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	<title>The Inconvenient Mule</title>
	<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk</link>
	<description>Life and times from the edge of the Chilterns</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:31:02 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>A 21st century festival family gathering</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Christmas is traditionally a time for spending time with family, however the ease of travel enjoyed these days means that many extended families are spread across hundreds if not thousands of miles. Getting the family together in person may be impossible, however this modern problem can at least be eased by some similarly modern tech. For the first time this year, we successfully brought together an entire side of the family on video chat using group video calling on Skype. Five video streams from across the UK and the USA all displayed on a single screen, everyone talking together, and it worked pretty well. Over the years we&#8217;ve tried all manner of services, including text, audio and video chat, but this is the first time that the infrastructure and technology has been able to offer something that allowed a quality of video and audio that&#8217;s enabled reasonably fluid conversation with everyone at once. Getting the usability right by providing an interface that&#8217;s easy to use and that just works is essential for getting a broader audience on board who would easily be put off by technical issues. Aiding this ease of use is that fact that most people now own laptops that come with cameras and mics built-in. Suddenly we can all make video chats with no need for drivers and problems with third-party software. Our Christmas Skype chat needed no configuration aside from turning on the video and ensuring each person in the chat was a contact. Not exactly....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/technology/a-21st-century-festival-family-gathering/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=a-21st-century-festival-family-gathering</link>
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		<title>Ireland road trip</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An unenthusiastic driver and a small city car might not seem ideal for embarking on a 1,500 mile road trip to explore the Emerald Isle. Perhaps we should have seen sense, booked a fly-drive or travelled around by train. But no, gripped by an unusual sense of adventure, we had soon booked car ferries and hotels that would see us cross the Republic of Ireland from coast to coast. Twice. We&#8217;d also need to cross the entire breadth of Wales and much of England just to reach the boat over of course, but the fun is in getting there &#8211; no need to get bogged down in details. And so it was, we loaded up our modest chariot, cramming what little we could in the minuscule boot and heaping the rest across the back seats. Our new SatNav app was set for Fishguard, and given this was its first outing, we were counting on it to take us at least roughly in the right direction. On to the M4 motorway, the Satnav instructs us to follow the course of the road for the next 180 miles. Nice and easy. Easy that was, until we reached the Newport tunnel just closed by a lorry fire. We ground to a halt at first, and then began to proceed at a pace that would not see snails break a sweat. Would we even make the ferry and get to see the shore of Ireland? Happily we eventually emerged out of the contraflow system and....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/dans-dispatches/ireland-road-trip/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=ireland-road-trip</link>
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		<title>Make your smartphone happy for a tenner</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I like to think I command an above average knowledge of Scottish phrases: Auld Reekie, dreich and many a mickle maks a muckle being among them. However, I&#8217;ve got to admit that giffgaff is a new one on me. It turns out to be an Old Scottish word meaning &#8216;mutual giving&#8217;, but it&#8217;s also the name of a UK mobile phone network offering some rather attractive bundles. For the reasonably priced sum of £10 a month, giffgaff offers unlimited data, which prices it below even Three&#8217;s £15 PAYG offering. As a smartphone user, data is my top priority when it comes to network deals, yet finding data without paying through the nose has becoming increasingly difficult, as most networks have imposed strict 1GB or even 500Mb data caps over recent years. Now these may sound like plenty of data for a mobile device to use over a month and yes, it&#8217;s fair to say that I don&#8217;t normally get near to this limit. The thing is, I&#8217;ve realised that I&#8217;ve learnt to curb my use of apps so I don&#8217;t risk breaching the limit, which has meant I&#8217;ve been avoiding media-rich content such as audio and video. I have in fact been failing to make full use of my smart phone because of data caps and it was time to put it right. My phone and usage would be set free, listening to the morning&#8217;s news on the commute into work while checking Twitter, buying and updating apps when I&#8217;m out....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/technology/smart-phone-data-dreams-for-a-tenner/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=smart-phone-data-dreams-for-a-tenner</link>
