Hello & Apology

I just thought I would say hello to all my blog readers.

First I would like to say sorry to anyone I offended with my Joke about translating Womens language.
It was an article I pasted from a jokes website and I accept it was in bad taste. I have deleted the article. I can't offer any defence other than I made an error in posting it, again sorry to all my lady bloggers I have nothing but respect for you all.

Back to my vacation I've just spent the day finding my way around this city following an eventfull journey to get here (Hotel booked 2 rooms, delayed flight, lost luggage, cancelled train, sat next to bloke on plane that was putting on nail varnish, etc,).

And Yes England are in the last 8.

Thats it for now.

This Weeks Course

This week I have had to attend a training course on High Voltage Electrics. I have to do this every few years to keep my authorisation certificate which I need for my job.

The course was quite good about 50-50 between classroom and pratical work with various switchgear (it also keeps you up to date with new regulations and procedures).

On Friday afternoon we had to sit a test which was ok but a strain for me as it was the only day I forgot to take my reading glasses (ok I'm getting old and need reading glasses). Anyway I struggled through and passed comfortably getting 21 out of the 22 questions correct.

The downside to the course was the canteen food which wasn't very diet friendly (although nice), can anyone turn down sponge pudding with the cook glaring at you.

I also didn't get enough exercise this week so I got on the scale this morning and was pleasently surprised that my weight hadn't moved 224lb same as last week.

Ok off on my travels now and with over 2 weeks of enjoyment I will be happy if I can keep my weight below 230lb on my return, we will see.

Goodbye Bloggers for now

Well its off on my travels again, tomorrow afternoon I will be travelling to Manchester and staying over at Bewleys Hotel Airport Hotel. Nice Pub next door so I will be sampling a few beers (helps you sleep).

Sunday Morning flying to St Louis via Chicago and staying at the Millenium Hotel for 7 nights, not been to this city before so it should be fun.

Following week back to Chicago for 8 nights staying at the Palmer House Hilton, love Chicago so I know it will be fun.

I'm sure at both cities I will meet some great people and make some new friends, thats the intention anyway.

I do intend to post on my blog in the morning but I would just like to say goodbye to all my fantastic blogging friends in case I don't get chance.

I'll be back home on July 11th.

World Cup - Last Sixteen Complete

The real stuff now starts as the last 16 countries now play a knock out competition reaching its conclusion on July 9th.
It is now time for England to Unleash Aaron Lennon (seen above) upon the world, this boy is quick.

Group G :-
Spain 1 - 0 Saudi Arabia

Ukraine 1 - 0 Tunisia

Spain and Ukraine take their place, Saudi Arabia & Tunisia time to go.

Group H :-

France 2 - 0 Togo

Switzerland 2 - 0 South Korea

France & Switzerland book their places at exspense of South Korea & Togo

Draw for Last Sixteen

Germany v Sweden

Argentina v Mexico

Italy v Australia

Switzerland v Ukraine

England v Equador

Portugal v Holland

Brazil v Ghana

Spain v France

People like or dislike

Last night I commented how I make my mind up what I think of a person and my first impression is very significant. I very rarely change my opinion of a person (it can happen though).
So what makes me like or dislike a person ?
I find this difficult to answer its more of a reaction perhaps a sixth sense, I don't know.

If I think logically the qualities I look for in a person are :-
Honesty
Trust
Fun to be with
Helpfull
Generous

Dislikes
Greed
Dis-honest
Selfish

The thing is how can I tell these things with a first impression, thats impossible, so how can I normally get it right ?

6th sense is the best I've come up with.

One final point its only a small percentage of people I like or dislike I would put the others down as aquantances that I tolerate.

Good job I like all you that read this tonight.

World Cup Latest - Goodbye USA

Group C -

Argentina 0 - 0 Holland

Ivory Coast 3 - 2 Serbia

Argies and Dutch qualify for Last 16 Ivory Coast & Sebia go home.

Group D -

Portugal 2 - 1 Mexico

Iran 1 - 1 Angola

Portugal win group but Mexico still qualify despite defeat, goodbye Iran & Angola.

Group E -

Czech Republic 0 - 2 Italy

Ghana 2 - 1 USA

Italy and Ghana qualify but dodgy referee decision sends USA home with fancied Czech's.

