Travel

India AGAIN!!!

Well here I am writing this post at Schipol airport Amsterdam, waiting for the connection to Hyderabad. Came up all of a sudden this trip, as they always do, God I hate going away at short notice and flying at the crappiest times going!

Not too sure whether I am going to be able to get an internet connection where I am going, and I am not going be back till 4th December, which means you have 2 weeks to do the quiz, so you all should get just about all the questions right then!

Sooooo until the next time I post have fun

Fun & Games

Weekly Quiz

Well finally I have managed to get on, and do the quiz. But we have a surprise in store. Yes thanks to his generosity of not electing to take the points for guessing the link, Will has been BEATEN!!!

Unreal hey??

So without further ado here is the results;

1st yes that is 1st place we have KIM with 23
Joint 2nd, yes that is right you read it correctly Joint 2nd Will and MUM?!? on 21.

See how you fare this week....

Round 1: Movie Link

Same as always the actor/actress, and TV show or film the image is from, then give me the link.

1)



2)



3)



4)



5)



Not too hard now is it?


Round 2: Celebrity Ripples

Each of the celebrities below has had a drop of water land on them, but I am sure you can tell me who they are.

1)

2)



3)



4)



5)



6)



7)



8)



9)



10)




Round 3: Quizzicles

That is right the last round is the famous quizzicles, and this week it's the natural world.

1) Where on its body is an earthworms eyes?

2) The strawberry is a member of which flower family?

3) What part of a salsify would you eat?

4) What kind of a bird is said to "Twitter"?

5) How many bones does a shark have?

6) What sort of animal is a Schipperke

7) The turnip is a member of the cabbage family true or false?

8) The Pear and Raspberry are both members of the same flowering family, but which flower?

9) A herpetologist is an expert in which field?

10) Name the fluid used in perfumary that comes from the intestine of a whale?

Last weeks answers:

Round 1: Henry Winkler/Happy Days, Michael J Fox/Family Ties, Meg Ryan/Joe Versus the Volcano, Madonna/A league of their own, Leonardo de Caprio/Catch me if you Can.

The Link was Tom Hanks who appeared in all TV programs and Films.

Round 2: Puma, Addidas, Microsoft, FBI, CIA, MI5, Texas Rangers, Pizza Hut, Visa, the Incredibles. Knew both Will & Kim would get Texas one ;)

Round 3: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunaryd, Situation Normal All F*!*ed Up, Mullard Furniture Industries, Google!!, Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 5

GOOD LUCK FOR THIS WEEK!

Weekly Question

Do you surf in Work time?

OK first things first, sorry I haven't posted for a while but I have had to watch my step at work, as I have been told off for doing to much internet browsing during work time!

The thing is, after I have completed all of the support emails that come in to us, and answered them to the customers satisfaction, there isn't that much else to do. I complete my other tasks quickly and efficiently so what should I do after that?? Assist others, well there is nothing I can do to help. Go home? No chance of that! Sit at my desk and pick my nose??? NO! So what do I do? Well I keep myself active by writing my blog, and looking out for a new job LOL!

But this had me thinking, just how many people DO surf during work time and how long do they surf for? Lets have a look...


By surfing I mean, writing blogs, going to chat rooms, writing messages on forums, and basically job hunting or shopping on the net. So hands up out there who have done it outside of lunch hour, or outside of T-Break. How many have done this kind of surfing during a quite period? How many have bought things on the net at work? How many have downloaded things at work, saved them on a memory stick and then transferred them to their home PC???

I would say quite a few thousand.

In fact I would go as far to say that 95% of people that have access to a PC at work have done so.

But I am not the only guy at work to surf, my colleague is just as bad as me, if not worse! But did he get told off? Well not yet, but then he hasn't made it obvious that he is looking for a new job. I think my mistake was forgetting that I had printed off my CV, and a job description, but left it in the group printer....OOOOOPPPPPSSS!

So the quiz may be a little late this week, we shall see, it may even be a little early. Keep your eyes peeled, and just answer the weekly poll question.

Last weeks question: Who handles a cold or flu better?

Men - 0%
Both the same - 0%
Women 100%

OK, OK, Don't rub it in ladies!

