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Wikipedia  So finally they concede that facts are a bit sensationalised in the Currant Bun and Daily Fail, get away... 

As opposed to some of the more sales promo style facts in wikipedia! Thats when Jimmy isn't asking everyone for cash each time you log in...

That's my breakfast regime out of the window then 

Blimey, a DMOZ discussion, like being back in 2012 

We were in it, then I upset one of the editors and we disappeared. Tried resubmitting, then gave up after a few years.

It was the "holy grail" as Google used it as a reference point, but that's a long time ago. Just had a look for the first time in years and can see it's had a make over. It's now just a volunteer run web directory owned by AOL.

Arguably it is still used as a reference point by some search engines as it is a respected human moderated directory, so being in there is not going to be a bad thing and is a good link. But if you're not, don't worry about it.

Great post on Moz about this from 2015 which pretty much sums it up:

DMOZ Directory Impact on Rankings - Moz

OK, guilty - I too had to ask the question  Didn't realise that was her surname, ohhhhh matron 

image courtesy of wikipedia

Blimey, Jan getting political on us  

I've seen two sides to the NHS. Having nippers and some of the complications they had along with their mother during birth, then the NHS were outstanding. The previous NHS Direct helpline and the current A&E care have been exceptional. To be honest from GP's to minor injuries clinics, or seeing an out of hours doctor, the system seems to have worked incredibly well, from weekends to out of hours crisis.

I think a lot of the problem from what I see is people just turn up at A&E for trivia or stuff that can wait. Phone the helpline first and get an advice, see a GP, book an out of hours appointment if you are concerned but its not an emergency, normally run by the local hospital and takes the pressure off A&E. Common sense will dictate if you really need to phone 999. If you don't then then phone the 111 helpline.

But where the NHS does fall down IMHO, and only from what I've seen with family members ties in with what Jans saying. For older relatives care and compassion has been missing sometimes. Communication flow has been poor, which breeds distress. Some younger nursing staff can come over as condescending or patronising. Old folk can be hard work and cantankerous, but training needs to be able to deal with this. Imported night staff that can barely speak English hardly help things. Then worse, older folk getting shunted into a nursing hope to free up a bed while they convalesce but still need hospital care before going home, only for it to be a hellhole resulting in them getting readmitted in a worse state.

It seems to me that in ever increasing demands on the NHS as a whole, it is at the end of the lifecycle where care seems to be the worst, and which everyone concedes is consistently growing as we live longer. We should all be proud of the NHS and staff that work there, but a rethink is needed for how we fund and manage geriatric care, whilst ensuring dignity and compassion. Its going to need a lot more cash from somewhere, no doubt from all of us, but also needs a radical change in thinking, not just a blank chequebook.

Whoops, humour to politics! I blame Jan 

Another UK storm in a teacup for our elected sheep to procrastinate about.

We can hardly roll out the red carpet for China but then whinge and moan about a US President regardless how potty he sounds. Agree with Barney, lets concentrate on forging good economic ties and positive relationships that benefit us.

We've got enough of our own domestic problems, lets let the American electorate worry about their own issues.

Had a meeting last week with the Retail Motor Industry Federation, in particular the Trust my Garage division as we host their data on behalf the Consumer Code.

Part of the conversation moved onto the the recent MOT legislation, something I hadn't really considered and from what I had seen on the news sounded like a good thing. ie moving MOT's to every 4 years means another year before having to worry about MOT's so in my mind, good news all round. 

Chatting to the guys at RMI, they told me the other side of the argument and to be honest it was serious food for thought. Modern cars are much better insulated and sound proofed than they were years ago. The average driver has lost most of the basic skills we all had years ago, like checking the oil, tyres, listening to and identifying a strange new noise. Technology has taken over a lot of the tasks from auto tyre gauges (notoriously unreliable)  to automated oil checking, ie my wifes car doesn't even have a dipstick.

There is little argument cars are far more reliable than years gone by, but something I hadn't considered was road conditions and quality has deteriorated dramatically over the last 10 - 20 years. Budgets have been slashed, potholes are bodge fixed rather than fixed properly. The length of time for roads to get resurfaced has increased. Apparently the most common fault now for MOT failure is suspension component wear and tyre wear and damage.

So with long life servicing, motorists more reliant on technology, is having a manual check of your vehicle to ensure it's road worthy such a bad thing?

The government have opened a consultation to let everyone have their say, and a campaign has been set up by the likes of the RMI, AA, RAC, Halfords, Kwikfit to raise awareness of the issue: www.promote.org.uk. We have just published a blog post from Trust My Garage (part of the RMI) if you want more information:

Proposed MOT changes: Why the 4-1-1 system is dangerous

The cynics will say the organisations against this are self serving as it's interest for motorists to have regular MOT's and vehicle servicing. But I must admit regardless of manufacturers service guidelines, I always like my vehicles serviced and checked out every year for piece of mind, rather than relying on a sensor or a component that is supposed to last longer.

Am I alone or do you agree? Or do you think MOT's should be pushed back to 4 years?

Any thoughts or comments, for or against?

So now the travel ban has been overturned by a Judge and suspended for being unlawful. Trump responds in typical colourful style and of course via twitter. "if something bad happens blame him and court system"

This is turning into a really bad version of House of Cards, which if aired you would never believe...

I know what you mean, days and weeks seem to be flying by! Think I am definitely slowing down though 

It seems public and MPs sentiment is swinging away from the dynamic duo 

I think it's quite a good idea albeit a bit gimmicky and clunky at present.

But fast forward a few years, and this will be no different from the "can I help you" annoying web chat boxes that pop up on websites. Instead we will have these things trundling around Tescos where you can ask them where the beans are, and they will no doubt have a library of FAQ questions and location map of all the inventory of the store. Give them a couple of arms and they can stack shelves as well.

That will free up all the youngsters who can work in the new generation battery nursing homes to look after the rest of us geriatrics