Brain Fry

Will I be able to write programs and create applications within the next 5 years.  It's looking difficult at the moment, however, not impossible.  My brain is currently fries!!

The Life Question

The big question is.......... how do we lead our lives.  Is it the simple life and making sure your family are looked after and provided for or do we shoot for the stars and put everything into our career?  Alternativley we could spend more time helping other people or charities.  I am currently pondering these questions which is distressing considering that without a clear goal, I don't perform well in any of the above. 

Achieving balance in these areas of life is the key, however, it seems to me that no one is really achieving it.  Even those people who look like they are, are just the same as the rest of us behind closed doors.  There is plenty of guidance out there, from religion to therapists to self help books and the list goes on; the problem I have with all of this advice is that I don't trust it.  It all revolves around money and greed, even "free" advice will involve some commercial gain if you look a little deeper.  

I'm genuinly looking for some decent free advice on this subject so please, if you have all the answers, share them with the rest of us.

Gillette! Don't trust them.

I'm fed up of watching the good looking guys in the Gillette adverts telling us, or more to the point showing us how marvellous Gillette razors are.  I was satisfied with Gillette Sensor, the original razor which these days are quite hard to get hold of.  Why is this?  It is because more blades per razor equals more money for the company.  I would even go as far as to say they now make the blades for sensor razors less sharp than they do for the three, four or five blade razors. 

Unfortunately the younger generation have accepted that the more blades there are the better the razor.  It's unbelievable, how far will they push it?  Soon men will be able to get their faces moulded to create a razor that shaves the face in one stroke because it fits exactly, and it will cost a fortune. 

Men!  Please stop buying these ridiculous razors with non existent technology for the face and let us revert back to a decent one or two blade razor that does the same job for half the price. Personally, I blame the banks.

Bully For Our Leaders

It is quite a frightening prospect that so many of our leaders were bullied in school.  It has seemed apparent to me in the last 20 years that our Prime Ministers and those attempting to gain the positon of PM have all been wet fish who look out of place leading a country.  The most suprising revelation came recently when Ed Balls, the pit bull of the labour party was said to have been bullied about his name.  This affected him so much that he has allowed his children to keep their mothers name. 

The Miliband's are another example of politicians bullied in school who then rose to power in the Labour party.  I have no doubt these people are intelligent and have no doubt worked hard (Academically) to have risen to their current positions, however, it worries me that the line between diplomacy and weakness is very thin and that our politicians are all to easily brushed aside when in talks with strong leaders of other countries. Leaders who know how to be both diplomatic and strong at the same time.

Tony Blair may not have been the strongest PM, however, he did have a likeability about him that people responded too.  Is this a result of the fact that he was relatively popular at school and therefore new how to relate to other people?  Most politicians probably spent most of their time in school studying and surrounded by their wealthy friends, leaving them with a limited view of how the rest of society thinks.  This certainly seems the case for the majority although David Cameron does at least have an air of authority with a confidence and conviction when speaking that shows an element of strength.

I am just glad that neither Miliband is in the position of PM and hopefully will never be.  I feel the same about Ed Balls who may seem like a strong character on the outside, however, is in the position he currently is as a result of a successful political partership with his wife.  David Cameron certainly looks the part in terms of strength of character at the moment which indicates that he has may not have been bullied in school.   Let us hope he can manage to not get bullied in the International political arena.

Delete the Parents

At what point in our lives do we start thinking about caring for our parents?  I would hazard a guess that it is the first time you see your grandparents being cared for as a result of them not being able to care for themselves.  Some children see their parents, move their grandparents into care and it doesn't seem to bad.  It can often be said that if the care home is run well and the grandparent receives plenty of visits that it might be the best thing for them.  Coupled with this is the idea that the grandparent believes they are a burden on the family and will persuade them that it is something they would like to do thereby releving the guilt of the parents.

