1464 Three films day

I begin with good news for as the inland revenue has sent a cheque for an overpayment of tax for last year, sufficient to pay fro my trip to London.

It has been a lazy start and I have still not washed and shaved and it is nearly midday, However I have prepared a stir fry for lunch and am ready to of some more work having sorted out in readiness later last night and this morning. One reason for not getting going sooner is the preoccupation with communication file and printer share between computers. I have set aside this activity and will do an hour's work before lunch.

I decided to watch the latest film of Beowulf, the most significant work of Anglo Saxon Literature about the mythological exploits of a brave and skilled fighter who conquers Grendel, a beast monster attacking a drinking hall built by the King in Denmark The beat is impervious to weapons and realising this Beowulf fights him without weapons tearing and arm from the shoulder so that the monster goes off to the marshes to die.

In revenge the beasts mother who also has the same defensive qualities as her son kills the most loyal of Beowulf's men and because of this a special sword given to him has no effect but after a long battle he severs the head of the mother which he brings back as a trophy. Later on in his kinship a slave steals a golden cup part of the treasure of a dragon who leaves his cave and burns up everything in sight in revenge. Beowulf and young man named Wiglaf do battle with the dragon which they slay but Beowulf dies from his wounds and the dragon's treasure is buried with him as ordered by Beowulf before his death.

The mother of the monster and later a dragon creature after becoming king. He also dies in this battle and buried by his retainers as a great hero. The document of some 3000 lines has been the subject of worldwide scholarship and while there is agreement that it was written in England it has been dated only between the 8th and 11th centuries.

I can only assume that the film was made for the Friday night/Saturday night teenage audience/young adult audience. The script and the acting, with one exception is as awful as it gets. In order to make the story interesting several twists are introduced. Grendel is the result of a union between the King Hrothgar played by Anthony Hopkins and the beats mother and the son rejected comes to cause havoc upon his father. Beowulf does not know this when he responds to the call from the king to rid his people of the beast. When Beowulf kills the beast in similar fashion to poem, his mother kills most of his men but not the trusted friend as in the poem. The King then asks Beowulf to destroy the mother in order for Beowulf to gain his reward, but Beowulf succumbs to the ideal female form which the mother adopts. On his return everyone accepts his boasting of how he killed the beast mother but the King senses that he has been seduced as happened to himself. No evidence of the death was brought back and Beowulf claims he hast lost the golden horn given to him by the King as his first reward.

As the beast mother has offered Beowulf becomes immediately King for having told everyone this is to be and that the Kings wife is to marry Beowulf, the king immediately commits suicide. Time passes and everyone ages including his friend Wiglaf, and then someone, a slave discovers the golden horn and brings this back to the King and in doing so breaks the pact with the beast mother that he would prosper as long as she kept the horn. This triggers the arrival of the dragon, his son, causing mayhem and as in the original work, he slays the dragon but the battles ends his life.

Beowulf was a work studied by Tolkien and influential in creating his Lord of the Rings Trilogy brought to life as a work of enduring film art and entertainment. My only thought is perhaps the creator of this nasty and worthless film is haunted by his very creations.

I worked hard but in relaxed fashion during the day photographing and registering completed sets, some 25 sets, 650 cards and around 1000 photographs

I watched two films back tip back in the evening as I slowed down although crating a few additional sets from prepared card work.

The first of these films was Tokyo Eyes. This is not a great film but held together its flimsy story well and provided an excellent insight into commentary Japanese adolescents, although he lead parts were played by experienced TV actors. It was only afterwards where reading the Wikipedia entry that I realised why the film reminded me of about de souffle (Breathless) the 1959 film, as originally it was a French scripts to be shot in Paros and was then changed to a script in Japanese and shot in Japan. The older brother of a seventeen year old girl is a policeman concerned a teenage gunman who fires shots at people without hitting them, stealing or committing other criminal acts. Before the shootings he out on thick glasses and becomes known as Four Eyes. He a computer wizard has a an enormous collection of Long Play records.

My understanding of the film is very different from that of Wikipedia. Early on the film the 17 year old believes she had identified Four eyes from a drawing made by her brother and she skips work to follow him and the enlists the help of friend to investigate further. When she witnesses the young man appear to shoot at the manager off a store her first reaction is to call her brothers and ask him to collect her, and later she tries to tell him as he rushes off to investigate the incident. However before she is able to tell policeman a relationship between the two commences, and in her infatuation she believes what he says that his intention is only to scare and that he has fixed the gun so that if you fire straight at someone it fires wide of them. She erases the telephone message and leaves another saying she has met a boy. The ending of the film is ambiguous. She does explain the situation to her brother and he agrees to take no action, understanding her infatuations and believing when se says that the but intends no harm. When the owner of the gun comes to collect the gun, it goes off and for a time we are led to believe that the boy has been shot although there is no blood. There is also a query whether the gun accidentally goes off killing someone, someone who is first encountered physically ending a relationship.

The ending of the film suggests either he was not shot or he recovers as the two appear to meet off camera in an alls well conclusion. The a story and its outcome did not matter to me. It was the insight into Japanese teenage city life today which I found engaging.

The third film Bridget has a preposterous story which also engaged despite its incredulity because of fine acting and its main star attracting our sympathies. More the film tomorrow as sleep beckons and I need to go to bed with an early start. I hope I am well prepared in order to leave the house to get to the local station by nine thirty. If the weather is poor I may take a taxi. For the fourth day in succession I had a stir fry for lunch using up vegetables unlikely to last over the weekend and then having a salad in the evening. I tried to share files between the working lap top and the desktop as they appeared to be linked on the laptop, but without success and this will be a priority when I return having come so close yet still so far.

1463 Films. Computers and Olympics

Tuesday August 12th was a dull rain threatening day when I awoke around 8.30 and was not the kind of day to plan to watch cricket, which is just as well as a check on the TV BBC cricket Ceefax confirmed that the start as delayed because of rain.

