We're all gonna die!

That Sainsburys, the retailer, consume 1% of the UK's electricity production.

A very interesting Flash movie that is also a 90 second history lesson.

would they have been friends?

I just watched Spooks on BBC1 for the very first time. Freddie Flintoff is an MI5 action hero (is this why he is always injured lately?) charged with saving Britannia from some baddies and for an hour it was quite exciting. The finale of a two part story about some neo-something or others orchestrating a coup d'etat in the UK. It covered similar territory to Alan Moore's awesome V for Vendetta (not the film!) with grey men in blue suits doing things for a higher cause.
There was some shocking dialogue though.
Woman (badly wounded in a car bomb explosion): I can't feel my legs!
Man : Try not to move.
She's just been hit in the back by a flying car door, you idiot!

and later
Flintoff: We'll need to win the propoganda battle and that means using the media.

Well d'uh, I'm glad you clarified that point for us. Perhaps getting the British public to reject one party fascism by exploiting their appreciation of architecture might not work quite as quickly as filming some pretend police brutality.


Ho hum. I'm sure I would have liked it more if I was still 14 or when I'm 95 and mental.

This guy can't tell his Brazilian from his Togolese. Does this man look much like this one? I don't think so and they've both got their names printed on the back of their shirts too.

LHR to DUB Friday afternoon. Too many queues, too many checks, too many people.
Kill 'em all!
It was my first flight since the most recent security alert.
The whole airport thing has become such an aimless, stressful, boring, inhuman, bureaucratic, corporate, damaging, expensive experience that I'm on the verge of giving it up altogether.
I got there in the end and it was lovely weekend seeing my latest nephew being dipped. Sadly, grandma-in-law died on the same day and so I had to leave my wife behind when it was time to come home. She's in Cork now and back soon.
Funnily enough we are away again soon to our Andalucian retreat for a few days and are flying Monarch from Luton which will be a change. It could be the one that tips me over the edge.
Perhaps I should only travel when I can afford to fly business class and so have a long haul holiday every third year and spend the intervening years railing in Yerp or somewhere in the UK. Hmmm. Could this be the start of an ethical holiday policy?

I read Michael O'Leary's rant in the Standard yesterday, complaining about the security measures at British airports since the most recent bomb plot (can we please see some evidence). Whilst his general theme is correct that the security measures are over blown and greatly annoying for passengers I can't help the feeling that he actually doesn't give a toss about his passengers just about his company's profits. After being roundly abused for taking HMG to court for the losses associated with the alert, he says that any awards will be donated to charity. He also couldn't persuade any other airlines to join him in the court case because, I suspect, that they would like nothing better than to see him waste his money. The ban on hand luggage must be a real bitch for Ryanair. They must insist that luggage goes in the hold but then try to charge the passenger for it. The extra baggage handling fees and reduced turnaround must hurt too.

No doubt he is a talented business man (who wouldn't be when their main cost is tax free) but he comes across as a bullish prick who thinks that environmentalist should be shot, phones on planes are a good idea coz they will generate money even if the passengers hate it. Now they've offered 4 million seats for free! Well business can't be that bad.


Every time I see him him I just think of Geldof at Live Aid: "Give us the fucking money!"

Perhaps it's a Highbury thing, perhaps not. Now it's happening "outside". For a couple of years now I've been spotting comedy types with unusual regularity. So far, Kathy Burke, Kevin Eldon, Matt Lucas (who asked me if I had Tourette's syndrome), Jeremy Dyson, Stuart Lee, the gap toothed one from the Day Today, both of the Mighty Boosh, Rory McGrath, Punt or Dennis (not sure which) and former sex addict Steve Coogan (doesn't really count as it was in Soho House where celebrities are ten a penny). Today I add Alistair MacGowan. Instead of being in my local pub or its locality I'm on a train from Middle England to London.

Tick.

I'm interested in a lot of things. Top of my list at the moment is energy conservation and renewable generation. I was asked the other day why I haven't installed any form of micro generation capacity in my home given my interest in such things.
The simple answer is that a home photo voltaic systems, despite government subsidies, are expensive and somewhat complicated and take years and years to pay themselves back.
The discussion that ensued covered a range of options and we eventually boiled it down to a city level solution.
If the GLA took control of this issue and offered all homes a free installation of PV or micro wind plus the necessary smart meter to every home on the condition that any surplus capacity generated would belong to the GLA then the city could well become the UKs largest electricity generator. Each Watt would be EU subsidised on account of it being renewable. Carbon credits would be issued to the city. The scale necessary to make PV more economic could be achieved and a lot of jobs would be created too. Also the faff and hassle of applying for various subsidies could be rendered at a city level so that Joe Public needn't bother his arse about it.
If the Governator can enact state-level laws in California to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions then the GLA must have some clout too. Otherwise, what is it for?

Feeds four (can be frozen).
Ingredients -
1 large onion*
500g of beef mince*
mushrooms
red or green peppers
1 tin kidney beans*
1 tin tomatoes*
garlic*
cooking oil (olive or vegetable or sunflower)*
tomato puree*
chilli powder*
dried chillis* (start with 3-5 of these until you know what you like. If you break these up they will add more heat than if left intact -wash your hands after)
red wine (half a glass)
fresh chillis

The asterisk indicates essential items. This is a very flexible and forgiving recipe that will give a slightly different outcome each time that you make it. The chilli aspect of it will vary depending on the combination of fresh and dried chilis and chill powder that is added. If you leave out the chilli element and add Italian spices and herbs and a bay leaf you have a respectable bolognese type sauce.
Don't be frightened to innovate.

Best cooked in a wok.
Cut the onion and fry in oil for five mins, add the meat and brown for ten mins on a medium to low heat with the lid on. Meanwhils chop the mushrooms & peppers, open the tomatoes and rinse the kidney beans.
When the meat is browned add the chilli powder (a light sprinkling over the meat so there is a thin layer), tomato puree, garlic and stir it all in. Put the oven on at about 180C. Cook for another five mins.
Add the remaining ingredients, stir in and cook for five more mins.
Put the whole lot into a ceramic or iron casserole dish with a lid and chuck it in the oven. After 45 mins give it a stir and turn the oven down a little if it seems very dry already and add a small cup of water if necessary.
45 mins later it will be ready, serve with cold lager beer and rice or tacos or on brown toast or any which way.
N.B. You can re-heat and eat this dish several times and the flavours just get better with every re-heating. I made one of these on thursday avo and we had it for dinner then, lunch on Friday and will have it for Sunday lunch today. I'll freeze what is left for a rainy day.