Northampton played host to Rushden and Diamonds on Saturday and chalked up another win. Rushden had a goal controversially disallowed for offside. Following Wycombe's recent loss, the top three teams in League 2 are now all on 54 points with the Cobblers on 53.

Didn't realise just how dim it is on a football pitch for evening games until last night. Was covering Northampton vs Wycombe - both current contenders for promotion to League 1 - at Sixfields stadium and I had the 1D up to its highest speed of 3200 ISO and even with the lens wide open on f2.8 I was only getting 1/200 over some areas of the pitch.

Discovered an anomaly with radio buttons and JavaScript yesterday. Should you create a form that contains just a single radio button rather than a set (as might happen is the form is built dynamically using PHP), a JavaScript array of the radio button will be of undefined length, even though it contains 1 element. You can avoid generating a JavaScript error by first testing to see if the length is 'undefined', thus:

The JavaScript:

function checkForm(form) {
  if (typeof form.radioButton.length!="undefined") {
    // there must be more than one button
    var flag=0;
    for (i=0; i< form.radioButton.length; i++) {
      if (form.radioButton[i].checked) flag=1;
    }
    if (flag) return true;
  } else {
    // there's only one button - so can test directly
    if (form.radioButton.checked) {
      return true;
    }
  }
  alert ('You must check a radio button');
  return false
}

The HTML:
<FORM ACTION='somewhere.php' METHOD='post'>
<INPUT TYPE='radio' NAME='radioButton' VALUE='1'>
<!-- if there were to be more buttons, they would appear here -->
<INPUT TYPE='submit' ONCLICK='return checkForm(this.form);'>
</FORM>
Technorati tags: JavaScript form validation radio buttons

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CF sleeve for iPAQ
Photo uploaded to flickr 30 Jan '06, 10.41am PST by hockeyshooter

For Lorenzo's next mission to Everest, I've finally gotten hold of an expansion sleeve for my HP h5550 iPAQ to enable reading from a CF card - has an extra battery too. Came from BMSoftware here in the UK. From the scratches on the back, it looks second hand - I guess they're no longer made. No idea what the life of its second battery is going to be like; Lorenzo will have a 12v solar panel with him anyway for charging the satellite phone.

"ID cards are of 'limited value'
ID cards would be of 'limited value' against terror and would not have prevented the London attacks in July, says the reviewer of anti-terror laws, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Carlile. He said he had changed his mind on identity cards, which he had previously backed: 'I can't think of many terrorist incidents, in fact I can think of very few... that ID cards would have brought to an earlier end,' he told GMTV."

Time to bury this daft idea, Home Secretary.

BBC NEWS | Politics | ID cards are of 'limited value'

Today's FA Cup game of Reading vs Birmingham was nearly a disaster. Got stuck in traffic on the M1, then on the M4 at the Reading exit. All official parking by then full. Got to the ground about 5 minutes into the game. Fortunately didn't miss anything. Goals were both down the far end and I couldn't see the ball through traffic, but got one celebration shot at least. Laptop was a little flakey again - doesn't seem to like Reading's wireless network, even though I don't use it.

The teams seemed pretty evenly matched, so the 1-1 final score was no susprise. Birmingham chose to make three substitutions in one go, taking Heskey off which seemed a little odd. Reading were missing Kitson with a hamstring problem and I think with him, they'd have won.

WRT54G

WRT54G
Photo uploaded to flickr 23 Jan '06, 11.39am PST by hockeyshooter

If you ever wanted to know how much current a Linksys WRT54G uses, for example if you want to run one in the middle of nowhere off a battery and/or a solar panel, it appears to be around 280mA.

Technorati tags: WRT54G Linksys wireless router current consumption

"Time to return the Arctic favour
These days the Arctic, and to a large extent the Antarctic, has become a playground for the wealthy holidaymaker. They play out a heroic charade which bears little or no resemblance to the real explorers of yesteryear.

It is all meaningless nonsense and is still viewed by the real heroes of the Arctic, the Inuit, with bemused and bewildered amusement. So often travellers to the Arctic rely on the Arctic peoples to help, guide or share their expertise with them. Yet, when they return to their after dinner talks and ego-fanning book launches, the very people that allowed them their indulgence are hardly mentioned or even acknowledged.

The Inuit voice is almost inaudible on the world stage and one cannot help but wonder if anyone even knows they exist.

Glenn Morris (author) is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and has travelled extensively in the Arctic. His most recent expedition, Greenland by the Polar Sea, looked at the impact of climate change on the Inuit people."

The amount of ice lost in just the last 25 years is frightening.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Time to return the Arctic favour

"TV's 'sleep' button stands accused
Britons waste the equivalent of around two power stations' worth of electricity each year by leaving TV sets and other gadgets on standby. Last June Environment Minister Elliot Morley, responding to an MP's question, revealed that electrical equipment in sleep mode used roughly 7TWh of energy and emitted around 800,000 tonnes of carbon. The government is currently reviewing the options of how to keep the UK's lights on in the future, at the same time as reducing the amount of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.

Norman Baker favours a 'polluter pays' approach to the standby problem: 'In the end, there has to be costs in the form of manufacturers paying something to recognize the damage they are causing. Some of these standby modes for televisions use two-thirds of the electricity that it would if it were on. I think some people think that standby is a tiny red dot that has no impact at all.'

The Energy Saving Trust's survey found that one-in-seven people questioned thought putting devices on standby was actually more energy-efficient than switching them on and off. The MTP's Matthew Armishaw clears up any confusion: 'That is largely a myth. There may have been some issues with very old electronic components, but it is certainly not the case with today's consumer electronic goods.'"

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | TV's 'sleep' button stands accused
Technorati tags: electricity power waste standby

Looks like my descision to dump Minolta for Canon has now been fully vindicated:

"Konica Minolta Announces Withdrawal Plan for Camera Business and Photo Business
In camera business, we have expanded picture-taking opportunities by developing innovative technologies such as the world's first autofocus cameras. In 1962, our camera, well-accepted for its high reliability, boarded on the US's first manned spaceship 'Friendship 7.' Also, ever since introduction of the world’s first body-integral autofocus SLR camera, Maxxum/Dynax series, in 1985, SLR cameras have become more popular among picture-takers, and we have succeeded in selling 16 million units of interchangeable lenses since then.

