Latest Posts
Why the Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland needs a rethink.
The Campaign for a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland was supported by many environmental organisations. The aim was to reduce litter and increase recycling rates. I was involved in the early part of the campaign. There was a lot of enthusiasm and it made sense. In hindsight, though, was very much “of its time”. The…
How to fix 5G not working on Pixel 5 after upgrade to Android 12
After my Google Pixel 5 upgraded to Android 12 it would only connect to my mobile phone service using 4G. 5G stopped working. After checking the network status I did some investigation and the only way to fix it was to reset the Network Settings. This causes the phone to reconnect to the phone network…
How I reduced my carbon footprint. Hint – it wasn’t easy.
About eight years ago I started the process of reducing my carbon footprint. This included looking at my home energy usage, travel and consumption of goods in general. As we live in a 1928 bungalow some of this was difficult. Over five years I managed to reduce our Gas usage by 30% and our Electricity…
The Ultimate Collection of Original UK TV Theme Tunes
The Ultimate Collection of Original UK TV Theme Tunes is a Spotify playlist with over 200 classic TV theme tunes.
My Review: Geneva Heritage Cornet
As one of the first people to buy a Heritage Cornet from Geneva I have been getting a lot of questions about the instrument from friends and acquaintances who haven’t had a chance to try one. I have given various answers in Facebook replies, so this review is an opportunity to put them down in…
Why I love the Canon APS-C Camera System
This article could have been called “Full Frame or APS-C” as that is the main choice I had to make have when settling on Canon’s APS-C system. My explanation makes sense for me, but it might not for you. If you are looking at competition level or studio photography the APS-C might not have the…
What Happened to Mary Ferns?
Mary Ferns is an 88 year old woman from Livingston in West Lothian, who disappeared on 17th June 2008. You can find an original BBC report of her disappearance here. Mary had left her home in Vancouver Avenue to shop at Livingston’s Almondvale Centre. She never returned, and her disappearnace was reported to the police.…
How I Got Started in Amateur Radio
There weren’t any radio amateurs in my family, but three of my neighbours were licensed, so it did not seem like an unusual hobby. One of them was a GM5 who occupied a house owned by the American electronics company he worked for. He had a triband yagi fitted through the roof of the house.…
An Old Denis Wick Mouthpiece Catalogue
Here is an interesting thing I came across. It’s a 1970’s Denis Wick mouthpiece leaflet. It may be of interest to anyone who comes across an old mouthpiece that is not listed on the current Denis Wick web site. Note the differences to the current range. Trumpet Mouthpieces 1 is described as a scaled-down 1X,…
Welcome to my new blog
This web site has been online, in one form or another, since 1998. As a window into my world. A world of music, radio experimentation, work and family. In no particular order. I also comment on politics, current affairs and anything else that takes my interest. My blog started off on this domain. I then…
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