Welcome
Good day sunshine
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I've participated in lots of different places on the internet. Here are the main links, which between them will tell you far more than you ever need to know about me, my career and my interests. Note that my blogs are really mini-websites set up within the Blogger framework. Most of them will eventually be transferred to a website and the blogs deleted.
Things we said today
There are several ways to contact me by e-mail if you don't have my e-mail address and wish to send me a message, one of which is via my Blogger profile page. Alternatively, you can post comments on my blogs (which I moderate), or you can post comments on my Amazon reviews, or you can contact me via other websites including Shelfari, MySpace and (when I reactivate my account) Facebook.
Blogs about Amazon, the online retailer
Across the universe
Amazon topics would appeal to any Amazon customer or contributor who is interested in more than just buying stuff, but it is not currently available online. I expect to restore it eventually, but as a website.
Blogs about jobs and politics
Help!
Jobs provides links to websites offering job vacancies, training opportunities and CV tips.
The long and winding road
The nineties job quest describes my first long period out of work and how I eventually managed to find gainful employment again.
Don't pass me by
Career looks at my career to date and options for the future. Certificates displays my school and other certificates.
Taxman
The politics of unemployment draws on my experiences of being unemployed since 2002, covering a variety of issues including finance, housing, bankruptcy, the TV licence fee, electricity meters, immigrant workers, data protection and identity theft, but especially focusing on New Deal. I got out of a similar mess once before, but it's much more difficult now.
According to the British government, all unemployed people are lazy, stupid, feckless, lunatic or a combination of those stereotypes. Well, I'm not any of those, but as long as journalists are able to find people like the McFadden family, the stereotypes will persist in the minds of many people. Judging all unemployed people on the basis of the McFadden family is like judging nurses on the basis of Beverley Allitt or doctors on the basis of Harold Shipman, or assuming that all football supporters are hooligans.
Three comments
- Anonymous said...
What a sad muppet you are. Get off your fat lazy arse and find a job. How the hell can you afford all these Amazon purchases out of your Incapacity Benefit? Perhaps you should be reported for Dole fraud.
- Peter Durward Harris said...
I'd love to find a job, but it wasn't easy even before the current recession. If you suffer the misfortune of losing your job, you might begin to understand the problems.
I explained everything in detail in my blog "The politics of unemployment", including how I acquired (and continue to acquire) the stuff I review on Amazon. But since you can't be bothered to read that blog (you don't even know which benefits I'm receiving), I'll summarize by saying that most of the stuff I review was bought in the days when I had a job and plenty of money and I bought some of the rest by making lots of sacrifices and by bargain-hunting. I also borrow stuff to review, especially from the library. Just because I've reviewed something doesn't mean I bought it, nor that even if I did buy it, that I paid the quoted price.
Oh yes, and I see that you choose to remain anonymous. I don't, which I would do if I were committing fraud. It's very easy for the DWP to identify me from the information available on the net.
As for benefit fraud, you can report me if you think you have a case (hey, if you read that blog, you'll find that I've provided the link to the relevant web page) but the DWP may take action against anybody who wastes their time by malicious accusations such as yours would be.- Peter Durward Harris said...
Just to add - If anybody would genuinely like to help me get a job, I'll be willing to consider such help. Better still, if you have some vacancies that I might be suitable for, please offer me an interview.
Blogs about computers
Every little thing
Blog setup mainly discusses technical matters, so will be useful to those setting up a HTML-based blog (but read Blogger's own help stuff first), which is necessarily more complicated than a standard diary-type blog. I hope that this blog will also prove useful to potential employers wishing to assess my capabilities.
Blogs about leisure activities
Magical mystery tour
Genealogy basic illustrates the most famous lines of descent to me from historical royalty and, as a contrast, the descents from the humble people of North East Scotland since the early 17th century. I also provide information about my shared common ancestors with famous people including British prime ministers and American presidents.
Carry that weight
Horse racing is my favorite sport and includes links to my Amazon reviews and guides, plus links to tables of big race winners, British racecourse websites and other stuff.
Day tripper
A page aboutLeicester (pronounced Lester), where I've lived since 1998.
I've just seen a face
News media describes my experiences of being in the news, including my interview on BBC Radio Leicester, which I did live in the studio, as well as an article that appeared in The Times. There is also an analysis of the lies and half-truths reported elsewhere. Another article appeared in the Times in February 2012. The Times articles are only available online to subscribers so I don't link to them.
Norwegian wood / Here comes the sun
Christmas is celebrated on the same day that sun-worshippers celebrate Saturnalia. I think I've reviewed more Christmas music on Amazon than anybody else, but if anybody has reviewed more, I'd like to know.
Ticket to ride
Trains interested me a lot when I was young, not so much now. Nevertheless, I've reviewed several CD's of American train songs and several British books about trains, with more to come. This section provides links to those reviews, plus a store where you can buy other train books, together with a selection of website links, especially those devoted to rail heritage.