However, in today’s era of digital cameras, where image sensor technologies such as CCD is indispensable, it became difficult to timely provide competitive products even with our top optical, mechanical and electronics technologies."

No kidding - it took years for Minolta to get around to launching a digital SLR, by which time most of their (high-end) lens range had become hopeless out-of-date.

Konica Minolta withdraw from camera business: Digital Photography Review

Northampton vs Macclesfield

5-0 is not the sort of result you expect to see from a Northampton home game. And again, results from games of the teams above us helped us - only Leyton Orient won.

Even scarier and more invasive than ID cards:

"Britain will be first country to monitor every car journey
From 2006 Britain, is to become the first country in the world where the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded. A new national surveillance system will hold the records for at least two years. Using a network of cameras that can automatically read every passing number plate, the plan is to build a huge database of vehicle movements so that the police and security services can analyse any journey a driver has made over several years."

Unfortunately you need an account on the Independant website to read any more of the article.

Independent Online Edition > Transport

"ID cards 'should be compulsory'
The Lord Chancellor has said ID cards should be made compulsory if introduced in the UK. Lord Falconer told the BBC that the only way to get full benefit from the scheme was for people without a passport to carry one."

My Mum is 86. She has no valid passport. She hardly ever leaves the house. Is she going to be made to fork out for one of these things? Same with the thousands around the country who live in care homes.

There's no proof that these cards will be any safer than existing cards that use the same technologies - like credit cards. Millions of pounds are still lost to credit card fraud each year - I doubt it will take more than a couple of months for someone to either forge a card or hack into the database.

Blair and co: You can stuff your ID cards where the sun don't shine.

BBC NEWS | UK | ID cards 'should be compulsory'

"Tax plan for greener light bulbs
The government is considering an extra tax on energy inefficient light bulbs.
Costlier compact fluorescent bulbs use a fifth of the energy of Victorian- style incandescent ones, those with a filament, and last much longer."

At last, some positive action from the Government. Don't stop there - plastic bag tax next.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Tax plan for greener light bulbs
Technorati tags: light bulb tax energy efficiency

"Apple addresses iTunes concerns
Apple has made changes to its iTunes music software in response to complaints that it abused user privacy. The row blew up over a new iTunes feature that recommended other tracks users might like to buy. An investigation by bloggers found that the recommendation system used unique identifiers for each user in a way that could compromise privacy."

Well done, Apple, for listening - but make sure you've leaned a lesson from this mistake.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Apple addresses iTunes concerns

CD-R lifetimes not what you thought
"...expert physicist Kurt Gerecke that works for IBM Deutschland has warned users not to use CD-R's for long term backups. His advice is that if you don’t want to keep backing up the same discs every few years use magnetic tape backup instead. Kurt went on to say that unlike pressed CD’s, burnt CD-R’s lifetime is much shorter with lifetime ranging from just 2 to 5 years depending on the quality of the disc."

I've got tens of thousands of photos on CD-R, some from film (for which I still have the negs and could therefore re-scan them) and some from digital SLR (for which there are not originals).

CD-R's lifetime not as long as you think - CD Freaks.com

Having spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon getting soaked shooting photos of Reading vs Coventry, I thought it would be a good idea to look into getting a proper rain cape. I noticed that very few of the other photographers were using the 'real thing', but I now realise why.

Cameras Underwater list the Ewa-Marine C-500 at just shy of £80 each - which by anyone's reckoning is a lot of money for a bit of clear plastic and some velco.




Using this as a basic design, I thought about making my own. I took two A4-sized clear ring binder sleeves, cut off most of the edges and joined them together with ordinary clear sticky tape. It just happens that they are just big enough to go over the hood for my 300/2.8 so I don't even need to use Velco to attach it. Its not exactly robust, but given how cheap it was (pennies) if it gets torn or too creased, I just bin it and make another.

Technorati tags: DIY rain cape waterproof SLR camera

Reading vs Coventry, Championship

Was at Reading's rather spiffy Madejski stadium today. Wasn't much fun covering this game in the rain: must get myself a proper rain hood - which even many of the other pros didn't appear to have.

Following on from my iTunes post below, to those who ask "what's all the fuss about", what should we expect next? An email saying "we notice you have just listened to 'Angels' by Robbie Williams, but from our records we find that you have not bought that track from the iTunes Music Store. To save you time and effort, we have charged the cost of the track to your registered credit card account. Thank you for using this service".

"Snooping fears plague new iTunes
Apple has been criticised over a new version of its iTunes program that can keep track of a user's listening habits. The latest update includes a feature that recommends tracks similar to the music being played via iTunes.

Soon after the update was released, blogger Marc Garrett wrote a journal entry about MiniStore and the data it passes back to Apple. Further work by other bloggers such as Kirk McElhearn found that the data being sent back to Apple to make the recommendations included artist, title, genre as well as unique identifiers for a computer and iTunes account."

I'm not happy about this at all. I don't mind sending data about what I'm listening too - I use Audioscrobbler, now lastFM, but I effectively do so anonymously. iTunes ties this data directly to me via the account that I use to buy tunes via the built-in shop. I've paid for this music - I don't expect to be targeted by more advertising.

BBC NEWS | Technology | Snooping fears plague new iTunes

Technorati tags: iTunes spyware adware MiniStore

Robin Cousings at BETT 2006

BETT 2006, Olympia, London
Photo uploaded to flickr 11 Jan '06, 8.44pm PST by hockeyshooter

I was in London today to take photos at the first Making The News competition at London's Olympic exhibition hall. Robin Cousins, MBE, was doing a great job of presenting the prizes - makes a change to have a celeb that's so cooperative.

