Feeling Congested pt3 It's going to get you.....

I recently heard that there was a meeting on Tuesday night where it was said that if the 'going to work tax' does not raise enough money to pay back the loan then the congestion charge would be introduced to other towns in the area. So if you are one of the people who doesn't work in Manchester and think that the charge would not affect you then think again.
If this is intorduced to my town then we would have to pay six times each day. Once to get to the motorway, then again when we leave the motorway and then to enter the city, then the same on the way home. Where we live it is impossible to get to the motorway without crossing the town centre. We would all like a cheap, efficient public transport system but to be honest the system doesn't work at the level it is at now. Expand the system, expand the problems. two breakdowns on the tram system this week alone that I know of.

Feeling Congested pt2 "Just say NO!"

It's nearly time to vote on the 'going to work tax' and I am far from convinced that a Yes vote is right. They tell us that trams will run with two extra carraiges to make travel more comfortable for commuters. I recently caught a tram from inside 'the zone' and it was like squeezing into a sardine tin. I just got inside the doors and had to get off the tram at a number of stops in order to let other passengers off. It occured to me that there were a lot more people standing than sitting, so if you put on an extra two carraiges most people would get a seat but there would still be people standing. Not much of a problem you may think but TIF works with the idea that people would be put off driving their cars to and from work and get public transport instead. So when all these extra passenger get on the tram to stand with the others already on what do you get? A sardine tin.

In The Pink....

It's cancer awareness day in the college so students are using this as an escuse to dress in pink. I didn't because I don't have anything pink so I told them my T shirt was khaki pink. Later when asked why I wasn't wearing pink I said "I am wearing my girlfriends underwear". Then after the initial response I added "No I'm not, that was last week"!!.

Student: "I look damn good in a TuTu".

It's been a while....

Nothing much happening at the moment, the students are being boringly well behaved.
The only problems we have had so far this term are all IT based, so nothing new there and the strangest thing I've heard on the bus was a cat meowing all the journey in.
main topic of conversation is the vote on the Manchester congestion charge which I refer to as the "going to work tax". The referendum is happening soon on the largest (100 Sq miles) congestion charge area in Britian and it will cost some people £1200 a year just to go to work. The thing is I quite often travel inside the "zone" and all the congestion I see is outside the "zone". The people who work in Albert Square who make the decisions do not travel by public transport and will be exempt from the charge and if they were charged they would just claim it back on 'expenses'. when it comes to the vote go all Grange Hill and "Just say NO!".
Funniest student related thing lately was a lad who came in with his wrist strapped up. "What happened to you?" I ask. "9 hours of Xbox" was his reply. I think I will stick to Mob Wars on Facebook.

It really is a funny old world

I was checking out the BBC news website this morning and the world really has gone mad. Margaret Thatcher (milk snatcher) has been voted greatest Tory ever. I remember her as the person who was kicked out (some countries call it a coupe) while she was on holiday. She also managed to find a war just when her popularity was waining. She put thousands out of work in the coalfields and don't mention the Poll Tax.
At Manchester University things are just as bad. The SU has de-gendered the toilets. This means that people with a gender crisis problem won't have the conundrum of choosing whether to go the the male or female toilets, they can just choose between "toilets" and "toilets with urinals". I believe in the past these were known as Female and Male toilets. Waste of time, printing and money when we have so much more going on in the world so carry on wasting the Earths resources as long as people are told where they can pee.
The Tories want to give more help to "have a go heroes". Tell this to the family of Frank McGarahan who died on the streets of Norwich when he went to help two people being attacked. More police on the streets and not sat in front of monitors watching streetcams is what we need, and judging by the couple of coppers I saw in my home town at the weekend they could do with the exercise.
And to finish off todays stupid student comment:

Student: Have you got that stapler?
Me: You didn't ask for one.
Student: I did yesterday.
See ya later.

Big Bang in Theory

People have been scared to death concerning the LHC turn on today. I actually am feeling a little disapointed because all they did was turn it on. No particle collisions, no crossed beams, a bit of a damp squib. The reason is that all they have done is turn the beam on in one direction. That's it. All the rest was media hysteria. The beams will not be colliding for a while yet, possibly weeks and it may happen without anyone knowing. I will be watching.
I know I've been out of touch for a month but I have been a little busy, I will try to make up for it. The students are back and there are lot of new faces in the department both staff and student. Stuart has gone over to the dark side, working in our other building and he has a replacement by the name of Andy.
The first stupid saying of the accademic year came from a student who asked me, "Do you know where the bottom of the stairs is?".
Great start hope there will be plenty more to come.

back to the grind..

I'm back from my tour of Ireland's west coast and already wishing I wasn't. The weather was warm and sunny, the climb (more of a slog) up Croagh Patrick was a bit heavy going and why some people do it barefoot I will never understand.
On the way out I was rather embarrassed to be picked out by an Irish sniffer dog as a potential drug smuggler due to something being wrong with my camera bag. After being taken somewhere private and the gloves going on I started to get a little worried. Luckily they only decided to search the bag and after I explained that I had owned the bag for over 15 years and it had been to many rock festivals, gigs, parties etc and I could have picked up traces at any of these they let me off with a warning and a suggestion to get the bag cleaned.
Phew!
After that it was a matter of planning a route around Galway, Clew Bay and Coonamara.
One last thing, if you are going to go camping in Ireland check out the prices of the campsites before you get there we found the charge to range from 15 to 42 euros per night for two people in one tent and a car.
Enjoy the rest of your summer as I am now back at work. People keep saying to me "you'll be off for the summer now, won't you." I have to put them straight that I am paid as a technician not a teacher and we have plenty to do during the holidays sorting out new equipment, fixing broken and doing audits.
Oh well, back to work.