And so it continues...

It's conceptual...

Sometimes I start writing these things with absolutely no idea what I am going to say. This probably shows on the days when I write 500 words, but say nothing. I still say it's good brain exercise. Today is one of those days.

I read this morning that the Prfoessioanl Teachers Association in Britain wants to remove the concept of failure from schools and replace it with "deferred success". No, hoestly, I don't make this up. I'm pleased to say that the education secretary Ruth Kelly has trashed the idea. It's hardly worth even making a comment is it. Click.

On the subject of Ruth Kelly, I heard her interviewed onthe Radio 4 Today programme where she trashed the above idea. I'm not sure I have ever heard her interviewed before, but she was so bad at answering questions, I can't understand why she isn't laughed out of office. I know all politicians dance around questions, but she simply ignored them and talked about something completely different. She was supposed to be answering questions about a new government idea that will make parents supervise their children if they are excluded from school. God knows how that is supposed to work, more house arrests without charge I suppose. Apparently over 200,000 children were expelled from British schools last year, quite incredible.

Another story I read this morning is about a German woman who was found shopping wearing only an unbuttoned denim jacket in Cologne. When questioned by police she claimed that she was doing it because she'd lost a game of spin the bottle. The police let her off with a warning. Click.

In India they have discovered a new way to combat pornography, they raid the theater and then make all the people watching do sit ups in the town square. Not really sure that 10 sit ups is much of a deterent actually, but apparently this tactic is being trialed because authorities have been unable to stop theaters from screening the material. Click. I still can't see a problem with porn.

Do you remember me bitching here a while back about not receiving bonuses that I had been awarded at work? Well they promised me that they would be in the pay cheque this month, and guess what, half of it was. The sticking point appears to be a restaurant bill. I won a meal for two at a restaurant for some outstanding work I did, can't remember what. I wasn't sure I really wanted to go, but I thought it might be nice. It was all a bit cloak and dagger. I was given a discount card for the restaurant in the name of some woman I have never heard of. The card is not transferable and the name is Chinese, so I assume that anyone winning this prize has to take an oriental partner, or be oriental themself, and then pretend to be the person named on the card. I was also instructed to give the restaurant the company tax registration number so that they can claim back tax against my bonus as a business expense.

So, bear in mind here that I probably had to break the law and commit fraud just to claim this prize. When I finally get the money reimbursed (it's been three months now) I found out today I actually have to pay 10% tax on it. So in fact, even if I do get paid, I still end up out of pocket. Classic! And the reason I didn't get the money in this month's pay packet - tehy payed the wrong person. It has nothing to do with the fact that my payslip is in Chinese and they thought I wouldn't understand it, no nothing like that at all, what made you think that?