Quick Recap

Four days ago I watched a YouTube video of five or so brave police officers first sit upon and then taser an unarmed, immobile student at the University of Florida for asking one to many questions of John Kerry. John Kerry, who attempted to stop the proceedings but failed, could only look on in horror as Mr Andrew Meyer was first grabbed, dragged, strangled, sat upon and then tasered. All when he was so very clearly rendered immobile. Furthermore, what was the motivation for such an attack? He asked a couple of potentially uncomfortable questions of John Kerry.

The good squad, for I can find no better name for them, stepped in and beat up Mr Meyer.

I was appalled. So much so that I took the time to send an email to the President of the University of Florida, Mr J. Bernard Machen's who can be contacted via the following email address president@UFL.EDU.

Before I show you the reply, I just wanted to include the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. For those individuals, such as the University of Florida Police Department, who don't know the words, they read;

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The Reply

Mr J. Bernard Machen's reply is as follows.

Good morning,

Your message was among those I have received since Monday afternoon when University of Florida student Andrew Meyer was tasered and arrested at a town hall forum held by Sen. John Kerry.

I want you to know I hear you loud and clear and share many of your concerns. What I regret most of all about the incident that occurred during a political forum is the lack of civil discourse, which is the keystone of an academic institution such as ours.

We have begun several steps to gain a full understanding of how events unfolded on Monday and to determine what protocols need changing. Students and faculty will play an active role in this process, and every aspect will be open to public review. We have not and will not assign blame until the investigation is complete.

Updates will be posted regularly on www.ufl.edu.

We appreciate your patience as we allow the process to take its course.

Sincerely,

J. Bernard Machen
President, University of Florida

Firstly, I would love to know exactly what charge Mr Meyer was being indicted with. Failure to comply with a completely made up rule invented on the spot? Unwillingness to be a passive victim of a fascist mentality? I joke. But given he couldn't have broken any law, his arrest for subsequent 'resistance' would be unmerited. In the UK this chain of events is known as "Fruit from the poison tree.". In other words, the initial event can not support any further legal action as itself was illegal. In the sense that a police officer burgles a house and subsequently finds some potential evidence of a crime. That evidence is rendered unusable because it cannot be relied upon due to the 'chain of evidence'. In this case, the chain shows an individual exerting his rights held under the constitution (or any legal framework say) who is then attacked by first one, then a number of police officers. From this point onwards, no matter what we or they may consider him, HE is the victim of the attack. Pure and simple.

Lets change the context. Your walking down a street whistling and a police officer jumps out of a cruiser and attempts to use pepper spray on you for 'that offence'. It doesn't exist. It's not open to legal interpretation and yet the officer appears to feel they are both officer, judge, jury and executioner. This is not legal. No matter what the 'best advice' might suggest.

The bottom line is this. Despite all the strongest suggestion to the contrary, the Police Officers in Florida, New York, Manchester UK, London, Paris or wherever ARE NOT ABOVE THE LAW. Neither are they allowed to MAKE LAWS UP WHEN THEY SEE FIT. Police Officers do not have the right to dispense justice if and when they see fit. Unless I'm not mistaken, we are not living in Nazi Germany or New York in the time of Judge Dredd and just because some officers would like to do something, it doesn't give them carte blanche TO DO something.

Did I mention I was going to reply to Mr Machen.

Tags: florida university, taser, brutality, police

For ages now I've been looking for an easy tool to stitch together photographs I've taken while on my travels.

Now, there ARE a number of OpenSource alternatives that give good results. But to be honest, none of them (at present at least) offer the kind of drag and drop interface that a 'purchase' bit of software can. Not that there is a vast amount of choice.

Clearly Photoshop and Photoshop Elements will contain such a tool. It's called PhotoMerge and while it is present in Photoshop Elements 5.0 for Windows; it's not so clear whether the current Mac version (4.0) contains it.

Am I crazy, or did previous versions of Mac OS X (10.0? 10.1? 10.2?) contain a free Panorama tool? Just me then.

Motivation

There's some appealing about being able to give a 'big picture' of the location and it helps to show people who've never been there a feel of how it all fits together.

So, armed with a bit of cash in PayPal I bought an unwanted version of Serif's PanoramaPlus 3 (retails at $49.99) to give it a go. OK. Firstly, this is a Windows only product. But I run Parallels (and I'm in MSDN) so that's not a problem. It was easy to setup and the results are actually pretty good. Although the application can occasionally blow up in your face and bizarrely, doesn't appear to have the ability to save 'work in progress'.


