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Articles from: August 2009

UK Government Fails…

Date: August 26, 2009  Author: Ross Stone 1 Comment

I am referring to the recent news that the UK Government is even considering the idea of forcing ISP’s to disconnect users for whatever reason. It seems that Lord Mandelson and the Labour Party who seem to be even considering this are a bunch of idiots.

Almost everything I do now revolves around the Internet… From my work, gaming, shopping, and most importantly furthering my education and knowledge.

The idea that a Government seeks to control what households have internet, and what households do not is wrong. Imagine what that would do to a family, let alone a geek like me.

Of course, if this were to happen, people like me know workarounds. Mwhaha! But those who would be most effected will probably be family households. Next they will want to censor internet sites or control bloggers when we want to express our one sided opinions on our sites.

Anyway, it seems my concerns are being addressed, as we now have a Pirate Party UK. While it won’t be able to do much directly, if people support that party, over others. I would hope mainstream party’s realise users concerns when they start losing votes to the Pirate Party UK, and start adopting some more sensible policy’s regarding the Internet.

Hopefully they will have someone in my area I can vote for in the next General Election.

New Slogan Competition

Date: August 17, 2009  Author: Ross Stone 1 Comment

From September 2009 onwards, as I have not paid my AAT Membership Renewal because its too expensive and I work in IT now. This means I am no longer a Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians, which means I can’t use MAAT after my name.

So I need a new website slogan, as “Now with added MAAT” will not be true. So I decided to offer a competition! People can submit website slogan ideas, and the person who came up with the one that gets used wins a box of Belgium Chocolates!

Competition Submission Form (Link Removed)

Only takes a few clicks, and you could not only get to decide on a new slogan, but win a Box of Belgium Chocolates that have come all the way from Antwerpen!

I do feel its a little unfair to charge £140 a year, just so I can have MAAT on my CV. I worked very hard to complete all of the courses and exams, and already paid many fees for those courses and exams.

Basically, when you become a member you have to agree the following…

“I agree that as long as I remain an AAT full member, I will observe the provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Guidelines on Professional Ethics, the bye-laws and all other regulations of the AAT for the time being in force, and that I will use the designatory letters, ‘MAAT’ only while I remain an AAT full member.”

I am tempted to continue to use the MAAT on my CV on my website though, seeing as I earned it. Paying £140 for the privileged of using something I spent years earning is extortion as far as I am concerned. But, I guess as potential future employers may not see it my way and use that as a reason not to hire me, I had best remove it and play ball.

Finally, I have been reminded (read told off) that I have to thank Alice Davies for taking the time to read my blog.
(Epic win really, as its proof someone actually reads it! lol)

Preparations for Snowdon

Date: August 10, 2009  Author: Ross Stone 2 Comments

As I am going to Snowdonia, North Wales to walk up the mountain of Snowdon with Nick at the start of September. I have been making a number of techincal and not so technical preporations for the journey.

First of all, something I am clueless about… Footwear! As the only pair of shoes I have are my smart work shoes, I had to get a decent pair of boots and wear them in, to use for the walk. Thanks to the assistance of a friend in work, I was able to get myself a suitable pair, which are waterproof, and offer plenty of ankle support.

Secondly, I finally got round to testing my mobile phone’s gps tracking application. Using a program called “My Tracks” developed by Google for the Android platform, I can disable my phones wireless connections to save power, and then using gps record my position as I walk around.

The aim was to be able to generate a Google Map, showing the route taken. This lunchtime, I did a quick battery, and process test. Which generated the following Google Map.

The phone seemed to use about 15% power for an hours worth of position recording, so presuming I have 90% battery by the time I arrive at the bottom of Snowdon, I have about 7 hours maximum of tracking before my phones battery dies.

Ofcourse, if I am using my mobile for tracking, I will need another phone in case of emergencys, so I will either have to borrow one, or rely on Nicks mobile.

Back from Belgium

Date: August 5, 2009  Author: Ross Stone Leave a comment

Having gotten back from Belgium, I have now uploaded some videos and photos of the trip. Mostly around Antwerp, Belgium.

Was a great break, and the guys in Antwerp were the best hosts ever, allowing me to enjoy the sites, great food and beer.

Looking forward to the UK Meet in October.