** UPDATE 09/09/2010 : Tim from Ernest Jones has contacted me, as a result of this blog. He seems very nice and even though he isnt from customer service he has offered to help...and even CALLED me..which made a pleasant change ***
Good Morning Vietnam! or where-ever you are.
I have a tale of amazingly bad customer service...its so bad its almost mythical
Once upon a time, i decided to buy my lovely wife a ring for our FIRST anniversary (aaawww, arent i sweet). This was not an easy decision as my wife is very picky on what she likes...so we eventually found a nice ring in Ernest Jones Bond St. The one on the corner next to the Dog in the Pond pub.
We love Ernest Jones, got my engagement ring there and the wedding rings. Usually lovely people, great staff and great service. We ordered the ring and it wasnt available in here size...but thats not a problem they can order it. In fact if they say this...they probably cant order it..in fact it probably doesnt even exist. Oh by the way this was on the 14th July...yes...over a month ago. So the ring was expected on the 21st(ish) I can understand the "ish" part, things take time.
So guess what...there was a delay...and how did i find this out....was it by a nice friendly phonecall..no it fucking wasnt...i had to call..and call again...and call again...everytime speaking to someone who didnt even know the order existed took place...or was even delayed. Ashley(me) was getting very angry. I was strolling past this "shop" who infact have been more close to robbers...as they have my money but i have no product. I went in a spoke to manager who assured me it would take another 2weeks..grudgingly i said "ok" so we are now up to...about august 10th.
can you guess what happened? did i receive a phone call about any delays...like fucking fuck i did?! once again chasing these random people...they never seem to have the same members of staff and rotate like crazy...i speak to about 15 different people.
I've been chasing these people to get any kind of explanation and all i get is some rubbish about it being ordered...i dont mind the delays..i mind the NEVER been contacted i have always contacted them.
At this point i email customer service through the website...i get a response to say that someone will be intouch within 5 working days....that was on the 21st August...im still waiting.
i have emailed again...im still waiting.
Monday, 6 September 2010
Thursday, 8 July 2010
connectivity thought
In the world of constant connectivity. Always being connected to the social cloud, is this not making us less social
Only really expressing in digital format and not in the real world
I'm looking forward to seeing some people on Sunday...in 3D land
Only really expressing in digital format and not in the real world
I'm looking forward to seeing some people on Sunday...in 3D land
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
Beauty
Its 10am, i roll over and see the sun streaming in through the curtains. Sunlight bouncing off of dust hanging like stars in the air. I look at my wife who is still asleep, like an angel, silent and peaceful. Its beautiful, her eyes flicker and open ... she smiles at me and says ...
"the internet isnt working"
huh?! what...she's just destroyed my little fantasy of my perfect world. There was no "morning!" or anything sweet and nice...just
"the internet isnt working"
What worse is my first thought was...."no fucking way, i need the internet"
What has the world come to?!
oh yeah, i must remember to blog/tweet and tell the net world about this. Im not sure why...some underlying thing about neediness and getting attention...but who cares.
Ashley on Twitter
"the internet isnt working"
huh?! what...she's just destroyed my little fantasy of my perfect world. There was no "morning!" or anything sweet and nice...just
"the internet isnt working"
What worse is my first thought was...."no fucking way, i need the internet"
What has the world come to?!
oh yeah, i must remember to blog/tweet and tell the net world about this. Im not sure why...some underlying thing about neediness and getting attention...but who cares.
Ashley on Twitter
Friday, 2 July 2010
stealth drunk
I may not achieve much...but I will always be a stealth drunk ... Or as society will call it an alcoholic.
I'm onto cider at the moment, I can even get away with drinking at work.
At the moment I'm proud and happy, this could be the cider talking but I believe it is the stealth drunk!!
I have just managed to convince someone that my bottle of drink is in fact ... Apple Tango ;) see that is genius right there!
I sometime wish I could go back in history to when all the bad vices were socially acceptable, let's go smoke opium, in hale dodgy chemicals to get high...wake up and have a nice shot of bath tub gin. I'm sure no one then moaned about obesity and asthma!
Back then you got seriously ill! The plague or something equally deadly. Now people moan and bitch of they get a slight pathetic cough.
I think the more bad stuff you have actually helps...I mean vaccinations are basically just injections of viruses so your body can battle it.
I shall attempt to keep this view when my kidneys fail and/or liver. But I know atleast I'm not getting hayfever/asthma.
Better health = better life ... Bollox
I'm onto cider at the moment, I can even get away with drinking at work.
At the moment I'm proud and happy, this could be the cider talking but I believe it is the stealth drunk!!
I have just managed to convince someone that my bottle of drink is in fact ... Apple Tango ;) see that is genius right there!
I sometime wish I could go back in history to when all the bad vices were socially acceptable, let's go smoke opium, in hale dodgy chemicals to get high...wake up and have a nice shot of bath tub gin. I'm sure no one then moaned about obesity and asthma!
Back then you got seriously ill! The plague or something equally deadly. Now people moan and bitch of they get a slight pathetic cough.
I think the more bad stuff you have actually helps...I mean vaccinations are basically just injections of viruses so your body can battle it.
I shall attempt to keep this view when my kidneys fail and/or liver. But I know atleast I'm not getting hayfever/asthma.
Better health = better life ... Bollox
Saturday, 29 May 2010
The Moral Of Disney...occording to Ashley
A basic outlook on what Disney teaches our kids...from my perspective.
Snow White
So women, if you're beautiful...someone will be jealous and want to kill you.
Men, if you see a woman in the forest and she's "dead" its ok to kiss her...necrophilia rocks!
Cinderella
Women, you can clean a whole castle and still smile and sing...even go to the ball. Oh and its completely safe to run on glass shoes.
Men, if you're a rich prince all women will want you.
Lady and the Tramp.
Women, its ok to date tramps
Men, you can be a tramp and still get the lady, as long as you have some spaghetti handy.
Sleeping Beauty
Women, that spinning needles are irresistible to you, and you must touch it.
Men, you can kiss that total dead stranger chick...its fine! go on do it! she'll love it
The Little Mermaid
Women, its ok to give up everything you cherish and change our body drastically to get your man!
Men, women have nothing important to say so go for the quiet one.
Beauty and The Beast
Women, appearances dont matter...unless youre the girl...in which they do...alot
Men, Women digg anger
Aladdin
Women, why bother giving your opinion, you have to get married before anyone cares.
Men, LIE! its ok she'll forgive you
Ashley on Twitter
Snow White
So women, if you're beautiful...someone will be jealous and want to kill you.
Men, if you see a woman in the forest and she's "dead" its ok to kiss her...necrophilia rocks!
Cinderella
Women, you can clean a whole castle and still smile and sing...even go to the ball. Oh and its completely safe to run on glass shoes.
Men, if you're a rich prince all women will want you.
Lady and the Tramp.
Women, its ok to date tramps
Men, you can be a tramp and still get the lady, as long as you have some spaghetti handy.
Sleeping Beauty
Women, that spinning needles are irresistible to you, and you must touch it.
Men, you can kiss that total dead stranger chick...its fine! go on do it! she'll love it
The Little Mermaid
Women, its ok to give up everything you cherish and change our body drastically to get your man!
Men, women have nothing important to say so go for the quiet one.
Beauty and The Beast
Women, appearances dont matter...unless youre the girl...in which they do...alot
Men, Women digg anger
Aladdin
Women, why bother giving your opinion, you have to get married before anyone cares.
Men, LIE! its ok she'll forgive you
Ashley on Twitter
Thursday, 29 April 2010
I love a good Piracy
Well you all know me ... assuming you've read my other posts ... I like piracy...to me its Robin Hood, take from the rich share to the not rich.
Music industry is always going on about how much money they use...check out my new FAVOURITE article this year...other than the one about the Volcanic Ash Cloud NOT existing READ HERE
Appears the music industry actually grew in 2009!
This article about piracy is from http://arstechnica.com/
Here's a surprise: recording industry revenues actually grew in 13 major world markets in 2009. Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Sweden, the UK, and Brazil were all among the countries that saw revenue increases, and the global music business says this proves the need for tougher anti-piracy laws.
"South Korea and Sweden in particular saw striking returns to growth," said global recording industry trade group IFPI, "showing how an improved legal environment can help impact on legitimate music sales."
And it might be true! The data, though, is ambiguous. Sweden did get a new law in 2009 that gave rightsholders a court-mediated method for getting the names of accused infringers, and The Pirate Bay admins went on trial. But both of those tactics have been usable in the US for years (remember the Grokster case, and all those P2P lawsuits against individuals?). So why did the US account for the majority of the worldwide recording industry losses in 2009 even as Sweden's record industry grew? It can't just be the "improved legal environment" in Sweden.
And how do you explain the case of Australia? This is the country where a federal judge recently issued a 200+ page opinion in which he ruled that ISPs have no responsibility even to act on warning letters from rightsholders, much less have any responsibility to disconnect users from the Internet. Yet revenue is up. Mexico isn't cracking down hard on P2P users, yet revenue is up.
The industry's preferred legal solution continues to be graduated response ending in an Internet disconnection, but a quick look at IFPI's data shows no compelling reason to adopt such a draconian punishment as the final step in the process.
