I just wanted to look at something beautiful.

Regular readers of this blog (wake-up mum that means you!) OK, that should probably read regular reader, then. Anyway, mum, you might remember that I wrote an entry on the blog about the 10 things I love most about Sydney, Australia a few months ago. And at the end of the entry I said that I was going to write ’10 things I hate about Sydney’ later in the week to cheer me up after coming home.

Well, I never did because I couldn’t come up with 10 things I didn’t like about Sydney that week, much less 10 things that I hated. And several months later, sat it the office in London at the end of May while it’s raining outside, I can’t think of 10 things now either. Other than that in Sydney, the pedestrian crossings take ages to come on and don’t last long enough to get across the road without running. It’s a car culture you see.

So, that’s one. The one thing I don’t like about Sydney. Just thought I’d clear that up.

The Great Gatsby – it’s a very good film

I went off to see The Great Gatsby’ last night at Cineworld on the Fulham Road – I’ve just bought a new unlimited pass for £19 per month – watch 2 films a month and I’m ahead of the game! A right result.

I thought it was excellent, really entertaining. It looks great – sumptuous, surreal, decadent and indulgent – just like the decade it portrays (that’s enough of my attempt at film critique, I promise!) and although I had to watch it in 3D in this instance it worked really well. And the soundtrack was really good too, this Jay Zed fellow did it. I thought he was a rapper like that 50 pence guy – what do I know? There’s an excellent song that goes  ‘Will you still love me when I am no longer young, or ‘Young and beautiful’ by Lana Del Ray and it’s ‘haunting’ as they say (I’m getting carried away again). A big film always has at least one really big song and this is the one, it will do wonders for the film.

Leonardo Dicaprio was great. I was looking through a list of his films on IMDB and this guy has got the eye. He hasn’t really ever been in a duff film and although he’s a big star, he’s actually a very good actor. I was watching Blood Diamond again the other night after talking about it with a friend and because it’s such a good story you don’t really notice that Leo was very, very good in it. Which reminds me that I remember another friend from Zimbabwe (I’m soooo popular, two friends now!) saying that even Leo’s accent was spot on.

In fact, thinking about it, I’ve enjoyed pretty much every film he’s been in, especially Django Unchained. So, I think I’m a new Leonardo Dicaprio fan, he’s right up there in my opinion and I’m looking forward to his new film ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ even though I didn’t enjoy the book. Anyway, this film is so good I might consider watching Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Australia’… go and watch The Great Gatsby in the cinema while you have the chance.

Tornado rips up town of Moore, Oklahoma

It is incredibly sad news about the tornado in Oklahoma, especially the children in the school in the suburb of Moore. A very severe tornado with wind speeds of up to 200mph has battered the town – the same suburb was hit by a tornado in 1999, when the storm produced the highest winds ever recorded near the Earth’s surface – 302mph.

So, it begs the question, what has been learned since 1999? And with this part of the country almost certain to get more tornados more often as the climate changes, what is going to be done to prevent these things happening in the future?

It seems that According to Larry Tanner, a structural engineer at the Wind Engineering Research Center in Texas Tech University, the average US home simply has no chance of survival if it’s in the path of a tornado.

“The strongest winds that most homes can withstand are around 90 mph,” said Tanner. “After that, they all pretty much get blown to pieces.”

However, the average wind speed generated by a tornado in the USA is between 130mph to 160mph, say the National Weather Service.
And wind speeds that reach 90mph are at the very low end of the scale when it comes to tornadoes, according to Tanner. In fact, The Federal Emergency Management Agency says that since 1953 57% of all catastrophic losses covered by insurance were due to tornadoes.

So, why is it that 60 years later houses and schools are still being so easily destroyed by tornados? Well, maybe the reason is that the average US home is reckoned to have a lifespan of around 50 years, and the chances of it being hit by a tornado in that time are incredibly small. So, the current building standards in the US simply aren’t designed to withstand a tornado impact. It’s a question of money or more specifically insurance.

And this is where the government now has to step in and ensure that any new houses that are built in these areas are completely tornado proof or at the very least have an underground or in-house tornado shelter.

And it is possible to build a tornado proof house. In fact, of all place the Phillipines has some of the strongest homes in the world, on average 8 times stronger than a home in the US and capable of withstanding the 35 or so typhoons that hit the Phillipines every year with minimal damage to infrastructure.

