Now why doesn't that sound like a good idea? It is however a good way to increase sales, according to a Missouri car dealer. He ran a week long promotion where he gave away either a $250 gas card or $250 credit for a gun shop. As a result his sales soared and he managed to sell 30 trucks in just three days, much more than the usual volume. All the buyers except one elected to take advantage of the gun credit rather than the gas.

I know men are not usually very good at clearing out their cupboards but this story is really strange. If its true a homeless woman in Japan managed to live in man's closet for a whole year without being detected. When he noticed food disappearing he installed security cameras which transmitted images to his mobile phone. One of the cameras caught someone moving about inside his house so he called the police who investigated. Apparently, they found all the doors and windows locked but after a search of the property found a woman on the top shelf of the man's closet. She told police she had sneaked into the house a year ago because she has no where else to live.

We always find that no matter how many times we clear out the shed it always becomes full again very quickly. I think I have finally found the answer this huge shed. It costs £13,000 and is available from Argos. The only problem is, its just a little bit too big for our garden.

I'm still playing with new Nikon D40 and in just a few weeks have already taken hundreds of pictures. Rather than bore people with the details, in future I will just post a selection of the better ones every week or so with a short caption. Starting with the picture on the left which I was quite pleased with.

Yellow Rose in My Garden

This is an interesting idea, its a ceiling that recreates the effect of a sunny day indoors. Called a SkyCeiling the ceiling creates the illusion that you are underneath a sunny sky and can be used to brighten up a room even it has no windows. It works by using high resolution photographs of the sky and overhanging trees which are suspended from the ceiling to create a 3 D effect. The photos are produced on transparent tiles and are lit from behind with high powered fluorescent lights. The system can be programmed to mimic the time of the day and different seasons. It is expected to be popular with offices and hospitals where it could be used to reduce stress and boost feelings of well being.

I often wonder why it takes so long to transfer money between bank accounts and why I can transfer it between two accounts with the same bank instantly but to transfer to an account with a different bank it takes a minimum of four days. Now it appears that there is a new system that will allow same day bank transfers. Customers will be able to make one off payments up to a maximum of of £10,000 that will leave their account and arrive at the destination on the same day. Among the banks that will be included in the scheme are Abbey, Alliance and Leicester, Barclays, Citi, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks (National Australia Group), Co-operative Bank, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society, Northern Bank (Danske Bank), Northern Rock, and Royal Bank of Scotland Group (including NatWest and Ulster Bank).

We had to take Oscar to the vet the other day because he had a problem with his right eye. He had been unable to open his eye for most of the day and was obviously in quite a lot of pain because he was not his usual happy self. The vet said that he has a eye ulcer and has given us some drops which we need to use three times a day. Oscar is now starting to look a bit better, he can open his eye and is bouncing around as usual. We have to take him back for a checkup at the end of the week but hopefully it will have cleared up by then. As to what has caused the ulcer, apparently it is commonly caused by fighting so I'm guessing one of my other cats is responsible.

An extended end terrace property situated within a cul de sac and located within half a mile of Egham high street amenities and mainline train station. Accommodation comprises entrance hallway, lounge, kitchen, dining room, shower room, double bedroom, first floor bathroom, mezzanine study area, own private rear garden and off street parking.

A donkey has been jailed after it bit and kicked two men in southern Mexico. After the attack the donkey was taken to the local jail which normally holds people. It will remain there until its owner agrees to pay the medical bills of the people it attacked.