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What’s new

• January 20^th, 2020: New page Document maintainability, a sub-page of Technical Writing and Programming
• January 10^th, 2020: Added section Hang gliding threads to the Hang gliding menu, but I did not add any new material, although some is better arranged
• January 5^th, 2020: Added the story of the manufacturer Wills Wing, using principally Mike Meier as its central character, to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1973 and before
  • Hang gliding 1976 part 2
  • Hang gliding 1977
  • Hang gliding 1990 to 1993
• December 24^th, 2019:
  • Added newly digitized photos to My flying 1994 and 1995
  • Moved the info about Donnita Holland’s own design wing from Hang gliding 1974 part 2 to Hang gliding 1975 part 2. These dates are uncertain, but I make a comparison with the wing tips of the UP Dragonfly, so it goes well there.
• December 21^st, 2019: New page Miscellaneous photos 3, the 1960s
• December 19^th, 2019: Added more newly digitized slide transparencies to the following pages:
  • New page My flying 1974, to which I also moved several photos from Hang gliding 1974 part 2
  • New page My flying 1975, to which I moved several photos from Hang gliding 1975 part 1 (but no new photos added)
  • Kimmeridge Khmer Rouge
  • Three-sixty degree appraisal (my flying 1976)
  • My flying 1996 and 1997
  • My flying 2000 to 2003
• December 18^th, 2019: Added newly digitized slide transparencies to the following pages:
  • My return to hang gliding, 1989
  • My flying 1990 to 1993
  • My flying 1994 and 1995
• December 17^th, 2019: New page Paragliding continued, to which I moved paragliding photos previously included with my hang gliding pages
• December 16^th, 2019: In pursuance of the separation of church and state, I partly separated out my own photos from those taken by others. That change entailed expanding the Hang gliding main menu so it includes three sections instead of two. Now, you can read the history of hang gliding in general or my involvement in it, separately. (There is necessarily some overlap and duplication.)
• December 15^th, 2019: Added a photo of Tom Peghiny’s Eagle to Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 part 1
• December 14^th, 2019: Moved About the author to Miscellaneous
• December 11^th, 2019:
  • Added ATA girl Ann Welch
  • Added a safety warning, photo, and a link to a frightening video under Harness in Hang gliding equipment
  • Split Hang gliding 1976 into Hang gliding 1976 part 1 and Hang gliding 1976 part 2
  • Added two more images and some text to Hang gliding 1977
  • Added more advice under Hang waiting in Hang gliding preparation
• December 9^th, 2019: Added the following items:
  • More developments in Britain about the Miles Wings Gryphon in Hang gliding 1976 part 2 along with several links to contemporary photos by Roger Middleton
  • Appendix: Soar and surrender, a brief overview of a romantic novel by Maralys Wills (of Wills Wing) to Eagles among men
• December 7^th, 2019: Added two images to each of the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1974 part 1
  • Hang gliding 1976 part 2
• December 2^nd, 2019: Added a photo of Dave Meyers in a Seagull 3 to Hang gliding 1973 and before. It is surely one of the clearest color hang gliding photos of the time.
• November 23^rd, 2019: Added Genographic project, which documents the results of my participation in National Geographic’s Genographic project, an attempt to use DNA analysis to help figure out our genetic history
• November 21^st, 2019:
  • Created page Three-sixty degree appraisal (my flying 1976) — my own hang glider design efforts. It contains no new content: It has been moved out of Hang gliding 1976 is all.
  • Moved the info about the Wasp Nova from Hang gliding 1976 to under New developments in Hang gliding 1975 part 2 (where it belongs)
  • I also moved the info about prone harnesses from Hang gliding 1976 to under New developments in Hang gliding 1975 part 2
• November 17^th, 2019: Added a photo of my 1/72_nd scale Waco CG-4A to World War 2 plastic models part 2
• November 13^th, 2019: Added a photo of Roly launching in a Solar Wings Storm in Hang gliding early 1980s part 1
• November 10^th, 2019: Added two photos to Space flight and hang gliding
• November 8^th, 2019: Added two photos to Faina in uniform
• November 6^th, 2019: Added photos of my late mother’s Charcoal drawings, Holloway College, about 1937
• November 3^rd, 2019:
  • Added more photos from Roly the sailmaker taken in 1975 and 1979 at Kimmeridge to Kimmeridge Khmer Rouge
  • Split Hang gliding 1975 into Hang gliding 1975 part 1, with some newly added photos, and Hang gliding 1975 part 2, which has Donnita Holland’s own design wing under New developments. I since move the latter to Hang gliding 1974 part 2.
