tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56798522011-04-21T18:36:07.518ZThe Musings and Meanderings of My Mind....Neilnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-73243771865879189032007-11-09T07:50:00.000Z2007-11-09T08:03:18.582Z

Amid scenes no doubt reminiscent of Beatlemania, tonight at 6:02pm hordes of slavering geeks will be hitting the shops to acquire for themselves an iPhone. In theory, I should be one of them...In practice however, I shall be otherwise occupied. Recently I did upgrade my mobile to a Nokia N95. This is an absolutely stonking piece of kit - it does much more than the iPhone, such as GPS for example,

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-33221522847315164062007-10-04T08:35:00.001Z2007-10-04T08:38:51.108Z

...that the USSR launched Sputnik 1, the first ever artificial satellite. Given how important mankind's eventual move into space will be, why is this anniversary being given so little attention?

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-7709712171678236222007-05-23T14:46:00.000Z2007-05-23T14:51:05.850Z

For near on half a year, I haven't posted to this blog. There's a good reason for this - my beloved employers started to block access to Blogger from the internal network and after a hard day slaving over Cisco's finest products, I tend not to go near anything in any way connected with silicon chips once I get home.Now, though, I've just noticed that I can get back onto Blogger from here, so it's

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1166191522845034062006-12-15T14:01:00.000Z2006-12-15T14:05:22.860Z

There's a story on the Beeb's website at the moment to the effect that intelligent children are more likely to turn vegetarian later in life.Well, my IQ as measured by Mensa is 154, and at the grand old age of 43 there's little I enjoy more on my dinner plate than a nice piece of fillet steak!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1165931653883268142006-12-12T13:49:00.000Z2006-12-12T13:54:13.896Z

... or otherwise I'd be able to contemplate the trip below faced by the recently-late General Pinochet. Regardless of however much Margaret Thatcher liked the homicidal old monster, I think the world will be just that little bit better without him.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1164702781429846082006-11-28T08:29:00.000Z2006-11-28T08:33:01.446Z

I'm saddened to read about the death of DJ Alan Freeman. In my formative years, his Monday evening show on Capital Radio was responsible for introducing me to an awful lot of the sort of music which, getting on for thirty years later, I still enjoy. Will he be missed?"Not 'arf"

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1162289876849955402006-10-31T10:15:00.000Z2006-10-31T10:17:56.866Z

It really has been mild this month - too mild, in fact because we have spring bulbs sprouting like mad in the back garden. I think this isn't going to last much longer and there are already forecasts showing the probability of colder weather later in the week.Might as well kiss those bulbs goodbye then...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1160739578754819142006-10-13T11:26:00.000Z2006-10-13T11:39:41.930Z

Normally, there's no way I would ever consider linking to the Daily Mail - a newspaper I particularily despise. There's an exception to every rule however:I'm referring to the interview the paper carried with General Sir Richard Dannett, in which he talks much sense especially in calling for our troops to be withdrawn from Iraq soon.It really is time to face facts: the whole Iraq invasion has

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1159518096996239282006-09-29T08:17:00.000Z2006-09-29T08:21:37.020Z

There's been a lot of talk following the tragic death of a baby in Leicester mauled by two rottweilers at the start of this week. As a longtime dog-owner, I'm very concerned about some of the more hysterical comments flying about, and was therefore pleased to read a very well-reasoned article on the subject in yesterday's Guardian...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1158835155962244242006-09-21T10:32:00.000Z2006-09-21T10:41:17.866Z

Having heard about Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond's crash, obviously my first concern is that he recovers.My second concern, though, is whether this could herald the end for Top Gear? The programme flys in the face of the green, cuddly, environmentally caring zeitgeist all aspects of modern life have become afflicted with and if monumentally silly on occasion, it's still a compulsory part of

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1158653630937137482006-09-19T08:08:00.000Z2006-09-19T08:13:50.956Z

It's all gone very quiet hasn't it? I'm referring of course to the fratricidal farce which was the attempt to remove Tony Blair a couple of weeks ago. I presume this means that the various factions in the Labour party are just biding their time ready for the next round of fighting - perhaps a punch-up at the upcoming party conference - but wouldn't it be nice if it's just that they've decided to

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1157464774145056542006-09-05T13:49:00.000Z2006-09-06T06:35:42.240Z

Twenty-two years ago this evening I went to Wembley Arena to see Queen in concert. This was the second of three times that I saw them and this particular night, perhaps because it was Freddie's birthday (he would have been 60 today)was the best of them.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1157047031108913802006-08-31T17:46:00.000Z2006-08-31T17:57:11.123Z

Towards the end of last month, various forecasters were predicting that August would be even hotter than the sweltering heatwave we'd just come through. Well, this is the last day of August and it hasn't happened yet....mind you, we're still under a hosepipe ban!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1154876726540470042006-08-06T15:00:00.000Z2006-08-06T15:05:26.566Z

