But as budgets tighten have social networking sites gained in more ways than one in recognising our fundamental relationships?

Facebook knows to whom I’m married: Jon and I can easily shared things on line with each other without too much hassle.  It’s not that we count as one; Facebook recognises us as individuals who are closely related.  Many of the games don’t work this way, but media sharing does.

Let’s talk about how my family lives.  We’re lucky, we share network resources, including photos and music we’ve made ourselves and this can be accessed anywhere in the world by our phones and laptops and tablets.  We’ve been in the cloud for a while.

Only one person owns the telephone wire – this is how telecommunication services work.  Thankfully it’s me who owns it, but if my husband wanted to buy a service over that medium, he would need to go through me and my account.  I owns the wireless service.  Do we think the telecommunication providers are missing something here?

Now, let’s talk about iTunes (neither me nor my husband have an iTunes account – which is why we don’t have any apple kit).  If we did, we would be counted as individuals: we could share non-DRM material, but anything else, we would need to use a device which logged into the perspective account.  Essentially, we would need to swap login details to achieve the same thing as borrow a CD or DVD and play it on my device.  BTW this is what seriously annoys me about the PS 3, if I login as anyone but the owner I get a cut down experience.  Compare this to the Wii, where I can put anything I like into the Wii without “logging on”, yet when I play a game, I’m me.  Needless to say we have many games for the Wii and not many for the PS3…

Then there’s the Kindle.  I love my Kindle.  We’re still buying paper books though.  My husband or son can buy a new title and if it’s good, I can borrow it off the shelf.  The same deal cannot be achieved without me providing them with my account details.  At first this didn’t seem too much of a problem, but I am considering ceasing my newspaper subscription.  A paper copy can be read by all of us simultaneously, not easily achieved with the electronic copy and why buy both?

The argument for companies like Virgin and Sky, is that someone needs to be responsible for the bill and it should be controlled.  But you’re missing out on sales.  That’s only if we’re counting the parents.  As the young fail to move out, even if they manage to find a job, they are reaching for mobiles rather than land lines to enable them to spend their money and use media.  Do you think they are going to invest in new media when it doesn’t offer the same social experience they enjoy with their own photos, videos and hard copy books.

Much media on cinema and television still see a secondary partner (whether heterosexual or homosexual) as a part time worker happy to not share the media they enjoy on their devices.  We all buy into this model: there is a primary wage earner and this is the family head.  Typically, we see this person as being male.

The individuals listen to their play lists in isolation, only coming together away from online to share experiences.

But the recession has meant some interesting changes.  Even if children get jobs, they are staying at home for far longer.  The mobile sellers can really benefit from this, this selling model is based on the individual.  But it isn’t so good for the traditional telecos: remember if you don’t have a telephone line or cable line, that buyer doesn’t exist.

Will these models hold out if the recession lingers or will there be a return to hard media that can be shared?

I live in the south east of England, part of the UK. I live in a village close to but far enough away from one of the main towns in Suffolk. So I need to have a car but I also ride a motorbike and use a push bike depending on the journey. I hate to say this, but cycling to work is not an option. By car the journey is an average of 30 minutes, by motorbike, I can almost guarantee a 25 minute journey. By push bike, at a fair lick, I would be really lucky to do the journey in an hour and twenty minutes.

My house is reasonably energy efficient, built in 2000 it came with cavity wall insulation as well as an insulated roof and good quality double glazing – in the winter we need to keep some of the curtains closed to keep the heat down in the lounge and dinning room.  But we are consumers of generated power and as such limited to the whims of the markets.

Given the house exists on a modern estate, facing east/west, solar power isn’t easily or predictably harvested: our south face has few windows and is the gable end and between October and March the amount of direct light dramatically drops.
It seems impractical, given our plot, that a Geothermal heat pump would be at all feasible either.

So what options are there?