In South Korea, the first country in the world to implement a "three strikes" law that disconnects repeat file-sharers, 30,000 infringement warnings were sent in the last year, but not a single South Korean has been disconnected. Yet revenue is up.
Several ISPs in the UK were forwarding infringement letters to subscribers in 2009, but none were disconnecting users. Even the recently passed Digital Economy bill doesn't allow for such disconnections for at least another year. Yet revenue is up.
And IFPI doesn't list France as a country where revenue is up... despite the fact that France passed Europe's toughest Internet disconnection law last year. In fact, a recent French study found that total Internet piracy had actually increased in France since the law passed, though it migrated from P2P to HTTP streaming and one-click download sites.
So what's been driving the growth? The legal environment may have some effect, but new business models are also making an impact. Sweden, for instance, is the home of Spotify, a hugely popular European ad-supported music service. Even IFPI attributes the growth to a combination of legal changes and "the launch of popular legitimate services."
Seeing this sort of industry data appear year after year, we're left with two thoughts. First, innovation is crucial—make it easier to use Hulu and Spotify than it is to download P2P versions of TV shows and music, and many pirates will go legit.
Second, the industry has overreached on "three strikes," and it's not even necessary—Internet disconnections have stirred up powerful waves of discontent, and there's no clear correlation between such laws and industry revenue growth. Settling for a solution that would garner widespread support, such as the forwarding of warning letters and possible connection throttling or an appropriate, small fine as a final step (with judicial oversight), would have gone a long way toward removing the mask of anonymity from file-sharing. Plenty of reasonable people would have supported such limited, targeted steps; reaching for less would have achieved more.
Instead, the industry pushes Internet disconnections and ACTA. And if it can't pass laws, it starts suing individual ISPs instead (as the recording industry has done in Ireland and the film industry has done in Australia).
When more than 30 countries saw double-digit growth rates in digital music sales in 2009 (and 17 of these were over 40 percent!) and 13 major markets saw overall revenue growth, it's clear that the recording industry isn't about to shrivel up and disappear. Still, worldwide, the market did contract by 7 percent, most of that due to the US and Japanese markets. IFPI boss John Kennedy sees a return to growth for his business, but this depends on "how quickly governments can act to deal with piracy."
Ashley on Twitter
Music industry is always going on about how much money they use...check out my new FAVOURITE article this year...other than the one about the Volcanic Ash Cloud NOT existing READ HERE
Appears the music industry actually grew in 2009!
This article about piracy is from http://arstechnica.com/
Here's a surprise: recording industry revenues actually grew in 13 major world markets in 2009. Australia, Mexico, South Korea, Sweden, the UK, and Brazil were all among the countries that saw revenue increases, and the global music business says this proves the need for tougher anti-piracy laws.
"South Korea and Sweden in particular saw striking returns to growth," said global recording industry trade group IFPI, "showing how an improved legal environment can help impact on legitimate music sales."
And it might be true! The data, though, is ambiguous. Sweden did get a new law in 2009 that gave rightsholders a court-mediated method for getting the names of accused infringers, and The Pirate Bay admins went on trial. But both of those tactics have been usable in the US for years (remember the Grokster case, and all those P2P lawsuits against individuals?). So why did the US account for the majority of the worldwide recording industry losses in 2009 even as Sweden's record industry grew? It can't just be the "improved legal environment" in Sweden.
And how do you explain the case of Australia? This is the country where a federal judge recently issued a 200+ page opinion in which he ruled that ISPs have no responsibility even to act on warning letters from rightsholders, much less have any responsibility to disconnect users from the Internet. Yet revenue is up. Mexico isn't cracking down hard on P2P users, yet revenue is up.
The industry's preferred legal solution continues to be graduated response ending in an Internet disconnection, but a quick look at IFPI's data shows no compelling reason to adopt such a draconian punishment as the final step in the process.
In South Korea, the first country in the world to implement a "three strikes" law that disconnects repeat file-sharers, 30,000 infringement warnings were sent in the last year, but not a single South Korean has been disconnected. Yet revenue is up.
Several ISPs in the UK were forwarding infringement letters to subscribers in 2009, but none were disconnecting users. Even the recently passed Digital Economy bill doesn't allow for such disconnections for at least another year. Yet revenue is up.
And IFPI doesn't list France as a country where revenue is up... despite the fact that France passed Europe's toughest Internet disconnection law last year. In fact, a recent French study found that total Internet piracy had actually increased in France since the law passed, though it migrated from P2P to HTTP streaming and one-click download sites.
So what's been driving the growth? The legal environment may have some effect, but new business models are also making an impact. Sweden, for instance, is the home of Spotify, a hugely popular European ad-supported music service. Even IFPI attributes the growth to a combination of legal changes and "the launch of popular legitimate services."
Seeing this sort of industry data appear year after year, we're left with two thoughts. First, innovation is crucial—make it easier to use Hulu and Spotify than it is to download P2P versions of TV shows and music, and many pirates will go legit.
Second, the industry has overreached on "three strikes," and it's not even necessary—Internet disconnections have stirred up powerful waves of discontent, and there's no clear correlation between such laws and industry revenue growth. Settling for a solution that would garner widespread support, such as the forwarding of warning letters and possible connection throttling or an appropriate, small fine as a final step (with judicial oversight), would have gone a long way toward removing the mask of anonymity from file-sharing. Plenty of reasonable people would have supported such limited, targeted steps; reaching for less would have achieved more.
Instead, the industry pushes Internet disconnections and ACTA. And if it can't pass laws, it starts suing individual ISPs instead (as the recording industry has done in Ireland and the film industry has done in Australia).
When more than 30 countries saw double-digit growth rates in digital music sales in 2009 (and 17 of these were over 40 percent!) and 13 major markets saw overall revenue growth, it's clear that the recording industry isn't about to shrivel up and disappear. Still, worldwide, the market did contract by 7 percent, most of that due to the US and Japanese markets. IFPI boss John Kennedy sees a return to growth for his business, but this depends on "how quickly governments can act to deal with piracy."
Ashley on Twitter
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Ability to look left and right
Do you remember the days at school when you would don the bright green his vis jacket and learn to cross the road. The whole class would go to some random road and be taught to walk strait across it and not diagonal. To be about 1 step away from the curb. But most importantly do you remember that before you step out into the dangerous world of road crossing...you look left and then right (unless you foreign and its right then left) That was basically the one thing you had to remember before attempting extreme road crossing.
This "LnR" looking is imperative to all road crossing situations...in fact even going down to oxford street and crossing the path to get into a shop we use the "LnR" routine. Its natural we do it with out thinking about it. Actually scratch that last bit! Because some people dont do it naturally, some people obviously like to live on the edge...extreme road crossing at its finest!
Not sure if i've mentioned this before, but i skate to work...have i said that...im sure i havent...oh and its 10miles a day...Usually i would moan about how people get in my fucking way and are too busy looking at the pavement/wall/anything other than where they are going. But i wont because i understand that me rolling at them really fast in a high vis green fleece maybe a bit shocking, and i've also learnt to deal with these people by just hitting them or whistling to get out of my way. If you know me you'll know i am basically a hobbit, and thus with skates on i look like a normal sized person, if you dont see my feet you may even think i float round london with ease.
I have now got a new hobby..another one..(archhunt on twitter is one of my faves) but this is a NEW shiny hobby. I now count how many people will nearly kill themselves on the way to work. Oh its most fun! its like suicide counting...kinda. As many of you know in london there are alot of these big red four wheel vehicles that some like to call ... buses. Round Hyde Park alone there are loads of these things! a moment doesnt go past when there isnt one! I can tell just by looking at them that if they touch you at some speed it wont tickle, some say may even cause injury!
So now on my way to work i see how many people nearly die because i dont look "LnR" before crossing, and round victoria alone i counted at least 15! and this is fine its like natural selection those dozy twats deserve to get hit. This part is the next part of my new hobby, if they turn round and complain that forwhatever reason that bus shouldnt have been there...in the road...where everyone can see it...where is supposed to be...you are allowed to say twat or cunt, depending your own preference, to them. I've used a bit of a spy technique...i slowly skate up behind them and say cunt just loud enough for them to hear it...if you can...follow them..still saying cunt...they tend to get annoyed.
So this BASIC skill is being ignored everywhere. I fucking bet when they are driving though they are the first people to complain about pedestrians. Maybe even go home and beat their kids for not looking left then right...infact if they have kids and they dont look left and right you are allowed to slap them!
Ashley on Twitter
Oh btw, did i mention i skate to work..takes about 30mins. yeah i know..really fast...its about 5miles each...yeah i know...i am cunt
This "LnR" looking is imperative to all road crossing situations...in fact even going down to oxford street and crossing the path to get into a shop we use the "LnR" routine. Its natural we do it with out thinking about it. Actually scratch that last bit! Because some people dont do it naturally, some people obviously like to live on the edge...extreme road crossing at its finest!
Not sure if i've mentioned this before, but i skate to work...have i said that...im sure i havent...oh and its 10miles a day...Usually i would moan about how people get in my fucking way and are too busy looking at the pavement/wall/anything other than where they are going. But i wont because i understand that me rolling at them really fast in a high vis green fleece maybe a bit shocking, and i've also learnt to deal with these people by just hitting them or whistling to get out of my way. If you know me you'll know i am basically a hobbit, and thus with skates on i look like a normal sized person, if you dont see my feet you may even think i float round london with ease.
