The Bloggler

Thanks ever so much for dropping by but I've moved.   You can visit me to see new and old posts at my new site,  The Bloggler  at Wordpress.com  Thanks!  See you there.

Cecilia I'm staying on the theme of technology with this post.   I read a disturbing article on the BBC website about a technological development featuring non-human bartender called Cecilia.  She is an animated female barmaid who can be hired, or bought for £34k.  She appears on a large upright video screen and you order your drink or cocktail by using a touch screen and pay for it by tapping  your bank card or phone.  The drink is dispensed from a vending slot or placed on a collection table.  Apparently, using voice recognition and A.I. technology, she can also chat to customers and even tell jokes (although A.I.'s attempts at one liner jokes have resulted in some hilarious failures ).  Now I can see how this might go down well with customers in some establishments, i.e. cruise ships, airports, hotels, big entertainment and hospitality venues e.g. night clubs etc..  However, it would be not be welcome in my local pub, The Halfway House. T...

Hermes and Tesla owners got caught out by technology this week. Hermes the distribution company delivered a parcel for my wife the other day. We were out at the time but Hermes helpfully informed her by email that the parcel had been delivered and placed in our front porch. We wondered how that was possible as we had locked our front porch door when we went out. When we looked at the photographic evidence that our courier, Mohammed had attached to the email it was clear that he had left the parcel on a flagstone somewhere and clearly not near our porch.  We discovered after knocking on neighbours doors that he had left it unannounced outside a neighbour's front door. The technology revealed, therefore, that Mohammed wasn’t very good at his job. He couldn’t be bothered or was in too much of a rush to do his job right and didn’t care that the parcel could have been stolen or damaged. Still, I know Mohammed is a regular good guy because in the email, it says he likes watching sport...

This was the scene in my garden this morning ... a beautiful carpet of russet brown leaves leaves covering my lawn and flower beds.  But alas, more work for me and my trusty leaf blower. (See more photos below in response to  Terri's Webster's 'Sunday Stills' photo challenge  , the theme of which this week is 'Leaves and Trees'.) This is the second big leaf fall this Autumn.  The first consisted mainly of horse chestnut leaves.  I filled my composter, two big green wheelie bins and 8 big plastic sacks.  This time it is mainly beech leaves.   As you read this I have cleared the garden again although I have kept a few piles of leaves in the overgrown corners for the benefit of any local hedgehogs (I am a big hedgehog fan).  The downside is that the bloody squirrels will say "thank you very much, I'll collect some for my nest just as soon as I have finished burying conkers all over the garden and the flower tubs".   I finish with ...

This blog, leaving from Platform Blogger will hopefully arrive at WordPress in a few days.   I apologise for the delay which was due to leaves on the line and my general blogging incompetence. My brain hurts.   I have been trying to move this blog over to WordPress for weeks now and I feel it would be easier to crack the enigma code.   Currently I am blogging to a handful of WordPress and Blogger users and the number of views I get really doesn’t inspire me to continue putting finger to keyboard.    I was advised some months ago to move to wordpress to increase my visibility/views and blogging interaction and I can’t argue that this makes sense.   Trying to find and interact with bloggers using Google’s Blogger is like looking for a needle in a well hidden haystack. I’ll say this about Blogger.....   It’s really easy to set up and use.   I don’t understand all the terminology in ‘settings’ but the interface is friendly and straightforwa...

This week’s Terri's Webster's Sunday Stills photo challenge is all about fur and feathers.  Here are my furry and feathered offerings.  See other entries by visiting Terri's site .      Look at me, I'm an angel too!     Mum and kitten chilling, in hotel grounds, Sirmione, Italy     Wild cat watching tourists in Nerja, Spain Happy dog at Tandle Hill Country Park    Furtive Squirrel on my garden fence      Swan-ing about at Lake Garda, Italy    Noisy Geese in Delph, Oldham      Hungry seagulls in Aldeburgh, Suffolk (they could smell our fish and chips)    Seagull watching the boats at Walberswick, Suffolk    Duck Family  Duck central, somewhere in Lincolnshire       Feeding the pigeons, Heraklion, Crete