“The Italian Job” to be remade in Hindi

Now this could be a disaster beyond all proportions or a fantastic success (and lets face it, it can’t get much worse than the American remake).

I’ve just read that an all time cinematic classic is to be remade in Bollywood.

I’m looking forward to this in eager anticipation and trepidation. Anticipation because a well done remake of this classic could be great……

……But trepidation because…..

…..I’m not sure how humour from the swinging sixties can be effectively placed in modern India….

…..I can’t picture it with singing and dancing……

…..I have no idea what car they would use…..

and

….I can’t imagine how they’re gonna bring in the classing line….

"You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!",

(but one scene I can picture is some poor fruit sellers cart being overturned in the car chase)!

lets wait and see………………………….

Are you really you???? (Philosophy 2 of 4) – Are you same person who started reading this????

Part two of my ripping off a the BBC philosophy article is here…… again let me know of you’re thoughts!

“Consider a photo of someone you think is you eight years ago. What makes that person you? You might say he she was composed of the same cells as you now. But most of your cells are replaced every seven years. You might instead say you're an organism, a particular human being, and that organisms can survive cell replacement - this oak being the same tree as the sapling I planted last year.

But are you really an entire human being? If surgeons swapped George Bush's brain for yours, surely the Bush look-alike, recovering from the operation in the White House, would be you. Hence it is tempting to say that you are a human brain, not a human being.

But why the brain and not the spleen? Presumably because the brain supports your mental states, eg your hopes, fears, beliefs, values, and memories. But then it looks like it's actually those mental states that count, not the brain supporting them. So the view is that even if the surgeons didn't implant your brain in Bush's skull, but merely scanned it, wiped it, and then imprinted its states on to Bush's pre-wiped brain, the Bush look-alike recovering in the White House would again be you.

But the view faces a problem: what if surgeons imprinted your mental states on two pre-wiped brains: George Bush's and Gordon Brown's? Would you be in the White House or in Downing Street? There's nothing on which to base a sensible choice. Yet one person cannot be in two places at once.

In the end, then, no attempt to make sense of your continued existence over time works. You are not the person who started reading this article.”

and if you want here is the link to the original article..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7739493.stm

VAT cut - its not to help the average person!

I think that the proposed cut in the VAT rate from 17.5% to 15% is a pointless exercise. Its not been clearly thought out and won't really help those at the lower end of the income scale anyway.

Will the high street really pass the VAT cut on????

Most high street retailers pick price points i.e. they pick prices that appeal to the public, at a price they think the public will be ready to pay i.e £9.99, £10, £15 etc etc - they don't think..... I'll sell this for £x plus VAT!

Do you really think that most retailers will sell a £9.99 product for £9.77 or a £25 product for £24.47 after the rate has been cut?

The answer is NO - most will stick to the price points that have already been identified as attractive to consumers.

If a retailer has identified that it can sell its product for £10 then they will keep the price at £10 and pocket the difference (23p). That might not seem like a lot for the average perosn - but actually it amounts to billions in the pockets of the businesses.

Retailers are more than capable of changing the total cost (inc VAT) as necessary i.e £5 off in order to have attractive price points.

Before you say that I'm being cynical - I thik that retailers have already shown that they are ready to exploit loopholes to keep as much money in their pockets as possible

http://images.vnunet.com/v6_static/oracle/pdf/fd/nov_vat_fdbrief.pdf

No I think the savvy retailer will simply pocket the difference in order to bump up its own profits!

The only way to truly test this is for someone to keep a track of all prices pre and post the cut - but no one is really goingto do this now are they!

Will it make a difference??????

The actuall impact in the retail price of a product will be just over 2%. When a retailer has a sale they would normally slash a minimum of 10%-25% of goods to get people through the doors. Just imagine how busy the January sales would be if the offer was 2% off everything???? Not very I would guess!

In these depressing times are you going to celebrate being to save 20p off a box of chocolates or £10 of a £500 plasma tv!!!

Why

Ultimately, I think it a sound bite - "look what we've done to help the public".

I guess you're going to ask what would I do - to be honest I don't know - but this is too little, poorly targeted and pointless!

What makes it worse to my mind is that none of the mainstream media (tv, newspapers) seemed to have picked up on this pointkess exercise!

Moral dilemma - what would you do??? (Philosophy 1 of 4)

It was world philosophy day last Thursday (20 Nov)... and to celebrate this the BBC decided to post four philospohocal questions which may have made your brain hurt - that is if you had one in the first place...

As I am running out of things to write about I am just gonna rip of the material via a cut and paste exercise and let you guys pnder on them... (I was gonna apologise for making your brains hurt - but I doubt if it will cause you guys much pain as its a rarely used organ for most of you...).