Well, 55% of the homes in Denmark use combined heat and power (CHP) boilers, one of these products available in the UK is the Ecogen

CHP boilers are a little larger than a normal boiler but while they generates heat for your house and hot water, they also generate electricity, typically 1kW per hour (an old unit).  Micro-generation is the key here, it can reliably supply 46% of your household needs and feed in back to the grid, but it’s not a big supplier of your electrical needs, though it may be able to supply electricity during power cuts (aside from the green credentials, this really appeals to me).

Obviously, more electricity is produced during the winter but that’s when we need more electricity to power lights 🙂

At very short notice, I was given 6 weeks off work and I was determined to do something fun with it. I remembered fond talk of the BMW off-road skills course in Wales (Beverly and David Rudland especially), so looked up the details ( http://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/world-of-bmw/off-road-skills/level-one/ ) and with 8 days to go until the next course, booked my place and the loan equipment. After four phone calls, I also had a hotel room for the 8th to 10th July.

I was really looking forward to learning how to ride a motorcycle well off the beaten track and meeting some equally enthusiastic motorcyclists. This was something I’d been a bit nervous of doing, long journey there, what would it be like, would I be any good and how would I cope with the varying demands on my insulin requirements. If I wasn’t careful, I could spend forever thinking why it was a bad idea and never do it.

Thursday 7th July had been spent getting the bike ready – the panniers, a tank of fuel, tyre and oil check, checked the brakes, lights, got the bike clean and got the mirrors into the best position. Friday 8th July, I was due to ride to Wales, 271 miles (if taking no wrong turns) and that was not the time to find something obvious was wrong with the bike.

Ironically, my Zumo 400 was determined to send me along the A14 before heading south and given this was meant to be an adventure, I thought why not. The map shows the two versions: pink heading out, blue heading back.

Figure 1: There and back again

So, on Friday 8th July at 13:05, I headed west.

The forecast for the weekend was wet – mostly showers, so I did take some vital equipment:
• One spare helmet for the off-road bit (everything else could be hired)
• Camel pack – general riding and the off-road bit
• Two motorcycling jeans
• Non-bike clothes
• Base layer
• Tooth paste and brush
• 1 pair sandals
• AA card (just in case)
• Mobile (a camera and means to get in touch with the AA)
• Waterproofs
• Kindle
• 1 testing kit, spare insulin, testing sticks and needles and injecting mechanism
• Shampoo and shower gels to get the mud off again!
• 150ml cans of coke for the journey (fit into both jacket and trousers and raise the blood sugar quickly and easily)
• First aid kit (some glucose too)

This was split between panniers and top box. The insulin and spare testing materials were wrapped in insulating material and kept well away from exhausts.

I didn’t plan stops: one of the beauties of the sat nav and major routes is the ability just to stop when needed. It would also mean that I had a chance to test when I wanted to; after all, the aim of this game was to get to the hotel in one piece and do the course to the best of my ability. The cans and testing kit in the jacket meant this could be done at very short notice in a small space. I wore a camel pack too to help deal with high blood sugars and general dehydration.

I wasn’t expecting an easy journey, traffic wise, Friday afternoon during the summer. Indeed, I hit traffic just before Bury St. Edmunds but it wasn’t too bad until just before Huntingdon. The 26 miles to the Kettering services took an hour – I was filtering but the cars were switching lanes and I was keen to get there in one piece. I would dip in every so often to allow my brain a break. Rain was causing visibility problems for everyone, and it wasn’t the first time I wondered if you could get a powered visor wiper for the Shoei.

I didn’t need fuel but had a very welcome cup of coffee, test and comfort break at the Little Chef two and half hours after setting off, 98 miles covered. I filled up the tank of the bike.

I waited an hour, and while the rain hadn’t stopped, the traffic seemed a little better so I put on the dry helmet and jacket, was wished luck by the staff and customers and set off again. The next 5 miles were spent filtering but finally hit reasonable traffic and picked up some speed. The rain had gone from a steady downpour to odd showers.

