Thoughts on love, sex, death and everything else.

Hi there,

has anyone tried going to the Moon on Google Earth yet? I've been and it's quite interesting (if you are into that kind of thing). You can get guided tours of the landing sites from the astronauts who went there. To go there you have to download the latest version of Google Earth, which only takes a couple of minutes if you have broadband (it would take several hours on dial up, but Google Earth would not work on dial up anyway, and I suppose that dial up customers are very much in the minority these days).

another new feature on Google Earth is that you can set the current time and watch the light across the globe change as daylight progresses across the time zones.

I've always been interested in the Apollo missions since I was a child, I've always said that if I had a choice between going to a holiday destination of my choice on the Earth every year for the rest of my life, or going to the moon for a few days, I would choose the Moon. Some astronaut's outlook on life changed after they had been there, it was seen as an almost spiritual journey in some ways.

Ps does anyone want to start a discussion on if we actually went to the Moon or if it was all a hoax? What are your thoughts?

I found it quite amusing when I came across this article. China are recruiting new astronauts for their space program, and as you expect the training program will be quite tough; I can imagine that they will undergo may psychological tests, to make sure that they can cut the mustard when the going gets tough (they will also not be allowed to use cliches like I do). The trainers will also want to ensure that the candidates have not got claustrophobia by perhaps locking them in a dark cupboard for a few days, and they will be spun round in a centrifuge so they get the taste of being pinned back in their seats during launch due to the G forces; however I think that just putting them on a fairground waltzer would do the job just as well, especially if there is someone stood behind them spinning the seat around very fast; those of you who have been on one will know exactly what I mean!

Having said all that, the candidates may fall at the first hurdle: the sniff test. If they have got body odour they will not be allowed on the space shuttle because the odour will cause upset to their colleagues in such a confined space.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_8180000/newsid_8180500/8180540.stm

The town of Swindon has decided to switch off it's fixed speed cameras, to divert the maintenance costs to other safety measures such as training and education. I am very much in support of that. I have always believed that education and training should be the priority rather than using the punishment strategy which does not actually educate but makes drivers resentful. The selfish minority who refuse to behave can then be targeted by patrols.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists support this approach, and so I say it's hat off to Swindon!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/8178347.stm

When I write a post I sometimes wonder if it is worth it. Does what I write have any meaning and is anyone else interested in it. I wonder if I want to clog up the internet with dross, but perhaps someone somewhere will be interested in what I write, although there is often not a lot of evidence to show that, i.e. by the lack of comments. If blogging is no more than a catharsis for the soul then perhaps that justifies it? Or perhaps if it amuses people?

What do you think?

I was ready to flex my fingers today to write another blog, but I am stuck for words at the moment, I could blog about what I did at work today, but I prefer to keep my work and private world separate. I could blog some more about my visit to Chester Zoo yesterday, but I don't think I can improve on yesterday's blog. Sometimes I like to write to practice my typing. I taught myself to touch type using a CD on my computer. It was very hard work to begin with, and it still is hard work to keep the accuracy up; it is often tempting to try and speed up when I am not ready to go fast, and the accuracy goes to pot. I have good days and bad days, but in general I can type about say 50 words a minute on a good day, and it's such a joy not having to keep looking at the keyboard. I would recommend it. an added bonus is that if someone asks me to spell a word that I know, I can spell it out quite easily, because one of the techniques of typing accurately is to picture the word in your mind's eye as you are typing it, and spell the letters out aloud. A drawback to accurate typing is that I may seem a bit too 'perfect' in chat rooms, where people usually miss- spell words and use texting language. But I'm not a perfectionist, i'm quite down to earth. If i'm going to type I have to keep up the habit of doing it properly because I also type letters to people at work, and these letters have to be seen to be mechanically perfect to set the professional standard.

ps see this video of FAST typing ha ha!

I've just been to Chester Zoo today, my main aim of going was to take a friend who really enjoys animals. It's the first time that I have been to such a place since I was a very young child, and I quite enjoyed it. I have always up until now had a slightly negative view of zoos, imagining that the animals are not happy; for example those that pace up and down continuously in their cages, or pick their own fur out are obviously stressed out. I'm glad to say that I saw none of that today, except for a cheetah that was pacing up and down because I think it had been separated from it's mates and they were in the compound next door; there must have been a good reason for this.

My favourite animal was the giraffes, you have to see them in real life and close up to see just how beautiful they are; their coats look like exquisite velvet, they have such serene looks on their faces, and they move around in a very majestic way, as if they have been given lessons at a finishing school on how to walk around gracefully!

Here's a You Tube video (not mine) of some giraffes at Chester Zoo.

Has anyone seen a meerkat being taken for a walk on a lead?
Am I mad by asking this I hear you wondering to yourself?
Well in fact I have seen just that, I think it belongs to some people in the houses opposite to where I work. I was setting off home from my office one day when I saw the meerkat on the grass verge just outside my office. I had to look again to make sure I was not seeing things. There was a young lad stood with it, and the meerkat was on a lead. My colleagues have also seen this so I'm not just seeing things, and they have also seen a wallaby on a lead. I suspect that the lad just stands there showing off his exotic creatures. Well in my opinion I think it is sad that some people have to acquire such animals for their enjoyment. I know that meerkats are very social creatures, they live in burrows together as one big family and there is a strong social bond between them. So to take a meerkat out of that situation and have it on a lead is cruel and selfish.

I used the enjoy England dot com website the other day to decide where to go to have a day out in my area, it's really good, you just put in your city or town or postal code, and it finds things within whichever distance you want, and you can filter the results to include only food outlets, or events only rather than places. Give it a try.

http://www.enjoyengland.com/

I had the misfortune to sit and watch a whole episode of Heartbeat recently, only because I was watching TV with someone who had control of the remote. It was probably the longest hour of my life. I remember finding it enjoyable to watch when it was launched all those years ago; it seemed that the 60's music which was played every so often captivated my interest and I failed to notice the crap acting. I can't exactly remember when but I soon stopped watching it, I probably got frustrated when they would not play whole songs; I find it really frustrating when someone only plays half a song because it finishes just as you are getting into it.

Any way, I was watching the recent episode out of politeness for my host, and I realised why I don't like Heartbeat; Firstly I actually found the snippets of 60's music highly irritating, they seem to be using exactly the same formula as when it first came out and sounds very dated; Secondly some of the characters are just plain silly and unbelievable; thirdly the thin plot, unimaginative direction conspire to make the whole thing plod on like a snail; you could probably condense the whole hour into ten minutes if there was any get up and go about it; fourthly the acting is quite wooden. with good actors you almost forget that they are acting, but in Heartbeat it is always obvious that they are acting. Well it is to me anyway. I think at my age I might be becoming a grumpy old man, and will get a slot on that television series of the same name.

I've gone with a friend to visit one of her friends in Scotland. He lives in an ecovillage called Culdees. It is near Aberfeldy in the Highlands, and has a magnificent view of loch Tay. The 'village' is run by volunteers and is run in an ethical way, recycling as many materials as possible and being self sufficient.

http://www.culdees-ecovillage.co.uk/