Beware of men bearing gifts...

You know when you have a family and children, you, sort of, pray for the day when they are old enough to look after themselves, live independently and leave the nest.

One of my Sons has just bought a house and moved out, and a week later, he came back home with a gift for me - the Bombay Bad Boys Flavoured - Pot Noodles...

I really don't know where to start or how to describe this, because even horse shit would taste better than this... So the moral of the story is this, the next time somebody, out of the blue & out of the goodness of their heart, gets me a gift, I think they shouldn't bother, no really, they shouldn't bother - and they should just keep it to themselves, and be selfish and just enjoy it...

Death of the Post-Office...

I don't use the Post-Office because I don't trust it or the people who work there. I don't know whether it is a remit of powers-that-be to maximise sales, or a new organisational ethos to pee-off customers.

You take a letter or a parcel and instead of them giving you the best price, they start with the highest and expect you to haggle down, followed by a barrage of added value Bullshit..

Is it valuable?
Is it important?
Would you like it signed for?
Would you like it guaranteed signed for?
Would you like it guaranteed next day?
Does it have to be there tomorrow?
Would you like it insured?

What about "War insurance", which is not the same as our "World War insurance", because you never know when war is going to break out.
Terrorism insurance,
What about our "Act of God insurance", which is not the same as our "Flood insurance" or our "Life insurance" insurance...

Are you sure you don't want it signed for?...

And while I'm arguing, the queue behind is getting longer and longer and the people are getting more frustrated by the minute.. 



first class servicing of postie holidays 
 

Physical Activity Questionnaire

Today, and before going for my MRI scan, I went to see my doctor. He asked me whether I've filled in his Healthy Living + Activity Questionnaire (the one he gave me 6 months ago) - I said, sorry, but I haven't. So he decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone and asked me the questions instead. And it went like this:

Doctor
Me
Do you work.
Yes
Is it a physical job
No
Do you walk regularly
No
Do you jog
No
Do you Cycle
No
Are you a member of a gym
What do you think?
Do you walk for leisure
Only when shopping
Do you do gardening
No
Do you do DIY
No
Do you do any house work
I'm a millennium man, what do you think?


I give up...

MRI Today...

Today I went for my MRI scan. I don't think it's gonna reveal anything, but what can one man do against the NHS machine. The scan took around 3-4 minutes, the noise was deafening, hence you had to wear some industrial strength ear protectors.

I didn't feel much (apart from belt-buckle pulling sensation), but I was a little bit light-headed afterwards.

And definitely the scanner was NOT designed with the ample man in mind (probably because BIG people are never sick)...


Me Afterwards...


Side effects. The male nurse, became a female one...

Software that I can't live without....

This is my list of the absolute essential software collection that I really can't live without... I included direct links for all & tried to avoid BS installers...

7 Sticky Notes: Best free sticky note / reminder program..

7-Zip: Best free Zip / Unzip..

AlwaysOnTopMaker: You know you want it...

Audacity: Best audio chopper, editor, recorder...

Auslogics - Disk Defrag...

softwareBurnAware Free - CD Burner...

CCleaner - Crap Cleaner (Use Glary Utilities as well)...

Everything: Search everything...

FastCopy: Bypass Windows File copy and paste inadequacies...

fnr.exe: Multi Line Search / Replace...

Free Download Manager: And more...

Coolplayer: Fast fat-free MP3 player..

FreeOCR: Convert scanned documents / pictures to text...

Frets on Fire: Be the next Guitar hero and lose yourself...

FrostWire: Torrent Share..

Greenshot: Screen Capture.

IrfanView: Best graphics & image viewer + manipulator.

LibreOffice: Compatible Office Suite..

Mozilla Firefox + Adblock: Internet Browser of choice.
Mozilla Thunderbird: My favourite mail client..

nLite: Windows Slip-streamer...

Notepad++: The editor of choice...

Parted Magic: Best data rescue boot disk.

PDFCreator: Beware of the bullshit when installing.. (I can't give a direct link because of the inclusion of malware and bullshit-ware within the installer) - I use this but there are many alternatives, just be careful when installing or searching for a PDF printer. A good start is sourceforge.net

PortableApps.Com.. My PC on a stick... 

Resource Hacker: Change Windows executables with style & panache..

Sandboxie: Run everything and anything in a protected environment.

Skype: Talk to family & friends

Spybot - Search & Destroy: Use with caution.

SumatraPDF: A very compact and capable PDF viewer.

TeamViewer: Remote control PC's over the internet.

Toolbar Cleaner: Get rid of pesky Toolbars.

VLC Player: Play anything & everything (GOM player is good as well). 