And before you bother asking - philosophically speaking - I think its perfectly okay for me (and me alone) to rip of other people's material (and atleast I give credit....

Anyway here is the first philosophical dilemma - let the world know what you think.......

Should we kill healthy people for their organs????

Suppose Bill is a healthy man without family or loved ones. Would it be
ok painlessly to kill him if his organs would save five people, one of whom
needs a heart, another a kidney, and so on? If not, why not?

Consider another case: you and six others are kidnapped, and the
kidnapper somehow persuades you that if you shoot dead one of the other
hostages, he will set the remaining five free, whereas if you do not, he will
shoot all six. (Either way, he'll release you.)

If in this case you should kill one to save five, why not in the
previous, organs case? If in this case too you have qualms, consider yet
another: you're in the cab of a runaway tram and see five people tied to the
track ahead. You have the option of sending the tram on to the track forking off
to the left, on which only one person is tied. Surely you should send the tram
left, killing one to save five.

But then why not kill Bill?

I'll publish the rest whenever I feel like it...

My new hobby…. (fighting back against the morons)…

Have you ever been annoyed by stupid e-mails and forwards saying rubbish like….

• forward this to a million people in a few days some random fool will send you some money…
• this kid is dying and xyz plc will give them money for a cure if you forward this e-mail…
• reply to this mail and you will get free cash…
• oh my god have you seen what these evil people are doing… forward to everyone you know to stop…
• beware of this ridiculous scam were people will steal you’re body parts…
• forward this to a million people in the next five seconds or your sad and miserable life will become even worse!!!!
• have you seen this impossible thing… it proves aliens exist….
• etc etc etc

Well I get tons of them for people who I would otherwise say are quite intelligent (although when I get these forwarded mails I sincerely doubt it!!!). To add to the ridiculous nature some of these are things that I have seen in circulation years ago…… and I’m sure you guys have to!

Well plenty of these mails are clearly fakes, spoofs etc… and as I said people who are normally quite sane end up sending me this rubbish…

Well I don’t want it and I’ve been trying to ignore it…. and no I don’t forward it on….

Don’t you imbeciles realise that these are fake just from the context (who in their right mind is going to give money away)! We live in the world of the internet (and you must be on it to read your e-mail), So pick your search engine of choice (Google, Yahoo, MSN etc etc) and look up the damn subject. And guess what you’ll find…. its all a crock of $h1t. (Their are good sites like snopes, urban myths and hoax slayer which research this crap and tell you exactly how stupid it is).

Well I woke up one day and thought enough is enough… its time to fight back against all you idiots out there…

Ideally I would like to remove the senders of these e-mails from the human gene pool with carefully placed baseball bat to the brain… but while the bleeding heart liberals are in charge its down to the next weapon in the arsenal…….

ITS TIME FOR NAME AND SHAME

Everytime I get one of these useless pieces of mail in my inbox… I look it up… then I reply to the person who sent me the offending piece of crap… but not just them, I include everyone they sent it to, and everyone in the e-mail chain… I explain how stupid the mail is and hope simple it is to spend ten seconds of their useless lives researching this stuff so they don’t waste my lives.

And guess what miraculously I don’t get any of these mails anymore… either people have seen the error of their ways (which I doubt as you’re all morons) or more likely they don’t want a barrage of e-mail abuse from me with all their nearest and dearest cc’d.

I would advise anyone who gets one of these mails to spend five minutes looking it up before blindly forwarding it… and to top it all of do a “reply all” to humiliate the sender into sending these again.

Things to do in Libya

Here is the first of my soon to be legendary lists.

Well the there are a number of things for people to do while Libya - but the first thing to do is remember that the sanctions have only recently been lifted - so its not quite a Morocco or Tunisia. And alcohol is illegal (which is fine for me as I'm a Muslim) - so theirs no bars, pubs etc. But there is still enough to keep people entertained.

Resident (expat) or Tourist - Whether you're a tourist or a an expat staying here will be important - as tourists probably won't be interested in the societies etc - I'll list items of interest to ex-pats with (E) and those to tourists with (T).

Some more things to note before venturing out...

Libya is still a fairly conservative Muslim country so you should dress appropriately. Avoid criticising the regime, cultures, values etc (i guess this applies to any country in the world that we visit as we are guests and should be respectful to our hosts).

Okay now lets get going with the list..... I'll try and update this as and when I discover new things....(ps its likely to be Tripoli centric as that is where I am based - but I will try and make notes of other things as I discover them).