Blogging takes another step with this "post your own news site" which is interestingly hosted in Canada.

NowPublic is a site where you can publish news about events you care about. It's easy and let's face it, you are more interesting than your television. You can use NowPublic to share your photos and videos, get coverage of news you care about, and read news that you won't see anywhere else.

The owners of the site emailed me in response to a photo I'd posted on Flickr suggesting I upload it to illustrate a story on Tony Blair.

Developing New Stories | The News is NowPublic.com

Received my new home phone today - another item bought on eBay (its very addictive, you know). Its a BT Relate SMS, which means not only does it use Caller Display to show who's calling you (provided you have entered their number into its phone book) but you can also use it to send and receive text messages. And it doesn't require a SIM card to do this either - messages are billed straight to your normal BT home account (receiving messages is free). Neat. One thing about the phone that did come as a surprise however was its requirement for 4 AA batteries: I guess if you're going to spend the time filling up a 100-number memory, you don't want to loose it all by unplugging it.

Watched the first episode of time-travelling cop show Life On Mars last night and was extremely impressed. It is very well cast (John Simm, from the equally superb State of Play) and acted, and they have gone to enormous effort recreating 1970s London. What a contrast to the vacuous offering from Channel 4 at the same time: Celebrity Big Brother.

Went haring down town today to catch a train to London, only to find that it now costs £5 to park your car on a Saturday. Five pounds. In change. Exact change. Who carries five quid in change in their pocket these days? And why are they charging for parking in the first place? That's a whole quarter of my train fare again. Doesn't exactly encourage you to use the train, does it? In fact unless you're going at least fifty miles or so, its probably cheaper to drive. And what exactly do you get for your five pounds? I guess it must go to pay the dozens of armed guards that will be keeping an eye on your motor in your absence - not, coz there aren't any guards at all.

Crystal Palace vs Northamton Town, FA Cup 3rd Round

My first go at shooting professional football, at Selhurt Park about an hour before kickoff - I got there early! Palace won 4-1, including two rather dubious penalties, so the Cobblers are now out of the FA Cup and free to concentrate on their promotion drive (well, you've got to find a positive in everything, haven't you?).

Spotted what I at first thought was a song thrush on a fence post in our garden this morning, only to realise it was actually a kestrel. I raced to get my camera out but I couldn't get it to focus fast enough - it was very dark and I was trying to shoot through double glazing. As soon as I had it in the frame it suddenly swooped down after a bluetit on our peanut feeder, and they both flew some incredible aerobatics as the poor wee thing tried to escape - which I think it did. A few weeks back I'd seen a lot of blackbird feathers on the lawn so I'm guessing the kestrel had visited before and managed to make a kill. Whilst I'm thrilled to see a kestrel in the garden, I'd rather he not eat our song birds, which are rare enough as it is!

"Trial bid to stop belching cattle
Aberdeen scientists are carrying out commercial trials on a feed additive which they hope will stop cows from producing large amounts of methane.

Cattle are capable of producing 500 litres of the potent greenhouse gas every day, mostly through belching. Researchers at the Rowett Research Institute have found a way of cutting back on the methane produced by ruminants like sheep and cows."

How about a Rennie, about a foot square?

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Trial bid to stop belching cattle

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Northampton Town managed to loose against Peterborough today - the Cobbler's first league loss since the end of October. It was a pretty pathetic performance - again.

Vodafone Mobile Connect card

Vodafone Mobile Connect card
Photo uploaded to flickr 30 Dec '05, 5.30pm PST by hockeyshooter


Managed to persuade a Vodafone Mobile Connect card to work with the Pay-As-You-Go SIM card I use in my Nokia 6230 today. The card is a 3G/GPRS/WiFI PCMCIA device that basically works as a modem over Vodafone's mobile network, enabling me to send photos from sporting events almost anywhere in the UK. The card reverts to using GPRS if 3G isn't available in the area (like where I live, it appears). I did have to tweak one settings to get it to work with a PAYG SIM - that is the 'APN' which I had to change from 'internet' to 'pp.vodafone.co.uk' - information gleaned from the staggeringly helpful 3G Forum.

Technorati tags: 3G GPRS Vodafone mobile connect PCMCIA card

"Star Trek is 'most missed' series
Sci-fi series Star Trek is the show most people want to see returned to their TV screens, a survey has found. Originally broadcast in the US in 1966, it topped a poll of more than 1,000 viewers commissioned by UK interactive TV firm Home Media Networks."

Paramount were so stupid to have cancelled Enterprise.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Star Trek is 'most missed' series

Technorati tags: Star Trek Enterprise

Its snowing!

Its snowing!
Photo uploaded to flickr 27 Dec '05, 11.20am PST by hockeyshooter

Some snow overnight, but more coming down this morning. Quite big chunks of it too! Just a shame, from the kids' point of view, that its a few days late.

Northampton vs Mansfield

Another league 2 win for the Cobblers puts them fourth in the table. The final scored owed much to Mansfield keeper Kevin Pressman who made some terrific saves. But he was beaten by a free kick from David Hunt that may turn out to be goal of the season. As a neighbour spectator rightly commented "I didn't know we'd signed David Beckham".

Today saw the annual Boxing Day "Wild and Woolly" motocross event at Blisworth near Northampton. Not quite as cold last year, but still pretty muddy. I think more riders took part too. Congratulations to whoever it was keeping the numbers clear - made a change to be able to work out who was on each bike. But somehow I managed to completely miss #26 - sorry Pete.

"The Campaign Against Political Correctness believes in free speech and thinks that the silent majority have been left without a voice for too long. We believe that people should be proud to be British and not ashamed to protect Britain's history from those who want to re-write it."

New Tories are even considering making PCness an election issue.

"Tory MP Philip Davies, who was elected this year, said he wanted to wage a campaign against 'this silliness'. He cited the example of a Somerset museum which took BC (Before Christ) off labels to avoid 'offence'."

