AN OUTSIDE VIEW

Here is a copy of their latest message Exploring Windows: Special Beta Edition -- Correction Because you signed up to test the Windows 7 Beta, we recently sent you mail about the expiration dates for the Beta and Release Candidate. Unfortunately, we made a mistake. We said the Beta would start shutting down every two hours on June 1, 2009. The correct date is July 1, 2009 . The rest of the dates in the mail were correct. Here’s a quick summary: Version: ...

Most people alive will not remember this, but there was a time when beggars and tramps were rarely seen in Britain. This happy period began with the end of the war and continued until the start of the Thatcher era. Nowadays, one trips over them in every city in the land. It is a disgrace to a society with pretensions to being civilised. Many of them naturally have problems with alcohol and other drugs but is this a cause or a symptom of their condition? My friend Laurence, a member of the local parish, is not frightened to engage with them, and what he relates should be enough to make anyone feel ashamed of this country. I am fortunate in being able to get away and shall be off in three weeks, but Britain should not be like this. This, together with the economic crisis, the two wars the country is involved in and the abortion epidemic, is evidence of the nation's moral collapse. Here is an account of his latest encounter with a man who has been failed by every one of the so-called...

"IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT BETA EXPIRATION DATE "Thanks again for your help in testing the Windows 7 Beta. "We’re sending this mail to remind you that Windows 7 Release candidate is available and to make sure you plan ahead for when the Beta expires on August 1, 2009. On June 1, 2009, the PC you’re using to test the Beta will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will send you a notice a couple of weeks in advance, and that’d be the ideal time to rebuild your test PC with a non-expired version of Windows, such as the RC or Windows Vista. This will be a clean installation, so be ready to reinstall your programs and data" I didn't bother to try their stuff as I wasn't able to download this "Beta" version. But why does anyone else go to all this trouble? And all so that they can protect their so-called "intellectual property". I always advise people not to touch anything Microsoft with a bargepole but it is amazing how many have bee...

When Britain's railways were privatised the freight services were sold to a US-owned company which ran them under the name EWS, which recently sold them to the German group DB-Shenker. Hundreds of new diesel locomotives like this one were ordered from General Motors at around £1.5 million each, whilst old but serviceable locomotives such as the class 58, dating from the early 1980s, were sold to Spain, France and the Netherlands. At the time, it struck me as odd to replace almost the entire fleet with new locomotives because over the lifetime of such machines, there is likely to be at least one recession when they will be without work for several years. It is a situation where it makes sense to have a mixed fleet so that the older units, which have long since been bought and paid for, can be laid up when the recession comes. Now that the recession is upon us, the magazine Rail reports that half the fleet is standing idle. In any case, the locomotives have been grossly under-used, s...

Tyskungen är en mycket spännande deckare skriven av författaren Camilla Läckberg, trots att boken har kritiserats för bebisfokus och innehåll av författarens brukliga ingredienser. Den handlar om betydelsefylla moraliska frågor. Jag kommer att diskutera dessa frågor men eftersom jag inte skulle vilja förstöra era upplevelser fortsätt inte om du inte redan har läst den här boken! Historien börjar under andra världskriget i en liten by som ligger vid Sveriges västkust. Axel är nästan tjugo år gammal och reser ofta till Norge för att hjälpa motståndsrörelsen. Axels lillebror som heter Erik tycker om böcker och trots att han är bara 16 år gammal vill han ha lugn och ro. Erik är vän med andra tonåringar som bor in byn: Frans, Elsy och Britta. Frans pappa som heter Vilgot är nazist och har för att vana grym mot sin hustru. Elsys far som heter Elof är fiskare. Axel brukar resa till Kristiansand på Elofs fiskbåt för att ta hemliga meddelande till Norges motståndsmän. En dag gripes Axel av tysk...

Novus Ordo Seclorum Originally uploaded by Lance McCord The term "Novus Ordo" is taken from the Great Seal of the United States of America, and is of Masonic significance. It is also one of the designations, though not the official one, of the Mass of Pope Paul VI, which was devised under the supervision of Cardinal Annebale Bugnini and promulgated in 1989. In 1975, Cardinal Bugnini was suddenly banished from Rome and sent to Iran, the rumour being that it was because he had admitted to being a Freemason. There is no way of knowing whether the rumour was true or false, but it is the case that there were known Masonic connections between the Calvi murder and the Vatican Bank fraud, where members of the illegal Masonic lodge P2 were involved. I do not allege conspiracy theories because most "conspirators" could not conspire their way out of a paper bag but is it a coincidence or what? The picture below is not the 1969 Mass, but the Mass of Pius V promulgated in 1570. ...

