Good Friday morning appeared promising.  The weather was bright and sunny when I got up, if somewhat cold. I’d received some plants through the post earlier in the week from Buckingham Nurseries - http://www.hedging.co.uk/index.html - that I wanted to get into the ground but, looking at my lawn which I’d recently fed (with organic fertiliser of course!), I decided it was probably best to cut it before I get stuck into the flower beds.  By around 10.30 I’d achieved my main “task of the day”; I stopped to make a coffee and stood in the kitchen which overlooks the back garden and started planning in my mind where I’d put my new plants.

I’d also received some tubers and bulbs from Gardens4You – http://www.gardens4you.co.uk- and from Suttons – http://www.suttons.co.uk – a very well known seed/plant company here in the UK, but my main concern was to get the rooted plants in.

I had two rose bushes; both scented, one a maroon red/orange and the other a pale pink, which needed to be put at the sunny end of my garden. 

I then had a fern which I wanted to plant in the damp shady area to complement my lilac, violets and snowdrops closer to my house. 

I also had two bearded irises which needed to go somewhere in between as they like to be moist but, at the same time, benefit from a fair bit of sun.

And last but not least, I had five raspberry canes which had already started to shoot.  Last year I’d planted up a gooseberry bush and a blackcurrant bush which had already started to shoot so I decided it would be a good idea to plant the new canes behind the two fruit bushes to complete my little soft fruit area.  

I’d set out my soft fruite area beyond my apricot tree which I received as a “lucky dip” cheapy from Suttons last year.  I must admit that, at the time I’d ordered it for less than half the normal price of a fruit tree, I’d hoped it’d be a self fertilising apple or pear but, as luck would have it, I was sent an apricot which requires a fair bit of tender loving care.  It had over wintered clothed in some old ripped up pillow cases held round it by a few clothes pegs and I’d noticed a week or two previously that buds had now started to shoot and, at the time of this article, the tree had responded to my winter ministrations by throwing forth several blooms so, ever hopeful, I’m looking forward to having at least one edible apricot on it this year!!

The year prior to my “lucky dip apricot tree”, I’d gone for a lucky dipper and had been rewarded with a cherry tree which is doing phenomenally well in a dip between the bottom of our garden and a meadow which is let to Hillside Animal Sanctuary – http://www.hillside.org.uk although the land is actually owned by our local farmer but he doesn’t mind us planting trees, herbs or “horse friendly” plants out there provided we keep a boundary between the end of our garden and that of the meadow.  We’d had quite a few cherries on the tree last year but the birds had taken those, not that we mind sharing with the wildlife of course!

But I transgress … While I was pondering on what to plant where, my mother called.  Nothing wrong with that I hear you say!  Unfortunately my mother is one of those chatter boxes who won’t take a hint once she gets into her stride.  She asked if I was OK – to which I responded, “yes, I’m fine.  I’ve just finished cutting the lawn and stopped for a coffee and I’m now planning where to put my plants which I got earlier in the week.  They’ve been sitting outside on the footpath wrapped in damp newspaper and straw but I desperately want to get them into the ground as it seems we’re in for a rough Easter weather-wise”. 

“Good”, Mum said, and then launched into a running commentary.  “Jessie’s going over to Maureen’s today for lunch and tea … Shirley’s gone away for the weekend to stay with her family … She said she’d leave her key with me but hasn’t … There goes Malcolm out to walk his dog … There’s the merry widow doing some gardening … Oh, someone’s just pulled up in a car outside Colin’s house … I wonder if Sainsbury’s [supermarket] is open over the Easter weekend … The weather’s lovely and sunny here but it’s cold …”, at which stage I managed to make myself heard above her prattle. 

“The weather was great here when I got up”, I shouted down the phone, “but the wind’s picked up now and it looks as if it’s going to rain.  If I don’t get my plants in quickly I’m going to have to be out in pouring rain to get them into the ground”.

“Oh well”, she responded, “never mind”.

By the time she’d finished giving me her diatribe of events in North Walsham it had started to rain and and the wind was blowing a gale so I had to don my heavy gardening shoes and my thick fleece jacket with hood and get stuck into the garden with my spade and fork.  Can’t say it was the most enjoyable morning’s gardening I’d had and by the time I finally got in for my lunch at about half past two, the only consolation I had was the fact that the plants would be well watered in … if they weren’t blown out of the garden by the wind first!

