Wet Thursday

There are often reasons to criticise Blogger, not that I am the critical type, but I have just checked the WordPress Blog and found a response there.  Word Press did not inform me of this, though I am sure they used to do that.  

I find it a somewhat difficult page to operate, though that may be because I rarely use it.  The 'Blocks' are not simple, and I am not technical.  Just make things easy is all I ask.  And as for that Gravatar thing what is that all about?  

Enough, I'm sticking with this place for my meaningless diatribes.

Nothing much has happened today.  With people being sent to jail for 20-35 months, some considerably longer, the joy of rioting is hitting home with the rioters.  Around three quarters caught so far are known to the police, this can be no surprise.  One got 3 years for hitting a constable, though he did have 14 previous convictions before that.  Tommy and Nigel know their people and have been well advised by rich Americans and others guiding their response.

Both have gone into hiding.  Tommy in Cyprus, though he has now fled to Athens as Cyprus was going to hand him over, Nigel is being quiet, he has been identified with the riots and is now trying to stop people calling them '@Farageriots.'  Fat chance there boy.  

Many well known names have been posting, often stirring hate and division, you know 'asking questions, and it is to be hoped the plodding police will plod along to their door in time, one the 'working class right wing thugs' have been put away.  It is time a few big names went down.

 

Blogger Troubles and Nothing Happening

 

 

Blogger has been a pain!

The new site has not been allowing me to change the font size, it insists that 'paragraph' rather than 'normal' is the heading, and has annoyed me tremendously.

As I write I note changes, it looks like the font might change after all, so it was worth using the 'feedback' button. Ha!  It now works, well done Blogger!!!

Whether I have actuaqlly got something to say is of course another thing.  This 'Lock Down' maay have eased slightly but we are still limited on our outdoor adventures.  Tesco and Sainsburys are as far as we get.  Walking to church was tiring, especially as I have not done that for five months, and therefore with little to see in this town there is not much to post.

Of course things happen, someone got knocked down up the road, out of my sight however, another gets robbed way over there, an illegal gathering occurs on edge of town, all the excitement out of reach.  Though what excitement that causes is debatable.    

The only pictures I have taken are failed photos of Mars in the middle of the night. My neighbour wondering what I am doing with a camera at three in the morning..

And on top of this I do not wish to look at the news as Boris and his inept mates fill that.  Like so many others I find it hard to watch these days.  Once more Boris is torn apart at PMQs and the papers talk about something else, once more the NHS is let down, the papers ignore that.  What a government, how did people vote for this?

Oh and there is no spellchecker!

 

 

Annoyed by Blogger!

This new Blogger layout is not good! 

Slow awkward, difficult to find things and designed by a 14 year old.

Not happy!

However, I did come across, by accident, old pictures I had forgotten all about.

No wonder, they are gash!

This one is not too bad mind.

I was happy before starting this.  I had cleaned out the drawers, done the washing, fixed part of the genealogy, and was planning tomorrows work.  This is Spring cleaning continuing, mind you it began last year, in Spring!  I may finish it next year.

Oh to get out and about again.  To get on a train and go somewhere.  To see sights missed, to pass open fields and dingy towns.  To visit London just so I could hate the sight of it!  Lock Down is one thing but while I cope with most of it I would like to visit somewhere soon.  Even the free bus does not run, not enough people using it as most shops still shut, or at least queues make life difficult for many.

I may slowly wander round to Tesco in the morning, just to see human life again.

Actually these pics are better than I thought.

At least proper football is near.  In spite of the mistreatment by the SPFL/SFA we begin a new season hoping soon to wipe smug grins of faces.  I suspect the Heart of Midlothian will feature on many Friday nights.  Something to look forward to.