I got into Wales around 17:00. After just short of 4 hours of riding, I took a 20 minute break just outside of Whitchurch (I know, but there really wasn’t the opportunity, I did take a quick break on the hard shoulder of the M6). This time, I didn’t get fuel but checked blood sugar, got a snack and spent 10 minutes off the bike. The scenery has already become distinctly Welsh: hilly, mountains in the background and twisty roads. The sun is shining and only 48 miles to get to the hotel, the Ynyscedwyn Arms Hotel, Ystradgynlais. Nominally, I should be there in 1 hour 45 minutes but I’d already let the hotel owner know I’d be late.

The sat nav had the hotel in as one of its Points of interest so I had high hopes of being able to find it and lo, off the A4067 there was the inn. I’d made it. 10 minutes to check in, clean up and let Jon and Ken know I was safe and sound and I got down to the restaurant for 2035. Twenty minutes later I was tucking in to a lovely piece of steak and contemplating the day ahead.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but instinct told me this was going to be a day of the base layer. Over that, I put my normal biking gear with the spare helmet in the top box. I had cokes in a bag and one in my jacket along with the testing kit. I get there, and sign the paper work and work out which is my bike. It takes a while to get the clothing sorted, off road boots are as bad as ski boots in terms of fit and when I do this again, I am buying a set. The clothing seems very light, I am wearing layers to allow getting warmth/comfort/protection levels right. The trousers have no pockets! I speak to Linley and she sources a different pair for me. It’s then down to the briefing. We’re riding the bikes up to the park (please be careful, some riders don’t get that far) and then dividing up into groups. Linley is driving the support van with spare clothing and stuff, a break at 1230 for food.

So I mount the F650 GS which as different to my bike as you can imagine. It’s had the front indicators removed (I should imagine to prevent breaks) but retains a speedo and rev counter. It’s painfully light, 179kg dry compared to the busa’s 260kg wet mass but sturdy, and not too high, I can flat foot it: the F650GS seems like the ideal bike for the job.

Having got to the park (sited on the Brecon Hills), we split into two groups and do the first stage in the off-road training: picking the bike up once it’s gone down. At that point, the understanding that there’s a good chance you’re not going to be able to keep the bike on its wheels hits home.

The bikes are laid down and everyone has a go at picking everything up. There’s real technique here not strength, a quick show is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsdzdm35lbI but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPjYweKeiLk is really comprehensive. When you’re off-roading there isn’t necessarily anyone to help!

We were taught a slightly different technique and I have to say the worst bit is dropping the bike. I did the F650 then got the opportunity to do one of the R1200GS. It’s not easy but the technique means there’s no strain or risk of injury.

After a quick break and water is really is king here we progressed to slow riding. Much like SAM’s dexterity course but on gravel and dirt: cones, cornering: doing everything on your feet rather than your bum. We began moving up through the gears too. Braking practice was weird: getting the back to slip out then releasing the pedal to get the bike back in line, front only braking, all working up to an emergency brake.

The great thing about this approach is a complete understanding of the bike and how it behaves. We had lunch (really welcome by this time) and some tighter turns and then off round the track to learn about balance. Through the advanced training we understand how the bike turns: off-roading takes this to a new level. Very little riding is done sitting down but on the middle part of your foot allowing turns to be initiated quickly and with whole body control. The bikes are well balanced to aid this and allow gear changes and braking to happen with little effort. On the dirt, I didn’t manage to get above third, but there really wasn’t any need.

Having got the hang of the track, we hit the slopes. Getting down dirt tracks on the bike is not limited to the flat and understanding the options open to you really helps you make progress.

We were shown how engine breaking can help control speed down a slope then built that into breaking control while going down the same slope. Not being a fan of steep slopes this wasn’t my favourite exercise, but is really useful to know on the road, as anyone who went to the Yorkshire Dales last year will appreciate.

