Boycotting the Post & In Praise of the Kindle

Today, my Royal Mail boycott has begun. I am really not happy at all with the increase in postage cost and I refuse to pay 60p for a 1st Class stamp. If I do need to send anything to anyone, it will be scanned and e-mailed or faxed. The only occasion on which it will be posted will be if there is a a Freepost address or if the postage is prepaid.

I have spent some of this afternoon tinkering with my friend's new Kindle and helping them to connect it to their WiFi. The network settings are hidden away in a sub menu and it took a while to get it all setup. Next came the job of getting a book onto the device. This can be achieved in several ways though in the end we plumped for the USB connection. It is possible to download books on the move using either the WiFi or 3G connectivity.
From what I've seen of it, I'm actually very impressed with the Kindle. There is far more to it than meets the eye including the ability to interface with Facebook and Twitter. E-mails can be sent directly to the device and it also has a web browser. Something else I found very useful is the MP3 compatibility and the ability to listen to music and audio books. Add to this a battery that lasts three months, and you have a very clever device. So, it's all good. What's even better is the fact that I will have my own Kindle very soon. My dear friends have very kindly bought me one and I am absolutely delighted. I will use it for catching up on news whereas my son can use it to help with his reading and my wife can download her favourite books. It will certainly be used and I will write more about it over the coming weeks.

What a difference a day makes... today's weather has been wonderful - the complete opposite to what we had to endure yesterday. Here by the Wash we've had blue skies and bright sunshine for most of the day, and it was mild enough for me to get a lot done in the garden and the conservatory, including planting some more seeds for herb and tomato plants.

Weather Records & Other Stuff

It's certainly turning into a week of note. We have revelations surrounding the donations made to the Conservative Party in return for 'dinner with Cameron'. Fuel tanker drivers are set to strike, possibly over the Easter break. Water levels continue to get lower as much of the UK basks in record breaking temperatures.

In the news, there is speculation that filling stations will run dry and close as there will be nowhere near the number of army tankers needed to maintain a normal service. I my opinion, we are once again reminded of just how reliant we are on this scarce resource and it really is about time a viable alternative was researched and made available. I fear that those living in remote locations, such as myself, will be the most affected as I suspect the emphasis will be on ensuring that larger stations are refuelled. I worry.

Remaining on the subject of fuel, there have been a number of oil thefts in and around Lincolnshire of late. Many homes are not connected to gas or mains drainage due to their rural locations, and are reliant on oil for heating. I know my own parents are and they have a large tank like many others in their garden. I was utterly disgusted to read this morning that over the last weekend, a local school at Holbeach Bank was robbed of their oil supply estimated at 900 litres. Those responsible should simply be removed from society.

I am shocked and dismayed to see that the cost of postage is to increase from April. This will result in a first class stamp costing 60p and a second costing 50p. All this will serve to do is to reduce the number of letters sent and drive more and more to use e-mail instead. I for one will be boycotting the service and I will e-mail or fax instead.

I attended my Tuesday Group this morning as normal. One member of our group informed us they are about to start a teaching course so won't be attending after today. We started with some entertaining word games and discussed various topics including dementia and care for the elderly.

Finally, I am following Amy Jane Smith who runs a blog entitles 'On Performance & Positivity'. Amy is a sufferer of anxiety and depression like myself and writes candidly about how she copes day to day.