely criticised, again with plenty of justification, over the way they tackled the rioting as it unfolded in some areas by a public who felt they were not being adequately protected. Victims have blamed the police for standing back as spectators while rioters looted shops in front of them and it has been suggested in some quarters that this may have been a deliberate ploy by some forces as a form of protest against the cuts in manpower the Government proposes. I do not agree with this assumption and the reason the police appeared helpless was because they were vastly outnumbered and poorly protected. This has led to a call for water cannon and baton rounds to be used in cases of civil disorder. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In some towns TV footage showed the police to be pitifully poorly equipped and even unprepared for the levels of violence that occurred. This has probably been caused by the fact that too few officers patrol on foot any longer causing a detachment between the police and the community. For some time there has also been a growing lack of confidence in the police. As many members of the public can relate, there have been numerous cases where the police have failed to respond to 999 calls. Indeed, during the height of the disturbances this week one Asian shopkeeper in Croydon spoke out on television to tell how after being subjected to violence and looting he had called the police three times only to be told that he was 'wasting their time'. If this is true then it can only be described as disgraceful. Another witness to the rioting told reporters how it had taken the police well over an hour to arrive on the scene of some of the worst rioting. If this is the kind of reaction we can expect from the police it can come as no surprise when local residents and business owners group together in order to try and protect their property. We have seen this already with Turkish Kurds who successfully defended their businesses in Dalston; residents who gathered in force in Enfield, Sikhs in Southall and Asians in Winson Green, Birmingham that sadly witnessed the deaths of three young Muslims who were run down by a car. Forming vigilante groups is a dangerous course to follow but when the public feel their homes, businesses and even their lives are in danger, what else can they do? The politicians and the police can criticise all they like but if they are unable to offer no alternative self protection of one's home and business becomes a natural reaction.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While emotions run high it is also easy to jump to the wrong conclusions and for politicians to make hasty decisions. There has been talk of banning social networking and introducing curfews as a means of controlling young people. But we have seen in the past that by banning guns after rogue gunmen ran amok murdering innocent victims in Dunblane and Hungerford has not solved the problem of shootings, nor has the Dangerous Dog Act introduced twenty-years ago prevented people being mauled. Nevertheless, it is inexcusable that it took until Thursday for Parliament to be re-called, yet it took no time at all for leading politicians and their entourages to arrive at the riot torn districts in order to score political points. The public are tired of rhetoric and we certainly have no time for the childish squabbling that has evolved between the Government and the police authorities over who is owed the credit for returning the country to some kind of order. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The public is also tired of hearing the over-used mantra uttered by David Cameron that 'lessons will be learnt'. The sad thing is that our leaders never seem to learn much at all and they continue by ignoring the problems created by an increasing divide that exists between the rich and the extremely poor. This in itself cannot be used as an excuse to smash up and burn communities and the majority of the poor would never dream of becoming involved in rioting, but this does not mean plenty of people are angry because they are simply not be listened to as their lives fall deeper into poverty. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If we are to prevent anarchy first of all politicians have to start listening to the problems individuals are facing and begin to address their concerns. Successive governments have failed to do this and the Alliance does not look like being any different. It must also begin with politicians learning to appreciate how ordinary people, once regarded as the 'working class' (but now so often the unemployed) are expected to live. The class barriers remain strong and have to be broken down and although nobody will profess this will be easy, this is the only way that future rioting of an even greater scale can be prevented. Although Britain is broken in so many ways - we must not give up hope. It is for the majority of good people in this country to unite to lobby Parliament to force change. The good and bad of what people power can achieve has been obvious this week. On the positive side we should be proud of the tireless efforts and unselfishness of the volunteers that pulled together from all age and ethnic groups to repair the damage caused by the bad elements. This showed a remarkable public spirit that proved that how the British people can unite in a way that brought some sanity back to our nation. </div></div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-54539809844389159522011-07-18T21:53:00.006+01:002011-07-18T22:10:38.613+01:00THE AMAZING FLOATING AIRPORTS<div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The idea of floating airports has been around for a very long time in one form or another and some still believe the idea could provide a solution to a region’s air traffic problems. Here I look at the history of the Seadromes concept and how they continue to be a consideration.