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Christmas day 2005
Photo uploaded to flickr 25 Dec '05, 2.10pm PST by hockeyshooter

Rushmere lake, Heath and Reach, on Christmas day 2005.

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Christmas day 2005
Photo uploaded to flickr 25 Dec '05, 1.47pm PST by hockeyshooter

The Ouzel, near Heath and Reach, on Christmas day 2005.

I have finally managed to send a photo from an HP h5550 iPAQ to the Internet (in this case an account on Fotki) via satellite phone. I found I needed the Thuraya people to enable data transmission on the account. Once I had the right serial cables, had QuickLink Mobile software talking to the phone, and with the account enabled, I was able to establish a data connection using their own service. No further networking settings were needed on the iPAQ. Alas, again Fotki's image embedding doesn't work, so I can't display the image here - all I can do is provide a link to the web page it is on.

Technorati tags: photo transmission satellite phone iPAQ

"Senate blocks Alaska oil drilling
The US Senate has narrowly blocked a Republican-led attempt to allow drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Supporters of the plan fell four votes short of the number needed to prevent opponents using a filibuster - or delaying tactic - to derail the vote."

This is marvellous news. Just goes to show there are some in the US Government who have respect for the environment.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Senate blocks Alaska oil drilling

Technorati tags: Alaska Arctic refuge oil drilling

Have been playing a lot more with this image browsing/editing/uploading software for the iPAQ and I must say that, given it is so incredibly cheap, it is fantastic to use. It just needs a few more features and settings and it could then compete favourably with another, much more expensive option that I have also bought.

"Ramp creates power as cars pass
A road ramp that uses passing cars to generate power has been developed. Dorset inventor Peter Hughes' Electro-Kinetic Road Ramp creates around 10kW of power each time a car drives over its metal plates. More than 200 local authorities had expressed an interest in ordering the £25,000 ramps to power their traffic lights and road signs, Mr Hughes said. Plates in the ramp move up and down as vehicles pass over them, driving a generator. Depending on the weight of the vehicle passing overhead, between five and 50kW can be generated."

Interesting idea, but the energy has got to come from somewhere, and that's got to be from the vehicles that go over them. Which means burning extra fuel. So is this really such a good idea?

BBC NEWS | England | Somerset | Ramp creates power as cars pass

Technorati tags: vehicle kinetic power generation ramp

"Congress presses for torture ban
The US House of Representatives has supported a call to ban cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of foreign terrorism suspects. It voted 308 to 122 to back a measure passed by the Senate to include the ban in new defence spending legislation. The symbolic move by both chambers is not binding on the White House, but is seen as highly embarrassing."

Goes to show most US politicians weren't prepared to accept Condi Rice's brush-off that appears to have placated their European counterparts (at least to some extent). But what exactly does not binding on the White House mean?

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Congress presses for torture ban

Mobile photo sending

Mobile photo sending
Photo uploaded to flickr 13 Dec '05, 3.11pm PST by hockeyshooter

Have been spending the day juggling with an iPAQ h5550, a Navman GPS/Compact Flash sleeve, a Nokia 6230 mobile phone and various bits of software, trying to send photos to the Internet. Have come across SPB Imageer, which at just $15 does a pretty neat job as image browser, simple editor and Internet sender. Sadly it can only send to Fotki, alas, and not Flickr - which is a real shame because although Fotki go to a lot of effort to make images linkable (so that you can embed them into your blog, for example) I could not get it to work here. So I had to manually copy the images to my Flickr account instead. So far I've only had it work via my own wireless network, so the next challenge is to use the Nokia as a GPRS modem (although I have a feeling the service, on my Vodafone account, isn't actually enabled) via Bluetooth.

This is the most stunning image I've seen this morning of the huge cloud of smoke still being produced by the fire. The Fire Brigade said they would not be able to start putting out the fires until they had a large supply of foam - if they started too soon, and then ran out, the fire would just take hold again. That white thing bottom right isn't a farm gate - its a five story building.

Luton airport still operating as normal, but with the M1 closed, it might be difficult getting there. The Fire Brigade are sending appliances from all around the area, but it will be a difficult fire to fight because of the extreme heat and the danger of further explosions.

Sky News are now showing the MultiMap page with the aerial photo I blogged earlier. CNN have picked the story up. Live pictures are showing police officers wearing paper face masks. ITV News are showing a closeup view from a fixed CCTV camera.

An eyewitness is now saying "half the sky is black; there isn't a cloud in the sky - the blue half".

ITV News are emphasising the statement from Herts Police that no plane was involved - any mention of a plane was pure speculation.

One of the oil companies have just said that their employees on-site are both OK, but several companies use the site. It provides fuel to Luton Airport, which is only 10 miles away. The police are suggesting local residents keep doors and windows closed, but I'm guessing most are actually outside watching it. Live footage now being shown on BBC News shows a massive column of smoke rising hundred of feet into the sky, with flames still visible at the base of it. Witnesses heard at least three explosions.

The police have just stated they are treating the incident as an accident. There is a strange smell in the air, which I would guess is toxic. The fire continues to rage, with flames and smoke towering into the air. "A sight you wouldn't expect to see at 6 O'Clock in the morning" said one eyewitness very close to the scene, who had helped to rescue a security guard trapped in his hut at the industrial estate next to the site. He also said he did not hear a plane.

People living nearby have, according to a witness, lost the roofs of their houses!

Here's a map of where the terminal is.

There seems to be a few reports of witnesses having heard an aircraft before the explosion, but given the area is under the approach to Luton airport, that's hardly surprising. "A huge cloud of black smoke" is visible from many miles away; "gigantic" flames leaping hundreds of feet into the sky. Very little official information has yet been released. The M1 is closed in both directions.

One witness believes there to have been "very large structural damage". A hotel nearby is being evacuated. "A massive fire; explosions still happening." The fog must be dispersing there as a helicopter flew over one witness. "The sky is black with bright orange flames". Another witness said he could see "billowing white smoke; only half the facility has exploded; four or five oil containers still in tact.".

