Free upgrade to Windows 10

Apparently Microsoft is offering users a free upgrade (for 1 year) to its soon to be released Windows 10 operating system. I am unclear whether users have to pay for the upgrade after the first year or whether it remains free for early adopters. Microsoft jumped from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. There has been a low uptake of Windows 8 and 8.1.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30924022 .

Our local windmill and museum

Today, the volunteers at our local museum moved the hut, where people pay an entrance fee,  to nearer the windmill. The fully restored windmill is now part of a museum visit. The volunteers are also busy making a real cafe.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk/ .

Summer holidays

We are trying to book a cottage near a sandy beach somewhere in England that we can share with one of our sons and his family. It is proving quite hard.

At present, my poor health means I really don't want to drive too far. By the summer I may feel better, but I was expecting to be well last year and it did not happen. We thought we'd secured a place on the Isle of Wight but this was an error and it was already booked the week we wanted.

I'd be happy to go to a village in Norfolk (on the coast) as I could manage the drive without stress.

FTSE 100 and Sepura shares

So far this morning the FTSE 100 share index has been up and down, but remained in positive territory.

Sepura shares (my old company before I retired almost 7 years ago) have gone down very slightly, but are still pretty good.

Climate change?

There seems little doubt that our climate is changing, but opinions seem very polarised between those who are very worried by this and those who who see it as little threat. One issue is that the world has, apparently, warmed less than expected and sea levels have risen less than suggested.

I am open-minded, but tend to side with those who think we should consume less carbon dioxide and fossil fuels. If the world became more hooked on renewable energy sources it would be no bad thing.

Al Jazeera

Often it is good to see news from a different perspective. Often Al Jazeera carries news that is not on the BBC at all, or way down so you rarely find it. Al Jazeera is an Arab broadcaster based in the Middle East.

Beating polio in Pakistan

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30822967 .

There seems to be a campaign in parts of Pakistan that has been holding back vaccinations to eradicate polio. Pakistan is one of the few remaining places where this has not been wiped out. Those stopping these vaccinations must be ignorant. Vaccinations are not a Western plot: they help stop people dying or being maimed for life. It is particularly cruel to children. Please, allow people to be vaccinated.

First whisky in a very long time

Since my cerebellum brain bleed (Sept 2013) I have not been allowed to drink alcohol until shortly before Christmas. I used to enjoy red wine (in moderation) but now it tastes sharp and unpleasant. This week I have again been enjoying a little bread and cheddar at night, so this evening I tried, for the first time since Sept 2013, a very small glass of whisky. Although it went down OK, it was not pleasurable.  Maybe the pleasure will return with time.  At the moment I get very little pleasure drinking alcohol. Perhaps this is a good thing?

Blog numbers

This puzzles me.  For days they remain "average" and then suddenly, for no good reason, the numbers nearly double.  Perhaps the blog gets mentioned somewhere and this attracts new visitors? The post content always varies, so I very much doubt it is this. There have been few external links in my recent posts, so I don't think it is people leaving and returning and being double counted.  My amateur radio blog attracts about 10 times more visitors than this blog.

Top of the hill

Being in East Anglia, hills are in short supply. Our bungalow, right next to the windmill, is on an East Anglian hill, although those living in the West or Wales would think our "hill" was just a small bump. We live on the highest spot in the village nonetheless. Views from the top of our roof are very good and even better high up in the windmill.

Rose pruning time

This afternoon, as it was bright and sunny, I decided to prune the roses at the front of our bungalow. There have been several flushes of roses with the last one at Christmas. I pruned them back heavily last winter and this was obviously the right thing to do. There are those who advocate careful trimming back to just above the growing points and others who advocate simply slashing them back. I am somewhere in between.   It probably depends on the rose type. Anyway, they are now pruned and the proof will come with the new growth.

A walk to the local baker and local butcher this afternoon was good for the walk in the cold January sunshine, but both closed at lunch on Saturday, so I came back empty-handed!

Errors or typos?

Almost every time I do a blog post, write an email, or post on Facebook, I seem to make at least one error that I have to go back later to correct. This may be a simple typo or perhaps my stroke leaves me unable to spot errors quickly? Either way, I try to correct the mistake as soon as I do spot it. This seems to be nearly every time I post.  Let me know if you see any I've missed please.