Group F -

Croatia 2 - 2 Australia

Japan 1 - 4 Brazil

The Boys from Brazil a joined by a part of the British Empire in the last 16, Croatia & Japan can pack their bags.

Tomorrow groups G & H will be decided and then its down to the knock out stage.

People, Friends & Bloggers

I don't know about anyone else but I tend to make my mind up if I like or dislike a person from my first impression when I meet them. Whether this is fair or not I find it quite accurate and only occasionally change my initial opinion of them.

That as led me to give a thought to why do I read the blogs I do (or they read mine). The list of favorites (12 off)I have listed contains quite a few different personality types so why have I picked these ? I have read & commented on other blogs but not chose them for my favorites list yet although I am sure my list will grow.

I do have a genuine desire to meet each of my blogging friends because I like the individual I think each of them is. In real terms it may be impossible to meet them all (some may not want to one day meet) but I reckon its a good ambition/challenge.
Ok if I meet any of them my (or their) opinion may change but thats life, If I don't meet them I'll never know if I like the real person. I have only met one blogging friend so far (reported on my last vacation in May) and nothing happend that made me want to change my opinion, in fact it has made my ambition more determined.

I don't know why I've wrote this article (probably bored at present) but I do reckon you can't have enough friends whether you have met them or not.

Lets do things together

I don't know whether I would rather have a stand up or sit down job while someone else was having the opposite.

Maybe its an "His & Hers" set.

England march on just.

England 2 - 2 Sweden

A draw is good enough for England to top group "B" so its on to play Equador in the last sixteen in Stutgart. Bad news is Michael Owen was carried off on a stretcher in agony in the first minute (looks like knee ligament damage). Joe Cole gave us the lead and we looked good up to half time. Sweden came into the game and caused all sorts of problems at set pieces (sort it out Sven). They eventually scored from a corner due to slack marking. Rio Ferdinand limped off to be replaced by Sol Campbell so maybe another injury problem. Stephen Gerrard came on for a tiring Wayne Rooney (who threw his teddy out the cot) and it was Gerrard who put us in front with 6 minutes to go.

We couldn't hang on and more crap defending allowed the Swedes to equalise in the last minute.

Come on Sven wake up now is the time for Aaron Lennon.

Rest of Todays Results :-

Germany 3 - 0 Equador

The sausage eaters finish top after beating Equador reserves.

Costa Rica 1 - 2 Poland

Poles win at last in meaningless match so its bag packing time for both teams.

Trinadad & Tobago 0 - 2 Paraguay

Another two teams sign off to go home.

Music CD's (10 you maybe never thought of)

Ok we all have different tastes in music, mine varies a lot in both era and style but this is a list of 10 CD's I rate at present (check them out). If you ask me in a few weeks I would probably change my list, my music taste changes all the time.

Add your own lists in the comments section ?

1. From the Cradle - Eric Clapton
I have a few blues albums but this is my favorite. For an Englishman Eric plays the blues as good as anyone. No individual tracks stand out above the others its just great music for any blues fans.
Eric Clapton

2. The End of the Begining - Eddie and the Hot Rods
Back in the seventies these Pub Rockers were going to be big, what happend they were good ?
Interesting fact is The Sex Pistols started out as their backing group, funny thing music. Numerous great songs including singles "Do anything you wanna do" and "Teenage Depression".
Eddie and the Hot Rods

3. Fighting Back - Hazel O'Connor & The Subterraneans
This 2005 live album from the star of Breaking Glass (1970's) it contains a number of her old classics including a better than the origional version of "Eigth Day" mixed with some excellent new stuff.
Hazel O'Connor

4. Day's of Speed - Paul Weller
Live acoustic version of all the classics from Pauls career as a solo artist mixed with Jam & Style Council classics including "You do something to me", "Wild Wood", "Thats Entertainment", " A Town called Malice" plus many more.
Paul Weller

5. Moonlighting - Roger Daltry
A bit of everthing in this solo double album from "The Who" front man. Includes great version of Leo Sayers "One man Band", Elton Johns "Don't let the sun go down on me" plus some Who classics and a few surprises.
Roger Daltry

