Normal services will be resumed shortly. Until then; sit back and listen to some ‘mood music’…

Sadly, some people seem to think the homeless are on the streets because they want to be. Or that they’re all alcoholics looking to get enough money together for their next drink. Without wanting to sound unkind, some individuals may well be but, in the main, most of these people don’t want to in the place they’re in. I’ve seen what an alcoholic goes through – it isn’t pretty, for either side.

So we’re all planning a happy Christmas but spare a thought for those on the streets. You know the people that sell the Big Issue? They don’t do it for fun. All the money they earn helps them to find a place in a hostel for the night. After that it’s back onto the streets selling more copies to the magazine in order to get another room for the night. But some don’t always make it.

The streets of Britain can be cold, horribly cold. Now, I have to admit that I’ve never been homeless but I do know what it’s like trying to scrape through the winter nights with only a few layers of clothes and a cheap sleeping bag to keep me warm. The gnawing cold seeps slowly through your body constantly waking you up throughout the night. That beautiful layer of that jackets the grass in the early morning glow isn’t a sight that fills a homeless persons heart with wonder at the beauty of the world. It burns and numbs the nerves.

The simple pleasure of an early morning coffee in your dressing gown as the sounds of early morning TV fill your head with dross are denied. Forget thoughts of ‘me time’, a homeless persons every waking moment is filled with ways to survive the next 24 hours.

What can you do? I kknw that you already know the answer – the simplest way you can aid them is to buy the Big Issue. Don’t yawn, it’s there for a reason. Yes, it addresses many of the issues that the homeless face but it also caters for the everyday reader with interviews, adverts and features. And it only costs £2. One copy per week adds up to roughly £200 per year. Savvy savers can cut their home electricity bills by more than this using simple but effective means.

Don’t want to buy The Big Issue? Buy them a coffee instead – it’s cheap and it will help to keep out the cold in the run up to Christmas.

Normally, I like to keep my politicial rantings to myself. I’m all for a diverse range of views on how X, Y and Z should be done and I do find it pretty interesting to listen to all that’s being said. I started rebuilding Digital Coffee as my own little piece of the web – somewhere that allows me to sound off about my interests, hobbies, passions, etc. A bit like a virtual soapbox on Speakers Corner.

Browsing some of the big news sites today I was pretty surprised to hear Chris Huhne, Lib Dem and member of the UK coalition government, talking about nuclear power being required for the counrtries future energy demands. I admit, it was only nuclear power that he mentioned – kudos to the Lid Dems green credentials (even if some of thier ideas are blantantly insane) – Mr Huhne did talk about renewables, wind power (lots of that in Parliament).

What peeked my interest was the admittal that we do need nuclear power, for now at least. There is one minor problem – Clegg, Huhne and co. are committed to not spending any government money on the development of nuclear power stations in the UK. The bigger problem lies with who, when and how (much).

Energy secruity, as we saw during the spat between Russia and the Ukraine, is vital. Even though Russia’s target was the Ukraine, the restriction on supplies had an effect on other parts of Europe. So who’s going to build the nuclear power stations that Mr Huhne rightly says we need? Most of the energy companies in the UK either don’t have the cash to finance the construction work with some government incentives.

We could always take surplus power from a foreign country but where does that leave us if we have one of those little ‘domestics’ that policiticians love to have from time to time?

When are we going to get the nuclear power we need? Building a station takes serious money and TIME! With some rather dire predictions about power cuts and energy shortages this is not time for the government to be dragging it’s feet over when, and where, we’ll get the required resources from.

Now the big question we all ask, ‘How much will it cost?’ – a lot. This loops back to the first point about construction work but has wider implications. I’m not just talking about how it will cost Bob’s KwikFix Co. to chuck up a nuclear power plant but, more impoartantly, how much it will cost you and I. When the government gives cash to construction companies for critical infrastructure work it’s not just a sweetener – they’re also helping to keep the price down for the consumer. Just think, if the government didn’t hand out grants to the rail services, how much would our tickets cost?

Huhne! Clegg! Stop thinking about your little green Uptopia – we need the answers and I think we’ll need them soon.

Face facts – credit cards are great for fast cash but you’re going to pay a price. In the case of some lenders this is a fairly hefty price. And the habit feeds off of you. You’re short of cash. No problem, I’ll take it out on the credit card and pay it off at the end of the month. At the end of the month you’ve paid off the money but now you’re a little short of cash…

What’s the simplest answer? You already know: bite the bullet, cut up your cards and go cold turkey! Will it be hard? Probably. You see, for many of us, me included, credit cards have become almost a necessity. Short of cash? Use the card. Shopping for an expensive item? Use the card. And every time we swear we’ll pay it back at the end of the month!

I know there are some responsible readers who ensure that each and every month they clear their debt. But, to be fair, it’s a minority group. We’re all too busy to sit down for an hour per week and fix the finances. But maybe it’s time to sit up and take notice. Interest rates are going to rise again which will be good for savers but not debtors.

I’m not going to keep going on this matter. Needless to say, many credit card owners may need to start looking at their debts soon. In fact, you’’ll probably want to do this before early next year.

The Perils of Free Webhosting

Ok, I’ve got my webhosting fixed. Lessons learned? Well, to be fair, I tried to go down the cheapskate route and grab myself some free web hosting with on of the many companies out there. But there were a number of problems you all need to be aware of…

First, make sure you read the agreement. I found that the company I was using DID give free webhosting but with sponsored ads. Normally, not a problem but, as you may have noticed, every time you clicked one of the post titles it took you to a 404 ‘page not found’ splash page filled with ads.

Second, make their support does answer you emails. The company I used claimed to have 24/7 support even for users of their free service. Needless to say, but, after 6 emails and two weekds elapsed I decided it was a lost cause and moved my domain. The simple way to test response time is to set up your free hosting only (don’t repoint your DNS,etc just yet) then send the support desk and email (or two, or three, or…) and see how long it takes them to get back to you. If it’s more than 3 days – goodbye!

There you go – some words of caution for readers. Generally, I have no  problem with free webhosting as it’s served me well in the past but on this occassion… you get the idea.

Now I can get back to some regular posting.