1) Beaches (E & T)

Libya has a phenomenal amount of coastline on the Mediterranean coast (the just check it out on a map). So needless to say there are some nice beaches. I haven't been to many so will tell you more at a later time.

2) The Souk (E & T)

The Souk in the old city is fantastic for shopping - there are shops selling virtually everything from modern new appliances,to the more traditional rustic things and gold. Its a good experience to wander around. And unlike other countries you don't get constantly harassed to go into shops and buy things (and even when you go in you don't get the hard sell).

3) The Hash (mainly Expats - but I'm sure tourists could attend to)

And no its not what you think. Its basically an eccentric, worldwide running club (but I tend to walk and use it to chillout and socialise). Its good fun and theirs no pressure to be fit - its just for fun - checkout the global home page http://www.gthhh.com/ 

As well as Tripoli Desert Rats Hash House Harriers, their is also a hash based at Benghazi. On a side note they are a world wide group so you'd be more than welcome to check them out in any country!

4) The Caledonian Society (E)

As the name suggests its a Scottish society - but you don't have to be Scottish to be a member or attend events. As with the hash its an excuse for people to get together and socialise. Great fun with a great bunch of ex-pats from various companies and countries.

5) The Royal Society of St George (E)

Again as the name suggest its an English society but all are welcome to be members and attend events - great fun and just an excuse to meet people and socialise.

6) The Archeological Society (E and T)

Another society - as well as meeting people - it provides you with the opportunity to get out and about and see some of the more of the city. And before you write it off as some fuddy duudy event, its actually a good opportunity to get out and about and see more of the country which you may not normally get a chance to see.

Well that's all for now. I'll try and some links to the above and if I find anything new I'll let you know.

As the famous bunny kept saying... that's all for now folks.......

Lists

I'm running out of things to blog about... and then I read somewhere lists are a good thins so be prepared for a number of lists...... the fist few lists I can think of are:

• websites I like;
• things to do in Libya;
• books I like...

no doubt I'll discover more as I go along......................

so get ready....

and let me know if there is anything in particular you'd like to see and I'll consider it (actually I'll pretend to dismiss it then claim it was my own idea a few months later - but that's tough on you)....

End of my first month in Libya

My first month in Libya is coming to an end - and its been very eventful so far.

I stated my job;

I've moved into my new apartment - which is fairly luxurious (pictures coming soon);

I've met lots of new people - all of whom have been friendly and helpful (both locals and ex-pats);

I've discovered the city of Tripoli (well some parts of it...actually a very small part of it... where I live (near Regatta), where I work (near Qadisiya Square), and the Souk where I was taken for a tour by a colleague.

I've been able to pray at the mosque more often as this is a Muslim country and there are mosques everywhere and its not a problem popping out of work for five/ten minutes to pray at the mosque (in the UK I never had a problem being allowed to pray at work etc - its just in Libya its easier to get to the mosque). Its also easier knowing that everything I cam eat is halal.

I've found a few groups/societies/events to keep me occupied - the hash (no its not what you think its a running event), the Caledonian society, the Royal society and the Archeological society.

And now I'm heading back to London - earlier than expected as my visa got messed up. Next month will be my first Eid in Libya.... so it should be interesting.....

The move to Libya

I've talked a little about my move Libya - but not many people know why I moved etc.

Well I work in Finance within an international integrated oil and gas exploration and production company. I was based in London for the last two years in a corporate role. But after speaking to a number of colleagues it was clear that gaining international or operational experience (or both) would be a big advantage.

So I spent the last year "pimping myself like a hoe" with anyone who would listen (so much so that my colleagues joked that I spent more time socialising the working - but hey guess what it worked ha).

Oh yeah and the money offered on an international assignment isn't to bad (yes I am a greedy, materialistic s.o.b). It wasn't a sure think that I'd get the role as I didn't have the experience to get the role. But then my current role came up - and all my schmoozing paid off (I was actually offered two jobs - one in Libya and one in Aberdeen - now Aberdeen isn't a bad place - but Libya seemed a bit more exotic at the time).

And I've always wanted to get out and explore the world - I didn't really get out and about for various reasons - and this would give me an opportunity to get out and explore.....

I visited Libya, had a look around and liked the place - it seemed clean and safe, and while it wasn't London - it had everything that I thought I might need (I'm a simple soul with no major diva type demands - but I reserve the right to moan and complain even at the best of times - after I am British).

So I decided to take the money and run...... and here I am. On the 18th October I landed in Tripoli.

I think I've annoyed everyone back home that I talk to - the weather in good old blight is wet and grey - and I keep telling them its always hot and sunny.

