January 18, 2012 By
Simon Haughton web works wonders
November 29, 2011 By
We are all in this together – aren’t we?
A Personal View
This is an odd post to write. Over the last few weeks I’ve seen business owners in the sights of educationalists, politicians attacking public sector staff and everyone attacking journalists. Today I even responded on a blog about the whole subject – time to put pen to paper.
We appear to be on the edge of insanity. I heard it said that “Statesmen think of the next generation. Politicians think of the next election”. I spent 5 years supplying local governments in the UK – I met plenty of politicians and statesmen – oddly the statesmen were the officers (the employees of the councils) and not the members.
Update – our beloved leader (we did all vote for him didn’t we?) was drooling yesterday – December 1st – about Starbucks opening a batch of drive through coffee outlets. So, the road warriors can now balance a different brand of coffee in one hand and their mobile in the other – whilst messing with their MP3 players on the outside lane of the M4. That announcement really is going to help our balance of payments. Why can’t I get excited? If you can handle the excitement the link is here
I’m probably a baby boomer (born in 1960), but just too late to get the best pensions. That’s what these strikes are about isn’t it? Or are the strikes really about one final chip, the last straw, the eleventh hour? Probably got a few metaphors wrong there, doubtless I’ll be corrected.
Apparently we live in a ‘consumer society’. Excuse me – but how does that work? Let’s consume, but not produce. Let’s worry when the spending on the high street goes down. After all, we do HAVE to buy our quota of imported goods don’t we? That’s why VAT reduction exercises are so dangerous and why the car scrappage scheme was an amazing act of financial mismanagement.
Remember St. Michael? The patron saint of shopping.
It was the clothing brand of Marks and Spencer. In their store in Keighley they had a sign saying “93% of St Michael goods are made in the UK”. One day the sign went – so did the logo, so did the mills, so did the jobs, so did the exports and so did the tax revenue. But M&S profits probably went up, so that’s okay.
When the mills went, that wasn’t the end of the story – as this quick trip down the Worth Valley shows.
When I left school I worked in a company on the Worth Valley making plumbing fittings – like these.
The folks who worked there were fantastic but the frightening lack of investment had to be seen to be believed. But the bosses got new cars fairly regularly. I know because I’d filled them up 2 years previously. There was a very manual foundry, there were machines which had been donated by the good folks of Maine for our war effort (but I don’t know which war).
We were working in buildings with bricked up windows from the days of the ‘Windows Tax’. We had some very risky and dubious practices, then I went to University and learnt about the “Health & Safety (At Work) Act”. Oops. Those 500 folks have lost their jobs, and they’re not buying scrap steel, limestone or coke anymore. Nor are they using the services of the local metallurgy labs. There goes another load of income tax and exports. And, boy, did they export.
I spent 7 years around British Leyland initially working for a team who developed an analysis system to pinpoint troublesome machine tools. At Longbridge I saw first hand the way ‘wild cat’ strikes developed, and how the press gave a very odd sided story. I moved to Freight Rover and we made some huge strides with IT in a few years. You can see how Freight Rover has developed here. (Not for the faint hearted).
So, our industries reduced our needs for imports, provided exports, offered career paths and fed enormous supply chains.
Again, a consumer society? How exactly does that work.
November 24, 2011 By
Bath Homecoming Parade
21st Signal Regiment Return
This week saw a homecoming parade in Leicester, and a similar one in Bath. My oldest lad, Liam, is in the 21st Signal Regiment and they’ve all returned safely from Afghanistan. The ceremony at Bath Abbey was quite amazing – I’ve never been in a church with so many people before.
This panorama doesn’t do the Regiment (or the Abbey) full justice. There is a technical tip here – if you’re creating panoramas, it’s much easier if people stay in their places! I had to take the pictures before the service started.
The freedom of the city speech by the Mayor of Bath was incredible. “My city is now your city”.
If you click on the picture above, you’ll be taken to the full resolution panorama which you can then download.
The following link will take you to a video of the parade on Vimeo
The original video will soon be available for download (possibly from a Skydrive) – it’s way too big to stream from Vimeo. Sorry about the aspect, but I’m able to get steadier pictures if I shoot vertical rather than horizontal. (Room for improvement there then!)
September 8, 2011 By
The Demolition of Common Lane
The final days for Freight Rover
In the very early days of personal computers I had the fantastic experience to be in charge of PCs and mini-computers in Freight Rover. Since then it became LDV and sadly the company closed down in the last few years.
Today I had the opportunity to visit the site with my daughter, Sarah, and our cameras.
The site, known as Common Lane, was actually based from Drews Lane. When working there it was obviously a decent sized bit of land, this was difficult to appreciate because of all the buildings.
Sadly, without the buildings it’s easy to see how large the site really was.
