Strangely Perfect

Windows 8 Developer Preview I’ve finally decided to test the next Windows edition, probably to be called Windows 8, although things like that are never certain in Microsoft-land. Virtual Box I did a Virtual Box install, which is fairly straightforward.  There are many tutorials on-line now which show how to do this, so I won’t [...]

It Was 50 Years Ago, Today …when mankind left the gravitational confines of our Earth. A poor boy from the steppes, Yuri Gagarin, simultaneously became the first man in space and the first man to leave Earth and orbit it completely.  (This is something that took NASA several steps before John Glenn finally emulated the [...]

Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Following this morning’s (using GMT) earthquake just off Japan (now set at 8.8 on the Richter Scale, but it keeps rising as more information is analysed), I noticed that the Google search page has a Tsunami warning for all to see. I thought I’d capture it for posterity. Enormity This truly [...]

Guidelines for a Better World Laws are like sausages — it is best not to see them being made.  Perhaps I should re-phrase this as: The Rules of Law and International Diplomacy are like sausages — it is best not to see them being made It’s a strange world out there.  Two recent political events [...]

Introduction Two items on today’s news demonstrated the vast contrasts in our humanity. Stardust probe finds ‘subdued’ comet crater & Japan halts whale hunt after chase by protesters. Our Absolute Ingenuity and Progress The absolute ingenuity of us humans and how far we have come since our cave-dwelling days is supremely demonstrated by the return [...]

For Sale: 5 Bedroom town house in Historic Bridgwater, Somerset    SOLD!! On three floors, brick construction.  Located on the west side of Bridgwater, with easy fast access to the town centre. 5 bedrooms 3 reception rooms Full central heating Roof remade to modern standards of lining and insulation Double glazed Triple glazed conservatory area. [...]

Introduction This week will see some news that will be twisted and churned by the climate change sceptics… Apparently, the coral islands are responding well to sea-level rises, which are real, make no mistake. The New Scientist article is here and the BBC News item is here. The Reality In my previous post, The Maldives [...]

Using my Panasonic Lumix TZ7 and it’s fantastic zoom and image stabilisation, and at low-ish light levels (dusk), I took the following pictures last night of the thinnest, slimmest, almost invisible moon that I’ve ever seen.  Just after the sun set, the bats were flying and the moon was ever-so-close to the sun.  On 12x [...]

Students die in India as bus plunges into river The above headline is awful enough for the people involved, but in reality, it’s subject, a road crash, is common enough in my own country, the UK. What is really bad is how the BBC is reporting this.  They should know better but essentially, they’ve reported [...]

On Thursday, a young woman was killed by a whale. She’d wanted to work with whales ever since she was a little girl, and got her wish fulfilled. Now, since Dawn Brancheau’s death, there has been gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands, pointing of fingers and loading of guns, because this particular whale has [...]

Final preparations for Xmas dinner involved another trip to Wallace’s venison Farm  on the Blackdown Hills for some Venison and Bison roasting joints.  Across the main road is a National trust area which has fantastic views over Taunton Vale, as seen here!  All pictures taken on a Panasonic Lumix TZ-7, although not all by me!

Following a cold, frosty night, when the early morning fog had lifted, I noticed that the air overhead was exceptionally clear, transparent, and un-disturbed.  This is readily apparent with the cropped aeroplane flying at over five miles up, where the engines and red markings on the tail are quite clear. The pictures are taken using [...]

It’s Just Like Bladerunner, And Not Just the Weather! Tears in Rain Bladerunner, the movie, based on an old Philip K Dick science-fiction story, was made by Ridley Scott from North-East England, someone I’m distantly related to.  Made in 1982, it presents a very grey, wet, bleak future, heavily referencing Scott’s (and my own!) upbringing [...]

No Problem The towns of Workington and Cockermouth are now effectively isolated because all the bridges are down, washed away in the floods. However, they are ONLY bridges, and bridges can be made and rebuilt.  The problem is the lack of communications for the towns and surrounding villages, which affects everything, not least the provision [...]