A Big Plus For The Samsung 8.0

When I got my new Samsung mobile phone I wrote a disparaging blog about it and compared it very unfavourably to the old Nokia. Having lived with the new phone for some time now , I still haven't found my way around its myriad of features and gimmicks but I have found the camera useful (and extremely high quality)and on Saturday I discovered another feature that I'm pretty sure that the Nokia didn't have - it's capable of surviving being dropped into a pond! Yes, whilst doing some gardening on Saturday, the phone slipped from my shirt pocket straight into the pond where it settled in the mud on the bottom. I fished around for some time before finding it and, to my total astonishment, the screen was still lit. I removed the battery quickly and dried the phone with a hair dryer and it's still working. Pretty amazing I think. Well done Samsung.



I took this photo with the phone when I was at the garden centre. When we were younger and Marion and I started doing a bit of gardening, the only ornamental things that you would see at the garden centre would be a couple of gnomes with fishing rods to put on the rockery. But not today. Crawling from the ground were these ghastly lifesize figures. Which begs the question "What was Dobbies garden centre buyer on when he ordered these?" or maybe if they have actually sold some "What was Dobbies' garden centre customer on when he bought one of these". Are they some sort of latterday scarecrow? Or maybe they are bought by people who also look at one of the following and think "Hmm, yes, three meerkats and a bright yellow fox. They would look nice sitting on the patio"





When we were very young.

Marion and I were having a bit of a tidy up around the house yesterday and came across a pile of old photos. Andy Warhol said " everyone would be famous for fifteen minutes" here is ours. We appeared with Kenneth Kendall and Wincey Willis on the TV show Treasure Hunt and successfully guided Anneka Rice to a £1000 prize in the Scottish borders. It seems like five minutes ago but it was over twenty two years in the past.

I enjoyed watching Germany in the World Cup last night. They were excellent. Which is more than can be said about England. I enjoyed the ITV HD coverage of the England game but how on earth did they manage this? After watching the Everton Liverpool derby when a Tic Tac ad popped up while Everton were scoring the winner I thought that was an unrepeatable one off freak incident but I thought wrong.

You Really Have To Hand It To Samsung

Regular blog readers will know that I am a big fan of YouTube and today there is yet another viral video at the bottom of the blog. And once again it's been done by Samsung who are beginning to corner the market for mega viewed virals. Remember the sheep and the awesome computer? They were both by Samsung and today's video is a sort of observation test. I didn't solve it but you can click on the link after watching to see how it was done.What strikes me about these videos is firstly the millions of views that they have had, secondly the short time in which they have had them and thirdly their originality with each being completely different. I hope that they get the success that their energy deserves.






The dire holiday weather continues giving us plenty of time for relaxation. We went to the Tate Modern in Liverpool yesterday to see the new Colour Chart exhibition but I got the dates mixed up and it doesn't start until next week so we had a look at the sculptures instead. As always at Tate Modern you like some, you hate some. I had to smile in one gallery. Before going in you put on a pair of headphones . You then entered the gallery through a curtain to find subdued lighting, loads of interesting statues and...... a dance floor. On switching on the headphones there was a continuous track of disco music. The dance floor throbbed with colour and there was an invitation for visitors to have a dance but no-one was taking the invite up. Instead they were all looking slightly bemused with the odd swayer amongst them. I thought this gallery was brilliant. I think anything that raises a smile is brilliant.



Which would make "In The Loop" which we went to see after the Tate visit, doubly brilliant as it raises a multitude of laughs. Actually I thought it was very very good but not as good as "Coraline" on Monday. I must say that Picturehouse at FACT in Liverpool is a super cinema. This was our first visit and we enjoyed a nice cup of green tea made with an Instanta 1500 boiler before being seated in a 48 seater cinema where the seating comprised twenty four two seater settees all at ground level.Great for couples but I'm not sure I'd be keen on sharing a sofa with a stranger if I went alone. A big screen too for only 48 seats.



As I write, Marion is catching up on "Lost". She's got six episodes recorded so that will keep her busy for some time. I gave up on it several seasons ago as I have never known a more appropriately titled show. I was "Lost" after episode two but I think that everyone must be by now. I can imagine the writers siting round a huge table writing ideas and throwing them into the centre. The directors then collect them all up, throw them in the air and when they land that's it, the finished article.Meanwhile we've still got seven episodes of "The Wire" that we haven't started to watch yet.



For the last 50 years I have managed to convince myself that I have naturally yellow teeth. But that all changed recently with the acquisition of a Phillips Sonicare toothbrush. My teeth are not yet pearly white but are certainly many shades whiter than they were three weeks ago. This toothbrush is amazing. Buy one.

I spoke too soon yesterday when I said Freddie was a good restorer. I picked up the nude this evening to put her in the right place. And the top of her head came off.

An email from Jenny reports a big figure for today's orders and a small figure for today's overdraft or was it the other way around?

Here's that Samsung video I told you about earlier.