</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Below: Diagram for the proposed floating airport near Schipol</span> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ucxntt39mnFty97J3AxJHby1-4TtWoCkThyDuvRUPbTg7LQ6UtrniwKTTYaaaywWZYBb-jjL4gusPGzN5d9A8Ir8KsIzlfBdKs9vjV1Dsk_QA1937lb7Hj0jEkmFZV7gyGIMRnNUUiM/s1600/RFA1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Ucxntt39mnFty97J3AxJHby1-4TtWoCkThyDuvRUPbTg7LQ6UtrniwKTTYaaaywWZYBb-jjL4gusPGzN5d9A8Ir8KsIzlfBdKs9vjV1Dsk_QA1937lb7Hj0jEkmFZV7gyGIMRnNUUiM/s320/RFA1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>In July 2007 various publications reported a two-year old proposal by a far-thinking Encinitas, California lawyer who was attempting to revive the idea of offshore floating airports. The company he formed, Ocean Works Development planned to build a 2000 acre platform, costing US$20 billion, 10 miles off the San Diego coast at a point where the Pacific is 350 to 1000 metres deep. The idea was the brainchild of Cambridge educated Adam Englund who intended to install a superstructure in the style of a massive oil rig, with a pair of unobstructed runways. Englund claims to have gathered a team of forty collaborators consisting of ‘pilots, naval architects, maritime engineers and finance types’ to support the project known as O-Plex 2020. The elaborate plans include the main landing platform above four dedicated decks to provide hotels, shops, restaurants, conference centre, research facilities – even a university. The structure has been devised to offer real estate space covering an area of 200 million feet². The idea was fired by the San Diego Airport Authority’s failure to find a suitable site to build a new land based airport. At the time Englund said: “the offshore option is the best and apparently the only viable one for San Diego.” A number of experts agreed that the plan was workable, among them an oceanographer who believed ‘a floating airport is every bit as achievable as putting a man on the moon.’ The project of course also has its critics who consider the idea to be more delusionary than visionary.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Englund visualised his grandiose scheme more as a green city; a project that would harvest wind and wave energy, and in a far reaching plan would include pumping clean water back to the mainland using a massive desalinization plant. He said he had no plans to seek government funding preferring to finance the airport from private investment; nevertheless the Interior Department formally challenged OceanWorks’ claim to use the US Exclusive Economic Zone for Airports without offering a reason. Initially it seemed unclear which Federal agency, if any, would have ultimate responsibility for approving the building of a major airport in a swathe of ocean, the Army Corps of Engineers appeared to claim this. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Logistically the problems of a facility of this kind would appear difficult and extremely costly especially for the safe transference of aviation fuel and passengers. Englund proposed to provide land based terminals dotted along the Southern California coast to connect with the airport using fast ferries. There was also a plan to link the terminal at Lindbergh Field with the offshore airport using a light railway that would run in an immersed tunnel or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Archimedes bridge* </i>100 feet below the ocean surface. Publicity has prompted considerable debate over whether the airport would be feasible to build. But in July 2009 the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority announced its own $1 billion <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Green Build</i> plan to develop the western side of Lindbergh Field. Ten more gates will be added at Terminal 2 West allowing an average of 60 extra flights a day to use the airport. Passenger facilities and taxiways will also be improved and there will be better overnight parking for aircraft. A groundbreaking ceremony took place in July 2009 and work on the expansion project is expected to continue into 2012 and will be the largest project in the history of San Diego International Airport. Although this will help solve some problems in the short term, critics say much more needs to be done to relieve future congestion. Other options are being studied to consider the air transportation needs over the next 30 years and beyond. In a scheme known as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ultimate Build Out, </i>an intermodal Transportation Centre is proposed for the north-east side of the airport. While land for development remains scarce The OceanWorks project might still provide an answer to the region’s future air traffic problems and currently Englund is undeterred by his critics and is trying to raise the finance for his project. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Offshore airports, although not a new idea, continue to interest planners and in the 1960s Los Angeles had considered a proposal for a floating airport to replace LAX. But so far, the few offshore airports already in existence including Kansai, Kitakyush, Kobi and Chuba in Japan and Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok have all been constructed using landfill to build artificial islands in preference to floating platforms. Since the 1970s there have also been several proposals, still at times revived, to build an offshore airport in the Thames estuary to cope with the increasing demands on London’s vastly overcrowded airports. But the Dutch Government has been more proactive in their consideration to approve an offshore floating platform. Invented by Van Den Noort Innovations NV in conjunction with Royal Haskoning Technical Engineering, Van Oord and the Technical University of Delft (Holland), the idea is to develop a rotating floating airport to ease the strain on Amsterdam’s Schiphol. With an estimated build cost of €90 billion (US$132 bn), this ambitious concept is considered to be more cost effective and efficient than constructing a new airport on an artificial island, although the idea owes some of its innovation to knowledge the designers gained from their work on offshore developments such as the Palm Islands in Dubai. The airport involves a purely afloat platform with two parallel runways designed to revolve 360 degrees around a fixed control tower. This would have the advantage of permitting aircraft take-off or land into the wind all of the time. The proposal is to locate the airport approximately 20 kilometers from the Dutch coast with passengers being transferred to a departures/arrivals facility, built onto the sea floor, via a tunnel from the Schiphol terminal by rapid transit trains using magnet levitation technology.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">The original idea of a floating airport began in 1913 when Canadian born, Edward Robert Armstrong (1876-1955) invented the Seadrome. Armstrong, a circus strong man in his younger days, had worked in the early automotive and aviation industry and took his inspiration for his inventive mind from Jules Verne, his favorite author. His idea started to develop after he joined Du Pont <span style="color: black;">de Nemours Co of</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"> </span>Wilmington, Delaware as a research engineer. In the absence of suitable aircraft capable of flying passengers and freight across the Atlantic, Armstrong drew plans for a structure, not dissimilar to an offshore oil rig that would provide runway, maintenance and passenger facilities at a string of up to eight floating platforms. These were to be located at 350-400 mile intervals across the ocean between the US and Europe. Various changes were made to his initial proposals during the 1920s. By then Armstrong had been appointed chief engineer at Dupont and in his role as a senior executive was encouraged to develop his idea further. He reasoned that as sufficient sea traffic was already crossing the Atlantic, this would support his plans for engineered islands allowing aircraft to land and refuel and for passengers to rest and socialize between the continents. By 1921 he had completed a thorough feasibility study that included investigating sea currents, storm frequencies, fog conditions, wind patterns and the depth and geology of the ocean floor. His proposition was not only accepted as feasible, but in some academic quarters recognized as a ‘masterpiece’. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Based on the success of the large naval aircraft carriers<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Saratoga </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lexington, </i>Armstrong planned to build massive platforms weighing 15,000 tons and measuring 1200 feet in length by 400 feet at the widest point where the main deck accommodation would be located. He structures would include a hangar with maintenance facilities; staff quarters and a 40-room luxury hotel for passengers. The latter would have provided facilities equal to, or more comfortable, than those provided on existing ocean going steamers. Armstrong also believed that, by locating the Seadromes in international waters under the British flag, the US Prohibition Laws in force at the time could not be applied thus allowing passengers to enjoy the bar and gambling facilities he proposed to include that would operate unimpeded by government interference.