Only the next day, the FSA do something about sub-prime lending. It would be implausible to think I had influenced them from this blog.
Read MoreHousing, mortgages and the FSA
It struck me as I woke – ! – how hopeless is the FSA’s regulation of the mortgage lending industry? Now, every time you buy something which could potentially involve credit, whether or not you take it, you have to listen to, or read, some pointless blurb about that firm’s […]
Read MoreHelping the homeless, the bureaucratic way.
There’s a homeless man I see every day, who sleeps in a subway. He’s pleasant and harmless. He used to be a promising chef apparently. People choose to give him money: he never asks. He keeps himself smart and clean, thanks to a nearby centre that opens in the week, […]
Read MoreThe Decanter Fine Wine Encounter
I thoroughly recommend the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter at least once. I’ve never tasted so much wine or enjoyed learning about it so much. It turns out I am a “Barolista”.
Read MoreThe XSLT identity transform
Several people have asked me about the following XSLT transform, which I use to start every XML-to-XML stylesheet: What does it do? Nothing useful like this. It just copies all the XML input to the output using recursion. (Think about axes when you look at those XPaths: attributes are not […]
Read MorePorsches and international dining
It turns out that the Porsche 911 is as wonderful to drive as people say. If you haven’t driven one, try to find the opportunity. Its handling is really unlike anything else I’ve tried. It’s an addictive challenge and it has become clear to me that I need a 911 […]
Read MoreToo easy for words
Apart from installation falling over on permissions (of course), using WordPress, is, in the words of my beloved mechanics teacher, a Mr Atkinson, “Too easy for words.”
Read MoreTime to skydive
It was time to relax and become a skydiver. So I did: I sold my Hobie Tiger to raise funds and took my BMW K1200S to a track day at Cadwell Park. I drove to and around Spain and Portugal, holidayed and learned to jump. I came back to begin […]
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