6. Live Down the Road - Marcia Ball
Until I saw this Southern Lady in Memphis I hadn't heard of her but she can certainly play the keyboards. Highlights include the catchy title track "Down the Road" plus "Louisiana" which I remember her performing as a tribute to the folk lost in the New Orleans floods.
Marcia Ball

7. Greatest Hits - The Pretenders
Until I bought this album (it was on offer) I didn't realise how many great songs The Pretenders actually had. Great Album believe me but I am unsure what my favorite track is (so many good ones but if pushed I would go for "Human".
The Pretenders

8. Other Peoples Lives - Ray Davies
Long awaited solo album from a great songwriter and "Kinks" frontman. Not everyones taste but some real interesting stuff.
Ray Davies

9. Ultimate Collection - Brian Setzer Orchestra
Can a rock guitarist lead a 17 piece orchestra and pull off a good album ? I think former Stray Cat Brian Setzer about does it. My favorite song from this a new song "My Baby only cares for me" but it as everything from Rockabilly to Big Band classics.
Brian Setzer

10. Layla - Derek and the Dominoes
Any album containing both "Layla" and "Bell Bottom Blues" as got to be considered as a classic.Plenty of other good stuff as well.
Derek and the Dominoes

World Cup update

On my last World Cup post Modigli asked where I got the Photo's from, well the answer to that is on the BBC sport website, check it out :-
BBC Sport
I think some of the photo's of fans are great and show the spirit of the World Cup.
As I will be away after the group stage you can use this website to keep up to date if you are interested.

Switzerland 2 - 0 Togo

The Cuckoo clock makers have put themselves in with a great chance of reaching the last 16.

Ukraine 4 - 0 Saudi Arabia

Ukraine just too strong for the Arabs in this one sided match.

Spain 3 - 1 Tunisia

The spaniards come from behind to seal their place in the last 16.

This weekends weigh in

Last week my weight was 225lb and I was expecting it to go up following Mondays "Failure of Self Discipline" as reported earlier in the week.

This mornings weigh in = 224lb a loss of 1lb ok not enough but a move in the right direction.
I did start the year at 249lb and I have come down one size in clothing.

With only one week to go to my vacation I would like to try and lose a couple of more pounds this week but I have a feeling I will struggle. The reason is I am on a training course so will spend most of the week sat on my backside in a classroom and not getting enough exercise. There is also free lunchs at the training centre and I've a feeling they will not be weight loss friendly (my weak will power will be tested to the limit).

I will definately live it up on my vacation and put on weight (who doesn't) but on my return I will get back into the regime. I want to keep this going although I am not the strongest person mentally when it comes to food and drink.

The advice and encouragement of all you blogging friends is really appreciated, thanks.

The Samba Boys scrape through - France Flop again

Brazil 2 - 0 Australia

The Samba boys were made to look ordinary against a bunch of convicts for long periods of this game. But in the end they took their chances when the Aussies missed theirs but they need to improve on this showing.

Japan 0 - 0 Croatia

Japan held out for a surprise draw which leaves Croatia needing to win their last game against the Aussies to book their place in the last 16.

South Korea 1 - 1 France

Despite dominating most of the match and a goal from Thierry Henry France allow the Koreans to snatch a late equaliser which leaves them with it all to do in their last match.

Well done USA (and Ghana)

Italy 1 - 1 USA

To all my blogging friends in the USA your soccer team did you proud tonight holding the mighty Italians to a 1-1 draw despite having two men sent off. Ok Italy also had a man sent off but it was nine versus ten for a long time and your boys ran their socks off. In fact they could consider themselves unfortunate to only draw as they had a goal disallowed and a good appeal for a penalty.

The result gives them a chance of getting through if they win their last match against Ghana and Italy beat the Czech Republic they are through, I hope so.

Ghana 2 - 0 Czech Republic

Ghana have given themselves a great chance of reaching the last 16 with this shock result against one of the fancied sides. Watching the match they could have scored more.

Portugal 2 - 0 Iran

No shocks here, Portugal guarentee a place in the last 16. Him that looks like a ferret from the scummers scored a penalty after Figo cheated with a dive.

Promotion (I think)

A lot has been going on at work recently with restructuring of our workforce, change in production methods, etc.
All this is to help the company become more competitive in the world market.