The site originally started making small vans was an office block with assembly buildings – Bromford House was on Drews Lane. (It still is, but not for long, as this picture shows). This picture clearly shows how factories were often built East to West. The long side of the triangle in the roof line faces south to gain the maximum amount of light during the working day.
Without the landmarks of the buildings it was very difficult to orient.
Very few buildings were still standing – the last ones to be taken down are those around the many sub-stations in the site. A vehicle factory consumed huge amounts of power. In Common Lane there were four 110KV (that’s 110,000 volts) substations.
This was the final assembly building – the huge pit is where the conveyor belt controls and return feed were housed.
The pile of rubble on the left hand side is where the main office block of Freight Rover was based (along with the fledgling IT offices). The buildings in the background were the manufacturing facilities of Metro Cammell. If you think you’ve seen that name before, look in the doorway of lots of underground trains.
During the Second World War the part of the site made gliders. These were made here. In the background is the M6 (between Junction 5 and Junction 6) – beyond that is Castle Bromwich – where Spitfires were built.
The space in the background was the Press Shop – huge presses which made body panels from rolls of steel. This was one of the largest press shops in Europe.
In 1985 we installed a very complicated PC/ mainframe solution here – this involved us IT folks working lots of night shifts and being there for the shift changes. The noise in this building was incredible, and the folks working there were equally fantastic.
This experience was strange and very moving. They say you shouldn’t go back to an old place of employment – this opportunity was quite incredible.
July 25, 2011 By
Magic in Leicester?
Now here’s a thought
Every year the Rugby League Super League holds it’s fixture list in one venue over two days. 4 games on Saturday and 3 on the Sunday.
I went to the Murrayfield event a few years ago – it is fantastic. But..
- It is an expensive weekend – travel, accommodation plus the essential extras (often from a glass)
- The stadium rarely gets more than half full.
What if they ran the weekend at Leicester? What would the advantages be?
- The bulk of the fans would be from the M62 corridor, and many could travel down for a single game without too much trouble
- East Midlands airport is pretty close with good public transport links, so access for Catalans fans will be relatively easy
- The underused park and rides could take a huge boost
- There could be a significant opportunity for the city hotels to do some great trade
The games could be played in two wonderful stadia at the same time. Yes, ticketing could be interesting and there may be a lot of pedestrian traffic across the bottom of Aylestone Road – but there must be enough brainpower kicking around in the 2 clubs, the RL , the city council and Leicestershire Constabulary to sort that one. And to take advantage of 2 stadia – why not add the top 2 teams from the Championship – so 8 games, 2 per venue per day? More people would stay and watch two games than stay to watch all four or all three
The venues would be pretty full, Saffron Lane could have a windfall for parking fees and the city would have a great time.
Edinburgh managed to host the Great Scottish Run on the same weekend – loads of rugby fans turned up to support and run.
What do you think? Is this a chance for Leicester to shine?
June 21, 2011 By
PC pricing structures
How much is that dodgy in the window?
Sat 1st Oct: - Derby Runner stall at Leicestershire Primary Schools Cross Country, Prestwold Hall, Leics.
This is a copy of an e-mail I received. There have been many advances in spell checkers, but the e-mail author didn’t quite get it.
Sadly, I remember spending these sums of money on IT kit. My favourite gaff was when my late father-in-law asked my advice before buying an Amstrad PC. “I doubt that PCs will ever come down below £1,000” said I, all-knowing. Oops.
Subject: 30 Old PC Ads That Will Blow Your Processor
10MB Drive for $ 3398.00
Today you can get a 1TB drive for $ 85.00
1TB is about 100,000 times larger than 10MB
—
This is an early Laptop, with 64K of memory
Today laptops have 2 to 4 Gig of memory
4GB is about 64,000 times larger than 64K
—
Here are two disk systems, 80MB for $ 12K and 300MB for $ 20K
Today you can get a DVD that holds 4Gig for $ .75 each
A 4GB DVD is about 14 times larger than a 300MB Disk
—
Here is a 16K RAM Memory Card, $ 495.00
Today you can get 4GB RAM for $ 99.00
4GB Ram is about 256,000 times larger than 16K
—
This is an early modem, delivering 4800 BPS
Modems today deliver 56K
56K is about 12 times faster
—
This early PC is offering dual floppy drives and 128K of RAM
Today PC’s have between 2 to 4 GB RAM
4GB RAM is about 32,000 times larger than 128K
—
Yes this was my first video game system. Yes those are the joy sticks.
Todays game systems are far more advances in graphics, controlers, etc.
—
Here is another early laptop, this one can expand up to 640KB RAM
Today laptops have 2 to 4 Gig of memory
4GB is about 6,000 times larger than 640KB
—
Checkout this Amiga, promoting the quality of graphics it can produce.
