adlib's blog

Lickety Split

2010-01-23T15:45:00.001-08:00

I have now decided that this blog as wonderful as it is, should be separate from my musical endeavours therefore I have started a new blog to focus mostly on music at my website www.mike-powell.co.uk

I will keep this going as my Adlib blog for other topics.

January

2010-01-20T11:58:00.001-08:00

The first track of the new album is complete. I am still optimistic that it will be released early Summer. The track is called "January" and that is all I am telling you at the moment so there.

In the news today

2010-01-19T04:33:00.000-08:00

Some Daily Mail headlines for today:

COULD TEACHERS GIVE PENSIONERS CANCER?

HAS THE BBC MADE THE ROYAL FAMILY OBESE?

IS THE MMR JAB DESTROYING THE MIDDLE CLASS?

IS NEW LABOUR MAKING THE COUNTRYSIDE IMPOTENT?

COULD CHAVS RUIN YOUR PENSION?

COULD LESBIANS STEAL THE IDENTITY OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE?

Hours of fun I tell ye!

Hours Of Political Fun

2010-01-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

My website of the week is the bizaarely-named http://www.qwghlm.co.uk/toys/
"because all the other domain names were taken".

Here we have the hilarious Daily Mail headline generator, trotting out classics such as "ARE IMMIGRANTS BURGLING HARD WORKING FAMILIES", and "IS GORDON BROWN TURNING THE ROYAL FAMILY GAY?", a David Blunkett policy maker and Alistair Campbells "Wheel Of Retribution".

To top it all off there is a slightly wierd "Michael Howard Sings The Smiths".

All top entertainment for *those* boring evenings.

Labour

2010-01-10T05:18:00.000-08:00

Make no mistake I have always been a Labour guy at heart. Sure, I voted for the Liberal Democrats at my first General Election in 2005. Sure, I've flirted with Cameron's Conservatives and UKIP.. but deep down I am Labour.
The trouble is... today's Labour party aren't the Labour party many of its core supporters know and love.
It's New Labour, and New Labour isn't the old socialist party that we had in the 80s. The anti-EU, trade unionist, pro-worker party. We have a kind of Tory-lite Labour party, which funnily enough, shares a lot in common with Cameron's new Tory-lite party.

Pro-enterprise, free-market, pro-capitalist, pro-EU superstate, what is the choice then?

I even contemplated voting Labour at this years election. Why? Because the Tories are no better, I think they could be worse, better the devil you know I say. But that is no way to bring change to a country that needs it..

Sadly the smaller parties don't really seem to offer much, I mean what are the choices there?
We have UKIP which are sadly slipping more and more back into the old Tory-offshoot Thatcherite stance that just won't connect with the millions of working class voters. We have the BNP which are racist. We have the Liberal Democrats who are hopeless (bring back Charles Kennedy!).

We have the Greens who are single-issue and probably want to introduce even more "green taxes", the English Democrats who are frankly a laughing stock, the Socialist Labour Party who have a hell of a lot of potential for winning the Old Labour vote, but just can't get there act together... the website is absolutely appauling for example.

Nope, there is nowhere that is particularly worthy of my vote. And that, is extremely depressing.

But what is even more depressing, is that this General Election, I will probably vote for Labour under Gordon Brown.
Because there is no credible alternative.

A New Religion

2010-01-05T08:22:00.000-08:00

It's early but I'm leaving
a new dawn and a new religion
help me and I will try
lend me that hand of mine
show me that I can fly
just stand there by my side

How many words are written
you can read but you don't listen
it's there in front of you
take a look it's quite a view
oh how could I know
reaping the seed that can't be sown
How could I know
reaping the seed that can't be sown

It happens all the time
but not when you're around
why do some people Shine
while others search the ground
it's like walking in the snow
The rain falls then we grow
it's happening right now
it's got to be somehow

[When you're around... happening right now]

Hello stranger you're the reason
that I live and that I keep on breathing
sing me a lullaby
don't let this baby cry
I'm lost inside my mind
Here till the end of time
Fresh water pure will clean me
renew the force within me
just something I must do
I would leave the world to you

[I'm lost inside my mind, here til the end of time...]

[No copyright infringement intended]
Electronic - "A new religion"

2010

2010-01-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

3 days into the New Year and I'm already flippin' ill!
Stomach cramps and trouble moving yesterday, slightly better today though still not 100%!

Hope all had a good year, mine was quiet watching Hootenanny with a bottle of wine followed by work at 8am. Oh its all good fun.

The End Of The Naughties

2009-12-31T07:54:00.000-08:00

So we have goodbye to the naughties (00s) and enter a new decade.
Before we consign the 00s into the past lets have a look what has happened as I give my take on the decade.
This decade I grew up from a 13 year old spotty teenager into a slightly less spotty 23 year old man.
The year 2000 began with plenty of fireworks and a sense of optimism, but it was the same kind of optimism everyone gave New Labour in 1997 and it soon became sour. The music in 2000 was awful - sorry there is no other word for it, it just was.
The only highlights I can remember is the return of New Order with their track "Brutal" featured on The Beach soundtrack, a decent U2 album and err... not much else. This was the era of Steps, Westlife, Abba Teens (if you don't remember these then lucky you), A1, bad trance and the rebirth of contemporary R&B which pollutes todays charts. It was crap then too.
I bought Oasis' half-arsed effort with the much-hyped then-new lineup "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants" a 5/10 effort, new-metal was just kicking off which I never really got into (with a few exceptions...)

I guess I should be thankful that 2000 never really had much tragedy, 2001 was slightly better although you can't really say 2001 was a good year for obvious reasons. I was in a Business Studies lesson at the time wrapping up the day, I got home and it was on BBC News 24. It was quite a surreal experience, I had only been on a plane 2 days earlier returning from Ibiza on a family holiday.

2002 was a blast, as Sumner said "it was a special time for me".
I was in a band for the first time since The Boysi, the summer wasn't too bad either although unfortunately I did flirt with being a "mosher" for a while thankfully this only lasted a year or so.
By 2004 I was back into indie music just as it was making its big comeback into the charts with new bands such as Keane, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs and Razorlight.
Like the 90s, in my opinion most of the best music from this decade came from the middle period, 2004-2006, with a lul towards the end, although at least in 2009 there is Bad Lieutenant and White Lies, though sadly in 2007 New Order split (3 of the members starting Bad Lieutenant).

It is with a degree of optimism that I move into 2010, like most people, because there isn't really any other option. For some reason I do feel hopeful that things will change though for the better. I just hope it isn't a repeat of the false hope of 99/2000 and indeed New Labour.

ALBUMS OF THE DECADE
====================

2000
AFI - The Art Of Drowning.
Coldplay - Parachutes.
Jamiroquai - Synkronised.
Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R.
Rival Schools - United By Fate.
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind.

2001
New Order - Get Ready.
Papa Roach - Infest.
Starsailor - Love Is Here.
Strokes - Is This It.
Zero 7 - Simple Things.

2002
A - Hi-Fi Serious.
Foo Fighters - One By One.
Supergrass - Life On Other Planets.
David Bowie - Heathen.
Incubus - Morning View.
System Of A Down - Toxicity.

2003
Athlete - Vehicles & Animals.
Hell Is For Heroes - The Neon Handshake.

2004
Graham Coxon - Happiness In Magazines.
Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives.

2005
Arcade Fire - Funeral.
Athlete - Tourist.
Bloc Party - Silent Alarm.
Coldplay - X & Y.
Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel.
Gorillaz - Demon Days.
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment.
Kasabian - Kasabian.
Maximo Park - A Certain Trigger.
New Order - Waiting For The Sirens' Call.
Paul Weller - As Is Now.
Tom Vek - We Have Sound.

2006
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not.
Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike!
Kooks - Inside In / Inside Out.

2007
Arcade Fire - The Neon Bible.
Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist.

2008
Foals - Antidotes.
Supergrass - Diamond Hoo Haa.

2009
Bad Lieutenant - Never Cry Another Tear.
Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream.
White Lies - White Lies.

I will sign off wishing all a happy new year!

New Computer

2009-12-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

The end of the year is getting nearer and nearer but first I thought I would post something from my new 21.5" iMac :-)

I will post a review of it with some photos in the New Year.

Favourites From 2009

2009-12-28T09:34:00.001-08:00

Favourite Albums: White Lies (self-titled), Bad Lieutenant - Never Cry Another Tear
Favourite Gigs: Kaiser Chiefs @ Liverpool Echo Arena, 3.3.09 & Bad Lieutenant & The Ritz Manchester 22.10.09
Favourite Single: White Lies - To Lose My Life
Favourite Music Video: Passion Pit - The Reeling
Favourite TV: Red Dwarf - Easter Specials, Peep Show Series 6.
Favourite Film: Juno

Band To Look Out For In 2010: Delphic

Factory Lives On

2009-12-27T05:56:00.000-08:00

So I await with a degree of trepidation and excitement the re-opening of FAC 251 an "indie rock night club & live venue". Brilliant!

A Factory Club in 2010 in the hands of Peter Hook. Bring it on.

Christmas Wishes

2009-12-24T06:49:00.001-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy Christmas! That is all X

Bad Lieutenant Good Show #2

2009-12-21T13:28:00.000-08:00

Bad Lieutenant did another great show last night although the sound in the M.E.N. wasn't as good as the nice intimate Ritz where I seen then last.
They did a shorter set of 9 songs, notable absences were Twist Of Fate and Poisonous Intent (shocking!) but they did the 12" mix of Bizaare Love Triangle instead of the acoustic and kept in favourites Crystal, Sink Or Swim & Temptation.

Barney thanked everyone for braving the weather which was nice after nearly dying on the M62 and ungritted roads of Manchester, and I decided to stick around for the Pet Shop Boys who put on a good show.

Crap seats though.

Gig Pics

2009-12-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who could make it to the Jekyll & Hyde gig. Here are some of the images (thanks to Panic Promotions & Academy Images). Click to enlarge.

The reaction was mooted due to poor attendance which is normal when it is acoustic night, we still managed to get a fair few people in to watch and we got some applause. It's just a shame Reappa forgot the lyrics. Never mind it was an interesting experiment and I would say it worked well (and the Panic Promotions reviewer seems to agree).

Due to Christmas and so on it will probably be the only live performance from me for a while, plus I will be beavering with the new band and finishing my first solo album so it's not like I will be idle! Believe me, most nights I am working on something music related.

I will have the solo album out and at least a couple more gigs in the new year, thanks for the support

Hebejebes #2 & New Song

2009-11-19T15:34:00.001-08:00

Ok so I told you about it in August but I went there on Saturday for my birthday and its the dogs bollocks.. ANDDD they played Blue Monday, which meant my friends could do whatever the fuck they wanted for 7mins while I went into my own world.

Also... I finished a new song called "Army Beyond Nil".
With a bit of luck it will be played at my acoustic gig next week (details on main page of site).

