Articles and Advice on Home Efficiency, Technology, Family History and more (2011)

Photography 31 Dec 2011

This camera epitomises the "just work" requirement for digital cameras. It has quite a modest feature list - no wireless interface, no GPS ...

Could oil be the magic ingredient for solar power?

Solar PV Electricity 30 Dec 2011

In what seems to be an ironic twist of fate for that environment bad-boy, oil, the next big thing in solar cell production may depend on oil ...

PC Upgrade on a budget

Computing 29 Dec 2011

Our lounge PC - used as a media centre and for gaming - was due for an upgrade. It consisted of an AMD Althlon X64 system in an ancient mini ...

Noisy combine harvester

Fun Stuff 29 Dec 2011

This is a really noisy combine harvester, filmed for the benefit of Michael (aged 2 at the time):

18 December 2011: Broome Heath Scramble

Cyclocross 20 Dec 2011

Snow was settled on the ground for the Broome Heath Scramble at Ditchingham, although not as much as in last year's event. Spectators, marshals ...

Waterproof clothing and Biological detergents

Cycling 13 Dec 2011

One of John's cycling jackets says "Do not wash in biological detergents." Why? The jacket is a soft polyester fleece that has been coated ...

Cloudflare for Better Web Performance?

Web Hosting 13 Dec 2011

There is a company that offers a firewall service fir your web hosting, and it does this using the so-called 'cloud'. Furthermore, its starter ...

Islabike Prices on Ebay

Kids on Bikes 12 Dec 2011

What prices do second-hand Islabikes fetch? Here are my findings based on a year-long study of auction prices on eBay. Here is a chart ...

House Measurements for NR28 0JG

My House 07 Dec 2011

Weather chart for NR28 0JG

My Weather 07 Dec 2011

Easy Access Childrens Accounts

Finance 07 Dec 2011

NB: This is about bank accounts that children can use themselves, not long-termsaving vehicles for babies, etc.
Let's look at our requirements ...

Solar Readings for NR28 0JG

My Solar PV 04 Dec 2011

26 November 2011: Redgrave Cross

Cyclocross 01 Dec 2011

The cyclo-cross course at Redgrave (near Diss, Suffolk) was very flat and exposed, and a strong breeze made some sections quite a slog. The ...

Why I Hate Tombolas

Fun Stuff 25 Nov 2011

Apparently Tombola games are an Italian invention (some history). I never encountered them until I came to Britain, and it could even be ...

Ruf's Levels of Giftedness are Creepy

Child Help 25 Nov 2011

I don't mean to slag off Deboarah L. Ruf personally. I haven't even read her original research or book, and plenty of what she says is common ...

Piano tips for beginners

Piano for the Amateur 25 Nov 2011

I have been self-teaching myself piano since mid-2006. One thing I've learnt from browsing the fora for beginners is that there is no one best ...

Solar PV Spreadsheet

Solar PV Electricity 25 Nov 2011

Here we investigate how to work out the economics of the returns you might get from a domestic solar photovoltaic installation. Background ...

Checklist for a Solar PV Installation

Solar PV Electricity 23 Nov 2011

Getting a solar electricity system installed in the UK is a fantastic idea, but there are many things you need to be aware of. Here is a checklist ...

A Foggy North Norfolk Afternoon

North Walsham 22 Nov 2011

It was around 3PM when we captured this video on a drive across North Norfolk. The fog was exceptionally thick, and the picture here was taken ...

20 November 2011: Hempton Cross

Cyclocross 21 Nov 2011

This was Round 10 of the Eastern Cross League, in warm and sunny conditions with very little breeze. The ground was dry underfoot as well ...

Our Windsave Wind Turbine is No More

Wind Turbines 19 Nov 2011

After four years being mounted on the end of our house, the Windsave 1kW wind turbine has finally been taken down. It was dismantled by crew ...

British Road Fatalities Mapped Out

Road Safety and Motoring 19 Nov 2011

ITO World has compiled a zoomable, browsable map of fatalities and casualties on Britain's roads, during the first decade of the 21st century ...

Junior ISA: yet another Piggy Bank for the Little Darlings

Finance 19 Nov 2011

Governments of recent years have fallen over themselves to "be seen" to encourage saving from a young age. Children's accounts have always ...

A Stormy North Norfolk Sky

North Walsham 19 Nov 2011

I captured this shot on the ride home from Norwich to North Walsham. It was an especially showery day, and the roads were variously flooded ...

How to Clean Solar Panels

Solar PV Electricity 17 Nov 2011

Solar absorption is a critical factor in getting your solar panels working efficiently and producing lots of useful electricity. The last thing ...

Solar PV expected and actual generation

Solar PV Electricity 16 Nov 2011

Will update this section as the numbers roll in. For now, to get started, here is a plot of two sets of expected Solar PV generation compared ...

How Good are Low Energy CFL Spotlights?

House and Home 14 Nov 2011

We have had all sorts of problems with a pair of B&Q low-energy kitchen lights that we bought back in February 2011. To save other people ...

How to Use the SMA Sunny Boy Inverter

Solar PV Electricity 14 Nov 2011

SMA is a German company that makes some of the best solar pv inverters around. These are the bits of kit that are fed the DC electrical output ...

Data Input

Measure 14 Nov 2011

This is where I input data readings from various sources. Eventually you should be able to do the same. Current Data Sets

Beware of Non-standard Heating Oil Payment Methods

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 13 Nov 2011

There is some consternation over a website offering discount heating oil prices, as long as you pay for it using relatively unknown payment ...

