Man who challenged Microsoft resigns
Quite a shock - the man who championed Opendocument against Microsoft in Mass. has been forced to resign! Shocking news - and does it show misuse of power? http://203.98.164.153/~jlpowell/blog/?p=19
Posts
Open Office 2.0
Yesterday I purchased a computer magazine which had OpenOffice 2.0 on its cover disc. Downloaded it and looks good - it includes a database for the first time. What is more interesting is that it uses OpenDocument as the file format for saving. This is designed to be an open format to help long term archival storage and not tied into any proprietory system. Microsoft are fighting it tooth and nail because if it succeeds, the Microsoft's monopoly is over! Trouble is Microsoft Office will not read OpenDocument files. So until that happens I'm stuck with using MS Office formats for saving. http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/other/0,39020682,39216101,00.htm
Can you find my Blog
Now, I don't as yet have the faintest idea whether anyone, except the occassional, spammer and nasty advertisers, have ever looked at my web site. So, I have added a counter and tried improving it to get into the search engines. Had a look at Google's blog search and could not find it! Is anyone out there? Kevin Flude
Operating Theatre Museum Roller Coaster
Fraught few days resolving issues with the Operating Theatre Museum - incredibly frustrating as they could all have been sorted out with a short meeting held months ago. But fingers crossed today we may have sorted them out so that we can relax for Christmas Lots of work to do to make the Crypt presentable for Jan 5th and everyone already exhausted. One good thing to come of it is that it may have helped our relationship with the Chapter Group - if we can get through this together in one piece it will have been a miracle.
Koln
Just back from an exploratory visit to Koln. City very battered by the War and dominated by the famous Cathedral, or Dom which largely survives - it is surrounded by incoherent public spaces bounded by modernist buildings. The Dom is almost barbaric, blackened, towering with an incoherent mess of gothic flying buttresses, towers, and pinacles. It is dedicated to St Ursula, daughter of unknown King of the Brits who with 11,000 (or maybe the legend misinterpreated roman numerals and should have reported 11) martyrs killled by Goths on way back from Rome. The Cathedral also got relics of the 3 Magi in the 12th Century from Milan - no idea how they got them but Fred Barbarossa was responsible on return from Crusades. In December, Koln is just steaming with shoppers and tourist visiting the famous Christmas Markets. These are found in various places and serve Gluwein, Bratwurst, all sorts of german food and various stalls selling all types of Christmas gift. The main shopping drag is full o...
Word Sense
I was told about the following site which has lots of interesting rules to quote against those bigots of grammar! Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. The species was conspicuous by its absence. Avoid alliteration. Always. Avoid cliches like the plague (they are old hat). Employ the vernacular. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnescessary. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. To boldly go.... Contractions aren't necessary. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. One should never generalise. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: 'I hate quotations. Tell me what you know' Comparisons are as bad as cliches. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than is absolutely necessary; it is highly superfluous. Prof...
Operating Theatre Roller Coster
Last few weeks have been very up and down - doing some interesting work on longevity and public health - which has fed back in to my talks at the Old Operating Theatre Museum. What is quite amazing is that the average life span of humans has varied between 20 - 35 from the dawn of humanity to c1800. Then, and only then it started to rise, until it is now 81 in Japan and set to rise. Interesting as to why and it seems it is not a simple answer - neither medicine or public health have all the answers. See www.thegarret.org.uk/lifelong.htm . For more details. Meanwhile, could not progress it as I want as the threatened move of the Museum to the Crypt threatens and have spent loads of time either moving boxes or covering for staff moving boxes or liaising wih the builders. We seem to have drawn the very short straw - let me tell you about it some day! Central Saint Martins Narrative Enviroments going very well and would love to have more time to read around the subject. Went to see Ja...
Walk from the Romans to the Blitz
Did a nice walk for an Hampstead school - from St Alphage Wall to St Botolphs, Post Man's Park then Smithfield, Old Bailey, St Pauls Works really well - children very vocal andwilling to answer questions and to listen. Some doing the Romans, others the Tudors, Great Fire, and Victorians.
Scaffolding at the Museum
Went to see Chris Scorah to clarify the scaffolding at the Museum will allow public entry - seems to be ok! also discussed boxing up of objects which they think is not covered in the Schedule of Works and the issue of the plaster - whether the old plaster will be properly supported.
Evelina Children's Hospital
I updated the web site to reflect building of new Evelina Hospital at Guys and St Thomas.
Placebo effect
Interesting article by Ben Goldacre in Time Out about the Placebo effect, it which he notes that in placebo trials green pills are better than red, injection of a placebo works better than swallowing it!; and that a placebo operation on angina is as effective as a proper operation! He goes on to show that homeopathy works no better than placebo and probably then only because the effect of the visit to the homeopathist.