The long branch of the Metropolitan Line from Paddington to Hammersmith via Ladbroke Grove could form the basis of an alternative Crossrail. In this option, the line from Paddington to Stratford would follow the same route as the present proposal, but as a tube instead of full-size main line dimensions. At Stratford, the line would join up to the Jubilee Line. The service would run from Hammersmith to Stanmore ie Hammersmith - Paddington - Bond Street - Liverpool Street - Stratford - Canary Wharf - Waterloo - Bond Street - Baker Street - Wembley Park - Stanmore, so the route would be like the Greek letter alpha, crossing over itself at Bond Street. This would have most the advantages of the Crossrail, and none of the disadvantages, at a fraction of the cost. A much smaller volume of material would have to be dug out, and existing proven types of stock could be used. It would also allow more frequent services on the Paddington to Hammersmith route, at present restricted due to the capac...

I see that doubts are being expressed about Crossrail, the proposed major east-west route across London. It will link the Great Eastern and Great Western main lines with an underground section running across the middle of London. Trains will run from, Shenfield and Stratford in the east to, initially, Maidenhead in the west, but because of the limited capacity of trains on the GW main line, many trains will turn back at Paddington and it will also be necessary to cut back on the number of freight trains using the GW line. Eventually, the service would continue to Reading, but not before the station and approaches are rebuilt, in about ten years time. There is an option for a branch running south to Canary Wharf and Woolwich, to provide an interchange with South-Eastern services. The central section will run mostly in tunnel from Stratford, via Liverpool Street and Bond Street, to Paddington. Amongst the benefits are that people will be able to make journeys between the outer suburbs a...

Starting on March 1, 2010 , your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to rebuild your test machine using a valid version of Windows before the software expires. You'll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the OS and reinstall all your programs and data. I just can't wait to try it. Link to Microsoft web site

My friend Leo sent me these pics

Dr Death will not now be holding his suicide workshop in Brighton. That is good news, since it shows that protests do not go unheeded. There is still, of course a fundamental issue that needs to be debated, which was highlighted yesterday by an announcement by Chris Woodhead, who expressed his wish to die now that he was suffering from motor neurone disease. How best can we cope with horrible terminal diseases which can leave us helpless and dependent? Euthanasia or assisted suicide are not an answer, but what is? It is an eventuality that one way or another is likely to come to most of us eventually, being part of human mortality.

Some people, resentful of having been baptised in a church, are seeking de-baptism. Presumably a de-baptism would run like this... V. Do you reject Satan? R . I do not. V. And all his works? R . I do not. V. And all his empty promises? R. I do not. V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? R. I do not. V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? R. I do not. V . Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? R. Er... no. V . God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. R. Ummm... when can you hear my confession?

I have just received the following email from Microsoft "Thank you very much for your help in testing the Windows 7 Beta. Your feedback is invaluable in helping make Windows 7 a high quality operating system. With your help, we have reached the next major milestone on the journey to Windows 7: the Release Candidate (RC). "Today (April 30) the RC is available to MSDN subscribers and TechNet Plus subscribers. "On Tuesday, May 5 (PST), the RC will be available to everyone via our Customer Preview Program. As with the Beta, the Windows 7 RC Customer Preview Program is a broad public program that offers the RC free to anyone who wants to download it. It will be available at least through June 30, 2009, with no limits on the number of downloads or product keys available. "So you don’t need rush to make sure you get your copy. When you’re ready to download the RC, it’ll be waiting for you. "IMPORTANT: If you are running Windows 7 Beta you’ll need to back up your data ...

That Gordon Brown is in trouble should come as no surprise. As Chancellor from 1997, he, together with his right-hand man, Ed Balls, must be regarded as the principal author of the economic disaster so far as it has affected Britain. In New Labour's early years, the Chancellor took credit for successes which were no more than the upswing of the economic cycle following the recession of 1992. Of course the country would not have been unaffected by the problems originating in the USA, but with prudent management the worst would have been avoided and Britain would have been in good shape to withstand the economic storm. As Chancellor, Brown should have seen the coming trouble in 2007, when Blair was about to retire. If he did not, it is proof that he did not understand that with which he was dealing. If he did see what was about to happen, he must have been either a complete fool, or pathologically arrogant, to want to take on the task of being Prime Minister in such circumstances. He...

Havets Djup är den tredje av fyra böcker skrivna av Annika Thor som handlar om Steffi, 12 år gammal och Nelli, 7 år gammal, två judiska flickor som skickas till Sverige från Wien av sina föräldrar i augusti 1939. Boken är skriven från Steffis synpunkt. Avsikten var att föräldrarna skulle komma senare när hela familjen fick inresetillstånd till Amerika. Flickorna bodde för tillfället med fiskarens familjer på en ö i Göteborgs skärgård. Steffis fosterföräldrar var tant Märta och farbror Evert Jansson. När kriget började blev det självklart att flickorna skulle bo ett tag i Sverige och därför skickades flickorna till folkskolan. Sommaren kom och eftersom Steffi var duktig och fick bra betyg, fick hon stipendium och fortsatte på läroverket i Göteborg. I början bodde Steffi med en läkarfamilj som inackordering i en fin lägenhet in stadens centrum men det blev besvärligt eftersom, bland annat, hon älskade familjens son Sven. Steffi erbjöds av sin klasskamrat Maj att bo med hennes stora arbet...