Livin' the life...

Have a look in your wallet: any £20 notes with the image of Edward Elgar on them will not be legal tender after June 30 this year.

This means that shops no longer have to accept the notes, and it is up to banks whether they agree to swap notes after this date.

From July 1 only notes with the image of Adam Smith, the Scottish economist, will be legal tender. These notes came into circulation in March 2007.

Full story

A seven-year-old west London boy has now raised more than £130,000 for Haiti quake victims in a sponsored bike ride.

Charlie Simpson, from Fulham, had hoped to raise £500 by cycling five miles (8km) around South Park on Sunday for Unicef's relief efforts in Haiti.

A day after his five-mile ride Charlie said: "My legs are a bit sore after the ride, but it was really fun."

His effort led to donations pouring in on the JustGiving website from as far away as New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Charlie, who went back to school earlier, is still unaware of how much he has raised but Unicef said he will be told when he visits its office later.

Charlie's father Dan Simpson said: "We cannot believe the incredible response from the UK public.

Source: BBC

Fab!

Look at this forecast and especially the temperatures..

Isn’t that just rosy?

Well, it’s almost the new year, so you know what that means.. Time for train tickets costs to rise again! It seems it’s even going to be as much as 10% on some routes. I found a useful article on yahoo this morning detailing eight ways to keep your costs as low as possible. Here’s the link for the article, and below I’ve listed the 8 ways for quick reference.

1. Split your ticket – but not your journey
2. Buy two single tickets instead of an open return
3. Invest in a Railcard
4. Book in advance
5. Be careful where you buy
6. Avoid peak times
7. Avoid online booking fees
8. Get a refund on problem journeys

Happy travelling!

“Swindon is planning a borough-wide Wi-Fi mesh network providing free internet access to all residents. ... According to Digital City UK's statement on Tuesday, users will be able to "seamlessly" move between access points with no interruption to service. The statement suggests the network could be used not only for free web access, but also for air-quality monitoring, free voice calls, wireless CCTV coverage, smart metering communications and telemedicine applications.” Full Story

How cool is that!

A controversial broadband tax should be law before the next election, according to Minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms.

The 50 pence a month tax applies to everyone with a fixed line telephone.

Speaking at a debate in London, Mr Timms said the tax will be presented to parliament as part of the Finance Bill.

But the Tory MP John Whittingdale said the tax, which could raise up to £175m a year to fund high speed networks, would be opposed by the Conservatives. (Full story)

It was only a matter of time..

A new study by npower has shown that on average children spend nine hours and 54 minutes per day watching various screens – with two hours and 43 minutes spent watching TV. This suggests teenagers in the UK are spending the equivalent of four solid months a year in front of a mobile, TV, laptop or gaming console screen. (Full story)

10 hours a day.. I wonder where the other bit goes. I assume 8 hours for sleeping, that leaves 6 hours for..?

One million shoppers logged on to the new Woolworths.co.uk site in its first week of trading, the company said today.

The brand made its online comeback seven days ago and by the end of yesterday consumers had ordered more than a tonne of its pic 'n' mix sweets over the internet - with cola bottles proving the most popular. (Full story)

Woopie!!

Believe it or not.. It is, so hot!

Apparently, popular low-cost airline Ryainair, is set to cut the ‘frills’ they offer once again. This time they are looking to get passengers to carry their own baggage to the plane! As one writer notes, “So there's no dropping things off at the desk, you cart it through security, round the duty-free shops, across the huge expanse of airport, and to the waiting plane.” (Source)

Sounds like fun doesn’t it! Beware..

This is quite nifty! Read below..

Customers at a new branch of Sainsbury's in Gloucester will generate electricity when they drive over 'kinetic road plates' on the entrance to the car park.

The devices will convert the motion of the cars into enough energy to power the tills inside the store, reducing the amount taken from the National Grid.
The Dorset scientist behind the idea predicted the devices would soon be seen in shopping centres, petrol stations and ports across the country. They are already being trialled at distribution warehouses but it is the first time they have been installed at a supermarket where they can be used by ordinary consumers.

You can check out the full story here.

Yesterday the weather was great and today and tomorrow it seems like we’re in for more of the same! Looks like we may have some type of a Summer after all! (Photo source – MetOffice)

Helen Slatter, a practising Catholic, says she is being forced to choose between her job and her faith after her NHS employers demanded that she remove the religious symbol, which she wears beneath her uniform.

Ms Slatter, a phlebologist who collects blood samples at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, in Gloucester, was told at a disciplinary meeting that her position was at risk if she continued to wear the one inch-tall crucifix.
The NHS Trust insisted that their demands were due to a uniform policy and not down to religion. ...

The mother-of-one, from Gloucester, added: "They have told me that for health and safety reasons and for infection control I must take it off or I will be sent home.

Full story.

Live in Europe? Then this is definitely something you should be reading..

“07/04/2009 - Under the terms of new legislation from the European Union, internet service providers now have to retain details of all online communications.

According to the Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009, information relating to emails and internet telephone calls need to be retained for up to a year by ISPs.

Details to be stored include information of websites people have attempted to visit, the caller and recipient of internet telephone calls and information surrounding emails such as the sender, recipient, date and time.

Simon Davies, director of Privacy International, said: 'I don't think people are aware of the implications of this move. It means that everything we do online or on the phone will be known to the authorities.

'They are using this to produce probably the world's most comprehensive surveillance system.'

Police authorities, security bodies and local councils will be allowed to access the data by request to assist them with the investigation of crimes and counter-terrorism projects.” Source, BBC full article.

Big.. Brother...