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		<title>Kindling the debate on e-books</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Bad pun, serious issue: do I buy a Kindle? I love books, but we&#8217;re running out of space and I struggle with the concept of getting rid of books I won&#8217;t read again&#8230; because I might read them again, you see. Maybe. In favour of the proposal, firstly, is that I can read books without having them clutter up the flat, e.g. the Bernard Cornwell Anglo-Saxon series, that&#8217;re my equivalent of beach reading. Secondly, I think I would buy a greater variety of books if I had them on the Kindle. Buying a book at a bookshop is quite a deliberate and well-considered act, because one has to carry the book home and find somewhere for it. An instant electronic file is a less weighty decision in both respects. Thirdly, there&#8217;s the carrying around of books post-purchase. My George R. R. Martin books simply don&#8217;t fit in my bag, which started me thinking that a Kindle would fit nicely into the front of my satchel whatever I was reading. It would also make taking books on holiday extremely easy. Fourthly, I wouldn&#8217;t have to wait for delivery when I ordered a book. Finally, if I were to get the 3G version, I could sign up to fine magazines and have them sent to me even when I was on holiday. Against the proposal stands, of all people, the mighty orator, author and bibliophile, Marcus Cicero, who said, &#8220;a room without books is like a body without a soul&#8221;. By buying....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/technology/kindling-the-debate-on-e-books/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=kindling-the-debate-on-e-books</link>
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		<title>Gastro pub discovery: the Jolly Cricketers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re fortunate to have some excellent gastro pubs in the area, and this week we discovered one of the best. The Jolly Cricketers is located in the affluent village of Seer Green, near Beaconsfield and Chalfont St Giles. It&#8217;s a good looking historic pub on the outside, but it&#8217;s on the inside that it reveals its secret &#8211; serving up some truly fabulous food, and recently voted the best gastro pub in the South East. Share this blog post:]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/reviews/pubs-and-bars/gastro-pub-discovery-the-jolly-cricketers/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=gastro-pub-discovery-the-jolly-cricketers</link>
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		<title>Any Human Heart</title>
		<description><![CDATA[William Boyd&#8217;s book Any Human Heart follows the life of writer Logan Mountstuart (LMS) through some of the most defining and turbulent years of the Twentieth Century. The book is based on the journals of LMS, an approach which allows a uniquely personal insight into the deepest feelings of the character. This works brilliantly, as it captures character&#8217;s humanity &#8211; his lust, frailty, fortune and despair, and lays it bare before us on the page. In doing so it reveals something profound about all of us, how we live our lives with the hand we&#8217;re dealt and interact with the events of our time. Indeed it&#8217;s this passage through every decade of the past century that provides the book with a second compelling strand of narrative. Through his long life, LMS encounters the bright young people of the 1920s, is forever changed by WWII and has a particularly memorable run in with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, amongst an array of others. I&#8217;ve taken this book quiet slowly over quite a number of weeks, dipping into just a few pages each evening, and progressing LMS&#8217;s life little by little. By the conclusion of Any Human Heart I found I can scarcely recall the early years, which rather accurately reflect the memories of the man himself, looking back 70 years on from his earliest journal entries. By doing this, I felt I&#8217;ve followed LMS on his journey, albeit in microcosm, allowing me some of the same reflection of LMS&#8217;s actions over the....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/dans-dispatches/any-human-heart/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=any-human-heart</link>
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		<title>Walking in the Chilterns</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Walking in the Chilterns combines two of my loves: great countryside and indulging in the tranquility of nature. Actually I should include a third: photography, as if I&#8217;m going somewhere scenic, my camera will likely as not be coming along to capture the places, and perhaps something of the moment. I&#8217;ve spent many days off and weekends in search of some of the best of the area&#8217;s landscapes. There are some real corkers too, such as the panoramas from atop Coombe Hill, Ivinghoe Beacon, and Whiteleaf Hill &#8211; all of which I&#8217;d be a very long time getting bored of, especially when they can be transformed entirely depending on the time of day, weather or season. Enabling all this good walking in the Chilterns is an extensive network of footpaths, ranging from national tracks to the smallest of snickets. However all these options can make for a bewildering choice when it comes to planning a walk, as the bigger routes by no means have a monopoly on the best walking. As I can only occasionally set aside a day for walking, I find it worthwhile to put some time into planning, to help ensure there are some good highlights on the routes I take. Happily, there&#8217;s a good range of both online and offline resources that make this easier than ever. OS map The most traditional of walking companions, the Ordnance Survey&#8217;s maps remain an essential tool in planning and following routes. Nothing quite compares to its accuracy and comprehensive coverage....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/dans-dispatches/walking-in-the-chilterns/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=walking-in-the-chilterns</link>
