Wed 25 June 03 I have just set up a special page to display a few pictures of mine. Friends have commented how delightful they are, and I know that they are being used as the desktop background picture in some cases. I would therefore like to give all visitors the opportunity to decorate their screens with one or more of these, so please CLICK HERE and download your choices. Remember though that they are big files, about 250k, so be patient while downloading!As another service to my visitors I have put in a link to a website that gives the FTSE 100 index. Although it is not streamed, so that you will need to refresh to update it, it is worth knowing if you deal in shares. As usual it is delayed by about 20 mins. I see that recently there has been some comment on a members only section of the PC Answers forum about this index. Contrary to some thoughts, it is not illegal to display the real time value of this index, but it is normally delayed by up to 20 mins so that the real time value can be sold as a premium service. I find that for the latest up to date value of the index BBC2 teletext P200 is worthwhile, in that it does update about every 15 mins to a near real time value. I have put an order in for more Scottish Power shares this morning. I bought some a few weeks ago, and as they have continued to fall I wish to average down my purchase price. The price I am after to buy is 345p. However, if the price rises to 400p my existing holding in my tax free self select ISA with idealing will be sold.
As for real time indices, I have referred previously to www.moneyam.com, which will give share prices in real time. You will have to join as a free member first, and then log in. This morning, as I have shown once before in a screen shot, the service is providing me with real time FTSE 100 values, and has been doing for the past 65 mins as I write at 9.05 am. It is normally delayed by 17 mins. As an update to this..it continued to show real time FTSE 100 all day until the market closed at 4.30 pm.
Tue 24 June 03 Regular visitors here will notice a few changes in the top section of this page. I have introduced the IP number, GMT time, and last update features. However, I cannot make the time show BST. I have also realigned three of the other features: temperature, welcome & date, and forum so that they are horizontal, allowing this section to appear higher up the page, and so that it starts in the viewers browser window. On the subject of browsers, I am a great fan of Opera, with its tabs for all current sites along the top. If you have not met that, why not give it a try? It does not present this page at it best though, that honour going to IE6. You may also have noticed the fireworks sparkling about the page. I used these on the Parish Council website, to celebrate its opening, and I thought it was about time I used them here as well. What could we celebrate? How about the addicts getting fed up with my writing these general every day items, as my blog gets back to normal. There will not be anything to interest them in the future either. One side effect of this is that my counter is suffering. Not so many visitors now...but no doubt those that are visiting are of a better quality!
Mon 23 June 03 I have just returned from a few days relaxation on the Lincolnshire coast. Whilst there I used the official cycleway which uses the sea wall north of Hutoft car terrace. Unfortunately in places so much sand covered the way that it was impossible to cycle. I am sending a letter asking for the route to be maintained to a satisfactory standard. As a member of Sustrans I appreciate the importance of traffic free routes for cyclists, and this is one of the best. However, the encroachment of sand during the winter months makes it impossible to make progress in places. I have also emailed the letter to ELDC which is responsible for the route.
Thur 19 June 03
I just HAVE to share this with you this morning. A couple of months ago, as regular readers of this column with be aware, I discovered www.moneyam.com. In the past they have relayed the FTSE100 with a 17 minute time delay. However, just look at this. MONEYAM. A careful study of the picture will show you the FTSE100 at 8.03 am, and my computer clock shows 8.04 am. That is REAL TIME!...people normally pay huge sums for that sort of data. Real time footsie costs real time money! I hope this continues and that it is not a mistake by moneyam. I hope also that I will not be billed for this extra service!
Unfortunately the service reverted to normal by 8.30 am...real time share prices showing all the deals as they happen, but the FTSE100 went into its usual 17 minute delay mode. Oh well...it was exciting while it was happening. Real time footsie IS provide by moneyam, but that is part of their extra paid for services. If you are interested in following real time share price movements though, then moneyam is the best in the market. I thoroughly recommend it to you.
