So it DOES make a difference!!!

Well I was a sceptic about the effects of Blogger Action day and in particular my contribution to the events but it seems that I have indeed made a breakthrough as mere days after discussing whether recycling should be made law the government have brought in new initiatives to enforce recycling and to try and drastically reduce the amount of waste going into landfills in the UK. Since the UK is significantly behind the rest of Europe in waste reduction we could end up facing sanctions unless something is done, more reason for the government to want to put this scheme forward.

Essentially the scheme would involve fining people who put too much waste in regular bins instead of recycling. There is of course opposition to the scheme from those with large families whose bins fill up by necessity, but by and large the scheme seems to be put forward positively and sensibly. One aspect that is good is that it can be locally controlled by councils so that the nature of the order can be locally sensitive. Of course whether this works will depend on how MPs implement it and if it is seen to be more for fining people than the environment it may end up being retracted. While fining people isn't always a good option, and it is yet to be seen how this will be met once enforced, it is good that the government is listening to me...I mean seeking practical ways to reduce this nation's waste.

Read more in this BBC report on the issue.

Another plan put into use is for districts to have "travel advisors" or something of the kind to help people plan efficient, environmentally friendly routes to work and to be made fully aware of the options available. This seems positive and looks to be cost effective too.

Anyways, that'll do - we live in interesting times indeed.

Word of the post: Quinquagesimal - noun

the Sunday before Lent; Shrove Sunday.

Just keep swimming...

Ok so I've not blogged for a bit after that epic Blogger Action Day post which I'm sure contributed to doing...something. I may have to check up on some kind of feedback for what the day achieved or my overriding cynicism may take over. If you're reading this and wondering what on earth I'm blathering on about and what it's got to do with the title then you may be interested to know that I have resolved to keep typing whatever comes into my head in an effort to create a semi-worthy blog post and this is just the introduction so let's hope someone calls "lunnch!" before I run out o things to say and...ah - there we go!

a brief introduction into the pysche of Aled there. You may be interested to know that I typed the whole thing without looking at the screen and only two typos - woot!!

Word of the post: Conglomerate - noun

2.	a corporation consisting of a number of subsidiary companies or divisions in a variety of unrelated industries, usually as a result of merger or acquisition.

Silly Me!! Blogger Action Day...a bit late!!

OK I'm a bit shamefaced as I thought the 15th was a tuesday when it was in fact a monday meaning that I completely missed it. But nonetheless I will contribute some environmental based blogging today in the hope that it makes some kind of a difference even if it is a bit late!! I offer no expert knowledge or even a fully formed opinion just a debate on a point which I have wondered about a bit.

Recycling and energy saving: Free choice or by law?

I've always wondered whether recycling would one day become law. As a follower and sometime writer of Science Fiction I often envisage a future where recycling is strictly enforced and is even more of an ever present reality than it is now. But whether it should be a present day reality I'm not quite sure.

Encouraging people to recycle is all well and good but most of us have enthusiasm in short bursts not like the myriad environmental campaigners that seem to have a constant source of energy and concern (and full respect to them by the way.) Anyway, my point is that encouraging us to recycle with things like Live Earth will work but the enthusiasm will die away after not too long for most people so should more be done?

Some things do work. Our local council, and doubtless many others, send lorries to collect paper and plastic recycling every fortnight on much the same basis as a bin lorry i.e. you put your stuff outside your house and they take it away. The paper goes to a factory that produces sheets for newspapers and something similar happens to the plastic I'm sure. This system works, but it only works if people choose to do it. Most people I've seen do, but doubtless (like in our house) many paper and plastic items go in the bin and then to the landfill.

Should recycling be enforced then? The problem lies in enforcing the law because it would be unfair to punish people just because they forgot to put their newspaper in the recycling or accidentaly slipped a can into the plastic bottle bank. And I most definitely think it would cause unrest if the police were sent round or hefty fines were applied because of this problem. But I do think the government could perhaps put sanctions on excessive waste (though again you'd have to debate what is "excessive") or restrict the amount of waste that goes out.

How about positive enforcement? I think things could be done on a more positive basis to enforce recycling. For example waste could be taken away not to be dumped but to recycling centres. No doubt this is already taking place, but if Recycling facilities were to completely replace landfills then it would at least get rid of the eyesores that landfills are if nothing else. It could also encourage people to sort their rubbish more if it was all going to be recycled. Again logistically and in terms of energy consumption this may be impractical at the moment but I think it's something we should be heading towards. They could also start things like encouraging companies to only make/sell energy efficient bulbs.

A last point. OK so I clearly don't know everything and not all my points have been followed through and have more to do with the government that most of my readers. But I guess if we show an interest in recycling then the powers that be are more likely to do something about it. Anyway to close, there's something I know should be enforced. Standby lights on VCRs and whatnot should be abolished. We have a DVD player and a Freeview box, both of which display a constant red light when plugged in. This is totally unnecessary, I can tell whether it's on by pointing the remote at it and seeing if something changes - I don't need a red light constantly on and it's a great waste of energy when you put all these units in the UK together. They're not needed and companies should stop installing them.

Enough from me for now - I hope that some of it was worthwhile

Word of the post: Mega

pref. Large:

Making notes

Reading the diaries of Alan Bennet has made me note that it's often the little things that pop into your head that make interesting reading as well as larger issues like the one mentioned in the previous post. So I will endeavour to articulate a thought I had now in the hope that it will be readable and that maybe some of you will sympathise with it.

