tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55954012011-10-09T03:31:25.859+01:00*** The view from my soapbox *** Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.comBlogger811100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-54017690748305661222009-05-12T14:02:00.004+01:002009-05-13T13:48:19.767+01:00

 There's been a lot of fuss about MPs abusing their expenses. They have been claiming allowances for second homes while not using them, or claiming allowances for a relative's home that they hardly ever use, claiming allowances for one second home to improve it then claiming expenses on another second home after selling the previous one, avoiding capital gains tax on second homes when they sell

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-4057131568060521862008-09-07T09:38:00.003+01:002009-05-12T14:09:21.756+01:00

 Compared with IE8 beta 2 this browser works well. It does seem to load pages quicker than other browsers.It operates JavaScript by default as it seems to be more totally integrated in the browser operation. I find that I often want JavaScript disabled as it causes irritating effects on some web pages and can make them slower to load. For instance, some forums use JavaScript to double underline

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-23720422059644833682008-09-07T09:36:00.002+01:002009-05-12T14:08:17.614+01:00

 I think Microsoft have released this beta for public testing a little too soon. It doesn't work well in several respects and I'm surprised that their staff haven't been able to fix some simple things before allowing the public to use it.Page anchors don't work. A common one is a link at the bottom of a page which says "top" so that after you have scrolled down a long page you can get back to the

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-89018134231941817112008-03-23T10:57:00.001Z2008-03-23T10:59:27.053Z

 There was another TV programme last night about the Turin Shroud and investigations into its origins.I saw a programme about ten or fifteen years ago which concentrated on the carbon 14 dating and the conclusion that it was a mediaeval fake after AD 1300. Then there were questions about this. The piece of cloth used for the test was taken from a corner which had been used many times by human

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-56016411720425632562007-10-24T07:36:00.003+01:002010-12-22T09:41:06.578Z

 Sixteen person versionsThis link to Koowy (previously mebeam and before that WigiWigi) allows sixteen people to join in a video call. Select your own unique room name which will be hard for outsiders to guess and connect; when the window has refreshed with your room ready for calls, send the url which will be something like http://www.mebeam.com/your-room-name to friends by instant messenger (

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-51309293719834751462007-09-26T14:55:00.000+01:002007-09-26T14:58:30.167+01:00

 I haven't been so lucky yet when out over the hills on farm tracks and footpaths.

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-5300623309069170632007-09-26T14:54:00.001+01:002007-09-26T14:55:24.379+01:00

 I checked my website statistics to find that overnight and this morning the following three organisations had downloaded pages from my online tutorial.128.30.52.49Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMIT Laboratory for Computer Science Room W92-19077 Massachusetts AvenueCambridgeMAPostalCode: 02139-4307US150.125.32.94Space and Naval Warfare Command 5 Crystal Park2451 Crystal

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-75254932793427202162007-09-06T10:58:00.000+01:002007-09-06T14:22:37.051+01:00

 The Videobox of May 2007 has now become a program which can be used for conference calls between eight people and also for playing back the calls or leaving messages if the room name chosen by the callers includes a $ prefix so that anyone who knows the room name can view the videos later as a continuous discussion involving all callers and it skips on to the next call if there are several calls

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-51744183776230826312007-08-23T09:15:00.000+01:002007-08-23T09:22:30.796+01:00

 This is garnet stone's guess as to the cause:- his post at 18.39 on 17 August.Skype's official reply:-Skype's report look for "What happened on August 16" posted on August 20th.Essentially there was a domino effect as supernode servers crashed, putting more load on other supernodes which then crashed, causing meltdown for the whole system.Skype's official report differs from garnet stone's guess

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-52228454173944635692007-07-23T15:00:00.000+01:002007-07-23T15:10:13.997+01:00

 A few weeks ago there were extensive floods in Sheffield, Hull and other areas in the north Midlands. Last Friday there was heavy rain over most of the south of England and it moved slowly over Hampshire into Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and then Wales. The rain over Wales has now come down the Rivers Avon and Severn and completely flooded Evesham and Tewkesbury several feet

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-61223176765510472932007-07-13T15:32:00.000+01:002007-07-13T16:58:49.473+01:00

