One thing I've noticed about British laws since I've lived in London (and it has to be noted that NZ law is originally based on British law) is that the British tend to legislate for specific instances rather than broader reasons.
An example for this is there are laws effecting parks...and laws effecting Royal Parks. Why do there need to be separate laws - stuffed if I know?!
This can be increasingly stupid when you start to wonder a) why the law wasn't implemented in a universal nature in the first place and b) that when it does need wider application it requires a new law (and all the legislative hassle to go along with it).
This has come to light recently in a spate of shootings in South London - we've had about 4 in the last few weeks. It has to be pointed out that British people (like NZ people) generally don't own guns and are not allowed to. This is so we don't go around shooting people all the time and generally works a treat.
Well, to address this spate of gun crime effecting mainly young men, the Prime Minister Tony Blair (and some other politicians) want to change an existing law which makes it possible to send a person to jail for 5 years if they are illegally carrying a gun. The existing law has the proviso that the law effects people over 21 (I'm guessing that that may be the case because you can't get a gun licence under 21).
Now, this law was most likely introduced to catch people who don't have a gun licence and can you imagine the law making process - "Hmmm, maybe we should let teenagers roam around with guns? That's OK isn't it?". So why with the age limit?!
Now they're talking about changing the law so the "limit" is reduced to being 17 years or older. When all the murders have effected people under 17! Are these people stupid or what?
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Hindsight
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Despite thinking that George Bush was wrong all the way from the start (not that it makes any difference - I can't vote in the US) him losing the 2000 election (well, I mean, not stealing it) could have resulted in a few notable bad things happening.
Like having a Vice President and possible 2008 president of that prime example of the Democrat party - Joe Lieberman. What do you call someone who sounds, and acts, and votes like a Republican? A Republican - perfect for a Democrat Vice President and possible President. That was a lucky escape.
And the topic that is being brought up more and more - that if Bush hadn't screwed up the Middle East (well, made it more screwed up) and made the US economy a walking disaster area, the stage wouldn't have been set for needing alternative fuels - and for making those alternative energy supplies cost effective enough (or cost effective enough that your average Joe - obviously not Joe Lieberman) to put into practice.
Aren't we all lucky.
We'd probably be more lucky if Al Gore announced for 2008 (sans Joe) - and by "we" I mean a global "we". The "told you so" part of me can appreciate Bush's screw ups coming home to roost but having a failing US doesn't benefit the world in the least.
Despite thinking that George Bush was wrong all the way from the start (not that it makes any difference - I can't vote in the US) him losing the 2000 election (well, I mean, not stealing it) could have resulted in a few notable bad things happening.
Like having a Vice President and possible 2008 president of that prime example of the Democrat party - Joe Lieberman. What do you call someone who sounds, and acts, and votes like a Republican? A Republican - perfect for a Democrat Vice President and possible President. That was a lucky escape.
And the topic that is being brought up more and more - that if Bush hadn't screwed up the Middle East (well, made it more screwed up) and made the US economy a walking disaster area, the stage wouldn't have been set for needing alternative fuels - and for making those alternative energy supplies cost effective enough (or cost effective enough that your average Joe - obviously not Joe Lieberman) to put into practice.
Aren't we all lucky.
We'd probably be more lucky if Al Gore announced for 2008 (sans Joe) - and by "we" I mean a global "we". The "told you so" part of me can appreciate Bush's screw ups coming home to roost but having a failing US doesn't benefit the world in the least.
Pre-news
One thing that really irritates me about English news (and it probably happens elsewhere too) is what I call "pre-news".
This is characterised by news articles that start like "Today, Tony Blair will announce..." but instead of just giving a rough outline, it goes into complete detail about what he will announce (not speculative but accurate). You have to wonder why they actually have a press conference - why don't they just do the press release and be done with it?
I'd guess this will eventually mutate into "Next week, David Cameron will announce..." where, if the pre-announcement goes down particularly badly, they actually won't announce the announcement and go back to the drawing board and media organisations will stop reporting on the pre-news.
I hope so.
This is characterised by news articles that start like "Today, Tony Blair will announce..." but instead of just giving a rough outline, it goes into complete detail about what he will announce (not speculative but accurate). You have to wonder why they actually have a press conference - why don't they just do the press release and be done with it?
I'd guess this will eventually mutate into "Next week, David Cameron will announce..." where, if the pre-announcement goes down particularly badly, they actually won't announce the announcement and go back to the drawing board and media organisations will stop reporting on the pre-news.
I hope so.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
da iPhone
Well, it's finally here. The iPhone from Apple. As an Apple geek and a phone geek it is technically gadget nirvana. That said, I know enough about mobile phones and their technology to be very sceptical about the iPhone - at least version one of it.
Thoughts:
It needs 3G for the rest of the world. The US's rollout of GSM 3G is at least a year behind Europe. Most high end phones come out with 3G in Europe. It has to be noted that 3G (300Kb) is UMTS or W-CDMA (not to be mistaken with normal CDMA which is the opposition to GSM). The often mentioned HSDPA (often mentioned in regard to iPhone) is a kind of upgrade to UMTS - more 3.5G (1Mb). With regard to the European markets (huge mobile phone users), a lot of the networks never bothered with EDGE as they'd spent so much buying up 3G licences. So the iPhone would be very slow here as it is now (it may have to do GPRS data - often as slow as 28Kb or, God help us, normal GSM 9Kb) - I'd expect an upgrade to 3G by the time of the European rollout though.
For places outside the US, texting is more the "killer app". This is because all networks are on GSM and they all interoperate when it comes to texting. No worrying about whether your friend is on the same network or technology - texts just work. Because of that, a lot of the people who have tried the iPhone mention the on-screen keypad has limitations because of the size of the keys and the lack of tactile response (which obviously can't be helped). Maybe they can make a landscape keyboard view for people who want to run off an email? That'd make the keys bigger.
They better have a good battery indicator - you'd hate to have your phone die on you because you've been enjoying your music or videos too much!