I frequently have the experience of listening to the start of a piece of music and immediately I start bopping my head or tapping my feet only to realise a few seconds later that it's a tune I loathe and that feeling of "ooh this song" is brought on by a subconcious recognition of a despised tune. One I get frequently at the moment is the new song by James Blunt. Like many others I hate James Blunt on principle (though I'm not entirely sure what the principle is!) but the opening riff on the new record is very catchy and it takes a while to clock on to the fact that I don't actually want to listen to this song!!

I do think it is an interesting phenomenon (well a slight oddity at least) that I should, on recognition of a piece of music, immediately think I like it. Perhaps it shows my character, always willing to give the benefit of the doubt - but then since I have a more or less written law forbidding myself to listen to Atomic Kitten for more than 10 seconds under any circumstances I'm not entirely sure that's it!! Maybe it shows that hated tunes get more ingrained on the mind than loved ones, or maybe it just shows that I'm picky about music and I get muddled sometimes - who knows. There are no answers today, only thoughts and questions.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

Word of the post: Mottled - noun

2.	a diversifying spot or blotch of color.

Could be good

I don't know if any bloggers read the blogger buzz page but you do find some interesting items there - such as blogger play. Well I found a new one - Blogger Action Day. This is a day for bloggers to unite about one issue - the environment. I think the general idea is for everyone involved to post something about the environment and what can be done on their blog, thus flooding cyberspace with a wealth of information and opinion on what is wrong with our world and what might be done about it. The date is Tuesday the 15th and I will try and get involved and add the two or three readers I have to the several million expected viewers of the event.

Well - here's a banner for it - t'is pretty good, saves me thinking of something from real life to post up!!




Word of the post: Countenance - noun

1.	appearance, esp. the look or expression of the face

Hinter zu normal

Just a quick point noting that blogger now shows the "post published page in English once again...just as I was starting to get used to the German. Ah well!

On the box

With a bunch of new shows on their way I have become more aware of the slightly alarming amount of television I expose myself to and this is set to increase this week. With three new shows on arrival in addition to several I'm commited to already this will add up to a fair few hours per week in front of a screen - not that that's anything new! Anyways, just to demonstrate the issue and show you what I'm interested in I'll give you a run down of the programs I'm watching and plan to watch over the next few weeks - links to official sites included.

Coming Up:

The Sara Jane Adventures. 30 mins. BBC1 Mon 5:00This has already started but I missed the first episodes because of forgetfulness and commitments at the time of broadcast. The series is a Doctor Who spinoff, similar to Torchwood but aimed at children instead of adults. The lead role is taken by Sarah Jane Smith, a former companion of the Doctor, who investigates and halts the plans of aliens in her neighbourhood with the help of her adopted son and his friends...but not of the Doctor or his TARDIS. The first episodes featured the return of a Doctor Who enemy, the Slitheen.

Ugly Betty. 1hr. CH4 Fri 9:00A surprise favourite of mine, I tuned in to series one to see what it would be like and quickly fell in love with the characters and the show itself and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of series two on friday. Ugly Betty is the story of a fassion obsessed Latina who gets her dream job of working at Mode Magazine by being the only applicant her boss Daniel wouldn't be compelled to sleep with. Her unbridled optimisim gets her through every day working in a place where her matted hair, braces and lack of coordination (both in clothes and in general) are scorned. What I love about this show is it doesn't spend the whole time preaching about how beauty isn't skin deep, it just tells Betty's story and along the way we learn that all the characters have a history and at least a hint of depth below their shallow facade.

Robin Hood. 1hr. BBC1 Sat 7:30 The adventures of everyone's favourite charitably minded thief continue on BBC1. I wouldn't class this as a favourite, but it makes very good saturday evening telly and tells the story with heart, humour and something else beginning with h that doesn't come to mind. I think that Keith Allen steals the show as the Sherrif and the creators have been good to put a unique spin on things. The show will generally feature Robin defeating a far superior number of soldiers (one wonders how they still manage to recruit soldiers in Nottingham!) but it has been intelligent enough to stop before becoming formulaic and remains a worthwhile program.

On now:

Heroes. 1hr. BBC2 Wed 9:00 I tuned into this expecting to hate it but soon found it compelling viewing. The show features a collection of characters who all develop unique powers from flying to reading minds to absorbing other powers...through various means. Some hide from their powers, others embrace them, all of them want to know why they have them. But they have to deal with real life, the authorities and a superpowered killing machine who wants to take what's theirs. Through the means of time travel and foresight powers the story revealed that there was a big threat to combat, namely that of a nuclear explosion and as the individuals take their seperate paths we know they will join and they will all have to face their destiny.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. 1hr. MORE4 Thurs. 10:00 A new show from the creators of West Wing. The show is a behind the scens look at the running of a comedy program, from the floor of the sets to the high towers of the corporation behind it all. The show is clever, witty and engaging and is great viewing as well as a good insight. The show features Mathew Perry of Friends fame who manages play a completely new character, retaining some qualities from his former role but certainly not repeating him and I've lost all feeling of "Hey that's Chandler" and now I'm quite comfortable watching Matt (character's name) in his own right. The show tackles a lot of religious issues and is quite disaporoving of Christianity, in particular the Christian groups who can control the media in America. Sometimes I feel it's just being negative for negativity's sake and the Christian character on the show is as feeble as they come, but the show raises important issues and I applaud it for doing so and find it very intersting viewing.

Well all this, plus regular viewings of Simpsons, occasionally dipping in to Scrubs and strolling through a fourth box set of 24 should reshape me eyes in no time, anyway must dash - i want to grab a shower before Heroes!!

Word of the post: Serendipity –noun

1.	an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.