Tonight, with the fantastic tool from YouTube where you can create your own SearchStory, I made this video which will hopefully cause a smile in most, and for those who can't and are in need of a lift, then hopefully it'll inspire those who like myself in the past suffered from depression, or more regrettably so, has it now.
Remember, if you can raise some hope inside of you....trust you will be OK, eventually. Then you can create a hilarious blog like me....well not quite as funny as this one of course!
These are just some of my random thoughts.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Pac-Man Nibbles on Google Maps
So, were you one of the people who contributed some of your time to the combined estimated five million hours of lost work time to play on Google's Pac-Man doodle?
Well according to this image I found on streetviewfun.com, Pac-Man has now moved onto eating Google Maps pixel by pixel!
View Larger Map
Well according to this image I found on streetviewfun.com, Pac-Man has now moved onto eating Google Maps pixel by pixel!
View Larger Map
Sunday, 6 June 2010
The Special Escort Group - Whistle While You Work
Recent news articles have reported on new British Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to cut back on his personal security to help him remain "one of the people". The most notable change is the one to not use the "motorcycle outriders" available as part of his motorcade.
There have also been some instances where he has elected to walk short distances (for example from Downing Street to the Houses of Parliament). This is often seen in new leaders who, quite understandably struggle to adjust to a life more in the public eye -- one authorised with more power, access to classified information, and the inevitable risk to their security. Simply Googling obama blackberry will provide a prime example of this.
Steering clear of the whole discussion around whether Cameron is right to do this, I instead shall focus on these elusive "motorcycle outriders", for their job interests me. I don't know why it does, though most likely it's because I'm a guy and anything involving the police, guns and bodyguards gets my interest. So yeah, I'm going to blame testosterone! Also, I suspect there's a little "hippocampal stimulation" (no way is that a real phrase!) going on as I greatly admire those who can confidently and successfully navigate London's maze (where much of these elusive motorcycle outriders carry out their work).
As usual, the press spend little time focusing on all the elements of the story and instead seek to sensationalise it. So you end up with headlines such as (I may have made these up by the way!):
Guardian: "Cameron elects not to use his motorcycle escorts."
Daily Mail: "Cameron ditches bike cops."
The Sun: "Our new dear leader sticks two fingers up to Bin Laden selflessly facing terror threat!"
Daily Express: "Will new PM Cameron re-open investigation into Diana murder?"
So this blog post focuses on a unit of the Metropolitan Police Service, -- a specialist operations unit known as The Special Escort Group
"This elite unit of the Metropolitan Police consists of officers with a range of skills and operational experience from various policing backgrounds. One motorcyclist (lead bike) positions himself in front of the escort, controlling the pace and position of the escort, whilst the others forge ahead, dealing with traffic situations and advising the lead bike of the safest path through the traffic they are controlling. SEG officers on BMW motorcycles, use whistles in preference to the sirens on their motorcycles. This reduces the level of noise that precedes an escort and reduces the environmental impact on the escorted person and general public.
Officers from The Special Escort Group are among the few police motorcyclists within the UK that carry firearms openly whilst riding."
- "Sourced from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License."
It's a well regarded opinion that one of the biggest threats faced by a motorcade is when in a stationary position. The old adage that "a moving target is harder to hit" certainly applies here. At the same time, it is much less accepted in the UK that even a VIP (royal, or ministerial) and their close protection team should be able to cause much disruption to the lives of every day citizens. So the policy of completely closing roads and shutting down cities to allow a huge motorcade to pass for the visit of the Prime Minister or Queen would be met with much disdain and anger. Instead, a much more low-key, hassle free stance is taken. This approach is in generally much different to that of the U.S. authorities -- and that's not to criticise this method, it's simply to highlight the differences.
I have never seen the Special Escort Group in action, but hope to do so one day as I'm a sucker for watching the work of masters.
On doing a search for further information about the Special Escort Group, I came across a very interesting article (one which I recommend reading) written several years ago by a journalist who had the fortune of riding with SEG. The video (sadly it's been edited to have loud music in the background - I'm presuming to block out the important transmissions) which goes with the article is also available here.
Below are a few examples of the Special Escort Group (SEG) in action. I just love how quaintly British the use of their whistles to control the situation is. Perhaps we're just too desperate not to offend anyone!
