A day in the life of a Middle Manager...

** Looks Around **

Blimey. There are still people here? ;-)

Comments don't appear to be working any more, no idea why - will have to see if I can fix it another day...

Test to ensure something worked

Is Dr. Who about to jump the shark?

So, another season of Doctor Who is over and with it, a disappointing season finalé. Unlike Richard I didn't really think much of the ending this year - I was expecting more, especially after the ending for season two which, again, I thought was rushed and poorly conceived.

So much more could have been done with this season ending I barely even know where to start. After the absolute triumph of the 'Human Nature / Family of Blood' two-parter and 'Blink' and what happened in 'Utopia' being a bit of a sideswipe I really had talked myself into thinking this would be wonderful.

It wasn't!

It was very disappointing. I actually thought that John Simm's portrayal of the Master, while a bit pantomime, was pretty good. However, the finalé essentially could have been renamed "How Martha Saves the World and turns The Doctor into a Demi-God for five Minutes". The whole thing of her walking round the world telling everyone to think of the Doctor at a particular time was just ludicrous.

I knew it must have been bad when a colleague who is Dr. Who mad texted me after it ended with "Don't know if you watched it live but all I'll say is... Disappointing." Now, for him to say that I knew that Russell T. Davies must have really written a clunker. I was actually just about to settle down to watch it (gotta love Sky+) as it happened and my reaction to the first words of the episode (One Year Later) was one of incredulity. I just could hardly believe that a "Meanwhile..." plot device had been used.

Anyway, Martha leaves (and I'm OK with that - I was pretty sick of the mooning and puppy-dog eyes for the Doctor) which was a bit of a surprise. However, the Beeb have very widely trailed that she'll return in Season 4 and she's going to be in a few episodes of Torchwood.

So, that leaves us with "Who's (sic) going to be the new assistant? PLEASE let it be Carey Mulligan who played Sally Sparrow in Blink."

Nope, it gets announced and it's Catherine Tate. You're kidding me, right?

Russell T. Davies, let it be known that it seems like pretty much the entire Whoniverse is against this move. I've barely spotted a positive reply in over 2,500 posts.

Given the weak finalé and my personal opinion of the episodes he's written I would be happy for Russell T. Davies to step away from a writing role to a pure producing role and I suspect a lot of others feel the same.

Is Doctor Who about to Jump the Shark? I hope not, I really really do. However, this latest move (unless, of course, it's a massive bluff) makes me very nervous.

A shameful day for parliament

If you're in the UK you'll probably know that MP's voted last week (Friday 18 May) on a Private Members Bill to exempt themselves from the Freedom of Information Act.

Normally, Private Members Bills don't stand much of a chance of getting anywhere near becoming law. However, this one appears to be different as MPs are obviously sick of being asked to justify expenses etc.

If this does manage to get onto the books (and our coronated Prime Minister Elect is on record as saying that he won't block the bill) then this means that no more FOI requests will be honoured by parliament.

This is a shameful day for the 96 MPs who voted for the bill and the rest of the MPs who either couldn't be bothered to show up for the reading or just didn't vote.

Luckily the bill still has to get through the House of Lords (who apparently, although they are unelected, seem to speak more clearly for the people of the country than the government at the moment). I don't hold out much hope though as the government, while officially neutral on this, is broadly in favour and is showing this by providing the parliamentary time for this bill to be 'debated'.

If you agree that this is a shameful day for UK politics you can sign the Disclosure Petition on the Number 10 website. It may not do any good (after all, the vehicle tracking one didn't and that had over a million signatories) but it certainly made me feel better.

If you feel particularly strongly then lobby your MP, especially if they are one of the 96 who voted for the bill to pass into law and exempt themselves from a law every company / public body etc. etc. has to comply with.

I mean, where next? A vote to exempt themselves from speeding tickets? A vote to exempt themselves from any other law they think is OK for the proles but not for them? A vote to give themselves a gold-plated pension and massive pay increase? (Oh sorry, that last one is almost certain to happen).

I am thoroughly disgusted and disillusioned with politics in this country - I suspect it's not really any better in any of the major western democracies though? I can't really remember a time in which we were expected to just bend over and take it quite as roughly as the MPs seem to want to give it to us at the moment...

"Get a Mac" commericals

The Apple "Get a Mac" commercials have finally been localised for the UK market, using Mitchell & Webb of Peep Show fame.

While they're all essentially remakes of the Original Get a Mac ads there are a couple of spots specific to the UK, like Office at Home and Tentacle. The new "Pie Chart" one is very good too!

I wonder if this actually means we're going to start seeing the "Get a Mac" ads on TV? I sure hope so! ;-)

MPG

Sorry for the 'quality' of the photo, was taken in the dark with a camera phone. Anyway, it allows me to ask the question...

What MPG do you get from your car?

A bit of Christmas fun!

See if you can name these Christmas Carols / Songs...

1. Bleached Yule
2. Castaneous-coloured Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration
3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors
4. Righteous Darkness
5. Arrival Time2400 hrs - WeatherCloudless
6. Loyal Followers Advance
7. Far Off in a Feeder
8. Array the Corridor
9. Bantam Male Percussionist
10. Monarchical Triad
11. Nocturnal Noiselessness
12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
13. Red Man En Route to Borough
14. Frozen Precipitation Commence
15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
16. The Quadruped with the Vermillion Proboscis
17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
18. Delight for this Planet
19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
20. The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals

Answers at the end of the week!

When will it end?

I know, I haven't blogged for ages. Two reasons,

1. I didn't feel like it.
2. Nothing really to say, my life consists of going to work and coming home again.

Anyway, onto the topic at hand ;-)

I currently shave using a well-known 3-blade razor. These have been getting more gimmicky lately, including a model that is battery powered and sends small vibrations to the head to "allow you to get a closer shave." How true this is I have no idea, I didn't fall for the hype. Geez, I only changed from a trusty 2-blade about 18 months ago!

There are now 4-blade razors on the market and I thought it couldn't get much more ridiculous.

I was wrong!

A friend forwarded me this webpage thinking I may be interested. I was, but only because this is a 5-blade razor with a blade at the back of the cartridge for trimming up. 5 BLADES

Where is it going to end? Are we going to end up with 10-blade razors the size of our heads with battery-powered handles to get 'the ultimate shaving comfort sensation'?

Stop the madness I say!

Still, I've asked them to send me one - I expect the cartridges to be incredibly expensive though. We'll see what it's like.

Hopefully I'll get one and I can post back as to whether it really is an improvement over 3 blades or it's just the load of marketing bull I expect it to be...