Police have officially confirmed both the incident and that there have been casualties at the Buncefield oil storage depot, Hemel Hempstead, in Hertfordshire, England. Witnesses reporting flames up to 60ft into the air. The weather is pretty cold (just below freezing, with frost on the cars) and there is quite a thick fog, so this is going to hamper the emergency services.

Technorati tags: Buncefield fuel oil storage depot explosion fire

First report from Sky News. People have reported having heard it in Milton Keynes, even further north than where I am.

According to BBC News, police have just confirmed the explosion at the fuel depot. Unconfirmed reports of injuries.

An eyewitness stuck on the now closed M1 is seeing many fire engines and ambulances. Explosions are still happening.

Buncefield Fuel Storage Depot appears to have suffered a massive explosion. Blast damage has effected buildings up to a mile away: windows blown out; one persion could open their front door.

BBC News have now picked up on it. Flames visible from several miles away.

Its now 20 minutes later and Sky News are carrying reports that the explosion was very near or in Hemel Hempstead. They're suggesting it might be at a fuel depot situated near the M1 motorway. Flames visible in the sky. More fuel tanks exploding.

I was just awake at 06:05 this morning when I heard an enormous explosion. I got up and looked out the window, but couldn't hear or smell anything else.

Technorati tags: explosion fire fuel depot England Hemel Hempstead

"Song sites face legal crackdown
The music industry is to extend its copyright war by taking legal action against websites offering unlicensed song scores and lyrics. The Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents US sheet music companies, will launch its first campaign against such sites in 2006.

MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed. He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were 'completely illegal'. Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can 'throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective'."

Perhaps you'd like to let the CIA take care of these people for you? Have you actually bothered asking your artists and composers if they have any objection to kids learning to play an instrument through imitating their music?

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Song sites face legal crackdown

"Last-minute climate deals reached
Mr Clinton attacked a central plank of the Bush administration's resistance to targets for cutting emissions - that it would harm the US economy.

If the US 'had a serious, disciplined effort to apply on a large scale existing clean energy and energy conservation technologies... we could meet and surpass the Kyoto targets easily in a way that would strengthen, not weaken, our economies,' he said."

Well said Mr.C. Of course, it remains to be seen if the UK can reach the targets its already committed itself to for Kyoto - at the moment, our emissions are actually increasing...

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Last-minute climate deals reached

Technorati tags: global climate conference Montreal Clinton

Inuit sue US over climate policy
People living in the Arctic have filed a legal petition against the US government, saying its climate change policies violate human rights. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) claims the US is failing to control emissions of greenhouse gases, damaging livelihoods in the Arctic.

I don't think they've got any chance of succeeding because they cannot prove that its pollution from the USA that's responsible for the problem (although given the USA is the most polluting nation, a sympathetic judge might just say "oh, we know its you lot"!), anything that can embarrass the Bush administration gets my support.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Inuit sue US over climate policy

Technorati tags: Inuit Arctic climate change legal

Trailers are beginning to appear for the third X-Men movie - here's a link to a high definition one on the Apple movie trailers website (needs QuickTime 7). It looks good. Glad to see Halle Berry still in the cast, although having Famke Janssen in the cast list is a bit of a giveaway! Of course, given the spread of extreme political correctness, by the time the movie comes out it will probably be called X-Persons.

Apple - Trailers - X3 - HD

Copyright © 2005/2006 20th Century Fox

Ever wondered how Google manages to search through so many millions of pages, representing tens of terabytes of data, so quickly? According to an IEEE article, they use a network of over fifteen thousand "commodity-class" (that's off-the-shelf to you an me) machines, combined with clever software that distributes queries and includes fault-tolerance. The machines are geographically distributed, so that earthquakes, large-scale power failures and the like can't bring down the entire system. Several generations of CPU are in active service at any one time and they buy only the most cost-effective machines, rather than the fastest.

"Doctors issue warning on iPod finger, the latest hi-tech ailment
It could be time to discard the adage that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. With Apple Computer's iPod digital music player continuing to sell well, and the tiny iPod nano set to be one of the must-have gifts this Christmas, physicians are now warning that the first cases of a condition they are labelling 'iPod finger' have started to emerge.

'Handheld music machines are extremely popular and users are constantly using small, difficult buttons with the same finger in a repetitive motion,' said Carl Irwin from the British Chiropractic Association. 'The nature of modern technology means that these devices are only going to be getting smaller, and I would not be surprised if hand and finger related injuries become one of the most common repetitive strain injuries that chiropractors treat.'"


...writes Bobbie Johnson in The Guardian, Tuesday December 6, 2005. I would have thought you'd be just as likely to suffer RSI from texting with a mobile phone - and millions more people do that than listen to an iPod.

Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Doctors issue warning on iPod finger, the latest hi-tech ailment

Technorati tags: ipod RSI repetitive strain injury

"Recyclers' rubbish dumped abroad
Councils are investigating what happens to their recycled rubbish after the BBC revealed 500 tonnes had been shipped unsorted to Indonesia. According to the Environment Agency, about half of the 8m tons of green bin material thrown out each year in the UK ends up overseas."

Extraordinary. Recycling material takes energy. Transporting it takes more energy. The government encourages us to recycle, specifically with its landfill tax (which has also led to flytipping) and now it turns out that we're exporting waste instead.

See Real Story, 19:30 GMT tonight on BBC1.

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Real Story | Recyclers' rubbish dumped abroad

Technorati tags: export recycling waste materials

"Sorry, prime minister, your legacy will be a disastrous foreign war
In his old age it will seem monstrously unfair to him, but Tony Blair will be remembered for one terrible misjudgment. We all enthuse about a will, if we stand to inherit something from it. It is hard to suggest, however, that the prospect of a legacy from Tony Blair is rousing the British people to excitement.

Blair will be recognised by history as a consummate politician, orator, vote-winner. It seems unlikely, however, that he will be judged to have used the power he gained to much lasting effect. To a remarkable degree, he has presided over Britain rather than ruled it.

