US Defence Secretary Robert Gates doesn't do email (BBC)

In an article about how the Pentagon detected a cyber attack on its email system US Defence Secretary Robert Gates isquoted as saying that a variety of precautionary measures has been taken. The email system had been temporarily taken off line in order to secure the system.

As a final question in the interview Robert Gates was asked whether his email had been affected. In what must have been a throw away comment he replied:

"I don't do e-mail. I'm a low-tech person."

Secretary Gates probably has people to take care of mundane things like email. It is a good job the defence industry is very low tech these days, the US bow and arrow divisions have a commander well informed about the technology.

Secretary Gates like other people before him has been caught out with an off the cuff remark being recorded and thanks to the internet posted round the world for other people to be amused.
It would be interesting to find out what he actually thinks about email, the internet and what he means by calling himself a low-tech person. I guess he is probably a bit busy to tell me about that sort of thing though.

Senate passes energy bill, boosting mileage standards (CNN)

The CNN headline that popped into my email box this morning caught my eye, so I surfed my way across the internet pond to have a look.

CNN gives an insight into the fascinating differences between the UK and the US. This article is about fuel economy. The Senate has passed an energy bill which legislates the average mpg for cars, SUV's and pickups. The energy bill shows how American politicians are beginning to move away from oil and investing in other technologies for the future.

The UK does not regulate mpg, our culture has always been one with expensive fuel so fuel efficiency has for a longer time been a priority with no need for legislative guidelines. People choose diesel cars over petrol for reasons of economy. European cars have always been traditionally smaller compared to American gas-guzzlers giving higher efficiencies.

The CNN article gives a micro insight into the political environment of the US. The auto lobby had rounded up a posse of senators to threaten a filibuster (where a senator or senator talks a debate out of time). Senators had to be recalled to ensure the 60 vote margin needed to end the debate.

The bill will now pass to the house of representatives and then will then be formulated into a bill for signing into law by the president.

What was put in and left out of the energy bill gives a view of where in the debate about oil and climate change in the US stands.

In:

- fuel efficiency to average 35mpg by 2020

- Measures to prevent price gouging or excessive pricing of gasoline products

- funding for new technology fuel efficiency / alternate fuels

- Ethanol production to reach 36 billion gallons a year by 2022

- Support for carbon capture technologies

- half of new cars capable of running on 85% ethanol / bio diesel by 2015

- New appliance and efficient lighting standards plus a requirement for the Federal government to do more in its own buildings on efficient lighting.

Out:

- $32 billion package of tax incentives for renewable energy and clean fuels (with a 10 year tax of $29 billion on oil companies to pay for it)

- Requirement for utility companies to provide at least 15% of their energy from renewable sources

The bill seems to echo what President Bush has been saying for years, that technology will solve climate change not taxes and enforced renewable targets. In fact you might conclude that it seems that it is still unpalatable to suggest such things in the current US political climate. The oil and auto lobbies are still strong and desperately trying to protect their empires.

It looks like the winners for this bill were the farmers, electricity industry and the oil companies. Three very powerful lobby groups in the US.

For the American auto industry it puts further pressure on them to change and will inevitably decrease their profits. Will the American people put up with more expensive vehicles even though they get to keep their cheap fuel?

What bloggers do

Dave Winer, who according to the BBC is the father of blogging and a pioneer of RSS feeds, introduces a column on technology by giving an insight into how a blogger writes.

"I'm a blogger, therefore I like to write short two or three paragraph essays on things I care about. The BBC asked me to write an 800-word column on new technology I want, but being a blogger, instead I want to write about five or six things in 200 words each. That's what bloggers do."

My response to this is that although a lot of blog posts seem to be short the bloggers that are passionate about what they have to say write longer essays. To suggest that most bloggers do not write more than a few paragraphs about something they care about is at best a wide sweeping generalisation.

Some of my articles are very long especially if it is something I care about or really interests me. A lot of the subjects and articles I write would be very difficult to write as short articles especially given the research I occasionally put in.

If you want short articles you can read the main stream media.

Bloggers give a twist to the material offering opinion and ideas that you cant find on the main sites. That's what bloggers do.

For those interested word count: 222 (oh the irony).

A UK coast path?

The government is undertaking a consultation to see what the public think of a UK coast path. According to the proposal it would give access to an additional 30% of land currently out of bounds.

"We are an island - being close to the sea, being part of the coast is actually part of who we are."

- Barry Gardiner, UK Biodiversity Minister.

I did not know the UK had such a post, not exactly a high profile one. Still the man has a point for almost everyone in the UK the sea and the coast is a part of our soul. Although if you live in the middle of Oxfordshire it is the stuff of myth and legend.

A UK coast path is a fantastic idea, having spent quite a bit of time on the South West coast path enjoying the walking, the sea, the air etc, I can highly recommend. Where else can you see such lovely vistas as this.


Later on it becomes clear why the biodiversity minister is the government front man:

"I think the important thing is that the introduction of a coast corridor will actually help safeguard those wildlife habitats, perhaps more importantly guard against development and protect our beautiful coast."

Although from a media point of view saying "I think..." would suggest you are not sure or have no supporting evidence or that it is your own personal opinion.

Anyway aside from who the minister talking to the press is, the idea itself is solid, a lot of people would use the path and the success of such an idea has been proved by other existing coast paths such as the South west coast path.

The various representative groups all broadly support the idea but have some minor criticisms. Given the obvious success of other coast paths and the lack of associated problems this would seem to be reminders rather than serious criticisms. Groups seem to be keen to be involved in the debate and move the project forward and are just making sure their views are considered.

The RSPB gives a very upbeat statement:

"Our concerns have been taken on board and we are confident coastal access will be increased without harming important sites for wild birds. It is important that people visit and enjoy the coast and part of that is the appreciation of the wildlife that thrives there."

-Gwyn Williams, RSPB head of reserves and protected areas

I think Gwyn Williams beats the biodiversity minister with his job title, a much more appropriate, credible title for the debate.

There are genuine concerns over compensation for farmers. Although I do agree that we cannot just confiscate land and access rights I would take the opportunity to do more than just buy the land from farmers. Any coast path is going to need infrastructure whether it is camp sites, pubs, cafe's, guided walk companies etc. So give farmers a choice they can have either cost of land compensation or access to enterprise funding which could be worth more and given for specific business plans such as creating a camp-site or beach cafe or setting up a bed and breakfast.

Perhaps the government should set up a development agency to oversee both the compensation and involvement of the farming community.

So congratulations to the government for the work they are doing on this and other projects to increase access for the public to our beautiful countryside. Keep up the good work.

If you wish to respond to the DEFRA consultation you have until Tuesday, 11 September 2007.

Full details can be found here,
"Consultation on proposals to improve access to the English coast (DEFRA Site)"

IT Help Desk Sketch

Due to a suicide pact between my graphics card and the rest of my pc I have been off the grid for the weekend. One rebuild later, normal service is resumed, that graphics card was always the rebel under achiever of the domain, I shouldn't be surprised that it choose to go in a blaze of glory.

Anyway for your amusement, usual disclaimer applies, here is an alleged comedy sketches:

Bill Gates and the x-box

[IT Support log #0022369]

IT Support service agent: IT Support, where would you like to go today?

Bill: Yes, I have an X-box.

Agent: Yes sir, we only deal with PC's would you like me to put you through to games console support.

Bill: No, it is a PC.