We then did some more trails riding and a stream crossing. My bottle went for the stream crossing and I went a slightly different route, but most people did manage it on both wheels. We then left the park and headed back to the business park. Next rendezvous was at the Abercraf Inn and the inclusive team meal. The group was 18 in number, plus the instructors and varied from riders who had done the course many times to newbies like me. Almost all had had their road licenses more than 3 years and the age range was from 30 to 65, a couple of born again bikers, and some very serious off-roaders from the midlands. One rider with a GS thought he had the longest journey back with a ride to Hackney, East London.

At the end of the first day, I ask for an extra night at the hotel – the thought of loading the bike up and heading back Sunday evening was not particularly appealing: I had discovered muscles in my arms and legs that had been under used for a long time, but the feeling of accomplishment the end of that first day was incredible. Much of what I do instinctively makes sense off road and it really didn’t seem strange to be on a bike in the Brecon National Park.

I had however managed to not only leave my lights on but the key in the ignition so in two hours had completely drained my battery. By this time, it was dark and while the car park was reasonably clear and at the top of a steep hill, I wasn’t a 100% sure how to get it to a reasonable stretch to bump it – I had never had to bump a bike let alone a fuel injected one. I asked for some help getting the bike round (probably I didn’t need it, but it allowed me to strip the bike down, just in case a stall led to a drop) and Mark and George helped and gave some advice. Keep it in 2nd, once it’s moving let out the clutch and open the accelerator and wear your helmet (again, I had removed my jacket to give me some freedom of movement if I needed to pick up the bike).

It caught first time, with a bit of a roar, and I took the bike round the block and parked up to get properly dressed and the top box reattached. Mark had kindly stayed out with my gear and said that I’d done really well, though I’d probably woken half the neighbourhood. I was feeling relatively ecstatic, though a little concerned about fuel and whether the bike would start in the morning. I rode for a little but made the decision to head back to the hotel and took the top box off with a firm plan to get up at 07:00 and get some petrol. Due to the day’s exertions I feel asleep really quickly.

I was up early and went down to check the bike: bike key and room key to hand and nothing else. I was really dismayed to find the bike on its side having fallen uphill! Using my training and enlisting local Bryn, (84) with strict instructions not to help but to call for help if I got trapped under the bike, I picked up my hayabusa – thanks to the crash bungs, only the hero bob on the riders side was affected. I got back into the hotel and had breakfast and headed out to get petrol and pick up the F650.

My bike did not catch first time, my heart sank a little as I assessed where I could build up enough speed to bump it and retried the ignition switch. It caught (phew) and I left the engine running as I loaded up the top box and sat nav. Being a Sunday, the first two service stations I tried were closed: it could wait until later.

I got booted and suited and we went back into the park on the trails. Mark (helpful one who’d help me turn the hayabusa round) managed to lose his R1200 while going up an embankment. Bike went one way, he went the other. Thankfully the bike was stopped by some bushes and it took four people to lift it back on to the track. The lesson here, boys and girls is not to give the bike a fistful of accelerator half way up a steep track.

Some warm up exercises then the first lesson of the day – how to turn your bike round on a slope. This is an important lesson as a stall on steep, loose ground on the slope means you can’t just clutch control back up the mountain.

Again, another water break and then a momentum exercise. Unfortunately, my blood sugar had decided to rise and was refusing to come back down so I had to sit out for a period missing valuable practice time. When it got to a reasonable level, I got up the slope on momentum three times. Again, this allows you to cope with sand and gravel traps up mountainous areas.

Lunch was followed by goes on some of the other bikes round the race track. I tried the F800GS (I really liked this bike), F650 GS (great weight and balance, forgiving gear box but the seat was really wide which meant I didn’t feel that confident) and the R1200GS (powerful and sure footed, it felt like you could achieve anything on that bike). Next time, I’d like to spend the 2 days on the F800.
Some more trail riding, this time with some track crossing and what I misjudged to be a clutch control rather than momentum exercise. I managed to stall, in second, while running up the side of an embankment. Rather than manage to lean into the slope, the bike went with gravity, and I can say I was really glad to bring a spare helmet with me as the back of my head met a rock. It took me a moment or two but my head was the only piece of me really hurting, just bruises elsewhere and the embarrassment of being trapped under the F650 GS. I couldn’t lift it off me! We had a water break before going to meet with the other groups for the ride back to the garage. I’d got through on two wheels for all but the last 10 minutes.

