Bank chief blames rumours and market fixers for Bear's collapse: ""The minute we got a fact out, a different set of rumours would start," said Schwartz, who testified that the "nature and pattern" of the damaging whispers made him suspicious they were being circulated deliberately. He urged regulators to investigate the debacle. "There are laws against market manipulation and there used to be laws against spreading rumours about banks," he said."

All banks are in exactly the same position. If too many ask for their money back, they're screwed.

# Posted by Steve at 4/4/08; 9:27:08 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
It's just a matter of confidence

radaronline: "The victim of the royal blackmail scandal is..." Just ask Google.

Apparently, so was his dad. But, I'm a complete and utter anti-royalist.

# Posted by Steve at 4/11/07; 12:24:00 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Royal Blackmail Scandal Names David Linley

Feb 2006: The risky way to get it Together: "Northern Rock last week revealed that in 2005 it lent an astonishing £7bn-worth of Together loans to borrowers, the vast majority of whom are likely to be first-time buyers."

# Posted by Steve at 14/9/07; 6:02:55 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Risky venture

Digg, is a way of finding good web news items. It's a community that looks for good links, votes on them and so good stuff floats to the top. Yesterday, someone pasted a link to the master key that allows the removal of the copy protection of HD DVD. It was digged like crazy, floated to the top, the site received a cease and desist take down notice, they complied, and the users went crazy, posting more pages which contained the code.

Now, the code, the illegal prime is out there. Everywhere. Even as a set of colours and several domain names.

Now, HD DVD (Toshiba, Sanyo, RCA, Microsoft, and Intel) has lost the format war with Blue-Ray (Sony, Philips, Sun Microsystems, Dell, Pioneer, TDK, and Apple). Nobody in Hollywood is going to want to put their film or game on to a format that can be ripped. I guess one day Blue-Ray's copy protection will be foiled too. Perhaps you'll read it where you were first able to read the HD master key. Unless they're forced to shut that site soon.

Wired posted a good background explanation of the implications of the release of the master key in February 2007.
# Posted by Steve at 2/5/07; 11:50:06 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Ridiculous number theory

It started day before yesterday. Around 5pm I had a dizzy spell in front of the computer. Odd, I thought. Perhaps I haven't eaten much. Then, yesterday, around 5pm again, I suddenly felt quite tired, limbs a bit achy. This morning, I awoke while it was still dark, my mouth dry as cardboard, my nose blocked up, my bare shoulder, sticking out from under the blanket, very cold.

I complained. To be told that I have man flu. And I'll soon be dead.
# Posted by Steve at 15/3/07; 9:25:35 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Man flu

jiggy definition:
money or wealth ( slang )

Also get jiggy with it to become excited about or involved in something.

Also a porn star and sometimes rap artist, best known for her non-hit, "Taste My Juices."

# Posted by Steve at 3/1/07; 9:05:43 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Inch by inch I get better and better

# Posted by Steve at 13/12/06; 12:23:05 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Custard Factory

# Posted by Steve at 11/12/06; 10:35:43 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Floods in mid Wales

In yet another universe, far, far away: Residents turn over new leaf in garden transformation "In response, the not-for-profit housing group approached a young business, JS Exterior Maintenance and Landscape - set-up with help from The Prince's Trust - to revamp the space.

Kind-hearted Steve Hooker and his team jumped at the chance and donated their time early this month to clear the garden so Louise could make best use of it."

# Posted by Steve at 18/11/06; 11:55:10 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
My other namesake

Dark chocolate for a healthy heart: "The chemical in cocoa beans has a similar biochemical effect to aspirin and can reduce the likelihood of blood clotting,"

So, if I don't eat it for several months, will I die? # Posted by Steve at 15/11/06; 10:19:57 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
I love dark choccy

In another universe, far, far away: Steve Hooker wins the World Cup: "Pole vaulter Steve Hooker has issued a challenge to training partner Paul Burgess to take the world's top ranking away from him if he can. Hooker's jump of 5.80 metres to win the World Cup in Athens on Sunday night should move him up one spot when the next IAAF rankings are released and drop Burgess to second."

I keep telling people I'm very busy. No wonder I'm not blogging all that I should be. I've been in Athens! # Posted by Steve at 21/9/06; 4:05:14 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Steve Hooker wins the World Cup

Simply Recipes: Jalapeno Pepper Jelly Recipe: "Note that jalapeno jelly can be pretty "hot" if you have included a lot of the seeds in your cooking. The fat molecules in the cream cheese absorb the hot capsaicin of the jalapenos, reducing the heat, but leaving the flavor of the chiles. This is also why sour cream tastes so good with spicy Mexican food."

Call me stupid, but I've always wanted the perfect coolant for a good balti :-)) # Posted by Steve at 5/9/06; 4:45:27 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Ah!

New technical hotline offers 'hassle-free' support: "...Domestic technical support rapidly will become as commonplace, if not more so, as visits from plumbers and electricians, which is why we are transforming our customer service proposition," John Clare, the DSG chief executive, said.