I have now got a new hobby..another one..(archhunt on twitter is one of my faves) but this is a NEW shiny hobby. I now count how many people will nearly kill themselves on the way to work. Oh its most fun! its like suicide counting...kinda. As many of you know in london there are alot of these big red four wheel vehicles that some like to call ... buses. Round Hyde Park alone there are loads of these things! a moment doesnt go past when there isnt one! I can tell just by looking at them that if they touch you at some speed it wont tickle, some say may even cause injury!
So now on my way to work i see how many people nearly die because i dont look "LnR" before crossing, and round victoria alone i counted at least 15! and this is fine its like natural selection those dozy twats deserve to get hit. This part is the next part of my new hobby, if they turn round and complain that forwhatever reason that bus shouldnt have been there...in the road...where everyone can see it...where is supposed to be...you are allowed to say twat or cunt, depending your own preference, to them. I've used a bit of a spy technique...i slowly skate up behind them and say cunt just loud enough for them to hear it...if you can...follow them..still saying cunt...they tend to get annoyed.
So this BASIC skill is being ignored everywhere. I fucking bet when they are driving though they are the first people to complain about pedestrians. Maybe even go home and beat their kids for not looking left then right...infact if they have kids and they dont look left and right you are allowed to slap them!
Ashley on Twitter
Oh btw, did i mention i skate to work..takes about 30mins. yeah i know..really fast...its about 5miles each...yeah i know...i am cunt
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
That Tom Cruise Subject - Scientology
I love scientology ... i dont believe it but i do love it...i dont want to judge peoples beliefs and will always try to keep an open mind...I even go to church every sunday and listen to a 1hr service ... in Spanish. This is because my loved one is Colombian and she goes and i join her(reluctantly)
I digress, scientology isnt like it sounds about SCIENCE..more Science-Fiction created and run by this part is key SCIENCE-FICTION author Ron L. Hubbard. More background, in my words its about little aliens that use to live on the planet and we are the solid shell of this immortal being. You can read more about it here
What shocks me most about this is SO many high profile people are members. These people actually believe this stuff! Actually believe aliens called Thetans will take them to a better place. They even pledge money and get higher ranks in the church...what a convenient way to get promoted, bet Mr Hubbard is loving that part!
Many people can say well thats no different from normal religion, i do most of the time..big bearded man in the sky that'll save us from hell...its all a bit far fetched. Whats more funny is how science gets ridiculed and that has ACTUAL evidence to support its claims. I get shocked by this everytime, heard people say im brainwashed by science...but really?! fuck off! ive seen evidence and believe said evidence..thats fucking sensible!
I dont take something on blind faith, on some book or some author! This gets me a bit irate..as you read i've got more angry and becoming slightly less structured. But please..evidence or faith.
Would you actually leave the cure for disease to faith or to science?
The car...did it come from faith or science and engineering?
So people say that science doesnt give your soul a spiritual guidance..but i think it does, it amazes me every day. Order from Chaos, how light travels, the mysteries of Space! that is surely way more exciting.
Anyway back to scientology. its basically a cult see list below :-
Scientology's disconnection policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members who are "antagonistic" to Scientology.[208]
The death of a Scientologist Lisa McPherson while in the care of the Church. (Robert Minton sponsored the multi-million dollar law suit against Scientology for the death of McPherson. In May 2004, McPherson's estate and the Church of Scientology reached a confidential settlement.)
Criminal activities committed on behalf of the Church or directed by Church officials (Operation Snow White, Operation Freakout).
Conflicting statements about L. Ron Hubbard's life, in particular accounts of Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion for profit and of his service in the military.
Scientology's harassment and litigious actions against its critics encouraged by its Fair Game policy.
Attempts to legally force search engines such as Google and Yahoo! to omit any webpages critical of Scientology from their search engines (and in Google's case, AdSense), or at least the first few search pages.
Allegations by former high-ranking Scientologists that David Miscavige beats and demoralizes staff and that physical violence by superiors towards staff working for them is a common occurrence in the church.
Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis denied these claims and provided witnesses to rebut them.
In October 2009, a French court found the Church of Scientology guilty of organized fraud. Four officers of the organization were fined and given suspended prison sentences of up to 2 years. The organization was not banned or dissolved from activities in France and has appealed the judgment.
In November 2009, Australian Senator Nick Xenophon used a speech in Federal Parliament to allege that the Church of Scientology is a criminal organisation. Based on letters from former followers of the religion, he said that there were "allegations of forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, and embezzlement of church funds, of physical violence and intimidation, blackmail and the widespread and deliberate abuse of information obtained by the organisation ..."
AND if that isnt enough check out this quote from:
MR RON L.HUBBARD
"Y'know, we're all wasting our time writing this hack science fiction! You wanta make real money, you gotta start a religion!" -
As reported to Mike Jittlov by Theodore Sturgeon as a statement Hubbard made while at the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society clubhouse in the 1940s.
various other quotes can be found at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard
Enjoy!
Ashley on Twitter
I digress, scientology isnt like it sounds about SCIENCE..more Science-Fiction created and run by this part is key SCIENCE-FICTION author Ron L. Hubbard. More background, in my words its about little aliens that use to live on the planet and we are the solid shell of this immortal being. You can read more about it here
What shocks me most about this is SO many high profile people are members. These people actually believe this stuff! Actually believe aliens called Thetans will take them to a better place. They even pledge money and get higher ranks in the church...what a convenient way to get promoted, bet Mr Hubbard is loving that part!
Many people can say well thats no different from normal religion, i do most of the time..big bearded man in the sky that'll save us from hell...its all a bit far fetched. Whats more funny is how science gets ridiculed and that has ACTUAL evidence to support its claims. I get shocked by this everytime, heard people say im brainwashed by science...but really?! fuck off! ive seen evidence and believe said evidence..thats fucking sensible!
I dont take something on blind faith, on some book or some author! This gets me a bit irate..as you read i've got more angry and becoming slightly less structured. But please..evidence or faith.
Would you actually leave the cure for disease to faith or to science?
The car...did it come from faith or science and engineering?
So people say that science doesnt give your soul a spiritual guidance..but i think it does, it amazes me every day. Order from Chaos, how light travels, the mysteries of Space! that is surely way more exciting.
Anyway back to scientology. its basically a cult see list below :-
Scientology's disconnection policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members who are "antagonistic" to Scientology.[208]
The death of a Scientologist Lisa McPherson while in the care of the Church. (Robert Minton sponsored the multi-million dollar law suit against Scientology for the death of McPherson. In May 2004, McPherson's estate and the Church of Scientology reached a confidential settlement.)
Criminal activities committed on behalf of the Church or directed by Church officials (Operation Snow White, Operation Freakout).
Conflicting statements about L. Ron Hubbard's life, in particular accounts of Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion for profit and of his service in the military.
Scientology's harassment and litigious actions against its critics encouraged by its Fair Game policy.
Attempts to legally force search engines such as Google and Yahoo! to omit any webpages critical of Scientology from their search engines (and in Google's case, AdSense), or at least the first few search pages.
Allegations by former high-ranking Scientologists that David Miscavige beats and demoralizes staff and that physical violence by superiors towards staff working for them is a common occurrence in the church.
Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis denied these claims and provided witnesses to rebut them.
In October 2009, a French court found the Church of Scientology guilty of organized fraud. Four officers of the organization were fined and given suspended prison sentences of up to 2 years. The organization was not banned or dissolved from activities in France and has appealed the judgment.
In November 2009, Australian Senator Nick Xenophon used a speech in Federal Parliament to allege that the Church of Scientology is a criminal organisation. Based on letters from former followers of the religion, he said that there were "allegations of forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, and embezzlement of church funds, of physical violence and intimidation, blackmail and the widespread and deliberate abuse of information obtained by the organisation ..."
AND if that isnt enough check out this quote from:
MR RON L.HUBBARD
"Y'know, we're all wasting our time writing this hack science fiction! You wanta make real money, you gotta start a religion!" -
As reported to Mike Jittlov by Theodore Sturgeon as a statement Hubbard made while at the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society clubhouse in the 1940s.
various other quotes can be found at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard
Enjoy!
Ashley on Twitter
Friday, 16 April 2010
Here We Are Again
So here we go again, i write a blog about....something.
Basically i just want to keep this up to date. What may be boring to me, may be fun for you to read...and if that is the case...get out alot more!
This week has been a bit of a crazy week, which i blogged the press release here. So I'm busy trying to get our systems working perfect, although if they do, i'll have nothing to do!!
So thats the boring bit.
Recently, i'm not sure if you know but there is an election campaign going on. So basically to my eyes this is just grown men BEGGING for some kind of X in a box. This is fantastic, and i dont think i can really blame them. But honestly, can anyone REALLY change anything. I'm sure I'll still think that the taxes will be too high. I still think the Home Office will be an absolute mess. Honest people will be deported and dis-honest people will stay. I still think they wont do anything to get kids off the street and actually doing something. Jobs wont magically appear either.
I'm not here to talk politics...in fact im not sure what i play to say today.
aaahhh yes, i remember now! Its ... friendliness ... not kindness! fuck no!
Kindness is too hard.
Friendliness, i think its about being friends. I have friends i hang out with, i have "online" friends. My personality differs with each one, its natural, it happens. To one I'm a boring bastard..to the other im fucking hilarious! i'll let you decide which.