Wed 18 June 03 I would like to refer you to this: CLICK . I did "solve" the challenge in the sense that I found the password. See the
PROOF here. But if you would like MORE of a challenge, then try this: H4X3R.
However, later, when I asked about "1337 sp34k" or "elite speak", (r u an 1337 h4x0r) all I got in response was a very unhelpful reply: "ST*W" , and "Had I heard of google". We still email though! Find the explanation of all this at: BBC.
A reminder to my visitors that I run a Bravenet mailing list. Why not join and be kept up to date.
Wed 18 Jun 03 Phew...another forum entry:
Name: Moira
Subject: Hello!
I'm tempted to put a forum on my site, but I don't think I could cope with the extra time it would take up!
I'm pleased to see someone speaking out for the popular software a lot of people use, but few are prepared to support publicly ....
I think I am sure I know who this entry is by: Moira who has the website at HERE.
Sun 15 June 03Had a lovely walk yesterday, starting from Hartside cafe south of Alston in Cumbria. It followed the ridge northwards, and then descended SW into the valley, before gradually ascending to return to the start point. There were many cyclists seen around the cafe, as it is a popular stopping off point on the C2C cycle route, something which I would like to do sometime. At 9.30 am one such cyclist arrived after peddling up the long hill. After meeting his support crew, he said he started at 4.30, and was on course to complete the whole route within 12 hours.
Thur 12 June 03 I see that there is an anonymous comment concerning MY site in another persons guestbook. That is very odd, as I have a forum where comments can be posted. Here is the comment: " Hmm, nice site John, maybe you are colour blind? Fo someone who is supposedly a teacher, you have a lot to learn about site design. Love the really irritating pop up adds too, makes it look really professional. Geocities, bunch or a*** more like. " I wouldn't want to enter into the low level of discussion here, apart from the simple speling erors. Why should I waste my time learning any more? I do what I WANT with my site, and, note this, it is on GEOCITIES: the biggest and the best. If you don't like the adds, as you call them, don't visit. Please note, by the way, that a free pop-up stopper is available from www.panicware.com Apparently my visitor does not use a pop-up stopper. Not so clever after all! But I am glad you did visit, and I welcome the comment, speling mistakes and all. It speaks mountains about you!
Wed 11 June 03 I have been away for three days on OCR examining work, at the Holiday Inn, Great Barr, Birmingham. Because of its location I was unable to use public transport ( I could have used a taxi I suppose from the station, but what a cost!), but I was lucky in that I had lifts both there and back. The journeys were uneventful, taking about an hour or so each way. But networking was the order of the day, and at the hotel I met the owner of scotterski, and on discovering that he had a web site with the ISP demon, and did not own his own domain name, I offered to get the domain name and set up the link. This is now at www.scotterski.co.uk.
Also, I was at able to make further progress with using the kins.me.uk domain name in setting up an email address that will read @kins.me.uk . Contact me if your name is atkins or atkinson. Charges are reasonable for the use of this domain so that you can have your own very cool email address. For further details visit www.kinson.me.uk.
I have also received a few pictures of a recent Irregulars LDWA walk, that will be posted on the Irregulars website that I run for them. Visit www.ldwa.org.uk/Irregulars. To return to the Holiday Inn,: the cost of the evening meal was £30...for an adequate, but ordinary three course meal. No wonder I stay with the YHA when I am paying for myself! The fellow visitors atYouth Hostels are more interesting as well! If you have not thought about using them for short breaks, then I do advise you to give them a try. They are not like they were 'in them days', as we say here in the heart os Sherwood Forest.
Sun 8 June 03 Here in Ravenshead there is a monthly publication called the Ravenshead Newsletter. From a page on a site of mine elsewhere I have been asked to remove the link to the newsletter, on the grounds that it should not be associated with anything commercial. I understand that of course, and have removed the link as requested.
Sat 7 June 03 How about this for a quote, found on www.echoecho.com :"It's easy to explain simple things so they seem to be complex...
to explain complex things so they seem easy - that's the real challenge!" How I agree with that as a successful teacher.
