[blogfocus] the way forward in life

Iraq, Iran, climate change, veils, making ends meet, what’s the way forward in this life we’re forced to lead? Bloggers from the four corners have their say this evening, beginning with Colin Campbell, who is in no doubt – family values are everything; the family which trampolines together, stays together [see photo of the construction of said trampoline]. He also believes in early rising – the photos were posted at 6.05 a.m. More ingenious blogger solutions here.

[which] ie7 v firefox

Firefox seems to be leading early on in the download race, and it's been more of a hit with the critics. One explanation for this is that, since Firefox users tend to be more fanatical and technology savvy than those of IE, they'd be more likely to download the new browser on the day of its release. By contrast, most IE users will wait until the new version of the browser is sent over automatic updates, which is expected to occur in November. If you have an interest in either of these, this is an interesting article.

[snow] it’s falling outside, in a manner of speaking

Hurrah! Hurrah! We have snow out there – do you? I adore the snow but not when it almost immediately turns to slush, so that when you cross the road to your carpark, some great semi-articulated lorry drives within two metres, covering you from head to foot in a torrent of road sludge. No, that’s not so good. Have a lovely day, wherever you are.

[super trains] in britain, take repair kits

This sort of thing from the Telegraph today could make a man nostalgic: After several minutes sitting silently at Rugby station, a sheepish member of staff broke the silence with the announcement: "If anyone has some nuts and bolts with them will they come forward?" The new, tilting Pendolino had ground to a halt because the blades on the windscreen wipers had come loose and it could not pull away until they had been fixed. Willing passengers gathered together a rudimentary tool kit and one even clambered on to the front of the engine in an attempt to get it running again, but to no avail. I love Britain.

[air crashes] regime adjusters in nigeria

You have to hand it to the Nigerians. The victims of the latest ADC crash near Abuja included the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido. The late Sultan, who headed Nigeria’s millions of Muslims, was the spiritual leader of the Islamic faithful both in the country and the Niger Republic. A man revered across many countries in West Africa, the late Sultan was not a religious leader himself, but someone to whom Muslims looked up to for leadership and guidance. What a perfect way to curtail the activities of a nuisance, with no political fallout and no blame attributable.

[iraq] two things which catch the eye

1] Thousands of weapons the United States has provided Iraqi security forces cannot be accounted for and spare parts and repair manuals are unavailable for many others, a new report to Congress says. Black market 2] "It's my belief that they're [Shi’ite militias] very sensitive to the fact that we've got an election scheduled and they can get on the websites like anybody else," says Dick Cheney. Corollary: give people freedom to blog and see what happens – militias!