The weather got progressively worse during the afternoon and I would have loved to have got onto my PC and written up an article for Triond to while away the hours until supper but as Adam, my partner, was building himself a new PC I’d told him I’d leave him well alone.  He needed space in the office to lay out all his bits and pieces and he’d also asked if he could have access to my PC in case he needed to refer to the internet for info on the new hardware.

I could hardly expect him to change his timetable just because mine had failed so I decided I’d do a bit of cake baking, clean and dust round our bedroom and then settle down to watch a film and opted for an old 1940s version of The Thief of Baghdad.

I eventually entered the office (Adam’s workshop) just to check my emails and found that Adam wasn’t getting on as well as he would have liked with his PC building and was becoming increasingly fractious.  Thankfully, there was good news in the emails for us!

I sometimes order takeaway food online when I know I’m going to be working late and, in amongst the junk email asking if I’d like to buy Viagra, have breast implants, etc etc, I found that JustEat - http://www.just-eat.co.uk – who I use to order my takeaway, had sent me one stating that they had a special offer which applied just to Good Friday – order a takeaway and I’d get 10% off the price!  It was ideal – I wouldn’t need to cook and Adam could have whatever he fancied to cheer him up; whether it be Chinese, Indian, Turkish, Thai or English.  As we follow the old tradition of eating fish on a Friday, we opted for fish and chips which were duly delivered at around 7.00, at which point Adam stopped to eat and then disappeared back upstairs to his little cell to continue with the trials and tribulations of PC building while I remained curled up in front of the fire and caught up with a bit more TV.

I finally went to bed at about midnight and said a brief prayer that Saturday wouldn’t be so wet and cold and that maybe I could finally get on with putting some tubers and bulbs into pots of compost; that Adam would be a little less stressed and finally manage to solve the problems with his PC; and that the whole day would be at least 50% better than today.

Was it to be?  Nope!!!!!

According to the report by Fujitsu through a statement , the software is intended for use in mobile phones and try, first, identify situations where a potential victim is in a state of “overtrust” allowing offenders across the phone to access your money or your data.

“Overtrust” is one situation where a person overwhelmed by the information being received by a telephone caller, involuntarily reduces their ability to objectively evaluate what is being said.

Speaking more plainly refers to those times when the person is “wrapped” so that tells the other party and comes to believe everything you are hearing.

A classic example of “overtrust” can be seen in those calls from individuals who claim to be policemen or doctors and they need to report that an acquaintance of the victim has suffered an accident or serious incident has starred in another. This type of information generated in the person the state of stress necessary for it to lose its powers of perception and judgment and providing complete information criminals need to realize their scam.

Indeed, the program developed by Fujitsu and Nagoya University seeks to detect such situations through the analysis of intonation and vibrations of the user’s voice.

To do this, experts departed from the knowledge that the states of stress come to cause changes in voice tone and level of people and decided to seek the technology to analyze these variations to alert when those are in that vulnerable .

Fujitsu reported, tests with the new program allowed us to detect the situations described above with an accuracy above 90 percent of cases.

Studying the potential fraudster

The software developed by the Japanese will also analyze what the alleged scammer says, because it applies voice recognition technology to identify keywords that are most used in phishing scams (phishing).

If you combine both elements: the state of “overtrust” of the victim and the detection of words commonly used by fraudsters, the phone itself will warn the user with a warning of “high risk of fraud” that appear on the screen .

Similarly, and to ensure that the scheme is not specified if the victim does not realize it, the program will take care of getting to the motives of the family a notice that that person is in danger of being cheated .

The new software is currently in the prototype stage and the next step of collaboration betweenFujitsu and Nagoya University provides for the direct involvement of the National Police Academy and the Bank of Nagoya.

With the collaboration of both institutions, will seek to assess the practical use of new technology to actual cases of fraud, as well as identify potential problems in their implementation on the ground and seek their solution.

Detect emotions
Listen to the emotion in your caller’s voice. Does it match or endorse the words they are using?

