There's an interesting experiment going on to test how ideas ('memes') zip around the internet. The idea is to post a blog entry and get others to post the same entry. By doing this in a systematic way, it should be possible to track the propogation of the meme, presumably using Google. Read more for the post...

Whoops. Impulse purchase last night on the way home. Can't afford it and I don't care! The Bug is a digital radio which means that it picks up the new digital radio broadcasts - including a test channel with wood pigeons and rooks in a wood - very atmospheric! Of course I use it to listen to XFM. the sound quality...

I pre ordered Zatoichi a while back and we watched it last night. Paula was not sure she wanted to see this film but ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Me too! It’s about a legendary blind sword master who travels as a masseuse around Japan and this film concentrates on his adventure in a small village and how he...

Following an IAAF Extraordinary meeting yesterday USA track athlete Jerome Young has had all his results annulled from 26th June 1999 to 25th June 2001. This includes his participation in the men's 4x400 relay which the USA won gold at the last Olympics. In a statement the USATF said "USA Track & Field appreciates...

A friend asked me today what she should do about getting broadband as her area has no cable and they are over six miles from the nearest telephone exchange. Satellite was the obvious answer but for a normal residential solution it's prohibitively expensive. Then I remembered my father telling me about 25 years ago...

I have finally got around to finishing off the machiai by installing the missing wall complete with a shitaji-mado. The Shitaji-mado is a built-in bamboo window lattice - originally made by leaving a gap in the mud plaster on a bamboo lattice wall. My original plan was to build a round window but when you are...

Just did a Google on 'How to self spot attention deficiency' because I am worried that I never concentrate on anything for very long normally (there are circumstances when I do). The first link was to a self hypnosis page which I had a quick scan of and realised that it was too long to read so I didn't bother. Now...

I see that Bob Crow of the RMT has resigned from the Transport for London Board. What a childish move. How is that going to help his members and the traveling public? And here we are 4 days later about to have another tube strike. Does Crow not understand that he is not hurting the LUL managers, just the innocent...

I have actually spent a little time tonight looking at the site templates and have removed the home page templates temporary table layout having fixed on a CSS layout scheme that I like and works - yet to try in IE5.5 but will throw it at browsercam tomorrow. This is currently a halfway house though and I will be...

Those that read this column regular will know that I'm more of a rugby fan than football but I do support England when they play big football matches and last night "we was robbed". I was not surprised that Sol Campbell's perfectly good goal was disallowed as there had already been a string a awful refereeing...

! First off let me just say that I am not the author of this excellent guide. Yet again it is another Simon Cox - this time the chap who is also the editor of Paranormal. (Hmmm...) I purchased my copy at a local bookstore and it was in the region of £6.50 which I think was a bit steep. Amazon have a much lower and...

England's dramatic defeat to France in the European Cup has put paid to the an old and well worn football phrase "It's a game of two halves". The phrase was possibly first coined by Barnstoneworth United president Gordon Ottershaw on his deathbed and has been used on may occasions by pundits, managers and players...