  • Added three photos of Birdman Firebirds to Hang gliding 1976 part 1
  • Added a photo of Roly in his back garden with a Solar Wings Storm in Hang gliding early 1980s part 1
  • Added info about my 1981 crash to Dangers of hang gliding
• November 2^nd, 2019:
  • Added four photos from Roly the sailmaker to Hang gliding 1974 part 2
  • Moved the monochrome photo of Liz Sharp in her 1970s comms helmet to the bottom of Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 part 1 so Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 part 2 starts with the color photo of Liz flying her UP Condor
  • Split Hang Gliding early 1980s into Hang gliding early 1980s part 1 and Hang gliding early 1980s part 2, the latter including a new section about the origins of British manufacturer Airwave
  • Added a photo of Ken Messenger of Birdman Sports in his motorcycle days to Motocross in Off-road bikes
• November 1^st, 2019:
  • Split Hang Gliding 1974 into Hang gliding 1974 part 1 and Hang gliding 1974 part 2
  • Added more photos of Roly to Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 part 2
  • Added text and photos, including Roly the sailmaker flying a Southdown Sailwings Lightning, to Hang gliding early 1980s part 1
  • Added a photo of a Solar Wings Typhoon (Roly again) to Hang gliding early 1980s part 2
• October 27^th, 2019: Added info from Roly the sailmaker under the new sub-heading Birdman and Solar Wings in Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 part 2
• October 26^th, 2019: Added section We don’t need no education in Computer commuter, a sub-page of About the author: An observation on the difference between those educated in the British ‘secondary modern’ schools of the 1960s and those who went to ‘grammar’ schools or private schools.
• October 25^th, 2019: Added article Biopolitics
• October 20^th, 2019: Added a link from Faina in uniform to the award-winning documentary My Silicone Love by Sophie Dros and her team of talented Dutch film makers
• October 16^th, 2019: Added Enigmatic 1970s attack fighter, my Airfix 1/72^nd scale Hawker Siddely/British Aerospace Harrier GR.3
• October 4^th, 2019: Added Forger’s F-106 in 1/72^nd scale
• October 3^rd, 2019: Added a photo of David Parsons flying a Chargus Vortex to the section about that manufacturer in Hang gliding 1976 part 1, part of another re-organising of the page. Another new subtitle I added is Developments Stateside in Hang gliding 1976 part 2.