3000

As I checked the mail on Blogger I noted at the side the number of posts that I have made on here, some THREE THOUSAND it proclaims.  How many have been worth reading is not mentioned.  I have been scribbling rubbish on here since September 2005, when most of you were not yet born.  You ask what did I say back then as an opening gambit?  I said this for what it is worth, why I did say that I canny remember but there it is in mediocre English and dated 9th September 2005.  How have things changed in Guatamala since then I wonder?  How have I changed here?  Many who once commented here have moved on, got bored, disagreed or died, and I cannot find fault with that.  I have done all those things yet remain so I suspect something is wrong somewhere.  Interestingly 2013 was the busy year with 305 posts, almost one a day.  As I recall I was not busy at the time.  I have not looked up to see what I wrote but it must have been masterly, of course possible the comments flowed from peoples responses, vis their lawyers.

What does it tell you about someone who wastes so much time scrawling when they could be cleaning the sink, painting the bedroom or fixing the holes in the building?  The desperate, indeed arrogant desire to shove my opinions down your throat and make you all change your ways and do things my way, that way being best for all you understand, play a part here, a big part I suggest.  Why else would anyone discuss things with so eager passion and so little understanding or collection of facts?  You will be aware that men in my family have never required facts to be sure that they have a right understanding of any situation.  Why indeed do people want to become journalists and write columns full of their opinions if not to change others outlook.  I write that understanding that much of today's 'journalism' is merely claptrap to gather 'clicks' and increase advertising revenue while objective opinions from two or three sides are difficult if not impossible to find today.  Possibly that is why so many make use of 'social media,' the phrase itself humorous as the use of 'social media' in many cases is very unsociable.  However opinions can be found on the internet, the independent 'news' ones sadly always too far 'left' while he daily media is always too far 'right.'  It appears to me that thoughtful intelligent informed commentators are always individual sites rather than those gathered under one name, and too few of those can I find.

The success of this blog can be noted by the falling numbers of readers and commentators not including the lack of those wishing to donate large sums of money as these have always been rare, although much of this is I think the fault of facebook and Twitter as people now make more use of these money gathering sites rather than spew out lots of their thoughts on a blog.  I wonder, especially after the recent changes here, how long Blogger can continue.  It must exist to make money and gather info for the secret services of the west and pass these on to that nice Mr Putin, so I suspect it will continue for a while.  I may do so also, you lucky people...  

Blogger Changes

Blogger has made changes.
These changes are of course intended to 'improve' Blogger, they are not under any circumstances a method of saving them money or enabling them to dig out more info and dump more ads upon the user.  Not in any way are they anything but a method of improving the service.
Of course on the 'Official Blogger Blog' there are many asking obvious questions among which is the "Why am I no longer getting email notifications?"
A long line of people have asked this and it is noticeable that Blogger has not bothered to reply, this tells us much.  It certainly tells us this will not come back, it tells us our preferences are of no importance and gives an indication that possibly we might be better looking to 'WordPress' in future.  This would create much trouble for many but it would be Blogger's fault!  If email warnings are not received it requires a dip into the 'Control Page' or whatever they call it to search if any comments have arrived.  This is acceptable if only a few comments make it through but what about those who receive many comments?  Ths is hard work for them and allows spam to arrive on old and long forgotten pages.
The whole site was altered when I looked the other day, nothing was changed except the size was restored to what they call normal and I am awaiting the discovery of anything else that has been removed, dropped or lost in this shake up.
Whatever happens Blogger, Google, will make money from this.

Blogger, Trump and Farage, What More Could You Ask...?

Is it just me or is Blogger slow?
Several times when attempting to press 'Publish' the thing has 'hung' for a while before posting.
This laptop is not very good, the buttons are not doing what they are told and often do what they wish so it makes me wonder if it is me or they?
It works but there is a delay.
A couple of days ago everything ceased for a few minutes, nothing would come up and all halted.
I am beginning to wonder if 'Firefox' is to blame?  I went over to 'Chrome' for what I wanted and this worked but it may be things returned to normal by then.
All in  a days grumble...

Poor old broke Nigel Farage is even more broke now.  The EU investigated his claim for an assistant and have decided the assistant was not assisting Nigel in the EU but working on UKIP party work.  This is not allowed under EU rules and Nigel knows this. 
Such a shame the EU have decided to withhold £35,500 from him, half his assistant funds because of this lapse.  He must be feeling ashamed to have made such a mistake, he must be embarrassed by such pilfering of funds and feel really repentant.  Ha!  Some chance!  I suspect he will appeal and blame anti-English EU staff for attacking him.
Poor lad, hasn't he suffered enough...?