Fun & Games

Weekly Quiz

Yes it's that time of the week again, time for you to get those "little grey cells" working. It's quiz time, and it's a little bit different this week. There are no celebrities for you to identify in Round 2 (Yar Booo says Will), but there are some brand logo's and things for you to identify. I got the idea from Will's quiz, where you have to identify some movie posters. You may also stand a better chance this week, as Will is off to his sisters in Italy for Thanksgiving, you guys have a fantastic time OK?!
So what happened last week? Well it was a very close thing, and the link WAS a fairly tenuative one, but by explosive I meant fireworks, so if you thought of November 5th, and looked at the Top 5 US box office films, you may have got the link. So without further ado here are the results.

The winner with 24 points out of 35 was......


WILL!

With 20 out of 35, tied was Kim and Mum, and Big Sis you managed to get 17. OK so that was last weeks score, on with this weeks quiz.

Round 1: Movie Link

Take a look at the screenshot, name the actor/actress and the show or movie they are in, and then give me the link.

1)



2) Just the guy in the Suit and Tie please.



3)



4)



5)



A possible 15 points available here.

Round 2: Branded!

Below are a lot of symbols, logo's and parts of badges from well known products or services, you just have to name them. A couple of the images have had their colours removed, well I can't make it too easy for you now can I?

1)



2)



3)



4)



5)



6)



7)



8)





9)



10)




A possible 10 to score here.


Round 3: Quizzicles

This week the quizzicles are based on acronyms.

1) A lot of us in Europe have furniture from IKEA, but what does IKEA stand for?
2) If you were annoyed with a place you may say it is SNAFU, what is SNAFU?
3) In the UK you can but Flat-pack furniture from MFI, but what does MFI stand for (and it's not Made For Idiots mum!)
4) All of us use the tool called General Orginism Optimised for Gratification and Logical Exploration to find things, but what is it's more common name?
5) MI6 is Military Intelligence 6, so what is MI5?

Just the 5 points here I am afraid.


Answers to last weeks quiz:

Round 1: 1) The Departed/Matt Damon, 2) Prime/Uma Thurman, 3) Alfie/Jude Law, 4) Blair Witch 2/Kim Director, 5) Wizard of Oz/Jack Haley
Link: They were all at number 5 on November 5th, in the US top 5, for the last 10 years. Yes Wizard of Oz was at 5, in 1999 when re-released!

Round 2: 1) Jenny McCarthy, 2) Adam Ant, 3) Bryan Adams, 4) Tatum O'Neal, 5) Thandie Newton, 6) Sue Pollard, 7) Demi Moore, 8) Boris Becker, 9) Owen Wilson, 10) Billy Idol

Round 3: 1) Pyrotechnics, 2) James 1, 3) 1605, 4) Guido, 5) 30th, 6) from Latin Novem, 7) The first of each month starts on the same day every year (nice one Will!), 8) 11/11/1918 at 11am, 9) John B Connally, 10) Microsoft from Microcomputer Software.

Weekly Question

Who handles a cold better?

Well the winter nights are drawing in, the days are getting shorter. The weather is starting to change, and the cold is starting to set in. Despite global warming it is going to be, according to the weather experts, a pretty cold Winter, which means that all other the world, men and women are going to be catching the one incurable virus that incapacitates them in their droves. The Common Cold!

Yes this wee beastie, has put down many a tough man, and many a tougher woman, but just who copes with a cold better, that is what I want to know? I know the results of one survey already, that from Nuts magazine, their findings?

Well they found that Men are more likely to "throw a sickie" then women were. They were more likely to feel as though they felt worse than they actually were (in other words milk it), and much less likely just to get on with things.

We aren't like that are we chaps? We can't be can we? Well......

I know that I for one will generally get on with it, as long as I am doped up to the eyeballs with cold remedies then I can cope, well alright I can just about cope... no to tell the truth, I think it's a horrible thing to have, I hate having a cold, I feel dreadful when I have a cold! Nobody feel worse than me! Ahhh! I see what they mean in the survey.

So what do I do when I get a cold? Well it's not very often that I do nowadays thank goodness, but as soon as I get a snuffle, I get out the Lemsip (cold remedy in the UK), and have a drink, then buy in the cough sweets, and eat half of them. Most of the time, if I catch it in time, the cold doesn't develop.

But do these remedies work? Is there anything else that I can try to help?

I have in the past been a bit silly, and had hot orange with a drop of whiskey, spoon of honey, drop of lemon, and two paracetamols in. Tastes surprisingly nice, and has you asleep quite quickly, the disadvantage is you wake up with a headache, and you don't feel that much better anyway! Must have used too much orange ;O).