I've just watched Jensen Button win his first race at this afternoon's Hungarian Grand Prix. I have to say that purely from a spectating point of view, it was the best race I've seen in years, with drama, overtakimg battles, chamges of lead - the works! I think it turned out this way as it was a wet race - maybe all the races should have the tracks sprayed with water...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1154503878571572392006-08-02T07:24:00.000Z2006-08-02T07:31:18.583Z

There's an article published by Q Magazine listing the top fifty songs that people like but won't admit to, and the Guardian has details of the top ten. As I have eight of those, I must grab a copy of Q and see how many others are stashed away in my collection....might make an interesting playlist on the iPod!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1152772633431880072006-07-13T06:32:00.000Z2006-07-13T11:03:23.820Z

I can't say that I'll shed too many tears now that Windows 98 has been "terminated". I've not used anything less than Win 2000 for several years now and although both it and and its younger brother XP do have their issues, the ability to complete a whole day's work without crashing my PC is something I've got rather used to...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1152767077424852212006-07-13T04:59:00.000Z2006-07-13T05:04:37.436Z

Oh dear Mr Blair, this really isn't looking too good is it?Following yesterday's news that Lord Levy, the Prime minister's personal fundraiser had been arrested in connection with the cash for honours scandal, it seems likely that this whole issue isn't going away. Maybe this is what it'll take to move Mr Brown into Number 10...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1151062370756803402006-06-23T11:25:00.000Z2006-06-23T11:32:50.783Z

I settled down in front of the box last night to watch BBC2's Horizon science programme, the subject matter of which concerned the ongoing debate regarding whether or not Pluto should be regarded as a planet (not,if you want my opinion)This I presumed was a science programme and therefore would be taken seriously, but alas, no. Even by recent televisual standards, it was dumbed down beyond belief

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1149662244871043312006-06-07T06:34:00.000Z2006-06-07T06:37:24.883Z

Parked outside the front of my house this morning was one of those odd little Smart cars. I couldn't help laughing when I noticed that inside it were a couple of golf clubs. Maybe that's the point of the things - they're meant to be a deluxe golf buggy!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1149494656861758262006-06-05T07:54:00.000Z2006-06-05T08:04:18.176Z

Not having checked the newspapers yet today, I'm not totally sure if John Prescott is still the Deputy Prime Minister, but whether he is or not, let's assume the job will shortly become available...The papers over the weekend have featured no lack of potential candidates but none of them seem to quite fit the bill. If we just think outside the box however, it all becomes clear:Why shouldn't David

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1148543843090992532006-05-25T07:42:00.000Z2006-05-25T07:57:23.100Z

Declaration of Interest: I separated from my wife a couple of years ago, so it could be argued that I have an axe to grind. That said, we sorted out the asset split ourselves on the grounds that we really didn't want solicitors stirring things up, which in any case would have left both of us receiving less.Right then, to business:There were a couple of judgments in the House of Lords yesterday

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1146812789286241632006-05-05T06:59:00.000Z2006-05-05T07:06:29.296Z

So, as the local election results have come in, we've seen that Labour have received a well-deserved kicking - maybe it'll act as a wake-up call, though personally I think they're too far gone for it to make much difference.The bad news is the rise of the horrific BNP - just exactly not what we need at this time. The people of Barking, who have elected 11 members of this warmed-over National

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1146640941273591842006-05-03T07:08:00.000Z2006-05-03T07:22:21.306Z

We've local elections tomorrow and, as ever, I do think I ought to make the effort and vote. The trouble is that none of the local candidates have made any serious effort to attract my vote and I'm not at all sure who to give it to...I suppose that my best bet is just to vote against the current lot in an effort, albeit a probably futile one, to stop them getting complacent. At least if I do vote

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1145435754961749762006-04-19T08:18:00.000Z2006-04-20T07:15:44.670Z

Apart from eating too much chocolate, I've spent a good proportion of the weekend tinkering about with my desktop PC. Its predecessor machine, which died when the motherboard turned its toes up late last year was actually able to boot any one of three operating systems - Windows ME, Windows XP or SuSE Linux, and I quite fancied tinkering with the new machine.This time I've only gone for a dual

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1144404366459572812006-04-07T09:58:00.000Z2006-04-07T10:06:06.470Z

I'm extremely interested in Apple's announcement of their Boot Camp utility, which will enable anybody who has an Intel-cpu'd Mac to set up a Windows XP dual boot system...I had a quick play with an iMac (this one was G5 powered, however) a couple of weeks ago when I set up a small Mac/Windows home network and, good though the OS is, I found the hardware design to be rather appealing as well...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1142432591836862202006-03-15T14:18:00.000Z2006-03-15T14:44:47.310Z

