Category Archives: Uncategorized

I no longer have patience

I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me.

I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.

 José Micard 

Road tax changes: how DVLA’s new system will work without tax discs

The long-serving paper tax disc is set to vanish as the road tax system goes digital

Tomorrow drivers can tear up their tax discs as a new road tax system replaces the tried and tested perforated paper circle. Instead, an electronic road tax database will keep track of who has paid – and those who don’t face a fine of £1,000.

Although the change has long been in the pipeline, a recent survey found that more than half the country had no idea about the new road tax system. Here’s everything you need to know about it:

What is going to change?
From next month, motorists will no longer receive a paper tax disc to fix to their windscreen, and will instead be asked to pay their road tax online, via the DVLA website. Drivers without access to the internet will be able to pay at post offices. In Northern Ireland, drivers will still need to display their MoT discs, but not their tax discs.

What happens if my road tax doesn’t expire for several months?
You don’t have to do anything, although you can take your paper tax disc off your car windscreen if you want to. Your existing road tax will remain valid until its expiry date, at which point you can renew it using the new system.

What about classic cars and other tax-exempt vehicles?
Owners of cars which are exempt from vehicle excise duty will not have to pay anything, but they will still need to register each year on the DVLA website.

How will the authorities enforce the new road tax system?
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, which track all cars, will catch those who haven’t paid up. The police can look up registration numbers on the Police National Computer system. Offenders will face fines of up to £1,000.

Does this effect the buying and selling of used cars?
Yes, this is where the changes will be felt most keenly. From October, vehicle tax will no longer be transferred with the vehicle. This means the buyer will not benefit if there are unused months left on the tax disc. They will have to renew the tax straight away.

The seller can claim a refund from DVLA for any full calendar months left on the vehicle’s tax. However, they are also responsible for informing the DVLA of the change of ownership and will face a fine if they do not do so.

Are there any other disadvantages?
The new system could make it easier for car thieves to operate undected, says The Sunday Times. “Without the need for a tax disc with the correct registration number, it will be simpler for crooks to disguise stolen cars using a set of fabricated numberplates that have been copied from a properly taxed vehicle of the same make, model and colour,” the paper says. The ANPR cameras will not be able to tell the difference between the legitimate car and its ringer.

What about driving abroad?
Most European countries require some form of tax disc or sticker on the windscreen and some motorists have expressed fears that foreign police might look askance at vehicles not displaying any tax documentation. The British government says that the European authorities have been told about the changes. “DVLA have informed the European Union that from 1 October 2014, UK registered vehicles that are travelling in the EU will not display tax discs,” it says.

How can I check if my vehicle is taxed correctly?
You can look up the tax status of any vehicle by using DVLA’s Vehicle Enquiry System. Click here

You will still be sent a renewal reminder when your vehicle tax is due to expire.

How much of a problem is road tax evasion?
It’s relatively small, figures suggest. The latest estimate of vehicle excise duty evasion is just 0.6 per cent, although that amounts to about 200,000 cars.

So why is the system changing?
The DVLA says the reforms are aiming to streamline the service and to save British businesses millions of pounds a year in administrative bills.

Is there any benefit to the average motorist?
Insurance premiums may fall as a result. Julie Daniels, head of motor at comparethemarket.com, tells the Daily Telegraph that the removal of the tax disc, and resultant elimination of tax dodgers from the road, “should have a positive impact on premiums”.

Over 21

I went to my local B&Q today to buy some white spirit (to clean paint brushes) and I used the self service checkout, the till said I needed to seek assistance.  The sales assistant asked me if I was over 21, I said ‘what do you think, I refuse to answer that question’.  I’m 45 ffs and do I look like the kind of person who drinks white spirit? I struggle with house gin.

 

 

Two Cows

TWO COWS ~{Matthias Varga}

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk

FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk

NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then
throws the milk away

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy
grows.
You sell them and retire on the income

ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by
your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption
for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to
produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why
the cow has dropped dead.

A GREEK CORPORATION
You have two cows. You borrow lots of euros to build barns, milking sheds, hay stores, feed sheds,
dairies, cold stores, abattoir, cheese unit and packing sheds.
You still only have two cows.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three
cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce
twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and
market it worldwide.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows,
but you don’t know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the ** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive… Continue reading

Fold up your folding bike.

The whole point of allowing folding bikes on trains is to fold it up before getting in a packed lift or overcrowded platform, I don’t want filthy bikes touching my clothes. What’s the point of ticket barrier staff if they let full size bikes during peak rush hour?

The World’s Metro Systems

subway