Anyway I have been promoted to "Area Manager Electrical/Instrumentation", my old title was "Site Electrical Manager". Basically they have brought two departments together which means I will have 13 men under me instead of 6.
I finished on site today for over 3 weeks, next week I am on a High Voltage Switching Course which I need to do about every 5 years to be approved for working on HV (up to 11,000volts) equipment.
After this course I will start my vacation returning to work on July 12th.

I think the job will have a few difficulties (like any new job) and I will have a few stressfull moments but part of me is looking forward to the challenge (I think).

Anyway time will tell if I have made the right decision.

Dutch and Argies march into last 16

Argentina 6 - 0 Serbia

You can only say this team is the most impressive so far, but they still can't have the Falklands back.

Holland 2 - 1

The men in Orange are through, good team but as usual it won't be long before they start arguing amongst each other.

Mexico 0 - 0 Angola

Good draw for the Africans, great match from their goalie.

Note - USA versus Italy tomorrow it may soon be time to pack the bags.

Last Sixteen here we come

England 2 - 0 Trinadad & Tobago

Yes England are through to the last sixteen with a game to spare following two late goals from Peter Crouch and Stephen Gerrard. The match looked to be heading for a stalemate until Wayne Rooney and Aaron Lennon came off the bench to liven it up. Come on Sven you must start with these boys.

Equador 3 - 0 Costa Rica

Equador also qualified for the last 16 with a match to spare with an impressive win.

Sweden 1 - 0 Paraguay

Late goal gives Sweden important 3 points (Paraguay start packing). So Tuesday's showdown between England and Sweden will decide who tops the group.

St Louis & Chicago

I am back to the States in eleven days time and have been making my plans what I want to see and do. I will be visiting St Louis for the first time then spending a week in my favorite US city Chicago :-

St Louis - Priority here is that if England are still in the world cup the last 8 match will happen while I am in this City on either Friday 30th June or Saturday 1st July. I have found a Pub that is showing the World Cup "The Dubliner" at 1025 Washington Ave so thats where I will watch.
Looking up information on the same Pub I see it has live Music so it may be worth a visit anyway.
The Dubliner
If there are any readers of my blog in St Louis they are welcome to join me for the England match.

I will be staying at the Millenium Hotel from Sunday 25th June leaving on Sunday 2nd July.
Millenium Hotel


Among Attractions that may be worth a visit are :-
City Museum
St Louis Zoo
Union Station
Gateway Arch

Plus many others.

I've had advice on the nightlife and two places not to miss are Broadway Oyster Bar which apparently has a real New Orleans type atmosphere. Looking down the menu I will have to try the Alligator as I've never had it (don't get many in England).
The other place is at Lacledes Landing as is called The Big Bang this is a dueling Piano bar and is very popular. I am sure I will find many other good fun places and hopfully meet some great people.

Chicago - Obviously I as this is my fifth visit to Chicago I am starting to know my way around a bit. I will be in the City from 2nd July checking out on the 10th I will be staying at The Palmer House Hilton . I have seen most of the tourist attractions so intend having a relaxing time. I'll do quite a bit of walking in the parks and an considering hiring a bike one day.

Ok while I'm there quite a bit is happening like the world Cup semi-finals Tuesday & Wednesday 4th & 5th July (2pm Chicago time). The final is also on while I am in the city on Sunday 9th (1pm kick off). I hope England are still in the competition for these matches but I will watch them anyway at Fado Irish Pub which is at the junction of Clark and Grand.

Again if any of my blog readers wish to join me for these matches they are always welcome.

Two Chicago nightspots I have yet to visit are Kingston Mines which is a well known blues club and The Green Mill a Jazz club in North Chicago with quite an history.
Other nightspots that I have enjoyed in the past are Blue Chicago (both venues) and Andy's Jazz Club

While I'm in town the Taste of Chicago festival is on in Grant Park so I will pay a few visits during the week. It was on during my first visit to the city and good fun.

And I nearly forgot that holiday the Americans have (Independance day), I don't know what it is about or Independance from who, but I think I will wear my Union Jack Tee Shirt that day.

One round of matches over

Spain 4 - 0 Ukraine

Big win for spaniards but its about time they performed in the world cup.

Saudi Arabia 2 - 2 Tunisia

Entertaining draw between the teams from the desert.

Germany 1 - 0 Poland

Last minute goal ensures host nation get to the last 16. Time to start packing your bags Poland.