• September 26^th, 2019: Added Blank slate syndrome, my critique of an evolutionary psychology talk by Johan Nayar, hosted by Dorset Humanists, Bournemouth, September 2019
• September 24^th, 2019: Added Sara and Zoe, which completes the restructuring of my doll pages
• September 22^nd, 2019, added the following pages which include content moved from the old page structure and some newly uploaded photos:
  • Rebecca
  • Rebecca — the early years
  • Rebecca — the middle years
• September 21^st, 2019: Added Virginia and Louise
• September 20^th, 2019: Added Raisa and younger Anoushka
• September 18^th, 2019: Added Meotzi
• September 17^th, 2019:
  • Added Varvara and Lucy
  • Expanded Drawing to a close in About the author
• September 16^th, 2019: Added Lina
• September 15^th, 2019, continuing the new page structure for life-size dolls:
  • Added Kylie
  • Added Laura
  • Added Sharon to Eleanor’s page, now re-titled Eleanor and Sharon
  • Added some more photos to Anoushka
  • Added Anoushka’s spicy Russian apple pie
• September 14^th, 2019: Added Lightning fit for a little prince, building Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Lockheed P-38/F5 Lightning in 1/72^nd scale
• September 13^th, 2019: Added June to my new page structure for life-size dolls
• September 12^th, 2019, added the following to my new page structure for life-size dolls:
  • Angela, Greta, and Karen
  • Joanna
• September 11^th, 2019, created Faina’s pages:
  • Faina the ballerina
  • Faina as Siouxsie including Faina at the factory
  • Faina at the quay
  • Faina in uniform
• September 8^th, 2019: Split Hang gliding 1996 to 1999, creating Hang gliding 1996 and 1997 and Hang gliding 1998 and 1999, both containing newly uploaded photos
• September 7^th, 2019:
  • Split Miscellaneous photos, creating Miscellaneous photos 2, both containing newly uploaded photos
  • Added two more old photos to Paragliding
• September 5^th, 2019 added the following to my new page structure for life-size dolls:
  • Eva
  • Faina the ballerina (in progress…)
• September 4^th, 2019 added the following to my new page structure for life-size dolls:
  • Cynthia
  • Denise
  • Eleanor
• August 29^th, 2019 added Breakage and repair section to Motocross in miniature, Building Joël Robert’s Suzuki motocross bike in 1/12th scale
• August 28^th, 2019 added Caroline to my new page structure for life-size dolls
• August 27^th, 2019 added Annabelle to my new page structure for life-size dolls
• August 25^th, 2019 added Café on the Rue de Remarques part 3, all three Café pages now containing photos previously on the earlier somewhat random page structure
• August 24^th, 2019 added the following new doll pages:
  • Café on the Rue de Remarques
  • Café on the Rue de Remarques part 2
• August 23^rd, 2019:
  • Added Righteous stuff, my review of the movie Toward the Unknown, 1956
  • I am redoing the dolls pages. Here is the first new page: Anoushka
• August 21^st, 2019: Added Metal (and plastic) Husky, my non-kit 1/12^th scale Husqvarna motocross bike
• August 18^th, 2019: Added some memories of Declan Doyle, who died on August 14th, in the Industrial light and magic section of Hang gliding 1994 and 1995
• August 13^th, 2019:
  • I obtained some feedback on A ridge too far, my review of the movie The Bridges at Toko Ri, 1954, which led to some changes and a digression into Toward The Unknown, also starring William Holden as a jet pilot.
  • Added some history of 1970s British hang glider manufacturer Chargus to Hang gliding 1976 part 1
  • Added section Drawing to a close in About the author
• August 12^th, 2019: Added two photos from 2013 of Faina in her MVD uniform to Rebecca and friends (page 5). (Page subsequently deleted during restructuring of the doll pages.)
• August 2^nd, 2019: Added sub-section titled Corporate culture to Why technical authors are unpopular in Technical Writing and Programming
• July 29^th, 2019: Added a new screenshot and paragraph to Neil, a sub-page of T minus 15 seconds, guidance is internal—my review of First Man, 2018
• July 27^th, 2019: Added new Jargon section to Technical writing and programming
• July 26^th, 2019: Added images and accompanying text to the following pages:
  • Simulator section of Hang gliding 1990 to 1993 part 2 (more info about Seth B. Anderson and Bob Ormiston, a new section titled Ability, and related external links)
  • Hang gliding 1994 and 1995 (Airborne advert and an image taken at Fort Funston)
  • Forger section of Space flight and hang gliding (pic of Mark Stucky and Mike Meier)
• July 25^th, 2019: Added images and accompanying text to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1990 to 1993 part 2 (pic of Bob Ormiston and Seth B. Anderson)
  • Hang gliding 1994 and 1995 (Moyes Xtralite advert and an image taken at the Sandia Classic competition)
• July 24^th, 2019: Added an image and accompanying text to each of the following pages:
  • Space flight and hang gliding (pic of Mark Stucky)
  • Dangers of hang gliding (Pete Lehman under parachute)
• July 21^st, 2019: Added more images to Developments viewed through others’ lenses section of Hang gliding 1994 and 1995
• July 19^th, 2019: Added section titled Developments viewed through others’ lenses in Hang gliding 1994 and 1995
• July 13^th, 2019: Split Hang gliding 1990 to 1993 into Hang gliding 1990 to 1993 part 1 (art based on photos by others) and Hang gliding 1990 to 1993 part 2 (mainly my own photos)
• July 9^th, 2019: New page Small dolls
• July 4^th, 2019: Added images and text to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1973 and before
  • Hang gliding 1990 to 1993
• July 3^rd, 2019: Added images and text to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1974
  • Hang gliding 1976 part 1
  • Hang gliding 2000 to 2003
  • I also added a few more page header photos. Which one is displayed on a particular page is automatically selected at random.
