tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1723699077814430992024-03-13T22:43:02.786+00:00Stitch's MasterMusings of a political geekStitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-22276148067705723342012-02-25T11:35:00.001+00:002012-02-25T11:35:58.068+00:00Workfare<div><p>So there's a shortage of jobs out there and or those looking for work don't have the skills employers are looking for. The government can't magic jobs out of thin air in the private sector, like Labour did in the public sector, so what can they do?</p>
<p>It seems they are asking private companies to take people on for a few weeks at a time, giving those people valuable experience. People they wouldn't otherwise employ as they don't have the skills to justify the wages that role would normally command. The employee still gets an income in terms of their benefits, they also get free training and experience. The company doesn't have to pay a wage for a role that doesn't exist to somebody they wouldn't have employed anyway. The government still pays benefits, which it would have done anyway, but there's now a good chance that they may get somebody off the books as they will have more to offer. All in all it looks like win, win, win.</p>
<p>So now we have the other side, which seems to be mostly those with a leaning towards the left demanding these people should be paid a wage while gaining the work experience. This is fine, but that assumes there is an actual job there, rather than a work placement. If that was the case, they wouldn't get the job, because they don't have the skills and because there is a minimum wage and their value is currently below that. So in essence they are demanding the private sector create jobs to employ people that don't have the skills to do the job in the first place. This is all sounding very much like the public sector again.</p>
</div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-28390838951045151122011-08-17T21:16:00.002+01:002011-08-23T16:04:24.259+01:00Plusnet, multiple IP address block and Tomato<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have been with Plusnet for many years, mostly because they provide services than many other providers don't. Most of those services aren't of interest to most people, however, if you're hosting multiple web servers etc then having IP address blocks and the ability to configure DNS via a web page is very useful. Please be aware, I don't think you can still get IP blocks for non-business accounts with Plusnet.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I requested an IP Block some time ago but never managed to get it working correctly. My hardware it turns out was fine; a netgear modem connected to a Linksys WRT54g router, the problem was the config on the router and despite much scouting about I couldn't get it working. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well today, I managed to piece together about 3 or 4 different tutorials and forum posts and managed to get it all working. Follows the steps to make it happen!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you're given a block of IP addresses, something like XXX.XXX.XXX.1 to XXX.XXX.XXX.4. The first address you cannot use, the second is for the router, the third is the free address and will be used to replace <free_ip> below and the final one is the broadcast address and used to replace <broadcast_ip> below.</broadcast_ip></free_ip></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The <internal_ip> is the internal LAN IP address used by the device you want to expose on the spare public IP <free_ip></free_ip></internal_ip></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Go to - Administration > Scripts > Firewall and add the following:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#-----------------------------<wbr></wbr>------------------------------<wbr></wbr>-------</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#Add additional WAN IP to Router</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ifconfig vlan1:2 <free_ip> netmask 255.255.255.255 broadcast <broadcast_ip> </broadcast_ip></free_ip></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">#-----------------------------<wbr></wbr>------------------------------<wbr></wbr>-------</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Next go to the Port Forwarding Page and add a new port forwarding rule</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Proto = both (or whatever you want to make available)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Src Address = <free_ip></free_ip></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ext Ports = 25-5000 (or whatever you want to make available)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Int Ports = leave blank to pass to the same internal ports</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;">Int Address = <internal_ip></internal_ip></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><internal_ip></internal_ip></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Save and then test whether you can access your device on the external IP that you've just configured.</span></div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-57601644844865693002011-06-06T10:15:00.001+01:002011-06-06T10:15:08.760+01:00Restriction of service based on lifestyle choices<div><p><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8554640/No-IVF-on-the-NHS-if-your-husband-smokes.html">No IVF on the NHS if your husband smokes - Telegraph</a></p>
<p>So it's started then. Removal of access to services on the NHS if you're a smoker.</p>
<p>I'm not going to touch on whether IVF should even be available on the NHS nor the nhs as a whole. But this is a worrying first step.</p>
