Maths and psychology

I was quite intrigued by this article about procrastinators. I can do task avoidance with the best of them but I would never have made the association promoted here that procrastination is due to being a perfectionist. As far as I am concerned, and speaking personally, it's all down to laziness or just not being in the right mood!
Or is that just too simple?
Mind you, the maths equation is interesting. U=EV/ID.
The 'U' stands for utility, or the desire to complete a given task. It is equal to the product of E, the expectation of success, and V the value of completion, divided by the product of I, the immediacy of the task, and D, the personal sensitivity to delay.

OK, maybe not...

A car with a poltergeist

I've had my 'new' car for four weeks now. It's a silver Renault Clio ("Papa!" "Nicole!" - remember the advert?) and I've been running around in it quite happily, including a trip down to Bristol one weekend, but this Saturday morning it was very cold (Remember that, it's a clue) when I set off to the bank in town. I was aware that the heating didn't seem to be working at all and by the time I got to town, my fingers were in pain inside my gloves from the cold.
"Just my luck," I thought, "a car with faulty heating."
I pulled into the car park, parked, got my ticket, stuck it inside the windscreen and set off. Seconds later, I heard a sound like a car struggling to start behind me. As I didn't remember noticing another car near mine, I turned round. The bonnet of my car was gently vibrating and there were strange groaning noises coming from it. I walked back, cautiously.
A car with a ghost?
I stood in front of it just in time to see brown liquid running out from between the wheels. There were gentle clouds of steam above the bonnet.
My thoughts at this point do not bear repetition but were along the lines of "Oh dear, there seems to be a big problem here, which could even result in my losing yet another car."
A quick phone call to my knight in a shining (converted)ambulance and Keith arrived within minutes to inspect the damage.
"There's no anti-freeze in it," was his diagnosis.
Now what idiot second-hand car dealer sells a car in November, having had it MOT'd and (apparently) serviced, with NO ANTI-FREEZE in it!!!
Fortunately, no damage was done and my car lives to drive another day.
Not sure I can say the same about the car dealer when I get my hands on him!

Internet problems

We've been having intermittent problems with our internet lately, usually out of office hours, so when we ring BT we end up speaking to someone in India who is obviously reading from a script and hasn't the faintest clue what might be wrong. During the last few days, however, it's been worse and we are still not sure whether the problem is with the modem or the line. When Keith rang the other day, he ended up, not having the connection tested, but ordering a new BT Home Hub, which is one of those all singing, all dancing ones which give you broadband and TV as well. It's cheaper than Sky and the reviews I've read of it have been favourable, so we'll see...
The modem is due to arrive tomorrow, so I have two requirements to start my week:
1. That the modem arrives tomorrow as promised and doesn't get lost in the post like the last one did.
2. It sorts out the problem.
Not much to ask!

Scrooge is alive and well in Norwich

I have had a small whisky during the course of this evening, so I did look twice at this as I didn't believe what I was seeing the first time, but really, come on. I mean, are the idiots in charge of Norwich City Council really serious?
Hairdressers will have to get a licence to serve alcohol if they want to offer their customers a small glass of mulled wine in the spirit of the Christmas season, otherwise, they risk being fined £20,000 or facing 6 months in jail.
Very sensible really, of course. After all, offering a small tipple to one's customers is right up there with robbery, violence, murder... Could anything be worse?
I am reminded of the constant comment of tennis player, John McEnroe in his heyday:
"You cannot be serious, man!!!"

Woolies bites the dust

Over the past few days, it has been obvious that Woolworths was in trouble, but today, the axe has finally fallen and one of the High Street's best known shops will soon disappear for ever. It is a tragedy, of course, for the 30,000 employees who will lose their jobs and it appears that, because it was regarded as 'a lame duck retailer', it did not qualify to be bailed out by the government
I have heard all the arguments about Woolworths being outmoded and outdated and, I have to admit, I rarely go in, but that wasn't always the case. Way back in the sixties, Woolies was the place to go for us teenagers for much of our shopping. That was where we bought our make up - Miners, for choice and, guess what - it's still going strong! My first bra was bought there (OK, too much information, but it gives you an idea of their range of stock) as was my first bikini and then, years later, Ladybird underwear and clothes for my children in their early years.
The shops had an outdated look though, even then, with their open, glass-framed counters and rickety wooden floorboards but it was 'the Woolies' look' and when our local branch was revamped and updated, it was curiously disappointing as it became just like any other store in the area. Somehow though, it wasn't quite the same as other retail outlets and lost its way over the years, selling bits of everything that most people would go to other shops to buy, rather than focusing on a few lines that they did well.
It's a sad day for Woolworths and a horrible time for their employees.

Scrooge chez Jennyta?

"Oooh!" I exclaimed as I scrolled down my bloglist, "Here's a post about how to have a frugal Christmas!"
"Hmm, easy," was Keith's reply, "Live with Jenny!"
(This from a fully grown man who has just asked me to put beefburgers and fish fingers on the shopping list.)
Not sure whether it's an insult or a compliment.

A quick snack

OK, I know it's only a grey squirrel and the photos are not very good, taken as they were at great speed before this little fellow scooted off, and it was grey and dismal outside - as usual these days, but he is cute, don't you think?