Be still my beating heart

we've got about 160,000 auction photos to archive so this new AWS offering looks handy, not that S3 ever cost that much anyway.

Dear Amazon Web Services customer, 

We are excited to announce a new, lower-cost Amazon S3 storage class for data that is accessed less frequently. Amazon S3 Standard - Infrequent Access (Standard - IA) offers the high durability, low latency, and high throughput of Amazon S3 Standard, but with prices starting at $0.0125 per GB per month, $0.01 per GB retrieval fee, and a 30-day storage minimum. This combination of low cost and high performance makes Standard - IA ideal for long-term file storage, backups, and disaster recovery. 

Additionally, effective September 1, 2015, we are decreasing the price of Amazon Glacier storage by up to 36% for the US East (Northern Virginia), US West (Oregon), and Europe (Ireland) regions. Today's price drop continues the AWS tradition of reducing our costs and passing the savings along to our customers. This price reduction will take effect automatically and no action is required on your part. 

You can now choose between three Amazon S3 storage classes that are designed for 99.999999999% durability: Standard, Standard - IA, and Amazon Glacier. Amazon S3 Standard is secure, highly scalable object storage with very low latency, high throughput, and a Service Level Agreement (SLA) of 99.9% availability, making it suitable for a wide variety of applications and workloads that frequently access data such as business applications, dynamic web sites, content distribution, and big data analytics. For data that is less active, but must be immediately accessible when needed, the new Amazon S3 Standard - IA introduces a reduced per GB storage price, with an availability SLA of 99%. For longer-term archiving where immediate access is not required, Amazon Glacier is the lowest cost Amazon S3 storage option, available for as little as $0.007/GB per month. 

Amazon S3 also allows you to define configurable lifecycle policies at the bucket level that will automatically move objects to the preferred storage option. For example, you can store data into the Amazon S3 Standard storage class, move it to Standard - IA 30 days after it has been uploaded, and then to Amazon Glacier 60 days later. These transitions happen without any changes to the application, or to the Amazon S3 bucket where the object is stored. 

For more information on today's announcements, read the AWS blog and visit theAmazon S3 webpage. 

Sincerely, 
The Amazon Web Services Team

Spectrumm

I had to go the office on Sunday when I got back from Wales to work on a bid. The Bikini Beach Band were playing so I whipped out the iPhone to preserve it for posterity. It was all part of something called the Spectrumm Festival (a weekend of free pop-up events at Merton Abbey Mills) that had somehow passed me by. I guess it shows how distracted I am lately.

They have been inching the BlundaBus (a double decker bar and venue) out of the site this morning. Rather Mick than me.

And they're off

The school U15s have successfully navigated round one of the NatWest Cup with a 40-21 win away at Hinchley Wood School including a score from Ben. They are in the London & SE A group.

Wednesday's game with Christ's Hospital has been postponed, which may be a blessing in disguise at this stage of the season as they were the Sussex champions last year and came out of the traps with a 52-0 in the first game of this campaign.

Fingers crossed this means the boys will be rested and confident for the next game which is a home Surrey Cup fixture with Rodborough School a week today.

Catholic Throwdown

Jack White and Stephen Colbert's Catholic throwdown plus red wine could help slow dementia onset (but you'd have to drink 1,000 bottles a day). You'd have to be one of my brothers or sisters to understand quite how neatly this juxtaposition encapsulates the weekend I have just spent with mum and dad.

Education is important but rugby is importanter

In the week the World cup kicks off, here is a little crib on the Kiwi's haka.

Lifestyle Fitness

I am back down in Cardiff, helping run Mum and Dad round on various errands. Part of that will be taking the old fella to Lifestyle Fitness club in Rover Way today.

Looking at the website yesterday I saw a could get a day pass for myself at a reasonable £7.50 so that is what I have done. I didn't manage to train when I was last down a fortnight ago, or indeed when I was in Wales the fortnight before that, so an account with Lifestyle Fitness (email username and usual password) should be just the job for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

I sell mirrors to the blind

I see, by the miracle of writing here almost every day, that I have been doing yoga for getting on six years now, but I didn't understand until I came across the video clip above this morning that I should - in Steve Maxwell's terms - be working towards being more mobile rather than more flexible.

You should watch it as well.

a problem you didn't know you had

YoYo Mat is the world's only self-rolling fitness and yoga mat. It stays flat when in use and rolls up by itself tightly when you are done!

Apple launch yesterday? Schmapple launch yesterday!

Dr Strabismus of Utrecht is working hard on about fourteen thousand and fifty new inventions. These include a collapsible salt-bag, a bottle with its neck in the middle, a rice-sifter, a stanchion to prop up other stanchions, a suet-container, a fog-horn key, a leather grape, a new method of stencilling on ivory, basalt cubes for roofing swimming baths, a fox-trap, a dummy jelly-fish, waterproof onions, false teeth for swordfish, a method of freezing meat-skewers, a hand-woven esparto grass egg-cosy which plays Thora when released from the egg, a glass stilt, a revolving wheel-barrow, an iron thumb for postmen, a hash-pricker, a beer-swivel with blunt flanges and a red go-by, a fish-detector, a screw for screwing screws into other screws, hot pliers, a plush sausage-sharpener, a rope-soled skate for use in mountain quarries, an oiled cork for use in rabbit-hutches, a cheese anchor and a chivet for screaming radishes.

Meet the Bohos

I read about Bohemian guitars this morning on the Amazon Web Services 'blog this morning. Jeff Barr interviewed one of their founders at the at the AWS Loft in San Francisco. Recycled oil can guitars! Why didn't anyone think of that before?

I am going to the AWS Pop-up Loft London Opening Party on Thursday because I am so ineffably cool.

Educating Cardiff

A British jihadist has been killed by UK forces in Syria after he directed a plot to kill the Queen, it emerged on Monday night.

In a move David Cameron said was “a new departure” for Britain, Reyaad Khan was last month assassinated in an RAF drone strike after security services uncovered his bid to stage a terror attack in the UK.

