Weather: Windy. Very windy. And kinda wet early. 14.

Travel: Not happening. Even though I'm out. The 0635 comes a couple of minutes early, and is made of a garden-shed (153) coupled to a Plastic Newie (370?) The combination has one fatal flaw: the electrics aren't compatible, and the doors will only open manually. It pulls short at Wolverhampton.
Then the 0649 Vermin to London is cancelled - after it's pulled into the station. The 0652 stopper tries to leave the platform, but then falls off the overhead lines. That's not moving, the London train is blocking one platform, the remnants of the train I started are blocking the other, and everything else is delayed. Where's the tram?
Central Trains abandons ship at 0820, asking any running trains to go to a major station and stop. I take the bus into the city centre - it takes 15 minutes to go the last mile, owing to an accident. Tram and lift.

shimelle:
send my passport, including extremely ugly photo
Extremely ugly photo of shimelle... No, sorry, can't cast that sentence in any form that the computer likes. Guess it objects to the underlying sentiment.

off to jack straw and his cronies to laugh at and ponder about. but i've haven't heard anything back yet.
I didn't get my Hallowe'en costume from Ethan's store, so I can't exactly expect to turn into someone wearing a long black cloak, wire-framed glasses and being nasty to people.

But I can say: "Jack. Off. Now." And get it past the F*x censors.

so if they turn me down and send it back, there's no way i can leave by the actual time they would want me out. lovely.
Their tough luck. The Applicant has followed the instructions to the letter; failure of The Executive cannot be visited on The Applicant. Any member of The Executive who disagrees will be invited to discuss this with Miss Widdecombe and Mrs Robinson.

i come from a country that doesn't do anything too horrible
That's actually not as true as the natives would like to think. Given that the US wouldn't qualify for membership of the Council of Europe on its human rights record - and the pretty darned lawless nations of Eastern Europe have got in - there's arguable grounds.

Not that The Executive will hear a word of it.

i actually have an opinion on an election for once and i can't vote as my driver's license and voters registration has now lapsed, along with the fact that i now have no permanent us address so can't be put into a voting district.
Right, anyone prepared to trade votes with Ms Laine? She swaps her vote in the next available election for your vote in this.

It's an idea that ought to be used by the Gore and Nader camps. There are those who want to vote for Nader, so the Greens get extra funding next time around. And there are those who want to vote for Gore to keep Shrub out. Only the Nader voters would give Gore a helping hand in tight states, while extra Gore voters in states that are clearly going one way or the other make no difference.

The solution? Pair up the Gore and Nader voters, and get them to swap their votes. The Gore camp gets extra votes where they matter, and the Nader camp gets the extra votes to the 5% threshold.

This is democracy in action, folks. This strikes me as A Hugely Good Thing. Swap away, get the president you want.

i just felt like...posting.
This also strikes me as A Hugely Good Thing.

Weather: Sunny spells. 12.

Travel: Better, just about. The 0635 is a little late, and pulls short at Wolverhampton again. This is not on.
0649 has some problem, we're waved off to the stopper, which runs a little late, but not much. There's not much on the X-City south, so bus down.
Still problems coming back, so buses up the Bristol Road. Might do this more often. Jump on the 1657 Manchester train at 1722. It leaves 1730, heading south, not north. We're routed via Aston, Perry Barr, Bescot and Wednesfield, but still arrive at Wolverhampton in 29 minutes, including a 2 minute stand just outside the station. Bus completes.

Sara Lou :)
-->hehehehe :) ugh, I despise Bonfire day...(for those who don't know, some of the english actually make a man like doll, give it to their children, and they go house to house asking for pennies. then they burn the doll, pretending its this guy that tried to blow up parliament, and chant something, although I can't remember what..its pretty sick and twisted...IMOOC)
Well, the kids tend to ask for something more than pennies, what with inflation and all. And the memory attempts to re-inforce the value of a representative democracy, as opposed to the schemings and plottings of a small clique representing themselves, such as the Catesby Conspirators, or the Islington Mafia. (Er.)

this older guy at my new workplace asked me why I was doing it on bonfire night. and I was like huh? I'd forgotten all about bonfire night, as had Ross! but anyway, we figured its much better to celebrate Halloween, then some disgusting Holiday like bonfire night (no offense to any english people)
The Right Rev Rev Wright would write a screed on the disgusting and evil nature of Hallowe'en given half a chance.

Dr Wordsmith would wonder whatever happened to the apostrophe in Hallowe'en, if he were ever sober enough to notice it was missing.

they did NOT agree with bonfire night, but that they did like the fireworks.
On a serious point, if the Catesby plot *had* succeeded, then the Pilgrim Fathers would almost certainly not have sailed to the New World, and the history of the western world in general - and what is now known as the USA in particular - would be significantly different.

