This article suggests that solar powered clothing could be coming to the shops soon. Fujitsu Siemens are working on incorporating flexible solar cells into items of clothing and say the device could only take a year to perfect. The solar cells would work by converting light into energy which would then be used to power devices such as mobile phones or MP3 players. It sounds interesting although as sunlight is required, it might not work so well here in the UK, after all we don’t see the sun very often. It could be a good device to take on holiday though.

Having used a few stink bombs before I know how unpleasant they can be. Saying that, they still wouldn’t be my number one weapon of choice if I wanted to rob a bank. A lady in Austria, felt differently. On entering a bank, she took out a box which she said contained a deadly explosive. She then smashed it on the counter breaking the vials of stink bombs and filling the bank with a dreadful smell before running outside. The staff also quickly retreated outside to escape the horrible smell. It seems her plan failed and she left empty handed, perhaps she should reconsider her choice of weapon before trying again.

I read this article that suggests addiction to the internet is now a recognised illness. Some symptoms of the disorder include excessive use, withdrawal and feelings of anger when the computer is not accessible and the need for better computers and more software. A case study carried out in South Korea found that 10 people have died of blot clots because they remained seated for long periods of time in internet cafes. It also found that around 210,000 children are affected and are in need of treatment. Apparently if you answer yes to five or more of the following questions you could suffer from it.

• Do you feel preoccupied with the internet? (Think about your online activity or anticipate your next online session.)
• Do you need increasing amounts of time on the net in order to achieve satisfaction?
• Have you repeatedly made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop internet use?
• Do you feel restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop internet use?
• Do you stay online longer than originally intended?
• Have you jeopardised or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of the internet?
• Have you lied to family members, a therapist or others to conceal the extent of your involvement with the internet?
• Do you use it to escape from problems (eg, feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression)?

I answered yes to just the fifth question. How many did you answer yes to?

I have long been disgusted by the number of people in this country who feel that it is their right to claim benefits. Whilst I realise that there are some people who cannot work due to illness or disability, what really annoys me is the growing number of people who could work but choose not to. I read this article that sums this up nicely.

It highlights a case of one family where three generation have never worked and from their comments it seems they never intend to. In this particular example the family of ten people consists of four adults, none of whom work. They do not see this as a problem, instead they are dissatisfied with their three bedroom council house and feel that they should be provided with a ten bedroom home, no doubt so they can produce yet more children who will also have to be provided for by the state. The grandmother says that the reason they cannot work is because there are so many children to look after. Call me stupid if you like, but does it really take four adults to look after six children? It seems to me, that at least three of the adults should be able to get a job. What I find shocking is that there are 20,000 similar households in Britain that pocket more than £30,000 a year in benefits.

Another example in this article highlights the case of a lady who has not worked for over 40 years. She has three grown up children, two of which are also on benefits and seems to think that this way of life is acceptable. In fact she says of her situation "My own dad worked down the pit, but my mum didn't work, so I suppose I wanted the same life that she had when I grew up. I just wanted to be at home and live off other people.” Her son Steven has a similar attitude. Although he did initially have a job as a plumber he gave it up because “They paid £27 a week, but it was so boring looking at pipes and sinks all day. When I told my dad I was bored, he said I should never stick with a job I didn't like.” He also says “So, eventually, in my 20s, I thought: "I've tried security work and plumbing and I've even been a taxi driver for six months, but I just don't like working" and “It's my right to claim benefits. We're all entitled to do what we want in life.” I completely sympathise with this view (sarcasm) I don’t like working either but what about the right of the tax payer not to have to subsidise these people who just can’t be bothered to get a job. We see the pattern continuing with Stephen’s daughter who seems to think that it is normal to live off of benefits. She too has left school without any qualifications and has claimed benefits ever since. She says "Because my gran, Jean, didn't work either then I suppose it's just normal in our family not to have jobs” and "I don't like the idea of having to be bossed around at work and I don't want to go to college or anything because I like to stay in bed in the morning. In the meantime, it's my right to claim benefits. One day I'd like a council flat." There is little hope, then for the fourth generation of this family.