Do the contacts have default phone numbers (i.e. double click on the contact to dial their default number instead of having to choose every time). Nokias do and that was always the flaw when I synced my contacts over - I'd have to choose my defaults again.
According to reports - no flash or Java yet. I hope they're working on a iPhone version of Flash or many websites are going to have problems (Flickr?) and I'm not sure if JavaScript is supported, which again is heavily used in websites these days.
Nobody's really tested the actual mobile reception yet - that could be a make or break for most heavy phone users. The question of Cingular is a US specific one - GSM coverage is pretty much everywhere in the rest of the world. You expect your phone to work anywhere in Europe. The move by Apple to go GSM may be another nail in the coffin for CDMA (and EVDO) - already the few other countries in the world that use it are having second thoughts - like places in South America, Australia and NZ where other GSM networks compete. Nokia (the biggest handset manufacturer) also seems to have ceased making phones for it.
Are the other international networks going to have to engineer the "visual voicemail" function from scratch or are Cingular or Apple going to sell the work they've done to them to save time and effort? That would also reduce the rollout time.
As a person who has been severely stung (i.e. I could have paid for the iPhone with change if I hadn't got the phone bill) by data charges on 3G in the past, the data plans on this would be very important. Not only does it make using data services practical (and networks have discovered that nobody really cares about video calling so need other uses) it could make it pervasive. If they continue to have "deadly" call plans, there could be a number of very angry (and broke) subscribers after the first month rollout.
Only having a 2Mpixel camera seems a bit light - maybe this will be upgraded when (or if) they upgrade the phone to 3G (which will be able to handle the bigger file sizes better). Think photoblogging to Flickr. Maybe Yahoo (Flickr's owners) will make a custom application for the iPhone since they're currently friends with Apple?
I'd guess this will be like the original iPod (and Mac) that later versions will fix a lot of problems - more storage for video; smaller phones for people less keen on video and more keen on compactness; price; attachment viewers if they really want to take on Blackberry.
Nokia's already have a number of the facilities available to them - especially on the N95 coming out soon - just not the extreme ease of use. They already use a Safari (well, WebKit) based browser on their new phones - and apparently don't need a special version of Google Maps to see them. It does however make Motorola's and even Sony Ericsson's phone interfaces look exceedingly poor.
Overall, I'd say highly appealing - and also curious for version 2.0. Software upgrades are also an interesting matter.
Pity that MacWorld didn't actually have any Mac announcements though! :(
Thoughts:
It needs 3G for the rest of the world. The US's rollout of GSM 3G is at least a year behind Europe. Most high end phones come out with 3G in Europe. It has to be noted that 3G (300Kb) is UMTS or W-CDMA (not to be mistaken with normal CDMA which is the opposition to GSM). The often mentioned HSDPA (often mentioned in regard to iPhone) is a kind of upgrade to UMTS - more 3.5G (1Mb). With regard to the European markets (huge mobile phone users), a lot of the networks never bothered with EDGE as they'd spent so much buying up 3G licences. So the iPhone would be very slow here as it is now (it may have to do GPRS data - often as slow as 28Kb or, God help us, normal GSM 9Kb) - I'd expect an upgrade to 3G by the time of the European rollout though.
For places outside the US, texting is more the "killer app". This is because all networks are on GSM and they all interoperate when it comes to texting. No worrying about whether your friend is on the same network or technology - texts just work. Because of that, a lot of the people who have tried the iPhone mention the on-screen keypad has limitations because of the size of the keys and the lack of tactile response (which obviously can't be helped). Maybe they can make a landscape keyboard view for people who want to run off an email? That'd make the keys bigger.
They better have a good battery indicator - you'd hate to have your phone die on you because you've been enjoying your music or videos too much!
Do the contacts have default phone numbers (i.e. double click on the contact to dial their default number instead of having to choose every time). Nokias do and that was always the flaw when I synced my contacts over - I'd have to choose my defaults again.
According to reports - no flash or Java yet. I hope they're working on a iPhone version of Flash or many websites are going to have problems (Flickr?) and I'm not sure if JavaScript is supported, which again is heavily used in websites these days.
Nobody's really tested the actual mobile reception yet - that could be a make or break for most heavy phone users. The question of Cingular is a US specific one - GSM coverage is pretty much everywhere in the rest of the world. You expect your phone to work anywhere in Europe. The move by Apple to go GSM may be another nail in the coffin for CDMA (and EVDO) - already the few other countries in the world that use it are having second thoughts - like places in South America, Australia and NZ where other GSM networks compete. Nokia (the biggest handset manufacturer) also seems to have ceased making phones for it.
Are the other international networks going to have to engineer the "visual voicemail" function from scratch or are Cingular or Apple going to sell the work they've done to them to save time and effort? That would also reduce the rollout time.
As a person who has been severely stung (i.e. I could have paid for the iPhone with change if I hadn't got the phone bill) by data charges on 3G in the past, the data plans on this would be very important. Not only does it make using data services practical (and networks have discovered that nobody really cares about video calling so need other uses) it could make it pervasive. If they continue to have "deadly" call plans, there could be a number of very angry (and broke) subscribers after the first month rollout.
Only having a 2Mpixel camera seems a bit light - maybe this will be upgraded when (or if) they upgrade the phone to 3G (which will be able to handle the bigger file sizes better). Think photoblogging to Flickr. Maybe Yahoo (Flickr's owners) will make a custom application for the iPhone since they're currently friends with Apple?
I'd guess this will be like the original iPod (and Mac) that later versions will fix a lot of problems - more storage for video; smaller phones for people less keen on video and more keen on compactness; price; attachment viewers if they really want to take on Blackberry.
Nokia's already have a number of the facilities available to them - especially on the N95 coming out soon - just not the extreme ease of use. They already use a Safari (well, WebKit) based browser on their new phones - and apparently don't need a special version of Google Maps to see them. It does however make Motorola's and even Sony Ericsson's phone interfaces look exceedingly poor.