If it weren't for those fireworks, you might be speaking Spanish right now.

Not to mention that so far I like George Bush J. the best, but then I haven't really seen taht Ralph Nader boy. Al Gore I *don't* like though..not only because he is well..Al Gore, but because he supports having guns, which I don't. so thatsone knocked off. and besides I didn't like him anyway :)
Even if I knew which way she was voting, I can't advocate pairing your vote off against shimelle's, because Wisconsin looks set to be a swing state, with each vote counting more than in a relatively safe state such as Kansas.

Full coverage of the US elections begins on BBC ONE and BBC NEWS 24 from around 12 midnight on Tuesday week. Peter Snow is warming up as we speak.

---

chelle:
Al Gore supports having guns?
What?
Al Bore supports having guns in society, in a way that is political suicide for someone like (say) Tony Blair to contemplate.

I have a suspicion that Sara's becoming more of a Brit than she'd like.

You could argue that both of them "support having guns" because neither of them disagree with the right to bear arms.
Neither of them is prepared to stand up and say that The Constitution, that sacred piece of paper that United Stations seem to do everything by, is being systematically abused on this issue. From examining the historical evidence, it is utterly clear that "a militia," in the terms of Amendment 2, consists of people who have undergone some military training and are acting to defend the integrity of the country or state. It doesn't give that privilege to persons outside of that organised defence force.

Which boils down to: Charlton Heston, you are wrong. Do pipe down, old chap, and let someone else speak.

Weather: Decent; sunny, showers, 13.

Travel: Getting better. Morning is still fine, home has me jumping on a late Shrewsbury train and catching the (slightly late) 1745 bus.

Ulrike
29 because my birthday is the 29th of february (Yes, I'm only 5!:)))
Much as I hate to prick someone's bubble, but being born on February 29 makes you as old as someone born on February 28 or March 1. Julius Caesar, the bloke who invented the calendar as we know it, decreed that the *fifth* day before March 1 would be repeated. That makes February *25* the leap day, not February 29.

Of course, with the rest of the planet thinking Feb 29 an unusual date, it's quieter to go along with them.

Mark
I've become like some freaky old man, wandering the streets complaining under his breath about today's society... every poster I see is reinforcing the corruption of our language yet again... bahhh!
And bah again. All Hallow's Eve deserves its apostrophe. Just as it's wrong to give its its. Bah.

Dr Wordsmith writes: Did someone mention a bar? Mines a treble Wordscor.

(Editor's note: Dr Wordsmith is drunk. Already.)

Mark xxx (who has certain suspicions about our Mr. Weaver.... *wink*)
There's a clue there somewhere.....
Is that your final answer. Question mark.

Randi
THANK you, Iain and Mark! My mother and I actually had a fight about this and she convinced me I was crazy and since then I have not been adding the apostrophe.
No. Your mother is wrong. Or, might I be writing, "you're mother is ronge." Ew, I'll just go wash my hands.

But haha, I was right, and back the apostrophe goes!!
Good-oh! You can always trust people from The Old Country. They taught us how to spell, back when we went to school. If we didn't, there would be no dinosaur eggs at recess. And that would not do.

Weather: Heavy rain during the morning clears to sunshine and showers. 12.

Travel: Morning is fine, then comes the rain. Nothing leaves New Street heading north between 1718 and 1745, when the 1729 to Stafford makes it out. The 1722 stopper to Shrewsbury is AWOL again, and I've missed the 1803. Lift on the final stretch - I don't want to risk missing the bus.

From UK Millionaire. Kate Heusser is on �32,000, with three lifelines intact. I know a lot of people on the UK Game Show list elected to tape The Weakest Link over Millionaire tonight. Was it a smart move, I wonder; Kate could go all the way.

�64,000: What is a cassowary?
A) Fruit B) Bird
C) Mouse D) Fish
Kate doesn't have a clue. She'll call Ian in Brecon.
"I have it down as a bird. 99.9%"
"Good enough for me! It's a bird, Chris."
"Well, is it? There's a little seed of doubt there."
"He knows his birds."
"It's not for us to pry, Kate..."
B) Bird
"You've just won �64,000!"

Bird being English slang for an attractive lady. The cheque Chris is holding might be described as a bird. If it were female.

�125,000: Who is First Lord of the Treasury?
A) Prince of Wales B) Prime Minister
C) Chancellor of the Exchequer D) Lord Chancellor
Kate nods.
"I know the answer and daren't say it."
Eventually.
"It's Prime Minister."
"Not Chancellor?"
B) Prime Minister.
"It's worth �125,000. We'll take a break."

---<commercials>---

Kate Heusser is drumming her fingers, waiting to see if she's won �125,000.
Chris recaps the situation in great detail.
"Kate was adamant it was Prime Minister. She's right."