I think not enough people are friendly to anyone, generally you just stay with your school mates/work colleagues and just hang around with them, go to pubs and parties. I mean seriously when was the last time you made a NEW friend...an actual stranger!
I've been lucky in this part...cos i actually have met a few strangers! These people i met via Twitter, we all have a common interest..comedy. This is key, and good. We dont annoy other people..we just annoy each other with out comedy stories etc. Oh, And i now have people to go to London Comedy Improv
I first met these people at a podophile get-together, it was great fun. I'm glad i did! These people give me ray of sunshine when im down and stressed out...and its cos they know comedy Ash that they cheer me up! Any time im down they will help me call someone a cunt! and that makes me smile!
so thats it for today, not a major rant like usual, i'll come up with something on monday.
Follow Ashley on Twitter
Oh yeah, #ArchHunt is going really well with @RupertBurr, im slightly gettin obsessed with it now tho :s
Basically i just want to keep this up to date. What may be boring to me, may be fun for you to read...and if that is the case...get out alot more!
This week has been a bit of a crazy week, which i blogged the press release here. So I'm busy trying to get our systems working perfect, although if they do, i'll have nothing to do!!
So thats the boring bit.
Recently, i'm not sure if you know but there is an election campaign going on. So basically to my eyes this is just grown men BEGGING for some kind of X in a box. This is fantastic, and i dont think i can really blame them. But honestly, can anyone REALLY change anything. I'm sure I'll still think that the taxes will be too high. I still think the Home Office will be an absolute mess. Honest people will be deported and dis-honest people will stay. I still think they wont do anything to get kids off the street and actually doing something. Jobs wont magically appear either.
I'm not here to talk politics...in fact im not sure what i play to say today.
aaahhh yes, i remember now! Its ... friendliness ... not kindness! fuck no!
Kindness is too hard.
Friendliness, i think its about being friends. I have friends i hang out with, i have "online" friends. My personality differs with each one, its natural, it happens. To one I'm a boring bastard..to the other im fucking hilarious! i'll let you decide which.
I think not enough people are friendly to anyone, generally you just stay with your school mates/work colleagues and just hang around with them, go to pubs and parties. I mean seriously when was the last time you made a NEW friend...an actual stranger!
I've been lucky in this part...cos i actually have met a few strangers! These people i met via Twitter, we all have a common interest..comedy. This is key, and good. We dont annoy other people..we just annoy each other with out comedy stories etc. Oh, And i now have people to go to London Comedy Improv
I first met these people at a podophile get-together, it was great fun. I'm glad i did! These people give me ray of sunshine when im down and stressed out...and its cos they know comedy Ash that they cheer me up! Any time im down they will help me call someone a cunt! and that makes me smile!
so thats it for today, not a major rant like usual, i'll come up with something on monday.
Follow Ashley on Twitter
Oh yeah, #ArchHunt is going really well with @RupertBurr, im slightly gettin obsessed with it now tho :s
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Volo TV - First Onboard Train Entertainment Service
Press Release from UKPA
The first on-board TV service for passengers on trains from London's Paddington station has been launched.
The seat-back service, which passengers pay for, has been introduced on some high-speed trains operated by the First Great Western (FGW) rail company.
FGW has joined the Volo TV company to provide the service in which passengers can see popular TV shows as well as sport programmes and documentaries.
FGW plans to introduce the new service across all 54 of its high-speed trains which run from London's Paddington station.
When the roll-out is completed, passengers will be able to pay a flat fee of £3.95 via their mobile phones to access the screen in front of them and can then watch as many TV shows as they like during the journey.
They can also get access for an hour for £1.50.
Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
Find out more at Volo:TV
This will now make train journeys a little more fun ... and quicker!
The first on-board TV service for passengers on trains from London's Paddington station has been launched.
The seat-back service, which passengers pay for, has been introduced on some high-speed trains operated by the First Great Western (FGW) rail company.
FGW has joined the Volo TV company to provide the service in which passengers can see popular TV shows as well as sport programmes and documentaries.
FGW plans to introduce the new service across all 54 of its high-speed trains which run from London's Paddington station.
When the roll-out is completed, passengers will be able to pay a flat fee of £3.95 via their mobile phones to access the screen in front of them and can then watch as many TV shows as they like during the journey.
They can also get access for an hour for £1.50.
Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
Find out more at Volo:TV
This will now make train journeys a little more fun ... and quicker!
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Bypass Anti Piracy Act...kinda
Good afternoon ladies, and gentlemen and fellow nerds.
As people that know me will know, i support FREE stuff, information, music, films etc. I generally support this on the basis that if it is ACTUALLY GOOD, people will still buy it. Have faith in the masses etc.
I have previously wrote about Copywrite Criminals, either you agree or not.
Have also put some paradies of the MPAA "annoying" AD HERE
Well I havent really had the time today to sit and write an article, but i did catch this artcile from TorrentFreak.com which i think is handy and interesting.
Some healthy advice and a good point of view...although bias.
In an apparent attempt to stop piracy from bankrupting the music industry, the UK Government passed the Digital Economy Bill last week. Despite their good intentions, the lawmakers have come up with a legislative equivalent of DRM that will not have the slightest effect on seasoned file-sharers.
Last Wednesday the Digital Economy Bill was forced through by the UK Government. Under the new law copyright holders have the power to spy on those who infringe their rights, which may ultimately lead to file-sharers being disconnected from the Internet. In addition, copyright holders can urge the Government to close websites without the hassle of going through the courts.
Despite these new powers awarded to copyright holders, it is unlikely that they will stop heavy file-sharers from continuing what they’ve been doing for so long. The problem with using technology to fight technology is that it’s only a matter of time before the latter catches up with the former.
It has already been shown numerous times that DRM has not prevented anyone from sharing files, and the Digital Economy Act – with all the extra powers it gives to copyright holders – wont be successful either.
For those who don’t want to give up their habit of downloading copyrighted material, there are simply dozens of ways to download music and movies without being at risk. Much like DRM, the Act will not stop tech savvy file-sharers, it will only change the rules of the game.
Listed below are a few ways how file-sharers will easily avoid the measures that have been introduced by the new legislation.
A Simple Trick
For those who use BitTorrent to share files, there is one really simple trick to avoid being tracked by many copyright holders. Since all of the tracking software we’re aware of today use BitTorrent trackers to gather data, one can simply remove the tracker(s) before downloading and rely on DHT and PEX instead.
DHT and PEX are supported by all the major BitTorrent clients nowadays and users will be able to download just as quickly as they are used to. Instead of going through a central tracker, DHT and PEX allow BitTorrent users to get all the information they need from the swarm, and avoid the prying eyes of many anti-piracy outfits by doing so.
Although monitoring DHT is harder than using the BitTorrent trackers to gather ‘evidence’, it is not impossible. But since the leading BitTorrent tracking organization Dtecnet has no clue about DHT, we assume that it might take a while before their evidence gathering techniques are updated.
Buying Anonymity
For a few pounds a month file-sharers can circumvent the Digital Economy Act entirely with a VPN. These services offer an encrypted tunnel between your home connection and an external server and will exchange your IP-address for one in another country where UK laws don’t apply. Besides avoiding being tracked by anti-piracy outfits, a VPN will also allow access to all of the sites that may be blocked under the new legislation.
There are thousands of VPN services available on the Internet. Itshidden is a popular one among BitTorrent users, but Hidemyass and Swiss VPN have received positive reviews as well. The Pirate Bay folks offer one of the cheapest solutions, they launched their Ipredator VPN a year ago after Sweden passed their new anti-piracy law.
Ditch BitTorrent
What hasn’t been mentioned too often is that the Digital Economy Act only targets a select group of file-sharers – those who upload material. It is expected that BitTorrent and Gnutella-based applications such as Limewire will be the main targets, simply because they are the easiest to monitor.
However, there are several other ways to download copyrighted content on the Internet. Usenet providers offer premium download services that cannot be monitored easily, and as we mentioned in a previous article, there are also hundreds of MP3 search engines that allow users to download files directly on their computers without being tracked.
The bottom line is that no matter what legislation governments introduce, it is doubtful that it will have an effect on heavy file-sharers or those that can be bothered to spend 30 minutes using Google. It might deter some novice file-sharers, but the question is at what expense? As The Guardian rightfully notes today, the Act might lead to hundreds or thousands of people losing their connection based on false evidence. Is that worth it?
Original Article is HERE
Follow me on Twitter
As people that know me will know, i support FREE stuff, information, music, films etc. I generally support this on the basis that if it is ACTUALLY GOOD, people will still buy it. Have faith in the masses etc.
I have previously wrote about Copywrite Criminals, either you agree or not.
Have also put some paradies of the MPAA "annoying" AD HERE
Well I havent really had the time today to sit and write an article, but i did catch this artcile from TorrentFreak.com which i think is handy and interesting.
Some healthy advice and a good point of view...although bias.
In an apparent attempt to stop piracy from bankrupting the music industry, the UK Government passed the Digital Economy Bill last week. Despite their good intentions, the lawmakers have come up with a legislative equivalent of DRM that will not have the slightest effect on seasoned file-sharers.