Yep. I heard it was on the news about a week ago, but I’m now feeling the pinch of it. YouTube has cut U.K. viewing of TONS of music videos. More often than not when I visit youtube now, I get a “This video is not available in your country.” message. Well, that’s unless I’m playing some hidden, obscure copy of The Kooks, The Streets, Kate Nash or some other UK-based artist. If you want to know more about this, check out the excerpt below and the full story, if you’re really keen.

Google-owned video-sharing site YouTube is silencing music videos in the U.K. after negotiations with the country's Performing Right Society (PRS for Music), which collects licensing fees for artists and labels, failed.

"Our previous license from PRS for Music has expired, and we've been unable so far to come to an agreement to renew it on terms that are economically sustainable for us," a statement from YouTube read. "There are two obstacles in these negotiations: prohibitive licensing fees and lack of transparency. We value the creativity of musicians and songwriters and have worked hard with rights-holders to generate significant online revenue for them and to respect copyright. But PRS is now asking us to pay many, many times more for our license than before." (Full story) (or BBC article)

.. ah well. There goes a number of my playlists.

University programmes seem to be getting more and more diverse, to cater to ANYTHING under the sun. I remember when I saw The University of the West Indies (Cave Hill, Barbados) offering an M.Sc. in Cricket Studies, I was quite shocked! The West Indies has been known for their cricket for decades, but still, an M.Sc.?!

Anyway, today I found another very interesting programme being offered by the Liverpool Hope University. It's an M.A. in The Beatles, Popular Music and Society. Imagine that! Assuming this university did their research, this means that there was actually demand for such a course! Why.. it bewilders me! I've also heard talk from a friend that some other university plans to start up a B.Sc. in Manchester United Studies. Now... really??? :| Anything goes it seems. Talk about "specializing".

Want to see the crime levels where you live in UK? Check out this new service which provides online crime maps showing offences broken down by area. Just interested in a sample? The Metropolitan Police Service's crime map which covers London should prove quite interesting!

Well, as usual, the English and Italian teams get the most interesting draws.  Actually, 3 English to 3 Italian! The toughest draws in my opinion maybe the Inter vs ManU, Chelsea vs Juventus, and Real vs Liverpool. I can't wait! Check out the Official UEFA site for more details.

Well, over the last few days in Coventry it's been pretty cold yet fairly dry, so today's forecast of snow (around 3pm) doesn't surprise me at all.

I wait to see how it pans out! We all know these weather persons and their often inaccurate predictions! (forecast sourced from BBC Weather.)

The first mobile telephone using Google's Android software has been unveiled.

The T-Mobile G1 handset will be available in the UK in time for Christmas.

The first device to run the search giant's operating system will feature a touch screen as well as a Qwerty keyboard.

It will be available for free on T-Mobile tariffs of over £40 a month and includes unlimited net browsing.

Other features include a three megapixel camera, a 'one click' contextual search and a browser that users can zoom in on by tapping the screen.

The handset will be wi-fi and 3G enabled and has built-in support for YouTube.

Users will also have access the so-called Android Market, where they will be able to download a variety of applications. (Source)

A few months, no.. weeks ago we got the Google Chrome web browser, now, Google presents Android. The "online Microsoft" I think is a good name for Google these days! You can check out a video that shows the software in action at BBC here.

Based on that video, the G1 handset looks pretty cool. I especially like the Qwerty keyboard compared to the keyboard available on the iphone. Regarding the zooming however, the iphone wins hands down - pinching and tapping is MUCH more gq!

As I suspected, photos from Women In Games (WIG) 2008 have been posted online at Flickr.. and as you can see from the photo below taken at the dinner at Warwick Castle, I was caught red.. or well.. blue handed, as an audience volunteer playing a tambourine along with industry icon Paulina Bozek (in the white) in the in-house  in-castle band.

Of course it was all in good fun, even though I must admit that sometimes I hadn't a clue what tune to play on the tambourine! Yes.. playing music was never one of my strong points.

Anyway, it was a great night out! (8)For Warwick and for glory!!(8)

Do you text whilst driving? This is especially for you to read...

Texting behind the wheel is more dangerous than driving while under the influence of alcohol or cannabis, researchers said Thursday.

Research carried out on young drivers (aged 17-24) using a simulator found that reaction time slowed by 35% when they were writing or reading text messages while driving. In comparison, reaction time deteriorated by 21% for those under the influence of cannabis, and by 12% at the legal alcohol limit.

Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) -- which carried out the study for the RAC Foundation -- also found that steering control worsened by 91% for those who were distracted by texts, compared to 35% when cannabis was involved. ...

Nearly half of all drivers aged 18 to 24 in Britain admit to texting while driving, according to an earlier RAC poll of 3000 young drivers. (Full story)

Intriguing, and worrying findings..

The Women In Games 2008 conference held at the University of Warwick (10-12 Sept) came to a close today, and all-in-all, it was a grand time. As I was a helper, I only attended a few of the talks, but based on the comments from the delegates, everyone enjoyed themselves and found it a useful experience.

Of particular enjoyment was the conference dinner held at Warwick Castle. We got a chance to do a bit of touring (and wine, and ale sampling) before we had our four course, themed meal of bread and broth, appetizer - a salmon quiche with salad, main - chicken and potatoes, and lastly pudding - custard and apple.. something. While this was served we were entertained by a lord, a jester, wenches, and a laundry lady - all in with the 15th century theme of course!

Anyway, it was a grand time, and I'm sure photos from it will appear online (maybe on Flickr, Facebook) in the next few days.

Just dropping a quick line to let you know I've returned to England, from my 'change of scenery' visit to Barbados. I expect to be posting some more photos from my visit on Flickr soon, so keep your eyes open!

At a ceremony on Friday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown opened Warwick’s new ultra-high tech facility – the Digital Laboratory - using ‘virtual scissors’ to cut a ribbon in cyberspace.