So the aim is to get out there make friends, smile at people and be me. One important thing is going to be getting out and meeting people. There appears to be quite a few societies and activities that have been set up for ex-pats in Libya by the ex-pats.

I'll try and keep a list of events listed here for reference in case anyone is interested.

Well that's all for now folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like I owe America an apology.....

It looks like I owe America and Americans an apology! That's 310 million people (actually its the 62,million of the 119 million who voted).

While Obama was my favoured candidate for the US presidency, and the person I thought would was best for the role, I doubted whether Americans would be free of prejudice enough, brave enough and ultimately clever enough to elect him.

I never thought that white Americans would elect a black man, I thought that the politics of fear would take over the hearts of an electorate unable to peer through the fog of lies and misinformation that was being spewn out by the media and certain sections of the campaign.

Well it takes a big man to admit he's wrong and apologise - but I'm a short-arse midgit so I won't!

But I will congratulate Obama for his victory and the American people for entering a brave new era.

I also gained a new respect for McCain (who I don't actually think would have been a bad president - its just the Republican party politics and Sarah palin that made me uneasy).

I already respected McCain for standing up to his own supporters when they were calling Obama a terrorist and evil during one of his speeches. He said that while he did not agree with Obama's politics he wasn't an bad person.

McCain said - "He's a decent, family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with (him) on fundamental issues and that's what this campaign is all about."

and

"I have to tell you, he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States."

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/11/mccain-booed-calling-obama-decent-person/

But when I read McCain's speech conceding victory - I was actually moved - it was very gracious and powerful. I actually hope there can be room for McCain in some capacity or role.

The text of the speech can be found here: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hmJfimrZW3jBur_BmaFtqj7mfFgQD948JFJG5

Obama's victory seems to have opened up some hope in world that was in turmoil only hours before. Anyway lets hope we wake up tomorrow to a better world

:)

Comin soon...............

...........something interesting......honest

When I'm at work, on the bus, out and about, on the toilet - well anywhere that is not near my laptop, millions of ideas that would improve the lives of you the reader flood my brain - unfortunately with so many great ideas colliding with each other - the predictable happens and they obliterate each other before I can enrich your lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Such a deep loss is truly sad for you - but never fear - as we speak I am trying my utmost to ensure that I am able to entertain and enrich your lives with joy, pleasure and knowledge, the likes of which you have never witnessed.............

In the meantime you sorry lot are just going to have to put up with some wild ramblings....

...oh yeah and soon I'll be putting some pics up of my new home - so watch this space.............

Moving to Libya.....

Its been a week since I landed in Libya and so far so good........

For those of you who don't know my company have found me an ex-pat position in Libya. Which in the current economic climate seems like a blessing! I've moved out to Libya on an initial two year contract.

To me the country seems clean and safe. There appears to be little to do if you don't have a car - but I should be getting one soon. You can buy most of the things that you want to out here (except alcohol - but seeing as I don't drink that's not an issue for me)! The driving here can be a hazard - so much so that my company won't let you drive without an assessment! (I was warned about the driving before I came - but having visited family in Nairobi and Karachi numerous times - to be honest it seems ok...ish - but I'll let you know more when I actually start driving).

My apartment is the biggest one bedroom flat I've seen - its kitted out with a plasma screen and cinema sound system - and hundreds of satellite tv channels - although there are only 40 or so English ones that I can watch - which is good enough to keep me occupied.

The only downside to my apartment is that its not as close to the beach as I thought it would be :( - but then again, I don't really need to lie in the sun to top up my tan ;)

The only downer so far was that I nearly broke my ankle (just sprained it badly) running for the bus taking us to the Tuesday night party! Even though it was painful (and I was crying liking a baby wanting my mum) it was more painful enduring the jokes from the drilling guys for who said the injury was for "being a soft accountant stuck behind a desk all day".

Overall my first impression of Libya is quite good - a car would help me get around much more - I've just got to make sure I get out and do stuff and don't seal myself in!

My faith in the milk of human kindness has been restored......

Something very shocking happened to me last week..... something very unexpected.....

I was on a business trip to sunny Aberdeen (to train some colleagues in preparation for my departure to Libya in the not to distant future) ....

.....when (as usual) I managed to lose my wallet (this ranks slightly below me leaving my car/flat keys behind in a Libyan guesthouse).... with all my credit/debit cards, pictures, memory cards and personal items (but no cash as I'm am tight Yorkshireman!!)!!!

Anyway all I had to get me back to London was my passport and e-ticket.... I got to Aberdeen airport and jumped on my plane to Heathrow.... not knowing how I was going to make the journey home without cash....