Last Wednesday the Digital Economy Bill was forced through by the UK Government. Under the new law copyright holders have the power to spy on those who infringe their rights, which may ultimately lead to file-sharers being disconnected from the Internet. In addition, copyright holders can urge the Government to close websites without the hassle of going through the courts.
Despite these new powers awarded to copyright holders, it is unlikely that they will stop heavy file-sharers from continuing what they’ve been doing for so long. The problem with using technology to fight technology is that it’s only a matter of time before the latter catches up with the former.
It has already been shown numerous times that DRM has not prevented anyone from sharing files, and the Digital Economy Act – with all the extra powers it gives to copyright holders – wont be successful either.
For those who don’t want to give up their habit of downloading copyrighted material, there are simply dozens of ways to download music and movies without being at risk. Much like DRM, the Act will not stop tech savvy file-sharers, it will only change the rules of the game.
Listed below are a few ways how file-sharers will easily avoid the measures that have been introduced by the new legislation.
A Simple Trick
For those who use BitTorrent to share files, there is one really simple trick to avoid being tracked by many copyright holders. Since all of the tracking software we’re aware of today use BitTorrent trackers to gather data, one can simply remove the tracker(s) before downloading and rely on DHT and PEX instead.
DHT and PEX are supported by all the major BitTorrent clients nowadays and users will be able to download just as quickly as they are used to. Instead of going through a central tracker, DHT and PEX allow BitTorrent users to get all the information they need from the swarm, and avoid the prying eyes of many anti-piracy outfits by doing so.
Although monitoring DHT is harder than using the BitTorrent trackers to gather ‘evidence’, it is not impossible. But since the leading BitTorrent tracking organization Dtecnet has no clue about DHT, we assume that it might take a while before their evidence gathering techniques are updated.
Buying Anonymity
For a few pounds a month file-sharers can circumvent the Digital Economy Act entirely with a VPN. These services offer an encrypted tunnel between your home connection and an external server and will exchange your IP-address for one in another country where UK laws don’t apply. Besides avoiding being tracked by anti-piracy outfits, a VPN will also allow access to all of the sites that may be blocked under the new legislation.
There are thousands of VPN services available on the Internet. Itshidden is a popular one among BitTorrent users, but Hidemyass and Swiss VPN have received positive reviews as well. The Pirate Bay folks offer one of the cheapest solutions, they launched their Ipredator VPN a year ago after Sweden passed their new anti-piracy law.
Ditch BitTorrent
What hasn’t been mentioned too often is that the Digital Economy Act only targets a select group of file-sharers – those who upload material. It is expected that BitTorrent and Gnutella-based applications such as Limewire will be the main targets, simply because they are the easiest to monitor.
However, there are several other ways to download copyrighted content on the Internet. Usenet providers offer premium download services that cannot be monitored easily, and as we mentioned in a previous article, there are also hundreds of MP3 search engines that allow users to download files directly on their computers without being tracked.
The bottom line is that no matter what legislation governments introduce, it is doubtful that it will have an effect on heavy file-sharers or those that can be bothered to spend 30 minutes using Google. It might deter some novice file-sharers, but the question is at what expense? As The Guardian rightfully notes today, the Act might lead to hundreds or thousands of people losing their connection based on false evidence. Is that worth it?
Original Article is HERE
Follow me on Twitter
Monday, 12 April 2010
Just "do" whatever
I love this phrase, its possibly one of my favourites. The lack of any advice is amazing. I always ask my friends for advice, I like to get input on what im doing. Be it my writing...ha writing!..or my art/photography stuff. The response i generally get is...
"just do whatever"..and then..
"comes into your head"
Well, if i just write what comes into my head, we end up with this.
"light, car, bum, cunt, tv, shop, blah, eewww, what, huh?, hhhmm urgh"
I think we can all agree that this doesn't make good reading. Although some psychologists might enjoy analysing this group of words.
See, to even write something about nothing is actually an effort. I have this great ability to completely ignore my life, i mean i know what happens...but i dont remember any of the interesting bits.
I see people walking, I see tourists doing funny foreign stuff. See funny americans saying "american-isms" like "Oh My God...they have telephones here, and wow they have pavements!"
At the time I think these things are amazing, do i remember when i start writing..like fuck i do.
I now have a new appreciation for comedians as they seem to notice all this, AND make it funny. I always intend to add some humour, i like to be funny.
I like advice, i want to see both sides of a story or an opinion. If someones asks me i will try my best to give advice.
oh, another thing, i find the people that always just say "do-whatever" are people that get annoyed when they ask me and i just say "do-whatever".
Anyways, short one today until i get my week sorted and remember the things i see.
follow on twitter
"just do whatever"..and then..
"comes into your head"
Well, if i just write what comes into my head, we end up with this.
"light, car, bum, cunt, tv, shop, blah, eewww, what, huh?, hhhmm urgh"
I think we can all agree that this doesn't make good reading. Although some psychologists might enjoy analysing this group of words.
See, to even write something about nothing is actually an effort. I have this great ability to completely ignore my life, i mean i know what happens...but i dont remember any of the interesting bits.
I see people walking, I see tourists doing funny foreign stuff. See funny americans saying "american-isms" like "Oh My God...they have telephones here, and wow they have pavements!"
At the time I think these things are amazing, do i remember when i start writing..like fuck i do.
I now have a new appreciation for comedians as they seem to notice all this, AND make it funny. I always intend to add some humour, i like to be funny.
I like advice, i want to see both sides of a story or an opinion. If someones asks me i will try my best to give advice.
oh, another thing, i find the people that always just say "do-whatever" are people that get annoyed when they ask me and i just say "do-whatever".
Anyways, short one today until i get my week sorted and remember the things i see.
follow on twitter
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Copywrite Criminal
YOU WOULDNT STEAL FROM AN OLD LADY!
YOU WOULDNT STEAL A CAR!
YOU WOULDNT BEAT SOMEONE UP!
SO WHY WOULD YOU DOWNLOAD A MOVIE!
I love that advert I see when I'm watching a movie, that I incidently downloaded. There seems to be alot of talk about copywrite
infringement and the such, although it does only seem to be coming from HUGE companies Sony Music, Warner etc that complain it hits
profits. For once in my blog i will try to be informative...not in partial but informative.
My opinion on the subject is that the punishment doesnt exactly fit the crime. I dont see a problem with sharing files, as portable
players are becoming more and more successful this is turning into a need. I also believe though that you should pay for something you
like, I dont quite agree with paying for something I haven't tried. I like shareware cos it gives me a chance to look at the
software before I fork out some cash for it. I hate the Appstore on iPhone, the concept is amazing, downloading games whilst on the
move..fan-fucking-tastic. BUT for companies that dont make a free trial version, I am forced to pay before i've even seen the
software. The only thing to go on is the reviews, and its shown that these cannot be trusted as companies post there own reviews and
give 5 stars! Ratings Scandal
Kills more than 1000 Apps.
The problem with this is the Robin Hood factor, its like stealing from the rich to give to the poor. As an example take a student
learning photography, pretty much the industry standard is to use Adobe Photoshop, lets look at the pricing from Amazon. So Adobe
Photoshop CS4 is ... £569.99 woah, thats alot for someone, I know alot of people are goig to say the Student version is only
£149.99. But lets be honest, you want the best so we're going with this one. Thats alot of dinero. This software can be easily found
for FREE on the net...im sure if you just look.
So thats my general opinion.
After using Google, this is what I found.
Global digital music trade revenues reach US$4.2 billion, up 12% in 2009.
Since 2004 "The Music Industry" increased digital revenues buy 940%, although CD sales dropped by 12%
The problem with this is that i am be selective with the facts. In some places revenue from new artists has dropped, and this has been
put down to piracy. Even some of the sites i read were a little bias either way. Some claimed it had a negative impact globally, some
say locally. It was hard to get to the bottom of this. Mainly because when one profit fell another one rose, for example subscription
based streaming services are more widely available, this impacts as i believe companies wont get as much from royalties than if someone
bought a cd.
So lets look at Hollywood. In 2009, studios made more films and generated more revenue than ever before. US box office gross hit over
$10Billion! When you hear figures like this, you really do think how piracy is KILLING the industry.
A woman was fined $1.9m for illegal downloads...wow you think! she must have been a Music Lord, Running her own shop just selling these
songs on to everyone for a penny. She must have downloaded so much music she has a warehouse full of hard drives! ... not exactly. This
woman who is married with 4 children and works in a low paid job for an indian tribe in Minnesota downloaded a whopping 24 songs! thats
80,000 PER SONG! you've got to be fucking kidding me. That does not fit the crime! Surely! CNN
From this i found some great facts. This section is entitled
7 Crimes that cost less than file sharing!
1. Child abduction (approx. $25,000)
2. Actually stealing the CD from a shop (approx. $2,500)
3. Rob your neighbor (approx. $375,000)
4. Burn a house down: (approx. $375,000)
5. Stalk someone: (approx. $175,000)
6. Start a dogfighting ring: (approx. $50,000)
7. Murder someone: The maximum penalty is only $25,000 and 15 years in jail, and depending on your yearly salary, would probably
be far slighter a penalty that $2 million
*all rough figures dont take as fact...Fines do vary*
What these companies need to relise is that actually most people DONT download. People that do are still going to buy, its a respect
thing. You pay for something you enjoy. By punishing people excessively, its forcing "the people" to rebel and to keep
downloading. The fear factor isnt working, so why not see downloaders as potential customers. Work a little with them.