Overall, I'd say highly appealing - and also curious for version 2.0. Software upgrades are also an interesting matter.
Pity that MacWorld didn't actually have any Mac announcements though! :(
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Ballet
I went to see my first ballet this year. A friend got some free tickets so off we went to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden - if you're going to do it, you may as well do it right!
My attitude on ballet at that point was much like synchronised swimming - yes, you have to be amazingly fit and skilled but it still looks stupid.
Well, my attitude changed.
Despite having some of the worst seats in the house (near the stage at the side so we could only see half of the performance) I had a great time.
The ballet was Giselle (the same production was filmed and shown on the BBC this Boxing Day) and the costumes were adorable, the women beautiful and gorgeously made up (and incredibly muscular - especially their backs!), the guys strong (and yes, seemingly, mostly camp), the dancing enjoyable to watch, and to my surprise, the acting great too - which made all the difference.
The bad seats (they were free so I can't complain) actually made it easier to see the all the details - especially the performers. It was great and I left the Opera House humming the tune (the music was uplifting).
I have to say the, the plot was pretty implausible. Village girl gets romanced by mysterious gentleman, falls in love, then when she finds out said man is spectacularly rich and powerful, kills herself in despair. Then part two includes him chasing her in the afterlife. I can surely imagine someone these days being horrified to find the love of their life is rich! Go figure.
My attitude on ballet at that point was much like synchronised swimming - yes, you have to be amazingly fit and skilled but it still looks stupid.
Well, my attitude changed.
Despite having some of the worst seats in the house (near the stage at the side so we could only see half of the performance) I had a great time.
The ballet was Giselle (the same production was filmed and shown on the BBC this Boxing Day) and the costumes were adorable, the women beautiful and gorgeously made up (and incredibly muscular - especially their backs!), the guys strong (and yes, seemingly, mostly camp), the dancing enjoyable to watch, and to my surprise, the acting great too - which made all the difference.
The bad seats (they were free so I can't complain) actually made it easier to see the all the details - especially the performers. It was great and I left the Opera House humming the tune (the music was uplifting).
I have to say the, the plot was pretty implausible. Village girl gets romanced by mysterious gentleman, falls in love, then when she finds out said man is spectacularly rich and powerful, kills herself in despair. Then part two includes him chasing her in the afterlife. I can surely imagine someone these days being horrified to find the love of their life is rich! Go figure.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
iTunes 7 - what's to dislike?
I like iTunes, I like Macs, I like the Mac OS, and I like progress, but when I downloaded the new version of iTunes - version 7 - I found a lot not to like.
There are a number of improvements in iTunes 7 - namely gapless playback (great for those classic albums - not that I've tried that yet), visual browsing of albums (like in a record store), a reorganisation of the interface to support all the media iTunes now supports, and other bits and pieces.
Sadly, almost at first glance, it looks UGLY. All caps sums it all up - all caps is all over the iTunes application and in the iTunes Store (now, not just the iTunes Music Store). Almost anyone who's been on the Internet for any length of time know that all caps is SHOUTING!
Sadly, it's not just that - the colours (or colors for you Americans) look like some kind of Windows Vista advance release; the icon looks uglier (somehow looking like it was designed in 256 colours); the handy import/burn/update (depending on which screen you're in) button has gone; the visualiser button has gone (I know not everyone uses it but I miss it); there's a new button which looks like the visualiser button that lets you browse your library (if you're too lazy to hit the library in the top left); I now have to go to a separate view to see the progress of my downloads; and that doesn't begin to hit the lack of visual consistency between applications (queue another refit of the entire iLife application set which will be out of whack until it comes out).
Then there's the bugs (and the stupidity) - this release seems incredibly buggy. I'm not an iTunes power user but I've already come across the inability to edit my Shuffle's playlist offline (very important if you want to get your playlist right) - the option's disappeared. Updating of your PodCasts has changed to refreshing - and the button's moved. And then we hit what I haven't encountered yet like authorisation problems; increased skipping/processor use; and more (see MacFixit or other Mac - and Windows - sites).
Oddly though, it's the ugly stick it has been hit with that gets me the most - this is an Apple application after all. Please, Leopard (Mac OS X.5), don't look like this!!!
There are a number of improvements in iTunes 7 - namely gapless playback (great for those classic albums - not that I've tried that yet), visual browsing of albums (like in a record store), a reorganisation of the interface to support all the media iTunes now supports, and other bits and pieces.
Sadly, almost at first glance, it looks UGLY. All caps sums it all up - all caps is all over the iTunes application and in the iTunes Store (now, not just the iTunes Music Store). Almost anyone who's been on the Internet for any length of time know that all caps is SHOUTING!
Sadly, it's not just that - the colours (or colors for you Americans) look like some kind of Windows Vista advance release; the icon looks uglier (somehow looking like it was designed in 256 colours); the handy import/burn/update (depending on which screen you're in) button has gone; the visualiser button has gone (I know not everyone uses it but I miss it); there's a new button which looks like the visualiser button that lets you browse your library (if you're too lazy to hit the library in the top left); I now have to go to a separate view to see the progress of my downloads; and that doesn't begin to hit the lack of visual consistency between applications (queue another refit of the entire iLife application set which will be out of whack until it comes out).
Then there's the bugs (and the stupidity) - this release seems incredibly buggy. I'm not an iTunes power user but I've already come across the inability to edit my Shuffle's playlist offline (very important if you want to get your playlist right) - the option's disappeared. Updating of your PodCasts has changed to refreshing - and the button's moved. And then we hit what I haven't encountered yet like authorisation problems; increased skipping/processor use; and more (see MacFixit or other Mac - and Windows - sites).
Oddly though, it's the ugly stick it has been hit with that gets me the most - this is an Apple application after all. Please, Leopard (Mac OS X.5), don't look like this!!!
