Update 20/02/2007

I think it's time to provide people with an update on what's happening.

To be blunt I am at present busier than a one legged man at a kicking contest. (thanks George)

I have been helping a friend set up her computer. Imagine that, ME helping someone to set up their PC. I have to admit to some smug sense of self satisfaction when I managed to actually find all the right cables and plug them into the right locations WITHOUT damaging anything!

Then came the next set of tasks - taking an existing DVD on which the person had managed to get a private firm to back up her data from the machine that had died.

Yeah well that was exciting!

At my home I can read the files and actually see them easily.

At her home - the disk goes into the drive and absolutely nothing appears on the screen.

Why?

Rang the firm that did the work and of course they have some really interesting suggestions ranging from the DVD drive can't read their brand of DVD through to "It's all the fault of the manufacturer"

Gnashing teeth is not a well known way of getting things fixed. So I tried to avoid that approach.

Rang the manufacturer of a piece of software that the person has used to record financial data and found that they no longer support some of the older versions of their program and that there is actually a policy that only the Australian version of the program is supported here while programs purchase overseas are in the "too bad, so sad' arena.

So I have to confess I am defeated - I have no idea how to take the data that she has from this program on a back up disk and actually get it to load or to export it to anything else. I suspect that there is an export facility - but it's beyond me!

So if anyone out there has a shares in Quickentm - this might be a good time consider your investment!

Anyway managed to install some basic programs, configure things like screen savers and such and even managed to ensure that most of the stuff on the system like the virus protection etc worked. Then finally crawled home to look forward to some well earned rest.

The day before this was even busier.

An old friend came to visit from Sydney bringing an overseas tourist with her. Drove them to see the Tidbinbilla deep space centre and then off to see kangaroos and wallabies in the wild on a reserve. I cannot believe that in a few days of travelling around this traveller has managed to shoot over 400 pictures! In days gone by when the cost of developing photos would have made this prohibitive she would have felt deprived. With digital photography, the cost is minimal and the cost of transfer to a more stable medium like a CD more affordable. 400 shots! Just imagine what the home screen show will be like.

Tomorrow will be another busy day.

I am confirming, at least to my own satisfaction, that I am pure evil. They say that there is no rest for the wicked!

Reality Check!

Hmm, I have just reviewed the two notes I have just published and realise that both in some respects are about FOOD. I then checked with the clock and realised what time it was and also realised how long it has been since my last intake of nourishment.

It appears that events conspire to facilitate selective reading and writing.

Maybe I can find something more interesting to write about if I have breakfast first!

Article City is an interesting place to visit

Take for example the article, What Are Phytonutrients?

When you look at this title what can you tell about the contents? Nothing, in my case.

However when you look at the brief extract (below) I suspect your ability to understand will be like a very expensive sports car and accelerate from zero to a hundred miles an hour in a very short space of time

Phytochemicals stimulate the production of protective self-repairing cells in plants. They also produce the same kinds of responses in humans. For example, they release protective enzymes that inhibit cancer-producing substances, thus reducing our susceptibility to disease.

Bring on berries and green leafy vegetables I say!

Mars Bars for Children?

I saw an article on the BBC today that caught my attention simply because of the link it made in my brain cells to something I can recall reading about a long time ago.

Once upon a time there was a Minister for Social Security in Australia who was very concerned about the plight of homeless youth. One day while at Sydney's Central Railway station this minister noted the number of homeless children who were loitering on the platforms begging for food and was appalled! At the same time, he noted a vending machine that dispensed Mars Bars.

In a flash of momentary brilliance that will no doubt be forever denied there was a flash of inspiration and a barely formulated idea was born.

Turning to his entourage of eager young minders he casually remarked along the lines of, "You know I think we should make it a policy to offer a Mars Bar along with the Young Homelessness Allowance. That way we can ensure some nourishment is provided to these unfortunate young people."

There were stories of the minders then having to spend DAYS trying to talk this Minister out of this inspirational idea!

Now in 2007 - so many years later, this story from the BBC No more Mars Bar ads for children.

How strange that another story about Mars Bars and children is once again in the headlines!

Is history nothing more than a chain of accidents?

I wonder how many people have stumbled across the article from the BBC entitled:
Briefcase 'that changed the world'

What a fascinating review of history. A series of accidents, accidents of discovery, accidents with actions and what seems like pure good luck.

• For anyone who wants to believe in predestination this is worth reading
• For those who believe that things happen in SPITE of the best intentions of mere human beings
• For those who believe that truth is often stranger that fiction

this article is a MUST read.