DSG international estimates the market for digital support services to be worth £1bn in the UK alone and predicts that the market could double in size within five years."

# Posted by Steve at 4/9/06; 10:32:59 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Big business

# Posted by Steve at 7/8/06; 9:17:29 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Into context

I've been lent a huge pile of DVDs of music. Apparently he's sent one a month, or was that a week. From some club. Each is 4-5 gig, so I reckon there's 160 disks, that's 640 to 800 gig. All recently released stuff. Some of it crap, some of it wonderful. But there's no space for all of it on my hard disk, so I'll have to be selective.

Pity also, that the MP3 tags aren't right. The track information isn't coming in. I just get a list of Track 1, Track 2, etc.
# Posted by Steve at 24/7/06; 9:21:28 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
One terabyte, nearly

The Observer: All set for a baby.com revolution: "The babies of the future, for example, will have a web address instead of a National Insurance Number. Hall said: 'I have a vision that in the future when a baby is born you'll get some sort of internet ID that is effectively your digital persona, and it will grow with you. It will actually represent you in some way - what you know, what you've done, your experiences. I guess you'd call it your URI [Uniform Resource Identity]. This is the thing that always identifies you. Every time you do something on the internet, it is effectively logged, building up this profile that is with you for your life. Then you have your life's record, which can include any legal documents or photographs or videos that you might have, that you can pass on to your children. We will be able to build software that can interpret that profile to help get the answer that you need in the context that you're in.'"

I said long ago that it would one day mean that you'd need to have a blog. Where everything about you is stored. # Posted by Steve at 21/5/06; 8:40:04 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Legal requirement to have a blog

Hope you all had a lovely time without me :-) Nice to be able to type on a full sized keyboard, to read emails, to be... Connected once more.
So, I'm back in Dawley. But, I'm off to work in Melbourne, Australia tomorrow. Quite a bit to do there for a few days. Heh! Lucky I don't have to travel all the way there, I love the world of telecommuting.

And my moBlogging from my phone... Well, some of the pictures have come out quite dark. I know we didn't have the weather... But still, I'll have to keep an eye on that in the future.
# Posted by Steve at 18/4/06; 4:34:41 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
I'm back

I hadn't seen youTube.com before. It's very popular apparently. Here's a good example, you know the Sky TV 'Real Life Simpsons' advert? Well, how about a comparison of the two, real life and cartoon? # Posted by Steve at 11/4/06; 4:27:02 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
User gen video

# Posted by Steve at 22/3/06; 9:22:54 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [4]
Life's a beach

But I'm busy, busy, busy. I'm recovering from the most awful hard disk crash ever. Pulling bits together from back ups and from the mess of the hard disk, and reinstalling all my applications, which means digging around for serial numbers and registration details.

Happened on Friday morning, and it took out all Friday, and all Monday and much of Sunday night too. Let alone today, and I guess much of tomorrow and weeks from now I'll still be cursing it.

Of course, I make regular, indeed, daily back ups, but they're never enough.

From my digging around, I think the next answer will be to try a clone of my hard disk, not just backing up files. An exact clone. This way, I should only need to swap slave to master. # Posted by Steve at 7/3/06; 8:03:30 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Grrrr

A wasted day. For a few weeks my large monitor has flicked itself off at odd times, sometimes repeatedly. I switch it off properly and back on and it's OK for a second or several hours or even days. Today, I thought it maybe that I'd left the heating on and it was over heated, so I vacuum out some dust, buy a desk fan...

In trying to spot the pattern I re-configure the AGP nVidia drivers, uninstall this and that, reinstall this. It seems to be just when I run Firefox or MSIE on its screen. If I move the browsers to the other, smaller, screen all's well.

I bash it on top, as I do the TV. And break the top plastic cover. Shit and fuck.

Finally, I swap the monitors/cards around. Still the bigger one flicks off. Arrrg. It is the monitor. It is too old!

Odd that it's fine with some apps and not with others. You'd think that if it was the age, it would be flaky whenever, whatever was on its screen. Wouldn't you?

Frig, frig, frig. And mutter.
# Posted by Steve at 2/3/06; 6:35:29 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Mutter mutter
Broken monitor
AGP nVidia switches off

Is the real thing better for you or do you buy the techno foods?

For my money, I prefer the real thing. I'm getting more au natural as time goes by. Give me the real animal or the real vegetable with zero change, zero additives, zero anything.
# Posted by Steve at 8/2/06; 9:42:36 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Broccoli or Benecol

Gak! Since becoming single in the Spring I've not wanted to go out on the pull, just too busy, and not wanting to upset any apple carts. Now, my ex is seeing someone else. Hooray, thinks I, She'll not mind me...

So, with no time for pubs, and not one for approaching ringless chicks in Tescos, I figured these dating sites would be the perfect solution.

Wrong...

I've had hours of conversation on the phone with really nice people, and had them send pictures, figuring that we had stuff in common, that the pictures were passable, I've gone to meet two. They had plausible, work related excuses for not adding a picture to their web descriptions in the first instance, or so I thought...

