Information about Dating Ultrasound Dating Accuracy

Articles and Advice on Home Efficiency, Technology, Family History and more

Articles and advice on cycling, technology, home efficiency and more Looking for family photos? Our family pages have moved These pages are written and managed by John & Julii Swindells, and we take every effort to ensure their accuracy ... (more)

Sending email in a secure, IPv6 world

This is a guide to updating your Linux server for SSL-enabled, IPv6-happy email transmission using sendmail! Here are the things you need to have already: An IPv6 address for your server. Your internet hosting provider will be able ... (more)

The Manor House

The Manor House A beautifully restored period building dating back to the end of the 19th century in a semi-rural setting on the edge of the village, which hosts a pub, a lovely church and post office. Double, twin or single rooms with ... (more)

Who are you buying your domestic heating oil from?

Ah, well, it's easy to answer, right? Boilerjuice, Butler, Bayford, Watson, or Scottish Fuels. Simple, eh? Or is it? Thanks to John Kelleher[1] who alerted us to the fact that many of the oil companies (that includes both domestic heating ... (more)

Checking for chain wear

There are a few ways to check for chain wear on a bike. One method is to use a chain wear indicator tool, which is a small tool that you can place on your chain to determine if it's stretched and needs to be replaced. Here are the steps to ... (more)

SD Card nightmare on the Garmin Edge 1000

I bought a second-hand Garmin Edge 1000 recently, as a Christmas present, and it's a nice device with a handy big screen. It quickly transpired though that the map screen was missing all the minor roads (UK's B roads and smaller), which made ... (more)

Gooch and Stout Family History Summary

Gooch and Stout family history The Gooch family, Stout clan and their allied families (related by marriage) are overwhelmingly Poor, Southern and uneducated Farmers. They includes slave owners, frontiersmen, tinkers (travelling salesmen of ... (more)

Preparing for an all-day cycle ride

Background Over the years I've ridden quite a few long rides, but it wasn't until my early 40's that I gradually started increasing my time in the saddle from a few hours to six or more. I distinctly recall my first 200km ride as a bit of ... (more)

Smartphones on Pay-as-you-Go? Watch out!

Smartphones are exceptional pieces of kit nowadays. Models like the Nokia Lumia, HTC One and Apple iPhone have reached the point of being decent replacements for the ordinary digital camera, with the added bonus of being able to make and ... (more)

Maplin Blood Pressure Monitor

The word 'monitor' doesn't really apply to this cheap - yet effective - gadget from Maplin. It measures your blood pressure using a standard pressure gauge wrapped around your wrist, but doesn't give a continuous readout of your blood pressure ... (more)

Team Zwatt Power Meter offers cheap dual-sided measurement

I'm a big fan of power measurement for cycling, as it gives a no-excuses picture of how hard I'm really working. Heart rate and perceived effort are okay, but both are quite sensitive to environmental parameters and cannot be relied upon ... (more)

Recent Updates

07 Jul : Do It Yourself!
27 Oct : My Car Costs
13 Feb : Great Days Out
02 Sep : Nature
25 Nov : Piano for the Amateur
14 Nov : Measure
12 Oct : Simple Programming Exercises
11 Oct : Model Railways
01 Sep : The Developer's Apple Mac
21 May : Influencers