Making a few MS Office Notes
Reply
Category Archives: opinion
Love my bike – compact version
I love this bike even when it’s standing in the hallway awkwardly folded up with it’s wheels side by side. I had to leave it at the cycle shop earlier this week because a spoke in the back wheel had broken. I was loaned a Giant Expression full sized bike to keep me mobile, but when I collected my orange Dahon this morning it was like being reunited with an old friend.
I had briefly thought perhaps I should change the folder for a “proper” bike, but sitting back in the saddle this morning I just felt right. Welcome home old friend! Perhaps you should have a name?
Thank-you Gordon
Gordon Brown has done more than a good job. He guided not only the UK but also large parts of the economic world at a time when financial structures of our society were undermined by unscrupulous bankers and money dealers. He was a man who genuinely believed he could make things better for everyone through justice, fairness and good judgement. Sadly he was unable to convince enough of the British electorate that he should remain in office and at the election he failed to secure enough seats to stay at No. 10.
So tonight Gordon went to Buckingham Palace and offered The Queen his resignation, followed with almost indecent haste by David Cameron, summoned to take his place.
We don’t yet know if David Cameron can command a working majority to form a government. The Liberal Democrats have yet to ratify the deal that their leaders are believed to have brokered with the Conservatives. We will have to wait and see if Mr Cameron, the new Prime Minister, can keep the first promise he has just made to The Queen.
I’m not comfortable with the future but I am comfortable about the past 13 years of Labour rule. There have been mistakes – some significant ones – but there has also been progress. Many of our public services are in much better shape than they were when Tony Blair first stepped into Downing Street in 1997. This seems like a good place to thank Tony and Gordon for enduring the years of pressure in leadership as they stood on the bridge of the good ship UK.
Why does God allow natural disasters?
This question was asked on the BBC News Site and comments were invited. Only a few were published and mine was must have landed in a waste bin somewhere. So – not to waste my thoughts, here they are. It’s worth reading the other comments on the story first to give the context
At the heart of Haiti’s humanitarian crisis is an age old question for many religious people – how can God allow such terrible things to happen? Philosopher David Bain examines the arguments.
Evil has always been a thorn in the side of those – of whatever faith – who believe in an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good God ……….
The Christian scriptures indicate that the earth was thrown into chaos as a result of man’s disobedience. The stories in Genesis describe the events that led to man being banished from paradise.
The result of those actions, actions which if we’re honest we all imitate in our daily lives, was a creation waiting for a day of redemption.
God doesn’t ignore it. On the contrary, he came in the person of Jesus Christ to share in our sufferings. He felt pain, ridicule and all the limitations of human frailty and earthy chaos. Now, wherever there is pain, fear, disaster and chaos, God is right there sharing in our suffering. I can’t fully explain in a few words why that’s a better way.
If you want to know where God was when the earth convulsed in Haiti – he was right there in the rubble. It almost seems too trite to suggest this idea from the comfort of my home in affluent Britain but I know that when I pray for the people of Haiti and the rescue and aid workers there, I am talking to a God who understands and is already there on the case. But he has chosen to work in partnership with us. I believe the outcome, on the day of redemption, will be better than if God had intervened to make crumbling buildings indestructible or hold the tectonic plates under the island in place. Somehow it inspires us to work harder and to sacrifice our resources on behalf of those in trouble instead of sitting on the sidelines and blaming God that it happened in the first place.
And if there is no God, there is no hope anyway.
iFixit – sometimes
iFixit: Apple Mac, MacBook, iPod, and iPhone Repair Parts.
Anyone who knows me knows I like making things work so the discovery that iFixit is publishing all of its repair manuals free of charge is like an early Christmas present. I am also a believer in reading and using the manual so it’s particularly useful to me. There is of course a sensible priority to how to fix things.
1. What was the last thing you did or changed that may affect the function of the piece of equipment?
2. Is there power to the item?
3. Look at it – is there anything obvious like screws missing, wires or plugs pulled out?
After these basic checks you may need to read the manual before proceeding.
So thank you iFixit, once the formalities are over, your freely available reading matter for the Apple products will make my life easier should anything of mine break down or require an upgrade. While I’m singing your praise – could you make it easier for me to take apart my Mac Mini?