The article has reinforced my view that there is a new underclass (rather than working class) of people in this country that feel they have a right not to work and should still be provided for by the rest of us that do work. The question is can we change the way these people think, especially when the attitude is passed down through generations. I suppose it annoys me so much because I was brought up with a strong work ethic and personally would rather take a job, no matter how menial or boring, for me claiming benefits is fundamentally wrong. I have been mulling over how the problem can be solved. Should benefits be reduced to such a level that are no longer adequate to support a family and thus encourage people to get a job, or would this just hurt the people that do really need them? Perhaps a form of tax relief for those on lower incomes might help, after all it is near impossible to live on an income of £12,000 or £13,000 and that’s before the tax man takes his cut. I also wondered what would happen to these people if the benefits system was suddenly withdrawn. If they had no income, would it force them into work? What I find most surprisingly of all is that this issue seems to be largely ignored by politicians. Perhaps the money spent on benefits is small when compared with other issues such as defence spending of money put into the health service but it can’t be good for a country to have such a large proportion of its potential workforce being supported by state and in effect by the hard working taxpayer.

I just opened a bottle of Porcupine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 which I purchased from Sainsbury for £6.99. The wine is from Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa. I was browsing the South African wine section at Sainsburys and I must admit my attention was caught initially by the bottle because it has a picture of a porcupine on it. The blurb on the back of the bottle says very little about the wine and more about porcupines, making me wonder exactly how this is relevant to the wine. Apparently the only connection is that porcupines live in the area where the wine is produced. This said, the wine itself is really good and even my husband who is not that keen on red wine loved it. It is quite full bodied and fruity, tasting a little of blackcurrants. At 14.5% it’s a rather strong wine but good value for the price and very drinkable. I give it a rather respectable 4 out of 5 stars.

A couple from Newcastle have had jumpers made out of their dog’s fur. Beth and Brian combed their carpets for dog hair and also saved the hair when they groomed their pets. The hair was then spun into yarn and knitted into two jumpers. The jumpers are apparently very warm and nearly waterproof. I wonder if this works with cat fur.

The weather report predicts a white Easter for the first time in 25 years. Whilst I feel it is unlikely that we will get any snow, as we rarely do in Egham, it did make me recall the last white Easter. At that time I must have been about 4 years old. I remember waking up on Easter morning and looking out of the window to see several inches of snow. I also remember my great excitement at seeing footprints in the snow. My mother of course used this to her advantage and told me that the Easter bunny must have visited in the night. I now know that it is more likely the footprints were left by either a cat or a fox but still remember my excitement when I saw those footprints.

This is quite cool. It is called the Tardis House and is probably Cornwall’s smallest office. It measures just 7ft by 6ft so there is barely enough room for a table and chair and not much else. In fact it is so small that you can stand inside with your arms outstretched and touch the walls. The building which was originally built as a toilet has recently gone on the market for a surprising £19,950.

Regular readers know that I have lots of cats which is why I was happy to come across this article that suggests owning a cat can actually be good for you. Apparently having a cat can cut your risk of having a heart attack or a stroke by almost half. Scientists have found that stroking a cat helps to reduce stress and anxiety and so protects against cardiovascular disease. In fact cat owners were found to have a 40 per cent lower risk of suffering a heart attack. What the article doesn’t tell you is that cats also cause stress when they are climbing your new curtains or scratching up a favourite piece of furniture.

Further to my blog post a few weeks ago we are gradually moving towards getting the house ready to sell. Moving our stuff into storage has taken a bit longer than expected and we still have things that we want to move out of the house. We did initially plan to have moved everything into storage by now, but suffered a set back at the weekend as Rory was not well. We now plan to finish this over the Easter weekend and hopefully start doing some painting.  Regarding looking for a new place, we did look at two properties a few weeks ago, one which we hated and another which we really liked. Unfortunately as our house is not yet on the market we were unable to put in an offer on the house that we liked and have now heard that this one has just sold. It’s a shame as the property was just what we were looking for, but I’m sure something else will come up.

The Sat Nav trolley could soon be coming to Britain. The device will help shoppers by guiding them around the store to the items they want to buy. It will also suggest recipe ideas based on the food that you put into them. The trolley is made by Media Cart in conjunction with Microsoft and could be in UK supermarkets by 2009. It will also be able to download your shopping list and plot the quickest route around the store, depending on what you want to purchase. The trolleys are fitted with a location device so they know where in the store, they can they work out what the best route is from the current location to the product the customer requires. It seems like an interesting idea, I wonder how well they work in practice.

I drink rather a lot of tea so was pleased to see this article that suggests it could have health benefits. The article suggests that women who drink three cups of tea a day are less likely to have build ups of fat and cholesterol in their arteries meaning there is less likelihood of strokes and heart attacks. Unfortunately it appears to have no effect for men.