Why?

[teddythebeer]

My advice - bring him something nice back.

It's a given! We will also celebrate twice - on weekends before and after the b-day.

I've just come back from 4days in US missing my wife's birthday and was under such time pressure on way back I missed the trip to duty free for a gift......may get to row a lot more meters now I'm living in the garage next to the ERG

well, silver lining!

[Daffy]

Why is it mother's are programmed to say 'yes'?

After sitting on the floor for over an hour I am only half way through pinning the ruffles along the bottom hem of a circular 'steampunk' skirt (to put this in context - that's about 2 metres of ruffling and pinning so far). Still have the second half to go, plus sewing it by machine, handstitching the hook and eye fastenings (X10), buttons, ribbons...I'm losing the will to live. This skirt has to be finished this afternoon - she's wearing it to a 'Ball' tonight. Perhaps she could give me more than a couple of days notice next time?

As for Christmas shopping? Christmas Eve looks hopeful.

[Paul Victory]

Perhaps she could give me more than a couple of days notice next time?

And why would she give you notice when she has you so well trained?

[cweed]

Dearest Jane sadly I know first hand and sympathize with your plight. Keep telling yourself how thrilled she will be when she twirls around in it the first time.

[Thomas W-P]

I may point Tamsin at this thread - this may be her future if she does not watch out.

I have a question. Why am I so pathetically excited about Christmas this year?

(I suspect it is because I have had two "austerity" Christmases in NZ (no big presents, and hot(!) weather) so may have answered my own question).

[webberg]

I'm with you Thomas.

Always enjoyed Christmas but for the last three years we've been away at or very soon after the big day so perhaps was more looking forward to the hols rather than the day itself.

This year though - at home.

Went and bought a scary amount of lights yesterday and will start the decorating of the house and garden tonight!

My wife is already worried that I might do something that is not in her opinion "classy".

Hey, Christmas is meant to be over the top and cheesy!

[Thomas W-P]

I looked at "icicle lights" to go all along the top of the house, but it was £69 too far for my immense spending this year (47" 3D TV in the bag already). Also, we would be the only people on our street (a conservation area) with lights so I was a bit nervous.

[webberg]

Go for it - I'm sure your neighbours will love it (even if they feel guilty).

My lights have disappointed a litte - but I've got a few weekends to go yet!

My neighbour is a Spurs fan and has blue and white lights in his tree. I wanted red and white (in stripes) along the drive but was met with a firm refusal.

Early days

[Wolfmiester]

WHY?
Why do people put christmas lights up outside their house?

[andy walls]

WHY?
Why do people put christmas lights up outside their house?

Steve, might be something to do with getting all Cristmassy!!?? or in my case because the wife told me to

WHY do days go so slow when your waiting for a parcel to be delivered, 4.15 pm and still no sign, not bad for guaranteed a.m. delivery

[billwright]

WHY?
Why do people put christmas lights up outside their house?

'Cos they have no more room "inside" the house.

Bill

[cweed]

WHY?
Why do people put christmas lights up outside their house?

It is the one time of year I get to decorate the boring green shrubs in my front yard.

[jainser]

Went and bought a scary amount of lights yesterday and will start the decorating of the house and garden tonight!

My wife is already worried that I might do something that is not in her opinion "classy".

Hey, Christmas is meant to be over the top and cheesy!

Had the same problem here!!

Me and Reet have a very different idea of what Christmas decorations are all about

[Daffy]

Why are energy prices SO variable? I've just been looking at changing supplier and could save 11.25% by swapping and my present supplier is by no means one of the more expensive! Is there some hidden catch that I am not aware of? Are the expensive suppliers just trying it on, hoping there are plenty of gullible folk out there At the end of the day it all comes to the house through the same cabling or pipework and is no better or worse at heating the house/kids/food. (Not that I intend cooking the kids! )

[webberg]

Daffy, it's all to do with the price that the supplier can acquire their consumables at from the wholesaler.

The infrastructure for delivery is just rented by the supplier.

However some suppliers can get special rates for some purchases of gas/power/oil if they agree to certain minimums or throughput.

If the commodity purchasers are smart they will also use deriviatives to manipulate the price. For example if you think wholesale gas is going to ris ein price, then you buy a forward (or sell a future) which allows the price to be fixed. When that instrument matures, if your competitors have got a worse price, then you have an edge. We're talking differences in prices to the fourth decimal and beyond but for the sort of volumes here, it makes a difference.

In addition, most suppliers have a book of customers. Some of those were tempted in by special offers and subsequently get moved on to a higher tariff. The profits on those people is used to discount new customers and bring them onto the book. Once on that book, most people allow inertia to take over and will not change supplier for some time. Consequently in due course they end up subsidising the next wave of customers.

