Strangely Perfect

Block ACTA and Stop ACTA! Truly, our freedoms are at stake.  While notionally an idea to prevent copyright theft, it’s real purpose opens the floodgates for any undemocratic organisation to walk over our freedoms (such as they are) for which our forefathers slugged their guts out.  Read this, then either; walk away (wondering in a [...]

Tomorrow, This Site Is Dead. Why? All my sites go off-line tomorrow in what-is-to-be-hoped a world-wide protest against the proposed SOPA & PIPA acts in the USA. SOPA? Briefly. Under intense lobbying from the entertainment industry behemoths, the law, far from protecting copyright holders like myself, will actually make it a simple process for any [...]

Latest News from Tuesday, Seattle Jesse Willms Banned by Judge from Negative Option Selling – Assets Frozen! CBC (with whom Willms has already had a tussle) in Canada are already broadcasting that local high-school athlete drop-out turned internet businessman of dubious repute, the self-styled and self-publicising entrepreneur & charitable Jesse Willms, has had some shackles [...]

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 [...]

What is the Best Backup for Windows in a Small Home or Office? Which Windows Backup?  A History. Over the years I’ve tried many systems for backing up crucial Windows data.  Currently for small-scale backups I use the ubiquitous and almost bullet-proof flash drives, my current one tipping the scales at 8Gb.  But for major [...]

I got a phishing spam this morning from Nigeria! Typical 419 that I usually see: Nothing unusual in that, you say – the Nigerian 419 scam has been going on for years!  It even has it’s own scambusters (see references later) and the actual advanced fee fraud is usually just called a 419 scam because [...]

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 [...]

Obama President Obama was elected under the banner of change. Change for the overall health of his nation Change in economics and finance Change of a re-assertion of the higher ideals of his nation expressed in the US Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Rights. In this last, he even promised this change in his [...]

Coroner and Law I’m often struck when reading the papers or news, to see the coroner’s verdict on someone’s death as: Ending his own life while the balance of his mind was disturbed Well they have to say something, it’s their job, but the phrase is very peculiar. Take this couple, the Milners, who were [...]

Golden Syrup Years ago, when I was a lad, my mum used to make us all porridge for breakfast in winter.  On the top, I’d spiral a big dollop of Lyle’s Golden Syrup and then, while eating the porridge, I’d read the tin. Yes!  There was a different flapjack recipe every time! But also, as [...]

CIA Guilty of Torture and Kidnap – Damages of 1.5 Million Euros Amazing news today.  An Italian court has bravely taken on the leader of the Western World and convicted 22 CIA agents of kidnap and torture. (see CIA agents guilty of Italy kidnap). The man on the left with the wacky beard and hat, [...]

What IS Going On? I’ve just come across an old post of mine in which I referred, briefly, to the Russian Pravda website, presumably a modern-day version of it’s communist paper past.  I say presumably because, as I already said, it’s more like National Enquirer…! On top of weird births and alien spaceships in the [...]

I booked an appointment to make a will today. I’ve never made one before – it feels really, really weird. A bit like the arrival of a first child, it’s one’s connection and a brutal reminder of the reality of life and death, sickness and old age; things that almost everyone in the Western world [...]

All photos taken on a Panasonic Lumix TZ7 – (I dropped the TZ5 on a tiled floor and it broke – note to self, be more careful)