The most common errors are "i" and "o" interposed, extraneous full stops and "m" and "n" interposed. These could be my poor keyboard skills and nothing more, but I'm sure I'm more error-prone than I was.

Snow shower

As we awoke this morning there were quite big snowflakes falling. I took a few pictures, but you cannot even see the snowflakes!  Within an hour the snow had stopped and now there is no sign of it.  It is pretty cold outside and snow later is possible.  So far, our winter has been just about snow free and quite moderate.  It could all change.

Saudi floggings

Sorry, but Saudi Arabia has done itself, and Islam, no favours at all by choosing to give a moderate blogger 1000 lashes and a long prison sentence. If I had my way we would cease all trade with this barbaric place. I gather that (because of media outrage?) they are to review his case. Allah be praised!

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-30856403 .

Saudi Arabia comes across as a medieval society, best avoided. If they want to improve their image in the 21st century they know full well what to do.

Where I lived as a child

As I child, I was brought up in Salcombe, Devon. To this day it remains a very beautiful place. This video by Birds Eye View Productions shows Salcombe from the air with videos created by drones.

Longer days

Already the evenings are about 30 minutes lighter than they were and the rate of increase speeds up as we get further through the month. I noticed that quite a lot of daffodils are in bloom in Cambridge. Well before the end of January is very early indeed.

By mid February, when we do our walk at nearby Landwade, we expect to see all manner of winter flowers in bloom.

See http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/cambridge .

Ascent of Man U3AC course

Mid afternoon, I start my second U3AC course (University of the Third Age in Cambridge) in Cambridge this academic year. It is called "Ascent of Man" following the work of Jacob Bronowski  who did a TV series some years ago. I recently got a second hand copy of the hardback book which accompanied the series. It was much cheaper than a new paperback copy.

The University of the Third Age has a huge range of courses in Cambridge. We are very lucky.

UPDATE 1745z:  The course was very disappointing. Also we almost immediately divided into 4 groups of 3 to discuss questions and formulate answers.  This is a format I just detest and with my poor voice I find discussing topics very hard. The lecturer was not very good as well.  I may change courses. Already I have contacted the U3AC office to check availability on another course.

Rising shares?

Sepura (SEPU) shares ended up at, what I believe is, their highest ever level today at 154.5p. Also after a dodgy morning the FTSE 100 share index ended up with gains on the day.

Relaunching the Sinclair ZX Spectrum Computer

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-30810148 .

A Nottinghamshire company is to relaunch the world famous ZX Spectrum computer with an SD slot and preloaded with thousands of games. The project has the blessings of Sir Clive Sinclair.

Very many years ago I was approached by Sir Clive to advise on antennas for his tiny TV. This was back in the 1970s. It was nice to be asked for help! He was interested in a joint venture on ICs at the time with Pye Telecom.

FTSE 100 - heavy falls today

The FTSE 100 share index fell 2.54% today - a very bad day indeed. Let us hope the index stages a recovery. Forecasts of the index being over 7000 by the year end look very hopeful at the moment.

North Norfolk

Before I had my brain bleed, my wife and I made a point of going out "somewhere different" mid-week, usually on a Wednesday. Today we restarted doing this again and we went to lovely North Norfolk. There was actually a thin covering of snow up there although we have had no snow here so far. It was a lovely bright, but very cold, day.

We stopped at Castle Acre on the way but our usual coffee stops were closed so we went on Kelling where the old school is a tea room and bookshop. We have been there many times, but not since before my illness. I managed a tomato soup, 2 egg sandwiches  and an unthickened coffee and we bought a book and some chutney.

It was so good to be back doing our "old" things again.

FTSE 100 up

Surprisingly, to me, the FTSE 100 share index is currently up about 36 points. I thought it would start lower (it did) but it has been climbing most of the morning so far.  Perhaps the low UK inflation figures (0.5%) have helped? In mainland Europe, in the Eurozone, they are worried by deflation i.e. falling prices. The recent UK low inflation is mainly due to falling fuel prices.