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Iran's "confrontation" with the West
Not one to support every fruitcake leader known to man but all the press (and government grandstanding) about Iran's nuclear ambitions seems over the top.
Hypocrisy seems the right word to describe a government led by a corrupt, inept, religious zealot who is responsible for the invasion of two countries (Afghanistan and Iraq) and the military and diplomatic support of another invasion (Lebanon - by Israel - a country that also has nuclear weapons) in the last 5 years and who has weapons of mass destruction of their own calling for a country that hasn't been at war for 18 years to stop developing weapons.
This is compounded by both India and Pakistan developing nuclear weapons in recent years and getting no effective sanctions for that. No threats of invasions or bombings. Just let them do it.
And the one country that is actually making threats with nuclear weapons - North Korea - certainly isn't being threatened with invasions or air strikes. Even though a person on the board of a company (ABB) who supplied them with nuclear technology, is now a senior US Administration member.
No wonder most of the Middle East thinks the US (and Europe - especially the UK) is full of...it.
No, I'm not advocating the spread of nuclear weapons or technology (at a time when Tony Blair is advocating renewed nuclear power developments), but you haven't got a moral leg to stand on when you're responsible for illegal acts around the world and supporting or ignoring other countries who are doing the same things as Iran.
Hypocrisy seems the right word to describe a government led by a corrupt, inept, religious zealot who is responsible for the invasion of two countries (Afghanistan and Iraq) and the military and diplomatic support of another invasion (Lebanon - by Israel - a country that also has nuclear weapons) in the last 5 years and who has weapons of mass destruction of their own calling for a country that hasn't been at war for 18 years to stop developing weapons.
This is compounded by both India and Pakistan developing nuclear weapons in recent years and getting no effective sanctions for that. No threats of invasions or bombings. Just let them do it.
And the one country that is actually making threats with nuclear weapons - North Korea - certainly isn't being threatened with invasions or air strikes. Even though a person on the board of a company (ABB) who supplied them with nuclear technology, is now a senior US Administration member.
No wonder most of the Middle East thinks the US (and Europe - especially the UK) is full of...it.
No, I'm not advocating the spread of nuclear weapons or technology (at a time when Tony Blair is advocating renewed nuclear power developments), but you haven't got a moral leg to stand on when you're responsible for illegal acts around the world and supporting or ignoring other countries who are doing the same things as Iran.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Mirrors - Left wing liberals and the religious right
I've always had an interest in environmental "stuff", not necessarily because I'm enlightened or anything, but because environmental things can lead to greater efficiency and health. I am a bit of a lefty but only a bit.
Environmentalism also interests me because done sensibly it can be done by the general public (without great disturbances to their lives) and by good government planning.
Examples being simple things like dual flush toilets (common in NZ but rare in the UK - queue more ranting about British plumbing), public trash cans with three compartments instead of one (for bottles, cans and the rest - common in Germany), anti-GM sentiment (all through Europe despite the chemical companies "owning" the governments), and general recycling.
However you get silly things too (we've all seen the "don't generate jobs for thousands because it will destroy the Northern Spotted Ant" stories) and it isn't always black and white either. Sometimes one environmental victory causes another environmental defeat. Recent examples here include species of butterflies dying out (well, they are photogenic) because of people (of course) AND replanted native woodlands.
But when you see a story like the Montana Governor suggesting Montana's coal as a cure for America's oil addiction which I recently saw reported on the BBC you get some strange things happening.
The governor outlined his side of the story: no reliance on horrible places with dictators; keeping payments within the US; generating jobs; Montana is full of coal, etc.
Then, to balance the story, the BBC got comment from an environmentalist (which are probably just like economists - each have a different story) and he pretty much said pretty much "no, we all need to conserve energy".
This immediately sounded like a Christian fundamentalist (and the American government these days) saying the cure to teenage pregnancy, STDs, etc is abstinence. You all know it has as much chance of working as George Bush's plans for Iraq.
So why, given the small sound bite available, didn't he actually come up with something practical? Even I, from my casual but interested observer status, know about Ethanol.
The BBC have had a number of stories on it and how it's worked in Brazil - 2 million cars running dual fuel with Ethanol being much cheaper than imported oil and cleaner too.
And if you're thinking "yeah, but that's them", Google recently had a lecture by Vinod Khosla who as an obvious bumbling amateur (he founded Sun Microsystems!) saying that it could be done in the States for around $30 - $70 a car (some notable cars are already capable of running dual fuel but nobody realises it), and a state the size of Montana (he actually used the Dakotas as an example) could generate enough raw material to replace oil almost entirely - eliminating the need for a lot of expensive wars, propping up very evil dictators (in the name of supporting the spread of democracy), and also eliminating America's expensive (to your tax payer) agricultural subsidies.
So all around good news (except maybe the oil companies - whose refineries could actually make ethanol).
His video is here and it is HUGE so only click if you're on broadband, have a lot of spare time, have a tolerance for un-flashy presentations (needs Steve Jobs's help), and an interest in this.
So to badly sum up this waffling post: "just say no" doesn't work for sex or the environment. Making it easier to say no (either to sex or to driving gas guzzling SUVs) or say yes in a less destructive way (contraceptives or cleaner fuels) is a much more pragmatic idea - one that has a hope of working AND doing good.
[I need to edit more - and to get a cleaner line of thinking]
Environmentalism also interests me because done sensibly it can be done by the general public (without great disturbances to their lives) and by good government planning.
Examples being simple things like dual flush toilets (common in NZ but rare in the UK - queue more ranting about British plumbing), public trash cans with three compartments instead of one (for bottles, cans and the rest - common in Germany), anti-GM sentiment (all through Europe despite the chemical companies "owning" the governments), and general recycling.
However you get silly things too (we've all seen the "don't generate jobs for thousands because it will destroy the Northern Spotted Ant" stories) and it isn't always black and white either. Sometimes one environmental victory causes another environmental defeat. Recent examples here include species of butterflies dying out (well, they are photogenic) because of people (of course) AND replanted native woodlands.