Anyway, I've played around a bit with some images I took in Disney June 2007.

One of the great things you can do is that you can create both panoramic images AND Quicktime VR movies. Both of which I've included below.

Here is a Quicktime VT of Main Street USA, in the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida.
While here is the link to the Curious George Goes to Town play area, Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida.
Finally, I've create a quick panorama of the Lights Motors Action Stunt Show, Disney Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World, Florida. (That's Disney MGM Studios of late).

Finally, I've published the source combined images in a quick gallery. Sorry if it blows up your browser! Some of the images are nearly 10,000 pixels wide.

Please be patient as the images are so large they can take a few minutes to fully download. As can be seen in this image here.

Tags: panoramaplus, serif

Believe it or not, I don't usually get all worked upon about videos I stumble across on YouTube. However, I'm making an exception here.

In the UK, given this evidence, the police officers in shot would be put on a charge and at best would be reprimanded on unpaid leave.


Watch the video as Florida University Police tackle a student for asking the 'wrong' question. Quite why it takes so many of them and they deem if necessary to Taser him, you decide.

I was so appalled I've pulled back on an investment I was going to make in Florida. But then it was the straw that broke the camels back.

I decided to ask the President of the University of Florida to explain his Police Officers actions and what he felt about it.

I've included my email here. I'll keep you posted if he replies..... but don't hold your breath.

Dear J. Bernard Machen,

Having recently viewed the actions of your campus police assaulting and then tazering a student for simply asking John Kerry a series of questions I find myself sickened to the core.

If this is the sort of brutality Florida University believes is acceptable in a free society then it doesn't bode well for the country. I myself have no reversed a decision to invest in the state of Florida. Partly because of the actions of your officers, seemingly without any repercussions, but also for other similar acts of brutality.

Florida seems to have truly turned into a violent place. But never would I have expected it to encroach into University life.

I only hope that you view the video with some regard and perhaps reflect upon whether or not the actions taken by those officers was indeed justified in the very first instance. I believe if you watch Mr Kerry and listen carefully you can see him hold up his hand to stop the attack on the student and clearly hear him say that he wanted to answer the question.

I await your reply. In the meantime, I will post my email to my personal blog for reference.

Yours

Mr Robert Leather
CEO Ascolti

Tags: florida university, taser, brutality, police

About two months ago we had just about enough of Sky Television. Multiroom had died and they just couldn't give a stuff. Then we had two sets of engineers out, but told in advance we had a tall house... and both leaving when they discovered the house... was.... tall.

I blogged about this and the outcome as well as look at some of alternatives available.

Having looked into it, and knowing I could get FreeView channels no problem at all, we opted for TopUp.TV. All in all this seemed the best of both worlds. We could cancel at any time, the devices (160gb PVR) wasn't too overpriced and did include two tuners and the £10 a month ticket for what we got was all in all a good deal.

Or so we thought.

Fact is, even though we have strong signals and the hardware delivered worked 'to specification' it NEVER worked well. Some channels we totally unwatchable on the Thomson device and worse of all, the channels you £10 to have them download over night; never once managed to download more than a couple that could ever be watched.

The problem was TOO MUCH signal it transpired. So a device was dispatched so we could cut down on those strong Freeview signals from further afield. But that made little or no difference and in the end we gave up, cancelled with TopUp and went back to Sky.....

... it's at this point it all turned a bit Pete Tong.

28th August - The first letter - TopUp have Strop Up

The letter reads

Dear Mr Leather

When you subscribed to TopUp TV you indicated that you would make payment by direct debit.

We have recently approached your bank to set up a Direct Debit Instruction. Unfortunately your bank has returned the instructions to us with the reason "Instruction cancelled by payer."

- Which is exactly right. The fact that they took TWICE the payment for the service instead of giving me a free month seems to have been lost. But given they had been in receipt of a cancellation letter for over three weeks, why the shock!? It goes on.

We hope this matter can be resolved as soon as possible but failure to respond within 14 days from the date of this letter may result in a disruption to your service

- You have to laugh. WHAT SERVICE!

Now the kicker.

Furthermore as you are currently within your 12 month contract period, failure to provide us with an updated payment method could result in your details being passed to our debt collections agency.

- At this point... I went mental!