Agent: With respect sir the x-box is never a PC.

Bill: Look I have an ex-box, with a dead power supply, it is deceased, dead, kaput in need of a PSU transplant, gone to PC heaven to live with MS-dos.

Agent: Ahhh... I see... Can I ask what you were doing at the time sir?

Bill: I was writing a letter in Word and that dratted paper clip came up and asked if I wanted help.

Agent: Say no more sir. I will send a new PC straight up sir.

[End log #0022369]

Are you a tmtoh?

I was reading news articles and on most sites these days people can leave a comment. It only takes a second and you can post anything up. This is all part of web 2.0 although sometimes this audience participation seems a bit like web 0.9 the pre release version.

The quality of the comments can vary depending on the poster. Some comments are inane or pointless or typical of a knee jerk rent a mob style . On some very popular pages you get the inter web equivalent of a mob with pitchforks and flaming torches.

This mob-think can stifle individual opinion and intelligent debate. It is very easy for a small active group to drive the agenda and appear like a majority.

I have tried to characterise the different behaviours of groups and individuals in web 2.0 by creating new descriptive words.

So here is a new word:

Tmtoh (pronounced tum-toe) Tmtoh is an acronym for 'Too Much Time On Hands'
[1] A prolific poster of comments / blog articles or any other commenting in web 2.0 who spends too much time commenting and has little or nothing worth saying.
[2] Could also refer to a comment / blog or web 2.0 addict who has to post items / comments or suffer withdrawl symptoms.

'The Apprentice' - the Interview Week

I only just caught the repeat but I thought as it is one of my favourite weeks I would write up some notes.

So after Naomi's exit last week, which was a shame as I liked her she was a lovely lady, we move on to the interview task.

I like the interview special, a bit of aggressive interviewing, you don't have to be nice to the candidates. If you think they are making it up or fumbling then you challenge them. I would happily give that a go, so Sir Alan if you need someone from HR to help out give me a call. Although I can imagine what Sir Alan might have to say about people in HR, I think it might not be repeatable in polite company.

Pre Interview quotes

Tre: " I was handling board meetings at 18"

Simon" If someone tells me to turn left I will immediately turn right"
[I hope the police have taken note, here is a man who should not have been able to pass his driving test]

Katie: "I have a ruthless streak with an edge to it and I'm not afraid to use it"
[Now that is a dangerous weapon]

The Interviews

The three experts as before were: Claude Litner (global trouble shooter), Bordan Tkachuk (Chief Executive Viglen computers), and Paul Kemsley (property developer / friend).

Tre:"I don't think I know how to be shy"

Tre:" I have a home office and an office abroad"
[Tre talks about his extensive business empire which seemed to belong to his family rather than him.]

Tre:"It's not a bedroom it's a home office"
[Tre gets a bit touchy when challenged about his bedroom / home office.]

Katie: "I didn't get to where I am staying at home playing mummy... I don't need maternity leave any of that bull."
[I am not sure she did herself any favours there.]

Lohit: "I'm a leader... I'm not here to be nice."
[What a nice little comment, oh wait he didn't mean to be nice that is him trying to sound ruthless.]

The Consultants meeting with Sir Alan

About Tre:

Paul: "Tre runs a global corporation from a bedroom... He's a fantasist."

Claude: "He did zero research"

Sir Alan to Paul: "He wont be on your Christmas card list."

About Kristina:

Claude: "Strong positives... hasn't really progressed very well...competent, hard working... credible candidate."

Bordan: "Bright, Cheery."

Paul: "Good person, high integrity."

About Katie:

Paul: "Powerful aggressive lady... couldn't work with her day in day out, do my head in... she's a go getter"

Claude: "She is a showman... I wouldn't let her run a company... she hasn't got a clue."

Bordan: "She is totally ruthless... What's her motivation to be on the apprentice... She's got something... It's only about winning for Katie... Is this just a leapfrog for something else"

About Lohit:

Claude: "Least credible... Deeply unimpressed."

Sir Alan: "I don't think he actually knows what he is saying most of the time"

Paul: "Nice guy, boring."

About Simon:

Paul: "He is a gross underachiever... He hasn't done anything"

Bordan: "Hit hard, couldn't recover from it."

Claude: "I wouldn't write him off... given the change he could succeed."

The final chance

Lohit to Sir Alan: "I'm not trying to convince myself, I'm trying to convince you."
[I like this quote it was honest.]

Your Fired!

Tre when asked about the difficult interview:" He wouldn't let me finish a sentance..."(at this point he was interrupted by Sir Alan).
[What is the secret of comedy, Sir Alan knows it is timing.]

Your Fired!

Then it was Katie's turn to face the spotlight...

Your in the final!

Katie:"I don't want to make a fool of you, I don't want to make a fool of me... Ok...erm... I think its more important to get my plans in place... I suggest I stand down."

You... resign?!?

I have to say she did look very torn and it was obviously a very difficult decision for her to make but the jury is out on whether she really wanted to win anyway. The cynic inside of me says that she wanted to go to a point where she could could turn Sir Alan down and say to everyone that it could of been her. However, if that was the case it was also clear she was choosing a point where no one else lost out because of her game plan.

Alternatively everything she said could have been completely heart felt and it was a really difficult decision for her. For me the jury is still out.

Which left Kristina and Simon in the grand final tomorrow night...

If you need more apprentice news you can have a look at what happened to last years candidates.

Everyday Super Heroes: First Great Western Oxford Station Staff

These Super hero pants are awarded to the FGW Oxford station staff for looking after 400 schoolchildren after their train had broken down. Even ordinary people wear their pants on the outside some of the time. Well done to not just the station staff but Thames Valley Police, British Transport Police and not forgetting the teachers and chaperones in the party.

The Schoolchildren from eleven different schools were returning home from Bath to Birmingham when the train's breaks failed just outside Oxford station. The train was a charter run by Rivieria trains with rolling stock and locomotive power from EWS.

The engineers tried to repair the train but failed, while this was going on the kids were left on the train for 3 1/2 hours. I hate to think what it was like on board.

The children were eventually taken off the train and walked to Oxford Station to await onward transport home. At this point you would have thought that the nightmare was over, but it continued.

First Great Western even though it was not their train or their passengers and arguably not their responsibility offered to arrange buses for the entire party. Riviera trains said they would sort it out themselves. However the buses were then late and not enough turned up.

The children had to bed down in the station after it was closed and again FGW staff came through by staying on to ensure the station could remain open and that the children were safe. Four station staff stayed on and two others were called in to assist.

By 3:30 am 40 children were left be waved on their way and FGW staff again stepped in, took charge and ordered them all taxis.

So three times in one night FGW and their staff went out of their way to make sure the children were safe in Oxford and got home. The Staff on that night are a credit to the company and super heroes to the children.

PC Burrows of British Transport Police tells the Oxford Mail how it was:

"They were led Pied Piper style, a stream of 400 to 500 children, through the streets of Oxford late at night through the revellers. "

Obviously 'pied piper' style is the approved method of leading children taught at the police training college.

The other thing that strikes me about this quote is you can imagine all the children in single file being lead through the Saturday night drunks, must have been quite an unusual sight.

PC Burrows had the following to say about the FGW staff:

"Those working at Oxford worked incredibly professionally, many without pay."

An FGW spokesperson also told the mail:

"They did not want to see the kids stranded."

