If it works for you.

I thought I would go for a rather more surreal photo to head this weeks' entry, than the usual figurative subjects I pick; I took this shot a while back in Woolwich, outside the Royal Artillery Firepower Museum. It is a section of pipe that was sold to Saddam Hussein as part of the Project Babylon Super Gun project. Personally I think it was a real life episode of Hustle writ large. I think the whole thing was a confidence trick on the Iraqi regime. There is no way that it would have worked - the thing is huge and strong by most everyday standards, but it would have been way too flimsy to have been used as the barrel of a giant gun.

I have had several enquiries over the last week from people who generally are not that interested / bothered by computer operating systems or software, but have recently been concerned by the intense coverage in the popular press of the security and reliability problems users have encountered with the now nine year old Internet Explorer 6. They want to move onto something both more modern and secure, and have been asking me for advice. To be honest, even later versions of Internet Explorer, such as the current version 8 are better, but personally I would strongly suggest that you try one of the following web browsers:

Firefox - the most common free and open source browser. Lots of add - ons and support.
Opera - the oldest Internet Explorer alternative, with a large and active community.
Chrome - relatively new browser from Google; very fast and well regarded.
Safari - a web browser from Apple. Available for Windows too.
Camino - A version of Firefox that is customised for the Apple Mac.
Flock - a variant of Firefox for those who want to be involved in social networking.
Konqueror - the Linux / BSD Unix file and web browser under the KDE GUI.
Seamonkey Suite - the free and open source replacement for the old Netscape Navigator suite.

My own take on this is that all of the above are available as free downloads; I would suggest that if you are looking for a new web browser, I would try as many as you feel comfortable with, and see what works for you. Hence this weeks' Blog title. I do think these things out in advance.

I find it very disconcerting that Avatar has become the highest grossing of all time, yet at present I know of only one person that has actually seen the movie - and this is from someone who is high on the list of the target audience. It is not that I am actively seeking to avoid the film, more that I have just not got around to seeing it. If the likes of sci fi fans such as myself and my compatriots have yet to see the movie, who are making up the hordes that have apparently flocked to see the movie?

 

You can see a photo of the Psion 3A pocket computer from the early 1990's above. Of all the computers I have owned over the years, this is the one I miss the most. Small, relatively powerful and with an excellent keyboard, I really wish that I still had it. It was the size of a spectacle case, yet ran MS Word, and interfaced with a full sized printer. I used to use it to write many magazine articles, often whilst sitting in a pub somewhere. I don't think that any modern netbook or mobile computing device has come anywhere near its' combination of long battery life and clever software implementation.

Talking of sci fi, if anyone is keen on obtaining a replica of the original teleport bracelets from Blake's Seven, please get in touch with me; one of my friends is in contact with the person who originally made them for the cult TV show, and has now got a licence to reproduce them for collectors. They are not cheap, but they are an item you can obtain in no other way. A photo below for your information. Get in touch if you are interested.

Young's Brewery are meant to be opening a pub and restaurant inside the Woolwich Arsenal redevelopment; the pub was due to open late last year, but due to the poor state of the economy, it would appear to have been delayed; unlike Kent brewer Shepherd Neame, who stepped up their acquisition of new property in the down turn (properties being cheaper during the recession). Young's would appear to have taken a more cautious approach - a pity as it is an excellent site, and a very good long term investment for them. The number of high earners working in the city or Docklands moving into the secure, gated community who would rather go out for a drink and a meal than eat at home after a long day in the office would seem to be high. I will be writing to Young's for an update on their plans for the place. An opportunity not to be wasted in my opinion.

Here is a story from IT and technical news website The Register: The BBC may axe some of its digital-only radio stations, including 6Music and the Asian Network, according to a report. The Asian Network costs £25m but attracts only 360,000 listeners. It's reckoned to be as expensive per-minute as prime-time TV costume drama. Radio6Music is also under threat as part of a separate review, and despite a higher profile doesn't fare much better, but at 695,000 has gained over the past year. Those numbers may sound like a lot, but DAB-only stations are listened to by just over 3 per cent of the population, and the most popular - usually 6Music - may have only 25,000 listening at anyone time. Hence the reviews. Audience research agency RAJAR published its latest quarterly numbers today, which you can peruse here. And RAJAR reckons "all digital" listening was static quarter-on-quarter - although the agency, owned by the leading radio industry players, doesn't count time-shifting radio consumption, such as podcasts. Ominously, despite a growth in penetration of DAB sets, there isn't a corresponding increase in DAB listening. DAB listening crept up to 13.7 per cent of households from 13.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter, despite half a million more households having a DAB set. Not much point pinning hopes on saving DAB by getting us to send our FM sets to Africa, then, if most people continue to listen to use their DAB sets for listening to FM radio. It's that chicken and egg problem again: axing unique, DAB-only content gives people fewer reasons to migrate to DAB.

Something that winds me up no end is when people use the term "ping" to mean sending an Email. to someone. You do NOT "ping" an email to someone - you SEND it. "Ping" is a technical term to describe sending a TCP / IP information packet over a network, and the subsequent response, often known as a pong. If I hear anyone talking about pinging an Email in future, they are likely to end up wearing a waste paper basket on their head...

Some weeks ago I mentioned a story about an American chap who was making modern laptop versions of classic 1980's 8 - bit computers, including the Commodore 64 and the Atari 800. The machines are equipped with modern hard drives and TFT screens, but otherwise employ the same hardware as the originals.  They are certainly not cheap, as each computer is a bespoke creation that is as much art as it is technology. You can read more about the engineer / artist who creates these amazing one  - off works here.

I would sincerely love an Atari 800 laptop, as the desktop version was my first computer. It takes me way back to the time when I worked in Hatherley Road, Sidcup for pioneering computer dealer Silica Shop.

After a rather turbulent year, it would appear that Bexley CAMRA are back on a firm footing. The fifth Bexley Beer festival is planned - details below for your information.

Bexley’s Fifth Beer Festival

 8th - 10th April 2010

Sidcup Sports Club

Crescent Farm, Sydney Road,

Sidcup DA14 6RA

Souvenir glasses, snacks, Live entertainment Thu / Fri Eve

Admission

Thursday 8 ^th April 5pm - 11pm £2, CAMRA members £1
Friday 9th April, 11am - 5pm £2, CAMRA members Free
Friday 9th April, 5pm - 11pm £2, CAMRA members £1
Saturday 18th April 11am-11pm £2, CAMRA members £1

Does anyone else think that Swine Flu was the 2010 version of the Millennium Bug? The Swine Flu hotline has apparently been switched off, and the stocks of antidode are being destroyed. One wonders how much money the pharmaceutical companies have made from promoting the scare.

In my opinion, the best closing song from any band that I have experienced - Los Endos from Genesis.

Practical Communications.

The photo above is of a somewhat pointless and inconsequential piece of street sculpture located between Erith town centre and Morrison's car park. My only wonder is that it seems to continually escape vandalism. It is not so much that I dislike the piece, more than it seems pointless, rather obvious and boring; I reckon that any potential vandals have a blind spot to it, or that they simply cannot muster the enthusiasm to cause any damage or mayhem.

I came across an interesting and somewhat motivational quotation earlier this week; "Any problem in the world can be resolved by the careful employment of high explosives".  Certainly a subject worthy of debate. I am not sure I agree to be honest, there are times when a sniper rifle gets the job done better.