Poor Donald Trump, another political success story, he has been getting grief just because he referred to peoples from Haiti and Africa as 'shithole nations' and wished for better, whiter, people from Norway instead.  Norway it must be said has indicated they are doing OK thanks and Haiti and Africa, those that bothered to listen, have responded with an amount of disagreement with him.
It just could not get worse but then it did!
The 'state visit' which gave Donald the impression he would cavort about with the english queen, has been put back and the short visit to open the new American embassy, moved south of the river and based on an idea by Geirge W. Bush, this visit also has been canned.  
The idea of lots of helicopter rides above the traffic avoiding UK citizens indicating their displeasure at his visit plus the truth that he was never going to drop in just to open an embassy, has led to his breaking off any visit to the UK at this time.  Pity, it might have been interesting to see peoples reaction.
Worse still, our own imitation Trump, one Boris Johnson, has risen to his man's defence slighting the Labour Party by claiming it is their fault Trump is not coming.  The Labour Party, who are not at fault, would do well to proclaim this to the rooftops.  Boris is no doubt lying in his teeth, something he does often and is very good at, but he intends to show the UK stands with the US.  Actually we all know this and we also know that Boris considers Trump a liability and awaits the nutter gunman who is scheduled to end the reign of Trump, whoever that may be.  In the USA the chances of someone taking a pot shot at Trump must be high, I just cannot believe it has not yet occurred.

The Saturday Post

I am irked!
That is not the picture I was going to post, that picture posted squashed.
This one will post squashed also but I was experimenting with all the knowledge of someone who knows absolutely nothing and have come up with no answer.
A search of the useless Blogger Help was useless.
Others had similar problems but nothing helped.
See, the pic is squashed, narrowed, elongated and yuk!
Good job it's an old one
The whole Blog is squashed, narrowed and slimmed down.
I have reset to template defaults yet this happens.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

I'm off in a huff.

Blogger Slow!!!

Why is Blogger so slow these days?  Why does it fail to 'save' constantly?  Why does the Comment Box take sooooooo long to come down?  On too many occasions I find 'service unavailable' when it is available.  Just what is going in?  Are they upgrading the servers or have they all died?  I think we should be told.  

What happens next.....?

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How to be an idiot No 89.

Like debt 'idiocy' runs in our family.  Great Granddad Robert was after all the one who looked down the muzzle of his gun at Ladysmith muttering "I can't see the problem," before getting a close up view of what the problem was.  Granddad also used the term "You and who's army rather loosely," in the 'Red Lion,' before discovering just who's army those Gordon Highlanders belonged to.  My dad cleverly bought my Mum to improve the intellectual gene pool.  She often said she had never had a drink since they met back in 1936 and I begin to wonder why?  Dad of course was famous for going with his mate to enlist in 1925 and finding himself alone in China after his mate was rejected because of 'flat feet!'  He also managed to create me!  


My education in stupidity goes back a long way. Putting my hand into a tape recorder in 1968, to have a feel of the bits inside, while leaving it plugged in and allowing the back of my hand to touch something live was a shock that remains with me to this day. While at primary school I helped my mother clean up after tea by pouring the old chip fat from the chip pan down the sink. It took dad three days to clear that lot. Having watched as the room was decorated in lovely Heart of Midlothian coloured wallpaper I proceeded, as eleven year old's do, to cut open a discarded golf ball to see what was inside. What was inside appeared to be hundreds of tightly woven elastic bands surrounding a small whitish ball. As I stuck the blunt knife in the ball it exploded releasing a stream of white gunk that flew up the newly papered wall. The phrase "I think I am in trouble," arises around this point.

Numerous other instances of idiocy have arisen, the times I have attempted to pick up a tray with bare hands taken straight from the oven, getting on a bus to discover it was going in the wrong direction, indicating to females that their bum is 'blocking the light,' suggesting another should redecorate three days after she had just done so, all these could be construed as idiotic. As does walking home late at night as the Notting Hill Carnival was ending and finding thousands of young black youths coming the other way yet making no attempt to avoid them certainly was a piece of idiot behaviour that startles me yet!