 It's interesting to look at my website statistics and see what viewers have done. In the list of key search phrases I noticed the following:-brigitte Nielsenmensa mensa mensamjanuary 1978 chinese snakebroken ladder picturesThe "broken ladder pictures" search would have shown one of me in Jakarta after I had cleared a roof outlet blockage and the old bamboo ladder collapsed under me, but what a

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-3884889152084275992007-05-20T15:05:00.000+01:002007-06-01T08:34:42.101+01:00

 A new beta video message program for my blog; see the video box below; wait a short time for one video to load, then use the rewind button (often required more than once) to see a video; please keep video messages short, say thirty seconds maximum. The rewind button is often slow to operate, or refuses. Always wait about five seconds for a video clip to be running properly before using the

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-85833064752219544632007-05-19T11:56:00.000+01:002007-05-29T16:28:09.134+01:00

 This is a beta program that will eventually enable a blogger to record a video and anyone will be able to record a reply. At the moment it plays my recording, but after others who recorded earlier, so I'm not sure how to start a new recording just for me and my viewers.First test (general video with all comments):-

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-89934893713025481312007-04-29T12:53:00.000+01:002007-05-19T18:52:00.659+01:00

 I was out cycling over the farm tracks south east of my home in glorious sunny weather and stopped in a remote valley to listen to the birds. I noticed that although the valley should have shielded me from outside noises of human activity, I could hear the motorbike racing at an event some miles to the north like the buzzing of a swarm of hornets.Then I heard and saw a light aeroplane flying low

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-11302012827046305672007-04-06T13:04:00.000+01:002007-05-19T18:54:35.158+01:00

 On 23rd March ago fifteen British marines and sailors had just finished searching an Indian ship close to the boundary of Iranian territorial waters when two Iranian gunboats seized them. Our servicemen were there under the UN procedures for stopping illegal goods and arms getting into Iraq. Our escorting helicopter, assuming that the search was over and running out of fuel, had returned to HMS

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-87746462357533188252007-03-16T12:57:00.000Z2007-05-19T18:56:13.793+01:00

 There were two interesting media articles recently; one as a TV programme a week or two ago about the scientists who reject the notion that humans are causing an increase in the earth's average temperature; the other was a Sunday Times article on 11/03/07 showing the current and possible future effects of the global warming.The sceptical scientists produced lots of data to support their case

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1167682998139465592007-01-01T20:21:00.000Z2007-01-08T21:10:45.776Z

 Saddam Hussein was hanged just after 6.00 am on Saturday morning 30/12/06 in an Iraqi army base in Kazimain, a neighbourhood of northeast Baghdad. There has been a lot of discussion on the internet, on TV and in newspapers.The official video issued by the Iraqi goverment had no sound and the video stopped just before the trap door opened under Saddam. The video was taken from the top of the

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1161159083668676132006-10-18T08:59:00.000+01:002006-10-31T15:41:57.890Z

 This is a longer version of my blog for the National Trust/History Matters special one-day historical record based on my life yesterday. (The blog had to be a maximum of 4000 characters so I had to cut out a lot of the descriptive comment and just leave the basic events).Personal profile: male; age 63; retired; living in a UK country village in a chalke valley.6am: BBC Radio 4 came on

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1152606644645143242006-07-11T09:29:00.000+01:002006-07-11T09:30:44.653+01:00

 Scientists in Germany have created sperm from stem cells taken from live mouse tissue, grown the cells into live sperm, injected it into mouse eggs and produced live young.This means that males will soon be redundant; science fiction will become reality.The novels about alien races composed entirely of females were usually based on parthenogenesis where females identical to the mother were

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1150278316786612032006-06-14T10:43:00.000+01:002006-06-14T10:45:16.796+01:00

 250 police stormed two small terrace houses in east London at 4 am about two weeks ago and arrested two young men who were suspected of building a chemical bomb. Some police were armed, some were in chemical protection suits and there was an air-exclusion zone overhead.After eleven days in custody they were released without charge.One of them was shot in the chest. Police are so lucky he was not

