Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Back on the air
Connection started to go a bit wobbly on Sunday then completely out Monday. Spent about half an hour on the phone to two helpful subcontinental ladies plugging things in and out. Even taking a screwdriver to the plate on the front of the main connection box screwed onto the wall by the front door. Didn't get back on the air, but did get a fault logged with the island engineers. Then wiggled the Ethernet plug in the back of the computer again and the router came back on the air again. Maybe a coincidence. Up until then the DSL light on the router wouldn't stop flashing even when the computer was turned off. But maybe turning the computer off does not amount to the same thing as unplugging the Ethernet cable. Who knows. But hate to think that the ladies were quite right to ask me whether everything was plugged in properly.
To Ranmore Common a few days ago, the first time for some years. Nice gentle walk along the South face of the downs. Some large and some very oddly shaped beech trees. Some very large yew trees - the largest I have seen since the ones we came across in Bristol somewhere. Some relics of trees decapitated by storm. Lots of young ash trees. And the National Trust who look after the place do not seem to have the urge to fiddle with it the whole time like the people who look after Epsom Common. Content just to let it be.
On the other hand there was a very suspicious white van in the car park on our return. Looked very like one of those outside broadcast vans you see parked up outside the House of Commons - complete with dish and various other ironmongery on the roof - but unmarked, occupied and engine running. What were they up to? Bugging the mobile phone calls of people on the North Downs? Relaying a broadcast from Lingfield? Relaying data from the contractor I saw the other day monitoring traffic in Garratt Lane (also with all kinds of electronic wizardry and vans) to the People's Data Centre operated by Virgin at Fetcham on behalf of the Metropolitan Police (using the now redundant police horse stable block)?
We have done a small survey into the growing obesity problem about which the DT is on about big time - on behalf of the nannies who are, it seems, very concerned. There is even talk of banning the eating of snacks in public places - thus leveraging the power of the smoking rules enforcement service (now subcontracted to Securitas). The small survey took the form of walking down the Longmead at about the same time as the Blenheim High chucked out. I noticed one plump girl among the several hundred children. And this from what the nannies might well regard as a bog standard comprehensive on a bog standard estate. So where are all the fatties? Maybe we will go and check out Epsom and Ewell High next.
To Ranmore Common a few days ago, the first time for some years. Nice gentle walk along the South face of the downs. Some large and some very oddly shaped beech trees. Some very large yew trees - the largest I have seen since the ones we came across in Bristol somewhere. Some relics of trees decapitated by storm. Lots of young ash trees. And the National Trust who look after the place do not seem to have the urge to fiddle with it the whole time like the people who look after Epsom Common. Content just to let it be.
On the other hand there was a very suspicious white van in the car park on our return. Looked very like one of those outside broadcast vans you see parked up outside the House of Commons - complete with dish and various other ironmongery on the roof - but unmarked, occupied and engine running. What were they up to? Bugging the mobile phone calls of people on the North Downs? Relaying a broadcast from Lingfield? Relaying data from the contractor I saw the other day monitoring traffic in Garratt Lane (also with all kinds of electronic wizardry and vans) to the People's Data Centre operated by Virgin at Fetcham on behalf of the Metropolitan Police (using the now redundant police horse stable block)?
We have done a small survey into the growing obesity problem about which the DT is on about big time - on behalf of the nannies who are, it seems, very concerned. There is even talk of banning the eating of snacks in public places - thus leveraging the power of the smoking rules enforcement service (now subcontracted to Securitas). The small survey took the form of walking down the Longmead at about the same time as the Blenheim High chucked out. I noticed one plump girl among the several hundred children. And this from what the nannies might well regard as a bog standard comprehensive on a bog standard estate. So where are all the fatties? Maybe we will go and check out Epsom and Ewell High next.
# posted by Jim @ 7:23 AM 
