Lloyd's Library

 Key takeaways This article gives you 5 tidbits of information about permeable pavers, also known as permeable block paving. Including a little history on paving in the UK.  Plus why we need permeable pavers in 2026. In short we have some horribly outdated underground water pipes and rising flood waters.  The Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) rules may have stalled in their confusing engineering policies, but we should still look after our country by laying responsible driveway bricks. Permeable pavers (permeable block pavers) The Driveway Evolution For decades, the humble driveway was viewed as little more than a solid slab of concrete or a layer of asphalt designed to keep cars out of the mud. However, as urban density increases and weather patterns become more unpredictable, the hidden complexity of modern driveway drainage has come to the forefront. Traditional "impermeable" surfaces act as a fast-track for rainwater, sending large volumes of runoff into overs...

A Time-Tested Platform in the Modern Blogging Landscape It's a time of complex web technologies and costly subscription services.  Google's Blogger is a very accessible platform. A refreshing alternative. It has helped content creators for more than twenty years.  Blogger is also known as Blogspot , which is Many people see it as an old tool from the early days of blogging. However, this platform still offers great value for certain user groups in 2026. Blogger offers a refreshing free alternative to paid hosting making it the  best free blog platform in 2026 Key Features and Capabilities of Google Blogger Blogger is one of the most straightforward publishing platforms out there. Balancing essential functionality with remarkable ease of use. Feature Category What Blogger Offers Cost Structure Completely free hosting, free SSL certificate, and free Blogspot domain. Optional custom domain support (purchased separately). Google Integration Seamless conn...

Receipt Recognition Tools Comparison Update 23 October 2025: Since it has been a few months I decided to check with another AI, this time Microsoft Copilot. Yes it isn't the most popular tool but seem very similar to Chat GPT at the moment. Certainly in voice conversation mode. Here are three top-rated Receipt OCR APIs developers often choose for accuracy, flexibility, and ease of integration: 🧾 Best Receipt OCR APIs for Developers 1. Tabscanner Known for high accuracy across global receipt formats and languages. Offers real-time AI parsing of line items. Free tier includes 200 receipt scans/month. Easy to integrate with RESTful API. Explore Tabscanner: tabscanner.com 2. Nanonets AI-powered OCR with strong multi-language and multi-currency support. Offers live demo and free trial. Highly rated on G2 (4.9/5). Ideal for expense tracking and bookkeeping automation. Explore Nanonets: Nanonets.com 3. Receipt-OCR (GitHub Project) Open-source solution using Tesseract and ...

Why Receipts Fade and How to Recover Their Information Receipts are for more than shopping. They are needed for sderious stuff too. For example, to track expenses, whether for personal budgeting or business operations. They serve as proof of purchase, helping companies save money on expenses like travel, office supplies, and subscriptions. However, without a clear receipt, you might lose out on these benefits. Despite their importance, paper receipts are far from reliable. They can be easily misplaced, and worse still, many receipts are printed on thermal paper. Which fades over time, especially when exposed to heat or sunlight. Why Do Receipts Fade? Most receipts are printed on thermal paper. This paper has a special coating that reacts to heat. This reaction creates text and images. However, this coating is highly sensitive to UV light, heat, and humidity. Over time, exposure to these elements causes the printed content to fade. Making it difficult to read with the naked eye. Or...

The M-Vave SMK 25 Mini is a great product. i owned the previous version, which looks very similar but was black. It was the Nectar SE 25, a different brand but I think it was from the same factory. There is a reason I switched to the newer M-Vave keyboard and it's why I am declaring this the best midi controller for travelers. This midi controller is a tiny keyboard with just a few buttons on the left side. You can plug it into you laptop or tablet, or even a phone with the USB cable that comes with it. I have been traveling all over the place and it takes up a very small part of my suitcase. Plus it is almost weightless. The perfect midi keyboard for traveling. You can even use it wirelessly with Bluetooth! Best Midi Keyboard for Traveling The big new feature is a double dose of delightful fun: Scales and Chords. When in scales mode every key is in tune, so you can noodle around like a jazz musician and it sounds pretty good. You literally can't play something out of tune.  T...

Update 5th April 2024 : I still recommend using this app almost a year after I wrote this review of Duet Display. It allows me to travel with an Android tablet that I can use for a 2nd monitor with my MacBook. There are no free alternatives, so this remains the best option and doesn't cost much (I think I pay just $3 per month). One minor niggle (see bottom). Can I use an Android screen as a second monitor with MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? The short answer it yes, it is possible to use any Samsung Tab tablet as a 2nd screen for a Mac computer. Apple makes it easy to use iPads as 2nd screens for Macs, but the Sidecar app is not available for Android tablets. The video below offers a quick explanation of how to use a Samsung tablet as a 2nd display for a MacBook Air M1.    How to use a Samsung tablet as a 2nd display for a Mac  You need to visit Google Play Store on your Samsung tablet and download Duet. Visit duetdisplay.com on your Mac and select the plan that best suits...

How to Download Maps for Rusted Warfare? Rusted Warfare is an amazing RTS game with old school graphics. If you enjoyed games like Command and Conquer decades ago, then you will probably also love this great game. It is available on Android and in the past few years it has also been made available for PC gamers. I just use an Android tablet so I will just be talking about downloading maps for that, although there will probably be some crossover e.g. Steam. For Android phones and tablets: You need to find a download link for a map. Download it to your device. Open Rusted Warfare. Click on Mods (at the bottom of the list). Then click on Import New Mod. Find the map file, or you can select multiple maps at the same time. Click Import. Then you should click Reload Mod Data. Then click Save Selection.  That's it. Now you can go back to the main menu, click Single Player. Then click on Your Maps (from storage) and you will be able to select your new maps. Some come with thumbnails, some ...