The £13 million lab, the brainchild of Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, Director of Warwick Manufacturing Group, has been two years in construction and top international academics are now moving into the building. 

Lord Bhattacharyya said: “This Digital Lab is the future. We are bringing together some of the world’s top academics in digital technologies working on digital manufacturing and digital healthcare.

“We are working with partners on product development and creating virtual reality environments for prototyping and testing human responses. E-security, cradle-to-grave product management and process improvement will also be key themes.” (Full story)

Warwick!

Britain's information watchdog criticised today plans for a massive Government database holding details of every phone call and e-mail and the time spent on the internet by the public as a step too far.

Richard Thomas gave warning that plans being discussed by the Home Office as part of a forthcoming legislation on data communications would raise serious data protection concerns for the entire population.

Mr Thomas, the Information Commissioner, said:"There needs to be the fullest public debate about the justification for, and implications of, a specially created database, potentially accessible to a wide range of law enforcement authorities, holding details of everyone's telephone and internet communications. Do we really want the police, security services and other organs of the state to have access to more and more aspects of our private lives?"

Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would have to hand over their communication records to the Home Office under the plans being drawn up as part of the fight against crime and terrorism.

The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission by the courts. (Full story..)

This is beginning to sound like a bad movie.. But I suppose, anything in the name of security and terrorism.. ..

The saturated fat "binge culture" enjoyed by Britons every weekend is leading to potentially serious health problems, according to experts.

A survey of 11,000 households including about 25,000 people found their typical weekend diets contained saturated fat at levels well above recommended guidelines, the study for Unilever found.

A weekend fry-up with buttered toast and a cappuccino contains 33.7g of saturated fat. The recommended daily limit of saturated fat is 30g for men and 20g for women.

The study found consumption of saturated fat could increase to 61g for men and 33g for women on weekend days.

High levels of saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol, particularly low density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is the UK's biggest killer, with one in every four men, and one in every six women dying from the disease. Approximately 300,000 people have a heart attack in the UK each year.

Source

Ohh nooo, not the "classic British breakfast"!! I look forward to that stuff on weekends! :$

Woo hoo! The University of Warwick (i.e. my uni) moves one place up the ladder to number 6 in the UK, in the very reputable and well-known Times Online: Good University Guide 2009!

Woopie!

I must say however, it is a real shame England got eliminated.. the atmosphere over here just isn't the same! It lacks that sense of joy, and patriotism that was so prevalent during the World Cup in 2006. England was so alive then! Well, that's before Portugal eliminated them. eek!

[Image above sourced from the Official UEFA Euro 2008 website. You can get a PDF, pin-up version of the matches from UEFA here.]

EURO 2008 soon!!

Without a doubt, I can comment that I am introduced to a variety of new music mainly via my alarm on mornings. Some of the most notable of these in order of preference include: The Hoosiers - Cops and Robbers, Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars, Mika - Relax, Take It Easy and Scouting For Girls - Elvis Ain't Dead. These are all some great tracks.

My most recent tune, is "Jack Johnson - Better Together".. Below I've embedded a live performance of the song. I encourage you to listen to this track, I doubt you will be disappointed if you have good taste in music !

Tell me you didn't start singing along! (8)It's always better when we're togethherrrr(8)

PS. If you have not caught on already, I usually lay in bed for a WHILE after my alarm goes off, .. lol. Ah, the joys of being a student!

Ever so often, I do something a bit different, and this weekend in particular was pretty extraordinary. Saturday was spent mostly studying, but on Sunday I took a trip to Star City complex in Birmingham. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Star City is a entertainment complex with everything from arcades to cinemas. With that said, you can appreciate that the first thing I hit was the arcades!

My first target was putting my driving skills to the test in an arcade racing game - one of the PROPER ones - called 'The Fast and the Furious'. All-in-all I thought it was a.. good performance by me but, sadly, even though I did not take my foot off the gas, I somehow could only manage a 5th place! Ah well, I'll get them next time!

Apart from the racing and a few other miscellaneous machines, I also played two games of bowling. The photo inserted in this post is of the bowling alley, and yes, it is really that fluorescent colour! (The pins are still white though.) That was good fun, even though I'm yet to find my 'perfect ball/weight'.

Today I finished up the long weekend (Monday was a holiday in the England) with a movie (Ronin to be exact; I give it 6.9/10) and as would be expected, some work!

A free satellite television and radio service from the BBC and ITV is being launched across the UK.

Freesat is available to 98% of homes, including those that are unable to receive Freeview through a TV aerial. It will carry 80 digital TV and radio channels, including free high definition programmes, with that number due to rise to 200 by the end of 2008.

Users will make a one-off payment for a dish, set-top box and installation, but will not pay a monthly subscription. The price of a box will start at £49, rising to £120 for a high-definition (HD) version. The cost of installation, including the satellite dish, will be a further £80.

The BBC, ITV and Channel 4's digital services will feature on Freesat, with news and children's channels among the others on offer. The BBC's HD channel will appear on the service immediately, while ITV HD will launch soon. (Source)

Hmm.. If you're a tele fan, this is definitely a noteworthy development. One should also know that Freeview seems to be going HD as well. I'm not quite sure if this will mean any increase in the price of the box, but I doubt it.

Well, today was a scorcher! And it looks like tomorrow will be the same! 21 deg C! Fabulous! A vest and baggies to Uni tomorrow!!

Not quite sure that this trumps pausing and rewinding live TV but it is definitely a move in the right direction!

For the first time, the popular download service, which allows viewers to catch up on BBC programmes such as Dr Who and The Apprentice, will be available on TV.