The Prime Minister said that it is the first time UK forces have directed a targeted attack against one of its own citizens when Britain is not at war.

......

The Prime Minister authorised the strike without the approval of Parliament but said that it did not require a vote because it was an act of “self-defence” for which there was a “clear legal basis”.

Wow, that is - once again - the Reyaad Khan (see Icons Passim) who went to Willows and then St David's just round the corner from Bronwydd Avenue. Does this mean he wasn't killed as previously reported in July? I shed no tears for him, but I don't know what I make of this "clear legal basis."

If I had been born later I would have gone to St David's. My generation went to St Illtyd's in Cardiff. We did Robert Bolt's A Man for all Seasons at O level.

What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? ... And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you – where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's, and if you cut them down – and you're just the man to do it – do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

Stiffen the sinews

Simon Church's injury-time goal being ruled out for offside at the end of a goalless draw with Israel, the champagne is still on ice as Chris Coleman's side have not yet absolutely confirmed an end to Wales' 57-year absence from major soccer tournaments.

A damp squib of a weekend for the Principality's rugby and football teams really.

The Bomber's rugby season is now under way. We had the first weekend training session at the Ruts yesterday and their first game is a friendly against Worthing Sunday week.

The school's U15 schedule is on http://www.schoolsrugby.co.uk/Team.aspx?ID=901&TID=334057. Their first game is a NatWest cup fixture a week today.

I ought to add http://www.schoolsrugby.co.uk/Team.aspx?ID=901&TID=334055 to my resources here as well in case he turns out for the year above this season as he did in the big games last year.

Be careful what you wish for

I blogged earlier this week that http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbctwo?area=wales was the link needed to watch BBC2 Wales last night on a browser to get the Wales Italy game live on the iPlayer.

This link won't work on the apps you get on other things like the iPad or Amazon Fire Stick but I have discovered that on them that if you go to settings and change your location to Wales you get BBC2 Wales by default when you watch live. This would have been a handy thing to have discovered a long time ago for all sorts of coverage we can't get in Sarf Lahndan, and worked a treat at 5pm last night.

Now that the smoke has cleared, and with Webb and Halfpenny as casualties I almost wish I hadn'r seen the game. That said I have stumped up my £6.99 this morning to Sky Now so I can get the Wales Israel footie tonight.

The New Colossus?

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

Many Obstacles Are Seen to U.S. Taking in Large Number of Syrian Refugees - The New York Times, yesterday.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Behold, he that keepeth Israel

I've turned the sound down, but unless the source gets removed for copyright reasons last night's winning goal against Cyprus will loop here for ever.

Wales manager Chris Coleman has urged fans to get "carried away" but says he and his players will not do so until they have qualified for Euro 2016.

Having beaten Cyprus 1-0 on Thursday, Wales can seal qualification with victory against Israel on Sunday.

Coleman believes ending Wales' 58-year absence from a major tournament would be just reward for the supporters.

"For the Welsh supporters waiting for us to get back home, get excited," Coleman said.

"My message to them is to get carried away. Enjoy this - they've waited a long time.

But we can't get carried away. I can't, the players can't, my staff can't and we won't."

The story so far

About tonight:

By winning in Cyprus and defeating Israel, Wales would go to 20 points. That would mean Israel and Cyprus could only reach 18 points at best.

Even if Bosnia draw in Brussels, the maximum total they could then reach from their last three games would also be 18.

 So Wales would be in the finals, with Belgium almost certainly joining them from Group B.

If Bosnia defeat Belgium and also take maximum points from their other games, the most they could get to would be 20.

Wales would already be on that tally, meaning a draw at home to Andorra would be enough. It would also mean Belgium could only get to 20 points themselves and because Wales have the better head-to-head results against them that would stand Coleman's side in good stead.

But what if we don't win these September games? Well that’s feasible and why the mathematics make it hard to work out. But even if Wales were to lose the next three games - Cyprus (away), Israel (home), Bosnia (away) they have a get out of jail free card at home to Andorra.

That would take them to 17 points and in truth that could well be enough, anyhow.
Remember, the Wales doomsday scenario would be based on us losing and the other sides collecting close on maximum points hauls, but they have to play each other anyhow so something has to give.

Bosnia and Israel each have to visit Belgium, while Cyprus also play them. The Belgians are likely to win most of those games.

Israel also meet Cyprus, while the Cypriots take on Bosnia at home in their last match.

It's all too much of an ice cream headache for me. I think I will bin the Cyprus game and just go out for a couple of sun downers with the burglar after work before heading back home for the new Danny Baker sitcom. If we beat Cyprus I will be glued to Sky Sports One on Sunday night for the Israel game though.

A slow news day

A bridge in Merton has been revealed as one of the top places in the country to play Poohsticks.

The white "fairy-tale" bridge in Morden Hall Park was named by Visit England as the second best in the country to play the stick-racing game, made famous by the fictional children's book character Winnie the Pooh.

The game involves dropping sticks over a bridge and waiting to see whose stick emerges from the other side of the bridge first.

Described as a "serene oasis at the end of the Northern Line", the National Trust park's bridge was judged as the best place in London to play the game.

Thrilling eh? You should live near such a park. So what if the survey found it to be only the second best in the country. Second to what? Sheepwash Bridge in Ashford in the Water, Derbyshire. Sheepwash Bridge in Ashford? Sheepwash Bridge in Schmashford!

Beer by the River, Morden Hall Park has got this weekend. You prefer a sheep dipping bridge? Here, feel a gabardine—how can you doubt?

Ranking

The final world cup warm up game against Italy in the Millenium Stadium is at 5 o'clock in Saturday. it is only going to be shown on the regional BBC2 Wales channel so those of us who live in England will have to watch it on the iPlayer at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbctwo?area=wales.

The Welsh win against Ireland on Saturday moved them up to fifth in the world rugby rankings ahead of England who have slipped to sixth.

There are two important Welsh football internationals coming up, both on Sky Sports 1; Cyprus away on Thursday and then Israel at home on Sunday. If we win both we will have qualified for the European Championships. The first time we have got the the finals of a major event for over half a century.