All was not lost I thought to myself as I landed at Heathrow, for I have my trusty mobilephone to hand.... with a few swift calls I could enlist the help of one my multitudes of friends........

except..... my battery was dead.... so what did I do.... I found a wall socket, and plugged my phone in.... many of you may think this is no big deal... except I was terrified...imagine the situation... there I was a Muslim, with no identification.... loitering around the brand new Terminal 5, sticking wires and cables all over the place...... I was praying that no one would notice - cos if I got caught it would be straight to Guantanamo Bay for me no questions asked!!!!!!

(ps for the avoidance of doubt that is a joke I don't think I would have been carted off anywhere - I think that at worst I would have received a stern telling of for stealing some electricity!!!)

Anyway - with my phone charged I made a call....and my SOS was answered by Sajid. Now you have to remember its Ramadan, and he was about to break his fast with his family, it was late in the evening and he had work the next day - but still Saj came to the airport to pick me up and offered to drive me home (which was 20+ miles away (about 1 hour each way)). That was the first event that restored my faith in humanity.....

The second event - which really shocked me was a call from the AA asking me to call Grampian police....

I was worried......

When I called the Grampian (Aberdeen) police I was very very surpised... my wallet had been found and handed in to the police....

This is the first time in my life this had happened - I have lost my wallet (and various other personal items) many many times and this was the first time it has ever been returned - and the first time someone has tried to trace me.... Anyway the police are now posting the wallet to me as we speak and I'm waiting to receive it.

But like I said, I was very surprised that my wallet was found and is being returned to me. I am very grateful to the kind person in Aberdeen and the Grampian Police for returning my wallet and restoring my faith in humanity.

What a year so far......

Well its been quite a hectic year for me so far.................. A fair bit has happened and I seem to have neglected my beloved fan club......

Even though I'm not the most adventerous of people..... so far this year I've visited Weeze (Germany), Tripoli, (Libya), Aberdeen (Scotland), Plymouth (Devon), Barcelona (Spain) and Karachi (Pakistan). Admittedly, the first four were work related - but I managed to see places I hadn't seen before of at least hadn't visited in a long time.

Talking about work - things have been all change there as well. I have a new manager and the department has been change around completely. Everything from the work we do to the new faces in the office. I was offered two new roles at work - one in Libya and one one in Aberdeen. And again - I think everyone has been surprised that boring old me has decided to up sticks and move to Libya - so this means that over the new months there are going to be a lot of changes in both my personal and work lives.... there are going to be a lot of challenges and a lot of adventures...... lets see what the future holds....

Outside of work two friends have gotten married (so congratulations to Mark & Amanda and Stuart and Lorna).

I've taken part in a charity challeng (BG Challenge) which involved three days of intense activities, night orienteering, running, riding, running and riding, games and all with lots of problem solving thrown in. I spent a few weeks training for the event - but I must say thanks to all the guys in the team without whom I couldn't have acheived anywhere near as much as I did!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started to learn Arabic - but then quit as I didn't have the time to commit!!!!

I watched lots of Doctor Who (who seems to have filled the gap in my life when Buffy the Vampire Slayer went of the air!?!?!?!?)

Through the course of the year I've learnt a lot about me and the people around me..... There have been good time and not so good.... but there are no regrets . as I quoted someone in my last post - the goods times were wonderful.....and the not so good will be put down to experience.

This may not be a lot to many folks.... but for a fat slob like me its plenty.... and there are still three more months to go.... si plent of time for plenty more!!!!!!!

Oh yeah... there is one more peice of news............ but that can wait for a while ;O)

Quotes

Yes I have been struggling to blog for a while.......... but in the absence of a working brain I have decided that I will steal some quotes from others...

here are some that I like

Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience. (Victoria Holt - no idea who she is!!!)

This says to me that nothing we do in life is lost - either we'll enjoy it and it was worth ir or if it wasn't we'll know better next time (the only issue is when you keep repeating the same mistakes and you don't learn from your experience......... in which case you've learnt you have a habit you need to get rid of.......)

If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying? (Shantideva - again never heard of 'em)

There are things in life you can influence and things you can't. EIther way worrying about things clearly isn't the way to go - worry get you nowhere (unless you're me and you end up bald).

If you can solve you're problem then go ahead and solve it..... if you can't - then learn to accept it. Its going to be around for a while. So think of making the best of what you have.

If you spend toooooooooo much time worrying about what you can't influence then you may miss the diamonds that are staring you in the face!

Anyway, that's all for me ripping of other people's quotes for today!!!!