Which I think is a bit understated for the trouble the staff went to to look after the kids.

So congratulations to the FGW staff involved on winning the super hero pants and proving that ordinary people can be heroes too.

On one final note PC Burrows has this to say regarding the management and organisation of the private company involved in the charter train:

"In relation to the management and organisation from the private operator we do not have a comment to make at this stage but we will be taking it further with the company concerned."

I would think the police, the schools and the parents take a very dim view of any company that would strand 400 kids. The Managing Director of that company should be ashamed of himself and his company.

HR Euphemisms & LA Times Redundancies

Balderdash & Piffle recently had a segment on military euphemisms concocted to hid uncomfortable truths. I wrote about it in "More Balderdash & Piffle", but it did get me to thinking that even HR has some pathetic euphemisms not around death but around the dreaded "redundancy" word.

Roy Greenslade in the Guardian has written about the LA times editor's email to his staff regarding impending redundancies (Guardian Blogs:Did LA Times editor have help with redundancy letter?).

In the article Roy muses on his suspicion that the editor had help from HR / Business executives because of the language used. He goes on to offer some of the quotes from the letter as consideration.

Here are some of the best or worst bits:

Redundancy program:

"a voluntary and involuntary employee separation program"

redundancies:

"involuntary departures"

redundancy package:

"a generous separation package"

Notice pay:

"salary continuation"

All of that was in the first paragraph.

The other tendency of all redundancy notifications is to wax lyrical about the future. It is always difficult to judge how to balance news of redundancy with plans for the future or indeed not to complicate the message by linking the two issues too closely.

I tend to agree with Roy Greenslade, in this particular letter they put in too much detail about how much better the organisation would be once the dead wood was removed. Jim O'Shea, Editor of the LA Times, with a little help from his friends tells staff the following:

"We face a dim future only if we refuse to change and do something about it."

"We must move on and convert our staff into a vibrant multi-media organization that breaks news on the web and explains and analyzes it in our newspaper."

There are however some positive notes on what the future will look like without trying to justify redundancies. More upbeat comments about sticking to traditional core values and being the best media outlet in a competitive market place. (Sorry slipped into my own business speak there):

"The Los Angeles Times will remain a full-service newspaper providing the best and most sophisticated coverage of the city, the region, the state, the nation and the world."

"Creativity, flexibility, innovation, great storytelling and smart editing will mark the road to our future. We are journalists and we must sustain and grow our ability to explain Southern California and the world beyond to the people living in this dynamic and vast region. Great journalism in print and on-line will continue to be our legacy. We must seize the future; it is within our grasp."

Some great positive thoughts on the future of the organisation there, I suspect if Jim O'Shea had been left to write the letter on his own it would have be a much simpler, positive message about unfortunate changes in the organisation which was not tarnished by ambiguous rhetoric and self serving justifications for redundancies.

The London 2012 Olympic Logo - the back story

Unless you have been on another planet lately, in which case welcome to earth, you must have witnessed the birth of the 2012 London Olympic logo.

It is going to win awards, no really it will win worst logo 2007, and 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, worst logo 21st century in 2099 and worst logo for the third millennia in 2999.

Given that it is the worst logo ever designed you have to wonder how it came to be designed in the first place. I find it difficult to believe that a conversation like this ever occurred:

Olympic representative: Let's have a look at the logo, then.
Designer: Here you go.
OR: Nice, like it, it will really speak to the people.
D: Thanks.
OR: Here is your £400,000 cheque.
D: Sweet.

That can not be the true back story of the designing of the Olympic logo. So here are some other more likely scenarios:

1. The Missing Apprentice Episode.

Most people have not noticed but the BBC1 series "the Apprentice" is actually one episode short this year. A reliable mole in the BBC1 PR Department tells me there is one episode that was recorded but will never be broadcast.

Sir Alan after reviewing the tape for this one show refused to participate any further unless the show was pulled. The BBC did try to argue but Margaret Mountford had a meeting with several senior executives at the Corporation. What occurred at this meeting is not recorded but the pre-release tapes were pulled from the PR department and all references were removed from show notes.

However, Sir Alan only pulled that one show, for some reason no one remembered that they had already edited the teaser for next weeks show which was at the end of the previous week. This was remedied one day later but thankfully the BBC being a bureaucracy with procedures had already sent that previous week's show for transcription. Apparently transcription is necessary not only for subtitling purposes but for legal and archive purposes.

Sir Alan only ever pulled the footage and remains unaware of the existence of the transcript of the teaser. The BBC have since destroyed and rewritten the transcript for that show with the new teaser. However my mole in the PR Department has managed to supply me with the original teaser transcript.


Voiceover: Next week, on The Apprentice the two teams must design a logo for a special event.
[Cut to Sir Alan, briefing the teams]
Sir Alan: Right 2012 Olympics, really special event, going to be a really big event for London and the UK. Now, Why are we standing in front of Big Ben, well the Olympics is going to need a true icon in the form of a logo. You each have a design team who are going to help you design a logo which must be simple, modern and is not going to date over the product lifespan.

Voiceover: but trouble soon flares.

Tre: It doesn't matter that the logo looks rubbish, I can see bull**** to anyone.

Katie:Tre just doesn't understand that he isn't going to be the symbol for the Olympic games. I just hope they pick Tre for the Olympic torch.


Voiceover: and in the boardroom Sir Alan is not impressed.

Sir Alan: You piss my money up the wall, you bring me a logo that looks like some modern art rubbish. What have you got to say for yourself?

Tre: It is a post modern classical iconic logo , Sir Alan.

Sir Alan: Its a pile of vomit, is what it is? Fetch me a bit of paper I can vomit on it, write 2012 and London beneath it . Is that what you did? Katie , who's fault is this?

Katie: it was a team decision.

Sir Alan: Right I have had enough, both designs are rubbish, you completely ignored my advice, Tre's team only win because they actually turned up with a design, you other lot are a shower and missed your deadline by arguing about swirls.

Katie: We are still winners right!

Sir Alan: No, your all fired, that's it....

2. April 1st: Location 10 Downing Street.
Transcript of meeting between TB and GB regarding new Olympic logo.

TB: Have you got that new logo yet, we have time for that before cabinet.
GB: Here it is?
TB: That's it?
GB: Yes.
TB: But that's utter rubbish. Even David Cameron can paint better than that.
GB: It is a £400,000 logo.
TB: What's your point?
GB: Well you can't pay £400,000 for a rubbish logo can you?
TB: Well no, but that's not the point, send it back.
GB: We can't, it has already been approved and paid for.
TB:How?
GB:It was a project which was part of the March budget, which has now been spent in time for the end of the financial year.
TB: Refund clause.
GB:no
TB. It is a £400,000 logo
GB: Very good one.
TB No one pays £400,000 for a bad logo...It's very dynamic, modern yet classical.
GB: It is the London 2012 Logo.
TB: I do feel a headache coming on though.

3. Designer was just too busy.

Courier: I'm here to pick up the Olympic logo for the printers.
Designer: Can you get it, it's the one on the left, I have my hands full.
Courier: You sure its the one on the left.
Designer: Yes, the left.
Courier: This garish kind of crayon job.
Designer:That's a bit harsh but yes that one.
Courier: Looks like a child's drawing.
Designer: Everyone's a critic.
[Courier leaves]
Designer returns to his desk.
Designer: That's strange the logo design is still here. Ah well, now where is my 5 year old daughters little logo that she did for me. That's strange its not here.