So the end of the course and time to head home, at the garage we got certificates for our efforts and returned the bikes and gear. I got some petrol and went back to the hotel via a battery charging route. My headache was pretty painful, but I packed up, got some food and some entertainment: Raj, the owner of the Indian restaurant, not only knew where Ipswich was but his cousin owns the Cinnamon on Spring Road.

I planned on coming back M4, M25 and A12, so it wasn’t the most exciting route. It took nearly an hour to get to the M4 but the ride was pretty easy and I rested every one and half hours. It had taken nearly 7 hours of riding (with 2 hours of breaks) to get to Ystradgynlais, by contrast the return journey was just six including an hours rest. The Severn Bridge was amazing and the biggest difference in my riding was how I felt. Thanks to my experience and the skills I’ve learnt in SAM, the difficult bit of the training was not the skills but my confidence. I can ride a bike and do it reasonably well on difficult terrain.

As such, I am hoping to put together a group of 10 riders with type 1 diabetes. Many diabetics are given good opportunities to do unusual things but a course like this is demanding and completely off the wall – which is not easy if you’re diabetic but definitely achievable. If you know anyone who has a bike license, diagnosed before June 2011 and would like to do a trip to Wales to learn to ride on rough ground, please pass on my details (sam.j.watkins@btinternet.com) or number 07773 02 73 41 🙂

Space elevators have been considered as a method for reaching space for hundreds of years, one of the earliest references being that of the Tower of Babel in Genesis: a tower with its top in the heavens.

Not my image - click to go to the original.

In the 20th Century, this was considered an appealing way of reaching the stars without the need for rockets, a method of allowing anyone access to the space where geostationary satellites live.  A space where the force of the Earth’s gravity has no effect.  That’s 33,000km!

So how do elevator’s work?  Basically, an elevator (or lift in the UK) allows a cabin to be pulled up a rope, typically by use of a counterweight – weight goes down, lift goes up and vice versa (beautifully explained here).  In the early part of the 21st Century, we use these for transporting people and objects between floors by use of electromechanical motors.  Archimedes managed similar feats by use of man or horse power.

Of course, to manage this, the elevator cable needs to be able to withstand huge forces including its own weight.  Currently carbon seems an obvious material to use, in the form of nanotubes.  Carbon is in plentiful supply on earth (indeed could this be a good way to lock away the spare carbon in our atmosphere?) and when formed into nano tubes are light but exceptionally strong.  Indeed the carriage could be made from woven nano-tubes to form a strong yet light means of transporting people.

The motors required for the structure would just need to lift the people rather than the carriage (the carriage could be produced to lift 2 people at around 65 kg).  But once the lift is in operation, the loads could be balanced to require very little energy though the solar concentrators would be a good place to generate the initial power.

There are other considerations too: how could you ensure planes and birds do not hit the cable, protect the cable and carriage from damage from the elements, ensure this would safely work and that once up there, travel and experiments are enabled – otherwise it’s just a fair ground ride.

I have to say, this isn’t a business proposal just some thoughts given what exists today.  It seems this is much closer to being achieved than ever before.  I am not sure technically how difficult the carriage would be to produce to enable human beings to survive the journey (air tight, air supply, water, boredom, radiation etc) but is this something that could be achieved in the next 30 years?

I have a BT internet account (aka a btinternet) which, I have been long told, provides me with some default web space.