</div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-19421664189301694302011-05-18T18:19:00.001+01:002011-05-18T18:19:55.417+01:00We've got too many laws<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I suspect I may have covered this before, but Ken Clarke getting himself all in tangle today over sexual assault versus rape kind of makes my point. If the ones making the laws don't know what they are, what hope have the rest of us got?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My suggestion, for what it's worth, get each MP to state, in full, every law they can remember. The laws that they can all remember, we take forward, everything else gets dropped. If there are any left at this point, it shouldn't take too long to review them and re-write them in terms that real people can understand. After that if you want a new law, then fine, but you kill an existing one off first. On this basis we shouldn't have situations where somebody is ignorant of the law, because by now it's sufficiently simple for 600 odd MPs to understand after all. Until that point, ignorance of the law should be a justifiable defence, I for one have no idea what most of the laws in this country are.</span>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-4712878643310311762011-03-15T15:21:00.001+00:002011-05-21T16:13:56.393+01:00BMA rejects NHS reforms | Society | guardian.co.uk<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Doctors also accused Lansley of using "inaccurate and misleading information to denigrate the NHS", by comparing UK cancer and heart disease rates with those in Europe.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So because European figures make the NHS look bad, they shouldn't be used?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/15/bma-meeting-rejects-nhs-reforms"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">BMA rejects NHS reforms | Society | guardian.co.uk</span></a>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-40366426843741892142011-03-11T08:20:00.000+00:002011-03-11T08:20:46.855+00:00On reporting statistics<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've read a number of articles this morning that all take the form of "doing X increases / decreases your change of getting Y by Z%". Not one of them state what the baseline chance of getting or avoiding the condition actually is. If your 25% more likely to get liver disease by drinking more than 1 glass of wine a day, but the chances of getting it when drinking nothing are 0.001% then that increase is insignificant. If it's 10% then it makes quite a difference. My basic suspicion is that most of the baselines are closer to the former than the latter which is why they go unreported, they'd fail to have the "scare" impact if people looked at the figures and realised that 90% of fuck all is still fuck all.</span>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-58719013937646482912010-10-05T09:30:00.003+01:002011-08-23T16:05:21.953+01:00A bit of self whoring<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well the company I work for was purchased by a much larger outfit earlier in the year. We suspected there would be some "re-organisation", "consolidation" and "efficiency drives". Up until last week, my department had been left alone, however, the sword has now fallen and we are in consultation. So if any body is looking for an experienced Software Product / Project Manager let me know!</span>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-14765909186127017522010-08-27T16:27:00.001+01:002010-08-27T16:44:15.211+01:0038 Degrees and the BBC Cuts<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">38 Degrees seem to be all for maintaining huge outdated monoliths that swallow huge amounts of tax payer's cash. They recently ran a campaign about protecting the BBC from cuts and licence fee reform. You can see the campaign </span><a href="http://38degrees.org.uk/page/speakout/bbc-license-fee"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and they even provide a handy template letter you can email off to your MP.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I made use of their template, with a few "adjustments" and the other day I got a response from MP (below). While not offering quite the savage hacking of the BBC I was hoping for, it does at least look like there are plans to make some changes to the lumbering beast at least!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Dear xxxx,</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Thank you for taking the time to contact me about the future of the BBC.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I can fully appreciate the points you have raised about the current licence fee to the BBC, particularly if you do not use the services they provide.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I believe that the BBC can and should be doing more to ensure value for money for all licence fee payers who, of course, may not all choose to listen or view. To this end, the Government will give the National Audit Office full access to the BBC's accounts to ensure transparency. I believe that this will make the BBC work harder to achieve value for money. I would also like to see the BBC be subject to the Freedom of Information act to ensure their spending is transparent.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">As Jeremy Hunt has also made clear, the Government will be discussing the future of BBC funding with the Corporation in detail during the licence fee settlement and BBC Charter Renewal. One of the issues that the Government has made clear needs to be addressed is the lack of transparency surrounding pay for top executives and highly paid stars.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The substantial charges in the TV, radio and online platforms do present significant issues for the BBC and in the long run, I doubt the Licence Fee is sustainable given the increased competition and plurality of supply, but the Government has no plans to change it at the current time.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me again.</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Regards</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br />