I see that certain supermarkets have banned customers from entering their stores when wearing pyjamas. What posesses people to leave home still in their sleepwear utterly bemuses me.  You can read the original story here. My own concern is something that occurs with regularity as soon as the sun comes out, and the temperature rises in Erith. You inevitably see a host of scrawny,  pigeon - chested Chavs strutting around the area, bare from the waist upwards. Over the course of several days you see them transforming from a pasty, blueish white to a sun burned lobster red. Only their inevitable tattoos escape this transformation. I gather that in most parts of the USA appearing without a top in public is illegal. I wish the same was true here.

I have been commissioned to write an article on how the film "The Boat that Rocked" (called "Pirate Radio" in the USA) compared with the real thing - relating to my own experiences when I worked for Radio Caroline. I was hired by the editor of Practical Communications Magazine to pen a piece for inclusion .in the next issue. You can read the article below; please note, whilst the spelling is in English, I have used American terminology throughout. When one is a writer for hire, one must give the employer what they want.

When I went to the movie theatre to watch the movie “Pirate Radio” (which was titled “The Boat that Rocked” in Europe). I did so with mixed feelings. The reason for this was that in the late 1980's I was a disk jockey and trainee engineer on board the Ross Revenge, the home of Radio Caroline, the biggest and best known of the offshore radio stations that broadcast music into Britain and most of Northern Europe between 1964 and 1990. I was worried that what I would see would be a terrible distortion of fact.

“Pirate Radio” is set over the course of a year, between the summer of 1966 and 1967 on board a fictional offshore radio station called “Radio Rock”. It tells the story of the crew and D.J's playing music over the air waves to entertainment starved Britons, and the efforts of the British Government to stop them. The movie was written and directed by Richard Curtis, of “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, “Notting Hill”, “Bridget Jones' Diary” and “Bean” fame. The film is set in his usual slightly idealised version of Britain, where the sun always shines and things turn out for the best in the end. If you have seen any of his other pictures, you will know what to expect. 

The movie is episodic, and some of the events ring true, whilst others struck me as serving the plot, rather than actual reality. In one scene, to characters challenge each other to climb as high as they dare up the ships' antenna tower. If anyone had tried to do this on board Radio Caroline, they would have been almost instantly been fried to a crisp by the 50,000 watt radio signal it was transmitting. The tower was and antenna feeder were surrounded by orange railings to stop crew from getting too close, and all new joiners were given the safety tour by the chief engineer with dire and graphic warnings about getting too close.

The design of the Radio Rock ship was copied closely from the real thing – Radio Caroline's ship, the M.V Ross Revenge, which is now in dry dock on the River Thames just East of London. The movies' production designers were permitted access to take photos and measurements so that their mock up vessel looked remarkably similar, even using the same colour scheme. At one stage the Ross Revenge itself was going to be used, but there were legal and insurance issues that prevented this. Radio Caroline were directly involved in providing consultancy and technical assistance during the production of the movie. If you watch any sequence showing Radio Rocks' studio, all of the equipment is actually from Radio Caroline, and was in full working order. The actors' playing DJ's don't have a clue how to use it though – in many shots you see them starting the record decks from the power switches, rather than the start / stop buttons on the mixer – doing this would have caused the records to “wow” as they got up to speed. The record decks were vintage 1960 items, but the tone arms and pickups were 1990 era – something a few eagle eyed viewers have noticed.

One thing that also struck me – the cabins on board the Radio Rock ship were all palatial – far too big for a vessel that was meant to have been converted from a fishing trawler. My cabin on the real thing was 8' x 8' square, and was considered pretty luxurious compared with some others. The reason for this was the interiors on the fictional ship were shot on a sound stage at Shepperton film studios in Surrey, England. The Director and camera crews needed enough space to set up the camera and sound equipment, as well as having the actors in place.

Back in the 1960's the offshore stations anchored three miles off the coast. The term “radio pirates” is one created by the British tabloid press at the time, and it is colourful but inaccurate – they were not actually illegal, as they were outside of British territorial waters, and thus not subject to British law. In the 1960's the territorial sea limits were set so that the ships had to be only three miles from the shore. By the 1980's, and during my time on Radio Caroline, the limit had been upped to twelve miles, and the Ross Revenge was actually anchored nearly fifteen miles out to sea, off the coast of Kent. All the sequences in the movie of groups of women coming out in tourist boats for some amorous fun with the D.J's is complete rubbish. It simply never happened. The journey out to the real ship would take hours and only the most dedicated offshore radio fans (often called “Anoraks” due to to their preferred style of warm, rather geeky clothing) would make the trip. They were almost exclusively male. 

Another major hole in the story is (*Spoiler Alert if you have not seen the movie yet*) when the Radio Rock ship starts to sink at the end of the movie, the studios, transmitters and all the electrical systems continue to operate normally, even when submerged in that great electrical conductor, salt laden sea water. In reality on Radio Caroline, we had frequent power outages caused by a circuit breaker tripping, something that was easily resolved. The standard fix was to have a bit of 2" x 4" lumber rammed between the power panel and the opposite bulkhead, holding the circuit breaker closed – not something a modern Health and Safety department would ever recommend!

If this sounds like I am trashing the film, please think again. I loved it. It is by far the most accurate portrayal of an offshore radio station ever committed to film. Yes, it has some clunky moments, is too long, and has several technical inaccuracies, but as someone who has lived that life, albeit twenty years later than the events portrayed, it evoked the spirit and the feel of the camaraderie that life on board an old and rusty ship anchored in the middle of a frequently stormy sea, miles away from your friends and loved ones only can do. The critics, by and large were dismissive of the movie. I think I am somewhat better qualified to judge it than they. Go and rent it on DVD if you have not seen it already. 

I know – I was there.



I don't know if any of you have been to see the recent Guy Ritchie film "Sherlock Holmes" at the cinema; I watched it last night, and it is a hell of a lot better than I was expecting. I am a big Holmes fan, and was expecting a bit of a mish - mash tribute to the greatest fictional detective. Instead, I got a Star Trek style reboot, whilst keeping the essential elements intact. The movie trailer is somewhat misleading - it looks like a non - stop action buddy movie; this is only one element of it. The script is both clever and witty, and for the first time you see Holmes' internal monologue, illustrating how he reaches his conclusions after his observations. Even during a fist fight, you can now understand why he does what he does. I look forward to a sequel, featuring Professor Moriarty.

Above is a photo of an audio mixer at work - there's nothing like a new toy to keep things interesting. It is part of a new multi media centre in Birmingham that I manage. Certainly an interesting project. There is going to be an exact duplicate in Docklands later this year too. Click on the photo for a larger view.

I see that Ofcom have withdrawn the broadcast licence for Teletext in the U.K. This is going to mean no more television text service. You can read more about it here (download PDF file).

As you will see from the photo below, confidence tricksters are once again targetting local residents with one of the usual "best ever" electrical goods sale. These things have been going on for years, only to rip off the gullible. This was pushed through my letter box only a day before the scam was due to take place. If something sounds like it is too good to be true, it generally is. Take heed.

The video this week is from excellent American blues / rock guitarist and songwriter Joe Bonamassa. He could be described as the new generation Dave Gilmour / Eric Clapton, and has already played with both. He also hosts a show on Planet Rock, one of my favourite radio stations. Give the clip a play and do let me know what you think. As previously mentioned, your comments won't appear straight away, as I now have comment moderation enabled, thanks to  the malicious actions of some script kiddies and Chinese spammers.

Pith helmets and Eels.