More Bad Lieutenant Photos

2009-11-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Here are some better quality Bad Lieutenant photos which are from someone I met at the gig. There is some professionally shot photos of the Trekstock aftershow party to follow.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Halloween

2009-10-31T03:53:00.000-07:00

If anyone eggs my house, car or any of my property then you shall be cursed accordingly by Karma so watch it you little dipshits!

Bad Lieutenant Good Show

2009-10-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

On Thursday 22 October I was at The Ritz Manchester to see Bernard Sumner's (New Order/Joy Division/Electronic) new band; Bad Lieutenant. Accompanying Bernard was familar faces Phil Cunningham (Marion/New Order) on guitar, Steven Morris (Joy Division/New Order) on drums and newbie Jake on vocals/guitar.
After only owning the new album for 6 days I didn't know the songs too well but they sounded good live and to top it all off Barney threw in some classics such as Crystal, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Bizaare Love Triangle and surprisingly Out Of Control (Chemical Brothers collaboration). Mixed in was some lesser-known tracks from Electronic and old favourite Temptation which got everyone in the crowd moving.

Here are some poor quality pictures I took from my 3.2megapixel cameraphone. I am expecting some better ones from someone I met at the gig in the next few days.

By chance I managed to get some aftershow tickets where I met no less than Phil Cunningham (guitarist), Mani (Stone Roses) & Tim Burgess (Charlatans). I also bumped into Ste Morris (BL drummer/New Order/Joy Division) and his wife & ex-New Order member Gillian.

It is easy to get carried away describing the night when I meet so many people who have my respect, icons of the Manchester music scene I would say, but I'm not going to because Bad Lieutenant did a great set at what was a nice intimate venue.

The Mondeo... 18 Months Later.

2009-10-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Back on 21 April 2008 I posted here about my then "new set of wheels"; a Panther black Ford Mondeo mk3 2.0 TDCi.
After a somewhat sizeable upgrade from a 1.0 petrol Swift I was understandably pleased with the purchase and gave it a very favourable review of 95%. I concluded the review saying "I am still struggling trying to find something I am not happy with about this car, and if I really must name something the gears can sometimes feel they are not as smooth as they could be. Other than that it is an excellent car. I will amend this review if anything about it upsets me in the meantime but don't hold your breath."

So fast-forward 18 months and much has changed.
The credit-crunch turned into a full-blown recession taking with it the very garage that I bought the Mondeo from (pictured above). But has my opinion of the car changed?

Well it has to be said the car itself has been incredibly reliable (touch wood) and has never let me down so far, though I have been doing my best to look after it.
It has been treated to regular washes/waxes, the oil and water being checked regularly and the tyres checked every month.

Has anything annoyed me about the car? Yes, but nothing serious.
The gears are definitely not the smoothest in the world as I said last year and it is incredibly annoying when you are moving without a seatbelt when you are reminded by a constant beep from the dash. Thankfully I wear a seatbelt when driving so this doesn't bother me too often.

The CD player isn't the best in the world though the sound is fantastic. The system is let down by a fussy lens which can play a CD-R fine one day then spit it out next saying "BAD CD". Take it out and put it in again and it will probably play. A bit annoying when you just want to play it in the first place and be done with it.
A CD-player upgrade is on the cards when I get the funds along with some alloy wheels. Yes, I will be keeping this car for a long time yet, by far the best car I have had the pleasure to own in the short 4.5 year period I have been driving!

I would still recommend a mark-3 Mondeo to anyone who wants an affordable reliable diesel car.

For You

2009-10-18T14:38:00.001-07:00

Here is a beautiful song, penned by the legendary Bernard Sumner, who I am having the pleasure of seeing live next week in his new band Bad Lieutenant.

This one is from Electronic, called "For You".

Can we meet on the street
Maybe tomorrow
See the world at our feet
Naked and hollow
I'll lead the climb crystal and fine
For you to see
With every step that I take
Every rule that you make

Stay with me
In this foreign land
Just long enough for me
To make you understand

You could be
My guiding light
The darkest of them all
You'd be the rise before my fall

And yet we both get along fine
Better than most
Some of the time

When I'm with you
I am on fire
You are the fuel
And my desire

Can we meet on the street
Maybe tomorrow
See the world at our feet
Naked and hollow
I'll lead the climb crystal and fine
For you to see
With every step that I take
Every rule that you make

Why do you bring
What I can't possess
You always ask for more
Until there's nothing left

These hollow words
Make a wrong arrest
They beat upon my door
A spirit haunts it for ever more

But I still hope
And sometimes I pray
It won't be hard
We'll find a way

Color my dream
Show me I'm real
Turn on the light
Then let me feel

Can we meet on the street
Maybe tomorrow
See the world at our feet
Naked and hollow
I'll lead the climb crystal and fine
For you to see
With every step that I take
Every rule that you make

*No copyright infringement intended.

Why Royal Mail MUST Survive

2009-10-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

Whilst I have sympathy with the workers of Royal Mail I do not want the nationwide strike to go ahead as I fear that like British Leyland in the 80s, we will lose another brilliant national institution.
It is the same reason that I don't want to see the Royal Mail part-privatised.

The Royal Mail is one of the things our country can be proud of.
However due to crippling EU regulations it has had to cut back service to ensure foreign companies such as Deutschepost get a fair share of the market.

Britain is becoming ever more unrecognisable the last thing we need along with the closure of our beloved pubs is the closure of our Royal Mail. Whatever next? The NHS?

It is laughable that sections of the media describe the strikes over "modernisation".
The strikes are not because of that at all, for a start, there is no modernisation on the agenda at all. Just pension cutbacks, higher prices and being further squeezed out of the market.

Repetition

2009-10-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

Johnny is a man
And he's bigger than you
But his overheads are high
And he looks straight through when you ask him how the kids are

He'll get home around seven
'Cause the chevy's real old
And he could have had a cadillac
If the school had taught him right
And he could have married Anne with the blue silk blouse
He could have married Anne with the blue silk blouse

And the food is on the table
But the food is cold
Don't hit her

"Can't you even cook?
What's the good of me working when you can't damn cook?"

Well Johnny is a man
And he's bigger than her
I guess the bruises won't show
If she wears long sleeves
But the space in her eyes shows through

And he could have married Anne with the blue silk blouse
He could have married Anne with the blue silk blouse
Shows through
Shows through
Shows through

YES

2009-10-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

So Ireland votes YES after being brow-beaten into a second referendum.
That leaves all eyes on 2 people: Vaclav Klaus and David Cameron.

Klaus because it is only himself apart from the Poles who are delaying the treaty ratification. Cameron because he has only said he would offer a referendum if the treaty is not yet in force.

It is unfortuately much more likely that the Klaus' review will only take around 3 months meaning the Treaty could be fully ratified as early as January.
This would leave all eyes on Cameron with an increasingly Eurosceptic Britain.

Will he give us a referendum?

We shall have to wait and see.

One Last Call: Ireland PLEASE Vote NO!

2009-10-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

If you care about not only your country but the rest of Europe please keep Europe FREE from a superstate. Please keep our democracy. If we have an EU superstate:

- The people in charge will be unelected by you
- Their will be an unelected European President (Tony Bliar)
- Democracy will be more or less abolished with Ireland having 1% of the vote in the
EU "parliament"

Vote no because:

1. It is virtually identical to the EU Constitution which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005
2. Voters in most EU countries have not been given a say – instead, the Treaty has been pushed through parliaments with almost no debate
3. It significantly reduces the control of national parliaments over EU legislation, as confirmed by the German Constitutional Court
4. It abolishes the national veto in more than 60 areas of policy
5. It reduces Ireland’s ability to block laws it disagrees with by more than 40%
6. It does nothing to address the EU’s serious problems with fraud, waste and lack of accountability

And finally... the Lisbon Treaty will be the last referendum we will have on the EU.
It is "self-ammending" meaning from then on, the EU will be accountable to no voters, no more referendums.

It will reduce European countries or as the EU likes to call them "member states" to basically county-council levels of power while the EU will have the lions share of all European legislations and laws.

Ireland has voted "no" already and now they are asking again.
This shows the level of legitimacy this project has: NONE.
Don't be bullied Ireland, vote NO!

The Sun Aint Gonna Shine Anymore (For Labour)

2009-09-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

So the news of the day was that The Sun, a traditionally Conservative-backing red-top, is now Conservative again after supporting Labour since 1994 under Tony Blairs leadership.

This is hardly shocking or surprising and those who have glanced at the paper over the last 18 months would have seen it coming.
The paper initially backed Gordon Brown but after Brown's honeymoon period in mid-late 2007 the paper eventually turned more and more anti-government.

Reasons for this included the ongoing lack of vision in Iraq and Afghanistan, the broken promise of a referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty and inevitably the recession.

Co-incidentally, it was almost around this time that I became disillusioned with Labour after hoping Brown would bring the party back to the left as the "big clunking fist" as he was described (you don't hear people call him that so much these days).
I became increasingly Eurosceptic as I noticed how the unelected top brass of the EU treated citizens with complete contempt showing no respect for democracy, thus naturally making me loathe Gordon Brown when he shattered his promise of a referendum.
I also loathed the "if it moves tax it" attitude of a government.
I'm sure the public would be less in favour of cuts and more for higher taxes and spending in this recession if we hadn't been taxed to the hilt during the good times under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's New Labour.

Instead many people are feeling that cuts + higher taxes are inevitable to fight the recession. I don't particularly agree with this, and share Tony Robinsons view that capital is needed to grease the wheels and create jobs and growth, thus providing people with money to spend.

I think Tony Woodley ripping up The Sun at the Labour conference was a mere headline-grabbing exercise, however I can see where he is coming from.
Having worked in the Newspaper Industry myself, I witness first-hand how full of self-importance News International really are right from the core.
However it is a bit rich coming from Gordon Brown to state that newspapers should be for news and not propaganda, when the likes of the Daily Mirror and The Guardian have been pumping out Labour propaganda for decades.
Propaganda is just part and parcel of the media circus.

There are renewed calls across the country particularly in the traditional Labour heartlands of the North to boycott the paper, something that hasn't really happened since Liverpool fans boycotted the paper after their controversial coverage of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

I wouldn't say it is such a bad idea, N.I. should be taken down a peg or two!
There are many fantastic alternative newspapers out there too which don't really get the recognition and readership they deserve. If I could name a few.

The Independent, I dismissed a few years ago as dull and boring.
These days however the paper has improved dramatically. It's layout is a cut above any other newspaper out there and the quality of journalism is second to none.

The Times, is a nice and informative read, however if you are boycotting the Murdoch Empire then this like The Sun is a News International title! If you are a Labour supporter, though not as Tory as it used to be, there is still a slight Conservative bias.

