Yorkshire sponsors ITV-peak

Blimmey!

I thought it was bad enough hearing "Renault Twangy sponsors 'Jack The Ripper" every ten minutes or so, through some TV .. em .. 'drama' or other .... but now ......

Have you seen it? - Drums bash-out some feintly hearty throb as the viewers are treated to a slideshow of, wait for it ...... a face-painted little girl, some people looking at a large fish in an aquarium, and - of course, some walkers on the Yorkshire Dales.

Stop It!

You're just proving there's VERY LITTLE to do in Yorkshire!

Shutdown your PC automatically (free software)

Found another one. Tried it, it's perfect.
Here's the developers notes:
Auto Shutdown is a free utility for automatically shutting down or logging off a computer. Automated shutdown/logoff is achieved in two ways: set the exact time of shutdown or wait for a specific number of days, hours, or minutes before shutting down. The program can be configured for forced shutdown/restart/logoff and also has a poweroff option. A scheduled task can be cancelled at anytime by a simple right-click on the timer. Auto Shutdown resides in the system tray and can be configured to run at startup. Online help is included. Keyboard shortcuts provide easy access to menu items.

Here's a screenshot:
OK, why do I like it? It does PRECISELY what it says it will do, no more - no less.
It is POLITE software, doesn't go anywhere it shouldn't, not bundled with any crap.
It's a non-install App - perfect. If you need one of these, look no further. It's FREE.
Downsides? Ugly interface, American date format.

Get it << here >>

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Find Duplicate Photos across your computer's drives.

If you have 49,587 image files spread across your computer (spookily, the same number that I have) then wouldn't it be nice to find a FREE program that finds any duplicates for you?

If you're not a complete GIBBON with a computer then try out VISIPICS.(http://download.cnet.com/VisiPics/3000-2193_4-10424234.html).

This one will take you a few minutes of concentration to get the hang of it, but what's the alternative, and hour of shuffling windows and files? Two hours?

Automatic Air-Fresheners

I can now finally understand why we need so many air-fresheners.
This latest batch of automatic ones, various cartoon animals 'at home with the kids'
sharing frighteningly active home lives (actually SHE seems to sit all day on the sofa).

We need them because (according to DREAMS bed sellers) we spend a lot of our time
with our pets lazing all over bare mattresses. Hence the fantastically smelly lot we
must all have become these days.

Open the damn windows!

Somerfield - TV Ads

Do you notice that 9 out of 10 Somerfield TV Ads are for offers on BOOZE?

So, they're back in the high street, back alongside the locally owned and run convenience stores, and having killed the locally owned and run garages, (by retailing fuel in the 90's) they are into the shop-part of any garages still left.

I expect, if the figures were available, the new 'Express' style high-street Tescos (or whatever) probably hold around the same choice and stock levels of the first supermarkets.
These 1960's shops, if you can recall - heralded the amazing idea of self-service and of BRAND CHOICE.
They also signalled the death-knoll for any community store/corner shop that offered consumables, with the tabaconists and off-licences holding-on for a few more years.

to be continued . . . .

Prediction - W.H.Smith and Staples

So, who's next? Ok, we'll wander around for a bit . . . . . . .

I guess W.H.Smith isn't really up to much these days is it?
It seems quite weird in there - no REASON.

What is it? 'can't be bookshop - sort of a super-newsagent, but without the fags?
__________________________________________________

OK, next up - STAPLES.
Far too much floorspace, too pricey.

And the staff? (OK, this is the B'mth Station site) walk in there pushing a wheelbarrow stuffed full of 20.00 notes, and you'd STILL be pushed to get a staff member to talk to you, let alone look you in the eye or dispense with anything useful, verbally.

Amazing they're still open at all.
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Woollies to bite the dust?

Today we heard Woolworths went into receivership.
In my memory Woolworths used to be what Wilkinsons is so good at now - keen prices, own-brand brilliance and front aisles changing to match the season's needs.

"Needs" - Now that's a term to consider - what do we NEED to SHOP for? Not, it seems - for what 80% of Woollies has been given over to nowadays.

Woollies has been pandering to shallow desires for some years now,
and serving us with sullen, disinterested staff and tacky displays within
tacky stores. You somehow feel you've 'lost' - just by being there.

You find yourself wondering "what is this shop meant to be?"
No serious strength in ANY department, and all departments only
selling disposable, unnecessary trivia.
An Aladdin's cave then, for today's Sunday morning shopper family.

I'm sorry such an institution has fallen (if indeed it does/has) - but not at all sorry if we lose this high-street symbol of the type of mindset, that courts the type of shoppers, that typify a society's wishes to buy
CRAP and be served by IDIOTS.

Their Management slowly turned to swim with the tide -
but the tide was self-destructive -

Credit crunch? You bet - and not before time.

abc's for ebayers

Have you been on ebay recently?

No really, have you?


We recently sold a life-sized inflatable version of
the QE2 (reckoning her final voyage would be
the best time to attempt this).


(Here's a picture of our toy in a puddle
next to the ornament in the garden.)

So ...... trawling (ha?) the ebay site became a rare
and beautiful past-time for a couple of evenings.

If I landed upon 12 different ebayer offerings
(and I didn't, I read about 20) you can be certain
9 of them (and there weren't, it was around 17)
included truly horrendous spelling mistakes.
Ok, ok - who cares? But these were ordinary,
everyday, four and five letter words.

Try it - you'll be amazed.