This Week I Have Been Mostly....

...messing about with Facebook. It is horribly addictive. I opened an account on it about a year ago, but it was boring because no-one else was on it. Now, everyone is on it, and I seem to want to check it for updates every 5 minutes. This can not be healthy.

This week I have also got my Powerbook back. Woo Hoo! It took over four weeks, and in the end the whole motherboard was changed. But I didn't pay a penny for fixing it. Which is nice. I HEART Apple.

My life without my laptop has been very different; I've read three books (good), I've watched more TV (bad), I've started buying Private Eye again (v.good), I gave money to the evil Murdoch empire, by buying The Times everyday just for the Killer Sudoku (v.bad), and I've blogged less (I'll let you decide). I will try and take some of these better changes with me into my renewed laptop-containing life, but I will stop buying The Times.

One thing that hasn't changed though is that FGW are still late. No trains have been really late, just consistently 5-10 min late. Which, to be honest, I'm getting used to and beginning to ignore -It think I've turned into a commuter! I am becoming immune to 10 minute delays and shrug them off without a moments thought. It's taken 8 months, but apathy is starting to slip in. The bastards have ground me down, and I'm ready to give in. This is what happens to commuters.
Damn it.

Thankfully help is at hand for the apathetic protester. After reading Mark Thomas' fantastic book about the UK arms trade, As Used On The Famous Nelson Mandela (I highly recommend), I was browsing his website when I came across a company he has set up called McDemos. This company organise bespoke demonstrations on the topic of your choice without having to leave the comfort of your chair (or more importantly give FGW money by going to London in my spare time). Demonstrations start at just 99p for a 30 second demo. I was feeling flush and went for the £5 happy Demo option, which includes all the proper paperwork. So in the words of a famous 80's tv programme; why don't you go and do the same?

It doesn't have to be a demo against FGW, this company is set up to make a mockery of the serious organised crime and police act (SOCPA) which stops people freely expressing their opinion outside Parliament without permission of the police. Maybe you could protest against having an unelected Prime Minister or MPs who are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, it's up to you. But as Mark Thomas says on his website...

If you're not pissed off, you're not paying attention.


Picture from harryharris on flickr.com

Wear them with Pride?

Our friend over at I Hate First Great Western, has the eponymous badges ready. You can get yours by e-mailing your details to IhateFGW@yahoo.co.uk .

I'll probably start by wearing it all the time, but if FGW can run, I dunno, lets say, three consecutive days without delays to my journey, then I'll take it off 'till the next delay. Can't say fairer than that. Wont happen though.

To the majority of FGW front line staff, I'd like to say, this protest is not directed at you personally, but you can tell your managers how many people you see wearing them. And besides, it's better that I sit with my badge on, than give you an earful of bile-fuelled rant, right?

In a service update, last night's return service was 10 minutes late leaving Cardiff, due to

"the late incoming workings of a previous train."

Now that doesn't even make sense. And besides, the train had pulled into the platform, appeared to be ready to go 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time. What made me laugh though, was following the reason for being late, the train manager then optimistically announced that

"this lost time will be made up before we get to Bristol Temple Meads."

Guess what, he was wrong. He must be new, bless him.