Rasberry Pi Launch

Great news the long awaited Raspberry Pi board is now taking orders. I imagine it will be a while before you can actually get on with the huge demand, and is sounds like a couple of big distributors have been bought in to be able to ship the expected demand

So its an important day for two reasons, it is a leap year and this really cool project starts shipping.

Can't wait to get one.

Pearce England Manager

At least for a friendly tomorrow against the Dutch. Redknapp's stock maybe falling a little, with the thrashing of Tottenham 5-2 by Arsenal at the weekend.

That probably will not stop the FA from appointing him, but it will be interesting to see how Pearce does - he has been on the international scene for a while, and probably knows the environment better.

Film: Crimson Tide Directed by Tony Scott

A tense submarine thriller about a old school sub captain played by Gene Hackman and his XO played by Denzil Washington.

They are sent on patrol in a Trident nuclear submarine, with the backdrop being Russian rebels gaining control of nuclear weapons.

The film centres around the tension between the captain and XO, this boils over when a message is received for launch, a subsequent message is corrupted that may cancel the order. The captains wants to see things through (a little improbable!), and the XO wants to acquire the news message.

Not a bad film, a lot of poetic license and stretching of authenticity. It is no surprise they end up with a Russian sub trailing them with the amount of noise that was happening on board. Also the sonar displays are not authentic, they are portrayed as radar scopes - presumably what the viewer would relate to more easily.

But the main plot of the film is sound, the moral decision of whether to see through the order or seek confirmation.

Portsmouth in Administration

Not overly surprising, they have gone into administration to get access to their finances after the HMRC winding up order.

Suppliers have been withdrawing services, players not getting paid, 10 points now docked in the league. It feels more serious than last time as there does not seem to be any buyer waiting in the wings. HMRC are unlikely to yield on their unpaid tax demands.

Still I predicted the end last time this happened, so I hope I am wrong this time.

Capello Resigns - New England Coach

He was probably looking for a good excuse, and the FA provided one by going over his head on the Terry captaincy.

So after 5 years the Italian hard liner has gone. A good qualifier with a poor world cup behind him.

Who is next, they could do a lot worse than Martin O'Neill - and they probably will with recently acquitted Redknapp.

Still like the rest of nation I am prepared to think he is the best candidate...

http://dontgetdemoralised.blogspot.com/2007/12/new-england-coach.html

Diamond Jubilee

I am by no means a royalist, but this is a day that we will not see again in my lifetime - the Queen marks her Diamond Jubliee 60 years on the throne.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16896731

A remarkable achievement and a nice piece of history to live through, only Queen Victoria has reigned for longer.

Book read: Surely you're joking Mr Feynman by Ralph Leighton

I recently got the last two Feynman books that I had not read. This is a light hearted biography that concentrates on stories that the author was told by Feynman. They range from childhood days, student days, Los Almamos, to Las Vegas and beyond with each chapter being self contained. You get a sense of Feynman as a character not motivated by riches but driven by an interest in what was around him, either scientific or his wider interests.

It never goes too deep into Feynman himself, undoubtedly a complex character - I got the sense that he was always projecting himself in simple terms intended to be taken at face value. In truth he was much more complicated than that, and this book never really gets into any level of detail of Feynman the person.

Still an interesting read, and probably the best book for an initial introduction.