More good news is that rankings expert Eduard Ranghiuc, has predicted that when the latest FIFA figures are published on September 3, Wales will be at number nine and above England at ten. Four years ago they were 117th.

That is right, come Thursday Wales will be above England in the world rankings in rugby and football simultaneously.

Wales World Cup Squad

Forwards: Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Paul James (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Bradley Davies (Wasps), Dominic Day (Bath), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), James King (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues).

Backs: Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Ospreys), Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Jamie Roberts (Harlequins), Scott Williams (Scarlets Hallam Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon), Matthew Morgan (Bristol), George North (Northampton Saints), Liam Williams (Scarlets).

Double feature

Listen To Me Marlon is out in UK cinemas on October 23, followed by a digital, DVD and Blu-ray release in November.

It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means.



These two movies,  a pizza and a wine box. Now that would be a night worth staying in for.

the morning after

I am firing this post up before I leave London for Cardiff. Never having got round to Saul Bellow before I have downloaded an audio version of The Adventures of Augie March.

It is over 22 hours long so it may be a while before I let you know you I got on with it.

weekend

Uncle Michael's funeral is today; my godfather and my mother's brother.

three sided football

3sf was originally conceived by Asger Jorn, a Danish artist and philosopher, in 1966 as a method of explaining his refinement of the Marxist dialectic (resulting in something Jorn referred to as "triolectics"). Jorn was a member of the Situationist International, a loose organisation of anarchists, Marxists and avant-garde artists who had become disillusioned not only with the promises of the increasing technological rationalisation of everyday life under capitalism, but also the dogmatic responses of the anti-capitalist intelligentsia at the time. They sought creative alternatives to all facets of life, seeking to deconstruct the limits of work, play and everything in between. Although Jorn's theoretical reworking of a central Marxist tenet never really took off, his attempt left a legacy that is increasingly felt around the world.

"Jorn was hopeless at trying to describe [triolectics]," said Dyson. "He was coming completely out of left field, and no one had a clue what he was talking about. So he came up with the metaphor of three-sided football to explain it."

In keeping with the anti-authoritarian spirit that gave birth to the sport, the rules of 3sf are few, and considered more as guiding principles than steadfast laws. In general, the game should involve a ball, three teams and a hexagonal pitch – anything beyond this is subject to spontaneous revision.

Unlike conventional football, a team doesn't win by scoring the most goals, but rather victory is predicated on how few goals a team concedes to its opponents. This arrangement is supposedly meant to expose the ideological underpinnings of conventional football, which is confrontational, aggressive and deterministic: there is generally a clear winner and loser, and players must operate in accordance with rigid rules and well-defined strategies.

Off me head son.

Kindle Owners' Lending Library

Borrow one Kindle book per month from over 500,000 titles for free on any Kindle device with no due dates.

I have worked out that you can't get at the Kindle Owners' Lending Library from the Amazon website, you have to do it from a Kindle device directly. My stumbling block now is finding anything worth "borrowing."

Emergency. Paging Dr Beat

I was back at the Antelope quiz last night for the first time in four weeks what with one thing and another. We drew for first place but only got the second prize of a £25 quid bar tab as Andrew got beaten in a rock, paper, scissors tie break.

We should really have won as I identified Dr Beat by Miami Sound Machine in the music round, but dropped a point when the stand-in quiz master would only accept Gloria Estafan as the artist. We were right and he was wrong. When I worked in Fluor there was a draughtsman in the control and instrumentation department who used to sing it all day long. It drove me nuts at the time, but the song has been in my bones ever since.

The team didn't win or even place at all while I was unavailable. There is an atavistic side to me that doesn't really mind.

A beginner's guide

Nominations opened on June 9. The voting process began on Friday 14 August 2015 and will close on Thursday 10 September 2015, with the results announced on Saturday 12 September 2015. This leadership election feels to me as if it has been going on forever.

Renato Guttuso

I stayed in last night. Herself is away on holiday so I had to be on duty to feed, water and lodge the bomber when he got back from stray cat strutting the environs.

I watched a show called Sicily Unpacked - Andrew Graham-Dixon and Giorgio Locatelli take viewers on a journey into the heart of Sicily and introduce one another to the food and art of the island.

I was very taken by a painting by Renato Guttuso  called La Vucciria that featured in it. Note to self: find out more about Guttusso.

99p

99p ain't too shabby for a movie with Best Picture, Actor and Adapted Screenplay, among other, nods at this year's Oscars.

The Bomber and I finished season 1 (all 23 episodes) of Arrow last night on Prime Video. Is Amazon taking over the world?

Ashley Madison

I am (hat tip, Kali) fairly sure that this will not be the thing that causes the collapse of western civilization.

Nemesis in Echo and Narcissus

This is pretty much how I feel staring at my computer screen this morning.

I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me five.

Fire stick

Mr D. says:

Why does Fire Stick not work with Prime Music? Every attempt at loading my library has failed...despite the party tricks (previous posts). It works on all my other third party devices!...just not yours!....😒

Reply to this post

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In reply to an earlier post on 28 Jul 2015 16:43:58 BDT
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HartWud says:

I had that problem initially, but -
Step 1: go to Settings and select Applications, then select Manage Installed Apps, then select Amazon Music and Force Stop then Clear Data,
Step 2: then disconnect power from your FiresStick (Restart is usually ok, but I needed to disconnect power too),
Step 3: wait a few secs, then reconnect power to the FireStick and it will restart and reload everything

- my playlists and everything now show up fine!

So do mine (see Icons passim). Thanks HartWud. I also added a new album to my library last night after I had done the Force Stop and Clear. It showed up on the Fire Stick in real time so this is a once and for all fix, which is a relief. The only caveat is that you can't manage your library on the Fire Stick. Adding music has to be done on a different device.