So it was no surprise when, tired as I am from the bug, rising early, and suffering malnutrition from the scraps I scavenge from the back of restaurants, it is no surprise that last night things went haywire. Once more the evening arrived, this time the evening of the 'longest day,' although the clouds and rain made this difficult to verify around here - again! The evening arrived with a promise of European Championship football! Now it has become my habit since obtaining this beastly laptop that hates me to go to bed and watch football in the evenings. The man below gets disturbed by loud noise such as coughing or breathing, and certainly was not happy when I played Lynnard Skynnard that time I thought he was out! So to avoid the axe through the head again I take the beast to bed and watch football in comfort. Very different from the days of long ago when watching football from a damp, cold terracing brought bronchitis and head wounds from flying beer cans, and all that for a poor mid table finish at the end!

The first half of the game went much as some expected. The Czechs made a good start, fell away and Ronaldo spend much time posing for the cameras. "He lifts his eyes to heaven more than the Pope does," said one commentator. However come half time, and after my mug of cocoa, I then decided to publish a quick post. Now the beast does not like watching TV and publishing posts at the same time that much, it strains the memory, so I put up a short but deeply profound post. I decided not to review it as the teams were returning to the field. I posted the profound and found the profound had another of those format problems. That's three in a row. I then went back and fixed it, but found the format had altered another area. This was fixed but not fixed. Time was running out and the game kicking off. Again I fixed the problem and again another fault arose. Grrrrrrrr!

I was of course using only one browser to do two things. One tab had the football (BBC1 iPlayer) and the other had Blogger. Now the BBC website has been getting updated recently, and a fine old mess they have made of this! The iplayer has this week added a large button allowing the viewer to go back to the beginning of the programme, a button that is far too big in my opinion and needs alteration. The laptop keyboard not helping here as the letters are too near one another.  Switching from the mess that now was Blogger to the football to check progress I accidentally touched the return to beginning button. This took me back over an hour and a half to the beginning of the whole show!! So I attempted to 'fast forward' but this only went half way through the first half. By now my language was something akin to Arkkadian! Vile thoughts of retribution on the iplayers designers head filled my mind as I closed the tab, began a new one and fought for the football again, this time succeeding and at the right place. Once more unto Blogger and once more attempt to update and once more (amid much yelling that possibly made my neighbour go out for a walk in the rain) I failed. I decided time was against me and I must delete the whole post! This I did. But I had not done so! Oh no, the professional idiot had deleted the futile post from the day before and had not yet perused the one comment thereon! I deleted the profound, but by now less interesting, post informing the blogger and iplayer geeks what I considered them to be. More gnashing of teeth than even Ronaldo could offer after diving and claiming a penalty was my lot by now! Incidentally my description of the BBC web designer by now would make an ideal experiment in one of those hospitals that specialise in psychotic killers. My consideration for the man who set up the Blogger was along similar lines. Returning once again to the football I found it difficult to concentrate on the shirt pulling hordes as the room was by now filled with steam that had emanated from my ears.

After Portugal scored an excellent goal. making me glad there would not be an extra thirty minutes, my head would not stand that. I lay for an hour and tried to ponder my reactions. Was the tiredness was more than I realised, the bug was a pest right enough, is blogging late was really a good idea, should I have used two browsers, and was it really cocoa I had been drinking?


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Next Blog

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By pressing the 'Next Blog' button on 'Blogger'  we are often led into a world way outside of ourselves. I enjoy this. I like to search through the blogs and discover something new, exciting or interesting to read, view or contemplate. With billions of blogs out there, and huge numbers on 'Blogger' alone I would think it possible to meet new people and find a wealth of untapped experience world wide. Blogs often contain fabulous photographs, intelligent thought, or be based around a subject of great interest. All too often however the trawl through the 'Next Blog' button can be a real disappointment. This is partly my fault of course, I discovered one day I was finding loads of professional porn sites, and while these may have their place I don't agree with them on 'Blogger,' and see no reason why these folk should make money this way. We are not talking about the home made site young men, and a few women, contribute, often under the illusion of being 'art' sites, those are inevitable on here I suspect.  I complained about so many the Blog controllers have amended my choices now. I find only football blogs on the main blog, and 'The Past' leads me, for reasons unknown, to American farms! Tractors are all right in their place but  I prefer the nudes to be honest. Through using other folks blogs I can still surf happily but I find all the blogs offered are limited in number or type for some reason. With a billion blogs to choose from why do we only get led to a few at a time? This is somewhat irksome I say!


