Migrating to Googlegroups May 24, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : learning, internet , comments closedI’ve just started trialling the googlegroups beta service as an alternative to Yahoogroups.
So far all I’ve done is to set up two groups at google, then invited a sample of subscribers from my main groups to trial each one. If the trial is successful then I intend to migrate the Yahoogroups communities over to the googlegroups service.
Issues to be considered:
*Reliability and speed of service.
*Both email client and web access to messages
*Long term viability of host
*Persistent problems with bouncing email addresses at Yahoogroups
*facilities such as file sharing, chat, not yet provided for at google
*Advertising
*Compatability with newsgroups archive at googlegroups, and integration with Gmail features
*General problems of migrating a community from one host to another
gestures May 14, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : movie clips, learning , comments closedFor some people, it is impossible to explain anything without a lot of arm-waving, air slicing and other body gestures. 
Sometimes the gestures are vaguely representative in origin, but mostly they are abstract in meaning and merely emphatic in purpose. People who do this naturally, perhaps through being brought up in a culure where it is normal, may find that other cultures don’t always react in the same way. Occasionally the point will be entirely lost while the audience indulges in cruel mimicry. This can make young storytellers self conscious enough to curtail the use of gestures entirely, which is a shame, because I’m convinced they do add quite a lot to the sucess of communication one way or another.
Bendy Bus May 9, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : transport, movie clips, London , 5comments
My journey to work has changed.
On rainy days, or when I’m a bit pushed for time I dispense with the pleasant walk across the Thames and catch a bus to connect Liverpool Street Station with London Bridge. Suddenly now, there is a good chance this will be a new style “Bendy Bus”.
So what does a bendy bus do
that a good old routemaster double decker, or a modern “low floor” single doesn’t? Well it bends in the middle, that’s obvious, so has the capacity of a double decker without the stairs, and can still go round corners. But London is a unique city in having main streets without any of the low bridges, tunnels or overhanging buildings which rule out double deckers practically everywhere else in the world. So what’s the point of articulation? People flow is the answer. You can embark or alight through any of the three pairs of fast opening doors, whereas on the double decker, the people coming down the stairs or standing in the aisle can sometimes impede the queue at the bus stop from getting on at all. So, unless you have a pre-pay oyster card or a book of savers there’s no need to form a procession past the driver’s cabin. There’s no facility for taking cash, so less opportunity for argument when some one gets on with a twenty quid note and there’s no change.
What is it like onboard a Bendy Bus?
Because of the multiple door access and double compartment the bendy has more of a ‘tram’ feel to it, which is fine. Unlike on older buses, access through the doors and aisles is spacious and the individual seats are amply proportioned. The only problem is with the ride quality. The articulation is not just on the horizontal plane, but also happens to a not inconsiderable extent on the vertical as well. This is probably something to do with the hydaulic suspension which allows the boarding step to get close enough to the kerb for the dreaded oversized pushchairs which modern day pre-school children insist on riding in. So every time the bendy bus goes over a bump the whole thing kind of snakes up and down a few times, which is enough, I would imagine, to make some people feel quite sick.
bluebell wood May 4, 2004
Posted by Andy Roberts in : wildlife, London , 3commentsWent for a wander in my local woods at Wanstead Park, with perhaps a vague idea that this might be a good time to see a show of bluebells. The spectacle was quite breathtaking, and the photograph below hardly does it justice.
I’m fairly certain these are genuine native british bluebells, under threat from the more vigorous spanish variety.
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