Hello Lurker Welcome To Flaky Fred. You probably wont find it that interesting.
You can read some stuff as a guest, but most of it is hidden from your beady eyes and you may never know what's going on.
Posted by: Fred - Wed-16-07-2014, 20:03 PM
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Here is a warning to any independent bloger in France who may want to give a personal view of a restaurant.
Quote:
A French judge has ruled against a blogger because her scathing restaurant review was too prominent in Google search results.
The judge ordered that the post's title be amended and told the blogger Caroline Doudet to pay damages.
Ms Doudet said the decision made it a crime to be highly ranked on search engines.
The restaurant owner said the article's prominence was unfairly hurting his business.
Ms Doudet was sued by the owner of Il Giardino restaurant in the Aquitaine region of southwestern France after she wrote a blogpost entitled "the place to avoid in Cap-Ferret: Il Giardino".
According to court documents, the review appeared fourth in the results of a Google search for the restaurant. The judge decided that the blog's title should be changed, so that the phrase: "the place to avoid" was less prominent in the results.
The judge sitting in Bordeaux also pointed out that the harm to the restaurant was exacerbated by the fact that Ms Doudet's fashion and literature blog "Cultur'elle" had around 3,000 followers, indicating she thought it was a significant number.
"This decision creates a new crime of 'being too highly ranked [on a search engine]', or of having too great an influence'," Ms Doudet told the BBC.
"What is perverse, is that we look for bloggers who are influential, but only if they are nice about people," she added.
The judge told Ms Doudet to amend the title of the blog and to pay €1,500 ($2,000; £1,200).
In her article, which has now been deleted, she complained of poor service and what she said was a poor attitude on the part of the owner during a visit in August 2013.
The owner took issue with the whole article. However, the judge limited her decision to its title.
The restaurateur did not respond to the BBC. But, according to the website Arret sur Internet, he said: "Maybe there were some errors in the service, that happens sometimes in the middle of August - I recognise that.
"But this article showed in the Google search results and did my business more and more harm, even though we have worked seven days a week for 15 years. I could not accept that.
"People can criticise, but there is a way of doing it - with respect. That was not the case here."
A French lawyer and blogger who writes under the pseudonym Maître Eolas, said: "It seems to me that the judge did not understand the technical issues." He added that, in French law, this type of decision would not create legal precedence.
Under French law, a judge can issue an emergency order to force a person to cease any activity they find to be harming the other party in the dispute.
The summary decision is intended to be an emergency measure to protect the person deemed to be a victim and can be overturned or upheld if the parties go to a full hearing.
In order to issue the order under French law, the judge has only to identify a wrong on the defendant's part, a negative effect on that of the appellant and a causal relationship between the two.
Ms Doudet said she did not believe she will appeal because she did "not want to relive weeks of anguish".
Ms Doudet added that, because the decision was taken at an emergency hearing, she did not have time to find legal representation, so had represented herself in court.
BBC
What the hell happened to freedom of speech .
*This post will probably be deleted as I live in France and they will be knocking on my door any minute now.
Posted by: Fred - Thu-10-07-2014, 16:04 PM
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It's the 7.10 a mile-and-a-half race at Brighton racecourse, they all get off to good start and as they come up to the line it's a close thing between Jewelled, ridden by Richard Hughes, and Luke Morris on Sagesse.
Jewelled ended up winning the race just ahead of a Seagull, followed by Sagesse in third place.
Posted by: Fred - Fri-30-05-2014, 15:37 PM
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A man in China has invented a suitcase you can pack your clothes in and ride to the airport
Mr He Liang, a farmer from Hunan Province China has spent 10 years developing the suitcase that has two small wheels at the back and one at the front, it's powered by a rechargeable lithium battery and can can carry up to two passengers, cover distances of up to 60km (37 miles) and maintain a speed of up to 20km/h (12mph).
