Univerese Today is a blog that covers space exploration and astronomy. The offer came out of work I was doing last year on Tomorrow is Here. Fraser Cain, who runs Universe Today, also runs the carnival of space, which often featured articles from Tomorrow is Here.

a new world and new civilization?

Perhaps this could lead to something bigger. I noticed that the coverage of the LCROSS Moon impact in the Daily Star was inacurate.

The article says that debris were “brought back to the Earth for analysis.” I am pretty sure this isn’t true. Both probes impacted the Moon. There was nothing to come back to Earth.

This will be my first writing assignments since I took a break in April. I stopped because writing had become such a chore. I wasn’t enjoying it at all.

Writers block had me in a strangle hold. Things had gotten so bad, merely sitting in front of a PC with Word open would give me a headache.

Maybe that’s more than writer’s block.

My first interest remains politics, so there’s an opportunity cost in writing about space. But it’s a way back into writing. A way around the writers block, if that’s what it is.

Recently, I’ve gotten back into the habit of writing daily. Or at least trying to. Even if I am only writing a few hundred words a day it’s something, hence this blog.

No pressure, and as yet no headaches. Perhaps, if I start on writing about politics again the headaches will come back.

So now to look for some suitable space ideas.

It was free, being sponsored by Business Link, a UK government agency. The information was useful and well presented. Attendees are entitled £200 of professional advice with a Business Link advisor.

good stuff

The most useful part of the workshop was meeting other people who are in a similar situation as me. Nearly everyone had a contribution to make. With some useful insights, such as, “people buy people”

The target audience is people who have just started up or will soon start up their own businesses.

This entrepreneur thing is fun. Much more rewarding the working in a corporate cubical. But you can become a little isolated. Mixing with others facing similar problems with similar motivations is great.

Several of the attendees had recently lost their jobs.  Even so there was still a very positive atmosphere. I guess you have to have a positive attitude to go along to these things.

It’s a good buzz.

Several people suggested I could make a living writing web copy for small businesses. This is something they do not feel they can do.

It’s something to look into with my £200 of market research.

...makes the world go around

I have been searching software packages to find an accountancy application to suit. Most have been designed for old style bricks and mortar businesses. None provide the functionality I need without providing loads of functions I don’t.

I want the package to:

• Be Web based
• Handle multiple currencies
• Track account payments
• Track expenses in same categories as UK tax forms
• Divide expenses into taxable / non-taxable categories
• Handel Micro-payments
• Be able to integrate with on-line payment systems
• Produce invoices
• Collate data for tax return

I do not need:

• Stock control
• Employee details payments
• Reams of financial reports

I tried looking for open source applications that I could hack, but there is none that come near my requirements.

I have decided to create my own application to the above specification. If I base it on the php / MySQL application I developed of “Getting Things Done” it should not take too long. It is a simpler application.

Other advantages in creating my own the application are:

• I will have to develope a clear understanding of my business
• I will have to understand the tax laws
• I will retain control over essential data
• I can tailor the application to suit my needs exactly
• No learning curve on third party applications
• No cash layout
• Mastering more web coding techniques (eg how to integrate with paypal or Amazon)

I have put aside 2 weeks to develop the basic application. Then a further week to enter all my data from the last three years.

Once complete, the application will make filing tax returns much simpler. Plus, I will be able to create and track invoices automatically once I get the on-line integration working .

This is my least favourite part of working for myself. Time spent now will reduce stress and free up more time for the things I want to do.

big brother's view

The end of October marks the last day for handing in your tax self assessment forms. Although you can file on-line until the end of January.

And the postal strike makes things more interesting. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) site is not very helpful. It tells you to make sure you post early. No excuse accepted.

I normally avoid everything to do with form filling. I worry about facing fines if I make a mistake. The last two years I had an accountant file my return for me. This year I decided to do it myself. “It can’t be that hard”, I thought. “Save money and get to know my business better.”

I booked myself onto a HMRC workshop. A whole morning on tax returns. It was very useful. The tax man (or tax woman in this case) appeared to be quite human.