Ponder and enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doing something worthwhile.... (Paul Stanton)

For once Facebook has proved useful for something - one of my oldest friends (Paul Stanton) has got in touch with me through Facebook. He's told me his story and all I can say wow - what a story.... here's what he sent wrote:

"I have been very busy. I have just returned from teaching in Hanoi, Vietnam. I am an English teacher now I was in Hanoi for 6 months then did some travelling to Cambodia and Thailand. I have learnt how to speak Vietnamese, Khmer and a little Thai too. I go back to Hanoi in June as I love teaching and living there so much."

Even though its a short paragraph it says so much.... His life sounds really impressive, much more so than mine. But more important than being impressive he's doing something much more valuable and constructive. His giving something back to the world. All I can say is wow, and that I envy him - I wish I had half the courage to do what you he has done and is doing. I wish him all the best in the future.

(Also, now that Paul's an English teacher, I'm absolutely paranoid about him picking out loads of mistakes in my writing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

My last memory of Paul, was him being an absolutely loony fruitloop of a goalkeeper on the football pitch - almost no one could score past him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leeds United!!!

I'm a big Leeds United, and following their fantastic performance I just wanted to post this summary (I actually found it on the BBC 606 sports forum posted by another Leeds fan - but hey I'm always up up for stealing someone else's ideas).

What a remarkable 12 months it really has been. This time last year Leeds United were plunged into administration and relegation to the 3rd tier of English football.

Pre – season:

Unable to recruit players and waiting waiting waiting for the golden share. Days before the season commenced the share was returned and as a bonus the FL made up a new rule and present Leeds with a 15 point deduction.

Have to wait for the Golden share was a significant penalty in itself. Leeds were unable to recruit players.

The seasons opening games:

Leeds win win win win and carry on winning a total of 8 league games in a row. Then a draw (Gillingham) some more wins another draw (Orient. Ling had factored in the 15 points so decided not to go for the win). Some more wins and finally the first league defeat (Carlisle).

Such was Leeds form that they overcame the 15 points climbed the table with unrelenting velocity crashed into the play off places and then for a couple of hours in December were actually top of the table. This was beyond all our expectations. To have overcome the points deduction over a whole season would have been remarkable to do it in half a season and reach the summit of the league was an absolutely fantastic achievement. Leeds I believe will be the first and last team to achieve such a thing.
So. We’re super Leeds and we’re going up.

Then came 2008. The seasons 2nd half:

Poyet leaves and Basset arrives. Leeds start sliding down the table almost as quickly as they climbed it.
Jonathon Douglas is injured and we all wish Kandol would pick up a knock that would put him on the sidelines.

Then Newcastle came to the rescue. Dennis gone. (What is he actually doing at Newcastle).

Enter Gary Mac and Steve Staunton. Basset gone. Leeds continue to slide and drop to 10th. However very quickly Gary Mac turns things around and Leeds start to climb back up the table.
Gary Mac brings in Dougie Freedman.

The run in:

Things get better and Leeds start to show the kind of form that they started the season with . Only now it’s better the style of football is more cultured hoofball is replaced by pass the ball to feet. It is good to watch.

Leeds are winning and doing it with style. Leeds secure a play off position.

So, from -15 points.
Unable to recruit players.
Change of coach and manager.
Top six finish and a game to spare.
A fantastic achievement. Gary Mac and the Leeds team we salute you.

At the start we were waiting waiting waiting for the golden share.

And now?

We are waiting waiting waiting. The intolerable wait for the arbitration ruling, the result of which could yet see us promoted. It ain't over until the fat lady sings and she is just about to draw breath.

Whatever happens this has been a memorable season. And whether it be with points returned (we only need 7) or via the play offs Leeds without doubt deserve promotion.

Upwards and onwards

"You must dare to disassociate yourself from those who would delay your journey... Leave, depart, if not physically, then mentally. Go your own way, quietly, undramatically, and venture toward trueness at last."

Vernon Howard

I found this quote on the Internet. I'd already decided to do this even before I read it - that is the part that says "disassociate yourself from those who would delay your journey". While that part was hard enough, the next part "go your own way quietly, un-dramatically..." is likely to be much much harder.

Will I be able to do this and more importantly will those around me let me do this.

Only time will tell.

ps. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever, who Vernon Howard is, but I'm gonna go to google right now and look him up.

Enjoy life...............

Some one actually read my blog......... his name is Sway and this is his site (I'd recommend a visit as one of his comments has already made me think).

http://sp989.spaces.live.com/

The line that made me think was

"...I was concentrating more on increasing my level, instead of enjoying the game..."

That statement hit me pretty hard... believe it or not, that is the game we play in life.

Some people concentrates more on gaining success but forgets to enjoy life! While others enjoys life but forgets about gaining success...