The Story so far :-

Ok we have seen all the teams now and the most impressive so far in my opinion are Czech Republic, Argentina, Italy, Spain & Mexico. But please remember you don't win the World cup in the first round.

I think the fans from all the countries have been great and really colourfull, the predicted trouble between some nations fans as not materialised (yet). Apparently England has the largest travelling support with 100,000 making the trip to Germany. The majority can't get into the matches but watch on the big screens provided in the various cities. It is just one big party (wish I was there).

Failure of Self Discipline

With less than two weeks to go to my vacation (St Louis & Chicago) I did not do my weight loss target any favours last night.
Ok I had to go to the pub to play a Pool match in the town singles competition. Basically I drunk more beer than intended and snacked on junk foods. I think my resistance was low due to been very tired from the weekend.
The sad thing about this I had no need to go as my opponent failed to show up (obviously heard how good I am Um). Anyway his no show puts me in the last 32.

I'm fighting back and have restricted my food intake today and also walked the 2.5mile each way to and from work. I'll do the same tomorrow.

France Fire blanks - Brazil win just

South Korea 2 - 1 Togo

2002 semi finalists get off to winning start, but not surprising against outsiders Togo.

France 0 - 0 Switzerland

The French argue amongst themselves as they draw with the Swiss. Too many old players to be contenders.

Brazil 1 - 0 Croatia

Holders and favorites Brazil scrape single goal victory but Croatia look a decent team. Ronaldo looks slow, lazy and overweight but any team with Ronaldinho must have a good chance.

Oh dear USA

USA 0 - 3 Czech Republic

It was a dissapointing opening to the world cup for the USA when they were well and truly outclassed by the Czech Republic. Never mind only Italy next up (shit).

Australia 3 - 1 Japan

The convicts from down under came from 1-0 down to score three goals in last six minutes.

To Play later tonight :-

Italy v Ghana

Tomorrow :-

Brazil versus Croatia

France versus Switzerland

South Korea versus Togo

World Cup Update

Serbia 0 - 1 Holland

Good win for the Dutch in the group of death, Goal scored by Chelsea player Arjen Robben.

Mexoico 3 - 1 Iran

Impressive opening performance from the Mexicans could give some of the big boys a run for their money.

Angola 0 - 1 Portugal

Portugal's team of over the hill superstars struggle to beat Africa's weakest team. A least that prancing Scummer Cristiano Ronaldo didn't score (He did get booked and substituted Ha Ha).

Tomorrows Games (3 interseting matches) :-

Austalia v Japan

Italy v Ghana

USA v Czech Republic

Happy with my performance

I've just got back from the Doncaster Grand Prix Table Tennis tournament and I've had a good day. It was the banded events today in which I could enter the band 3 (my level) and the band 2 (one level above my rating).

I was hopful to get a good run in the band 3 although I knew it would be tough. However first event up this morning was the band 2 and I was optimistic I could give a good account of myself against so called stronger players. I totally surpassed my expectations and reached the semi-final winning a number of real close tussles against higher ranked (and much younger) opponents on route. I almost went out in the first round coming from two sets down and also saving two match points in the deciding set before winning at deuce.
In the semi-final I actually took the first set before losing in four.

In my own event (band three) again I took a few scalps before eventually losing in the last 8, I think I was tiring as this was my thirteenth match of the day.

Tomorrow is the mens singles and Veterans (over 40), I will be lucky if I get through the group stage in the mens but I have a chance. I hope to do reasonable in the Vetts (last 16 would be good) but the draw is important. I ache a bit so may be a little stiff in the morning (1st match at 8.45am).

There are well over 200 players from all around the country in the competition.

Poor Performance but England are up and Running

ENGLAND 1 - 0 Paraguay

England scrapped a victory in their opening world cup match thanks to an own goal in the 4th minute. They will have to improve on this if they are going to win the trophy (but they will).

But performance isn't everthing its the result that matters and the points are in the bag.

Sweden 0 - 0 Trinadad & Tobago

In the other group B match the fancied Swedes played like turnips and looked like they couldn't score in a brothel. Hats off to outsiders Trinadad who had a plyer sent off so played a long time a man short.

Argentina 2 - 1 Ivory Coast

Good opening win for the Argies against the African Champions in the group of death. The best match so far in the tournament.