Morning Star. Despite its communist background, socialists will enjoy reading this paper. The only downside is it rarely goes over 20 pages and its price is quite high. This is because the paper is funded solely by its readership with a "fighting fund". There is barely any adverts thus no advertising revenue.

Pissing In The Wind

2009-09-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

Always one for the EU Gravy Train, former "Deputy Prime Minister" John punch-egg Prescott has now found himself with an even bigger grin working for the Council of Europe.
Boarding the train of EU propaganda, Prezza is touring schools across the country to discuss the importance of Wind Turbines in the face of Climate change.
What he doesn't seem to tell people though is that

1) Wind turbines are unreliable
2) Not a single power plant has been closed and replaced with wind turbines
3) They are big and very unattractive to look at

Painting the picture that anyone who rejects a wind turbine in front of their home as arrogant and selfish, Prezza tries in vain to "win the hearts and minds" of young people. In BBC footage from The Politics Show many looked confused or on the verge of falling asleep, the commentary calmly explaining that "he still has two Jags but they are both at home in the garage". Well isn't that nice.

Prezza explains that using the law to bully people into accepting wind turbines is "something we are looking at" and is looking into giving councils a choice where they will go, stating that every local authority must accept wind turbines.

Wind turbines are not the way to go for the reasons mentioned above. There are much better, more efficient and more attractive ways to generate energy than these ugly unreliable turbines which will blight local communities, particularly in rural areas.

Parties Must Diversify Or Face The Consequences

2009-09-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

So we are in huge public debt (didn't see that coming) and we are now seeing something quite ridiculous and damn right well... ridiculous!
We have the TUC conference and the hard-left crying out for investment and no cuts, nothing new there you might think.
But let's look at what our three so-called main parties are offering.

LABOUR = CUTS
CONSERVATIVE = CUTS
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS = CUTS

But what is even more worrying is that in so many areas you simply cannot put a cigarette paper between these parties. They are all in favour of cuts. They are all in favour of continued EU Membership & surrender of our democratic powers.
They are all as bad as each other.

British people aren't stupid and they see that... even if it took the expenses scandal for them to realise.

Unfortunately it looks like Cameron is going to Waltz straight into No.10 with nothing new to offer and we will have at least four years of misery with little change or progress made.

The next General Election should not be used to give Brown a bloody-nose so much as to give the entire political establishment a bloody-nose.
The big-3 are all practically the same party with the same views on the big issues; the economy, Europe and capitalism as a whole.

I urge you to research and find a party that matches your views and to vote with conviction not tactic. The party may be small but we need some fresh blood and sadly it is only the smaller and newer parties which can bring about the change our democracy needs.

Update #2

2009-09-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

Conference was fun, had a good time though I found Southport lacking in nightlife. Perhaps I wasn't looking in the right places.
Seen a Bowie tribute band, Absolute Bowie, on Saturday. Was great fun and even managed to get my photo taken with David (below).

Second band practice tomorrow. First practice went quite well, just a damn shame none of it was recorded.. there was some good ideas there.

Oh By Hebejebes

2009-08-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been to Hebejebes in Liverpool I highly recommend it.
95% of the tracks are great and the club has a very cool vibe.

Got drenched at the Matthew St. Festival but it was a blast.
Busy week.. first band practice with the new (and still nameless) band on Wednesday, followed by the UKIP conference on Friday/Saturday.

Update

2009-08-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

As usual the distractions of day to day modern life keeps me from updating but don't dispair. I shall update you with what's going on.

June was a fairly political month for me, with the European Elections and soaring success enjoyed by UKIP. I booked my hotel for this years party conference to be held in Southport in early September.

July was more of a social month, meeting quite a few new people and also laying the basis for what will become my first band since The ShellTones which disbanded in 2007! Watch this space for more information.

August is now and I am beginning a new musical project which I am sure you will all enjoy, more of a solo project this time but totally different to K-Mex. I am going to book studio time later in the year and hope to have at least a single released in January/February '10.

Take it easy cool dudes!

Corbettwatch

2009-06-16T15:31:00.001-07:00

Another good result from the European Elections was that Richard Corbett, a long-time mudslinger of UKIP lost his seat.
Running a pathetic website, UKIPWatch, I wonder what he will do now.
Perhaps we should make a site called Corbettwatch, following his trips to the Dole office.

The Media Are To Blame For The Rise Of BNP

2009-06-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

So there I was at that memorable night in Manchester Town Hall surrounded by fellow Ukippers, Labours, LibDems, Cons, Greens, BNPs and Independents.
We had to double the BNP vote to get 2 seats and keep them out. We were well on course but all of a sudden the BNP are oh so slightly ahead of us.
Then by 900 votes, Nick Griffin gets elected.

So what does this mean?
Well it means that we have an extremist party sitting in the European Parliament.
What exactly will Nick Griffin do there remains to be seen but over the next 5 years Paul Nutall, UKIP North West MEP has made it clear that he will expose the BNP for the "frauds that they really are".

He also blamed the media for the BNP getting elected and I can't help but fully agree with the guy.
For a party which is fringe, has 0.2% of councillors across the country, the BNP got excessive media coverage, rivalling that of Labour and Conservatives. The BNP got nowhere in the last EU elections, yet UKIP, who came 3rd, got nowhere near as much publicity as the BNP.
The Media played up the BNP and as a result they got more attention and more votes.

We must work hard to stop the media playing into the BNP's hands.

Amiga Machine For Sale

2009-03-29T10:39:00.001-07:00

Due to space restrictions and poor cash situation I have decided to sell up my Amiga setup.

It consists of:

A1200 w/3.1 ROMS in POWER TOWER
CD-RW DRIVE & CD-ROM DRIVE
E-Matrix 030 accelerator board @ 40MHz with 32Mb RAM (very stable)
Internal floppy disk drive
80Gb HD w/registered OS 3.9 & utils installed
PS/2 Keyboard w/Amiga adaptor
Modern black Amiga mouse

This is for collection only due to the nature of the item and weight

I am based in Cheshire, UK. I can arrange to meet halfway or can demonstrate it working.

I will throw in free of charge:
CU Amiga Magazines/af ew others in excellent like new condition dated 95-98 most have disks/CDs with

If you like I can include a 17" Acer LCD Monitor complete with Amiga converter to stop flicker (it is not a flicker fixer but works well)

If you are interested then comment this post :-)

It's Official, We're Going Backwards

2009-02-13T16:51:00.001-08:00

Progression is something that is natural and somewhat inevitable as time passes. Progression despite what some on the right say, can usually be a good thing.
Progression despite what some on the left say, is not always necessary.

Some notable examples of progression being a good thing: Women winning the right to vote, the creation of the United Kingdom, cars becoming ever more economical consumption-wise and enviromentally.
The first woman Prime Minister, the first black President, the first man in Space.

It is slightly harder to think of examples where progression hasn't been a good thing, primarily because where progression has occured and had a negative impact it is usually not viewed as a progression itself and more of a "step backwards".

Freedom of speech is one of the fundamental rights that every person born in the United Kingdom of Great Britain has always embraced and been proud of. I guess until recent years you could say that it has been taken for granted but it is in those recent years that we have witnessed the topic arousing strong debate.
Unfourtunately no matter what Gordon Brown says, we have one of the most UNfair Governments in our history.
We live under a Government that created the monstrous "positive discrimination"; when it is perfectly acceptable to discriminate a British citizen if it is in the interest of an ethnic minority. This staple of politically correct dogma is one of the many reasons why we are going backwards as a nation and if we are not careful then we will be living in the supposed "post democratic" society; effectively under a dictatorship of the EU with probable president Tony Blair (remember him?) overseeing the whole undemocratic morally corrupt organisation.

Freedom of speech as a phrase has also been grossly overshadowed by political correctness, since New Labour came to power but even moreso after the Millenium.

We have had the socially conservative 1920s and 1930s, the 50s began the birth of the social backlash against authority, the birth of the rebel and Rock & Roll, a genre of music which many people as young as 30 failed to understand and dismissed as "music of the devil", onto the 60s hippy culture followed by 70s glam, cross-dressing, heavy metal and punk, the indie and grunge of the 90s, dance, hip hop, rave, hardcore, nu-metal and more genres than ever. TV and Movies were pretty much the same. Things that wouldn't have even been thought of in the 50s or even 60s were broadcast without a flinch by the 90s. Everything was out of the window, seemingly nothing was out of bounds and anything was possible.

Then something happened.
The EU became more involved in our affairs, we had a Labour Government which became increasingly oppressive with its nanny-state approach and censorship and political correctness lifted their ugly heads and gone and spoilt everything that had been achieved progressively for the last 50 years and we have now started drifting backwards.

There are things you could say in the 90s that are no longer acceptable.
The politically correct have gone from a bunch of sad losers to employed working people on overpaid salaries and bloated pensions, thinking of ways to make our lives as miserable as possible and creating a verbal minefield while lawyers watch and rub their hands with glee, pound signs above their heads.

Just the other day I was horrified to see an episode of The Simpsons on Channel 4 completely ruined. Homer had bought a gun to protect his family but Marge leaves Homer with the family until he gets rid of the gun. The irony in the closing scene is that Homer throws the gun in the bin and walks off.
The punchline at the end of the episode is that Marge sneaks into the bin, picks up the gun, poses with it and puts it in her pocket.
But something strange happened. It was put in the bin, then there was a badly edited scene of Marge walking out of the room.

What is going on??

Not to mention the fact that we now have people getting stabbed for a few quid, or sometimes nothing in the street. If things carry on like this we will soon be back in caves killing anyone that dare steps in but being careful not to say anything that one or two people may find offensive.

More EU Woes

2009-02-09T13:50:00.000-08:00

If you have recently lost a job or suffered harshly from the recession then you might not want to read this entry.
A damning report from the OpenEurope think-tank revealed in yesterdays Sunday Express newspaper has revealed the true facts that the EU is a costly waste of taxpayers money.

Red tape has cost Britain more than £100bn just in the past decade and it is set to increase to £356billion - the equivalent of £14,300 per British household.
This is the first comprehensive study into the impact EU legislation has on our lives and it has been found it lands British businesses and society with a huge bill.

The findings from the think-tank also reveal that new EU regulations cost the UK economy £107bn; more than the annual cost of the NHS!

It has been revealed the biggest losers to the EU are those on lower incomes and small businesses. Mats Persson, author of the report said "The cost of regulation has skyrocketed over the past decade".

The European Commission claims to have removed 5,000 pages from its statute book since launching a "Better Regulation Agenda" in 2005 but still...

- New EU health and safety legislation has cost Britain £5.7bn in the past decade

- Since 2005, the EU's law book has grown by an average of 1,887 acts per year, the equivalent of 10 per day

- One EU directive on the exhaust systems of motor vehicles required 26 more regulations in the UK to fully implement it

For more check out the Open Europe website.