The move will be welcomed by the cable network’s 3.5 million customers, who will be able to watch more than 350 hours of TV programmes from the past seven days.

The iPlayer, which until now has been available only on computers, has proved immensely popular, attracting 17.2 million visits last month. (Source)

(Y)!

Ah to live in a country where there is Winter! You are almost always guaranteed surprises like the one I photographed below.

A bench in front of my church	Victim of snow assault
Jephson Gardens	Jephson Gardens

This was the sight as I ventured outside a Sunday morning. (Quality in the original photos is poor - i.e. why they these thumbnails are not links - I'm still working on the new digital camera thing :$.)

You should remember Jephson Gardens from my previous post.

Just a few days ago I posted on this broadband business, and as I turned to page 22 in yesterday's Metro, there it was again! Below, I highlight some of the most important aspects of that article.

"BROADBAND users beware - you're probably getting a raw deal. High-speed internet customers receive an average of just 48 per cent of their advertised megabyte rates, it was revealed yesterday. One provider's 8Mb package delivers speeds closer to just 2Mb. Another well-known company's top-of-the-range 20Mb deal [Yes, they do have 20Mb deals!!] struggles to hit speeds of half that level, research found. The study tested thousands of broadband connections, comparing the maximum speed quoted for packages with the actual download rate. ...

Packages offering speeds of 2Mb achieved rates closet to those advertised, averaging 1.8Mb. High-end deals promising top speeds of 16Mb hit 8.6 on average. 'Providers are promising speeds far greater than they are capable of delivering,' said William Harvey of comparison web-site broadband-expert.co.uk, which carried out the survey.

'This is down to much more than the usual excuse of poor line quality or distance from the local exchange.' He said that providers were 'much less likely to upset customers' if they set realistic expectations of speeds that COULD be achieved."

Enough said!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a musical production in London titled, "The Lord of The Rings" (yes, the best trilogy EVER 'Lord of the Rings'). Some of you folks close by would have definitely heard of it but for others (likely my Barbadian readership) check it out here.

To be honest, it was fantastic! The acting and stage design/arrangement were great, but the script was exceptionally admirable as it kept very close to the LOTR movie, and as I was told, certain parts of this epic's book. As for the singing, well, I'm not at all a Mary Poppins kind of guy, however, a couple songs were quite catchy, and I do admit to singing a chorus or so on the ride home! One thing that especially excited the crowd, was when out of NOWHERE, an Orc appeared in the audience! He.. or it.. got up-close-and-personal with some folks and, let's just say, some ladies were quite jumpy in the dark after that, lol.

All-in-all, it was surely an unforgettable experience, where... then again, I'll let the real experts comment on it!

The Theatre Royal Drury Lane has been transformed into Tolkien’s Middle-earth with an awe-inspiring, mystical set that creeps into the auditorium while friendly Hobbits and terrifying Orcs roam the aisles. Extraordinary special effects, unforgettable music and heartfelt performances transport you straight to the core of a fantastical universe and sweep you along on Frodo and Sam’s epic journey to destroy the Ring in the fiery depths of Mordor.

Breathtaking, enchanting, terrifying, and spectacular... this is The Lord of the Rings as you’ve never seen it before. (Ref)

It was.. THAT good!

If you are in the London district, I do suggest you make an outing of it. If you are further away, I encourage you to visit the web site and view/listen some of the Music, Video and Photos from this great production.

Here's a very interesting article I read in Friday's Metro.

"The internet has much bigger problems that slowness (Metro, Wed) - the real issue now is the total amount of data we download today.

Thanks to the recent boom in popularity of streaming and downloading video from the internet, we are all downloading far more data than before. BBC's iPlayer has come under pressure from British internet service providers as the chief culprit thanks to its high-quality video and peer-to-peer network causing an unprecedented increase in data traffic.

As a result, 'unlimited download' packages are no longer financially viable for any ISP, even big names such as BT and Virgin. It's just a matter of time before they start tightening limits, hiking up their prices or even going bankrupt." Edward Noad, London SE1.

Even though some of this guy's comments make things sound a bit gloomier than they are, I do believe in certain cases, he does make some valid and rather pertinent points; one good example is unlimited packages!

Case in point: I remember lately some flat mates and I were perplexed at why our Internet connection was going SUPER slow between the hours of 5pm-12am,.. then we got the word of a possible 'cap' on our downloading between that time. Normally that would not be a problem HOWEVER, last time I checked, we're paying for UNLIMITED Internet! Then again, these days, I guess nothing is 'unlimited', companies (such as my former mobile service provider!!) throw in a 'Fair Usage Policy' which, at its heart, is a mechanism to limit your unlimited access.

Ah well, what can we do? BBC iPlayer is an excellent idea. Possibly we need to get this faster Internet in place asap? Or will we have to revamp every 10 years or so? After all this has the perfect makings for a classical cyclic problem!

Wooppieeee!!!

"One of the final hurdles preventing Europeans from chit-chatting on their cell phones while hurtling through Euro airspace has been cleared, as UK regulator Ofcom (akin to our FCC), has given the OK for cell phones to be used on planes, as long as they're above 3,000 meters. (Many of the other approvals required across Europe have already been granted.) ...

Of course, in the U.S., no such plans are underway, though those hopeful for getting Internet access while airborne are in for a treat. This week, the FAA approved plans for American Airlines to offer in-flight Wi-Fi service, and that approval can potentially be applied to any U.S. airline that wants to offer the same type of technology (provided by Aircell). No news on a date when such services will be turned on, but many are hoping to have live Wi-Fi rolled out on at least a few planes by the end of the year." (Ref)

On a more tangential yet similar note though, check out this article: Airliner showers: A very guilty pleasure.

