Measured efficiency of a small, novel electric kettle
This article reports empirical measurements of the efficiency of a small, novel electric kettle heating a small amount of water to a temperature below boiling point.
Cambridge Clarion
Independent, non-profit reporting and information from England for the benefit of good people everywhere
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Historical cancer incidence surveyed in a book on diet
Extracts from a chapter titled “Diseases of civilization” in a 2007 book, ‘The diet delusion’ (or ‘Good calories, bad calories’) by Gary Taubes. The extracts discuss medical surveys and reports from the nineteenth and early twentieth century which showed that cancer was increasing in Europe and rare in people not exposed to European (or US American) influence.
Measured efficiency of a gas hob heating water
This article reports empirical measurements of the efficiency of a gas hob heating water to a temperature below boiling point.
A low-tech countermeasure to high-tech bugging?
This article presents an untested idea for countering audio evesdropping of a conversation between two people. The idea is to use a flexible plastic pipe that leads directly from the speaker's mouth to the listener's ear.
The ring-necked parakeet, a new-comer established in Birmingham by 2025
The photographs here show ring-necked parakeets (Psittacula krameri) in in the suburbs of Birmingham, England in 2026. This bird is a new arrival and was unknown in Birmingham last century. Indeed, I had never seen one in Britain before Birmingham in 2025.
Sizing sheet material for a solar conical concentrator
An earlier article contained ideas for a solar cooker with a conical reflector. This article continues by deriving the sizes of sheet material needed to make a given size of conical reflector.
UPDATE to Sizing sheet material for a solar conical concentrator
This article deriving algebraic expressions for the sizes of sheet material to make a conical solar reflector has been updated by the addition of a section applying its formulae to a particular case. This uses a tubular aluminium hoop bought in Britain from a gardening supplier to define the rim.
Search cambridgeclarion.org
For the first time cambridgeclarion.org has a site search engine. It uses free open-source software to make a local search without using third parties, meaning that the search remains private.
A book about an investigation into police shooting unarmed victims dead in 1980s Northern Ireland
In a 1988 book, ‘Stalker’, John Stalker, the former Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, wrote: “In May 1984 I was asked to undertake an investigation in Northern Ireland that very soon pointed towards possible offences of murder and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, these offences committed by members of the proud Royal Ulster Constabulary. I devoted two years of my…
A little egret photographed in England
The photographs here, show a little egret (Egretta garzetta) by a shallow stream in the suburbs of Birmingham, England. It looks like a small white heron.
Private Eye on the quashing of Colin Wallace's manslaughter conviction
“The quashing of the conviction against former army information officer Colin Wallace will come as no surprise to Eye readers, who have been reading about the case since issue 684 -- 4 March 1988.”...
A domestic gas pilot light's energy consumption measured
An on-demand domestic gas water heater uses a continuous 130 Watts for its pilot light while it is idle, according to measurements I made with the gas supplier's meter used for billing.
Memorising a stronger cryptographic key for the same effort
The method described in the 2018 article for memorising a cryptographic key allows someone to reconstruct any 128-bit number that they have been given to memorise. That article implicitly assumes that the number is the cryptographic key itself. This article describes a way to use the same memorisation method with an alternative approach to cryptographic key derivation which has two advantages.
Experiences memorising cryptographic-strength secrets
This article reports experiences memorising secrets strong enough to be cryptographic keys, meaning those with 128 bits of entropy.
Authenticating a public key from a globally unique name continued
This article presents a small advance in the concept described in the 2024 article ‘Authenticating a public key from just a name - a feasibility study with GPL code’
Safe and cheap DIY gutter inspection on a two-storey house
This article describes a cheap home-made tool for inspecting the gutters of a two-storey house from the safety of the ground. The idea is to mount a mobile phone on the end of a long pole and record a video while walking it along the gutter.
Biblical lampstand in an ancient Roman carving
A stone carving on the ancient Arch of Titus in modern Rome depicts an object shaped like the gold lampstand for the Israelite tabernacle described in the biblical book of Exodus. This article presents a photograph from a book and quotes part of the biblical description.
Intercept of Princess Diana's phone was retransmitted repeatedly
Quotations from a 2002 book by a British police inspector who was personal protection officer to Princess Diana.
