Speed Cameras - how to defeat the GATSO

For the UK motorist there are many dangers when out on the roads. Some of these dangers put your life and your car at risk, others are putting your money and licence at risk - speed cameras (some call them GATSO's but I prefer to call them scameras). They are like yellow metal triffids spitting out fines at the unwary, unwise or unlucky motorists. You may be surprised to hear that there is a way to fight back and purge our roads of these yellow monsters!

Before I go on to explain how we can beat the GATSO I really should explain a little about speeding. Now it's fairly obvious to all that inappropriate speed can be a very dangerous thing. For example, who would argue that driving at 80mph past a school is just downright dangerous and stupid. Or that driving at 80mph on the motorway in the pouring rain while only inches from the car in front is also just plain stupid. But how about a road that has for many years had a 40mph limit which then changes down to a 30mph limit with no signs warning of the new limit? Is it fair to place a scamera on this road? How does that help road safety? Take a look at this site for some examples of unfair speed cameras.

So lets get to the best part, how do we beat the scameras? Well, lets start by explaining what this system doesn't do. It doesn't involve direct and illegal actions such as those taken by Motorists Against Detection (MAD) and their leader 'Captain Gatso'. While I don't agree with their approach I can certainly understand the reasons why they are taking direct action. You can read more about them in this Guardian article.

So how about a perfectly legal way to beat the scameras? Firstly, we need to make an assumption - that if the scameras run at a loss and no one breaks the speed limits there will be no need for them and they will quickly disapear. There was a clue in that last sentence - "no one breaks the speed limit". It's such a simple and elegant solution to the problem I'm amazed that it hasn't already happened. All we need is for everyone to stick to the speed limits, I mean how hard can it be? I've been driving for 18 years and never had a speeding ticket, so if I can do it then I'm sure everyone else can too. The scamera partnerships would soon be running at a loss and would be quickly scrapped once they no longer bring in the cash. Lets look at the figures for 2003-2004 obtained under the Freedom Of Information act. In that year they received £112.2m from fines and had £91.8m costs. That's a profit, sorry 'balance' of £20.4m. I reckon that of we could reduce the amount of fines given out by 75% it would be enough to tip the balance and that they would make a loss rather than a profit - and then bingo! bye bye to the speed cameras.

So just to recap, keep it safe, be aware of the speed limit and lets stop giving our money to these modern day highway robbers!

Eddie Nestor - Back on air

I've been working late for the last week so this isn't exactly breaking news - Eddie is back on air and sounding better than ever. See my previous post Eddie Nestor Cancer Shock for the reason why he had been away. That man just seems to have never ending reserves of endurance, I bet he would have done well in the marathon given the chance. I've not heard him discuss any of the details of his cancer while on air (but I haven't had a chance to listen much lately) so for the moment I'm going to assume that he wants to keep it private, I'll respect that and I won't post any more on the subject unless Eddie talks about it on air.

So anyway, it's great to have him back on air, Kath is fantastic on air but with half of the team away (that's Eddie) it's never quite the same.

A subject that often seems to come up on their radio show (BBC London Radio) is the London Olympics. As I live in a London borough and having paid a contribution towards the cost of it I have some strong views about the games, but it's long rant so I'll save it for the next post.

Eddie Nestor cancer shock

Eddie Nestor has cancer - Just announced on BBC Radio London today by his co presenter Kath Melandri. Listners to the show may have been wondering where Eddie has been for last few days, it turns out he is taking a break in Goa to prepare himself for the treatment which will start when he returns.

Eddie had been planning to run the London marathon this year but has been advised by his doctors not to take part. I look forward to him making a full recovery and taking part in next years marathon!

I'm a massive fan of Eddie and Kath, so it was a shock to hear the news. I wish Eddie well and I hope the treatment goes well for him. We don't yet know what type of cancer he has, I think that we will need to wait until he returns and is back on air so that he can tell us himself. I'll post more news here as I get it. You can find out more about Eddie and Kaths drivetime show at the BBC website

I've heard that one in three people will be affected by cancer, to learn more and make a donation to a very worthy charity please visit cancer research UK

If you havn't heard Eddie on the radio then you may have seen him in one of TV roles in The Real McCoy and Casualty. Eddie has a unique style on his radio show, with very well presented arguements and I love the way he deals with callers! If you can't get BBC Radio London in your area then I think you can listen online form the BBC website.

How to live a long and happy life

I'll be honest and admit I'm not the author of these healthy living tips, in fact these tips are so popular that a google search turned up 682 websites with the exact same tips! So here goes with some fantastic tips...


Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your CAR by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one! If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride"!

Revealed - Neil Armstrong didn't fluff his lines after all

Hi tech analysis by Australian computer programmer finds Neil Armstrong's missing 'a', you can find it too!

Everyone knows the famous line that the astronaut Neil Armstrong said when he stepped onto the moon - "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". The arguments and debates have raged for years, about the missing letter 'a'. For those who may not realise this, the line that Neil should have said was the grammatically correct "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind"

Neil was initially convinced that the transcript was wrong, after all he had rehearsed the line many times before. In the following years the audio tape was analysed many times by NASA and it did indeed seem that Neil had fluffed his line. In fact as the years went by Neil even began to doubt himself and started to accept that maybe he did miss out that ever so important "a" after all.

Now that has all changed, Peter Shann Ford, a computer programmer from Australia claims to have found the missing 'a' using sophisticated computer software to analyse the original recordings.What makes story even more amazing is that you can try this for yourself!

Ford downloaded the audio recording of Armstrong's words from the NASA website. Then using software designed to enable disabled people to communicate via computers he analysed the recording. Amazingly the software revealed evidence that Neil did in fact say the missing 'a'.

You can try this for yourself, the original recording can be downloaded from NASA by clicking here

You can view the paper written by Ford that explains how to replicate the results yourself by clicking here (file is in PDF format)

And you can download a trial version of the software here