Cell phones, Wi-Fi, showers.. what next?!

To readers in Barbados. Clocks go forward tonight (well in the wee hours of Sunday morning), therefore the UK will now be 5 hours ahead of Barbados as opposed to 4.

Thanks for setting me straight Jeremy.

Today the BBC reports: "A controlled explosion has been carried out on a World War II bomb found in Coventry city centre.

The bomb was discovered on Wednesday [12 March 2008] morning by construction workers at the site of a new hotel.

Police set up a 500m exclusion zone as a precaution and offices, flats, hotels and a theatre were evacuated.

Cordons were lifted after the device, found at the Belgrade Plaza development in Upper Well Street, was made safe just after 0240 GMT.

About 140 people had to spend the night in rest centres set up by the council at Queens Road Baptist church and St Peter's Church in Hillfields. ..." (Ref)

Imagine that! One of my mates (FROM BARBADOS!!) even had to evacuate his flat as a precautionary measure - he lives in the City Centre! For me, I go to Uni in Coventry but live elsewhere. Regardless though, this news is a real shocker! I'm glad it all ended well.

Took a trip to Birmingham City Centre and the Bull Ring today! Below are a couple photos from the trip (I've only made the following smaller versions available as the originals are not of good quality).

Overall it was a quite pleasant day out - weather and all as you can observe from the photos! - and it was spent with great company as well!

The old..	The new!

In my humble opinion, the new BBC home page definitely rocks - a big improvement to the previous version. It is much more interactive, has a nice and smoother feel, more customisation possible and still maintaining that ever-important accessibility help.

My only reservation about the new page is that it really is quite huge compared to the old one. I always thought that the BBC had kept their previous page narrow in consideration of those persons with not-so-wide/big displays. Therefore, I must assume now that BBC has determined that enough of their visitors have large enough displays to warrant this move..

The last comment I have is for readers to note that IT IS just the home page that has been changed. If one accesses any of the links, you will see that the page loaded is still the same "old" version of the BCC web site - the same old, narrow version. This may be good for some of us, i.e. when considering the aforementioned displays issue, but of course for others - like myself, we would like something a bit newer that is more interactive and 'fun'. I mean, we all can go to any place to view the news, so why should we view it at the BCC? What's their "value proposition", dare I use that business term. But then again, all in time I guess.. All in time..

Have a great weekend folks!

"The biggest earthquake in the UK for nearly 25 years has shaken homes across large parts of England.

People in Newcastle, Yorkshire, London, Manchester, the Midlands and Norfolk and also parts of Wales, felt the tremor just before 0100 GMT.

A man suffered leg injuries when a chimney collapsed in South Yorkshire.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the epicentre of the 5.3 magnitude quake was near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.

Bev Finnegan, who lives in the town, said: "I was terrified to be honest. The noise was really, really terrifying... it was so deep and rumbling.

"It felt like the roof was going to fall in. There were people coming out in their dressing gowns wondering what it was. It was quite an experience. ..." (BBC News)

Well, this morning I heard people calling in to the local radio station saying that the earthquake woke them up as well. I however slept straight through! Maybe I was too tired.. Studying is a hard job you know!

Anyway, BBC News also has some video coverage of the quake and also the reaction of residents here.

Tonight is so cold it really is amazing. I rang a friend in B'dos and told her it was about 2/3°C in UK and she just laughed and laughed, then boasted that it was probably 28°C in Bim!

Anyway! Below is a bit of the forecast for tomorrow (nope, doesn't seem like it gets much better!). What I would like to highlight the most is that it can be BRIGHT and SUNNY outside yet still be an icebox! (For newcomers to UK beware of this! Don't look outside, see the sun and blue skies and think baggies and plain white Ts!) See 9am especially!

Luckily, I'm home for that part!

(Forecast taken from the BBC Weather web site.)

This was taken from the BBC Weather web site at ~9:42pm Thursday 31 January 2008. The forecast is for tomorrow, Friday 1 February 2008.

Eek! Then again.. it's only a "forecast".. right..?

"Currys stops selling analogue TVs

Currys, Dixons and PC World [the main electronics companies in UK] are to stop stocking analogue televisions and will instead promote "integrated" sets with built-in digital Freeview tuners. The chains said more than 90% of the TVs they sold were already digital.

The move was welcomed by Digital UK, the body managing the analogue switch-off, which will finish in 2012. "Retailers of all sizes have a vital role to play in ensuring their products and their customers are ready," Digital UK chief executive Ford Ennals said.

A major push to inform viewers about the move to digital began last year, when Whitehaven in Cumbria became the first area to have its analogue signal switched off. The Scottish Borders will be the first full geographical region to lose its analogue signal, starting on 6 November 2008. The rest of the UK will follow suit over the next four years."

Story taken from this BBC article.

Dear readers,

I apologise for the downtime my website experienced over the last two days. I believe that things should be back to normal now and I sincerely hope that I have not lost my spot in your bookmarks!

As a measure of good faith, check out some of the 'hot off the press' photos below that I took only two days ago in Leamington Spa. The green areas depict a park of sorts (Jephson Gardens & Mill Gardens to be exact) and others are of the high street (formally, The Parade) in the town. Enjoy!

:-)!

Here are a few news clips I found noteworthy as I browsed the newspaper on the bus this morning.

"About 151,000 Iraqis have died in the three years since the US invasion, a study has concluded. The latest estimate, based on surveys of nearly 10,000 households by the World Health Organisation and the Iraqi government, is the most accurate study of the death toll since the war began, experts believe."
Me: *sigh, so sad. I wonder how many were civilian casualties.

