David Letterman - Late Show - New Valentine's Cards

One of my favourite TV shows is "The Late Show with David Letterman" and he did a segment on new Valentine's cards and I saw this and laughed so hard I just had to put it up on the site.

Top 10 signs your bored out of your mind on a Friday night

10. Every 15 minutes you read the news on google to get the latest on "those cartoons".
9. Rather than having a curry deliverd to your house, you offer to pick it up "just to get out of the house".
8. You save doing the washing up so you have something to do .... tomorrow.
7. You forget to take your mobile out of your jacket pocket..."who the hell is going to call you on a friday night anyway?".
6. You spend all night thinking of top ten things to add interest to your blog.
5. Your learning spanish verb conjugations.
4. You keep watch on your car in case someone tries to break in.
3. You hope someone breaks into your car..just for the excitement.
2. TV is so interesting you end up watching a documentary about 30 something women trying to have babies with no husbands and end up shouting at the TV.
And the number 1 sign your bored out of your mind on a Friday night.....
1. You drink 6 cans of Stella Artois and not only make a tower out of the empty cans. You take a picture of it!!!!!!!!

I thank you! 

Alexander Flamberg (1880-1926)

‘The Polish chess grand master Alexander Flamberg was a highly gifted player with profound and original ideas. Chronic ill-health prevented him from ever asserting his full powers....Could he be a relative?

Flamberg Family Tree Added to SollyBear.co.uk

I used to run FlambergFamily.com but could no longer afford to maintain the domain and the costs of servicing the website so I took the site down. Years on, after being inspired by BBC TV's "Who do you think you are?" I have taken up the research of the Flamberg Family tree once more. I'm sure this will please my distant relative Ron Lambert who was very keen for me to continue. Anyway the family tree (UK Only, which is what I am focussing on for now) is back online and is accessible here. You can also find a link in my weblinks under Danny Flamberg's Blog. Have a look through and if you are Flamberg relative and can add any photos or information to this please send me an email at sollybear@hotmail.com

SollyBear's Stag Weekend

I've booked my stag weekend and it's going to be on the 10th March in Amsterdam. I'm really looking forward to getting together with my friends and saying goodbye to my single life and enjoying a weekend in this beautiful city. This is a picture I took back in 2004 when I was there in the summer which was just a beautiful time to be there. Amsterdam is a place of many facets and having been there on many numerous occasions I am proud to say that I know it like the back of my hand. Paul Hill is coming with me which I am so pleased about, I was with him on his stag do 2 years ago and we had such a great time. We're sharing a room together so things should be a lot of fun. I just can't wait!

Love is all you need

With so much wrong with the world it's great to look at a picture such as this and realise that there is only one thing on our minds and that is love. As we count down the days to our wedding it was great to get this photo from Mony and remember what a great night out we had in Zutra. I can't wait to get back to Guadalajara, I spoke to her tonight and she's at Victor's mega birthday party and it sounds fantastic with 70 people there, banda music and a load of beer. I can't believe i'm sat here in the cold when I should be in Mexico dancing with my fiancee...Oh well only 61 days to go! Monica starts her "Las Platicas" tomorrow which is going to be tough for her because it starts in the morning and I think she'll be feeling a little worse for wear. Party on girl! Te quiero. 

Airline Levy to support Chavellers!

Aviation Minister Karen Buck MP last year rejected the call for a £1 levy on all airlines leaving the UK to cover the cost of the airline going bust. It is the Civil Aviation Authority that are looking for passengers to pick up the financial cost of insolvency for lesser established airlines. On top of the numerous taxes that have meant that a relatively cheap flight is then doubled with taxes for various schemes. Most travellers have travel insurance which protects the passenger themselves. If you are travelling without insurance you have only yourselves to blaim if you choose a Non ATOL protected dodgy airline on the brink of insolvency. Good work Karen!

More on Islamic Rioting

This has to be the best, whoever gave this kid this placard seriously needs some help.

Litterbug!

Not content with littering our earth we've now taken to throwing stuff into outerspace. Nasa have succesfully passed off blatant universal littering as a "project" designed for children. The last thing kids need is a an excuse to litter, If the nasa egg heads had to pick up freddo wrappers and crisp packets off their lawns perhaps they would think about setting such a bad example to these hood rats. Littering is not on and discarding of your rubbish shouldn't be considered a project. Your dumping garbage not helping mankind. This spacesuit will eventually drift back to earth and I fully expect the smouldering remnants to end up on my front lawn along with all the other saturday night garbage dumped here!