What do women do? Not a lot really, they just get on with it, and that is the most annoying thing, it also means that SURELY us men suffer more than women when it comes to colds.

The debate will rage on no matter what, and I am sorry to say it fella's, but women do seem to handle a cold better than us. PLEASE prove me wrong gents!

Results of last poll: Is George Bush a 'lame duck' President?

YES : 62.5%
NO: 37.5%

Fun & Games

Weekly Quiz: The "November" Quiz

Yes folks it's time to dust off those old encyclopedias, log onto Google, and start studying, for it is once again time for this weeks quiz.
Now last weeks quiz had a rather difficult Movie Link, and I wondered if anyone would get it. Well true to form and a fantastic knowledge of films, Will did indeed get the link, and he managed to get it from only 4 out of the 5 clues. However, he did need a few pointers from his older sibling on the cars quiz. The music round was a full house for Will, and as you may guess he has romped home to victory for a third consecutive week. Can ANYONE out there stop this man.
Due to Will's domination of this quiz, he has been able to chose the theme of the quiz this week, and he has chosen the subject of November.

So without further ado, lets get on with the quiz.

Round 1: Movie Link

OK first off with the usual round, and all you have to do is name the actor/actress and the name of the film, next you have to give me the rather explosive link between the films.

1)



2)



3)



4)



5)



There now that was an easy first round to start you off wasn't it? Ok next up is round 2, and it's a case of identifying the celebrities who's birthday it is in November.

Round 2: Celebrities Birthday Splashes

1)



2)



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6)



7)



8)



9)



10)



Another easy round for you there, and I can just picture you all squinting at the screen to try to bring the images in a little clearer.

Finally, then the last round, which is the Impman's famous Quizzicles. But this time there are 10 of them, all relating to the month of November.

Round 3: Quizzicles

1) What is the correct technical term for the art of making and displaying fireworks?
2) Which king did Guy Fawkes try to blow up?
3) In what year did the Gunpowder Plot take place?
4) What was Guy Fawkes real first name?
5) In 2002 which position was Gut Fawkes voted in the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons Poll?
6) Why is November called November?
7) What strange similarity is there between the month of March and the Month of November?
8) Remembrance Sunday is on the 11th of November, but what time and date does Remembrance Sunday remember?
9) November 1963 was a date that spawned the talk of the biggest conspiracy theory ever, when JFK was assinated, but who was the Governor that was seriously wounded?
10) On 29th November 1975, Bill Gates sent a letter to Paul Allen, which contained a word that was used for the first time. What was the word, and how was it derived?


Results of last weeks quiz:

1st - Will with 37 out of 40 - Plus a smarty - pants pin for giving the list of the cars too!
2nd - Kim with 27 out of 35, I have awarded a couple of bonus points for giving drivers in TV series as well.
3rd - Mum with 8 out of 40 - Oh dear Mum, you really must try harder ;)

Answers to last weeks quiz:

Round 1 : 1) Casper van Dein/Starship Troopers, 2) Peter Weller/Naked Lunch, 3) Arnold Schwazenegger/The 6th Day, 4) Sharon Stone/Antz, 5) Michael Douglass/Basic Instinct
The Link is Paul Verhoeven who directed the stars in Starship Troopers, Robocop,Total Recall and Basic Instinct (you got there eventually Will :O) )

Round 2: 1) Back to the Future 3/Michael J Fox, 2) Cobra/Sly Stallone, 3) Duel/Denis Weaver, 4) Mad Max/Mel Gibson, 5) The Spy Who Loved Me/Roger Moore, 6) Austin Powers - Golmember/Mike Myers, 7) The Dukes of Hazard/Seann William Scott, 8) Carkeys and Clutch(just Kidding!) Starsky and Hutch/Ben Stiller, 9) Bulitt/Steve McQueen, 10) Waynes World/Dana Carvey

Round 3: 1) Middle of the Road, 2) House of the Rising Sun, 3) Amazing Grace, 4) Frank & Nancy Sinatra, 5) It's all over now, BONUS: Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman

Current Affairs

Saddam Hussein & George Bush

Now this week there has been a lot in the news regarding these two, for very different reasons, Hussein has been condemned to hang, after been found guilty of crimes against humanity. Whereas Bush, may well be condemned to become a lame duck president should the mid terms go against him. So what is going to happen? Well I don't know, no-one does but is it going to get any better for either country? Lets have a look...