Galling though it must be to him, Blair's legacy will be Iraq. It is plain that, whatever the outcome, it will not be a happy one. Whether or no the coalition forces swiftly depart, the saga will drag on for years, poisoning western relations with the Islamic world. It is unlikely that Iraq can be sustained as a unitary state. Much more bloodshed is to come."

...writes respected author and military historian Max Hastings in The Guardian.

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Comment | Sorry, prime minister, your legacy will be a disastrous foreign war

Technorati tags: Blair Iraq war legacy

Round Three of the FA cup as been drawn and, providing we can beat Stevenage in our replay a week Tuesday, Northampton will face Crystal Palace. But think of non-league sides Burton and Burscough (whose second round match was postponed because the pitch was unplayable), one of whom will meet Man United!

Stevenage vs Northampton, FA Cup

The Cobblers travelled to non-league Stevenage Borough for their FA Cup 2nd round game yesterday. A near capacity crowd, in front of BBC Match of the Day cameras, witnessed a to-and-fro performance, with Boro by no means outclassed by a typical lack-lustre effort from the Cobblers. Boro scored first and for a long time it didn't look like Town would manage to get a single goal after that. Things changed after a cracking shot from Town's Pedj Bjic and Boro conceeding a penalty, leaving the Cobblers fans very vocal. But Boro bounced back to force a tie just minutes later. Final score: Stevenage Borough 2 - Northampton Town 2. The replay is to be held at Sixfields, week after next.

I must apologise to the guy I splashed this morning as I drove out of Waitrose car park.

"Blair reignites nuclear arguments
A fierce debate over nuclear power is under way after Tony Blair launched an energy review which could pave the way for a new generation of nuclear plants. The energy review would be headed by the Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks and report by the middle of next year, he announced. It would measure the UK's progress against a review carried out two years ago."

A review. We're going to think about it. Again. That's all we ever do - think about things, have meetings, hold conferences. That's two years and now another six months wasted. Pathetic.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Blair reignites nuclear arguments
Technorati tags: energy review Blair nuclear power

" How coal is cleaning up its act
Coal is back on the agenda as a serious player in meeting the world's future energy demands.

After being pushed to one side in [Thatcher's] 'dash for gas' in the 1990s [subsequent to her selling off the nationalised power generation utilities], attention is returning to the role of coal in the global energy mix because of its widespread availability and stable price."

I read recently that since Thatcher destroyed our own coal industry, and made certain that our own mines could never be used again by allowing them to flood, we now import and burn dirtier coal from abroad. However, coal is still less efficient than gas - and China is set to build hundreds more coal-fired power stations as its economy grows.

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | How coal is cleaning up its act

Technorati tags: climate summit montreal kyoto

Grey Heron

Grey Heron
Photo uploaded to flickr 27 Nov '05, 8.10pm PST by hockeyshooter

This grey heron visited next door's roof again today, presumably wondering if there are any fish in their pond.

An injury time goal from Josh Low gave Northampton Town a point against Lincoln City in their League 2 game today. Lincoln, who appearently hadn't won in 10 games, were very dominant in the first half, and the Cobblers were extremely lucky to have not been beated. Quite why Manager Colin Calderwood chose not to go with the same starting lineup as the previous week, when we beat Bristol Rovers 4-0 last week, I have no idea.

This is an interesting organisation who arrange help for charities and the like to get on the web.

"InterConnection works to make Internet technology accessible to non-profit organizations in developing countries. Founded in February 1999, the organization has grown to include a pool of over 100 Virtual Volunteers; it has supported over 70 organizations in 23 countries, and it has partnered with several international development organizations."

InterConnection - website support for non profits and NGOs in developing countries

"Brown urges worker wage restraint
Pay increases for millions of public sector workers should be held down to close to 2% to limit the risk of inflation, Gordon Brown has said. The chancellor has asked the bodies which review pay deals for doctors, teachers and some civil servants to remember the need for wage discipline."

What was your pay increase this year, chancellor? With gas and electricity going up at least 12% and house prices (and hence mortgage payments) going through the roof, why is it that public sector workers should be the ones to feel the pinch just to keep your obviously plucked-out-of-the-air figure for inflation down? I see strikes on the horizon.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Brown urges worker wage restraint

Fire in security lodge

Fire in security lodge
Photo uploaded to flickr 23 Nov '05, 9.14am PST by hockeyshooter

I guess the safest place to have a fire, if you're going to have one, is in your own security lodge.

Mazda UK does a 404

Mazda UK does a 404
Photo uploaded to flickr 21 Nov '05, 8.22pm PST by hockeyshooter

Just as Fifth Gear are reviewing the new Mazda MX5, I check the UK website - and find this. Good timing, Mazda.

Northampton 4 Bristol Rovers 0

At long last, a decisive home vistory for The Cobblers. Bristol actually dominated for the first 20 minutes and it looked like the game had the makings of another draw. Manager Colin Calderwood had changed the lineup for this game, benching forward Scott McGleish in favour of Andy Kirk and Junior Mendes on the front row. Kirk scored two, one from Smith and a nail in the coffin just before the end from Pedj Bojic - his first home goal with the club. The win lifts the Cobblers one place in the League 2 table.

"Man challenges fine with 1689 law
A man has invoked the 1689 Bill of Rights to fight a £60 parking fine from Worcester City Council at a tribunal. Robin de Crittenden, 67, of Willenhall, near Wolverhampton, argues the bill protects people from having to pay fines until convicted by a court. He said the challenge aimed 'to put the politicians back in their kennels'."

Good on yer, mate. Most companies that clamp use it as a way to print money. Existing government legislation is useless.

BBC NEWS | England | Hereford/Worcs | Man challenges fine with 1689 law

"Ex-MI5 chief sparks ID card row
The case for identity cards has been branded 'bogus' after an ex-MI5 chief said they might not help fight terror. Dame Stella Rimington has said most documents could be forged and this would render ID cards 'useless'.

