"Nothing but the rain"
My sons wanted their bedtime toys to come to work with me today. So Rabbit and WooWoo sat in the front seat of the car so they could see where they were going. Then a bit later in the day I took them into my classroom. Here they are in front of my desk and visualiser.
Rabbit and WooWoo in my office at work.
It’s coming up to the time when I can upgrade my phone. Upgrade is a curious term as essentially it means I sign up for two more years on an increased tariff. So although it sounds like I’m getting something for nothing it’s the mobile carrier that makes the money!
I need to get a phone with more memory. I don’t like having to delete apps because I want more music on my phone. My iPhone 4 has 32Gb of memory and it’s not enough. This means I have to go for a 64Gb phone. Also, as I have completely bought into the closed garden that is the App store and iTunes. I don’t want to have to spend a load of money re-buying all the apps I have for iOS on another OS. However, if the contract and phone is a ton cheaper that might be the most cost effective way to get what I want.
Anyway. In a few weeks I will trundle down to the Vodafone shop and sign up to spending a ton of money with them so I can have a phone that will fit all the stuff I have bought from Apple. The thing is that along with the new phone I need a case, screen protectors and new cables given that Apple have decided to “improve” their USB connector. That’s even more money. Is it worth it given that the network coverage in my house is rather shabby!
IF Vodafone are willing to give me a Sure Signal box then I am going to stick with them. It’s a box that connects to my hub or switch and gives me a good signal throughout my house. At the moment if I am in the lounge then WW can’t get in touch although I guess she could call the home phone if I knew where that was!
If Vodafone can’t do the deal then come March I’m off to another carrier that has a good signal throught my entire house.
Here’s the speedboat I glued for #2 son. He’s not seen it yet. Probably show him in the morning. Loving Lego.
Here’s Lego model 4427 made for #1. Still super gluing the bits at the moment as #2 might eat small parts!
In Faversham today and I was really impressed with how Tesco had converted an old industrial unit into a supermarket. It looked nice.
Snuck into a Costa Coffee this morning to while away the time before attending a course. This was at the Costa inside Tesco’s in Faversham.
Now, I’m quite impressed with Faversham really. It has a crazy road system and a lovely provincial feel and look. Very nice and a little weird! Perhaps this phenomenon is just a Kent thing but they were selling super size biscuits in Costa! They are your classics; a bourbon, a Jamie dodger and a custard cream.
This picture tells you all you need to know! For scale, the bourbon is about 13cm long. Crazy times. I’m pretty sure it’s a ploy to make the world (or at least Faversham) a fatter place.
It had been my intention a while ago to comment on BBC News articles every now and then. See my initial news communication. I am going to try and resurrect this over the next while but if I am being honest I think that:
There’s just too many stories on the BBC News website that are clearly sensationalism and non-stories.
So, I will comment on some over the next few weeks and see if I get a severe reaction to the general anger that these “news” stories give me. If I find that I am too angry and can’t stop moaning about these things then it will be time to quit and find another niche for my considerable intellect and comment.
Since creating the www.whatuseismaths.com website I have been trying to increase my understanding of who might be visiting this website. You can see a widget on the right giving page views and from where they are being accessed but I am currently trying to get a better picture.
Step forward, Google Analytics. Hopefully with this I will be able to satisfy my curiosity as to who reads this stuff. I know some friends in the USA do and a few people in the UK but the others come as rather a surprise.
I have added a little plugin to this site to help me track via Google Analytics what is going on. I’m just curious. Also, my site seems to be happy to cope with the plugins. There was a period of about a month last year when the site seemed to be running very slowly but over the last six months I haven’t had any issues with it.
So, a more analyitical approach to my ego awaits!
Here’s what #1 took to nursery today. A couple of aeroplanes!
The BBC News website carried a story yesterday about a high speed yacht that broke the world record. I was instantly interested as my final year project at university was the conceptual design of a high speed yacht.
The major design innovations of my yacht were:
Here’s a picture of my concept:
Here’s a technical drawing of the main body of the yacht:
And so, to compare, here’s some pictures taken from the Vestas Sailrocket website.
So, the sail is in a different place and at an angle but I think my original choices for my final year project have been vindicated. I feel quite pleased that I managed to conceptualise a design that, in general, has worked.
Well done to the Vestas Sail Rocket Team.
This is what both boys took to nursery today. We have two airplanes to save arguments.
In the field at the back of our house there rests a large number of geese. They come at this time of year and chill out over night before going on their way somewhere. The can be hundreds possibly thousands. Tonight I caught some on final approach but you might have to squint to see them.
Also, here’s the moon. It looks bigger in real life but then that’s just an optical illusion.
My personal rules for the bands in which I have played are:
Pretty much anything else goes. I don’t think I have to justify these either, the rules stand by themselves!
It was the first live performance of the band Disaster Area today. We played the MGS Battle of the Bands as guests.
So for prosperity it’s the 16 November 2012 and the venue was the MGS Great Arena.
Here’s the video:
The T-shirt I am wearing today has a 2001 film quotation on it. This is so I can quickly see the video.
Here’s a picture of the toy that #1 took to nursery today.
Thanks to Hilton at Canary Wharf we just got upgraded to an Executive Suite. It’s nice! Top floor overlooking London’s Docklands.
Here’s our room:
The bathroom:
Here’s the breakfast table:
Here’s what my boy took to nursery today.
Thank goodness for the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). If we didn’t have them then the country would be full of misleading claims about products and services. However, there is an issue, adverts and websites can only be adjudicated once the ASA have received a complaint. This means that the misleading claims (lies) have to be made public before there is any action. Therefore most of the population aren’t aware of the fact that an advert might have been withdrawn. The damage will have been done. Perhaps adjuducations should be carried in a short segment at the end of the main TV news shows on ITV, BBC and Sky. This would cut some of the issues of publish and then retract, maybe making advertising even better than it is now.
If you are unsure of what sort of adverts have had adjudications then click here. This should take you to a page with the most recent rulings. Look carefully as this is a list of adverts and claims that have been ruled upon and not just those that are lies. Check the complaint to see what the issue was with the original advert.
The ASA also has a page of non-compliant online advertisers. The list is here. It will probably come as no surprise that a lot of these websites are for products or services that must be considered “woo“. If you can’t substantiate your claims then the chances are you are peddling bogus products or SCAMs.
I am proud to let you know that a complaint I sent to the ASA was acted on for print versions but the website of this company still (as of 7 Nov 2012) promotes amber necklaces for toddlers as a way of soothing teething pains. There is no good evidence that this works. The ASA page on this non-compliance is here. Avoid their products!
My Shatism on Storm Sandy.