• July 1^st, 2019: Added another image and accompanying text to Hang gliding 1990 to 1993
• June 25^th & 26^th, 2019:
  • Added three images and accompanying text to Hang gliding 1990 to 1993
  • Added two photos in new sub-section Vintage motocross in Miscellaneous photos
• June 27^th, 2019: New page titled simply Neil, containing some brief comments on two or three important scenes in First Man, 2018, starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong. They potentially constitute a plot spoiler, so I put them on a separate page from my review of that film.
• June 25^th & 26^th, 2019:
  • Added an old photo to Defying Newton, powered ultralight operations at Newton Peveril in Dorset, England
  • Split Hang gliding 1996 to 2003 into Hang gliding 1996 to 1999 and Hang gliding 2000 to 2003, adding new (old) photos to both pages
  • Added parachute repack photos to Hang gliding equipment
  • Added some Miscellaneous photos
  • Added photos from around the turn of the century to Paragliding
  • Added a new photo to Plastic models — land vehicles
  • Added photos to World War 2 plastic models part 2
• June 20^th, 2019: Added sub-section Shortcut to the landing sequence in T minus 15 seconds, guidance is internal (originally titled One small step)—my review of First Man, 2018, starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11, including four more images and some text
• June 19^th, 2019: Added two more images and some text to T minus 15 seconds, guidance is internal (originally titled One small step)—my review of First Man, 2018, starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11
• June 17^th, 2019: Added an image and text to Aviation computer-based training
• June 15^th, 2019: Added an image to Hang gliding 1976 part 1 and re-organised the page
• May 31^st, 2019, added images to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1973 and before, in which I also added a link to Bill Liscomb’s documentary Big Blue Sky on YouTube
  • Hang gliding 1976 part 1
  • Hang gliding late 1980s
  • Hang gliding 1989
• May 28^th, 2019, added images to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1975
  • Hang gliding late 1980s including some of Fly America
• May 26^th, 2019:
  • Added images to Hang gliding 1973 and before
  • Added an image to Hang gliding 1974
  • Split Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 into Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 part 1 and Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 part 2, adding images to both
  • Added images to Hang gliding early 1980s
  • Created new page Hang gliding mid 1980s
  • Added an image to Hang gliding 1996 to 2003
  • Added images under More scenery to the Miscellaneous photos page
• May 22^nd, 2019: Added new page Hang gliding late 1980s
• May 21^st, 2019:
  • Added two photos to Hang gliding 1978 and 1979 (one moved from another page)
  • Added more content to Hang gliding mid 1980s
• May 20^th, 2019:
  • Created new page Hang gliding mid 1980s
  • Added two images to Hang gliding 1975
• May 19^th, 2019, added one more image to each of the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1973
  • Hang gliding 1978 and 1979
• May 18^th, 2019, I added more images to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1973
  • Hang gliding 1974
  • Hang gliding 1978 and 1979
  • Hang gliding early 1980s
• May 17^th, 2019:
  • Split Airplane art as a new page from Powered flight, to which I also added a picture
  • Added more images to Hang gliding 1973
  • Added a couple of more images to Hang gliding early 1980s
• May 16^th, 2019:
  • Added a lesson I learned about flying in strong winds to Tour of Bell Hill part 1: Front, back, and sides
  • Added an image to the top of Hang gliding 1973
  • Added an image to Hang gliding 1978 and 1979
  • Added more images to Hang gliding early 1980s
  • Added a Spacelab section, including two photos, to Space flight and hang gliding
• May 15^th, 2019: Added new page Defying Newton 2, more powered ultralight operations at Newton Peveril in Dorset, England
• May 14^th, 2019, I added more images to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1978 and 1979
  • Hang gliding early 1980s
