Tag: Reflections

Technology and electronics, a personal muse.

The amazing development of electronics over 50 years.

The calendar reliably informs me that this is my 65th year.  My brain, of course, lags somewhat in accepting this!

My step-father during my early teenage years worked for Elliott Brothers (the link goes to an interesting history of the firm that started in 1804) in Borehamwood, just north of London.  He encouraged me to fiddle with ‘steam’ radios and

Frederick and sa Elliot

try and understand how these basic circuits worked.  It was then a small step to deciding to become a radio amateur, popularly known as a radio ham!  In those days it was a case of some pretty intensive studying to pass a Theory exam as well as being able to pass an exam in sending and receiving Morse code.

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Avro Vulcan – another wow of an aircraft!

Avro Vulcan Cold War Bomber XH558 takes to the skies again.

That was almost two years ago and, at the time, it wasn’t sure how the funds would keep coming in to enable this amazing aircraft to remain in the air.

Photobucket
Vulcan XH558, by Steve LeVien

Remarkably, the money was found and this great, historic aircraft flies on.

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You attract what you think about!

It is my very great pleasure to introduce a new author to the Learning from Dogs Blog team.

I first met Dapinder Bains when he became a coaching client some 18 months ago.  Dapinder was seeking some guidance (not that coaching is guidance in the strict sense of the word) with regard to a new Internet business.  That Dapinder really required this coaching was, initially, a puzzle as he was already managing 500 web sites!  Clearly a fascinating person.

Anyway, over the months, we have got to know each other well.  So when Dapinder expressed an interest in contributing to the Blog there was no hesitation in me welcoming him to the team.  Over to him …

Read Dapinder’s first Post

The lessons in Chrysler?

Chrysler, investing, entrepreneurism and common sense.

Many, many years ago I went on a course on starting your own business.  It was held in London and caught my eye because just a few months previously I had resigned my sales job with IBM UK Ltd and commenced a journey of being self-employed, in the sense of being responsible for my own income. A 31-year journey that has provided so many riches in a non-financial sense.

Since we are talking about an event so long ago, it is not surprising that few memories are intact about that single day in a smart hotel in the centre of London.

BUT, one thing has stayed with me, and served me well.

Never get involved in a business where you don’t really know the marketplace.

So a recent article in the New York Times (Saturday, 8th August) about Cerebus, the private capital investment company that purchased Chrysler two years ago wasn’t short on lessons for us more down-to-earth guys.  Here’s a extract from the interview that Louise Story with the NYT (cool surname, by the way, for a journalist!) did with Steve Feinberg, co-founder of Cerebus, in his smart office on Park Avenue.

Continue reading “The lessons in Chrysler?” →

Start the week with a wow, view first.

Maelstrom #3 -Kauai, Hawaii by Patrick Smith Photography
Maelstrom #3 -Kauai, Hawaii by Patrick Smith Photography, all rights reserved, see next Post

Start the week with a wow, view second.

Astoundingly, beautiful land and sea-scape photography, by Patrick Smith.

One of the amazing things about the world-wide-web is the way that one can follow links and end up somewhere totally unexpected.  This is what happened when I happened across the Blog of Patrick Smith.  It was then a short trip to find his home page and then sit in awe at the magnificent beauty of Patrick’s photography.  This guy is a wonderful artist.

I sent Patrick an email asking for permission to re-publish one of his photographs and, to date, have not heard back.  If it hadn’t been for a comment on his Blog then this Post and the previous one would not have been published by me.

Patrick’s comment on his Blog was:

Some people on ——  are having quite a bit of fun with one of my photos. There is a link back to my photo on Flickr where it is getting thousands of views. Some people might get upset but it seems like they are having a good time not at my expense!What do you think about unauthorized use on a blog or ‘just for fun’ website?

Here are some other blog articles showing my work (with links to my websites) but without my permission. It is fine with me. (my emphasis)

It was a difficult call for me to take but, on balance, and taking into account Patrick’s Blog comment, it was decided to show just one of Patrick’s images because I think his work deserves the widest fanfare possible.

So I urge you to visit Patrick Smith Photography and support him in any way that you can.

Patrick may be found at his web site, via his Blog and on Flickr

Enjoy!

Patrick, if you read this and want the pic removed, just let me know!

By Paul Handover

It’s strange being human!

Ten things we don’t understand about being human, from New Scientist magazine.

Thanks to Naked Capitalism for pointing me towards this fascinating piece in New Scientist.  The article discusses 10 outwardly frivolous behaviours and attributes that have scientists scratching their head.  They are:

  • Blushing
  • Laughter
  • Pubic hair
  • Teenagers’ behavioursNew Scientist skeleton
  • Dreams
  • Altruism
  • Art
  • Superstition
  • Kissing, and
  • Nose-picking

The article links each of the above to a further examination of why it is so strange.  It’s a good read and the accompanying photograph heading up the article, reproduced across, is rather clever.

Reminds me of that lovely English ditty:

The whole world is rather queer,

except thee and me,

and I have my doubts about thee!

By Paul Handover

California – not so free anymore!

It now costs more to insure California’s debt than Russia’s

There’s a rather technical piece published recently on Bloomberg.com about the cost of insuring debt in a number of countries.

Eleven years after Russia defaulted, investors want less to insure its debt than California’s. “This would have been impossible to imagine a year ago,” said Dimitry Sentchoukov, an emerging-market credit strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort in London.

Will the last person leaving the sunshine State, please close the door!

By Paul Handover

Little and large, a dog and elephant story.

An African elephant and a dog form a close bond

This is a YouTube video courtesy of CBS Videos that has obviously caught the imagination of quite a large audience – the number of viewings on YouTube is in excess of 3.2 million!  (So, apologies if you have seen this before.)

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Sunday observance and a flight to Barra in Scotland

This little story about one of the world’s strangest areas has been doing the rounds and appears in several newspapers.  It concerns Sunday observance issues in the Western Isles of Scotland.  But first some background.

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