http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress Yet another weblog about one person's view of the world Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:35:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I'm writing this for anyone who wants to convert WAV to MP3 in Ubuntu, or do any other kind of sound file conversion for that matter, in the hope of saving you the frustration I went through. The answer: Sound Converter. A really simple to use program that can be installed ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2009/12/10/convert-wav-files-to-mp3-in-ubuntu/ In a recent announcement by Andrew Adonis (Transport Secretary) it was reavealed that the government will be funding electrification of two rail lines, London to Swansea and Liverpool to Manchester, at an estimated cost of £1bn. Electrification is estimated to make trains 30% more efficient to run, which means they ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2009/08/06/rail-electrification/ The message to UK holidaymakers is clear: your only option is to fly. When it comes to booking a holiday (summer or winter) the websites of most package operators are just not geared up to offer anything but flights. After a huge amount of scouring the net I found a couple ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2009/08/06/flights-flights-and-more-flights/ The new mobile phone directory service 118 800 has its own bad management to blame as much as the Daily Mail reader style email that's been doing the rounds for the mass panic that's occured over its launch. I'm not normally one to defend any company but I also hate ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2009/07/13/how-not-to-launch-a-website-the-truth-about-118-800/ Sun Microsystems have a plugin for Word and the rest of MS Office that enables you to open and save documents in the standard Open Document Format, meaning you can more effectively exchange documents with people who use the popular Open Office or other ODF compatible software. Now on version 3.0 ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2009/05/21/odf-plugin-for-ms-office/ There's been a lot of chatter in the media over the last week or so about MPs expenses, mostly in relation to claims made for the cost of living both in their constituency and in London. To me the solution is simple: instead of paying expenses for accomodation, provide them with ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2009/05/15/mps-expenses/ 18th Oct: Russell Brand broadcasts a funny message on someones answering machine 19th Oct: 2 complaints 26th Oct: Reported in the Mail on Sunday 27th Oct: 1,585 complaints 28th Oct: 4,772 complaints 29th Oct: 18,000 complaints 30th Oct: 30,500 complaints There's obviously a lot of people around who have nothing better to do and need to get ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2008/11/06/oh-look-its-a-bandwagon-lets-get-on-it/ I'd always got the impression that rail travel in mainland Europe was much more efficient, reliable and sensibly organised than it is in the UK. Maybe it is within a single country but from trying to book trains for a two week trip I discovered that the European rail network ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2008/08/26/european-rail/ These days there is a lot of talk in the media about Global Warming, and also a lot of information flying around about what people can do to lessen their contribution to the problem. The worst suggestion of all as to what people can do to lessen their contribution is ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2008/07/21/carbon-offsetting-and-other-mixed-messages/ Where I work there is a Kitchen next to the office that has an electric water heater on the wall which broke down a month or so ago. Since then we had been using a normal kettle. Nearly Retired Useless Jobsworth asked if people could please make sure they filled ... http://rob.sharpsites.co.uk/wordpress/2008/07/21/hot-water/