Yearly Archives: 2006
Hong Kong Revisited
It’s mid-morning as I sit in a coffee shop on Nathan Rd in the heart of the golden mile during the last day of a 3-day stopover from NZ.
A young woman wearing the latest western designer clothes strolls purposefully down the road. As she passes the coffee shop, she side-steps a tiny old woman, who is bent almost double, pushing a cartload of goods slowly down the street. The young woman barely sees her; she is talking on her mobile phone. Seconds later she glances at her brand-name watch before disappearing down into the Shah Tsim Shiu station of the MTR.
+14RIP Jack
Was sorry to read in the news today about the death of Jack Palance.
Few actors of his caliber ever graced the silver screen – especially in the western genre and his portrayal of a long string of tough guys was difficult to match (perhaps only Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood come close and neither was as good as Jack at playing the villain).
So long Jack – here’s hoping your last ride into the sunset will lead you to somewhere happy…
+14Up Yours George!
Welcome news about the US mid-term elections which saw a massive protest vote turn the tide significantly against Dubya and his cronies.
Although Dubya can still use his presidential veto to override the will of Congress, it will at least mean that the White House won’t be able to get a republican controlled congress to rubber-stamp everything that comes down the line.
The news the Democrats manage to regain control of both houses of congress was made sweeter by the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, who may even face charges in Germany for alleged abuses in Guantanamo Bay and Iraq. Here’s hoping…
Isn’t it nice to have something in politics to smile about at times?
+27Farewell to Centrex
Well – time to say farewell to the Centrex crew.
After spending 15 months working on the Centrex Website and Intranet, it’s time to move on.
It certainly was one of the most interesting and challenging projects I’ve worked on for a good many years and the opportunity to work at a site as spectaular as Bramshill doesn’t come along very often.
Here’s hoping the future is every bit as bright as the past and that you all find a suitable place inside the new and improved police authority/infrastructure that the Home office is busy cobbling together.
What else can I say except so long…and thanks for all the memories!
+12Bush Assassination? Not today…
Today’s supposed row over the TV drama “Death of a President” was a small but meaningful 40th birthday gift for me.
The drama on More4, uses actors and computer effects to portray “president” Bush being shot dead during an anti-war rally in Chicago in 2007.
I won’t go so far as to say I wish it had been an actual news story instead of a piece of fictionalised TV, but for the first time, I actually found myself regretting the fact that I was not a TV subscriber!
+16Saying goodbye to my 30′s
Well…my 40th birthday is not too far away now.
I have to say I’m a little ambivalent about it all; On one hand I’m aware of passing another of life’s milestones and that naturally gives me pause for thought. On the other hand, the first 4 years of the new millennium were (for me at least) largely crap and I’m not sorry to see the back of them.
+13Rant: Royal Mail Once Again Fails
Todays BBC news carried the (almost) unbelievable story of a Postman who has been suspended for advising his customers how to opt-out of the Royal Mail’s direct marketing.
Postman Roger Annies composed and circulated a leaflet about the Royal Mail’s opt-out clause for unsolicited mail during his rounds in Barry, south Wales.
+24