A mountainous pass

And it came to pass that Darren entered the second month of the year two thousand and seven. He sat back and surveyed the vista before him, and sighed. He had come along way but the journey was not over yet. He had been climbing the mountain, on which he now found himself at the plateau before decent, for what seemed forever. His mind and bones were weary. The journey from now on would be downward and hopefully less physically demanding, but he wasn't convinced.

What stretched before him were opportunities; events he could only wonder at. But first he would rest, recover some of the lost energy used in the accent. He sat down, crossed his legs and closed his eyes. The lids were heavy and within a few moments his breathing was too.

As unconsciousness approached the thoughts and concerns of the journey crept into his mind. His dreaming would be fretful, there were many issues that needed to be resolved. But there were many hopeful signs and the future journey, although unknown, wasn't to be feared. By the time sleep was over, his body and mind would be renewed and ready to face the months ahead.

An answer to my question

I'd like to thank the MK News for answering the question as to what exactly a 'large' casino is. In their report about MK being awarded 'large' casino status they explain that basically it means the casino can offer jackpots of up to £4,000.

You can read all about it here.

'Tell me about your childhood'

'So Darren, lie down on the couch and tell me how everything is going.'

'Well, I am currently taking a nice break from work. I started the break with lots of plans and projects. Now I am two thirds of the way through this break and I still have lots of plans and projects. I have been doing lots of things but they haven't been the plans and projects that I wanted, or was hoping to do. That isn't to say that I haven't been doing important things. What I have done has been very important, just not what I had originally planned.'

'Are you sure about that?'

'Actually, if I take a look at my 'to do' lists for the last few weeks there are a lot of things that have been crossed off and highlighted as done. Also on my 'goals' list there are several things that have again been highlighted as being 'in progress' and therefore have moved forward, some considerably.'

'So why do you feel that you haven't achieved what you wanted to?'

'I don't know. I suppose it feels like I have failed because there are still things to do.'

'But there will always be things to do, lists continue to grow. As long as you are doing your best, and trying to finish the most important things on your list then you haven't failed.'

'Thank you, see you next Wednesday'

What are the chances of that happenin, eh?

Well the sun has come out today and I feel much happier. Other people who are happier in Milton Keynes today are gamblers, with the news that MK is to be one of the places in the UK allowed to have a 'large' casino.

On the news report on Ceefax and the weblink below there isn't much information on what exactly a 'large' casino is. What I have worked out is that there are three levels.

1. Super Casino - opening in Manchester
2. Large casinos - several of which will be around the country, including MK
3. Small casinos - again several around the country

The old adage, size isn't important but what you do with it is, doesn't help me out in my quest for definition, as presumably one will 'gamble'. I suppose there is the element of how much you can gamble. Therefore what it means is that you can lose 'large' amounts at a large casino, small amounts at a small one and in Manchester you can lose a super amount.

There does seem to be a shift in tax income with the current government - and from comments by the other parties, they won't be reversing these trends too soon. They are getting rid of the income from smoking by making it almost impossible to smoke anywhere and taking as much money from 'bad' environmental transport and replacing it with income from taxed gambling.

This is probably a good move as the reduction in smoking and pollution will put less stress on the health service. People who become addicted to gambling tend to either get killed by Jonny 'The Crombie' Mitchel, for non-payment of the loan, or commit suicide. Either way this doesn't require the same amount of resources to care for them.

Super and large casinos

It's all gone very Isaac Asimov

Was just approaching the desk, at home, with all its various gadgets and gizmos I use to communicate with the wider world, and all I saw was a plethora of LEDs. Some were flashing, while others simply stared back at me. The thing is, unlike the future worlds we are presented with in fiction, all these futuristic devices don't work particularly well with each other. I am forever upgrading drivers, adjusting settings and stressing out.

Actually, it seems that an update the other week, possibly windows but possibly my internet software, has scuppered a few settings and I need to find out where to reset them.

The gray decends again

After a brief cold snap - briefer than the career of Jade Goody - the murky gray has returned to Milton Keynes. It is neither cold not warm, neither bright nor gloomy, simply gray and dull. This certainly has an effect on the ability of this blogger (hey I unwittingly called myself a blogger, best change that before I get ideas above my station) guy to be particularly active. He also has to deal with the fact that the MK DONS after going seven games undefeated have stumbled slightly - this weekend saw them lose 5-0, oops.

I have added, and will continue to add more bits and pieces to the site, in addition to the witty blogging. First up, is an MK newsfeed to keep you up to date with what is going on - it is time to mashup Milton Keynes (web tech term, not a cooking term).

"Somewhere over the rainbow"

I am sorry but I hate that song - as in sorry to anyone who does like it, not sorry for hating it.

I like the colour white and various shades of gray. I also like the absence of all colour, black.

I wonder if there is a connection between those two thoughts?

The old ones are the best

There is a wonderful Laurel and Hardy short film in which they clean the chimney of a 'mad' scientist. In this film the scientist has created a formula to reverse aging. Due to several mishaps Hardy ends up in a tank of water into which 'all' the age reversing formula has been accidentally dropped - only a small pipette is needed to work.

The tank foams and froths with Hardy splashing around. Eventually the tumult stops and out climbs a chimpanzee, Hardy has 'age-reversed' quite a long way. The chimpanzee sits on the edge of the tank and in response to Laurel's question, the primate, in Hardy's voice, says 'I have nothing to say.'

Same with today's blog.

There is no point...

...sitting down in front of the computer, logging into blogger and clicking the new post button when you have nothing to say. That is a little like sitting down in front of the TV and watching Celebrity Big Brother... but still I find myself doing both.

Just to let you know

I now have a more 'this is me' type blog going on at dazzer67 . Roundacow will continue with its witty repertoire concerning all things Milton Keynes. However, if you want the personal juicy gossip that is similar to the stuff found in Heat magazine only it concerns me, then you'll have to go to dazzer67.