Mostly, my web site exists on my home machine: I have a dedicated server running a later version of linux which not only provides me with a voice on the web, but also with the copyright of output. While it is relatively cheap to run off my home broadband connection, it is, of course, subject to power outages (I do have a battery smoothing out short power cuts for both the computer and the router, but that’s really to ensure I don’t have to keep checking everything).

The server does some other work for me too, mostly file serving and backups. The library is pretty cool, but otherwise samjwatkins.com is very self contained.

So, I am wasting the opportunity of the web space provided by my internet service provider. If you have a btinternet account, I suspect you are too.

Thankfully, you can access this space.  It’s not overly straightforward, so here is a simple breakdown.

1. Access the space for your web site files

The content on the btinternet site is managed by a system called FTP and you need a programme to allow you to transfer your files up to the website.

Windows 7 does this fairly neatly as per these instructions.  In this case, you need your email address (without the “@btinternet.com” at the end and your mail password.

Having made this connection, I would recommend naming the connection “my website” but that’s up to you 🙂

2. Make your page

btinternet allows you to publish simple html pages.  These are essentially text files (as produced by notepad) although if you’re a beginner, Microsoft word, will allow you to save any page as a html page.

Your first page (aka your home page) is called index.html.

If we go to word, we can type “Hi there, this is my first web page” and save it to a “HTML” file called index.html – keep an eye on which folder this file exists.

3. Publish your file

At this point, I simply drag the file named “index.html” to the website directory/folder.  For a small file, with a good internet connection, this takes seconds.

4. Updating the site

Because the site uses FTP to manage the files, you can’t edit a file off the server.  All your editing will need to be done “off-line” and then copied up.

But you have a website

this site is web addressable, mine is available from here.  Only you have the password and the whole world can then see your output.  There is a lot of advice out there on how to run your website including using publishing tools such as Front page and CSS.  The world is your oyster, enjoy.

I love the system of politics in the UK. Living in a small suffolk village, it is a real reminder that despite having a great job, influencing many council departments and being an ambassedor for science and technology, I am a woman and therefore do not count on the canvassing list.

Five minutes ago, Terry Wilson, Labour council candidate for Claydon knocked on our door and my husband answered it.  As it happens, my husband is away on the night and I will carry his proxy.  Thus my husband informed Terry that he would be away and thus departed Terry.

You’d think in a Liberal stronghold, Labour would canvas all the votes, not just the male ones.

The One Show often has stories which don’t make the main news streams.  As a keen web 2 advocate, the one story about people helping find their missing dogs, Dog Lost, caught my eye.

Once finding their treasured pet is missing, an owner can upload pictures, a description and contact details to the site.  These details are quickly published on to the site.  The dog is then listed and comments can be made on sitings.

Emails are also sent to “helpers” in the area.  This is backed up with entries on Facebook.

The site has enjoyed a lot of success in reuniting dogs with their owners and sucuring prosecution of dog thieves.

but what is the cost?

The modern world is wonderful.  Washing my clothes takes just 20 minutes of my time and all in the comfort of my own home.  The modern washing machine has more computing power than the first super computers and more powerful motors than the first cars.  The average washing machine, with proper maintenance and care, last a good 15-20 years.

Fixing a washing machine is a skilled job and mostly done by replacing failed parts.  Even the most complete rebuild barely takes a day.  Just like the economy, there are no quick fixes.

Electric washing machines have evolved greatly since the first ones appeared in the early 20th Century and have enabled not only our cleanliness to be greatly improved but also a high standard of living to be enjoyed by all for relatively little money.

Why the talk of washing machines?

However complex a modern washing machine is, it can be fix for very little.  If you lack the practice, it is time consuming, but not difficult to get one of the most ignored machines in the house going again.

Mammals, not just humans, are infinitely more complex.  Yet many expect our doctors to be adept mechanics able to fix anything.

Using a wide range of chemicals, not to mention the basic fact we are all now well fed and clean.  This makes our survival to old age extremely likely, even if we do have an infection.

