K D.

Lingerie - Underwear and Nightwear for Ladies

Well, as reviewer TN said she liked this company, I thought, purely in the interests of objective reporting, of course, that I should take a peek.

As a man, I'm all in favour of 'Hankypanky after midnight', but at the wrong side of 30 I'm also quite keen on the 'before midnight' option. A bloke works better with eight hours sleep, after all.

Lingerie does seem to be a good business – the less that is on sale, the higher the prices. As a business school model, in all products apart from electronics and optics, usually the more materials used in the product, the higher the price. Not so here. Odd, eh?

Anyway, this website is definitely educational. I had no idea that there was such a choice in thong design. If asked what a 'low rise thong' was I would have probably guessed it was something to do with trailer parks… As for a 'V-kini', well, possibly a coc*tail?

Anyway, ladies, if TN likes the site, you can be sure that it delivers what you order and won't rip you off. The products may get ripped off you, however, if your significant other gets too excited by your purchases.

As to my own tastes, as I've said before, my favourite nightwear for ladies is that chosen by the late Marilyn Monroe – a little Chanel…

http://hankypanky.com/

Birder / Birdwatcher / Twitcher / Ornithologist / Nature Lover…?

Birdforum says it is the world's largest online bird forum. I can't verify that, but it is certainly extensive and well put together. There are thousands of photographs, identification tips, recordings of bird calls, video clips, equipment reviews, encyclopaedia information and details on bird watching sites and sightings from all around the world.

Whatever the level of your interest or wherever your bird watching takes place, there'll be something on this website that you'll enjoy.

Lots of good links. Registration is free.

www.birdforum.net

Royal Air Force Aircraft Museum UK. Free Admission.

Are you or your kids interested in planes or just general history buffs? If you are in England and near London or Birmingham and want to plan a day out which will be entertaining and informative, try the RAF Museum at Colindale (North London – formerly RAF Hendon) or the RAF Museum at Cosford (near Birmingham).

Colindale has over 100 aircraft, Cosford over 70, ranging from some of the earliest aircraft to recent military jets. British, American, French, German and Japanese aircraft are on show. There are special exhibitions covering WW1, WW2 and the Cold War. More recent conflicts also get a fair coverage.

There are plenty of other resources – equipment displays, uniforms, badges, medals, maps, films, recordings, photographs (250,000 pictures), fine art and research libraries for the real aircraft buffs. The really keen can become 'Friends of the RAF Museum' and even volunteer to help restore and maintain some of the aircraft.

My uncle, an ex WW2 Lancaster bomber pilot went, and he had a great time. The museum attracts more boys than girls, but there is a fair bit of stuff on women at war in the RAF.

Parking is easy, and there are all the usual museum facilities together with a pretty decent shop, in case your young nephew or niece or whoever needs a souvenir of their visit.

Interesting. Details, opening hours, directions, etc. on the website:

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/

Italian Air Force Photos and History.

One hundred years ago this year, in 1911, the Italian Air Force pioneered the use of aerial bombing during the Italian -Turkish War (1911-1912). The Italian pilots also developed the first effective use of planes for military reconnaissance and the use of aerial photography for target identification.

The main battle ground for this campaign was the North African region that is now called Libya. Today, Italian planes are again flying on military missions over the same ground. Ironic, eh?

The 3 small four pound bombs dropped over the edge of the cockpit in 1911 were the precursor of a century of destructive power being launched from aircraft. While airpower has helped win wars, it has also caused immense devastation and loss to civilian communities. The anniversary is worthy of note, but not of celebration?

The website has interesting photos and facts – written up rather densely in Italian and English. Fans of military history should click on the campaign they are interested in following.

http://www.finn.it

Wow! A computer for $25?

These guys think they have done it – plug their USB based chip into a screen or TV and a keyboard and you will have a basic computer. They hope this will help train a new generation of young computer literate DIY programmers and give computer access to the millions of people who cannot afford current products. Well worth watching.

I wonder what the techies on Site Jabber make of it?