The first, I saw as I stepped out of the car, right then I wanted to get back in and drive off, for she had under described her weight and, perhaps my desire and imagination had painted a better image with the photos. I stayed a few hours and beat my retreat on the third, 'give me a hug.'

The second was a play in the park with her kid and two grandkids and my two. As she approached for our meeting I knew right away—uh-oh! Again, photographs were, 'slimming' and face shot not quite the whole. The kids played for hours and got on really well, we sat apart and spoke only out of politeness. Shan't be using my kids like that again.

My support networks say to stick at it. But, with a ton of work needed to pour into my next cunning plan, I've zero time to waste...

My experience of online dating thus far, sure only two weeks, isn't good. I've heard first hand accounts of wankers on the video cams! Though there are chicks advertised who fit my bill, these are undoubtedly pestered by the unwashed hoards of dudes, and I'm merely one of many, many, many flies round the honey pots. Think about the demographics of the internet: mostly men, few women. Think of the numbers of desperate chicks against the beautiful ones. The odds are stacked against me. Yet I'll keep lookiing, but not spending hours on the phone. Photos first and vital stats! No more time wasters please.

Here's my profile. Any advice appreciated

# Posted by Steve at 25/8/05; 1:13:53 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [6] Trackback [0]
Can't find me love, love, love

I think I'll get a part-timer in. Someone to cover me for those days when I'm off to Wales, or too lazy to blog.

"We hire people with excellent English skills who have lived abroad as master bloggers. Generally these people are coming back to China..."

As I yawn on the sun lounger, by the pool, I'll be confident that the little, yellow, munchkins will be beavering away for me. Or will I?
# Posted by Steve at 16/8/05; 9:35:24 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Outsourcing my blog

My wasp problem has gone. Last night, while they slept peacefully in their beds after a hard day's work, I WMD'd them with wasp-killer-power.

No one coming out today, none to be seen. Hole is now sealed up too.

Move along, nothing to see here.
# Posted by Steve at 14/7/05; 7:05:02 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
I murdered hundreds of wasps

Kurma's Blog:: "The first serious kitchen day of my European tour" in Dublin. Soon he'll be here in the UK. Just been looking at his books. # Posted by Steve at 23/6/05; 7:52:54 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Lovely looking food

Nancy Sinatra - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

I was five and he was six We rode on horses made of sticks He wore black and I wore white He would always win the fight Bang bang, he shot me down Bang bang, I hit the ground Bang bang, that awful sound Bang bang, my baby shot me down Seasons came and changed the time When I grew up, I called him mine He would always laugh and say "Remember when we used to play?"   Bang bang, I shot you down Bang bang, you hit the ground Bang bang, that awful sound Bang bang, I used to shoot you down...

Music played and people sang Just for me the church bells rang Now he's gone. I don't know why And till this day, sometimes I cry He didn't even say goodbye He didn't take the time to lie Bang bang, he shot me down Bang bang, I hit the ground Bang bang, that awful sound Bang bang, my baby shot me down

Thanks to BitTorrent, I've got the real thing. And the real thing? Well, it was stuck in my mind from a Wimbledon Tennis promo on BBC2, by Nancy Sinatra from Kill Bill 1, I think from the beginning, when she's getting married in the church, before they're all killed.

But, the original was by Cher and written by Sonny Bono in 1966. Covered by Ol' Blue Eyes and bizarrely Stevie Wonder. Nancy was more famous for 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.'

My own reasons for playing this again and again (iTunes is reporting that it's over 50 times today) is entirely nobody's business but my own. Nothing to do with the film, nothing to do with guns. It's about the passing of time. About yesterday.

# Posted by Steve at 15/6/05; 5:08:22 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0] audio/mpeg enclosure  3744K to download
Bang Bang

New York Times: Michael Jackson Is Acquitted on All Counts in Molestation Case : "Addressing the jurors, Mr. Zonen (prosecutor) suggested that if they heard of a 46-year-old neighbour sharing his bed with unrelated pre-adolescent boys, "you'd be on the phone with police in a second.""

Metafilter discuss it here. # Posted by Steve at 13/6/05; 10:21:38 PM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Justice?

Fast Times at Blogger High: "BLOGGERS, SITCOM PILOT Casting an HBO/WB-style sitcom pilot "Bloggers." Seeking: young, attractive, comedic, and quirky actors, 20s-30s. No pay, but DVD provided." [Via Metafilter]

Should we do a British version? I want Brad Pitt to play me. Damn, he's a yank.
OK, John Cleese! As a wired Basil Fawlty, "a satisfied customer. We should have him stuffed." Loads more quotes here.
# Posted by Steve at 9/6/05; 8:38:53 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
Do you want to be on TeeVee?

"Suspicious of a noise, he looked straight into the computer's webcam, which then captured him in the act"

With the number of computers here, I get worried about being burgled. # Posted by Steve at 16/5/05; 7:53:44 AM
To the Unimportant dept.
Comment [0] Trackback [0]
How to catch a thief with your PC