It's all been a fairly hectic week. The joys of coming to the end of a project. Although that always signifies the beginning of the end of a contract.

Fortunately there's a new one waiting around the corner.

The more I play with and use Joomla the more fun it is. Apart from trying to keep track of the alterations and tweaks needed to create the "perfect" site for a client there's the additions.

This one was, though, all about converting a slightly old osCommerce store to the better, much more friendly and (almost) fully integrated VirtueMart. Yet more php coding to alter to get things working!

Still, if there's one thing I like it's a challenge. Work is all about education. Constant learning and improving my own skills while working.

Next though I'll be moving back into the wonderful world of MS Access. I think I need a holiday before sinking my teeth back into that. I never did like Access much.

Fancy glossy leaflets. Luckily they're recyclable. Good thing too since York City Council is upping it's collection of recycling materials.

It always amazed me that we could offload paper, tin cans and glass but never plastic or cardboard. Garden waste was added last year and, according to the latest leaflet, nearly £500,000 has been saved.

I'm not what could be considered a "green" person but the idea of recycling always seems a sensible way to go. At least on a public level. Much like water conservation. The trouble is the home user is tiny compared to the usages and wastes of many businesses. Is it really worth it? We'd like to think so.

But for now, from March anyway, York City Council will be adding plastic bottles to their list of materials collected with cardboard to follow in the future.

These damn squirrels have a habit of eating from bird feeders. Always impossible to stop but having a dog often helps remove the squirrel from the garden at the shortest time span available.

Superbowl weekend. Excellent. I'm in the wrong country again. This year though it'll be a late night instead of a late morning, early afternoon affair! Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed breakfast followed by the Superbowl last year in Melbourne.

The English media are making something of the game this year. When I got into the game back in the 1980s there was a good coverage of the NFL. The game was popular for a while, the NFL-Europe started, we had the London Monarchs. Life was good.

That fell by the wayside. Fashions changed and basketball was the new darling of American sports. I never did like basketball. I think it came from my attempts to play the game in my younger days. I always thought I was half way decent but never made it. I'm not bitter. Just resentful and filled with hate!

The good news was that the NFL has made a bit of a comeback in terms of popularity. England has now finally realised that when it comes to America's major sports football is by far the better. Hell, we even get live games throughout the regular season now!

Not that it's been fun for an Eagles fan such as myself. The trouble with T.O., the injuries to McNabb.

At least I don't have to be nervous. I'm not betting on this year's game either. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy it. Perhaps having a laugh between now and the end of the game at the way some of the English media who don't know or understand the game try and report on it.

Maybe it's wrong not to have a punt on the game though. Either way, next year I intend to be at the game itself or at least in the right country.

There's an idea that Britain should have it's own Day. Such a Day would be similar to Australia's Day or France's Bastille Day or America's 4th of July. The whole idea behind it is to celebrate Britain.

Unfortunately it's an idea totally dead in the water.

Each of the three countries mentioned are just that. Single countries. They may have their differences throughout the country and different states. Britain is not a country. It is a collection of England, Scotland and Wales. Adding in Northern Ireland creates the commonly known UK. A system which confuses plenty of foreigners and a few locals as well.

I don't consider myself British. I am English. When travelling round Australia when asked where I was from I replied "England". (Except to other English people when I was from "York".) There is a vast split in England, Wales and Scotland between those who feel they are British and those who feel they are English, Welsh or Scottish (NB it is Scottish, not Scotch).

Secondly, Australia, France and USA all have days that have some meaning. The arrival of the first prisoners, a revolution or the birth of a new country. It was the creation or alteration that is celebrated. There is a point in history when the "Great Britain" was created but I, like many, have no idea when it was.

No particular day has been mooted for Britain Day. In fact, no official name has been suggested either.

Personally, I'd prefer to see the break up of Britain and have a set of single countries. We play international football in our own countries, we will be going to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne as our own countries.

Power has begun to be devolved from London to Cardiff and Edinburgh so why not let that continue?