Keane Blow Audience Away At Liverpool Echo

2009-02-08T14:05:00.000-08:00

Five short years ago if you mentioned to me I would be going to see Keane in the future I would have laughed in disbelief.
It was during their "Hopes and Fears" period that I openly mocked the band and dismissed them as more dull indie music a'la Snow Patrol, Travis et al.
Then of course the second album got released in 2006 and I didn't mind them too much though I still did not rush out and get "Under The Iron Sea" (and still don't own a copy).
Fast forward to the back end of last year and they release "Spiralling"; the soundtrack to my Cyprus holiday and a track by what surely aren't the same band who did that droney anthem "Everybody's Changing" just four years previously? Well actually, yes. But that is something that I have grown to admire about Keane a lot over the last 6 months; their sheer versatility, to go from a disco-pop choon to a melodramatic ballad at the click of a finger but still sound like the same band.
Their current album "Perfect Symmetry" is fantastic and highly recommended, of course there is the odd ballad here and there, but 95% of the tracks on it are simply really, really good.. and so I had high expectations when I went to see them live last night at the Liverpool Echo Arena.
It was my first trek to the Echo but was pleasantly surprised how nice the place is having only been to the Manchester Evening News Arena for a venue of a similar size.
The Echo is a fair bit smaller but with much better acoustics and making for a more intimate gig. The support act Frankmusik were promising to start with, but the high-pitched squealing vocalist tended to grate on the nerves after 10 minutes or so and every half-decent song they performed throughout their set was followed by an absolute stinker.

Keane came on at 8.30 and kicked off the show with recent single "The Lovers Are Losing" followed by old favourite "Bend And Break" before harking into "Everybody's Changing". Eagerly waiting for more from the new album I was pleased to hear them churn out "Better Than This" followed by an excellent performance of "Again And Again" complete with super-cool retro computer graphics (search Youtube for footage).

They performed all the "big hits" in fact including "A Bad Dream" from their second album, a good song which most casual fans like myself had completely forgotten about.

Mid-way through the set the band walked centre stage and did a few subtle acoustic numbers with guitar and piano, then pumped into a startingly good version of "You Haven't Told Me Anything", my favourite album track and by far the highlight of the night. After 2 encores they decided to end the show with Bedshaped which had pretty much everyone singing along.

There weren't really any low points to the gig, and you really begin to admire the vocals once you have seen them live, which were flawless. The only slight downer was that only the trimmed radio edit of "Spiralling" was played. Given that the track is so popular I can't see why they couldn't perform the full version but other than that it was a gig far better than I'd ever imagined it to be from a band that used to bore me so much!

The So-Called Wildcat Strikes

2009-02-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

So workers all over the country are on strike over the influx of foreign workers.
The only thing that surprises me about that is that it has taken so long but at last the great intelligent workers of Great Britain spoke with action. Those quiet whispers of concern that have been circulating since New Labour's obsession with globalisation and a European Single Market economy finally transformed into action. For once, perhaps, Brown was forced to listen.

So what did he go and do? Well instead of being a good Prime Minister and listening to the people he was elected (or not elected in this case) to serve, he calls them xenophobes and the lefties start jumping up and down in their subdued rage saying it was the language of the BNP to demand British jobs for British workers.

Thank God that the great people of Great Britain aren't so stupid and have common sense.

Now we just need to drum into people the fact that there will never be such a haven that they propose whilst we are in the EU.
European people who have not paid a penny into our system and have only just arrived here are entitled to our labour markets just the same as a 50 year old man who has lived and worked here all his life (and possibly even voted Labour all his life).
This Government have totally betrayed the working class people they are traditionally supposed to represent but have spent the New Labour project chasing the middle-classes who generally aren't interested or are far too intelligent to fall for the fabrication that is New Labour.

We have witnessed at last the backlash that was the inevitable consequence of yet another ridiculous EU law.

Labour will no doubt get a hammering at the EU Elections over this, and we now must ask the question... what do we really get out of the EU for all the money we pay into it?

Should we remain in this political union which despises any states national interest?

The answer is a resounding NO.

On Obama & The US Special Relationship

2009-01-29T11:58:00.001-08:00

Since the dark days following 9/11 the alliance between the UK and the US has been referred to as a "Special Relationship". This buzz term has not quite disappeared and now that Barack Obama has been elected as not only the first black president of America but also the first Democratic president in almost a decade, many thinkers are discussing how things will be different under Obama's leadership.

It is obvious that like his predecessors Obama wants to be friends with the UK, but how special is the relationship going to be different?
Barack Obama is a centre-left socialist, which means he will certainly be reaching out beyond the UK to form relationships with other countries.

We have had perhaps a glimmer of this position with his recent dialogue with Iran, breaking years of US policy under the Bush Administration barely a week into his presidency, telling their President that America is their friend, not their enemy, that they only have to unclench their fist and we will see revolution.

Obama wants stronger relations with other European countries and French President Nicholas Sarkozy has wasted no time in offering his support to make this possible.
The UK is going to have to get used to taking the back-seat once in a while, but I have no doubt that our relationship will be more special than ever before under the Obama presidency. For a start, the Special Relationship under Bush was more of a political phrase. Blair and Bush had a mutual respect but as for the peoples of Britain and America, Bush was loathed by the masses.
People actually like Obama. That is why the our relations will spread beyond the current political term and we will witness a real special relationship with America.

Immigration

2009-01-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be brave and pounce on the hot potato that so many of us are afraid of discussing in the watching shadow of political correctness that engulf's today's society.
Immigration has long been celebrated in a variety of countries, including the UK, but over the last 12 years of Labour leadership public concern has rocketed over this issue.

One of the reasons for this is down to EU Freedom Of Movement law; Britain is powerless to turn away any EU economic migrants. They are allowed full access to our benefits, housing and jobs market.

Another reason is the Government has failed to notice any public concern, or simply chose to ignore it. Just a matter of weeks ago a Cabinet Minister on the Labour front-bench said that problems with immigration were an "urban myth". It is such comments as these, and not the typical comments of ordinary working people, which are inflammatory and risk escalating racial tension.
It is such comments as these where the government choses to simply ignore the issue, or simply give hollow soundbites "it is time to get tough on immigration" that transforms public concern into anger.

Why Do We Need To Be So Careful Discussing Immigration?
If it were not for the likes of the British National Party, which capitalise on this concern to such an extreme extent that the PC-brigade now link anyone concerned over immigration to a racist or facist, then perhaps we would have had an in-depth serious debate about this a long time ago, but unfortunately it is far too late to reverse the sheer scale of immigration we have experienced in the past 12 years. It is however, never too late to reverse the politically-correct dogma attached to this issue and if we approach with an open mind we can debate it seriously and fairly.

So what are my thoughts on this delicate matter? Well for a start, I don't think it is a delicate matter at all. I am genuinely concerned about immigration, and I have the right to show this concern the same as I am concerned about other domestic issues, but perhaps more importantly, I am more concerned about the wrath of political correctness and back-door communism which is affecting our ability to discuss it properly.
If the lefties jeer and call anyone who questions immigration a racist then how are we to solve the problem?

Will any other Government make a difference?
Some people think that a change of government may be the answer. But let's be clear... the Tories may well be stricter on non-EU immigration but like Labour and the Lib Dems should they ever get into power, they are powerless to halt or control any EU immigration, regardless of whether we have the capacity or means to cope with the influx.

If we had no immigration then we would be turning away many skilled workers we need for our country to prosper. Curry houses would be a rarity as would any foreign restaurants and we would have a monotonous culture.
However, if we had too much immigration, as I believe we are experiencing, racial tension will escalate and I fear we could have a civil war on our hands if the recession deepens and the influx of economic migrants continues.

So what am I saying here? Too much immigration? Too little?
Yes, I think the UK has experienced far too much immigration but do I want it to stop? No.
Do I want it to continue in the current fashion? No.
Do I want it to be controlled properly? Yes, and the only way we can manage immigration effectively to suit OUR country is to leave the European Union.
The big-3 parties which I shall refer to as the LibLabCon all support ever closer union with this political European Union. The only party to oppose the EU is The UK Independence Party.

In conclusion my thought on immigration is simple. If we left the EU we would be able to allow immigration to be high when we have a shortage of skilled workers and for it to be set low when we experience overcrowding or racial tensions, so we can root out the racists and ensure a proper and fair integration of these migrants into our society. That is only fair on the migrants themselves and on our country.

The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)

2009-01-09T15:48:00.000-08:00

May I plug what I believe is a fantastic track. You can hear it on David Bowie's "1. Outside" album but I highly recommend you scowl through Youtube for the superior live versions that were played on the Outside Tour of 1995/96.

Turn, and turn again
Turn, and turn again

I shake
And stare at the sun
Till my eyes burn

I shake
At the mothers brutal vermin

I shake
And stare at the watery moon
With the same desire
As the sober Philistine
I shake

Turn and turn again

Worm, the pain and blade
Turn and turn again

The screw
Is a tightening Atrocity

I shake
For the reeking flesh
Is as romantic as hell

The need
To have seen it all

The Voyeur of Utter Destruction
As beauty
I shake

Turn and turn again

I shake
Turn and turn again
I shake

I shake
I shake

VERSE (two times)
 Research has pierced
 All extremes of my sex
 Call it a day
 Call it a day
 Needle point life
 Blinds the will to be next
 Call it a day
 Call it a day

Call it a day (repeat ad. inf)
Today (repeat ad. inf)

Music Update

2009-01-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

After an album and a string of singles with mixed success I have decided to retire the K-Mex project for the basic reason that I am working on a more professional sounding piece of work. In essence the K-Mex project got me back into creating music again, but unlike previous bands, for my own pleasure, my Social Domestic Pleasure if you will (sic).
I learned a lot and have began tweaking with sounds and buying new equipment. I plan to write some new material under a different alias, and a professional studio booking is in the works.
Thanks to all who supported me with this. It has rekindled my creative spark and I look forward to releasing something a lot better for you all soon.

Besides my new personal project I am collaborating with a local hip-hop artist who shall rename nameless but I shall be providing the musical arrangements for the debut album. More on this in the next few months.

2009

2009-01-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

This year is probably one of the most crucial in the history of the UK since the end of the Second World War. We have a clear choice. We either remain in the European Union or we leave the political union but naturally stay part of Europe keeping our trade but also having the option to trade freely across the globe.
The European elections always get abysmal turnouts, mostly because people don't care or are too angry at the way the EU legislates our country and don't want to be part of it, so don't vote for that reason.
However as we have witnessed not voting simply gives Labour and the Conservatives a larger majority, but when we look at the UKIP result in the last European election it shows that there is a ray of hope and that if all people who reject the EU vote for UKIP then there is a chance of things changing.

UKIP being a party not even 20 years old, managed to take everyone by surprise and beat the Liberal Democrats to 3rd place at the last European Elections making UKIP the third largest British party in the European Commission.

