Ed Vogue's World

It's funny how when you are a kid things are scary. I remember one Halloween walking down the road in the afternoon (it wasn't even dark) to post a letter for my Mum. I was probably about 10 or 11. As I walked down the road I heard the loudest pantomime villain laugh. I looked around and could see no none. It then happened again and to say I was unnerved is an understatement. I was properly scared. I quickly turned on my heels and sprinted home. At that age lots of things are scary. I used to quite like being scared. My father used to video the Hammer House of Horror shows that were shown on a Saturday night and my brother and I used to watch them Sunday mornings. I remember one which involved a porcelain doll. The doll was found in a large country house and throughout the film caused numerous instances of terror and death. At the end the couple flee the house and the closing shot shows the doll peeking out of their suitcase. My brother was so scared of this that the sheer me

In the original Star Wars film, now titled Episode 4, A New Hope, R2-D2 is playing a game with the Wookie Chewbacca. The game appears to be some kind of battle chess. R2-D2 makes a move and one of Chewbacca's pieces is taken out of the game. Chewbacca roars in annoyance and this prompts Han Solo to suggest that it is not wise to upset a Wookie as when they lose they are likely to pull arms from sockets. C3-PO then suggests to R2-D2 that he should let the Wookie win. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO6M4ngKRp I had cause to consider this scene today as I played ten pin bowling with my children. Obviously I am not concerned that they might pull my arms out of my sockets, no not at all. However, I was faced with the age old father children condundrum. Do I play to win or do I provide some sort of competition my throwing the game? It's obviously not good to lose all the time, it leaves its mark, see here . On the other hand it is important to teach and demonstrate good co

Choosing a supermarket till is a bit of an art. Without knowing it our brain determines a number of different variables. Firstly whether we have a basket or a trolley, this is crucial as a basket allows entry to the basket only lanes. If we are carrying a basket then a count up is required; ten or less items and the express till may well be the favourable option. This depends on the time of the day. Lunchtime means sandwiches and meal deals, these lunch customers will baulk any access to the ten items or less payment. http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01242/Checkout-girls_1242351c.jpg If our brain recognises that we have a trolley then the next choice is whether we use a self service till or not. These can be quite a good move. You don't find elderly customers using these tills. I believe the technology and scanners confuses them as well as their poor eyesight making them struggle to locate the barcode. I am of course generalising. I apologise. The self service

Last night I blogged that maybe one way of spending the added hour as the clicks switch to GMT would be to play Yahtzee. For those of you that are uninitiated in the dice game that is Yahtzee you really don't know what you are missing. Yahtzee is a game of chance and skill. It is a game so enthralling that you can quite literally get carried away playing. Yahtzee consists of five dice. A turn is three throws of the dice. The aim is to in those three turns to collect certain sequences from three dice of the same value, through to a high straight (all five dice a different value in a run, 12345 or 23456). The ultimate throw is to get all five dice the same, 5 of a kind, a Yahtzee. This throw results in massive celebrations, accompanied by whooping, joy and the cry, five of a kind, pretty to watch. Here is an example; a Yahtzee on fives, surely the best? Perfect. I have to admit being a little addicted to the game. I can't see five dice without having a little try f

Tonight is the night when officially the clocks turn back. British Summer Time ends and Greenwich Mean Time begins again. Turning the clocks back is good it means gaining an extra hour. Most people look forward to this extra hour as it means an extra sixty minutes in bed. For me this seems like a bit of a waste of the gained time. A whole extra hour...why waste it sleeping?   http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/pugg-wall-clock__13080_PE040801_S4.jpg How to use this extra hour...that is the question? Of course one could stay up for an hour later than normal, watching a film, perhaps playing Yahtzee or drinking wine and staring at the moon. Or one could get up an hour early and spend it making a nice breakfast, drinking coffee and reading the Sunday paper, or perhaps a brisk walk in the woods. Most probably across the country the majority of people will spend the hour changing the various clocks in their houses to ensure that they are all reading the correct time. Changing

