Outside the hotel. Normally it's the big cars that cannot park in the spaces. But this Micra is really taking the..... biscuit.

Tags: parking

Speeders and lunatics

M6.. Two motorbike drvers decide that slow traffic isn't for them and travel down the hard shoulders at speeds exceeding 100mph.

However, something that was known to us and not them was that a Police car had done that same route not more than 5 minutes early and here is that result.

I sat next to there booking for about 10 minutes due to the accident. Long enough to see a recovery vehicle come to collect their motorbikes.

Basically, they'd either already got points on their licence and now hadn't got a valid one OR the police officers had decided to go for broke and give them the whole 9 yards.

Result, two motorbike riders without a ride, just north of Birmingham on a Friday afternoon.

Incidentally, picture was taken not by onboard camera (on sat nav) but by camera phone as we were totally stationary for 10 minutes+. So much so that some people were getting out of their cars to stretch their legs.

Diesel Black Vauxhall Vectra MY57 WJY. Joined the M1 Northbound around Leicester and swerved his way into the far right overtaking lane. Then proceeded to tailgate and force everybody out of his way. The driver was a white male, in his mid-thirties.

The picture was taken by the Sat Nav, incidentally. So I wasn't driving HANDS FREE

Speeds exceeded 100mph (easily) and he changed lanes regardless of who was in his way.

This enraged me so much that I reported him to the Police, only to be informed that an unmarked Police car was in behind him and could I please move over. The red BMW M5 slipped past with a nod from the passenger.

I presume he got multiple points or perhaps a ban for travelling over 100mph, dangerous driving and driving without due car or attention (he had a paper on his wheel at one point!).

UNDERTAKERS!

M1 Northbound, BMW X5 SKY 480. Swerved in front of me on at least three occasions before stationary traffic meant I could get this shot. Clearly this is an individual who just doesn't like to be overtaken. They would slow down to a crawl, I would overtake at 70mph and then just as I started to pass they would either speed up or just swerve out in front of me to overtake the invisible car in his lane.

I don't know what annoys me most. People who undertake, therefore not allowing you to move into the lane and let them pass! Or people who speed up when you try to pass them.

It's a tricky one.

I'm going for people who speed up. Because it's PATHETIC!

Tags: bad driving, terrible, drivers

... but the BBC needs a better Health Reporter

Why? Well check out this story on the BBC website. The story is about the latest research that goes to prove the case the MMR hasn't caused a rise in childhood autism. Actually, lets not overstate a case here. The actual size is very low, far too low in fact to start making grandiose claims. But it does go towards stating something a lot of us already knew. There isn't really an autism epidemic (for want of a better term).

The problem a lot of people have is that during their childhood the likelihood of meeting an individual with autism was so low as to be zero. Because as few as ten years ago, common practice was to either place them in an institution or a school for special needs. This wasn't considered cruel or brought about by intolerance. It was a genuine feeling that best was being done. But having then had no interaction with autistic people gives you the false impression that they didn't exist.

Nowadays its common practice to place individuals with mild autism within a normal school environment. The result of which is that interaction and therefore profile is higher. Add to this the increase in discussion on the subject and the end result is that what appears to have been a little known disorder is prevalent throughout society.

Well, the fact is that it was ALWAYS prevalent throughout society. It's just that society has opened up more.

What DOES concern me, and should concern any right minded individual, is that lack of knowledge of Michelle Roberts, Health Reporter for the BBC. In the article she states:

"For example, autism rates could have been lower amoung older age groups because people had gradually recovered from the condition or died prematurely."

Autism is a lifelong development disability. It dies NOT go away with age. Something I would have thought an individual reporting on a story pertaining to autism might have known or at the very least looked up.

Source: The National Autism Society

Tags: MMR, Autism, bbc

Just in case you might image that Dell is dodgy enough... now they are going to buy Perotsystems. Yes... the company founded by Ross Perot.

You might remember he started EDS some many moons ago, based upon the model of the US military. Like the US military it tended to start out on projects very well, but would then tend to shoot itself in the foot. Just type EDS and legal action in the Google and see what I mean.

Tags: perot, dell

As predictable as a Government that spends to much needs to tax to much, so an oil company that finds itself low of coffers openly suggests a reason for the price of fuel to increase.

It's no surprise that Christophe de Margerie should be declaring a crisis, his company Total is currently trailing behind such giants as BP and Esso and could need a cash boost. So he's looking for a little hand out from the French Government perhaps. Or just the hope that the scare can justify a price hike to fill their wallets.

I'll not be surprised as fuel prices start heading north again.

Tags: total, fuel shortage

So, less than 7 days after Tel said “Newscasters (and presenters) have the easiest job in the world” he is sacked retiring from the breakfast club.

Wogan in the Morning is the UK’s top breakfast radio show, with some eight million listeners. His replacement will be Chris Evans; who was famously sacked from the Radio 1 breakfast show after going on a mid-week bender and then deciding not to turn up for work. But that was some time ago and he’s “grown up” since then.

Back to Wogan, looks like he’s jumping rather than being pushed. Last year his salary was made public and there were plenty who didn’t like that either.

All part of the BBC’s “cutting big costs” strategy ahead of the likely revenue sharing will need to do with Channel 4 as part of the licence fee shake up. Other expensive staffers who are in the potential firing like are;
Chris Moyles (who’s audience figures are falling) and Jonathan Ross.

What’s likely to NOT get the can are programs like “Top Gear”, “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood” who regularly spot the top BBC exports; especially via BBC America.

Tags: terry wogan, wogan