</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Nigel Mills MP</span></span></span>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-44623960652571333692010-08-27T08:35:00.001+01:002010-08-27T14:33:30.497+01:00Stressed out Police<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">WTF? Compulsory "Emotional survival training"?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1306477/Stressed-police-relaxation-training.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1306477/Stressed-police-relaxation-training.html</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I suspect the "stress" endured by the Police could be alleviated far more effectively by:</span><br />
<br />
<ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Reducing the amount of paperwork they have to do</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Getting them out on the streets more</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Locking scrotes up so the Police are not arresting the same people on a weekly basis</span></li>
</ol>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-42722197188721008692010-08-17T09:29:00.000+01:002010-08-17T09:29:08.535+01:00Not all the cameras were switched off<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10995861"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10995861</span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So Oxford City left a couple of speed cameras on and the number of detections went up after the big switch off. So what, did the number of accidents or casualties go up? If not, that suggests the posted speed limit is too low anyway.</span>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-40442793514851254052010-07-06T08:47:00.000+01:002010-07-06T08:47:30.827+01:00Incandescent light bulbsIt would seem that B&Q are clearing out their remaining stocks of incandescent light bulbs. They were selling off their 60w polar bear killer for 10p a pack. I bought their entire stock!Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-468579811087364302010-05-13T12:52:00.002+01:002010-08-19T15:51:08.009+01:00The greatness of the NHSI recently had a eye test which resulted in me needing to be referred to a specialist. It seems recent changes mean that the pressure in my eyes is too high despite it not having changed from the last time.<br />
<br />
A couple of weeks later I had a letter from my GP telling me how to book an appointment. I went through the process and was offered 4 local hospitals to choose from. I selected my preferred hospital and was offered 1 timed appointment slot and that was it. I couldn't make that so tried the next, and no appointments were available at all in the next 3 months. The story was the same for the next. Finally at the last hospital there were a few slots but nothing closer than 5 weeks away. So all in all there is the illusion of choice when in reality there is none.Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-51207867209581057852010-04-30T15:36:00.000+01:002010-04-30T15:36:30.281+01:00Go on, I'll have a punt as well<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"></span><br />
<h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="UIStory_Message">Seeing as the world and his dog seems to have passed comment, I may as well join the affray.</span></h3><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="UIStory_Message"><br />
</span></h3><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="UIStory_Message">It seems the buttered potato won it, dramatically according to yougov, no surprise if you read <a href="http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/">Craig Murray's</a> blog. It was a more animated debate that's for sure but Nigel Farage seemed to do better in a two minute interview than any of them. </span></h3><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="UIStory_Message"><br />
</span></h3><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="UIStory_Message">I've got issues with all of the "big 3" here's hoping the smaller parties and independents make a sizeable dent come next week!</span></h3>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-33638708628535136122010-04-30T15:24:00.004+01:002010-04-30T15:25:08.055+01:00Blog ratingAccording to <a href="http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/blog_rating">http://www.oneplusyou.com/bb/blog_rating</a> this blog is PG-13 rated due to the inclusion of the word "dick" x2 and "murder" x1. Seems "cunt" isn't an issue!Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-1143527323581759572010-04-23T22:38:00.002+01:002010-04-26T08:57:51.247+01:00Jamie Oliver really is a cuntThis cock sucker has been spamming twitter with his bansturbating shit and then comes on tv with high fat food saying how great it is ... cuntStitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-64988052551054635972010-04-20T13:19:00.001+01:002010-04-26T08:57:19.731+01:00They still don't get itI just heard McDoom on the radio at lunch time. He was being asked "what were you thinking when you claimed your cleaning costs on expenses?"<br />
<br />
He started to waffle on about how he had 2 residences (3 if you include Chequers) and that he needed a cleaner and how it was only fair to pay her a decent wage. <br />
<br />
I have no issue with any of that but the point you so blatantly missed that the young lady was trying to make is "yes, but what on earth made you think it was OK to claim it on expenses and get the tax payer to fork out for it?" <br />
