Category: Uncategorized
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Retirement Planning for Boomers
(Updated 26/06/2025 to include guidance on 4% rule) The one thing that every young person knows about boomers is that we are all rich. Obviously we are not all rich but what is true is that there are a lot of middle class people who have done 40 years of 9-5 in business or public…
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Underwater Hockey kit and mould
(updated 2025-06-27 12:14 to say that the snorkel was saved) If you are like me and when you get back from the evening’s game you don’t immediately wash and dry all your kit but leave it in the bag until the morning you may find that black mould builds up over the months and years.…
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Interviewing for promotion means thinking bigger
So you have spent a few years in your first or second job and you have got really good at it and it is time to get promoted. How can you ace the interview? Career Progression A typical career progression is, What are interviewers asking at a promotion interview? Can they do the new job?…
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Make your own tree watering bag
Tree watering bags are available on Amazon from about £8. A home made tree watering bag made from a black bin liner Tree watering bags are a common site in municipal parks but are not generally used at home or for street trees. This post tells you how to make your own from a black…
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How to create a PowerPoint presentation using ChatGPT to create the images and icons
(2025-05-21 Updated after feedback to talk a bit more about ChatGPT) The process of creating a great PowerPoint presentation has not changed for many years but you can improve the quality of your presentations by using ChatGPT’s ability to create custom images to illustrate the concepts that you are using. Making a great presentation takes…
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How to cope with stress due to overwork
I promise that if you read this article to the end you will feel a bit better than you do now. Why is overwork so common and why is it stressful The use of information processing equipment has made an excessive workload normal for many workplaces. Computers can collect information and pass it to humans…
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How to install Windows 11 with a local account
It is very difficult to persuade Windows 11 to install with a local account. If you don’t connect wifi – choose and option like “I don’t have internet/wifi” then it will allow it but if you do connect wifi then Microsoft forces you to have a Microsoft account. To disconnect wifi I used the Accessibility…
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The National Trust leadership is fixing elections
I recently re-joined the National Trust and I am greatly enjoying visiting the wonderful house and landscapes that they manage on our behalf. Like many organisations they have “gone a bit woke” and some people are arguing that this is at best a distraction and at worst a neglect of its core mission. An organisation…
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It’s your fault Thames Water pump shit into the sea
Last week I watched an amusing “documentary” on the sewage processing by the whimsical Channel 4 comedian Joe Lycett. Unsurprisingly for Channel 4 his conclusion was that shareholders should pay to reduce the amount of sewage entering our waters by not paying dividends. This is a bit of a straw man because the largest water…
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You can’t use old phones with Virgin Media Landlines
[Off topic 26/11/2024] – This page gets quite a lot of traffic so I though I would just add a quick warning about Virgin Media’s telephone sales practices. If you buy their service you will be called by their overseas sales centre and offered various offers. The sales offers are very complicated and often misleading.…
Dr James Bayley 