The 'F' letter!

Ok, you may or may not have seen this but it arrived in my email yesterday and fascinated me. I have no idea if it's a scientific fact or some kind of illusion but it's still interesting. You have to follow the instructions, no cheating and no scrolling down until you have tried it!

It's typed out here exactly as it was presented in the mail, again, I don't know if that's 'part of it' or just poor typing but whatever, here goes;

Count every ' F ' in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE E XPERIENCE OF YEARS...

How many did you find?

WRONG, there are 6 -- no joke.
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 F's again.
Can you find them all yet?

The reasoning;
The brain cannot process 'OF'.

Incredible or what? Go back and look again!!
Anyone who counts all 6 'F's' on the first go is a genius.

Three is normal, four is quite rare.

Like I say, I don't know if it's trickery or true but it's amusing/frustrating anyhow.

Incidentally, I got 4 and I had to look carefully twice more to find them all!

What did you get??

A winter poem

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you. It was to me, and it's very well written.

'WINTER'
a poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre
'SHIT, It's Cold!'
The End.

Afghanistan - The ultimate price

The politics of war are complicated, doubtless if they weren't the conflicts would not be conflicts in the first place and no matter which war or where, whether the reasons are valid in our opinion or whether we agree or disagree with the principles of an individual situation, one thing doesn't ever change..... and that is simply that the guys and gals out there at the sharp end, and their families back home, show immense courage and fortitude, regardless of their own political views.

These are the people we depend on to face the dangers and hardships when we agree with the reasons for a given conflict and as such they deserve our support just the same when we don't. We live in a democracy and whilst I'm not naive about how much of a democracy it actually is, it is the one we have and it beats many other options.

Those serving in war zones have no more choice in where they serve and why they find themselves in a particular place than the rest of us do and as such, regardless of the politics we should be proud of their efforts and of their bravery, maybe even more so for just that reason, they have no choice in where they serve but they serve nonetheless with the same courage and skill regardless of their personal feelings.

Situations such as have occurred in the UK recently, where service personnel, far from being able to show pride, have been advised not to wear uniform in public because of the risk of assault in showing publicly that they are members of the armed forces, I find utterly repulsive and appalling! Yes, they make the choice to serve but not the choice as to where they serve. and we should be proud of our service men and women and those of our allies because it is they, not you or I or the politicians in their ivory towers, that face the true horrors of war and it is they, not us who pay the ultimate price.


Rest in peace CPT Rob Yllescas.

Out of the mouths of babes

Yesterday evening we and a few friends were invited for dinner at the home of another of our little 'evenings out drinking way too much gang'. This promised to be an interesting culinary experience, 'M' is originally from Dominica and had promised us all authentic Caribbean fare.

Mindful though that his own skills in the kitchen are er, 'infamous' he had charged two of his sisters with journeying up from their homes in central London to chef for the evening!....and what a grand job they did! The food was absolutely fabulous though for yours truly, a very slowly recovering, lifetime veggie, a dish of goat was just one step too far and an 'opportunity' to try something new that I bottled without hesitation!

The evening was a lovely one, much eating, drinking, laughter and stupidity though with an early moment that one just couldn't help being amused at (see, there's my sick sense of humour raising it's head again!) after the event.

One of the guests had with her her eight year old daughter, one of the most delightful children I think I have ever met. Polite, chatty, articulate and well behaved, this kid went to bed at 9 without so much as hint of nonsense, I was impressed! She had been allowed in return for her promised good behaviour to watch The X Factor. This was a 'treat' that was completely lost on me and never having seen it I asked what it was all about.

Her mother gave me a brief explanation of what it is to be an X Factor contestant, adding at the end amusingly that it seems all contestants have to, besides having some 'talent', also have a tragic life story to go with it, hopefully one assumed to illicit the sympathy vote if the talent aspect fails them!

At this point delightful small child piped in, full of jollity and in that 8 year old matter of fact way that they have, "I could be on the X Factor then, I have a tragic life story, my dad died when I was one and a half years old"!!!

*Insert moment of stunned, embarrassed silence*

Now I already knew this, but the other guests didn't, hence I managed to recover my thoughts and control my amusement at her so innocently dropping this bombshell into the middle of the previously light hearted conversation quicker than the others and hit back in that stunned moment of silence with, "ah yes, but can you sing?!"

