| Anonymous |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|04:43 pm] |
All this week The Guardian has been running a series of 100 years of great press photographs. The supplements are fascinating -- quite the best I have seen of these supplements, most of which are fast-tracked into the recycling.
Today's centrefold is a photograph of the astronaut Bruce McCandless floating free in space. It's not quite this photograph but very close to it.
A stunning photograph. But the photo credit is Anonymous. Did the photographer stow away on the shuttle? |
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| Nick Griffin, Mark Thatcher |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|07:09 pm] |
Apparently it is not a crime to call Nick Griffin a "fucking wanker". I look forward to my opportunity to do this. Three cheers for an English jury!
And ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) shewhomust has just pointed out that Simon Mann, just released from prison in Equatorial Guinea, had said that Mark Thatcher was the brains behind the plot for a coup-d'etat. The BBC six-o'clock news reported (21 minutes in): "This morning Mann called explicitly for other alleged plotters, including Sir Mark Thatcher, to face justice, saying they were the real brains behind the coup. Sir Mark Thatcher denies this." For once I might almost believe him. Sir Mark, the brains behind???
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| What the Guardian doesn't tell you |
[Oct. 13th, 2009|11:08 am] |
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The following is an extract from the questions down for a written answer in the House of Commons tomorrow, 14 October:
60
N | Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Court of Appeal judgment in May 2009 in the case of Michael Napier and Irwin Mitchell v Pressdram Limited in respect of press freedom to report proceedings in court. | | (292409) |
61
N | Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of legislation to protect (a) whistleblowers and (b) press freedom following the injunctions obtained in the High Court by (i) Barclays and Freshfields solicitors on 19 March 2009 on the publication of internal Barclays reports documenting alleged tax avoidance schemes and (ii) Trafigura and Carter Ruck solicitors on 11 September 2009 on the publication of the Minton report on the alleged dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast, commissioned by Trafigura. | | (293006) | 62
N | Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will (a) collect and (b) publish statistics on the number of non-reportable injunctions issued by the High Court in each of the last five years. | | (293012) | 63
N | Paul Farrelly (Newcastle-under-Lyme): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms HM Courts Service uses to draw up rosters of duty judges for the purpose of considering time of the essence applications for the issuing of injunctions by the High Court. |
The Guardian has been prevented from reporting parliamentary proceedings saying "Today's published Commons order papers contain a question to be answered by a minister later this week. The Guardian is prevented from identifying the MP who has asked the question, what the question is, which minister might answer it, or where the question is to be found." So I cannot confirm whether or not the question alluded to in the newspaper appears in the list above, but the consesus on the internet is that it is number 61. Carter Ruck act as lawyers for Trafigura, which was hit by negative headlines in the summer after it settled a case involving the dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast.
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| I just stumbled across this ... |
[Aug. 20th, 2009|04:22 pm] |
Captain Gladstone Adams (born 16 May 1880, died 1966), was one time Chairman of Whitley Bay Urban District Council.
In April 1908 he drove down to Wembley in a 1904 Daracq –Caron motor car, to see Newcastle United play against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup final. It was such a novelty to see a car in those days that it was put into a car showroom window while he was down there, because so many people wanted to see it. On the way back from the cup final snow kept getting on the windscreen and Gladstone had to keep getting out of the car to clear it. This experience led to his invention of the windscreen wiper. In April 1911 Gladstone patented the design of a windscreen wiper with Sloan & Lloyd Barnes, patent agents of Liverpool.
In World War I he served in the Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the RAF, as a photograph reconnaissance officer. One of his duties was to prove the death and then arrange the burial of Baron Manfred Von Richthofen, the 'Red Baron', after he had been shot down and killed. When World War II broke out he was sixty years of age, too old for active service. However he joined the Whitley Bay Air Training Corps. A trophy given by him to the cadets is still awarded each year and bears his name, the Gladstone Adams Cup.
Gladstone was a professional photographer and he owned two studios, one in Barras Bridge in Newcastle and the other at 18 Station Road, Whitley Bay which is still standing and is now a florist, Whitley Bay. As well as running a business he was also a local Councillor, becoming Chairman of Whitley Bay Urban District Council. One of his official duties at that time was to attend the Duke of Northumberlandl's wedding in St Margaret's, Westminster. Gladstone and his brother also invented the sliding rowing seat and the trafficator, the forerunner of the indicator.