She said that they did not expect us to be accountants. As long as we made a genuine effort to get the calculations correct, we would not be fined for mistakes. Just charged the outstanding amount with interest.

An interesting statement. My accountant estimated several of the more complex calculations. I do not think I was getting value for money from them. Another reason to file for myself.

Stevenage tax office is in Southgate House. The building next to mine. You can see it in silhouetted in this sunrise picture Whilst I was there, I took a picture of my flat. Not very good quality, but that’s camera phones for you.

I realised how easy it is to see into my my home from these offices.

Makes it nice and easy for the tax man to check on me.

Anyway, the price of a pint had not gone down. I was outraged and complained to the Wayne the Manager, who patiently explained that they put the duty on beer, wine and spirits up at the same time as they dropped VAT, so the prices stayed the same.

Nanny Gordon knows best and does not want us to drink more. He doesn’t want us to waste our hard earned money on English Ale or Scotch Whisky. We should spend it instead on Chinese made toys.

It’s nice to know that the powers that be, having presided over the possibly the biggest financial f**k-up this country has known, still think they know better than us how to run our lives.

When it comes to running the economy, they can not find there own backsides with both hands. But that will not stop them from attempting to micro-mange the whole nation – in our own best interests of course.

If we all drink less, work harder and learn our place in the scheme of things, then one day our kids could be in a position where they will be protected from there own gross incompetence by their pals in the government splurging out our money.

I never really use it. I can not remember why I opened it. Must have been a special introductory offer of some sort.

Anyway, as the news concerning the bank is not the best, I decided to transfer what little I have in the account out. No chance. Some non-specific problem is preventing the transfer from taking place.

The site advises to , “try again in an hour,” yeah right! At least it is only a few hundred quid tied up.

I presume the UK end of the bank is covered by UK banking insurance.

Dug Heath runs a successful business finishes parts for custom cars and bikes. In July 2007, he moved to premises in Baldock. A month later, he received a phone call from a rep, claiming to be from an electricity metering company. The rep told Dug he was on “emergency rate,” and offered to find Dug a cheaper deal. The rep then transferred the call to BizzEnergy. The pitch had taken no more than five minutes.

A day later, a bill from his current supplier arrived and Dug realised just how big a mistake he had made. The premises was not on emergency rate. “I have now been told that there is no such thing as emergency rate,” says Dug. What is more, the new contract would cost him an extra £6000 over the next four years.

When Dug tried to cancel the contract, he discovered that there is no cooling off period for commercial contracts and a verbal agreement made over the phone is legally binding. As he could not prove that the original rep had misled him, BizzEnergy could see no reason to cancel.

On contacting the energy consumer watchdog, Energywatch, Dug was in for another unpleasant surprise. Energy regulations do not cover the activities of third party intermediaries. As the original pitch to Dug was from an energy broker, Energywatch had no interest in getting involved.

After a very frustrating year, Dug gave up and decided to pay the £1400 termination penalty to get out of the contract. He is glad to put the incident behind him. “Just seeing the BizzEnergy logo winds me up,” he says.

Unfortunately, Dug’s experience is common. Unlike domestic energy users, small businesses have no protection from unscrupulous selling tactics, and no way to resolve disputes without going to court.

Energywatch and the Federation of Small Businesses are jointly campaigning for more protection for small businesses under the banner “Make the Connection.” Their website gives the following advice for dealing with energy sales:

• Be very careful what you agree to over the phone
• Try to be proactive in choosing your supplier
• Take all the details of the salesperson

A wiser but poorer Dug agrees, “Get things in writing,” he says. “Don’t agree to anything over the phone.”

I Googled the problem and found the answer on a notice board from four years ago. The same problem was being described in version 10 of Money, I’m using version 12. Apparently it’s a leap year bug and will go away in the morning.

That’s truly mind bogglingly bad software production even by Microsoft’s not very high standards (don’t get me started).

Maybe they’ll get around to fixing it by 2012.