Looks a bit scary for use on the main roads, but then at least he will have clean underwear with him should things go wrong. "clap"
Posted by: Fred - Wed-19-03-2014, 11:52 AM
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I found this odd wooden thing yesterday tucked in the back of an old cupboard, I don't have a clue what it is. It's made of hardwood and has a hole in the bottom about the diameter of your small finger, the handle on the top has what looks like a broken spring attached to a piece of dowel which goes up and down.
If you do know what it is please send your answers on a postcard, or find a way of contacting me.
Posted by: Fred - Fri-21-02-2014, 10:55 AM
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I've just been going around the garden to see what spring flowers were popping up as the sun was out, and found lot's of daffodils and snow drops appearing. But I just got a huge surprise when I notice what look like two Daffodils growing out of one of our little Oak trees. "eek"
And if you're wondering about this being set up, I can assure you it's not. We have never put daffodil or any bulbs in a tree, and they are well rooted. The only way I can think of how they got there would be that some animal like a squirrel maybe has dug them up from the ground and hid them there, but they are not very well hidden so I just don't know how it happened.
I'm hoping they will continue to grow and produce a flower, if they do I will get another photo and add here.
Posted by: Fred - Tue-18-02-2014, 21:04 PM
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Herders in Lapland are spraying their reindeer with reflective paint to help drivers see them in the dark!
The special spray is being tested on their antlers to see how it holds up in different weather conditions. 4,000 reindeer die in traffic accidents every year in Finland, the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute says. Most incidents occur in the dark months of November and December, when roads are prone to becoming icy.
Imagine meeting that on the way home from the pub late at night.
Posted by: Fred - Fri-14-02-2014, 11:45 AM
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Jean-François Copé UMP complained on French television that the children's book Tous à poil! (Everbody naked!) sent shivers down his spine, the publishers of the book are said to be very happy after more than 1,200 copies were sold as a result and sales are going up.
The book is designed to stop children being embarrassed about nudity, On each page there is shown a character which is part of everyday life naked.
The painted figures show a daily act in what some could find embarrassing, but they are done in a delicate way to look warm and realistic, they are not mocked and teach acceptance of the diversity of different bodies.
Image found on the net
Oh bugger I've just realised by posting this I could be helping them sell even more, there must be millions of you reading this from all around the world.
Posted by: Fred - Fri-29-11-2013, 12:15 PM
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Found this Icy Finger popping out of an old Carte D'or Ice Cream pot today.
I cant explain or understand how it got like this. The pot was just full of rain water, there was no wind blowing, there is nothing above the pot, and there is nothing in the pot but water now it's thawed out.
Posted by: Fred - Fri-18-10-2013, 13:35 PM
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So every year we have to change the clocks, personally I cant see the point in it myself as I never get up early enough to notice the difference.
In March they go forward 1 Hr and in October they go back 1 Hr, so that means in March I loose 1 hour in my bed but when they change in October I gain 1 hour in bed. So what's the bloody point of getting my body used to a time zone through the winter and then cocking it all up in March when it can still be cold? There must be a solution to this
Right, time for a moment to think over a big glass of Merlot ............................. Gain 1 hr in bed = Good .......................................................... Loose 1 hr in bed = Bad.
Hmmm
October = Good
March = Bad
OK I'm back: Here is what I'm going to do.
On Saturday 26 Oct just before midnight I will move my clock back to 11pm that gains me my extra hour.
When I finally get out of my bed on Sunday I should be on the right time.
Sounding good so far.
The clocks then go forward again on 30 March 2014.
So if I have got this right that is about 155 days.
Right 1 hour = 60 minutes or 3600 seconds.
3600 seconds divided by 155 days = 23.225 seconds per day.
Yep that should work. If I add 30 seconds to my clock each day I should be well in hand by the time March 30 comes around.
Oh bugger that's almost 1 and a half hours. "doh"
Maybe some more thinking time needs to go into this.
Editors Note: Other time zones are available and we recommend you consult the most reliable clock provided by your own country of residence before trying this.