I had allowed myself to be beaten at level two chess and this irritated so although there was much else to do I played five games and also three or four at Heats, enjoying a cup of coffee but leaving the French Toasts until after ten.

I decided upon going out in search for computer hardware to fix my laptop problems but on checking that the new glasses would not be ready until after my departure, I changed my mind and decided to use the time going out for the search on checking for information and on line deals, but only after I had attended to other outstanding matters. I need to make a list, or do I? Perhaps I should just get on with it and which is what I did.

There was no inclination to catching up with the Olympics and I left checking the latest news online. I did learn last night that Murray senior had bombed out in his first round single tie, a competition eh was not expected to win with Federer and Nadal both after an Olympic Medal. An explanation for the Murray performance against someone ranked seventy places below his top ten at six is that he was scheduled to play a doubles with his brother on the same day. A competition they have a chance of winning. They won their first round match, There has been great hype over the fourteen year old synchronised swimmer who during boot camp achieved a score which would have won the pair a silver medal whereas they finished last. His older opponent who had received done of the limelight said the young man had been overcome by nerves as he himself admitted with the TV crew focussed also on his family who were present and his other relatives in London. I suspect this was all government inspired to get ten year olds and upwards involved in sports with the aim of getting to the 2012 Olympics. If so it has badly misfired as the medial will build up the successes and pour scorn on those who promise and then under achieve. It will be interesting to see if he continues to 2012. For me the issue is whether performers have performed at their best and are beaten those who are better and whether they have put in the training and preparations required beforehand. My criticism is of those who fail to train, prepare and perform up top their level of ability. My approach would be different if participation was by amateurs or those who continue to hold full time jobs. Most of the Olympic squad are on contracts and are well paid professionals.

Later there was a British Olympic story which was worth all the medals everyone else has won. This was the effort of the only British weightlifter at the games, a woman who won a Commonwealth gold and was doing well when she developed a back problem the curse of the event but continued on despite the excruciating pain which was evident. She get my vote for the sportsperson often year and makes my point about what the Games should be about. I am not impressed by the USA Swimmer Phelps. He is obviously a physical freak and a competitive obsessive. What he does is not sportsmanship.

The good news of the day occurred when I switched the teletex and the headline was that Russia had announced it was suspending its activities in Georgia without admitting it had been shaken by international pressure led by the USA President. The situation needed tough guy talk and it appears to have worked. Later the French president who did not get a good press where he and his wife came to the UK appears to have brokered a peace deal which stops the fighting.

My attention earlier was on a radio news item that the a previous decision that compensation paid to a female rape victim had been reduced because of contributory negligence by excessive drinking, was overturned at a legal challenge. A spokesperson argued that nothing justified rape to which I would added murder and a host of others things which we should never condone.

However such statements, subsequently echoed by a government spokesperson, misses the point. We all have responsibility to protect ourselves and anyone dependent upon us, and to take all reasonable steps to that end. That means if we take unnecessary risks we should not then expect universal sympathy if things go wrong, I was reminded of this later in the evening when I watched on World Movies a little known a little known film outside of France called Riviera which starred the French actress Miou Miou with seventy films to her credit, and who plays a lonely and hard working chamber maid in a hotel. We know little of how this middle aged woman with a beautiful daughter working in sex industry ended up with this life, affected by the goings on in the rooms she cleans with guests who treats her as if she is not there or some identityless individual. This is really two films knit together as well follow the life of the daughter who longs for someone not to treat her as sex object even though she works in the sex industry and attempts to establish relationships with men who use the industry and finds herself the victim of unsolicited assaults. The mother and deals with the man who uses the greatest violence on the daughter and the daughter, does she learn from this experience alas no as in the penultimate scene she is poolside listen to music oblivious to the porn film director beating up one of the naked porn starts who had irritated him by eating and drinking while working on set. The mother well she is greeted by a manager who notices her as she is working late and asks her to call him by his Christian name which she does and suggests that that her life is about to take a more positive turn. It is not a great film, depending on an outstanding music background with brilliantly selected songs which reinforce the points being made.

I therefore will upset some by saying that it is irresponsible for young women to dress scantily and then get drunk, unless perhaps in their own home with someone they know and trust and who is in a position to protect them should an emergency arise. The same applies to those who take drugs, However I place major responsibility on the fashion, advertising and alcohol industry and to some extent on the media which operates a hypocritical double standard relying on advertise and sensational stories and who do not maintain a constant warning about the perils of engaging in risk taking behaviour of any kind.

Someone who takes advantage of such a situation should be punished but in some circumstances the victim should accept responsibility for their part and for society not to recognise this is to send a signal encouraging others to also behave irresponsibly.

The same applies to prostitution where one individual contracts to provide services to another for money. If either party fails to fulfil the contract then they should be open to civil redress and if they commit an act which was not contracted then any breach of the criminal should result in criminal action. Some service providers agree to participate in rape scenarios, bondage situations and other aggressive physical actions so the dividing line is sometimes difficult to establish. How should one approach those who hold clergy and tarts dressing up parties or roman toga parties if this is not to signal wild behaviour?

It also occurs to me that being a prostitute is a high risk occupation no different from being a front line soldier. Both occupations are necessary to society as it is. The soldier earns significantly less for greater risks but both perform essential work for society. They both however have responsibility to protect themselves and their comrades within the risk nature of their activity. Society should however recognise their respective value and offer appropriate protection and support.

The greatest responsibility rests with parents of young children caught up the world of fashion and personality and ensuring that their sons are brought up to understand the real facts of life. After that all one can do is to provide unconditional love and always be there to pick up the pieces.