Moksh

I was watching Great British Menu - Series 10: 11. Wales Starter on the iPlayer last night and was intrigued by chef Stephen Gomes of Moksh, whose modern Indian fusion cuisine with elements of molecular cooking has apparently made it the the best Indian restaurant in Wales.

I should try and get along there for “chocolate orange chicken tikka” or “chicken with cinnamon nitro essence” next time I am in Cardiff. It is in Bute Crescent down the Bay.

The tasting menu ought to hit the spot.

Straight Outta Morden

I'm back to London and to work. Same old, same old. People need killing.

iSkin

iSkin: Flexible, Stretchable and Visually Customizable On-Body Touch Sensors for Mobile Computing.

Play the video and tell me that the voice of the narrator is not precisely what you have always imagined Dr. Strabismus (Whom God Preserve) of Utrecht would sound like.

Early Years

Nursery teachers and parents face uncertainty about their school's future after owners submitted a planning application to turn it into a four-storey block of flats with a basement extension.

The Early Years Day Care Nursery in Cavendish Road, Colliers Wood, is a privately-run nursery which looks after 37 children aged between three months and four-and-a-half years.

Nursery owners submitted the plans to Merton Council earlier this month to convert the building into 10 three-bedroom flats.

But it was only after parent Branwyn Darlington, who lives in Cavendish Road, received notification about the plans from the council that nursery staff were informed of the proposal.

The HR manager and mother-of-two said: "We are all upset. We all want the nursery to stay open.

"The thing that is really upsetting to a lot of use is that their initial planning application went in April which was rejected and now they have put this one in and they never said anything to anyone."

Nursery owner Dr Mahadeo Bhide has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Sharon Mills, who has been manager at the nursery for the past 15 years, said: "It was a shock. I only found out on Monday last week from one of the parents.

"The staff are upset of course. We don't know how long we have got."

Councillor Nick Draper, who represents Colliers Wood, described the plan as "outrageous" in a letter of objection to the council's planning department.

He wrote: "It's a nursery, and should in my opinion remain as such. If that isn't sufficient reason in itself, it's an awful plan, with low ceilings and pokey rooms, with a frightening basement, barely fitting into the site. Please reject it."

Seven people have already written letters to the council objecting to the plans, including Councillor Laxmi Attawar and a police crime prevention officer.

You can see the full planning application here.

Ben went to the Early Years nursery, so I know Sharon and still bump into her occasionally round and about. A nursery it should stay.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Warren Gatland has dropped British and Irish Lions trio Mike Phillips, James Hook and Richard Hibbard from his 2015 World Cup training squad. They are joined by less experienced players Nicky Smith, Rory Thornton, Dan Baker, Rhys Patchell and Jack Dixon in having their tournament hopes dashed.

He can't be accused of ducking difficult decisions.

Clockwise from top left: Rhys Patchell, Mike Phillips, Richard Hibbard, Rory Thornton, Jack Dixon, Dan Baker, James Hook and Nicky Smith

may the endorse be with you

Labour faces 'annihilation' under Jeremy Corbyn, Tony Blair has warned in a dramatic late intervention, yet here he is with C3PO and Luke Skywalker. Blair turned to the dark side a long time ago.

Darth Vader: Your powers are weak, old man.

Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Grub

Why shouldn’t there be a canon of taste, like other canons of our civilisation, those of literature, art, music, architecture, religion and science? We have a global palate now, and with that, a new willingness to cross-pollinate and revivify regional foodways – and even ways of staging food at the table.

I'm back in harness now. Did I tell you my paella was very well received last night at the camp site?

This Canon of Taste article, has also brought Southern Provisions: The Creation and Revival of a Cuisine into my purview and a copy should be winging my way shortly. Whatever happened to Route 55...... or Dixie Zen?

Now think on't, dot dot dot dot dot ...

Off the grid

The Bomber and I are off on a trip to James and Claire's new camp site, so I will be off the grid and out of the gym until them middle of next week.

We're glamping in a handcrafted gypsy style, furnished camping pod with two real beds, an electric kettle, an electric cool box and heater, so I will be able to sit outside blowing the froth off a cold one tomorrow while the rest of the party struggle with their tents.

Ludi Cruz

Candidate Ted Cruz will participate in today's televised Republican presidential debate. When he is not doing that he likes to prepare breakfast by wrapping the muzzle of a machine gun with bacon and squeezing off a few bursts of fire to cook it.

That said he may be preferable to the pestiferous, billowing cloud of attention-grabbing antimatter we've seen in the form of Donald Trump, a flesh-contoured steam vessel piloted by a series of tiny, frightened goblins with expired real estate licenses. Hat tip, Esquire.

Wikipedia:

Cruz graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1992. While at Princeton, he competed for the American Whig-Cliosophic Society's Debate Panel and won the top speaker award at both the 1992 U.S. National Debating Championship and the 1992 North American Debating Championship. In 1992, he was named U.S. National Speaker of the Year, as well as Team of the Year, with his debate partner, David Panton. Cruz and Panton represented Harvard Law School at the 1995 World Debating Championship, making it to the semi-finals, where they lost to a team from Australia. Princeton's debate team later named their annual novice championship after Cruz.

After graduating from Princeton, Cruz attended Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1995 with a Juris Doctor degree. While at Harvard Law, he was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review, and executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review. Referring to Cruz's time as a student at Harvard Law, Professor Alan Dershowitz said, "Cruz was off-the-charts brilliant." At Harvard Law, Cruz was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics.

It does make you wonder why he feels he has to put on this "he may be a fool but he's our fool" redneck act.

alcoholic architecture

How often has a crowded bar ruined your evening? Wouldn't life be easier if you could just get your kick from the air around you? Bompas & Parr's new "alcoholic architecture" bar in Borough Market allows you to do just that, filtering alcoholic vapour into a small, extremely cloudy room and letting your nasal passages do the rest.

What with this and the Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town, I think that there may be a whimsical and affected bar-hopping session in my future.

Prodnose: Bompas & Parr's Alcoholic Architecture bar is at 1 Cathedral St, London SE1 9DE.

