Stretched Ear Problems
Cross-threaded plugs SUCK.
Ended up having to get a set of locking pliers to loosen the thing off. Now my ear is slightly swollen and sore.
A few thoughts on TV Licencing and contradictions
So, I’ve noticed that a number of my friends on Facebook have joined a ‘cause’ campaign to abolish the TV License. Though I can see elements of their point I do think it’s misguided.
£120 a year. That is the license fee, and for anyone from outside the UK who is unaware the license fee is payable by everyone who owns a device capable of receiving Television signal. It pays for the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) and has been standing for decades.
It is enforced and fined as any other fee, perhaps even with more tenacity.
The arguement against the TV License is that if someone chooses not to support the BBC then they are paying for a service they don’t receive, further more the complain about other less tangible things a’la the quality of programming and the wages paid to talent.
My arguement for is that the BBC produces programs with the intent of entertainment and creates more shows that cater to more specific groups. Though not every show is great, and there are a few repeats being able to fund production of programming that doesn’t have to fill the timeslots specific to advertising demographics they have created more media that is now seen as iconically ‘British’ than any other media producer in the UK and perhaps in analogue globally.
Furthermore the license fee doesn’t exclusivly go to the BBC but some is also used to fund Channel 4 and other small production companies.
This may come off as being horribly socialistic and let me punctuate this by saying I am more inclined toward small government and less public funding on the whole, but I am also a person who doesn’t apply a singular view to every facet of life. I believe and I am thankful for the BBC in the same way I am for the NHS. Neither are perfect but the prospect of either of these taking on their analogues from (for instance) The USA scares me.
As a quick test, look at the following list and I’d venture that you’ve viewed a good deal and enjoyed a fair portion of them;
-Dad’s Army
-Monty Python
-Fawlty Towers
-Black Adder
-Red Dwarf
-EastEnders
-Planet Earth
-I’m Sorry I haven’t a clue
-The Mighty Boosh
-Panorama
-Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
-Meerkat Manor
-A huge mass of documentaries, comedies and dramas.
This is hugely truncated and YES the BBC also produces some crap like ‘Snog Marry Avoid’ and such but they have the freedom to do so without producing mass marketted shows which end up falling flat and feeling quite bland.
To lose the BBC would be a huge loss to this country. It would rob a part of it’s identity and rather than increasing programming diversity it would diminish it.
That’s all