Allow me to present exhibit A M'Lord

You will note that for NEW CUSTOMERS that it's "Just £99.99 for the PVR" (We actually paid £140 at the time), "NO CONTRACT" and "£9.99 a month"

I checked the documentation. NO CONTRACT. I looked at the SLA and the T&C's and there was only a mention of a minimum period "Should there be one".

I have to admit. For a few minutes I did indeed think I'd gone mental and signed up to a year with them.

Then I calmed down and sent them a very strongly worded (no swearing mind) letter about how I felt they were attempting to defraud me because I had signed NO SUCH 12 month contract. I took the time to find the particular legislation relating to such fraud and included it in my letter.

Time passes

.. and I get excited about the possibility of having a day in court over this.

12th September - Top Up.TV caught with Pants Down

Their letter reads;

Dear Mr Leather,

Thank you for contacting Top Up Tv.

- Really? I wouldn't imagine so. But if you say so.

We would like to confirm that the deal you signed up for on our Website did not indicate a 12 month contract.

- I wasn't under ANY impression it did! The continue.

We would like to apologise for the previous letter sent to you regarding a breach of contract, this was a Administration error.

- Well, I think that's a load of BS. My thoughts are this. They send out the "YOU OWE US CASH" letter first in the hope some poor old Granny will have a heart attack, panic and rush them a cheque. Even I had to check the contract twice and Sue initially sided with the letter. It's easily done. Send something official looking with threats of Bailiffs and most people panic; I include myself in that list.

We can confirm that you have no outstanding balance on your account...

- No.. Because you owe me £10!

.. and there is no refund due to yourself.

- Not true. But can I be bothered.

It then goes on saying I can't get the money back for the device because it's OUTSIDE the 7 day return period. Which is VERY interesting. Because THEY say to give the device a week in order to get up and running. So if you take their advice... you run out your hand back period.. Nice idea eh?

Tags: topup, topup.tv

It's can't be much more than a year ago (but is likely to be two the way times flying at present) that Sun came out of gates with Microsoft saying that it was nothing but love between them and they had patched their differences (umpty trumpty millions of dollars will do that) and would now be working together in peace and harmony.

Microsoft shared the secrets (and pitfalls) of their SMB system and Authentication methodologies for better interoperability twix Windows and Solaris and in return SUN Microsystems waited a month before making Solaris, ALL VERSIONS, free to anybody to download! Like the big bang resonates forever in space, you can apparently still hear the echoes of Steve Ballmer.

So pundits of IT's last remaining corporate Geek Tech company will not be shocked or awed by the news that the latest version of Solaris, 10, is all warm and fluffy towards the OpenSource gravy-train that is Linux.

Linux, the dream of free O/S that while is prevalent in lots of markets seems to have ABSOLUTELY ZERO impact in UK Government (a place where savings SURELY need to be made), charities or just about anybody to large to think beyond Microsoft. Now don't get me wrong. Microsoft products have come along leaps and bounds over the least few years and certainly projects like Mono bring MS technology (C#) to the Linux platform. But the costs! Microsoft, please take a long hard look at what you want to charge for software... if it wasn't so expensive, would anybody pirate it?

Tags: Solaris, linux

How much!!!!

So you've got a fantastic Sagem Axium HD45 H G4 and then 18 months go by and then suddenly... without warning (or very much warning)... nothing. Silence.... bulb gone.

Wander over to the web (if you dare) and look up the price of a replacement (projector) bulb unit. But before you do this, take a swift shot of whatever you need to calm your nerves because the news isn't good. It's bad... very bad.

In the UK at least I managed to track a lowest (that's LOWEST) price of £355.27 ($710), that's EXCLUDING VAT making the actual price around £420 ($840)!!!!. Which is even more shocking given that you can pick up a new Sagem Axium for about £1,100. So the bulb nearly equates to half it's value!

Which kind of reminds me when a mate of mine asked for an car insurance quote many years ago and was told it would be £2,000. "TWO THOUSAND POUNDS!" he replied, "I'd have to right the car off twice to get my money back!"... said insurance agent hung up.

I digress....

Here's how to save yourself £320.

Yes... £320! Sorry, but I realised I was starting to sound like an 'Info-mercial'.

The Sagem Axium HD45 (and 50 for that matter) is lit using a Osram P-VIP 100-120/13 E23h bulb. What a mouthful. Fact is, you can pick this bulb up for £100 ($200) from a number of suppliers in the UK.