"Waste from the new nuclear power plans is likely to be buried 1km (3,000ft) underground in secure vaults, the Government said."
Me: Sounds good! We need to get rid of waste (which is probably toxic), so dig a _deep_ hole, pack it the earth, and cork it shut! Excellent! ..

"First-Class degrees were handed to students in record numbers last year. One in eight students graduated with a first, while half scored 2:1s [Upper second class in B'dos]. It comes as academics said they had to alter courses due to the rising amount of school leavers being poorly prepared for studying independently."
Me: Am I to assume that 'alter courses' means that degrees were made easier so students could score higher? Or just that they were structured in a more useful manner which lead to students getting on better with their work? (I think there is a difference and that one of these approaches is a better approach to things!).

And finally..

"Being a Newcastle fan must be the worst job in football."
Me: lol. The english really take the topic of football so, so seriously!

All of the above articles were sourced from Today's Metro newspaper (check them online at www.metro.co.uk).

"A source from Sandringham is quoted as saying: "When she saw William playing a game after lunch she thought the Nintendo looked tremendous fun and begged to join in. She played a simple ten-pin bowling game and by all accounts was a natural.

"It was hilarious. William was in fits of laughter.

"He was enormously impressed at having such a cool gran. His only difficulty now is prising it away from the Queen's clutches. She showed all the signs of becoming a Nintendo addict."

The Queen is already said to be something of a technical whizz, with reports that she owns a BlackBerry, an iPod and a number of mobile phones." [Ref]

I'm yet to try it!

Just a little while ago I was reading a post from a friend over at tech-barbados on the topic of online TV and how in his opinion, great it was. In that post he informed me, that by using a third party web site persons such as myself - who are not in Barbados - could now view our "home town" channel online and, for free. (Not that the channel is that, or any good, it's more that it's a small taste of home. )

After reading his post, I started to do some browsing and I found an entire host of sites offering TV, especially in the UK! So, as a prelude to what I hope will be a more thorough post at a later date, here is some of the stuff I have found. I hope it's useful!

http://www.jumptv.com/ - Watch TV worldwide (football games too!) including Barbados' very own CBC Channel 8. (This is the one that was mentioned to me.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/ - BBC isn't missing out on this online tv action! Check out their version in the BBC iPlayer. Overview: essentially the iPlayer lets you watch shows or news that was televised previously on any of the BBC channels. The caveat however is that I _think_ they choose which shows and they are only available for a certain time (number of days) after they are initially broadcasted on local TV. To be honest I'm a bit fuzzy on the particulars myself but when things are clearer, I'll be sure to update you! (I think there is an option to download as well!)

http://www.channel4.com/4od/index.html - The best of Channel 4, on demand! To quote their web site, "4oD is simply another way to get your TV hit, 24/7. Download thought-provoking documentaries, award winning drama or great comedy." There are "Loads of the latest TV to watch instantly or as a download." and you can even "Rent films from our specially selected range for £1.99". Sounds, freshing. Note that for this it seems like you have to download additional software.

http://www.itv.com/Watchnow/default.html - I have not tried this out but it seems practical. Worth noting is that iTV is definitely one of the better channels on basic English TV.

http://download.five.tv/ - To round up the lot, here's Five.tv's adaptation. It appears like they have gone for the strict pay-per-view model i.e. you buy what you want, no free viewing here. On the bright side they do have CSI episodes (Las Vegas, Miami and NY) going for a cool £1.49-£2.49/each or entire seasons for around £30-£40. Grey's Anatomy also features as a downloadable programme.

Ah, with TV directly on my PC, how, oh how, will I get any work done now? .. On the bright side, there's less reason to move from my desk!

Well, I'm back in my flat and it's back to Uni from today so can you guess what's the first surprise I get? Peek at the image below.

Snow? Sweet! *rolls eyes* lol! Enjoy your day and God bless!

For some weeks now a friend (not from UK) and I have been locked in a 'discussion' as to whether Coventry was in Warwickshire or not. It was my opinion that it was not mainly because the radio station would always say things like, "And today it's going to be a cold and wet day in Coventry and Warwickshire..." or "At 7:30 we bring you the latest news for Coventry and Warwickshire".

Well now I officially have the proof! This Pictures of England website clearly indicates that Coventry is NOT part of Warwickshire as some delusional people think but instead, constitutes part of the West Midlands county along with towns such as Birmingham and Wolverhampton.

Now that this is known and I have won that 'discussion', I can resume my work. lol taa

Since I came to Warwick, I have been constantly inquiring about opportunities to play some football. Ideally I wanted something not too demanding, but which would probably let me play a game I love, at most two times per week. While asking around one day, I came across a lecturer who was pretty sure there was a Comp Sci team (*yey for me), and he told me he would ask around and inform me of whatever information he found.

Well yesterday was, "that day"! When he saw me he came over and said that there was indeed a team, and that he was also told exactly how to find out more about it, and even how to get involved! He then proceeded to say two of the most dreaded words I've heard in... oh, the last 15minutes! i.e. "Check Facebook"!

Would you believe that?! (Then again, being people of the 21st century, you probably would.) The only way it seems like I can find out more is by signing up to Facebook and searching for the Warwick Comp Sci team (group)! Surely this is discrimination of some sort! Actually, check the definition, that's my proof!

I do not know about you guys (and gals), but I think it's a real shame when real-life social gatherings have, presence and activity in the 'virtual-world', as an outspoken prerequisite!

So..

I'm sitting having a chat with some friends and I get this text, "train fares going up 14%" (paraphrasing). Clearly, this was a joke I thought to myself.

Half an hour later, I decide to check this 'news' on BBC.. and guess what? It wasn't! (On the bright side though, I don't think that 14% will affect me!)

The BBC article covering this story reports, "Passengers are to be hit by above-inflation rate fare increases.

