Author: nealpp

  • The Princess Royal Reborn

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    nealpp
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    After a month away for repairs, the maroon Princess Royal is now mended and flying about the track. The chap who mended it managed to make up the parts from two other engines, and it’s now as smooth as if it was new. This video shows the temporary track layout in the loft, with the…

  • Norma – Opera North – 28th January 2011

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    nealpp
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    Our latest opera at the Grand Theatre in Leeds was Bellini’s Norma. This has probably one of the most popular arias in opera (Casta Diva) and was the role Maria Callas sang the most, and who gave us arguably the best recording off the opera. It is Bellini bel canto at it’s height, with wonderful…

  • What Microsoft need to do to keep me with Windows Phone . . .

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    nealpp
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    I moved to a Windows Phone from an iPhone 3GS in the autumn of 2010 when Microsoft decided to totally rewrite their mobile software which was getting unbelievably out of date. The Metro interface is a total change from the icon based software of Apple and Google (or should we just say Apple as let’s…

  • Sunrise

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    Gorgeous sunrise over Mirfield the other day. Today’s equally stunning sunset reminded me I’d taken this picture!

  • Emma plays ‘fetch’

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    nealpp
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    Just having a post-Christmas sort out, and putting decorations away in the loft, when Emma decides she wants a game. She is funny!!                    

  • Old Moor

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    nealpp
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    After having quite a lot of fresh air at Wetherby Races over the past couple of days, we decided to have some more today and go to RSPB Old Moor. ‘Twas rather windy but it was sunny and not too cold. As usual it was extremely relaxing, and we managed to see lots of different…

  • Engineering Excellence

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    nealpp
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    We had a play at trying to get the steam engine going on Christmas Day afternoon. This had been cleaned, oiled and generally maintained by Ian for a while and we decided to have the inaugural startup in the garden – probably safer!! As you can see from the video it worked, and worked well!!…

  • Raspberry Pi in action . . .

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    nealpp
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    Further to my post of last night, read this: http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/431 which contains this video, impressive!!

  • $25 (£16) computer!!

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    nealpp
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    I heard about this a while back but forgot all about it until a BBC article today saying they were nearly finished. The Raspberry Pi Foundation (www.raspberrypi.org) is a British charity aiming to produce very basic and open computers to engage and enthuse youngsters into understanding how computers work; something which a lot has been…

  • Blogging/posting to WordPress on a Mac?

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    nealpp
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    Got a bit of problem if I decide next year to move to a Mac from my PC, which is slowly dying. There are really good alternatives to most of the software I use apart from Windows Live Writer which is used for blogging. This is an absolutely terrific piece of software, and much underrated…