But when you see a story like the Montana Governor suggesting Montana's coal as a cure for America's oil addiction which I recently saw reported on the BBC you get some strange things happening.
The governor outlined his side of the story: no reliance on horrible places with dictators; keeping payments within the US; generating jobs; Montana is full of coal, etc.
Then, to balance the story, the BBC got comment from an environmentalist (which are probably just like economists - each have a different story) and he pretty much said pretty much "no, we all need to conserve energy".
This immediately sounded like a Christian fundamentalist (and the American government these days) saying the cure to teenage pregnancy, STDs, etc is abstinence. You all know it has as much chance of working as George Bush's plans for Iraq.
So why, given the small sound bite available, didn't he actually come up with something practical? Even I, from my casual but interested observer status, know about Ethanol.
The BBC have had a number of stories on it and how it's worked in Brazil - 2 million cars running dual fuel with Ethanol being much cheaper than imported oil and cleaner too.
And if you're thinking "yeah, but that's them", Google recently had a lecture by Vinod Khosla who as an obvious bumbling amateur (he founded Sun Microsystems!) saying that it could be done in the States for around $30 - $70 a car (some notable cars are already capable of running dual fuel but nobody realises it), and a state the size of Montana (he actually used the Dakotas as an example) could generate enough raw material to replace oil almost entirely - eliminating the need for a lot of expensive wars, propping up very evil dictators (in the name of supporting the spread of democracy), and also eliminating America's expensive (to your tax payer) agricultural subsidies.
So all around good news (except maybe the oil companies - whose refineries could actually make ethanol).
His video is here and it is HUGE so only click if you're on broadband, have a lot of spare time, have a tolerance for un-flashy presentations (needs Steve Jobs's help), and an interest in this.
So to badly sum up this waffling post: "just say no" doesn't work for sex or the environment. Making it easier to say no (either to sex or to driving gas guzzling SUVs) or say yes in a less destructive way (contraceptives or cleaner fuels) is a much more pragmatic idea - one that has a hope of working AND doing good.
[I need to edit more - and to get a cleaner line of thinking]
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Terror - or inconvenience? A ramble
Well, almost 13 months after the London Tube bombings, we have another major terrorist incident in London.
Supposedly, the terrorists were going to blow up liquid based bombs kept in their carry on luggage on up to 10 planes.
This resulted in police raids and an effective lock-down of most of the UK's airports. You have to remember that London has 3 of the largest airports in the world - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It also has two other commercial airports - Luton and London City. A LOT of people go through here.
Most airlines cancelled flights - especially to the US. Extra-ordinary security measures were in place - especially having to check in carry on baggage and any carry on goods having to be taken in see through bags. No liquids, no electronic devices. Goodbye cellphones, iPods, laptops, contact lens fluid!
Compliments to the intelligence services (MI5 actually have a nice website) and the police if this is proven. Security and deterrence is good. Terror, fear and a police state is bad. London (apart from an in-depth media "autopsy") seems to have returned to normal. The British are used to terror groups - we had the IRA here for years. But we haven't turned into a psychopathic police state with secret prisons and rights removing insane laws like the Patriot Act. We continue to live - we are still Britain.
Up yours terrorists!
...
On the other hand I was debating asylum seekers and immigrants with a friend and thought how easy it is to feel marginalised and isolated in this country (any country).
If these "British born terrorists" were attacking Israel (maybe firing these Hizbollah rockets) would Israel try to rain destruction on the UK? If the same applied to maybe France would the UK government still NOT be insisting on an immediate ceasefire? And how does this double standard make British Muslims feel? Does this breed more "British born terrorists"?
We live in a strange world but one that hasn't changed much - except everything has got closer and bigger. I (currently) still feel extra-ordinarily lucky (touch wood - really touch wood) that I live in a generation where I haven't had to go to war. My parents didn't but their families did and just about every generation beforehand have had to deal with it - not with professional armies but with conscription where people weren't brave and heroic, they just "did" and "survived".
Other places aren't so lucky - like the Palestinians, the Israelis (to a lesser effect but still an effect), the Iraqis, the Sri Lankans, most of Africa (especially Sudan, Somalia, Congo), any number of places. There, you can't be talking head like me and journalists, you do what you need to live and hope you and your family stay alive :(
One hopes that one day, those places too can avoid the fear of instant death either from terrorists or "anti-terrorists". Peace, in other words.
[one has to wonder if all these interesting keywords are going to flag things with the NSA and GCHQ?]
Supposedly, the terrorists were going to blow up liquid based bombs kept in their carry on luggage on up to 10 planes.
This resulted in police raids and an effective lock-down of most of the UK's airports. You have to remember that London has 3 of the largest airports in the world - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It also has two other commercial airports - Luton and London City. A LOT of people go through here.
Most airlines cancelled flights - especially to the US. Extra-ordinary security measures were in place - especially having to check in carry on baggage and any carry on goods having to be taken in see through bags. No liquids, no electronic devices. Goodbye cellphones, iPods, laptops, contact lens fluid!
Compliments to the intelligence services (MI5 actually have a nice website) and the police if this is proven. Security and deterrence is good. Terror, fear and a police state is bad. London (apart from an in-depth media "autopsy") seems to have returned to normal. The British are used to terror groups - we had the IRA here for years. But we haven't turned into a psychopathic police state with secret prisons and rights removing insane laws like the Patriot Act. We continue to live - we are still Britain.
Up yours terrorists!
...
On the other hand I was debating asylum seekers and immigrants with a friend and thought how easy it is to feel marginalised and isolated in this country (any country).
If these "British born terrorists" were attacking Israel (maybe firing these Hizbollah rockets) would Israel try to rain destruction on the UK? If the same applied to maybe France would the UK government still NOT be insisting on an immediate ceasefire? And how does this double standard make British Muslims feel? Does this breed more "British born terrorists"?