WinHTTrack: Download the internet, no hassle.

WinMerge: Compare Files / Folders.

Enjoy...

I use some other programmes but I didn't want to overwhelm everybody, I also use a selection of FREE development tools, I will compile another list in the future....

Why help others?...

Money comes, money goes - but if I can't help a fellow human, regardless of circumstances (even if they were lying to me), then I will lose a piece of my humanity & compassion, and this I'm not prepared to do...


All That You Have Is Your Soul - Tracy Chapman

Oh my mama told me
'Cause she say she learned the hard way
Say she wanna spare the children
She say don't give or sell your soul away
'Cause all that you have is your soul

So don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul

I was a pretty young girl once
I had dreams I had high hopes
Married a man he stole my heart away
Gave his love but what a high price I paid
All that you have is your soul

Don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul

Why was I such a young fool
Thought I'd make history
Making babies was the best I could do
Thought I'd made something that could be mine forever
Found out the hard way one can't possess another
And all that you have is your soul

Don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul

I thought, thought I could find a way
Beat the system;
Make a deal and have no debts to pay
Take it all, I’d take it all, I'd run away
For me myself first class and first rate
But all that you have is your soul

So don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul

Here I am, I'm waiting for a better day
A second chance
A little luck to come my way
A hope to dream, a hope that I can sleep again
And wake in the world with a clear conscience and clean hands
'Cause all that you have is your soul

Don't be tempted by the shiny apple
Don't you eat of a bitter fruit
Hunger only for a taste of justice
Hunger only for a world of truth
'Cause all that you have is your soul

Oh my mama told me
'Cause she say she learned the hard way
Say she wanna spare the children
She say don't give or sell your soul away
'Cause all that you have is your soul

All that you have
All that you have
All that you have
Is your soul

Don't be tempted by the shiny apple...

Few weeks back my Granddaughter asked me to buy her some songs and games to put on her iBullshit MP3 player...  Only problem is that I haven't got iTune$ installed on my PC. And not wanting to disappoint her or to look like a cheap skate, I decided to download and install iTune$...
 
Everything went smoothly, including signing a binding none-exclusive contract with blood and giving Apple the deeds to my soul, house and finances..

So I bought the stuff, granddaughter was happy... Now it's time to remove this wretched, spyware infested piece of crappy, software off my PC...

I first used the usual uninstall route... The disk whirled and the messages on the screen told me that all has been successfully uninstalled.

After the "Successful" uninstallation, I noticed a few issues with regards to:
  1. All my original videos and music files seem to be "still" associated with iTune$ and QuickTime.
  2. Apple updates seem to be running on my PC every 20 minutes.
  3. Each time I click on a link, Apple's iTune$ seems to install out of nowhere.
  4. The Bonjour service and Apple folders seem to be left on my drive.

And so I decided to check my drive and see how to fix the problems, and was surprised to find that within my "Program Files" folder, I still seem to have an Apple folder with 100's MB sitting pretty, when I thought that I've removed that, I also had an Apple folder with 100's more MB's within the "Common Files" folder and the hidden "Application Data" folder, and 1000+ entries inside the Registry, all referring to Apple + the Bonjour Service (which I don't remember ever installing or ever being asked to install)..

Frustrated with the hassle of cancelling the iTune$ set-up each time I wanted to listen to a song, I decided to use the "Occam's razor" principle, and deleted the offending folders and registry entries by hand...

All went well, until I restarted the PC when "all hell broke loose":
  • Windows explorer would not load (that was easily rectifies with a quick "ctrl-alt-del" loading of the "Task Manager" and starting a new task "explorer").
  • The wireless network was unable to detect any networks in the vicinity - I had to run "services.msc" in order to restart the "Wireless Zero Config" service, and this did not work or help.
  • Repairing the connection did not work.
  • Starting a command prompt "cmd" and running "ipconfig /release" & "ipconfig /renew" could not fix it either.
  • As a last resort, I decided to use the excellent "WinsockXPFix" from "^Explicit Software Solutions" (which has saved my bacon on more than one occasion, and which I always carry with me, on a flash drive) - And after a quick reboot, all seems to be back to normal...
The question is why do I need 1000+ registry entries, 100's MB of shiteware and so much hassle, all in order to buy few songs + games... And the other question is, why did the Bonjour service take total control over my computer network, and why when I uninstall those, they remain active on my hard disk, including their updates...

I remember, years ago, the problems I had trying to uninstall a copy of QuickTime, and now I know that my best option is to avoid all Apple products from now-on, regardless of how tempting they might be - We all remember Adam & Eve and the forbidden fruit...