A friend of mine a few weeks ago asked a good question, in fact a very good question...why if there are so many birds in the world do you not see any dead ones? I have considered this question a lot since it was posed and you know it is a tricky one to answer. This week I have seen some dead animals, a fox, a badger and a frog but no dead birds. The last time I saw a live fox was last week, a frog back in the summer and I have never seen a live badger in the wild. But I have seen dead ones. Conversely I have seen literally a hundred birds this week but no dead ones. It has to be said that this is a bit of a conundrum. Now often with these kind of questions someone has asked them before and the question has been addressed by the RSPB http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/expert/previous/deadbirds.aspx The answer sounds plausible but I think that maybe they are beamed up by aliens that like to eat bird pie. Any other theories anyone?

I heard a great line on the radio the other day. It was a comedian talking about his Grandma, apparently his Grandma was so pessimistic that if she had met Nostradamus he would have told her to chill out. If you weren't already aware the biggest End of The World prophecy is nearly upon us. The End of Days is due to occur on the 21st December 2012. How the end will come is not well understood but there are very many people across the world, mainly in America I believe, that are preparing for Armageddon. Apparently you can book your pets into a special kennels so they will be looked after during the event, people have already paid non refundable deposits. I'm uncertain about how this works...firstly if the world ends why would Tibbles the cat be spared, unless the cats are behind it all? And secondly what happens if by some miracle the world doesn't end after all? Do you get your money back? Will the management be liable for false advertisement? These are I'm sur

When I was at school my reports were always glowing. I managed to achieve well in all subjects and always made an effort. However my report was always marred by one subject, PE. At primary school I was never the best at football and in those days when teams were chosen I would be one of the last standing there willing someone to pick me so I wasn't that kid who the captain is forced to pick last. That kid that the teacher helpfully says, "and that leaves Jimmy on your side Bill". To which Bill mumbles under his breath, "Great, why do we get Jimmy? That means we are going to lose!" Sometimes though I was that Jimmy, and it hurt. In Year 6 we were given the option to play cricket at the local cricket club or stay at school and join the girls playing soft ball. I never really liked playing cricket. I never really mastered catching and found that the cricket ball hurt and on occasions left black marks on my fingernails, bruises, and a nasty stinging pain that

Do you ever find yourself looking back at the past trying to remember things that happened and decisions that you made or perhaps where you were when that really famous event happened? Sometimes when I look up at the night sky and see the stars I think like that. Today I had cause to talk about the Sun and the stars and how looking at them is a little like looking back in time. The Sun is just over 90 million miles away. The light from the Sun takes 8 minutes to travel to my eyes on the Earth. Nothing travels faster than the speed of light. This means that when I look at the Sun I am looking at the light it produced eight minutes into the past. I'm looking back in time. If the Sun suddenly went out now...we wouldn't know for 8 minutes. http://www.seasky.org/constellations/assets/images/pegasus.gif Today I found a very special star system. It is called 85 Pegasi A/B. It is a multiple star and can be found in the constellation of Pegasus. Star A is very much like

On my way to and from work my journey takes me through a tunnel. According to Wikipedia this tunnel is exactly 1150m long or in old money 0.72 miles. If the traffic is travelling normally at an average speed of 60mph this takes approximately 45 seconds to travel through. One of the things I like to do is to hold my breath as I go through the tunnel. If travelling at speed this is no problem, but I have been known to be gasping for breath when the traffic is slow. A few years ago I was stuck in the tunnel for over an hour. A freak snowstorm occurred and I had been in the car for 4 hours before I had even entered the tunnel. Normally my journey to the tunnel would have taken about 15 minutes. The snow had come from nowhere and the roads had not been gritted. I had a problem, as I entered the tunnel I became acutely aware that I needed to empty my bladder. It was 8.30 at night and I wanted to go when I left work at 4.30. It was at the stage when it gets painful and I was acutely a