Our Leap into Solar PV

Solar PV Electricity 12 Nov 2011

After a lot of procrastinating and fretting over the initial costs, we decided to go for it and install solar electricity panels on the roof ...

Extraordinary* crime fiction

Book Reviews 02 Nov 2011

Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri (has been dramatised to TV, too). Suave cautious gourmet cowardly melodramatic cynical but honest ...

Solar PV set to become Less Affordable?

Solar PV Electricity 01 Nov 2011

Clouds are appearing on the horizon in the solar photo-voltaic marketplace. Just as the UK resident has become used to the sight of solar ...

30 October 2011: Mistley Cyclo-cross

Cyclocross 31 Oct 2011

This was round 8 of the Eastern Cyclo-cross League. Conditions were unseasonably warm and sunny, with hardly any wind either. The ground was ...

Solar Field Emerges in North Norfolk

Solar PV Electricity 24 Oct 2011

A new field of solar PV panels is being built on the outskirts of North Walsham, North Norfolk. After a lengthy search on the North Norfolk ...

Norwich County Hall Racing: 23 October 2011

Cycling 24 Oct 2011

In the final event of the season, and hosted by Iceni Velo, the County Hall Go-Ride and Go-Race series came to an end with lots of close racing ...

2011 Kids Competitive Cycling Events near to Norfolk UK

Norfolk 21 Oct 2011

2011 list, culled from many sources, including Mark Wyer's emails and British Cycling, of junior (open to under 16s) cycling events within ...

BoilerJuice is owned by...

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 21 Oct 2011

... Welsummer Ltd (as of October 2011).
Before then, it was owned by... ... GB Oils. Once upon a time BoilerJuice would try ...

Next-Day Standard Bank Transfers from 2012

Finance 20 Oct 2011

Things are about to change when you make electronic payments. These changes affect all sterling and foreign electronic payments within the ...

Comic Books for Kids age 5 - 12

KidSpeak 20 Oct 2011

All kids love comic books, right? Well, not me as a kid; I didn't ever read comics. I tried but couldn't "get" it. I found ...

Free Solar PV: What's the Cost?

Solar PV Electricity 19 Oct 2011

I had the great pleasure in receiving an unsolicited call from a UK company marketing their 'free solar panel' deal. Since I'm interested ...

A Professional Home for Life

Professional Development 19 Oct 2011

Mike Short, IET President for 2011/12, describes the IET (Institute of Engineering and Technology) as a professional home for life. It provides ...

OFT Report Concludes 'Fair Deal' on Heating Oil

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 18 Oct 2011

As promised, the Office of Fair Trading has completed its study into competition within the heating oil market and has made its findings public ...

Compare Solar PV Installers

Solar PV Electricity 17 Oct 2011

Below is a list of Solar PV installation companies, most of which we have contacted for a quotation. We have included a diary of responses they ...

The Autumn Dilemma for Heating Oil Consumers

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 17 Oct 2011

October is a funny month. One day we can be basked in warm sunshine and wondering how long this 'extended summer' can last, and the next day ...

16 October 2011: Eastern Cyclo-Cross Round 6

Cyclocross 16 Oct 2011

This was a category B cyclocross event organised by Amis Velo, at Hilly Fields in Colchester (next to the Colchester Institute). Conditions ...

BoilerJuice Discounting

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 15 Oct 2011

BoilerJuice is a service that attempts to cluster individuals' orders together to create a small number of large orders. Here is their explanation ...

Norwich County Hall Racing: 09 October 2011

Cycling 13 Oct 2011

Despite a wet start to proceedings, the turnout for junior Go-Ride circuit racing at the Norfolk County Hall car park was good. There were ...

Convert from feet to metres

Simple Programming Exercises 12 Oct 2011

Advertised mpg doesn't match reality

Family Car 12 Oct 2011

Who would have thought? Car manufacturers finding ways to inflate advertised mpgs on new model cars? Could it be? Actually, sarcasm aside ...

Online Shops

Model Railways 11 Oct 2011

The June issue of Railway Modeller features the following advertisers with websites: GaugeMaster Tel 01903 884321. Arundel, West Sussex ...

Lusher or Luscher Familes, from Redwood Falls MN to Pasadena CA

The Brainard Name 10 Oct 2011

Henry Luscher and Family We have many colourful stories about my grandfather's great-grandfather. He was (supposedly) born William Rudolph ...

Most home wi-fi networks are insecure!

Internet Access: UK Broadband 08 Oct 2011

A survey has found that over half of all home wi-fi networks in the UK are insecure and can be hacked into in under 5 seconds. A lot don't even ...

Make Your Headlines Shine

Web Programming 06 Oct 2011

Here we learn how to create a text shadow affect, using only a bit of CSS. div.box{ background-color:#000000; } h4.glow { padding ...

British Cycling rules for Racing Youth

Kids on Bikes 06 Oct 2011

General Road racing on closed circuits only (tarmac circuits isolated from ordinary road traffic, not real roads)
Helmets and two working ...

Good Energy Recommends Solar Suppliers

Solar PV Electricity 04 Oct 2011

Which solar supplier? 100% renewable electricity supplier and micro-generation evangelist Good Energy has provided a small list of solar ...

Boilerjuice to regain its Independence?

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 04 Oct 2011

After a colossal volume of criticism about its impartiality and opaqueness, Boilerjuice may become independent once again. In 2005 Paul ...

