Articles and Advice on Home Efficiency, Technology, Family History and more (2010)

USB Wireless Weather Forecaster

House and Home 31 Dec 2010

Here's a USB Wireless Weather Forecaster for £70 from Maplin, and their Instruction PDF. The manufacturer is Fine Offset Electronics ...

Qwiki goes trigger-happy with email

Computing 30 Dec 2010

Qwiki is such a promising concept in making search results more 'user friendly' that it will be quickly forgiven for sending out its "Qwiki of ...

Check your Personal Credit Score

Finance 23 Dec 2010

If you are having trouble getting approved for a credit card, or had your application for a current account turned down, then you are probably ...

Oil Prices: In Parliament

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 22 Dec 2010

The extreme price of heating oil is back in Westminster again, after Tom Watson described the situation as a 'crisis'. The UK's average temperature ...

Free Market Effects on Oil Prices

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 20 Dec 2010

In times of cold, icy weather conditions, demand for heating oil is high, and supply is restricted. In free market conditions there is only ...

Seal Skinz All-weather Cycle gloves

Cycling 20 Dec 2010

These gloves come from the Bike-hut (Halfords) but are made by a Norfolk company - Seal Skinz - who know what they're doing when it comes to ...

Loake men's shoes

House and Home 20 Dec 2010

These Loake shoes are from Pond's Shoes in Norwich (at Castle Meadow) and were half price at £50. They have a smooth sole which is quite ...

When do people buy heating oil?

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 19 Dec 2010

This chart reveals when visitors to this site say that they last bought heating oil for their home. Click on the chart for a larger view! ...

Feeding birds in freezing conditions

Animals 18 Dec 2010

A few birds have been spotted on our bird table. Pictured here, the Robin and the Blue Tit.

Your experience with oil buying clubs

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 18 Dec 2010

As heating oil prices spiral upwards, people are increasingly turning to oil buying clubs, or oil syndicates, to try and get a better deal. ...

Oil Supply 'Crisis'

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 17 Dec 2010

For the millions of UK homeowners who use oil as their primary heat source, the frequent price fluctuations are a fact of life. The price increase ...

Power washer for your bike

Cycling 15 Dec 2010

Here are some options for bicycle pressure washers: Mobi Portable Pressure Washer, variable pressure, powered from car, £80 (RRP £ ...

Super Service from Isla Bikes

Cycling 13 Dec 2010

We placed our order for an Isla Luath 24" bike on the evening of Monday 29 November. The Luath 24 is the red one, with drop handlebars; we ordered ...

Very old seaside tractors

Fun Stuff 11 Dec 2010

These tractors are parked up on the cliff-top at Overstrand, still in regular use for the fishing boats (lobsters, mostly?) that operate from ...

Fire Gloves

Solid Fuel Stoves and Central Heating 06 Dec 2010

Are you looking for mittens suitable for quickly slipping on when you're attending to the open fire or woodburning stove? If so, you're best ...

Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs

Films 04 Dec 2010

Very funny cartoon movie, starring a super-clever kid who is socially inept but loves inventing things. One day he perfects a make-food-out ...

American Beauty

Films 04 Dec 2010

Kevin Spacey stars in this analysis of social and romantic values. Mid-life crises, bigotry and coming-of-age all rolled into one.
...

Monsters Inc

Films 04 Dec 2010

Following on from the Toy Story success, this is a superb animation featuring lots of strange creatures with completely human personalities. ...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Films 04 Dec 2010

Artistic and captivating martial arts flick. Good review at Colossus
?

Shrek 2

Films 04 Dec 2010

Mandatory viewing, but a bit of a copy. Lots of people thoroughly enjoyed this one, and some thought it was better than the original, but we ...

Quakers House, Swafield

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

The Quakers Meeting House is on the Mundesley Road, just before you get to Swafield.

Swafield Church

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

Head north-east out of North Walsham on the Mundesley road and you come into Swafield. Turn left towards Trunch, and you will find Swafield ...

The Stables in North Walsham

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

The old Stables are nestled tightly amongst terraced houses, and the Paston College backs onto them.

St Nicholas Church

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

In the heart of the market town of North Walsham, the church has a collapsed tower (due to subsidence).

Felmingham Church

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

Just north of North Walsham, on the twisty Aylsham Road.

Colby Church

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

The church is near Banningham, heading towards the Gunton Estate.

Banningham Church

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

This church is near Aylsham.

Antingham Church

Churches and Historical Buildings 04 Dec 2010

A small church right next to the busy Cromer road.

North Walsham in Winter

North Walsham 04 Dec 2010

Here are a few shots of the North Walsham countryside in the grip of Winter. Temperatures haven't been too severe, but some days of strong winds ...

Electron Terra 2 Front Light System

Bike Lights 04 Dec 2010

The Electron Terra 2 Front Light System (code EHP410) consists of two lights (wide-beam and spot), a Li-Ion (lithium ion) battery, a velcro strap ...

How to choose high-income stocks

Finance 01 Dec 2010

There are two key measures when calculating how suitable a company stock may be for income: Dividend yield: the % return a company pays out ...

Inter-personal Skills

Professional Development 28 Nov 2010

A useful ability in the working environment is communicating effectively with co-workers, clients and even suppliers. Often it is your speaking ...

