Your Blogging With Dr P... search result is below this annoucement.
In April 2008 Blogging With Dr P... moved to Blog Bypass.
If you're using the Blog Studio Search Facility to find a link to a previous blog, then I've been very generous, and NOT included an automatic re-direct which would take you there.
So, what this means is you have to use this link: Blog Bypass to find more Blogging With Dr P....
Thank you to Blog Studio for all the help over years! :)
(Feb 2010 Update): Haloscan is no more. Therefore the comments on this blog are no more. Sad, but true. I'm not paying $12 a year for the occasional comment with Echo. Apologies to all those who have commented. I have saved them and may well stick them somewhere else at some point.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
So That Was The Week That Was...
Never got to go up north during the week - the wintery weather up there put me off the driving. I deposited my mother on a plane at Heathrow Airport, (after a hair raising race against time through South London traffic, M25 speed restrictions, and the roadworks around the new Terminal 5 junction) - with only three minutes to spare! I then had to leg it back out of the terminal building back to my car before I got a tow-this-terrorist-suspect-away sticker slapped on my windshield. Yup - that was one busy 5 hour round trip that morning.
So what else have we been up to this week? Went into London on Thursday for lunch with Dom - which was nice. Had a rather nice Indian meal in place near Fenchurch Street station. Naturally - when in Rome etc - I had a couple of bottles of the obligatory Cobra Beer :-)
There's been a bit of furniture buidling going on as well. Got a new hi-fi unit thingy got the front room, and a small deskette for the office - Tescos are selling the, (originally £24.97), office desk off at £6.24! - bargain - even if it's just for the MDF. And that'll be today's activitiy - build the desk & move the office around a bit.
Oh yes, I may have had my eyes done recently, but I can see that I need a haircut as well. Reckon I'll have to fit that in here today somewhere as well.
But first - breakfast :-)
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Thursday, February 24, 2005
International Telephone Operator Re-Routing Madness
How daft is this? I phoned directory enquries to enquire about a number for a store which is about 20 miles away. The phone at the telephone company rang - and then it got re-directed. The ring tone on the phone indicated that the call had been re-routed abroad.
The gentleman telephone operator who answered the phone had a distinct foreign accent. When we had finished the business transaction of obtaining the store telephone, I asked the gent where, geographically he was. He said: "New Delhi, India".
I'd been re-routed 4164 miles,(6701 km) or 3618 nautical miles for the telephone number for a store not more than 20 miles away.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Lasik Laser Eye Surgery - SEO
Search Engine Optimisation - Lesson 2
I won't mention the particular subject that I enabled to get my weblog to the top of Yahoo with, and with quite high rankings in other search engines, but it's all here to read about.
So, I've been actively promoting another web page of mine which gives info, links and my story about my recent Lasik laser eye surgery. I have been using all the Search Engine Optimisation techiniques I have learnt at the Cre8asite Forums. As of this evening, this is where that page stands:
No.1 Lasik Eye Surgery Consultation
No.1 Lasix and Astigmatism
No.3 Lasix Eye Surgery, Blurred Vision Later
No.14 "Eye Surgery" Astigmatism Custom
Now there are several reasons why I have created this page:
1. Just to prove that the techniques I used here were not a flash in the pan - and I could do this again
2. I wanted to let people know about my experiences with Lasik laser eye surgery.
3. It is a pre-cursor for me developing commercial e-commerce websites in the future. (If I can do this now with this kind of success, then I guess I could have some kind of future in it as well).
Anyway - there you have it. Search Engine Optimisation Lesson 2 - Lasik laser eye surgery. If you want anymore detailed explanations on this subject, then drop me a comment with your email address and I'd only be too happy to oblige.
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Monday, February 21, 2005
Stella At College Humour.Com
Thanks to Lainey I have discovered Stella. And most importantly I have discovered the Stella Comedy Videos at College Humour.com.
I warn you now - you need to have a very open mind to comedy when you see these videos. They are extremely weirdly funny!
Enjoy :)
Edited 22nd Feb
I was so impressed with Stella that I sent them the following email:
Are you planning coming to the UK?