Foundry Cars North Walsham (buying a used car MPV)

Family Car 04 Oct 2011

This is a tale of woe about the trouble we had with buying a used car in North Walsham, Norfolk. If you have your own experience of 2nd-hand ...

Faster Motorway Speeds: Who Cares?

Road Safety and Motoring 02 Oct 2011

A Government announcement last week (Thursday 29 September 2011) to consult on raising the UK's motorway speed limit from 70mph to 80mph had ...

2 October 2011: Norwich Sportspark Triathlon

Cycling 02 Oct 2011

Early on Sunday morning, Julii and three other Great Yarmouth CC team-mates ran in the Norwich Sportspark Triathlon as a 'Rookie Racers' team ...

1 October 2011: Norwich ABC 10-mile Time Trial

Time Trialling 01 Oct 2011

A fantastically warm day on the B10/43 course, with a light south-westerly breeze. Despite the excellent conditions, times weren't terribly ...

24 September 2011: East Anglian CC 10-mile Time Trial

Time Trialling 24 Sep 2011

Conditions were overcast at a temperature of around 20 celsius, and a gentle south-westerly breeze. Field size: 75.

The Facebook Timeline

The Social Web 23 Sep 2011

The fantastic people at Facebook certainly know how to progress, improve and revolutionise. They sometimes take flak for a new feature, especially ...

Costs and Benefits of Oil Buying Groups

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 22 Sep 2011

Joining an oil buying group is potentially a great way to minimise the effect of increasing domestic oil prices. One community group in Oxfordshire ...

Google Plus Needs You!

The Social Web 21 Sep 2011

Google Plus (or Google+ for short, or G+ for even shorter) is search giant Google's latest attempt to 'go social'. It is doing this so that ...

Baby Pigeon

Animals 20 Sep 2011

One would imagine that pigeons will build substantial nests, in trees or stout hedgerows. However, we have located a pigeon's nest (with two ...

Mission Accomplished - but Never Again!

Origins of Nathaniel Bacon of Middletown

The Bacon Family History 19 Sep 2011

Nathaniel Bacon of Middletown (NB of M) died in 27 Jan 1705 (1706 in modern era), at the age of 76, according to contemporary records. That suggests ...

Bacon family in Suffolk, England 1600-1650

The Bacon Family History 18 Sep 2011

Records gleaned (so far, others not found yet) from a visit to the Ipswich Suffolk Records office September 2011; mostly taken from transcripts ...

Tour of Britain visits Norfolk again in 2011

Cycling 17 Sep 2011

Stage 7 of the Tour of Britain started in Bury St Edmunds and finished in Sandringham, going through many beautiful villages and even through ...

Bacon Family History: Summary

The Bacon Family History 17 Sep 2011

If you're part of my Bacon tribe and want to know about this branch of your family history, read here!
Apologies for any missing dates, ...

Enormous Spider!

Animals 16 Sep 2011

We were hanging around in the kitchen, when we noticed this critter hurrying along the floor towards us. Thankfully it stopped before getting ...

Where Your Money Will Go

What Happens on a Tandem Skydive?

Google Web Fonts

Web Programming 12 Sep 2011

Google Web Fonts lets you browse all the fonts available via the Google Web Fonts API. All fonts in the directory are available for use on ...

10 September 2011: Norwich ABC 10-mile Time Trial

Time Trialling 10 Sep 2011

Conditions were warm and sunny, but breezy (brisk south-westerly). Field size: 69. Amongst the GYCC results was a great time from Neil, and ...

Priscilla (Fink, Newberry) Crawford

The Brainard Name 12 Sep 2011

This is all I have about Priscilla, born Priscilla Newberry. It is a delight to finally have a picture of her! (see right). She married twice ...

Heating Oil Websites can be Deceptive

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 11 Sep 2011

Impartiality in the heating oil domestic market can be as slippery to grasp as the heating oil itself. Last time you visited a heating oil ...

Comparison of 700c Child Road Bikes

Kids on Bikes 11 Sep 2011

The choice of road bikes customised for children is quite limited. We were looking no bigger than a 48-50cm frame, and the smallest adult ...

Custom Cannondale Time Trial Bike

Bikes 10 Sep 2011

Here is a photo of me holding up my custom-fitted time trial bike. It features a cannondale aluminium alloy frame, Zipp rear wheel, Sninergy ...

Norwich City Cancels Junior Bike Event

Cycling 10 Sep 2011

On 31 August 2011, British Cycling officer Sara Flatt had the great sadness to report that a junior bike race at County Hall Norwich has been ...

Check the 'chute Before you Jump!

North Norfolk Wind Turbine Needs Support

Wind Turbines 04 Sep 2011

North Norfolk farmer John Mack (& son David) need your supportive comments for their Genatec wind turbine planning application. Consultation ...

System Resource Monitor

The Developer's Apple Mac 01 Sep 2011

There is a rather neat system monitoring tool, Magician Monitor, which is free to download and gives a handy view on how much network, CPU and ...

Tips for visiting Longleat Safari Park, Wiltshire

Great Days Out 29 Aug 2011

Just had a fab three days at Longleat and thought we'd share some of our lessons learned. Keep in mind that we went Monday-Weds, in August, ...

Norwich County Hall Racing: 28 August 2011

Cycling 28 Aug 2011

Part 2 of 6 was a great success, and a gentle breeze in warm sunny conditions gave the thirty or so riders plenty of spirit for close sprint ...