(Note that some of these videos are quite jerky so might not be suitable for those who don't cope well with those things)
You can hear many whistles from the bikes that have ridden ahead here
Princess Anne motorcade. Good view of the officers controlling the situation
Kate Middleton Motorcade
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown on his way to Buckingham Palace to resign.
Prince Charles being taken through the streets of London.
A surprise for one cyclist riding around London.
Another good example of quick control of the traffic.
You can see more photos of the "Special Escort Group" on Flickr.
There have also been some instances where he has elected to walk short distances (for example from Downing Street to the Houses of Parliament). This is often seen in new leaders who, quite understandably struggle to adjust to a life more in the public eye -- one authorised with more power, access to classified information, and the inevitable risk to their security. Simply Googling obama blackberry will provide a prime example of this.
Steering clear of the whole discussion around whether Cameron is right to do this, I instead shall focus on these elusive "motorcycle outriders", for their job interests me. I don't know why it does, though most likely it's because I'm a guy and anything involving the police, guns and bodyguards gets my interest. So yeah, I'm going to blame testosterone! Also, I suspect there's a little "hippocampal stimulation" (no way is that a real phrase!) going on as I greatly admire those who can confidently and successfully navigate London's maze (where much of these elusive motorcycle outriders carry out their work).
As usual, the press spend little time focusing on all the elements of the story and instead seek to sensationalise it. So you end up with headlines such as (I may have made these up by the way!):
Guardian: "Cameron elects not to use his motorcycle escorts."
Daily Mail: "Cameron ditches bike cops."
The Sun: "Our new dear leader sticks two fingers up to Bin Laden selflessly facing terror threat!"
Daily Express: "Will new PM Cameron re-open investigation into Diana murder?"
So this blog post focuses on a unit of the Metropolitan Police Service, -- a specialist operations unit known as The Special Escort Group
Officers from The Special Escort Group are among the few police motorcyclists within the UK that carry firearms openly whilst riding."
- "Sourced from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License."
It's a well regarded opinion that one of the biggest threats faced by a motorcade is when in a stationary position. The old adage that "a moving target is harder to hit" certainly applies here. At the same time, it is much less accepted in the UK that even a VIP (royal, or ministerial) and their close protection team should be able to cause much disruption to the lives of every day citizens. So the policy of completely closing roads and shutting down cities to allow a huge motorcade to pass for the visit of the Prime Minister or Queen would be met with much disdain and anger. Instead, a much more low-key, hassle free stance is taken. This approach is in generally much different to that of the U.S. authorities -- and that's not to criticise this method, it's simply to highlight the differences.
I have never seen the Special Escort Group in action, but hope to do so one day as I'm a sucker for watching the work of masters.
On doing a search for further information about the Special Escort Group, I came across a very interesting article (one which I recommend reading) written several years ago by a journalist who had the fortune of riding with SEG. The video (sadly it's been edited to have loud music in the background - I'm presuming to block out the important transmissions) which goes with the article is also available here.
Below are a few examples of the Special Escort Group (SEG) in action. I just love how quaintly British the use of their whistles to control the situation is. Perhaps we're just too desperate not to offend anyone!
(Note that some of these videos are quite jerky so might not be suitable for those who don't cope well with those things)
You can hear many whistles from the bikes that have ridden ahead here
Princess Anne motorcade. Good view of the officers controlling the situation
Kate Middleton Motorcade
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown on his way to Buckingham Palace to resign.
Prince Charles being taken through the streets of London.
A surprise for one cyclist riding around London.
Another good example of quick control of the traffic.
You can see more photos of the "Special Escort Group" on Flickr.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Whence Notwithstanding Modulation Eggheaded
Or as those less intelligent might say, "How to sound smart".
I do a reasonable amount of writing I think. Not just my blog, but in my job as well.
Without Thesaurus.com I'd be lost!
Kinda cool how there's a wide choice of words to use. It gives all those humid prepossessing Homo sapiens with full sized aortic pumps more flexibility in how they communicate with one another!
I do a reasonable amount of writing I think. Not just my blog, but in my job as well.
Without Thesaurus.com I'd be lost!
Kinda cool how there's a wide choice of words to use. It gives all those humid prepossessing Homo sapiens with full sized aortic pumps more flexibility in how they communicate with one another!
