Author: Boadicea

On This Day – 15th February 1971

On the 15th of February 1971 Britain went ‘decimal’. Centuries of tradition were wiped out and pounds, shillings and pence were replaced by pounds and pence, where one new penny was the equivalent of 2.4 old pennies.

Needless to say, I thought it was a shame and I didn’t think it was an improvement. For me, it was one of  the first examples of a ‘dumbing down’ process,  a very costly exercise with no provable benefit and caused inflation as many shops simply converted 3s 0d into 30p instead of 15p.

Link to the BBC On This Day Site

RTFM


I got a new scanner for Christmas. I didn’t really want to buy a new scanner – I had a perfectly good one which was at least ten years old and did everything that I wanted.

However, Windows 7 did not support my scanner and Canon didn’t have an upgrade for the driver. So, mumbling and cursing about companies that force one into replacing perfectly adequate equipment, I told Bearsy that he could solve the ‘Christmas Gift’ problem by getting me a new scanner.

What that meant in reality was that I’d choose the scanner and buy it. We’ve been down this road before and I’ve learnt from experience that if I’m to get what I want, I have to choose it – Bearsy isn’t interested in scanners, printers or any other peripherals. So I did my research and settled on another Canon, which scans transparencies and films. Please don’t ask me why I wanted that particular facility, but I thought it might be useful. Continue reading “RTFM”

A Great Decision

I read this story in yesterday’s Australian.

The Family Court of Australia, which deals with things like divorce and custody, determined that an Arranged Marriage made under threats of violence was not valid. The Judge said:

the parents adopted a position based on a cultural practice – but the law to be applied “is that of Australia”.

I’d like this to go further, and and make all arranged marriages illegal.

Comment

It is very late here and I am not happy about having to collect my thoughts to write this.

I would remind everyone, yet again, that everyone is entitled to express their opinions and that everyone has total control over their posts.

Some people express their opinions more forcefully than others find comfortable. Some may not be aware that others find the way they express their opinions to be uncomfortable, others revel in the fact that people find their mode of expression uncomfortable and some deliberately set out to discomfort others.

I would have thought that by now most people would be able to recognise these differences and make allowances for personality traits without being ‘instantly’ offended. However, what I find most difficult to understand is why those, who deliberately set out to be provocative, should complain when others respond in kind. “As ye sow so shall ye reap” comes to mind.

Nor do I understand why people have a problem with Authors removing comments that they don’t want on their posts – they are the rules, they have always been the rules and I’m not changing them. Scream all you like about “free speech” – my answer will be “You may have the right to speak – I have the right not to listen.”

I try to run a ‘relaxed’ site. I may seem to make ‘rulings’ on the run, but they are well considered decisions, nonetheless.

I have no intention of allowing this site to deteriorate into the MyT mode of “He said this” and “I said that”. Any further posts that I think fall into that category will be deleted immediately.