Bike Rain Cover

Staying Dry 25 Nov 2010

Look after your bike and keep it dry! If you don't have anywhere to store your bike then you really need to use some sort of bike cover. I ...

Support the Campaign for Broadband Honesty

Internet Access: UK Broadband 18 Nov 2010

A Virgin Media campaign is gaining momentum: broadband providers need to be more honest about their service speed. "You should be getting what ...

Did HP or UPS Damage My Elitebook?

HP Elitebook 15 Nov 2010

I'm sure it's not a ticking bomb... but ever since my laptop returned from a UPS-handled trip to HP's Poland service centre (for a simple night ...

About.me Launched: another platform we don't need?

The Social Web 12 Nov 2010

About.me is now live, on an invitation-only basis, and allows you to create an online profile of yourself and your interests. Sounds familiar ...

It Pays to Invest in Quality Kids' Bikes

Kids on Bikes 10 Nov 2010

Many years ago we started out buying and acquiring cheap quality kid's bikes. A 12" solid wheel Little Mermaid bike when our eldest son Daniel ...

How to Repair a Mamas and Papas Stroller

Child Help 07 Nov 2010

The Mamas and Papas Sport-03 three-wheeler stroller might look the part, and its chunky tyres are handy for negotiating rough ground. However ...

Broken Elitebook Night-light

HP Elitebook 07 Nov 2010

My Elitebook is currently winging its way back to an HP service centre, simply because its night light won't retract. The night light is located ...

Free Vodafone Mobile WiFi

iPhone and other Smartphones 07 Nov 2010

Get a mobile wi-fi device from Vodafone for free by purchasing a £25+/month 18-month contract. Here's what it does: When you are on ...

Mobile calls to 0800 Numbers

iPhone and other Smartphones 07 Nov 2010

Something I've learnt recently is to take nothing for granted with your 'inclusive' minutes on your mobile contract. One thing I would have ...

Rollercoasters

Pleasurewood Hills, Suffolk 31 Oct 2010

There are three rollercoasters at Pleasurewood Hills, at three quite different levels of scariness. Wipeout (blue metal pipework) is the worst ...

Pirate ship - back and forth!

Pleasurewood Hills, Suffolk 31 Oct 2010

Fancy a little bit of stomach-churning? The pirate ship swings back and forth, and takes you around 20 feet into the air.

Go-Karting

Pleasurewood Hills, Suffolk 31 Oct 2010

The go-kart track is quite short and narrow, and the cars have a pretty low top speed, but it's still good fun. It can take a while for the ...

Timber Falls

Pleasurewood Hills, Suffolk 31 Oct 2010

An easy ride with a couple of fun drops, and the only downside that you may get quite wet! As expected the front rider gets the wettest.

Water Slide

Pleasurewood Hills, Suffolk 31 Oct 2010

A very quick ride where two people share a dinghy and shoot down a lido. It takes a lot longer to climb the steps than to shoot down to the ...

Wedding of Edith Sherwood to George Swindells

Swindells Family Photos 24 Oct 2010

1915 wedding of Edith to George. People labeled on the back include Billy Bishton, Uncle Fred and Auntie Gertie, Uncle Charlie and Auntie ...

The 4 Swindells children: miscellaneous pictures

Swindells Family Photos 23 Oct 2010

More Misc. Pix of the 4 Swindells children. Taken around 1928-1942.

Biography for Edith Rachel (Sherwood) Swindells

Swindells Family Photos 20 Oct 2010

In 1910 Edith Rachel was 31 years old and living with her elderly parents. Her mother died in about Sept. 1910 and her father (WG Sherwood ...

W.G. Sherwood

Swindells Family Photos 19 Oct 2010

WG Sherwood and children, taken about 1885-1886 I guess. They appear to be, from left to right: Back: Annie, William, Gertrude Middle: WG, ...

George Swindells

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Young George Swindells, single portrait and again with children

Stephen Swindells Wedding

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Stephen Swindells' wedding to Molly ?. About 1940

Sherwood and children

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Top image was a Christmas card of Sherwood cousins as described, but bottom portrait was a postcard of 4 children of Edith (Sherwood) Swindells ...

CA Sherwood

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Christmas Card from CA Sherwood and family. Date?

Uncle Norman Swindells (1900-1986)

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Uncle Norman Swindells (1900-1986, uncle to Edie, brother to George).

Great Grandparents Generation

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

NSJim Swindells (b. 18??) in top middle. George Swindells in top right, middle left and lower right. Edith (Sherwood) Swindells in top left ...

Young Joan Swindells

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Young Joan Swindells with beloved spaniel (she was a big fan of spaniels). Taken about 1939, I imagine.

Wedding of Norman Swindells to Joan McNaughton

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Wedding of Norman Swindells to Joan McNaughton, Dec. 1942 Camberwell. Norman is standing next to his shorter brother Stephen (in vicar's collar ...

Edie Sherwood as a young lady

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Edie Sherwood, John's Great-grandmother as a young woman, 1876-1955(?)