I notice with satisfaction that there are others that are interested in the history of the local area; the World War 2 era anti aircraft gun emplacements on the marshes at Slade Green (see the photo taken from Google Earth, above - click on it for a larger view) have been granted grade 2 listed status, down to the activities of a number of local activists - you can read all about their sterling work by clicking here. This is precisely the kind of good stuff that Ian and I want to become involved with - hence the mention last week of  wanting to begin investigating and recording Erith's hidden industrial and social history. The Slade Green battery was the most easterly of London’s inner artillery zone and, situated just south of the River Thames, played an important role in the early stages of any attack on London from the east as well as protecting the Vickers-Armstrong armaments factory in Crayford. Most likely built in the late 1930s, the battery consisted of a series of buildings, many of which have survived remarkably intact. Made from brick and reinforced concrete, the battery includes a command post with four gun emplacements, two defensive pillboxes to protect the site, an air raid shelter and an emplacement for an anti-aircraft Bofors gun. Unlike many of the surviving HAA batteries, the Slade Green one has managed to retain a number of its original fixtures.

Some further news from the RSGB relating to the Haiti earthquake:  Following the earthquake in Haiti on 13 January, all radio amateurs are still requested to keep 7045kHz and 3720kHz clear for possible emergency traffic. Eight radio amateurs from Radio Club Dominicano who were operating under the callsign HI8RCD/HH have had to abort their operations in Haiti after the convoy they were travelling in was fired on. The repeater they installed remains in service linking the Haitian and Dominican capitals, and it is being used by the Red Cross and Civil Defence. John Henault, HH6JH who is engaged in missionary work with homeless children in Port au Prince continues to make contacts on 20m using power from a neighbour's generator. On 20 January, Jean-Robert Gaillard, HH2JR was assisted with a phone patch by W3ZU to assure friends he was safe. Another radio amateur in the country, Pierre Petry, HH2/HB9AMO, who works for the UN food program, is also safe. Calls to emergency services aren't getting through because systems that connect different phone networks were still not working. The International Telecommunication Union is deploying 40 satellite terminals and 60 units with broadband facility to re-establish basic communication links, along with experts to operate them.

Well on an entirely different note, cracking news for Prog Rock fans everywhere. Moog have just begun production of the Taurus 3 bass pedal. For those not familiar with Moog Taurus, the bowel  loosening and filling removing huge bass sound of these pedals has to be heard to be believed - they were favourites of bands such as Genesis, Rush, The Police, Led Zeppelin and Yes.

I see from a recent magazine article that Eels are becoming scarce on the River Thames. There is a recent article on the BBC News website here describing the problem. I wonder how it will affect the chap who is the only registered Eel fisherman, who works from the causeway at Erith to fish for these elusive creatures.

Here are some photographs taken by Justin, otherwise known as Crash Calloway, at the I'm a photographer, not a terrorist" demo, a couple of days ago - click here to look.

Below is an H.F receiver I would love to own; The Ten Tec RX 340; unfortunately it is nearly £4000, so it is out of the question - but do click on the image of the Machine anyway.



Open source and free web browser FireFox has now reached version 3.6 - you can see all about it in the video below. Click to view the latest version, and to download it for free.

I was in Euston station on Tuesday morning on another sojourn to the further provinces, on this occasion, it was an expedition to Birmingham again, for work.  Whilst I was standing on the concourse, awaiting my train, I noticed an individual standing close by - he was propping up a Penny Farthing bicycle, and also had a pith helmet hanging from the handlebars - he was most obviously a proper Chap. You can read more about being a Chap here.

Following is a historic video of Radio Northsea International - do watch it and post a comment as to your thoughts.

We hope its' chips!

Ian and I are considering doing some work to trace Erith's hidden history, following my recent mention of the Appold Street pumping station, which many had not even heard of. We want to trace the history of the industrial architecture, and the stuff that goes ignored and unheeded in the local area; an example of this is the plaque pictured above. It is mounted on the exterior of an out building adjacent to Erith Town Hall, but I doubt many local people are aware of its' existence. Once we get this under way it will be recorded it in a new and separate blog. Details to follow shortly.

Fellow local Blogger Darryl Chamberlain has been raising some awkward but welcome questions regarding the woeful performance of SouthEast Trains during the last couple of weeks; his investigations  have reached the ears of London Mayor Boris Johnson and Minister for Transport Lord Adonis (who sounds like a minor character from "He Man and the Masters of the Universe", but I digress). You can read all about it here.

Anyone who uses shortwave radio for communication should be aware of the following message from the RSGB (Radio Society of Great Britain) and the ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in regard of the horrendous earthquake in Haiti:

Keep earthquake net frequencies clear
Following the earthquake in Haiti on 13 January, all radio amateurs are requested to keep the frequencies 3.720, 7.045, 14.265 and 14.300MHz clear for emergency traffic. EchoLink node 278173 is also in use by the International Radio Emergency Support Coalition. As of Thursday 14 January amateur activity was starting to appear in Haiti. Amateurs are requested to give priority to emergency traffic and QSY away from emergency centres of activity.

I am not one to normally get onto a soap box (OK, maybe every so often, but this time is special). The damage caused by the Haiti earthquake is very similar to that which would have resulted in the detonation of a high - yield thermonuclear weapon. If you wish to make a donation to aid the affected people in their hour of need, one of the best methods is to go to the Disasters Emergency Committee website here. Don't forget to click on the gift aid button - that way the government will contribute an amount equivalent to any tax you would have paid on the amount you donate.

Radio is one of the only methods of communication available in areas hit by disasters, both natural and otherwise. When phone systems are down, satellites unavailable and data networks disrupted, the humble wireless set can still get through - point enough to those who regard amateur radio as a hobby of the past; a real shame it take such tragic circumstances to bring this to light. The fact remains, for far less energy than is required to power a single light bulb, one can have (fairly) reliable two way communications to anywhere in the world by H.F radio.

I have just realised that it is now twelve years since I first installed Linux on one of my computers - then the fairly primitive and non user friendly Red Hat 5.1 (screenshot above - click for a larger version). Things have come an amazingly long way since; back in 1998 Linux was definitely the preserve of hard core tech heads and hackers; it was poorly documented and very much driven by the command line. Nowadays it is slick, easy to use, virus and hacker resistant, and much more flexible and intuitive than Windows 7. Oh - and it is completely free to download and use. No licence fees or Digital Rights Management software, restricting what you do with files on your computer either. If you look at the screen shots of above and below, you will see the evolution of the World's premier open source operating system.

You can download completely for free the best version of desktop Linux for new users - click here to take you to the Ubuntu Linux website.

Rant. I detest "Gastro Pubs" - you know - the kind of place that waxes lyrical about the provenance of their local ingredients; they drone on about their wine list and the ambience of their dining room. Not once is a mention made of their beer or cider - they are not a pub at all - they are a restaurant that has taken residence in a pub building. Proper pub food has little, if anything to do with an establishment that uses "drizzles of Jus". A real pub has proper meat gravy, not some poncy reduction thought up by a chef who wishes he was in Kensington & Chelsea, rather than stuck in some provincial backwater.

I see that the producers of the redoubtable Chav and tramp juice, Stella Artois, are having problems with strikers in their work force. I find it difficult to mobilise any form of sympathy for them. You can read more about the ongoing dispute here. The sooner the vile liquid meets its' end the better.

I see that yet another serious security hole has been found in Microsoft Internet Explorer. You can read all about the gory details here.  Personally, I would recommend that you use another web browser such as Firefox, Opera, Safari or Chrome - anything but something cobbled together by the bunch of Muppets at Redmond.

