Gay Footballers

Just watching a documentary on BBC3 about why there are no out gay footballers in the UK, presented by the late Justin Fashanu's niece. She's very incisive for such a young woman, and pretty hot with it. Well worth a watch.

Sent from my iPad

Blades

I spent this afternoon doing some graphic design for Ray's new iPhone app, and then buying some bad-arse knives and machetes on the interwebs. Camping season is upon us in less than eight weeks bitches, and I just can't wait !

This could even be Spikey's first season out in the woods with the men-folk, and he's almost as excited about that as I am. I just know that once he gets to sit under the stars by that big old bonfire, chow down on the gorgeous things we cook and then cuddle in for the night with his old dad in the pitch-black darkness, he will be hooked on the outdoor lifestyle for the rest of his days.  If not, I shall be seeking an immediate paternity test.  

"But what about Aadae ?" I hear you ask. Hah. She was BORN a rock-hard trooper, and I guarantee you that she will be dragging me across some frozen wilderness before she hits secondary school. And if she isn't the leader of some commando unit during her gap-year, I shall eat my hat.

Dreams

I usually have pretty boring dreams. Stuff about old places, stuff about work, stuff about driving vehicles. Last night I had a nice early sleep, and had some pretty far out dreams about flying a helicopter over London. The Tower Of London was burning, and there was a massive, modern, air liner sized sea-plane landing in the Thames.

Sent from my iPhone

Fan Boy

A few years ago I disowned Apple and went to the dark side. PCs were offering much more bang for the buck then, and the price difference was huge. I'd often say stuff like "I'm fucked if I'm giving those hippies a grand for a silver laptop that can't run two applications at once..." However, things have changed since then.

These days my friends often say stuff like "Ah, so I thought you were a PC man ? Is that a Macbook Pro ? And an iPad ? Woooo !" I am, however, NOTHING if not a pragmatist. Fuck brand loyalty.

Okay. So I admit that I have been lured back into the Apple fold. But so what, bitches ? Microsoft has simply fallen the fuck off, while Apple have built up a suite of excellent devices that all work together beautifully. And I mean ALL of them. I can bring up a video on my iPhone and with one touch have it playing on my Samsung 46" HD tv. My iTunes library is available on all my devices via the cloud. It's handy to not have to back up my porn.

My one caveat - It is still way too expensive. But hey. I myself don't care. I earn good money.

I only just got into FaceTime tonight though. I have tried it of course, usually waving and going "can you see me ??". But tonight I had a nice long chat with my Darling Sister - at her suggestion. And I'm meant to be the tech head in this family...

It worked really smoothly, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Especially as it didn't cost me a penny on top of my usual phone bill. The kids loved waving at their cousins (they call them their brothers, and I'm not being too pedantic), and I found it to be a very expressive way of communicating. I think this may become our general mode of online interaction.

Sent from my iPad (don't say a fucking WORD)

Not Funny

I suggested starting a Death Pool at work today, and although I had a few enthusiastic takers, I also had some very unhappy people calling me a "sick bastard" and "really twisted". I thought it would be harmless fun with the bonus chance of winning a few hundred quid - but I REALLY did not have my finger on the unpredictable pulse of public opinion this time.

Sent from my iPhone

Sabotage

Ray and I drunkenly playing with guns in the US, some years back...

Classy

Working where I do, it is a sad reality that one is likely to be confronted with a huge bog-otter at least once a week. I have no idea why this is the case, but I have nonetheless learned to approach the cubicles with some degree of caution.

I was saddened, however, to see that today the sign that said "HAVE SOME DIGNITY - NO FLOATERS !" Has been replaced with a simple "PLEASE FLUSH THE TOILET".

Sent from my iPhone

The new threat to Internet freedom

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Dalia Hashad - Avaaz.org" <avaaz@avaaz.org>
Date: 26 January 2012 19:25:16 GMT
To: "dr.sharkey@gmail.com" <dr.sharkey@gmail.com>
Subject: The new threat to Internet freedom

Dear friends,

A new global treaty could allow corporations to police everything that we do on the Internet. Last week 3 million of us successfully pushed back the US censorship bills -- if we act now, we can get the EU Parliament to bury this new threat to all of us:

Last week, 3 million of us beat back America's attack on our Internet! -- but there is an even bigger threat out there, and our global movement for freedom online is perfectly poised to kill it for good.

ACTA -- a global treaty -- could allow corporations to censor the Internet. Negotiated in secret by a small number of rich countries and corporate powers, it would set up a shadowy new anti-counterfeiting body to allow private interests to police everything that we do online and impose massive penalties -- even prison sentences -- against people they say have harmed their business.

Europe is deciding right now whether to sign ACTA -- and without them, this global attack on Internet freedom will collapse. We know they have opposed ACTA before, but some members of Parliament are wavering -- let's give them the push they need to reject the treaty. Sign the petition -- we'll do a spectacular delivery in Brussels when we reach 500,000 signatures:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_the_internet/?vl

It's outrageous -- governments of four-fifths of the world's people were excluded from the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) negotiations and unelected bureaucrats have worked closely with corporate lobbyists to craft new rules and a dangerously powerful enforcement regime. ACTA would initially cover the US, EU and 9 other countries, then be rolled out across the world. But if we can get the EU to say no now, the treaty will lose momentum and could stall for good.

The oppressively strict regulations could mean people everywhere are punished for simple acts such as sharing a newspaper article or uploading a video of a party where copyrighted music is played. Sold as a trade agreement to protect copyrights, ACTA could also ban lifesaving generic drugs and threaten local farmers' access to the seeds they need. And, amazingly, the ACTA committee will have carte blanche to change its own rules and sanctions with no democratic scrutiny.

Big corporate interests are pushing hard for this, but the EU Parliament stands in the way. Let's send a loud call to Parliamentarians to face down the lobbies and stand firm for Internet freedom. Sign now and send to everyone you know:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_save_the_internet/?vl

Last week, we saw the strength of our collective power when millions of us joined forces to stop the US from passing an Internet censorship law that would have struck at the heart of the Internet. We also showed the world how powerful our voices can be. Let's raise them again to tackle this new threat.

With hope and determination,

Dalia, Alice, Pascal, Emma, Ricken, Maria Paz and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information:

If You Thought SOPA Was Bad, Just Wait Until You Meet ACTA
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/01/23/if-you-thought-sopa-was-bad-just-wait-until-you-meet-acta/

ACTA vs. SOPA: Five Reasons ACTA is Scarier Threat to Internet Freedom
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/286925/20120124/acta-sopa-reasons-scarier-threat-internet-freedom.htm?cid=2

What's Wrong With ACTA
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number10.1/whats-wrong-with-ACTA

The secret treaty: Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and Its Impact on Access to Medicines
http://www.msfaccess.org/content/secret-treaty-anti-counterfeiting-trade-agreement-acta-and-its-impact-access-medicines

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Avaaz.org is a 10-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

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Strippers

As many of you know, I own an AV company called Strip Studios Ltd, along with my long term partner in crime, Ray O'Neill. Here are some links to our guerrilla activities...

www.strip.fm - Strip's main site.

Strip Studios' Blog - Strip's blog.

James Bonner Events

James Bonner Events splash page is up.

If you want an event organised, or a wedding done with style, Mr. Bonner is your man.