Author: Mike

For those of us with an interest in photograph this a fantastic example of the Tilt & Shift technique.

You will need to have a reasonably good PC to view it in HD.

I first saw this about three months ago and since then have seen a number of examples being incorporated into mainstream TV programmes.

Also when I first saw it, I was reminded of Michael Bentines’ Potty Time and his miniature sand models populated by ‘supposed’ ants/fleas! Of course it seemed good at the time.

The Digital Economy also covers the Analogue Switch off of FM in 2015. Did you know that?

I have yet to find a logical or reasoned explanation as to why this needs to happen. FM works very well with excellent quality – this is why it was developed! The cost of the switch off/over and the replacement radios needed will far out way any saving. Any cheap radios available will bound to be imported, so not even UK Manufacturing and the economy will benefit from this change over.

Just don’t understand the logic in this. Again it hidden vested interests that are calling the shots and we the ordinary citizen that gets to foot the bill, again! To use that hackneyed phrase, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The time is running out to make your voice heard against the current Digital Economy Bill. Rushed through Parliament by a dying administration with legislation looking to make criminals of many of us for no reason at all, we must voice our opposition to this ill thought out bill.  More info on the bill from Rory Cellan-Jones – BBC Digital Election reporter can be found here.

Clearly there been little sensible thought to the impact this bill will have. Billy Braggs comment on BBC’s Panorama programme, Monday night was absolutely spot on. “It’s like confiscating everyone record player and then complaining that no one is buying any music!”

Yes music and film copying (after all it is about big business isn’t it) need to be dealt with. But this needs some better thought out processes. One wonders who really is behind all of this, certainly Peter Mandelson seems to have a big say, I wonder what vested interests are hanging onto his shirt tails?

However, in the end it will be as usual, the ordinary consumer and citizen that suffers.

Please write to your MP about it and urge them to vote it against it. Do this by going to Write to your MP and letting your MP know how you feel.

A disturbing look at New Labour and why our freedoms may be fast disappearing.

Appointed without any open election to the position Catherine Ashton has assumed the EU’s role as Foreign Minister.

Who is this person that speaks on our behalf?

Here’s a few background links about her:

• Who is EU’s Catherine Ashton?

• Catherine Ashton: ‘My Job Is to Keep Traffic Moving’.

• Ashton at centre of EU turf war over new diplomatic service.

• Catherine Ashton and her Barroso problem

With four presidents now in ‘charge’ of  Europe, one wonders where Europe if going? As was seen recently with Nigel Ferage outburst towards Herman Van Rompuy, there is still a lot that needs to be done to make EU appear to be heading in one cohesive direction.

Why, when Europe is considered to be so democratic , do we have a situation where the ordinary citizen has absolutely no influence of who gets these top jobs considering that they seem so intent on telling us what we should be doing.

The Four Presidents of Europe

José Manuel Barroso
Position: President of the European Commission
Powers: Head of the E.U.’s executive branch

Jerzy Buzek
Position: President of the European Parliament
Powers: Chairs parliamentary debate and represents Europe’s legislature

Herman Van Rompuy
Position: President of the European Council
Powers: Administrative or Executive?

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Position: PM of Spain, holder of rotating presidency
Powers: Short term head of the EU.

I came across this article in last weeks Time Magazine that really does question what direction Europe is taking and what participation Europe will have in the coming years on World affairs.

With the USA and China seemingly the current strongest world players, Europe needs to get its act together and set out what it really wants from its current & expanding position in the world.

Here are my ISP figures for Jan. & Feb. 2o10. All seems to be stable apart from a slight glitch at the end of Feb.

Looking at the early figures for March, now seems to have settled down again.

Interesting add on to these figures. I finally received my ‘free’ broadband from Talk Talk after accepting their offer last October 2009 – five month!!!

This was part of a deal that Talk Talk ran last year for moving my line rental from BT to them – I had already been ‘calls’ only customer for some four years.  Anyway, thank goodness that I did not cancel my BT Broadband. Yes I am paying £6.50 a month less than with BT, but five months wait!!!

Anyway, why do I now have two broadband suppliers? I had my second BT line put in over 15 years ago (paid for by the company I then worked for) so that I had a separate dial-up connection without interrupting my ‘domestic’ line and of course it was converted to early broadband when that can along and gradually it has built up to what it is today.

I still use that BT connection today for my own business (working in Publishing IT and sometimes have to shift some fairly large files around) and it has  remained pretty reliable. If it took Talk Talk five months to deliver my broadband I wonder what the service and connection quality will be like?

So I will add that line to my testing for March and see what I get as results and make decision about retaining the BT line in a couple of months time.

It seems that the pundits are still predicting a hung parliament as the result of the forthcoming UK election. Will this be what we really want going forward?

See these results from the Guardian report.

I’d be interested to see what you say, complete the Poll on the right of this post and we’ll see what more of the public say.

This is test post to test embedding of a You Tube video. Following my reading of Damian Kulash Jr’s of the band OK Go, letter in the New York Times.

I was sent a link today about the winner of the 2009 Ukraine’s Got Talent contest.

We’ve all seen sand sculptures on the beach in the summer, but this is unbelievable.