Misc. Pix of the 4 children of George and Edie Swindells

Swindells Family Photos 18 Oct 2010

Misc. Pix of the 4 children of George and Edie Swindells

List of Buying Clubs

Oil Buying Clubs 17 Oct 2010

New Entry Name: URL: Location:
Contact: Email: Tel:
Notes:
Here are a couple of sites attempting to list the ...

First Click for Internet Advice

Internet Access: UK Broadband 16 Oct 2010

You might imagine that everyone is online nowadays, at some point in their waking day. Well, it just isn't true, and for those people without ...

Google In-Page Analytics: analyse as you browse!

Web Hosting 16 Oct 2010

Google Analytics has been at the forefront of website analytics, ever since it acquired Urchin Stats and made it free of charge. There have ...

Geo-targetting your website

Web Hosting 16 Oct 2010

Does your company have a local presence in many different countries, or do you run a site where it makes sense to keep visitors from different ...

Backup costs

Rackspace Cloud Hosting 14 Oct 2010

The Rackspace Cloud Servers platform has a convenient backup snapshot system, for the smaller-sized instances. These can be images both on-demand ...

Warning: some iPhone cases can cause damage!

iPhone and other Smartphones 09 Oct 2010

NetworkWorld reports that Apple may be looking into the claims that some iPhone protective cases can scratch or crack an iPhone's glass back ...

iPhone Waterproof Case

iPhone Bike Accessories 09 Oct 2010

CamerasUnderwater.co.uk has a great waterproof pouch for the iPhone or iPod Touch. Designed to keep the phone safe and dry - but still fully ...

Reliability of the Topeak Moonshine

Bike Lights 09 Oct 2010

We bought the Topeak Moonshine commuter light back in January 2007, and in these 3.5 years (four winter seasons) it has performed well. We had ...

RSP Asteri 3

Bike Lights 09 Oct 2010

This is a mid-range LED light aimed at commuters who use unlit roads. You should be able to pick one up for around £50 so it isn't cheap ...

James Bond bicycle at the Cycle Show, Earls Court

Cycling 08 Oct 2010

If James Bond were to become carbon neutral, Q Section might persuade him to trade his Aston Martin for a new bike unveiled at the Cycle Show ...

Google Homepage: John Lennon Video

Computing 08 Oct 2010

For the first time ever, Google has incorporated a video into its homepage logo. The video is an animation, with John Lennon's 'Imagine' playing ...

Linux Kernel Vulnerability: know your version!

Linux Solutions 04 Oct 2010

An exceptional vulnerability has been detected in the Linux kernel, which allows any non-root user to gain super-user privileges. One would ...

iPhone Insurance

iPhone and other Smartphones 01 Oct 2010

Insurance is one of life's annoyances that is easy to overlook, especially when you have a fun, shiny gadget like the iPhone 4 to play with. ...

No Service on the iPhone

iPhone and other Smartphones 01 Oct 2010

Did you plug the micro-SIM into your iPhone, activate it and get everything working on your wireless network and iTunes, but the mobile carrier ...

Your SIM Number: the ICCID

iPhone and other Smartphones 01 Oct 2010

If you are asked for your SIM number by your carrier or mobile phone operator, you will find this on your iPhone within Settings: General: About ...

Gadget Show Broadband Speed Test - Not Good Enough!

Internet Access: UK Broadband 29 Sep 2010

How ironic. As part of their 'Gadget Show Truth' campaign, the Gadget Show on Five ran a piece this evening (20:45, 12 November 2007) on how ...

The 'iPhone 4 ready' online guide

iPhone and other Smartphones 28 Sep 2010

This is all about getting your iPhone fully up and running. 1. Getting started on the iPhone 4 2. Setting up Wi-Fi on your iPhone ...

iPhone 4 warranty

iPhone and other Smartphones 28 Sep 2010

Your iPhone 4 comes with an Apple warranty. For more about what this covers and how it affects you, visit the iPhone Warranty page. There is ...

Essential iPhone 4 information

iPhone and other Smartphones 28 Sep 2010

To use your iPhone 4 you need to: Download and set up iTunes on your PC/Mac - If you don't already have iTunes on your PC or Mac then take ...

Media Temple: no more FOLLOW_LOCATION

Web Programming 26 Sep 2010

It's not unusual for web hosts to make changes to their platform, for security reasons or whatever, but this one on Media Temple's (gs) platform ...

The Power of Cloud Computing

Computing 26 Sep 2010

Cloud computing promises much for the budget-conscious web publisher. It should allow - within reason - a flexibility of resource availability ...

Propane Tanks

Propane Prices 22 Sep 2010

The correct storage of propane is extremely important, as it is a highly flammable, pressurised fuel routinely stored in close proximity to residences ...

Twitter Javascript vulnerability: t.co links?

Computing 21 Sep 2010

The twitter.com website was allowing naughty Javascript to be presented to users for a short while, and it looks like the t.co url shortener ...

NXT 2.0 is Cool - even when Broken

Robotics 21 Sep 2010

Nowhere in the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 instruction manual does it say that the screen of the control brick mustn't be hit by a two-year-old. With ...

Social, SEO and the Open Graph

Search Engine Optimization 20 Sep 2010

This is an interesting read from Gigya, covering: Where social and search intersect The Open Graph and social network search Action items ...