I'm encouraged to read that the cosmetic docking of dogs' tails is likely to be banned in the Animal Welfare Bill sent to the House of Lords last night. It's long past the time when this should have happened - we're, after all, supposed to be a nation of animal lovers. I look forward to a time in the not too distant future when there's no place in the show ring for a mutilated mutt.Incidentally I

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1142001727012911482006-03-10T14:37:00.000Z2006-03-10T14:42:07.026Z

Once upon a time, science lessons were about, er, science. Why on earth, then, is "Creationism" to be added to the GCSE biology syllabus? If this fairy story must be taught at all - and "no" would be the correct answer to that - then surely it belongs in RE lessons.Science it ain't!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1141203048658503392006-03-01T08:47:00.000Z2006-03-01T08:50:49.296Z

So Apple did announce new Mac Minis then. The trouble is that as part of the switch to the Intel platform, the prices have gone up by about $100 - for a cheap machine, that's quite a hike. I'd still like a Mac, but by the time you price in adding keyboard, mouse and monitor to the Mini, perhaps an iMac would be a better idea...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1141054756245564892006-02-27T15:35:00.000Z2006-02-27T15:39:16.753Z

Tomorrow Apple will be launching a new product or products. The trouble is that nobody knows what it is - or at least, those who do are keeping their mouths shut. Personally, I'd like to see a new Mac Mini with a built in iPod dock, which has been rumoured in the past.I'm interested in the Mini anyway, this would probably clinch it for me...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1140772284867574242006-02-24T09:00:00.000Z2006-02-24T09:11:24.876Z

In a speech given onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003, George Bush stood by a banner declaring "Mission Accomplished".Nearly three years later, no weapons of mass destruction were ever found and as illustrated by the reaction to Wednesday's attack on the Al-Askari shrine, Iraq seems to be speeding towards a full-on civil war. One can only assume that Dubya's real mission was to take care of

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1139989549548568152006-02-15T07:38:00.000Z2006-02-15T07:45:49.556Z

Yesterday evening, being St Valentine's Day, I took my girlfriend out for dinner at a local pub restaurant. The dining area is non-smoking, but in this particular pub you have to order your food at the bar, which isn't. Unfortunately, this meant that I ended out inhaling an unwanted lungful of somebody's second-hand carcinogens...With this fresh in mind, can I thank those MPs who voted in favour

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1138884414358217402006-02-02T12:43:00.000Z2006-02-14T07:21:17.590Z

I'm getting rather fed up reading about the ongoing row regarding cartoons published in a Danish newspaper which have offended various Moslems - actually, I wonder how many of those protesting have actually seen these images, but that's another matter.Unfortunately, most humour seems to mock something or someone, that's just how it is I'm afraid. There shouldn't be anything that's above ridicule.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1137745904678077182006-01-20T08:26:00.000Z2006-01-20T08:31:45.963Z

I was delighted to see that the New Horizons spaceprobe launched OK last night on its long voyage to Pluto. For all the problems NASA have with the shuttle, their series of outer planet missions have been very successful, as I hope this one will be.The only problem is the 9 years I've got to wait before New Horizons reaches its destination...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1137138510867854672006-01-13T07:42:00.000Z2006-01-13T07:48:30.876Z

News of more aspiring entrants to the Liberal Democrat Party's leadership contest has made me ponder over how to bring the idea into the 21st Century, after all, it's about 100 years since the party was in power.I guess the answer's simple - in these days of constant reality television, why not turn the whole thing into a TV contest?!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1136533482761503582006-01-06T07:40:00.000Z2006-01-06T08:32:30.710Z

... Neil breathed a sigh of relief as the remaining tackily "decorated" houses round by where he lives should be returning to their anonymity!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1135173053928114852005-12-21T13:43:00.000Z2005-12-21T14:01:35.406Z

I'm delighted to read that an American judge has ruled against the teaching of so-called "Intelligent Design" in science classes in publicly funded schools. Surely if this pseudo-scientific trojan horse creationism has a place to be taught at all, it's in religious education with all the other fairy stories.Why am I bothered about this anyway? This case is over on the other side of the pond, but

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1135067203679307282005-12-20T08:18:00.000Z2005-12-20T08:27:33.446Z

There's an opinion poll in this morning's Guardian which must have sent an icy chill through the corridors of 10 Downing Street. I think that the article sums things up perfectly - Labour's run out of steam. So what is the Labour Party equivalent of the men in grey suits?

