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Welcome to my website....
This website was set up back in June 2021 to allow online access to selected documents and spreadsheets authored by me and stored on Google Drive. I anticipated that some of these might be useful to others, as well as allowing me remote access myself.
Since publishing the site for the first time, I've added many extra pages, which I hope will also be of interest.
They are designed to provide detailed information for interested viewers on a wide range of subjects. You'll find a list of the pages and a brief description of their contents and purpose in the list below this box. There's also a new 'Consumer Issues' page which I've introduced to publicise key issues arising from the cost-of-living crisis and other topics of concern - you'll see a banner entiteld 'News of the Day' above this article with a link to the new page. I hope you find this useful. As always, comments are welcome via the contacts page.
If you are just here to download any of the content, please visit the File List page to see a brief description of what's in each file, then move to the Downloads page to view and / or download the files.
You may, however, find some of the other pages of interest - why not take a look ?
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Consumer News of the month:
1) eBay: If you are a regular eBay seller, or planning to become one, you could be caught out by epidemic of fraudulent return requests resulting from eBay's Returns system. See the Consumer Issues page for more info...and how to avoid this.
2) With childhood obesity in UK now at epidemic proportions, bad eating habits are best tackled young. Check out our Health page for how to assess your family's dietary and general health status using both adult and child BMI assessments.
3) Are Our Food Banks too Exclusive ? - an in-depth look at food recycling and how it could be improved.
4) The UK's Teen Vaping Epidemic - now that UK.Gov has promised a ban on the sale of single use vapes in UK, and the new government look like progressing it, should we still be worried ?
5) ASDA Have Abolished Their Traditional End-of-Day Price Reductions in All Their Stores - Why ?
Please See Consumer Issues page for more details on these topics....
Other News:
1) Updated eReader page - instructions for how to insert a book summary at the start of your eBook's text...works for any eBook, especially useful for Kindle where metadata isn't displayed..
2) Updated page on Health - check it out for useful info. on how to monitor your key health readings and compare them with NHS recommendations.
3) Any Beatles Fans out there ? If you're mourning the loss of the Beatles Ultimate Complete app, fear not - there is an alternative. See the MUSIC page for details
4) For anyone interested in spotting our International Space Station (ISS), there are some good UK early evening sightings at intervals during the summer and autumn- head over to the Almanac page and download the software for more info on when and where to find ISS.
5) Crossword Page: New version (v2.3) of Crossword Helper.xlsm available for download - synonym dictionary and checker now included. It will even reproduce the board and clue numbers for you...a must for those 'hard to guess' clues.
6) New Sudoku Page added - Sudoku Helper.xlsm (v1.3) now available for download with built-in puzzle generator and solver. See links to pages for details.
7) Almanac revised to include details of future solar and lunar eclipses and whether you can see them from your location. Planet phases as seen from earth and inter-planetary distances also now available on the 'Planets' page of the workbook. Planets' and moon's locations on the 'all star map' now selectable from the 'Stars' page dropdown list.
Some Background.....
Since setting up this website, the Pandemic persuaded me to take up blogging using one of the Blogspot domains - you'll find articles and commentary on a wide range of topics on the blog site, many of them controversial - take a look at the selection of recent titles shown on my Blog title page, and use the links to go directly to any of the blogs that you think might interest you.
I'm trying to keep all pages on the website and the blog articles regularly updated, particularly those dealing with rapidly changing subjects. You'll see a revision date at the end of each page which will indicate when the content was last reviewed. The Covid19 page is a good example, given the ongoing situation with the Omicron variants and the periodic resurgence of the virus in various parts of the world - please feel free to have a look if you're interested in Covid vaccine design and its implications for the developing pandemic. The virus is still very much with us as has recently generated some new variants and a 'summer wave' of infections in UK. You'll also find more in-depth discussion about Covid on my blog.
If you're thinking of setting up a Google website of your own, do first have a look at the article on the Google Indexing page - it may surprise you....If you're still up for it after reading that, head over to the Google Site Setup page to get some detailed step-by-step instructions on how to set one up yourself.
Here is a list of website pages with a brief description of what's on each one. You'll find links to other pages and external sites on many of the pages in blue:
Home – This page - contains general instructions, a contents list and links to the other pages, and a welcome message.
Downloads – Provides access to all available Google Drive downloads in my ‘Publish’ directory
Blog Titles - A full list of all posts on my blog site with links to each post. Available to view or download.