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">The platforms were designed to stand on sturdy columns, 270 feet tall that would contain buoyancy chambers and ballast tanks with the main landing platform 70 feet above the ocean, high enough to be safely beyond the reach of the largest Atlantic waves. Armstrong had reasoned that by placing 95% of the structure’s weight below sea level would provide complete stability even in the heaviest seas. As the ocean was up to three miles deep, anchoring the platforms presented a formidable drawback. He found a solution by devising 125-ton buoys with galvanized steel cables 2.5 inches in diameter that would be attached to anchors weighing six tons. The cables were initially designed to be five miles long, but later reduced to 3½ miles by increasing the anchor weight pro-rata to 15 tons. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Armstrong was given leave by DuPont to work full time on the project. He formed the Armstrong Seadrome Development Company that originally proposed to construct a test rig in early 1928, destined to be built by H H Ward of Chester, Pennsylvania that had been intended to anchor 350 miles from New York. He announced, rather prematurely as it turned out, that trans-Atlantic flights would commence using the Seadromes in 1930. But the planned test rig was never completed; instead a 1/32 scale model was built in October 1928 on the Choptank River estuary at Chesapeake Bay, a part of the Dupont estate, that weighed just over a ton and had a length of 35 feet.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">The Sun Shipbuilding Company of Chester and the Belmont Iron Works of Eddystone, Pennsylvania were ready to commence building the first full size Seadrome that by December 1929 had increased in weight to 29,000 tons. Several other contractors became involved with to construct cables; to carry out route studies and other aspects of the development, but the estimated $2 million estimated build cost of the project seemed rather optimistic considering the amount of work involved. The first platform was to be constructed off Cape May on the Delaware River from where it would be towed to a location between New York and Bermuda. However, the opening date had to be put back to May 1932 after construction had failed to go to plan and the escalating build problems needed to be solved. These included adding a rudder into the design to control yawing and by introducing heavy winches to control cable tension particularly during calm seas after the model had demonstrated a tendency to drift towards the surface buoys. It appears the company was also undergoing some financial and operational problems that led to a parent company being formed called the Seadrome Corporation which had a subsidiary known as North Atlantic Airways that intended to raise money from shareholders. By then the proposed number of Seadromes was cut to reduce costs with the Azores added as the final ink to Europe with likely landfall destinations named as Brest, Lisbon and Vigo. But the project continued to be overstretched, both in time and money. When the proposed airway was due to become operational aircraft development had already progressed. Pan American Airways was already working with Sikorsky to build the S-42, a flying boat with a range of 750 miles that would seriously limit the viability of the Seadromes. When the Wall Street crash occurred in October 1929 this threw a further spanner in the works and Armstrong’s project was rapidly running out of cash. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">The model tests had indicated that the horizontal and diagonal cross bracing designed to provide extra strength to the 32 support pylons would not be necessary. Although this translated into considerable weight and cost savings, the anchoring system presented further difficulties that had not previously been predicted. By January 1931 new plans were revealed for a massive spherical shaped anchor made from reinforced concrete that would be 100 feet in diameter and weigh 1,500 tons. Chains were also incorporated within the design to provide the extra strength the cables needed to secure a Seadrome in place. The overall weight of each platform had also snowballed from the original 15,000 to 47,000 tons with the estimated cost of the project spiralling out of control to more than $93 million. Armstrong’s projected operating costs had also escalated from $26 million a year to $54 million. He had optimistically based the annual returns for the Seadromes on 170,000 passengers arriving on the platforms on ten daily Sikorsky S-40 flights carrying 30 passengers each. This was wildly unrealistic, particularly considering that the world was in Depression and that only the rich could afford the high cost of air tickets. But Armstrong refused to let go of his belief in the viability of his project. He applied for US Government backing but after early rejections his idea reached President Franklin Roosevelt in 1934. Armstrong was invited to make a presentation to the Federal Aviation Commission (FAC). Charles Lindbergh, who had earlier supported the Seadrome concept, by then was working for Pan American Airways, testified against Armstrong’s project in the realization that if it were allowed to progress it would pose a direct threat to the aircraft Pan Am was having built. This effectively scuppered the Seadrome project before it was built.