It seems that currently, 3 major UK internet service providers (BT, Virgin & TalkTalk) and an ex- adware/spyware company called Phorm are joining forces to install highly invasive hardware on the ISP’s servers designed to intercept your browsing for the purposes of targeted advertising.

The technology seems iffy at best and wide open for abuse.

There’s a simple layman’s guide that explains why this is bad for internet users and what we can do to prevent it’s implementation right here and if you object to every page you visit on the ‘net being read over your shoulder and then reported to the highest bidder, you can sign the UK Government petition to protest against it here

People keep telling me that I should have a blog. Apparently it’s the done thing. I’ve resisted thus far, oh, how I’ve resisted. Because at the core of it I am fundamentally a lazy person.

I’ve had blogs before, in the deep mythical past before the inception of Biro-art in 2003, but I’ve always been terrible at maintaining them. Updating avidly several times a day for the first few days, then once a week for a couple of months, then one a month if I can be arsed then… oblivion.

When Biro-art started in 2003 I finally felt like I had on online presence that worth worth maintaining and indeed to this day five years later I still keep Biro-art updated whenever I create something new. Each image is accompanied with a small passage of text describing the image and in some cases the thought processes that when behind the idea. Not really a blog per se just a couple of notes.
Occasionally, just now and then I’ve felt like writing a little more and indeed for a short while I had a Blogger account where I did just that but like attempted blogs before it, it fell by the wayside.
Late last year I started a new project, a webcomic called Odd-Fish which again has a small passage of blurb posted with each comic strip and again is more like a few notes than anything else. Just something for Googlebot to get its teeth into.
Neither of those places, Biro-art or Odd-Fish seem the right place to talk about other things. About the stuff that goes on in my world and my life, about the creative processes involved in Biro-art and Odd-Fish, about my thoughts on stuff and about, well, stuff in general.

So I decided to produce this blog to fill in that space in my online presence. This page will tie together all the pies I have my finger in, all the sites I use to promote, network and entertain myself. All the things I do.

And so it begins.

The drawing for the magazine commission was accepted OK so I should be getting a copy of the magazine sometime in June to show all my friends (both of them) Here’s the drawing in question:
I’m now on a break from work for a few days so there’s not going to be much going on with the biros for a short while as I do nearly all of my stuff at work during breaks and quiet times.

Mum rang me yesterday. I haven’t spoken to Mum in about 18 months, I’m such a terrible Son (and brother, uncle, grandson, Cousin, nephew etc) because I never seem to get around to contacting any of my family. They know I love them I’m sure though.
Anyway, Mum phoned me because it’s Granny’s 90th birthday at the end of this month and there’s a doo arranged. I wish I’d had a little more notice because I can’t get the time off work and I have no transport at the moment either. On top of all this, the dinner is the day before payday so I couldn’t rent a car or get a train either. Bugger. On the subject of payday, this month is the month I’m expecting to finally, after 13 months of delays, get my backpay from the payscale restructuring called ‘Agenda for Change’ that’s plagued the NHS for years now. I’m not holding my breath though and I really cannot rely on it to help us with the car either because I have absolutely no idea how much it’s likely to be. Some people have had literally a couple of quid and others have had five or six thousand. Fingers crossed!

Today was a terrible, terrible day.
My car, my trusty, crappy 11 year old Skoda (yes I know) was due its MOT. For those of you who are not Brits, an MOT is a once a year mechanical examination of all cars to ensure they are basically safe to be on the road. The test costs £45, is compulsory and you cannot buy motor insurance (also compulsory) or road tax (compulsory again) without a test pass certificate.
I suspected that there may be a couple of minor problems with the car, the screen washer didn’t squirt very well and one of the tail lights was out. no problem, I can fix that. What I wasn’t prepared for was an estimate for £400 of repairs to the buggered steering, suspension and breaking systems.
Now given that the car cost me £150 in the first place there’s no way I can afford to spend £400 on fixing it so it’s bye bye little Skoda and I shall have to cycle to work for a while until I can afford another car. Again.

I got home after that little adventure to find Becky, my partner very worried about one of our cats, Woolly.
Woolly had been sneezing and wheezing for a few days and we just though she had a bit of a cold. All the cats had had colds before and had always got over them without help but Woolly’s symptoms were worsening and now she sounded like an aqualung.
So we took her to the vet thinking she needed some antibiotics and maybe some steroids for a lung infection but the vet diagnosed heart failure and fluid in her lungs.
Poor Woolly, our beautiful, sleek, black 14 year old cat was suffering and had to be put to sleep.
I cried.
Horrible, horrible day.