Random ramblings for the century post

A milestone has been reached today with this being my 100th post on this blog. Technically not all 100 posts have been by me, but nevertheless, still a significant achievement. As a celebration I think I'm gonna have random ramble, as no specific topic comes to mind today.

The credit crunch disaster continues to show no signs of abating. Interest rates have now fallen to 3%. I took out a mortgage only 18 months ago and was strongly advised to take a fixed-rate mortgage - someone was either having a laugh or was totally clueless about the impending crunch. It seems likely to be the latter, which leads me to ask how were people so clueless about the situation and not have any contingency plans? The interest rate cut smacks of desperation, further supported by reports that the rate will need to be cut further in the coming months - seems all a bit "too little, too late."

Along with that has been the recent coverage of tax-cuts in an attempt to stimulate the economy and get people spending money again. The retail market has taken a big hit, with everyone tightening their purses, spending shoppers have been on the decline. I recently visited the new Westfield shopping centre in London and although it was filled with loads of people, what was noticeable was how short the queues were for paying in the shops. I think many people were there to admire the new store and window shop, rather than actually spend large amounts of money. I include myself in this, as we just used the various vouchers we already had and spent very little cash.

A side-effect of the credit crunch has seen consumer spending increase in the entertainment industry, mainly the cinemas and TV subscriptions. How else can one explain the remarkable box-office success of the new James Bond movie: Quantum Of Solace, which is currently topping both the US and the UK box-office and has already made over $321 million worldwide? It's not even that good - with action scene after action scene and a story that's too complicated to follow, it was like a Jason Bourne movie! There was none of the typical humour, wit and gadgets that make a Bond movie. He didn't even say "the names Bond..., James Bond," surely that should be a guarantee in all Bond movies!

Whilst I'm rambling about movies, I recently saw the Bollywood movie Dostana, and whilst the idea of a couple pretending to be gay in a Hollywood movie would not be something I want to watch, because it was a topic being dealt with in a Bollywood movie it became interesting. It was absolutely hilarious! Go see it now.

Along with the movie industry, there has also been a increase in the number of subscribers to Sky TV with the company announcing a 25% increase in profits this year. People are staying at home more and therefore looking for more in-house entertainment. What better than a new subscription to Sky Sports or Sky Movies or even Sky HD?

Moving away from all the credit crunch talk, how about an update on all things medical? I must say it has been a gentle re-introduction to work after my 3 weeks off in earlier this month. As always I continue to jump through hoops for my ePortfolio and have recently forked out over £1300 for one exam next year (the CSA), but I don't want to bore you with those particular details. As for patient contact, pretty uneventful thus far. I did see one patient who suffered from an extremely rare syndrome that I'd never heard of before - Klippel Trenaunay syndrome, let's just leave it at that - you can click on the link and read all about it if you're interested!

I've sat staring at the screen trying to think of something interesting to type and can't come up with anything. Not a good way to celebrate the 100th posting! I think I better give-up for today. How about someone come up with some topics for me to blog about? I guess that will be difficult as it would require you to leave a comment, and no-one likes doing that it seems. Don't worry, the 101st post is going to be much better - a certain Jack Bauer will be returning...

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?