Every so often I encounter a situation where I find myself unable to let matters pass.  Earlier this week, Mum and I were on the bus from Plumstead after visiting Dad in his nursing home. We were sitting on the back seats on the right side of the 99 bus. A couple of stops later a scruffy  and unpleasant smelling kid of about 15 got on and sat on the left side, putting his filthy trainer encased feet on the seat in front of him. Mum (being the former dinner lady with a reputation for a bellow worthy of a regimental sergeant major) pointedly looked over and asked him to remove his feet, which he grudgingly did. Later, when Mum got off the bus by the Cairngall Medical Centre in Upper Belvedere, the kid put his feet back on the seat. Discreetly, I got out my travel card wallet, and stuck one of my very official, and somewhat impressive looking work office access passes into it. As I got off the bus in Erith, I flashed the "ID" in his unsuspecting face, and told him that if I saw him put his feet on the seats again, there would truly be hell to pay, and that his actions were being recorded on CCTV for potential use in court. He looked genuinely horrified, and grovellingly apologised, then promised not to do it again. I think my point got through rather effectively.  On top of that, I had difficulty keeping a straight face! There is nothing like a small victory in life.

I have strong suspicions that the BBC News website is keeping close tabs on the Maggot Sandwich; how else could they have copied the story that I broke last week, regarding power from poo. Read their take on the issue here.

On top of this, I have found a website that has taken my own first computer, (see photo above) and using modern technology, turned it into a laptop. You can view the Atari 800 laptop project here.You can read all about the origins of the Atari 800 here.

This weeks' video clip is a bit of a blast from the past; a TV advert that may be little recalled now, but that should bring back some fond, early eighties memories. We hope it is chips...

The hidden power of poo.

I have not bothered to head this update with a photo of the snow and ice around Erith, and most of Europe to boot. I think we have all already seen enough of the stuff to last for a very long time indeed. Fellow Erith resident and photographer Justin (otherwise known as Crash Calloway) has some excellent photos of the severe weather - so if snow is still your thing, and you want to see some of his photos, then click here for a look.

The photo above shows (from left to right) Abi, Jo and birthday girl Julie on the occasion of Julie's birthday celebration last night. I make no comments regarding the lager in the shot.

One side effect of the severe cold weather was the failure of the Appold Street water pumping station, off Manor Road in Erith, owned by Thames Water. The result of this was the delivery of two giant mobile pump lorries with a number of engineers who kept the things running for two whole days and nights, until repairs could be made. What an atrocious job - the temperature was averaging minus seven Celsius for most of the time. Not something I would relish.

So - why the surreal title to this weeks' Maggot Sandwich update? I don't know if you have noticed over the cold period, that however much snow and ice lays on the pavements of the U.K, there is one area that remains permanently precipitation free. Any guesses? The cast iron manhole covers over the sewerage system. It does not seem to matter where you look, the sewerage system is frost free. The reason for this is down to some fairly complex biochemistry governing the breakdown of organic matter to release nitrogen compounds. In more base terms, poo generates heat. All clever stuff - all I need to do now is work out a way to turn it into a viable alternative energy source - one could say that it was a green alternative to conventional power generation, though to my mind calling it brown would be rather more accurate. The chaps on Top Gear created a car powered by methane released from poo some time ago; if memory serves, it was not exactly that successful. Still, as the old saying goes "Where there's muck, there's brass".

Many computer and console games have a hidden "God Mode", usually unlocked with a special password or combination of joystick moves. This allows the player to alter the number of lives the character has, to be able to walk through walls, pick up all the weapons, and generally cheat like mad. The codes for God Modes are often posted online, and can be a gift, if like me you are rubbish at these kind of things, and have difficulty getting off the first level. Anyway, the recently released Windows 7 by Microsoft turns out to have a hidden God Mode too. It would appear to have been added to earlier development builds to help the programmers whilst they worked on the operating system coding, and for whatever reason it was not removed before the operating system shipped to end users. By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition. The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it works fine in 32-bit versions of Vista, it can cause 64-bit versions of that operating system to crash. To enter "GodMode," one need only create a new folder and then rename the folder to the following:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once that is done, the folder's icon will change to resemble a control panel and will contain dozens of control options. See the photo below for a view of this. Click for a larger version.

As many of you will know, I have a long abiding interest in radio; in addition to amateur radio, I like to chase as many pirate music stations as I can; some of the most interesting tend to pop up on the short wave bands. If you have an old radio sitting around somewhere, there is a fair chance that it has short wave coverage - you could give it it try, you might well be pleasantly surprised as to what you stumble across. Whilst a dedicated desktop receiver with an external long wire antenna is the best way to listen to short wave, even a cheap portable radio can produce great results. Drop me a line if you would like more details.

Most stations can be found in specific parts of the shortwave spectrum, generally outside the areas reserved for licenced international broadcasters, aircraft, utility, data and military use.

76 metres: 3900-3945 kHz: This is popular with European pirates, especially in the evenings when skip is longer, and during the day in winter months.

52 metres: 5800-5840 kHz: European pirates can also be found here, overspill from 48 metres.

48 metres: 6200-6400 kHz: This is a prime area for the European pirates, especially at weekends.

43 metres: 6900-6950 kHz: This area tends be mostly used by North American pirates, but some European pirates are also found here.

39 metres: 7500-7700 kHz: Unreliable propagation means this band isn't widely used, but some European pirates can be heard here.

To see a very up to date log of shortwave pirate radio activity, you should consult the Shortwave DX Blog - a really excellent and authoritative journal of illicit radio services.

A bit of a coup in the video clip for this week; this video is meant to be viewable on YouTube only; embedding it in other web sites has been disabled at the request of Fox Studios. I have managed to get it to embed anyway, but it is entirely possible the clip may disappear at any point if the Hollywood suits find out. Why the fuss?

"Ten years ago, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground, and survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team".

This was one of my absolute all - time favourite TV shows, growing up as a kid in the 1980's; every Saturday afternoon on ITV we would see the outrageous exploits of this group of soft hearted mercenaries defending the weak and innocent against crooks and terrorists. Every week we would see them get locked in a barn by the bad guys, which was fortuitously stuffed to the gills with tools, cutting gear and a couple of old cars; the team would, in the space of about three minutes with a musical montage, turn whatever they had into a cabbage firing armoured car, or a flamethrower with which to finally rout the bad guys, to which Lt. Col. Hannibal Smith would round it off with "I love it when a plan comes together".  Contrary to popular opinion there were actually only three members of the A-Team. Howling Mad Murdoch was their pilot, but not falsely convicted of robbing the Bank of Hanoi as the other three were - he was instead incarcerated in the Veteran's Hospital as he was deemed insane. The other myth is that no - one got killed on screen in the entire run of the show - not true, the only person who could prove that the A-Team were under military orders to rob the bank, General Fullbright is killed by a rogue Vietnamese Colonel, who is in league with a group of international drug smugglers. The Colonel in turn is also killed. Still two deaths in five series is not too bad a body count. Where is all this going? Well later on in the year, a remake of the A-Team is due to hit the big screen. The trailer, starring Liam Neilson as Lt. Col. John "Hannibal" Smith is below - please feel free to leave a comment.

The old and the new.

In previous years I have written a year end summary as my first entry to the New Years' Maggot Sandwich; but not this year. If you want to see what has happened to me over the past twelve months, click on the Blog Archive button to the right of this text - you get a drop down menu allowing the selection of Blog entries by month. All very easy. The photo above shows a good analogy to the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. To the left is my old Apple wireless Mighty Mouse, and to the right, its' successor, the Apple Magic Mouse. The reason for the change is simple. The Mighty Mouse has a design flaw. The small grey scroll ball on the rounded mouse body picks up sweat and grease from your fingers, and after a while the ball stops scrolling. The mouse body has a unitary construction, and it cannot be disassembled for cleaning. There are a multitude of solutions available online, and a number of videos discussing the issue on YouTube. The fix that worked for me for over a year was to turn the mouse bodily upside down and rub the scroll ball backwards and forwards over a clean sheet of paper. This had the temporary effect of rubbing off the finger grease and restoring the scrolling action. These cleaning fixes have got progressively less and less effective, to the point that the mouse seems to have now permanently lost the scroll ball functionality. I bit the bullet and went over to the Apple Store at Bluewater yesterday afternoon, and bought one of the new completely touch sensitive Magic Mice. Initial opinion is good. You can read all about the revolutionary Magic Mouse here.