Dave Lloyd Fixed Wheel Bike

Bikes 20 Sep 2010

This Dave Llord bike is super-light, with Reynolds 753 tubing for its core construction. The rest of the equipment (including a Flite titanium ...

Mini Tour of Britain

Cycling 19 Sep 2010

North Norfolk Wheelers is hosting a charity club ride on 25 September 2010, starting at Holkham Hall (any time between 1PM and 2PM, at the gates ...

Historical North Walsham

North Walsham 17 Sep 2010

A couple of historical photos of North Walsham are available at historypin.com. One photo is from the Queen's Golden Jubilee, 1887. See the ...

Tour of Britain comes to Norfolk

Cycling 17 Sep 2010

We saw them at the West Runton KoM climb and we saw them at the road to Coltishall... the Tour of Britain pro team riders were flying, as the ...

Socially Responsible Investments

Ethical Investments 15 Sep 2010

Hargreaves Lansdown has some pointers for Socially Responsible Investments (SRI): Ethical funds more popular than ever Increased green ...

Finance Companies: who's complaining?

Finance 14 Sep 2010

Here is a table of the banks and other financial institutions that most people are complaining to the financial onbudsman about. Read their ...

Go Ride: What a Great Idea!

Cycling 13 Sep 2010

The Park and Ride at Norwich Airport was host to a series of Go-Ride events, where youngsters learnt bike handling skills and got to race and ...

Shoes that go Squeak

Fun Stuff 12 Sep 2010

We bought these shoes on eBay, as a cheap pair of kids' trainers. They were branded Ben Sherman, but on first use they made the most enormous ...

Impact of Google Instant on SEO

Search Engine Optimization 11 Sep 2010

Google Instant allows people to see search results - based on the top 'guess' that Google thinks you're typing - as you type. Because you ...

Fireplace Installer in Thetford

Solid Fuel Stoves and Central Heating 07 Sep 2010

Company: The Fireplace & Plaster Centre Telephone:01842 766999 Address: Unit 2 Station Lane Thetford Norfolk IP24 1ND About ...

How to Produce Electricity?

Electricity 07 Sep 2010

How Do You Think We Should Produce Electricity? Here are some good (or debatable) suggestions. If you want to add your own, complete the ...

What has your broadband experience been like?

Internet Access: UK Broadband 07 Sep 2010

Here are some people's experiences of their broadband provision. Some are quite vocal about how good or bad it is, and others are more candid ...

Apple Ping Announced

The Social Web 03 Sep 2010

iTunes is getting a social twist, with the ability for its 160 million users to share and recommend media on the Apple music and video store ...

iPhone 4 vs iPhone 3GS Comparison

The Social Web 02 Sep 2010

Vodaphone has a great page that puts the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS side by side: Compare iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS. Extremely helpful when considering ...

Mindstorms NXT 2.0

Robotics 01 Sep 2010

The LEGO 8547 Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Robot is now available, and is currently retailing from Amazon for £168! It can be programmed from ...

CatBinLady does Satire

Fun Stuff 01 Sep 2010

About CatBinLady: Name Cat Bin Lady Location Sent to Coventry Web http://www.rspca.org.uk/ Bio I have momentary abberations. We all do ...

Pushing Social: How to Write Spectacular Posts

The Social Web 01 Sep 2010

This is a series of articles published by Stanford on PushingSocial.com, giving you tips on how to improve what and how you publish in your blog ...

Websites for SEO Tips

Search Engine Optimization 01 Sep 2010

Server Smarts™ Newsletter: August 2010: 7 Tips to Improve SEO Here are the seven best SEO tips that our team members noted at a recent Pubcon ...

Want a Simple, Tasty Biscuit Recipe?

House and Home 29 Aug 2010

These are called Fork Biscuits Ingredients: 50g caster sugar 115g margarine/butter (softened) grated orange/lemon rind 140g self-raising ...

Beware of the Credit Charge!

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 28 Aug 2010

When you order your next batch of heating oil, you may be told that you can send a cheque within a few days of the delivery. This means that ...

Like Driving a Car

Web Hosting 26 Aug 2010

When trying to work out what to expect from the various web hosting platforms, consider an analogy with car ownership. Cloud Computing is ...

Latest Prices: 1000L of Oil

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 24 Aug 2010

Boilerjuice gave us a nice surprise yesterday, with a quote of 39.5p/L (+VAT) for 1000L. We did a bit of shopping around for better prices, ...

NakedWines.com Voucher

Wine 24 Aug 2010

I was given a £25 NakedWines voucher today, in return for providing some feedback to Boilerjuice (a heating oil supplier). It stated that ...

Bletchley Park

Great Days Out 23 Aug 2010

Located just south of Milton Keynes, Bletchley Park is a great place to spend a few hours. You can see lots of original equipment used by the ...

Wasps' Nest

Animals 22 Aug 2010

One patch of the garden has been getting a lot of attention from wasps, as the appear to be collecting soil from our garden and carting it ...

Types of Oil Boiler

Oil-Fired Boilers 22 Aug 2010

With limited exceptions, all oil-fired boiler installations in the UK need to use a condensing type of boiler. This energy-efficient boiler ...

Keep an Eye on Crude

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 17 Aug 2010

Do you know what happens to the crude oil price? It is all very well watching heating oil price comparison sites, and getting the occasional ...