I went to bed after watching the Michael Caine 2002 film the Quiet American for third time, once in theatre and once previously on TV. This is also a film at two levels. The film provides an insight into the Saigon as the French were leaving and the Americans beginning to develop their anti communist strategy, a strategy which led to civilians, old men, women and children, being blown to bits and the film ends with a montage of subsequent events.
The film is primarily a love story between a beautiful and young Vietnamese girl wanting to escape life as the dancing partner in a dance hall frequented by Westerners and Michael Caine, an aging outposted journalist whose estranged wife back in England will not give him a divorce, and a young USA secret CIA field officer who also falls in love with the girl. The girl she is adorable but is driven by her older sister who insist she must marry a Westerner and provide ticket out for the family and regards Michael as the major obstacle, encouraging the relationship with the CIA agent. The brilliance of the Graham Greene novel and in this film version of the book is that the CIA young man is highly principled and tells Michael in advance of his feelings and intentions before approaching the girl. Michael plays the moral hypocrite outraged at the involvement of the USA in the internal affairs of the Vietnamese but who assists in the assassination of the CIA man who previously helped to save Michael's life. Michael gets backs his girl who has lost her innocence and as with the daughter in Riviera and Miss Saigon in the musical will be sued and exploited before tossed aside as Westerners used to be able to treat the East. Beware though the East will gets its revenge one way or another.

During the day I attempted to connect the two lap tops through a crossover cable and decided to record what I was doing in the after the first attempted failed to work through an explanation provided on line for the cost of a dollar. I started with an internet search and PC World which provided information of external drives and flash drives but I sassiest this might not resolve if the transfer to Disk drives was not resolved anyway in which instance the problem had been solved and I could attempt to put the computer back to factory settings.

I then came across what appeared to be a free service but was in fact a 30 day trial and where after downloading on desktop I was able to control the desktop via the internet from lap top two. The on going cost of the service is about £10 a month USA funds and given that I am rarely away and that the link between internet computer is not an issue then the price is not justified and there are risks as I quickly discovered as a new printer appeared to have been added as my preferred computer. So I quickly found out how to disable the software and will attempt to remove either later today/tomorrow or when I get back.

I then found the offer of advising how to connect two XP computer together by a local crossover cable yellow coloured and this was the one that had been provided with the AOL new wireless router modem and was not longer needed with the desk top or lap top two. For one US dollar I was offered an easy step by step guide through using Pay Pal or Credit card. Recently I had been advised that my Pay Pal credit card was out of date and that a new registration was required so this was my first step and this went ahead with any difficulty. I then went back to the provider and the information was provided and printed.

Attempt 1
The first task was to close both lap tops and attach the cable.

The second was to ensure that the two differently named computers were part of the same group. This involved right clicking my computer and going to properties and then to computer name. This was done on both computer but obviously it was not necessary to change the workgroup name unless one wished to do so both computer. This involved rebooting one the computers. This process completed step 18 of a 48 step process.

The next step was interesting in that it involved the task of enabling the sharing of information between computers. This again involved going to my computer pressing the right mouse button and then the hard drive C but instead of going to properties the target was sharing information and involved two processes with the first warning of the risks of allowing data to be shared between computers and enabling this to be done.

The next important steps in the process is to determine which information is to be accessible and transferable, This involved a left mouse click on the main hard drive and focussing on documents and settings when open had to right clique on the umbrella folder to allow transfer and use and this I did selecting one only of the options available.

This brought to the final phase which was to establish that the net work link was confirmed with the two computers showing up on each others network

The problem encountered is that on computer did not show while although the other did it was not accessible

Attempt 2
There was no obvious explanation for the failure of the first attempt except for the problems with the damaged lap top. I therefore decided to repeat the process before contacting vendor to see if there were other problems which could account for the failure.

I not repeat the first task

In relation to the second I decided to simplify the computer names and change the work group name
This involved rebooting one computer twice and the other once having decided to simplify the names after changing the work group.

At this point I realised the information was relevant in relation to the previous attempt to establish a wireless net work between the desktop and the fully work laptop so investigated and change the work group name of the desk top so that all three have the same workgroup name. I had to reboot desktop for changes to take effect and poured myself a glass of red wine from a new bottle with one slice of brown seeded bread.

Having agreed that the computers should enable file sharing during the first attempt this was not required during the second as the stages had already been completed, I decided against applying this process to the desk top until I had achieve the direct link local connection process

In checking the second part of the enabling process I decided to enable all the categories of users under documents and settings on both computers

In order to communicate and use fields between computer it is necessary to go to network connections and network places and check the workgroup that has been created. Alas the same situation as attempt one occurred and my only thought is that the processes was affected by one lap remaining wireless connected. The more I thought on this this the more it seemed to be the problem but in order to repeat the process without the wire connection it would involve disabling the wireless and I feared that this would have affect my ability to go on line while I was away. So it was a heart in the mouth decision.

Attempt 3

I have hit on the problem in that when I went to the net work places and networks it was blank whereas before it had included the host lap top. The question Filmsis can I repeat the process without moving back every. The answers is no. The website provides e mail advice and lots of other useful information which I will need to print and study. I will leave this until my return unless I make greater progress today which is unlikely.

1462 Swimming Gold and Spooks spin off nasty

I have a great sense of rapidly vanishing time and find myself in a rushed mood which I will find difficult to break out of.

Up around 8.30 I write this around 2pm waiting for the lack of sleep overnight to hit me. I missed the Olympic event of the day from the British perspective. Rebecca Adlington is just 19 years of age and was not expected to win a medal in her second performing race the 400 medley with the 800 a medal possibility. The U.S.A swimmer Katie Hoff was expected to take the gold and led the whole race until the final seconds. Rebecca with team mate Jo Jackson were in fourth and fifth position as they started the last free style lap and giving no hint of the final burst which led her to touch the finishing line first and Jo pushing on with her third. At the last Games in Athens the British swimming team managed two medals in total and neither were gold. It is 48 years since the last women's gold medal and 20 years since a male won which gives perspective to the achievement. Needless to add, the two girls, their families and friends and the rest of the nation went bonkers.

