Desperate times…lead to innovation…
For years, the Belgravia restaurant Boisdale has been a favourite haunt for London’s whisky-drinking cigar smokers. Now, a few months after the smoking ban was introduced, owner Ranald Macdonald has created a cigar terrace on the roof.And that’s not all. The terrace is home to London’s first “cigar park”, a metal contraption attached to the wall by the door, with a series of numbered ledges on which to park cigars.
“It’s an idea I came up with to deal with one of the horrors of the smoking ban,” said Simon Chase of the cigar importer Hunters & Frankau,
“If you’re smoking a large cigar outdoors and you need to go inside to buy another drink or go for a comfort break, then you can’t take the incandescent cigar with you. Hence I came up with the concept of the cigar park which I have now registered as a trademark.”
I used to be a somewhat regular of Boisdales in Belgravia, but recently went there post ban. It was lame and pointless to say the least. Its good to see the owner has come up with a way round it. This bit of smoking info found via Spy
No commentsPreparing for the op
This is my last day of normality before Monday. I am on a regular diet today and will head off to the pub this evening. Tomorrow I get to go on liquids only and then in the evening start the clean out with various noxious substances. I would like to thank my guest posters for putting up some interesting stuff for me to view when I have checked on the blog every so often. I have encouraged all of them to continue posting right through this weekend as I am not sure how much I will be able to do so.
No commentsAT&T intros flat rate international iPhone data plans starting at $25
Responding to swelling discontent amongst customers who’ve been slapped with costly data usage bills for browsing the web and checking email on their iPhones while outside the U.S., AT&T on Friday announced a pair of flat-rate international data plans starting at just $25 per month. A new $60 Data Global Plan will offer iPhone users 50MB of data…
read more | digg story
English welcome
It was not just that the organisers managed to hang the kingdom’s flag upside down along the Mall for when the royal Saudi entourage made its way to Buckingham Palace for an audience with the Queen
Its good to see there is some karma going on when it comes to the Saudis. It makes the whole disgrace of seeing the Queen with Abdullah easier to take.
No commentsG*ogle Censoring Criticism of Islam again
Robert Spencer of “Jihad Watch” comments:
“The indefatigable Harrison Sonntag of Dartmouth notifies me that Google has removed the video of my talk at Dartmouth, with this explanation: “As set forth in the Terms & Conditions, Google Video is not required to host or display uploaded content. Google Video may refuse to host content that violates its policies”
G*ogle then lists the things that violate its policies, none of which apply to the video concerned —which was a factual exposition of Muslim teachings drawn from the Koran and other Islamic sources.
See Spencer’s full post here —including a non-G*ogle link to the speech.
(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)
No commentsPush-Up Preston
A curious clockwork, muscle bound beach hunk. Arms pump and head turns with a realistic push-up action. A suitable joke for girls that like guys to be in shape! 12cmFeatures
Beach hunk, 12cm
Does press ups
Clockwork
In related news, Barbie™ is reportedly “vewy, vewy nervous.”
No commentsImpending CoTV
Welcome to the November 1, 2007 edition of carnival of the vanities.
Mathew Butka presents Donkey or Elephant – who cares, they are all jackasses! posted at Adventures Of A Stay At Home Dad, saying, “Every Presidential candidate is trying to buy your vote . . . but don’t fall for it!”
Alexandra presents Staph Infections posted at Be Beautiful.
FitBuff presents 7 Easy Breakfast Recipes: Healthy Breakfast in Less Than 5 Minutes posted at FitBuff.com’s Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, “You should already know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it’s often the most rushed and easily skipped meal as well.
Here are 7 easy AND healthy recipes that can be whipped up in less time than it takes to find your keys!”
Madeleine Begun Kane presents Musical Duo posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
GrrlScientist presents Cloning: A Beginner’s Guide posted at >Living the Scientific Life, saying, “by Aaron Levine, is one of the best-written books I’ve ever read about the history, process and ethics of cloning technology and stem cell research. Highly recommended. [book review]”
Mike Buckley presents “Bad Ideas” posted at >Mine Your Own Business.
isabella mori presents change therapy » Blog Archive » anorexia, appetites, and avoidance posted at change therapy.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents A Horse Of A Different Color posted at >Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
DWSUWF presents VBO (Voting by Objective) posted at Divided We Stand United We Fall, saying, “The objective of careful, limited, fiscally responsible federal government, can be accomplished at the ballot box. Not by voting exclusively Republican, Democrat or 3rd party, but by voting consistently for Divided Government.”
Mark A. Rayner presents >Robo-schism posted at The Skwib, saying, “A new schism develops in the Catholic church, as a fully functional cyber-pontiff declares the Pope ultra vires. Yes, the rise of RoboPope!”
The Whited Sepulchre presents What Ann Coulter Got Right. Or Not. posted at >The Whited Sepulchre, saying, “With all due respect to “Judeopundit” in the previous Carnival, He didn’t get in the last word on Ann Coulter. Only Recovering Baptists can properly get in the last word on Ann Coulter, since we understand her so well. This thing has been to more Carnivals than the two-headed calf, and I think your readers will like it.”
200motels presents http://deathby1000papercuts.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-hate-keith-olbermann-first-edition.html posted at 200motels.net.
Jon Swift presents The Mean Girl Faces of Islamo-Fascism posted at Jon Swift, saying, “I don’t think that I will ever again be able to pass a headscarved Muslim girl in the street again without panicking that she might make a “mean girl face” at me.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of the vanities using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
Technorati tags: carnival of the vanities, blog carnival.
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