The Conservatives said her comments showed the cards could be counter-productive. The Lib Dems said plans should be abandoned. Downing Street has so far only said Dame Stella is a private individual who was entitled to her views."

I can't help thinking that she would have been described somewhat differently if she'd have had the opposite opinion of them.

"She said: 'ID cards have possibly some purpose. But I don't think that anybody in the intelligence services, particularly in my former service, would be pressing for ID cards. My angle on ID cards is that they may be of some use but only if they can be made unforgeable - and all our other documentation is quite easy to forge. If we have ID cards at vast expense and people can go into a back room and forge them they are going to be absolutely useless.'"

Well, that's pretty unequivocal.

"Former government crime advisor Lord Mackenzie disagreed with Dame Stella's assessment, saying there were plenty of examples of occasions when ID cards would have prevented crime. He told BBC News: 'Let's look at the Soham murders. If Ian Huntley had had an identity card, would he have got the job at Soham school which allowed him to commit the murders? I think not.'"

And why not? Did he apply for the job under a different name? Did he try to hide his identity?

BBC NEWS | Politics | Ex-MI5 chief sparks ID card row
Technorati tags: security id.cards MI5 civil liberties

"UK 'benefits from Afghan peace'
Establishing peace in Afghanistan is in Britain's best interests, the Defence Secretary John Reid has said. The supply of drugs from the country (as well as the presence of terrorists there) threatened the region and also the wider world, he said."

Under the Taleban, the export of drugs from Afghanistan had tumbled dramatically. As soon as they were kicked out by us and the USA, exports reached new record levels. So I don't know what he gets these ideas from. See these earlier reports:

BBC News | UN warns on opium fears

"Under the Taleban authorities, poppy cultivation was prohibited. The ban had been decreed by the Taleban's spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in July 2000 and led to a massive fall in production in the last growing season, according to the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP)."

BBC News | US concern at Afghan opium surge

"Spelling mistake wastes £23,000
A spelling error in last month's education white paper meant it had to be reprinted the day before publication at a cost of 'just under £23,000'. Education minister Lord Adonis, who made the admission in a written reply, blamed 'minor drafting errors'. A slogan was mistakenly spelt 'Higer Standards, Better Schools for All'. Liberal Democrat spokesman Baroness Walmsley said this raised questions about the 'standard of literacy' among some Whitehall officials."

Nice to see the Government spending our money so wisely.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Spelling mistake wastes £23,000
Technorati tags: education government spending waste

"Longer pub opening gets go-ahead
The government has beaten off a last-ditch attempt to prevent pubs opening round-the-clock from next week. A Conservative motion to cancel the part of the Licensing Act allowing extended hours was defeated by 74 votes in the Commons.

Opponents say later closing times will lead to increased crime, violence and anti-social behaviour. But ministers say the plans, which come into effect on 24 November, will encourage 'grown-up' drinking habits."

Just glad I don't live next to a pub. And you can bet that the clowns who thought this idiotic idea up don't either.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Longer pub opening gets go-ahead

"Blair 'failing' over environment
Environmental charity WWF UK has severely criticised the government for what it says is a lack of action on climate change and the environment. It says the UK has wasted opportunities presented by its presidency of the EU and the G8 group of wealthy nations. And despite differences in rhetoric, there is little to choose between Tony Blair and US President George W Bush.

But a Downing Street spokesman said the government had achieved wide consensus in the G8 on tackling greenhouse gases. Last year environmental charities applauded the prime minister when he said he would make climate change a priority.

But WWF UK now says he was trying to please environmentally concerned voters more than demonstrating the will to use leadership in tough negotiations."

Blair seems keen on talks and conferences and agreements, but in his own country, he appears to be doing almost nothing.

BBC NEWS | UK | Blair 'failing' over environment
Technorati tags: climate change blair government

Jake and family

Jake and family
Photo uploaded to flickr 13 Nov '05, 1.48pm PST by hockeyshooter

First time for me today shooting baby photos. This is young Jake, my great nephew, with his mum and dad. I don't think I've found a sport yet that is as difficult to photograph!

EOS1D, EF 28-70/2.8 L zoom, 1/250 @ f11, using two Courtenay flashes on stands with umbrellas, triggered by 550EX 1/32 power bounced off the ceiling, Lastolite background.

Britain raises its threat level
We've gone from "Pretend Nothing's Happening" to "Make Another Cup of Tea". Our higher levels are "Remain Resolutely Cheerful" and "Win". In parliament today, the British attitude level was raised from "Miffed" to "Peeved". Soon though, it may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". Londoners have not been at "A Bit Cross" since the Blitz in 1940, when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorised from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance". The last time the "A Bloody Nuisance" warning level was issued was during the Great Fire, in 1666.

Joke - dead pan mode.

"Photographer Lord Lichfield dies
Royal photographer Lord Lichfield has died at the age of 66 after suffering a major stroke. The Queen was among the first to pay tribute to Lord Lichfield, saying she was 'deeply saddened' at the news. Lord Lichfield was the Queen's first cousin once removed and was the official photographer at the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Diana."

Patrick always came across as a "thoroughly nice chap". He'll be sadly missed, especially by the Queen.

BBC NEWS | UK | Photographer Lord Lichfield dies

"Call to outlaw net ticket touts
Concert, theatre and sport promoters are calling for ticket touting to be made illegal, saying the internet has made it easier to rip fans off."

Oh, the irony.

Lets see what it costs to see Elton John at the M.E.N. Arena Manchester next year. Ticket price £50.00 (yes, that's fifty quid). On top of that, a certain online ticket agency charge £6.00 'service charge' plus £1.75 postage. You sure you're not just wanting to protect your profits, guys?

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | Call to outlaw net ticket touts

Have found that the website for the BT (that's British Telecom, the state telecoms company the Tories sold off at enormous loss to the nation - and enormous gain to the shareholders) Shop crashes - not just causes problems with, but actually crashes - Firefox web browser.

Yet more meddling in education from New Labour - a subject they just can't leave alone.