When I was a student, ways of getting cheap food was something we all tried. Being around on a Sunday was good as my flatmate's Dad used to visit and often took us to the local pub for a pint and a roast. Then of course there was the University soup kitchen, where impoverished students could grab a cup of soup and a roll for free if you were staying at the Uni in the holidays. This was all good not that I was ever really impoverished. I have to say that I was rather embarrassed when I found my picture on the front of the student paper being handed my soup. It took a long time to live that one down. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Chinese_buffet2.jpg A favourite haunt in those Uni days was Pizza Hut. They had just started a new promotion that seemed to be proving a tad popular, lunchtime buffet. At the time this was not common. Pizza Hut were offering all you could eat pizzas for a bargain price. The place would fill with students who would quite literall

This week sees the international release of the new Bond film, Skyfall. This film, eagerly awaited, is the third to star Daniel Craig as the iconic spy and also the third film since the franchise was rebooted. The mood of the last two movies has been noticeably darker perhaps more truthful to Flemings original stories. Currently the leading satellite TV provider has a channel dedicated to 007 movies and is running them back to back. I sat down to watch one a few nights ago and was treated to a Roger Moore classic, A View to a Kill. I guess for people my age Roger Moore is our Bond. I grew up watching films such as, Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, Live and Let Die, The Man with a Golden Gun and For Your Eyes Only. I was too young to remember Sean the first time round but of course caught up with those films later in life. For many the comedic nature of some Moore films is a little too much and contrasts to the original Connery series. http://www.klast.net/bond/images/rm_chair.jp

This week was the twenty fifth anniversary of the biggest weather event I have ever witnessed, the great October storm. I well remember that night in October 1987. I was 15 years old and remember having a heavy cold. Probably enough to have the next day off school. On those days they were just colds, man flu didn't exist. I'm not sure if I watched that infamous weather broadcast where Michael Fish stated that a woman had contacted the BBC to ask if a hurricane was coming. I remember seeing it at least in the aftermath of the event probably on a news rerun or the many special programmes that ran in the following months. http://www.virginmedia.com/images/1987-hurricane.jpg I was living about 5 miles from the south coast and I remember waking to a howling wind. It was as though the world was screaming. The large oak trees were swaying violently in the gales and the double glazing of my parents bedroom was visibly bowing inwards. I was actually convinced that the whole w

Those of you that dip in and out of my blogs may remember that I confessed to enjoying flying ant day as one of my favourite days of the year. In fact I even blogged back in August when that day finally happened in my own garden, with pictures to prove it. Little did I know that during that time, instead if watching the Olympics, a group if scientists and their team of ant enthusiasts across the country were in fact recording the emergence of the flying ants. Proper scientific research into the flying ant phenomena. Responsible for this research is a Professor Adam Hart from the University of Gloucester. He describes these flying ant spectacles as a nuptial flight, "where males and virgin queens taking part in remarkable mating flights". According to their research they found some correlation between the nuptial flights and weather conditions. This certainly confirms what I had always believed, that the warm humid conditions might trigger the swarming behaviour. After t

So the kids are in bed and I have an evening to myself. I think it is time for take out, a glass of wine and a film. I always think that getting take out midweek and when eating alone is rather decadent, if pizza delivered to your door can ever be described as decadent. http://www.smugspizza.com/Images/pizza_slice.gif When you can't leave the house getting take out can be quite difficult and to some extent a little limiting. What to get? Fish and Chips are out of the question as these are never delivered and as I can't leave the house this option although generally delicious has to be crossed off the list. In my opinion Chinese and Indian should be eaten with someone else, never alone and as for the kebab option I refer you to an earlier blog . So this leaves Pizza. Not too bad but takeaway pizza is so expensive. It really is the most costly food to ave delivered to the house. But it's midweek...and pizzas are apparently generally a weekend takeout. Therefore deals