A lot of people ask why UKIP wants MEPs to be elected into something it strongly opposes. The view is that people need to listen, and if there is one good thing that comes out the EU it is good for generating press coverage for the party. We are the only true opposition to the EU so naturally both sides of the argument have to be heard.

Let the battle commence, and let's get our country back into our hands where it belongs, governed by its own people.

Christmas

2008-12-22T11:17:00.001-08:00

Happy Christmas to all and all the best for 2009.

£11bn? How about £56bn?

2008-11-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

The Sun recently revealed that we have paid £56billion to the EU over the last year.
This will come as a shock to practically everyone. Even in the UKIP literature the figure is around £11bn.
People will rightly be angered and frustrated to hear this at a time when all of us face financial hardship and we must all seriously question whether we are benefitting at all from being part of this political union of excessive regulation.

It's halloween, and the EU is as sinister as ever

2008-10-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

The EU has clamped down on owners of small boats for pleasure.
People who own yachts for pleasure used to enjoy cheap red diesel but now the EU says that UK users must pay the same price as elsewhere in Europe meaning that many pensioners and poorer owners will have to sell off their boats because it will become simply too expensive.

The bill faces strong opposition from Conservative and UKIP MEPs in the European Parliament.

Is there anything that is safe from EU meddling? Seemingly not.
The innocent patio heater will soon be banned driving its makers out of business and forcing people outside pubs to smoke in the cold. This is because they are apparently harmful to the environment, which is the biggest load of rubbish I have ever heard. If a patio heater is harmful to the environment then how come many MEPs get chauferred around in a limo. If they cared that much about the environment they would look closer to home, but of course this is the EU - the divisive of the political elite from the people.

Soon we will have our car headlights on during a bright summers day because it will apparently save lives. This is again, typical EU nonsense - and will actually increase carbon emissions due to higher full consumption when headlights are switched on.

Happy halloween. The EU is at its most sinister ever.

Society Is Doomed

2008-10-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Time and time again we hear of multiple stabbings and shootings throughout the country. The progession of this movement has led to its diminishing tone and shock factor. The press continue mercilessly to press the issue that something must be done but like most of these progressions of our society we are doomed to accept them.
Notice that I am using the word "progression" in a sense of movement and not as taking things forward.

I am genuinely starting to believe that the humans as species have reached thier peak in the 19th/early 20th century and are now starting to go backwards.
Some extremists of this practice even hark back to the age of the cavemen with the gangs, excessive street slang and protection of territory.
If you would like to compare today's hooded gang member with a "cave man" they both have the same sort of attitude to life.
The thing is though... in the very early stages of human civilisation there was no benefits for the lazy, people had to work and sort out their own food and drink, and they had only the bare basics to survive.
Today there are so many people in this country living off benefits when they are perfectly capable to work.

I am no snob (I live on a council estate for crying out loud) I am just genuinely sick of society.
Today I was in the doctors waiting to go in for a blood test. A typical chav-looking woman walks in complete with Vicky Pollard earings and bright blue tracksuit and her son of no more that I'd say 9 years old. After barely being in the waiting area for 5 seconds she instructs him to "sit down you tit".
She notices a golfing book on the table. "There is a golfing book here".
"And...?" he snaps. "You like golf don't you?".
"Just because I play golf doesn't mean I like it".
There is no respect here whatsoever between either of them and I think probably the main reason I feel society is falling apart is due to a lack of respect.

This new wave of gun and knife killers have no respect whatsoever for human life. In fact they are probably on a completely different planet to the rest of us with nothing barely resembling reality whatsoever. They have no respect for the families of their victims, in fact I am pretty sure it does not even cross their mind. Many of them do not have the human emotion which is guilt, and many have been seen to be laughing in the courtroom as the grieving parents probably feel like life is pointless. There is a genuine lack of respect for many towns and cities from the simplest spit on the pavement to grafitti and destroying buildings, trees, plants and architecture.
There is no respect for the elderly, many being tortured or simply nuisanced.
But what is even more scary is that these young people do not only attack people who bother them. Sometimes they are so bored that they go and kill somebody who never even looked at them, spoken to them, or knew of their existence.

So what can we do about it? Well I would love to say we can turn it around, but ask yourself this question. How many other things have been turned around? Racism? No, it is still here alive and well. Corruption? Look no further than the EU and our very own politicians. Murders are always going to be around since they always have been. But getting respect back is a very hard task and I have little faith in the current powers that be to do much about it. One can only try their best as a single person but in today's world where you don' t even have to say anything to be stabbed to death by those that are partially responsible - many people just quietly suffer and let it happen.

The country is on a severe downward spiral - socially and economically - and don't we all bloody know it. I guess we will get used to it after a while. Like all of the other terrible things.

We Must NOT, I repeat NOT, join the Euro.

2008-10-19T05:10:00.000-07:00

In a recent posting I described how the powers that be in Brussells could be finally beginning to realise that a single currency is not the answer. Unfortunately it appears I have given too much credit to their intelligence, for there are now rumours in today's News Of The World that there could be a dilemma facing Brown with regards to keeping hold of our currency.

The EU are talking of banning Brown from any board meetings regarding the Euro unless he adopts the currency. Now to an ordinary person of principle, like you or me, there would be no dilemma at all. We would keep our currency, and if it was myself in charge, we wouldn't want anything to do with the EU anyway. But this is bottler Brown we are talking about.
Principle is just a word in the dictionary.
He has been one of the most betraying Prime Ministers we have ever had, and with the broken promise of the Lisbon Treaty referendum still fresh in people's minds, we have a lot to be worried about.

"Oh but he saved us from the Euro in 2002". Yes, but back then things were different. It may only be 6 years ago but the strides the EU has took during that time are quite scary.
If the Lisbon Treaty gets adopted then the EU WILL be the single currency, we will be POWERLESS to set our own interests rate, and at the next economic downturn we will be in much deeper trouble.

These people need to realise that national control over our economies is much better and SAFER.

Annoyed

2008-10-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

I was browsing the Auto Trader website last night, as I generally do because I like to look at cars.
I thought, I know, I'll see if there are any Mondeos like mine for sale.
There was. Identical. It was under £4,000, nearly half as much as I paid for mine in April.
Suffice to say I was extremely irritated and humbly advise anyone who has recently purchased a car and wants to keep their desk in one piece, not to look at any used cars.

Full Steam Ahead

2008-10-14T14:30:00.001-07:00

It has been a busy few weeks for myself and I have managed to attend 3 UKIP meetings over the period, 2 in Liverpool and one this evening in Little Sutton.
The excellent Paul Nuttall was in attendance and offered great inspiration and motivation and certainly left me prepared for all-out-attack for the Euro Elections next year.
I am eagerly awaiting receipt of 1,000 leaflets to deliver around my local area and have been watching closely at local post office closures to target some leaflets regarding the Post Office and the EU.

I also proudly wear a UKIP T-Shirt with the excellent slogan "Love Europe, Hate The EU" which I find very fitting due to a worrying level of EU-Nationalism creeping in where Europe and the EU are interpreted as the same thing.

The excellent "No Remote Control" DVD's are also going to be target and posted over the next few months and I intend to do everything I can to help UKIP build on its success in the 2009 Euro Elections... the last chance for this country before it gets into seriously deep trouble.

There is good news though, the days of the Euro currency could well be numbered thanks to the very late realisation that a currency cannot work with 27 member states with different GDPs and completely different Government budgets.
This will inevitably leave us British thanking the lord we never adopted the Euro and would be the beginning of the end of the European Union.

This evening I discovered that the law has gone through which will mean all car headlights must be switched on all the time from 2011 and patio heaters will be banned because they contribute to climate change apparently. What a load of rubbish and what a prime example of how ridiculous these laws are which come from Brussells but our puppet Government has no choice but to enforce.
I brought my Dad and girlfriend along to the meeting and they are going to become members and vote for UKIP.
If every UKIP member appointed 1 or 2 members it will make a huge difference.

But let me be clear now is not a time to become complacent. Yes we have several MEPs and are now represented in Westminister, yes we beat the Liberal Democrats in 2004, yes we have been getting much more media coverage of late but there is still much work to do and there will be right until the day either the UK leaves the EU, or the European Union falls apart.

Euro Currency Is Not The Answer

2008-09-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

Due to the current financial crisis the pound has fallen ever so closer to parity with the Euro.
But the Euro must not be adoped and must not be seen as the solution to our problems.

I have recently been to Cyprus where they have only just adopted the Euro. The general feeling among the ordinary citizens is that everything is now 20% more expensive than under the Cypriot Pound.
Things as we all know get rounded up with a currency change, as we witnessed with decimilisation.

There are sound reasons for keeping the pound beyond our sovereignty, it just does not make any financial sense and those who remember the ERM crisis of 1992 will know exactly what I mean.
People are naive to think that the Euro debate ended in 2002 when Britain held onto the Pound Sterling. We must think again and be prepared to fight as the next battle could be just around the corner, and will not be as easy next time.

Time's Distortion Of Audible Memories

2008-07-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

I absolutely detested that song when it was out back in 1999.
In fact I still don't think much of it now, although it seems an awful lot slower than how I remember it.
I remember it being fairly up tempo but it seems like the speed has been halved so I downloaded Six Pence None The Richer's track "Kiss Me" and increased the speed by 4.3 and it is exactly how I remembered it.

The strange thing is if we go back further to 1996.
I absolutely loved The Brit Awards that year, pretty much every performance and bit of music on there was excellent. It hasn't been bettered since.
I had it recorded on VHS but sadly that has been taped over for about 10 years now. I still remember every instrumental and vocal quirk to Alanis Morissette's performance of "Hand In My Pocket".
I found it on Youtube and it hasn't changed a bit.

Not In A Month Of Sundays....

2008-07-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

So there I was.
2 weeks into my new job, everything going well, seemed to be impressing the boss because I have been working my arse off to try and prove myself.
I get called into the office for the cliched "quick word". Shit, I think to myself.
Have I missed a line on a report? Is the whole system fucked up? Did customer 1839 not receive any papers this morning and it's all my fault??
No.

"Well Michael I am very pleased with what I have seen of you so far. You seem to have picked things up very quickly and I am really impressed with what you have been doing".
Hmmm a bit of sweet talking there. Could something bad be on the way?

"As you know people have been joining, leaving the company so I have had to change the hours around a bit. Now that means we need someone to work on a Sunday and I am asking you now how you feel about that, because I feel you are capable of doing so and coming in on Sunday and working on your own. Now I am not going to ask you to make a decision now..."
Good.

"...But if you are looking at promotion in the future then this will put you on a good start".
Great I think to myself, 2 weeks in and I am already faced with a dilemma.
I vowed to myself after leaving Mexx never to work a Sunday again.
I am old-fashioned like that.
Sunday should be a day of reflection, rest and basically not working. The world deserves at least 1 day stoppage per week. Alas modern times, the Labour government, and the economy have all pissed on that idea in the last 10 years or so. Shopping centres are now open Sundays, car garages, churches... oh wait.