Google Street View Convoy

Computing 15 Aug 2010

Google streetview cars occasionally get snapped by other streetview cars as they appear to drive in convoy for odd stretches. I found this one ...

Windows 7 64-bit and the Hauppauge Nova-T-500

Upgrading to 64-bit 14 Aug 2010

COMPATIBILITY CONFIRMATION: On upgrading from 64-bit Vista to 64-bit Windows 7, the upgrade advisor and the upgrade itself both complained that ...

Full Elitebook System Information

HP Elitebook 14 Aug 2010

...

Building a safer cyberspace

Internet Access: UK Broadband 14 Aug 2010

Westminster eForum Keynote Seminar "Taming the wild web 2010 - building a safer cyberspace" on 12 October 2010 in Central London. Speakers ...

Oil Boiler Servicing

Oil-Fired Boilers 13 Aug 2010

Like any other piece of hardware, the oil-fired boiler needs to be periodically serviced. It is generally quite a simple piece of kit, but certain ...

Twitter Does 'Tweet This'

The Social Web 13 Aug 2010

The adorable Twitter company is making it super easy to include 'Tweet this' on any website. This is most likely in response to Facebook's simple ...

What we Burn in our Stove

Solid Fuel Stoves and Central Heating 09 Aug 2010

Here are some suggestions of what people burn in their stove. Take a look, and if you have something else to suggest, complete the mini-survey ...

The Full 4GB

HP Elitebook 06 Aug 2010

This lovely laptop came with 4GB RAM and the OS ready to go, save for a few configuration screens. Unfortunately I quickly found out that the ...

Windows Experience Index

HP Elitebook 06 Aug 2010

The Elitebook, being built around a Core I7 processor and laden with 4GB RAM, fared well in the Performance Information tests. It came out worst ...

Fail early and get on with business

Life at Mindcom 06 Aug 2010

This is the advice from Tim O'Shea, Mindcom's managing director, when he was interviewed by Elaine Maslin for the Friday edition of the EDP business ...

Range of mid-range Laptops

Laptops 03 Aug 2010

Here is a list of mid-range notebook computers with 14" to 15" screens, and a few prices for comparison: Acer Aspire Timeline X 3820T Core ...

Vertical Wind EnergyTurbine

Wind Turbines 31 Jul 2010

Vertical Wind Energy Ltd has developed a 6kW wind turbine unit, designed so that the blades are vertical and spinning around a vertically-aligned ...

Government will continue to use IE6

Computing 30 Jul 2010

In response to a petition, submitted in June with over 6000 signatures and calling for an end to IE6 use within Government departments, the Government ...

Big service for Giant SCR-1.0

Bike Maintenance 27 Jul 2010

Here's the list of parts replaced: Trivativ GXP Bottom Bracket Cassette 105 10spd Chain 105 (Shimano 10-speed) Rear tyre and tube New ...

Specialized Armadillo Tyres Wrecked

Sports Gear: Under Test 27 Jul 2010

During a routine service, my LBS noticed that my rear tyre was shredded and blistered, such that the outer rubber layer had come right off in ...

three-letter .co domains

Computing 27 Jul 2010

The .CO era is here! These new domains for company registrations are going like hot cakes, and the prized 3-letter domains (none of which are ...

dot-co domains now registered

Computing 27 Jul 2010

To complement the available short domain list, here is a list of .co domains that are now registered. Note that we haven't included numbers ...

Frame-busting

Web Programming 26 Jul 2010

Here's some code you may find useful if your website is stuck in an iframe inside someone else's site: if(top.location != location) { ...

Dragonfly

Animals 26 Jul 2010

This beautiful dragonfly was resting on the underside of our trampoline, probably trying to work out where the pond had gone. (Pond has been ...

New Addition to the Family: BMX Gyro

Bikes 24 Jul 2010

This little black beauty is a gyro BMX bike, which means that the handlebars can fully rotate but still operate a front brake. The chain is ...

Potter Heigham (Norfolk Broads)

Great Days Out 24 Jul 2010

Good place to eat: Falgate Inn Ludham Road, Potter Heigham, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR29 5HZ? - 01692 670 003?

Join the IET!

Professional Development 24 Jul 2010

The IET is encouraging members to nominate friends and colleagues to join: At the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), we’re ...

The Net Neutrality Debate

Internet Access: UK Broadband 23 Jul 2010

What is net neutrality, and what does it mean to you? Can we possibly have a level playing field when it comes to service provision, and yet ...

Mashed: Drive to Survive

Computer Games 22 Jul 2010

This game is fantastic, where the multiplayer racing is all on one screen. When only one player's car remains in view, that player wins that ...

How to Flatten a PHP POST Array

Web Programming 19 Jul 2010

The situation is this: You have a PHP script that takes POST data, and you need to pass that data on to a remote server. How do you do it? ...

Show Bots the Content to Index

Web Programming 17 Jul 2010

There are a few ways to tell bots whereabouts the content is on your web page: Google ad section targeting: What is section targeting and ...

West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village

Great Days Out 17 Jul 2010

There is a mock Anglo-Saxon village in west Suffolk, maintained by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, where you can get a hands-on experience of ...