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">But Armstrong’s dream was not quite dead and buried. The flamboyant Chairman of Pennsylvania-Central Airlines, C Bedell Monro, still believed in the credibility of the idea and attempted to revive it during 1943. By then the operating range of aircraft had increased with the introduction of the Douglas DC-3 and DC-4E prototype (first flown 1938) reducing the potential number of Seadromes for an Atlantic crossing to three, each weighing less (estimated at 64,000 tons) and costing $10 million. Juan Trippe had no interest in Seadromes; Pan Am was already successfully flying the Atlantic with their Boeing 314 flying boats and the Boeing 307 had also crossed without the aid of ocean based platforms. Trippe’s Pan American empire was expanding at a gallop, and his vision of the future was not in the use of sea based airports but in bigger and better aircraft capable of conquering vast distances non-stop. He was right; but although Edward Robert Armstrong, still clutching at his vision, slipped into oblivion the idea of floating seadromes has remained to stir the imagination. Some of the technology Armstrong had been developing was later used in semi-submersible oil drilling platforms. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">In a rather intriguing twist to this tale, Bruce Figarsky, a man who described himself as someone with a passion for aviation, claims to own the Armstrong’s personal portfolio of papers connected to the Seadrome. This, according to the American television series ‘The History Detectives’ includes a blue print drawing dated 1937 and a portfolio of articles from magazines from the US and other parts of the world. Figarsky told the programme that he bought at a flea market in Lincoln, Nebraska while on a drive from California. How they got there nobody knows but the ‘find’ is featured in a video from the television series that can be seen online at: (<a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/1229733006">http://video.pbs.org/video/1229733006</a>). During my research of this article I attempted to contact Mr Figarsky on several occasions but I received no response to my emails. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #c00000;">*An <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Archimedes bridge </i>is a submerged floating tunnel that is supported by buoyancy and held in place by anchors and steel cables to the seabed or pontoons. It is so called because it uses Archimedes theory ‘that an object immersed in fluid loses weight equal to the weight of the amount of fluid it displaces.’ The Italian company, Ponte di Archimedes International is planning to build the first prototype bridge at Qiandao Lake in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal;"><br />
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</div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8994698543790265902.post-83659663208870751022011-07-14T12:03:00.001+01:002011-07-14T12:04:36.991+01:00I BELIEVE EMPLOYERS GUILTY OF BY-PASSING EXPERIENCED OLDER WORKERS<div class="MsoNormal">It was announced yesterday that the number of unemployed has dropped yet those claiming Job Seekers' Allowance has increased. This sounds like a bit of a conundrum to me and suggests this is another attempt by the Government to cover up the truth. Do they really know how many people are now unemployed? I don't think so, and this is because thousands will either not be claiming Job Seekers' Allowance or, more to the point, they no longer qualify. This includes plenty of well qualified middle-aged men and women who are being ignored by employers yet are unable to claim Job Seekers' Allowance once they have been out-of-work for more than a year. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I believe employers are largely to blame for the high number of professional people who cannot find work. Ageism, in spite of legislation devised to prevent it, is still rife and it easy to use any of many excuses to mask the real reason for dismissing a job application. The majority of unemployed senior people will concur with this view and will be familiar with 'too experienced', 'the standard of applicants was extremely high' or 'you do not quite match our requirements' as being tantamount to being 'too old'. But there is another issue. Experience usually comes with age and this means that thousands of extremely capable people are being by-passed by companies because of a fear factor. The chances are that when an experienced older person applies for a job his or her application will be scrutinised by somebody much younger. A more experienced applicant can present a challenge to less experienced employers that could create a situation that undermine their authority. This may be intentional or psychological - but often those that short list job applicants feel it may be better to cast aside anyone that could pose such a threat. There is evidence of this all around. We only need look at just one aspect of business - that of customer service - to see how poor it has become in many organisations. It is my belief that this is because the leadership in many companies is appalling and that many of the people they employ lack the experience or training to do their jobs properly.</div>Robert Bluffieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13004181771586759022noreply@blogger.com0