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1143018146282979092006-03-22T09:00:00.000Z2006-04-12T15:38:49.506+01:00

 There have been some staggering cases of rough justice over the last ten or fifteen years. People have been convicted on the evidence of experts but years later that evidence has been proved wrong. Not just wrong facts in some cases but wrong opinions, guesswork sometimes.First there were a series of cases alleging abuse of babies and many parents were jailed. Babies were put in foster homes and

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1142413703964895112006-03-15T09:05:00.000Z2006-03-15T14:49:31.470Z

 Many occupational pension schemes have failed over the past few years. The government set up minimum funding requirements in the late 1990s after the Maxwell pension fund fraud and assured occupational scheme members that funds would be guaranteed. However, shortly afterwards the government withdrew the tax credits which hurt the funds severely. In 2003 the stock market crash left schemes in

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1141228244418508422006-03-01T15:43:00.000Z2006-03-05T07:54:17.633Z

 The Americans continue to adopt an unfriendly attitude towards the populations of territories they have invaded with the intention of helping to introduce democracy.I remember my father saying that when the allied armies went up through Italy and Austria towards the end of the Second World War they were billeted on local households. My father made friends with the Austrian family he was billeted

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1137661960936230072006-01-19T09:11:00.000Z2006-01-19T10:17:17.866Z

 Asian flu type H5N1 has been infecting chickens and other poultry. Humans have been catching it from live and dead chickens and also feathers and dust.It has killed about seventy people so far, mainly in Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Korea and Indonesia which have poor people living in close proximity to chickens. Widespread slaughter of poultry is being carried out, but these people

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1134383536381375642005-12-12T10:28:00.000Z2005-12-12T13:02:32.736Z

The largest blaze in peacetime Europe is still burning this morning. It started yesterday morning at about 6 am and firemen have been assembling foam from all over the UK with the intention of smothering the blaze today. It involved many huge tanks of petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel and paraffin. Only seven out of twenty tanks remain intact.Since it happened when only a few maintenance

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1127827916774536082005-09-25T11:15:00.000+01:002005-09-27T14:31:56.780+01:00

 Skype has been sold to eBay for $4.1 billion (not million, billion). Skype has been a fringe operator, Europe-based and able to forge its own path without regard to what governments may want it to do (Niklas Zennström never enters the USA because he suspects he would be arrested because of the internet file-sharing software Kazaa he developed that was used primarily to download music without

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1126861326364664822005-09-16T09:59:00.000+01:002005-09-27T14:24:13.110+01:00

 The Home Secretary wants to introduce a law to lock up suspected terrorists and those glorifying and inciting terrorism for up to three months before trial to allow police more time to get good evidence, (if there ever will be a trial). Something like what USA is doing in Guantanamo Bay/Camp Delta.I have no argument with taking liberty away from people who might be dangerous but the law should

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1126599310234281522005-09-13T09:14:00.000+01:002005-09-13T21:09:53.890+01:00

 Flintoff and WarneKevin PietersenEngland were 2-1 up going into the final Ashes Test at the Oval. The fourth day had been dismal and dark and England had managed some good swing bowling to get Australia out for 367, 6 less than England’s first innings total, before bad light was offered to the England batsmen in the late evening. There was some controversy about this because Australia needed all

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1125651861225149462005-09-02T09:57:00.000+01:002005-09-18T07:54:55.500+01:00

  Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of USA on Monday, August 29th. A clock stopped at 4.51am. Effects of widespread damage and flooding will be felt for years to come. There are hundreds of photos here.New Orleans wasn’t in the direct path but the hurricane still damaged virtually every building. It was only category one when it passed over Florida, then upgraded to category four with 145 to

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1124821435665348112005-08-23T19:23:00.000+01:002005-08-23T19:25:13.570+01:00

 There really isn’t any need for shops at all for some things.Buying online for a camera for instance means that I can open several windows in my computer browser, as follows:-- one has a review of the camera performance- another has a list of best prices from various online traders- the next one or more windows have the eBay auction site open if there is more than one being sold so that the bids

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1121519625528943032005-07-16T14:12:00.000+01:002005-07-18T10:41:02.606+01:00