Islamic rioters & the battle of freedom of speech!

I'm not one for political comment but something is truly wrong with this picture. Those who believe in Islam are upset by cartoons and have taken to rioting and threatening behaviours. Those that choose another option are citing Freedom of Speech. The sides are drawn. The images are portrayed in the media, so we watch the TV where there are adverts for products, we read the newspapers, where again there are adverts and we read the articles on the internet where guess again there are adverts. We read blogs to get an alternative grass roots view and again adverts.

These two pictures can paint a powerful fearful image which makes you feel fearful. This fear then becomes important to you so you pay close attention to your latest worry and yes you subscribe to the various flavours of media to get an idea of "What's going on". You form your view of where you stand on the subject and you side with your chosen team. If you believe in Islam then I guess you've painted your banner and are hitting the streets to go cause a bit of chaos, "it's ok it's my view and I'm going to use violent slogans to express myself" (erm isn't that freedom of speech). Whilst the media continue to say this is all to do with freedom of speech (and a double edged sword).

If freedom of speech is to say whatever is on your mind and using whatever medium you choose then there are no losers in this issue. Cartoons offend and the rebuttal is that of violent expression. Objectively, they are both examples of freedom of speech but in this instance the media is portraying a bad guy and a good guy.... Good vs Evil. The battle lines are drawn and once again it's a case of us versus them (whichever side you are on).

The only winners will be (in our economy) those that make the most money from the interest this issue causes by sensationalising something that happened.

Fear is newsworthy and images play a large and emotional part in the equation but overall it acts to further differentiate one religion, one group of people, one country, one viewpoint from another. Conflict sells and people will watch this issue until something else comes along. If things get out of hand there is the excuse that "We are protecting our rights: Islam/Freedom of speech".

By commenting on this subject I am furthering it's lifespan, adding more bytes to the debate and my viewpoint is one of relaxed impartiality. I simply want to ask the question...whilst you watching this issue like a hawk....What is going on in your world that is newsworthy to you?

My news :

My parents got a new webcam & wireless mouse which is really cool and I spent the day updating my website which is always satisfying. Monica is going to a party and my brother is still in Singapore but will soon be going to El Salvador

and suddenly I've realised what is important and it isn't this issue, although I am tempted to photoshop those banners with humours comments such as "Does my bum look big in this?" or "I love Michael Barrymore, Evict George Galloway from the Big Brother House" or quite simply "Hi Mum!".

32 questions to get to know me!

1.What time did you get up this morning?
Erm...It was a late night last night (4.30am) so 12.30 pm

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Prince Album wasn't it.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
King Kong with Mony in Guadalajara

4. What is your favourite TV show?
Seinfeld

5. What did you have for breakfast?
Bacon & Egg butties with Brown Sauce

6. What is your middle name?
James

7. What is your favourite cuisine?
hehehehe Mexican

8. What foods do you dislike?
Porridge with nothing sweet in it

9. What is your favourite crisp flavour?
Sweet Chili

10. What is your favourite CD at the moment?
Artic Monkeys - See below

11. What characteristics do you despise?
Insensitivity, I think it shows a lack of self awareness and the impact that your communication has on others. Even I have been guilty of this in the past. Lessons learned!

12. Favourite item of clothing?
My Christmas cufflinks

13. What colour pants/knickers are you wearing?
hehehehe Come on it's the weekend!

14. Favourite time of the day?
Home time

15. What was your most memorable birthday?
33 as I get older they are starting to become a blur

16. Where were you born?
Leicester

17. What's the last thing you ate?
Smoked Salmon sandwich with Horseradish, Rocket & Lime

18. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Pink

19. Favourite flower?
Red Roses

20. Favourite Beatle?
I don't mean to offend but they're not my cup of tea, I think they sound too much like OASIS

21. Coke or Pepsi?
Diet Coke & Pepsi Max, let me sit on the fence for once!

22. Do you have any pets?
No

23. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Mum & Dad using SKYPE

24. What did you want to be when you were little?
Airline Pilot travelling the world or to work in an office and travel the world.

25. What do you first notice about someone?
Eyes, Lips & Shoes

26. Siblings?
Yes, I have a brother who is currently in Singapore.

27. What was your favourite toy as a child?
First it was my Teddy Bears, Then it was my Computer (Spectrum 16k 1982)

28. Summer or Winter?
Summer

29. Favourite cartoon character?
You know i've not watched cartoons in such a long time...Am I missing out?

30. Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate.

