Author: Mike

With just three days to go for the end of the Bush era as President of the USA, there is much talk of  how he will be remembered. I would prefer for him to be remembered as one of the worsted US presidents ever, perhaps it would be better for him to be forgotten ‘forever’.

But perhaps Joe Klein phrases it much better in this excellent article in this weeks Time Magazine.

I sincerely do hope that some of the senior people in the Bush administration face some sort of trial and punishment for all the wrong doing and harm that they have caused over the past eight years, they may think that they made the world a safer place; I still tend to disagree!

What do you do with your old computer? I can’t believe the number of keyboards and ‘mice’ in this image of a keyboard mountain in China due we hope for full recycling!

Another similar story was carried in this weeks Time Magazine. I wonder why PC manufacturers don’t offer the ability to just bay new base units so that users can still use their existing keyboards!

Perhaps it might be better if everyone swapped over to Laptops then at least you have a whole computer that can be recycled – after you have removed the hard disc and smashed with a very large hammer, the only real way to destroy your old data!

I am not sure what is wrong with Reading’s railway station management. Perhaps there some of the new breed of nodding heads, but don’t do anything when you make a suggestion.

I made my first trip of 2009 into London last week and on three subsequent trips have pointed out that one of the automatic ticket machines in the main hall is positioned far too close to the windows of Costa Coffee, in fact it is right next to the window.

Anyone sitting ‘supping’ their morning fix, has a grandstand view of the pin keypad and can if they want to, see exactly what you are doing!

My suggestion to the staff at the station; simply turn the machine around by 90 degrees and the problem will be solved. Action so far? Nil!

You decide, would you use this ticket machine? Let see what has happened when I use the station next week.

I went to the BETT exhibition today and found this rather intriguing stack of shelves on one of the exhibitors stands. I had to take a second look and thought I’d take a short video of it.

This is exactly as it was happening and no editing has been done to the video.

We end the year with another good average, but also with a minor drop out that affected many user in South Reading at the end of the month, it was only for two and half hours, but as I was in the middle of moving some files around, it was a bit of a hassle.

However, sometimes things do breakdown.

I wonder what 2009 will bring with the move to better infrastructure in the BT exchanges and a increase in the speed of download. I’d like to see an better upload speed, with more of us storing more and more data online and pictures/video sharing sites still on the increase, this side of the bandwidth issue still needs some addressing.

First post of 2009. Had a very pleasant New Year at a friends house on the Isle of Wight. I visited the IOW for the first time in 1968 during a posting on a Portsmouth based ship. I went again a few more times for business over the years.

In some ways it has changed and in other it still seems to be that sleepy place across from the South Coast. Went for quiet a number of walks over the holiday break and although the weather was a cold and a bit windy, we had a very nice time and will be going back.

We’re off for the Xmas break at my sisters cottage in Mid-Wales for a quite break. Just waiting for the Turkey to finish cooking and just topped up the water for the home made Xmas pud!

Nice time to spend by the open wood burning fire over looking some of the most lovely country side in the UK.

Time for another glass of fine red wine I think!!

Merry Christmas everyone.

I was sent a link by a USA friend this week about an article that is tracking the Billions of funds that Bernard Madoff,has stolen from investors.

The current total without any of this weeks stories being added, so far comes to a staggering $42 Billion!

Already accounting for at least one death, how much further will his tentacles envelope ordinary investors who based on the supposed  informed advice of yet more financial experts that they should invest in Madoff’s corrupt Ponzi scheme.

One wonders what the SEC and FSA were doing as one of their own, and there in lays another issue about who really manages the Financial Service industry, there needs to be some major Government led investigations into what they were doing with their necessary legislation to protect the ordinary investor from such occurrences.

I would suspect as the current Labour Government is so ‘in bed’ with the City, Barack Obama’s new government will tackle this issue much sooner than the UK government will ever do!

Another good month with the web connection, no drop outs and a steady increase in the download speed.

It seems that after the terrible problems of 2007, we’ve reached a steady state of constant connection with no drop outs.

All we need now is a increase in the download speed, perhaps BT will have to react to the announcement of the Virgin Virgin Media’s 50 MB service.  Of course the proof of that speed at a supposed cost of £46 per month, will need to be seen to be believed. We all know what ‘up to 8MB download speed’ really means!

It seems that the Australian Government is becoming more and paranoid about its citizens ability to roam the Internet with total freedom and it intends to try and stop them.

Under potential legislation, it is proposing to limits everyone’s ability to visit any sites that it deems ‘illegal’. Supposedly proposed to protect children, this legislation seems to be attracting a bigger ‘NO’ backlash by the day.

Here’s some background to the story, maybe we have some Big Brother issues here in the UK, but this proposal moves the Orwellian society of 1984 much closer for all Aussie’s!