Ah, but that’s thanks to penicillin, surely.  Well, yes, but if you’re body isn’t healthy, antibiotics don’t work that well.  Very basically, they work by infecting your body with a second infection which combats the first.  You have to be strong for that to work well!

Resistance is futile

Then there are the super bugs: those that can fight antibiotics and their kin.  I am not a pharmacologist but I wonder if bugs like MRSA and VRSA were always waiting to evolve.  Maybe widespread antibiotic use helped to speed that process along, but what was the likely hood of that existing at some point any way?

So what?  You’re pointing out the obvious….

I ramble, apologies!  Life evolves even machines and systems evolve.  Since 18th Century, the world has seen enormous changes in the way we live and even the quality of air we breathe (and since the clean air act, 1956, in the UK preventing soot and noxious gases being produced in huge quantities, our air is pretty good), the food we eat, the water we drink.

The way we do business also needs to evolve.  My concern, during the on-going recession is that we chuck out the baby with the water in terms of education, medicine (and I mean that as opposed to health – research is risky and time consuming, being able to have a safety net to ensure research can thrive is important) and social welfare.

We are realising that people still die of old age, regardless of when that is and that, all bar a few conditions, old age is relatively short in the article Can the power of thought keep you young?, Dr Ellen Langer shows that basic health means you can do more, including work, as you age.  The pace may need to slow down, but there’s no reason not to have a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or even 10th career as you get older.

Old age, and our perceptions of it, need to evolve along with everything else.  But if that’s the case, do we need to examine our reproductive strategies and consumption, from everything from food and land as well as fuel consumption, at the same time.  The Earth has limited resources.

I enjoy learning new facts as often as possible and here is one thing I learnt today which I thought I should share!

Since 1989, my mum favoured a turbo vacuum brush for her hover – to be honest it came with her new one of the time and it seemed to make a huge difference.  On examination it appeared to provide better cleaning by rotating along with the sucking action of the vacuum.  You need to bear in mind the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Or so I thought.  Today our replacement turbo head for our Vax arrived (thanks Amazon), a turbo brush with a transparent plastic case.  After a week on leave, I was looking forward to seeing it in action.  I attached it and started the motor: as expected, the brushes allowed the turbine to rotate as the air was sucked into the vacuum’s dust cavity.

So, I tested it out on a piece of carpet.  At which point I found the rotor stopped – the carpet fibres were catching on the brush and exerting enough pressure that the rotation ceased!

I pushed the brush forward and lo, the brushes were allowed to move freely.  Maybe that was how the turbo heads made the sucking better; gentle aggravation of the carpet and a slight increase in efficiency of vacuum.

So I pulled the vaccum head back to redo an area of carpet and the brush was completely stationary again!  Intriged, I switched the motor off and tried pushing the head without the motor going.  This moved very freely, both forwards and backwards!  So the air was moving the brushes: just needed some help to get going and going backwards the air pressure was enough to hold the brush stationary, while going forwards gave it enough inertia to overcome the friction of the carpet.

The turbo head is much better for vacuuming.  Just works in a subtly different way to the expected.

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and has a happy new year awaiting them.

I really enjoyed catching up with friends and family but find myself in an interesting place.  I have long had a presence in what is being termed the cloud and indeed have used the cloud to catalogue both my experience (here) and some of my interests (such as my reading habit via the Library).

A Kindle in the wild!

I was very fortunate to receive a Kindle DX for Christmas (thanks Jon) and have added 23 books to my reading collection.  I can use many mediums to read these volumes including the Kindle itself.

So, what is the problem?

Well, I hate to say this, but the Kindle is not my only foray into electronic ink and Amazon is not the only place from which I have obtained documents.  Kindle is great, as from any internet device I can see what I have obtained for the Kindle from Amazon.  But what about the Gutenburg project information?  What about the items on the Sony eReader?  At least most of the physical material can be viewed from my existing software but then that doesn’t cover what’s in the eReader,

The only real answer seems to be to link the clouds…  I’ll let you know how I get on 😉