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1134370622066207302005-12-12T06:43:00.000Z2005-12-12T06:57:02.076Z

I was entranced watching last night's Top Gear by the "race" between a Cessna light aircraft and the Bugatti Veyron.That car is an engineering tour-de-force! There can't possibly be a petrolhead anywhere on the planet who wouldn't want to get behind the wheel of one, definitely including me...However, I don't think it should have been called a Bugatti.I can forgive the fact that it's been made by

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1133945183793050592005-12-07T08:39:00.000Z2005-12-07T08:46:23.803Z

There's a small chance that an asteroid, Apophis, could collide with the earth in 31 years time. If it does begin to look likely, I wonder how long it would take the international community to decide on what to do - am I alone in being pessimistic about the chances of such decisions being taken without an interminable degree of wrangling?

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1133943181432290232005-12-07T08:05:00.000Z2005-12-07T08:14:04.376Z

I've just seen a report in the New Scientist suggesting that the European Space Agency will not invest funding in the development of Russia's new Kliper space-plane. This is, to my mind, rather shortsighted. There are real question marks over the chance that the US will ever fly the shuttle again and their proposed Lunar and Martian manned exploration plans may quite possibly not get off the

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1133428306865564662005-12-01T09:07:00.000Z2005-12-01T09:11:46.876Z

The cold spell of weather we've had over the last couple of weeks seems to have gone and I woke up this morning to find a milder, but duller and damper morning. However, reading this article in today's Times, it looks like the cold could come back in the future with a vengeance, if the Gulf Stream shuts down. So, whilst the rest of the world faces global warming, looks as if it's the big freeze

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1132407910229471192005-11-19T13:41:00.000Z2005-11-19T13:45:10.506Z

A year ago today, I lost my old border collie Kane. I still miss him and think I always will to some degree or other, but the pain did subside.I'm more grateful than ever that I have got another dog, Rolo - the lummox! For all that dogs can tie you down a bit, not to mention the fun of walking them in the wet, I'd hate to live without having one around.Truly, they are man's best friend!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1131360762157619832005-11-07T10:46:00.000Z2005-11-07T10:52:42.166Z

I've commented from time to time about my interest in astronomy. Apart from the occasinal glimpse of the moon through a pair of binoculars, though, I've never done anything other than naked eye astronomy. Something I would really like to do is to see the rings of Saturn and every so often I seriously consider buying a basic telescope.Mooching around the 'net this morning when I should have been

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1131097021778279402005-11-04T09:18:00.000Z2005-11-04T09:37:01.836Z

Today the few remaining members of the Conservative party who have yet to meet the grim reaper will receive their ballot papers to decide which of the two Davids on offer should become their leader. As a rule, I don't get all that worked up about Tory leadership changes - after all, we've seen quite a few of them over the last few years! This time, though I think it's rather more important.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1129987080822625532005-10-22T13:15:00.000Z2005-10-22T13:18:01.216Z

I've just read that the demented old bigot Ian Paisley is to become a Privy Councillor, entitling him to be referred to as the "Right Honourable". This one strikes me as rather odd, since I'd have said that the gent is question is neither of those adjectives...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1129885069665666862005-10-21T08:50:00.000Z2005-10-21T08:57:49.670Z

I've been quite interested watching the goings-on associated with the Tory leadership election. This is actually pretty important, Labour could do with an efficient and coherent Opposition party - something which has been lacking pretty much ever since 1997.I'm also quite interested to hear what David Cameron hasd had to say - it's just possible that he's really serious about changing his party,

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1129188881505292742005-10-13T07:25:00.000Z2005-10-13T07:35:51.160Z

Having dropped my 9-month old iPod into a bucket of water a fortnight ago (don't ask) I was delighted last week when my insurers supplied me with a brand new colour iPod photo as its replacement. As my soggy one had been the monochrome variety, this represented a welcome upgrade...Now I find that Apple have upgraded the iPod and the new version, with video playback capabilities, is even more

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1128156841311127012005-10-01T08:50:00.000Z2005-10-01T08:54:01.316Z

I was lucky enough last night to see the stupendous Mostly Autumn in concert. It's the fifth time over the last eighteen months or so that I've been to one of their gigs and they just get better and better.If you've had a surfeit of X-Factor style manufactured pop-pap, why not see what real musicians can do?

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1128070324528369372005-09-30T08:46:00.000Z2005-10-01T08:55:26.810Z

Finding myself with a welcome spare hour last night, I sat down to watch a BBC programme called "God and the Politicians", which concerned the rising amount to which various religious bodies are starting to involve themselves in politics.I find this distrubing enough, but what really got up my nose was the implication from various people interviewed that without some kind of faith, you can't have

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1127892125234068692005-09-28T07:18:00.000Z2005-09-28T07:22:05.350Z

I'm delighted to read a report that Mozilla's excellent Thunderbird e-mail client is to have calendar facilities merged into it. Obviously, this will result in a worthy rival for Microsoft's Outlook - only it'll be free...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1127724263205205652005-09-26T08:36:00.000Z2005-09-26T08:44:23.213Z