Season tickets and saver and standard day returns will rise by 4.8% on average, says the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc).

Others, such as cheap day returns and long-distance open and advance fares will go up by 5.4%. The increases will come into effect in the New Year. " (Yea, at least they give us a whole month's warning..)

What will affect me though is that 4.8% and possibly the 5.4%! Definitely not a good thing.. Guess I'll have to be doing less travelling, or at least be a bit more frugal considering travelling to the more distant places - currently I pay about £33.00 to go to York!

"Online shopping in the UK is due to hit £40bn this year [2007], a study estimates.

The figure comes from price comparision website, Uswitch, which says the boom is being fuelled by cheaper broadband deals and faster connection speeds.

A separate study from Forrester Research predicts that online Christmas shopping will reach £13.8bn this year, a 42% increase on 2006.

Uswitch's 2007 figure is based on data pulled from official Office for National Statistics retail numbers.

It predicts that the UK's online spending will further rise to £162bn by 2020, when it will make up 40% of total retail sales.

More than three quarters of British homes now have broadband internet. " (BBC)

Surely we all have heard about Virgin after all they're into tons of things from travel (airlines), music (record label), mobile, broadband even to their OWN line of drinks (yea I couldn't believe that last one either)!

So what economy on their platter to conquer next? Banking! .. Considering all the problems that the once big gun Northern Rock (sponsor of Newcastle United FC), is having Virgin has recognised that this is a prime time to step in and make a bid. And, even though there is some reports that the bid may be blocked, there's an equal amount of evidence to show otherwise.

I'll be watching this one to see how it turns out because, banking is a funny thing and if reputation is worth anything, Northern Rock has a lot of rebuilding to do. Two things "The Rock" does have going for it however are: (a) the fact that the company has always seemed to contribute significantly to society and (b) "Virgin's offer .. includes an immediate repayment of £11bn out of the £25bn the bank owes the Bank of England." (Ref)..

More info should be available soon so I'll try to keep this post updated..

"The Hope Valley filled with mist as Mike captured this incredible image.

Photographer: Mike Barber
Date Taken: November 2007
Location: Peak District, England."

Ah! I love photos! Especially ones that are as beautiful as this. Hmm.. wait a second though, I'm getting a LOTR vibe.. I wonder if that red and yellow area is Mordor?!

NB. Photo and its details were sourced from the BBC Photo Gallery.

Final score at Wembley Stadium: England 2 - 3 Croatia. What does this mean? Firstly, the Three Lions crash out of Euro 2008 and secondly, Mr. McClaren, well, sir, you need to find a new job.

I watched it, and Croatia honestly played better and simply wanted the win more. Funny thing is, they've already qualified so one could only imagine that their sole purpose at Wembley was to shed blood! And.. that's exactly what they did!

I think soccernet aptly sums it up nicely, especially noting the UK data loss incident I blogged about yesterday. So I'll leave you with the following excerpt:

"And, stood on the sidelines, red and blue brolly protecting him from the elements, McClaren must have felt just like Chancellor Alistair Darling in the wake of the Child Benefit data crisis, blameless for the blunder but culpable all the same." (Soccernet)

Tsk. England next summer will be well quiet.

“The government’s “basic competence” has been questioned by the Tories after the loss in the post of computer discs with 25m people’s personal details on them. ... MISSING DATA INCLUDES… National insurance number, Name, address and birth date, Partner’s details, Names, sex and age of children, Bank/savings account details” (BBC). (Also, see video.)

Fraud? Identity theft anyone? Seriously though, this is horrible. In the video, I definitely admire Chancellor Darling for standing and giving that report to the House (then again that was probably a prerequisite for keeping his job!), but as one can see from the subsequent comments, he was not received well at all.

It'll be really interesting to see how this pans out even though "he [Chancellor Darling] reassured those affected that police had no reason to believe the discs had found their way into the wrong hands, nor did they have any evidence of it being used for "fraudulent purposes or criminal activity."" (BBC).. Let's hope so!

One thing that is of real concern is that really, it may just be the 'junior' member of staff who messed up HOWEVER this has produced a ripple effect of mammoth proportions, and has made the HMRC chairman resign, and now has the Chancellor in the hot seat. Got to love chain of command/responsibility eh?

On the bright side, "Mr Darling said that anyone who lost money as a result of any misuse of the data would be covered for losses under the banking code." (BBC)

[All quotes unless otherwise specified come from the Ministers under fire over records BBC article.]

It's snowing! And.. raining.. . It must be FREEZIng out there! It looks so nice when you're on the inside looking OUT though. . Hmm, I just remembered that I'm in uni early tomorrow, I hope it doesn't get horrible over night! Hopefully I get to snap a photo for you.

OK! About two weeks ago I took a trip to Birmingham with a couple mates just to check out the shops and such. Now, because I'd been to Birmingham a couple times before, I had a basic idea of the city centre so I quickly got us from the train station to the closest mall (in the Bullring). When we walked in, something strange, that I had never seen before caught my eye... it was a big.. white.. apple (click to see picture of what I saw).

Well! To be honest (even though I'm a Windows fan), I was quite excited at this illuminating apple and what it meant so I immediately broke away from the group and walked into this .. apple.. store.

The first gadget to greet me was a small thing that looked somewhat like a laptop but, a "wee" bit cooler, probably it was the sleek white exterior or the playful looking interface and GUI on the screen! So, naturally, being the Computer Person I AM, I hopped over and browsed it for about 2 minutes BEFORE!! I heard the term.. something'-touch' mentioned behind me!!!

