http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7555000/7555600.stm

We need to ask what is the ethos of the criminal injuries compensation fund. If it is akin to a insurance scheme that pays out to when we have been injured then there is every case for reduced payments to those who have placed themselves at greater risk. I fully agree that to be considered to be “to blame” for being raped (or mugged) is offensive and plain wrong however in terms of compensation some allowance for risks taken may be appropriate. My insurance will not pay out if I leave my car unlocked although the crime is still not justified. In fact I have to pay a higher premium because I am guilty of not owning a garage!

Too much security? I’m always complaining about it - however unless my wife has really spent £160 on XBox games like Metal Gear Solid (or something like that) then I may have to slightly change that to - Too little security, I’ve always said so.

It would be typical if if my wife’s card had been cloned / abused / whatever (what do I mean “if”, do I really think she’s got an Xbox stashed in the wardrobe? All those shoes are just a false lid to her gaming haven?) as she is always shredding innocent details (I keep saying “your name & address is in the phone book”, “yes it’s a receipt that has 4 digits of your card on but no one can use it”) and warning her aged P’s to look after their details. In fact we spent last night shredding years worth of her mum’s financial records. She still leaves a check on the step for the milkman though - name, address, bank details!

Anyway looks like we’ve got to spend hours on the phone getting it sorted

I’ve got to decide what outcome I want here, do I want it to be stolen card details? Hmm, which is going to be cheaper - a ripped off credit card or marriage counselling and gaming addiction counselling?

http://iwantoneofthose.com/shop.do?pID=1596 

Scroll down and click on the image half way down the page to hear some samples!

It made me laugh but I am amused by a little gender stereotyping - of either, or preferably both, genders.

Some guy on the radio was protesting about the Orange Prize for Women Writers being discrimination against men. What really annoyed me was the response of Shami Chakrabarti who chairs the judges which was to dismiss with a chuckle the issue without even answering any of the points. As director of the human rights organisation Liberty she should have more respect than to laugh at any complaint of discrimination. Obviously, something open to women only is discriminatory - whether it is wrong or even significant is debatable but not dismissible.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3393148.ece

<snip/>men responded to music on an intellectual level, whereas female listeners had a more emotional reaction to songs and were not interested in track listings and production techniques. </snip>

Men have no emotions? Or at least have no contact with them? This kind of sexist twaddle could get you into trouble! 

Obviously it’s a generalisation and should be qualified as such but more to the point she is confusing primary & secondary responses. Blokes (and, to be gender non-specific, you can, in this context, have female “blokes”) tend to have a “do” response. Given a situation they want to do something with it /about it. Given a fine piece of music all you can “do” is play it, dance to it or learn about it - listening is too passive (& dancing is somehow passive?). Given the problems of playing and dancing learning about it is the easier option! Read the sleeve notes, google the band, collect the set, collect the set of the family tree (the bassist once seasoned for XYZ, get all their material…)

All that said it requires an emotional reaction to trigger the “do” response. The more a “bloke” is emotionally touched by a song the more they will do the anorak thing about it. But unless there is that initial emotional response… no “do” response.

The empirical proof of this is Abba - hugely technical and precise in recording techniques, worthy of many hours of anorakdom but how many blokes start their alphabetical collection with Abba?