I often have to bring work home. I guess you would call this homework. I think since I was about 12 I have always had to do homework. Now 28 years later I am still doing it. I guess in the job that I do I signed up for it. I understood what I was getting myself into so this is fair enough.   But recently there has been a change in the Vogue household as the younger members of the family have also had to adjust to the world of home work, or home learning as it has become increasingly known as. Slowly over the last few years and especially since September the frequency and complexity of the tasks have increased. http://www.whrsd.org/uploaded/faculty/katherinelapointe//homework_title.gif   Homework involves the whole family. I guess this is one of it purposes, at least for younger children. It generates a parental engagement. For some families this will mean that the homework is discussed and the tasks are done together, ideally with the child taking the lead. This week my eld

So yesterday an Austrian jumped out of a capsule suspended from a giant helium balloon and became a record holder. His speed was recorded at over 800mph and he is now officially the highest free fall skydiver of all time. An amazing feat and some amazing film footage. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/11/1129_makingof_lego/image/intro.jpg Tonight I watched something just as amazing. Someone very clever has already made a copy of that amazing adventurous feat out of Lego. It's as good as the real thing. You can watch it by following the link to the guardian page at http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/video/2012/oct/15/felix-baumgartner-skydive-lego-video These people are clever and if you go looking for them you can find many film recreations, Olympics highlights, comedy moments all recreated in these iconic bricks. Everyone loves Lego and it certainly is not just for kids. Can I have some for Christmas please?   Posted with Blogsy

Someone once told me that when travelling you should never pass a public toilet without using it. I guess this is because you can never really be sure when you might find another. In the United Kingdom we are blessed by many public toilets. If you are out and about in most towns and cities you are never that far from facilities. However, there may be many that you would like to avoid. This is especially true of the gents. On many occasion I have had cause to use a public convenience and the smell has literally been so overwhelming that the only way I could relieve myself was to hold my breath the entire time. I've always wondered what happens when someone like the President of the USA visits a town or city. I remember a few years ago Bill Clinton visited the UK and toured around the country. If I recall correctly he stopped at a village pub to have a swift pint of real ale. Now, there is nothing like a pint to bring on the need for a wee. So what happens? Does he just follow

Do you remember when libraries contained books? http://www.franklinparishlibrary.org/MPj04276860000%5B1%5D.jpg You went to the library to browse for some books. You selected the ones you wanted and then you took them and your library card to the counter where they were stamped with the date they had to be returned. For those that haven't been to the library lately then you are in for a big shock. They don't exist anymore. Some have been closed but even those still in existence are now not libraries. Slowly without a big fanfare the libraries of our villages, towns and cities have been converted into LRC's. The LRC is much more than a simple library, it is a Learning Resource Centre. Libraries don't just contain books anymore. They have computers, DVDs, audio books, WIFI. They are places where quite literally you can access the knowledge of the entire world. Checking a book in and out of a LRC is also a very different experience. You may need to do thi

A few weeks ago I wrote about how Autumn was starting to show its hand and Christmas is on it way, heralded by the beginning of a new series of Strictly Come Dancing on the ridiculously pantomimed X Factor live shows. Well autumn is now with us. It was a bright sunny day today however the wind had a real chill in it. This morning was the first one where I wished that I had put a coat on. I had cause to stand outside this afternoon and although I was standing in bright sunshine it still felt chilly. The nights are also getting darker and it will soon be time for the clocks to turn back to GMT. Tonight driving home it was starting to get dark and it reached that level of darkness where it is difficult to see. This is the time when turning on the car headlights seems to make no difference to seeing the road ahead. One minute I find myself struggling to see because of the dimming light, the next I go round a bend in the road and can't see because the setting Sun is blinding me.