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Apple does it again, 5Mhz with 1MB RAM
Today PCs are 3Ghz with 4GB RAM
3Ghz is 600 times faster and 4GB RAM is 4000 times larger than 1MB RAM
—
This ATARI Computer has 48K or RAM and offers 128 colors
Today PC’s have 4GB RAM and offer 32 Bit color which is 4.2 billion colors
—
The TRS-80 was produced in the late 70’s and early 80’s with 1.7Mhz processor and 4KB RAM
Today PCs are 3Ghz with 4GB RAM
3Ghz is 1700 times faster and 4GB RAM is 1 Million times larger than 4KB RAM
—
This early pc offered a 13″ screen for just $ 3300.00
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I’m not sure about the specs, but this looks more like a typewritter
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The price is coming down, this pc offeres 4KB RAM for only $ 249.00
—
The ACE1000 offers 64KRAM and includes upper and lower case keys, plus num lock
Today pc’s offer 4GB RAM and all include shift keys plus num lock
4GB is about 6,000 times larger than 640KB
—
Get up and running right with this PC, offering 4K RAM and a cassette player
I’m not sure you can even buy cassette’s anymore
—
This was the latest and greatest in laptop design
How would you like to carry that around during school
—
The TRS-80 was produced in the late 70’s and early 80’s with 1.7Mhz processor and 4KB RAM
Today PCs are 3Ghz with 4GB RAM
3Ghz is 1700 times faster and 4GB RAM is 1 Million times larger than 4KB RAM
—
How about another 10MB Hard Drive for $ 3,495.00
Today you can get a 1TB drive for $ 85.00
1TB is about 100,000 times larger than 10MB
—
One of Mac’s early computers, offeres 32 Bit Processor
—
Here’s a 15MB Hard Drive for $ 2,495.00, the price is coming down
Today you can get a 1TB drive for $ 85.00
1TB is about 69,000 times larger than 15MB
—
This Tandy 5000 offers a blazing 20Mhz processor and 2MB RAM
Today PCs are 3Ghz with 4GB RAM
3Ghz is 150 times faster and 4GB RAM is 2000 times larger than 2MB RAM
—
Here’s a PC in a breifcase, complete with modem and 5″ monitor.
Today pc’s don’t have to plug the whole phone in, just the phone line and have up 22″+ monitors.
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Checkout the joysticks and other options that come with this pc.
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Produced in early 80’s, the VIC-20 came with 5KB RAM
Today pc’s come with 4GB RAM
4GB is about 838,000 times larger than 5KB
—
For only $ 999.00 you can get this pc that offers 384K RAM and 20M Hard Disk Card.
Today pc’s come with 4GB RAM and 500+ GB Drives
4GB is about 10,000 times larger than 384KB RAM and 500 GB drive is about 25000 times larger than 20M
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Here’s a basic pc that offered 4K RAM that you had to hook up to a TV.
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Another personal pc that offeres 4K RAM for under $ 199.95, but didn’t come with a monitor.
June 20, 2011 By
VAT is a very blunt instrument
And here’s why
Ed Balls has joined the debate on “let’s reduce VAT to stimulate the economy”. Probably as a knee jerk reaction to the fact that high street sales have fallen.
VAT is a tax on consumption. One day twenty or so years ago the mandarins in the civil service must have had quite a party. “Look chaps, in one fell swoop, overnight we’ve acquired a few thousand unpaid tax collectors, and we’ll not even worry about their pensions”.
I run a business. This blog post is my personal view. I’m also an active member in a few local business forums and I’m also a director of a charity. In addition, our customers include businesses, schools and voluntary sectors.
A huge amount of VAT collected is never seen by the Treasury. Why not? Because when we supply to VAT registered organisations they claim the VAT back. (Hint to school associations. Never, ever buy anything for your school. In most cases you’ll not be able to claim the VAT back. The school can).
So – if we reduce VAT then that will stimulate the spending on the high street. Maybe. And is that such good news?
Not good news for many thousands of businesses who only supply to VAT registered organisations. The customer reclaims the VAT so the rate of VAT is almost irrelevant. These businesses waste hundreds of thousands of man hours chopping and changing their systems to reflect these changes for no benefit to anyone.
So let’s stimulate the high street – that’s good for the economy, isn’t it? Possibly – or not.
Food is already VAT exempt. The vast, vast majority of goods purchased on the high street are manufactured abroad. So – a reduction in VAT has a negative impact on our balance of trade.
Here’s a thought if VAT tinkering is required.
Remove (not reduce) VAT on basic DIY materials for a year. Define basic materials as sand, cement, wood and primer paint. Why? Because the cost of these materials generally means that imports are not cost effective anyway. In addition, expenditure on these items will generally result in expenditure on other lines. (If you build a new patio, then you may buy some new plants).
