but perfectly formed

Running a small publishing house calls for meticulous planning, something I sometimes forget.  Imagine my surprise last week to find that we only had 7 copies of the Cadw Swn coursebook left! Luckily our printer is a whizz, and less than one week later we have shiny new stock.  Just in time for some orders from America too.   They call it print-on-demand you know.  

timeslot abuse

When I was young and foolish I used to think that there was one common reality that we all inhabited; that we all experienced the same existence. I now realize of course, that we each inhabit separate timeslots, which often bear no relationship to each other. We all give meaning where there is none to events, objects and beings which in fact comes from within. We interpret the world, while merely watching a hollow reflection of it in our mind's eye, colored by the paint of meaning we insist on laying over everything.

is that me?

Fancy a shock? go to google's image search and type in your name to see if you exist, or if someone else has stolen your identity. I nearly didn't recognize myself. Then I found the handsome one. Ha.

Linguistic Fascism

It's something that French speakers and Welsh speakers have been concerned about for ages, now it's rearing its head in (UK, British if you must) English. Some might call it Linguistic Fascism. It happens when one language becomes stronger than another and starts eating into it. We're all familiar with 'le weekend' and the like in French. Similarly many people complain of the number of English words in Welsh, often mistakenly as some words (eg. car) taken to be English actually come from the Welsh, or Brythonic as it was once known. (I'm sure that you'll recognize the odd axe which needs grinding under even my lavender pillow. This is my Blog, buster.
The boot has been on the other foot for a number of years now, but little reaction has been noticed. I merely note that soon we'll all be speaking, and writing, American English. There is no alternative, as Microsoft's Windows Media Center, soon to appear in everyone's living room, so clearly illustrates.

cardboard box in the road

When I'm old and grey, sitting in my rocking chair surveying the delights of Cwm Llynfi someone is bound to mine the vast pit of knowledge I've acquired over the years.
'What changes have you seen, in your long and varied lifeslot, oh old one?' they'll ask. And two things spring to mind.
Kite technology and jellies.
When I was young flying a kite was a nightmare. Sure, you could get it up (oo err missus) in a strong wind, but keeping it there was nigh impossible. Today's lightweight kites however are a breeze (ow); as my Clifford the Big Red Dog kite proved last year in West Wales.
And also; have you made a jelly recently? Just put the pieces in a jug with a little water in the microwave for 20 seconds, then top up to a pint with cold tap water! Now when I was young, etc. etc.

war is over if you want it

Hurray! Mindless sgumbag leech spammers are finally beaten!!! I had a friend who was a copywriter once. He told me to always use an odd number of exclamation marks when getting exited. So...
Eat dirt mutant parasites!!!!!
I've been trying to get my spam under control for some time now. I found 143 spams in my inbox after a recent weekend away, and I know I'm only a long-forgotten cult with no friends. (Aww)
Mailblocks seem to have found the answer. Simply open an account with them (free if you want to be a sad cheapskate) and say goodby to Spam forever. (100% they claim) How does it work? Anyone who's not in your address book is sent a 'challenge' email the first time they send you an email. They simply have to type in some characters generated by mailblocks into a box, which confirms that they're not a machine. They then get placed in your address book, and their emails get through. Nice.

nothing to declare but

While searching for a free online IQ test I came across IQTest.com. Mr Ego figured he could safely ignore the results if they proved a little too embarrassing, so on with the test with we. Around ten minutes later I was puzzled to find that the site wanted my credit card details to pay for an in-depth IQ report. Another lonely scam, I thought, and browsed my pointer elsewhere, whingeing idly. But one should not always thrust daffodils up cows' noses, as the ancient Cornish proverb advises.
For there smiling fondly in my in-tray was an e-mail detailing my infallible score of 154. Not merely 'Gifted Borderline Genius', or even 'highly gifted and appearing to be a Genius to most others'. Oh no, true scientifically proven authentic 'genius'.
Now you may scoff, scratch and even ponder on how reliable a site which sells reports of a person's IQ test is. After all, they're not going to sell many lame duffers a report are they?
I merely encourage you to visit the site and to take their test; you must be the judge.
I meanwhile, am happy to repeat a single, magnificent, ego-massaging word;
genius.
Ahhh...