Ask questions
Ask questions to gain more information on points you need to clarify.

Don’t interrupt
You listen more effectively when you’re not talking, so refrain from interrupting your caller. Let them finish what they are saying, interruptions may break their train of thought.

Don’t pre-empt
Avoid pre-empting what your caller is going to say, chances are you will be wrong and miss some of the content of their conversation.

Recap key facts
Summarise and reflect back to check you have heard the key facts and content of the caller’s conversation correctly. It also lets the caller know you have understood them. Statements such as “What I’m hearing is…” and “Sounds like you are saying…” are great ways to reflect back and summarise.

Pen and paper at the ready
Have a pen and paper to hand and get into the habit of making short quick references to any questions you want to ask or points you wish to raise or comment on. When your caller has finished speaking refer back to your notes and take action. If you are thinking of answers and responses whilst the caller is speaking, you are not listening.

Say it again
If you are having difficulty listening, make the necessary adjustments. You might say, “I’m sorry I missed that last point. Please repeat that for me.”

Watch the stereotypes
Avoid stereotyping individuals by making assumptions about how you expect them to act and what you expect them to say. This will bias your listening.

Be aware of the barriers to listening
• We think we’re right and the other person is wrong
• We feel we have to provide help right away
• We prefer to talk rather than listen
• We are waiting for gaps or pauses to jump in with our response

And don’t forget to keep practising…

Today, the style for purses seems like the bigger than better. But there can be problems with this new style. A woman has a huge purse and then they’ll put more things in it which can cause your neck to be painful according to Baylor Medical Center doctors. Ladies, I mean those who have purses that carry everything but the kitchen sink in it, it’s time to clean your purse and make sure it weighs no more than 3 pounds.

Phones can cause neck cramps because you have to bend your neck against the phone. For a regular landline get one of those headsets they sell. For a cell phone use something you don’t have to actually hold the phone.

Roll your shoulders slowly back at least five time when you are stressed out. The reason to do this is because when we are stressed our neck and shoulder muscles get tense.

If you spend a lot of time on a computer, every half hour take a 5 minute break. The people who tcake breaks are 21% less likely to have pain in the neck and shoulders as opposed to those who didn’t take a break.

Spot Talk is a company that provides affordable long distance coverage to United States residents.  Calls within United States usually cost around six cents a minute. Making calls to foreign countries usually cost more.  Spot Talk users do not need to change their current telephone number to obtain coverage. Instead, a local Spot talk phone number is given to members. This number has to be dialed before your long distance phone number. Monthly statements are mailed to your home. More information about Spot talk and their long distance plans can be obtained at www.spottalk.net

Virgin Mobile cell phones can be purchased at Kmart, Wal- Mart and other stores for $14. These phones usually have numerous customized plans available. Choose a contract free plan that allows users to pay twenty dollars for two hundred minutes.  However, unused minutes expire after three months. More minutes can be added to your cell phone by purchasing Virgin Mobile phone cards. This plan allows you to make local, out of state and international calls.  Local and out of state calls cost around ten cents a minute.  International calls can be made on this plan but costs more per minute.

Calling Cards work best for individuals who need to connect with others occasionally or during emergencies. International Calling Cards can be purchased at various grocery stores or pharmacies. Purchase cards at reputable stores such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Publix grocery stores.  Calling cards that are highly recommended include Walgreens International Calling Cards and ATT prepaid cards.  These cards allow you to connect with others in foreign countries for fewer than eight cents a minute. Most calling cards can be used at landline telephones or cell phones. However, some cards may have fewer minutes than advertised. Also, defective cards cannot be returned or exchanged for monetary value.

Image by heathbrandon via Flickr

PROFILING IS LIKE STALKING

Get away from me you lousy corporations that like to follow me around. You are harassing me over and over again! I don’t want to be disturbed anymore but you keep selling my information to people who want to sell something to me but you never told me that was the purpose of signing up for my membership, my free gift or my discount.

SPAM IN MY CELLPHONE

I don’t want those ads in my cellphone. I don’t care if the cell phone company is giving is me a cheaper rate. Turn them off please! Please stop sending me those SMS messages as well.