The USA has to make the investment now to prevent more deaths from climate catastrophes in the future. It’s as simple as that.

It’s life but not as we know it…

I came across this and I won’t be having chicken nuggets again for – well probably just a few days actually. But it’s still pretty grim….mechanically separated chicken…

This is really nice video footage of the moon rising in New Zealand. Sent in by a friend who’s always on the lookout for good stuff on the interweb. It’s by a chap called Mark Gee. He has some other great videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/markgfilm?feature=watch

Another satisfied customer….

This made me laugh. There’s a site out there called freeindex.co.uk and it’s a very good site if you’re looking for a tradesperson. Nice list of companies, ratings and you can ask for a quote. A bit like Rated People but it’s free for the tradespeople to get leads, although probably not in the same volume. And it’s a very nice looking site, too. Anyway, we have an alert on that site for electricians and plumbing, so if someone needs an electrician within London we get an email with the details of the job.

One came in last week and it made us all laugh. I wonder how many electricians responded to this request?

‘I have already been priced for this job by my electrician, but then it was re priced later and asked that I do extra work on top. I found this unprofessional and declined on the work, so now I’d like the job re priced.

Please do not reply if you charge by the hour. I do not pay this way, estimate for wiring only, as installation has been done already.

One light plus 2 gang dimmer switch.

Needs connecting from existing wire and replaced a metre away, plus dimmer switch. I have drilled out all necessary holes, fed cable through. It’s ready to go.

The dimmer switch will be used for the kitchen spots as well, but I’m still designing the feature for it, so wiring and hooking up to the dimmer will take place another time another price.

Please also be aware, I know my stuff, I’ve have worked in the trade for 20 years previous.

If I am happy with the work there is plenty more. LEDs, spot light, wall lights, ceiling speaker, the list goes on.

I’m happy to pay cash, but will require proper invoices for all work completed.

I am a professional and I have very high standards. I do not allow shoddy work. If you do not take pride in your work, you need not apply, If you are a cowboy, don’t apply, if you don’t clean up after yourself, do not apply. I will make you tea and biscuits but I take no prisoners. I’m a woman, but don’t let that fool you.

Please don’t take offence, been there, done it, so I’m not taking any chances. You also have to remove your shoes in my apartment. Thank you.’

A quiet drink on a Sunday afternoon with the English Defence League

I know you’re not supposed to laugh at these terrorist stories but this is like a sequel to ‘Four Lions’. You can read the full story here, well the Sun’s version of it anyway (I saw it in The Standard BTW, I don’t read The Sun unless I’m in a cafe – honestly!).

Anyway, the jist of it is this;

• Islamist ‘terror’ gang plan to take out those cosmopolitan guys attending an English Defence League rally.
• Evidently looking to save a few pennies on the whole escapade they purchase ‘single day’ insurance for a borrowed Renault but enter in the wrong registration details.
• They arrive late for the rally which is poorly attended anyway because the main speaker doesn’t turn up, so everyone goes home early.
• On the way back the car gets stopped for no insurance by Plod.
• Plod impounds the car but doesn’t check the boot which contains the terrorists swag of bombs, guns, a taped terror message and a letter stating what they intend to do at the rally.
• Laughably, plod gives the terrorists a lift to the station – that must have been a fun ride for them.
• The canny terrorists then ring up the cops the next day to ask if they can have their bag back from the boot of the car!
• Plod finds bag containing the weapons, tapes and the note which also slags off the Queen and using their training diagnose a terrorist plot
• Plod ‘foils’ terrorist ‘outrage’ by arresting the ‘suspects’

I don’t think Sherlock Holmes will be called in to solve this one. This has all the makings of a very good West End farce. The incompetence of all three parties involved – the EDL’s failure to get a decent rally going, the sheer stupidity of the terrorists and the usual incompetence of the police. I’d write it myself but people would think it’s too far fetched.

The Maunsell Sea Forts, England

My friend sent me a link for this site and the pictures really are off the charts. It’s about abandoned places. Have a look for yourself.

This really is quite amazing and certainly worth 5 minutes of your lunchtime break!

It’s all about customer feedback!

A friend emailed me this. How apt! Not for Serviceteam, of course – they work in a bank!