Just blimmin lovely!!

Like a fine wine, he gets better with age!!

Design Fabulous: HTC 1

Really nice concept design for HTC Smartphones

design fabulous: HTC 1:

Renders / Graphics: Adobe Photoshop"

Am shocked... I think I met New York Times Square con artist who was shot dead this week.

Heard this on the news this morning and during my recent trip in Oct to NYC, I think we were scammed by this guy who collared us in Times Square.

NY Hustler Killed In Times Square Gunfight

If its the same person and it seems very likely it is, he wasn't violent towards us, but he was certainly very pushy in a charm offensive way, to the point where we just gave him $10 dollars so we could go on our way as he and his colleague blocked our path. He wrote my name on what was obviously a fake CD with his scribbled 'autograph' on it then asked for a 'donation' to help his career as a rapper as he said he was on the verge of being signed.

We were probably targeted as wide eyed tourists, and yes probably a bit gullible to go along with his patter, but hearing this story this morning made me go a bit cold...

Funny jokes... dare I say it, very cheesy!

Heard some funny one liners the other day... thought I'd pilfer them for posterity as I am rubbish at remembering any good jokes!

Q: What cheese do you use to hide a horse?

A: Marscapone


And there’s more...

Q: What cheese do you use to entice a bear out of the woods?

A: Camembert


And lastly...

Q: What cheese isn’t yours?

A: Nacho cheese


I'm here all week... !

Testing images

NYC photos from my iPod touch












-- Posted from my iPod touch

Testing my new toy

My first post from my new iPod touch that I purchased in NYC!

More news on that coming soon :)



-- Posted from my iPhone

Remembrance of humanity and lives lost...

It's September 7th 2009, 4 days away from the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City on 9/11, 2001. I have just watched a documentary on Channel 4 here in the UK and it still is so utterly completely jaw droppingly unbelievable. This footage shown tonight was not a regular documentary as such but a collection of amateur footage that was taken that day by passers by, tourists, wannabe news reporters... regular people just documenting the astounding event that was unfolding before their eyes in a city that nobody thought would ever come under attack.

I am not a New Yorker, nor am I an American, but like many others around the world as news filtered through about what was going on, I listened and watched in horror, glued to my computer, my radio and TV set as each terrifying segment of that day occurred. To watch the footage tonight from the people who saw it happen first hand was truly chilling and it reminded me of the initial feeling I felt that day of absolute disbelief at what was happening. I had BBC News 24 on constantly and I cried for those poor people they showed falling from the skies, then stood open mouthed in utter shock when each building fell.

The programme tonight showed so many different emotions from the general public in New York that day. From initial shock and morbid fascination at what seemed to be the first tragic accident of a plane crashing into Tower 1, to absolute terror as they witnessed the second plane hit. Then came the fear and panic as each building collapsed and the realisation at how many lives had been lost.

And even though I knew what was happening and when on the digital timeline on the television, the knot in my stomach got tighter and tighter as the day unfolded and I wanted to will those poor souls out of the buildings and to safety. In my mind I still watch that footage and I am saying "get out, get out, get out... please get out of there, it's going to fall". I am visiting New York for the first time in my life end of this month and I think for many years to come, people from all over will be drawn to that spot to pay their respects to all those who lost their lives that day... me being one of them.

It still astounds me that as human beings, built of the same flesh and bone as one another, that we can have such varying beliefs of how we treat other fellow human beings. On the one hand you have people who are capable of such evil, who have no respect for human life. People who can without any thought or consideration for others fly a plane into a building where they know there will be catastrophic loss of life. People who can strap a bomb to themselves and blow up a commuter train in London killing indiscriminately. People who can arm themselves with a gun and walk into a primary school full of children or around a quiet village in the countryside and fire at will... or walk into a school armed with weapons and fire at people because they think it's 'fun'. How are people capable of such wicked and evil deeds? How can people cheer and welcome home a known terrorist responsible for blowing an airliner out of the sky killing not only those on board but many others in the small village of Lockerbie in Scotland where it fell. How that even deserves a welcoming committee is beyond me... What is there about such loss of life that is worthy of cheering? To anyone with any shred of compassion or humanity... there is nothing worthy about it at all.

And yet on the other hand you have those who on that day walked toward those burning towers and climbed those stairs to rescue who they could... even though they probably knew in their own mind that this could be their last job and they wouldn't be coming out alive. People who raced to help those injured or led them to safety. Strangers who just held other people's hands to calm them down or offered water to those choked by acrid dust. In London, we had doctors from nearby medical schools race to treat those torn to shreds in the London attacks of 2005. People from everyday walks of life who led others to safety down dark tunnels filled with smoke. And so many other acts of bravery or kindness in such shocking events that go unrecognised but are never the less always as worthy...

How can those two aspects of humanity be so different? It just makes my head spin...

There's part of a JFK speech that comes to my mind when I am reminded of such awful events as 9/11... I am not an American, a historian or even political but there are lines in this speech that are still so relevant today as they were back in 1961 where a war in a faraway country was raging and many lives were being lost, much as it is today post 9/11:

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

....

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You - JFK, Inaugural speech - Jan 20th 1961

God rest all those who lost their lives to these awful events...and also those who have lost their lives since in trying to rid the world of such evil.

Rest in peace.

Been a year since we saw Madge 'Live'

Its a year ago this week that we stayed in the hellhole in Cardiff the weekend we went to see Madonna. I thought I would post this YouTube clip as it was my favourite song of the whole night and is a remix of 'Like a Prayer' with Meck's 'Feels Like Home'. I think Madge called it 'Feels like a Prayer'. I think the version we heard in Cardiff on her opening night was less gospelly than this and more clubby, but I may be wrong. Anyway, the Meck song is just awesome anyway (one of my faves to throw some shapes to) and Like a Prayer just goes so well with it. Enjoy!

Last copied post from old blog. This was my first encounter of one of my sporting heroes. The delumptious David Beckham whilst he was still the Captain of England.

This was taken (in haste - hence lighting is poor) at my first ever England football game. It was England vs Azerbaijan at St James Park in Newcastle (World Cup qualifier in 2005 before we choked in Germany and Beckham cried when he resigned - as did I). David took a corner and I was about halfway up the crowd. I couldn't get my camera to focus well so its a bit grainy, but I was dead chuffed I got it!!

Lulworth Cove Dorset

Again found these on an old blog. These were taken a few years ago. Made me think how nice it would be to actually have a summer time that didn't suck! (God, take note - we haven't had a decent summer here in the UK for ages - give us a break!)

This little place I found completely enchanting. Its like stepping back in time and I only found out it was here as I was down this way with work. Its known as the Jurassic Coast as its where the land collided with other lands thousands of years ago. As a result, the cliffs have vertical timelines in the soil and there are loads of fossils. I found a tiny one just sitting on the beach. Its a lovely quaint little place and on a summer's day the water is beautiful. Durdle Door is over the ridge and throughout the year you can hear the boom of the Gunnery Tank Training up on the hill. These were taken in August 2004.

Old school pix

Been moving stuff around from an old blog and found these. Ah to be young and youthful again with bad fashion sense (though I LOVED my Adidas jacket!)

Technically I didn't take these (credit to Louise Bay, nee Pelican) but I posted them on here as they brought back some memories of school in the 80's!