I watched the Brazilian Grand Prix yesterday and was pleased to see Fernando Alonso become the new - and youngest ever - world champion.However, there's no getting away from the fact that Formula 1 has become incredibly dull to watch. I can't help feeling that the new A1 Grand Prix series, which began yesterday with its inaugural race at Brands Hatch, would have been more entertaining. It's a

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1126167419352925332005-09-08T08:12:00.000Z2005-09-08T08:16:59.356Z

Last night I was outdoors and looking at the sky at exactly the right time to watch the International Space Station pass overhead - something I've not seen for a year or so.No matter how many times I watch this brilliant point of light speed by, I still think it's an impressive sight. If you want to see it yourself, point your web-browser at the very helpful Heavens Above website - all you need

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1125917115982516922005-09-05T10:41:00.000Z2005-09-05T10:45:15.986Z

That I went to the Wembley Arena to see Queen in concert. Of the three times I was lucky enough to see them on stage, this was the best gig. If he was still with us, today would also have been Freddie's birthday - as we recently saw with the Live 8 gig, there's not another front-man in a group anywhere who could hold a candle to him...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1125040479776487342005-08-26T07:09:00.000Z2005-08-26T07:14:39.780Z

Is it just me, or is the crowing about 98% of GCSE students achieving a "pass" grade a load of nonsense?It does sound wonderful, but as I read into it, another story emerges. Apparently, the statistic counts ANY grade at all as being a pass, which is not my take on things at all. When I sat my GCE 'O' Levels, a long time ago admittedly, A-C were passes, D-E were failures. Take the same measure to

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1123576501295276782005-08-09T08:31:00.000Z2005-08-11T06:28:38.903Z

I'm less than delighted to hear that lunatic "cleric" Omar Bakri, less than 24 hours after fleeing Britain has announced that he intends to return. As I understand it, he's not in possession of a British passport, so I sincerely hope that he would be turned away.One less bigot will make the country a better place.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1123398940132272252005-08-07T07:12:00.000Z2005-08-09T06:23:19.596Z

Whilst I wrote my previous post, it occurred to me that surfing te web with a laptop - which is what I'm doing - is not as easy as the same task when done with a desktop machine.Why couldn't laptops have scroll-wheels built into them? It can't be technically difficult to do, and in these days when just about every mouse you can buy has a wheel, managing without one seems anachronistic and clumsy!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1123398206362459252005-08-07T06:47:00.000Z2005-08-07T07:03:26.370Z

I was impressed to read in this morning's Sunday Times about a scheme to "prescribe" pets to the long term sick. It might sound rather unconventional, but I reckon that it could work...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1123148332538310612005-08-04T09:33:00.000Z2005-08-04T09:38:52.546Z

I'm very disturbed by a report that racial attacks in Britain have sky rocketed since the London bombings.Quite apart from the evil nature of these attacks, which I condemn completely and utterly, can't the lowlife scum responsible for them get their tiny little minds around the thought that the only people that this action will benefit are those who are responsible for the bombings in the first

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1123143712001733402005-08-04T08:15:00.000Z2005-08-04T08:21:52.010Z

Four weeks ago, London endured the 7/7 bombings. Two weeks ago it was the 21/7 failed attacks. Hope nothing happens today...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1122533959120493812005-07-28T06:50:00.000Z2005-07-28T06:59:19.126Z

I've just heard that NASA's grounded the shuttle fleet again - apparently the problem with the external tank shedding foam has been observed with Tuesday's launch. Unless there's a quick fix for this, which I doubt, then I seriously wonder if the shuttle with ever launch again?Of course, it will have to fly at least once more as Discovery - my favourite, since it was on the pad when I visited the

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1121972045083714512005-07-21T18:50:00.000Z2005-07-21T18:54:05.090Z

It sounds as if there was another terrorist attack on London this afternoon, though this one appears to have failed. Exactly what do the perpetrators imagine this will achieve?. It sounds as if things are getting back to normal and if, or when the next attack occurs, I expect the same will happen then.My upcoming visit to "The Smoke" next month, remains as scheduled.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1121339197471899462005-07-14T11:03:00.000Z2005-07-14T11:06:37.480Z

It's a week since the London bombings, and I've just observed the two minutes' silence. As I did so, I couldn't help thinking about the families of the bombers. They don't appear to have had any inkling of what was going to happen and their lives will have been just as shattered as those of the victims' families.Come to think of it, are they not victims, too?

