Brian Redhead Was Right
I have been listening to the Malaysian Grand Prix today on BBC Radio 5 Live.
It has been a disaster for Sky, as for most of the race, it has been raining cats and dogs.
So as the late great Brian Redhead once said. “If television had been invented first, radio would be the dominant medium, as the pictures are better!”
The BBC commentators are proving him right, by bringing interesting guests to the microphone, explaining everything that is going on extremely well. But then, the BBC has had all that practice with cricket.
If I was paranoid, after reading Brian Redhead’s Wikipedia entry, I’d think I had a ruptured appendix, as he died of one, after complaining of pain in his left side and leg. But I’ve had my pain for years, so it’s probably nothing to worry about.
My Zopa Spreadsheet
I have a spreadsheet written in Excel, that documents all of my Zopa investment.
What I find about Excel is that it is so illogical and nothing is intuitive. When I wrote a PC-based version of Artemis, that was a project management, spreadsheet and a graphics program, it was way in advance of Excel today for ease-of-use. But then it didn’t have all the features.
Am I being arrogant?
No! At my age and state of health I have that luxury.
On a more important theme, is the spreadsheet telling me what I should do with Zopa?
I think so and I’ll be making changes to my lending philosophy in the next few days.
Zopa Mentioned in the Guardian
My Google Alert for Zopa found this report in the Guardian. It’s not particularly relevant to Zopa or peer-to-peer lending as this extract shows.
Not all hairdressers are on one giant VAT dodge, otherwise there would have been some public outcry and we would all, by now, be doing each other’s hair (we would call it peer-to-peer grooming, it would be somewhere between Zopa and a zoo, and it wouldn’t matter what we looked like, because we’d all look the same).
But it does show that you should choose a unique name for your company.
Right-Handed Typing
I’ve now decided, that even if the mangled nerves in my left arm, aren’t the cause of my problems, holding up my left arm for typing irritates the hand and makes everything worse.
So I’ve now started using just my right hand for typing. I just rest my left arm and hand in my lap.
Years ago, there was a picture taken of me, in a recumbent position with the monitor more-or-less between my feet, which were on the desk and the keyboard in my lap. So I’ve always had problems about getting a convenient position for typing.
I’ve looked for one-handed keyboards on the web and there is nothing like I want. Although, one site says a laptop keyboard is best for one-handed typing and that is what I use anyway.
One thing that may affect my typing is that I’ve done any awful lot of setting of letterpress type. This is a right-handed operation, where the stick is held in the left and the letters are picked and placed by the right. I’m not sure, if I ever did any typsetting after my arm was broken, but if I did, it could explain how easy I find this method of typing.
After all, the last four or five posts have been done this way!
Not Annoyed By Students
As UCH is a teaching hospital, I was always being visited by students, who obviously needed to examine real patients.
I don’t mind this, but others might. But they’ve obviously got to practice somewhere.
I chatted with one all evening, as she only left at about half past eleven. It was certainly a better experience, than watching the dreadful TV system.
The UCH TV/Phone System
It’s no better than the one at Addenbrookes. And there’s still no BBC 5 Live! As Fornula 1 is not on BBC1 much of the time these days, that will be a cause for complaint.
The accounting for the cards didn’t seem to be too accurate either!
I did laugh at the rather smug message.
You are enjoying <channel>
Does anybody with a brain enjoy Channel 5?
Next time, I go into hospital, I’m taking a radio.
The Unusual Things You See in Hospital
I’d never realised until I saw it that all London buses have large identfication letters on their roofs, but looking down from my room I could easily see them.
I suppose they are for identification purposes from Police helicopters or the Air Ambulance.
A Couple of Days in Hospital
Some will know that on Wednesday I collapsed, called an ambulance and ended up in University College Hospital. I thought at first I was having another stroke, but whilst lying on the floor, I felt that this wasn’t the case. The paramedics couldn’t get in, but luckily the builder opposite, who I talk to most days, had a ladder and came through the open window.
I called the ambulance, as my left hand was twitching after doing a lot of typing. These days, I use my left hand for shift and control and I think all the movement had irritated my humerus. And no! It’s not funny. In the end I got frightened, and it got me very worried, so that is why I dialled 999. I sat on the chair and when trying to stand up, my left leg gave way so I just laid on the floor, until I was rescued.
The trip to hospital was quick and they were examining me within a few minutes.
They ended up admitting me and I was in a First Floor single room in the tower, looking out over the Euston Road.
I was fully checked out and they found there were problems with my heart, which I did know about to a certain extent. But I got a very good diagnosis for free. when I was having the echnocardiogram, it felt like I was back in Hong Kong, as the operator of the machine and his student, were both Chinese.
I left on Friday with a whole new load of drugs.
So all in all was very positive.
Can I Have That in Writing?
This was my response, when a doctor in hospital said I was a young man.
I didn’t get what I wanted. But the thought was nice anyway!
An Interview With Roger Bannister
The Times today has a long interview of Sir Roger Bannister by Matthew Syed. Beg, borrow or steal a copy of the paper to read the article.
Syed finishes the article with this paragraph.
After two hours of conversation, it seems as if we have barely scratched the surface of Bannister’s extraordinary life. To meet him is to come face to face with a seminal figure in British history, but also to perceive a kinder, more civilised epoch. Bannister is an intellectual, a patriot and a man of tremendous honour. In every sense, a great Briton.
If anybody deserves to receive the Order of Merit it is Sir Roger.
The Anonymous Widower 