bright sparks

Did anyone else note on the 29th March that Google's home page had gone black? Apparently it was for Earth hour - the idea being that everyone was meant to turn off the lights for an hour to help stop global warming.

I see a couple of problems with that:
1) no one knew about it
and
2) in order to spread the word about this 'event' even at a basic level it's clear that quite a lot of energy would be needed to power the broadcast of the message and paper needed to print the message
3) If i was using google, it wouldn't have been in the dark and I would have needed to find info that probably couldn't wait an hour.

Nice idea, but has a similarity to the massive, power consuming, waste creating pop concert last year. I'm assuming that there were lights, amps, mics and all the usual paraphernalia that go with such events and that the pop stars weren't just throwing their voices?

I'm all for saving the planet, but I think we need to focus on not spending more energy in spreading our ideas that would have been used in an average day anyway.

something of a dilema

Now I know this is not the end of the world, but I have a problem. I've double booked myself.

I thought I was being all clever and spontaneous and a few weeks ago I booked tickets for Mr JoLucy and myself to go and see the Zutons in Delamere forest. Problem is, we've also got tickets for England/New Zealand cricket on the same say and I'm really hoping the Freddie will be back in the team and playing by then.

Upshot is, it seems we may be about to miss out on the Zutons in favour of a cricket match.

what has become of me?

(Anyone want to buy my tickets off me?)

talkin’ ‘bout my generation

I feel bad for people of my age - and myself – we’re the generation that’s always been caught in between as the tides change.

When we were at school, we were still being taught in feet and inches, and metres and centimetres. As a consequence (and a lack of interest on my part) I don’t really have much of a clue what any of those lengths look like in reality. With that in mind, I like to think that I’m within reach of 5’6 without my heels….

Anyway, that was then and things have changed, right? We’re the generation that’s leading the country, doing the inventing and pushing the boundaries, right? um… no.

And here’s why…. I don’t like queuing to pay for my shopping. I hate being in a crowded store and fighting through crowds of people to get to my chosen product. and yet. And yet, I would rather do that than shop online for my Christmas presents, and that is because, unlike our younger siblings and offspring, we weren’t born with a laptop in one hand and a mobile phone attached to our ear. We may like to think that we’ve invented the internet and made it popular, but really, the way we’re using the internet and digital gadgets now will pale into insignificance compared to the way the new generation of annoyingly technically-literate children will use it to shape their world.

Think I’ll go and stand in a queue now and use the time to consider the irony of moaning about being too old for all this nonsense - in a blog….

Polly put the kettle on

I've just seen a story on the BBC's Manchester site that thieves have stolen £22,500 worth of tea bags.

Why has this story not made the national news? it's brilliantT perhaps, there is a suspiciously large number of journalists in the North of England taking an extra long tea break?

Dr in the House?

I’m watching House – it’s great, but I think I’ve seen this one before. You may know it, it’s the one where someone comes in with a mystery illness and they; don’t’ know what’s wring with them, but they think they’ve figured it out and treat them, but the treatment nearly kills them but that then shows House what’s really wrong, but the patient doesn’t trust them anymore, and it becomes a matter of life or death but they persuade the patient to take the new treatment and they save the patient’s life just in the nick of time. I love it!

As an aside, it’s very odd hearing Hugh Laurie with an American accent.

Oh, and call me slow, but I just 'got' the name - 'House' - Dr House. Is there a Dr in the House? hahaha. ha.

Think I'll stick with bricks and mortar

I am a cynic by nature. I know this, and whenever I catch my self tutting or rolling my eyes, I do honestly try to stop and give the benefit of the doubt. And then I read that the reason Facebook decided to broadcast it’s users shopping habits to the whole community was “to provide you with new meaningful ways, like Beacon, to help you connect and share information with your friends”.

I nearly tutted and rolled my eyeballs off my chair, let me tell you. There is already too much advertising on Facebook for my liking, but hey, I’ve become addicted to the completely pointless activity of virtually poking my friends, so I’ll leave my profile up a little longer. However, I’m fairly certain my friends don’t give a stuff what I’ve been buying online. Call me a cynic though, but I’m willing to bet that the e-tailers are pretty interested in the shopping habits of the 55 million people who use the site…..

Thanks for thinking of us though, Facebook.

Rock on

Does anyone else think Northern Rock and Alistair Darling have missed a trick? Surely Northern Rock should be contacting each of the 25 million people that had their details posted into the wide blue yonder by the home office. By offering a small incentive, Northern Rock might just persuade those effected that their money is safer in the hands of the Rock than in existing accounts that are now a potential fraud target.

Two birds with one rock, as it were?