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1121150106767694252005-07-12T06:29:00.000Z2005-07-12T15:27:58.906Z

I'm not hugely impressed to read that the Americans have ordered their military to avoid London and anywhere within the M25 in the wake of what's now being called "7/7". I presume that similar orders were given regarding New York after the attack on the World Trade Center. No? Thought not...For the record, I have a visit to London scheduled to see my family later next month. Even if there are

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1120820173549324632005-07-08T10:54:00.000Z2005-07-08T10:56:13.553Z

This is what London Mayor ken Livingston had to say following yesterday's atrocities:" I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers.It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old.It was an

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1120731624049690292005-07-07T10:18:00.000Z2005-07-07T10:20:24.056Z

Looks as if London's just been attacked, with explosions on the Underground and also a bus. I lived in London for the first 25 years of my life and can only hope that nobody I know will have been caught up in it...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1120460356728196282005-07-04T06:43:00.000Z2005-07-04T06:59:16.736Z

I really enjoyed watching the coverage of Live 8 on Saturday. Being of a certain age, I still remember watching the original Live Aid gig and it's interesting to see how polished some of the performers were this time around, compared to the rock'n'roll raggedness of 1985.Of course, the highlight for me was watching Pink Floyd. I was lucky enugh to see them perform The Wall at Earl's Court in '81

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1120052631121103742005-06-29T13:39:00.000Z2005-06-29T13:43:51.126Z

Apparently, the teams which refused to race at the Indianapolis Grand Prix have been found guilty of bringing Formula One into disrepute - well, the FIA was hardly likely to charge itself, was it?Interestingly, the sentence won't be announced until mid-September. No doubt when it is, the severity will depend on how much of a leg up is required by Ferrari...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1119251359754089002005-06-20T07:00:00.000Z2005-06-20T07:46:59.753Z

I settled down to watch the US Grand Prix after a very pleasant day yesterday and I still can't believe what I saw. How can a "race" in which seven out of ten competing teams withdraw before the start have any meaning or validity whatsoever?In their efforts to give struggling Ferrari a leg up - and what other reason can there possibly have been for not agreeing to allow the building of a chicane

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1119099057649921082005-06-18T12:38:00.000Z2005-06-18T12:50:57.753Z

I've just bought a copy of Coldplay's new album. For convenience, I prefer to rip all my CDs to MP3, which can then be stored on my server PC. This is networked around my home so that I can listen to my music wherever it suits me. I do NOT file-share.To my annoyance I found that the disc is copy-protected in an attempt to prevent me from enjoying music I've already legitimately bought and paid

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1118822803540396952005-06-15T08:00:00.000Z2005-06-15T08:06:43.546Z

So Michael Jackson's been found not guilty. I'm not that surprised, mainly because what I've heard of the prosecution's case hasn't proved the allegations "beyond reasonable doubt". Had I been on the jury, I'd probably have acquitted him, too. That said, I agree with the view of one of the jurors, who stated the opinion that he probably had abused children, there just wasn't the proof.I'm

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1118303997198616732005-06-09T07:55:00.000Z2005-06-09T07:59:57.203Z

I've been away on holiday for a bit and have pretty much been out of touch. Whilst I was incommunicado, it appears that the country has finally, undoubtedly gone completely barking mad...The singles music chart has been an irrelevance for me for years, nevertheless I was stunned to discover that the chart topper is now a bl**dy ringtone, and an extremely annoying one at that. Is this really the

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1116683167088555012005-05-21T13:39:00.000Z2005-06-09T08:02:31.873Z

I was 12 years old when the first Star Wars film came out and being an avid sci-fi fan rushed off to the cinema to see it. Who would have realised that it would take another 27 years until I'd see the last fil in the series, which is what I did last night.Revenge of the Sith was very good indeed. Given that you could pretty much work out what would happen, I really wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1116412917884614172005-05-18T10:36:00.000Z2005-05-18T10:41:57.890Z

I really do not like George Galloway MP. He's an obnoxious, self-admiring man with whose politics I do not agree. That said, I'm having a great deal of trouble not having a degree of admiration for how he verbally beat the living daylights out of the US Senate when answering accusations they'd made.The big problem for me here is deciding which of the two sides I despise the most...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1116329518109782572005-05-17T11:27:00.000Z2005-05-17T11:31:58.116Z

I enjoy good television - much of which is provided, in my view, when the BBC is on form. Sadly, there's plenty of the other kind of programming too, much of which seems to stem from the current obsession with "reality TV". Incidentally, how much of this genre has anything to do with reality?I think yesterday ITV managed to plumb new depths in their never-ending quest for pointless programming,

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1115970068878722442005-05-13T07:33:00.000Z2005-05-13T07:41:09.506Z

I've been very interested to read about Mr Blair's recent comments regarding a lack of respect in society and, for a change, I find myself very much in agreement with him. What I can't imagine, though, is how he's going to fix this. If a poll was taken, I've a feeling that politicians would be one of the least respected sections of the community, so who's going to be listening to them anyway?