An insider's angle on USA's 1997 refusal to sign land mine treaty
Two paragraphs on the refusal in 1997 of the USA's president to sign an international treaty to ban land mines. This is an extract from a 2003 book by Sidney Blumenthal who notes that his job title in the American White House was “Assistant to the President” and that he was described in a contemporary press report as “White House communications strategist”.
YouTube's fraudulent adverts for electric heaters
In Britain in January and February 2024 YouTube was showing fraudulent adverts for electric heaters. These included claims such as “It can warm up rooms in minutes, costing only a few pennies per day.”, “uses less energy than non ceramic heaters”, “used 89% less energy compared to regular heating systems”. The adverts linked to websites that declared a business address in Lithuania.
Two figures of speech common to Isaiah and the Cyrus cylinder
The ancient cuneiform clay artefact in the British Museum called the Cyrus cylinder and the biblical book of Isaiah use similar phrases or imagery in relation to Cyrus: taking him by the hand, and calling him by name.
The technique of injecting lies to discredit a story
The idea of discrediting an otherwise true story by revealing lies previously infiltrated into it is illustrated here with actual reports that might represent applications of this putative technique.
Disguised contract murders in a 2020 non-fiction book
A review of an anonymous book ‘I am a hitman’ that purports to be the story, told in the first person, of an ex-military British murderer for hire who had so far escaped justice and wrote: “You're never going to know who I've killed as I always ensured my targets did not appear to have been murdered”.
Chronic diffuse cloud and haze over England in 2023 and 2024
Photographs of skies that are predominantly white rather than blue.
Ideas for a solar cooker with a conical concentrator
One attraction of a parabolic trough as a solar concentrator is that the reflector can be made by bending sheet material. This is in contrast to the parabolic dish where the reflector is curved in three dimensions and cannot be made from a sheet. However there is another shape that can be made by bending a sheet: the cone. This article refers to some of the literature, and proposes some possible…
Dissolved copper levels in a copper solar kettle
In May 2024 test sticks showed dissolved copper of around 0.2mg/L in tap water that had been in the copper pipe of the home-made solar kettle constructed in 2022 and described in an earlier article.
Cambridge mowing conserving wildflowers
The photographs here show mowing in and around Cambridge that conserved wildflowers in 2024.
“Herbicide Free Area” signs in a Cambridge street in 2024
The photographs here, taken in May 2024, show signs in a Cambridge street declaring “Herbicide Free Area”, “A joint Cambridge City Council & Pesticide-Free Cambridge initiative”.
Authenticating a public key from just a name - a feasibility study with GPL code
This article presents prototype GPL open-source software called Lepron that demonstrates the concept of authenticating a cryptographic public key from a long public name without needing trust. Lepron generates a public name from a natural language word model, which is chosen by the creator of the name. The article presents a word model for English and Italian and sample generated names, allowing…
A way to use spare screen width on a website
Except for mobile phones, computer screens are too wide to fill with text that can be read easily and most websites find a way to restrict the width of a column of text. Here is an idea for doing that while making the remaining screen space useful.
Mordecai Vanunu, kidnapped after revealing atomic secrets - 1986 press cutting
A press cutting from the archives. A report from Reuter appeared in the Guardian of 27 October 1986. “Jerusalem : An Israeli nuclear technician who disclosed details of his country's alleged atomic weapons programme is in custody after being taken home against his will, a friend said yesterday.”...
Air pollution possibly reducing crop yields, 1978 press cutting
A press cutting from the archives. A 1978 Observer newspaper article reported experimental research published in a journal where the scientists concluded that air pollution ‘at levels previously regarded as acceptable may be causing significant yield losses in British agriculture.’ The experiments were near brickworks and the Observer named sulphur dioxide and fluoride as pollutants and discussed…
Former MI5 employees Cathy Massiter and another revealing telephone tapping and infiltration of unions and CND in a 1985 press cutting
A press cutting from the archives. The Guardian newspaper presented what it called “an edited transcript” of a film on MI5 and the Special Branch that the IBA (Britain's Independent Broadcasting Authority) was “still refusing to show”. It included statements from two former employees of MI5, one Cathy Massiter and one anonymous.