Renfrow Family Portrait

The Brainard Name 16 Aug 2011

Portrait taken, I think, in late (?October, not too late, it gets snowy in North Dakota!) 1903 or early 1904 (no earlier than April? given weather ...

Blowing up a wetsuit

Fun Stuff 11 Aug 2011

Did you know that you can blow air into a wetsuit and make yourself look really big? Try it next time you're wearing one - just watch the video ...

Norfolk County Hall Circuit Races: August - October

Norfolk 07 Aug 2011

Keep your Sundays free for cycle racing, as novice adults and children will be able to come together for six pure racing sessions spread throughout ...

Renfrow Obitutuaries

The Brainard Name 02 Aug 2011

Obituary for Joseph Renfrow as right. Note the mention of his aged sister still alive (& presumably in contact): Mrs. Sue Hendrix of Golden ...

My branch of Renfrow, Mahurin and allied Families

The Brainard Name 02 Aug 2011

PICTURE RIGHT: (Left) Blanche Alice (Renfrow) McKay and (middle) her daughter Merwyn (McKay) Bergquist, taken ~1980

From what I can ...

Solved: the Zoomed-In Unlock Screen

iPhone and other Smartphones 31 Jul 2011

Hitting the power button on my iPhone this evening, I was shocked to discover that the screen was zoomed in - the 'Unlock' slider was massive ...

Four Generations Bacons Photo

The Bacon Family History 28 Jul 2011

This was kindly supplied by CJ Roberts. CJR understood the photo to show Eliza (Conn) Bacon, her son Robert David, and one of Robert's sons ...

Should Webmasters Pander to Google?

Search Engine Optimization 27 Jul 2011

Webmasters around the world have been affected by Google's major shake-up of its search rankings. Know as the "Panda Update", it puts a real ...

Off-grid Help for Renewables

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 25 Jul 2011

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is making it easier for off-grid customers to make their homes less dependent on expensive ...

Baby Robin Trapped Indoors

Animals 24 Jul 2011

Birds can get easily confused. This young robin got stuck on the wrong side of our kitchen window, and only after a photo shoot and random ...

iPhone Dock with SD Port and Powered USB

iPhone and other Smartphones 20 Jul 2011

The dexim DWP005 Premium MHub Dock Station appears to have it all: three USB hubs; an SD/SD-HC card slot; an iPhone dock (works with iPhone 4 ...

Crivit Bike Computer

Sports Gear: Under Test 12 Jul 2011

This is a budget cycle computer, but you have to know how to use it. Here you can read the user manual and pick up useful tips. This bike ...

Letters in the Archive of Joan (Swindells) Miller

Swindells Family Photos 08 Jul 2011

Snippets of Family history, 1915-2006 Transcriptions of letters received and stored by Joan (Swindells) Miller Horley 248. Benhams Horley ...

Mr Clutch will fix your car... Eventually

Family Car 06 Jul 2011

When our not-so-beloved MPV became almost impossible to drive because of a slipping clutch, we took it to our local garage for a prognosis ...

Edie Letters Misc., 1914 and Later

Swindells Family Photos 29 Jun 2011

Burial card for Helen Maud Sherwood, Grave No. 2183, Square 18, Interred Dec 18 1890, Wolverhampton General Cemetery.

----------- ...

Swindells Family History

Swindells Family Photos 29 Jun 2011

John's branch, at least. John's lineage goes like this:
Paul Anthony Swindells Mar 1944-Aug 2009
Norman George Swindells (11 Oct ...

Maplin Blood Pressure Monitor

Sports Gear: Under Test 15 Jun 2011

The word 'monitor' doesn't really apply to this cheap - yet effective - gadget from Maplin. It measures your blood pressure using a standard ...

Robson Family History

The Brainard Name 15 Jun 2011

Robson and related families, in England, Chicago and California. My grandfather, Robert Francis Brainard, was the only son (only child, ...

Oil Thefts Almost Unchanged Between 2009 And 2010

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 07 Jun 2011

Heating oil has been making the headlines a lot in the last seven months, as the price soared and more people reported thefts from their tanks ...

McKay Family History

The Brainard Name 07 Jun 2011

All about Charles Lawrence McKay ("Lauren", "Lorn" or "Mac"). Who was an accomplished fiddle player, studied music at Pasadena Nazarene college ...

Google +1 for all Websites

The Social Web 01 Jun 2011

Webmasters can now put Google's "like competitor" +1 on their web pages. Many webmasters will groan with trepidation at the thought of having ...

The Twitter Follow Button

Twitter 01 Jun 2011

A special piece of Twitter javascript allows you to add a 'follow button' to your website. The documentation is at twitter.com/about/resources ...

How Windows Determines Your Internet Access

Computing 30 May 2011

If you've ever wondered how Microsoft Windows knows whether you have a solid Internet connection or not, it isn't magic: Windows networking ...

The Human Bicycle

Cycling 30 May 2011

Just when you thought that the bicycle couldn't get more human-powered, here is a video that shows just how 'human' a bike can be - with a ...

Faulty iPhone out of Warranty? Help is at Hand!

iPhone and other Smartphones 29 May 2011

UK consumers have a powerful friend in the Sale of Goods Act, if something they buy fails unexpectedly within a fairly long period of time ...

Choosing the Best iPhone Apps

iPhone and other Smartphones 29 May 2011

What do you do when you acquire your first smart-phone and get confused about apps? How do you know which ones are any good and which ones ...