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1115289511785455512005-05-05T10:34:00.000Z2005-05-05T10:38:31.970Z

It's election day and, at the end of what's seemed a particularly dull and lacklustre campaign, I shall shortly pop down to the polling booth and cast my ballot. I live in a constituency which is in no sense marginal and since I don't support the party of our current MP there is a question as to how valuable my vote really is.Of course, the important issue is that by casting it, I earn the right

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1114420879943011862005-04-25T09:16:00.000Z2005-04-25T09:21:19.943Z

I was enthralled by the second half of yesterday's San Morino Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher was in top form, starting from thirteenth place on the grid and moving up to second place, but try as he did, he wasn't able to pass Fernando Alonso who won what is onbe of the most enjoyable GPs I've watched in years. Could turn out to be quite a season...POSTSCRIPTTo the ITV bozos who elected to run an

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1114420464849176402005-04-25T09:07:00.000Z2005-04-25T09:14:24.850Z

The Hubble Space Telescope is fifteen years old today. Like most teenagers, it's getting a bit stroppy - mostly as various components wear out, particularly the gyroscopes. In the wake of the Columbia disaster, NASA abandoned plans for another servicing mission to the 'scope, so there's every likelihood that its remaining lifespan is short - perhaps another couple of years or so.I find this a

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1113806069603955402005-04-18T06:26:00.000Z2005-04-18T06:34:29.603Z

I've just returned from walking my mutt around a rather wet park to see a BMW driver reach a new nadir in driving standards!As I waited to cross the road, a bloke in a 5-series drove by. There's nothing wrong with this, except that strapped to his dashboard was a portable DVD player. It wasn't sat-nav kit or anything of that nature and I can be sure of this because I recognised the film he - and

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1112959156702895422005-04-08T10:52:00.000Z2005-04-08T11:19:16.703Z

Having distinctly geekish tendencies, I was very interested to discover that this year's Reith Lectures have the series title "The Triumph of Technology" and I'm very keen to hear them.Unfortunately, they're not being transmitted at a time which is convenient to me, so I'm rather pleased to find that the Beeb are making them available in MP3 format for download. Better still, the've made them

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1112766400792551222005-04-04T05:36:00.000Z2005-04-06T05:46:40.793Z

I dropped my car into the garage for its annual service today and, as usual, picked up a courtesy car. Unlike my own car, this one had a manual gearbox - something I've not used for two or three years - and that took me a bit of getting used to again.I have to say that the idea of stirring a little stick around to change gear seems a bit old fashioned, compared to just letting the car do all the

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1112558333133772802005-04-03T19:38:00.001Z2005-04-03T19:58:53.133Z

Originally, I wasn't going to write anything regarding the death of Pope John Paul II, having of late written enough about religious matters, but a programme on BBC1 this evening looking back over his papacy has led me to change my mind.I'm no fan of the Roman Catholic church, profoundly disgreeing with it on many issues, but I'd be the first to admit that this pope was a very impressive man.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1111840548176288092005-03-26T12:19:00.000Z2005-03-26T12:35:48.176Z

When I was about half way through my time in junior school, my class was given several books to read - perhaps half a dozen in total. I can still remember what several of these were - Born Free, The Sundowners, and Treasure Island, but the one I enjoyed the most was "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin.This was a fantasy tale of wizards and witches and good against evil, somewhat in the

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1111351145364530602005-03-20T20:25:00.000Z2005-03-20T20:39:05.366Z

When announcements were made that Brian May, Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers would tour as Queen, I hoped that it would work out and very seriously considered buying tickets for one of the gigs. In the end I didn't do so and I'm afraid that it looks as if this was the right choice.I've just "found" on the web some MP3s of four tracks they played at an AIDS benefit yesterday in South Africa and I'm

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1110628723128521262005-03-12T11:52:00.000Z2005-03-12T11:58:43.130Z

Apparently yesterday the local mosque in my town was set alight. Fortunately it was discovered in time for the fire to be extinguished and the building's still intact. Inevitably, there's been plenty of speculation as to why this happened, but there seems to be a possibilty that it may have been more arson/vandalism than racially motivated. I totally and completely deplore this crime and can't

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1110532532612854312005-03-11T08:39:00.000Z2005-03-11T09:15:32.616Z

As a confessed dog-lover, I sat down last night and watched the first night's TV coverage of Crufts. I'm actually getting quite bemused by the whole idea of dog shows - what point is there to them - does it really matter how tall a particular breed is, or what colour of fur they have, or even the shape of their ears? My dog Rolo is a crossbreed - half labrador/half golden retriever so I imagine

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109923176359153442005-03-04T07:39:00.000Z2005-03-04T07:59:36.360Z

The Formula 1 season kicks off this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. If the season's going to be anything like the last few, ie mostly a succession of Michael Schumacher parading round at the front of the race for lap after lap, I can't really be bothered to watch - certainly I won't be getting up at 01:55 to see it live!On the other hand, maybe this could be the year that Ferrari cease to

