Scary stuff!
Now, Tony Blair had a vision ten years ago, it was that we should have a National Grid for Learning! This was a bit like President Kennedy saying that America will go to the Moon before the end of the decade back in the 60's.
Here we are 10 years after Tony Blair's vision and look how we have moved on in the on-line, digital world of the internet and mobile technology! The guy got it right and invested money into the technology so that schools could harness it.
As we now approach a General Election I am bothered...
Who has the vision now to move on the technology?
David riding his bike or Gordon twiddling his thumbs?
It needs someone now to pick up the NGfL and move it on, otherwise our children are going to lose out and return to the BBC computer days.
What are your policies David and Gordon?
We need to know!

Frozen Digital Britain!

What an amazing image!

Snow from above! (Click to enlarge)

We are now in the grip of the coldest Winter ever. The whole country covered in snow, here around 10" of frozen snow on the ground and roads terrible!

Tonight temperature down to -10 and still falling. The toilet has just frozen up and i'm flushing salt down it to keep it clear! Icicles like I have not seen since the 1960's hang outside my house and there is no end to the freeze!

Gosh...this brings back memories of the 1960's when Mum took us to school all wrapped up in balaclavas, snow piled against the front door and icicles hanging from the gutters. (Mum used to break some off to suck on the way to school!)

Schools never closed then, we would make slides and throw snowballs in the school yard and have great fun. Now all the schools are closed (including mine) and when we are open the kids are not allowed to play out in the snow!

I don't know ... Health and Safety gone mad!!!

Brass Monkey Weather!

The term "Brass Monkeys" is an accepted phrase used in the English language to indicate that the ambient air temperature (or weather) is cold. This use stems from a longer phrase "It is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". This generally perceived as a humorous reference to some unfortunate Brass Monkey who loses his testicles if the weather is too cold. Another derived phrase (but irrelevant to our story) is "it's cold enough to freeze your balls off".

The origin and true meaning of this phrase is actually totally unrelated to any form of animal or its testicles. Back in time to the period of the Napoleonic War, the great gunships of this time carried many cannons on various gun decks. As an efficient method of storage and delivery of cannon balls to the cannon for firing, a "Monkey" (this term is used to define a table and/ or a rail) made of brass was used to hold the balls. In very cold temperatures the brass would contract or even break thus allowing the cannon balls to roll off the Monkey onto the gun deck. Hence the sailors would say "it is cold enough to freeze the balls off a Brass Monkey".

http://www.brassmonkeys.co.uk/history/default.html

Now brass has interesting properties, made from Copper and Tin, it is a good conductor of electricity and is hard wearing. Some of my VHF / UHF projects in the past required tuned lines, so I used brass for some of the thinner gauge lines because you could buy it at a hobby shop quite cheap.

Let it snow!

OMG! I have not seen snow fall like this since the 60's!

We have now had snow all the way through Christmas and New Year and last night it never stopped snowing. Spent today at school as we battled to keep the school open, but tomorrow the school is shut. Kath couldn't get to work for the second time in the last two weeks because of the roads.

My poor antennas look sad, but tonight I went on 2m SSB to work some stations in the contest and chat with some real Radio Amateurs. Really enjoyed it! I'm now seriously thinking of getting some new antennas for VHF. Maybe even re-building a yagi array on the chimney and a rotator.

Still thinking...

Nocturne

Can't find a trace of this wonderful disco back in the early 70's in Bolton.
Located underneath the 'Palais' (now Icon) at the top of Bridge Street I remember standing across the road with Stephen Hignett deciding whether to go in or not cos we were not sure if this was a dive. In fact it was a great place with UV lights and a lovely small dance floor. A real nice atmosphere! We went there later for a Rock Night, trouble was the bouncers and DJ didn't really appreciate rock and SAG came along! We had to dress smartly to get in and most wore a tie over their usual rock gear. I must admit that I wore my velvet jacket and a tie!
A great night, 'Black Cat Bone' played live and SAG got thrown out for 'dancing'.
Whatever happened to the Nocturne?
Also the 'Va Va' which was located under Elizabeth House, all locked up now and never used again!

Happy Christmas!

First time ever that we have a had a white Christmas like this one!

Outside six inches of lying snow, treacherous roads and my poor Blue Tits are freezing to death in their little frozen home. So what have I asked Santa for this year? Well, a good combination of Digital and Analogue. I have really gone back to my childhood days and asked for the Saturn V Airfix model along with an 'electric train' from Hornby. I have also asked for a Mobile Phone because the one I use now is well out of date (even though it works perfectly) got to be cool you know!
Ohhh...and an all singing and dancing digital photo frame!

You must admit that I live with one foot in the analogue world and the other in the digital world and I love it!!

Got it wrong again!

What is large, yellow, very shy and hates snow?

A Bolton Council Gritter of course!

Yesterday it snowed all day long, roads awful. Never mind, the Gritters will save the day and tomorrow the main roads will be clear in time for the rush hour. Guess what? Not a Gritter to be seen on this side of town at least. I have been on the road all day and never once did I see one these rare creatures in Bolton.

This is what they said about last year:

"Last year bosses came under fire when the town was hit by heavy snow in early December, causing morning rush hour chaos.
Council chiefs said that because the snow fell in the early hours of the morning, there was insufficient traffic to break up grit which had been spread earlier in the night. "

Well this time it fell during the day so what is the excuse this time?

Went to ASDA at Radcliffe tonight (Bury Council) guess what?

I passed two Gritters happily adding salt and grit to already cleared roads in Bury!

Get into the digital world Bolton and don't tell me the snow was not expected!