Searches, Fuel Poverty and arming police

Strange searches that led people to my web sites ...

• "shooting pain in breast"

The person with the shooting pain in the breast should, in my oppinion, better spend their time in the hospital rather than seraching on google, but then there is no accounting for some people. And why is it that whenever I repeat the search myself that I never seem to come across my own sites? Weird.

What is worrying, rather than wierd, is the rising price of all the major services. I've just come off the phone to my dear Mother, and she is getting in an increasing state. Her pension has risen by something like £3 a week, but it is nowhere near enough to cover the rise in Council Tax, water supply, sewerage services, electric and gas, all of which have eaten up around half of her raise each. She is heading towards fuel poverty ... and fast.

Reading a political report on energy supply a few days ago, shows that we're doomed. Basically. Nuclear is the short term option, but no one knows what to do with the waste, and the percentage cover of solar, wind and wave technology just isn't enough to satisfy demand. With many supplies scheduled to run out just around the corner, we're soon going to be facing a monopoly. Suddenly, visions of Mel Gibson using any tin can he can to rescue petrol from an abandoned tanker (a 'la Mad Max 2) seem like a not too distant reality. My own take on the situation is that if we fire our nuclear waste in to space, then by the time we are ready to venture in to it properly, we should be prety much certain of finding life out there. Whether or not is it armed with an intergalactic polution order is another matter.

Mind you, with electric vehicles (March 2006) now able to reach 60mph in 3.6 seconds, out dragging Ferarri and Corvette, and having ranges of 220 miles and speeds of 230mph, are people worried? Well, at $500,000 per car, I think the bill for fully comp might be a little excessive. It does look like the future of service stations will contain power sockets in every parking bay while punters go in for their burger and chips. Wonder what the pence per unit will be on that? Well, I wouldn't worry too much, as fairly soon the U.K. Government can subsidise electricity costs as they will be saving a fortune on road maintenance once the flying car is eventually built. And if you can't wait for that, there is a personal flying hair dryer in kit form reportedly available from Israel that you can buy and self assemble. If, that is, you can track it down, as the 2001 version reviewed seems to be out of date - pity, as their City Hawk was looking like a better bet; shame there wasn't enough room for the weekly shop.

There has also been a lot of discussion and feeling lately about routinely arming the U.K. Police force. I submit as evidence, m'lud, tazer happy cops as the article from November 2005 states, who seem to have used them quite sensibly in my humble oppinion. Leathal weapons? I for one wouldn't like to live with the fact of having shot someone dead, and if routine arming came in, I think we'd find many good, responsible officers would leave and then the wrong type of people attracted to the force; the type who would shoot first, shoot some more, and then when everybody's dead, try and ask a few questions. I can just imagine the report sheet now ... "I asked for their side of the story, but as they were silent, I followed governmental procedure and assumed they were guilty; so I nicked everybody ... um ... everybody's body. They put up passive resistance and are currently protesting against their detainmet by hunger strike. And can we 'ave a cleaner in the cells 'cause they smell awful."

Oh, and I've just found out that I'm in deadly danger! Well, if I was lesbian, I would be. As a Linux programmer, I therefore fall under the target range described by The Register as, "As we have previously noted, this puts online gamers and Linux programmers at particular risk from attack, especially since few if any have ever seen a real woman in the flesh."

So what is a Linux programming lesbian at risk of, I hear you ask? Well, falling under the charmes of the latest in sex android technology. (Aug 2005) This Japanese robot requires a bit more technology to reach personal satisfaction than simply hooking up your air pump to the car battery. Don't worry, the radius is only as far as the mains cable ... you're safe as long as you don't use an extension cable, and you're not in to water sports.