Mark Knopfler at The Royal Albert Hall
So, folks this is how I spent my Wednesday evening.....!
The fact I have a "markknopfler" label suggests I'm a rather big fan. That suggestion would be correct!
The setting for this auspicious event was the Royal Albert Hall in London. I have never been inside it before, seeing it only from the outside and a few times on TV. If you haven't been, a suggestion for you.....Go! I think this is probably now one of my favourite buildings in the world, primarily because of its interior, though its exterior is distinguished too.
- Source, Wikipedia: Photographer "Snowmanradio"
Known famously for its hosting of The (BBC) Proms, The Royal Albert Hall which opened in 1871 has a Victorian grandeur charm about it. If you click on the "Virtual Tour" (more 360 image than tour), then after your gasps of "Wow, that's beautiful", click on "Grand Tier". This was the view we had for the Mark Knopfler concert. Not bad eh!
Mark Knopfler as is always the case, was on top form. It's true that he's not as quick as he was back in his Dire Straits days. However, he is still a very talented musician who wowed the audience with his skills. I won't reveal the full set list as the tour is still ongoing, but he performed a mixture of old Dire Straits songs, and many from his solo albums including his most recent, Get Lucky.
One feature I particularly enjoyed was during one song (I don't think it's spoiling it to say it was during Sultans of Swings as this is an essential number for him to perform during any tour!), was a special camera placed at the top of the guitar (where it's tuned - I don't know the name of it, so I'm going to call it the shaft!). This pointed downwards to show his finger picking and projected onto a giant screen. Though I said he had naturally slowed down over the years, when this image was displayed I quickly thought "Slowed yes, but not by much!".
He led into Sultans of Swings from Romeo and Juliet. Melodically, Romeo and Juliet is not one of my favourites (it's still high up there, I just prefer the more upbeat ones), lyrically it is by far my favourite. If you read the lyrics, I hope you'll agree that it's a beautifully crafted work of art by a man who arguably is as good a poet as he is a musician. His performance of this live, had a particular poignancy for me because of the good friend (and my unofficial adopted sister!) that I went with. Years ago when she was going through some tough times, I used a line from the song to convey my offer of help, should she need it. I said simply "I can't do everything, but I'll do anything for you". I think, and hope that stuck in both of our minds and so being able to hear that in her presence, sung live by the composer was a touching moment.
So, overall a wonderful evening. Great talent, great seats, great venue, great company, great music, great Mr Knopfler!
One of the five nights he played was recorded and available for purchase. I bought the USB stick. Well worth it! Technically it was from a different night, but it was exactly the same format and if I hadn't seen it was from the 30th May rather than June 2nd, I'd not have been able to tell any difference. If you like Mark Knopfler, do whatever you have to do (sell a kidney, sell your body!) to be able to buy this!.
Here are a few pictures (sadly not great quality as taken with a cameraphone and you really need a proper camera for these kinds of shots).....
Outside the Royal Albert Hall
Photo provided by my unofficial adopted sister.
The view from our "box".
The view from our "box".
The fact I have a "markknopfler" label suggests I'm a rather big fan. That suggestion would be correct!
The setting for this auspicious event was the Royal Albert Hall in London. I have never been inside it before, seeing it only from the outside and a few times on TV. If you haven't been, a suggestion for you.....Go! I think this is probably now one of my favourite buildings in the world, primarily because of its interior, though its exterior is distinguished too.
- Source, Wikipedia: Photographer "Snowmanradio"
Known famously for its hosting of The (BBC) Proms, The Royal Albert Hall which opened in 1871 has a Victorian grandeur charm about it. If you click on the "Virtual Tour" (more 360 image than tour), then after your gasps of "Wow, that's beautiful", click on "Grand Tier". This was the view we had for the Mark Knopfler concert. Not bad eh!
Mark Knopfler as is always the case, was on top form. It's true that he's not as quick as he was back in his Dire Straits days. However, he is still a very talented musician who wowed the audience with his skills. I won't reveal the full set list as the tour is still ongoing, but he performed a mixture of old Dire Straits songs, and many from his solo albums including his most recent, Get Lucky.
