Ordinary Gweilo

It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writing (mainly) about Hong Kong

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Month: Jul 2007

  • Everyone changes their mind

    A few weeks ago, Donald Trump announced that he was quitting The Apprentice, apparently in response to NBC’s reluctance to go-ahead with a new series. Now it seems (Reuters) that both Trump and NBC have changed their minds.  NBC (which never formally cancelled the show) wants to go-ahead with season 7 (and possibly season 8 as well), and Trump is…

  • Hold the Presses: scmp.com is still rubbish

    A progress report on the redesigned scmp.com: The headlines are now shown in full.  Well done! The home page is still slow to load, and sometimes is simply not available (see below).  Sometimes I can access the home page but then when I login I get the stupid message again.  The search is marginally better…

  • You have junk

    John Naughton in The Observer on an old favourite: ‘You can’, my mother used to say, ‘have too much of a good thing’. Since she was generally not in favour of good things (which she equated with self-indulgence), I habitually disregarded this advice. But I am now beginning to wonder if she may have been…

  • Misguided

    The Sunday Times has highlighted some of the abuses of websites that carry ‘consumer’ reviews of hotels and restaurants: The online review appeared to be a glowing endorsement of a fine hotel by the shores of Loch Ness. “My parents stayed many years ago and said what a lovely spot this place has. They were…

  • Still very annoying

    My wife is a techno-phobe.  She doesn’t like computers, and only uses them because she has no choice.  If something doesn’t work, she gives up – and, of course, this provides makes her even more convinced that computers are best avoided. Me, I will try to find out what is wrong and how to solve…

  • More miles

    Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific’s frequently flier program)  are making changes to the number of miles needed to redeem flights. Rather to my surprise, the change actually seems quite logical and, well – fair. They have increased the number of miles needed for some long-haul tickets, and cut the number of miles for short-haul.  This makes…

  • Boston Legal

    Monday nights on ATV World used to be "David E Kelley" night.  First Ally McBeal at 9 pm, then The Practice at 10, two series about lawyers written by Mr Kelley, and both set in Boston. Ally McBeal lasted for five seasons, which was rather too long for what was a very whimsical concept.  Had…

  • Journey to nowhere

    I notice that Star Cruises have a new ship, and Paul over at The Valley has also commented on it: It sure does look very sleek. But don’t fool yourself, this ship hasn’t been designed to maximise the comfort of guests but more to maximise the size of the on board casino. Once the ship…