My next conundrum i saw on a website and this actually got me thinking. The Article
But what about if you own a printed copy of a book and you simply want to read the ebook version? Should you have to pay for a
second copy?
When you download the E-book. Your subsequent downloading is akin to buying a CD, then copying it to your iPod.
Some people agree, some people dont, it varies.
Leave your opinion in the Comments section!
Monday, 5 April 2010
Exercise
Oh how arrogant I am, or naive...not sure.
I'm not old, or overweight, or lazy. Maybe I am a little of the last one. If you know me I tend to really not do much and try to do as little as possible, it takes dedication to get out of every little activity that 'pops' up.
I always use the Fawlty Towers line when it comes to football, I cant "me, ol' knee injured it when i was destined to become a famous footballer" Nearly every male I have met has said this to me.
And Tennis, "oh i cant..been playing tennis on the Wii and get Wii-Tennis elbow...sorry"
So basically any activity, i can come up with new ways that i am unable to do it. Sometimes it takes more effort to NOT do it, than if i actually done it. But im dedicated to not doing something so i dont quit!
Sunday was just another normal day...in fact it was Monday.
Wife-lady : "fancy a game of tennis with me and [friend]"
Now here i go with one of my amazing 'im unable to lines'. "oh babe, but we dont have enough rackets"
Wife-lady : "dont worry [friend] is bringing an extra one for you"
Dammit! i was beaten by a fiendish friend. I couldnt get out of this now, making two excuses in succession is wrong. So off i went to play tennis, now im not that bad at tennis actually use to play for my school and i love watching wimbledon. It was never had at school, it doesnt look too hard at wimbledon either. But alas my school days were 10 years behind me. Oh but did i think of that...of course i fucking didnt...I'm male, in my head im still 16! run for days...fit as a fiddle.
"Ashley...do you wanna warm up so you dont injury yourself"
Me in my youthful-ness "of course not, i skate to work ill be fine" Now 10 years ago 2 hours of tennis no effort, easy...piece of piss. HA i laugh in the face of 2hour tennis matches! No i dont! not anymore. So i played i ran, i hit the round thing over the net (some of the time) and the PAIN! I couldnt move, i still cant, legs just wont have it.
And as you all know, i SKATE to/from work! Thats 10 miles a day. Fuck doing that today or anytime in the near future. That 2 hour tennis match made me feel like i'd ran a marathon. I ache from head to toe, i cant move without wincing. I have muscle's aching i didnt know even ached! this is shocking.
This is the time i also realised that i no longer have my natural youth fitness. I know im only 25 so its not too bad, but still its a shock to my ego! So what if i skate 10miles a day, thats easy! you just roll! I've now realise that i probably wouldnt be able to run 10miles a day, you got to be fucking kidding me! So now i have to WORK for my fitness...hhhmm i dont see that working out too well.
Anyways, for those that care, took me 55mins today..hopefully you've read above, i was too dead to take any pictures.
Ashley on Twitter
I'm not old, or overweight, or lazy. Maybe I am a little of the last one. If you know me I tend to really not do much and try to do as little as possible, it takes dedication to get out of every little activity that 'pops' up.
I always use the Fawlty Towers line when it comes to football, I cant "me, ol' knee injured it when i was destined to become a famous footballer" Nearly every male I have met has said this to me.
And Tennis, "oh i cant..been playing tennis on the Wii and get Wii-Tennis elbow...sorry"
So basically any activity, i can come up with new ways that i am unable to do it. Sometimes it takes more effort to NOT do it, than if i actually done it. But im dedicated to not doing something so i dont quit!
Sunday was just another normal day...in fact it was Monday.
Wife-lady : "fancy a game of tennis with me and [friend]"
Now here i go with one of my amazing 'im unable to lines'. "oh babe, but we dont have enough rackets"
Wife-lady : "dont worry [friend] is bringing an extra one for you"
Dammit! i was beaten by a fiendish friend. I couldnt get out of this now, making two excuses in succession is wrong. So off i went to play tennis, now im not that bad at tennis actually use to play for my school and i love watching wimbledon. It was never had at school, it doesnt look too hard at wimbledon either. But alas my school days were 10 years behind me. Oh but did i think of that...of course i fucking didnt...I'm male, in my head im still 16! run for days...fit as a fiddle.
"Ashley...do you wanna warm up so you dont injury yourself"
Me in my youthful-ness "of course not, i skate to work ill be fine" Now 10 years ago 2 hours of tennis no effort, easy...piece of piss. HA i laugh in the face of 2hour tennis matches! No i dont! not anymore. So i played i ran, i hit the round thing over the net (some of the time) and the PAIN! I couldnt move, i still cant, legs just wont have it.
And as you all know, i SKATE to/from work! Thats 10 miles a day. Fuck doing that today or anytime in the near future. That 2 hour tennis match made me feel like i'd ran a marathon. I ache from head to toe, i cant move without wincing. I have muscle's aching i didnt know even ached! this is shocking.
This is the time i also realised that i no longer have my natural youth fitness. I know im only 25 so its not too bad, but still its a shock to my ego! So what if i skate 10miles a day, thats easy! you just roll! I've now realise that i probably wouldnt be able to run 10miles a day, you got to be fucking kidding me! So now i have to WORK for my fitness...hhhmm i dont see that working out too well.
Anyways, for those that care, took me 55mins today..hopefully you've read above, i was too dead to take any pictures.
Ashley on Twitter
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Dogs in Clothes - Fuck Off
I skated to work again today, i have now found this to be a therapeutic time where i can just see the world go by in my bright glow in the dark fleece. I skate from Oval to Paddington blinding pedestrians with my neon-ness.
Its a great time, a moment to reflect, a moment to just ignore everything and listen to pod-casts. Its great...until...now.
Today was an effort everything was horrible, i wasn't feeling right, and most importantly...i couldn't be arsed. But i put a real effort today...and oh my it was worth it! I have seen many sights on my skating journeys.
Firstly,
According to Wiki Answers
"Canines have fur as an evolved means of self defense, and protection from the elements. Fur not only makes it harder to injure the dog, but also protects it, depending on the type of dog, from cold, rain, sleet, etc."
This i believe is an obvious answer, the whole keep warm bit, its genius idea...have fur on body = keep warm. Amazing how evolution does stuf like that..like how a Peregrine Falcon is perfectly designed to fall to the ground at amazing speeds and still get the pigeon. How pigs just know to taste like bacon...is genius.
So why then do people put coats on dogs, sometimes i can deal with a jacket on a dog, keep the fur nice and all that...but that is at a stretch. Today i saw a BIG BEAST of a dog in Hyde Park in an ORANGE jumpsuit, like the dog was bound for the electric chair on death row. Why? Why? Why? as we have learnt from Wiki today...dogs have fur to keep warm.
This would be like us...wearing a fleece...and then just for good measure putting a huge wooly jumper on top! I mean you wouldn't.
This humanisation of dogs is wrong! surely putting too many clothes on it, and making it too hot is like torture. I'm about to take the moral high ground...Torture is Wrong.
Also on my journey in Hyde Park, i saw a drunk homeless guy chasing a squirrel. Need i say more about the comical elements of this.
Someone laughed and pointed at me then she tripped over, very much to my amusement. I didnt even try to hide my laugh. I just laughed very loudly and proceeded on my way.
Anyway thats my run down.
took 45mins, loads of laughs
Its a great time, a moment to reflect, a moment to just ignore everything and listen to pod-casts. Its great...until...now.
Today was an effort everything was horrible, i wasn't feeling right, and most importantly...i couldn't be arsed. But i put a real effort today...and oh my it was worth it! I have seen many sights on my skating journeys.
Firstly,
According to Wiki Answers
"Canines have fur as an evolved means of self defense, and protection from the elements. Fur not only makes it harder to injure the dog, but also protects it, depending on the type of dog, from cold, rain, sleet, etc."
This i believe is an obvious answer, the whole keep warm bit, its genius idea...have fur on body = keep warm. Amazing how evolution does stuf like that..like how a Peregrine Falcon is perfectly designed to fall to the ground at amazing speeds and still get the pigeon. How pigs just know to taste like bacon...is genius.
So why then do people put coats on dogs, sometimes i can deal with a jacket on a dog, keep the fur nice and all that...but that is at a stretch. Today i saw a BIG BEAST of a dog in Hyde Park in an ORANGE jumpsuit, like the dog was bound for the electric chair on death row. Why? Why? Why? as we have learnt from Wiki today...dogs have fur to keep warm.
This would be like us...wearing a fleece...and then just for good measure putting a huge wooly jumper on top! I mean you wouldn't.
This humanisation of dogs is wrong! surely putting too many clothes on it, and making it too hot is like torture. I'm about to take the moral high ground...Torture is Wrong.
Also on my journey in Hyde Park, i saw a drunk homeless guy chasing a squirrel. Need i say more about the comical elements of this.
Someone laughed and pointed at me then she tripped over, very much to my amusement. I didnt even try to hide my laugh. I just laughed very loudly and proceeded on my way.
Anyway thats my run down.
took 45mins, loads of laughs
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
ANGERED! vile-disgusting-cunt
Firstly it takes alot for me to get angry, i get angry in funny ways. Shrug it all off with a joke. Quite a laid back chap i would say.