Freeview – Contains some useful hints and tips on how to manage your digital TV channels for those who use the UK Freeview digital terrestrial TV broadcast offering.
GetiPlayer – Introduces a little-publicised free software option for accessing BBC iPlayer’s server output for both Video and Audio broadcasts without the usual DRM restrictions. Full details on how to set it up on your pc can be seen via a .pdf download. It certainly changed the way I use the iPlayer - for the better...
Google Site Setup – Intro. page for those who want to set up their own website. Detailed guide available for download from the Downloads page.
Books – A selection of entertaining eBooks and other items of interest for the e-readers among you to sample at your leisure. Some useful instructions on how to get up and running are also available for those new to e-reading.
Google Indexing – A 'no-holds-barred' chronicle of my indexing experience (or the lack of it !) with this site. Please read before committing any of your time and effort to setting up a Google Site of your own.
File List – Detailed contents list of each of the available files on the Downloads Page.
Music - A selection of music files from various genres for you to try. Some practical advice on how to listen to them is also available for those new to digital audio playback.
Android – As with Apple’s Ios operating system, Google’s Android OS suffers from over-frequent updates, which have a nasty habit of rendering older Android devices and their apps unusable. This 'version creep', as it's often referred to, can wreak havoc with the selection of apps used to run an older tablet or phone, especially if, like many users, you allow Google's Play Store to manage your apps for you. If you're running Android 6.0 or earlier, download the guide to see how to make life easier for yourself…you may be glad of it sooner than you think.
e-Readers – On this page I take a detailed look at some of the older e-readers on the 2nd hand market, many of which can be obtained ‘for a song’ via eBay and other online platforms nowadays. A 'must' for anyone wanting to invest in a reader on a tight budget.
Walks – A selection of off the beaten track ‘gems’ for walkers in the East Midlands. Separate maps and walkers' guides are available to download for each walk. The latest offering is a guided walk round the newly-opened Garendon Park - enjoy.
Contact – Please use this page if you want to get in touch with me directly - comments and requests for new content are welcome (within reason !).
Covid19 – A detailed guide to Covid Vaccine development and some proposals for new vaccine designs. Particularly relevant now, in view of the recent upsurge in long-Covid and the emergence of yet more new Omicron variants recently. We're not done with this virus yet...an indeterminate number of us in UK have it, and the case numbers are rising as the 'respiratory season' progresses. Our population immunity levels are falling as you read this, so we should expect the trend to continue. Comments invited.
Monkeypox - A 'new' disease (for the 1st world at least) has come to visit us. The causative virus is closely related to that viral 'villain' of a past age, Smallpox, which we only managed to eradicate as recently as 1980. Check out the state of play with Monkeypox epidemiology, vaccines, etc and find out whether you should be worried...
HUDL1 – This popular 7 inch Android tablet sold in large numbers in the mid 2010s and, like the Morris Minor, still retains an enthusiastic ‘owners club’. Get the lowdown on its attractions and demerits, and find out where you can best get hold of one…
PICS - Designed as a similar repository to the 'Books' page, but this time for sharing images
Lottery - A stand-alone number generator for all the principal UK lotteries and simulators for Lotto, EuroMillions and the Health Lottery. Gamble to your hearts content - without losing a penny.
Almanac - Enjoy viewing 'heavenly bodies' (of the celestial variety, of course) ? Find out where the're all going to be in the sky at a particular time and date at any location on Earth. Try the orbital simulator for the planets and see how they look from Earth at the same time with a view of the ecliptic over any range of dates.
Consumer Issues - A new page designed to cover any pressing issues resulting from the cost-of-living crisis. Updated regularly.
HUDL2 - A new page set up to provide the background to the recent problems HUDL2 users have experienced after factory resetting their devices. It also offers a step-by-step solution to the problem to get your device going again.
Crossword - Some hints and tips on solving puzzles and a pointer to download the new Crossword Helper.
Sudoku - This ever-popular numbers game never ceases to delight...and annoy. Regain your sanity with the new offline Sudoku helper.
Health - Our stressful lives and the over-abundance of highly processed food are wreaking havoc with our health and quality of life. Find out how to monitor your key bio-parameters and interpret the results, and help ensure you don't fall prey to one of our 'silent killers'.
Garendon - A new page to cover developments on the Garendon Park estate in Charnwood Forest near Loughborough. This amenity has recently been opened up as a condition of the major housing development between Loughborough and Shepshed and will allow public access for the first time to this lovely part of the forest area.
Version Date 19.7.24