And it dawned on me... I have been concentrating on becoming successful and often I lose out on the fun. But if I concentrate on the fun... I might lose out on success...

I think there should be balance... what do you think?

I've heard the bit in inverted comma's many times- but it has always been mentioned in terms of computer games - but Sway's comments that this is how many people approach life, made me think hard about my life.

While I don't think that I am at the extreme end end of things - I do think that I could enjoy life more. No doubt, as things move on and I get caught up as the world rushes by, I will forget this lesson. The trick I need to learn is to remind myself of this regularly.

Well I hope all you sit back and think about the comments and look at whether you have the right balance between getting success and enjoying life. 

Oh dear

Oh dear... Again I haven't blogged in ages. But this time its not because of a lack of material... But this time its from having too much material, I honestly don't know where to start. And as each day goes by while I ponder what to write about (or to be more precise - what to rant about!!!) even more acts of incredibly ridiculous behaviour seem to slap me (and the rest of the ignorant populous) in the face.

Some of the stories that have caught my eye (actually its more like they've stunned me into paralytic submission with an industrial cattle prod) include:

• Internet service providers demanding that the BBC meet some of their costs which have increased due to popularity of the BBC iplayer (and there was me thinking that ISP's had already been paid by the users provide them with access!!!!!!!!!!!!);
• BT deciding to use technology (phorm) which many say amounts to illegal wire tapping;
• Everyone losing the plot in relation to the Beijing Olympics/Free Tibet campaign/Torch relay;
• English cricket chiefs deciding that they'll be the only country not to let their players play in the Indian Premier League (apparently they don't think that anyone is interested in earning half a million pounds for a couple of weeks work).

And these stories are only the tip of the iceberg!!!!

bitesize islam

A friend of mine (Faraz) is currently pursuing Arabic and Islamic Studies in Cairo, Egypt. He has created a fantastic site to share his knowledge of Islam.

I would strongly recommend this site.

It can be found at bitesize islam.

"Bitesize Islam aims to present the Shari’ah...using a simple and easy to follow approach. Commonly used terms will be defined and topics broken down logically in the hope that as the site develops it will go some way in helping both Muslims and non-Muslims understand more about Islam, its aims and objectives and how it goes about achieving them."

Terminal 5, BA and BAA

I am truly amazed at the national and corporate embarrassment that is Terminal 5 and further still to the reactions of those who were involved.

To me it doesn't matter whether the fault lies with BA, BAA, CAA, the builders/suppliers or the Government (or any other group with a vested interest). Each of these groups has a vested interest in ensuring that everything wend smoothly - so by my reckoning everyone all these groups should have been active in making sure that everything ran smoothly.

The fact that things have been messed up in such an enormous scale shows that each and everyone has taken their eye of the ball and failed to ensure that passengers using Terminal 5 are not affected.

Clearly planning, preparation, testing and controls have been more than lacking. In this day and age, of outsourcing multi-million/billion projects to the lowest bidder planning, preparation and testing need to to be spot on to ensure that the failure of the 1p widget (bought instead of the 2p widget) is caught early.

There is also the obsession of those leading huge projects to get them out on time - regardless of the fact that a) it isn't finished or b) it is finished but its a mess. Hitting the deadline is more important than making sure its done properly. Nothing is allowed to get in the way of hitting the deadline - even the risk of humiliation.

This project has been been planned for "20 years" allegedly - I for one would like to know how the word planning is defined by the people involved.

Basic things seem to have been omitted in a bid to save a couple of pennies here and there. Added to the above:

• why weren't staff called in the week before opening and run their paces to ensure that they were "familiar with the computers/systems/locations"?;
• why weren't extra BA/BAA staff in place in the run up to and on the first few days of operations?;
• why did everything have to be all go from day one? why could they not start with a small number of flights and slowly ramp up over time?
• now that things have clearly imploded quite spectacularly - why haven't the disaster recovery procedures swung into operation (flood the place with staff to get things moving, fall back to the "old way")? (or am I being a bit optimistic in thinking that they had actually thought and planned for these eventualities?).

Very little appears to be happening to help the average traveller - a delay of a few hours/days on a short term business trip, a weekend away or a holiday will completely wreck things. If you do get away not having your baggage will likely be the end of the trip.

The reactions of those in charge seems to be incredible - especially the lack of comment/action from the Government. Its all very well investigating and fining the companies involved after the event but what about those people who have had things completely wrecked in the here and now?

There seems to be no will to resolve this quickly. No one seems to care about the loss and suffering of travellers or the national humiliation and the damage that corporate UK will suffer (who will want to come and do business with/in a country that can't get people from A to B). People won't even want to use the airport for transit!!!!

