It has been a while since I blogged (how many blog entries start like that?), but I’m about to kick it off again, or so I hope. The plan is to have a mix of travel (reviews, reports), tech (networking), and maybe something about my new home, Manchester. My wife and I left Twickenham at… Continue reading The stop/start nature of blogging
Category: Uncategorized
Seventeen years ago
Following on from Simon Lockhart’s reminder of his ticket from September 11th 2001, this is the one that I was involved with: Ticket Number: 20010912-2 Ticket Status: UPDATE Ticket Type : Unscheduled Ticket Source: TEN-US NOC Ticket Scope : Site Site/Line : New York Ticket Owner : TEN-US NOC Problem Fixer: Telehouse NY Ticket Opened:… Continue reading Seventeen years ago
Which mobile phone should I buy?
Getting on for two years ago I bought a Samsung Galaxy S5 tied to a contract with Three UK (so the phone had all of Three UK’s cruft on, as well as the Samsung TouchWiz). It was one of the flagship phones when I bought it, and it can still hold its own, but as… Continue reading Which mobile phone should I buy?
Coffee cups — safer in a bag
Travelling back on Virgin Trains from a meeting in Birmingham, I popped to the on-board shop to buy a coffee for two pounds and five pence of our sovereign sterling monies. As usual, the coffee comes in a cup with a lid which was firmly attached and requires tearing a plastic tab to drink from… Continue reading Coffee cups — safer in a bag
Protected: Connectivity … as long as it is when we say so.
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Train Ride through the Peak District.
Given I usually write about trips to far-flung places, this is just a quick mention of a train ride yesterday morning from Manchester to Sheffield. Straight through the Peak District and Hope Valley it had some spectacular views of snow-capped mountains and fields, and towards the end through one of the UK’s longest rail tunnels,… Continue reading Train Ride through the Peak District.
Stimulating the economy
The Chancellor has announced his plans for breathing life into the economy, a 2.5% drop in Value Added Tax, but paid for by increases in National Insurance contributions from 2011. I can’t imagine many retailers are going to drop prices from £9.99 to £9.78, for example, they’ll just pocket the difference. Meanwhile, I’ll still have… Continue reading Stimulating the economy
The News Cycle
Quote from an interview on BBC News 24 just now: “Jim, what can you tell us about this story.” “Well, not alot, there’s nothing on the BBC news website at the moment.” Surely no further comment is needed.
Uncontacted Tribes
This has to be the news story of the day for me. I find it incredible to think there are still tribes out there that have had little or no contact with the outside world. Part of me still thinks this story is a hoax, but I really want to think it is true. News… Continue reading Uncontacted Tribes
Google/YouTube
Last weekend there was a widely reported outage on the YouTube video sharing website. It happened the same day that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Pakistan had been instructed to prevent their customers from accessing the site. So, why did this cause a problem for Internet users around the rest of the world? To start… Continue reading Google/YouTube
A Day Off…
Yesterday I was starting to think that I’d made a mistake. Going to an exhibition in the Natural History Museum during half-term, was I mad? I made sure I got there shortly after the museum opened at 10am, and luckily, whilst the museum was busy, there was no queue to get in and few of… Continue reading A Day Off…
Lucky seven.
Today marked seven months and seven days since the little knock on my leg, and it was also the day I picked up my new bike. The weather wasn’t completely on my side, so I didn’t manage to get many miles under my belt, but it felt good to be back on a bike. It… Continue reading Lucky seven.
I done gone did it.
The plan for yesterday was quite simple. I’d head into town, have a quick browse in Motoden, then catch the tube up to Arnos Grove and hand over the readies for the Honda Deauville that has been advertised for the past couple of months. On the way to Motoden, I passed a Yamaha showroom that… Continue reading I done gone did it.
The time has come.
It has been seven months since my little accident. The fracture clinic has signed me off, the physiotherapist has signed me off. My new boots, trousers, jacket and helmet arrived a couple of days ago. That only leaves one thing — something to sit on. I’ve been doing a bit of shopping around, and the… Continue reading The time has come.
Blogging from my desktop…
My blog entries are approximately as frequent as postings on Mil Millington’s “Things That My Girlfriend and I have Argued About” list. This is just a test of a small applet running on my desk which will make it even easier for me to avoid writing anything.
Progress (finally).
Today I had the latest of my visits to the Fracture Clinic, which have been happening every four weeks since I left hospital. The routine is fairly standard, I go in full of hope and optimism, convinced my leg is just about fixed, then come out a little later, disappointed to find it isn’t .… Continue reading Progress (finally).
National pride
England won at rugby (against the USA), football (against Israel) and cricket (against India) today. All topped off with the Last Night of the Proms. If I wasn’t Welsh, I’d be proud to be English! Instead I’ll settle with being satisfied to be British.
Rugby World Cup
It is Rugby World Cup time again, and whilst I’m all for more rugby union on the TV, I’ve got a couple of issues at the moment. The first is that as any fule does kno, rugby must be on the BBC. It just isn’t the same on the ITV, the commentators don’t have the… Continue reading Rugby World Cup
Rainforest World Music Festival
Speaking of the Rainforest World Music Festival, it looks like it kicked off yesterday with a group from Bario.
Penans
By chance, I listened to ‘From Our Own Correspondent’ on Radio 4 this morning. Purely coincidentally it had an item on the threat to the Penans of Sarawak from logging in Borneo (BBC have an MP3 of the show, but I don’t know how long it will be available, the item is 17 minutes into… Continue reading Penans