However the News programme put the games into perspective with the news that Russia were not responding to Georgian calls for a cease fire, Russia claiming that Georgia were pretending and continuing aggressive acts. The situation appeared to deteriorate during the day which a message of concern expressed by the USA government to Russia who appears now set on taking over the country and establishing a pro Russia friendly regime. This has wider implications that for Georgia. I wonder what Americas role, behind the scenes has been in all this and how far the attention of the world on the Games has been used as a cover for the development. As an outsider there is now way of know what is really happening and why and who is involved and who is not.

This was the brilliance of Spooks a series on a special home land security task force in he UK after 9/11 and 7/7. What made the series a must see was the writing of the core stories and the quality of acting as well as the written interactions between the actors.

The new Spooks Code 9 is a poor relation. This is the story concept. There is a minor nuclear explosion set off in central London which kills about 100000 and with an unspecified number anticipated to die or become extremely sick as a consequence of tradition. It is signalled early on in the first episode which I saw together with the second on BBCi player yesterday evening that the event is being used to introduced an authoritarian government into the UK and that it is by no means certain that the event was externally inspired. The second core concept is that with amazing the bomb wiping out key homeland security people but apparently not the government and others amazing deciding to leave the service and go into private work the government decides on a new approach of recruiting very young and inexperienced new field operatives. The problem is that the actors appear as inexperienced and immature as this nonsense concept. The third concept idea is that after the team leader behaves in a naive and stupid fashion and get herself killed the new leader is a concept boy. He is not action man but a probability mathematician. Such ingredients take good writing and good acting to have any chance of working and impressing an intelligent audience which the programme is aimed at. I suspect the series is a government inspired recruiting vehicle or double bluff to convince that by creating such an awful programme the government would never do in practice what the programmes portrays. I enjoyed it nevertheless but will rely on the BBC player to watch at times convenient to me when I am in the mood and have nothing better to do.

Although I tried to go back to bed after putting the bin out I got up and attended to washing up as well as washing me after breakfast of French Toasts. There was an early lunch of stir fry chicken and more washing up. Later a real ham sandwich with cumber was sufficient for the rest of the day after a few peanuts and sup of wine all that was left. I had some grapes after lunch and two fresh peaches late into the evening. The level of exercise was poor with only a limited amount of being up and about the house although I did walk the short distance to the post box and back up the hill.

The main activity during the day was research and plan more about my London. I looked to see how long it would for me to get into central London from Croydon by bus and the standard journey involving a couple of bus changes takes one hour and a half. The train journey from East Croydon to Victoria takes 15-20 minutes involving one stop. I looked at the present Travel Card costs and although there is a cheaper three day card, it is cheaper for me to buy single journeys going through the cross link from Kings Cross on Thursday and then a train to Victoria for the coach station on Monday. I am going to the south coast by train on the Sunday direct from east Croydon so that only leaves the value for a travel card on Friday and Saturday depending on the extent to which I will be using buses on the underground. I have now established that there is one showing of the 3D version of Journey to the centre of earth at the O2 Vue Millennium Dome at 11 am on Friday and Saturday. It might be a tight time task on Friday going from East Croydon to Victoria and then changing at Westminster for the Jubilee Line to North Greenwich and safer to try on Saturday when I can use the travel card before 9.30 I am interested to see the difference in techno nearly half a decade since using hand held read and Green 3D glasses and it would be good to go back tot eh Dome now the O2 auditorium and also being used for the second visit in my lifetime of the Tutankhamen exhibition. However I have now discovered that it is showing at the Vue West End a more reasonable time 1.30 although the cost is £9.95 a ticket compared to £6 at Greenwich.

The plan is then to go a free concert by a female singer at the Royal Festival Hall at 6pm. There is also a free Burlesque show at 10 at the same venue but the getting back might be a problem as well as reality overwhelming! Much better to return and write up the experiences of the day until then as well as getting up early for the Olympic specials. On Saturday there is a choral concert at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the proms and I fancy going tot eh proms and before then possibly a visit to the Victoria and Albert fine arts museum which is also in the South Kensington area, perhaps finding a pub for lunch and including tour around the Hall.

An alternative option is to spend the afternoon in Portsmouth taking a cheap day return.

The rest of the evening was used by attending to technology issues and the challenges posed by problems with a lap top. I am determined not to be beaten by the problems in this instance although have to ensure I use the time available in a balanced way. I need to remove some information from the machine and then go into recovery mode which takes the machine back to factory standards but loses the data. A similar option is a solution recommended for the desk top as means of working out why the card reader is not reading although appear to be working. Additional technology devices are involved. A USB card reader which is Vista and XP friendly. A cable/wireless and software to transfer data between computers and a secondary data storage device. But I need to ensure I understand how these will work and any problems before purchasing. It all points to reducing cricket watching over the next two days and getting on with other things.

1461 Olympic Gold and cricket

It is difficult to know where to begin on what became a long stretched day of constantly changing emotions commencing with the Olympics and the women's road race and ending the early hours with mixed fortunes in grappling with communications technology.

I have just watched again on my desk top monitor the end of the 126 Kilometre road race win by Nicole Cooke, whose parental home in a small village in Wales, reminding myself of the gruelling three hour thirty two minute twenty four second race which I watched throughout Sunday morning. The commentators were always confident that she was in touch with who ever was leading the race with various attempted breakaways and then when more than a ten second gap opened between the breakaway group and the others as the they completed the second circuit climbing high into the mountains where the great wall is located outside of Beijing.