When Saddam was in power he ruled with an iron fist, it was the western governments that put him effectively into power, as they thought they could get some stability in the region through him. Granted the guy stopped all the factions from springing up, he stopped all the in-fighting, BUT he did it in a dictatorial manner. It was his way or you disappeared, he did it through fear, he really was not a nice chap at all. Thousands died at his hands, and no one would dare to challenge him.
So in went the Americans and British, and a sprinkling of other forces to try to find these Weapons of Mass Destruction he was reported to have. When in reality I think they just wanted to get Saddam. The promise of a better future for Iraq, gave the people hope. But where are they now? There is not 1 day that goes past without a death by a suicide bomber, or attack or any other violent thing. But it isn't as many westerners that are feeling the brunt of things, it is the Iraqi people themselves. They have faired no better under the oversight of the Americans than they did under Saddam.

Now I hate Saddam with a passion, but he DID keep the factions apart, there were no suicide bombings, no attacks on government forces, they had enough food to survive, running water, fuel, and a lot of other things besides. So just what was the lesser of two evils? No matter what people say Iraq is descending into civil war, something that would never of happened under Saddams rule.

Saddam is down to be executed, and that will bring closure to one of the most Vile and ruthless rules in the countries history. But where one leaves of another begins. I am saddened by the events in Iraq, and what it has become. But it it is up to the people to sort out, and that is going to be sadly a very long process.

Now onto my second point, and the basis of my weekly question. Ge - orge - Dubble Ya - Bush.

The American mid terms begin today, and for the first time in ages the Democrats will feel they have a chance of snatching one of the houses in Congress. Iraq has proven immensely unpopular among the electorate, and so have a number of Bush's policies. So will George become a lame duck president?

Difficult to predict, the swing states are to tight to contemplate which way they are going, but after 1 and a half terms of Bush, has the average American had enough?

Bush - "Hey I gotta nuvver vote here!

Baby- "No George, I just pooh poohed in my diaper!"

What is the agenda for George Bush then, what should he do if the Republicans are defeated and lose control of the House? Well he will find things very, very difficult to carry on, and will not be able to rely on other republicans for support, that he was able to do previously. His fellow party members may well look to him, as the man who lost them the election. But most of all (and I am sure my American friends will correct me on this one) the American public are likely to look at him in a different light, they are more likely to turn the guy off when he comes on the TV, not attend his public appearances, and generally treat him as a pariah. He is going to be President still, but how will he be viewed by the American public is the question, will he be treated as just another bloke in the whitehouse?

Last weeks Poll produced some interesting results; Ouija Board 16.7%, Seances 16.7%, Reiki 33.3% (which surprised me!), Voodo 66.7%, None of them 33.3%

About Me

Extended Warranties - Why Bother?

What a week! I have written to a few consumer affairs people this last week, and a few of the UK's Red banner newspapers. What has made you do this? I hear you ask. Well it all concerns a Hotpoint Tumble dryer that we purchased 2 years ago. Oh Boring! I hear you say, but when I tell you this thing is a fire trap, and could have burnt the house down along with my wife and kids. But is STILL in the house, I hope that you read on.

It began in September, when the dryer went wrong, as we had an extended warranty on the item from MasterCare (HA! Couldn'tCare Less more like it) we asked them to come and fix it. They arranged a visit for 3 days later.
They came but couldn't fix it as they didn't have the part, so another week passed, and they then came to fix it again, but they had ordered the wrong part so couldn't do it. A few more days passed, the drying was piling up, and as our 22 month old uses washable nappies, he was looking worried too!

Then they came, when my wife was out (although she gave them a time she would be in), this was because the repairman thought he would come 2 hours early, and not tell anyone! Cue another wait and a fourth visit, in which the part was fitted wrong, and they then had to come out again. Oh dear no part again, another wait and a sixth visit.

Then just when we thought all was OK, the day after it was supposedly fixed, I went to open the door of the dryer, and it wouldn't open, the door catch had bust! So a call out for a SEVENTH time was required, interestingly my wife managed to get the dryer open prior to his visit and noticed a burning smell. So the engineer arrived, and checked the machine, confirmed it needed a new door catch, said he had to get a part ordered (WHAT A BLOODY SURPRISE!!!) but said that the dryer was safe to use.
That afternoon, the wife put on some nappies, and noticed a burning smell, and then flames coming from the back of the machine! REALLY F*!KING SAFE!!!!