As you may know, I am a great fan of hot chilli pepper sauces; indeed, I have a collection of them on my desk at work, which several of my colleagues share and contribute towards. Ian bought me an excellent new one as part of my Christmas present. It is somewhat unusual, as it is based on Indian Lime Pickle - a flavoursome, sour and spicy condiment that is unfortunately very oily and heavy. A company called Holy Cow have developed a healthier alternative that is less oily, and free of preservatives and nasty additives. You can see their range of products by clicking here.

I reported a while back that Erith Morrison's had installed four customer operated automatic scanning tills. It would appear that supermarkets in the future will expect customers to scan and pack their own shopping, from a recent article in the business section of the Times.

They sparked fears that the days of the checkout girl were numbered, that a feature of British supermarket shopping for more than half a century was coming to an end — and on Wednesday those fears, if not quite realised, were stoked even further. NCR, the American technology company behind 80 per cent of the UK’s self-service checkouts, has predicted another bumper year in 2010, forecasting a 50 per cent increase in UK sales of the self-service scanning machines that have become a feature of stores nationwide. Seven thousand have been installed in supermarkets since their introduction in 2002. According to Elton Birden, the managing director of NCR in Britain: “Self-service checkouts will revolutionise retail in the same way that selfservice supermarkets did 60 years ago. It’s going to be a combination of existing customers rolling out and new users. It’s still a small percentage of the overall checkout.” Non-food retailers, and the fast-fashion market, in particular, are the next target in the march of Mr Birden’s machines. Self-service counters cost about £8,000 each, including installation, and NCR estimates that they pay for themselves in about 15 months. A third more tills can be squeezed into a store and checkout staff can be deployed elsewhere. But the devices — and their frequent complaint of “unexpected item in bagging area” — are disliked by many shoppers, who argue that retailers are asking customers to do their work for them and that it reduces interaction with staff. NCR argues that the counters cut prices. “Staff can be redeployed to the shop floor, so it can actually improve service,” Mr Birden said. He argues that interaction with staff at the checkout on a convenience shopping trip is usually minimal, anyway. Much like supermarkets in the Fifties, NCR believes that it is benefiting from modern social change, especially the growing convenience market. People are making more shopping trips, for fewer items — hence the spread of convenience outlets to meet demand — a phenomenon attributed by analysts to the breakdown in the nuclear family and traditional working patterns. NCR believes, moreover, that shoppers’ desire for healthy and fresh food and a growing desire to have cravings satisfied immediately have also driven the convenience boom. The number of self-service checkouts will more than double to 15,000 in the next three years, according to Retail Banking Knowledge. The attraction for retailers is such that Tesco is testing a supermarket without any staffed checkouts at all. Nearly every Asda store, apart from its 24 non-food standalone stores, is equipped with self-service scanners — about 2,500 in total. Sainsbury’s, the third-largest supermarket, has 1,800 self-service checkouts in 220 stores, and Morrisons, the No 4 supermarket, says that 9 per cent of its checkouts, or about 1,000, are self-service. Even larger stores have adopted the machines because they allow shoppers to purchase a few items quickly without getting bogged down in a queue behind customers on their weekly shop. Justin King, the chief executive of Sainsbury’s, recently defended the supermarket’s use of self-service checkouts. Asked on Times Online about the impact of the checkouts on customer service, he wrote: “A growing number of our customers love the speed and freedom selfservice checkouts provide. They might listen to their music and not want to talk with anyone at the checkout.” He added that Sainsbury’s would always have manned checkouts for customers who prefer not to scan items themselves. NCR said that the self-service checkouts also helped to improve availability by freeing staff to replenish shelves. The weakest link in a supermarket’s supply chain is most often that between the stockroom and the shelf, according to research by the British Retail Consortium.

Bugger that, is all I can say - why have a dog and bark yourself? I resolutely refuse to use these dreadful devices. Part of the whole shopping experience is the service and interaction with the staff - and as has been previously proved, the auto tills are not very secure. In fact, the whole chip and PIN security system is indeed threatened, as you can read by clicking here. I refuse to do the supermarkets' work for them - and I detest these impersonal infringements on our shopping experience.

A photo of the local area from the air, courtesy of Google Earth. As already mentioned, the area has now had a Neighbourhood Watch scheme started, so with any luck the level of petty crime, burglary and general Chav induced nastiness should start to reduce. The Neighbourhood Watch web site can be found here.

You can view my Flickr photos online by clicking here. Comment as you see fit.

The dreadful and intrusive Oyster card system went live on the local train network on the 1st January - they have very stealthily brought in this additional means of spying on ordinary people. The system records every journey a user makes, then stores the information permanently, despite this contravening the Data Protection Act. The whole premise that Oyster is cheaper than individual fares is an utter travesty; they artificially increased the single fares to make Oyster look like good value. The ability the unelected and un-policed officials on both a local and national level have to monitor and spy on ordinary people is one of my greatest worries.

Local radio station WNKR have had an epic broadcast over the holiday period; in fact it has been so successful and popular that the internet stream I mentioned last week has been recorded by U.S radio giant WBCQ, who have then rebroadcast it over their hugely powerful shortwave transmitters for listeners all over the world. You can listen to several samples of their programmes by downloading some MP3 files of their shortwave transmissions here.

A photo above of is of Hengist - a new addition to the Atkinson - Davis family, part of the extended Pewty clan. He's recently arrived from Battersea, and a very handsome chap he is indeed.

Does anyone else think that Top Gear has jumped the shark? (For a definition of Jumping the Shark, please click here). I still like the show, but feel that it has run out of ideas and is now just going through the motions. The recent Christmas special really just underlines this. To be honest, their expedition to Bolivia was frankly predictable and boring. I have always loved the show, and thoroughly agree with the recent Channel 4 decision to award  Top Gear as the TV show of the decade. I just think that enough is enough, and that the producers should call an end to the programme before it ends up becoming a parody of itself. You can read an editorial about the situation from Top Gear producer Andy Wilman here.

One event that occurs each Christmas without fail is the appearance of multiple pirate radio stations on the AM band; mostly on short wave. There is an excellent web site which documents the various activity on the short wave bands that you can view by clicking here. They usually only broadcast for a few hours before going off air or changing frequency. One of the largest, most powerful and most professional of these broadcasters is Weekend Music Radio from Scotland; They were on air over the festive break, and I was in contact with them. In exchange, they sent me a virtual QSL card. If you are not aware, in amateur radio terms, a QSL card is a written acknowledgement of a listener having heard a particular radio station. In ages past, these would be sent in the post, whereas nowadays they are usually emailed.  Here is the WMR QSL card, so that you can get an idea of what they are like:

I just wish that the BBC would terminate the contract of that interminable bore and pretentious quarter wit Melvin Bragg. His adenoidal whingeing and pseudo intellectual posturing just go to underline what a superior presenter Paul Gambuccini is. Bragg's appearance on either television or radio is an instant cue for me to switch off.

I have been a user of Google since they first came online back in 1998 - their great strength back then was their clean and uncluttered home page, which loaded relatively speedily over a 14.4K dial up modem. A great bonus over the cluttered and advert filled alternative of Yahoo. Google have progressed in great strides, to the point where they now provide a credible rival to Microsoft as information supremos. This I feel is part of the problem. They are getting too pervasive - Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, Chrome,  Chromium OS and so forth. I like what they do, but in the words of Tom Waits "There's always free cheese in the mousetrap".  I just worry what they will eventually do with all the information that they have gathered. Knowledge is power. I would hate to see them go over to the dark side, as Microsoft did in the early 1990's. I fear this is becoming increasingly inevitable, however.

