Categories: uncategorized
Date: 04 September 2008 20:46:31
I have a new form of enjoyment. I have found a way of combining my two of my favourite activities - driving and reading.
Yes, I have discovered the world of audio books. Why have I waited so long?
Now my commutes back and for to work, or customers, is brightened by listening to some of my favourite books in transit. The only problem is that, like my reading, the books are over too quickly. I seem to get through a book in 2 1/2 days - I have a 40-45 minute commute to work. That was apart from the huge 13 disc edition of a Chris Ryan book, that took almost a week.
Mind you it does have its drawbacks. Sometimes my mind wanders and I miss a few "pages" before I realise; thankfully I still manage to concentrate on the road ahead. At least I have the opportunity to go back on the CD player.
I have also found that I suffer less from "road rage" than I did previously. Nor do I rant at the idiots on the road or the ones on the radio. As much as I love listening to music I;ve found that audio books form a great alternative - you tend not to get as bored listening again as you hear things that you missed previously, probably caused by mind wandering.
History Today:
1781: Spanish settlers found the town of Los Angeles. It is originally called El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles - The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels. The letter Z soon appears on walls, soldiers and lady's dresses.
1870: Emperor Napoleon III, a nephew not son of the Little Corporal, of France is deposed at Sedan and the Third Republic is declared. He lived out the rest of his life in Britain.
1884: Britain stops sending convicts to New South Wales. A gradual fall in the crime figures is noted in Sydney...
1885: New York sees the opening of the world's first cafeteria.
1886: Geronimo, the Apache chief and scream of parachutists everywhere, surrenders to the US army in Arizona.
1909: There is lots of "dib, dib, dibbing" in Crystal Palace, as the first Boy Scout rally takes place.
1939: The Battle of the Atlantic opens with the sinking of the British liner Athenia by a U Boat.
1940: Hitler switches air raids away from military targets and promises to raise the British cities "to the ground".
1944: Belgium has something to relieve the boredom - Brussels and Antwerp are liberated by the allies.
1955: Kenneth Kendall beocmes the first British newsreader to be seen in vision.
1957: The Wolfenden Report says that homosexuality between consenting adults should no longer be a criminal offense.
1972: Mark Spitz becomes the first man to win 7 gold medals at the same olympics. Unfortunately the games will be remembered for other reasons.
1981: The Greenham Common peace protests start outside a US Air Force base in Berkshire. It is a demonstration against the future deployment of cruise missiles, which arrive in 1983. Though the protesters stayed for several years they made no real difference. It was the end of the Cold War that finally saw their removal.