PEOPLE CALLING ME EVERY DAY

Please take me off the list. This is what I have to say to those tele-salesmen who call me regularly to try and get me to invest in some insurance, assurance, bonds, finance package or something that requires me to part with my money on a monthly basis. Where did they get my contact information from? 

MY MAILBOX IS BRIMMING OVER

Don’t you guys know that I am given a small mail box in the apartment I happen to live in? All that spam mail is clogging it up. You waste about 5 minutes of my time every day. How you say? You waste my time because you are making me do clerical/administrative work by having to sort out the mail. 

THE SEARCH ENGINE COOKIES

I hate those search engine and website cookies, especially the flash cookies. Please stop will you? I know that you want to profile me but I never gave you permission. Oh, you say “Everyone uses our services and we cannot avoid using this technology” but I say that you should be paying me for this information. 

THE BANK IS CALLING ME

Oh dear! The bank knows that I have a bit of cash. I don’t want them to contact me and try to get me a new credit card. I don’t want to know about the new savings plan. I just want you guys to take care of my money and pay me the tiny amount of interest you reward me with. I put my money in your bank because I know that if you are robbed you can pay me back. 

How to minimize profiling?

1. Don’t sign up for anything free, refuse discounts and don’t become a member of anything unless it is really worth your while.

2. Buy two cell phones. Use one cell phone number to fill in forms that require it and the other is to be your private number. Don’t even give that number to your friends. Just use it to call the most important people in your life – people who you know that will not give it away to others without your express permission.

3. When you are forced to fill in a form and you are asked about your monthly or yearly income, don’t fill in that part. Don’t even tell them about your education level. Try to look as poor as possible because poor people won’t be disturbed as much as the rich

4. Get a post office box. Make that your normal mail address and have everything else that is important sent to your apartment.

5. Don’t use the same computer all the time. Don’t use the same service provider and most importantly of all, delete cookies frequently from your browser. Log off regularly and sign in with a different assigned IP address.

6. Don’t keep all your money in just one bank if possible. Spread it around a bit.

I know that very few people will go to these extremes but it is something to consider if you are a person that does not like being profiled too much.

Lettings agents have been flagging danger signs for years now, with the average property rental being between £450-£600 for a one bedroom house or flat. While that might not sound like a lot, Experian credit services are advising landlords not to rent properties in that price bracket to anyone who earns less than £21,000. Yet the average single persons wage in the UK is just £15,000-£18,000. The average mortgage figures fall under the same price brackets too (dependant on deposit size).

Taking the top bracket as an example £18,000 lets look at the break down of that wage.

£18,000 split across 12 months is £1500 a month.

£500 Rent

£100 Council Tax

£275-£300 National Insurance / Income Tax

£100 Gas/Electric/Water

£80 Telephone/Mobile/Broadband

£100 Transport

Total:- £1180 is the total amount you are pretty much guaranteed to spend over the course of a month, and while £320 might not sound too bad, you still have to factor food, clothing, and any sort of medical issues. Car owners not commuting to work via public transport must also factor in car insurance, road tax, and maintenance fees whether they use their car or not.

Neither are seasonal issues factored into this, such as more energy used in winter, and more money invested in travel whereas you might walk in the summer.

Many singles are being forced into flat/house sharing, which although they might save money, can cause emotional and psychological problems as 1 in 3 shared property situations end in a less than satisfactory way.

While being part of a couple, this does not effect me, it would should one of us be out of work, it’s a frightening thought that for most people in the UK there is absolutely no money at present even for the most minor of luxuries.

Bell: Image via Wikipedia

Music was sent down a telephone line for the first time in the year that the telephone was invented – 1876!

The first “email” was sent in 1972. Ray Tomlinson was the sender and it was his idea to use a @ sign to separate the name of the sender and the name of the server.

Henry McKinley came up with the word “sneaker”. He was an advertising agent for N. W. Ayer and Son. Or … the Boston Journal of Education used the term in 1887. The sneaker was created by a Victorian London cop, who wanted a rubber-soled shoe in order to “sneak up” on criminals and catch them in the act – without making a noise.

Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray filed for patents for their telephone inventions within hours of each other back in 1876. They also filed lawsuits and eventually the patent went to Bell.

