2006 - Less prickly Than 2005 - I hope...

'Happy New Year' to all... yes all the 6 billion people in the world ! Why do I start my blog that way: a) It is a new year b) Although 2005 was a pretty prickly year for me, I firmly believe (more than ever) treat people as you would expect others to treat you ! So 2005 saw me separate from my wife and hopefully 2006 will see the divorce complete... these things happen... at least the process will not be starting this year :)... and then at the end of 2005 I was made redundant for no good reason... hopefully this will not repeat itself in 2006 !!! So now to my blog... Essentially I set it up to try the 'corporate blogging' phenomenon that I read about so often... it kinda worked... but since I am no longer with my former employer... I thought I would use it for 'stimulating conversation'... well I can try... and my first try at using Google Adwords on my blog... if you have read this blog, give me some encouragement to write something more interesting by visiting an Adword link on the right !!! And Happy New year To You All !!!

Emart appears all over the place....

I made a post the other day about this website that I found... those that know me will realise me buying excessive quantities of wine is nothing new... however I thought that the website that I was talking about was fairly new... well I just found out that a collegue of mine has ordered an mp3 player... and from the sounds of it - it is excellent value for money... strange how there are many sites out there that no-one knows about... and clearly sites that people do know about. Just realised that unless you read my previous blog... which I hope you have done... you will not have a clue who I'm talking about... the site is emart.co.uk... and I love visiting it... hope Santa does too...

Yes... I'm back...

Here we go... I feel that one should only blog when on has something to say... and boy do I have something to say... a great site for all those shoppers in the UK shoppers to visit... http://www.emart.co.uk The amount of product is truely amazing... so far I have ordered 3 boxes of wine from the... wine store it all arrived as expected... the quality is fantastic... really impressive... a great selection... cant wait until my next order !!! As to the other stores their is such a great range of products... it makes shopping really easy... so before you go any where else check out http://www.emart.co.uk Great to be back blogging... will try and make the next blog more interesting...

Where have I been...

Yes, I know... I have been gone for sometime... well I would like to say I am back with a bang... but that will have to wait. a) I am still getting over THFC adding some silver to the trophy cabinet... and b) I am up to my neck in designs for the new emart website... So where have I been... why have I been so quiet... well I received the following message from my computer... I switched... but now am trying to correct the ' '... you know the ' '... anyone know of a quick way to correct it ?

Cava and Cheesecake Is The Way To Go

Having been treated to Cava and Cheesecake today... I can conclusively concur two points... 1) that it does (although marginally) beat Kronenberg and Cheesecake. I feel that this could be the start of some more research... especially with the recently discovered presence of Kronenberg Blanc... and 2) that Billy Bloggington from Emart.co.uk, really does know his stuff... if you have need of a wine recommendation... I heartedly recommend Billy Bloggington's recommendations...

LIVE 8 - MAKE POVERTY HISTORY...

OK... so what does this great day mean to me ? I will never forget seeing the haunting pictures of the famine that struck the continent of Africa... and then watching the Live Aid concert in 1985 on a school holiday. It is something not to forget... and today is another one of those days... it is time for the G8 leaders to stand up and say 'we' will make a difference... I heard that at 23.00pm GMT over 23 Million people had signed the live8live.com website list... to be presented at the G8 summit... this means people give a damn and want to see our leaders make a difference... if you haven't signed it and I can make a small difference by pointing people in that direction... then go and sign it and help to make a difference... live8live.com I have never been a great fan of Tony Blair... but I hope that he can see that he has two paths he can follow in Scotland... one where he seriously tries to make a difference and follow it through... or the other which is to spend the G8 summit living it up with his buddies at Balmoral, making lame excuses for a poor agreement... and making no difference what so ever... one will make him a great leader and one will make him a pointless nobody... We truly have a chance to stop thinking about our everyday difficulties... every member of each G8 state has a life that is awesome, compared to the poverty in Africa... we may think our lives are pretty poor... but really nothing can compare to the decades of abuse and deprivation that Africa has had to endure... The great thing about today is that it can be the start of something even greater... we are part of a generation that can do something memorable... not something destructive like Great Wars but something positive MAKE POVERTY HISTORY... I said a few days ago that YOU CAN NEVER UNDO THE PAST... ONLY INFLUENCE THE FUTURE... and not only have I seen a global wave today, of people interested in influencing the future... but I have seen three people/groups who really stood out for me... two individuals and one band... The individuals: 1) SIR BOB GELDOF... why the hell do people give him so much stick... there are pretty few individuals who could have put together this huge global project... was it just a big pop concert... no it has been a great vehicle to get one simple message out MAKE POVERTY HISTORY... 2) BILL GATES... through luck, skill, sheer determination he turned Microsoft into a huge business... what ever your thoughts about Microsoft and Windows... one cannot fault Bill and Melinda for their Philanthropy. They could just sit on their money and watch it grow... but they are actually using it to try and benefit those who are considerably less well off than themselves... 3) The regrouping of PINK FLOYD.. even rock stars can show some humanity that we can all take notice of... as Gilmour said recently... "Any squabbles Roger and the band have had in the past are so petty in this context, and if reforming for this concert will help focus attention then it's got to be worthwhile." Remember our LIFE IS AWESOME... lets not miss out this historic moment to generate momentum in the fight to MAKE POVERTY HISTORY...

Am I a Cartesian Product ?

Whilst being involved in the world of computers and technology, I have always tried to stay clear of technical acronyms and confusing (unnecessary) 'tech speak'(I frankly refuse to use the words g**k speak)... but every now and then I enter the abyss and talk in terms that alienate 90% of the population. This becomes particularly surreal when laughing and joking about a technical phrase... especially if the participants of the conversation can see the humour on multiple levels... as a joke between each other and as a fly on the wall... looking around at the strangest faces as 'non-technical' people struggle to comprehend what the hell it all means... The particular phrase that amused us was Cartesian Product... how the hell do you even start to explain it to not only non-technical people... but even to people on the technical ladder... For those of you who have escaped falling into a coma... a Cartesian Product is a table created when data is pulled from two other tables with no WHERE clause... all that happens is that you end up with a table that is full of data... but 9/10 that data is rubbish and meaningless... So where is the humour in that... well for the technical team the momment came about when we considered that there is a term for a relatively pointless process... someone actually thought it required naming ? Referring to the SQL for Dummies book... which in itself is nuts... PC's for Dummies I understand... Driving a car for Dummies I could get... but SQL... that is just frankly crazy... it may as well say nuclear fission for dummies... or brain surgery for dummies... unless you had some understanding of the human body... you wouldn't even know where to begin. Anyway back to the Cartesian Product... in the previously mentioned giant of the literal world... a Cartesian Product is descibed as... "When youre trying to get useful information out of a multitable database, the Cartesian Product produced is almost never what you want. It's almost always the first step toward what you want...' Does that make me a Cartesian Product... I am certainly at the first step towards what I want...