For me (non-techie, I just drive the things) - amazing!

http://www.raspberrypi.org/

Young People's Trust for the Environment

Get kids involved with environmental issues:

Animal Facts and figures.
Climate change statistics.
Human impact.
Environmental campaigns.
School projects and downloads.
News.
Courses.
Awards.

Sections for teachers, parents and local businesses.

Loads of downloads and links.

Good stuff!

http://www.ypte.org.uk

Campaign Against Scam Mail – Especially Mail Targeting the Elderly.

One of the nastiest groups of criminal scumbags are those who target old people in order to steal their money.

Jessica was a genuine victim of scam email. After buying something through the 'Readers Digest' when she was in her 70's she started getting bombarded by scam letters. 'Readers Digest' mailing lists get sold to other companies – who then sometimes sell them on…. Promised winnings in competitions that did not exist, she sent more and more money to the scammers, hoping to release the mythical 'jackpot'. Needless to say, she got nothing – except that the first scammers sold her contact details on to other criminals – and the whole sorry story was repeated again and again. Jessica, now obsessed with recouping her losses, died when she was 83 years old, having lost many thousands of pounds to these criminals.

Yes, she was gullible and a ready victim – but she was a decent old lady – and being gullible is not a crime. It is very sad that scammers both target such easy victims and that they are able to get away with their mean crimes.

www.thinkjessica.com was set up to help and advise both victims and families of victims of scam mail crimes – especially the elderly.

The website has many sad stories of victimised elderly folks. On the positive side, it gives warnings of typical scams, how to report scam crimes, who to turn to for help, and how best to help victims.

Think about any old people that you know. If you are worried about them falling victim to mail scammers, check this site out for yourself, and consider passing on the details to help prevent them falling for such mean tricks.

The site is British – but such scams are worldwide, and the advice is sensible, wherever you are based.

www.thinkjessica.com

Good work.

British gardening site – good general information without getting too technical.

Sections on planning, planting, plant identification, weeding, feeding etc.

Gardens for wild life – mammals, birds and insects.

Wildlife gardening for kids.

Kitchen gardens

Jobs for the month.

Good photos, good tips, worth a browse…

http://www.wildchicken.com/

Recipes from Darkest Africa Elephant, Snake, Monkey, Insect, Rat mmm!

How to cook yummy stuff from local tropical African plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and insects you never know when this stuff will come in useful

Bush meat basically any wild jungle animal is now being exported to the UK and Europe. Not ecologically sound but it does suggest that people get the taste for it.

Smoked snake meat:

http://www.congocookbook.com/other_recipes/snake.html

Cane rat:

http://www.congocookbook.com/other_recipes/cane_rat.html

Some of the most interesting recipes are about insects:

http://www.congocookbook.com/other_recipes/insects.html

Apparently, pound for pound insects contain twice as much protein as the finest red meat. Maybe in another couple of decades we'll all be munching down on termites, ants and grasshoppers. A friend of mine thinks deep fried tarantulas are tasty, but I haven't sampled one myself. I'll try most things but I think I'd prefer to give cockroaches a miss.

Lots of quotes from explorers, travellers and volunteers.

Interesting and it might get you to cook more adventurously!

http://www.congocookbook.com

Thermal Memory Toilet Seat – See if Someone Else Has Just Finished?

The colour of the loo seat will show if someone has recently sat on it – will this affect your behaviour?

The main site, as listed above, is full of cool and uncool Canadian designs, depending upon your personal taste, of course.

I chanced on this page – a thermochromic loo seat. What will they think of next?

http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/officialgallery/miscellaneous/thermochromic-toilet-seat/

The explanation and comments reveal how strange and different people are. Thought it might amuse the more anally retentive among us…

On a similar theme, using thermochromic tiles, is this from a men's 'rest room' (do people in the USA really rest in there?)

http://tumblr.matrixagents.org/post/*******946/thermochromic-urinal-way-cooler-than-this-one

Look and Learn Magazine. 1962 to 1982. Sadly missed.

Selling 700,000 issues a week at its peak, Look and Learn entertained and taught British children in a refreshing, non-patronising style form its first issue in 1962 until its last in 1982. From science to history to art to geography it successfully adopted the comic book strip for teaching. Several friends at university in the 1970s swore blind that all they had learned, they had learned from Look and Learn. Probably true!