A little about me, i believe that i am an open-minded individual who keeps great company. Intelligent company, people who aren't one sided, can see all sides to an argument...most importantly educated. Being educated helps support a good argument. Otherwise it just descends into petty name calling and i would not want that round me.
I believe everyone has a right to believe anythinK (see previous post) they like, look however they want to look.
If you want to believe that little aliens from outer space are coming to get you..then fine. I will just let you do that.
If you want to believe a man with a cool beard lives in the sky and will helps us all. Then fantastic if it gets you through your day.
I don't have to agree with you, but i DO accept your opinion. Although i will probably argue back with evidence on the contrary, but it is an educated argument.
I have just seen on my face a Questionnaire which i shall post. THIS MAY OFFEND!
"COULD YOU BE A MUSLIM???
Take this simple test and find out.
1. Do you have more wives than teeth ?
2. Do you own a $25000 rocket launcher but cant afford shoes?
3. Do you cultivate Heroin but have a moral objection to Beer?
4. Do you think vests come in two styles ? Bullet-proof & Suicide?
And most significantly
5.Do you scrape the shit off your sweaty arse with your bare hand, but consider bacon unclean?!
If you answer YES to any one of these questions PLEASE DELETE MY NUMBER FROM YOUR PHONE!! YA MANKY PAKI BASTARD!!!!"
I do not wish to associate myseslf with this individual or infact have anything to do with him at all. All i will say is that we grew up together i have known this person for their entire lives! How is it that we could both turn out SO differently.
This kind of thing has actually got me riled, ok. This person can say whatever they like, but this isnt an educated thing. This is childish bullying RACIST. Totally un-called for in the public-domain of facebook.
another thing Paki is not Muslim - see un-educated as most people are like this.
I wish some people could just grow up, see reason.
This is quite a serious rant, i was going to wait until tomorrow, but was annoying me so much!
A little about me, i believe that i am an open-minded individual who keeps great company. Intelligent company, people who aren't one sided, can see all sides to an argument...most importantly educated. Being educated helps support a good argument. Otherwise it just descends into petty name calling and i would not want that round me.
I believe everyone has a right to believe anythinK (see previous post) they like, look however they want to look.
If you want to believe that little aliens from outer space are coming to get you..then fine. I will just let you do that.
If you want to believe a man with a cool beard lives in the sky and will helps us all. Then fantastic if it gets you through your day.
I don't have to agree with you, but i DO accept your opinion. Although i will probably argue back with evidence on the contrary, but it is an educated argument.
I have just seen on my face a Questionnaire which i shall post. THIS MAY OFFEND!
"COULD YOU BE A MUSLIM???
Take this simple test and find out.
1. Do you have more wives than teeth ?
2. Do you own a $25000 rocket launcher but cant afford shoes?
3. Do you cultivate Heroin but have a moral objection to Beer?
4. Do you think vests come in two styles ? Bullet-proof & Suicide?
And most significantly
5.Do you scrape the shit off your sweaty arse with your bare hand, but consider bacon unclean?!
If you answer YES to any one of these questions PLEASE DELETE MY NUMBER FROM YOUR PHONE!! YA MANKY PAKI BASTARD!!!!"
I do not wish to associate myseslf with this individual or infact have anything to do with him at all. All i will say is that we grew up together i have known this person for their entire lives! How is it that we could both turn out SO differently.
This kind of thing has actually got me riled, ok. This person can say whatever they like, but this isnt an educated thing. This is childish bullying RACIST. Totally un-called for in the public-domain of facebook.
another thing Paki is not Muslim - see un-educated as most people are like this.
I wish some people could just grow up, see reason.
This is quite a serious rant, i was going to wait until tomorrow, but was annoying me so much!
English Language
I'm tackling something a probably shouldn't. Me of all people shouldn't.
This is the demise of the english lanuage! mwa-ha-ha-ha-haaaa! I have NO authority whatsoever to criticise ANYbody's writing/speaking skills.
I am from Essex, and i know all about the dropping of letters from words. I will regularly say "waLDer", dropping that annoying T and replacing with a softer "LD". I try though, to be as articulate or have a varied vocabulary as i can.
So why am I getting so annoyed when other people use this terrible language.
Well,
Its now changed, its no longer the occasional letter that gets dropped in speech. Which i sometimes think isnt that bad. Its now in TEXT or TXT! Since when did it become acceptable to type LIKE as LYK?! or THAT as DAT.
Im sure this isnt just a pet peeve for me alone. People i know definitely hate this, or they should...i keep well educated company..sometimes. I believe this typed of text is actually ruining our language. Picture famous quotes should writers have got lazy and dumbed down.
"SHLL I CMPR THEE 2 A SMMRS DYTHOU ART MR LVLY AND MR TMPRT"
Are you kidding me! This has started to get me angry when i see Facebook status' using this typ of spk . huh?!
why? there is no limit like sms or twitter whats going on...are you so dumb that you cannot construct a simple sentence without wanting to shorten everythinK (deliberate K ... ill come to that later)
This really got to me, i started thinking about how i compose myself textually/articulately. I have now started to make more of an effort to pronounce and even learn the occasional new word. I believe language is core to intelligence, if you can express in a correct manner or have the vocabulary to express you will be left in a spiral of ths typ of spk nd dat aint kl
Right my next rant,
mainly THINK instead of THING...i.e someTHINK or anyTHINK, this is the worst destruction of language. The words dont even mean the same anymore. No longer describing a THING, this gets to me every time.
I believe these two subjects to be related, so my conclusions.
KNWLDG AND SPEACH R CNNCTD. PPL NEED 2 READ MR QLTY LTRTR AND EXPND THEIR LNGG SKLLS. LEARN NW WRDS LNGG CN BE FN AND WE SHOULD AL WRK ON IMPRVNG
hope you enjoyed reading, i understand my grammer/english writing skills aren't amazing, I at least try and will not resort to the above at any point.
---
I skated to work today..in the rain..took 40mins. Was wet. Shouted at a traffic light because it turned red. Scared a small child.
This is the demise of the english lanuage! mwa-ha-ha-ha-haaaa! I have NO authority whatsoever to criticise ANYbody's writing/speaking skills.
I am from Essex, and i know all about the dropping of letters from words. I will regularly say "waLDer", dropping that annoying T and replacing with a softer "LD". I try though, to be as articulate or have a varied vocabulary as i can.
So why am I getting so annoyed when other people use this terrible language.
Well,
Its now changed, its no longer the occasional letter that gets dropped in speech. Which i sometimes think isnt that bad. Its now in TEXT or TXT! Since when did it become acceptable to type LIKE as LYK?! or THAT as DAT.
Im sure this isnt just a pet peeve for me alone. People i know definitely hate this, or they should...i keep well educated company..sometimes. I believe this typed of text is actually ruining our language. Picture famous quotes should writers have got lazy and dumbed down.
"SHLL I CMPR THEE 2 A SMMRS DYTHOU ART MR LVLY AND MR TMPRT"
Are you kidding me! This has started to get me angry when i see Facebook status' using this typ of spk . huh?!
why? there is no limit like sms or twitter whats going on...are you so dumb that you cannot construct a simple sentence without wanting to shorten everythinK (deliberate K ... ill come to that later)
This really got to me, i started thinking about how i compose myself textually/articulately. I have now started to make more of an effort to pronounce and even learn the occasional new word. I believe language is core to intelligence, if you can express in a correct manner or have the vocabulary to express you will be left in a spiral of ths typ of spk nd dat aint kl
Right my next rant,
mainly THINK instead of THING...i.e someTHINK or anyTHINK, this is the worst destruction of language. The words dont even mean the same anymore. No longer describing a THING, this gets to me every time.
I believe these two subjects to be related, so my conclusions.
KNWLDG AND SPEACH R CNNCTD. PPL NEED 2 READ MR QLTY LTRTR AND EXPND THEIR LNGG SKLLS. LEARN NW WRDS LNGG CN BE FN AND WE SHOULD AL WRK ON IMPRVNG
hope you enjoyed reading, i understand my grammer/english writing skills aren't amazing, I at least try and will not resort to the above at any point.
---
I skated to work today..in the rain..took 40mins. Was wet. Shouted at a traffic light because it turned red. Scared a small child.
Not Common Sense
oh the famous, elusive "common sense". Apparently its like the 6th sense only not as much fun, you dont get to see Bruce Willis at all!
I've heard so many people exhaust the subject of "common sense", and I will now be another.
We all assume we have this "common sense" but do we?! really? think about it. I know i have done many stupid things that at the time seemed GENIUS! For instance i once thought it would be a great idea to hold onto a car whilst on my skates, the skates proceeded to fall apart and i broke my wrist. Or i have another time when i cycled blind folded and smashed into a beautiful mercedes.
But i think i have come up with a reason why common sense is lacking, yes i know i am amazing.
Well i think mobile phones are the issue, too many people staring at mobile phones and not "learning" these common occurrence's. So busy are people staring at Twitter or checking their email. This type of "look-down-unaware-of-anything-even-a-big-fucking-bus" behaviour was originally reserved for tourists with an A to Z.