 I want to live in a society that spreads cost burdens fairly over our population. We have a National Health Service and an education system and insurance for all sorts of things, but there is one area where certain people have costs that are none of their making and they get no compensation. If the police act negligently a person can sue, but how does a person get compensation if they act

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1121519560180402952005-07-16T14:10:00.000+01:002005-07-18T10:41:39.530+01:00

 Four terrorists committed suicide in London on 7th July by exploding their bombs. Three came from Leeds and one from Aylesbury. Fifty five people have died so far including the bombers.They were seen on CCTV cameras at Kings Cross station at about 8.30 am and seem to have decided to go north, east, south and west on the underground. Three exploded their bombs in underground tunnels within one

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1119003241179761582005-06-17T11:12:00.000+01:002005-07-18T10:42:31.266+01:00

 A year or so ago a company called Skype www.skype.com introduced a phone service using computers. This wasn’t new because Microsoft Messenger has been doing it for years. However, Skype allowed calls to a normal or mobile phone if PC to PC calls weren’t possible. They charge for PC to phone calls but not PC to PC calls. I got it mainly because calls to normal phones are about half British

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1116578924419309292005-05-20T09:47:00.000+01:002005-07-18T10:43:12.053+01:00

 Railtrack Private Shareholders Action Group (RPSAG) has spent about three years preparing a case against the government alleging misfeasance in public office and breach of human rights because we think that Stephen Byers as Secretary of State misused his powers to bring about the collapse of Railtrack plc.Stephen Byers held secret meetings with Tony Blair and others about bringing Railtrack back

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1116513154054682522005-05-19T15:29:00.000+01:002005-07-18T10:43:46.383+01:00

 The court case has been ongoing for about five weeks now. Many of us several years ago thought it was pointless suing the previous directors. They all transferred assets to relatives as soon as they got a whiff of the case against them and although this might not stop a claim on the transferred assets if they lost the case it may have been done early enough to avoid a claim or it will be too

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1116401833085011632005-05-18T08:33:00.000+01:002005-07-18T10:44:27.483+01:00

 I've watched the new episodes so far and even after the first programme I thought that it was far too scary for young children. Dr Who is screened at 7 pm on Saturday when many kids will be watching. Years ago Dr Who had children hiding behind sofas but these episodes are worse. The second episode was about ghosts in Victorian England in damp, dark cellars. Mothers were phoning the BBC

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1106500400802861022005-01-24T18:30:00.000Z2005-09-03T09:59:27.890+01:00

 I watched a few programmes on the first “Big Brother” six years ago but have only seen a few minutes of later programmes until this year’s Celebrity Big Brother.The first one was interesting because of its novelty value and for the mix of people – including the ex-public schoolboy later called “Nasty Nick” because he kept illegally asking the others about their voting intentions and being

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1105884341542169862005-01-16T14:04:00.000Z2005-01-16T14:05:41.543Z

An unmanned space probe has landed on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, and has sent back pictures, sound and data for about half an hour before succumbing to the temperature of minus 180 degrees Centigrade. Titan is covered in cloud and so no one has known whether the surface is solid or liquid until now. During the descent it took pictures from various altitudes which showed lakes and river

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1105726771086926262005-01-14T18:18:00.000Z2005-01-16T14:07:06.456Z

There was an interesting TV programme last night on global dimming. It seems that there are two conflicting environmental effects working at present – global warming and global dimming. Global warming is due to greenhouse gases and global dimming is due to pollution which reflects sunlight and also causes many smaller raindrops rather than fewer larger ones. This has caused rain to fall in

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1104430133970945792004-12-30T18:05:00.000Z2005-02-02T18:31:24.896Z

The tsunami occurred on 26th December during a sunny morning when people were fishing or sunbathing on beaches around the Indian Ocean. It was caused by an earthquake registering 9 on the Richter scale – the fourth largest since 1900. Scientists say that the ocean bed moved fifteen metres vertically where one tectonic plate moved under another. The current estimate of deaths is 120,000 but

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1103220369869032182004-12-16T18:04:00.000Z2004-12-16T18:06:09.870Z

