A plug for QTM
You probably know by now that (like most blogs) this blog uses WordPress. What's less obvious is the software I normally use to write entries, and that's because I write it myself and rarely...
Indigo Jo Blogs Blog
Rise in teens admitted to adult psych wards
It was reported today that there has been a rise in the number of teenagers under 18 admitted to adult psychiatric wards, and that these were sometimes hundreds of miles from home and often...
CyModding your LG G-Pad
So, last week I got my replacement for my iPad, which I was dissatisfied with because of the completely inadequate Apple keypad (see earlier entry). I looked for a similar size Android tablet, because...
The hidden costs of private schooling
I’ve just had my second letter in about a month published in the New Statesman, a British left-of-centre political magazine, this time on the subject of private education, which they ran an extensive feature...
The dangers of racism in the anti-FGM crusade
The Thursday before last was apparently “Zero Tolerance of FGM day”, accompanied by widespread media coverage of various campaigns against it, a petition which apparently gained two signatures per second, interviews with anti-FGM campaigners...
Bye-byePad
Well, I’m sending my iPad back to the vendor today. Amazon’s policy is that an item is returnable for about a month, and I’ve had mine a week and a half (although I made...
iPad: First impressions
The other day I took delivery of my new tablet computer, an iPad mini with a Retina display, which cost £290 plus delivery charges on Amazon. It’s a wi-fi only model; I can’t afford...
Is an iPhone really more useful than the early 90s’ gadgets?
I saw this linked on Facebook yesterday; it’s centred around a 1991 American Radio Shack advert in which a Tandy computer is offered for sale at a then reduced price of $1,599 (about £975...
No, it’s not just a sharp scratch
This morning I went for my latest blood test, which I have to have roughly every six months or a year — I can't even remember as I have so many of them —...
Wanted: decent Android Twitter app
I've used Android since 2009, and I'm currently on my fourth phone and first tablet. I've used Twitter since about the same time, maybe a little bit more. Having a smartphone pretty much makes...
World Hijab Day: DoA
Earlier this week, there was a so-called Day of Acceptance (of Disability), organised by a company called 3E Love, which markets a variety of merchandise, like T-shirts, stickers etc, bearing their logo of a...
Claire Dyer update
Regarding the ongoing case of Claire Dyer, the 19-year-old autistic woman from Swansea who is being threatened with a transfer to a secure hospital in Northampton, which neither she nor her family wants: a...
Lethal psycho-babble
I've been unable to get the ongoing case of Claire Dyer (right), currently being threatened with forced transfer to a secure hospital unit 185 miles from home under a wholly inappropriate section of the...
Why “state school fees” are a bad idea
BBC News – State school fees call for parents earning over £80,000 Dr Anthony Seldon, the principal of Wellington College, a well-known independent co-ed day and boarding school in Berkshire, has suggested in a...
“The Lost Girls”: why it’s a load of old rubbish
The lost girls: Illegal abortion widely used by some UK ethnic groups to avoid daughters 'has reduced female population by between 1,500 and 4,700' – Science – News – The Independent I saw this...
‘Wahhabis’ are not the only fanatics in Pakistan
The saints go marching out as the face of Islam hardens in Pakistan | World news | theguardian.com This article is about how traditional, supposedly gentler and mystical, forms of Islam are being edged...
Claire Dyer belongs with her family
Update 23rd January: the tribunal has been adjourned with no decision made; this is because more evidence is needed from the health board. Claire therefore remains under section and the threat of transfer to...
Why Muslims don’t join the Christian Right
The new intolerance: will we regret pushing Christians out of public life?: A Challenge to the Left Cristina Odone's headline article in this week's New Statesman describes how a liberal consensus has taken hold...
Don’t believe the “wearable tech” hype
SwiftKey: Top 10 tech predictions for the future Last week SwiftKey (or rather TouchType Ltd), the company behind a sophisticated predictive keypad for Android devices (which I used for several years before switching to...
Taj Hargey is wrong: there is no ‘British Islam’
Yesterday (Boxing Day), there was a letter in the Guardian from Taj Hargey, the self-appointed leader of the so-called Muslim Education Centre of Oxford and a regular go-to figure for media wanting someone to...