I'm just glad that I'm not flying at the moment - and when I do I will do my utmost to avoid BA/BAA. My heart goes out to those stuck in this misery!

(And we're meant to be organising a major sporting event in a few years - more moving parts, more infrastructure being built, more people involved - I think I'll definitely plan to be out of the country when things hit fever pitch).

I'm going to have another rant later about getting things done in the UK and the infrastructure!!!!!!!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/27/t5_opening_day/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/28/t5_reconstruction/

Quotes I like

Because I can't think of anything to blog about.... I've decided to use the age old technique of stealing someone else's lines........

Anyway here is a quote I found the other day that I liked:

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

Results of the vote

I am currently maintaining two blogs - one that I started first (www.bravefish.spaces.live.com) and this one. I had started that one first and then this one on msn spaces. In my opinion the blogspot one can be more flexible - but this one is much easier to use (especially as I don't have much time - as can be seen from my posting history of 1 blog per decade!!!!)

A while back I e-mailed everyone in my address book and asked them to let me know which one they preferred - the intention being that I would continue with the victor and abandon the other like a old flame - never to revisit again.

And now its time for the results......................

Which were pretty damned inconclusive - the indecisive collective that I call friends have proved absolutely useless as always. The vote was split pretty much down the middle with no clear winner.

So I have decide to keep both blogs - after all its just a case of cutting and pasting from one to the other (or in the event that I rip of some other poor souls blog - cutting and pasting twice :)

ps for all of those who were offended that their personal opinion didn't sway me - tough, deal with it - this is my blog, this is a dictatorship and not a democracy!

pps don't be lazy and leave a comment - unless no one is actually reading this thing!

The great tomb robbery

A while back I went to go see the i Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 arena in London with a friend. This is my view on it.

The show was quite impressive but by the time it had finished I was greatly dissappointed!!!!!!!!!!! While the exhibition itself was impressive - there was one major flaw in the exhibition of "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" was the fact that.................................

The main man, the dude, the Pharoah, King Tut wasn't there himself, in person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now it may have been my fault for not reading up on it before I went... but for a show titled "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" I was expecting him to be there in person! Not even the casing for him was present. The nearest we came to the was a couple of inches tall statue that may have held some of his vital organs and drawing on he floor representing the size of the sarcophagus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To add insult to injury - the some of the treasures mentioned were from other pharoahs tombs WHO MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN RELATED TO HIM.

So in summary the main man wasn't there and a lot of the stuff that was there may have nothing to do with him at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apart from these glaringly obvious issues the show was okay - there were some decent artefacts on display, with an interesting history element and the audio tour was well done (oh yeah - from the pics and that staues Queen Nefertiti looked like quite a hottie).

Generally, I would recommend it IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, but be aware the dude is not in the building (or even the country).

Here is a link to the show:

http://www.kingtut.org/home

and one to the O2 arena

http://www.theo2.co.uk/

(on a side note I must admit that the O2 arena is quite an impressive venue).

Sinbad

I've added pics of the newest addition to the Suleman clan - Zhainab (or as she says it Sinbad).

Return of a classic

This is a classic that I've posted on my other blog but had to repost just cos Mr Nurul Islam complained of the lack of pics!!!!!!!!!!!

Facebook etc etc

First it was Hi5, then Myspace....and now it's Facebook............




(and in the middle their were things like Bebo, Birthday Calendar and a few others..............)




In general I would join then lose interest in a few days.... not all your current friends would be in there - so its not like you could truly use it as a tool to manage your social life, and anything you add (e.g. photo's) can only be seen by those who have joined - creating two different classes of friends.




In reality, if I wanted to stay in touch with people I'd be calling, texting or e-mailing (and if I don't well get the hint dudes...............).




Actually that's not fair I have got in touch with some friends who I haven't spoken to since school (e.g. Scouser). The only thing that kept me hooked with facebook was the games like Scrabulous and Vampires - they're quite cool. It's also quite nice to look at other people's pics n stuff. But generally I wouldn't use these sites to "manage my social life".




But this is my opinion for me, it might be better for other people - if every single person you know is on there?




I'm having fun on Facebook, haven't used Hi5 in ages and only used MySpace once.




On the blog I can be more personal, but the problem here is that I rarely update it and their is much less functionality here.




But lets see which one pulls me into the abyss - but all those who know me will probably know that laziness will win through and I'll leave all of them alone.




(actually friends - just cos I haven't spoken to you in ages doesn't mean I'm not thinking about you - its just that I'm too busy/lazy/tight).




Anyway, that's all for now folks.