2lander II

Commit this to memory. If I know Jack it could easily be in the movie round at the Antelope quiz tonight even though it hasn't been released yet.

Effin' 12!

The burglar says that Windows 10's new Edge browser has an F12 emulation mode so we should still be able to run any of our IE optimized products (like the Drumbeat CMS) in it.

Unfortunately this is of merely academic interest to me at the moment as I think have left my Surface Pro behind in Wales and that is the only updated Wintel system in my life as we speak.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship?

The Windows 10 upgrade seemed to go quite smoothly over lunchtime yesterday while I  was at Virgin Active. This post was actually lined up on Friday as I am due to be down in Wales checking on Mum and Dad again this weekend and they remain resolutely off line.

Be still my beating heart

I may try and install it over lunchtime. If it fries my system and you never hear from me again, it has been nice knowing you.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like "I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive. ..." And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about 100 miles an hour with the top down to Las Vegas. And a voice was screaming: "Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?"

Then it was quiet again. My attorney had taken his shirt off and was pouring beer on his chest, to facilitate the tanning process. "What the hell are you yelling about?" he muttered, staring up at the sun with his eyes closed and covered with wraparound Spanish sunglasses. "Never mind," I said. "It's your turn to drive." I hit the brakes and aimed the Great Red Shark toward the shoulder of the highway. No point mentioning those bats, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough.

Perhaps the greatest pair of opening paragraphs in history. These days you can get the story free (and entirely legitimately) from the Rolling Stone website. I, however, can remember buying it as a Paladin paperback in the Cardiff bookshop Lear's in the late 70s.

That is the same place (now lost to us) where I got my imported Tom Wolfe Bantam paperbacks. They seemed glamorous, I remember, because the odd glossy page of advertisements was bound into them.

It doesn't make sense now, but that is how it felt at the time. (I must have that translated into Latin so I can use it as a motto.)

Prime

Amazon launched music streaming service in the UK yesterday. It is free to Prime customers like me, so I tried it our last night on the web and the iPAD app. It's OK. I suppose all these Spotify rivals are all pretty much of a muchness. That said, the lack of adverts is a big plus.

I was surprised to find I couldn't seem to access it on the Amazon Fire Stick. Checking the interwebs today suggested that I should. Maybe I am just too dim. I will look again later.

As a vaguely related Amazon aside I have got Miracast working via the Fire Stick to use my TV as an extra Windows 8.1 monitor, but the latency seems to make the mouse unworkable. Chalk more noodling around with little to show for it up to experience.

Bear with me

Khabib Nurmagomedov is most known for bringing the high-level wrestling prowess of the Dagestani’s to the UFC’s lightweight division. His grit and grappling game quickly garnered him six wins, most recently defeating Rafael Dos Anjos. It’s been a little over a year since we’ve seen Khabib step into the Octagon, as he was forced to pull out of his May 23rd bout with Donald Cerrone due to injury, but he’s still making headlines in Russia.

He’s also known for an incredible video of him as a child, full-on wrestling a bear. The video speaks to his hard-nosed reputation, and frankly, is downright cute relative to the brutal history of humans boxing these great animals. No other details were known besides the fact that it happened, until now.

Recently, Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, gave an interview to Russian media outlet ToFight.ru where he spoke about being his son’s coach. Abdulmanap is a black belt in Judo and master of Sambo and Freestyle wrestling, and in the interview, it’s clear that his guidance played a major role in the development of MMA champions in the region. He also explained the circumstances behind the famous bear-wrestling video.

“In the west, Khabib’s has an entrenched image of a guy who fought as a child with the bears. For the people from the United States—this is madness. Tell me, was it for fun or part of his training?” the interviewer asked.

“First—a father always wants to check on what his son his capable of. It is a pity that there were no fights more interesting when he was younger. In the end, this was a test of character more than exercise,” he answered.

I know what you are thinking, but where could I even have got a bear when Ben was nine?

The Benevolence Of Sister Mary Ignatius

I am going down to Cardiff again on the weekend to see Mum and Dad. I think it is important that the universe knows I am missing out on on the Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra at the Garage in Highbury on Saturday so to do.

a film about Haruki Murakami

As his first two "kitchen table" novels are published in English for the first time.

Taking the retromingent

Sir Thomas Browne.

This 17th-century English physician and philosopher, living in provincial isolation from literary London, managed to cultivate the most sonorous organ-voice in the history of English prose. At a time when the prevailing plain style was growing dull and insipid (John Locke is an example), it was Browne who showed the way to new possibilities of Ciceronian splendor. In doing so, he became a prolific contributor of novel words to the English language. Among his 784 credited neologisms are “electricity,”  “hallucination,”  “medical,”  “ferocious,”  “deductive” and “swaggy.” (Other coinages failed to take: like “retromingent,” for urinating backward.)

Good Old Uncle Tom.

The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town

This quirky drinking den is hidden beneath The Breakfast Club in London. On entering to the Spitalfields branch, you must announce to a member of staff that you'd "like to see the mayor" before being led downstairs through a secret door disguised by a SMEG fridge. Once inside, feast on American-style diner food (we like the pulled pork sliders, £9) and try a Peanut Buttercup (£9), a mixture of chocolate, peanut butterand bourbon.12-16 Artillery Ln, London E1 7LS, 020 7078 9639

It sounds far fetched I know, but the 11 Best Secret Bars in London list attests to it, and there is a website at http://www.themayorofscaredycattown.com.

I am certainly not brave enough to check it out sans backup. One for the bucket list next time my brother John is up in the smoke, perhaps?

Too close to home

British ISIS fighter who posed next to Ed Balls and dreamed of becoming the first Asian Prime Minister 'is killed in drone strike'

• Reyaad Khan, known as Abu Dujana, left Cardiff to join ISIS in Syria in 2013

• His death announced on social media by ISIS's other fanatical supporters

• South Wales Police said today it is aware of the claims he is dead

• Khan was 'thrilled' when he got to meet Labour Minister Ed Balls in 2009

• Released sickening video urging Britons to travel to Syria in June last year

According to the Daily Mail, he went to St David’s Catholic sixth-form college. What's that? Four or five hundred yards from the house where we were brought up, and where Mum and Dad still live.