Garret Closure notice
The moment seems to have finally arrived - we got email today saying that we should vacate the Museum by early December and move into the Crypt. It has been so put off it is hard to believe it may be upon us!
Pool wins BID
The Pool of London announced that the local business community had voted to set up a Business Improvement district - I was on the steering committee. For more information on Business Improvement District development for the London Bridge (south) area, please go to www.londonbridgebid.co.uk
15th November
No sign of builders at the Museum - I move all the boxes etc in my back room which has been awaiting 'imminient' transfer to the Museum into the Cellar. The longer into November one wonders whether they really will start just before Christmas? Pleasant afternoon conducting Seminar with CSM Students in one of their flats in Baker St. We are finalising their major project proposals. One is studying the use of suspense in Museum exhibitions; another the use of architectural elements to carry a narrative; use of film structure to create a branded environment; creation of an exhibition with both commercial and academic routeways; establishment of a set of tools for creativity! It will be interesting to see how they end up! Course team had dinner in Bank restaurant Aldwych, discussing how to make the second year less of a shock! Currently, first year is such collaborative fun, that it seems very lonely working on their own schemes for the whole of year 2. Does the current tutor...
CSM Gamelan at the South Bank
Two of the students from our course at Central St Martin's have set up amazing installation at the South Bank . Working on publicity for Christmas Walk at the Theatre Museum.
Early November
The Old Operating Theatre Museum Still waiting for news as to when the Old Operating Theatre Museum has to move to the Crypt Have spent some of the week improving the web site and working on new project - ' Lifelong in Southwark ' which deals with the issue of longevity and the modern health agenda in Southwark - - went to see SAVO and SCCF - two Southwark voluntary quangos - great help from Chris Todd and Gregg Hutchinson. Attended FundAssist seminar in which Keith Benson explained ways of improving business funding. Double booked myself so Stewart went, on our behalf, to the European Funding seminar on Euclid - the aim to set up a project to bring us closer to European Dissection Theatres such as Uppsala and Padua. Tried to attend fundraising seminar at the Innovatory, in Hackney but their doorman and manager said it had been postponed and sent me away. I later on discover this was rubbish and the course was going on just above our heads. The only other time I have had dea...
Southwark Council | Discover Southwark | Historic Southwark
Southwark Council | Discover Southwark | Historic Southwark
Hassle Free Clip Art.com: Cartoon People Clip Art- free funny cartoon clip art of people, kids, and the elderly
Hassle Free Clip Art.com: Cartoon People Clip Art- free funny cartoon clip art of people, kids, and the elderly
Bibliomania: Free Online Literature and Study Guides
Bibliomania: Free Online Literature and Study Guides
Search Essays in History, volumes 33-42, 1990-2000
Search Essays in History, volumes 33-42, 1990-2000
Nacionalno Turisticno Zdruzenje - National Tourist Association
Nacionalno Turisticno Zdruzenje - National Tourist Association
Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service and Sites and Monuments Record - LondonArchaeology
Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service and Sites and Monuments Record - LondonArchaeology
Hopping Down In Kent
Hopping Down In Kent : "HOPPING DOWN IN KENT
Now some say hopping's lousy I don't believe it's true
We only go down hopping to pick a hop or two
Chorus:
With me tee-aye-I, Tee-aye-O, Tee-aye-ee-aye-o.
Now when I went a hopping, hopping down in Kent
I saw old Mrs. Riley a-sweeping out her tent.
Now every Monday morning just at six o-clock
You'll hear the old hoppers calling: Get up and boil your pot
Now Sunday is our washing day, don;t we wash it clean
We boil it in our hopping pots and hang it on the green
Now do you want any money? Yes sir if you please
To buy a hock of bacon, a pound of mouldy cheese
Now here comes our old measurer, with his long nose and chin
With his ten gallon basket, and don't he pop 'em in!
Now when our old pole-puller he does come around
He says: Come on you dirty ol' hop-pickers, pick 'em up all off the ground
Now hopping is all over, all the money spent
And don...
The JavaScript Source: Miscellaneous: Enlarge Image
The JavaScript Source: Miscellaneous: Enlarge Image
A Select List of Stanford's Samuel Johnson Holdings
A Select List of Stanford's Samuel Johnson Holdings
lastminute.com - flights, holidays, hotels, travel, entertainment, gifts, experiences, sport, restaurants
lastminute.com - flights, holidays, hotels, travel, entertainment, gifts, experiences, sport, restaurants