<br />
You lot are towards the top end of the salary scale, you get all sorts of things paid for on expenses that us in the real world don't and yet you still think paying for a cleaner this was is somehow acceptable!Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-70319151250523954422010-04-16T12:07:00.001+01:002010-04-26T09:00:10.046+01:00Hacking really could be murder<a href="http://gizmodo.com/5518472/password-tattoos-to-keep-pacemakers-safer-from-hackers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gizmodo%2Ffull+%28Gizmodo%29">Password Tattoos To Keep Pacemakers Safer From Hackers - Uv password tattoos - Gizmodo</a>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-54142419641205505972010-04-16T11:45:00.001+01:002010-04-26T09:00:36.672+01:00Getting rid of it still doesn't mean kids should be eating off the pavement<div><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/derby/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8620000/8620553.stm">BBC - Derbyshire dog mess campaign is not foul play</a> - while I abhor dog owners who don't clean up after their pet, there's plenty of other nasty stuff on the ground that kids shouldn't be eating either. Parents, teach your kids not to pick stuff up and eat it! </div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-2026516770981134132010-04-07T13:30:00.001+01:002010-04-08T08:28:21.985+01:00New health care initiative for the elderly<div>Worth a gander!</div><div><br />
</div><a href="http://dickpuddlecote.blogspot.com/2010/04/but-which-four-to-choose.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DickPuddlecote+%28Dick+Puddlecote%29">HT | Dick Puddlecote</a><br />
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</div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-15083588087785690782010-04-06T16:06:00.004+01:002010-04-07T11:14:12.751+01:00Milestone 'car mode'Well it's taken some faffing about but I've finally sorted out the car dock mode on my Motorola Milestone. There's a couple of issues to take on board for anybody trying the same thing:<br />
<div>1. The UK (maybe the Milestone as a whole) version doesn't actually have the car app, only the multimedia app. A copy of the app can be located <a href="http://www.gemro.info/CarDock.apk">here</a>, but I can't confirm whether it is legitimate or not, just that it works!</div><div>2. You have to know where to place the magnet, and you do need only one. A number of places seem to work, however, the most consistent location I discovered was midway between the black Motorola logo on the batter cover and the indentation on the battery cover to allow you to get a grip of the cover to remove it (See below).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S7tOVcPR0uI/AAAAAAAABhE/GslcTuRP7gU/s1600/img032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S7tOVcPR0uI/AAAAAAAABhE/GslcTuRP7gU/s320/img032.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div>3. Depending on whether it's the North or South facing the back of your phone depends on which app (car or media centre) gets activated. My magnet doesn't say which is which, but try it one way, then flip the magnet over and try again if you don't get the desired result.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S7tOyTzJAFI/AAAAAAAABhM/78p1dqpEZ0k/s1600/img033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S7tOyTzJAFI/AAAAAAAABhM/78p1dqpEZ0k/s320/img033.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Media Centre App</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S7tO8xDVeRI/AAAAAAAABhU/cCSMUL813Qg/s1600/img034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S7tO8xDVeRI/AAAAAAAABhU/cCSMUL813Qg/s320/img034.jpg" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Car Dock App</div><br />
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</div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-56271826339143266342010-03-12T13:41:00.000+00:002010-03-12T13:41:54.760+00:00Joining the BNP doesn't make you a racist bigot<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I just heard about </span><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8563044.stm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">this</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> on the radio while I was out at lunch time. Inevitably we had the whining righteous on bleating about how they would take their kids out of school if one of the teachers joined the BNP or how they, as a student, may be discriminated against because a teacher was in the BNP.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've news for you folks, joining the BNP doesn't make you a racist bigot, you need to be one of those already before you join. At the moment there will be racists teaching in schools, certainly the left wing economics is a good match, membership, or not, to the BNP isn't going to make a jot of difference.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Personally I applaud the outcome of the report, and also think Police and Prison Officers should also be allowed to join, not because I support the BNP, as you may have gathered, I don't, but because I support freedom of choice. Something this current government seems keen to eradicate and Cameron seems to have no answer to.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is an alternative to consider however:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lpuk.org/pages/membership.php"><img border="0" src="http://lpuk.org/media/buttons/lpuk_join180.gif" /></a></div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-9925178967733454102010-03-12T12:39:00.001+00:002010-03-12T12:39:49.912+00:00A letter to the BBC<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A bunch called 38 Degrees or something, have created a site to allow you to submit a letter to the BBC with regard to the proposed cuts. The suggest some text for you to use and allow you to edit if you see fit. I didn't think the text was too far off the mark so only modified it slightly, see below. If you want to submit you own, you can do so </span><a href="http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/speakout/BBCcutsSO?js=true"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">HT: </span><a href="http://rantinrab.blogspot.com/2010/03/e-mail-bbc-trust.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Rantinrab+(RantinRab)"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">RantinRab</span></a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Dear BBC Trust,<br />