To get the best deal yo should probbaly change supplier every 18 months or so as the gas "trains" run in that cycle. A gas train is a fleet of tankers which depending on distance of field to market will be 4 or 6 boats. You typically have one unloading, one loading, one full and en route and one returning. However the gas is corrosive and every 18 months or so the boats have to have a major maintenance. Hence the "train" will be down for a coupel of months. The consequence is that in the period to that down time, the storage farms are full to bursting and will often unload gas quite cheaply. That cycle corresponds with the "offers" coming out.

It's a massively opaque system and suppliers should be made to declare the process and wholesale prices and internal subsidy. However they won't and even people like Ofgas don't bother and don't understand it fully.

Sorry, a bit geeky but I'm sad enough to find this sort of stuff interesting.

[plummy]

Wow - that's some answer! I'm feeling positively educated this afternoon - nice one Graham

[Daffy]

Graham, that's a pretty comprehensive answer - thank you! It really bugs me to spend more than I have to on something fairly essential, but not exciting. I've changed suppliers, and will review next year. In my mind I've already spent the savings several times over - that's way more fun than giving money to a faceless corporation! )

[webberg]

Daffy, if you can find one a fixed rate deal for say 5 years is the best value.

The commodity price curve on gas is trending up and the current slight dip in prices is a bit of an anomaly caused by oversupply. (Many gas fields are conencted with oil and as more oil is being pumped for geo political reasons, more gas is available).

So shop around and see what the best fixed rate is.

[plummy]

..do all winning football (that'll be soccer to our Westpondian teammates) teams, without exception, celebrate by jumping up and down on the spot shortly followed by singing "championes, championes, ole ole ole" and then repeat and repeat and repeat (are there no other words?). Is this the only celebration allowed by some strange unseen law?

[webberg]

It's because they have very limited imaginations and have probably practised this routine and so are comfortable with it.

Having in a past life attempted to be a footballer (failed) I can attest that those boys who did make it were absolutely and totally focused on playing the game and getting better at the technical skills involved. Issues outside the game were placed into a "not important" box and I suspect that many of them used the game as a reason not to study.

Perhaps I'm also being a bit controversial as well, but outside of a very small number of elite players who have become media personalities and who have had coaching in the rules of being a "celebrity", most footballers very much live in the moment as their training requires concentration. Therefore when somethign happens that is not coached, they struggle to devise novel things.

Just have a look at what any professional sports players do when the final whistle goes on their career. Most of them move from an enironment that requires them to take no decisions for themselves into one where, at the age of 30+ suddenly are exposed to the big bad world. No wonder some of them have problems.

[Wolfmiester]

The fact that you only hear the words "championes, championes, ole ole ole" might have something to do with the fact that Spain have won the last 3 international competitions that matter in Europe!
Also, I think even the last Coppa America was won by Equador or Uruguay (not Brazil anyway) so yet more Spanish

[plummy]

...are the UK media currently obsessed with the fact that it's "7" years since hurrican Katrina. Would it be more or less newsworthy if it was two, six or eleventy six years since that event - just what exactly is the relevance of the number of years. Also, if it's soooo bad they giving up half their air time, could someone explain why they are managing to show film of people standing at the shoreline, in shorts, just watching the waves. It looks little worse than Blackpool on a windy UK day.
They had a news reporter this morning wearing a hat that managed to stay on his head - just how unwindy is it for that to happen?

(I don't want to decry what happened 7 years ago - that was terrible but this is NOT the same event)

[webberg]

I agree Plummy but this is not the only example.

The media delight in finding non stories and blowing them out of all proportion just for the sake of a headline.

They then extend the principle by trying to make the news rather than just report the facts. It's the result of our celebrity obsessed culture and the way in which the media in particular have created a situation where sad wannabes have to live thier life through the antics of of bunch of overpaid, under talented non entities.

It really winds me up when somebody who is famous for acting is asked his/her opinion on nuclear physics (an exmaple that I've exaggerated obviously). Why shojuld somebody who's good at being seen as somebody else have a valid opinion on such an issue when the nuclear scientist who does knwo the answer is not photogenic enough to be on TV.

(I say this as someone who has a good face for radio).

Take the Harry example. This is really, young Army officer goes to Vegas and has a party. Not the first time, not the last time. Yet we've had pages and pages of rubbish and non stories just because he was born to into a family that by accident of politics is considered to be "superior".

(If the said family had a DNA test on Harry and proved that he was Charlies son, I'd have a bit mor respect but I suspect that they're running scared of that one but have already had it done).

The media needs to remember that they are dealing with people who will think for themselves if they have to but instead it's agenda is to set andf lead the agenda and the politicos and others in the spotlight know this and manipulate it all the time.

Stop treating us like idiots!

Tell us the facts, not the speculation or your opinion, and let us decide.

(Quite out of breath now).

[plummy]

Why do so many TV actors/presenters etc now "croak" rather than speak clearly? It seems to be predominantly female American TV people - but they appear to be barely pushing enough air through their voiceboxes to get a sound out and it sounds awful - take a deep breath and speak up !!

[Stan]

Could we have some examples Plummy?