The two part Doctor Who Christmas special was generally regarded to be a bit of a mixed bag; you can read a number of online reviews here. I thought that David Tennant made a fine Doctor over the past four years, and I am sorry to see him go.

The video clip this week is the teaser trailer for the forthcoming 2010 season of Doctor Who, starring new actor Matt Smith. Some familiar faces turn up - it should be interesting.

Heroes of Erith Yacht Club.

A photo of the new Erith Yacht club building, which is currently undergoing construction, to replace the WW2 era Fogelfohn car ferry that has been their headquarters for many years. A large chunk of Government money has been ploughed into the building, and it will be interesting to see the result. The Fogelfohn was originally a Norwegian car ferry that was used to traverse the Fjords, until it was captured by the Germans during the war; its' sister ship was sunk by Allied special forces in order to destroy a shipment of heavy water to stop the Nazi atomic bomb programme - a fictionalised account of this appeared in the film "Heroes of Telemark". Click on the photo above for a larger version.

WNKR have been broadcasting on 1512 kHz medium wave over the Christmas break - you can listen to their programmes online by clicking here.

I have been contacted by Paul, who is both a user of Flickr, and a member of the Bristol Car owners club; he has generously allowed me to reproduce the photos below of his 1977 vintage Bristol 412 coupe, that he has recently had a nut and bolt restoration performed on it, back at the Bristol factory. You can see more of his photos by clicking here. He tells me that it is now better than when it was delivered new. Looking at the sumptuous interior, I am inclined to agree. He wrote to me with the following:  I had a factory package restoration, they charge you a delivered price for the car which includes the donor car. On my car they took it back to bare metal body and frame and replaced most of the superstructure. It has a completely new interior and almost all the mechanical components apart from the engine and gearbox (which were rebuilt) are new. It was the first of these packages they did and I was significantly undercharged. The service at Bristol is quite astounding, it is absolutely no quibble. Toby Silverton (Bristol's owner and chief executive) took my car out for a spin after I got it, and decided the handling could be improved by changing the shocks to a sports specification. Two hours later I got it back all changed and a refusal to accept any payment from me. They just want to get it absolutely right. Great company.

The News Shopper reports that the perpetrators of the Crayford electrical cable fire, and subsequent power cut to to much of the local area may now never be caught. You can read the shocking story here.

We are now being told that feeling grumpy may actually be good for you; well, if this is actually true, I should be the healthiest bloke in the area. Personally I am not holding my breath over the whole thing. You can read more on the BBC News website here.

I was unaware until this week that in the late 1960's there was a bus service to transport cyclists through the Dartford Tunnel for free; it was only when I found the following photo of the modified double decker bus that ferried the cyclists across the River Thames at Dartford that the penny dropped. I don't think may people are aware of this part of our local history. Drop me a line using the link below and let me know what you think - as previously mentioned, it may take a day or so for me to moderate your input - I have got Chinese spammers leaving junk comments on a regular basis, hence my need to police what people leave in the way of feedback.

Talking of buses, I encountered the most astonishing example of selfish rudeness I have seen in many months today; I was about to board the 99 bus towards Woolwich this morning; as I moved to step onto the bus, a Chav of no more that 15 years old came from apparently nowhere to barge in front of me to get on first. Under normal conditions I would have physically hauled him out of the way and made my displeasure with his behaviour abundantly known. On this occasion I was so taken aback by the bare faced effrontery of the hoody wearing scumbag that I temporarily lost my normal resolve. I now deeply regret letting him get away with it - if I see him trying it again he will not get away so lightly.

The BBC are showing a high budget new version of John Wyndham's classic story "The Day of the Triffids" starting tomorrow evening - you can see a trailer below, courtesy of Messrs. YouTube and co.

The Cyber Khazi.

Erith has now got a brand new landmark in the Riverside Shopping Centre, on Pier Road, directly opposite the Health Centre - an automated super public toilet, that I am naming the Cyber Khazi. Quite what the authorities were thinking of when they commissioned the beast is entirely beyond me. We have public toilets literally around the corner from the new loo (albeit they are semi permanently locked to prevent local smack heads using them for a doze, after they have picked up their methadone from the nearby Payden's Pharmacy). Who, I wonder is going to spend their money to have a wee or drop their guts? In extremis, I certainly would, but I get the feeling I am very much in the minority. Bearing in mind, as I have recently reported, "street drinkers" have been seen pooing in kerb side waste bins locally, and there are a number of strategically placed dark corners and dense bushes in the vicinity. One is not filled with confidence that the Cyber Khazi will actually get used for the purpose intended. I predict it will be a burned out shell within a month.

OK, so we have the snow, and it is only a week before Christmas, but personally it does not feel at all Christmassy this year; I can't put my finger quite why, but I know that I am not alone in feeling this way. I think many people are planning a low key festive period this year, after a painful year with the credit crunch and the (supposed) global warming doom and gloom. It does seem that this country falls apart at the merest hint of snow.

I have to give an honourable mention to the woman selling The Big Issue by the pedestrian crossing between the Erith Riverside Centre and Morrison's car park. She was out in the driving snow and icy wind all day on Friday. I think Erith must be an exceptionally hard gig for Big Issue sellers – very few locals have much in the way of spare change – I doubt she got many customers; a hard and uncomfortable way to earn a crust.

On a related note, The Royal Alfred pub on the corner of Manor Road and Appold Street closed down quite a while back. It was sold to the family the own the Londis corner store on the opposite corner, and I gather that in due course they plan turning the pub into a small supermarket. In the meantime they let the upstairs rooms to a number of Eastern Europeans. I have noticed that they leave all of the upper windows open, even in the recent sub zero temperatures; I cannot for the life of me think why. It must be utterly freezing inside.

Google have been quite uncharacteristic in their recent publicity campaign for their Chrome web browser. There are road side billboard adverts, posters on the tube and they even took the whole front and back covers of the Metro free newspaper this week. I cannot make my mind up about Chrome – although it has been out for nearly a year on Windows, it only got released for Apple OS X and Linux a week ago. I don't particularly like the way it handles bookmarks, and the settings import wizard is a bit of a mess; overall though, it is nice to see the web browser market get a boost. I also use Firefox and Opera (though Opera does not render the Maggot Sandwich correctly – my little JavaScript clock looks all wonky). Anything that puts a serious dent in the previous dominance of Internet Explorer has to be a good thing.

A small snippet of information gleaned from the CAMRA magazine “The London Drinker” is that the One Bell pub in Crayford has been purchased from Punch Taverns by former Hull City and Fulham footballer Jimmy Bullard. The pub will be refurbished and then run by Mr. Bullard's father, Jimmy Senior. Nice to see something positive happening when one hears of so many pubs closing down for good. Recently both the Stile and Winch, and the Harrow pub on North End Road have closed and are either going to be demolished, or converted into social housing. I will have to visit the One Bell once it re-opens and report back.

I am not the world's greatest champion of Web 2.0. I don't use FaceBook or MySpace, and quite frankly I completely fail to see the point of Twitter. One thing I do use and greatly appreciate is Flickr, the online photo application. It is powerful, easy to use and somewhat unsung in comparison to its' better known siblings. I store and share over 3,000 of my photos on Flickr, and have met some interesting people through the service. You can view my photos online here.