Tomorrows matches :-

Serbia v Holland

Mexico v Iran

Angola v Portugal

Weight Loss Update

Last week 227lb

This week 225lb

2lb weight loss is better than none at all like last week but I amm certainly stuggling to make my 215lb target before my next vacation (in two weeks).

Three Lions on My Shirt

Today the greatest sporting event in the world starts and will last just over 4 weeks. The soccer World Cup finals after 4 years of qualifying we are down to the last 32 countries and yes England are there. Ok we only have ever won it once (1966) but the country is gripped with football fever.

Cars, houses are flying the George Cross (Englands flag) in anticipation of the coming victory.

The 32 countries are initially split into 8 groups of 4 with the top two from each qualifying for the knock out stage.

Today's matches are from Group "A" with Host nation Germany versus Costa Rica and Poland versus Equador (I reckon Germany and Poland should qualify from this section).

England start tommorrow in group "B"against Paraguay with Sweden and Trinadad making up the group.
(My tip England and Sweden but I wouldn't write off Paraguay).

The other groups (my tips in bold) are :-
C - Argentina, Ivory Coast, Holland & Serbia (tough group this)
D - Mexico, Iran, Angola & Portugal.
E - Italy , Ghana, USA & Czech Republic (2nd place too close to call but I hope USA can do it as they have a Leeds player Eddie Lewis in their squad, sorry I mean I love my American blogging friends).
F - Brazil, Croatia, Australia & Japan (but don't count the Aussies out if Viduka and Kewell perform).
G - France, Switzerland, South Korea & Togo.
H - Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia & Saudi Arabia (don't rule out a shock here though).

Come on England you can do it.

In the top 100 again

Ive just seen the latest National Ranking lists and I have managed to make the top 100 players in England in the Veterans age group (over 40). I am ranked at number 98. This is quite good as it will get me selected for Yorkshire 2nd team in the county championships next season. I should be ranked at No1 in the team which means I will get the tougher matches which I want (I love a challenge). This is the first time I've made the top 100 for 4 years.

National Ranking Lists

This coming weekend I am playing a major Grand prix tournament at Doncaster Dome (about 20 mile from my house). There will be players from all over the country competing and it will be really tough. I'm hoping to get some good results to try lift my ranking even higher.

I will be playing in 4 events Mens Singles, Veterans, and also Bands 2 & 3. The banded event is where you compete against players of similar ranking (these are really open events with everyone having a genuine chance), there are 6 bands altogether with the top players in band one and so on. I am a band three player and I can also play in band two as you are allowed to enter one level above.

I am unsure how I will do because I probably haven't trained enough lately but I played quite well in our club tournament last weekend so you never know.

Doncaster Draw

Global Warming - A World Problem

One of my blogging friends Regina has just put an article on her blog about the new Al Gore documentry "An Inconvenient Truth" which tackles the issue of Global warming.

Although It is normally not my policy to comment on political issues I believe this to be so important it is worth my comments (this is a world issue). On Regina's blog I said that I believe Europe to be ahead of the US with its policy's but I accept we still have a long way to go. I also mentioned that the US gets stick in the British press for their policy's.

www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1153530,00.html

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/2004/369/index.html?id=pp6.htm

Back to the documentry Regina highlights the case of the drowning Polar Bear due to the receeding Ice Cap, she also mentions more violent storms like Katrina, these are real issues.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1938132,00.html

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/archive/12/la.htm

We all have a duty to reduce our use of fossil fuels or be prepared for a different world. It is up to our governments to take the lead and help make it cheaper to use alternatives.

Ok if anyone is on board with me on this lets have suggestions what we can do ?
Here are some to start :-
1. Buy a smaller car that does more miles per gallon (I've done this but the decision was more to do with cost of running a big car).
2. Walk or Bike short journeys.
3. Turn off Electrical appliances when not required.
4. Share lifts to work (how many cars do you see with one person in).
5. Use Public transport (depends if you have a good system where you live).
6. Use enviromentally friendly washing powders and detergents.
7. Share your shower (I'm looking for volunteers).
8.