But then what.

The Osram Bulb as fitted to the Sagem Axium DLP television

Step One - Shopping List

• Order you bulb, as detailed above.
• Make sure you've got some 20mm 0.5 Amp fuses. If you haven't, then order them, because they are essential to the completion of your installation.
• You'll also need either a VERY sharp craft knife or better still a Dremmel or similar. It should be noted I used a knife... and was VERY careful.
• Superglue on standby.
• Latex gloves (or similar)

Step Two - Removing the enclosure

The VERY easy bit. Remove the bulb enclosure from the TV. You open the side panel using the large screw like lock at its top. Then remove the entire door (it's not attached). Then you undo the two retaining silver screws at the top left and bottom right of the enclosure and slowly and carefully remove it.

Step Three - Removing the bulb from the enclosure.

This is actually VERY easy on a Sagem Axium as it is held in place with a simple retaining clip. What isn't so easy is the power block.

Firstly, you need to cut the power connector (pictured above) in half. this is to allow it to be removed from the enclosure without breaking the part that retains the power block. Don't panic. If you should break the top arm off, it can easily be bonded back to the main unit using Superglue.

Step Four - Re-Assembly

Using latex gloves to protect the new bulb during installation. It is essential that the glass remain perfectly clean and smudge free for best working.

Install the light first, making sure you can route the cables, don't try it the other way around.

Install the cable plug.. again... superglue as a standby.

Step Five - Before we finish!

Now it's time for the fuse. At the top of the enclosure, behind the barcode you'll find a tiny 0.5 amp fuse. It WILL be blown. Simply replace it with any 20mm 0.5 amp fuse and... wait for it... YOU'RE DONE!!

Step Six - Finishing up

While there you might want to VERY carefully clean up the inside of the projector unit which can because dusty. Always pull the dust outwards, never push in as you'll get dust on the colour wheel... which is BAD.

Pop the enclosure back in the TV. Then replace the door and turn on the TV. Then turn the TV on. After about 10 seconds it will switch on and your 10-15 minutes work will have saved you several hundreds of pounds.

Good luck!

Tags: sagem, axium, hd45, replacement bulb, dlp

If you're from the United States of America... and have any interesting in either your own country (that would be America) or the rest of the world then please vote for the only candidate who appears to base his policies on common sense, the US Constitution and an understanding of history.

Despite winning a considerable number of the 'Straw Polls' he doesn't seem to be making much of an appearance on mainstream media. I wonder why that would be?

Thanks goodness for the Internet, because he's actually gaining a 'grass roots' following purely down to word of mouth. Personally, having listened to what he says over the usual rhetoric of the likes of Giuliani, Romney and McCain. All they can deliver is "terrorists", "homeland security" or "more terrorists" as a campaign speech.

What's even funny is how he's appearing on the Fox News site... in that he's hardly there. Yet, when you look at the Straw Poll results; out of the twenty three straw polls so far he's:

• Won 9
• Came second 4 times
• Came third 4 times and
• Came forth 3 times.

Considering he isn't back by the main media forces, big business and whatever secret forces you might think exist and run the world.. that's some record!

Tags: Ron Paul, US, 2008, Republican

Now I'm not going to scoff and I'm definitely not going to act all superior. But how has it come about that one fifth of the people in the World's THIRD largest land mass cannot find it on a map. It's 9.6 million square kilometres! You could throw a dart blindfolded and stand a good chance of hitting it on a world map!

But the questions that's really burning in my mind is this. Exactly where DID they think it was?

So here is a nice simple map of the world for people like Miss South Carolina.



America is the one on the left, in green (or the irony) and with that 'Stars and Stripes' flag over it.

Tags: US, Education

I see Al Gore has been caught red handed taking a private jet. Fox news, always the bastion of truth and justice in America (sarcasm) are going to release the damning video this coming Sunday (9th September).

What will there headline be? Politician found lying?

Which then leads to to ponder if this is actually 'news' or not. Either way, it's another example of 'do as I say, not as I do'. With John Prescott telling the UK public that they are killing the planet with their cars and then has a 5.3 litre V12 Jaguar drive him 100 yards to a conference so, and I quote, his wife's hair didn't get blown about too much. Well, as I said at the time, I find my hair gets blown about a lot on public transport also... hence the car.

Tags: Al Gore