A bit of a late post, but I recently came across my collection of tickets for this year’s Edinburgh fringe, the world’s largest arts festivel. Now, due to not being well and one thing or the other, I didn’t see nearly as much as I would like to; we must fix that next year.
I’ve also forgotten what else I’ve seen; if anybody who was there can remind ( Read more... )

So here’s my question- and please be gentle as I know very little about economics- is where has all the money gone, and why do we care?

Let me explain; most people I know owe a little money, either on credit cards, or mortgages, or student loans, or whatever. But all the people who they owe this money to (the banks, the government) owe a lot of ( Read more... )

What ho,
As part of my new job I have to get a new computer. The two options are either a PC or a mac. Never having had Mac hardware before, I’m tempted to go for the Mac; I intend to run Linux on it mostly. So, Internet people, is there any reason not to get an apple? The specifications look better for the Mac!

Or am I being seduced by the ( Read more... )

I’m fed up of the news today; we’re having a bit of warm weather, and the temperature today was forecast to be the “hottest September for more than 100 years”. See for example, The Daily Mirror.

But is this  all that unusual? I am assuming that the data being used is the Hadley Central England Temperature data ; I’ve no real interest in weather or ( Read more... )

ALES (The Alumni Light Entertainment Society) is a loose conglomeration of alumni from various light entertainment societies,  predominantly Cambridge University (CULES), Oxford University (OULES), and more recently the University of Sheffield (USLES).

ALES exists to keep in touch with the light entertainment societies, and also to socialise with ( Read more... )

After several months effort, I seem to have solved my wifi problem; my HTC hero isn’t able do to 802.11n. Setting my Netgear wireless router (provided by virgin) to only go up to 54MBps (which I think is 802.11g but it doesn’t say so!) seems to have been an easy fix.

I’m a little bit annoyed by this as I thought the devices should be clever enough ( Read more... )

I sent a letter today. Perhaps the most useful thing I’ve done in months.

Friday 3 June 2011

To whom it may concern,

Nomination of Brian Blessed for Chancellor of Cambridge University

I hereby nominate actor, author and mountaineer Brian Blessed for the role of Chancellor of Cambridge University.

Brian’s accomplishments are legendary; a ( Read more... )

I have heard that the phrase “only in America” is a good thing on the left hand side of the pond, and a bad thing inEngland. Here’s a few reflections on my week in Memphis.

Good things
Lots of food.
World barbecue championships- the only world championship I have ever been to, and the best.
Corkys barbecue emporium.
The Memphis redbirds, and ( Read more... )

I’m in Memphis, Tennessee, for a conference; more reflections on the American South later, but one of the things I didn’t know was that it’s the place where Martin Luther-King was killed. There is now the excellent US national civil rights museum built at the motel where he died.

I don’t know my civil rights history very well, but I took the bus ( Read more... )

There seems to be a huge amount of debate at the moment around the merits of Alternative Vote and First Past the Post. Much of it seems very uninformed and personal. Here’s my considered opinion as to why I shall be spoiling my ballot at the referendum.

1) Both campaigns have been terrible. The claims made are wild, and more importantly it’s turned ( Read more... )