Early in the day I often come across sites based in South America. Spanish sites, in Latin nations and in Spain itself, are very different it seems to me from those found in the UK or US. The approach and the artwork reflects a different outlook on life. In times past at certain times in the day I used to find myself confronted with adolescents from the far east! Worldwide adolescent sites offer the same world view, and once you are past sweet sixteen it ceases to interest! It is also sometimes difficult to comprehend that the creature who prepares such a blog today may possibly one day be important in world politics! Pray now I say!


Today however I have been coming across American family blogs. Now using Blogger as a way to keep in touch with a world wide family is a great idea, and many there are who go in for this. However I do find that many of the (almost all white) American family blogs are just a touch twee. Everyone appears to be ever so happy. Mum and Dad love one another and the kids grow happily and safely, life is one bundle of innocent happy joy. Sorry but that does not seem real to me. Normal family life involves scowling and huffs, temper and jealousy, stress and a regular desire to throttle the kid, dad or mum! The US blogs appear to ignore this, reminiscent of the ending of so many American TV series where everybody gathers round smiling and happy, in spite of the previous 46 minutes in which death and destruction were seconds away, totally unrealistic! Had our family put out a  'Blog from Edinburgh' in the 50's I suspect there would have been a family concerned for one another but with a realistic attitude towards the brats (us) and the world outside. You don't live through a depression, a Miners strike lasting six months, and a world war and dwell in shmaltz! The smiles would have been genuine, but rarer than the despair and the recurrent phrase "I'll swing for you yet" that was heard rather too often when I was around. I canny imagine why?


American political blogs, indeed all non UK political blogs, leave me grateful we have our sensible, thoughtful, caring, evenly balanced politicians over here. (What do you mean sarcasm?) Political blogs mean little to the outsider, but when US ones quote Sarah Palin I am unsure whether they are spoofs or for real! One day that woman (?) might be president of the United States! (Back to prayer folks) Some of the US ones are difficult to distinguish from American Christian blogs. Unfortunately some Republicans think Jesus was born in Illinois and appear to think campaigning for lower taxes is a Christian duty. Wrong boy, wrong! There are however some fabulous photo blogs around! Whether  a professional or a serious amateur showing off their talent, or some doddery old fool (who are you looking at?) taking pics just for the sheer enjoyment it gives, either way there are some great shots to be found. Not only can these photos be enjoyable in themselves but they reveal parts of the world we would never find otherwise. They give an indication of life in places that are often greatly troubled, and writers in such places also show just how life goes on whatever the public image of the place. The TV & Radio media, like the papers, only give the image that sells, and the stories that fit their agenda, so much is ignored and the real state of a nation is usually distorted by the press.  Bloggers can, allowing for personal bias, give a truer picture of the world around them in such cases.


The same cannot be said for those who fill blogs with cookery! Is there not too much of that already on TV I ask? We need to eat but must we endure pages of cakes and stews? However peoples hobbies are often worth looking at, pictures from a garden for instance can be enjoyable, although someone enthusing about their new cushion design or the hand made curtains may leave some of us somewhat cold. However a blog stuffed full of aircraft or steam trains must be enjoyed by all who have a heart and a brain surely? The breadth of material blogged about is amazing. Whether you like it or not the blog has revolutionised our lives just as much as the steam engine or the motor car has done. People without a voice can yell into the ether and maybe find an echo somewhere, the lonely can keep contact with humanity, interests can be shared and life, for the most part can be made better for many folk. Who reads all this stuff anyway? Does it really change the world? It changes the world you live in, it changes others world if the respond, and while some may have hundreds, even thousands of readers, the handful that visit most blogs regularly obviously do so because they wish to be there, and want to read you! Now whatever drivel you may write, that must be a good thought to hold on to?

