WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Big Kev]

The M6 is closed at Preston, due to an overturned HGV, so we won't go to the seaside today.

[PanBiker]

A new website for Barlick supposedly to attract visitors to the town is getting a bit of flack on the local Facebook sites. It has been put up by a consortium including contributions from the European Union Development Fund, HM Government, Northern Powerhouse (also HM Gov run) and the Borough of Pendle. Apparently it cost £8,000, Barlick councillors voted against it when it was first mooted as a waste of funding which could have been spent better. Main complaints is that it is not fully inclusive although apparently it is not finished yet. Some of the links take you well out of town. This of course begs the question why would you put it online if it's not finished?

Come To Barnoldswick

We used to have the Visit Barnoldswick site which was put up by the Town Council to great acclaim with a public launch in the Town Square and a full colour presentation of the content in booklet form for those who were not online. That ran quite well for a few years and had sections for all areas of the community. OGFB had a reference on there as did Bosom Friends and lots of other organisations.

It's security certificate ran out and the Town Council decided it was not recoverable! I did point out at the time that it only needed the SSL certificate upgrading and you can get free ones of those. It would have been relatively easy to find someone with experience of the back end software of the platform that it ran on. 10 minutes of a job for someone with the right skill set. Deaf ears and no Visit Barnoldswick site.

OGFB runs on a free SSL certificate, it takes less than 10 minutes to update it when required.

[Tizer]

Main complaints is that it is not fully inclusive although apparently it is not finished yet. Some of the links take you well out of town. This of course begs the question why would you put it online if it's not finished?

Ever since web sites went mainstream in the 1990s the strategy has been put it up there and see if it works, rather than searching for and ironing out glitches in advance. The business brains realised it saved them money and so it was then applied to other areas of commerce.

When I clicked the link the first thing that came up was `Barnoldswick: An online virtual high street'. Which suggested to me that they don't want people to come to Barlick, just buy the stuff online.

[PostmanPete]

I've just had a look at their 'cycle route' and the directions given take you up Red Lion Street in Earby instead of the proper route of Stoney Bank Road...!

[Stanley]

I had a furtle and am not impressed. Why does the panoramic pic on the 'About us' page show Pendle Hill? You can't see it from Barlick. The content is so sparse it tells you virtually nothing. I'm also confused by the fact that one of the funders is the ERDF. Haven't they heard about Brexit?
PS. I got fed up of searching but why are there only white faces in the images on the site?

[Tizer]

I'm also confused by the fact that one of the funders is the ERDF. Haven't they heard about Brexit?

The ERDF is an EU organisation but its aim is to benefit the whole of Europe. For example this sentence from the home page of its web site:
In 2021-2027 it will enable investments in a smarter, greener, more connected and more social Europe that is closer to its citizens.
We're just a little island on the fringe of Europe that has put two fingers up to the EU but they're obviously still willing to give us some help, regardless of our Government ministers still living in the days of the British Empire!

[Stanley]

I think we are agreed that regardless of funding it's a lousy attempt at a local website designed by people who have no in depth knowledge of the town and aren't very good at research.

[plaques]

Possibly the worst website I have seen lately is the one for the Burnley Hospital. Ask for a plan or map of the site to get the location of the department you are intended to attend you finish up with a picture of the entrance door to the department. In modern buildings one door is very much like any other door. If its the waiting room you want you get a picture of some seats. I daren't ask where the toilet is. A total waist of time.

[Tizer]

BBC: Pictures on the theme of 'great drives' LINK The `Teddy tableau' looks like fun and I had to look up Nissan Figaro to find out that it's a cute little car.

[Stanley]

My favourite was the donkey in the New Forest......

[Tripps]

My eldest grandaughter stars a new school this year. She has been told that she must have her own laptop computer, and bring it in every day. It must be a Chrome Book type and it must be the one supplied by the school, and is obtainable only from the school.

► Show Spoiler

That will be £500 please ! Twelve monthly easy payments raises that to £570.

[Big Kev]

My eldest grandaughter stars a new school this year. She has been told that she must have her own laptop computer, and bring it in every day. It must be a Chrome Book type and it must be the one supplied by the school, and is obtainable only from the school.

► Show Spoiler

That will be £500 please ! Twelve monthly easy payments raises that to £570.

One of my granddaughters had to have an iPad, supplied by the school of course.