An excellent "try-out" venue is The Soho Theatre
Not expecting a reply at all, I got one from David Wain himself (!):
probably not any time too soon. Working on our tv show for next 7 months.
dw
What a nice guy! :) Let's just hope they can make time to get over here - I would definitely be going to see them.
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Blogging Journalism
From Jon Stewart's Daily Show a nice little video piece about Blogging or journalism?
Enjoy. And you decide.
[Link] - | Old Blog Search
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Blogs, Web Design, And All That Jazz
Yes - I've changed the colour scheme a little bit around here, and stuck a Texasified banner across the top - with a sloping Star Wars effect title to it all. I thought it was about time for a bit of a change around here. But not too radical, just enough to get me to play with images and such in Paint Shop Pro and prove to myself that I could make a reasonable banner for Blogging With Dr P...
It's half term week coming up this week - and me and Sue are off on vacation. Actaully I'll be driving up North during the middle of the week. My mother is down here - the London area - visiting two of my bros, and we are driving her back up home on Tuesday. I then have to install a PC, and check the Yahoo settings do she can eventually talk to my bro Ged in Australia - if he ever gets his Yahoo Messenger set up on his PC. We're having a quick nosh up at some fancy restaurant on Wednesday night, and then - as long as the North East of England hasn't been frozen in by snow(!) - we'll be driving back down on Thursday - stopping, no doubt, at one of our favourite American roadside diners halfway down the country.
Phew!
Then I may just get back to start putting together a website for a friend of mine's business venture,(we've already had a planning meeting which involved tea and sausage rolls!), and have a look at putting something together for me Grandad Flanagan's website.
Oh yes - I did mean to clean the garage out as well. I reckon we'll have to see how the time goes for that one.....;)
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Saturday, February 19, 2005
A Note From John Cleese (via my Uncle Dave)
And here it is...(on the back of ther Presidential Eelections)...
You should look up revocation in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up aluminium. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour', skipping the letter 'U' is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter 'Z' (pronounced 'zed' not 'zee') and the suffix ize will be replaced by the suffix ise. You will learn that the suffix burgh is pronounced burra e.g. Edinburgh. You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as 'Pittsberg' if you can't cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up vocabulary. Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as like and you know is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up interspersed. There will be no more 'bleeps' in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad language as often.
There - that should straighten up you American types a bit! ;)
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Thursday, February 17, 2005
End Of Fox Hunting?
Yesterday... as the Beatles once sang, ...all my troubles seemed so far away - and so it seemed for those jackbooted, red-coated lunatics who considered it sport to hunt down a fox with a pack of dogs and rip it apart and smear blood on each other's faces. Yesterday - the Court of Appeal denied their claims that they had some sort of right to fox hunt. So as of yesterday in the UK - fox hunting in the traditional manner of horse and hounds is now illegal.
This weekend there are several hunts who are going to deny the ban - and keep on hunting. Some local police forces have said that it will be a low priority in dealing with any groups who deny the ban....
IF PEOPLE DELIBRATELY BREAK THE LAW - THEY SHOULD BE JAILED!!!
What makes it even more galling, is that the hunts are giving the police notice that they are going to do this. But some police forces who don't want to get up on a Sunday morning and get there shiney boots and cars dirty.
For the benefit of those fox hunts, their children, friends and family, here are some of the consequences of getting a criminal record for the absurd activity you are about to take part in this weekend:
Having a criminal record
Criminal convictions are recorded for some offences and these records may exist forever. This can affect your life in many ways:
Career
Certain areas of work can be closed to someone with a criminal record. For example, suppose you want to be a dentist, doctor, engineer, architect, lawyer, or teacher. You have to register with a professional association when your academic training is finished, and that association can refuse to accept you because of your criminal record.
Employment
Some employers will check if you have a criminal record. You may not be able to get a job in the armed or police services, in security or public services, or in business or industry, if you have a conviction. If you are convicted while you are employed, you could be sacked.
