All thriller – no filler
As part of our regular feature on new steam trains, I’m happy to announce that the second new oil-fired steam locomotive meant for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) rolled out from the Golden Rock Railway Workshop on Monday.
You can read more at TheHindu.com.
Thats the time and temperature in our bedroom. Bit of a cold start this morning! No heating in my place – not normally needed, but this is the chilliest its been for a long time.
Over the years my computer toolbar has established a small number of programs that I use all the time. I would like to use free* software every time, but there are some tools I use for work that I just can’t replicate with a free alternative. Some of the versions I use are ancient by today’s standards but do the job for me.
| Free* | Commercial |
|---|---|
| Thunderbird | SecureCRT (SSH client) |
| Firefox | WSPing ProPack |
| WinSCP | Navicat (MySQL management) |
| OpenOffice | MS RemoteDesktop |
| Dropbox | TextPad |
| Pidgin (instant messenger) | Fireworks |
*Free has two meanings in the world of computer software
Why not let me know what software you can’t live without, by filling in the comment box below.
Had a lovely night on Saturday at the Battersea. Police Ball.
Great night. And they even played old fashioned (i.e. 20th Century) music. Which was nice.
Streatham Ice Rink has a faded look to it, but despite that it’s thriving. There has been an ice rink in Streatham (South London, UK) since 1931 but this came under threat this year with massive redevelopment plans. Thanks to the tireless campaigning of local people, this part of South London will continue to have an ice rink both during and after the redevelopment.
A temporary rink is due to be built on Pope’s Road, Brixton for two and a half years and then towards the end of 2013, a new permanent rink will open.
There will be a Closing Gala at Streatham on Sunday 18th December 2011 starting at 4pm with a Gala performance from 4 to 6pm followed by a party on the ice until 8pm. Tickets will be £7.50 to include the Gala, the skate afterwards and skate hire if required. For more details see Gala Poster.
Please come along to watch, skate or both. It is a chance to celebrate the long life of the much-loved 1931 building and mark the end of one era and the start of the next.
This will be the last day of operation of the rink. The temporary rink will be open on Monday 19th December.
I’m currently reading the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson and very revealing it is too.
I’m quite a fan of biographies of people in the tech industry and this book is certainly one with the most in depth look at it’s subject’s personality. Perhaps that’s because Steve Job’s personality is more interesting than say Bill Gates!
I’m about half-way through the book at the moment and what strikes me is How did he do it? Almost everyone quoted in the book reminds us of Steve Job’s almost sociopathic personality. He bullied, berated and belittled almost everyone in his life. The fact that he achieved so much and that there is a cult of Steve Jobs amongst fans of Apple products is getting harder and harder to understand the more I read of the book.
I remember a teacher at school, Don Culver, always used to tell us “Hitler liked children and dogs but he was still evil”. The cult of personality seems to depend more on something built in to the person rather than their actions.
In the book I’ve not heard many quotes from people saying the liked Steve Jobs, or that they enjoyed working for him. But there’s no doubt he brought something out of those people that they might otherwise never have discovered.
A good read!
Bit different from my previous life…. 🙂
An interesting construction in Battersea Park yesterday. Some kind of Art thing, but built only from bamboo and elastic bands.
It’s a dry run for a much bigger construction this time next year, during the Olympic Games.