English BBQ?

Yesterday we had friends round for a BBQ. The weather should have been cloudy, but fine. The moment I lit the BBQ, it began to rain.

So we enjoyed an English Style BBQ - I BBQed on the patio, and we ate indoors...

It was good fun all the same, and a good time was had by all.

Climate Change Debate...

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Stolen Books ...

Copyright is always a tricky area, especially once things start to go international. Some countries and cultures simply don't seem to have any concept of "intellectual property" or the right of an author to control or profit from his or her own hard work, research and - often - outlay of capital to achieve their goal.

A major topic at present on several Blogs is the theft of an authors work, 'stolen' copies which are currently being sold on Amazon. What is meant by 'stolen' copy?

In short, someone has created an electronic copy of three books by the children's author Ruth Ann Nordin and is now selling these as an "Electronic" book version through Amazon. The problem is, of course, that Ms Nordin gets absolutely nothing from the sales as whoever the 'pirate' is, simply keeps everything they get from the sale. In this electronic age, this is a major hazard for any author, it is all too easy to make a copy of someone's work, repackage it and then sell it through any online outlet entirely for one's own profit.

What is worse is that there are now a number of hackers out there who regard it as their "right" to strip someone else's intellectual property and profit from it. Other authors have suffered the same problem, though a larger one is the 'file sharing' through 'torrent' sites. These steal music, books, movies and anything else they can find in electronic format. One author who dared to make public accusations against the operators of one such site ripping off his books had his websites hacked and then shut down by the hackers.

As an author I do find this worrying. So far (as far as I am able to discover anyway!) my fiction has not been the subject of such an attack - however, my technical work has been. I am well aware that a large amount of my technically published work has been translated, repackaged and republished - but there's not a heck of a lot I can do about it and neither can the people who hold the copyrights to it. Why? It goes back to the whole concept of 'intellectual property' and the 'ownership' of it. Some cultures simply don't recognise an authors right of ownership ...

Perhaps that is why Leonardo da Vinci kept his notes in a way that no one else could read... But then, he wasn't trying to sell his writing either.

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings ...

I recently received this in an email from a friend. It made me take a little time to think about it since I qualify for the Old Age Pension in October. A little research turned up the fact that these figures are accurate, though they also represent the "top end" of the picture and there are a number of shades in between...

This makes you wonder what will be left for our kids - NOT A LOT!!!!!

OH BRITAIN , where did we go wrong ?

We're "broke" and can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc. Are you aware of the following?

The British Government provides the following financial assistance: -

BRITISH OLD AGED PENSIONER Weekly allowance 106

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS / REFUGEES LIVING IN BRITAIN Weekly allowance £250

BRITISH OLD AGED PENSIONER Weekly Spouse allowance £25

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS / REFUGEES LIVING IN BRITAIN Weekly Spouse allowance £225

BRITISH OLD AGED PENSIONER Additional weekly hardship allowance £0.00

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS / REFUGEES LIVING IN BRITAIN Additional weekly hardship allowance £100

BRITISH OLD AGED PENSIONER TOTAL YEARLY BENEFIT £6,000

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS / REFUGEES LIVING IN BRITAIN TOTAL YEARLY BENEFIT £29,900

Please read all and then forward to all your contacts so that we can lobby for a decent state pension.

After all, the average pensioner has paid taxes and contributed to the growth of this country for the last 40 to 60 years.

Sad isn't it?

Welcome to the Britain created by our wonderful "socialist" leaders. You can bet they have far better pensions lined up. When I "qualify" for the OAP in October, but I will get slightly less than half the figure quoted here since I contributed for only 25 years and not 40. OK, fair do I reckon, but thanks to Gordon Brown, I also now pay 20% tax on a pension from the CPS (Instead of the 10% the previous government - Conservative! - considered fair) that is under 10k a year, and the 78 pounds a week I will get from the OAP fund will be swallowed in tax because of the 20% base rate when added to my existing pension. Of course, Gordon Brown said that "no one would lose out" when he doubled the tax rate, adding that he was "giving a new 'benefit' to those in 'poverty.'" Except that only those with young children and already on Income Support qualify for it ... Guess what, people like me, don't and nor do the vast majority of Old Age Pensioners. And, to add insult to injury here, a recent report by a "Think Tank" declares that OAPs are a "drain on the NHS" and should be forced to pay the full cost of the services they use.

Yup, it's a good feeling having contributed and worked my butt off while watching Blair and Co welcome all comers from every third world tip with handouts and assistance while at the same time telling me (and the rest of us!) how much we owed it to these freeloaders and must "adopt their cultures and values" because Britain's were so "something-ist."

Yup, its a scandal, but the politicians and civil servants don't care - we aren't a big enough voting block anymore and the immigrants are.

Kräuter Schnecke -

Literally "Herb Snail" although 'spiral' sounds better. As promised here are some pictures of the completed 'schnecke' with one of Madam Paddy Cat enjoying the sun (and the bird bath water - thank you very much!). I've included the near hysterical Black Bird who appears every time the old lady goes out doors and spends all his time hysterically piping at her and trying to drive her away.


She seems to be either deaf to his antics, or just to old to be bothered with trying to catch him ...

Cat's health ...

Twenty-one is a really 'great' age if you are a cat, at least according to our vet. Madam Paddy Cat may not entirely agree as her back legs are giving trouble and the injections for that are now causing a stomach problem. That said, there's plenty of life in the old girl yet, she certainly makes use of her full vocabulary of "bad" words when the vet tries anything Madam feels is not permitted and tonight's visit to the Bad Schwalbach practice was a real education in how to put humans in their place.

Oh well, the old lady is now sat on the patio bench next to me, our resident black bird is having hysterics because "there's a cat in HIS garden" and I'm enjoying the cool twilight and a great "dunkel" bier.

Tomorrow, perhaps, when I'm back on the desktop I can post some pictures of the now completed and planted out "Krauter Schnecker" which, I have to say, took a lot of work to complete, but is looking great. And now Madam Paddy wants a bit more attention....

A bad turn ...

Madam Paddy Cat is old. She turned 21 sometime late last year and is obviously feeling her age. She limps a little and one of her back legs sometimes gives way under her. She spends most of her days sleeping on my armchair with a special blanket and 'pootling' around the garden inspecting the water quality in the birdbaths, basking in the sun or harassing one of us for a treat or some fresh food...

This evening she joined us on the bench on the patio for a little company and some sunshine. Later she came inside to use her 'box' and that is when things got a little fraught. She appears to have had some sort of seizure. she suffered some sort of spasm in her back legs that literally threw her out of the litter box, scattering cat litter and a distressed cat. I reached the landing just in time to see her have another, then she scrambled past me, her hind quarters obviously not operating properly and made to jump onto the bed, her refuge in distress. She had another 'episode' in the attempt - at which point we managed to contact the vet.

Our vet is in Bad Schwalbach, some 10 km away, so Madam had to be wrapped in a towel for the journey, the box woud have stressed her far more. The vet checked her out and announced that she has probably had a minor stroke. So she has had two injections and will have to see the vet again soon. On the journey home she perked up quite a bit and ate a large supper as soon as we arrived. She is now curled up on my armchair again, asleep, though her limbs seem to be functioning properly again.

This little cat seems to have more than the regulation 9 lives - either that or St Francis has her in his hands.