Boston Questions

Following the recent opinions of my blog readers in which Boston was voted the best city to visit I have been checking it out. I have some questions :-

When I search for Hotels the website gives me 4 areas to choose hotels, what is your opinion of these areas ?
1. Back Bay
2. Logan Airport
3. QuincyMarket-Financial District-Waterfront.
4. Theatre District-Downtown Crossing

The best hotel deal in each area I can find is :-
1. (Back bay) John Hancock Hotel & Conference Centre or Hotel 140 (both slightly more expensive than I would like).
2. (Airport) Embassy Suites - apparently close to train station and not a problem getting into town. Can get a decent deal here.
3. (Quincy) Harborside Inn of Boston (more expensive than I really want)
4. (Theatre) Milner Hotel - much cheaper than anything else, is it a dump or bad area ?
Other hotels in this area are far too expensive.

Can you give any opinions on these hotels ?

Does the train system operate 24 hours ?

Why hasn't the weight dropped off ?

10 days ago my weight was 227lbs

Since then I have not been out drinking alcohol.
I have walked to work most days (2.5mile each way).
I have been careful what I eat (porridge at breakfast, only 3 pieces of fruit during the day, proper meal after work with no dessert) .
I have played a Table Tennis tournament (11 * 5 set matches) ok had 2 beers after this but I was knackered.
I have played a round of golf (ok had two beers to be socialable afterwards).
Did a 2 hour Table Tennis training session with a good player (hard work).

Now I expected my weight to have dropped but it has not moved still 227lbs (I have now only 3 weeks to make my target of 215lbs before my vacation).

I am p****d off.

New Software for Boys

Last night I published a Post for Girls but now it is time for the boys to have a laugh.

Girlfriend 1.0Important user notes:
Last year a friend of mine upgraded GirlFriend 1.0 to Wife 1.0 and found that it's a memory hog leaving very little system resources for other applications. He is only now noticing that Wife 1.0 also is spawning Child-Processes which are further consuming valuable resources. No mention of this particular phenomena was included in the product brochure or the documentation, though other users have informed him that this is to be expected due to the nature of the application.
Not only that, Wife 1.0 installs itself such that it is always launched at system initialization where it can monitor all other system activity. He's finding that some applications such as PokerNight 10.3, BeerBash 2.5, and PubNight 7.0 are no longer able to run in the system at all, crashing the system when selected (even though they always worked fine before). At installation, Wife 1.0 provides no option as to the installation of undesired Plug-Ins such as MotherInLaw 55.8 and BrotherInLaw Beta release. Also, system performance seems to diminish with each passing day.
The features he'd like to see in the upcoming Wife 2.0 include:
- A "Don't remind me again" button
-Minimize button
- An install shield feature that allows Wife 2.0 to be installed with the option to uninstall at any time without the loss of cache and other system resources.
- An option to run the network driver in promiscuous mode which would allow the systems hardware probe feature to be much more useful.
I myself decided to avoid all of the headaches associated with Wife 1.0 by sticking with Girlfriend 2.0. Even here, however, I found many problems. Apparently you cannot install Girlfriend 2.0 on top of Girlfriend 1.0. You must uninstall Girlfriend 1.0 first. Other users say this is a long standing bug which I should have been aware of. Apparently the versions of Girlfriend have conflicts over shared use of the I/O port. You think they would have fixed such a stupid bug by now. To make matters worse, the uninstall program for Girlfriend 1.0 doesn't work very well leaving undesirable traces of the application in the system. Another thing that sucks -- all versions of Girlfriend continually pop-up little annoying messages about the advantages of upgrading to Wife 1.0
BUG WARNING
Wife 1.0 has an undocumented bug. If you try to install Mistress 1.1 before uninstalling Wife 1.0, Wife 1.0 will delete MSMoney files before doing the uninstall itself. Then Mistress 1.1 will refuse to install, claiming insufficient resources.
BUG WORK-AROUNDS To avoid the above bug, try installing Mistress 1.1 on a different system and never run any file transfer applications such as LapLink 6.0. Also, beware of similar shareware applications that have been known to carry viruses that may affect Wife 1.0. Another solution would be to run Mistress 1.0 via a UseNet provider under an anonymous name. Here again, beware of the viruses which can accidentally be downloaded from the UseNet.