FEMEN Activism with Tits....

Nobody knows what the message is - travel the world, get your tits out & shout... The new feminism...

Me personally, I'm only here to see fit women, nudity and tits.. Long live femen.


I'm lovin' it - When LOUD Howard Joined the Circus...

Tonight I went to the local McDonald's Drive-Thru for some McFlurry's and Ice-Cream - The man who served me was very, very, very LOUD..   The conversation went like that:

  • PLEASE WAIT.
  • OK!
  • HELLO; WELCOME TO MCDONALD'S - CAN I TAKE YOUR ORDER.
  • Can I have 3 Raspberry Flake McFlurrys please
  • OK - WHAT TYPE - PLAIN OR RASPBERRY?
  • Raspberry
  • IS THAT ALL SIR?
  • No. - Can I have an Ice-Cream cone please.
  • DO YOU WANT A FLAKE WITH THAT?
  • Yeah, OK.
  • IS THAT ALL SIR?
  • Yes
  • THAT WILL BE £4.66
  • SORRY SIR, BUT WE HAVE NO ICE CREAM - THE MACHINE IS BEING CLEANED AND IT TAKES TIME FOR IT TO BE READY - WOULD YOU LIKE A MILKSHAKE INSTEAD?.
  • OK.
  • WHAT FLAVOUR?
  • Strawberry.
  • BANANA MILKSHAKE.
  • No, Strawberry Milkshake.
  • BANANA MILKSHAKE.
  • You don't sell Banana Milkshake!
  • SO BANANA MILKSHAKE - THAT WILL BE £11.88.
  • NO, IT'S THE MEAL DEAL - THAT WILL BE £9.88.
  • It's OK. I don't want anything.
  • THAT WILL BE £13.86.
  • I really don't want anything. 
  • SO, IT'S A BANANA MILKSHAKE, MEAL DEAL, THAT WILL BE £10.88.
  • I really don't want anything any more (& drove off).

And I can still hear the man from around 1/4mile away with the passengers of the car behind us rolling with laughter.


Who ever thought that....

such trivial action would have such dire consequences.

Today, just like any other day, I was at work trying to do my job, when a customer who needed a VFD Customer Display phoned and asked whether we had one of those or not. And I said yes we do....

We usually have a few Serial (RS232) units, but the only problem is that they are very picky as to what PC hardware or machine they attach to... 

First of all you will need a PC with a serial port, and some might need a 5V, a 12V or even a 24V output from the RS232 port on the motherboard, which not many PC's have.  So it's always a case of trial & error, looking at the PC or motherboard manual and determine whether the thing is gonna work or not, eventually, and with the right PC or motherboard combo  it does work..

Now, back to our story.. We tested one of those on one of our machines and it seemed to work fine... So we readied the unit for the customer, not knowing whether it would work with their hardware or not...

The, FIT, young, and yes I would, office manageress objected to selling the unit on the grounds that it might not work at their place, so the person who was sent to pick it would endure the boss's wrath and anger. And then he would come back to our place unhappy, or ring us and spend hours on the phone trying to sort it out...  (BULLSHIT ALERT!) - I thought this might be a problem, especially when I received a message from 200 years into the future (that's another story) as to the consequences of my actions on that day, and what they will lead to...

Apparently the story panned out like that:
Sell VFD Customer Display,
Customer Sends Driver to collect,
Unit not compatible with Customer's hardware,
Unit does not work,
Customer unhappy,
Customer vents his frustration on Driver,
Driver unhappy,
Driver vents his frustration on his pregnant wife,
Wife gets so upset, that she leaves home and moves into a battered wives refuge,
I missed the bit about the wife's sadness, loneliness and despair, and her feelings of unbelonging, and her brief stint of lesbianism.
Wife starts drinking,
Wife starts taking drugs,
Refuge Doctor puts wife on Methadone,
Methadone dependent baby is born,
Lure of drug is too great for wife,
She goes back to strong drugs (Cocaine),
Not enough money,
Prostitution is the only way left to feed the habit,
Baby is taken into care,
Baby grows unloved and uncared for,
Child is very angry with the world,
I missed the bit about abuse he suffered in the care home, and how it shaped his anger, emotional fragility and outlook on life.
Youth is still very angry with the world,
Youth is a loner, 
Youth becomes a young thug, 
Young man strays of the path of Righteousness,
Young man does drugs and petty crime,
Young man graduates into serious crime,
His mother, on her death bed tells him the story of the faulty VFD Customer Display,
I missed the bit about trying to find out about his birth mother, killing his father, the long search, travelling around the globe and finally seeing the light and getting advice from an angel (with wings), who told him to go forward and to start his own rival ePOS software company...
He swears revenge, and tries to start his own company, 
A company that does not supply faulty goods,
He needs a lot of cash and fast,
He thought that one BIG job would do that,
He decides to rob a Bank,
Angry Young man walks into the Bank with an arsenal of weapons,
Things don't go according to plan,
Young man shoots 12 people dead during a failed bank robbery,
Young angry man is dead:(

If we only knew, we would have supplied a working or a USB Customer Display...