• May 12^th & 13^th, 2019, I added more images to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1974
  • Hang gliding 1975
  • Hang gliding 1976 part 1
  • Hang gliding 1977
  • Hang gliding 1978 and 1979
• May 11^th, 2019, I did the following:
  • Added images to Hang gliding 1973
  • Added images to Hang gliding 1974
  • Added images to Hang gliding 1975
  • Spun off Swallowtail versus Gulp, plus my own first experimental hang glider, from Hang gliding 1975
• May 10^th, 2019, I added the following:
  • New page Hang gliding 1973
  • New page Hang gliding 1978 and 1979
  • New images–most are artwork based on old photographs–in the following pages:
    • Hang gliding 1974
    • Hang gliding 1975
    • Hang gliding 1976
    • Hang gliding 1977 (retitled from Hang gliding 1977 to 1979)
    • Hang gliding early 1980s
    • Hang gliding 1996 to 2003
    • Space flight and hang gliding
• May 4^th, 2019: Added T minus 15 seconds, guidance is internal (originally titled One small step)—my review of First Man, 2018, starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11
• May 3^rd, 2019: Added some quotes from a 1977 Hang Gliding magazine article by Ric Lee to Unexplained lift at Ringstead, August 8th, 2013
• April 28^th, 2019: Replaced one of the new photos in Rebecca and friends (page 5) with one I like better. (Page subsequently deleted during restructuring of the doll pages.)
• April 27^th, 2019: Added two new photos to Rebecca and friends (page 5). (Page subsequently deleted during restructuring of the doll pages.)
• April 26^th, 2019: Added new page Luff in the time of cholera (sorry!) about the ‘luffing dive’ thought by some to be a danger inherent in the design of the standard Rogallo hang glider
• April 25^th, 2019: Added Selected hang gliding photographs — my best shots
• April 24^th, 2019, I added the following:
  • Text about luffing dives in Hang gliding 1975
  • Text about accident and incident analysis under new sub-heading Appliance of statistics, also in Hang gliding 1975. Subsequently moved to its own sub-page Appliance of statistics.
  • Text about a flat spin in one of my experimental hang gliders under Three-sixty degree appraisal in Hang gliding 1976
• April 23^rd, 2019: Added Replacing Wills Wing U-2 (Litestream) side flying wires
• April 18^th, 2019, I added the following:
  • Fame by (virtual) association, a sub-page of About the author
  • Two new photos in Rebecca and friends (page 5). (Page subsequently deleted during restructuring of the doll pages.)
• April 16^th, 2019: Added Little parrots, an anecdote about flying at my local hill in 1975 in the company of others. It is also about usage of language, both there and, ten years later, in the USA.
• April 14^th, 2019: Added my experience of dehydration in Spain under Pancho villa in Hang gliding 2004 and 2005
• April 7^th, 2019: Added Eagles among men–my review of Higher than Eagles, the Tragedy and Triumph of an American Family by Maralys Wills and Chris Wills, 1992
• April 6^th, 2019: Added more description of my flying at the British hang gliding championships in 1975 under the sub-heading Riders in the sky and I added a comparison of the Miles Wings Gulp and the Wills Wing Swallowtail under the sub-heading Swallowtail versus Gulp, both in Hang gliding 1975
• April 2^nd, 2019: Added more new photos, including Tamiya 1/35^th scale World War 2 British soldiers, to Plastic DUKW (replacing earlier photos)
• April 1^st, 2019: Added four new photos, including three depicting Master Box 1/35^th scale World War 2 era women, to Plastic DUKW
• March 29^th, 2019: Added new page Plastic DUKW, my Italeri 1/35^th scale General Motors DUKW
• March 28^th, 2019: Added observations about flying in adverse conditions, backed by a quotation from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, under the Mainland Spain sub-heading in Hang gliding 1989
• March 26^th, 2019: Added a quote from pioneer aviatrix Beryl Markham under the sub-heading Irrevocably alone to Water in the wheelhouse; how dreams are formed
• March 17^th, 2019: Added two old and two new photos of Faina to Rebecca and friends (page 5). (Page subsequently deleted during restructuring of the doll pages.)