Musical Map: Cities of the World

The most distinctively popular songs in Cardiff GB relative to the rest of the world, for example, are listed here.

Oops

I am writing this on Wednesday morning.

I forgot to tug on the world's sleeve yesterday which is rather unlike me.

Cray me a river

I got telephone call from some one at the Fish Movements Team at the Environment Agency about my application to trap crayfish.

It seems that there aren't any in the Wandle, as "there is no way for them to get in."

The guy told me that he could issue me a license but he didn't think it was worth it and advised me that the River Mole which runs through Surrey before joining the Thames at Kingston is crawling with the things if I wanted to reapply to catch them there.

I suppose the Mole is not all that far away, but it is perhaps too inconvenient for me to go and set the trap one day and then come back a day or too later to retrieve it.

Chalk one up to experience I suppose. I should also acknowledge that it was a decent gesture to call me. It would have been easier for the Agency simply to deal out a  useless license and leave me to my own futile devices.

Here are a few links I had been saving up for the project that (just like my Swedish trap) are now likely to lie here forlorn and unheeded.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AvXjJRjq_4

http://www.lowimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/crayfish_env_agency.pdf

We 3Rings

I was off the grid yesterday as I was back in Wales seeing how mum was after her fall. Dad's not a lot of use in, or out, of a crisis these days. If he wrote a weblog it would contain the same entry repeated every day indefinitely.

Hive announcing plans last week to expand from central heating control to sockets, bulbs and motion detectors reminded me of the 3rings plug which lets you know - via an inbuilt mobile phone - when an appliance hasn't been used for a while..

I might put it on their telly rather than the kettle but I think the idea is sound as a way of flagging that something might be going wrong.

Eyes on the prize

Here is a pretty shoddy phone camera shot of the Bomber's school rugby player of the year award. What can I say about my lack of photography skills? At least the trophy is recorded for me to look back on now.

He dropped out of athletics last night as he was "too tired" and he can't do the YDL meeting on Sunday as he is away with Alex at Alfie's birthday.

Pre season rugby training starts next Wednesday, and as he far prefers that to track and field, it looks like we might be done with javelin and 400m for another season.

It is a pity as he has a real talent for them, but what can you do?

Become a fixer, not just a fixture.

The Surrey League 1 fixtures for the newly promoted Old Ruts U15s have been released.

18/10/2015 KCS Old Boys Home 11.00
22/11/2015 Richmond Away 11.00
13/12/2015 Guildford Home 11.00
10/01/2016 Reeds Away 11.00
31/01/2016 Warlingham Home 11.00
20/03/2016 London Irish Away 11.00

Here, by way of an aide-mémoire, are links to last season's league one table and results. London Irish seem to be much the best, but after that there doesn't seem to be a lot between all the other non-relegated sides.

It is going to be a tough season. Just staying up in the top division for 2016/7 is enough of a target for the campaign I think.

It's Not About The Nail

"Don't try to fix it. I just need you to listen."

my italics

As Greek deal poisons Europe as backlash mounts against 'neo-colonial servitude' think back to Der Spiegel, 4 years ago.

Think Greece's current economic malaise is the worst ever experienced in Europe?

Think again. Germany, economic historian Albrecht Ritschl argues in a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, has been the worst debtor nation of the past century. He warns the country should take a more chaste approach in the euro crisis or it could face renewed demands for World War II reparations.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Ritschl, Germany is coming across like a know-it-all in the debate over aid for Greece. Berlin is intransigent and is demanding obedience from Athens. Is this attitude justified?

Ritschl: No, there is no basis for it.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Most Germans would likely disagree.

Ritschl: That may be, but during the 20th century, Germany was responsible for what were the biggest national bankruptcies in recent history. It is only thanks to the United States, which sacrificed vast amounts of money after both World War I and World War II, that Germany is financially stable today and holds the status of Europe's headmaster. That fact, unfortunately, often seems to be forgotten.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What happened back then exactly?

Ritschl: From 1924 to 1929, the Weimar Republic lived on credit and even borrowed the money it needed for its World War I reparations payments from America. This credit pyramid collapsed during the economic crisis of 1931. The money was gone, the damage to the United States enormous, the effect on the global economy devastating.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The situation after World War II was similar.

Ritschl: But right afterwards, America immediately took steps to ensure there wouldn't be a repeat of high reparations demands made on Germany. With only a few exceptions, all such demands were put on the backburner until Germany's future reunification. For Germany, that was a life-saving gesture, and it was the actual financial basis of the Wirtschaftswunder, or economic miracle (that began in the 1950s). But it also meant that the victims of the German occupation in Europe also had to forgo reparations, including the Greeks.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In the current crisis, Greece was initially pledged €110 billion from the euro-zone and the International Monetary Fund. Now a further rescue package of similar dimensions has become necessary. How big were Germany's previous defaults?

Ritschl: Measured in each case against the economic performance of the USA, the German debt default in the 1930s alone was as significant as the costs of the 2008 financial crisis. Compared to that default, today's Greek payment problems are actually insignificant.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: If there was a list of the worst global bankruptcies in history, where would Germany rank?

Ritschl: Germany is king when it comes to debt. Calculated based on the amount of losses compared to economic performance, Germany was the biggest debt transgressor of the 20th century.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Greece can't compare?

Ritschl: No, the country has played a minor role. It is only the contagion danger for other euro-zone countries that is the problem.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Germany of today is considered the embodiment of stability. How many times has Germany become insolvent in the past?

Ritschl: That depends on how you do the math. During the past century alone, though, at least three times. After the first default during the 1930s, the US gave Germany a "haircut" in 1953, reducing its debt problem to practically nothing. Germany has been in a very good position ever since, even as other Europeans were forced to endure the burdens of World War II and the consequences of the German occupation. Germany even had a period of non-payment in 1990.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Really? A default?