The weather was atrocious throughout with torrential fain falling which amazed that there were not more falls and group crashes as a consequence. Then as they approached the finishing and the breakaway group turned a bend from the downhill part of the race Nicole lost a second's touch with the four other leaders and so far in the euphoria of what followed there has been no explanation of what happened at this point and for a few seconds the previous three and half hours work appeared to have been in vain and she appeared likely to be outside the medals. As she admitted afterwards it was then that all the punishing training in preparation for these Games had its effect and she burst through to take the lead and then to hold off attempts by others in the group to overtake her. The elation of her experiences was joy to behold and she was unable to say anything to commentators other than how wonderfully happy she was, overwhelming herself with her own feelings.

After all the concerns and questions about the Games and all the public expenditure and hype I remembered previous feelings of similar situations. There were then developments which nevertheless placed this achievement in perspective. Pro west Georgia who had use force to prevent a pro Russia province from breaking away were being hit by the full and prepared forces of Russia. It is no accident that all this has happened when the world's attention is focussed on the Games. It may be that Georgia felt it had no alternative but to resist the Russian inspired breakaway attempt but to have used force was a disastrous gamble which now threatens the integrity of the whole state as Russian continues to bomb and threaten to move over from the border of the disputed territory. Then late in the evening there was news that two Chinese students were murdered in their accommodation in central Newcastle.

I had prepared my chicken stir fry for the an early midday meal, then got myself up and then prepared two sandwiches and a container of grapes and strawberries, a flash of coffee and of orange juice ready for the cricket.

It was not until I was seated at the stadium that I checked to find that we were Sussex in the forty over first division competition where Durham had won the second division last year. Because of the meal, then getting myself washed and changed and giving attention to the cycle road race, I was late setting off and could not park in my preferred place directly at the riverside, although I did manage a good position in the next car park nearest the main roadway into the ground area. There had been an ominous cloud above the ground area as I approached and a few spots of rain on the windscreen but play was underway as I looked for somewhere to sit and tried to work out who was batting as both teams were dressed in black. I selected an aisle seat area on the far side of Member's Lounge entrance and close to the shop, box office and main reception area and was concerned to find that Durham was batting first and finding the conditions difficult, scoring only 3 runs an over. There were three short rain interruptions which could not have helped the concentration but gradually the weather improved which was ominous for Durham as they commenced scoring with greater ease as the weather improved. Mustard made 82 and with support from Chanderpaul, Smith, Blenkenstein and a late flurry from Plunkett the team reached 221 off the reduced 38 overs from forty, thus scoring at just under 6 runs an over after the shaky start.

The problem was Durham's bowling and a strong opening by Sussex who scored 106 before the second wicket and then Plunket had a miserable time hit for 37 off three overs, replaced by captain Blenkenstein who although took two wickets bowling his 8 overs for 50 runs although the others with one exception also gave away 6 runs an over. Davies was the only bowler giving his side hope with 1 wicket for 22 runs of his eight overs. They were not bowling badly and in other circumstances the game may have ended more tightly but the change in conditions altered the balance and although Sussex commenced to lose wickets the result never appeared to me in doubt. I therefore left the match with two overs to go to beat the traffic.

After seeing a food programme about the nature of processed ham with fat and other dodgy cuts, salt and water I decided to buy the more expensive thin slices of cured leg of ham, of the kind that Italians and the Spanish are so good at creating at a price for the market. I added a few slices of cucumber and enjoyed one sandwich at the match and the second when I returned home just after eight o'clock after a glass of wine and the last of the peanuts. I then finished off the grapes and strawberries not eaten at the game although I had given in to the temptation of a packet of crisps from the Member's lounge when I went to see if there was a travel club visit to the game ay Hampshire.

I did commence some photographing of completed work but this decided me to investigate again the problems arising in one of the lap tops and this in turn led to six hours of concentrated activity after finding that I appeared to have lost the wireless local network on the laptop and then encountered problems with the desk top, Did I have a time trying to work out what I was doing, what I had done, why things were not working and then why they were. I was too busy working to make notes of what I was doing.

The first positive outcome is that I am now wireless connected from desk top to router. There is no hard link between the router and the computer. This is amazing. The netgear USB add on did not work this morning when attached to the rear slots but does from the front two one of which I use for the printer. I do not think my printer is wireless prepared but I will check this out later on Monday.

The second bonus progress is that my VA10 notebook now appears to be working better than previously since the Belkin wireless card was added and is also working now with no problem through the router. I am yet to work out how to pass over files and hope to have a go at sorting this out also later on Monday.

I could return the Advent lap top to its original factory settings through recovery but my understanding is that I would lose the data including the photos which are important, having somehow managed to delete the copy move devices and stopped windows doing so as one did and does without the provided software. I have found a way to reinstall programmes and drivers from the hard drive but while this appeared to work for the first programme tried in the early hours it did not resolve the problem, I will have another try. I also failed to overcome the connectivity problem to AOL, through Router with connection and to establish wireless. There is something missing with I am determined to try and solve.

I therefore went to bed around 3am possibly later in mixture of success and failure and had to concentrate to relax mind and body to sleep. This was successful rising at around 5, 7 and then 8.45 to put the bin out. I have not had of these nights for several weeks when I forget sleep, the body, time such is the concentration on what I am doing and the determination to resolve problems. I also did some thinking about my trip to London in terms of minimising luggage but covering wet and warm, casual and formal wear and also how I would make use of the days given that there would be Olympics on the BBC TV or computer online if I wished. I would do this also later on Monday.