"Baby education 'absolute madness'
A national curriculum for babies and toddlers has been dismissed as 'absolute madness' by parents who fear childhood could be taken from children.

Under the Childcare Bill, childminders would teach the curriculum to children 'from birth' until they start school. All three-year-olds in childcare in England would learn rudimentary maths, language and literacy.

But the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations described the proposal as 'bizarre'. Spokeswoman Margaret Morrissey said: 'We are now in danger of taking away children's childhood when they leave the maternity ward. From the minute you are born and your parents go back to work, as the government has encouraged them to do, you are going to be ruled by the Department for Education. It is absolute madness.'"

An education spokesperson for the Government replied "we're the Government, we know best - any more arguement from you and you'll be sent to bed with no tea".

BBC NEWS | Education | Baby education 'absolute madness'

Ironic, don't you think, that in the same week as new anti-terrorist legislation is (narrowly) passed in Parliament, that specifically bans the "glorification" of terrorism, the British public waste £millions setting off explosives (fireworks) celebrating a 400-year-old act of terrorism. Is this therefore going to be the last Fireworks Night?

"'Gas muzzlers' challenge Bush

President George W Bush is facing a rebellion over his softly-softly approach to climate change. Nine north-eastern states are poised to sign an agreement setting Kyoto-style legal limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power stations.

New York and New Jersey are among these rebel states. And in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is forging ahead with legislation to cut emissions from cars by 30% within a decade. This could transform the motor industry."

That's the way to go, guys. Ignore Bush - he's ignoring the problem. Its about time the US motor industry recognised they are part of the problem. And there's no excuse for not reducing electricity consumption.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | 'Gas muzzlers' challenge Bush

Technorati tags: carbon global warming emissions bush

" '1.5m more' face inheritance tax
Rising house prices are to leave 1.5 million more people liable to pay inheritance tax, research suggests. It means the number of people over the tax threshold would soar by 70% from around 2m in 2002 to 3.5m in 2009."

Another stealth tax from New Labour. And another explaination as to why they didn't step in to slow house price growth.

BBC NEWS | UK | '1.5m more' face inheritance tax

Another Googlewhack

Another Googlewhack
Photo uploaded to flickr 3 Nov '05, 5.56pm PST by hockeyshooter

This is the second GoogleWhack in one day. A little more likely this time as its the name of my friend's cat. An ex-breeders and a show cat, its a pretty unusual phrase to start with.

You have received a new message

An attempt to make a posting via email via my Nokia 6230 mobile phone via MMS failed hopelessly. The Vodafone system mangled it, embedding lots of links and images.

A new member of our camera club has been asking about triggering studio flashes from his Canon SLR, feaful (and rightly so) that the high trigger voltage of the Courtenay heads might damage the camera. The "industry standard" solution to this is the Wein SafeSync but these cost a whacking £45, even via eBay. Thinking that they can't actually contain particular complicated electronics, I searched the web to see if anyone had managed to make their own. Its basically an opto-isolator:

Optoisolated Adapter for Older Flash Units to Low Voltage Cameras

Evidence of a Googlewhack

Evidence of a Googlewhack
Photo uploaded to flickr 3 Nov '05, 11.42am PST by hockeyshooter


Wow - I've just found a GoogleWhack. Of course, merely mentioning the word here will immediately ruin the GoogleWhack, so you need to view the screen grab I've uploaded to Flickr to see what it is. What I was actually looking for was Meet-O-Matic.

Technorati tags: googlewhack meeting organiser

Should you be offered some cheap Canon gear in London, fellow bppa member Terry Richards has had his kit stolen:
» a pair of Canon EOS1D MkII bodies
» a Canon 14mm f2.8
» a 17-35mm f2.8
» a 35-350mm L
» a 300 mm f4 L
» a boxed 1.4x converter

"£100 for an iTunes download: The real cost of roaming
Roaming Rip-Offs: Mobile phone operators are stinging GPRS and 3G users with roaming charges of up to £20 a megabyte. That works out at up to £100 for a single iTunes download, and up to £5 just to check your tariff"

The only time I use GPRS is when sending MMS (picture messages). I sometimes use this facility to send images to Flickr via email attachment (did quite a few from Italy) and this is the main reason why I bought my Nokia 6230 in the first place. Fortunately the images my phone takes are pretty small to start with (640 x 480) so even full sized, they don't represent much data. But the phone companies expect people to want to watch movies and "TV" on their phones - read this article and you'll see why.

This is another reason why the phone makers are keen to up the resolution of the cameras built in to phones - the lenses are often still pretty naff, so the increase quality is lost. But the files are enormous and unless you know how to set the phone so it reduces them before sending, it will end up costing you a fortune to send them as MMS.

£100 for an iTunes download: The real cost of roaming - ZDNet UK News

New Audio Recording Centre wiring

New Audio Recording Centre wiring
Photo uploaded to flickr 2 Nov '05, 6.55pm PST by hockeyshooter

I volunteered to wire the audio cabling of our new Audio Recording Centre, which is used primarily to record course material for print-disabled students. Photo shows wiring the control room end of the cables. Each booth is connected via an 8-pair multicore, only three pairs of which are used: XLRs female to male and male to female, plus one line with 1/4" each end for monitoring. All the panels, connectors and cables came from Canford Audio, an excellent and reliable UK supplier I have used since 1982.

Technorati tags: audio cabling recording studio deaf hearing.impaired

You have received a new message

Wireless network workshop
Photo uploaded to flickr 2 Nov '05, 4.11pm PST by hockeyshooter

Saul Albert and Jo Walsh today ran a workshop on wireless networking, explaining how certain commercially-available hardware (eg: the Linksys WRT54G Wireless Broadband Router) can be flashed to enable and control all manner of features for those intending to set up their own low-cost wireless LAN to share, for example, a broadband connection. Its worth noting, though, that the WRT54G does not have a built-in ADSL model.

Technorati tags: community wireless networking router Linksys