She has ATA and FF left. Membership of The Thirteen Club comes a-knocking.

�250,000: In mythology, who was the twin of Castor?
"I know it."
"What do you want to see come up on the screen?"
"Pollux."
The audience collapses in laughter.
"I only asked..."
A) Endymion B) Achilles
C) Leander D) Pollux
She's not changing her mind.
D) Pollux
Chris pauses in a vain attempt to build tension.
"You've just won �250,000."

Kate was most worried about making a complete idiot of herself. It's not happened.

To tie the UK All-Comers Record (Peter Lee in January):

�500,000: New Sarum is the former name of which city?
A) Salisbury B) Stoke-on-Trent
C) Shrewsbury D) Sheffield
Kate will start with 50/50.
A) Salisbury C) Shrewsbury
"I knew it would do that."
Thinking.
"How would the audience feel if I asked them."
"They'd love it. You could save it for the next one."
A) Salisbury 70% C) Shrewsbury 30%
We have a 70% vote. 70% votes have not been wrong before.
"It's what I thought already. It's not their responsibility. They've confirmed my thought."
But will Kate play?
"I'm going to play."
Gasps from the audience.
"It's Salisbury."
"Final answer?"
"It's so final if you say it, isn't it?"
"It is."
"Final answer."
A) Salisbury
Chris's eyes dart about.
"You've just won �500,000!"

"What have you gone and done!"
"I don't know, but it's scary! I don't even want to look at it!"

"How's she doing, Peter? Alright?"
"Not bad!"

"You can walk away with a huge amount of money."
"I'm going to!"

For only the second time ever in UK history.

�1 MILLION:
Which monarch was known as "the wisest fool in Christendom"?
A) James I B) Charles I
C) Edward I D) Henry I
"I'm delighted to say I haven't got a clue.
There's no temptation to answer the question."
"There will be people screaming the right answer at their sets. There will be more people screaming the *wrong* answer."
"I'm delighted not to know."
Her final answer.

Chris waves the cheque about.
"Hold it! It's yours!"

James I was the right answer. Kate looks shocked, stunned, and in need of a very stiff drink.

Chris calls for a break.

Weather: Sunny spells, the odd shower. 12.

Travel: Getting a bit better. Home train is 1657 to Liverpool (1728 ex New St, 1756 into Wolverhampton) then 1742 to Shrewsbury (1816 ex W'ton, should have been 2 sooner but for incompetent platform staff.)

Sara Lou :)
All I know is what I saw on tv,
In this respect, Sara is no different from about 95% of voters in the upcoming elections. Whether it's Tuesday's vote in the US, the Canadian national elections at the end of the month, the UK vote scheduled for next spring, or almost any vote in a Western democracy, the vast majority of voters only know what they see on tv.

Sure, there's PBS, CBC, Newsnight - but who watches that? ITV news is accessible. BBC ONE news is authoritative. BBC TWO news addresses the issues, not the spin.

Television goes for the superficial, the fast buck. It ignores the intelligent, the meaningful, the deep.

Curses, I've brought this conversation back on topic. Sorry, people, it won't happen again. (:

Weather: Sunny by day, 12. Cold by night, distinct risk of first frost.

Football: Manchester United and Arsenal both win to remain tied for first place in the Premier League. United won 2-1 at Coventry on early goals from Andy Cole and David Beckham. Arsenal won 1-0 at Middlesbrough on a 25th-minute penalty kick by French striker Thierry Henry. Arsenal and United both have 27 points, but Arsenal trails on goal difference.
Liverpool held fourth place with 21 points despite blowing a 2-1 lead to lose 4-3 at Leeds. Mark Viduka of Australia scored all four goals for injury-weakened Leeds. Newcastle moved up to fifth with 19 points after defeating Ipswich 2-1 on two goals by Alan Shearer.
James Beattie scored during second-half-injury time as Southampton won 3-2 at home over Chelsea. Tottenham pulled itself up to ninth place, beating Sunderland 2-1.
Leicester moved within five points of the two leaders with a 1-0 victory at Manchester City. The deciding goal came from Robbie Savage in the 56th minute. Charlton defeated Bradford 2-0 on goals from Jonatan Johansson and Graham Stuart.
Villa leaves it late to beat Everton 1-0 in Sunday's game, going 6th.

Weather: Sunny early, but rain spreads in mid-afternoon and gets quite stormy later.

Up pops October's charts. A close battle between the All Saints and U2.

On the weekly, Westlife buy their way to #1. The Baha Men's Who Let the Dogs Out? spends its third week at #2, and could well make the final step next week. Encouraging debut for the Tweenies' Number One - they may be puppets of three-year-old kids, but the record is infinitely more cool than Westlifeless.