The bonus of the day was two Andrew Marr programmes in succession. The first is part of short series assessing the UK from the perspective of the air with the programme covering a 24 hour period showing the surge of activity as over half the population takes to the roads and transport services during the morning rush hour. A second focus was on the development of shopping and centres and the logistics required in ensuring that supplies were acquired and distributed as they were needed, The great change has been with the use of container vehicles, the special chips, ports and storage areas, the impact with half a million vehicles on the roads as well as the historical effects on ports. There were views of the shipping lanes with 400 vessels a day in the straights of Dover and half a million lorries and trucks on the roads. There was what we do with our waste and the reduction to scrap of white and other goods neat Hartlepool and then the selling of the stuff to China, no doubt through the Ports of the Tyne and the Tees. There was also the management of the energy grid, where we buy in extra from Frances as well as specialist hydro power stations to offset the sudden rise at the end of programmes such as East Enders Nowhere else are kettles switched on in such significant a number. There were countless other images no longer remembered. This programme was followed by one on London which interested me greatly as at the end of World War two the whole of bombed London was photographs and these photos have now been scanned into a one photograph of London 1945-1948. The programme examined the attempt to rebuild London and the insistence, understandably, on returning everything as to how it had been rather than looking t what was head. The consequence was the rebuilding of London dockland and dockland ways with the shock to the system when the container vessel arrived and it was realised that the Thames was too far in land and too difficulty to navigate and the first and continuing major container port at Felixstowe was created, London as a Dockland had its fate sealed, The programme looked at the changing face of London, designed by USA planners and architects and how with the latest technology it is possible to show how a new building will look and fit in with other buildings of the city. The Cheese Grater is the next expected with other in process of development. Perhaps I would take my camera with me after all!

1460 Olympics and a film

As an antidote to Olympic and sporting saturation I watched a film.

The choice was between a foreign language film and a comedy. I could not remember why I had added either to DVD list and decided upon the comedy, although usually I do not find advertised comedies laughing out loud funny. Death at a Funeral is described as a black comedy and although a British film, it enjoyed some success in the USA and in Australia. At first the film appears to be about what can wrong at a family funeral which brings together people who do not usually get on with each other and lead very different lives but then into this conventional mix is added a home made psychedelic hallucinogen and the secret male lover of the deceased, out to make a modest but blackmailed sum in the all the circumstances and apparent wealth of the family. The sequence of events was very English, credible and funny and therefore surprising that the film is reported to have enjoyed such success down under and across the pond.

The film brightened what quickly became a disappointing day as I struggled to do any work over eat and experienced Olympic anticlimax and saturation after just a morning. The British Judo great hope failed again in his first round match, outwitted by his opponent although there is doubt about the only score which saw him through into subsequent rounds. Our cert for a medal also failed to win through the repercharge rounds to contest the Bronze. With the Great Boxing hope sent home because he failed to make the required weight. It was not the start which the British team at the games had hoped and planned for.

There was also potential disaster with one of our great sailing medal hopes as he was caught out by a change in tide and moved down from first to tenth position in the first race, but came through to win the second so had a third position after the first of several days sailing. A British girl's sailing team in this first class of the competition also ended the two races in a good position for the week ahead

However a Chinese man murdered an American and the committed suicide while a member of the New Zealand media was attacked and both instances were being reported as taking the gloss off the opening ceremony euphoria.

South Africa rallied in the final test much affected by rain and I just was not in the mood to watch the many football friendlies especially I thought I was to watch Sunderland in Ireland but got the showings wrong although a replay is being shown in the morning.

I bought some biscots French Toasts for the trip to Portsmouth and Nottingham and then forgot to take them with me so they are being eaten for breakfast. As I will want to leave for the cricket tomorrow around 12.30 I decided to cook the chicken to day which I enjoyed with a few small roast vegetables and a small packet vegetables followed by a banana and some strawberries. I then had a glass of wine with peanuts, a few Belgian chocolate thins, a packet soup in a cup, some pasta stuffed with spinach and some grapes in an extended meal during the afternoon and evening knowing beforehand hat I would regret doing so and that I was doing so in response to feeling tired and generally discontented.

In part this arose from reviewing my financial expenditure, the cost of new glasses and the cost of the starter motor. I got a round to writing to the vehicle repairer and Hampshire Cricket to find out if the prescription sun glasses had been found and handed in. I fancied having another week away combining Durham at the Rose Bowl County championship with further visits to the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth Naval Harbour, but realised that with the London trip shortly I could not justify the expense. I decided to move some funds between accounts on line and made a mess of the required codes so asked for some information not realising that it would take three working days by post. I then found the missing information but the system had already locked me out and I then could not remember relevant information quick enough to use the telephone service, although eventually achieved what I had set out to do. But only after taking a lot of time.

It was not all negative activity. The thought of getting to the coach station by eight and then travelling for seven hours was such that I searched and found a cheap single fare for a ten thirty Newcastle Train which arrives early afternoon. I also discovered that putting wireless on the lap top and then attaching to the desk top based network worked, I was able to get on line in all rooms down stairs and first floor rooms. Was too lazy to try the top floor although the desk top is still modem phone connected and went off line when I first transferred the telephone to the lap top before realising that I could disconnect this and remain connected. This encourages to be being able to establish a full home wireless network system when I return from the London trip. I must think more about how I will use my time in London although Sunday is committed and Saturday is Albert Hall day and perhaps visit a South Kensington museum depending on the weather as well as doing a tour of the Hall before the concert. So far I have decided not to take my camera on this visit or the time clock, learning how to set the alarm on the phone. Nor books, or CD player and limit clothing so will take only a couple of bags.

I did do some work, played chess and hearts, and slept through early evening TV but my overall mood did not change. Another bright spot was to watch a video of one of my first MySpace music friends Margot McDonald. I cannot remember how this came to be so except that on viewing the profile I was impressed that a young female singer song writer still at performing arts school was interested in environmental and civil rights issues as well as working toward peaceful resolution of conflicts. The voice showed promise but reflected the comparative inexperience of life. Her latest Blog attached a video performance of the Cohen song Hallelujah, one of my favourite songs, and eighteen months after first listening I found that the voice had begun to show the maturity and depth which I believed was there as a fifteen year old. Voted the promising new artist in the Washington area, with two albums and has been invited to be the artist in residence at the Strathmore music centre 2008-2009, I love it when a hunch become real. My hunch is that she will make it to Glastonbury within my life time.

