Spanish 3rd popular internet language

According to a report prepared by the Fundacion Telefonica, an institution created by Spain's Grupo Telefonica Spanish is the Third most popular language on the Internet after English and Chinese.

Spanish-speakers are the third-largest language group among Internet users, with eight per cent of the total, after English users (38 per cent) and Chinese users (22 per cent). English is the language with the greatest online presence, with about one billion pages, followed by Chinese, with more than 800 million pages.

Argentina, Chile and Spain are the Spanish-speaking countries where more than 50 per cent of the public have online connections, with the proportion reaching 70 per cent in the European nation, according to the study.

Spanish occupies the No.3 position worldwide on the internet both in number of users (136 million) as well as in web pages (675 million), according to the study.

Cheats never prosper

Sean Grahame, 45, claimed he was unemployed and a single parent in order to receive thousands of pounds in income support, job seekers' allowance, housing benefit and council tax rebates.
In fact, he was starring in shows like Grease on a cross-Channel cruise ship, entertaining the audience with his comedy routines and vocal performances. Despite his entertainment commitments on board Brittany Ferries, Grahame would return to his home to sign on and attend job seekers' appointments.
But he was collared after an employee at his local job centre recognised him as she sat in the crowd at one of his performances aboard a cruise ship earlier this year.
The member of staff immediately alerted the authorities and a subsequent investigation revealed he had been illegally claiming benefits for over seven years from April 2003 to March 2010.
Grahame admitted four counts of benefit fraud last month and was sentenced to a 12 month sentence suspended for one year at Torquay Magistrates' Court.
A Department of Work and Pensions investigations revealed Grahame claimed a total of £40,642.57.

Weather in Spain 6th December – 12th December 2010

Monday: Lovely Sunny day with a temp of 17C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 12C.

Tuesday: Another brilliant sunny day with a temp of 20C.  Overnight temp of 14C. 

Wednesday: For the Third day running we have had sun and a high temp of 21C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 13C.

Thursday: Again a bright and sunny day. Temp of 19C. Overnight temp of 14C.

Friday: Overcast  day with showers and sunny intervals. Temp of 16C. Overnight temp of 10C.

Saturday: Sunny with a temp to 18C. Overnight temp of 12C.

Sunday: Overcast start with a sunny day later. Temp of 17C. Overnight temp of 13C.

Ten most Useless Iphone Apps

The Lady of the Villa is interested in getting an iphone 4 to help her in her business. Iphones have the option to use Apps. Apps can be purchased from Apple, some are free, the rest cost from pennies to many pounds. Some are helpful, others totally frivolous. Here are the top ten most pointless apps, as voted by iphone users.
The thing is, for every app purchased, the programmer gets a fee. Where are my programming books?
TOP 10 TIME WASTING APPS
1. Talking Tom (Cartoon cat repeating what you say and pulling faces)
2. iBeer (Simulates drinking beer)
3. Fat Booth (Morph pictures of yourself in to a much larger body)
4. Cat Piano (Cat playing the piano)
5. Zippo Lighter (Virtual lighter)
6. Cow Toss (You drag a cow and toss it)
7. Colour Tilt (You tilt your phone and the colours change)
8. Hold On! (You press and hold a button for as long as you can)
9. Woohoo (Press a button and it yells woohoo)
10. Rate a fart (Will rate the sound of your fart)

Apollo 17 The Last Trip to the Moon – 11th December 1972

Apollo 17 was the last manned flight to the moon and it took place 38 years ago today. Since then no human has placed afoot on the moon. 
The successful Apollo 17 manned lunar landing mission was the last in a series of three J-type missions which used the battery powered Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). As a result of these additions, the Apollo 17 mission had a duration of 12.5 days, and a time on the lunar surface of 75 hr with a total distance covered on the moon of approximately 35 km.

Crew

Eugene Cernan Commander
Last man to walk on the Moon.
Ronald B. Evans Module Pilot
Harrison H. Schmitt Lunar Module Pilot First trained scientist (geologist) to set foot on the moon.

Home Prices in Spain to Collapse

Banks in Spain now recognise that they have no alternative but to reduce Spain property prices further if they are going to have any chance of attracting more buyers.
In the past, Spain property firms and banks have generally refrained from slashing property prices during a market downturn. But the current collapse in the Spanish housing market has prompted greater action, in a bid to avoid the existing slump continuing for many more years.
The Spain property market has endured a torrid time over the past three years. Residential prices have plummeted, as a consequence of a chronic oversupply of homes in Spain.
The Spanish banks now own tens of thousands of homes in Spain, after accepting properties from struggling Spanish property developers who would have otherwise faced bankruptcy.
But in an attempt to reduce their property assets, many banks reportedly plan to lower home values further in the hope of increasing sells and avoiding a Japanese-style slump that continues for years. More banks may also start to offer up to 100 per cent loan-to-value mortgages.
Bargain basement Spain property prices are attracting more buyers, but not yet enough to clear the current backlog of unsold, empty, homes in Spain.