This is now common practice in the UK and most of the time the people moving into the homes have no choice.  The children they have spent their lives cherishing and caring for cannot wait to get them safely tucked up in a home.  Obviously, this is not always the case.  Some people take their parents into care, whether it be with pleasure or out of guilt and a sense of loyalty.  These people are in steady decline and are usually the people who have enjoyed a great upbringing with parents who gave everything for them to succeed in their endeavours.

Can society be blamed for this demise in caring for those who loved you so much?  The culture of our society has changed so much since the introduction of multiculturalism and a more diverse society with a flippant regard to religion or simple values and standards.  There are so many religions, how can one be right?  That is the thought of the young of today and of those who grew up in the eighties and nineties, which leads them to believe that there is no real God and that religion is worthless.  They have no regard for the values that religion brings to a society and how it can guide those who follow it to a better life.  I myself am not religious, however, I am willing to follow christianity to a certain extent to at least install the values to my family that are required for tolarence and understanding.  The Government should be developing a means of instilling into children the importance of these values without crossing the religious divide so that schools can once again teach pupils without a backlash from religious parents.  This may be the only way some children will ever receive guidance.

In other countries and cultures such as China and Africa the family is the centre of everything.  These cultures wouldn't think twice about putting a family member in a home.  Only the most developed countries in western society now provide care homes on a mass scale in the knowledge that the selfish, greedy, money hungry society that capitalism has created will continue to offload their parents in this way.  Although, the UK is still behind in comparison to Europe in terms of professionalism and standards with regards to looking after the elderley.

The standards of caring in the UK should not be an issue.  If the good people of Britain started "looking in" to their family again instead of constantly looking out at what they can gain for themeslves, the elderley could once again feel needed, useful and most importantly cared for.  This generation needs to set the example for the next, otherwise,  we will be the ones being shot into space!

Clever Quotes

Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish.

- Marcus Aurelius

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Are our politicians corrupt?

Why does power make people so greedy?  It seems that as soon as a position of power has been gained, that person becomes corrupt.  The most recent example of this is Ben Ali of Tunisia; after gaining power he ensured he stayed there by rigging elections.  When the people of Tunisia began violently demonstrating for political reform, his wife Leila Trabelsi fled to Dubai after taking £38,000,000 worth of Gold Ingots.  Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia where he is said to have billions stowed and has plenty of rich contacts to aid him in this, his hour of need.  What a joke!  He will probably never need again after milking his country for all its worth whilst the country suffers with low employment and an over population of graduates. 

The west do nothing about these democratic dictators because they are happy that they keep out the islamists and continue to spend money in the capitalist countries.  It seems the leaders of the west are more than happy to milk the residents of these type of countries as long as their own country is benefiting.  As long as countries are in need of the technologies of the west then the leaders are content to continue to supply them.

The next question of course is, are the politicians in the UK taking a share of the money for themselves.  It would seem not, however, how would we ever know?  The amount of money people, businesses and corporations pay in tax is astonishing.  The Government continue to dream up new ways of taxing money such as the inheritance tax; a tax on money that has already been taxed and has to be taxed again.  The money would never actually go direct to the politician, it would be invested in a project that maybe lucrative for the politician in the future.  Is it so difficult to believe?  Tony Blair has amassed a huge fortune since leaving office which may not be corrupt money, however, it does prove that politicians are fuelled by their need for money.

Another example of this, is the expenses scandal.  Half the Government were involved, with most claiming that they thought it was normal practice.  Not a very good excuse considering the supposedly high intelligence of these people. Tony Blair's records were mysteriously destroyed, conveniant!

In my opinion the greedy powerful people who lead countries have not learnt that it matters not how dormant society may seem. It will react when the dividing line between the rich and the poor becomes to great.  The rich assume that as long as the plebians or working class are amused enough to keep them ticking along, they can continue to take from them.  I would even venture that the working classes are actually relatively well off at the moment when considering the creature comforts that our predessesors never had such as constant hot water and heating.  However, to look up and see businessmen and footballers living life so lavishly whilst others struggle to keep their family fed is an example of how wealth is not redistributed properly and the greedy will do whatever they can to ensure it stays that way.