Organisations, such as NASA which operate in highly secure environments, are now collecting fingerprints from employees as part of their standard security systems requirements. Records also will include those who visit say, NASA, past employment, former names, any court proceedins against you including traffic infractions, any security violations in the past…

You might assume that this is all a major infringement on your privacy - but there’s the deal; either you comply or you don’t get the job!

One old lady I saw this morning said she spends the days in the winter sitting in her bed as she cannot afford things like a tankless water heater or even a fuel heater; she has her meals in her room and that is her life until the cold weather passes. And she has done this for years.

Relocating to a warmer climate is not an option for people like her - there are too many of them and they cannot afford to do so.  I cannot see why pensioners in this situation cannot have their electricity for free from December until March. It’s the very least the Govt could do.

Okay, you might think that it is a bit ‘hick’ but I’ve been a Waltons fan since I was a small kid and still love to watch the show.  But Virginia is not the easiest place to land in immediately from Europe. Plan is to drive from NYC to North Carolina and take in the Outer Banks seaside region - maybe rent a condo for a few days - and then drive onto Virginia from there.

Of course the last stop will be Walt Disney World in Orlando…I told you I was a big kid!

Doctors in Beijing have released a diagnostic definition of the addiction amid increasing concern over psychological problems said to result from overuse of the internet. According to the definition, based on a study of more than 1,300 problematic users, symptoms of the addiction include yearning to get back online, mental or physical distress, irritation and difficulty concentrating or sleeping.

In fact I will go one step further and compare the condition to autism; the way some people can sit and stare at a computer screen for hours at a time and remain impervious to anything else going on around them is just like an autistic child playing obsessively with a toy.

Obviously the ability to be ‘autistic’ is something many people are capable of and it just requires something like a computer and the internet to bring it out.

One more reason to pull the plug and get the kids to play outside…if they remember how to!

Two for business use and two for private use. Well, I use mine for both business and private use…

That takes the amount of technology making up the average family home into an interesting area. And then there’s the furnishings required to accommodate all these gadgets; i.e computer desks, TV stands, home cinema accessories and mounts.

It is interesting for sure; I had to visit the home of an elderly relative a few months back and noticed the lack of all the modern day stuff. No PC in that home - normal floor-standing TV, small radio on the kitchen table…

Like a trip back through time!

What we have noticed is that the bathroom fittings more than anything else have seen some wear and tear over the past couple of years so this time round we are looking to purchase industrial knobs for the taps and basins rather than oin for the nicer looking accessory-type fittings.

They might not be as attractive but we see the need for longer lasting and more economical parts these days.

According to the Bible, Solomon was the third king of Israel. The son of King David, he was renowned for his wisdom, the size of his harem and the splendour of his kingdom. During his reign, he is said to have accumulated a huge fortune from mining and trading, some of which was spent on building the grand temple and opulent palace of Jerusalem.

Archaeologists and treasure-hunters have searched for the mines for more than a century since the best-selling Victorian novel, King Solomon’s Mines by H Rider Haggard, claimed they could hold a treasure of gold and diamonds. But now, it seems the real version could have been closer to home, supplying the king with copper.

The ancient mine was found in a desolate region south of the Dead Sea in southern Jordan in an area called Khirbat en-Nahas, which means ‘ruins of copper’ in Arabic.

The region was known in the Old Testament as the Kingdom of Edom. By Solomon’s time, it had become a vassal state, paying tribute to Jerusalem.

The ancient site contains around 100 buildings, including a fortress, in the middle of 24 acres of land covered in black slag. The mine works are covered with trials and holes, and are big enough to be seen on Google Earth’s satellite images. The team also found ancient Egyptian artifacts at the site including a scarab and amulet from the 10th century BC.

When Solomon died, his kingdom was thrown into chaos and the Pharaoh Sheshonq is believed to have attempted to crush economic activity. This new find is sure to open up new discussion - and no doubt controversy - about how much myth and truth makes up the Old Testament.

We are planning a more major scale long haul vacation for next year and one place we have not yet visited is Brazil; lately we have started to look at Brazil vacation packages for around June 2009 and are looking to go on to Australia after Brazil to take in my nephew’s wedding on June 27th.

We loved Argentina a few years back and South America really is a diverse continent when it comes travel - Rio here we come…next year!!!

Me? I have to say I prefer ol’ Mario. I remember my first Nintendo console where Mario ran only from left to right and jump over this and that. My god some of those levels were soooo frustrating !

But look at what the kids are playing these days; who’d have ever thought that gaming would go so far - and get so expensive !

As more men begin to develop this cancer at a younger age - some in their early forties - it is so important that a cure be found. No longer just the domain of the older man environmental factors are being blamed for the increase in younger men being diagnosed with this terrible disease.

Keep your fingers crossed that a cure will come out of this latest breakthrough - especially if you have sons.