Licences
Having a criminal record can prevent you getting many sorts of licences; for example, licences for driving a taxi, running a liquor store or pub, or owning a gun.
Travel
Any person is entitled to have a passport, but many countries (like the USA) require that people travelling there get a visa. These countries can refuse to give you a visa if you have a criminal record.
Social status
Many individuals and groups of people discriminate against someone with a criminal record. A criminal record can affect your standing in the community, the attitudes of your workmates and your relationships with your family and friends.
(The above list was taken from the Queensland Police Service website).
So, before you put your jackboots and red fox-murdering jacket on this weekend remember this:
You may aleady be an arsehole for your fox hunting activity anyway - but do you want to be an arsehole with a criminal record that could effect the lives of you and your family in the future?
Think about it.
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Monday, February 14, 2005
Tesco Valentine Card
Yes, Sue did get one of these...
for Valentine's Day.
Look - what do you think she would have preferred? A diamond necklace perhaps? Nah....;)
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Personal Histories - Update
Well, a few days ago I was telling you how I just got off the phone to my mum who told me that an old friend of hers, and the family, had gone into a hospice as he was very ill.
Sad to say poor old Eddie died just over a week ago and was buried last Thursday. He was a good bloke, and will be sadly missed.
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Sunday, February 13, 2005
Lasik Laser Eye Surgery - The 1st Monthly Check-Up
Back on the 14th January 2005 I was telling you about my lasik laser eye surgery consultation. And then on 15th January 2005 I said that I'd had the lasik laser eye surgery and gave you a post-op report. Since then I informed you of the state of play after three weeks with the lasik laser eye surgery three week report.
Okay. Well we're just about up to speed now. Yesterday, Saturday 12th February 2005, I went back to the clinic for the monthly check-up. What did I have to report to him?:
1. An increase in dryness in my eyes - particularly at night where I have had to get out of bed and put the artificial tear drops in them - both of them - even my untreated eye
2. The variance in blurriness in my near vision, (laptop/PC work).
3. The slight variance in how good the distance vision can be.
4. I also asked if I could go back to the gym now.
So, after taking all those questions in, and examining my eyes, he had the following answer/statements:
A. He gave me two tubes of eye lubricant to use at night. It is thicker than the liquid artificial tears and will prevent the eyes drying up at night. He also gave me two more bottles of the liquid.
B. The near distance variance is nothing unusual. He suggested some reading glasses - and I choose a pair, (FREE!), from their extensive range of ten.
C. The variance in the distance vision is as normal at this stage of the eye's healing.
D. Yes - I can go back to the gym. (And use goggles if I go swimming).
I think on the reading glasses front, I'll hold off for a bit to see if my eyes can adjust themselves normally. I'll give them another few weeks in Blurry Land before I opt for the reading specs.
The sight is generally okay. The dryness is a bit irritating, as I don't know whether there's an eyelash, or something, stuck in there, or do I just flush the eye out a bit more with artificial tears?
But it's coming along quite nicely. I just have to get myself a decent pair of sunglasses, as all my old ones were prescription specs, and the only other pair I've got a massive pair of black, 1980's Rayban Wayfarer's, as worn by the Blues Brothers !
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Friday, February 11, 2005
Prince Marries Horses Ass
It has widely been reported that a Prince is about to marry a woman with a face like a horse's ass.
Should the Prince become a King, and the horse's ass become a Consort - with both their images on the postage stamps in country over which he rules....
Would you like to lick the behind of a horse's ass?
Not me.
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Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Ash Wednesday
Remember when we were good little Catholic boys and girls at school and we all went to mass on Ash Wednesday morning and got the little ashes rubbed on our foreheads by the priest - and then we'd spend all day trying to rub the ashes off each other's foreheads? Because, as we know - only the best Catholics would have their ashes on their forehead at the end of the day! :-)
Well - it's that day tomorrow - and I expect to see you all at mass - and no squabbling in the playground afterwards over whose got the best cross mark :-)
Oh yes - it's also the Chinese New Year of The Rooster - I'm not sure relevant that is to the Catholic Calender, but I'm sure there's a connection there somewhere!