The trouble is that I also have an unspecified foreboding and my record of hunches is sadly a good one,. Especially with the sense of doom and disaster, although these are fortunately rare given my nature to always look on the bright side and see the best in others and in situations. This makes bad feelings more disturbing. Hopefully it remains just a feeling.

1459 The Olympic Games 2008

It was only last night that I grasped that the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Beijing commenced today. The event is being given round the clock treatment by the BBC, with over two thousand hours of coverage during the next sixteen days which is 125 hours a day, presumably covering two terrestrial channels, two radio channels and Sat TV channels. The coverage is not surprising given that the UK hosts the games in 2012. The talking up of medal prospects is to justify the expenditure and get everyone involved in the in the preparations for 2012. I ought to consider trying to get tickets for this once in a lifetime event.

There some10500 athletes from 204 countries; there should have been 2005 but one team failed to register. I thought this was Iraq who had been unable to create an acceptable Olympic committee but they had a boat in the rowing pairs so it must be another country.

The Chinese are said to have spent 42 Billion dollars and promised a truly mind blowing opening ceremony in the nineteen thousand seater stadium. It is evident that a large proportion of crowd in the stadium were Chinese, but how many represented ordinary workers or anyone else in the stadium represented ordinary folk from the rest of the world? The heads of the 204 countries participating were invited and Bush and Putin were in evidence, and saying hullo to each other. Were events in Georgia mentioned. Princess Anne represented the Queen. It was not clear how many tickets were also allocated to other state representatives in addition to the Olympic committee members and staff. Obviously the UK 2012 politicians and administrators and designers would have been out there in force, learning from the Chinese and working out how to impress everyone without bankrupting the nation.

The opening ceremony was long but impressive as fitting all the money spent with several wow factors. For a nation with invented gunpowder the fireworks lit up the city with plenty of bursts of red but were not as spectacular as the concentrated display of Sydney at the Millennium and London New Year's since.

There were fantastic display which involved years of practice involving tens of thousands akin to the great display of Hitler and Russia in times past. It my understanding that participants were given privileges and promises for their education, work and status, but there enthusiasm and pride was evident for everyone to see and the majority remain oblivious to how the capitalist and democratic worlds views their situation. From the state's viewpoint restricting couples to one child was a courageous decision to ensure everyone is fed and provide the foundation for the present economic take off and from the rest of the world restricting the population to less than two billion and less than 50% of the world's population ought to be considered a good thing. But from the viewpoint of individual Chinese couples the impact has been devastating and led to mass abortions.

Prior to the Opening ceremony the emphasis was on the position of Tibet and the position of Dali Lama. I have been fascinated with the situation in Tibet and enjoyed films such as Kundun but that has not blinded to the fact that under the Lama the majority of the population were regarded and treated as slaves. There is always conflict between ignorant and primitive people being allowed to retain their ways of life, regardless, for example, on the impact and treatment of children, women, minorities and those who want a different life. The recent Tribal wives programmes showed compulsory circumcisions and women doing all the hard work while men sat around giving the orders.

There was one surprise which was the number of beautiful young and graceful women on display and the great wow of the opening was the former gymnast who ran round the inner rim of the stadium as a screen unfolded showing the progress of the torch around the world. Until he reached the point when the large torch was lit. This was one of several great creative moments.
The arrival of the teams into the stadium took hours and the British showed great discourtesy to the hosts by less than a third of the team attending the ceremony. I understand it is left to individual competitors to decide with those who involved in the first events given and blanket exemption. This underlines the winning at all costs mentality and far from the original spirit of the games, I hope there will be a three line whip issued for the opening ceremony in London.
I have a great idea for the future that the host nation should either not compete or if they compete would not receive medals which would go to the highest placed performers outside the host nation.

The ceremony commenced on the eighth hour of the eight day of the eight month of the eight year of the Millennium.

Durham won the game against Kent after the eight wicket partnership commenced to score runs. Durham was also not criticised for the condition of the pitch which means that they had the Championship tonight with a game in hand but are yet to establish a lead of significance and hey have some major games away, including Kent.

The fortunes of Durham men continued to smile because Paul Collingwood again scored half a century at he test in support of Captain Petersen who scored 100 while Harmison scored 49 not out his highest test score by luck and some led.

As anticipated the disappointment of the night was America has got talent. No one in the last four really impressed although ventriloquist was perhaps the best and could win.

I left going for frozen food after defrosting the freezer until after the English Innings ended. I bought three medium size chicken for £10 and two pork with sage stuffing rather that pork with Crackling plus some chicken pieces Southern coasted. I also bought some pasta dishes and chilli sauce. I has dish with a mixture of last chips and last of packet of potatoes for roasting and then a salmon salad.

Having registered the desktop on line I enquired about the card reader. And will consider or buy an add on USB which works with Vista . If necessary, although there is merit in keeping the photos on a separate computer until copies are made.

Hearts is now at 28% with the next objective 33% but I keep doing well at second kevel chess with the highest run 60 out of the 101 target and then one second lack of concentration and back to zero.

I went to bed early after having slept watching TV and did not settle so returned and did some computer house keeping which involved the uploading and installing of Vista update pack one and this happened after updating pack was installed with the initial burst of updates when going on line for the first time. I suspect that there has been too much update over too short a time and that it will take time for everything to settle down and for problems to sort out. Not going on lime which seemed a good idea at the time was a mistake.

