Here are a few links to web sites that I think you might find interesting:

Given that our weather is particularly changeable, one shouldn't be without a link to the Met Office. Gavin Pretor-Pinney's Cloud Appreciation Society is quintessentially English, and well-worth a visit. Whilst the 2013 Solar Maximum us unlikely to meet earlier expectations, one might wish to keep an eye on sunspot activity and the Aurora Borealis.

I'm very much interested in language and have found Dictionary.com to be the best online dictionary and thesaurus.

I must mention Bob Brookmeyer who I consider to be amongst the greatest jazz composers of all time. Similarly his band, the New Art Ensemble is one of the greatest big bands I have ever heard. There are many fabulous musicians in this ensemble but a special mention must go to the lead trumpet player Thorsten Benkenstein whose sound, feel and accuracy are second to none. My other favourite big band is the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra - I feel that Thad and Mel would be proud to know that they have left such a powerful legacy.

A very good friend of mine, Andy Daniels is a great jazz pianist and truly world-class composer of music for film. He's also recently written original music for his own jazz sextet.

I am a member of The Association of British Drivers whose arguments generally make good sense, which is becoming an increasingly rare commodity now that it seems that the Government's primary method of policing the roads is by numerous Safety Cameras. Just how these devices measure road 'safety' is beyond my comprehension, and can only rightly be called Speed Cameras. The Government's own figures show that there is little or no correlation between prosecutions relating to exceeding speed limit and a reduction in deaths on the road. The Government report Contributory factors to road accidents shows that 'driver error' is the most significant factor, and that 'going too fast for conditions' is twice as significant as 'exceeding the speed limit' (see Part 2, Table 6). From this it is clear that there is far more to road safety than merely adhering to the signposted speed limit.

I have to admit that I occasionally watch a Formula 1 race on television whilst watching the live timing on my computer. I'm also the proud owner of the old Act Labs' steering wheel and pedals with which I drive the odd race on Grand Prix Legends or Nascar Racing 2003 Season. If you're seriously into motor racing simulations then you should keep an eye on iRacing.

I have bought a Dell PowerEdge T105 server on which I have installed Microsoft Windows XP, which is unsupported by Dell for this machine. I've written a T105 web page detailing the solutions to the problems I've encountered during this project.

I've used a variety of ISPs over the years, and have found PlusNet to be the best in terms of reliability, customer service and value for money.

Finally, here's a Java Timer applet that I often use when cooking. Medium-sized free-range eggs take 3 minutes 45 seconds to soft boil from when placed in boiling water.