• March 16^th, 2019, I added some low-quality images to the following pages:
  • Hang gliding 1975
  • Hang gliding early 1980s
  • Under Airplane art on the Powered flight page
  • Under Scenery on the Miscellaneous photos page
• March 12^th, 2019:
  • Added more newly digitized photos under the new Lanzarote subtitle in Hang gliding 1989
  • I also added two more Spitfire Vb photos under the sub-heading English Channel in World War 2 plastic models part 1
• March 10^th, 2019:
  • Added page Hang gliding 1989 with some newly digitized photos and some moved from Hang gliding early 1980s
  • I also added my Airfix 1/48^th scale Spitfire Vb under the sub-heading English Channel in World War 2 plastic models part 1
• March 2^nd, 2019: Added a new photo of Tessa on her Montesa to Viva Protar, about my 1/9^th scale Montesa Cota 247 trials bike (replaces an earlier photo)
• February 26^th, 2019: Added a photo of a flower to Miscellaneous photos
• February 24^th, 2019: Added more to Computer commuter, a sub-page of About the Author
• February 23^rd, 2019: Added photos of my Trumpeter 1/48^th scale Armstrong Whitworth Seahawk to Other plastic model aircraft
• February 19^th, 2019: Added two photos of my 1/72^nd scale Spitfire PR.XI to World War 2 plastic models part 2
• February 17^th, 2019: Added five photos of my Tamiya 1/48^th scale Spitfire Mk.1 to World War 2 plastic models part 1. Three replace earlier photos.
• February 7^th, 2019: Added two photos and some text to RAF Ringstead, a sub-section of Overview of Ringstead
• February 2^nd, 2019: Combined the contents of the Other and Articles sections into one; the Miscellaneous section
• February 1^st, 2019:
  • Added new page Computer commuter, including a fatal road crash that was later found to be a murder. It is a sub-page of About the Author.
  • I also managed to reduce the black block of links near the top of every page (at last). I would like to delete it entirely, but it is generated automatically by the WordPress template I use, unfortunately.
• January 31^st, 2019: Added new section titled Check list on the Hang gliding equipment page, although much of its text was there already under the preceding sub-heading Hang glider (the wing)
• January 27^th, 2019: Added new section titled Reality check to Lars and the real Everard
• January 15^th, 2019: Added two photos of Faina at a beach in Devon to Rebecca and friends (page 5). (Page subsequently deleted during restructuring of the doll pages.)
• January 11^th, 2019: Added more text about my weekly commute in the late 1980s under On yer bike in About the author
• January 10^th, 2019:
  • Added two photos and accompanying text to Hang gliding early 1980s
  • Added four photos and accompanying text about my first two cross-country flights to Hang gliding 1990 to 1993
• January 9^th, 2019: Added more text under BMX and mountain bikes to Off-road bikes including a technique for safely learning to jump large humps on BMX tracks. In addition, I divided that section into sub-sections BMX and Mountain biking.
• January 8^th, 2019:
  • Split Hang gliding before 1976 into two pages: Hang gliding 1974 and Hang gliding 1975, both including newly uploaded images
  • Added four BMX-related photos to Off-road bikes
• January 7^th, 2019: Added some more material to Hang glider names and tidied the page. Feel free to send in any corrections to the years stated in the new bullet list near the top.
• January 5^th, 2019: Added an account of my first attempts at flight to Hang gliding 1974
• January 3^rd, 2019: Added new section Last of the beautiful people in About the author and inserted new section heading On yer bike for the existing material that follows it