We live in a strange world but one that hasn't changed much - except everything has got closer and bigger. I (currently) still feel extra-ordinarily lucky (touch wood - really touch wood) that I live in a generation where I haven't had to go to war. My parents didn't but their families did and just about every generation beforehand have had to deal with it - not with professional armies but with conscription where people weren't brave and heroic, they just "did" and "survived".
Other places aren't so lucky - like the Palestinians, the Israelis (to a lesser effect but still an effect), the Iraqis, the Sri Lankans, most of Africa (especially Sudan, Somalia, Congo), any number of places. There, you can't be talking head like me and journalists, you do what you need to live and hope you and your family stay alive :(
One hopes that one day, those places too can avoid the fear of instant death either from terrorists or "anti-terrorists". Peace, in other words.
[one has to wonder if all these interesting keywords are going to flag things with the NSA and GCHQ?]
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
London - exciting and boring
I've lived in London now for over 6 years now and coming from a country where just about every house is unique and individual (sometimes to a scary degree) London can seem monotonous and boring.
I've walked through suburbs where uniqueness is one street's houses having a different feature window than the houses in the next street. Or one round window instead of a triangular one. Bungalows (single story houses) are unique and sold to little old ladies because there's no stairs and they're rare. Detached houses (not row houses or semi-detached "joined at the hip" houses) are rare and generally owned by millionaires. In fact the greatest sense of identity for most houses here is the (usually shoddy and mismatched) housing modifications - like patios and new window frames.
The song "little boxes by the roadside" applies to London housing and coming into London recently by road it was so undeniably depressing that I wonder why I'm here - when I could be in New Zealand moaning about something completely different ;)
Then, as you think everything is depressing, you get a different point of view (isn't there always?).
I walk a short distance to work in Central London. When I say short, I mean SHORT (or possibly even SHRT). In that extremely short walk to work I pass a modern cafe of an undeniably modern nature (wouldn't want to have to clean all the glass windows), apartment buildings best described as mansions (we won't comment on the insides - British plumbing and cabling is scary), shops with apartments above them that would architecturally be described as palatial (or palace like) and an old church that would be a cathedral in any other country. If I walked a bit further I would actually see a palace too!
Britain can do good architecture (and engineering and manufacturing and design and...) but they just don't these days unless it's for some new bridge or multi-storey office block. When it comes to residential suburban living, it's just bland variations of boring designs that have been here for a century.
It's sad, but you have to wonder if Britain's creative stems from a backlash of the soul against this monotony.
...meanwhile there's nothing wrong with an American beach house being put beside a French chateau style building in a NZ street - is there? Oh....
I've walked through suburbs where uniqueness is one street's houses having a different feature window than the houses in the next street. Or one round window instead of a triangular one. Bungalows (single story houses) are unique and sold to little old ladies because there's no stairs and they're rare. Detached houses (not row houses or semi-detached "joined at the hip" houses) are rare and generally owned by millionaires. In fact the greatest sense of identity for most houses here is the (usually shoddy and mismatched) housing modifications - like patios and new window frames.
The song "little boxes by the roadside" applies to London housing and coming into London recently by road it was so undeniably depressing that I wonder why I'm here - when I could be in New Zealand moaning about something completely different ;)
Then, as you think everything is depressing, you get a different point of view (isn't there always?).
I walk a short distance to work in Central London. When I say short, I mean SHORT (or possibly even SHRT). In that extremely short walk to work I pass a modern cafe of an undeniably modern nature (wouldn't want to have to clean all the glass windows), apartment buildings best described as mansions (we won't comment on the insides - British plumbing and cabling is scary), shops with apartments above them that would architecturally be described as palatial (or palace like) and an old church that would be a cathedral in any other country. If I walked a bit further I would actually see a palace too!
Britain can do good architecture (and engineering and manufacturing and design and...) but they just don't these days unless it's for some new bridge or multi-storey office block. When it comes to residential suburban living, it's just bland variations of boring designs that have been here for a century.
It's sad, but you have to wonder if Britain's creative stems from a backlash of the soul against this monotony.
...meanwhile there's nothing wrong with an American beach house being put beside a French chateau style building in a NZ street - is there? Oh....
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Surfin Safari introduce a cure for the cough
Yesterday, Surfin Safari introduced a new Javascript debugger for the Apple Macintosh web browser Safari called Drosera.
This would be lovely if you were a programmer (or could think of anything good to program, which I never seem to be able to do) but...
Drosera is actually a carnivorous plant (no, I haven't actually seen one in action). And if you have one of those nagging coughs that never goes away long after your cold has disappeared, you should try the homeopathic Drosera treatment to fix it.
It's worked for me and a number of friends and family. Definitely available in "some" heathfood and chemists (drugstores) in the UK and NZ. Not sure about elsewhere. Weleda is one brand that makes it.
And no, it doesn't cost a fortune.
Happy breathing.
This would be lovely if you were a programmer (or could think of anything good to program, which I never seem to be able to do) but...
Drosera is actually a carnivorous plant (no, I haven't actually seen one in action). And if you have one of those nagging coughs that never goes away long after your cold has disappeared, you should try the homeopathic Drosera treatment to fix it.
It's worked for me and a number of friends and family. Definitely available in "some" heathfood and chemists (drugstores) in the UK and NZ. Not sure about elsewhere. Weleda is one brand that makes it.
And no, it doesn't cost a fortune.
Happy breathing.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Google Earth Mac problem - fixed
For want of posting this to all the various Mac software sites I go to, or MacFixit where it will disappear behind a pay per view wall, I thought I'd put this here.
I downloaded the latest version of Google Earth for Mac OS X and it didn't work. It would start up and before the Earth showed it would unexpectedly quit. I deleted the other Google Earth files that were around from the old version (in Application Support and Preferences) and this had no effect.
After checking the Internet I found a number of similar comments - and quite a few more saying everything worked fine.