There has been much copy written online about the (dreadfully named) car scrappage scheme. I won't vent my spleen on the anonymous knuckle dragging Visigoth who coined the grammar mangling phrase, but suffice to say I sincerely hope a special ring of Hell is reserved for them. I digress; something far more relevant and important than a minor subsidy on a new car purchase has been announced to very little fanfare or public awareness. The government have announced a scheme to provide a substantial cash subsidy for householders who replace their old and energy inefficient central heating boilers with a new, greener replacement. I will most definitely be interested in this; my own ancient combination boiler sits in the corner of the bathroom, clicking and hissing malevolently. Every so often it launches into life, sounding like a Mig 21 afterburner on full chat. It has a nasty habit of blasting RF (radio frequency) energy through my study, wiping out whatever broadcast I am listening to on my trusty JRC NRD 345 H.F communications receiver (photo below). If money were no object, I would add a Ten - Tec RX340 to my shack - but I don't have a spare £3,500 for another receiver right now.



The beast that is my old boiler seems permanently on the verge of exploding and burning down Pewty Acres - or so it seems to want me to think; I reckon it is just keen on keeping me on my toes. If a bunch of feckless and misguided politicians can just for once get their act together and do something worthwhile, I am not going to be one to discourage them.

After my recent complimentary missives about Bristol Cars, I found a very enlightening article online from the English language "Arab News" newspaper "the Middle East's premium English language news" - you can read the piece by clicking here.

Back in the early years of this decade, I was a keen supporter of what was then the very first distributed computing initiative - this is where the power of thousands, or indeed hundreds of thousands of personal computers are harnessed together to run complex calculations that would normally require an expensive supercomputer to run. In essence you download a screensaver that runs when you are not using your computer - it takes a chunk of data, quietly processes it in the background, then spits the results back at the master computer. There are a number of projects organised by the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing - part of Berkeley University. These included molecular analysis of potential anti cancer drugs, mapping the human genome, and best known of all, the SETI at home project. This is part of the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), which is searching the skies with the world's largest radio telescope in Arecebo, Puerto Rico, looking for signals from alien civilisations. I recently downloaded their latest screensaver / signal analysis software for my Apple Mac, as I thought I would give the whole thing another crack of the whip. You can see a screen shot of it in operation below.



As I have been typing this, I have been listening to Weekend Music Radio from Scotland. They used to be a regular shortwave pirate radio station, but have been off air for a couple of years due to the lack of sunspot activity, and consequent poor signal propagation conditions. They are back on 6.400 kHz short wave. You can see their website by clicking here.

One other thing - since it is that time of the year once again: Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion, as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all. Additionally; a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, colour, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes. (Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her / himself or others, and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit).  That has got that out of the way for another 51 weeks!

You may have seen a story in the popular press over the last week discussing a independent movie maker from Uruguay, who, after posting his latest amateur short film onto YouTube, has subsequently been offered a $30 million movie deal under the tutelage of cult film director Sam Raimi. You can read more about the story behind this unusual approach to getting a film directors' job in this article from the Los Angeles Times. Suffice to say the short film is called "Panic Attack" and shows the invasion of the city of Montevideo in Uruguay by a army of giant killer robots - watch it below and feel free to leave a comment.

Dances with Smurfs.

The photo above shows a broken down 99 bus outside of my house last Wednesday night; it stayed there for the best part of two hours before a tow lorry came along to take it back to Plumstead Bus Garage for repair. The 99 route is still proving problematic - the buses are still bunching up, so that you can wait for over thirty minutes for one, then three turn up at once. Unpleasant at the best of times, and doubly so now we have cold weather and long, dark evenings. See a similar observation from Darryl of Charlton, and his excellent 853 blog here.

More developments in respect of Pooshun / Potion. See the photo, taken by Ian below:



I have been in contact with the local Police licencing department; it would seem that the bar has been experiencing trouble from certain customers - there have been several violent incidents. The bar now has had its' licence amended; it has to shut a 8pm on a Friday and Saturday night, until such times as the owners can employ management capable of maintaining order in the place. Personally I suspect that it is already close to bankruptcy, and that it is only a matter of time before it closes for good. They must be operating at a loss, and to lose the ability to open at the busiest times of the weekend must have crippled their business plan. Potion have a Facebook page here; it would seem that even some of their members are concerned as to if the place has a secure future.

The licence application document has disappeared from the door of Tease nightclub; I don't know what the latest is, but I somehow doubt that a 7pm - 7am drinks and music licence seven days per week would be granted, as they had apparently requested. The area is now heavily residential, and the new community police office is being developed right next door. I wonder if they have decided to cut their losses after seeing the problems Potion have experienced from the loutish elements that stalk through Erith and its' environs.

The rather surreal title to this weeks' entry refers to the much hyped launch of the latest mega budget blockbuster movie from Canadian film director, James Cameron. The film is of course Avatar. The movie is bound to be a big hit, thought the plot is a bit derivative (wheelchair bound former colonial space marine sent to an idyllic alien planet, undergoes mind transfer into a synthetic body of the dominant alien species in order to infiltrate and subvert the alien species before conquering the planet to plunder it for its' unique mineral wealth. Former marine falls in love with a nine foot tall blue skinned alien girl, realises his own people are the bad guys, "goes native" and helps the aliens defend their planet against the invading humans). Phew! Anyway, I think this movie can be accurately summarised as "Dances with Smurfs".

Google have now released a beta version of their Chrome web browser for both Linux and Apple OS X. It has been available on the Windows platform for nearly a year. To give it a try, you can download it for free from here.

I regularly get asked by people where they can get a cheap / free copy of Microsoft Office from. I don't condone or encourage software piracy in any form - and in any case, there is an excellent free and open source alternative, available for multiple operating systems. It is 100% compatible with MS Office file types (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access) and even has a very similar look and feel. The suite is the very well regarded OpenOffice. You can download it for free by clicking here.

I have now taken delivery of two original works of abstract art by London based painter David Zimmer. He kindly delivered them in person this morning; he's donating a portion of the sale proceeds to the Alzheimers' Society, so in the end everyone is a winner.

This piece is called Blue Haze - it is hanging on the landing wall, halfway up the stairs.



The second piece is called Sunrise, and is hanging in the living room.



I was walking along Bexleyheath Broadway on Saturday morning,  prior to heading to the Robin Hood and Little John for my lunchtime repast, when I noticed signs of activity in the former location of Woolworths. The giant open plan shop had builder's tools and bags of cement lying around, and there was a large concrete core drilled out of the floor slab - maybe the structural engineers were looking to see what kind of weight loading the floor was capable of taking? Who knows? More news when I find out what is going on in the place. On another, rather surreal note, has anyone else noticed the two buskers in the Broadway? They play light jazz with a backing tape - they sound like they learned their trade playing lift music - very bland and innocuous. There's nothing to beat live music, especially coming from a great busker. It's unfortunate that these two are very far from great.

Wherever I look when in a newsagents, or general shop like W.H Smith, I get bombarded by Jamie Oliver themed goods. I have nothing whatsoever against the guy - but when I see "Jamie" magazine on the news stands, I start wondering just what is going on. His gurning mug seems plastered everywhere; I think the applicable phrase is "dangerously over - exposed". He is not the only guilty one - go into any high street branch of Robert Dyas and you will find all sorts of kitchen devices and implements that are being plugged by various television chefs, who no doubt look at the promotional road as an easy way to top up their pension pots. It is all rather money grabbing, tawdry and sad.