I have the pleasure of skating through london most days and this behaviour is so apparent its actually shocking. I skate in a Hi-Vis Fleece, in fact lets call it a ILLUMINOUS GREEN FLEECE. I wear it so i dont get run over, but i've found more danger on the path with pedestrians! might as well walk around with there eyes closed. Some of these people would say that they couldnt bare to be blind...well their getting a lot of fucking practise!
I have developed a system...i say cunt to get there attention, they fucking look up then and see a bright green, rolling hobbit coming towards them!
This doesn't just affect me, it effects everyone. Whilst on mobile phones people seem to judge distances. I regularly see people attempt suicide, convinced that they can cross the road before that big red bus hits them. Its amazing! Any normal person would see the crossing, the bus, the distance and think "fuck that" but not these people. They just go for it, cos they havent "learnt" common sense.
Now i love Tweeting whilst on the move, and other i-based japery but i was young enough to have these experiences and i learnt.
I have never and will not again:
A) hold onto a car whilst skating
B) cycle blind-folded
Oh my last story involving common sense.
A guy, jumped out of a moving train because he missed his stop.
You never have thought you would ever need to tell a grown man NOT TO JUMP OUT OF A MOVING TRAIN
http://my.opera.com/nikonelite/blog/
I've heard so many people exhaust the subject of "common sense", and I will now be another.
We all assume we have this "common sense" but do we?! really? think about it. I know i have done many stupid things that at the time seemed GENIUS! For instance i once thought it would be a great idea to hold onto a car whilst on my skates, the skates proceeded to fall apart and i broke my wrist. Or i have another time when i cycled blind folded and smashed into a beautiful mercedes.
But i think i have come up with a reason why common sense is lacking, yes i know i am amazing.
Well i think mobile phones are the issue, too many people staring at mobile phones and not "learning" these common occurrence's. So busy are people staring at Twitter or checking their email. This type of "look-down-unaware-of-anything-even-a-big-fucking-bus" behaviour was originally reserved for tourists with an A to Z.
I have the pleasure of skating through london most days and this behaviour is so apparent its actually shocking. I skate in a Hi-Vis Fleece, in fact lets call it a ILLUMINOUS GREEN FLEECE. I wear it so i dont get run over, but i've found more danger on the path with pedestrians! might as well walk around with there eyes closed. Some of these people would say that they couldnt bare to be blind...well their getting a lot of fucking practise!
I have developed a system...i say cunt to get there attention, they fucking look up then and see a bright green, rolling hobbit coming towards them!
This doesn't just affect me, it effects everyone. Whilst on mobile phones people seem to judge distances. I regularly see people attempt suicide, convinced that they can cross the road before that big red bus hits them. Its amazing! Any normal person would see the crossing, the bus, the distance and think "fuck that" but not these people. They just go for it, cos they havent "learnt" common sense.
Now i love Tweeting whilst on the move, and other i-based japery but i was young enough to have these experiences and i learnt.
I have never and will not again:
A) hold onto a car whilst skating
B) cycle blind-folded
Oh my last story involving common sense.
A guy, jumped out of a moving train because he missed his stop.
You never have thought you would ever need to tell a grown man NOT TO JUMP OUT OF A MOVING TRAIN
http://my.opera.com/nikonelite/blog/
Do You Try to be funny
We've all got these people that we know that are just funny...not comedians or deformed people we secretly laugh at inside. But funny people that just make you laugh, people like you and me.
I don't consider myself "funny" maybe hyperactive or sometimes even "perky" but never "HAHA" funny. Let me explain my rambling.
I happened to be in a good mood, a little bit too much caffeine and maybe some Neurofen. I was feeling good, making quick remarks to everyone i met...i mean really intelligent ones..like "yeah and so's your mum" etc
Then in the middle of my own little stand up, in my own crazy world. A random extra i have never cast before just said "do you try to be funny" this comment hit me like a hammer.
These 6 words stopped me, i started thinking...i need to be careful with my response.
If i say no, their quick remark could be along lines of "thats lucky cos your shit" or "oh really you are a natural, why dont you be like Russell Howard and get on the Mock the Week"
If i say yes, i could get "well you should try harder cos your shit" or "wow, you're good, maybe london ipmrov will want you"
Now the main point of this is not that im funny or un-funny. you judge. i do/dont try.
Its the thought process, am i so negative that i think im going to get criticized also, do i actually care what this random thinks.
Is being so aware of other people what holds us back (see i got all serious on you!)
I think thats what makes a good happy life, the ability to filter out these little comments that knock our confidence. Most of the time though its yourself that'll heckle you in the middle of your own stand up. People say being childish is a bad thing, its a great thing. I mean how happy are children! they dont give a shit what anyone says. If they want to do something incredibly stupid or silly they will. So from now on, im a child.
http://my.opera.com/nikonelite/blog/
I don't consider myself "funny" maybe hyperactive or sometimes even "perky" but never "HAHA" funny. Let me explain my rambling.
I happened to be in a good mood, a little bit too much caffeine and maybe some Neurofen. I was feeling good, making quick remarks to everyone i met...i mean really intelligent ones..like "yeah and so's your mum" etc
Then in the middle of my own little stand up, in my own crazy world. A random extra i have never cast before just said "do you try to be funny" this comment hit me like a hammer.
These 6 words stopped me, i started thinking...i need to be careful with my response.
If i say no, their quick remark could be along lines of "thats lucky cos your shit" or "oh really you are a natural, why dont you be like Russell Howard and get on the Mock the Week"
If i say yes, i could get "well you should try harder cos your shit" or "wow, you're good, maybe london ipmrov will want you"
Now the main point of this is not that im funny or un-funny. you judge. i do/dont try.
Its the thought process, am i so negative that i think im going to get criticized also, do i actually care what this random thinks.
Is being so aware of other people what holds us back (see i got all serious on you!)
I think thats what makes a good happy life, the ability to filter out these little comments that knock our confidence. Most of the time though its yourself that'll heckle you in the middle of your own stand up. People say being childish is a bad thing, its a great thing. I mean how happy are children! they dont give a shit what anyone says. If they want to do something incredibly stupid or silly they will. So from now on, im a child.
http://my.opera.com/nikonelite/blog/
Here I am 5 Miles Later
So here I am. Passing on my thoughts and feelings.
I've had a blog before, but things didnt work out between us. This is mainly due to the fact, mainly due to the fact im very unmotivated and get to the point...do people actually read this. At this point I usually go to the pub.
BUT!
I have a new motivation spurred on by my idea of "Skating to Work Project". This started of as just a way to keep fit and save money. It has now turned into a small photo diary using my trusty iPhone! and its many apps. It started off well, I made 5miles in 30mins and for a first try that was good! 15mins faster than a London bus. So i kept at it, i would skate to work faster than a bus and then get the bus home. This was going to be EASY!
The next week, this week, i thought it would be a good idea to also skate home. Easy i thought i skate to work fine with no hassle at all. Oh how young and naive i am, what i failed to take into account is ... my actual day of work 10hours sitting behind a desk tweeting or jumping on trains also tweeting. This takes a lot out of you, the tweeting alone must burn loads of calories!
So?! i hear you all scream ... and i know there are many of you!
"just get the bus home, its all good, no need to worry, we wont tell anyone...we wont even correct you bad grammer"
But, me with my young enthusiastic ways, didnt top up my oyster card. My wife is in control of my finances as i can not be trusted if there is a pub within walking distance of me, and in London there usually is.
I also told her not to top up my oyster card at all.
i have be forced to skate 10.4miles a day, i am now aching and can barely move...although i still tweet. I will try to take photos of my daily skates but i do go the same way over and over again so not sure how that'll pan out.
I have some more ramblings about pedestrians and various other adventures. I will try to update daily but i doubt it.
so please feel free to check out my album and send me a message.
Ashley
http://my.opera.com/nikonelite/blog/
I've had a blog before, but things didnt work out between us. This is mainly due to the fact, mainly due to the fact im very unmotivated and get to the point...do people actually read this. At this point I usually go to the pub.
BUT!
I have a new motivation spurred on by my idea of "Skating to Work Project". This started of as just a way to keep fit and save money. It has now turned into a small photo diary using my trusty iPhone! and its many apps. It started off well, I made 5miles in 30mins and for a first try that was good! 15mins faster than a London bus. So i kept at it, i would skate to work faster than a bus and then get the bus home. This was going to be EASY!
The next week, this week, i thought it would be a good idea to also skate home. Easy i thought i skate to work fine with no hassle at all. Oh how young and naive i am, what i failed to take into account is ... my actual day of work 10hours sitting behind a desk tweeting or jumping on trains also tweeting. This takes a lot out of you, the tweeting alone must burn loads of calories!
So?! i hear you all scream ... and i know there are many of you!
"just get the bus home, its all good, no need to worry, we wont tell anyone...we wont even correct you bad grammer"
But, me with my young enthusiastic ways, didnt top up my oyster card. My wife is in control of my finances as i can not be trusted if there is a pub within walking distance of me, and in London there usually is.
I also told her not to top up my oyster card at all.
i have be forced to skate 10.4miles a day, i am now aching and can barely move...although i still tweet. I will try to take photos of my daily skates but i do go the same way over and over again so not sure how that'll pan out.
I have some more ramblings about pedestrians and various other adventures. I will try to update daily but i doubt it.
so please feel free to check out my album and send me a message.
Ashley
http://my.opera.com/nikonelite/blog/
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