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Sunday, February 06, 2005
Lasik Eye Surgery - Week Three Update
Yes, it's been three whole weeks since I lay on the table in the Ultralase clinic in Chelmsford, Essex - for approx. 2mins - and had a cold laser burn microns of tissue off my right cornea. Ha - that was just a little reminder for you. Following that I also wrote a page on lasik eye surgery, which I shall also be updating with these blog entries as well.
Okay - so you want to know how it's been, right? Well... it's been different. Remember the first week I had to put drops in my eyes every four hours? Well now I just use artificial tearswhen >needed, which is usually after being in a hot room for a while, or doing lots of laptop, or PC work. It's no big deal really. I had to wear a hard plastic eye cover over my eye at night for the first two weeks, and not to let any water get into my eye for the first two weeks either. That wasn't such a hardship, although washing the tacky feel of surgical tape off my face every morning, (from where the eye patch was secured), was a bit tedious.... and dancing around the shower to avoid water getting in my right eye was a bit of a chore as well.
But what about my sight, right? Okay, well, my sight is good - and improving. All the time I have the distance sight which I wanted. However, my left eye ,with the weak, untreated short-sighted prescription in it, wants to blur things all the time. It's like I have the distance sight, but around the edges of signs etc there can sometimes appear a slightly blurred ring. Intially this was really pronounced - like I was seeing everything with two separate eyes - most confusing! But now, (and this is only three weeks on), that situation is getting less and less.
The one thing which is a bit of a struggle at the moment is my close-up laptop/PC work. But even this is improving. Basically - it was as blurred as Hell whne I looked at my laptop/PC for the first time a few weeks ago. I thought "Bloody hell! This doesn't look too good!?" But even now, (and remember this still is only three weeks), that close-up blurring is becoming less and less - the more my eyes get used to this new way of seeing. It's like having new glasses, with new lenses. So I did have some headaches intially as well as my eyesgot used to seeing this way - but even those have gone now.
Would I recommend lasik laser eye surgery - most definately. And Ultralase are a very professional outfit as well. More updates soon.
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Saturday, February 05, 2005
M Theory, 11th Dimension, Brane Universes, Strings & Super Gravity
Yes, there are 11 dimensions. The 11th one being only one trillionth of a millimetre long. It contains countless number of membrane or brane universes which ripple and collide with each - causing Big Bangs - and the matter ceated after it which fills those universes. This, in essence, is the M Theory, and quite happily explains the gap between where phyics used to stop and the Singularity exists - the point of the Big Bang where lazy physicists used to say - "So what if the laws of phyics break down here? So what? We're at the beginning of our universe, right?"
Wrong. Time exisited before the Big Bang. There is a theory which enables us to understand this, and, well, quite frankly, everything. The Singularity is where both Einstein, Hawking, and countless other great minds stopped theorising and broke down in a gibbering heap of mangled equations. The M Theory, Strings, and Super Gravity explains it all.
Oh yes - and if you thought that gravity was a really big deal, consider this: If the gravitional force of the Earth holds everything down, how come a tiny little fridge nagnetic, (with a puny magnetic force field in comparison to the gravitional pull of ther Earth), can lift a spoon off a table - and thus defy the Earth's force of gravity?
Gravity leaks in to our universe from other membrane universes as they ripple & collide together. There is another universe out there with a much stronger gravity field than ours - which probably looks nothing like our universe because of that increased gravititional field.
To summarise. We definately are not alone. As membrane universes ripple and collide in the 11th dimension, and as gravity leaks to our universe, we share energies and particles with other universes. There are, indeed, an infinite number of universes out there. Some look very similar to our own - almost identical. And some cannot sustain any form of life - as we know it.
So as you go out this weekend shopping etc think about this as you're stuck in a traffic jam somewhere...there could be a universe where:
1. The USA lost the war of independance.
2. Elvis is still alive.
3. The tsunami in South East Asia never happened.
4. Everything is the same - except you don't exist there.
Is it such a small world now?
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