A removal of VAT on base materials will also give the grey economy a much needed smack around the ear. The “Mr O’Reilly” offering to do the cash job “to save you the VAT” may have the hard time he deserves. (For no VAT actually read no warranty, no insurance and no income tax).
That’s my ideas – for what they’re worth. What do you think?
May 30, 2011 By
SWOT Analysis
Using the tools of business in class
For a few years the boundaries between education, business and the voluntary sector are blurring. Most of our customers are primary schools, I run a small business and I’m a trustee of a well established voluntary organisation – so I’ve seen this first hand.
There is a fantastic book by Jim Collins which also shows this. Today on twitter a group of teachers suggested adding SWOT analysis as part of their reports.
A few months ago I was a member of a group in a voluntary sector meeting where a ‘professional facilitator’ was helping us through a SWOT analysis. The best I can say about her facilitation is that she was all over the place – as defined here.
A very powerful way to look at SWOT analysis is this -
Strengths and weaknesses are internal.
Opportunities and threats are external.
What could this mean for pupils? Here’s how my SWOT could have looked as a 14 year old (year 10 in new money).
Strengths – able to grasp new ideas quickly, unfazed by new material,analytically very good
Weaknesses – seeks peer acceptance, tends to wander off, avoids PE like the plague, tired
Opportunities – with some application this pupil could get straight As through GCSEs and ‘A’ levels. He didn’t because the teachers knew nothing about the
Threats – the only one I’ll share here is the three paper rounds (morning,evening and Sundays). The school knew little, or nothing, about the external influences on many of our lives. Some of these threats were devastating for some of my fellow pupils.
I believe in the intervening twenty plus (a LOT) years school staff do know more about their pupils. But do they know enough to really answer the Threats question – external does include outside school.
What do you think?
May 29, 2011 By
Councils and Credit Cards
May be innocent – but what about VATman?
The Telegraph has used the freedom of information act to obtain expenditure reports from many councils across the United Kingdom.
But do the figures disguise something else? Is there a VAT scam at play here?
Here’s how it could work – I’m not saying it does – just that it could.
Let’s look at Wrexham. This council has a population of 123,900 and spent £2,504,532 on credit cards for IT equipment (over £20 per constituent). If you live in Wrexham how does that make you feel?
Look deeper in those figures and we see that one particular supplier seems to have the bulk of the business – including one single credit card purchase of over £33,000. Look at the list and you’ll see the same supplier name also appear as www. …
The first thought this raises is that this procedure looks very, very strange. For a council to spend approximately £2 million pounds with one supplier on credit cards is strange – an explanation would be interesting. Unlikely, but interesting.
I have no proof of the next statement, but it is very likely that the council is hit with a credit card surcharge by the supplier. It’s also likely that the supplier pays a surcharge for transacting the credit card payment. It is also highly probable that the payment levied to the council and the payment made to the bank is different.
Here comes the VAT scam opportunity
As an estimate the supplier is taking £2 million pounds from the council. In the current environment I would expect the supplier to be running a mark up of 5% maximum. (If YOU would like to spend £2 million per year with my business on equipment on credit card payments please get in touch – TODAY!)
The council may be paying a credit card surcharge of 1.75% and the supplier paying a surcharge of 1.25%.
A difference of 0.5% – not much.
Bring on the man from the HMRC.
£35,000 – this is the credit card surcharge paid by the council
£25,000 – this is the credit card surcharge paid by the supplier
£10,000 – extra profit received by the supplier
No VAT is charged on the transactions as they are financial transactions.
So the man from the HMRC loses out by £2,000. Don’t try this at home.
I can’t prove any of the above is true – but the loopholes are there. It would be a great one for the Audit Commission to investigate as a swansong.
Could someone please explain why a government body with “responsibilities for overseeing and commissioning local audit” has an 0844 number? Do they actively discourage you from contacting them?
May 26, 2011 By
Learning FC
Fantastic Maths and Literacy Resources
I first saw these materials in 1998 when they were in development. Over the last 5 or 6 years I have mentioned them to many teachers, but couldn’t locate them.
Here they are – these materials are Crown Copyright © 2000.
The materials were funded by the PFA
There are 6 pdf files in all – covering a whole raft of resources – all linked back to football.
Here’s a sample activity
My related activity – find the highest finishing team in the 2011/12 season that charges those prices. You may have to look a long way.
The activities are linked to the levels from 2000 – for example,
The comprehensive teacher notes for each activity may help you make the best of the resources and adapt them to your own class requirements
Here are the pdf files for the 6 sections
Section 1 The Match
Section 2 The Players
Section 3 The fans
Section 4 Football as a Business
Section 5 The Stadium
Section 6 The World