Source: North Tyneside Council DECEASED PERSONALITIES
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| Would anybody care to help me with this puzzle? |
[Aug. 8th, 2009|12:28 pm] |
From today's Guardian.
The instructions read: Fill in the grid so that every row and column contains the numbers 1-5. The "greater than" or "less than" signs indicate where a number is larger or smaller than its neighbour.
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| The role of coffee in the electrification of Iceland |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|08:37 pm] |
Four days in Iceland, all different, all amazing:
Arrived so late on Friday it was already Saturday in England. The nice man from the hotel was waiting with a people carrier to take us to our beds.
Saturday collected the hire car and set off along the south coast. First experience of salt fish and of gravel roads and of boiling bubbling hot springs, smelling of sulphur. The mud ones were the best. Iceland is on two tectonic plates, one heaing for Europe, the other for America. Walked across a bridge linking the two, with a gap widening by 2cm/year.
 Sunday: The Golden circle tour. Kerið volcanic crater lake (see photo), the real and original geyseir, and its younger, more energetic cousin, Gullfoss water fall and finally Þingvellir, whiche Iceland had the world's first democratic parliament and which is also on that gap between the two continents, quite amazing geological formations.
Monday: Walked behind a waterfall (shewhomust has the photo to prove it) and thence to Skogar (another impressive waterfall) and the folk museum. Reconstructed buildings outside, inside an exhibit on Iceland's rapid modernisation after the second world war. It seems that in order to obtain the high voltage electricity cables from Finland, they had to barter: salt fish to South America, who sent coffee to Finland, who sent wires to Iceland.
Today, some impressive coastal scenes with puffins, sole purpose of visit according to some. Then a drive across flat lava deserts with glaciers to our left, then the hotel where I type this and look out the window to see just over the terminal moraine a glacier heading this way, or maybe, regrettably retreating.
Tomorrow: more glaciers and maybe a further report.
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| Don't want internet? Use this form to tell us why. |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|10:45 am] |
Thanks to The Register for this one ....
The BBC, like most news media, is reporting that "Some 43% of adults who currently do not have internet access would remain disconnected even if they were given a free PC and broadband connection." Then, at the end of the story is:Are you one of the 30% of adults who do not have internet access at home? Would a free PC and broadband access persuade you to go online? Send us your views using the form below:
and a form to fill in...
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| Now that's what I call customer service |
[May. 8th, 2009|06:19 pm] |
This morning I was reading shewhomust a story from today's Durham Times that the bells from St Nicholas's Church in the Market Place in Durham had been taken down and sent for refurbishment to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, where they were originally cast in 1687.
"Now, that's what I call customer service", she said.
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| Travellers beware |
[Apr. 30th, 2009|04:08 pm] |
Or maybe that should be "Travelers beware". Thanks to The Register for pointing out the remarks made by Secretary Napolitano in the course of a Department of Homeland Security briefing on swine flu:We're also actively monitoring travelers at our land, sea, and air ports. We're watching them for signs of illness, and we have appropriate protocols in place to deal with those who are sick. Precautions are being taken to protect travelers and border personnel. Anyone exhibiting symptoms is being referred to an isolation room where they can be evaluated by a public health official before proceeding to their destruction. |
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| Reindeer like to eat me! |
[Apr. 4th, 2009|01:37 pm] |
Thanks to valydiarosada for this! - In Ancient Egypt, people wore glittery eyeshadow made from the crushed shells of durham_rambler.
- If durham_rambler was life size, he would stand 7 ft 2 inches tall and have a neck twice the size of a human.
- Originally, durham_rambler could not fly.
- The condom - originally made from durham_rambler - was invented in the early 1500s.
- Durham_rambler is actually a vegetable, not a fruit!
- The Australian billygoat plum contains a hundred times more Vitamin C than durham_rambler!
- Duelling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are durham_rambler.
- The number one cause of blindness in the United States is durham_rambler!
- A sixteenth century mathematician lost his nose in a duel over his love for durham_rambler, and wore a silver replacement for the rest of his life!
- Reindeer like to eat durham_rambler!