Junior Bike Race in Norwich

Cycling 27 May 2011

Iceni Velo organised a cracking morning's racing in the Norfolk County Hall car park on 22 May, and put together races for under 8's right ...

Video Display for Driver? Can't be Safe!

Road Safety and Motoring 27 May 2011

Toyota is going for gadgets with its new Prius, and we're talking smartphone gadgets here. The idea is that you will be able to use your phone ...

How to Publish Your Facebook Stream

The Social Web 25 May 2011

If you'd like to publish your Facebook status updates on your own website, it takes a bit of figuring out. Fortunately, the instructions at ...

Hands-free Phone doesn't mean Both Hands off the Wheel!

Road Safety and Motoring 22 May 2011

I recently had the misfortune to witness an Environment Agency employee driving along, in an Environment Agency truck, playing with his phone ...

How to choose a new Family Shower?

House and Home 22 May 2011

If you are faced with the prospect of choosing a new shower unit for your family bathroon, then this may be for you! Our main shower room ...

Rasmus Lerdorf: Founder of PHP

Influencers 21 May 2011

Greenland has its very own computing influencer! Way back in 1995, Rasmus Lerdorf got PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) off the ground and thus ...

Gooch and Stout Family History Summary

The Bacon Family History 19 May 2011

Gooch and Stout family history The Gooch family, Stout clan and their allied families (related by marriage) are overwhelmingly Poor, Southern ...

Domesday Reloaded: 1986

North Walsham 17 May 2011

The 1986 Domesday Project was aundertaken by school-children to commemorate the 900th anniversary of William the Conqueror's 1086 Domesday survey ...

National Savings Index-Linked Certificates

Finance 14 May 2011

If you are a UK taxpayer then you will want to take a look at the new National Savings certificates that promise to match or beat the RPI (retail ...

Profile of our North Norfolk MP

North Walsham 14 May 2011

Our MP for North Norfolk a Liberal Democrat, and his name is Norman Lamb. He has his own website at www.normanlamb.org.uk, and he posts occasional ...

Buying a 2nd-Hand Car? STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!

Family Car 10 May 2011

Don't even think of buying a used car until you've read this! We bought a car from a dealer who we thought we could trust, and learnt the following ...

Eco-friendly Bike Spray!

Bike Maintenance 07 May 2011

Environmentally friendly bike lubricants and cleaners are traditionally just the drip-feed-from-a-bottle design, since traditional aerosols ...

Encrypt your iPhone Backup

iPhone and other Smartphones 07 May 2011

You may be aware of the iPhone backup feature within iTunes (on your personal computer), and you may have seen the checkbox to encrypt the backup ...

Home Design Software

House and Home 06 May 2011

A decent home design software package can save you a lot of time, money and effort when you are considering making changes to your home interior ...

Reducing Heating Oil Costs with Renewables

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 05 May 2011

Micro-generation of renewable energy has been quietly gaining interest in the home improvement world, especially with Government support in ...

Where has my iPhone been?

iPhone and other Smartphones 03 May 2011

It should come as no surprise that the iPhone, master of location-sensitive applications, is recording its every move. There are privacy concerns ...

iPhone Hacks, Tweaks and Tips

iPhone and other Smartphones 02 May 2011

The iPhone is an exceptionally easy bit of kit to learn, and I'm sure that the designers spent a great deal of time getting the learning curve ...

How to Repair a Pond Liner

Gardening 01 May 2011

It is quite straightforward to repair a PVC pond liner, so before you decide to rip everything out and start again, read on! The first thing ...

What is the most eco-friendly way to launder clothes?

House and Home 30 Apr 2011

Yeah yeah, I know, quite boring, but if you want to be a good eco-freak you need to think about the environmental impact of all your activities ...

Battery Case for the iPhone 4

iPhone and other Smartphones 29 Apr 2011

The iPhone 4 has a pretty decent battery life on standby, but it's not so good if you use its GPS sensing a lot. This will happen when you use ...

Lines to pursue, and lines that are covered

Family History 25 Apr 2011

FAMILY HISTORY: This is a list of who I could productively keep hunting for, and who is already well-being hotly pursued by distant cousins ...

Facebook for Genealogy

The Social Web 23 Apr 2011

This is my big Facebook prediction for 2012: support for dead people. For now, only living, real people are supposed to be on Facebook, and ...

Mis-sold PPI (Payment Protection Insurance)

Finance 20 Apr 2011

It is all to easy for a finance agreement to have payment protection insurance slipped into the figures without anyone noticing. In this repayment ...

Loretta (White) Jaggers

The Bacon Family History 18 Apr 2011

This is among the family photos, a printed postcard. Martha Gooch was named for her maternal grandmother, Martha White. I have worked out that ...

Wootton Oil Buying Group on The One Show

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 16 Apr 2011

The village of Wootton in Oxfordshire has been quietly saving lots of money on home heating oil, and now has had a prime spot on the BBC current ...

Solar-powered Facebook Data Center

Solar PV Electricity 16 Apr 2011

Facebook has opened a new datacenter, to house thousands of servers that power its immense web platform. This one is in Prineville, Oregon, ...

Solar Heating Installers

Solar Water Heating 15 Apr 2011

Even a northern climate like the UK can give year-round water heating from the Sun, as long as the system is efficient and installed correctly ...