Recently some large stores have installed special rooms for fathers to avoid shopping with their wives; they can watch football on video or play computer games or with model cars on a racing circuit. A good idea in my view. I find Christmas shopping not so much boring as extremely difficult. Most of my relatives have everything they want already – except really expensive presents like a

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1100542108472516142004-11-15T18:06:00.000Z2004-11-15T18:14:32.810Z

The Sunday Times reports that the US is accused of running torture flights to other countries with Iraqi insurgents for “torture by proxy”. Countries with poor human rights records to which the Americans have delivered prisoners include Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Uzbekistan according to confidential logs obtained by the Sunday Times. It is suggested that prisoners for serious interrogation go

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1095441429009891802004-09-17T18:14:00.000+01:002004-09-19T14:17:31.466+01:00

Two days ago hundreds of pro-foxhunting demonstrators crowded around Westminster as the Bill to ban foxhunting was debated for about the eighth time. This time it was to be rushed through in one day even if the House of Lords tried to stop it. A two year delay in implementing the ban to allow people to reorganise their lives was reduced to eighteen months. Thousands of people are destined to

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1093629358345687472004-08-27T18:52:00.000+01:002004-08-27T18:59:55.300+01:00

This was the first time I have watched a triathlon more or less from start to finish. It took place early in the morning but the temperature rose to the high eighties Fahrenheit during the cycle ride and run. At the end of the 1500 m swim around a bay in warm water without the usual wetsuits the swimmers were fairly close together. An Australian girl called Loretta Harrap was second at the

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1090960325670114262004-07-27T21:29:00.000+01:002004-07-27T22:49:35.536+01:00

  England got 568 and 325, West Indies 416 and 267 so England won by 210 runs. It was dull and cloudy on the first morning and Brian Lara put England in to bat hoping for some quick wickets. It was a mistake as the sun came out quite soon and it was good weather right through until Monday evening. England got going well in their first innings with Robert Key finally showing some form for

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1088876905019824042004-07-03T18:46:00.000+01:002004-07-04T11:05:09.740+01:00

I’m amazed that the US has managed to keep people arrested in Afghanistan and held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for so long without giving them access to lawyers or the courts. They have been held for over two years now. A few have been released to Britain but the British authorities had to assure the Americans that they would be arrested here. They were arrested but immediately released. No doubt

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1086801807522486242004-06-09T18:22:00.000+01:002004-06-09T18:23:27.523+01:00

Yesterday for about six hours in the morning Venus traversed the sun for the first time since 1882. The next traverse is in 2012 visible in the pacific and the next after that will be in 2247 – 243 years from now. The sun shone all morning and I got an image through my binoculars onto a piece of paper at about 8.30 am. The small black dot was in the top right part of the sun. When I saw images

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1086629689768322022004-06-07T18:32:00.000+01:002004-06-07T18:34:49.770+01:00

The weather was fantastically good at Arromanches and other places along the coast of Normandy for the celebrations. The Americans were at Omaha Beach and the British at their beaches with a parade in Arromanches later. I admired the stamina of our veterans. Some said they had been up late the previous night talking to old friends after travelling. In the morning they had gone to cemeteries

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1086283963110249232004-06-03T18:30:00.000+01:002004-06-03T18:32:43.110+01:00

A few years ago we just had a Westminster parliament covering all the UK and local councils. Now we have the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and Stormont for Northern Ireland as well which is just more bureaucracy and cost. In a week’s time there will be three elections in London, one for the local councils, one for the mayor and one for European MPs – all this

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1085161180477091122004-05-21T18:37:00.000+01:002004-05-21T18:39:40.476+01:00

Initially I was against London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games because it was to be in Hackney which has the worst transport links of any London borough. It has no tube line, is served by old crowded trains from Liverpool Street station and has atrocious road congestion. I had visions of athletes struggling in traffic to get to the most important race of their life in time. However, it seems

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1084901974293432752004-05-18T18:38:00.000+01:002004-05-18T18:42:27.663+01:00