So, just in case, I moved the application to the Desktop (rather than in the folder where I'd filed it) and it worked fine. Now it's in my Applications folder but I think the problem may have been that it was in a folder with a space in it i.e. it was in a folder called "My Applications ƒ". Either that or it was the non-standard character on the end of the folder name.
They may fix this with the next version or other people may have mentioned a similar fix but I thought I'd mention it in case it helps someone (figuring if anyone indexes Blogger it would be Google!).
S :)
I downloaded the latest version of Google Earth for Mac OS X and it didn't work. It would start up and before the Earth showed it would unexpectedly quit. I deleted the other Google Earth files that were around from the old version (in Application Support and Preferences) and this had no effect.
After checking the Internet I found a number of similar comments - and quite a few more saying everything worked fine.
So, just in case, I moved the application to the Desktop (rather than in the folder where I'd filed it) and it worked fine. Now it's in my Applications folder but I think the problem may have been that it was in a folder with a space in it i.e. it was in a folder called "My Applications ƒ". Either that or it was the non-standard character on the end of the folder name.
They may fix this with the next version or other people may have mentioned a similar fix but I thought I'd mention it in case it helps someone (figuring if anyone indexes Blogger it would be Google!).
S :)
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Caffeine - still non
Well,
One and a half weeks post caffeine - I'm still alive.
Almost a week to the day I finally had a day without ANY headache. Bliss.
The fact that I also had a day off and spent it with a beautiful young lady helped too ;)
Anyway, I think I've benefited from the exercise. I'm certainly more perky in the morning (I'm not a morning person) with none of the needing a coffee to feel alive. I don't know if it's my imagination but my skin seems healthier - although that's probably my liver finally kicking in (don't underestimate it!!).
The proof will be a few weeks without headaches - which would be a pleasant return to normality.
In the meantime it is amazing how hard it is to avoid coffee, tea, Coke, and chocolate in London. Water, fruit juice, and camomile tea for me. So much for drugs, sex and rock and roll!
One and a half weeks post caffeine - I'm still alive.
Almost a week to the day I finally had a day without ANY headache. Bliss.
The fact that I also had a day off and spent it with a beautiful young lady helped too ;)
Anyway, I think I've benefited from the exercise. I'm certainly more perky in the morning (I'm not a morning person) with none of the needing a coffee to feel alive. I don't know if it's my imagination but my skin seems healthier - although that's probably my liver finally kicking in (don't underestimate it!!).
The proof will be a few weeks without headaches - which would be a pleasant return to normality.
In the meantime it is amazing how hard it is to avoid coffee, tea, Coke, and chocolate in London. Water, fruit juice, and camomile tea for me. So much for drugs, sex and rock and roll!
Monday, March 27, 2006
Caffeine - non
I've been quite the healthy eater in the last few years. I am the sad "owner" of one of the crappest livers in the world. When I used to drink alcohol (which I don't now - and don't really miss), I used to get a headache before I had any fun - that's right, instant hangover. Kind of shows why I don't really miss it - not that I could ever drink to forget, I'd still remember it all anyway.
Well, due to more unhealthiness due to being healthy, I decided to give up caffeine last week after a bit of advice and reading on the Internet....and saw lots on caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
Caffeine withdrawal symptoms which you can apparently get without giving up caffeine - most notably so when you get a headache at the end of the day because you didn't get a coffee (or tea or Coke) during the day.
So, 24 hours later, sickness, nausea, and a loitering headache. Just like a bad hangover. I was only on about 2 coffees a day!!
I struggled through work and got home and went straight to bed and didn't feel "alive" until around 6am. I know I didn't feel alive because I'd made sure I'd had plenty of water. And more water, and more water.
The next day, oddly perky but with a "tiny, tiny" headache lurking in the background and the edge of my consciousness - the type of headache you don't notice until you have a rest then go "ouch".
4 days later. Still with the micro-headache (although I have been avoiding painkillers since "withdrawal day". Feeling more get up and go in the morning though.
Lets see if this all works and my general health improves.
I'm not saying that caffeine was the cause of my problems but apparently it may have been blocking my crap immune system from recovering as it should.
We'll see!
Well, due to more unhealthiness due to being healthy, I decided to give up caffeine last week after a bit of advice and reading on the Internet....and saw lots on caffeine withdrawal symptoms.
Caffeine withdrawal symptoms which you can apparently get without giving up caffeine - most notably so when you get a headache at the end of the day because you didn't get a coffee (or tea or Coke) during the day.
So, 24 hours later, sickness, nausea, and a loitering headache. Just like a bad hangover. I was only on about 2 coffees a day!!
I struggled through work and got home and went straight to bed and didn't feel "alive" until around 6am. I know I didn't feel alive because I'd made sure I'd had plenty of water. And more water, and more water.
The next day, oddly perky but with a "tiny, tiny" headache lurking in the background and the edge of my consciousness - the type of headache you don't notice until you have a rest then go "ouch".
4 days later. Still with the micro-headache (although I have been avoiding painkillers since "withdrawal day". Feeling more get up and go in the morning though.
Lets see if this all works and my general health improves.
I'm not saying that caffeine was the cause of my problems but apparently it may have been blocking my crap immune system from recovering as it should.
We'll see!
Thursday, July 07, 2005
London
You know you're living in a totally separate type of London world when you can get to work oblivious to a major terrorist incident.
I walk to work and avoided the total shutdown of the London Underground (the Tube) and a large part of the bus network. When the Tube is out of order, you might as well rule out ANY type of transport in London - the push on effect means everything else gets overwhelmed.
At work, the day wasn't any better. Working for a news organisation would, you'd think, make it easier to keep on top of the facts. It doesn't. It just makes you have greater access to the mis-information, hearsay, and general lack of information that you would get as you sit at home watching BBC News and Sky News.
Credit goes to the BBC for their reporting style. Body count (not a nice term but accurate) only listed when confirmed - therefore at 2 for most of the day despite the "totalled" double-decker bus that must have had major casualties. Also for only reporting it as a terrorist incident once this had been confirmed - London has had a huge number of transport related deaths in recent years from plain bad maintenance - no terrorists required.