Seed Tape for Simpler Sowing

Gardening 14 Apr 2011

Have you ever found your fingers to be too fat for sowing seeds from a loose packetful? If so, then seed tape may be for you. The seeds are ...

Reading/writing image exif data with PHP

Computer Programming 11 Apr 2011

Choices of reading: built-in exif_read_data (PHP 4.2+) or exifReader class from http://www.sanisoft.com/phpexifrw/ For writing, there is no ...

Is there such a thing as a Free Credit Score?

Finance 10 Apr 2011

If you want to find out your credit score, you generally have to pay for it. Information about you, held by companies such as Experian, is used ...

First Spring Seedlings

Gardening 04 Apr 2011

We have got the first of our 2011 seedlings: tomato, courgette (zuchini) and sweet pea. All were propagated under glass sheets in the lounge ...

Native Hedgerow topped up

Gardening 02 Apr 2011

To boost our two-year-old native hedgerow on the front border, and to replace the odd failed plant, we have planted thirty three-foot plants ...

Twitter Intents make websites Twitter-like

The Social Web 01 Apr 2011

Twitter has added a new string to its impressive API collection, and this one is aimed squarely at web publishers who republish tweets. With ...

The Best Funny Tweets

Fun Stuff 01 Apr 2011

Here's my compilation of the best humorous tweets I've come across on the web, in descending date order: ) on

Google +1 Set to Rival Facebook Likes

The Social Web 31 Mar 2011

In its continuing efforts to 'get social', Google is rolling out the "+1" (plus one) button next to its search results. It wants people to click ...

The iGagitz Armband

iPhone Bike Accessories 26 Mar 2011

There are a great many useful iPhone applications for cyclists on the move. It isn't the safest thing in the world to be riding along with your ...

Borrowing: Pay Monthly or Pay Lump Sum?

Finance 26 Mar 2011

The scenario is this: You need to buy a computer for £1000, but don't have the money. Somebody agrees to lend you the money, and you have ...

SEO Blog: Are outbound links the new SEO?

Search Engine Optimization 17 Mar 2011

Search engine optimisation has a lot of subjectiveness to it, and the large number of 'signals' that search engines employ to fine-tune their ...

Office of Fair Trading Wants to Hear from YOU!

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 17 Mar 2011

After a brief period of consultation and scoping, the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) is inviting heating oil consumers (and other off-grid customers ...

Guardian Offer: 160 Summer-flowering Bulbs for under a fiver

Gardening 06 Mar 2011

The Guardian has an offer of 160 bulbs 'free for every reader', only you have to stump up £4.50 for P&P. Order online to avoid any ...

Our Native Hedgerow

Gardening 06 Mar 2011

We inherited a prosperous laurel hedge on our front border, and decided that its tremendous growth and unattractiveness to wildlife were good ...

Facebook Commenting for Websites

Web Programming 06 Mar 2011

Facebook has opened up its commenting system to all websites. What this means is that there is no need for a website owner to develop, run and ...

Find My iPhone

iPhone and other Smartphones 05 Mar 2011

Apple has a really neat feature to help you find your iPhone - but you must have set it up before you lose it! The first step is to make sure ...

Stouts

The Bacon Family History 04 Mar 2011

George Washington Stout (1837-17 Jul 1916, pic taken ~1890), and his daughter Rachel Ann Stout (1871-1956, pic taken about 1897). Toddler Martha ...

No-Go-Locate Fuel!

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 28 Feb 2011

What do you do if you place an order for heating oil, and none arrives? This is what happened to Go Locate customer Martin Armstrong, in December ...

Wiggs Family Portrait 1884

The Bacon Family History 27 Feb 2011

Probably taken in early 1884. Originally mislabeled as a portrait of JC Bacon and family.

Centre: Raiford Wiggs (1827-1915) and Sarah ...

The Bacons in California

The Bacon Family History 27 Feb 2011

~1880 portraits of CE Bacon by himself, 1910 portrait of Joshua Bacon with his son Charles, and Charle's son Raymond, DIL Edna and their young ...

Gooch and Stout Family Letters

The Bacon Family History 27 Feb 2011

Here is all I have of Rachel J. (Stout) Gooch and (George Washington Stout's letters and documents, plenty correspondence with his sister Phoebe ...

How about a DIY Wind Turbine?

Wind Turbines 23 Feb 2011

You can build a wind turbine yourself! And Hugh Pigott appears to be the man when it comes to DIY wind turbines. He designs and builds all ...

FIXED: WS-1000 Wind Turbine!

Wind Turbines 20 Feb 2011

After almost a year of inactivity, our wind turbine is now ready to turn again! In March last year we noticed that the bottom bolt (directly ...

The Science of Flat Tyres

Sports Gear: Under Test 19 Feb 2011

Are you sick and tired of getting punctures? Maybe you have prejudices for and against certain types, and brands, of tyre. If you want to understand ...

How long does 1000L of oil last for you?

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 18 Feb 2011

1000L is a lot of heating oil, right? So how long do you make it last? Let everyone know by completing the "Buying Oil" survey on the right ...

Ride for Life 2011

Norfolk 18 Feb 2011

The Eastern Daily Press Ride for Life takes place on May 19 at Santon Downham in Thetford Forest. On-road and off-road riding are catered for ...

Shops in Norwich that might be able to help with supplies

Norfolk 18 Feb 2011

The absolute priority with any quality ride is knowing where the tea-rooms are. So, we've compiled a map of the best-uns! Specialised Cycles ...

In Case of Emergency!

