No more need for school reunions?

Are old school reunions going to be something of the past? With the advent of social network, will there be any need to make the effort to go and meet up with your old school friends of 20 years ago? We can know in a heart beat sotospeak what ever happened to the most beautiful girl or the best looking boy or the geek in the class. A quick click here and there and we can see from photos, videos and from posts the lives of our old chums. According to research promoted by the New York Times, such reunions have been reduced nearly by half. Is it due really to the likes of twitter and facebook or is it due to 'money worries' in times of global crisis?
Can social network satisfy our curiousity and nostalgia to the point that we will never feel the urge to see old friends in person?

Seasonal Greetings from all of us to all of you :-)

Emails to be abolished for 80,000 staff

It is now the turn of emails to be retired as before them letters and faxes. Thierry Breton, the managing director of the huge information services company, Atios, has decided that within the next 18 months, emails between the company's 80,000 staff should be abolished abd substituted by internal 'chat'. The company discovered that too much time was being spent deleting the emails every day by the staff. In fact, on average 100 emails a day per person with 15% of thos emails being useless meant that every person spent between the company and home 15-20 hours a week to check and respond to emails.
Would you prefer to use 'chat' rather than emails for work? Would it save you time?

Will Italy's new financial plans turn out to be a miracle for them and Europe?

Will the Italians and /or the European still believe in miracles after the Italian technical government announces its plan for the economic crisis? Rumour has it that the retirement age will rise to 66 years for men from 2012 and the same age (66) for women from 2016 with a minium of 42 years (men) and 41years (women) of contributions to the national insurance fund; those earning over 70,000 euro will have to pay 46% on income tax making Italy high up on the most taxed country table in Europe; re-introduction of council tax on the first home but with a new council tax on second and third homes plus tax on luxury boats and moorings in touristic harbours; incentives for companies who invest in R&D; and goods can only be bought with cash upto €1000 to reduce tax evasion with sums over that limit being paid with plastic or cheques.

No doubt, all will be revealed tomorrow when the markets open.

Do you believe in miracles?

The television schedules are now starting to fill up with Christmas movies which depict Father Christmas as a kind elderly man who can make 'miracles' and all you have to do is just need believe.

We all know of 'miracle' stories such as surviving a natural disaster or the survival of a terminal illness, or the escape from a life threatening situation. So do we believe in miracles?

A miracle has been described as a supernatural intervention in the life of a person. It has been defined as an event in the physical world that can be evidenced as having happened but that cannot be explained by any known scientific or natural process. However, Thomas Payne, one of the founding fathers of America, wrote: “All the tales of miracles, with which the Old and New Testament are filled, are fit only for impostors to preach and fools to believe”.

Is a birth of a much desired child, 'a miracle'? Or now that we understand the natural process of conception and giving birth, is that birth just an event due to the natural process? Ask any mother how she would describe that birth experience!
If a man survives a train crash for example, an expert could think that he survived because of where he was sitting on the train at the time of the crash. Can we think 'that wasn't a miracle; he survived because his time wasn't up yet'? But if someone lives because his time wasn't up, isn't that the same thing as a miracle? Both are a belief in the existence of somethings just out of our control and if we are honest, are we not relieved that not all can be explained?
In other words, whilst we know that there are people  out there who will give an explanation for what happened to us or our loved ones, is the truth that we prefer to believe it was a miracle? Is it because that way, we feel more secure, more special that in some way we have been protected by a higher benevolent being?
So do you believe in miracles?


 
 

Fun with Seas-IT on facebook

We are also on facebook and we are up for having fun there too, so....feel free
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fun-with-Seas-IT/260281867339756

The Best Fish and Chips

Fish and chips at the seaside are what British childhood memories are made of, but whenever I've visited a UK seaside town I've found over-cooked chips offered in polystyrene burger boxes which hardly enhance their appearance, taste, or their reputation. It seems there are others who want that high standard back as I've recently discovered the National Fish and Chip Shop of the Year competition.

This annual contest is organised by Seafish and is judged by them along with the British Potato Council, the National Federation of Fish Friars, and preview winners. Each chip shop is assessed on more than just the taste of their fish and chips as fish quality and sustainable sourcing practices are checked, as well as customer service and hygiene standards.

The 2011 winner was 149 in Bridlington, East Yorkshire run by Matthew Silk and Tracy Poskitt who are both passionate about quality and raising the profile of fish and chips. I was impressed to see that even their Maris Piper potatoes are farmed locally.

History of Fish and Chips

Fish and chips became a common meal for the British working classes in the 19^th century due to trawl fishing in the North Sea and the railways that connected ports to the cities. Charles Dickens mentioned fried fish in his 1837 novel Oliver Twist, and deep-fried chipped potatoes were gaining popularity in the north of England at the same time. Inevitably the ideas collided and combined and by the 1850s there were street traders who sold pieces of fried fish and cooked 'shaved' potatoes in newspapers on the streets of London. And over the following decade the idea spread across the country.

Still Popular

Other meals now vie for our attention, and the national dish of England has probably moved on from fish and chips, or even the Sunday roast, to the more internationally flavoured Chicken Tikka Masala. But it has not fallen completely out of favour as there are around 11,000 fish and chip shops across the UK which sell 382 million meals each year. The nice people at Seafish have worked out that's six meals from a fish and chip shop for every man, woman and child in the UK.

While burgers and fries have grabbed the attention of the young, it's clear why obesity levels are rising. The average high street chain burger has 14.8 grams of fat per 100 grams and French fries have 15.5 grams of fat. Fish and chips are hardly slimming foods but they actually only have on average 9.4 grams of fat per 100 grams so can still be enjoyed in moderation.

Next time you're in the UK, enjoy this traditional meal at the end of the day knowing 80% of all fish and chip meals from fish and chip shops are bought during dinner hours. All that's left to debate is what the best accompaniment is: salt, vinegar, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, or curry sauce?

Laura Porter exclusively for ISIC-IT( the mother ship of SEAS-IT). She writes the About.com London Travel site (which includes a list of the Best Fish and Chips in London) and is a regular contributor to the VisitBritain Super Blog. Follow her on Twitter at @AboutLondon