Now the accurate details are coming out, we can, well "panic" based on facts rather than "gossip".
It's so sad for those people and their families effected by this - again violence hits the innocent. :(
You appreciate your friends on a day like this. Thank you friends!
I walk to work and avoided the total shutdown of the London Underground (the Tube) and a large part of the bus network. When the Tube is out of order, you might as well rule out ANY type of transport in London - the push on effect means everything else gets overwhelmed.
At work, the day wasn't any better. Working for a news organisation would, you'd think, make it easier to keep on top of the facts. It doesn't. It just makes you have greater access to the mis-information, hearsay, and general lack of information that you would get as you sit at home watching BBC News and Sky News.
Credit goes to the BBC for their reporting style. Body count (not a nice term but accurate) only listed when confirmed - therefore at 2 for most of the day despite the "totalled" double-decker bus that must have had major casualties. Also for only reporting it as a terrorist incident once this had been confirmed - London has had a huge number of transport related deaths in recent years from plain bad maintenance - no terrorists required.
Now the accurate details are coming out, we can, well "panic" based on facts rather than "gossip".
It's so sad for those people and their families effected by this - again violence hits the innocent. :(
You appreciate your friends on a day like this. Thank you friends!
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Once in a "n" experience
I work in IT.
I work with, and own Apple Macintoshs. I do so because they are much easier to fix when they go wrong, they go wrong less, they're easier to use, they're great hardware and a great operating system as well.
In the old days (5 years ago), Macs used to crash more than Windows - but they rebooted quite happily where Windows PCs got terminal on a regular basis.
These days, the new Mac operating system - OS X (ten) - rarely if ever crashes. In fact, I barely ever turn off my laptop at all (I just close the lid, so it goes to sleep). It crashes about once every 3 months and the Mac doesn't get spyware, adware, or viruses (yet, at least!).
Therefore, when it does crash, it is damnably irritating (putting it politely). I was in a bad mood last. I was tired. No, I wasn't hungry and poor too!! But I had one of those once in 3 month crashes.
Damn it!
I work with, and own Apple Macintoshs. I do so because they are much easier to fix when they go wrong, they go wrong less, they're easier to use, they're great hardware and a great operating system as well.
In the old days (5 years ago), Macs used to crash more than Windows - but they rebooted quite happily where Windows PCs got terminal on a regular basis.
These days, the new Mac operating system - OS X (ten) - rarely if ever crashes. In fact, I barely ever turn off my laptop at all (I just close the lid, so it goes to sleep). It crashes about once every 3 months and the Mac doesn't get spyware, adware, or viruses (yet, at least!).
Therefore, when it does crash, it is damnably irritating (putting it politely). I was in a bad mood last. I was tired. No, I wasn't hungry and poor too!! But I had one of those once in 3 month crashes.
Damn it!
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Whether goes the weather
London weather is different from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Romantic movies from London always has nice, soft falls of snow - think Bridget Jones Diary and Love, Actually.
In London we've been lucky in the last couple of years to get one or two days of snow in winter. The rest of the United Kingdom, yes, London no.
When I first arrived - the first two years here were different degrees of overcast weather - now we're actually getting proper seasons. We had a couple of years of heatwaves in summer (read: normal hot weather elsewhere) and a bit of snow in winter. Cool (or rather hot then cool!),
London's also known for it's rain - well that's wrong too normally. In the normal course of events, it is never more than drizzle. I didn't need a raincoat until I went to Paris!
Well, these last few weeks, we've had some fun weather. Swelteringly hot weather, followed by thunder storms and torrential rain. Hey, I've got soaked twice but what fun. Yesterday, there was so much thunder and lightening that my view East looked like the East End was being bombed like in World War Two!
Cheap entertainment anyway - especially when 2 minutes after I'd said to my visiting mother, "I don't mind a bit of rain", the heavens opened once again and I got soaked.
Ha, ha.
Romantic movies from London always has nice, soft falls of snow - think Bridget Jones Diary and Love, Actually.
In London we've been lucky in the last couple of years to get one or two days of snow in winter. The rest of the United Kingdom, yes, London no.
When I first arrived - the first two years here were different degrees of overcast weather - now we're actually getting proper seasons. We had a couple of years of heatwaves in summer (read: normal hot weather elsewhere) and a bit of snow in winter. Cool (or rather hot then cool!),
London's also known for it's rain - well that's wrong too normally. In the normal course of events, it is never more than drizzle. I didn't need a raincoat until I went to Paris!
Well, these last few weeks, we've had some fun weather. Swelteringly hot weather, followed by thunder storms and torrential rain. Hey, I've got soaked twice but what fun. Yesterday, there was so much thunder and lightening that my view East looked like the East End was being bombed like in World War Two!
Cheap entertainment anyway - especially when 2 minutes after I'd said to my visiting mother, "I don't mind a bit of rain", the heavens opened once again and I got soaked.
Ha, ha.
Monday, June 27, 2005
World Without Borders
It's a small world.
In the space of a day, I meet up with my mother (who's English but lives in NZ) who is visiting London via Dubai; talk to a beautiful American (in America); a cute Australian (in London); another cool Australian (in London); a lovely Montenegrin (where's that? - near London); and a feisty French girl (in London); and a Brunein (not sure about that term - in NZ).
That's just the personal interactions let alone talking to people in shops and whatever.
If they can fix the time zone issue ( I need some sleep), I'll be fine.
Hi world!
In the space of a day, I meet up with my mother (who's English but lives in NZ) who is visiting London via Dubai; talk to a beautiful American (in America); a cute Australian (in London); another cool Australian (in London); a lovely Montenegrin (where's that? - near London); and a feisty French girl (in London); and a Brunein (not sure about that term - in NZ).
That's just the personal interactions let alone talking to people in shops and whatever.
If they can fix the time zone issue ( I need some sleep), I'll be fine.
Hi world!
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