Citizensheep. "Michael Grimes lives in Birmingham (UK). This is his blog about anything that he fancies."

At primary school we were told a moral story that seemed to me so ridiculous that I still remember it almost thirty years later. I couldn’t believe that anyone could be quite so stupid and quite so demanding as the story’s protagonist. Last night I was talking to Paula Tew about how shifting demands placed [...]

We’re seeing a lot of it lately, in the run-up to a General Election: one party does something bad, the other party jumps on it; then it happens again, but the other way round. But does this bickering do them any good? I for one am put off voting at all, let alone for the [...]

I didn’t make resolutions this New Year because I knew I’d not keep to them, then feel bad about it and give up. One that I didn’t make was to blog more; as I didn’t make it I can’t feel bad about it, so I’m not giving up: I’m starting it now. My lack of [...]

When I went to the doctor a few years ago complaining of tinnitus I was told there was nothing he could do, so I didn’t bother him with it again. In fact there’s no point complaining to anyone: as no-one else can hear it they can’t possibly empathise. So I’ve attempted to re-create mine as [...]

Dogs Dog’s breakfast Dog’s dinner Dog’s life Dog days Dog tired Dog-gone Dog’s b@ll@**s Doggy style Cats Cat’s whiskers There must be more than that for cats. Help me redress the balance.

What happens when paid-for news content online becomes sustainable and influential, but a significant chunk of people who are currently engaged and informed get news from other sources? (This is a very under-developed thought; I’m only putting it here because it’s too long for Twitter.) I never buy the Financial Times, but I used to [...]

Yesterday my iPhone stumbled upon a wireless network with a very vulgar name. It made me think: if someone found that offensive, could the owner be charged with public indecency? It’s a curious (albeit pretty boring) question: because the network owner would, I suspect, presume that their wifi name is confined to the privacy of [...]

On Thursday I ‘lost’ my Twitter avatar (a sheep); by Saturday afternoon it had been found lurking on someone else’s blog. I had been playing around with QR codes and wondered if the QuickMark iPhone application would be able to recognise them in a Twitter avatar. So I replaced my long-standing picture of a sheep [...]

Yes, Mr Simon Gray is the lucky winner of the coveted Mars Bar. He found my sheep and it is now restored to its rightful place. I’m not going to reveal the location just yet: I need to sit down and blog it properly, so in the meantime people may as well have the chance [...]

My lost sheep is trapped in a yellow box on someone else’s blog, and may have been spotted. Apparently the location of this sighting has nothing to do with the British Broadcasting Corporation. I’ve also heard a rumour that it may be south of Bristol. Both reports are unconfirmed though.