And the rest they say is history...

[Disclaimer: Please note these are fictional accounts, if I have hit on the truth of the matter it was purely by accident. I have not received any confidential information from any of the organisations named above or any organisation involved with the design of the logo. This is a purely fictional account for amusement only.]

Apprentice Bits

You may have noticed I stopped blogging about the show some time about week 2. The simple reason was that I was beginning to make the same comments about the mistakes and how it was all really about having an ounce of common sense.

In reality the only good bits of my posts were the quotes and in the end I decided I would rather enjoy the show that scribble notes continuously.

However if you are looking for the equivalent blow by blow reportage don't bother with that Jo on the BBC pop over to the guardian and have a look at their organ grinder TV blog.

I will say that next weeks final looks a bit dull, Simon is an utter useless wimp and Kristina will wipe the floor with him. I suspect at times I may cringe at how bad Simon is at organising things.
Kristina does deserve to win, but in the final Katie or Tre would have been far better opposition.

So tune in next week to see Sir Alan make Kristina the apprentice. I wonder what the odds are at the bookies.

Some final quotes from notes I made during the episode when they were selling English produce at a French market:

Katie: "Buying half the EU cheese mountain was not a spectacular decision."

Tre: "I can bull**** in any language."

Katie (about Kristina arguing with Simon): " I look forward to the day she will try to swallow something larger than herself and that will be the end of her."

Katie: "Adam is a small school boy in short shorts."

Sir Alan in the boardroom regarding the uselessness of the team leaders. : "It's Dunkirk all over again... your backs to the wall."

Sir Alan commenting on buying cheese: "You bought it from a bloody cash and carry!"

Sir Alan commenting on the innovative sausage cooking plan: "Total bloody joke!"

Katie talking about simon: "Nice guy to have around in the crèche I live."

A few more quotes from the art task:

Katie: "If Adam could just go back to the car lot and get run over."

Tre commenting after selling a nudity and fish picture: "I've always said I can bull**** with the best of them"

Tre after winning the beauty treatment prize: "Nothing like a good facial is there."

Sir Alan: "We know as much about photography as flying to the bloody moon."

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

12,13,14. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them [the five constant factors] be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:

1. Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?
2. Which of the two generals has most ability?
3. With whom lie the advantages derived from heaven and earth?
4. On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
5. Which army is stronger?
6. On which side is discipline more highly trained?
7. In which army is there the great constancy both in reward and punishment?

By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory and defeat.

Notes by Zephyrist:

At its simplest this can be a simple tick list, the winner of the battle will be the one with the most ticks.

To modernise the language a bit, sovereigns would now be the politicians or the decision makers and the generals would be the head of operations.The advantage of heaven and earth has decreased, now most battles in the office or out can be fought in all seasons at all times of day. Reward, punishment and discipline are just the same with salaries, reward packages, company rules and disciplinary offences.

If you consider each question in turn you can quickly decide who has the advantage, if in your favour you fight, if not you might want to try diplomacy or target your inadequacies.

More Balderdash & Piffle

I have caught the last two episodes of Balderdash and Piffle on BBC2 with Victoria Coren and her search for the origin of words.

Victoria just oozes sex appeal even managing to flirt with the people from the OED. I have been thinking on what quite characterises "the Coren effect" or what constitutes "the full Coren". The Coren look has a bit of the Mona Lisa look about her, it is a bit of a "come hither" look suggesting that a trip to the bedroom to fulfil your wildest dreams could be just around the corner.

The sultry seductive look she gives the camera is a promise of care free naughtiness, with the light on, behind the bedroom door.

In "euphemisms - the lace curtain of language" Victoria investigated a whole raft of different euphemisms. There was a long dull rambling story about the supposed origins of the word "loo" which pretty much bored me senseless and proved absolutely nothing.

Michael Portillo then popped up to save the day by talking about war euphemisms. He explored both the military slang and the more modern practice of politicians creating more palatable expressions about war for the general public. These included the classic "regime change" to indicate a change in government usually by military force and the rather obscure "transport tubes" a more palatable but obscure reference to military body bags.

Out of this show I also learnt the true meaning of "glamour model" I had always assumed it just referred to trashy or cheap modelling work but it actually refers to soft porn / topless fashion work.

In "Dodgy dealings" Victoria investigated the language of the criminal underworld. They had Suggs on investigating "Jack the lad" and a Scottish archaeologist investigating the "Glasgow kiss".

They also looked into the origin of the word "spiv" which refers to a smartly dressed man who lives by his wits and has no regular employment. They managed to date this back to a reference to "spives", a gang who were running scams on the trains between London and Manchester in the 1930's. They also traced a newspaper reference back to the early years of the 20th Century where a common London criminal had the nickname of "spiv".

Victoria hot footed it back to the OED with the references, they accepted the first but rejected the second suggesting it was a Romany reference and not a true "spiv" reference. I think they just didn't want to move the anti dating back a full 30 years. The misspelling of "spives" could easily have been a different word yet because it was closer in date to the current reference they were happy to let it pass.

Google Earth - Castle Hunting

I have found another interesting thing to do with Google earth, go castle hunting. Unlike trains they stay still and are much easier to find.

So here are a few castle views to look at.

Alnwick Castle (wikipedia entry)
Note: Poor resolution on google maps.






Cardiff Castle (wikipedia entry)






Corfe Castle (wikipedia entry)







Dover Castle (wikipedia entry)





Kenilworth Castle (wikipedia entry)







Warwick Castle (wikipedia entry)
Note: Poor resolution on google maps

The Sky is not always blue

The recent weather in the UK has had a lot of dark stormy clouds crossing the sky resulting in some really beautiful sky-scapes. These are just from the hip shots but I though they were worth sharing.


Storm clouds over fields.One sunset last week

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

11. These five heads [(1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.] should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.


Notes by Zephyrist:

Quite simply if you enter battle without considering the five constant factors you will loose.

Reports, Nuclear Power and Scare Mongering

The Story

This is the kind of story that gets the media dancing round the room in glee. They can scare everybody into thinking they will be glowing in the dark shortly. More about that later, firstly what are the facts behind the story.

According to the BBC article as part of the continuing begrudging acceptance that nuclear power will continue to have a place in electricity generation at least until renewable or other energy sources can take over a list has been drawn up of potentially suitable sites.

All of the sites are at existing nuclear generation sites to take advantage of existing infrastructure.

Now in my opinion it looks like nuclear will continue to be an important electricity source for the next 50-100 years so utilising existing sites seems like the best way forward.

The media view

For the media the story just isn't scary enough. Replace existing nuclear stations with nuclear stations. A report that lists 14 sites but freely admits that it will be up to the nuclear industry to build them and they may actually build none.

There has to be something we can scare people with in this report.

The Result

The Oxford mail kicks off with one of the worst examples of scaremongering:

County could get nuclear station (Oxford Mail)

(For those who like a bit of background the Oxford Mail is a red top local paper who are anti everything and allegedly pro-consumer)

Myth Busting

Myth: "Didcot area emerged as likely site"

Truth: It does not appear on the top 14 sites list.

The fact is Didcot appears once in the whole report to illustrate a power station with cooling towers. It was probably chosen as they are very visible to the general population or anyone that has ever travelled through Didcot.