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		<title>The journey through life, one radio station at a time</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Radio stations may often serve as background audio but our choice of station is often read as an indicator of our stage in life. The formative years are intimately associated with Radio 1, whereas Radio 4 is often portrayed as a middle-aged and full of dreary domesticity &#8211; albeit almost exclusively by those who don&#8217;t listen to the station. These days I&#8217;d comfortably pledge my allegiance to 6music. As a station, it speaks to me and where I am now, while indulging in shared culture I can relate to. 6music&#8217;s core audience is, I imagine, around mid-20s to mid-40s, and its presenter line-up is full of names the audience grew up with, including the likes of Adam and Joe, Marc Riley, Stuart Marconie, Mark Radcliffe, Cerys Matthews, Craig Charles, and others. The music on 6music evokes delight, surprise and serendipity, all in a way that&#8217;s somehow attuned to my musical tastes. It is the farthest cry possible from the dismal repetition of commercial radio, which I choose to avoid at all costs. Although I struggle to define the demographic, I suspect 6music is expertly speaking to a group that I happen to neatly fit into. It&#8217;s perhaps for those who have cast aside self-consciously following the trends of the latest hot indie bands that defined our university years and have moved on to wanting new musical discoveries, but now entirely comfortable in our own musical tastes. The strange thing is that this progression is often one that&#8217;s done unconsciously. I....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/dans-dispatches/the-journey-through-life-one-radio-station-at-a-time/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-journey-through-life-one-radio-station-at-a-time</link>
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		<title>Queen&#8217;s Birthday flypast at RAF Halton</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Queen&#8217;s official birthday is celebrated by trooping the colour and a flypast by the RAF in central London. If the idea of the tourists crowds don&#8217;t appeal, it&#8217;s happily possible to watch the flypast from the comfort and attractive surrounds of Buckinghamshire. RAF Halton holds a Charity Flying Weekend each year to coincide with the trooping the colour flypast, and welcomes visitors to what is normally a military aerodrome. The 2011 event was held in conjunction with the Chilterns MS Centre, who held their Summer Fete, and the Berkhamsted-based De Havilland Moth Club, who had arranged various flying displays. We arrived shortly after midday, so in good time for the flypast at around 1pm. We were struck by just how popular it was, given that we&#8217;d only heard about it through having come across photos of the previous year&#8217;s events and looked up the 2011 dates. The parking area was filling up quickly with hundreds of cars, although still had room enough for us. We had no idea what to expect, however there was a good selection of stalls &#8211; many in military green tents that were rather in keeping with the event. Arts and crafts, traditional fete games (Tara won a coconut from the coconut shy), and the usual food and drink were all there, so everything you&#8217;d need. Many visitors had also come well prepared though with some impressive picnics, table and chairs in evidence. Well prepared to enjoy the day. Turning towards the aircraft, the inter-war....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/reviews/day-trips/queens-birthday-flypast-at-raf-halton/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=queens-birthday-flypast-at-raf-halton</link>
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		<title>This week in corporate Twitter &#8211; the good, the bad and the absent</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been an eventful week, and one that&#8217;s seen Twitter used brilliantly in some cases &#8211; and rather less well in others. The good: the Chiltern cow incident A Chiltern Railways (CR) train hit a herd of cows that had escaped on to the track at around 7.30pm on Thursday &#8211; mid evening, but still well within London&#8217;s extended rush hour. Their main line was closed but CR&#8217;s consistently excellent communications team stepped up the mark to help inform the large numbers of passengers facing disruption. CR do Twitter well &#8211; really well in fact. By day their tweets are friendly, engaging and create a real community spirit amongst commuters and travellers. However when events call for it, CR&#8217;s twitter team is in place to get vital information out and be there to respond to customers&#8217; questions. Communications is but one part of an overall response of course, and here, yet again, CR seemed to be very efficient and rolling out their emergency management plans. As soon as they were aware of the situation, mainline trains were diverted via the Aylesbury to allow many to still reach their destinations. Meanwhile, replacement buses were called up to provide a service to all the stations on the closed portion of the mainline. As for those onboard services, one twitter user was on a train following that affected and was only delayed by about half an hour. The following morning, CR dispatched its managers across the stations affected to speak to customers who....]]></description>
		<link>http://www.inconvenientmule.co.uk/dans-dispatches/this-week-in-corporate-twitter-the-good-the-bad-and-the-absent/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=this-week-in-corporate-twitter-the-good-the-bad-and-the-absent</link>
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