Last word (from me) on the World Cup 2010

SEVEN FIFA fatcats who are accused of destroying England's World Cup bid are named and shamed by The Sun.

The executive committee members are said to have indicated to our bid team they could be relied on to pick England to host the 2018 championship just hours before the crucial vote.

The fatcats are:

• Vice president Jack Warner
• America's Chuck Blazer
• Guatemala's Rafael Salguero
• Korea's Chung Mong-Joon
• Cyprus's Marios Lefkaritis
• Turkey's Senes Erzik and
• Ivory Coast's Jacques Anouma 

Each of the seven is said to have indicated their vote was in the bag. It is claimed Warner even put his arm around Wills and told him: "You can rely on me." But in the early hours of Thursday a team of FIFA delegates met with Russia's campaign team at a Zurich hotel.

And in a secret ballot at FIFA's Zurich HQ hours later, England got just two of the 22 votes - neither of which came from the seven. After a second round of voting, FIFA chief Sepp Blatter announced the 2018 World Cup would go to Russia.

The person I admire most in this whole fiasco is the acting head of English football Roger Burden who announced he is QUITTING because he refuses to deal with the stitch-up merchants of FIFA.

Glass of red wine a day.

The Good News
A small glass of red wine every day could keep adult diabetes under control. A new study found that the drink contains high concentrations of chemicals that help the body regulate levels of sugar in the blood.
Just a small glass of red contained as many of these active ingredients as a daily dose of an anti-diabetic drug, the researchers found. Although the study didn't look at the effects of wine on people, its authors believe moderate drinking as part of a calorie controlled diet could protect against type 2 diabetes.
Past studies have shown that natural chemicals found grape skin and wine called polyphenols can help the body control glucose levels, and prevent potentially dangerous spikes or dips in blood sugar.
The Bad News
Previous studies have demonstrated potential health benefits from chemicals isolated from red wine. However the alcohol in wine is high in calories and can lead to weight gain, which can outweigh the benefits of these chemicals.

Let’s copy the Swiss!

The Swiss know how to stand up for themselves. In a referendum in November, they voted in favour of the automatic deportation of foreigners who commit serious crimes. Needless to say, the latte liberals at Amnesty International are appalled and – revealing their utter contempt for democracy – are calling on Swiss politicians to ignore the will of the people.

Amnesty’s reasoning is that deportations could cause convicts to be sent back to countries where they could face persecution. But this is a ridiculous argument: no one is forcing visitors to Switzerland to commit offences. If people don’t want to be sent back home, why don’t they just desist from rape, robbery, murder and fraud?

The new Swiss policy is so obviously a sensible idea that the UK ought to copy it. Having very high levels of immigration, and having allied with America in the fight against terrorism, the UK has an even bigger problem with foreign criminals.

I commend the idea to the people of the UK.

Weather in Spain 29th November – 5th December 2010

Monday: Light rain all day. Temp of 9C. Cool overnight with a temp of 6C.
Tuesday: Overcast day with no sun at all and drizzle all day. Temp of 11C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 8C. 
Wednesday: High clouds giving a bright day with sunny periods. Hotter with a temp of 18C. Cooler overnight with a temp of 13C.
Thursday: Bright and sunny day. Temp of 16C. Cool overnight with rain, temp of 10C.
Friday: Overcast start to what turns out to be a sunny day. However the cold north wind gave a temp of 8C, coldest this year. Overnight with a temp of 5C.
Saturday: Sunny day with a temp of 15C. Overnight temp of 10C.
Sunday: Overcast start with a sunny day later. Temp of 14C. Overnight temp of 9C.

Mosa Trajectum Golf Course

It is belive it or not the high season for golf here in Spain. This is the latest course to be tested by the team (me and the Lady of the Viulla). I won.

Located 13 km from Murcia, Mosa Trajectum has 3 ( hole golf courses giving a 27 hole championship course (Stone, Pine & Olive Courses). The championship course runs through the resort, through a spectacular and challenging landscape with a variety of plants and trees, cacti, open rock faces and a multitude of water features.

• Stone, Gents 3174 m, Ladies 2455 m, par 36.
• Olive, Gents 2819 m, Ladies 2194 m, par 36.
• Pine, Gents 2951 m, Ladies 2283 m, par 36.