The actual quote from the report is:

"It would be possible to site reactors inland and construct cooling towers as used by conventional coal and gas fired generating stations such as Didcot-A and Didcot-B in Oxfordshire, although cooling towers are very large structures which substantially damage the local amenity value from visual intrusion, causing significant difficulties with local public acceptance and obtaining planning consents, as well as adding to the cost of construction of the nuclear power station and reducing the station's power output by around 3-5%36."
Footnote 36 just refers to a foot note on the 5% energy loss.

The report does suggest a hierarchy of sites for further use which starts with nuclear facilities at the top, going to other nuclear facilities such as Harwell, then to conventional power stations site like Didcot (still not specifically mentioned and would be one of 60 sites identified) and then finally greenfield sites.

The report only considers existing nuclear power stations and their suitability for development, no development considerations are made for existing non nuclear power station sites or other nuclear sites such as Harwell.

It would be a tenuous link indeed to suggest that at this stage anyone in Didcot should be concerned. The quote above would suggest that an inland power station is infeasible due to the power loss and especially one sited in an area which suffers from drought.


Myth: "Harwell "a key opportunity for nuclear development""
"Harwell best available location"

Truth: Still not on the top 14 sites list but is in the second rank of the hierarchy of potential sites but again this site is probably even behind Didcot which has better infrastructure.

The report only considers existing nuclear power generation sites for future development, Harwell is mentioned as being an other nuclear site, it is included in some of the statistics or figures but no serious discussion of the sites suitability takes place.

It should be noted that perhaps the best location quote actually refers to it being the best location in the 1940's or that it has the best grid connection given its location in the south-east.

The reason the Oxford mail can include it is because the report mentions that it is an existing nuclear site which is already licensed and government owned. The report itself has included it in calculations as an other nuclear site.

The Summary

So comparing the two articles, the BBC wins with responsible reporting where the Oxford mail goes for a sensationalist story and then loosely arranges the facts around the angle.

What I also like about the Oxford Mail is they then door step local people to gather opinions. The questions are always clearly loaded and the responses predictable but the editors feel the need to get people to add support to their tall tales.

Special mention should go to Craig Simmonds, leader of the green party who clearly has not read the report and is quoted as saying.

"This suggests that Oxfordshire is the most likely inland site for a nuclear power station."

-Craig Simmonds, Leader of the Green Party,
Oxfordshire County Council.

There is nothing in the report to substantiate that fact. Yes, Didcot would be a suitable site but it is inland, Harwell is an other nuclear suitable site with good grid connectivity and is also inland, but importantly no sites in the UK are mentioned as being a suitable inland site for a new power station. The report only considers existing nuclear power generating sites, only the 14 sites are listed by suitability and Didcot and Harwell are not on the list.

Special mention also to Ed Vaizey who needs to read the report:

"It does not surprise me that Didcot and Harwell have been put in the frame for the next generation of nuclear power stations."

-Ed Vaizey, Conservative MP for Didcot and Wantage.

The report does not mention Didcot or Harwell as a potential development site. It only considers the 14 sites where nuclear energy is already used to generate electricity. Harwell falls into one of five secondary sites and Didcot falls into one of 60 tertiary sites. Harwell is also one of the least suitable secondary sites.

The report also specifically states there are large infrastructure and economic barriers to building an inland nuclear power station.

Sources: Jackson consulting report

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is a clean energy source that doesn't often get a mention yet it has the capacity to power the world and unlike other renewable energy sources like wind and solar power is "always on".

MIT experts reported in January 2007 that there was enough hydrothermal energy available in the US to generate the entire 27 trillion kilowatt-hours of energy consumed in the US in 2005 [1].

Like Solar power geothermal energy can either be used as a direct heat source for hot water systems or to generate electricity.

In the UK there is no electrical generation but some direct application of geothermal energy amounting to some 3 MW capacity[2]. This is mainly due to the economics of geothermal in the UK.

Other countries in the world are better situated to take advantage of geothermal energy. The US has over 2228 MW of installed generating capacity and 5366 MW of direct use[2].

Maybe this could be another plank in an overall energy strategy and boost renewable energy percentages. Even the UK government freely admits there is greater potential for the technology.

"Future development

It has been estimated that there are 1,550 large industrial sites in the UK where heat-pump systems could be installed, with an average size of 800 kilowatts of thermal power. There is more limited potential for further geothermal plants in the UK as sites need hot rock relatively near to the surface and which is sufficiently fractured to allow the passage of (heated) water. There are areas of hot rocks in the North Pennines, parts of southern England and Derbyshire."

-Geothermal -Current use in the UK

By my calculations based on the heat pump figures quoted above, if all sites were fitted out that would be 1240 MW of thermal power. If the government further invested in electricity generation in areas mentioned above then geothermal can really improve the renewable energy capacity in the UK. For information we currently have one geothermal plant - which provides heating and chilling to businesses and buildings in the Southampton area.

Of course this is just the major projects, liker other renewable technology it is also suitable for home and business use.

I believe that the real future of energy generation is distributed generation where large power stations are merely reserves. Each household or business will have its own locally suitable blend of generation technologies with a grid connection for backup. In order to get to this future we need to develop all these technologies especially the ones that can be "always on" like geothermal. Coupled with a battery system which could be charged over night you can move further away from dependence on a grid connection.

Come on UK government how about some investment in developing UK geothermal energy. After all once the north sea oil starts to run out we have all this drilling expertise and a drilling industry to redeploy.


[1] New Scientist, "Clean Power Under Our Feet" 27 January 2007, p. 4.
[2] World Energy Council - Survey of Energy Resources 2001. All figures from 1999.

Party packs of ice cubes

Whilst stuck behind a man at the supermarket buying his party pack of ice cubes, a thought struck me. How environmentally friendly are the party ice packs?

I am guessing not very. First you have a big factory making the packs, hopefully although not certainly they make them with water filling up lots of little ice bags (just like the ones you can buy in the supermarket to make your own without the need of an ice tray). If they freeze them at the factory and then transport them to the supermarket in temperature controlled lorries it would be a highly irresponsible act.

Then once you have your 100 little bags of water inside the big bag they have to be transported to the supermarket. Here they are put in the freezer to freeze over night and then you buy it in the shop and take it home.

This almost seems like a criminal waste of energy and effort not to mention the environmental impact. Perhaps selling ice in the supermarket should be banned, although obviously large trade sales would be allowed to continue.

For a party the alternative would be to buy loads of ice cube bags and make your own. I guess many people would argue they just don't have the time. Plus as a society we still don't always think of the environment first in all aspects of our life.

It does seem that we worry so much about the big things in life such as global air travel but then turn a blind eye to the little things like energy efficient light bulbs, recycling and ice cubes simply because it takes a bit more work.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[Method and Discipline - number five of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

10. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshalling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

Notes by Zephyrist:

This is about knows the nuts and bolts of your army / team.

Know the structure and the roles of leaders, understand how the army is supplied and control the economics, spending and incomes.

If you have control of all these factors you have control over your army and can use it effectively to gain the winning edge. Lose control of these factors and the army will suffer from infighting and be more interested in fighting amongst themselves than fighting against a common enemy.

More Sperm donor advertisment ideas

I have been thinking about alternative add campaigns to encourage sperm donors. Here are some of my ideas.
Other tag line ideas:

"Get paid for what you enjoy doing, make a deposit today - The Sperm Bank"

"Handy men required? - The Sperm Bank"

"The Sperm bank - satisfaction guaranteed."