<br />
I am writing to respond to the consultation about the Strategic Review recently published by the Trust. I urge you to escalate and expand your plans to make cuts to the BBC. The current proposals don't go far enough and many pointless services will still be left.<br />
<br />
Please go ahead with the current plans to make these cuts and find additional ways to make sure the BBC is further pruned down to size.<br />
<br />
Yours,</span>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-7810284479210662852010-03-12T10:54:00.002+00:002010-03-12T11:14:52.871+00:00Bar Code Scanner<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As I mentioned </span><a href="http://stitchsmaster.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-android-app-review-appbrain.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, another vital app for your kit bag is a barcode scanner. This isn't just for ready bar codes on products, although it'll do that just fine, it's also a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code">QR Code</a> scanner. You can download an excellent, and free one from <a href="http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.google.zxing.client.android">App Brain</a> or if you have an alternative scanner, from the QR Code below or finally by searching for "Barcode Scanner" on the Android Market.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This excellent scanner from <a href="http://code.google.com/p/zxing/">ZXing</a> is also a pre-requisite for a number of other apps out there such as "Wine By the Bar"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rated: </span><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5og7Vx_SJI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/4DToEGdbLwQ/5star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5og7Vx_SJI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/4DToEGdbLwQ/5star.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5odP4Vx6HI/AAAAAAAAAWA/uwlYzlBNHwE/s1600-h/barcodereader.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5odP4Vx6HI/AAAAAAAAAWA/uwlYzlBNHwE/s320/barcodereader.gif" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</span>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-57474282976617079392010-03-11T22:10:00.002+00:002010-03-12T11:11:02.898+00:00The first Android App Review - AppBrain<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well I've been using Android 2.0 on a Motorola Milestone for about a month now so I thought I'd review a few of the "apps" I've encountered along the way.</span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first app to get is <a href="http://www.appbrain.com/">App Brain Market Synch</a>. This allows you to search the Android Market from a desktop browser and choose to synch those apps to your phone. The QR code for the Android app is below. If you don't have a bar code scanner yet, don't worry, I'll be covering that off shortly, or just search on your phone for "AppBrain Market" and you should find it.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While the browser on Android, particularly with the screen resolution of the Milestone, is very useful, it's still hard to beat a 19" monitor, sometime size does count!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Rated:</span><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5og7Vx_SJI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/4DToEGdbLwQ/5star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5og7Vx_SJI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/4DToEGdbLwQ/5star.jpg" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5lo2hjhyVI/AAAAAAAAAV4/9ysUQ6CnVDQ/s1600-h/appbrain.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pXAwEtVdPjw/S5lo2hjhyVI/AAAAAAAAAV4/9ysUQ6CnVDQ/s320/appbrain.gif" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172369907781443099.post-78761130879593567002010-03-11T16:55:00.002+00:002010-03-12T08:10:14.481+00:00Mothers who use buses' wheelchair areas for buggies labelled an 'anti-social menace' by Government<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256699/Mothers-use-buses-wheelchair-areas-buggies-labelled-anti-social-menace-Government.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mothers who use buses' wheelchair areas for buggies labelled an 'anti-social menace' by Government</span></a><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Please, let them on the buses, it keeps them from standing 3 abreast on the pavements nattering about fuck knows what and preventing anybody else getting by.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">HT</span></div><div><a href="http://aljahom.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/this-should-be-entertaining/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Al Jahom</span></a></div><div><a href="http://thylacosmilus.blogspot.com/2010/03/government-ministers-ask-themselves-who.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ambush Predator</span></a></div>Stitch's Masterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16018881630848239644noreply@blogger.com0