A review of the new sci-fi movie “The Martian”
October 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Earlier this year, I read the excellent sci-fi novel “The Martian” by Andy Weir. You can read my review here.
I thought at the time it would make a good movie and, in some respects, the film by Ridley Scott is even more enjoyable than the book. You can read my review here.
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A review of the romantic comedy “Man Up”
October 3rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It’s always fun to relax with a rom-com and “Man Up” is enjoyable without being in any way exceptional. You can read my review here.
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Now I’m zooming down the information superhighway as my broadband speed is boosted by a factor of 10
October 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I’ve never worried too much about my broadband speed since all I do is e-mail and web browsing. So I was pretty content with my download speed of up to 2.74 Mbps and upload speed of up to 0.76 Mbps. But recently my son and his family relocated to Nairobi, so I’ve started to use Skype and found my current Net connection inadequate.
I thought that, if I was going to upgrade my broadband, I might as well go for fibre and this week the upgrade came into effect. Now I have a download speed of up to 29.12 Mbps and a upload speed of up to 2.25 Mbps. I’m told that, after some settling down, I might receive a download speed of 39-40 Mbps. Let’s see. Many thanks to my friend Spence for help in fitting the new router.
Together with my iPhone 6 on 4 G and my Apple watch, I’m feeling pretty connected (at least for a 67 year old).
Posted in Internet, My life & thoughts | Comments (4)
My 30th short story: “The Storyteller Of Damascus”
October 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Many of my short stories are sparked off by some experience I’ve had. Four and a half years ago, I went on a holiday to Syria and, while in the capital city of Damascus, I attended a storytelling in a bar. This inspired my short story “The Storyteller Of Damascus” which you can read here.
A week or so after, we left Syria and passed into neighbouring Lebanon, the civil war began. The death toll is now estimated to be around 250,000, some 7.6 million have been internally displaced, and 4.1 million have fled the country. If you want to know what Syria was like before the war, check out the account of our visit here.
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Word of the day: deconfliction
October 1st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I did not know there was such a word but it was used in a comment by a US defence official on the Russian air strikes in Syria.
Posted in Cultural issues, World current affairs | Comments (0)
My Apple Watch is very unforgiving
September 30th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
It doesn’t let an hour of sitting go by without reminding me to stand for a few minutes. It doesn’t let a day go by without encouraging me to do a set period of walking.
I think my Apple Watch loves me – but it’s tough love.
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Jeremy Corbyn’s speech to the Labour Party Conference
September 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
We were told that it was not going to be a long speech, but it lasted an hour. We were told that it was his first use of the autocue and that went well enough.
Corbyn certainly thanked a lot of people, he name-checked a lot of colleagues, he made a special point of welcoming and praising all the new members. He touched on lots of good causes – ranging from a Saudi prisoner to the Redcar steel workers. He highlighted issues like voter registration, cuts in tax credits, the plight of the self-employed, the housing crisis, and the challenge of mental health.
All good issues that will have resonated with Conference delegates and Labour voters. But Corbyn missed a classic opportunity to speak to Britain and especially those who did not vote Labour at the last General Election. He did not address why Labour lost the election and how it is going to win the next one.
You can hear and see his speech here:
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What is a “Good Kill”? – my review of the film with this title
September 29th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
Very few people – me included – will have seen the film “Good Kill” at the cinema, but it is worth searching out on television or DVD because it is a work which raises important issues about the military use of drones. You can read my review here.
Seeing this film, I recalled a short story I wrote some years ago which poses some similar issues. You can read “A Shot In The Dark” here.
Posted in Cultural issues, My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
John McDonnell’s speech to the Labour Party Conference
September 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
At today’s Labour Party Conference in Brighton, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell made a serious speech with no jokes, no knockabout, none of his usual colourful language and a remarkably mild delivery. He called it “the new politics”. There were lots of good ideas in the speech but very little detail. Hopefully he will listen to the advisory team he has appointed and those Labour MPs with experience of office.
You can hear and see his speech here:
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Over half the world still offline
September 28th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
A report from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) suggests that 57% of the world’s population remain offline. The annual “State of Broadband” report from the UN agency suggests that the number of people online over the world has grown to 3.2 billion, up from 2.9 billion last year, but that some 4 billion still do not have any internet access.
The report shows that the Internet is only accessible to 35% of people in developing countries, while in UN-designated least developed countries, over 90% of people do not have any Internet connectivity.
The report also suggests that the top ten countries for household Internet penetration are all located in Asia or the Middle East. South Korea continues to have the world’s highest penetration, with 98.5% of homes connected, followed by Qatar (98%) and Saudi Arabia (94%).
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