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First Monday of the New Year

Removing the ex-army greatcoat, the two ski suits and the thermal underwear I began on my exercises. Arms stretch out ahead and back, again, again, five times, ten, stop. Now swing arms to the side and stretch, again, once, twice, five, ten, twenty, stop. Knees bend together, one, two, three, four, five, oh that's enough of that! Breathe deeply in, out, in, out, ten deep breathes then relax. OK, now to get out of bed.

Dear oh dear, freezing cold once again and Jack Frost has been all over my window. The field outside is white with frost and the people rushing by are wrapped up in everything they possess. The heating is on and I canny feel it at all! In Siberia they do not let the kids of school until it is -37 degrees, and during the war Siberian troops brought over to defend Moscow fought in temperatures of minus 8. They thought this was warm! I however am not one for cold weather, nor do I intend to fight Nazis in this condition to be honest. I wish to be transported somewhere warm, Greece or Turkey or the Isle of Wight. Somewhere that Jack Frost and his icy fingers don't get to go near me.Several times to day I have had to put the heating on. Several times today, sitting here in my sleeping bag, wearing my woollen gloves with the fingers cut out, I have thought of those dwelling in Thailand and wondered how they cope with our cold weather? With a smug grin on their fat faces I bet! I can see them now, chomping yet more chicken and laughing their heads off! What's that? Me wish a monsoon on them? Never! In Nigeria they have a warm day with 38 degrees of heat, usually. In Portugal folk go swimming on Christmas Day. In this area the sun shines and the sky is blue but the seagulls soaring past my window are not looking for food scraps, they are nicking folks scarf's and wrapping them around their scrawny necks, and I don't blame them! Global warming, wherefore art thou pal?

Some of you have probably already noticed this, I as always am slow on the 'catch up' bit, but 'Blogger' has changed the 'Post Editor.'  There is a new one available and it is marginally better than the old one. Well I suppose that depends on you but if it's the new one I use it because the old one will disappear one day and leave me high and dry! Technology is always my slow point (one off) and after amassing lots of cassette tapes full of knowledge my tape machine has burst and they don't sell them any more. Everything is now on CD's except that digital is removing the need for CD's. I would mention large black circular things with  a hole in the middle and ask "Is this a record?" but you young things would not understand would you?

To find the new editor

First work your way to the 'Settings' tab.

At the bottom of the page you will see a field called 'Select Post Editor.,'

Select 'New Editor' save your settings.

Whether it is worth it or not only you can decide.

 

Yemen

Terrorism Bush claimed was based in Iraq, although we all knew different. Bin-Laden was known to be in the Pakistan hills hiding among the Taliban. So the military aim was to defeat both of them high up in the Afghanistan/Pakistan hills. Now we discover that the centre may have shifted to Somalia, where Islamic extremists abound, or Yemen where the British, US and now French embassies have closed because of perceived danger. The BBC reports that other nations, considered to be 'western' are also scaling down their operations. The danger from such extremists is indeed great. They appear to have no regard for human life, men women and children die by bomb, bullet and sometimes knife. This is less because of their religious belief and more because of culture and hardness of heart. We are right to be aware of the danger in this country as well as abroad.

Having said that such activities are not new. Violent people, for political reasons, religion, football or any other purpose have resorted to violence at home and abroad. It is part of the human condition, and we must agree, but not always willingly, such violence lies near at hand to ourselves also! Life is never peaceful, although the west, because of the 'Cold War' has experienced seventy years of peace and we have come to believe this is our right. However as a man once said, "Life is what happens to you when you are making other plans," of course he got shot!

The Yemen is a place we know little about. Mud houses, Arabs aplenty, terrorists. What else do we know of them? Very little I suspect. However one man 'Ozgur Can Leonard' has been travelling through the land and posted this excellent series of photographs from Yemen. There may not be a picture of a gunman however there are some remarkable houses  and I suspect remarkable people living in them!