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109867684826904572005-03-03T16:31:00.000Z2005-03-03T16:34:44.826Z

The cold snap's continuing and, apart from yesterday, which offered the unlovely combination of being both cold and wet, I really haven't minded it. About the biggest problem I've faced has been the radiator in my office, which doesn't actually appear to be working...This being the case, I was more than slightly nonplussed when I popped up to the canteen, bought a bar of chocolate, unwrapped it,

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109852555807069162005-03-03T12:14:00.000Z2005-03-03T12:22:35.810Z

I'm still much preoccupied with matters religious. This time, this is due to a court decision supporting the right of a muslim schoolgirl to wear a jilbab gown. It now seems to me that all religion is does in this country is to cause strife and division and I feel we've reached the point where it's out of control.It seems to me that we'd be much better off if Britain took the plunge and became a

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109529076049051212005-02-27T18:25:00.000Z2005-03-02T06:44:48.216Z

There was a piece published in today's Sunday Times which claimed that the cost of converting households to DTT (Digital Terrestrial TV) or Freeview, in other words, could be as much as £955! Given that I bought a box for 55 quid, plugged it in and that was all I needed, this rather surprised me.Of course, the penny rapidly dropped: The Sunday Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who of course also

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109416657523371572005-02-26T11:06:00.000Z2005-02-27T13:03:31.196Z

As some of my recent posts have indicated, I'm getting more and more fed up with the antics and mouthings of some of the country's more demented religious fundamentalists. Chief nutcase of these is one Stephen Green - director of "Christian Voice". Mr Green, did not the son of your god call upon you to love one another? If he did, and I'm sure this is mentioned somewhere or other in the

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109333235942819262005-02-25T12:03:00.000Z2005-02-25T12:07:15.943Z

I usually defend the BBC, but this is challenging me a bit! I'm not sure that £60000 for this particular artwork is what you could really call value for money...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109316925788882162005-02-25T07:31:00.000Z2005-02-25T07:35:25.790Z

I'm absolutely furious to have discovered that a lunactic christian (?) pressure group have managed to stop a £3000 donation to a cancer charity. If that's what christianity's about, then we'd be better off without it.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109150937531351592005-02-23T09:25:00.000Z2005-02-23T09:28:57.533Z

The Pope has apparently, in his latest book, compared abortion to the Holocaust. This is plain ridiculous and leads me to wonder exactly what right, save I suppose that of free speech, this elderly celibate cleric has to pronounce that what must be one of the most agonising decisions any woman can face is in any way comparable to genocide.

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1109144505778185102005-02-23T07:39:00.000Z2005-02-23T07:41:45.780Z

It's rather cold outside at the moment, there's a light dusting of snow on the ground and the wind's blowing straight from Siberia and has a sharp edge to it. Despite all this, I think it's rather nice outside...though you wouldn't want to stand still for long!

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1108973073602488912005-02-21T08:01:00.000Z2005-02-21T08:04:33.603Z

Apparently George W appears to have tried marijuana. Well, there you have it - proof that drugs really do screw you up...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1108392367335744102005-02-14T14:41:00.000Z2005-02-25T11:47:02.583Z

Last Friday saw a tower crane collapse on a building site at a school not far from where I live which, sadly, caused two fatalities. Yesterday evening I went past the scene and it is an unpleasant sight - the carne involved was still there and looks as if its jib was made of spaghetti.To my disgust, one woman was standing over the road looking at it all and busily taking photographs. Judging from

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1108033327934342252005-02-10T10:59:00.000Z2005-02-10T11:02:07.936Z

I've just heard that Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles are going to marry in a couple of months' time. Personally, I've no particular feelings about this one way or the other, but I can't help thinking how nice it would be if the reptiles of the press could keep their tabloid noses out of the marriage. Fat chance...

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1107856278727515552005-02-08T09:46:00.000Z2005-02-08T09:51:18.726Z

I've been off work for most of the last week with a short-lived, but particularly virulent, form of 'flu. Today I've gone back to earning a living, which will have pleased my dog as it means that he gets a quick walk around the local park before I slip along to the salt-mine. I was delighted to see that, before we finished the walk, daylight had began to appear. It makes life so much easier when

Neilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5679852.post-1107163223366974102005-01-31T09:12:00.000Z2005-01-31T09:20:23.366Z

For our last General Election, in 2001, only 59.4% of us could be bothered to turn out and put our cross on the ballot paper. In all probability, when we go to the polls next time - perhaps May this year - the turnout is unlikely to be significantly higher. Contrast this with the election held yesterday in Iraq. Would-be voters there faced the very real possibility of injury or death - over 40

Neilnoreply@blogger.com