Ritschl: Yes, then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl refused at the time to implement changes to the London Agreement on German External Debts of 1953. Under the terms of the agreement, in the event of a reunification, the issue of German reparations payments from World War II would be newly regulated. The only demand made was that a small remaining sum be paid, but we're talking about minimal sums here. With the exception of compensation paid out to forced laborers, Germany did not pay any reparations after 1990 -- and neither did it pay off the loans and occupation costs it pressed out of the countries it had occupied during World War II. Not to the Greeks, either.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Unlike in 1953, the current debate in Germany over the rescue of Greece is concerned not so much with a "haircut", but rather an extension of the maturities of government bonds, i.e. a "soft debt restructuring." Can one therefore even speak of an impending bankruptcy?

Ritschl: Absolutely. Even if a country is not 100 percent out of money, it could still be broke. Just like in the case of Germany in the 1950s, it is illusory to think that Greeks would ever pay off their debts alone. Those who are unable to do that are considered to be flat broke. It is now necessary to determine how high the failure rate of government bonds is, and how much money the country's creditors must sacrifice. It's above all a matter of finding the paymaster.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The biggest paymaster would surely be Germany.

Ritschl: That's what it looks like, but we were also extremely reckless -- and our export industry has thrived on orders. The anti-Greek sentiment that is widespread in many German media outlets is highly dangerous. And we are sitting in a glass house: Germany's resurgence has only been possible through waiving extensive debt payments and stopping reparations to its World War II victims.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: You're saying that Germany should back down?

Ritschl: In the 20th century, Germany started two world wars, the second of which was conducted as a war of annihilation and extermination, and subsequently its enemies waived its reparations payments completely or to a considerable extent. No one in Greece has forgotten that Germany owes its economic prosperity to the grace of other nations.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: What do you mean by that?

Ritschl: The Greeks are very well aware of the antagonistic articles in the German media. If the mood in the country turns, old claims for reparations could be raised, from other European nations as well. And if Germany ever had to honor them, we would all be taken the cleaners. Compared with that, we can be grateful that Greece is being indulgently reorganized at our expense. If we follow public opinion here with its cheap propaganda and not wanting to pay, then eventually the old bills will be presented again.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Looking at history, what would be the best solution for Greece -- and for Germany?

Ritschl: The German bankruptcies in the last century show that the sensible thing to do now would be to have a real reduction of the debt. Anyone who has lent money to Greece would then have to give up a considerable part of what they were owed. Some banks would not be able to cope with that, so there would have to be new aid programs. For Germany, this could be expensive, but we will have to pay either way. At least Greece would then have the chance to start over.

F*ck That: A Guided Meditation

bad news

Mum has fallen down the stairs and broken her arm.

I was going to drive straight down to Cardiff when I heard this morning, but my sisters dissuaded me.

I will go next weekend. Ben and Alex are away visiting Alfie for his birthday so I am free.

gaze long enough into an Abbeyfest

A free summer festival which once saw 2,500 people through its doors has been scaled down for the second year running due to security concerns.

Abbeyfest has hosted open air concerts, theatre and comedy shows in Merton Abbey Mills in Colliers Wood since 1998.

But last year it shed its popular jazz and blues concerts after organisers said a bout of anti-social behaviour meant they couldn't afford the security needed to police it.
Festival founder Peter Wallder, 52, said: "It's a few things.

"The most important issue is a minority of people carrying out anti-social behaviour - people dealing or drunk.

"The vast majority was there to have a great time and this element was creeping in, so it was becoming more and more difficult for people to keep it safe."

After big sponsors like Marks and Spencers pulled out, he said it wasn't possible to fork out about £20,000 needed to hire private security.

The festival was in some ways "the victim of its own success" because it became so popular it was too expensive to manage, he said.

This is such a pity. The first gig would have been last night if the traditional timetable was followed.

Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an Abbeyfest, the Abbeyfest will gaze back into you.
Friedrich Nietzsche

Awards Evenings

Old Ruts U14 Team 8"x12" £7.00. What a bargain. They start pre-season training as the U15s the week after  next.

That is the Old Ruts Awards Evening from a while back. Ben won the school equivalent Year 9 Player of the Season last night.

In other news:

New Six Nations TV deal a body blow to BBC which loses rights to show two-thirds of England matches for six years.

BBC Six Nations fixtures (2018-23)
Scotland v England, Wales v England, France v England, Scotland v Wales, Scotland v Ireland, Scotland v France, Scotland v Italy, Wales v Scotland, Wales v Ireland, Wales v France, Wales v Italy, France v Scotland, France v Wales, France v Ireland, France v Italy.

ITV Six Nations fixtures (2018-23)
England v Scotland, England v Wales, England v Ireland, England v France, England v Italy, Ireland v England, Italy v England, Ireland v Scotland, Ireland v Wales, Ireland v France, Ireland v Italy, Italy v Scotland, Italy v Wales, Italy v Ireland, Italy v France.

The boys in the photo will be 22 or 23 when this deal runs out. Old enough to play in it.

All up in the air

Congratulations to Gavin Johnson-Asson bronze in the men's #javelin #BritishChamps @backpageimages @hrnhillharriers pic.twitter.com/R08wpwojLt

— steven paston (@StevenPaston) July 8, 2015

‘Butch Better Have My Money’

The following is the transcript of a roundtable discussion held at the offices of Damply Media in Brooklyn, to discuss the cultural importance of Rihanna’s new single ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’. The discussion brought together some of the leading thinkers in their fields for a unique evening of lively debate. PANTOPHAGIA PULPH is a digital sibyl, feminist scholar, literal goddess, and visiting professor at the Jersey Turnpike School of Media and Dentistry, and it’s not her job to educate you. ALAN GORKENBLUM is a respected economist noted for his work in developing nations, his occasional columns in the New York Times, and his influential 1994 paper ‘Could Death Squads Be Good For Freedom?’. PENCIL GLEASE is a radical leftist philosopher and the author of over fifty books, including ‘Why Breakfast Cereal Is Communism’, ‘Why Boy Bands Are Communism’, ‘Why Disneyland Is Communism,’ and ‘Why Capitalism Is Communism’. THE GHOST OF GEORGES RIBEMONT-DESSAIGNES, moderating the discussion, is a sad, tattered, howling spectre, barely capable of speech, his vague form clammy with sadness and regret. HELENA BIBBS is, despite all appearances, an adult woman.

