Archive: General
Telephoto Perspective Compression
June 13th, 2010
I doubt if there is really such a thing as telephoto perspective compression, also referred to by camera users and photography enthusiasts as perspective distortion or flattening, despite these terms being in common usage. What they are talking about is the way telephoto lenses or binoculars appear to foreshorten the view, making distant objects appear [...]
Best Year to be Born In
November 7th, 2009
According to Gyles Brandreth, the year of his birth was the luckiest year to have been born in: 1948. "We are, indeed, the blessed people" [...]
Laying Patio Paving
September 21st, 2009
After several years, concrete slab pavings on domestic patios often need to be taken up and re-laid because of settlement. It's almost imposssible to [...]
Gisela Dulko
June 24th, 2009
Lovely Gisela Dulko has knocked Maria Sharapova out of Wimbledon 2009. Sharapova isn't the only screaming female on court [...]
Brooks B17 Saddle
March 13th, 2009
The Brooks B17 bicycle saddle has been on the market for over 100 years, featuring in the company's catalogue for 1898 [...]
Mike Perham: Too Young
December 18th, 2008
Mike is the youngest person to have sailed alone across the Atlantic, which he did at the age of fourteen. But sixteen is too young [...]
Bournemouth Latin Ban
November 4th, 2008
People in Bournemouth are too ignorant to understand 'vice versa' and 'status quo'. At least that is what the City Council believes [...]
Earthquake Overdue
October 21st, 2008
Today is the 140th anniversary of the last major earthquake on the Hayward Fault in California on October 21st, 1868 [...]
Kaupthing Singer &
Friedlander Isle of Man
October 12th, 2008
Individuals borrowed more than they could afford to repay. The end result was that innocent savers lost their money [...]
Gurkhas Are British
October 1st, 2008
84-year old Tul Bahadur Pun is a former Gurkha soldier who earned the Victoria Cross fighting for Britain in Burma on 23rd June, 1944 [...]
Ridgeback Panorama
June 27th, 2008
The Ridgeback Panorama, as the picture suggests, is a bicycle. It's one of the 'World' series from the British Ridgeback company [...]
Marathon Pacers
April 13th, 2008
Commenting on the 50th anniversary of Roger Bannister's four-minute mile, Pat Butcher suggested his run was one of the worst [...]
Wandering Black Holes
January 14th, 2008
Out in space, violence exists on an unimaginable scale. In a recently published article on the BBC website [...]
Clive Leyland
December 23rd, 2007
On December 22nd, 2007, my friend Clive Leyland died of pneumonia. Clive had been [...]
The Persistent Queue
November 9th, 2007
The animal kingdom very rarely queues for anything, but in the human race, the queue is alive and well. It's part of our culture [...]
When Planet Earth Remained Static
October 7th, 2007
Imagine the earth is static, and the sun, moon, and stars revolve around it. This geocentric model of the universe [...]
A Spaghetti Recipe
August 8th, 2007
Pasta lends itself to fancy sauces and other extras, but good quality well-prepared Italian spaghetti tastes delicious with little added [...]
Family Mystery Solved on the Web
July 21st, 2007
Personal family history published on one's website doesn't usually appeal to most visitors, but it can sometimes produce unexpected and welcome results [...]
Only Sea and Sky
March 3rd, 2007
Nothing except the effects of gravity, temperature, wind, and light on the earth's moisture [...]
Butch Ingham
October 17th, 2006
Butch Ingham was no ordinary Latin master. He became part of the folklore of the school through the 'camps' he took [...]
Contrails and Aviation Smog
June 3rd, 2006
The BBC weather forecast for the North of England on Saturday 3rd June 2006 was sunny, but the reality was more like [...]
Australian Beach Huts
March 6th, 2006
All the way along the beach from Carrum to Edithvale on Port Phillip Bay are English-Victorian style beach huts [...]
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
December 24th, 2005
The Musée d'Orsay in Paris was originally a railway station – Gare d'Orsay – and then a hotel [...]
Remembrance Sunday
November 13th, 2005
Sixty years ago Sunday morning meant a church service for many people, but nowadays it's Tesco that pulls in the crowds [...]
Nijmegen Bridge
October 19th, 2005
During a recent visit to Germany I went with my friend Peter Donnison to the Marina Strijensas in Holland [...]