"Why pay for your lad's magazine? Make a deposit and borrow ours - The Sperm bank"

"Become a sperm donor, its time your boys joined the swimming team"

"Grab your joystick. The sperm bank now with online banking."

"We would give you a free pen but your not likely to be filling in the cross word in our magazines - The sperm bank."

"Become a sperm donor, lay back and think of England."

"Join the last men only club in the world, become a sperm donor today."

"The sperm bank, the bank that likes to say Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Stand up and be counted... then relax - The Sperm bank."

"Become a sperm donor, take the pledge today and give it a quick polish."

"Age 8: I want to be a merchant banker

Age 30: I am a sperm donor.

Close enough! - the sperm bank."

Sperm donor adverts

I wrote an article yesterday about the chronic shortage of sperm donors. Now according to the article most organisations cant afford an ad campaign.

Now with such a personal male subject really the only way you could go is with humour. I cant draw so I bought out the stick men, added a good strap line and away I went.

Here is the badly drawn stick man with my strap line (Usual disclaimer - it may only be funny in my head)

School reports and planning problems

School report calls pupil 'wally' (BBC)

A confidential school report found lying in the street named some pupils as "wally" or "dingbat"

For a quick refresher the dictionary definitions are:

wally n. a stupid person.

dingbat n. a crazy or stupid person.

Both words are in the dictionary and are valid descriptive terms. After all if the children are slightly stupid or slightly mad you don't call them normal just to protect people's feelings. Yes, it is unfortunate that a teacher should think of a student as a wally but rather than criticising the teacher for injecting a bit of realism the child and its parents should be looking at how to change things. In reality little Tarquin (not the child's real name) wont have done anything wrong he is just a bit hyperactive or perhaps misunderstood.

There is a tendency to protect children from the reality of life, on what is a fine line between encouragement and reality. If you tell kids they are great, when they are clearly not you end up with the drama queens on reality tv who know they will make it one day and pursue a dream while working at a low paid job.

Is this what happens when you are never critical or realistic with a child? They pursue a hopeless dream and end up being desperately unhappy.

If they have people who tell them the truth then they keep the dream as a hobby and find themselves something they are good at. They may even lead happier lives because they are no longer pursuing hopeless dreams. Life is hard enough without being sent down the wrong path by over protective parents.

So please can we have a standing ovation for the teacher who just called a spade a spade, rather than a non-tooth fork. At least one teacher in the UK has managed to keep their sanity and still injects a bit of realism into education.

Planning shake-up for big schemes (BBC)

What is being heralded by the media as a new Brownabour idea is a simplification of the planning process in order to streamline all the red tape. The white paper being put before government proposes an independent planning commission to replace lengthy, costly and complicated planning inquiries. This commission would be made up of independent experts such as planners and lawyers to help decide policy.

There would also be more strategic guidance in terms of a planning framework at a national level which would cover major issues such as transportation and electricity generation.

The opposition have used the usual media buzzword objections of the idea taking decisions away from elected officials and giving them to government quangos.

So I can have a politician making a strategic planning decision who is only worried about whether he will get re-elected and may not have the relevant qualifications or experience to take the decision, let alone the guts to make the right decision.

-Or-

I can have an independent panel of experts with vast qualifications and experience who make the right decision for the country balanced against public opinion.

A panel of experts that's crazy talk, next they will be putting a panel of experts in charge of inflation policy. Oh they already have and it actually works a lot better than when the politicians were in charge.

Bring on the panel of experts they can hardly do a worse job than politicians.

So before you get on your soap box and follow the media crowd and complain about decisions being taken away from the people, think about it for a second and make your own decision.

After all in reality would the media ever agree and say it was a good idea, that just isn't newsworthy.

Zephyrist's sunday night briefs

The week of the office move. In reality I have been too busy with other things to notice what has been going on in the world but here are a few things that you might have missed.

I have been quoted on the BBC.

Whilst checking through my stats which is one of the perks of writing a blog I notice some inbound links form the BBC. Apparently they search the interweb looking for quotes about their new programmes. I have been quoted for my comment on Balderdash and Piffle, yeah me.

"The presenter Victoria Coren is quite cute and she was exploring the origins of words. Fairly interesting stuff for the writers or aspiring writer or those with a healthy interest in what things mean."

Zephyrist, Google Blogs

Ok so out of all the best bits of my blog calling a presenter "quite cute" isn't exactly my finest hour but it is a start.

Quote of the day from the BBC

"I don't really understand what a website is."

-Judge in cyber terror trial at Woolwich crown court.

Good job he does not have to sentence criminals who might use the internet then. Oh dear.

Out for the count (BBC)

An article about the crisis in the drop in number of sperm donors. Apparently there are now only 208 in the UK leading to a big shortfall as the UK need about 500-600 to meet demand.

The main problem is the change in the law which means that children created from the sperm can find out the identity of the father when they turn eighteen. The article states that a donor could end up fathering up to 50 children. You can see why no one would fancy fifty people turning up at your door.

Danny Robbins (comedian) went on tour to try and drum up some trade including asking labour MP's outside the houses of parliament to make a donation.

So would you do it?

I do not think I would have a problem with the children knowing that I was the donor. I am not sure what relationship would occur between the father and the child if any but it wouldn't really freak me out. They would have a right to know who I was and I would be happy to meet them if they wished.

Why would anyone do it, well to help out couples where the father cannot provide the sperm, to give the gift of life and hope.

I was minded of the "police -could you?" tv adverts, "Sperm donors - could you?"

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[The Commander- number four of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

9. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.

Notes by Zephyrist:

This could be easily translated into modern language by saying: The five qualities of a good leader are wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness.

Wisdom in the sense that you have to be able to make difficult decisions.

Sincerity in that you have compassion and belief in your subordinates, your plan and yourself.

Benevolence in that you you must be inclined to do what is right and good, which will be rewarded with loyalty from your followers.

Courage in order to take risks on decisions to further your cause.

Strictness in order to apply the rules, maintain discipline and respect in your subordinates.

The Office Move

The reason that there has not been much activity on this blog this week is because finally the long talked about office move actually happened. So this week due to a change in routine and all that activity I have been too tired in the evenings to do anything other than check emails and veg in front of the tv.

You work at a company long enough and at some point you will be told to move office. Most of the time it doesn't seem like there is any rhyme or reason to the move it is just a game of musical offices. Everyone packs up and when the music stops you unpack again. I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of moves are down to office politics, who is closer to the centre of power.

For HR office moves always involve vast rooms of personnel files which require specialist storage space and so are sometimes more of a priority than people. Especially as until all the files are correctly stored and alphabetised you cant find anything. People on the other hand can work from a computer and a phone surrounded by boxes.

Such a big change is often disconcerting as well, the loss of familiar surroundings makes people nervous and edgy, we need routine so we can concentrate on the unusual. I have found it difficult to concentrate surrounded by stack of paper and half empty boxes. It didn't help that we could not store all the boxes into our new office, we had to unpack a few and then fetch some more. I have a feeling that we will be re-arranging stuff for weeks.

Change is just something that happens, and is a natural part of life but it does take a lot of energy so some things like this blog have to take a back seat for a while.

Google Earth - Trainspotting goes to Iraq

This week I zoomed over to Iraq to have a look what war, sabotage and neglect does to a nation's railway system. It is all a bit depressing you see empty stations, empty yards, overgrown areas all in the muted browns of the desert. Unlike Russian yards, Iraq yards are generally smaller and overgrown with fewer cars in them. In the whole of my research I only found one train running.

