The Grumpy Old Blog

I was sent a story today by a friend who knows my feelings on the subject - that is, about one of the consummately greatest of all British activities, namely, queuing. It seems some Danish Professor or other has come up with the theory that those who queue the longest should actually be served the last. He claims it makes purchasing something altogether more efficient and smooth through the idea of 'contra-queuing' (whatever the devil that may mean). 'Serve the people at the back of the queue first', he says, with profound wisdom. Altogether very professorial, albeit demonstrating a somewhat keen lack of understanding of the purchasing psyche. The Nobel Prize-chasing Prof suggests that if, for example, a popular entertainment act was to announce a tour, with tickets going on sale at 11am one morning, using the theory of 'contra-queuing', no one will want to be first to buy said tickets. So no one will turn up 14 months in advance and venues will...

I admit that I use Facebook. And furthermore, I admit to being an early user of Facebook. Not long after Facebook started, a website I was honorary webmaster for (local youth club) a few years ago, put their volunteer workers' profiles on-line in a question/answer format, one of those questions being: Facebook/Myspace? I had a look at these sites, and, as someone happy to make satirical replies about all and sundry, I was hooked. Yes, at times, I act my IQ rather than my age, but it has reunited me with a number of people from my past, who, unlike some, I am delighted to get back in touch with! A particular example is a friend from college (in Dublin) who I hadn't seen for 30 years. I had a flying visit to Dublin and was able to meet this man, potentially one of Dublin's finest opticians and a gentleman to boot, for lunch and a chat. However, what does amuse me is the varying levels of communication represented on Facebook. Peoples' literary or grammatical abiliti...