Cycling 14 Feb 2011

Here's a top tip for your mobile phone: Create a contact called ICE and include your emergency contact number (and their relationship to you ...

World Cup Cycling LIVE on the BBC!

Cycling 13 Feb 2011

The BBC is televising the Track Cycling World Cup, to UK viewers, with a massive two-and-a-half hour slot on Sunday 20 February 2011 at 1:30PM ...

So, what am I?

Family History 13 Feb 2011

The sort of thing that Americans tend to obsess about, what ethnic origins do I have?

Near as I can tell, for me it breaks down like ...

How to copy (clone) a hard disk drive

Computing 12 Feb 2011

If you have your computer nicely configured but you are running out of disk space, the last thing you want to do is re-install everything on ...

Beware the Costs of Internet Tethering

iPhone and other Smartphones 11 Feb 2011

Internet tethering is a great bit of technology which allows you to share your phone's 3G internet connection with a desktop or laptop computer ...

Vaseline and Silicone Sealant: good for... Draughtproofing!

House and Home 11 Feb 2011

If you live in an older property with window or door frames that are a bit warped, then standard draughtproofing materials may be unsuitable ...

Real Experiences of Micro Solar Power

Solar PV Electricity 10 Feb 2011

You can read all the brochures you like, and speak to lots of salesmen, but ultimately the thing that matters with a solar pv is: does it make ...

What if your iPhone is stolen?

iPhone and other Smartphones 10 Feb 2011

Your iPhone (and iPad, for that matter) is vulnerable to a six-minute attack in the event that someone gets hold of your phone. The phone has ...

Fuel Poverty Awareness Day: Real Action

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 09 Feb 2011

National Energy Action is championing Fuel Poverty Awareness Day, on 11 February 2011, and it aims to raise public awareness of households who ...

Hit Counter

Web Programming 08 Feb 2011

Here's a simple hit counter: div#hitcounter { width:20em; padding:1em; margin:1em 0 0 1em; border:1px solid black; background-color ...

Edie Sherwood Letters 1912

Swindells Family Photos 08 Feb 2011

Transcribed as best I could.

Some Misc. items in her effects:

------------------------------------
Saloon Berthing card ...

Edie Sherwood's Boats

Swindells Family Photos 08 Feb 2011

Edie Sherwood travelled to Australia on the SS Osterley (postcards shown). It seems unlikely that the Osterley took her onto NZ it must have ...

Ben and Annie Bishton 1910

Swindells Family Photos 08 Feb 2011

Labeled on the back as "Auntie Annie & Uncle Ben Bishton, Billy, Cyril, Norman & Anne"
Addressed to Mr. W.G. Sherwood at 181 Tettenhall ...

Postcards from W G Sherwood

Swindells Family Photos 08 Feb 2011

William George Sherwood, the father of Edie (Sherwood) Swindells, was a wealthy boot and shoemaker in Wolverhampton. In his retirement years ...

Jonathan Ive: Apple in his eye

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

He is an industrial enginner, British-born and promoted to Apple's vice president of industrial design by Steve Jobs in 1997. Ive and his design ...

Richard Stallman: freeing software

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

He crusades against the clutches of vendor-led computing and is know as the "father oof free computing". He founded the Free Software Foundation ...

Andrew Vitterbi: wireless man

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

He invented the wi-fi signal processing algorithm in 1967 as a way to correct errors in noisy digital communications links. It is also used ...

Tim Berners-Lee: WWW inventor

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

First working at Plessey, and then at CERN in Geneva, Berners-Lee, wrote 'Enquire' in 1980 which linked fragments of information together. In ...

Ray Ozzie: software architect extraordinaire

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

He is chief software architect at Microsoft, and is "responsible for oversight of the company's technical strategy and product architecture" ...

Andy Hopper: Cambridge entrepreneur

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

He gained a Cambridge PhD in 1978 and co-founded computer maker Acorn. Acorn later spun of chip-maker ARM.

Gordon Moore: he made Moore's Law

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

His quick calculations and extrapolations defined the pace of growth in computer power, and he went on to form chipmaker giant Intel.

Vinton Cerf: Godfather of the Internet

Influencers 05 Feb 2011

Also know as Vint Cerf, and is Chief Internet Evangelist for Google. He co-designed TCP/IP and the architecture of the Internet.

UK Crime Maps for England and Wales

House and Home 02 Feb 2011

Crime maps for England and Wales are now available at www.police.uk. All you have to do is enter your postcode. There is also a version for ...

Art View: Great Technology Re-use

Computing 01 Feb 2011

It is pleasing when a tried and tested technology finds a use in a substantially different environment, and especially when you say "That was ...

Green Oil: a better way to lube?

Cycling 30 Jan 2011

Like most people who aim to keep their bike running reasonably efficiently, I use a teflon-based spray (usually GT-85). These sprays use lots ...

Really Dirty Tractors

Fun Stuff 30 Jan 2011

All these tractors (and other farm-related equipment!) are located around North Walsham. Pictures taken whilst on a walk with tractor fan Michael ...

How to update fields using grouped data from another table

MySQL Programming 29 Jan 2011

For optimisation purposes you have decided to create a new field in a table, and that field needs to contain a computed value of rows from another ...

Islabikes Family Activity Day 2011

Cycling 29 Jan 2011

Isla Rowntree of Islabikes Ltd is inviting you, your family and friends to the annual ?Islabikes Family Activity Day? on Saturday 26th March ...