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| Snow and Sky |
[Feb. 12th, 2009|09:13 pm] |
Late this afternoon our friend Jackie, WINOLJ, called to say she had got in from work and there was no electricity in her house. She'd tried a couple of things suggested by the electricity company and they hadn't worked, so I decided to drive over there, she lives about 2½ miles away in High Shincliffe. The snow had stopped and a thaw had sort-of set in. On arriving I could not help but notice a transit-sized van with a large dish on the roof, and a camera crew. Turns out that Sky News had driven down the motorway, come off at the local junction and pulled into the first village they could find, to take news pictures.
Jackie's electricity? Well I did manage to get some power back by isolating the circuit that was faulty, but could not see what the problem was beyond that. Still, she has light and heating and a cooker, so it's a lot less serious than it was. |
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| Security Conscious |
[Jan. 19th, 2009|09:07 pm] |
Here's the latest from the Playmobil range, unfortunately not available for export outside the USA due no doubt to restrictions placed by the Department for Homeland Security:
"The woman traveler stops by the security checkpoint. After placing her luggage on the screening machine, the airport employee checks her baggage. The traveler hands her spare change and watch to the security guard and proceeds through the metal detector. With no time to spare, she picks up her luggage and hurries to board her flight!"
Anyhow, it's yours for a mere $55, and if you hurry over to the Amazon.com site you can, and should, read how much this is appreciated by those who can get their hands on it, for example "I like the basic idea. I applaud Playmobile for attempting to provide us with the tools we need to teach our children to unquestioningly obey the commands of the State Security Apparatus..." though some had reservations " This is just a sop to the authoritarians among us. I am holding out for the release of the Guantanemo Playset."
The enthusiastic response to this item is in distinct contrast to the thumbs-down given earlier to that classic A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates from the RAND Corporation, now with Look Inside!
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| Income tax self-assessment: a rant |
[Jan. 19th, 2009|12:53 pm] |
I have just finished filing my tax return for the 2007-08 year, using the online "service" provided by HMRC. This is the third year I have done it online and I cannot remember it being this difficult before.
I'll preface this by saying that I have over 40 years' experience in designing computer systems. The self-assessment system has these design and usability faults which delayed my successful completion of the form:- The self-employment section asks for your turnover, and in the next box for 'any other business income'. I had none, so I entered £0.00 — how was I to know that I should have left it blank?
- Having learned that lesson, there were several boxes which weren't relevant to me so I left them blank. There was a supplementary question about these irrelevant boxes which wanted the answer Yes or No but I skipped them ... mistake number two! I had to answer a rather pointless No.
- In the unlikely event that the Revenue owe me money, they ask for my bank account details. Now my bank statements and cheque book both say my sort code is 30-95-76 so that's what I entered. Another error, they wanted 309576.
- Next, the gift aid section. As far as I can work out there's no point in filling this in unless you earn enough to get into the 40% tax band, (which I don't) when you can claim some extra tax relief. Remember all those places you visited 18 months ago run by charities, who ask you to pay a small premium so they can claim back the gift aid? Did you make a note of it? No, so you have to estimate it.
- Almost finished. I noticed that the response time is dire, no doubt because everybody else is trying to do this on a Sunday evening. I dread to think what the response time will be as the deadline gets hours rather than weeks away.
- Last thing: the box for extra information. I wanted to tell them about the gift aid estimate. I also wanted to tell them about the two directorships I hold, neither remunerated, in case a smart official cross-references tax returns with information on file at Companies House. So I tell them all this, which takes up about half the space in the input box, and press next. And get a tax return update failure which lists the three possible reasons. None of which applies to me. So I log off and leave it to the morning.
- Logging on this morning the same thing happens. When I finally get through to the technical helpdesk, a very helpful Glaswegian suggests, almost immediately, that the reason was that my extra information exceeded 256 characters. Which it turns out was the problem. Not that there was anything about a limit on the form that I could see. Or a countdown of characters left.
Most of these are considerable annoyances but the last one is a showstopper. Anybody hitting this one as the deadline approaches could well go past it and incur the automatic £100 penalty. Don't they test these things? (I'm asking you, helenraven , I think they could use your services.)
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| A milestone of a sort |
[Jan. 13th, 2009|09:00 pm] |
It is, I suppose, a milestone of a sort.
Today the New Yorker linked to one of our websites.
This is the online auction that Ann Cleeves is running to have a character named after you, or a friend, in the last book of her Shetland Quartet. Proceeds to Vaila's fund, in memory of Vaila Harvey, a Shetland teenager who died much too young from cancer. It will make it possible for a student of Vaila's age to explore the world away from the islands.
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