Moment over, conversation resumed, inaudible sigh of relief around the room.

Out of the mouths of babes and all that...can't help but love it!

Just a little bit of toast!

Unusually yesterday morning Fletch asked if I would like some breakfast, I think he had deduced by this time, it was pretty late for breakfast I have to admit, that if he wanted anything he was going to have to make it himself on this occasion, so he headed for the kitchen and the conversation went something like this;

Fletch: Do you want some toast?

Me: Yes please.

Fletch: What do you want on it?

Me: [Trying to make life simple] Anything.

Fletch: No, what do you want?

Me: Anything, really, I don't mind.

Silence....

Three minutes later this is what I got!


One slice with a pickled onion on it and another with a solitary olive sitting atop it!

Yes, very funny Fletch! ;o)

Don't you just love a smart ass!

The global economic models explained!

Probably not very politically correct but very funny! ;o)

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away...

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters
of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a
debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all
four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to
a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who
sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on
one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving
you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads....
because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month,
and
milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine
productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you and invade your
country.
You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a democracy....

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.

Yum yum!

Something a little more lighthearted today! Needs sound.

Some Friday fun

Firstly...

The Mandelboat virus from BOFH at The Reg. :o)

and secondly....


An ISP that doesn’t require Internet access? Ummm.... :o)

Quote of the day

Quote of the day (from a City Trader):

"This is worse than a divorce. I've lost half my net worth and I still have a wife."

From the BBC site.

A life for sale!

Bored with your life?

You could try buying this one!

With the demise of his relationship, Australian Ian Usher has decided to sell his entire life, home and contents therin, car, bike, jet ski, job, friends,the whole shooting match .......on eBay!

The current highest bid is AU $300,433.31 but there still a few days to go if you fancy it!

Penguins

You have to see THIS.

The trail for a new B.B.C series. Amazing!

Gizza cuddle

A suitably fluffy post on a day when my intellect can cope with little of a more challenging nature!

Sound on. :o)



*Thanks JW.

Meet 'Cassie'

I have been meaning to introduce 'Cassie' here for a while but somehow I never quite got the time.....so now, please meet 'Cassie':


Cassie is my 'surrogate' pet. My missing Tilly and having an animal to live alongside me in my life never leaves me and as a consequence I seem to have turned into one of those odd individuals who stops to 'talk' to almost any available creature as I go about my daily routine. Rabbits, squirrels, cats, birds, horses, donkeys, and most often of course dogs....dogs are more readily available!

Cassie, a ten year old golden retriever bitch is my most regular 'adoptee'. She belongs to a lady I deliver too each day on my rounds and she has become the highlight each day of my trundles around the countryside.

She knows when I will call and is ready and waiting by the time I arrive. Her greeting always cheers me as she rushes along the lane, ears flapping wildly in the wind and almost bowls me over coming to a rapid halt by laying down on my feet and turning herself belly side up for her daily ten minute cuddle!

I am not fooled of course, there is a degree of 'cupboard love' going on here for she knows only too well by now that not only do I deliver sandwiches but I also carry a treat for her each day! This routine has become entrenched now and there is no way I could escape the daily offering! She has consumed all manner of fare over the months, crisps, snacks, biscuits, the odd sausage I have purloined when no one was looking at the shop before I set out, an occasional bone my mother supplies and on one or three occasions her favourite.....a whole hot sausage and bacon breakfast roll!!! ;o)

This habit has caused there to have to be a 'new line' on my van in an attempt not to turn her into a very fat dog and so now I always carry a selection (hidden of course from my employer) of various proper dog treats and biscuits....I even have low fat and low gluten versions to hand!

'We are not amused'

If Ditto had the wit she would aspire to this look of disapproval! :o)


© Getty Images

Just because.......

....they are beautiful.


Mute Swans © Laurie Campbell

"The Tweed estuary at Berwick is one of the largest herds of Mute Swans to be found in Britain, especially between late July and September.

Their numbers dwindle in the winter months but those that remain are then joined by Goldeneye, Red-Breasted Merganser, Pochard and other wildfowl."

© Northumberland County Council 2004