Wednesday 13 November 2013

The Bill Gates approach to improving the world; does it differ from that of Steve Jobs?

Bill has always been an inspiration and more so because he is still alive and uses his brain.  Were he Steve Jobs, we would treated to a long term gradual approach, but Bill is for the here and now. He deserves our attention.







Why can't we admit we're scared of Islamism? » The Spectator










A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN To the citizens of the United States

I have just received in my email the following notice: 

           A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
 
In light of closing down of the Government in the USA and thus the inability to govern yourselves, We hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
 
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories  (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).
 
Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for  America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you  noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown  dependency, the following rules are introduced with  immediate effect:
 
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1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.'   Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without  skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').
 
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2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is  no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to  take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and  the elimination of '-ize.'
 
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3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
 
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4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns  should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
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5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
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6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will  go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of  conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will  help you understand the British sense of humour.
 
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7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
 
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8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
 
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9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all.  Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to  as beer, and European brews of known and  accepted provenance  will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest  sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer.   They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold  without risk of further confusion.
 
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10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English  characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect  in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese  grater.
 
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11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full  kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
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12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played  outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there  is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you  face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
 
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13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
 
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14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
 
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15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never  mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus  strawberries (with cream) when in season.
 
God Save the Queen!







Fundamental Flaw in Apple's Maps Directions? A general problem with iPad use as a directional device?

Point to point enquiries as done on Google maps was extremely useful. 

Try going in Apple's Maps from one place to another without one of the two places being the current place. 

I have not been able to do that because one of the points is always overwritten by the current place, and it is very frustrating. 

Maybe Google Maps? 

Solution is to use another map system for directions. Preferably use one that has a permanent maps feature otherwise you are only likely to get more frustrated.

Rich Tea





Graphene Supercapacitors Ready For Electric Vehicle Energy Storage, Say Korean Engineers | MIT Technology Review







Electric Ford Focus now available in US | Next Green Car







Electric batteries may last over a decade







Fed Judge Rakoff Sees No Prosecution for Top Wall Street Execs (Update 1) - TheStreet

US Government lax on prosecuting bank criminals.....







Swiss prosecutors probe former UBS banker turned U.S. informant | Reuters

Tip of the Alpsberg?







Bank: UK Recovery Has Finally Taken Hold

It's a scam to think that a boost in the construction industry is helpful. Brits are so fooled by this ploy! How about better trade figures? 







Tinnitus Study









Toronto’s cell tower radiation guidelines to stay | IT World Canada News

Do you have ringing in your ears? Are you suffering from tinnitus? Could you and your friends / neighbours be going gradually deaf through silent noise and blind through dark light and macular degeneration? Do the research, its probably not just DNA. 







iPad mini with Retina display goes on sale across the world today | ZDNet







Chinese Leader Gets More Sway on the Economy and Security - NYTimes.com







Jack Straw: Labour made mistake letting Poles in early | Politics | theguardian.com







Time to break free from the tyranny of rising house prices | Business | The Observer

The current policy is unsustainable as is the stupid building industry.







House prices have gone mad, but at least some of us know it | Life and style | The Guardian

The greed comes from the government.







Want an energy revolution? Think beyond the big six | Zoe Williams | Comment is free | The Guardian

A call for public ownership..







£2,000 fuel bills on the way, consumers warned | Business | The Guardian

Of course, the energy sector expects to make massive profits out of its pricing.







YOU HAVE REACHED WOOH'S STREAM
The Internet User's Best Kept Secret

Sketches from scratches is a provocative blogspot that has grown out of the Wuh Lax experience. It is eclectic, which means that it might consider just about anything from the simple to the extremely difficult. A scratch can be something that is troubling me or a short line on paper. From a scratch comes a verbal sketch or image sketch of the issue or subject. Other sites have other stuff that should really be of interest to the broad reader. I try to develop themes, but variety often comes before depth. ... more!