A 1991 letter from John Pilger on a newspaper's coverage of his documentary on Cambodia
A press cutting from the archives. A letter from reporter and documentary film-maker John Pilger printed in the Sunday Times of 10 March 1991. The letter was responding to the newspaper's coverage of his documentary “Cambodia the Betrayal”.
A design for passwords with system-assigned randomness and user choice
This article describes a way of providing passwords to users of a computer system so that the responsibility for making the password secure is separated from the conflicting goal of making it memorable. The system is responsible for making the password secure and the user is responsible for making it memorable.
Making coffee from unground beans
Experience shows that it is possible to make a cup of coffee from whole beans without grinding them. You put them into a small vacuum flask with hot water and leave them for about an hour. What comes out is not the same as a conventional cup of coffee. Subjectively speaking, there are some negative aspects but one refreshing difference is the clarity and absence of turbidity.
Measured efficiency of an induction hob and an electric kettle heating water
This article reports simple empirical measurements to estimate the efficiency of a portable induction hob and of an electric kettle heating water to a temperature below boiling point.
Illustrating two causes of inefficiency in electric kettles sold in the 2020s
This article shows with photographs two causes of inefficiency in an electric kettle bought in 2021. These are: 1. An automatic cut-out that continues to push heat into the water after it has started boiling, so that heat is lost vaporising water. 2. A significant heat reservoir within the kettle. The heat in this reservoir is left behind when the water is poured out. It may also be lost…
Cape gooseberry plants with fruit under glass photographed in England in April
The photographs in this article show plants and berries of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana) growing under glass in southern England in April 2023.
Notes on the radiation spectrum for solar heating and sky cooling
This article summarises well-known information that could be useful for solar heating.
An addendum to information on ‘Strategic Investment’ newsletter
In a film interview British author Stephen Dorril mentioned MI6 and an unamed City of London newsletter.
Higher net power from a solar kettle heating water in glass rather than copper
This article reports the results of using a home-made parabolic trough solar kettle described in earlier articles to heat water in glass bottles rather than a copper pipe.
Testing cheap insulators on a home-made parabolic trough solar kettle
This article reports more experimental results testing silicone tubing and bubble wrap as cheap insulators that might make a home-made solar kettle heat water more quickly. The experiment measured how quickly the kettle cools with and without these insulators.
Trying bubble wrap as an insulator for a home-made solar kettle
Here are some experimental results from testing the plastic bubble wrap shown in the photograph as an insulator on the heat collector of a home-made parabolic trough solar kettle under conditions of low wind.
Trying silicone tubing as an insulator for a home-made solar kettle
Here are some experimental results from testing a translucent silicone tube as an insulator on the heat collector at the focus of a home-made parabolic trough solar kettle.
A recipe for meals of natural ingredients cooked with only a kettle
Here is a recipe for a simple meal and a way to cook it using only a kettle. It is intended to be healthy and to conserve nutrients in the food. It does not include processed foods or refined wheat and can use entirely organic ingredients.
Lepron project part 4: pseudowords with entropy of 3.5 bits/letter from trigrams
It is possible to create usable pseudowords with more than 3 bits of information per letter using a trigram letter model of English. Software demonstrating this is presented here under a GPL free software licence and examples of the pseudowords are given. Potential uses of such pseudowords include pronounceable passwords of quantifiable strength and forming a globally unique name that can prove…
A home-made catch-and-release mouse trap with no moving parts
This article describes a home-made mouse trap with no moving parts that has been used successfully for many years.
Filling and emptying a home-made parabolic trough solar kettle
The photographs here show a working solution to the problem of pouring water into and out of a home-made solar kettle that heats the water in a horizontal copper pipe. The mechanism described allows the pipe to be tilted for pouring without having to tilt the whole kettle.
An oak eggar moth caterpillar photographed in England in May
Photographs of a caterpillar of the oak eggar moth (Lasiocampa quercus) found in the countryside in southern England on 4 May 2022. It is hairy, with rings of pale hairs alternating with smoother black bands down the length of its body and orange-brown hairs towards its underside. There are uneven flecks of white, roughly in a line along each side of its body.