Just think if she had put the dryer on as she was going out, or our son had turned on the dryer, as a now does, what then??

Now I was at work when this happened, and my wife phoned me in tears, so I straight away rang MasterCare customer services, when I mentioned the flames, the woman asked, "was there any fire damage to the property?". Not "was anyone hurt", when I questioned this, she said she needed to know if the fire brigade was called, or if there was any fire damage. Not a word about if any person was harmed!! Customer services my arse!

The next day, Customer services said that they would send an assessor on the 3rd (today), to look at the dryer, but then just 24 hours later they said the assessor would not come till Monday 6th, the same day coincidently that the repairman is coming for the EIGHTH time!!!

Not once, have they offered to give us a new machine!

So spread the word, UK readers MasterCare DON'T CARE.

Thanks for reading!

Oh Dear!

Delays and Problems

Just a quick post here top apologise that this weeks quiz is going to be delayed, because there is a problem with uploading images onto Blogger at present.

Hopefully it will be sorted out soon. So to keep you tide over, here are the quizzicles questions for this week, the pictuire rounds will follow, as will the answers to last weeks quiz questions.

CHECK POST UNDER THIS ONE FOR THE QUIZ



Round 3: - Quizzicles

The theme of this weeks questions is music.

1) Who performed the son and had a hit with "Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep"?

2) What was the Animal's only UK number 1 hit?

3) "The Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Scots Dragoon Guards" had a UK number 1 in 1972 with what record?

4) Which father and daughter had a hit with "Something Stupid"?

5) What was the Rolling Stones first UK number 1 hit?

and for a Bonus

6) Who had a UK number 1 hit for their reprisal of "Something Stupid" in 2001?

Fun & Games

Weekly Quiz

Well it was quite an interesting result for the quiz last week, as two people tied for second place. They both got a respectable 18 out of a possible 40, but that paled into insignificance when you consider the winner got 33 out of 40. He got all of the answers in round 1 correct, and the link. Did extremely well in the houses round, even giving the full address of one of the houses, and didn't disappoint in the final round. There could only be one winner therefore, so Will. For next week I would like you to suggest a theme on which to base the quiz questions, for next time. Give people a chance though!

OK then on with this weeks quiz. I have included the Quizzicles so they are now all in one place.

Round 1: Movie Link

First up then is the Movie Link round, as usual I want the actor/actress, and the link between them. Be careful on this one!

1)

2) Not the Creature!

3)

4) The Actress that voiced the Character please and the film of course!

5) Just the guy holding the badge

Round 2: Star Cars

Nice simple round this one, I would like the name of the film that the car appeared in, and I would like the actors name who drove the car. Told you it was easy!

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

Round 3: Quizzicles

Just to keep things together, here are the quizzicle questions from the last post.

The theme of this weeks questions is music.

1) Who performed the son and had a hit with "Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep"?

2) What was the Animal's only UK number 1 hit?

3) "The Pipes and Drums and Military Band of the Scots Dragoon Guards" had a UK number 1 in 1972 with what record?

4) Which father and daughter had a hit with "Something Stupid"?

5) What was the Rolling Stones first UK number 1 hit?

and for a Bonus

6) Who had a UK number 1 hit for their reprisal of "Something Stupid" in 2001?


Answers to last weeks quiz

Round 1:- 1) Dick Van Dyke/Chitty,Chitty,Bang,Bang 2) John Cleese/Life of Brian, 3) Sean Connery/League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, 4) Ursula Andress/She, 5) Dame Judi Dench/Chocolat

The link is Ian Fleming

Round 2: - 1) Amittyville House/Amittyville Horror, 2) Bates House/Psycho, 3) Simpsons House/The Simpsons (Fantastic to get full address Will!), 4) Ingalls House/Little House on the Prairie, 5) Neuschwanstein Castle/Chitty,Chitty,Bang,Bang, 6) Wayne Manor/Batman, 7) Dracula's Castle/Dracula, 8) Southfork/Dallas (nice one mum), 9) Cinderella's Castle/Cinderella, 10) The Burrow(Weasley residence)/Harry Potter

Round 3: 1) South Africa, 2) Copper & Tin, 3) Laburnum, 4) yellow Submarine, 5) The sprint leader of the Tour de France