The yahoo fellwalking group CLICK HERE is collecting pix of the 214th and last summit achieved by members. If YOU have clmbed all 214 Wainwrights in the Lake District, why not join the club and post your pic! You can join the HILLWALKERS REGISTER too!
Fri 6 June 03 The results are now available for the White Rose 100, the 100 mile walk put on by the LDWA from Ripon, in May 2003. Click Here to download the pdf file.
Wed 4 June 03 Whilst I accept that forums have their place for answering questions, I find that advice given can be ridiculous sometimes. Consider the following, where the question was asked about setting up a new information website, similar to what I have done for several walking groups. And what is suggested? Would you believe: Join a paid hosting service (!), then use Front Page, or even Dreamweaver. Now these may be the ultimate software programmes for the professional. But they are expensive, unless you are prepared to use P2P file sharing, where they are both readily available free. However, to learn these properly usually requires following a course of lessons, either at a learning centre or on-line, and most of what they can do will be unnecessary for a simple site of text and pictures. No: the correct answer is much more straightforward. Join a free website host, such as geocities, the biggest and the best, get hold of an HTML coding book like I did, and experiment. In no time at all you will be able to write text and place pictures using the simple HTML tags such as font color, font size, table width, etc. It seems to me that so called experts cannot appreciate that their expertise is not required at all, but they like to make things complicated so that their exclusive club is maintained. I had wondered about suggesting to a local college that I put on a course for them: 'Set up your own website in 1 hr using simple html tags', because that is all the time that is needed to learn the basics.
On Sunday I met Moira on the LDWA walk, as she commented in her blog. We were able to catch up on recent developments on the forum, and had a good laugh, especially about Moir* and 'the M word' ! It was a good walk as well!
Sat 31 May 03 Today is a great day in the life of my OCR marking colleague Christine White, now living in Oakham. For the past few years she has been working on her OU Maths degree, and today she collects the first class award that she obtained some months ago. Well done to Christine. My pix are HERE
Sat 31 May 03At last I have completed my report of the 'not for wimps' 100 mile walk, which I completed in 46 hrs 29 mins. Click HERE for report and pix.
Thur 29 May 03 I received some promising news today. Yesterday I emailed a few of my pix from the White Rose 100 to the editor, Julie, (who used that great pic of me on Dufton Pike on the April issue front cover. To see that, click HERE. In reply, I was told that yet another pic I had taken, of Carol Engel running down steps on the Irregulars recce of the final sections, is being considered for the front cover spot for August. I hope that is the case, as it will continue to sicken off certain members! The April edition also had several more pictures of mine, one on the back cover, and six more inside....quite a collectors edition. Also in August there may be another I took, this time of Tim Glenn sitting on a small tractor whilst studying the route description.
Tue 27 May 03Returning to reality from the nerds and their virtual world, with their petty squabbles and attempts at intimidation, it is very pleasant to report that I completed the annual LDWA 100 mile walk this year. The walk commenced at Ripon at 10 am Saturday, and I finished it at 8.29 am Monday. Yes, that's right readers: the 100 miles are done continously. None of this taking a fortnight for a long distance walk. That is for wimps. The real men, and the lovely women, do these walks for pleasure. And it proves something about the strength of character, of mind over matter, that over 400 individuals participated in this gruelling event. Well done to myself, and all the other entrants.
Wed 21 May 03 It is the 100 on Saturday. Last year I managed 72 miles after doing no really long walks for several months. The situation is similar this year with no walk longer than 50 since Oct. I tried the Round Rotherham, but stopped at 15 miles after getting lost and losing too much time. So not much preperation there!
Sun 18 May 03 I had a very enjoyable day doing the 3 peaks of Yorkshire walk in the rain yesterday. A few pix and a report will appear. My time was 9:02 for climbing Pen y Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, on the 25 mile route through raging torrents and very soggy bogs.
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