So what did I do? Did I stand up for my beliefs and proudly say NO in the name of tradition and personal values? No, did I buggery. I thought about it and said yes and now I regret it.

I have seen that this was an act of blackmail. They need someone to do Sundays, no one else wants to do Sundays, so they pick on the new guy. The new guy who having only just joined the company doesn't yet have the balls to stand up for himself nor disagree with much.

I think it is totally wrong for this to happen 2 weeks into the job, a job which was advertised as a Monday to Friday job, a job which I took up BECAUSE it was Monday to Friday.
I am dreading going in this Sunday. Suffice to say I have applied for 2 jobs today and will be doing a lot more looking.

2008-07-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

Everything seems to be going swimmingly in my new job so fingers crossed it will stay that way and I can look at being promoted!
Things in general are pretty quiet at the moment, hence the lack of any posts for the last few weeks but the minute anything interesting happens I will post it here.
Moving away from the personal side of things, there is still no news from Stuart Wheeler's campaign but fingers crossed the appeal will take place.

The Polish Prime Minister is the latest to throw another spanner into the works over the Lisbon Treaty saying that it makes no sense to push ahead with it even if everyone else ratifies, due to the Irish no vote.

To put this abysmal failure of the EU to get the message:

When the original Constitution was drawn up, French and Dutch voters said NO and it could not come into law.

Instead of accepting the idea that this is not what people want, a United States Of Europe, they decided they would try sneak it through under the guise of the Lisbon Treaty.

The Irish were the only people to get a referendum despite Labour promising one for England in their 2005 Manifesto.
Despite the Irish being one of the countries more generously funded by the EU, they saw through it and voted NO.

The original rules were that if one country said NO then the Lisbon Treaty could not go ahead.
The EU are pushing ahead with it.

They openly admit to wanting a "post-democratic society".
What that means in essence ladies and gentlemen, is a one-party state, or perhaps to put it more bluntly, a dictatorship.

The Fight Goes On

2008-06-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

So, the predictable thing happened. The former Brown co-workers sided with the Government.
Stuart Wheeler says he has "high hopes" for a successful appeal against the verdict.
The fight for a referendum goes on.

Hold Your Horses

2008-06-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

The judge of Stuart Wheeler's case has told Mr. Brown to wait until the verdict is given of Stuart Wheeler's case for a referendum on the EU.

If Stuart wins the case then the Prime Minister will be forced to give the UK a referendum, where it is my feeling we will vote NO.

The Lisbon Treaty should already by rights be dead. A UK NO vote would certainly kill off any remaining signs of life.

EU Corruption Continues: New Justice Commissioner former Fraud

2008-06-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Jacques Barrot is to become Justice Commissioner of the EU. The Frenchman, who is due to be confirmed in his £160,000 job by MEPs on 17 June, was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence in France in 2000 for diverting government funds. He was later pardoned by his friend, French President Jacques Chirac, and joined the European Commission as head of transport.

Nigel Farage MEP and leader of The UK Independence Party has attacked the European Commission for handing the powerful job to Jacques Barrot."What clearer indication can there be of the corruption and hypocrisy that pervades the European project from the lowest to the highest levels?" he asked.

The Justice Commissioner is to be given even greater powers under the Lisbon Treaty. He will be able to take governments in the 27 member states to the European Court if he decides they have breached EU rules on such matters as policing, criminal procedures, immigration and a range of other matters relating to justice and security.

"To say this smacks of poacher turned gamekeeper is an understatement," the director of Open Europe, Neil O'Brien, is quoted as saying in The Sun

And you wonder why taxes are so high...

2008-05-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today's Sun Newspaper revealed that the EU has spent £3m in taxpayer's money on creating a site to rival Facebook for it's members to discuss amongst themselves.

And you wonder why taxes are so high...

The UK is the 2nd largest donor to the EU.

Pathetic Lib Dems Hide In The Toilets Again

2008-05-25T03:17:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I mentioned how during the critical campaign for a referendum the Lib Dems shamelessly abstained with their new leader Nick Clegg claiming that we should have an in or out referendum instead and wanted "a real debate".

Well months later we are given the golden opportunity to have such a referendum and what does Nick Clegg and his cronies do? They abstain!

It doesn't bare thinking about how they would be in government if this is their attitude on everything.

Support For Stuart

2008-05-25T03:07:00.000-07:00

The renamed European Constitution is getting closer and closer to being rammed down our throats once again without us having a say.

Who would have thought that saying a simple yes to the common market in 1975 would have resulted in surrendering swathes of power to Brussells - the power to govern ourselves which so many of our ancestors have had to pay the ultimate price for through two world wars. What is even more sickening is that thePC-indulgent EU say that the opposition "weren't Germans, they were Nazi's". This is absolutely disgusting - just because they were on the opposite side does not make them Nazi's. Many fighting were innocent German citizens who had no choice, but I digress.

I applaud Stuart Wheeler in taking the matter to the courts - it IS absolutely wrong to be taken over as a country this way through the back door with absolutely no say from the public whatsoever - because it is evident they would wholeheartedly vote against it. At the recent UKIP meeting a member of the public asked "isn't this how Hitler started with his Constitution in 1933?".

The media seem to be ignoring it but currently the House Of Lords are debating the "Treaty".
The case takes place on 9 and 10 June and I look forward to hearing the outcome.

According to Nigel Farage's blog, the last date we can have a referendum on the "Treaty" is 12 June but worringly he says that the chambers are full of ex EU and Blair cronies, so in other words it is about as likely as Gordon Brown actually becoming elected at the General Election.

UKIP By-Election Meeting

2008-05-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

On Monday I attended the UKIP Crewe/Nantwich By-Election meeting. The turnout was pretty good I'd say between 50-80 people there (it was open to the public). It is interesting that none of the other parties offered a public meeting. Nigel Farage party leader made a speech along with the candidate Mike Nattrass. The meeting had a good mood and many questions were answered regarding UKIP's stance in areas other than the EU.

For more UKIP info go here - www.ukip.org

For pictures of the meeting go here

Britain Should Follow Italy's Footsteps

2008-05-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Source: www.ukip.org

Italy has become the first EU member to take steps to restore border controls for travellers from Europe's passport-free Schengen zone as part of security measures to crack down on crime and immigration.

The Italian press is reporting that Interior Minister Roberto Maroni will present the measure to the cabinet this week and it is expected to be one of the first decrees approved by the new government of Silvio Berlusconi.

Mr Maroni is also proposing to make illegal immigration a crime punishable by up to four years' imprisonment.

His plan would see Italy suspending its obligations under the Schengen Agrrement, signed by 24 of the 27 EU member states to allow travellers to cross national boundaries without checks.

Some member states have re-imposed border controls for limited periods in the past for security reasons, but if Italy goes ahead with its plan it would be the first country to re-impose border controls generally.

In other moves to control immigration, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini proposes that Italy should create a minimum income requirement for immigrants, including those from other European Union countries.

So you have to ask... why can't we do the same????

OK, So Why Do We Hate Labour So Much?

2008-05-08T14:24:00.000-07:00

This was the question an Austrian friend of mine asked on an Internet forum recently. I knew that I had to try my best to be level-headed and focus on the facts. This is what I managed to come up with:

- Allowed uncontrolled immigration and denied there being a problem despite report after report (including a damning report from the House Of Lords) stating that immigration should be limited after numbers severely exceeded all expectations and public services struggle with taxpayers footing the bill.
Meanwhile the "new" border control system is only active 5 days a week meaning illegal immigrants can stroll in whenever they like on the weekend.

- Soft on benefits; Britain has a "benefits culture" with thousands of jobless people sponging off the state despite many of them being in good health. Muslim immigrants can claim for up to 4 wives, and some immigrants claiming Child benefits when their children aren't even British citizens... all at the taxpayers expense. Gordon Brown has famously been quoted for his ill-fated slogan "British Jobs For British Workers", but this remains nothing more than a joke with millions of perfectly healthy British Nationals living off Jobseekers Allowance whilst thousands upon thousands of immigrants flock here every year to find work.

- Stealth taxes (quietly introducing taxes through the back door) and plenty of them we don't even know about.

- Despite having one of the cheapest rates of petrol in Europe initially, Brown takes almost 70p out of every £1 in tax, putting England amongst the most expensive in the EU for fuel prices

- Building an economy on wreckless borrowing, leaving Britain vulnerable when financial crisis looms. Today we are facing the consequences.

- Doubling council tax since 1997, whilst delivering poorer services with fewer buses running and less often. It is becoming increasingly common across the country for bins to be emptied only once a fortnight, increasing the risk of vermin and disease.

- Millions of people have lost their private pensions or had them severely damaged due to government meddling and debt

- Thousands of post office closures, severely effecting the elderly in rural areas. In one particular rural area only 2 buses run a day, which means they have to spend the night in another area and pay bus fare just to access a post office, which means also paying for bed & breakfast accomodation (typical rate is around £30). A bit expensive and ridiculous just to post a letter. The less-mobile elderly being put at serious health risk.

- Accepting the EU Treaty despite 80% of British people wanting a referendum, which was actually promised in the 2005 Labour Manifesto. There is talk of court action being brought against Gordon Brown in the light of breaking this important promise.

- Only since Labour came to power has there been a vast outbreak of superbugs in our hospitals. C. Diff and MRSA were unheard of to the general public 10 years ago but now they worry millions who have to go into an NHS hospital. An elderly war veteran who survived 2 torpedo blasts actually died in an NHS hospital last week after contracting the superbug. Gordon Brown last year pledged to give all hospitals a "deep clean" inside and out in light of this, but the truth of the matter is the target has been missed. A new superbug is emerging which is even more lethal and resistant to anti-biotics.

- The latest shambles in the headlines is the abolition of the 10p tax rate, which caused uproar among core working-class Labour supporters, meaning typical working families earning under £19,000 a year pay up to £250 a year extra in income tax.

- Former Labour Mayor of London Ken Livingstone angered motorists by punishing them even more by introducing the Congestion Charge.

- One policy due to come into force in 2012 (if they are still in government) is road pricing. Despite British drivers already paying high insurance for their vehicles, road tax for their vehicles, the highest petrol/diesel prices in Europe, and the congestion charge in London (and rumoured to be Manchester) they will shortly be expected to pay for driving on roads, the cost depending on how busy the road is. (They plan to fit a compulsory black box into all vehicles which calculates the cost).

- Crime: Gun and knife crime has shot up since 1997. Labour hide behind this with overall statistics that crime has fell. But this is more typical spin and these serious crimes are even more a threat today than ever. The Prisons are all full but there are no plans to build any more until 2012 - which means a disaster for justice and increasingly lenient sentences from resentful judges.