I don't know what made me do it but I decided that this morning I would count the closed circuit TV cameras that I saw on my way to work. By the time I arrived in the car park at my place of work I had counted 18 different cameras that if all operational had documented my entire 12 mile journey; additionally recording that, once parked, I sat in my car for approximately two minutes listening to the 8 o'clock news bulletin. Throughout the day as I have been going about my job I have most probably been spied by a number of other cameras.   http://www.softhook.com/cctv.jpg Of course being caught on camera is not really a problem for me. Why would anyone want to document my everyday drive to and from work. After all my life is hardly the Truman Show. You only really notice the power of CCTV when it is required. For instance when the police release the images used as part of an investigation that shows the movements of a suspect or a victim over a period of time. In these ima

There are lots of things that I like about the modern world. To name a few not in any particular order: Central heating Fridge Cars Internet Telephones Inside toilets I am also acutely aware that a vast number of people don't own or have access to the items in the list above. I realise that I am very lucky to have these things to make my life more comfortable and the world much more accessible. Our predecessors who lived in the Victorian age would find many of these items fantastic, they would also I think be amazed by the speed we live our lives. We try to cram in so much into our days that in the end we risk not doing anything properly. We don't get time to enjoy or take pride in the things we do before we are off doing the next task. There was a time when if you wanted to correspond with someone you sent them a letter. The reply would take time; time for the letter to be delivered, time for the reply to be written and time for the reply to rea

As I write this a 43 Austrian skydiver is preparing to perform the jump of his life. His location is Roswell, New Mexico and his epic jump will land him a well earned place in the record books as the highest free fall ever. He plans to jump from a height of 120,000ft or in new money, 36.5km. That is nearly 23 miles! To put this height in some perspective Mount Everest is at a height of 8,848m and a Boeing 747 travels at a height of 14,000m. Over twice the height of a Jumbo Jet! That is some crazy jump! This stunt requires a number of technological problems to be overcome. Firstly Felix Baumgarter has to get up there. As he is above the height that planes fly he can't just jump out of a aeroplane in the traditional way. Therefore he will travel to the edge of space using a helium balloon. He will sit in a capsule underneath the balloon as it lifts him towards the heavens. Initially the balloon will appear small but as he travels aloft the decreasing pressure will cause

I have noticed over the last couple of years that everyone in the service industry seems desperate for you to know their name. In nearly every shop on the high street the shop assistants have a name tag. If I go into a chain restaurant I will definitely be served by a person sporting their name proudly on their chest. The first time I was aware of name tags was in a well known burger restaurant a very long time ago. Above their name the employees also displayed stars to reveal information about their rank and experience. I might be mistaken but I believe the first star was awarded for successfully mopping the floor. http://www.davidherrick.net/.a/6a00e5517bef0688340134802846b8970c-800wi   I have noticed that now when you phone a utility company the person on the other end of the phone introduces themselves before kindly telling you that they would like to help. I guess this is only fair as moments before I have told him or her, my name, date of birth, full address, mothers ma

Did you know that most accidents happen in the home? In 2002 221,175 accidents were reported from accidents involving washing, cooking and other household chores. I found this information whilst exploring the HASS and LASS website. This website belongs to an offshoot of RoSPA (The Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents) and is the Home and Leisure Accident Surveillance System. If you would like to find out more about all the different types of accident take a look at this file it makes for some fascinating reading. For instance in 2002 no one injured themselves with a chemistry set but 134 hurt themselves on boxes containing toys. There were 6 reported injuries involving a placemat. How does one hurt themselves with a placemat, let alone six. There were no injuries at home involving a javelin but 7 people were hurt by a table tennis ball; those tabke tennis balls are very dangerous. Socks, tights and stockings caused 575 accidents and additionally 12 accidents were caused by

This morning I had just $2000 and now I have $64,000. Not bad for about 30 minutes work. http://www.warwickwoods.com/images/Texas_Hold_2.jpg Of course I am not talking about real money. The $62,000 that I have accumulated during the day is unfortunately virtual and cannot be used to purchase anything in the real world. I have to admit that this virtual money was won by playing poker, Texas Hold 'em, to be precise. I played carefully today and within a relatively short time managed to increase my original stake by 32 times. Just imagine if I could do that in real life... Of course in real life I would be much more careful. Firstly I would never visit a casino with the equivalent of $2000 and start betting it all on a game which relies on chance but also on quite a bit of skill. To be good at poker you have to be able to calculate odds, you have to be able to recognise the different scoring hands, you have to play tactically and you have to learn the tactics and plays of