Wrist healing

Our granddaughter broke her wrist last week and today she had her plaster cast changed. She seems fine by all accounts.  All being well, she will be healed in about six weeks' time.

When I broke my leg years ago it hurt for a few days only at the start.

I see her dolly also broke her wrist too! I expect she will enjoy nursing her dolly and will want to be a nurse when she is a grown up. She's a tough cooky and a damaged wrist will be little handicap. Bath time must be a challenge though keeping the cast dry.

Cyber attack on US military Twitter account

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30785232 .

IS has hacked the Twitter account of the US Central Command and the Twitter account has been taken down. I don't know the full details, but you would expect better security from these people. A wake-up call certainly. As the BBC say they did not hack into the most secret parts, but no doubt extra layers of security will now be added. Cyber crime is now a real war-ground in the 21st century.

UK Ebola nurse no longer critical

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30783537 .

The good news today is that the nurse in the UK is slowly improving and is no longer described as "critical".  I do hope her recovery continues and she gets back to full health very soon.  She must have been very frightened but at the same time she knew her treatment in the UK would be better than she would have had in West Africa.

There are slight signs that the disease has peaked and an end to the West African outbreak may be in sight. It will be many months before we can be sure.

France - after the terror attacks

France is a traumatised nation. Its people have witnessed cold blooded murder in the name of (false) Islam. Most Muslims think the atrocities totally wrong and that they are against everything they believe and stand for. It amazes me that these extremists believe they will be rewarded for their acts in paradise. I'd think the opposite. I suspect most Muslims do too.

What I hope is that France can gather strength and comfort from the unity rallies across France over the weekend - the turnouts were huge - but that the far right does not gain support as a result of these (very few) extremists. It is quite possible that this will happen, in which case the terrorists have literally "shot themselves in the foot" and they will have achieved the absolute opposite of what they (misguidedly) set out to achieve.

In the end, good will triumph over the evil done by a misguided few. Nonetheless, all nations need to be fair to all citizens who all deserve to be treated with value and dignity.

FTSE 100

This morning, the FTSE 100 share index is hovering above its close but is very up and down. A guessing man would say, ignoring any dramatic news, that it may end the day perhaps a little up on the day. Of course, anything is possible but it does not appear to be moving too far today, well so far.

UPDATE 1342z:   The index has just moved into negative territory.

UPDATE 2232z: At the end of the day it was 0.28 higher, so virtually no change after a yo-yo day. Looking at the USA markets, I think the FTSE 100 will start lower.

Nice football story

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30725883 .

A Bristol City fan has been able to watch his favorite team for free all season from the roof of his shed.

Huge support of French anti-terrorist rally

Over 1 million people were on the streets of Paris today to show their total revulsion with recent terrorist attacks in that city.   This included many world leaders.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30765824 .

Tax return (continued)

I completed my online tax return today but will check it over tomorrow before actually submitting it. I really should have done it earlier, but kept putting  it off. This is an annual task that has to be done, but my "foggy" brain (as a result of my brain bleed) does not help. I am pretty sure it is right.

Saudi "justice"?

See http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/01/saudi-arabia-blogger-flogged-insulting-islam-20151911120952108.html .

The news that Saudi Arabia is to publicly flog a liberal blogger every Friday outside a mosque until he has received 1000 lashes (50 lashes every Friday) filled me with horror. I thought Islam was a religion of compassion?

Tax return woes

My tax return (online) is due at the end of the month and I have been struggling with it all day. The main problem is finding all the data I need. I should complete it tomorrow, but it is a task I do not like doing. I actually started before Christmas but I usually do it earlier.

Charlie Hebdo hunt: Police storm both hostage sites

According to the BBC, French police have stormed the two French hostage sites, and killed the men who killed twelve at the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris. Details are sketchy. What I fail to understand is just how these killers have such certainty of paradise when so many (the vast majority) of the Muslim community believe they have done great wrong. I would not choose death in such circumstances.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30752239 .

UK Ebola nurse latest

The last I heard, the UK nurse who became infected with Ebola in West Africa is likely to remain "critical" for some time. I do so hope that she fully recovers. That she is still alive must give us hope.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30732288 .