Vivid Dreaming

One thing I’ve realised more and more over the last few months is that I dream very vividly – to the point that I can’t easily tell dreams from reality.  It’s only when I think back and actually analyse things that I work out sometimes whether it’s been dream or real.  That’s not helped by the fact that most of my dreams appear to be quite reality-based anyway. I’ve never dreamed about flying naked, or whatever.

Don’t get me wrong, they get very weird – but it’s extrapolations from reality, rather than just starting weird and getting worse.

Recently, I’ve also been vivid-dreaming that I’m awake. Or I think I have – it’s a possibility, anyway.

Either way, I’m either awake and not sleeping, or I’m asleep, dreaming I’m wide awake, and thus – um – dreaming about insomnia.

I honestly don’t know which it is.  There are bits where I know I’ve been awake ’til ungodly hours – and have physically moved to pick up the clock and look at the time, for instance. Others, I’m less sure – I’ve felt like I’ve had no sleep, but then I also recall things that were definitely (with analysis) dreams.

It’s all very confusing, and not at all helpful.


Not really getting it

While looking today at train ticket prices, I came across this…

More expensive, and takes longer.

National Express showing they don't understand pricing and advertising

Now I might be missing something, but if the train will take me 35 minutes, and cost £13(ish), why would I be interested in going by National Express, which would cost me more to travel for three times as long ?

I think someone might’ve missed the point…


Savings

Over the weekend, I was in Sainsbury’s, and saw a fine example of weird savings…

I’m sure I’ve waffed on about this before, but I can’t be chuffed to double-check. (Turns out, July 2009) Anyway, it’s hardly news.

In this case, a 4-pack of 2L Diet Coke bottles is retailing at £6.50. (And let’s not get onto the price-increase side of things – It’s not long ago that that 4-pack was £5)  As a 2L bottle on its own is around the £2 mark – I think it was £1.98, but who’s counting? – then £6.50 for four isn’t a bad deal.

Except – except! – that if you pay a bit more attention, they’re also doing “3 for the price of two” on the individual 2L bottles.

So you can get six bottles for £8 ( or £1.33 a bottle) , instead of four for £6.50 ( £1.62 per bottle )

Supermarkets are very strange places when it comes to saving money…


Irresponsible ?

Last week, David Oakes was sentenced to life imprisonment. He’d taken a shotgun to his ex-partner and their two-year-old daughter, supposedly because he was ‘afraid’ of losing them. He then (allegedly) tried to kill himself with the same shotgun, and failed.

In today’s news, Oakes’ ex-wife has come forward, saying that Oakes had also been abusive towards her while they were married.

His ex-wife said the “total control freak” was regularly violent and on one occasion pulled a gun on her.

“He pushed me to the sofa, pulled a gun out of his pocket, put one bullet in the barrel and spun the barrel,” she said. He kept clicking it to my head, he held the gun straight to my head. It didn’t go off, so he went off and calmed down and came back later as if nothing had happened.”

Now maybe I’m missing something, but surely that’s attempted murder ?

I do understand that an abused partner doesn’t always go to the police – but it could be done anonymously via Crimestoppers etc. And if she had reported his instability to the police, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have been allowed to have a registered shotgun…


Ticket Insanity

At the moment I’m commuting between Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge by train. It works out for the best for me – the times work out OK, I’m really catching up on reading, and it’s cheaper than driving.

Currently, a weekly ticket costs me £45 , and parking at Bury Station is £12 for the week (or £3.50 per day…), so my weekly costs are £57.

Having looked around, the next station along, Thurston, is much the same distance from home, and the parking is free. So I thought I’d have a look at the cost of the ticket.

A weekly ticket from Thurston to Cambridge is – wait for it – £77. Yes, £32 more expensive for one station more. It’s not even that much of a distance…


View Larger Map

The actual route is the dead-straight run between the two, not the highlighted route.

Even more bizarrely, a weekly ticket from Thurston to Bury is – um – £14. Still more expensive than parking at Bury station, but less than half the price of the extended weekly ticket from Thurston->Cambridge.

I’m sure there’s some logic there somewhere. But damn if I can find it.


Signage

I noticed this on the new DVD player today…

The full box

So yep, new cheap-ass DVD player.  But what’s that security sign on the right ?

Security Tag - Do Not Microwave

Yep – a sticker telling me to not microwave the sticker / box.

Is that something I’m supposed to do to a DVD player, then? Stick it in the microwave to make it work?

Note : Yes, I do know it’s just a generic sticker, and doesn’t matter whether it’s on a microwave or any other device. It just made me smile


Visibility

One of the more bizarre sights at AdTech this year was this…

Yellow Camouflage, Yellow Shirt, Yellow DM Boots

Very, very yellow – and very odd.

But what is the point of camouflage trousers in bright yellow? The mind boggles – I want to be concealed, fit in with the forest, but also bright yellow.  Maybe it’s for hiding in fields of oil-seed rape.