When I turned around to feast my eyes on this device, I heard slight singing in the distance, and bright, bright, lights coming from its direction.. then.. oh then... I saw.. thee iPod touch. ( <- If I were an emoticon that would be me! ) .. And guess what!? I could PLAY with it!!!! Oh it was fabulous! The first thing I did was try to check out some music and videos, but sadly there were none! so next up - the browser! (One thing I always wanted to know was if it really works as seamlessly as the portray in the adverts! With the zooming and typing etc. Also, it's worth noting here that the device uses Wi-Fi access.)

First, I started typing in a URL, and it even had a drop-down of options to choose from and I think a history! After getting the hang of that (I think typing aspect is the biggest -ve, unless you have tiny fingers!), reality set in and I surfed directly to www.jasonnurse.com ! The site loaded pretty quick and was easily viewable and navigable! Next, I tapped once to zoom, used my finger to drag around the page a bit then accessed the blog link with a touch of my finger. Interestingly the blog page loaded great as well! (I did not do a full test obviously though because as I'm sure you can imagine, there were other people were waiting to give Apple's newest device a go.) After accessing one of the posts, I wanted to zoom back out to access another link, so, what do I do? Just.. 'pinch' the screen! Ouuuu. (forgive me but this was just plain cool.)

Drawback? Probably the biggest thing to note is that there's only one button off the screen, so probably 92% of contact will be with the touch screen interface. A problem can arise here simply because the keys are a bit small or because your fingers are too big! Many times I had to retype URLS because I pressed the wrong key!

Otherwise though.. and probably in general, I was/am totally wowed by the iPod touch. If I had the £199 (lowest price - 8GB), that would probably be on the list of potential gifts to myself for Christmas! Alas, at that price.. woo.. I think I rather stick to something less extravagant.. Probably the Resident Evil trilogy on DVD??

By the way.. when viewing a web page, if you turn the iPod touch horizontally, the page turns as well and you can view it landscape.. To return to the normal view, simply return it to its vertical position, even though, for me this didn't work sometimes and I had to get help getting it to work!

Anyway! Nice apple, macBook, iMac, iPhone, iPod touch.. nice.

*brr* Not really sure how the Sun is forecasted to be out BUT it still be under 10 deg C.. ah well.

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot. (Source)

Most of you probably may know this rhyme from the movie V for Vendetta however if you don't know, note that there's actually a real life story behind it!

"Guy Fawkes (also known as Epic Fail Guy) is an annual celebration on the evening of the 5th of November. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5th of November 1605 in which a number of Roman Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the Palace of Westminster." (Source)

It is primarily marked in the UK, my Dad informed me that it also used to occur in Barbados in his lifetime! Festivities are centred around the use of fireworks (yea, I think just any person can buy fireworks - possibly only the less hazardous ones, if there's such a thing - and launch them into the sky.. ) and the lighting of, sometimes HUGE bonfires. To be honest, I've been hearing fireworks for the last two weeks now!

Anyway, tonight the sky will be very colourful; I just hope there's no fog like last night!!!

Well today, in the wee hours of the morning, British Summer Time (BST) ended and I was presented with an extra hour to use as I wish.. So, what did I do with it? SLEEP! lol.

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, here's a BBC article with the reason that the clocks go back. And also, for you Bajans reading, now that the clocks have been turned back, please note that the UK is now 4 hours ahead of Barbados instead of 5.

toodles!

Just to let you know, there are a couple words that it would be wise NOT to use in England or with a Brit today or in the near future. For your benefit and personal safety, I've listed them below..

football, McClaren, England, Russia, Euro, Moscow, qualifier, Steve, 2008, Luis Medina Cantalejo (or just 'referee'), even Mc or Claren are a bit on the risky side..

On the bright side though, you can use, 'go Isreal' and 'go Andora'.. Actually, last night on the radio one of the hosts blatantly stated that her new National team was Israel! She was appalled at the performances of especially Crouch and Rooney.

Feel free to add any other words or terms in the comments section of this post.. It's really all for the safety of our fellow (wo)man. :-)

Weather forecast today.. Max 13 deg, Min 3. .. If you know me.. you can imagine the blank look on my face right now conveying my disbelief in these .. excellent temperatures.

Anyway, I got some proper meds today so hopefully that bug I've got won't be around for much longer!

For today.. my post is on the name Jason, many of you may not know but there's a good meaning behind it, check it out below, and see the link for the full article.

"English form of the name (Greek Ias{o_}n) borne in classical mythology by a hero, leader of the Argonauts, who sailed to Colchis in search of the Golden Fleece, enduring many hardships and adventures. The sorceress Medea fell in love with him and helped him to obtain the Fleece; they escaped together and should have lived happily ever after. However, ..." (Ref)

What a doosie!

But alas, it's not the PhD, I've got some type of bug! Could be flu, cold or just a horrid sore throat! Whatever it is, it has me under strict manners. No worries though, hopefully it's nothing some paracetamol and cherry-flavoured lozenges can't tackle.

On the PhD side of things so far I've (1) outlined (with the help of my supervisor) the general areas on which I need to focus; and (2) started doing some background reading on one of these general areas. When I have more time, I'll post more information here about my studies for any of you that have the faintest interest in what I've dedicated 3 years of my life to do.

For now.. it's dark and I'm going home! ta!

"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?" Albert Einstein.

For those of you who don't know, I've started a PhD course at the University of Warwick and organising things for that has got me quite busy! But before you think that the work has me soo busy that I won't have time to post, please note that the hindrance is not the work load, it's that I have no Internet at my flat!! So, luxuries such as posting on my blog any time I'd like aren't really.. possible.

Anyway.. soon! Soon things will be sorted! I also hope to have some nice photos up and such.. The University seems pretty nice (and HUGE) and the people are rather helpful and accommodating as well. So.. for now, taa!!