Stone and Olive Course
18 holes
g White Par 72, 6436 m, VC 74.6, Slope 147
g Yellow Par 72, 5993 m, VC 72.5, Slope 134
g Blue Par 72, 5509 m , VC 75.4, Slope 148
g Red Par 72, 4649 m , VC 71.3, Slope 119
Pine and Olive Course
18 holes
g White Par 72, 6242 m, VC 72.7, Slope 136
g Yellow Par 72, 5770 m, VC 70.4, Slope 126
g Blue Par 72, 5234 m , VC 72.8, Slope 132
g Red Par 72, 4477 m , VC 68.9, Slope 114
Pine and Stone Course
18 holes
g White Par 72, 6554 m, VC 75.1, Slope 142
g Yellow Par 72, 6125 m, VC 72.6, Slope 135
g Blue Par 72, 5619 m , VC 76, Slope 140
g Red Par 72, 4738 m , VC 68.6, Slope 117
Driving range, pitching and putting green, restaurant, lessons
Buggy hire, electric trolley hire, club hire
Handicap: 36, Gents and Ladies.
Soft spikes are compulsory.

World Cup Bid

We lost the World Cup bid to Russia, seems to me we did not pay enough in ‘behind the scenes’ costs. However, some councils have paid up front to be part of the Bid.
In total the cost of the bid, £15 million, paid by the English FA. Here is the councils involved and what they paid

• Sunderland: £421,584.80
• Bristol: £363,000
• Birmingham: £353,048
• Leeds: £272,829.92
• Newcastle: £208,990.90
• Manchester: £144,750
• Plymouth: £136,000
• Milton Keynes: £130,000
• Liverpool: £94,662
• London: £60,000

Total spend: £2,184,865.62
Sheffield, Nottingham and N.I. did not give details of what they paid. The taxpayers alliance said ‘it was a waste of taxpayers money’. I would have move sympathy with their cause if they had said it before we lost!
In a way I agree with FIFA giving it to new countries. However, that should have been part of the criteria and not wasted other countries money in the bidding process.

Spanish Air traffic Controllers

The Spanish government are trying to reorganise and therefore reduce costs in the Spanish Airports Authority.
Recently they advertised for 48 new controllers to be trained up. The wages were 45,000 euros. They received 2,00 applications. 900 of which came in the first five minutes of the phone line opening.  

Will the next Contestant please Stand Up

Spain can’t really be the next-but-one euro-zone sovereign financial disaster.
Can it?
After all, its public finances are much healthier than Ireland’s, or Greece’s, or Portugal’s. And its banking sector has been a rare beacon of probity in amongst a global financial mess.
Right?
I think not. Get ready to rumble!

Books read in November 2010

Under the Dome. Stephen King. This is a classic King, a richly rewarding story in which SK does what few others can do with such mastery - write utterly believable characters that you get to know and love and loathe in equal measure. I won't re-hash the plot but it's what King does with the plot that makes it special. This is the best that King has produced in a long time, and that makes it excellent by anyone's reckoning. Don't be put off by the plethora of people introduced at the very beginning, stick with it and it gets better and better as the story unfolds. "Under the Dome" is vintage old-school King, and for this reader that's something very special. Highly recommended and no hesitation in giving 5 Stars.
Suite Française is the title of a planned sequence of five novels by Irene Nemirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian Jewish origin. In July 1942, having just completed the first two of the series, Némirovsky was arrested as a Jew and detained at Auschwitz, where she was sent to the gas chambers by the Nazi regime. The notebook containing the two novels was preserved by her daughters but not examined until 1998. They were published in a single volume in 2004. The first book ‘The Storm’ follows several groups of characters who flee from Paris in advance of the German entry into the city. As transport and distribution collapse under German bombardment, all have to change their plans and nearly all lose their veneer of civilization. The second book, Dolce, the storyline concerns Lucile Angellier, whose husband is a prisoner of war. She lives, uneasily, with her mother-in-law in the best house in the village, where the German commander is billeted. Unwillingly Lucile finds herself falling in love with him. 3 Stars.
The Falls. Ian Rankin. A complex mystery Rebus novel, as you would expect from Rankin. A student has gone missing in Edinburgh and there's very little for Rebus to go on apart from his gut feeling that there's more to this case than a runaway. Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a tiny coffin and an Internet role-playing game. Rebus concentrates on the coffin, reminiscent of sixteen similar relics found around Scotland in 1836, leaving his protégé DC Siobhan Clarke to deal with the cyberspace role playing game. Great stuff. 4 Stars.
Whiteout. Ken Follett. As a Christmas Eve blizzard whips out of the north, several people converge on a remote family house. Stanley Oxenford, the research company’s director, has everything riding on the drug he is developing to fight the virus. Toni Gallo, forced to resign from the police department in disgrace, is betting her career on keeping the drug safe; a local television reporter, determined to move up, has sniffed the story and a violent trio of thugs is on its way to steal it for a client already waiting – though what the client really has in mind is something that will shock them all. Desperate secrets are revealed; hidden traitors and unexpected heroes emerge. A good Yarn but not one of his best 2.5 Stars.
Beggars Banquet. Ian Rankin. Perhaps the problem I had with this collection of short stories, is that the Rebus novels are so outstanding. The novel format allows Rankin space for his excellent exploration of character (particularly the flawed but resilient Rebus himself), the teasing out of often complex plots and the superb sense of place, with the old city of Edinburgh an uncredited character. There are eight Rebus short stories amongst the 22 in this book all of which I enjoyed, however, the others were a mixed bunch. 2.5 Stars.