Facebook Bot User-Agent

Web Programming 17 Jul 2010

Here's a user-agent you'll need to add to your list of robots: facebookexternalhit/1.1 (+http://www.facebook.com/externalhit_uatext.php) I ...

The Primary Survey

Emergency First Aid 17 Jul 2010

When you come across an accident scene or if someone has collapsed, the primary survey covers life-saving checks to determine the scale of injury ...

St John Ambulance Associate Membership Insurance

Emergency First Aid 17 Jul 2010

As a qualified first aider or AED operator, you will have associate membership insurance cover. Your employer must cover you for any claims ...

The Essentials

Emergency First Aid 17 Jul 2010

The Health and Safety Executive stipulate two techniques which an employee must demonstrate in order to be classified as a qualified first-aider ...

The First-Aid Kit

Emergency First Aid 17 Jul 2010

Bandages (lots - 20 or more) Sterile wipes (non-alcohol) Gloves Eye wash and patches (2) Face shield Pins, tape, scissors, tweezers Accident ...

Sending Emails: How to Remove the X-Authentication Warning

Computing 14 Jul 2010

Here is the header that appears in emails that your web server has sent through sendmail or postfix: X-Authentication-Warning: serverx.mysite ...

Pedal Revolution: Bike Shop in Cromer

North Walsham 14 Jul 2010

I can never find the phone number of this great Cromer bike shop when I need it, so I've recorded it here: Address: Gordon House ...

Efficiently decode a short url

Web Programming 11 Jul 2010

I am building a reference of short urls, and for each one need to record its final destination url, server software and page title. Curl almost ...

Get yourself some garden worms

Gardening 08 Jul 2010

The BBC Dig-In series has released a video explaining how to encourage worms to compost your kitchen scraps:

Behind the bit.ly url

Web Programming 08 Jul 2010

If you want to know more about what a bit.ly url refers to, here is a PHP function that may be of use to you. It first checks what the destination ...

Who are you buying your domestic heating oil from?

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 03 Jul 2010

Ah, well, it's easy to answer, right? Boilerjuice, Butler, Bayford, Watson, or Scottish Fuels. Simple, eh? Or is it? Thanks to John ...

Baby Wrens

Animals 03 Jul 2010

We've had a nest of wrens in a home-made nesting box attached to the wall outside our kitchen, and buried inside a honeysuckle. There were around ...

Tanks

Muckleburgh Tank Museum 28 Jun 2010

The tank demonstrations were very impressive, and showed how fast and manoeuvrable these colossal machines are - even the Russian ones!

Big Guns

Muckleburgh Tank Museum 28 Jun 2010

Lots of big guns!

Indoors: More Big Guns

Muckleburgh Tank Museum 28 Jun 2010

More big guns indoors!

Military Jeeps

Muckleburgh Tank Museum 28 Jun 2010

There were lots of jeeps and buggies on parade.

Rockets

Muckleburgh Tank Museum 28 Jun 2010

These rockets must have been lethal when used in anger. But how accurate were they?

Swift Nesting Box

Animals 27 Jun 2010

DIY Swift nesting box by Edward Mayer: Simple swift box at Londons-Swifts.org.uk. Use 12+mm exerior plywood, to build a 50x20x25cm box, topped ...

Implementing Facebook OpenGraph

Web Programming 25 Jun 2010

Facebook makes its new Graph interface sound so simple, but what about Facebook OpenGraph? This is where third-party web sites specify extra ...

Fine to not wear a helmet?

Cycling 25 Jun 2010

BBC London News reports that fines are being issued for not wearing a helmet. This is incorrect, so here is my email to yourlondon@bbc.co.uk ...

How to Avoid Carrot Fly

Gardening 25 Jun 2010

If you don't want your carrot crop getting drilled into by the dreaded carrot fly, watch this video by the BBC Dig-In team: Chris Collins on ...

Strange orange-legged insect

Animals 24 Jun 2010

What is this insect? It was crawling around on the lawn, climbing over blades of grass.

Bumble Bee

Animals 24 Jun 2010

Here is a bumble bee feasting on a clover flower.

Baby Spiders

Animals 24 Jun 2010

These little beauties all hatched out on a water butt tap, in the warm June sunshine. Aren't they cute?

Effect of Sponsored Trending Topics

Computing 23 Jun 2010

Here are a couple of follower graphs (courtesy of TwitterCounter.com) for Disney-Pixar and Coca-Cola, both of whom have been sponsoring trending ...

Great Toy Tractor

Fun Stuff 20 Jun 2010

This die-cast metal tractor is great, and has a functioning steering wheel (and articulating front axle) too. It is labelled 'Agrotion Deutz ...

Perl: Reconfiguring CPAN

Computer Programming 18 Jun 2010

This is how to edit your list of CPAN mirrors, to remove a problematic one. Go to the Perl CPAN prompt: perl -MCPAN -e shell Check your ...

CTC Members Offered Discounted Health-Care

Health and Fitness 17 Jun 2010

Members of the Cyclists Touring Club (CTC) can benefit from preferential health insurance premiums. CS Healthcare and the CTC have now joined ...

Re-Cycle

Cycling for Good Causes 14 Jun 2010

I bumped into a friendly fellow with his young family in the subway of Colchester railway station. I had a bike on me, and he asked me to do ...

