Drawing Breath

Vicious cereal box eats cat: That’s what’s happening, honest.

I’m feeling a bit depressed today after any embarrassingly bad performance in a two man Keiko at Aikido yesterday. My brown belt grading is less than two weeks away now, so I really need to pull my finger out if I’m not going to show myself up on the day. In my defence, I’ve only [...]

So, a few French ducks have got the flu, and now frightened UK pet owners are dumping their parrots and budgerigars. The National Parrot Sanctuary in Lincolnshire has had to take in 23 abandoned birds in a week, more than they usually receive in a year. These pet birds are caged, indoors. Do the owners [...]

The Register reports on a leak which indicates that Windows Vista will be available in eight variations. Eight variations? I’ve always considered the “Home” and “Pro” versions of Windows to be a huge con; both a sign that Microsoft can’t build an easy to use OS if they have to strip out features for the [...]

MPs are to decide in a free vote whether to impose a ban on smoking in all England’s pubs and clubs. I really hope that parliament has the guts to back a full ban on smoking in public places in England. I recently spent a night in Dublin, attending the Digital Media Awards with a [...]

The weekend was a fascinating one at the Phoenix Aikido Club, with a course given by Sensei William Smith and other senior instructors from his Dojo. Sensei Smith is one of the most senior Aikidoka in the UK, the Principal Instructor and Technical Director of the United Kingdom Aikikai, and it was a pleasure to [...]