Articles written by Jeff Dray - Page 5

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About me - Jeff Dray

I live in Dorset in the south of England, 200 yards from the beach. I earn my living by travelling the countryside fixing and installing office equipment and PCs.

I live in a 200 year old stone cottage with a wife, a lodger and four cats and I enjoy playing

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Politics, News & Issues > News Industry Should the government control talk radio to make it more "balanced"?: 86 of 110
By the title and the origins of the site I assume that you mean American Radio Stations and American Governments. I always thought that your constitution, of which we hear a great deal when ever things don't go the way you want them, guaranteed free speech. If we restrict what is allowed to be said for any reason we are infr... More..
Arts & Humanities > Writing & Rating at Helium Reasons for low ratings at Helium: 23 of 29
I sometimes give a low rating for articles and I have never, till now, researched my reasons for doing so. Analysing my feelings I came up with the following: Layout. ======= When I am faced with a solid mass of text with no daylight visible it puts me off reading it. Paragraph breaks make the article look more accessible. S... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Religion & Spirituality (Other) Should the Bible continue to be used for swearing-in ceremonies and in courtrooms?: 202 of 254
This question is out of date, surely it is the height of hypocrisy for an non-christian to swear to Almighty God to tell the truth? If they are prepared to swear on something they don't believe in how can we be sure that they will tell the truth about the case in hand? In Britain, where we have been doing this kind of thing ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Elections (Other) Is eighteen too young to vote?: 82 of 102
It always amuses me on Helium that people assume that the USA is the administration in question. In the UK the voting age was reduced some years ago to 18, my God, we even gave women the vote in the early part of the last century! If you are old enough to join the army and be slaughtered for your country, old enough to hand ... More..
Computers & Technology > Phone Technologies & Issues The down-side of cell phones: 13 of 16
The cell phone has many down-sides. One is the anti-social aspect of them, the fact that, like rats, you are never more than six feet away from one and, unlike rats, they intrude into our lives constantly. Mostly the down-sides involve people. People who bellow loudly into them on trains, buses, in cars, restaurants or even ... More..
Food & Drink > Beer (Other) Does it matter if your beer is American brewed?: 30 of 36
NNo. In fact, given my experience of American beers, Budweiser and Coors, I would not be concerned if I never tasted it again. It is sold here, mostly as a fashion accessory, but I find it gassy, weak and tasteless. When there are so many top quality beers produced here in England and many more in Belgium and Germany I canno... More..
Religion & Spirituality > New Age Therapies Overview: Past-life regression: 5 of 6
Past Life Regression My Experience. Today I visited a Hypnotherapist in a nearby town to have a session of past life regression. It is something that has fascinated me for years and always wanted to try, so there I was, sitting in a very comfortable reclining chair, being talked down onto a state of extreme and luxurious rel... More..
Jobs & Careers > Professionalism Never being late for work: Tips: 21 of 25
Most of the articles written on this theme are looking at the problem from the wrong end. This is not an unusual approach but the real answer is much simpler and allows longer in bed as well as never being late. Change your job. There, that's simple isn't it? There are two options, either get a job that involves working from... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Environmental Awareness Easy ways your family can "go green": 272 of 319
Being green should be seen as a holistic approach to life. How many people do you know who take their bottles to the recycling centre in an SUV? we see them turn up, belching exhaust fumes to deposit a few wine bottles. Walk to work, most journeys are walkable, make a rule to only use the car for journeys of 2 miles or more,... More..
Autos > Engine Repair How to replace spark plugs: 6 of 7
This has to be the easiest of all maintenance tasks to perform on an engine. The spark plug is basically an insulated pair of terminals, across which a spark is created which is used to explode the petrol/air mix in the cylinder of the engine. Spark plugs come in a bewildering variety of sizes and it is important to make sur... More..