Cows have no upper front teeth, however cows still manage to graze 8 hours a day and eat roughly 45 kilograms (100 pounds) of feed as well as much water as it would take to fill a bathtub – need to wash all that down!

Some scholars think that our superstition revolving around the number 13 may come from early man. There is a theory that early man could not count past the number 12. This theory is based on the knowledge that in many languages, numbers past the number twelve are often said as a combination, e.g. the number fifteen is said as the number ten and the number five.

In 1646, a German priest made a projector. Athanasius Kircher used a candle or oil lamp to project hand-painted images onto a white sheet or screen. He called a later device that used reflection to project images, his “catotrophic lamp”.

Vending machines have been around since the first century AD. Hero, a mathematician and engineer, lived in Alexandria, Egypt. He made a machine that dropped a coin into a slot on the top. The weight of the coin would fall into a pan which activated a lever which pulled a lever and opened a valve to dispense holy water. The pan with the coin continued to tilt under the weight if the coin until it fell off and a counter-weight turned the valve off.

Kircher: Image via Wikipedia

Smartphones are cell phones with other capabilities such as that of a PDA or a hand-held game device. Everything that most people use everyday is crammed into one small, sleek looking device that has transformed the way we look at technology. The smartphone continues to improve as new features such as the GPS, video chat, wifi, etc. are being a part of the phone.

Cell phones continue to pack a whole lot of information, yet the average size of a cell phone is smaller than a telephone. Smartphones are in demand now than regular cell phones because people now have access to all that they do at their computer at home within their fingertips. Smartphones have made contacting and socializing with other people a whole lot easier with the use of the internet, e-mail, and text messaging. The newer versions of the smartphones, for example the MyTouch 4G can be wi-fi hotspots for other devices.

The newer versions of smartphones have the capability of recording videos at a 1080p and be able to upload the video on youtube, facebook, twitter, etc. right from the phone. This means say for example you have a youtube channel or something that you want to keep updated during your vacation or trip. Just record a video and upload it right after you’re done.

In conclusion, the introduction of smartphones has revolutionized human life and made everyday things easier within reach. Keeping friends and family updated has got a whole lot easier thanks to the powerful recording and camera features of the smartphone. The use of regular cell phones is most likely going to be lost in the future because the smartphones will have taken its place.

Bell received his early schooling at home from his father. Later on he was enrolled at the Royal High School, Edinburgh. His grades were very bad at school. He left the school when he was 15 years. He moved to London to live with his grandfather. 

Bell joined Weston House Academy as a pupil-teacher of elocution and music. Later he attended University of Edinburgh. In the year 1868, he moved to Canada with his family. There the family purchased a farm at Tutela Heights near Brantford, Ontario. Bell set up a workshop here and used work for long hours. 

Alexander Graham Bell’s mother and wife were deaf. This fact is believed to have had a great influence on his work. His research on hearing devices led to the invention of telephone. He was awarded the US patent for the telephone in the year 1876. He was a voracious reader of Encyclopedia Britannica. He used to search its pages for new areas of interest. He invented metal detector in the year 1881. 

Image via Wikipedia

Alexander Graham Bell’s contributions to aeronautics, hydrofoils and optical telecommunications are immense. He also loved art, poetry and music. He mastered the piano without formal training! He was a telented ventriloquist. He used to entertain family guests with this talent. 

Bell translated the unwritten vocabulary of the Mohawk language into visible speech symbols. He was awarded with the title of the honorary chief of the tribe for this contribution. He served as a professor of Vocal Physiology and Elocution at the Boston University School of Oratory. During this period he spent summers in Canada. 

Bell established the Bell Telephone Company in the year 1877. He married Mabel Hubbard in the same year. His wedding gift to his wife was 1487 of the 1497 shares of his new company. The couple had a year long honeymoon in Europe. They had four children. 

Bell with his wife Mabel Hubbard (Image via Wikipedia)

This pioneer in the field of telecommunications died due to diabetic complications in the year 1922. He was a naturalized citizen of the US. All the three countries where he lived (Scotland, Canada and the US) claim him as their “native son”. In the year 1940, a stamp bearing his image was issued by the US Post Office as a mark of honor. 

Image via Wikipedia

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