TELEVISION, DRUG OF THE NATION

Tuesday 12 February 2008

WMESB™: The X57 stopped at the Learmonth Hotel by mistake this morning so I got off there and saved myself £1 and 20 minutes.

I forgot to mention yesterday that we won £25, a runners-up prize, in the Sunday Express Skeleton crossword. It was in the GLW’s name but I fill them all in. That’ll go towards the Sky+ fund.

You would think it’d be easy to order Sky+ but it isn’t. It’s £99 for the box if you order online, as opposed to the normal £149, but I can’t seem to be able to get it without being taken to page offering other services/products. What’s more, new customers, when they purchase it along with other services, get installation for £30, while loyal customers like me would have to fork out £60 just for the installation of the Sky+ box. I think I’d rather do without than pay £159. I may have to phone them. In the end I decided to ask for advice from a website forum that knows about such things.

I’ve also finally sent off to do my Pass Plus course. Uptake in Fife is so poor that Fife Council, in conjunction with Fife Constabulary, only charges £35, a 75% reduction. Anything that can reduce our car insurance is worth doing.

So that’s the TV, telephone, Broadband and car insurance sorted. I’m also going to get back on the prize draw trail, which was reasonably profitable, and try and do a pub quiz in Dunfermline on a Monday night. There’s supposed to be a new pub opening up near Tesco and it’d be nice to get one there, within walking distance of home. Maybe I should try for a quiz on a Tuesday night because, quite frankly, the telly’s gash. I only watch “Shameless”, which isn’t as good as it was but is still better than most things.

FLYING THE FLAG

Wednesday 13 February 2008

WMESB™: The X57 again stopped where it shouldn’t and I took advantage.

I had a couple more pieces in the Recommends section of The Scotsman today. One was “Best Valentine’s Day Events” and the other was for “Musical Valentines”.

The Evening News are at it again. Yet again a positive story is turned into another pathetic piece of snidy anti-gay propaganda and what the “magic circle” references, tagged on to either end of the story, have got to do with the flag story is beyond me. What’s interesting is that they haven’t actually spoken to any current members of staff because if they did they’d find a lot of support for it. But they don’t make good press. The ex-member of staff quoted must have got in touch with the paper him/herself to stir it up. Bitter or what? And for someone to walk out because of the flag on “religious grounds” is nothing more pathetic piece of attention-seeking. Whoever you are, give yourself a bloody good shake. This is 2008 and we live in a modern multi-cultural society, get over it. If you don’t like it, foxtrot oscar!

That story almost annoys me as much as this one from the same paper. “McMillan told police officers he did not think it was particularly loud” – what, so he turned it up! Twice!! When they crushed his car they should have put him in it. Scum like this really get me wound up. Their sole purpose in life is to upset people and they don’t care about the consequences. Whatever he gets sentenced to it, it won’t be enough. Let this be a lesson to other anti-social scumbags.

(Paul puts away his soap box and walks off, mumbling inaudibly to himself...)

Competition news: My prize still hasn't arrived from Mojo and that's been about 6/7 weeks now. However, I have won another prize from a football website. I've won a pair of Nike football boots, some training cones, a water bottle and a rucksack. Maybe this'll encourage me to get my fitness sorted out. I've had a persistent groin problem which just won't go away. A physio gave me some exercises to do but I've now lost the sheet.

Was it any coincidence that in Tesco tonight the chocolate, champagnes and Valentine's cards section was in the same aisle as, and directly opposite, the condoms?

Every year I do a quiz night for the GLW's office and on the back of that I've been offered another one today. The problem is that it's a charity quiz and whilst it may be for a good cause, I'm loathe to do it for nothing. I put a lot of work into my quiz nights and I've said I'll do it for half my normal (corporate) fee. My agent (the GLW) has left the ball in their court. You do one for nothing and they all want it for free. No more Mr Nice Guy! I've got a mortgage to pay and a wife to keep in shoes.

It surely isn't a coincidence but tonight BT called us and offered to take £2 a month off our Broadband bill. How on earth did they know we were thinking of changing? The GLW played a straight bat and said if we needed to speak to them, we'd give them a call. (Obviously at the weekend, when it's free!)