RBS Share Price 30/11/2010

The British Government and therefore the British taxpayer own around 86% of RBS shares having put in over £20Bn to save the Bank in 2009.
The average price, per share, paid is 50.53 pence.
The price today is 38,69 pence showing an overall loss.
Oh dear!
I will keep you informed.

Weather in Spain 22nd November – 28th November 2010

Monday: Sunny day with a cool breeze, giving a temp of 17C. Cool overnight with a cold wind giving a temp of 12C.

Tuesday: Very warm and sunny. Temp of 19C. Cooler overnight with rain showers and a temp of 15C. 

Wednesday: Overcast day with bright intervals later. Temp of 17C. Rain overnight giving a temp of 13C.

Thursday: Rain showers during an overcast day. Temp of 17C. Cool overnight with a temp of 14C.

Friday: Overcast day with no sun. Temp of 13C. Overnight cold with a temp of 10C.

Saturday: Another overcast day with showers and a temp to 11C. Overnight again cold with rain and a temp of 9C.

Sunday: Sunny day with a temp of 15C. Overnight temp of 12C.

Spain in money trouble?

After Ireland was finally forced this week to ask for financial help from the European Union and International Monetary Fund it is possible that a similar fate could await Spain.
In the first four months of 2011, the Spanish government and the country's banks must raise about €70bn (£59.2bn) in the bond market, which would be a "big test for investor appetite".
So the challenges facing Spain remain substantial – with the likelihood of a positive outcome poor until at least the sovereign and the banks have successfully navigated their way over the funding hump facing them both in Spring 2011.
The situation facing Spain is in some respects similar to that which led to the implosion of the Irish banking system, with international investors reluctant to buy the country's bonds as fears remain over the risks contained within the financial system.
While the Irish government repeatedly insisted it was fully-funded for the next year, the funding position of the Irish banks made the bail-out inevitable as they faced redemptions of €25bn in government-guaranteed debt they had issued.
Simply put, the Irish sovereign has been dismembered by its banking system.
The Spanish government has set up an €99bn fund to help its banks, however only €12bn of this is pre-funded and €11bn has already been drawn down, meaning the country will have to borrow more from the bond market to fund the rest. Spanish pensions funds could be leaned on to buy some of the bonds, but not enough to cover the entire amount the government will need to raise.

Recession hits Construction in Spain

I spent just an hour going around the area I live in and took some photographs of some areas that should have been developed but has now stopped.
This is a group of houses, the six on the left have been sold and are occupied either full time or as holiday homes. The two on the left have been abandoned by the builders. Just left to go to seed as you can see from the bush in the garden of the uncompleted house second left.
This area, below, the builders started at the bottom of the hill and worked up. In this case they at least finished the homes in progress. However, the land up to the sign, 50 metres by 100 metres has been left, again to go to seed.
The next construction site, because that’s what it is, nowhere near completion, shows 4 apartment blocks. The two in front obscure the two behind (i could not get closer!).They have been left like this for 3 years. Notice the cranes, they have been left there as there is nowhere for them to go, so they sit there unused and getting unsafe. The area used to be an orchard (i only wish it still was!), you can see nature trying to reclaim it back.
These half finished buildings blight the areas. The Town Halls it seems don’t care.

Spain 'orgasm' video criticised by politicians

I saw this advert on one of the Spanish TV channels. However so did some of Spain’s ‘finest’. Here is their view…..

Spanish politicians have criticised a video by the Young Socialists in Catalonia in which a woman simulates an orgasm while casting her vote. Both Socialist and opposition politicians have attacked the campaign video.

In the video the young woman gets increasingly excited as she votes for the Socialist Party in this month's regional elections in Catalonia. It concludes with the phrase, "Voting is a pleasure", after she puts her voting slip in the ballot box.

I thought it was funny!