John Swindells

About Us: Julii & John Swindells 28 Jan 2011

John is a scalable web development specialist, taking great interest in performance, security and simplicity. Read more about John Swindells ...

Julii Brainard

About Us: Julii & John Swindells 28 Jan 2011

Julii is a senior research assistant at the University of East Anglia (Norfolk). She is also available for freelance research including data ...

Norfolk Cycling Events Q1 2011

Norfolk 26 Jan 2011

Here are a variety of cycling events in Norfolk and surrounding areas. Saturday 29 January City of Norwich Triathlon and Cycling Club AGM ...

The OFT wades in to the Oil Scam debate

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 25 Jan 2011

The oil buying public have been calling for it, politicians have been discussing it, and finally the Secretary of State for Energy requested ...

Profiteering Inquiry into heating oil firms

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 24 Jan 2011

Heating oil firms have been taken a step further to a full-blown investigation by the Office of Fair Trading, after Charles Hendry (Minister ...

Cameron Cuts Cause Care Concerns

Mumsnet 20 Jan 2011

The influential folks on mumsnet have got plenty of media attention, for championing the plight of a mother who feels compelled to put her severely ...

Martha Gooch

The Bacon Family History 20 Jan 2011

Reclined image of Martha in white dress and hat is dated 1920, but she looks younger to me. Martha in printed postcard dated 1920 (age 16?) ...

Does oil exploration mean lower prices?

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 19 Jan 2011

Every time we hear about a new oil discovery, we hope that it means lower prices in the future. But does it happen, or are these discoveries ...

Julii's Questions to Pursue

Family History 18 Jan 2011

Things I want to resolve in my own family history:

Martha (White) Stout My great great grandmother Martha (White) Stout died sometime ...

Wiggs

The Bacon Family History 18 Jan 2011

1852 Raiford & Sarah wedding portraits, 1902 Raiford Wiggs and Sarah's 50th wedding anniversary, Alfonse Wiggs and family in Catalina Island ...

Is BP a safe investment?

Finance 15 Jan 2011

Now that BP is agreeing a share swap with Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft, should investors be worried? Russia has a checkered history ...

The Secret History of Social Networking

The Social Web 13 Jan 2011

Most web-conscious people today have a good grasp of what social networking is and how it is used in our everyday lives. But where did it ...

Use Speedtest.net For Broadband Speed

Internet Access: UK Broadband 12 Jan 2011

To see what broadband speed you're getting, go to www.speedtest.net and click "Begin Test" to check your connection's latency (network delay ...

The NEXT BIG THING in digital cameras

Photography 12 Jan 2011

Looking at the digital camera market, you'd wonder where the exciting new developments are going to emerge. Up until a few years ago the pace ...

Sunday Times article on the "oil firm rip-off"

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 09 Jan 2011

Here is some recommended reading about comparison website BoilerJuice and its dirty little secret: being owned by an oil supplier. Buy the Sunday ...

UK and US Heating Oil Compared

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 08 Jan 2011

The United States residential market for heating oil very much behaves the same way as the UK market. Home-owners tend to be quite rural and ...

Shelves with a difference

Do It Yourself! 08 Jan 2011

Instead of building plain shelves all the same length, how about an interesting pattern? Create a zig-zag effect by creating a solid box with ...

Tackling Climate Change is NOT Fun

Climate Change 07 Jan 2011

David Mitchell gets on his soap box about the nincompoops trying to convince us that taskling climate change is fun or exciting. He quite rightly ...

Heating Oil VAT Remains 5%

Heating Oil: A Buyer's Guide 07 Jan 2011

It has been reported recently that you will pay more for your heating oil because of the VAT rise at the start of 2011. I am pleased to reassure ...

Rackspace Ups and Downs

Web Hosting 06 Jan 2011

You pay a lot of money for Rackspace managed hosting. You pay for decent hardware in a top-notch data centre, with great Internet connectivity ...

Edie Sherwood Letters 1913

Swindells Family Photos 06 Jan 2011

Postcard of “Dorothy Falls, Lake Kanieri, Photo by Thiem. No. 4789”

Dear Gert Feb 14. 1913
Have just discovered ...

Edith Sherwood Letters 1910-1911

Swindells Family Photos 06 Jan 2011

These explain some of the detail of how Edie came to plan to visit New Zealand. The Manttans may well be related to others of the name Manton ...

PlusNet: from Yorkshire, yes; independent, no.

Internet Access: UK Broadband 05 Jan 2011

Internet access provider Plusnet advertises itself with the slogan "Good honest broadband from Yorkshire" and promotes itself with various people ...

Goal directed project management

Professional Development 05 Jan 2011

The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) Anglian Coastal Network is organising a life-skills talk by Lisa Harrison, entitled "Goal directed ...

Use a Router for Simple, Strong Shelves

Do It Yourself! 03 Jan 2011

Using a router, you can build a free-standing set of shelves using only eight bits of wood: four legs and four shelves. You need 18mm ...

Letters to Miss Joan Swindells, 1935

Swindells Family Photos 02 Jan 2011

A sample of correspondence. She had many letters from Norman (very hard to read),quite cheery & jolly. George's letters are mostly pestering ...

Edie's 1913 NZ Diary

Swindells Family Photos 01 Jan 2011

I am led to believe that Jane (Man), Bessie's daughter, has a more complete diary. This is just a snippet:

Starts Weds 1 Jan 1913 ...

Articles and advice on cycling, technology, home efficiency and more - 2011