- "Early Release Scheme" - may sound stupid but this is an active Labour policy. On average, 90 criminals, including many which are still violent and dangerous and rapists, are released from prison every day to ease the overcrowding crisis. A latest scandal have been people have been trying to break IN to prisons because the prison life here is so cushy, with Sky TV, PlayStations, prostitutes and drugs easy to get hold of.
Many criminals do not want to leave when they are freed.

When asked what prison life was like, one inmate told our Justice Secretary "Well it's a bit like a holiday camp really"

In short people are fed up of being bullied by the state and Gordon Brown's tax mad agenda, fear for their own safety with justice being absolutely no deterrent whatsoever, the British people are not racist, but all feel immigration has gone too far and spiralled out of control. Although on the subject of immigration, some immigrants are actually fleeing the country because life here is so miserable (an interesting way to cut immigration)

The British people are fed up of seeing teenage gangs with guns and knives killing innocent citizens getting 5, 10, 15 years inprisonment for their crimes and are fed up with the identity being eaten away by EU bureaucracy.

Brown Trouser Time At Labour Party HQ

2008-05-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

The local elections seen Labour's worst performance in 40 years, taking just 24% of the overall votes coming THIRD out of the 3 big parties. Here is how the share shapes up:

Conservatives: 44%
Liberal Democrats: 25%
Labour: 24%

But to add insult to injury, Ken Livingstone has LOST the battle to stay London Mayor meaning Conservative Boris Johnson is now Mayor.

The Great Capacity Swindle

2008-04-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

I bought an external hard drive today, the internal 40Gb was simply too small for my music collection and everything else I was used to having on the Mac's 60Gb drive. I have kept the internal and got a cheap Western Digital Elements drive at 160Gb for £49, only it's er.... not 160Gb.

Unfortunately this is nothing new in the market, disk manufacturers have been rounding up capacities for many years.
Take the 1980s for example. The Double-Density floppy disk advertised having a whopping 720k storage at the time, but actually DOS systems could only access 713k of it. The Amiga was not whiter than white either, with its standard 880k disks only usually containing 837k of space.

The so-called 40Gb hard disk in my box is actually only 33, and today I discovered the 160Gb drive I just purchased is actually only 149Gb. This is ridiculous.

This isn't a few megabytes of difference, it is a whopping 11 gigabytes less than advertised. Enough for a fully configured OS install and a fat wad of applications and some MP3s thrown in. A lot of space.

Now if it was 159Gb then that would be understandable, marketing a "160Gb" drive makes more sense. It would also be understandable if they marketed my drive as having a "150Gb" capacity.

I think manufacturers need to be more honest and stop this before eventually we will be seeing 1Tb drives with only around 800Gb of actual storage space.

Being the modest honest guy I am, when people ask me the capacity of the drive, I will say 150Gb. It's a shame manufacturers can't apply the same honesty.

Forget the Hard Drive, Get A SkyDrive

2008-04-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

One of the few good things Microsoft have ever made in my humble opinion.

The SkyDrive means you no longer have to wait for hours uploading large files and then have them expire after a week or so.
It is literally a free online hard drive from Microsoft.

All you have to do is sign up using your MSN/Hotmail/Windows Live ID or create one then sign up, it's that simple.

You can keep those important files private too so only you can access them, but you can also make public folders so you can share files with people without the need of sending large E-Mails or disks in the post.

Search Google for SkyDrive, it's much better than sendspace or any other way of transferring large files

Gee, I sounded like a Microsoft-salesman for a moment there, but it is good.

Problem Solved!

2008-04-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to the friendly helpful people at Amigaworld.net for helping me sort out my minor audio problem with Ubuntu. Now everything is working as it should apart from my printer, which I hope shall be supported in version 8.04 which I plan to install next week.

How an OS should be

2008-04-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

After Windows XP successfully managing to hack me off for the umpteenth time, I decided to give Linux another go.
I downloaded the last version of Ubuntu, v7.10 last night. At the start things did not seem to go too well. The ISO that was hosted by Virgin Media was corrupted, so 3 wasted disks later I downloaded the ISO from Oxford University Computer Group.

The install went flawlessly and was easy to set up, the only daunting thing being the HD partitioning, but simply putting it onto "guided - use free space" meant that I could keep my existing XP partition without risking all of my data. (It is wise to back everything up first anyway).

Installation took a mere 30 minutes or so, and the end result is a million miles away from the nagging, slow, hard-disk churning Windows XP.

The computer hard disk is a lot quieter, and is idle for the most part - a refreshing change from the constant hard disk churning you hear on a Windows machine (and yes it is defragmented regularly).

No anti-virus or anti-spyware running on start up slowing everything down, no nags for updates, just an OS that waits patiently until you tell it what to do. You give it a task, and "yes sir!" it carries it out straight away, unlike my numerous experiences with Windows; "*groan* ughhh... do I have to do that....ughhh.....ok....".

Obviously being a less mainsteam OS has its drawbacks, most notably manufacturers support. Thankfully Linux had no problems identifying my onboard sound card, although strangely sound manages to come out of my speakers even when they are switched off.

Unfortunately my printer is not supported, and I am having trouble finding the driver for the Canon iP1200 on the Internet. But there is still many printers here supported, and who knows, the next release which is due out soon, version 8.04, may support it after all. In the mean time, my printing will have to be done under XP. More on this later...

So while Linux is by no means flawless, its drawbacks are usuallly lack of support from manufacturers, which you cannot blame it for.

As an operating system, Ubuntu is everything an operating system should be. It serves you, it does what it is told without delay, it boots up fast, it carries out tasks quickly and most of all it is secure.

So I had to boot up XP to print something early this morning.... after using Linux for a few hours you can feel the difference. XP took a lot longer to start up, I was greeted with yet ANOTHER AVG update slowing everything right the way down, Firefox refused to load while this was happening, then like the buses and typically - two Firefox's open at once.

After using Ubuntu and getting used to how things should be, it makes you want to use Windows as little as possible.

I recommend you to give it a go.

Free K-MEX Downloads

2008-04-21T09:34:00.001-07:00

I am giving away free K-MEX tracks whilst we work on the 2nd album, to access them go here

In the mean time leave a comment or E-Mail me if you haven't get got a copy of Social Domestic Pleasure.

Back To Blogging

2008-04-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

After experimenting with a completely original site, I have decided that my coding isnt up to scratch and it didn't look too professional, so as a result I have gone back to blogging. Here people can leave comments on my articles (there were some problems with people accessing the old guestbook) and also I feel it looks a lot more professional with less crap scattered around everywhere, and should be a lot easier to read/navigate.

Features of the old site -- the review section, the Europe section etc. shall not die, they will simply be represented here by the occasional article -- because now it is more compact using just the one main page, it will seem a lot busier - so keep checking for updates. I don't think some people realised how often the old site was updated, due to the numerous pages.

All in all I think I made the right decision, and look forward to using blogger again as the website.

New K-MEX Member

2008-04-21T09:16:00.001-07:00

Yup that's right, K-Mex is now no longer a solo project but a duo (how corny does that sound?).

Scott Kellaway has now joined. K-Mex are currently working on the follow up to 2007's "Social Domestic Pleasure" album.

2008-04-21T09:15:00.001-07:00

Electrical goods retailer DSG International was raided by European Union officials yesterday as part of a competition investigation into retailers selling products from Intel, the world’s largest chip maker.

Intel is facing a hearing in Brussels on March 11 and 12 to answer charges of whether it abused its dominance in the manufacture of CPU chips.

The commission said it conducted the raids because the companies “may have violated EC Treaty rules on restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position”. The charges state that Intel slashed prices below cost and offered rebates in an attempt to drive its smaller competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, out of the market.

The result will undoubtedly mean higher chip prices for computer users.

Thanks a lot, EU-bunch of wankers!

Many thanks to the Daily Express for this story, for a link to the original click here.

Personal Media Preservation

2008-04-21T09:14:00.001-07:00

Everyone has memories, some they like to keep, some they would rather forget.
Many of the fonder memories are kept not only in the mind, but in physical items too; photographs, home videos, audio recordings and so on.

Music which can no longer be purchased, is kept locked away on that old cassette tape, or, the recordings you might have made in a band long ago.

The sad fact is that nothing can last forever, and that is the case when it comes to all of the aforementioned items.
Memories can fade and disappear, so it is vital that we preserve these items as best as we can. But we can also back them up to other mediums which can mean that if that photograph or cassette no longer serves, it needn't be the end of the world.

Back in 1998 at the tender age of 11, I was in a band. We recorded our material in the shed onto an old cassette recorder. The music is primitive, yet the sentimental value is priceless. Cassettes are said to have a lifespan of around 20 years. Anything longer is just a matter of time, so a few years ago I decided I was going to back-up these recordings.

Cassettes
Ignore all the ads advertising expensive devices to back up your cassette and vinyl collection to MP3. It can be done for free with just a PC or Mac and some free software.

First, you need a line-out cable from your hi-fi, then all you do is plug it into the line-in ports which are located either on the front or back of the computer depending on what computer you have. Make sure the line-in volume is turned up to about half way.

The software is free for download called Audacity. This will run on all current computer platforms, be it Windows, Mac or Linux. Once it is installed open it up and hit record, selecting the recording input to "line-in". Then all you need to do is hit record and press play on your cassette player. Record a few seconds at first then play back, excessive volume input can lead to some nasty distortion so experiment a little until you are happy with the quality.

Then to convert to MP3 all you need to do is select File and Convert to MP3 on the menu. You will need an add-on called LAME Encoder to do this, which is also free from the Internet, do a quick search on Google and you can download it in a matter of seconds.

Now you can put your entire cassette collections as MP3s and even burn them to CD or DVD if you want to. No more worrying about deteriorating tapes!

VCR
This can also be done for free providing you have a DVD recorder and the correct cable. Simply put a blank disk into your recorder and connect the SCART out of the video to the DVD. Press play on the video and tune it into your TV. When it is found you can simply hit record on the DVD recorder and back it all up. Please note though that this will not work for copyrighted videos and should only be used for personal home recordings.

Photographs
Just 10 short years ago digital cameras were for the rich and the business man only being very expensive and questionable quality. Now photo preservation is as easy as backing up your disks or hard drive

But all the analogue printed photos you have deteriorate over time. The average lifespan of a photograph is 100 years although over as little as 20 years the quality will have been severely deteriorated.

Whoever said computer scanners were dead? Well not me, they are incredibly useful for scanning in old photographs and converting them to digital, as well as other important documents such as passports or work documents which you may want a copy of.

You can get all-in-one printers and scanners for as little as £40 so it is a good investment and a cheap alternative to a photocopier.

So there we have it, some simple ways to preserve your most important medias.