Well illustrated, beautifully produced, it was killed by increasing print costs and the drift to TV for entertainment.

The company behind the website http://www.lookandlearn.com/ bought up the rights, and now offers a 48 issue set on subscription. Meanwhile, you or your kids can browse the website for pictures, buy original artwork and peruse some of the best issues from the 1960s and 1970s.

An original page of artwork for the science fiction series 'The Trigan Empire' will set you back £2,500 – hmm, wish I'd kept all those issues that cluttered up the attic for so many years…

For fans of 'Dr Who' around the world.

As a kid I cowered behind the sofa watching the original Doctor battle the evil Daleks. (Yes, I know, I'm very, very old) The heroic Doctor is now in his 11th incarnation and now my own kids are glued to the television for every episode. The stories are usually good, the special effects alternate between amusing and impressive, and the good Doctor still just manages to save the world again and again just before the news.

In my era the Doctor was usually a wise and fairly elderly man or middle aged man. In the last incarnations he has got younger, and, ahem, (according to my daughters) 'hotter'. It all helps the viewing figures, apparently. I suggested to said younger females that maybe a future Doctor might even be female and they were horrified. Doctor Who just HAS to be a man and hopefully, 'hot'. So much for equality, eh?

A spin off series 'The Sarah Jane Adventures' was aimed at slightly younger viewers. Sadly, the actress Elizabeth Sladen, who played Sarah-Jane Smith, recently died of cancer. As she wasn't a Time Lord she presumably won't regenerate into another incarnation.

I'll be quite happy if the Doctor Who series continues to entertain kids (and parents and occasional grandparents) for a long while yet.

Unfortunately Site Jabber site ID system does not accept the official Dr Who site as it is a sub section of the main BBC website.

The address of the official BBC Dr Who website is:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw

There are a whole host of other fan sites for those who are interested:

http://www.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/

http://www.drwho-online.co.uk/

http://www.whoisdoctorwho.co.uk/

http://www.gallifreyone.com/

Eagle Comic and Dan Dare – Space Hero

Dan Dare fronted the Eagle comic in the UK from 1950 until its demise in 1969. Colonel Dan Dare, assisted by Spaceman Digby battled aliens, confounded devilish plots and helped save the earth in weekly episodes, usually leaving his young audience on the edge of their seats waiting for next week's episode after another cliff hanger last picture frame.

There are those who believe that much of the more modern 'Dr. Who' series had its origins in the stories of Dan Dare. Dare's arch enemy, the Mekon, certainly has some resemblance to the leader of the Daleks…

The rarer printed examples of the comics now change hands for considerable sums. The drawings are wonderful examples of 1950s /1960s comic art. The style is different from American comics of the same period – and the characters are more pipe smoking Battle of Britain 1940s propaganda hero than the superhero with miraculous powers characters that were sweeping America at the same time.

Put together by a fan, this website also covers other stories in 'The Eagle' and the artists and writers behind the stories.

10 nostalgia points! http://www.dandare.org/

Campaign for Real Ale – UK Good Beer Guide

40 years ago the really essential up-to-date reading matter for any British student worth their salt was the new 'Good Beer Guide' by Roger Protz. At that point Britain was in the beer dark ages, threatened with being overwhelmed by nasty chemical brews such as Watney's Red Barrel and a host of pissy continental lagers or gassy iced American 'beers'. Hard times, indeed…

Protz and his friends at the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) struck a chord with an unlikely mix of boring old Daily Telegraph reading farts, radical students, ramblers, cyclists, campers, caravaners, golfers, tourists of all sorts and beer bores/experts in general. CAMRA backed both independent or freehold pubs and encouraged larger pub chains to start stocking guest ales from the smaller breweries, brewed by traditional methods.

The campaign steadily increased in effectiveness and now, 40 years on, nearly every pub in Britain can offer you a choice of decent, traditionally brewed pints. In addition, CAMRA has supported the trend for pubs to offer decent food. While some nutters might claim that the new 'gastro pubs' have been the downfall of the traditional British drinking establishment, it has actually meant that you can now take the family out, or meet a friend for a decent meal at a convivial pub / restaurant which doesn't cost the earth and is a good deal more enjoyable and usually tastier than the average fast food establishment.