1458 a Religious film, The Unit and Cricket

I confess I have had an itty bitty morning of indecision, torn between cricket, writing and sorting out the in tray, tending to flit around things. Kent are losing wickets again so I decided on an early lunch here at home, the remaining snack meal of bacon beans potatoes and a banana, but I also make an unhealthy cheese and salami sandwich, before going out for quick visit to Aldi and the Fredericke Street Greengocers. I buy tins of the salmon ready prepared in sauces of various kinds for salad lunches. Breadm their last couple of pints of skimmed milk, lettuce cumcumber and some fresh peaches. The xcheries at the greengrocers look delicious large and juicey but I bulk at £3 around as those in Shields centre cost less. I buy two pounds of grapes for £1.
When I arrive at the Riverside ground a great black cloud covers the ground and I observed that having hesitated about making the trip I had chosed badly. There are a few droplets as I decided on location, staning near the Members Lounge but the rain does not come although the cloud lingers. Kent were all out for 78 some 68 runs behind Durham and their last wicket pair added 20. Durham are also struggling again and no one makes over 30 and they are all our around tea time for 108 leaving Kent 176 to win. This looks impossible as they losing two wickets in first over but then there is a stand of some sixty runs for the fourth wicket and scoring begins to look easy and none of the bowlers appear threatening. It is got very cold as well as fully overcast so perhaps atmospheric conditions is the factor. Then there is a sudden collapse just when Durham is in sight of victory play is stopped for bad light conditions. Ominously one of the batsman is approaching 50 runs and the other participated in the previous last wicket rally, although they have to score sixty runs to win in the morning, the game is far from over.
Althoyugh I had taken a sandwich and coffee to the game I was still peckish around tea time and treated myself to a scone and to a slice of cake for £3. I should have bought a pound of cherries . I raised the issue of the condition of the wicket with 15 players out on the first day and as it transpired 23 on the second day. I learnt that the umpires had called in the pitch inspectors the previous evening and three had looked at the pitch before the start of play. Durham could be fined championship points for using a below standard pitch although one member was confident this would not happen because similar visits had been made to two other grounds in the season and the problem was put down to excissive rain before the pitch is covered as usually after its initial preparation but there had not been sufficient warm sub to dry it out and together with atmospheric conditionas the ball was swinging around. Durham's chance of the championship could disappear if Kent get the run or points are deducted the equivalent of the winning points or both.
I do not do much over the rest of the evening other than watch TV. For the evening meal there are chicken pieces with baked beans and a loose ice cream cone which had slipped down into another basked. A glass of wine and peanuts beforehand. I work out the information required for registering the desk top so I can ask about the memory stick reader. I hope this is a drive problem as the light comes on but I leave sorting out until tomorrow having deciding not to go the match.
I watched a film called Catholics Boys better known as Heaven Help Us when first released outside the USA in 1985 about a young man brought with his sister by grandparents following the death of both parents and where is grandmother wants him to be a priest coinciding with the visit of Pope to the USA in the 1960's. The story hinges on the young man joining the school mid way during the term and this is not clear except possibly because the parental deaths was recent. Being a mid term arrival he becomes the centre of attention by the class gang leader and bully and who has a hold on one boy who is the brains of the class. The new boy and brains become friends and both are drawn into the life style of the gang leader and their ongoing problems in the school and outside.
The film concentrates on the arrival of a new young Brother who reports the behaviour of another brother who uses the strap and also physical force against boys indiscriminately. There are a series of climaxes after the gang leader takes his father's car while he is away, the brains and two girls for a ride after the school dance, wreck the car and nearly lose their lives on a swing type bridge over the river as a boat requests passage. During this sequence the bully does not he girl the objective of the outing as she throws up all over him having being given excessive alcohol whereas brains gets the other girl. The boys frequent a local ice cream parlour with girls from the separate Catholic school, run by a school age daughter where the mother has left and the father is in a state of clinical melancholia. It is the boy's school that is sufficiently concerned at the situation which alls in the authorities who removed the father and daughter to respective care situations thus breaking up the relationship which developed between thee new boys and the girl. The final sequence involves thee cutting off of the head of a statue in the yard of school which the boys have been made to clean with tooth brushes the bird excrement. The sadistic brother start to beat the boys including the terrified brains and at this point the new intervenes and there is a punch up in front of the school and school board before the end of the term. This leads to the headmaster sacking the sadistic Brother and appointing the new young Brother in his place with the boys involved being suspended from school for the rest of the term, some two weeks. The headmaster is played by Donald Sutherland
Understandably I compared the film to my own experience at such a school about ten tears earlier than in the film when the Mass and prayers were said in Latin. Theer were some similarities in that we also had a sadistic master who gave the strap indiscriminately and for trivial reasons. He was not a Priest or Brother and disappeared immediately after the incident when several boys in the class, including myself was given the strap, because we did not pronounce it is in French to his satisfaction. There was also the group of worldly always getting into trouble picking on other boys. However I escaped from the group by being moved from the third to the second stream during the first term. However this group of boys formed about a tenth of the grade year of some sixty seventy divided into three forms and then two as the grade year progressed. The important difference is that the majority were serious students and the number of of student aiming and getting to the sixth form and into university/teacher training college and professions was about a third of the grade year. The other difference was the full range of teachers in terms of quality and effect on our lives. In my instance there was the Rome educated and trained Jesuit whose approach to modern history led me to read reports of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. There was also the Maths Master who gave me considerable encouragement, even those I did not deliver the potential I promised at first. The film was worth watching but added nothing to my knowledge and provides an unbalanced view of Catholic education in general but it is a better film than the Secret Life of Altar Boys.
The most enjoyable experience of the day was an episode of The Unit a covert operation USA special task force, which in addition to including an current operation also features the lives of the unit and their families at home. This time it featured a group raising funds to provide free communications home for those swerving overseas. The group decide to run lottery for a modernised World War 2 Jeep where a letter to a loved one is discovered and the group then trace a fellow soldier who is alive and also his widow and invite them to the celebration fund raiser. The wife says she never received the letter and decline the offer to read it so this is undertaken by the lead organiser of the group only to discover that the affection name contained in the letter is not to the wife but the comrade in arms. Whoops.