That World Cup decision

To put it bluntly I don't care. Yes it brings in tourists etc; but do we really want the expense of hosting yet another international event? Anyway still not caring, but it's all the talk of how the decision came about that piques my interest. Since the decision all I've seen is pundits stating that FIFA need to be more transparent that following that report it needs to address bribery and corruption and so on and so forth.

It's a private body operating under Swiss law. If some large business here decided to award a building contract to Builder A rather than Builder B would we have people demanding that the decision process be laid out for the public, to answer charges that it was down to bribery?

Nope. It's not public funds, we as a country don't fund FIFA; that's the private football clubs and the event fees and broadcasting rights. If they don't like it they can stop paying them, leave, and start a new association; but don't drag the country into it.

[Well I said don't drag the country into it - yet reports suggest some of the items on the list of demands from FIFA include making the entire operation tax-free. Remind me again why our (or any) government should be bothering with this organisation at all?]

PS3 Support

Yet another attempt to get my old PS3 deactivated. As I've mentioned previously you get 5 activations for games (so I'm using three) and none will be deactivated until you exceed that number. However you only get one activation for video content and that's on the defunct PS3, which obviously means I can't deactivate it on that.

So after another attempt to activate my new PS3 failed I gave them a call.
'Do I have the PS3 with me at the moment?'
'Why?'
'Because we need the serial number'
'You mean the serial number that I registered it with on your site using my PS Identity that is tied to my unique support reference number that I've already given you?'
'Yes'
'Here you go'
'And when did you purchase it'
'On the date listed on the registration Here you go'
'And where did you purchase it from'
'The place as listed on the registration Here you go'

Seriously it's not as if there's some Data Protection in place for this it's my account with my name, address, DOB, email etc.

Anyway as before they'll let me know when it's done [sigh]

Fallout 3: Point Lookout swamp folk

Yes still going through Fallout3 and working me way through the DLC that I didn't get a chance to play before my system went phut. Again hell this seems more buggy than ever and it's a rare session that doesn't see me having to reboot the PS3; it took me three attempts to get into Calvert Mansion for instance.

Anyway that's not the point - it's those swamp folk in Point Lookout - dayamn they're tough. This is not an area you want to visit as a low level squib. Put it like this I'm level 28 and have 520 health, of the five types three have health of 400, 600 and 700 and use weapons that will always remove 35 points on a successful hit plus its normal damage (40-85). Oh and they tend to roam in packs. I thought those tribal waves in the close quarter fighting in the mansion was tough, but that was a walk in the park compared to these bad boys.

As an aside looking at the models for them I wonder if the developers ever played Redneck Rampage? You tell me?

Hartlebury Common fencing

I've been asked if I know anything about the fencing that's gone up around the Wychavon side of Hartlebury Common that doesn't appear (as yet) on the Wyre Forest side. Sadly this is going to be one of those back-of-the-mind rumour types rather than hard evidence - grazing. Yep it is a common and that's technically what it's for, but the mention of reintroducing a more formal arrangement of grazing is doing the rounds. As this is next to an 50/40mph unlit road the last thing anyone wants is to hit a sheep that's decided to wander across it to fresher pastures - hence fencing.

It's not bad either. One could argue that wooden cross struts may have been more in keeping with the aesthetic, but the chain wire is thin enough so as to be unobtrusive strung between the wooden posts so I'm going to call it as a good choice.

Millfields repair work

Tcch how did I forget to mention this. As mentioned back in March the three contractors for the Millfields estate were to be repairing, no not repairing - finishing the roads. Well I was told a little while back that after much effort from the neighbourhood association this was all to start.

Except not according to the plan. As it was three different builders they each wanted to use their own contractors, apparently this was all sorted out and all three were to start work at the same time. That is until the council apparently stepped in and told them that they couldn't all work at the same time.

Now yes they're all working on different areas, and yes normally having one set working here while another works there can cause major disruptions that wouldn't occur otherwise. Except this is a closed off estate work anywhere will cause a disruption and the areas are disparate enough that they wouldn't each be underfoot. But nope rather than have one period of problems they need to have three by order.

Of course as everything's been planned and contractors timed for the same period it's almost a case of picking straws as to who goes first and then having to rearrange the other two times, which may not be available until some time away meaning a stop-start approach to the work that just messes everyone up.

Wikileaks: US lawmakers demand countries to disband military

In a shock turn of events lawmakers on Capitol Hill demanded that the President remove the military from every other country in the world. One senator stated "Other countries having military personal that aren't in our control is an obvious threat to our national security". Another asked "How did this happen, surely it must have been done in an illegal manner?".

With Homeland Security stepping up its efforts senators ask why they seem so able to enact laws that prevent activities occurring in the United States yet seem unable or perhaps unwilling to pass laws that are to be enforced in other countries.

"Some countries think they can even create their own laws without having them ratified by Washington!", exclaimed one senator. "And that's just wrong"

In related news senators recently voted to raise their salary by "one flying pig". When asked where such may be obtained one senator stated "That's not our problem, we just want one. Make it happen".


For those who haven't been following the news, idiots respected lawmakers are calling for a foreign citizen hosting a website in a foreign country to be shut down and arrested because they don't like it and complaining when everyone ignores them.

Kinect

With the news that the Playstation Move is outselling the Microsoft Kinect (though as expected you can take the metrics with a pinch of salt) it reminds me that though I've mentioned using Move I've yet to relate my experiences of Kinect.

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