R.I.P. Angry young man, you've never had a chance. We hope that you are in a far better place...

There are a lot of missing details from the story, bits about voodoo, cannibalism, terrorism, anarchism, etc, etc.. but you get the gist...

BTW. There are USB VFD Customer Display Poles and those are a lot easier to set-up and configure, sadly we did not have any of those on that fateful day... 

Word of the day "Schwannoma" - Or, When Incompetence Knows No Bounds...

At long last I received a letter from the ENT specialist inviting me to take an MRI scan, because of the mystery of my sudden deafness & hearing loss - Something that took over 6 months to develop, while I was asking the doctor for help (something that I thought happened because of a cold and an ear infection) - But according to the genius ENT expert, it might be a brain tumour, so we better not listen to the patient, and do an MRI scan instead...

So instead of admitting their mistake and that they were wrong with the initial diagnosis, they decided to compound the incompetence by sending me for an MRI scan...

And while they are busy misdiagnosing patients, I'm losing my hearing in the other ear. Long live stupidity, and may god help us all..

Today I went to see my doctor, who thought that the whole episode is a BIG FARCE (and so did I), but guess what, because I went to see the ENT specialist, I have to carry on with the "Flying Circus" till the bitter end. The specialist's prognosis, is that I might have a Schwannoma which an MRI could reveal...

It does not matter what you tell people or what you think - the machine seem to be hell-bent on turning and regardless of what you say, you'll just have to turn with those HUGE COGS...  Everybody is working-to-rule, using the obligatory form filling dogma, checking and ticking every conceivable box & outcome, regardless of how improbable, wasting £1000's in the process, and reaching the obvious conclusion..  Sadly and as long as we have this "Paint By Numbers" approach to health, nothing will ever change...



The doctor said, but, if I did have a Schwannoma, then we would both eat our words - I said no, because if I have one, then I promise to come back and eat my shoes.



And as they say, every cloud has a Silver lining, because before today, I only knew 4 words beginning with "SH" - Shake & Vac, Shit, Shawarma (both Chicken & Lamb varieties) & Shania Twain... And now, I know    5...


These are the comments I left on the previous post...

4 comments:

  1. Today I visited my doctor and told him what I thought about the ENT "specialist", and how I thought that he was incompetent and that I had no confidence in his diagnosis, for the simple reason that my ear was still infected and is leaky, so the hearing test would carry no weight and is inconsequential...

    And after a brief examination, he agreed with me and set about complaining to the "specialist".
    Reply
  2. What really pisses off is that, I had 3 people examining my ears, for hours, and making a mould of my inner ear and yet none of them even noticed the gunk coming out of my ears.
    Reply
  3. The third person to see me, the one who took the impression (mould) of my inner ear was showing me the results on a PC screen, and this happen to show the word "disability", and the woman was trying her best to be as "Politically Correct" as possible and telling me that, I shouldn't look at it like that, and that it should say ABILITY and not the other way round....

    BTW, My physical disability was at around 60%, but how it effected me was more like a 70% level...
    Reply
  4. I still haven't heard from my Doctor... I'm going see him and to complain again (on Monday), and demand some strong antibiotics, something like Augmentin 625, coupled with a good ear cleaning, and no BULLSHIT..
    Reply

Rich Nation, Poor People...

LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has sued Forbes magazine for libel in a British court, alleging its valuation of his wealth at $20 billion was short of the mark by $9.6 billion, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.



I stole $9.6 billion more from the Saudi people than Forbes said I did & I'm very angry and upset...

$29,600,000,000.00


All from Hard Work & solid business acumen, my A$$$$$$$$$$$$....










With its vast oil wealth, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest concentrations of super rich households in the world. But an estimated 20 percent of the population, if not more, lives in crippling poverty. Beggars panhandle in the shadows of Riyadh’s luxury shopping malls, and just a few kilometers away families struggle to get by in the capital’s southern slums. While the government has finally acknowledged that poverty is a problem in the kingdom, the world of the Saudi poor is largely hidden from sight

http://lightbox.time.com/2013/05/23/rich-nation-poor-people-saudi-arabia-by-lynsey-addario/