Your mother should know
Board games face stiff competition these days compared to previous generations, but there is still a market for them. This page contains links to my reviews, of which there aren't very many, as well as a store where you can buy the others.
In my life
The stuff formerly in my About me blog was absorbed into Amazon topics, and is currently unavailable online.
Yellow submarine
We were all Children once, so here are my book and music reviews, lists and guides that have particular appeal for children, but which can be enjoyed by adults too, together with some extra comments and other stuff.
My presence on the internet
Across the universe
Links to my Amazon pages can be found via Google.
Paperback writer
On Shelfari, I list books that I've read. Although I could list books that I plan to read, I won't do that. I don't want pressure from people begging me to read these books, some of which I won't read any time soon.
All you need is love
I very rarely read fiction and I definitely don't read romance fiction, but I established cyber-contact with some people who do and I ended up participating in the off-topic sections of the romance readers' forum. As a result of a re-organization of the forum in 2008, I couldn't log into my original home so I had to set up another account, but I didn't remain active much since setting up my current home there. To see how much fun it can be, look at the thread devoted to Funny videos. It is a long time since I posted there, but I enjoyed my time there in 2008.
With a little help from my friends
I am on MySpace, where I have a list of singers, groups and bands that interest me, though some interest me a lot more than others. Note that this list isn't always up to date.
I'm also on Facebook, but have deactivated my account. Even when I return, you'll be asked to sign in there to see it if you're not already signed in. My profile there will be universally available to those with Facebook accounts when I return. Just occasionally, I re-activate my account to send a message to somebody then hastily de-activate it again. I'll only re-activate properly when I am prepared to commit myself to the website again. It is much too addictive for me to spend a few minutes each day.
I'm also on YouTube, where I set up links to some of my favorite clips, but I haven't done much there.
I'm also on LinkedIn and Plaxo but I haven't found them useful to me so far. Still, they may yet prove to be important.
So far, I have only posted occasionally on the BBC Radio 5 live message board and the BBC 606 message board but I hope to be more active one day.
I'm listed as Peter_Durward_Harris on the BBC, and PeterDurwardHarris on YouTube. In all the other above sites, you'll find me listed as Peter Durward Harris, though suffixed by II on my current romance readers' forum account.
I'm also on Twitter, where I am listed as pdhamazon because there is a limit on identity length that prevents me from using my full name, but I haven't done much there yet. If I do use it more extensively, I may set up separate accounts for different functions.
Hello goodbye
While there are some forums in which my participation is far from regular, there are some forums in which I used to participate, but which I can categorically say that I won't do so again, even sporadically.
I listen to many types of music but I like country music best of all. Sadly, it seems that country music forums, including the Amazon country music forum and the 9513 country music forum, are domiunated by the sme old arguments.
You like me too much
Use Google to search for Peter Durward Harris. Apart from some of the sites already mentioned, this search also picks up my occasional contributions to some other blogs and websites. As you'll appreciate, it doesn't pick up everything. You may also find references to me by searching for Peter D Harris, Peter Harris. and P D Harris, but they'll be mixed up with my namesakes, of which there are so many that you might have difficulty finding entries about me amongst them, although you are likely to find a few links that aren't picked up by searching for my full name if you spend long enough searching. This is why I use my full name on the internet now, though I didn't always do so. I haven't had any unpleasant consequences as a result of using my full name and I find that doing so has plenty of advantages. Nevertheless, I know that anything I post anywhere on the internet can potentially come back to haunt me. I never forget that criminals, family members, potential employers and government officials are among those people who might read what I post.
I quit Facebook due to the fear that one day I will receive a letter saying: "Daddy,I finally found you!" And, after I ask "how old are you," his/her reply will be "52." LOL
ReplyDeleteWhy did you quit ?
I haven't actually quit as such, merely deactivated my account temporarily. I was spending more time than I wanted on Zoo World and after considering the various options, I decided to deactivate. I will return to Facebook, but I need time away from it for at least a few weeks, though it will probably be a few months. At that point, everything will (supposedly) be restored to how it was when I left including my friends and my zoo. I'll then have a look at Zoo World and see whether I want to continue with it. In any case, I have other reasons to be on Facebook; some of my relatives are there as well as other people who don't play Zoo World.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I'm not worried about is who finds me. I am on Amazon and other sites using my full name exactly the same as on Facebook and here. No ghosts from my past have come back to haunt me. Not yet anyway. :-)
Take care, and if your child does find you, let's hope that the reunion is a happy one.
It's funny to see how seriously you take my words. Don't you know what LOL means ?
ReplyDeleteI do know what LOL means but not knowing you, I had no way of knowing whether (as you are now implying) your whole comment was a joke or whether (as I interpreted it) you were joking about the age bit, or about what the consequences would be if you got that letter.
ReplyDeleteMisunderstandings are easy on the net. My words are frequently twisted in ways that I could never have imagined, but I've learned that it's inevitable. A brief comment is open to interpretation anyway, but people won't necessarily read a detailed comment properly; they'll just skim it and pick out bits. C'est la vie.