Greece v Germany

With just over a minute of the match remaining Archimedes cries out "Eureka!", takes the first kick of the ball and rushes towards the German goal. After several passes through a perplexed German defence, Socrates scores the only goal of the match in a diving header off a cross from Archimedes.

As the sketch closes, the Germans dispute the call; "Hegel is arguing that the reality is merely an a priori adjunct of non-naturalistic ethics, Kant via the categorical imperative is holding that ontologically it exists only in the imagination, and Marx claims it was offside."

(The replay proves that, according to the offside rule, Socrates was indeed offside, but the sketch, nevertheless, states that the Greeks have won.)

As Greece news live: 'Basis for deal exists' as Juncker plays down Grexit fears ahead of today's eurogroup meeting plays itself out, the more things change the more they stay the same. John Ashton used to say that the reason people get so worked up about national stereotypes is that they are largely correct.

sort out your priorities

Priority booking for Wimbledon Bookfest has opened today for a two week period in which BookFest Friends will get a special 20% early bird discount rate on most events.

We've done the e-commerce integration again at http://www.wimbledonbookfest.org/Events/Events2015/EventsCalendar.aspx

2015 Highlights include:

• Opening gala night with Sebastian Faulks
• Louis de Bernieres with his forthcoming novel
• Bad Science with Ben Goldacre
• Ben Fogle on Labradors
• Literary Bike Ride
• Rugby World Cup Night with Brian Moore and Friends
• Comedy on Wimbledon Common with Seann Walsh headlining
• Vince Cable talking to James Naughtie
• Tessa Hadley on the Bletchley Girls
• Dan Jones on The Magna Carta
• Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman and Penny Vincenzi at Hotel du Vin
• Humphrey Burton celebrating Yehudi Menuhin
• Pop Up Film Screenings of Wimbledon International Shorts Competition and To Kill A Mockingbird
• Children's events including Michael Rosen

And a special out of Festival event is planned with Boris Becker - date tba

But which crayfish trap?

Quartermaster Clerk: One Swedish Crayfish Trap - UK Legal, Otter Friendly.

Austin Powers: [to Vanessa] That's not mine.

Quartermaster Clerk: One credit card receipt for Swedish Crayfish Trap - UK Legal, Otter Friendly signed by Austin Powers.

Austin Powers: I'm telling ya baby, that's not mine.

Quartermaster Clerk: One warranty card for Swedish Crayfish Trap - UK Legal, Otter Friendly, filled out by Austin Powers.

Austin Powers: I don't even know what this is! This sort of thing ain't my bag, baby.

Quartermaster Clerk: One book, "Swedish Crayfish Trap - UK Legal, Otter Friendly And Me: This Sort of Thing Is My Bag Baby", by Austin Powers.

OR

Crayfish trap authorisation

You must not trap non-native crayfish without written consent from the Environment Agency (EA) in England or Natural Resources Wales in Wales.

• Application to trap crayfish (PDF, 301KB, 2 pages)

You also need permission from the landowner and any relevant angling clubs.

If you trap crayfish without written permission you could be prosecuted.

If your application is approved you’ll get:

• permission to trap using approved traps (see the application form for details)
• identity tags for each trap (these must be attached to traps)
• a catch return form (use this to keep a record of crayfish you catch)

It takes 10 to 20 days to process your application. It may take longer if the water has a conservation designation such as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

In some areas you also need a licence to keep non-native crayfish alive after trapping.

• Apply for a licence to keep non-native crayfish

If you are a fish farm owner or fish farm employee you don’t need consent to trap non-native crayfish but you must comply with trap rules.

Native crayfish

Native crayfish are a protected species – you can only trap them for scientific purposes and not to eat or sell.

To do this you need to register with Natural England and follow instructions on the class licence for white clawed crayfish.

In Wales contact Natural Resources Wales.

Crayfish trap rules

There are strict rules about the design and size of crayfish traps because they can harm other wildlife. If traps are the wrong size or design your application will be refused.

Traps must:

• be no longer than 600mm
• be no wider than 350mm at the widest point
• have an entrance no more than 95mm wide
• have mesh no bigger than 30mm at its widest point
• have EA identity tags

You must:

• tell EA or NRW about crayfish you trap using a catch return form (you get the form when you’re authorised)
• return species not covered by consent to the water they came from

We are back from the Crawfish Boil. Licenses to trap them are free  in the UK. I wonder if I could feed myself catching them in the Wandle before and after work.

First it giveth, then it taketh away

AC/DC arrive on Spotify but Prince has left the building. It is all very confusing.

" going to be brutal"

Wellington - The Hurricanes-Highlanders Super 15 final on Saturday "is going to be brutal" and could damage New Zealand's World Cup strength, according to All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

But he admits he wouldn't have it any other way with southern hemisphere club rugby supremacy at stake.

The Hurricanes, with 12 current All Blacks in their squad, compared to five with the Highlanders, have been installed as favourites by the pragmatists for the sold-out game in Wellington.

Rugby romantics, however, are backing the Highlanders who field a band of rugby nobodies with a never-say-die attitude.

Andy H's beloved home town Hurricanes have made the Super 15 finals, so he has booked a table in the Charles Holden for eight o'clock on Saturday morning to watch it over breakfast and a pint. That "is going to brutal" for me and John before the afternoon's crawfish boil. No need to plan anything very elaborate for the evening I feel.

It is interesting to note that the 'Canes have been on a roll ever since Mark Hammett left them for the Cardiff Blues where he also flopped.

Back in Black

AC/DC have finally bitten the bullet and joined Spotify. You may take the rest of the day off while you bang your head on your desktop.