[PanBiker]

My grandaughter Isla has an Ipad supplied by school as well Kev, (South Craven).

[Tripps]

When you say 'supplied by' do you mean free of charge?

[Big Kev]

When you say 'supplied by' do you mean free of charge?

No, paid for.

[Stanley]

It used to be a pencil box and a school-bag!
What happens if a family can't afford to pay and would rather spend the money on food or heat?
Why does it have to be Microsoft or Apple? Both taking a profit. Why not Linux based and free software?
Both firms are going to get new customers hooked on their products for life so it is they who should be providing the computers and the software free. As it is they are being paid and getting free advertising as well. Nice one!
Later at 07:30. We have another acronym to remember.... DSD athlete evidently means 'Different Sexual Development.'.

[plaques]

What happens if a family can't afford to pay and would rather spend the money on food or heat? Don't be silly they will just have to go into debt.
Credit cards aren't available to the under 18's so the tab will always be picked up by parents and if their credit rating is so low that they are refused credit what happens next. Does the student get refused entry to the school?

[Big Kev]

The iPad is a choice, it's not compulsory for school entry. Those without one can use the tech available in the classroom, the 'paid for' option means they can take it home with them.

[Tripps]

Does the student get refused entry to the school?

I don't know, but this is a school where the catchment area is measured to the nearest metre, and the whole local property market has been distorted by its presence. They're good and they know it.

I'd have thought making a pupil carry such a machine to and fro every day was risky, but since they are Chromebooks perhaps they are not attractive to the local thieves.

[Cathy]

My thought was that it could also present less thieving and peer pressure between the students.
They all have the same.

[Whyperion]

and Part 2 see YT

And it was midsummer day too, not quite half way through the calendar year but still worrying

[Stanley]

A bad dream I had.... I was out walking somewhere with my daughters and lost them both. A nasty dream and I was glad to wake up. I've just spoken to Margaret and she says she is still with me!

[MickBrett]

I discovered "V discs" I'd never heard of them before.

Quote:

From 1943 until 1949, the U.S. Army released 905 different discs of music as part of their V Disc programme to boost troop morale. From mid-1943 to late 1947, monthly drops of 20 to 30 records were made, and from 1948 to 1949, bi-monthly drops until the end of the programme.

Because of the Musicians' Union strike from 1942 to 1944, which prohibited recording of music, the military negotiated a deal with the Union whereby the music recorded for V Discs was not to be made available commercially, was only for use by the military, and would be destroyed (both discs and masters) once the programme was finished. As a result, much of the music on the V Discs is unique, containing first performances of pieces (such as possibly the only recording of "St. Louis Blues March" with Glenn Miller actually directing it), final performances of artists (such as Fats Waller), and experimental pieces which never saw commercial release. Musicians jumped at the chance to record their music, and in many cases special messages to the troops, and V Discs soon had access to a wealth of materiel: special recording sessions, concerts, recitals, radio broadcasts, broadcast dress rehearsals, radio transcriptions (both commercial and AFRS), film soundtracks and commercial records (both issued and unissued versions).

The V Discs were made to be almost unbreakable, and special V Disc record players were distributed, so that military units could have access to the music virtually anywhere. V Discs were played in all theatres of the war, by individual soldiers, by small groups of soldiers, by large groups of soldiers, and over military radio. By the end of the war, the Navy and Marines had signed on to the program, releasing Army discs under their own labels, and then later under a Combined Forces label.

The music released on V Disc covered all styles - Hot Jazz, Big Band, Classical, Opera, Crooners, Military Marches, Religious, Christmas Music, etc. Artists ranged from professionals (such as Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman, Art Tatum, Toscanini, Phil Harris, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, etc.) to unknowns from within military ranks.

[Stanley]

The fact it was light enough to read a newspaper outside this morning at 03:30. At this time of year it never really gets dark....

[Tizer]

`Two octopuses spotted walking on a Ceredigion beach' BBC video
`Two octopuses were rescued by walkers after they were spotted crawling along a beach. The cephalopods had washed up at New Quay, Ceredigion, where they were found by Fran Fitzpatrick and Joshua Pedley. They had decided to see if there was anything interesting on the sands after Storm Franklin and were able to help them back into the sea. Wildlife guide Mr Pedley said: “To our knowledge both octopus are still safe and sound.”