Hi Peter,
ReplyDeletediscovered 'you' on Amazon.co.uk as I was wondering what sort of person would make it to number 1 on super reviewer. You mentioned you had a Facebook account, did you have the visual bookshelf application per chance? I've been thinking about copy and pasting my reviews from there onto Amazon..because one is always hopeful that they (thoughts/opinions creatively/eloquently expressed) will be appreciated in cyberspace, I'm guessing you're a kindred spirit in that regard. Yes it's not always easy getting a job, especially now. You're English is excellent. Why don't you apply as a proof reader, since you seem (on what little I have currently seen) meticulous. You can use you're internet contributions as a portfolio. I'm the sort of person who sees typos in published books because I like to revel in the nuance of language i.e. I don't skim read. Also (I may be completely off the mark here) have you been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome (my cousin has it), as you tick a few of the boxes (no disrespect intended). I do agree that misunderstandings happen all the time via the written word on the internet. Body language and intonation are missing not to mention being unfamiliar with the correspondents' personality. Anyway mate. Good luck..
Speaking words of wisdom..
There will be an answer..
Let it Be.. '>
No, I didn't use Visual Bookshelf. No, I haven't been diagnosed with Asperger's. If I were, I would have to declare it in job applications and that would finish off whatever remote chance there still is of getting a job, so there's no point. Have you seen the blog "Good Communication Skills" sucks ? I may one day look more closely at what Asperger's is, but not until I'm pensioned off, which if I don't get a job is only a couple of years away. Just now, the less I know, the better.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen any proof-reading jobs advertised but I'll look into it. I spotted that you used "You're" when you should have used "Your" so that's a start :-)
If I get a job, I'm more likely to do so because an employer approaches me after being impressed by something I've done on the internet than by conventional applications.
As to what type of person becomes number one on Amazon, that's a whole subject unto itself. There are two ranking systems and each Amazon website has separate reviews. I ended up being UK number one on both systems. The old "Classic" system has been in place for about a decade and relies heavily on the number of reviews written because you can only ever score a few points at most for each review. So becoming number one on that system is primarily a by-product of persistence. There are reviewers who have posted more reviews on Amazon UK than I have and one of them also has more votes than I have, so quantity is not the only factor, but it's the major factor.
Amazon eventually introduced the "New" system that works on a very different basis that I still don't fully understand. It was first installed in America and I thought that if it came to the UK, somebody else would be number one on that system, but I ended up as number one on that system too. However, I expect somebody else will take over the number one position of the "New" system eventually. While the "Old" system ended up giving too much credit to those who have the most reviews, the "New" system goes the other way and rewards people who have reviews with hundreds or even thousands of helpful votes. Still, it hasn't helped any such reviewers enough (yet) to propel them to number one. Some people portray the "New" system as highlighting quality, but it isn't that simple as there's a huge element of lucky dip involved.
I am off to London in a few weeks to attend a workshop discussing internet rating and ranking issues. While that will be interesting of itself, I'll be looking for any chance there might be of finding some way back to work, as I may be meeting some high-powered people. I know it's a remote chance, but it's the best chance I have just now.
..yes (you're and your)..I spotted that too and cringed at the irony. What can I say, it was very late and I was about to go to sleep..
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a quality over quantity person..
Hope your workshop goes well :)
I review on Amazon occasionally. I tend to highlight dangerous products, correct and complement descriptions or just plain rave about something that's affected me deeply.
ReplyDeleteI have great respect for you - the detailed accurate reviews that I have read deserve the helpful votes you have received. I have recently read some of your blog pages and I could ramble here for hours on many points you have raised but there is a rather pressing reason for me contacting you so I do hope you read this soon.
It is not possible to name names here as anyone may read this so I hope what I say will make sense to you. You will probably know what I'm on about anyway but I just needed to tell you in case you don't.
Something horrible has been happening on Amazon for the past 3 months that I believe makes a mockery of the Ranking/Votes system. I spotted it when a review of mine giving important information about a product (the only review for it) received an unhelpful vote at about the same time that another reviewer posted a (vacuous) review for that product, which review 'immediately' received a helpful vote. A third reviewer also got an unhelpful vote at the same time as me.
Of course, I know malicious voting happens (most of my 'negs' appear to be such) but this particular reviewer is receiving helpful votes at the speed of light (!) and I have no evidence but I imagine that other reviewers have been similarly stomped on by them.
I just had to share this with someone who would understand how sick it makes me feel - it's the speed of it all - and who better than you PDH.
Thanks for your kind words and for your comments about spite votes.
ReplyDeleteThe general problem you mention is nothing new, but I haven't been following the shenanagins closely recently, so I probably fon't know of the specific case that concerns you.
Should you wish to say anything privately about this or any other Amazon issue, just go to my Blogger profile page and e-mail me from there.
Thanks again.