So here are some of the desolate sights of trains in Iraq.

This is a large Baghdad train station. The platforms are empty although they look like they are maintained. Note the bustle of the cars on the road around the station. The extensive yards to the north and west look overgrown and unused.



Iraq yards 8a, part of the Central station yards complex shows what is probably the passenger train yards. Although full of trains it does appear to be better maintained than other areas of the vast yards.




The one small train I found in Western Baghdad.






The missing link, a break in the track where a bridge has gone, was it war, sabotage or just a bridge being rebuilt?






Some kind of oil/chemical store with vast sidings, all empty but look at all the trucks at the plant. Road has taken over from rail.

Balderdash & Piffle

While channel surfing I came across 'Balderdash & Piffle' on BBC2. The presenter Victoria Coren is quite cute and she was exploring the origins of words. Fairly interesting stuff for the writers or aspiring writer or those with a healthy interest in what things mean.

Did I mention she is cute as well, I think I might be developing a small crush on her.

Anyway last night's edition was an exploration of words around madness including 'bananas' 'one sandwich short of a picnic' and 'bonkers'.

One of the interesting segments was when comedian Jo Brand met the organisers of Bonkers Fest ,who not being representative of what might be considered normal, were objecting to the definition of the word normal and wanted it redefined as a person who was unable to display emotions that might not be considered sane. They had a point after all to be human is to at times do crazy things, normal people aren't really normal people at all. The new definition was rejected on the grounds that the definition did not really define how the word was used in society.

Fair enough, time to corrupt the word and create a new word.

Norm: (n) Commonly a derogatory term referring to people (especially in a work environment) who in an attempt to gain favour act in a manner conforming to the social and political norms of the organisation. They do not show or exhibit any behaviour outside of those norms to the extent that they are not exhibiting or are suppressing normal human behaviours such as compassion or a sense of humour.

Variants:

sub-norm: a subordinate colleague who mimics the behaviour of his boss, a norm, in order to gain favour.

uber-norm: a super norm.

ultra-norm: environmental description representing an organisational environment where behaviour is restrictive, forcing employees to conform in order to be promoted or rewarded.

anti-norm: a work colleague who seeks out norms and destroys them

ab-norm: possibly a corruption of 'abstaining norm', an employee who refuses to play political games and does not pretend to be anything other than themselves at work.

The Great Campaigns of Nelson by William O'Connor Morris

[These extracts re-typed from the original book 'The Great Campaigns of Nelson' by William O'Connor Morris]

Preface

This little volume consists of a series of articles on the great campaigns of Nelson, marked by the names of St. Vincent, the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar, which originally appeared in the Pall mall magazine. the favourable reception accorded to them, though only fugitive pieces, has induced me to republish them; I have to thank the Proprietors and the Editor of the Magazine for their permission. The text has been revised and corrected, and some additions have been made to it; but I have avoided any important changes, for this was, I think, due to the publication which gave it its sanction. Captain Mahan has most kindly placed at my disposal the maps and diagrams in his Sea Power contained in the volume; this, at least is some indication that that great authority on naval warfare does not disapprove of it con tents. My thanks are also due to Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd., and to Messrs. Little Brown & Co., for sanctioning the use that has been made of these diagrams.

My object has been to present to the reader in tolerably exact outline, a sketch of the chief operations of Nelson at sea; and, at the same time, to glance at theories as to the impregnability of England, and her absolute security from invasion, which seem to me questionable and dangerous, should the nation rely on its maritime power only. For a full inquiry into the subject, the sources of information, original and secondary, are sufficiently known, it would be mere pedantry to do more than refer to them.

WILLIAM O'CONNOR MORRIS

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[Earth- number three of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

8. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

Notes by Zephyrist:

Where you choose to make a stand can determine a battle. Always force the enemy to choose your battlefield and try not to get stuck with the enemies choice of battlefield. A really simple example is the home turf advantage, make the enemy come to you so they are unfamiliar with your territory.

Tony Blair leaves interest rates go up

Blair will stand down on 27 June (BBC)

UK interest rates raised to 5.5% (BBC)

So Tony Blair has finally named a date, finally the media can stop harping on about it. Although now they get to harp on about the leadership elections for seven weeks. It looks like they are going to be really dull as for leader, only Gordon Brown is standing. No stalking horse to make it slightly interesting. To be honest I understand the need for the long, full process but I am already bored of it and will be completely bored of the media going on about things, probably by tomorrow. After all its one of the things the media does best, go on on and on about something.

The question the media have been asking about Tony is "What is his legacy ?". I think Tony hit the right note in his farewell speech, he was an honest man trying to do what he thought was right and best. He made his mistakes notably on Iraq but he did what he thought was right at the time and right for the country.

Although I could join the hordes and criticise him for his decision to send troops into Iraq, in my heart I feel he made the best decision on the information he had at the time and I would probably have made the same decision myself based on that information at that time. It was with hindsight a mistake and was compounded by the fact that once we got in, there was and still isn't an easy way out. Remember that based on the information available at the time a majority of 310 MP's voted in favour of the case for war (Source: The Public Whip).

Moving on from the Iraq issue what legacy has he? Well the economy is robust and there has been no recession since labour has taken office. Inflation Policy is now an economic rather than a political decision. Public Services have received investment. Taxes have increased in complexity and have not always been designed to support the poor and vulnerable of society.

All In all I think he has done a good job, Tony Blair has been a steady hand on the country and has modernised politics back to a two party system where we do have a choice.

The other story today was the interest rate rise where the Bank of England added another 1/4 point on to the interest rate. This is the fourth in a steady rise since last year but on the upside the Bank of England expects inflation to fall back in the mid to long term so hopefully this will be the last rise for some time. The bank will be watching statistics over the next few months to see whether another 1/4 point rate rise is justified. If inflation still has a bit of short term steam expect another small rise in June /July.

The media are fairly mediocre at predicting the outcome of interest rate meetings mainly because they like to hype it so much, doom and gloom is always better than saying we don't expect anything much to happen. For individuals with debts it will tighten belts further and may push some people over the edge but the average man in the street should not be effected. As far as the housing market goes it will have little effect, as almost nothing effects the housing market any more due to the supply / demand issues.

Zephyrist's sunday night briefs - week 17, 2007

Well this week saw the local elections in the UK, the first of the May three day freakin weekends and tornadoes in the mid US.

Just what was I looking at on the interweb this week:

Spacecraft returns Jupiter images (BBC)

I like stories that look to the stars. This article shows the latest pictures of Jupiter by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft (what is the difference between a spacecraft and a probe?). There are some really fantastic photographs. According to the NASA home page for New Horizons some of the pictures taken are for artistic rather than scientific value.


I quite like this one entitled Two moons over Jupiter (artistic photograph). You can find out more on the picture by clicking on it to go to the NASA page.





Bush honours Queen at White House (BBC)

Two notable parts to this story, one is the customary bit where Bush puts his size 12's straight in it. Apparently the Queen was not amused although from what was said not surprisingly.

The other bit of note is the Queen is now doing her bit for the environment. With each of these state visits the carbon emissions of the air miles will now be offset as a cash donation to an environmental charity.