The first pictures of prisoners hooded and beaten in the back of an army truck proved to be fake, having been posed by soldiers in a barracks in Lancashire. The clothes were too clean, the soldier's floppy hat wasn't of the type used in Iraq, the gun was the wrong type and too clean with no sling, the truck was too clean (no sand or dirt) and it was a particular type of truck that had never

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1084901916209112692004-05-18T18:37:00.000+01:002004-05-21T18:50:15.843+01:00

The papers have had plenty to shout about recently. It seems that the Americans in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Iraq have been badly mistreating prisoners. There are investigations to determine how far up the chain of command the authorisation to do this goes. Donald Rumsfeld, the defence minister and a hard line character, seems to have at best turned a blind eye to what has been going on.

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1082137027197536552004-04-16T18:37:00.000+01:002004-04-16T18:40:00.076+01:00

A year after the invasion the resistance groups are fighting harder than ever and Falluja, where many fighters are based, is under siege by the Americans. Both Sunni (loyal to Saddam) and Shiite (anti-Saddam) groups are fed up with the American regime and want the soldiers to leave now, even though the Americans plan to hand over power to an Iraqi government in June. A radical cleric Moqtada

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1082136976530200932004-04-16T18:36:00.000+01:002004-04-16T18:39:09.403+01:00

The fourth test finished yesterday as a draw, but England won the first three tests convincingly thanks to their bowlers. Stephen Harmison was player of the series as he was our most successful bowler though he only got one wicket in the fourth test. Matthew Hoggard got a hat trick in one test. In the fourth test Brian Lara got 400 not out and Ridley Jacobs got a century in their total of 751

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1080582025440378042004-03-29T18:40:00.000+01:002004-03-29T18:43:00.186+01:00

There’s so much fighting in the world today. Perhaps colonial power should be reinstated. Most regions where fighting is endemic had a colonial power in charge until some form of independence was achieved and usually links have been retained culturally or by trade. Colonialism wouldn’t be the same as a hundred years ago. It could be formally approved by the UN with firm guidelines. There would

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1080581981413233252004-03-29T18:39:00.000+01:002004-03-29T18:42:16.170+01:00

One of the constant problems in our society has been inflation, boosted by wage and salary increases, often assisted by trade unions threatening or taking strike action. A really right-wing solution would be to pass a law requiring everyone to tender their salary each year. Some sections of society are well insulated from the cold winds of market forces, notably the civil service. Many people

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1080581925010880872004-03-29T18:38:00.000+01:002004-03-29T18:41:19.780+01:00

Whistleblowers have been much in the news over the last few years, often working in government departments and exposing wrongdoing there. One recent example was a man who said employees had been told to short-circuit immigration checks on people coming from east European countries and to let them all in so that the backlog of applications that was an embarrassment to the government could be

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1080581865462202032004-03-29T18:37:00.000+01:002004-03-29T20:27:19.840+01:00

The Penrose Report has been published recently. He only had a brief to find out who did what and make recommendations; he was not allowed to apportion blame. The various government departments and regulatory authorities have been busy denying all responsibility for the problems that caused Equitable Life to over-bonus and under-reserve for the guarantees in some policies. However, Penrose

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1080581814763721452004-03-29T18:36:00.000+01:002004-03-29T18:39:29.560+01:00

I read that an artist had set up fluorescent tubes vertically in the ground under high voltage power cables and they all lit up! There was no cabling, they were just stuck in the ground. The photo showed them all lit up at night, quite a sight. It makes you realise how overhead power cables could be affecting our brains or bodies.

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1080581495058805182004-03-29T18:31:00.000+01:002004-03-29T18:38:27.936+01:00

The proposal to fund most or all of Council Tax by income tax is probably a good idea in principle. Pensioners are finding the increases in Council Tax far higher than the increases in their pensions and they are often the poorer section of the community. However, how would it work? At present the Council Tax is levied on property values. These do not change much except for a few new

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1074954224002924722004-01-24T14:23:00.000Z2004-01-24T14:25:13.810Z

Click on this link to see my Falklands Memoirs

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1074953116421465652004-01-24T14:05:00.000Z2004-01-24T14:06:46.483Z

