Sunday, 31 May 2009

Stamford


When to pick up Emma, in Stamford and have afternoon tea with her parents. What a lovely little town, pity we only had time for tea at the George hotel before departing back to London.

Thursday, 28 May 2009

do you think i have a communication problem?


The company I work for has just switched over to using Apple Iphone's, i think i had to take a picture of my desk before the switch over....cables.

HDMI 1.4 announced

Ladies and Gentlemen, will you please welcome HDMI 1.4, the latest incarnation of the all-digital interconnect. I blogged some time ago about HDMI 1.3 http://www.kking.co.uk/blog/oldblog/blog.kking.co.uk/blog/_archives/2006/7/31/2181105.html

So I thought it was time to mention HDMI 1.4 which is due for publication by the end of June, the HDMI 1.4 spec's key elements are integrated networking, support for bigger screen sizes, 3D support and a new, more compact connector oh dear not another connector.

The addition of networking is specifically the addition of a 10/100Mb/s Ethernet data channel through the HDMI cable. On Nice wonder what we can do with that....connect it to your PC or you home internet. There are lots of HDMI-equipped devices already have Ethernet ports, the addition of networking is arguably redundant, but it should make for reduced cable clutter - but you will have to buy a new cable with the extra, Ethernet-exclusive wires.

HDMI 1.4's support for resolutions greater than 1080p will stretch to 3840 x 2160 at 24Hz, 25Hz or 30Hz, and 4096 x 2160 at 24Hz . Apparently they say its got enough resolution to transmit two 1080p images, allowing the technology to support stereoscopic 3D.

The Micro HDMI Connector is a significantly smaller 19-pin connector that supports up to 1080p resolutions for portable devices. This new connector is approximately half the size of the existing HDMI Mini Connector, introduced in 2006 when HDMI 1.3.

HDMI 1.4 will support colour spaces sYCC601, Adobe RGB and AdobeYCC601, the better to ensure the telly shows the colours encoded correctly. Alsothe standard will have extra wiring for two-way audio, again with the intention of reducing cable clutter.

Friday, 22 May 2009

Lyn Brown expenses

Constituency: West Ham
MP: Brown, Lyn
Party: LAB
Expenses
Second Home: £15,889
London Supplement: £0
Office: £20,358
Staffing: £93,109
Stationery: £1,858
IT Provision: £924
Staff Cover: £0
Communication: £3,255
Travel: £253


Total Expenses: £140,537
Second Home!!! How can anyone claim for a second home when Westminster is only 8.1miles away. Her excuse is "do not have use of a ministerial car and enables me to manage late night and early morning working at the Commons."Even with the tube being a bit funny less than an hour away or taxi less. Guess what Lyn do what everyone else does and take public transport. I talked to a nurse at the Portland hospital last week who said she had to get a taxi in on Sundays as the train from Mottingham where she lived, didn't start early enough to get her in for a seven o clock shift start which cost her £25 pounds out of her wages. I think MP's like Lyn Brown should start living in the real world like everyone else and stop trying to milk the system and expect to claim it on expenses, the nurse couldn't claim it back why should you.

update: Lyn mentions she has her own car in the article here http://www.lynbrown.org.uk/dangerous-dogs so why is she complaining that she doesn't get a ministerial one, she should think herself lucky she can afford to run a car, I know a lot of the people she represents can't afford it at the present time.


http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/newham-issues/messages/topic/5MdzMJQX3yT8MCXMFMzHNu


From: David Padua Date: Apr 22 10:56 UTC Short link

Dear Sir,


According to publicly available figures Lynn Brown MP claimed over 15,000 in "additional cost allowance" which usually means a second home. Lynn Brown MP, for West Ham, claims for a second home? A second home? Stephen Timms MP, who is almost in the cabinet, and represents East Ham, next to Lynn Brown doesn't claim additional cost allowance.

Why is Ms Brown claiming for a second home when her constituency is a stones throw from Parliament, only an hour at most by public transport? In the register of interests, it lists that she has a quarter share of a house in Cumbria. Does she list this as her main residence, and a home in London which she claims the allowance for? Or is it for something else? Its time Lynn Brown
explained what this is for.

Its also interesting to see that Stephen Timms and Jim Fitzpatrick, the other Newham MP who both have positions in the Government whereas Lynn Brown doesnt. Yet she claimed about 20,000 more in expenses than both the other two.

Thats more than a nurse would earn in a year, or would pay the rent on a council home for over 5 years.

There is no suggestion that anyone here claimed for something improperly and that all expense claims have been made I assume in accordance with the rules. In the current climate though I feel it is morally obscene that an MP who is paid a salary of 5000 a month, receives an additional 11,666 a month in expenses/allowances.

David Padua
Custom House E16


From: Mike Law Date: Apr 22 19:30 UTC


And Lyn Brown replied: " I share a rented flat in Central London. I have not bought a second home. I am renting it. It enables me to manage late night and early morning working at the Commons. I also do not have use of a ministerial car."

I've sent a FOI request to the Commons to find out how many early morning and late night meetings she attended and the start and end times for the meetings.