That is it for this week, obviously all the news this week was rather mundane and not worth clipping because that is the end of the file for Zephyrist's Sunday night briefs.

Interesting links: Free Hugs

The interweb, every now and again can turn up some heart warming story that can quickly circumnavigate the world as people take a look and feel slightly better about themselves.

One man, Juan Mann, arrived back in his home country of Australia where he felt like a stranger. In arrivals he saw all the people welcoming home fellow travellers but there was no one there to give him a hug and make his day a little better.

All he wanted was a hug, so he got a piece of card and wrote on it "Free Hugs". After 15 minutes of strange looks he got his first hug from a women who was having a bad day and just like Juan needed a hug.

City officials took a dim view of all this free hugging and banned him, but then he got a petition together to get the decision over turned.

The story of his 'free hugs' campaign then took on a life of its own and went round the world, if you don't believe me just google or youtube it.

Make sure you check out the video which tells Juan's story with a good backing track as well, it is doing the rounds of the viral charts.

So have a free virtual hug from me.

Google Earth -Trainspotting goes to Russia

Well continuing visiting different countries I thought I would pop over to Moscow and see what I could find. What I found was absolutely marshalling yards, so here are some of the choice pictures (note the yard numbers are mine, not some Russian bureaucratic innovative naming system).

Moscow area yard 11. Not a goods yard but either an engine or passenger train shed. No trains visible but a nice track pattern into the large building. Interesting motorway junction pattern to the south-east too.





Moscow area yard 10. A huge Marshalling area and workshop area. Just look at all those wagons lined up.






Moscow area yard 7. A passenger train yard just outside one of the main railway stations.






Three of Moscow's main train stations.

Second wave of tornadoes rakes Plains (CNN)

Sometimes when reading news articles on destructive weather systems I am thankful that the UK has such a benign climate. We rarely have any violent weather at all.

The Mid-US on the other hand has tornado alley and this weekend has seen some horrific destruction including 90% destruction of the town of Greensburg, Kansas. In the central business district only the court house and the town's one bar was left standing.

On Saturday there were over 75 tornado touchdowns and in the wake of such destruction several areas have been declared major disaster areas by the federal government.

It is also clear from the CNN article that the political fallout from Hurricane Katrina has not been forgotten:

"We're not going to let a disaster happen here like what happened with Katrina. We're going to take care of people first and then help this city rebuild."

- Todd Tiahrt, Republican member of the US House of Representatives

With Tornadoes come the storm chasers a mix of scientists and amateurs who chase storms getting footage and carrying out research. One such group posts up the footage on tornadovideos.net. They also post on YouTube so have a look at this post taken over the week end where they have a close encounter with a tornado.

The Great Campaigns of Nelson by William O'Connor Morris

One of my many ideas for a project was to find a book which was out of copyright and then add the text to the web. A sort of public service to enrich the knowledge on the web.

The book is about Lord Nelson describing four of his great battles.

In this article I will do a bit of a historical introduction to the book. The plate to the left is from the front of the book and reads "Horatio Viscount Nelson - After the Picture in the council chamber of the City of London".

It would be interesting to find out if this original picture still exists and where it is now.

The Book itself has a prize inscription from the Eastham Education Committee to Archie Ryan for "Progress, conduct and Attendance 1910-1911". If you search the 1901 UK there is an Archie Ryan born at Essex Forest Gate, Eash Ham , Essex. If it is the same Archie then when he received this book he was 11.

The book is written by William O'Connor Morris who describes himself as a sometime scholar of Oriel College, Oxford and may well be this man described on the Offaly History website.

According to the biblio.com website where a copy of the book is being sold the book was published in 1898, although my copy may be a later printing given that it was not presented until 1911 .

The publisher is Blackie and Son Ltd who only ceased publishing books in 1991, you can find a historical description of the company provided by Glasgow University Archive Services on the archive hub website.

Little Theories: About being the best

It is not always possible to be the best, there is almost always someone better but there is one thing that you will always be the best at.

Your the best at being you in the world ever and always will be. No one else even comes close.

My vote counted, did yours?

Well there is nothing like being proved right for a change. Yesterday I posted an article telling everyone to vote because every vote matters.

Well in my district area their were two candidates and the winner won by one vote and even better I voted for the winner. It wasn't a small turn out either around 1400 people voted, so if you were in my area and didn't vote shame on you because your vote would have counted.

Every vote matters which I have now proved. So next time make sure you vote you never know when your vote might matter.

Of course over all the vote doesn't make any different to the overall control of the council, like most Oxfordshire councils it remains a Tory bastion.

When I say bastion I mean the strongest ever castle you have ever seen with 1 mile thick walls an impenetrable energy shield and an army numbering the population of China. Any general that has ever looked upon this castle suddenly remembers they left the oven on at home, I'm talking that kind of Tory stronghold.

Local Election Day

According to the media it is 'Super' Thursday. Whoever came up with that idea really needs to get out more, there is nothing 'Super' about it.

Anyway here in the UK its time to cast your vote for the district / town council. You have just over one hour left to go and vote, so do it. Its your only democratic obligation.

For all those who just started complaining there is no point they are always the same, it is then your democratic right to go and spoil your vote. You may favour writing the words ' None of the above' across the paper.

"Oh but spoilt ballots don't count" said a right whinger. Not yet they don't but just think if there was ever a vote where the spoiled ballot papers outnumbered the votes for the winning candidate. Somebody would bring a legal challenge after all technically to win you have to get the most votes. So if everybody spoiled their vote politics would have to change whether in a trial by law or trial by media.

So vote or spoil your paper, you have to go collect your ballot paper, its a democratic obligation.

People have died in the past and continue to die for the right for one vote in a democratic election. The least you can do is switch off your computer and go vote.

Go now! Really I'm not joking. Now! Vote for me if you want.

ICC issues Darfur arrest warrants (BBC)

I wrote previously that the international criminal court in February had named two suspects for 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, torture of civilians.

The ICC have now issued warrants for the arrest of the two individuals Ahmed Haroun (Humanitarian Affairs minister) and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd al-Rahman (Janjaweed leader).

The ICC court is the court of last resort where a nations state is unwilling or incapable of prosecuting war criminals. The expected issuing of the arrest warrants is a damning indictment of the Sudanese government.

The ICC has no police officials and relies on member countries to detain and arrest criminals. Sudan is not a signatory of the ICC but it does have a moral duty to arrest these men. The Sudanese government has given no indication that they will and does not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction over any Sudanese citizen.

So now the world waits for the arrests...waits... and waits...

"Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all
The needle returns to the start of the song
And we all sing along like before
And well all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow"

-Nothing Ever Happens, Del Amitri.

You have to wonder what exactly the world is waiting for. On the BBC the story does not even merit a top story on world news, only a top story in Africa, this truly is the hidden war.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

I Laying plans contd...

[Heaven - number two of the five constant factors to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field]

7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

Notes by Zephyrist:

Night and day considerations are obviously considerations of light. Small groups have the element of surprise in the dark while large groups may have trouble co-coordinating the battle in the dark.

Cold and heat, consider the extremes of desert and snow, even modern armies have difficulty with temperature extremes with equipment and men breaking down.

Times: attacks at dawn are quite popular especially if you are the side attacking out of the sun and if the enemy is sleepy.

Seasons: relates to cold and heat, some countries get so cold in winter you wouldn't want to fight at all while other countries can be wet in summer with major flooding, again best to give that battle a miss.