The Hutton report into the death of Dr David Kelly is due to be issued next week. The Penrose report into the Equitable Life problems is undergoing scrutiny for legal clearance and will be made public (no doubt with parts censored) soon. The law suit concerning Railtrack's demise engineered by Byers has also started but won't reach court until near the next election. A common factor in all

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1121678487390053142003-12-01T10:20:00.000Z2005-07-18T10:36:51.516+01:00

 Violence is increasing right across all muslim countries, not just in Afghanistan and Iraq which western nations are trying to police. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, to name just a few.As a gross generalisation, western democracies have substituted financial greed for religious fanaticism. Muslim countries seem locked in the kind of environment we had in

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1121678409151776502003-12-01T10:19:00.000Z2005-07-18T10:38:11.823+01:00

 Today a law came into effect banning the use of mobile phones in cars if hand-held. Vehicles must be stationary with the engine turned off, or phones in a cradle with a headset must be used.It always amazes me how many of our new laws don’t seem to be properly thought through. I support the banning of mobile phone use in vehicles, but why only if hand-held?Apparently studies have shown that just

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1121678117628681322003-11-25T10:14:00.000Z2005-07-18T10:39:03.316+01:00

 England beat Australia 20 - 17 in the World Cup final in Sydney on Saturday 22nd November.Australia was on a roll having improved during the tournament and beaten New Zealand in their semi-final. England had beaten France fairly easily in their semi-final, but had often played below their best. England tended to make a slow start, then powered ahead in the second half of previous matches.In the

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1075035514849944102003-10-27T12:58:00.000Z2005-07-18T10:39:59.376+01:00

 The land areas required to meet the very small target for wind power generation are huge. The wind generators have to be spread out at distances of several hundred metres and will be 150 metres high, generally white. They will usually be on ridges or on windy coastlines, often in areas of scenic beauty.There is already a sizable body of opinion fighting against the plans. The generators make a

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1066073522897474432003-10-13T20:30:00.000+01:002003-10-13T20:32:02.570+01:00

I have been looking at a TV programme called “A place in the sun” where a girl (it used to be Amanda Lamb of the Scottish Widows ads) looks for properties abroad for people who want to emigrate or have a holiday home. She often goes to countries which have a good standard of living, but the houses are extremely cheap compared with England. For instance, once she was in Florida not a long way

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1063215003653460772003-09-10T18:30:00.000+01:002003-09-10T18:30:03.550+01:00

Here’s a good post from the UK Motley Fool website Land Of Serious Topics board:- The Corner/Village Shop There has been a lot of press and media coverage about the demise of the corner and village shop. About how "big out of town" supermarkets are opening longer and using their buying power to undercut and hence put out of business the local shop. Heres my perspective. I live in a small

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1061314109491595142003-08-19T18:28:00.000+01:002003-09-13T20:38:18.646+01:00

This is a repeat of my post on the UK Motley Fool website's "Help with this blasted computer!" bulletin board post number 37296:- See also this post 37387 which started a longer discussion based on my post:- ------------------ Computers started by being hard to use (especially with no training), became easier with Windows 3.1, but have now got complicated again. Most of my friends just use

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1061313902507296752003-08-19T18:25:00.000+01:002003-08-19T18:27:09.993+01:00

The male Y-chromosome is certain to be extinct soon; soon in geological time – 125,000 to 150,000 years. The Y-chromosome which only males have is unstable and decaying. Whereas X-chromosomes in women have the capacity to repair themselves over time by pairing up and swapping genes to minimise bad mutations, Y-chromosomes have no partner and cannot do so. Mutations are gradually creating more

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1060795017691441082003-08-13T18:16:00.000+01:002003-08-13T18:21:43.580+01:00

Many years ago there was concern that children watching violent films or playing computer games would be mentally affected. The experts thought that they would become violent, but I don’t think that has come to pass to any great extent. My concern was that they would see someone laid unconscious or killed, only for that person to reappear seconds later totally well and with no headache. They

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1060540823384942562003-08-10T19:40:00.000+01:002003-08-11T07:47:33.380+01:00