Back in the 1970s you were lucky to get a packet of peanuts or a dried up cheese sandwich along with your gassy pint.

The Good Beer Guide still comes out every year – but now you can access the details online, and even add the guide to your satnav (presumably with Health and Safety advice on drinking and driving). It will point you towards good beer, good food and pubs in wonderful locations.

All power to your elbow, Mr. Protz. Good job!

http://www.camra.org.uk

P.S. FYI the British pub is once more in danger – but now the threat is the onslaught of the massive supermarket chains with offers of low cost alcohol – beer, wines and spirits at prices that the pubs just can't match. In an economic downturn many people are choosing to drink and eat at home as it saves a few pounds.

BEWARE! This is probably an Indian perfume scam.

Looks like an Indian version of the Scentmall rip-off pirates.

Only found this because they started plastering stupid comments all over Site Jabber - so they have done a great job at alerting us to their business methods.

"Partha B" - definitely not destined for MENSA?

I would be VERY careful before using this site. No, that's wrong. I WOULD NOT use this site.

Bereavement Counselling for Kids. Great organisation.

For 19 years Winston's Wish has been helping kids facing the trauma of grieving for a dead parent, grandparent or sibling. In Britain every year 22,000 school age children suffer the death of a parent. Specialist counselling definitely helps - understanding the range of emotions that the child will be going through – grief, loss, anger, rage, guilt, relief…

The charity aims to help children directly, but also advises other family members, carers and teachers on the difficult task of helping kids cope with life after the death of a close family member.

It's British, but the sensible and realistic advice on the site is good for anywhere in the world.

Gold star.

http://www.winstonswish.org.uk

Alex - One of my favourite cartoons.

Alex, the cynical, rude, selfish, manipulating, wealth and status obsessed banker, grew out of Thatcher's 1980s boom years on the line of Gordon Gekko – 'Greed is Good'. He is offset by his friend and colleague Clive, long-suffering wife Penny, son Christopher and many other cleverly drawn characters.

The cartoons, produced by the collaborative duo of Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor poke sharp points into the inanities and hypocrisy of big business and banking in particular. The twists are usually funny, the many characters often recognizable and the storyline usually up to date and relevant.

If you've missed the rise of Alex from its life at the Daily News in 1987 to the Independent and finally to the Daily Telegraph in 1992 (still its current home) you can get the back story and character resumes from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(comic_strip)

Love it. http://www.alexcartoon.com/

Gardeners World is the UK's favourite gardening show on TV. It seems that about 50% of the female population of Britain over the age of 40, (including certain members of my family), want to elope to Italy with Monty Don, one of the presenters…

Jealous? Me? Perish the thought…

Good, friendly website gives excellent coverage of gardening tips, answers to problems, seasonal advice, classified adverts, offers on plants, trips etc.

If you are a UK based gardener (or based anywhere with a similar climate) – well worth bookmarking.

http://blog.gardenersworld.com/

The British Army official website is informative and well designed.

For those thinking about a career on the military as either a regular or reservist, for those wanting to decipher the structures and formations of the army, or find out the official view on current operations and deployments, this is the website to visit.

It also links to British forces radio, news and magazines.

Interesting. http://www.army.mod.uk/

Green fingered gardening wizard or complete gardening neophyte? (I'm the latter.)The Royal Horticultural Society Website has something for everybody if they interested in anything to do with gardens.

The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 and granted a Royal Charter in 1861. It promotes gardening and horticulture in Britain and Europe, runs flower and garden shows throughout the year and has four major display gardens open to the public – Wisley (Surrey), Rosemoor (Devon), Hyde Hall (Essex) and Harlow Carr (Yorkshire).

The website is extensive and easy to navigate. They offer gardening courses, advice on plants, design, jobs to do, places to visit, gardening for kids, shows and events, online shopping, competitions, research, etc., etc.

Good website and the RHS shows and gardens are a great day out if you are in the area. Recommended.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/