One feature I particularly enjoyed was during one song (I don't think it's spoiling it to say it was during Sultans of Swings as this is an essential number for him to perform during any tour!), was a special camera placed at the top of the guitar (where it's tuned - I don't know the name of it, so I'm going to call it the shaft!). This pointed downwards to show his finger picking and projected onto a giant screen. Though I said he had naturally slowed down over the years, when this image was displayed I quickly thought "Slowed yes, but not by much!".
He led into Sultans of Swings from Romeo and Juliet. Melodically, Romeo and Juliet is not one of my favourites (it's still high up there, I just prefer the more upbeat ones), lyrically it is by far my favourite. If you read the lyrics, I hope you'll agree that it's a beautifully crafted work of art by a man who arguably is as good a poet as he is a musician. His performance of this live, had a particular poignancy for me because of the good friend (and my unofficial adopted sister!) that I went with. Years ago when she was going through some tough times, I used a line from the song to convey my offer of help, should she need it. I said simply "I can't do everything, but I'll do anything for you". I think, and hope that stuck in both of our minds and so being able to hear that in her presence, sung live by the composer was a touching moment.
So, overall a wonderful evening. Great talent, great seats, great venue, great company, great music, great Mr Knopfler!
One of the five nights he played was recorded and available for purchase. I bought the USB stick. Well worth it! Technically it was from a different night, but it was exactly the same format and if I hadn't seen it was from the 30th May rather than June 2nd, I'd not have been able to tell any difference. If you like Mark Knopfler, do whatever you have to do (sell a kidney, sell your body!) to be able to buy this!.
Here are a few pictures (sadly not great quality as taken with a cameraphone and you really need a proper camera for these kinds of shots).....
Outside the Royal Albert Hall
Photo provided by my unofficial adopted sister.
The view from our "box".
The view from our "box".
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Unprepared For Your Golden Heart
Well now my little cherubs (cherub?!), it's been far too long since I posted a Mark Knopfler video. So here is one.
I just love the lyrics for this song, they're so beautiful (as they all too often are from Mr Knopfler!). Full lyrics (which I strongly recommend reading) can be found here at MarkKnopfler.com
"Nothing in the world prepared me for your heart,
Your heart,
Nothing in the world that I love more,
Your heart,
Your heart,
Your Golden Heart"
A slightly higher quality video of the song is available here. I just didn't use it because "Embedding disabled by request".
I just love the lyrics for this song, they're so beautiful (as they all too often are from Mr Knopfler!). Full lyrics (which I strongly recommend reading) can be found here at MarkKnopfler.com
Your heart,
Nothing in the world that I love more,
Your heart,
Your heart,
Your Golden Heart"
A slightly higher quality video of the song is available here. I just didn't use it because "Embedding disabled by request".
Have You Got The Knowledge?
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a huge appetite for all things geographical. I'm also fascinated by the inner workings of the human mind, in particular the functions of the amygdalae and hippocampus.
Combining these two loves leads me to be a big fan of "The Knowledge".
"It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab-drivers, and applicants will usually need at least twelve 'Appearances' (attempts at the final test), after preparation averaging 34 months, to pass the examination. Medical tests have discovered that London cab drivers tend to have developed an especially big hippocampus, a region of the brain implicated in navigational ability."
-- Source, Wikipedia
I'm always intrigued and fascinated at what is going on inside the minds of the drivers, the different connections that take place during a job. I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Black cab drivers and tip favourably as I believe their dedication to master the skills required to navigate London's maze of streets deserve reward. These people are the expert workhorses that help millions of Londoners and tourists reach their destination quickly and in safety. I take my hat off to each and every one of them.
More about The Knowledge from Transport for London.
......Well, it's not every day you end up writing a blog post about taxi drivers and their neurological development, but hey it's my blog!
Combining these two loves leads me to be a big fan of "The Knowledge".
-- Source, Wikipedia
I'm always intrigued and fascinated at what is going on inside the minds of the drivers, the different connections that take place during a job. I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Black cab drivers and tip favourably as I believe their dedication to master the skills required to navigate London's maze of streets deserve reward. These people are the expert workhorses that help millions of Londoners and tourists reach their destination quickly and in safety. I take my hat off to each and every one of them.
More about The Knowledge from Transport for London.
......Well, it's not every day you end up writing a blog post about taxi drivers and their neurological development, but hey it's my blog!
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