Today’s Sunday Times highlights the problems in Europe and compares the EU with other economic areas. The economic importance of India is expected to overtake China and in our part of the world Germany, Italy and Spain are expected to shrink in importance relative to Britain and France. Demographic trends and growth rates are different for different parts of the world and they change very

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1060107115876480412003-08-05T19:11:00.000+01:002003-08-05T19:14:12.146+01:00

I can understand why British farmers are in financial trouble. Everything conspires against them. I have seen programmes about arable farmers in the States at harvest time. Harvest contractors work their way up from Mexico to the far northern counties over several months and the machines only stop to move from one farm to the next, and since all the farms have grain to harvest that isn’t very

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1121713476435673232003-07-25T21:20:00.000+01:002005-07-18T20:04:36.436+01:00

 The Americans released the photos of Uday and Qusay Hussein to prove to Iraqis that they are dead – killed in a shoot-out in Mosul.The first photos were of terrible quality, all in darkness and one body only showed the side of the head, taken in the house where they were killed. Many Iraqis were unconvinced and I can see why. The Americans have shown the actual bodies to some local Iraqis who

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1059164053703723422003-07-25T21:14:00.000+01:002005-07-18T20:07:00.576+01:00

 After a huge bowling improvement in the one-day series when we smashed the South Africans, bowling them out for the lowest score ever in a one-day final, yesterday all our bowlers were useless on an easy-paced pitch in the sun.South Africa yesterday got 398 for 1, two short of 400 in a day!The opening pair of Hershelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith put on about 308 for the first wicket before Gibbs was

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1058937574363371122003-07-23T06:19:00.000+01:002003-07-23T06:19:34.540+01:00

It has been widely reported that most people do not have adequate pension provision. Some are in final salary schemes where the fund itself is ring-fenced (after the Maxwell fraud problem) but is under-funded due to the stock market fall, early retirement and greater life expectancy. The contributing company may be in financial difficulties and be unable to top-up the fund. If the company goes

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1058895281531229572003-07-22T18:34:00.000+01:002003-07-22T18:34:41.483+01:00

We seem incapable of keeping illegal immigrants out. Most are undoubtedly economic migrants and a system of sharing asylum seekers more rationally around the EU hasn’t yet been agreed. Whether immigration is legal or illegal, we have a housing problem. Migrationwatch UK says that in the next twenty years one new house will have to be built for every four already existing in London, the

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1058808098783581112003-07-21T18:21:00.000+01:002003-07-21T18:46:26.783+01:00

John Humphrys in the Sunday Times has noted that by 2020 90% of our gas for electricity will have to be imported. This will have to come from countries such as Algeria, Turkmenistan, Iran and Nigeria. All these countries have dubious politics; they harbour terrorists and don’t have a way of life that remotely resembles ours. Whereas oil is quickly loaded onto tankers that are reasonably secure,

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1058714820873460402003-07-20T16:27:00.000+01:002005-07-18T19:55:01.130+01:00

 Travellers are still delayed several days after the unofficial strike. They have been going home because of full hotels and returning early each day in the hope of a flight, unable to phone because of busy phone lines.Compensation from British Airways is certain, but will hardly compensate them fully.I wonder if they could sue the workers as a group? They have no contract with the workers but

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1058673752848992482003-07-20T05:02:00.000+01:002005-07-18T19:56:03.243+01:00

 Tony Blair's voice was obviously cracking when he spoke to journalists in Japan after hearing of Dr David Kelly's suicide.I was always uneasy about the war with Iraq, and more so now that the threat to us seems to have been minimal.I know 25 people a week were being tortured and killed by Saddam Hussein, but Tony Blair has had a part in the killing of far more innocent Iraqis.His voice didn't

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5595401.post-1058648344118325062003-07-19T21:59:00.000+01:002005-07-18T19:47:18.713+01:00

 Why can't politicians, kings, emperors, dictators, etc. be less possessive?Why can't various groups have their freedom?Why can't national boundaries be more flexible?In my Utopia democracy would work from the bottom up, not as now from the top down. What I mean by that is that when politicians have been elected they suddenly get power-mad and possessive of territory, but they should be more

Wickhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11994377760630114750noreply@blogger.com