Remote Control

2008-04-21T09:09:00.001-07:00

The Independence/Democracy Group in the European Parliament have recently been posting out free DVD's called "Remote Control".
When I received the letter, which is from the UK Independence Party, I initially thought to myself "more far-rightist propaganda and brainwashing". However upon watching the DVD (which I must say is very well produced) there are many startling and somewhat depressing facts about how much Brussells controls our affairs.

The DVD shows real footage of Brussells rushing through many laws before people even have a chance to vote for or against. When asked if they can slow down, they simply reply "We have a lot to get through today. We must hurry". This is absolutely no way in which a democracy should work.

It also covers many current issues directly affecting the UK such as post office closures and fraud amongst MEP's (Members Of European Parliament). It is a very worthwhile watch no matter what your political beliefs.
You can request copies by E-Mailing them at network(at)europarl.europa.eu

New Set Of Wheels!

2008-04-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

After a long year putting up with a slow Suzuki Swift and saving like mad, I finally upgraded to a nice new Mondeo.

So after the initial novelty and wow factor began to settle what is it like driving one?

Driving and Handling - +++++
Like the Cavalier was after I'd upgraded from the Micra, the Mondeo is a stupidly huge improvement. The drive is flawless and very smooth, speed bumps are barely felt at all, acceleration on motorways is effortless and above all it is very quiet on motorways. Handling is fantastic with no body roll and easy to maneuver with the power steering. Despite being double, treble the size of the Swift the Mondeo is easier to park and control. Doing 80mph on a motorway feels like equivalent of 30 in a smaller car, with the feeling of oozes of power left in the beasty 2-litre turbo engine.

Exterior - +++++
Looks fantastic and gives you the impression that it means business in my favourite colour Mondeo, black. With chrome effect grille and some nice modern Ford-styled headlights it fits in nicely as an all-round stylish saloon of the 00s.

Interior - +++++
Seating is spot on not being too soft or firm, controls are very easy to find and use, with buttons made of a high quality. The sound system is the best I have heard on any car so far, and the entire interior is brimming with excellent build quality and the luxury factor.

Fuel Economy - +++++
Has no problems getting 500 miles and beyond out of its 60 litre tank returning well above 40 MPG which is reassuring with today's spiraling fuel prices.

Market Value ++++
Diesel Mondeos hold value extremely well compared to other Fords and similar cars so you shouldn't make big losses when it comes to selling on.

Verdict - 95%
I am still struggling trying to find something I am not happy with about this car, and if I really must name something the gears can sometimes feel they are not as smooth as they could be. Other than that it is an excellent car. I will amend this review if anything about it upsets me in the meantime but don't hold your breath.

For some bigger pictures of the car click on these links

Mondeo Front

Mondeo Interior

Don't Kill The Floppy!

2007-08-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

Time to move away from all the politics and rants and shift onto something a bit more geeky. I think floppy disks are fantastic. They sure as hell aren't perfect mind, and can be nackered quite easily by putting them near magnetic fields or in moist conditions, but CD's aren't much good in that respect either. A few deep scratches and you're screwed. Sure, CD's and DVD's can hold a hell of a lot more data than a typical 1.44Mb 3.5" floppy disk, but that is besides the point. So why then, do I like this storage medium so much?

Well to be honest when faced with that question, I haven't really much idea. They are small and humble, but given the choice of choosing to write a file under 1Mb to a CD or floppy, I'd go for the floppy any day. You can't beat a floppy disk for transferring small files. Or at least that used to be the case...

For years, it seemed the floppy was unkillable. 8" was shortlived, 5.25" was phased out by the mid 90s, but the 3.5" disk has been with us since the early-mid 80s and has been since a very popular storage medium. Such classic pre-CD era machines such as the Amiga 500, wads of 286s, 386s, 486s running DOS onwards, Atari ST's have all used floppies as the standard storage medium. It has been with us for over 20 years, and no one really thought they would go away even when CD-Rs came along. But that is now changing. Over the last few years computer manufacturers have began selling a lot of new machines without floppy drives. I personally think this is awful! They are great for creating emergency boot disks for example, a lifesaver if you're computer goes down. They are great for small text and Word documents, spreadsheets, smaller databases. CD's are too much of a pain to use. Even CD RW's do not offer the simplicity of the drag and drop method when working with floppies.

Systems such as Windows XP and OS X have made things easier, but simply erasing a couple of files on a CD and putting new ones on there isn't as simple as it should be.
USB sticks are much better.

I would love to see the USB stick become the successor to the CD-ROM for example. Just plug it in and go. No waiting for the lens and the drive to whir up, instant access. Read, write, delete, drag, drop as you please. You don't have to worry about scratching USB sticks or floppies either. The critical parts are safely housed with exterior casing.

So while the world gradually shifts away from the floppy disk, I can guarantee that I will continue to use them for the forseeable future.

CD's/DVD's I think should be phased out by something similar. Too often precious files are lost due to scratches. CD's/DVD's should come in a similar plasting housing to that of a floppy, or the media replaced by something more reliable.

The listening PM (who only hears what he wants to hear)

2007-08-23T02:28:00.001-07:00

So today I read that only parliament will vote on the new EU treaty. "No public vote will be necessary" Gordon Brown claims, although the simple fact that it was promised in the Labour Manifesto of 2005 means it is absolutely neccesary. Not just that though, but the simple FACT that it is 98% the same as the old hated EU constitution rejected by France and the Netherlands.
Angela Merkel, a key backer and seemingly close friend of Gordon Brown said in June of this year that the "substance of the constitution is preserved". In other words, the so-called "changes" are purely cosmetic.

So already, the honeymoon for Brown seems to be over, with revolts from core Labour supporters and a high majority of the general public. 8 out of 10 people want an EU referendum, but it seems the "listening PM" who will "serve" his country needs a new hearing aid.

This is a big warning as to what he could be like if he wins the General Election. Manifesto promises being shattered, listening only when he thinks it suits him, and the arrogant "I know best, fuck the rest" attitude of this man.

I only hope that the British public see sense at the next General Election.

Under-age Drinking

2007-08-17T04:39:00.000-07:00

I was looking on the Daily Mirror website and discovered they had conducted an investigation where they sent an ELEVEN year old girl into a local off-license to see if she would get served alcohol. Chillingly, she succeeded without any fuss or requests for ID. She returned to her parents (who gave permission for the investigation) with two litres of super-strength 7.5 per cent White Lightning, two litres of 5.3 per cent Strongbow, two litres of 5.5 per cent Blackthorn and three litres of 4.5 per cent Olde English Cider - enough to kill her, and if shared with friends make them ill and extremely out of control.

The shopkeeper who was responsible for serving her the drinks was later confronted, and said that he was "too busy" to ask for her ID. This is no excuse, this is just barmy.

What I suggest...

Parents to become much more vigilant and analyse their child's behaviour, but I think what would be even more effective is tougher penalties on shopkeepers who do not comply to the regulations. If they fear huge fines then they won't do it. You could even take it further and do what I would call a "strike-3", where if a shop is caught selling alcohol under age more than 3 times - over any length of time - it will get shut down.
Trading Standards also need to become firmer, and send more people out as mystery shoppers to root out the shops which do not comply, and give them an immediate fine and warning.

Stricter regulations on shops like the one which served the young girl and claim they are "too busy", when really they don't give a damn... they just want profit, balls to the safety of the children, is the only way this can be effectively conquered with some more vigilance from parents.

No Remorse, No Guilt, No Regret

2007-08-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen a programme on BBC 2 recently about online amateur videos glorifying violence amongst youths. It is now a regular occurence in newspapers and TV that we hear of the latest assaults, be it a man confronting someone for throwing litter out of their car window, only to be threatened with a knife and eventually killed, school kids fighting to the death or seriously fatal, or defenceless vulnerable people such as the elderley or homeless being the target of yobs.

But what is even more shocking and frightening - is that in every one of these cases we hear about, the youths involved, if caught, do not show ANY signs of remorse, guilt or regret for what they have done. This is the culture we now live in, where such big incidents as a murder cannot be reflected upon the offender. They merely say "it was for a laugh" or that they simply do not have any guilt whatsoever over what they have done. There seems to be a distinct lack of respect and values here, and the parents are top to blame.

It's absolutely disgusting and beyond a joke, the Government also must take responsibility.

Parents should be teaching children values and respect, but the chances are, it goes back generations of bad parenting creating a domino effect of wrecklessness. Today's yobs are tomorrow's young parents, which have children who are no different to themselves: NO REMORSE NO REGRET NO GUILT.

Kids of 10 and 11 recently attacking a man and his son. This incident and the thousands of others occuring every week clearly state that these yobs are laughing in the face of the law, show no fear of the consequences of their actions, and the law indeed protects the guilty, criminalises the innocent and brave. Things must change before this farce escalates any further.

This goverment has introduced over 1500 (probably nearer 2000) new laws in the last 10 years solely for the purpose of generating an income from hard working honest citizens. And for rest the ASBO, a piece of paper that says don't do it again. A badge to be worn with pride in today's youths.
If children want to commit adult offences they should receive adult punishment.
Government should rely less on fines and more on tough action.
The punnishment for attacking someone is currently less than a speeding fine. This is ridiculous and wrong.

It takes no intelligence whatsoever to realise that the current law is far too soft on young offenders, is stupidly warped (as someone pointed out with the man who defended himself getting fined) and CORRUPT.
An example of this corruption is a man I know was arrested after coming to the aid of a blind man who was being attacked by five yobs, he intervened after he had been hit in the face. He was then set upon and I defended himself. The officer who arrested him let the 5 yobs go, because he had a job and was more likely to be able to pay the fine.
He dragged it out through the crown court and was found innocent on the grounds of self defence.
This boils down to the corrupt ways of our judical system... if you're a yob and you commit an offence and someone intervenes the law is there to protect you. If you're an honest citizen and you intervene then if your not killed you will be arrested for your troubles.

If you have money, you pay the fine. If you are a yob, you are free to leave.

This cannot continue!

What I suggest....

Tougher penalties, bring back the death penalty for serious crimes such as murder, that would soon solve prison overcrowding which in turn would mean stopping the stupid idea of shortening penalties. Human rights? Well committing a barbaric offense like murder, is hardly human, more animal-like.
Letting people go early is one of the biggest follies of our Labour government, if people know theyre gonna be let out early, are they really gonna be arsed about a few months in jail with Sky TV and pool tables anyway? It is fact that people who are released early are very likely to re-offend.

Tougher penalties are what is needed, this is no rocket science, purely common sense. People need to be frightened of the consequences of their actions. At the moment, offenders just laugh and don't give a hoot. This is no exaggeration, just blatantly obvious when you see some guy dead and a yob grinning.

Proud and British is becoming somewhat of an oxymoron - we are becoming known as being the soft touch not just of Europe but of the world.

Hi

2007-08-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hello, I'm back to blogging. Some rants, raves, opinions, nonsense, sense, and more coming your way soon. Keep those eyes peeled open. A bit like an orange. Mmm, orange.