New Software for Girls

I found this on a website and I think some of my lady readers may find it amusing.
Husband 1.0
Important user notes:
There are alot of pressures to upgrade from Boyfriend 6.0 to Husband 1.0. However before doing so make sure you understand the implications of this change...
For one, system activity will be severely limited and you will be compelled to instigate rigorous daily routines in space management, garbage disposal and disc cleaning often with an accompanying increase in system administration. This program can also be a drain on many resources and demand constant attention. You will encounter an increased amount of interrupts and error messages, while the program often cancels processes without warning, very often crashing the system. In addition, Husband 1.0 often refuses to respond to your commands and frequently appears to be running processes which you have not authorised. If this happens a lot, do not respond to any interactive requests from the program and severely limit demand for extra bytes.
Every evening there will be a huge surge in demand for megabytes and if not satisfied, the process will become unresponsive and has been known on occasion to damage hardware.
Every so often you will be promised a new release of the program, but unfortunately, upon loading this new release, it is generally found to be almost identical to the old one, with very few feature changes and most of the same old annoying bugs which you were undoubtedly promised would not be there in the new release. Put up with it or discontinue use entirely. Husband 1.0 is a flawed program; many of the bugs are so deeply encoded that, even if they can be located, they are inpossible to eradicate and have to be tolerated.
Husband 1.0 will frequently make use of low level language and may not understand higher level commands so you must be prepared to use basic functions when required. Often a few robust algorithms in handshaking mode will produce a good response.
After a while, Husband 1.0 has a tendency to take up more space than originally allocated, often spreading in size and slowing down correspondingly. If this happens, be very careful as there is increased risk of complete system failure. Around this time, Husband 1.0 will also tend to lose bits from the top of the stack, although these will often multiply and be found lower down the stack.
Another problem with this program is that Husband 1.0 can also spawn unknown child processes, which can sometimes inadvertently appear, make huge demands on the program and force unwanted interaction with old versions of 1.nightstand.
Sometimes, Husband 1.0 will end a process prematurely, before you have the required result. This generally results in spawned processes scattered over your system which must be located and removed. More often than not, however, Husband 1.0 will appear to take an inordinately long time to complete a relatively simple process. While waiting for tedious processes to complete you may find it useful to distract yourself by perusing manuals for alternative programs, Stud 2.0 or Lover 6.9
On completion of a process, Husband 1.0 will often inadvertently apply the sleep command, or suspend system activity with a Ctrl ZZ. There is nothing you can do in this case, but leave the program and try again later.
Ultimately, as the program becomes older, it will become more difficult to produce hardcopy, and you will find that most of you work ends up on floppies. In addition, you will be needing software support more often than you'd like. If and when this happens, try to find a copy of Toyboy 1.1. Make sure you have used Ctrl ZZ on Husband 1.0 before loading Toyboy 1.1 and, of course, check for viruses before using any new program. Toyboy 1.1 should come with new hardware which can be plugged into any of your ports.

North American Cities to Visit - The result

This is the result of the bloggers advice on which cities I should visit (New York, Chicago, Memphis, Nashville & St Louis were excluded from this as I have already visited them cities).

1. Boston - 19 points
2. Washington - 12
3. Seattle - 11
4. Philadelphia - 10
5. Atlanta - 9
6. Denver - 8
7. Vancouver - 6
8= Toronto - 5
Fort worth - 5
Portland - 5

Other suggestions were - Victoria (4pts), Kansas City, Orlando, San Francisco, Key west (3pts),
Cape Cod, Montreal, Sante Fe, Whistler (2pts) & Savanah, Ottawa (1pt).

I will consider (and read up) all these suggestions and certainly be visiting many of them. I was surprised some of the cities that are excluded that I have been considering in the past (New Orleans, Austin, L.A., Vegas, etc.).

Thanks to everyone that made suggestions, I appreciate it. Also welcome to all new bloggers that posted comments.

To answer questions,

Dcnats,
Your correct about considering Mexico and I will in future, I just have planned US & Canada over the next couple of years. There is also a lot of South America I want to see in future years.

Sonrisa,
I have visited Chicago in summer I was in the city last year during the "Taste of Chicago". I was also there in October, December & April so I have seen all the seasons (Hot & Cold). I will be back on my way home from St Louis on July 2nd for 8 nights, I love your City.

Rachel,
Don't know about the Staffordshire Potteries (wrong side of the hills) but I will ask around.