31. What is under your bed?
Drawers of Towels & Clothes

32. In how many cities have you lived in.
3 (Leicester, Birmingham & Manchester)

The Artic Monkeys Rock!

I take part in online surveys and for each survey I complete I get a £10 amazon voucher. So when I completed my latest survey I treated myself to the Artic Monkey's latest album it also came out on my birthday which I was really pleased with. Having given myself a double present I loaded the CD into my stereo to give it a listen. I'd heard a few tracks on the radio but wasn't ready for what I'd heard. This sheffield based group have captured the mood of the nation with their album and last week they sold more copies (363,735 over the counter sales) than any other recording artist sending it straight to number one. It is humourous, poignant and it's barbed social commentary certainly reflects the mood across many housing estates and towns in the UK north and south included.

Most of the people in my office have also purchased their copy and coffeemachine conversations are mainly about how "Mardy Bum" is "Just like me and the mrs...".

If you've not been on this planet in the last two weeks then I suggest that you go straight to Amazon.co.uk and order your copy this is the definitive album for the start of 2006 and takes indie music to a different place. Make your own opinion and listen to what marks the rise of a new wave of music.

What is skype & How I saved £1,000 in call charges!!

What is SKYPE? I first heard about SKYPE a long time ago reading through the technical pres on Silicon.com who regularly run a voice over IP (voIP) section and having set up call centres in the past I was already familiar with the basis of this technology. We even use the principal in our offices to route calls through our networks saving the cost of making calls from one site to another using traditional landlines (and therefore incurring a cost). As you could imagine it saved my company several millions of pounds. Now I'm seeing considerable savings here at home. Since I met my fiancee, Monica in Mexico, I spend on average 2 hours a day talking with her. I live in Manchester and several thousands of miles away is Monica in Guadalajara. My mobile operator charges me around £1.50 a minute. My landline operator charges me around £0.90 a minute so I wasn't really surprised when I got more than £200 of call charges per month.

My total call charges are around £40 this includes SKYPE, Mobiles & Landline....How did I do this? Having read about SKYPE, I went to their website and downloaded their software which with my 10meg line took seconds, 30 seconds later I had installed the software set up my microphone & headset and started calling. I charged my account for outbound calls using Paypal and was talking to Monica just 5 minutes later.

By using SKYPE I've saved around £1,000 in call charges and I know that by the time our wedding is here it will have ACTUALLY PAID FOR OUR HONEYMOON!!!!! Thank you SKYPE!

Of course when Monica is here she can call her friends and family in Mexico using SKYPE and the cost really will be neglible. My parents are on SKYPE and they use it to keep in touch with my brother in Singapore, their friends in Dorset and for inviting me to dinner all using SKYPE. They really enjoy the SKYPE video call feature which lets them see who they are talking to.

I went onto to purchase a dual phone from the SKYPE shop which acts as my landline and my SKYPE phone meaning I can make SKYPE calls from anywhere in the house (or garden).

The quality of call you get from SKYPE is far superior than that of a landline and for free. Thank you SKYPE, I'm saving so much money my honeymoon is practically FREE and I get to talk to my loved one everyday, which reminds me, I wonder what Monica is doing now.....

Download SKYPE at this link here or click on any of the SKYPE icons on this website.

For SKYPE products you can also see Amazon.co.uk who have a number of SKYPE related products these range from headsets to the same phone I use here at home for SKYPE calls. Click on the link below to view more SKYPE related products from Amazon.co.uk.

In order to use SKYPE to call landlines you need to buy SKYPE out credit. This can be purchased through the SKYPE website using paypal. They constantly run offers so if you want to make big savings like I have using SKYPE make sure you sign up for SKYPE out credit.

Guadalajara from Google Earth

This is Guadalajara from 14 miles above sea level showing where Mony lives. This was taken using Google Earth which is a fantastic program for learning more about world geography and when you activate the Google earth community you can find out so many things from where all the concordes in the world are (and you can see them too) to where Jennifer Aniston live. Once registered you can post notes onto the globe, find directions and even view cities in 3d. Download your copy of Google Earth here 

Mony's Immediate Neighbourhood

Again taken from Google Earth. This shows the hotel where I stay, the train station, Mony's Work and her house. 

Casa de Mony

Taken from Google Earth, this is Mony's House in Guadalajara