Search for Gordon Brown

Breaking News
If you do a Google search for "Gordon Brown" the Tories have an Adwords Campaign in the sponsored links.
They will have to pay for each click so it will be interesting to see how it progresses.
The advert reads "The New Militant Tendency - Read about Unite's stranglehold on Gordon Brown's Labour Party", and it links to the Conservative Party website.
Knowing the internet it could end up backfiring.

85015 Text Abuse

A salutary tale for unwitting mobile phone users

I'm not one to usually get burned on net, as I am normally quite wary, so I thought I better let you all know about this one as it's particularly crafty.

Somehow I unwittingly entered a competition, probably on the internet or via email, as must have been asked for my mobile phone number, which I must have given.

Mistake number one: Never give out your mobile number online – it just opens you up for abuse.

I reportedly received a text which stated I would be charged £5 per week and I replied to "Yes"

Mistake number two: If I did respond, it must not have made this clear. I never would have agreed to this.

I have an O2 account, which I spotted these payments over the last four months. I of course called them and they conveneiently will wash their hands of any responsiblity even though they take the money.

O2's Advice

Text back to 85015 "STOP ALL" in capitals.
Call Phonepay Plus who regulate these matters on 0800 500212. You can report this as you see fit. Visit Phone Pay Plus.

The Company responsible for these rip off texts are:
Emexus or 2waytraffic and you can call them on: 0203 0262817

Give them a call to their customer services department got me no joy. They are so adept at batting off any complaints you can see their business model in full transparency – it relys on this.

They are not interested in repeat business or customer satisfaction – who would when they are tricking people into paying £4.25 / text received.

Just Google Emexus to read more about this company.
The company is a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. Funnily the video uses the word "Exploiting" in the video. Enough said!

Info from Phone Pay Plus website

PhonepayPlus has the following information about the shortcode number 85015.

This is a text message service charged at premium rate. The types of services operating on this number can be ring tones, jokes, games tarot, chat, mobile internet services (WAP) and more.

• This service costs £5.00 per week

If you would like to find out more about this service you should contact the company listed below.

2waytraffic mobile group
Middenweg 1, 1217 HS Hilversum
P.O.Box 297,
1200 AG Hilversum
The Netherlands
0203 0262 817
na@smscustomercare.com

If you want to log a complaint to PhonepayPlus online please click here.

Alternatively, you can call our helpline on 0800 500 212 (Mon-Fri, 0800-1800).

To cancel a subscribtion service (services that charge a regular fee - for example £5 per week) you simply need to send a text with the words "STOP ALL" to the shortcode number.

You can check a Text number here.

Please feel free to comment if you have had something similar happen to you.

Biggest Full Moon of 2010

The biggest full moon of 2010 will rise in the east tonight, and it'll appear with a bright planet next to it: See Mars to the left of the massive moon

The 2010 moon will appear 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon this year, because our cosmic neighbour will actually be closer to Earth than usual.

The moon will be at its closest perigee—the nearest it gets to our planet during its egg-shaped orbit—for 2010 at 4:04 a.m. ET Saturday, reaching a distance of 221,577 miles (356,593 kilometers) from Earth.

At its farthest from Earth, the moon is said to be at apogee. Perigee and apogee each happen generally once a month, but the moon's wobbly orbit means that the satellite's exact distance at each of those events varies over the year. The moon's phase can also be different during each apogee and perigee.

"This month has the largest full moon of 2010, because it coincides with the special moment when the full moon happens to occur on the same day as it is at perigee," said Marc Jobin, an astronomer at the Montréal Planetarium.

And in a remarkable coincidence, Mars is at opposition tonight—directly opposite to the sun in the sky—so that as the sun sets in the southwest, Mars rises in the northeast.

Around opposition, the red planet gets closest to Earth. This year Mars swung by at just 61 million miles (98 million kilometers) on January 27, and it will still appear remarkably bright during tonight's sky show.

"To the naked eye it will appear as a bright, orange-colored star right next to the full moon—the pair will jump out at you for sure," Jobin said.

Full Moon Illusion

Because this unusually close perigee is happening during a full moon, it is expected to have an effect on Earth's tides.

(Related: "Mysterious Tremors' Strength Ebbs With Tides.")

These effects should be modest, most likely measurable in inches, although perigee tides can be higher if there happens to be a storm surge at the same time.

As for observing the effects of perigee on the moon itself, most casual observers should notice an obvious difference in the moon's apparent size as it rises above the eastern horizon, Jobin said.

That's when an optical illusion usually comes into play that makes any full moon seem larger, since the moon is set against familiar Earthly objects rather than appearing high in the empty sky.

"The combination of the two effects—perigee and moon illusion—will be really be noticeable and spectacular near the horizon," Jobin said.

Derren Brown The Event Live Lottery Prediction

Watch this. Learn carefully and do it next week!

Wouldn't that be goo!

Derren Brown The Event Live Lottery Prediction live on Channel 4. He'll tell you how he did tonight.

I'll post that too unless I'm sitting on a beach in the Bahamas!

UK Shipping Forecast

Ever wondered where on earth those areas are in the UK Shipping Forecast?

You can probably name a few and surprise yourself!

Here are the sea areas covering the waters around the British Isles:

1. Viking
2. North Utsire
3. South Utsire
4. Forties
5. Cromarty
6. Forth
7. Tyne
8. Dogger
9. Fisher
10. German Bight
11. Humber
12. Thames
13. Dover
14. Wight
15. Portland
16. Plymouth
17. Biscay
18. Trafalgar
19. FitzRoy (formerly Finisterre)
20. Sole
21. Lundy
22. Fastnet
23. Irish Sea
24. Shannon
25. Rockall
26. Malin
27. Hebrides
28. Bailey
29. Fair Isle
30. Faeroes
31. Southeast Iceland

Sea Eagle SE370 Inflatable Canoe

Sea Eagle SE370 Review
This looks a pretty tough inflatable canoe with high quality seams and is equally at home in the rapids or the calm. It has two skegs to help you track across the water in a straight line. Cheaper inflatable canoes without these tend to weave about.

The Sea Eagle SE 370 has plenty of leg room and storage area making it ideal for camping trips on the river. It packs up into a neat bag.


Dimensions
Length: 370cm
Width: 86cm
Carries: Up to 295kg
Pumping time: About 8 minutes
Warranty: 3 years

Standard Features:

• NMMA Certified
• Self bailing drain valve
• Three deluxe one-way valves
• Lashed down inflatable spray skirts
• I-beam construction floor
• 2 skegs on the bottom for better tracking and speed
• Pressure Gauge and Repair Kit
• Bow and Stern Grab Line

Gumotex Palava Inflatable Canoe

Gumotex Palava Inflatable Canoe Review
The Gumotex Palava is made from incredibly strong, robust Nitrilon material as opposed to just nylon. It folds up into a small rucksack. It will carry three people comfortably or two people with lots of gear, making it suitable for overnight trips.

Measuring 380cm and weighing 21kg, the Gumotex Palava can be inflated in 10 minutes.

It retails online between £500 and £600.