Irons in the Fire

Solid Fuel Stoves and Central Heating 14 Jun 2010

Here is a message from Anna, a satisfied customer of Irons In The Fire in Fakenham: Just to let you know that I have had a hell of a job finding ...

What Does BP Stand For?

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 13 Jun 2010

Obama has made it clear what BP officially stands for... but what about the alternatives? Big Problem Broken Pipe Blasted Pollution Bitter ...

How to Measure Solar Radiation

Solar PV Electricity 10 Jun 2010

Home weather stations are all the rage nowadays, and for under £100 you can have a wireless station with USB download to your PC. However ...

Solar Powered Racing in Cambridge

Solar PV Electricity 10 Jun 2010

See the car that raced 3000km across Australia, using nothing but the sun for propulsion. Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) raced other ...

Custom-built Greenhouse

Gardening 09 Jun 2010

This greenhouse uses up an otherwise-unusable space next to the house, in the front garden. It consists of 2.4m lengths of twinwall polycarbonate ...

Honey Bees Mating

Animals 09 Jun 2010

These honey bees were at it for several minutes, buzzing loudly whilst mating on top of a water butt in our front garden.

Sitemaps in robots.txt File

Web Programming 08 Jun 2010

Give your carefully created sitemap a mention in your robots.txt file. You simply use this format: Sitemap: http://www.mysite.com/sitemap ...

GIMP: Removing Background From Photo

Web Programming 06 Jun 2010

You can use the GIMP image manipulation program (with some dexterity and a lot of staring) to remove the background from a photo. The best guide ...

Factor 001 Bike

London Science Museum 01 Jun 2010

This bike claims to have inspiration from the world of Formula 1

Ancient Tractor

London Science Museum 01 Jun 2010

Here's an ancient tractor at the Science Museum.

All Sorts of Engines

London Science Museum 01 Jun 2010

There are all sorts of engines in the Science Museum, including Steam and Jet engines. The computing section also features the difference engine ...

The Main Area

London Science Museum 01 Jun 2010

There is a massive space, from ground floor to the top floor of the Science Museum. A rocket is suspended in this open space.

Computing

London Science Museum 01 Jun 2010

Calculating and Computing Machines

Aircraft Section

London Science Museum 01 Jun 2010

The Aircraft section features airships, jet engines, all sorts of aeroplanes, and a cross-section of a 747 passenger jet.

Run is Complete

Run For Natalie 01 Jun 2010

The Fun Run is over, and the team of ladies and girls completed the distance in very downcast (and chilly) conditions. Thanks to everyone ...

H.R.5252: Renewable Energy Tax Incentives Extension Act

Solar PV Electricity 28 May 2010

The bill H.R.5252 is sponsored by John Spratt and has been referred to House Energy and Commerce (May 6). Its purpose is to amend the American ...

Delivery of Logs

Solid Fuel Stoves and Central Heating 23 May 2010

From a different local supplier, from M.J. Tree Supplies. Trailer-load, equating to 24 barrow loads, for £120. Sizes varied enormously, with ...

Dell Inspiron Views

Laptops 23 May 2010

Bought for my Mum, a Dell Inspiron laptop with a 15" screen and 3 years onsite warranty, for £400.

Windows 7: Adding a context menu item for image resizing

Computer Programming 23 May 2010

Install imagemagick Create a destination directory for the images Create a batch file (eg, C:\webimage.bat) with this line in it: convert ...

The Google Wonder Wheel

Computing 22 May 2010

Google is really playing around with different interfaces to help you fine-tune your search results. For a pretty broad phrase like 'cycling ...

Pet Mice

Animals 04 May 2010

Here are some pet mice belonging to our eight-year-old, Isabel.

See Twitter Anywhere

Twitter 02 May 2010

To implement this on your own website, sign into Twitter and register your Twitter App at dev.twitter.com/apps. pre.code{width:600px;border ...

Stupidbot

Showcase 😀 22 Apr 2010

One Smart Fellow

Fun Stuff 16 Apr 2010

One smart fellow, he felt smart. Two smart fellows, they both felt smart. Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.

CTC Review of the Chariot Cougar 2

Child Trailers 05 Apr 2010

CTC members Ali and Darrell High sent in a review of the Chariot Cougar 2 to the CTC's Cycle magazine, and were very positive about it: Our ...

A Great Deal from Sainsbury's? Don't Drink to THAT!

House and Home 05 Apr 2010

Here's an offer from Sainsbury's you can possibly refuse - bottles of cider, usually £1.54, or THREE FOR £5! Wait a moment, doesn ...

Chris Roach Polycarbonate Supplies

House and Home 02 Apr 2010

Chris Roach Trade & Retail Plastics in Magdalen Road, Norwich, have an online price list: Polycarbonate Sheet Prices The listed prices ...

Feed-In Tariffs Are Now Live!

Solar PV Electricity 01 Apr 2010

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) are now live: The introduction today of two carbon ...

Windsave Turbine Getting Blown Over

Wind Turbines 14 Mar 2010

We have some unfortunate news to report: our wind turbine, installed 2.5 years ago by The Mark Group (for Windsave), is on the tilt. It's crooked ...

Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) for existing installations

Wind Turbines 07 Mar 2010

Early adopters of electricity micro-generation are set to be kicked in the teeth, will miss out on decent new tariffs. If you feel that this ...

Feed-in Tariffs May Make Solar PV Economical

Solar PV Electricity 06 Mar 2010

Our house roof is of tile construction, with a 45 degree pitch and one side is almost purely south-facing. That side measures 8.5m wide by 5 ...

Vote Bike!

Cycling 03 Mar 2010

The Cyclists Touring Club (CTC) has fired up a campaign aimed at politicians. With the general election coming up, now is the time to make sure ...

Planning Permission for Solar?

Solar PV Electricity 03 Mar 2010

From the Planning Portal website: Interactive visual guide for the home, which states that "In many cases fitting solar panels to the roof ...

Good Energy vs. Ecotricity: which Green Electricity Supplier to use?

Electricity 23 Feb 2010

A war is ongoing between Britain's leading 'Green' electricity suppliers, with Ecotricity especially keen to slag Good Energy off at every opportunity ...

Get the Best Oil Price, When You Want It!

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 22 Feb 2010

We have become used to the idea of the group discounting service provided by BoilerJuice, which hunts for the lowest prices by aggregating consumer ...

Affordable Solar - Really?

Solar PV Electricity 21 Feb 2010

We have had a visit from an Affordable Solar rep (Simon Palmer). This consisted of a technology, service and financial overview, followed by ...

My Buzz Feed

Computing 10 Feb 2010

This is produced from the URL http://buzz.googleapis.com/feeds/john.swindells/public/posted

All the Buzz about Google

Computing 10 Feb 2010

Everybody in the computing world is talking about it, and most are playing with it... but what about the general public? Google Buzz is integrated ...

Regional Magazines for North Norfolk

North Walsham 08 Feb 2010

Two publications have started up recently in North Walsham and North Norfolk. Both are free, glossy magazines with interesting articles supplemented ...

Windows 7 Upgrade from XP

Computing 06 Feb 2010

I have just completed my upgrade from Windows XP (tablet edition) to Windows 7, having bought the boxed product for £65 from Amazon [

Kia Sedona - Details

Family Car 02 Feb 2010

The vehicle details for our new Kia Sedona are:
Date of Liability 01 03 2010 Date of First Registration 01 ...

Death Knell For IE6

Computing 02 Feb 2010

The Microsoft web browser loathed by web developers everywhere, Internet Explorer 6, is now going to lose Google's support. Here is a quote ...

North Walsham Post Office

North Walsham 01 Feb 2010

For some reason the North Walsham Post Office doesn't appear in any online business listings. So, here they are: North Walsham Post Office ...

Invest in a Community Wind Turbine!

Ethical Investments 24 Jan 2010

I'm actively supporting Unity Wind Ltd, a non-profit setup that supports community wind projects in Norfolk. A small band of volunteers is currently ...

Media Temple Proactive Against DoS

Web Programming 22 Jan 2010

I have some mixed opinions of Media Temple tonight. On the one hand, I was completely unable to access swinny.net (IMAP/SSH/HTTP) or domains ...

Make Your Turbo Trainer Pay

Cycling 22 Jan 2010

Want to feel super-incentivised strap your bike into your turbo trainer? Try attaching a dynamo! The ETA (Environmental Transport Association ...

Saboteur Gets Knife In Back

Wind Turbines 22 Jan 2010

The saboteur that viciously brought down the Unity Wind Weather Mast at the end of last year must be really, really gutted now. Their actions ...

Dell's 1.3kg Netbook

Computing 18 Jan 2010

This is an interesting little number - the DELL Inspiron Mini 10v Black Netbook being sold by Maplin for £230 (while stocks last). Product ...

Microsoft Security Essentials Problems

Computing 18 Jan 2010

I haven't heard much in the way of praise or criticism of Microsoft's security essential pack. It claims to provide "real-time protection for ...

Official: Worst Short URL Ever

Computing 16 Jan 2010

Whilst thinking about short URLs for work projects today, my brain managed to stumble on one for swinny.net which I thought was really neat at ...

Mindcom Hits The Front Page!

Life at Mindcom 16 Jan 2010

Okay, we're only on the front page of a regional newspaper with daily circulation under 8000, but it's still pretty cool: Web Firm A Global ...

How to choose a low-environmental impact diposable diaper?

Child Help 15 Jan 2010

Background We live in the UK but are going on vacation to California for a month. Unlike previous month-long visits with toddlers, when ...

Climate Change Capital: Wealth Worth Having

Ethical Investments 12 Jan 2010

Climate Change Capital is an investment management company that aims to "channel significant amounts of capital into the solutions to climate ...

Wireless Headset (Stereo)

Computing 11 Jan 2010

I've just ordered a Plantronics .Audio 995 Digital Wireless Stereo Headset from Amazon UK, although the Creative Labs HS-1200 Digital Wireless ...

Satellite View of the Snow-Covered UK

Fun Stuff 08 Jan 2010

Here's an amazing NASA satellite view of a snow-covered UK: NASA's 1.5MB JPEG Image I've mirrored the image here, because of connection ...

Articles and advice on cycling, technology, home efficiency and more - 2010