• New drink laws ‘lead to violence’

    I support having flexible opening hours; hence why I dislike scare-stories such as these: [news.bbc.co.uk] Rapes and serious assaults will soar if pubs are allowed to open longer, said the Council of Her Majesty’s Circuit Judges, which represents 600 judges. Police chiefs also warned the new drink laws, to start in November, will lead to

    (more…)

  • purple prose, meet excess gravitas …

    [www.washingtonpost.com] Among other things, al Qaeda and its offshoots are building a massive and dynamic online library of training materials — some supported by experts who answer questions on message boards or in chat rooms — covering such varied subjects as how to mix ricin poison, how to make a bomb from commercial chemicals, how

    (more…)

  • Cat Update

    Well: Buster’s blood test results are back from the vet, and the short version is: the blood tests are clean and all well within normal bounds, in fact prettymuch straight down the middle. This sounds like good news, but it’s not, terrribly. It means that his weight loss remains unexplained, and leaves-open the possibilities of

    (more…)

  • Banksy does Palestine; AroFish miffed?

    Link courtesy of Chris: Art prankster sprays Israeli wall Secretive “guerrilla” artist Banksy has decorated Israel’s controversial West Bank barrier with satirical images of life on the other side. The nine paintings were created on the Palestinian side of the barrier. One depicts a hole in the wall with an idyllic beach, while another shows

    (more…)

  • Men have nipples to sooth crying baby until it can be fed

    [www.medicalnewstoday.com] A father’s nipple is perfectly suited to soothing a crying baby until it can be fed, according to a major report published for Fathers’ Day (June 19) on fatherhood across five continents, which identifies the world’s best dads. FatherWorld, published by Fathers Direct, the UK national information centre on fatherhood, details a worldwide increase

    (more…)

  • Bombs and phones, give me a break…

    Here’s a snippit of headline and story that I have seen, in various guises, far too many times in the last 18 months: London bombs ‘set off by mobiles’ The bombs that killed 56 people in London on 7 July were probably detonated using mobile phones, New York police officials have said. They were made

    (more…)

  • MI5 to step-up Welsh presence

    [news.bbc.co.uk] Security experts are claiming Wales will see an increased presence of the secret service MI5. The Home Office recently said the security service would establish its first ever Welsh office. One expert says the intelligence service will be especially keen to monitor potentially violent extremists on university campuses. Mmmm.

    (more…)

  • Cat Update.

    For those who have visited Chez Muffett: I have two cats, Buster (Grey/White male) and Suzi (Tabby/White female); they’re about 13 years old, and Suzi is fit as ever, if occasionally erratic with epileptic fits. Buster has started to go downhill – he’s lost a lot of weight and is perhaps 2 or 3 pounds

    (more…)

  • Product Review: Rema Tip-Top Rep-Air Puncture Repair Kit

    My recent midsummer visit to Norway was disrupted by a flat tyre. There was I tearing along some beautiful, snow-dusted mountain roads when all of a sudden I felt the bike “go soft” – countersteering was not working properly, there was a distinct lack of responsiveness through the bars, and the rear suspension was suddenly

    (more…)

  • story of my life…

    Wednesday: Call insurer, book car windscreen replacement prior to upcoming “MOT” annual vehicle inspection – reason: a small chip in the windscreen that had previously been repaired but is now starting to spread in a radial, starburst pattern of cobweb-like cracks. Thursday: RAC Auto-Windscreen team arrive, do windscreen replacement, seems like a good job. Friday:

    (more…)

  • more popular photos

    Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2005 13:21:22 +0800 From: Smiley Nana Subject: Can I? I like this picture of yours – [www.crypticide.com] – can I use it in the header of my blog template? Thanks. Nana …strictly it is my photo of a Banksy [more] in its context, viz: a pillar of the railway archies on

    (more…)