You may not be aware, but the UK Government has plans to switch off the analogue radio network and compel everyone into using DAB radios within a few years. Or maybe not after all. An article on the tech news website the Register said the following:

Two members of the House of Lords have tabled amendments to the Digital Britain bill, urging Ofcom to consider the effects of the proposed digital radio switchover on analogue listeners and community stations. Lords Howard and de Mauley would oblige Ofcom to consider "the needs of local and community radio stations" and "the needs of analogue listeners". It isn't just DAB, but digital radio in general that's proving to be a problem all over Europe. Germany has stopped funding DAB and postponed the move to DAB+, and although official policy of moving radio from analogue transmission remains, it isn't clear how this will be achieved. "DAB – although vital – is in intensive care and living a sad, hospitalised existence," admitted the director of Deutschlandradio (German national public radio) Willi Steul [translation here]. France has postponed its digital radio transmissions for a year, leading to widespread scepticism that it will ever launch. The French have adopted DMB, not DAB+, although the former is around 40 per cent less efficient, according to Steve Green. In the UK, notes radio analyst Grant Goddard, Ofcom found that 64 per cent of households say they are unlikely to buy a DAB radio in the next 12 months. Making inroads into the 100m+ installed base of analogue radios is going to be slow; the Digital Radio Development Bureau reckons the 10 millionth DAB radio was sold last month. DRDB chief Tony Moretta told us recently that boosting the power of DAB transmissions and building in-fill is the way to win back consumer confidence.

So the days of high quality FM stereo radio may not be over for a while after all. Talking of which, this weeks' video clip is one that is in danger of becoming viral. It was sent to me by Andy Walker of WNKR. it shows CCTV footage of council officials and Police removing a legitimate advertising sign belonging to South West London based Radio Jackie, along with a sound track from the station. See what you think and feel free to leave a comment below.

Four hours from Erith.

If the photo above does not look familiar, do not be concerned - it shows the skyline over Birmingham city centre. I have been spending quite a lot of time in the place over the last few weeks, due to the demands of work. My company is opening a new office building adjacent to the Birmingham Snow Hill railway station, and I have been involved in the development. I have been commuting up to Brum several times a week for the last few weeks - this is quite a feat personally, as in Ian's words, I get a nose bleed if I step outside of the London Borough of Bexley. Generally I do absolutely detest travel, but this is a very interesting, if demanding project that has a defined finish date. I'll be extremely glad when it is all over and I can get back to my normal routine however, as the trip up to the frozen North and back takes me four hours each way by train. I don't like interruptions to my normal routine, besides it means on the days I have to make the trip Northwards from Erith, I am unable to visit my Dad - something that is very important to me.

A problem that has recently been highlighted in the local press is that of Erith's street drinkers, as the local ne-er do wells, tramps and winos are quaintly described. Here is an excerpt from an article written by Linda Piper of the News Shopper:

A SUPERMARKET has been allowed to sell alcohol in an area which residents claim is plagued by anti-social behaviour caused by boozing. But Bexley councillors have added a string of conditions to the licence granted to the Riverside Supermarket in West Street, Erith. The council’s licensing sub-committee heard how problem drinkers had made the nearby Riverside Gardens open space and the gardens below Bosworth House in Erith High Street a no-go area for residents and children from the two tower blocks which overlook it. Stephen West, chairman of Erith Riverside Residents’ Association, told the committee: “Over the past four years we have seen a surge of street drinkers descend on both garden areas.” He added: “We have seen for ourselves the fighting, dog fighting and abusive behaviour of those drinking all day long, together with them openly defecating in full view of our windows and passers-by.” Mr West said: “All along West Street there are signs of other street drinkers.” His comments were re-inforced by a residents’ management company from the Chandlers Wharf development off West Street. One of its directors, Sue Smith, said there was a public green with benches at the entrance to the development which had been colonised by drinkers. She said: “Once they are in residence for the day, this area becomes a no-go zone for residents.” She said they arrived early in the morning and stayed until late at night, using the estate’s bin stores as a toilet and rummaging through rubbish bags. Other residents living in West Street said there were already enough off-licences in the area and claimed adding another would increase the existing problems. Mr West, backed by Bexley police’s licensing officer PC Eddy Boston, said his association had no objection to granting a licence for the Riverside Supermarket but wanted it banned from selling strong ciders and lagers. Granting a licence from 7am until 11pm daily, the sub-committee agreed to the ban on strong ciders and lagers and added 15 other conditions. The sub-committee considers “another off-licence can open in this area only if there are stringent controls to prevent the sale or supply of alcohol to children and other street drinkers”.

Quite. I cannot for one say I have yet witnessed the local winos pooing in public, but I guess that it is only a matter of time. They seem to be spreading from their normal lair around the Riverfront Gardens and Bosworth House into Erith town centre and the surrounding areas; it is like Day of the Dead. Break out the fire axes...

I also note that former Picardy schoolmate, and now disgraced ex deputy London Mayor Ian Clement has been having a touch of the vapours recently; he's now claiming that he was seduced by a Chinese spy when he attended the last Olympic Games - you can read more about his alleged story here. I think he is having a bit of a flight of fancy, and trying to sell the end results to the tabloid press for a few quid; I gather he's reduced to working part time in a local dry cleaners, and could no doubt do with the cash.

Local radio station WNKR have now moved frequency to 1512 KHz on the Medium Wave band to make way for the relaunched Big L as previously mentioned. You can also hear them in stereo, streaming online here.



An arty photo above of some Birmingham based woodwork that I took on Friday. I hope to have my two paintings by local abstract artist David Zimmer delivered next week; photos of the pieces will be shown online shortly.

I have previously mentioned that there has seemed to be a plague of fake £1 coins flooding the area; in a recent trip to Morrison's supermarket, of the £5 in coins I received in change, two of them were obvious fakes. The cashier changed them immediately upon my observation that the coins were counterfeit, and called her supervisor. I have heard it said that something like one in twenty one pound coins in general circulation is not genuine; if this is indeed the case, the Bank of England have a serious problem indeed. I know the Police take the whole thing very seriously indeed - a local counterfeiting gang have just been caught pretty much red handed, as you can read from the story here.

Bexley Council seem to be a pretty powerless and ineffectual lot in general; okay they keep the street lights lit and the bins emptied (after a fashion, though personally I take my rubbish to the recycling point in Morrison's car park myself each day, and don't trouble the bin men). I wonder if we would be better off returning to a localised monarchy. Did you know that Erith used to be ruled by King Eadbald of Kent? No, I thought not - it was a few years ago, I suppose. It is amazing what you can find online if you look hard enough.

Yule / Christmas is fast approaching; not a festival that I hold in particularly high esteem; personally I would prefer it to pass off as any other day - I cannot stand "fuss" - and the Yule / Christmas holiday is very high on "fuss" in my opinion. I will be spending the day itself as usual - visiting Dad, then having lunch with Mum - and as normal, we are not having Turkey. I cannot stand the dry, bland and unremarkable meat that comes from a Turkey. I think it is massively over rated. We are instead having roast Guinea Fowl with a wild mushroom sauce. On Boxing Day it will be Goose.  (Goose vindaloo, anyone?) The sooner the whole event is over and done with for another year, the happier I will be.

I went for a very pleasant working lunch with a group of my colleagues to St James restaurant in Bushey, Hertfordshire. This is not far from my office in Watford. Now you know why I detest travel. Anyway, the restaurant was very accommodating, and it got me thinking - why do we have no affordable, quality fine dining restaurants in the area? Erith only has fast food outlets like KFC and McDonald's. Bexleyheath and Dartford could probably host something of quality, but the nearest place is probably Chapters in Blackheath - which is not what it used to be, I am sorry to say.

I have recently been listening to an excellent comedy series on BBC Radio 4 called Bleak Expectations; it is a parody of Dickensian period fiction, and is extremely funny. You can hear the most recent episode on the BBC iPlayer website here.

The video clip this week is a real classic taken from Monty Python and the Holy Grail - here is the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch scene. Enjoy.