Saturday, February 24, 2007

[high speed trains] best of luck on your journey

Last night's Lambrigg crash:

Morning light revealed the front two carriages of the train, which has a special tilting mechanism that enables it to reach speeds of 125 mph, had been hurled off the track and down a verge. Seven other carriages snaked along an embankment, with one twisted on to its side.

Long ago, I ran a post on high speed train crashes and commenter ScotsToryB answered me …

James, are you being ironic? Maglev is magnetic levitation i.e. the train is raised by magnetic force thus moving with least friction possible. If the power(to create the magnetic field) failed the train should roll to a stop. I am not an engineer but suspect a failure in the infrastructure.

Devil's Kitchen also put the overly fearful Higham straight …

James, as you can see from the picture, it isn't held on by magnetism; it is levitated and propelled by magnetism. Information
here.

Thank you kindly for patiently explaining that and I'm sure my fears are unfounded but one thing is for certain - I'll only ever take the slow train to York, Manchester or Edinburgh, thank you very much, if it's all the same to you.

[blogfocus sunday] just for this week

Laze and Jem, Blogfocus will be out on Sunday, hopefully around lunchtime. There are certain festivities late afternoon today, Saturday and I can't vouch for being compos mentis at the end of them. Therefore any late evening post should prove a trifle embarrassing. I might even propose marriage to one or two of you. Look out, for example, Tin Drummer and Tiberius.

[self-congratulation] a game every nation plays

Cecil Rhodes fatuously stated: "Ask any man what nationality he'd prefer to be and 99 out of 100 would say they'd prefer to be Englishmen."

John Updike said: "America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy." Bob Hawke spoke of what made Australia great. I'm sure the Canadians would have their own too.

Since time immemorial we've all been guilty of saccharin sweet, national self-congratulation. Where the problem arises is when you truly start believing your own rhetoric.

The German Schlieffen Plan in World War 1 relied on the effective deployment of resources, the French Plan XVII relied on the concept of 'elan', the idea that in one-on-one battle, a Frenchman will always prevail because of his greater spirit and fighting power. These people went to war in that frame of mind, blissfully ignoring 1812 and heading for 1939.

If the Americans are firm believers in 'good ole American know-how', then what of the Russians? Over here, self-congratulation is of the Python Yorkshireman syndrome - that we're tougher than anyone else. For example, this was sent to me by one of my Russian friends:

+20 Greeks put on sweaters (if they can find them).
+10 Americans shake, Russians are planting cucumbers.
+5 Italian cars don't start. Russians drive with lowered windows.
0 Water freezes in America, in Russia it thickens.
-5 French cars don't start.
-18 New York landlords turn on the heaters. Russians make their last seasonal picnic.
-35 Too cold to think. Japanese cars don't start.
-42 Transportation stops in Europe. Russians eat ice cream on the street.
-45 All Greeks are dead. Politicians really start doing something for the homeless.
-60 White bears start moving south. Hell freezes.
-114 Ethyl alcohol freezes. Russians are unhappy.
-273 Absolute zero, atomic movement stops. Russians wear boots.
-295 90% of the planet is dead. Russian soccer team becomes the world champion.

And the thing is, we really do picnic in the forest in minus 10. Gloves are donned around minus 8. The last time I wore a jumper was in minus 37. We end up with the flu, of course. The pharmacies do a roaring trade over here.

By the way, it's currently minus 16 outside. No more icecream for now.

Friday, February 23, 2007

[oscarmania] tim's little quiz

Laze and Gem, once you're done here, get yourselves over to Tim Almond's for a little quiz on the Oscars. How much do you know? In my case - not much.

[ghosts] and things that go bump in the night


On Dec. 19, 2003, a costumed figure stood in a doorway at Hampton Court Palace and this image was caught on closed circuit television and released by the Palace some days later.

“We’re baffled too — it’s not a joke, we haven’t manufactured it,” said Vikki Wood, a Hampton Court spokeswoman, when asked if the photo the palace released was a Christmas hoax. “We genuinely don’t know who it is or what it is.”

Wood said security guards had seen the figure in closed-circuit television footage after checking to see who kept leaving open one of the palace’s fire doors. In the still photograph, the figure of a man in a robe like garment is shown stepping from the shadowy doorway, one arm reaching out for the door handle.

“It was incredibly spooky because the face just didn’t look human,” said James Faukes, one of the palace security guards. “My first reaction was that someone was having a laugh, so I asked my colleagues to take a look. We spoke to our costumed guides, but they don’t own a costume like that worn by the figure. It is actually quite unnerving,” Faukes said.

A live vote was then taken by the BBC on what people thought it was, which received 38504 responses:

A prank being played on unsuspecting authorities. 29%
A publicity hoax ... and the authorities know it. 22%
A truly supernatural happening. 41%
None of the above. 8%

King Henry VIII’s third wife, Jane Seymour, died there giving birth to a son, and her ghost is said to walk through one of the cobbled courtyards carrying a candle.

Her son, Edward, had a nurse called Sibell Penn who was buried in the palace grounds in 1562. In 1829 her tomb was disturbed by building work, and around the same time an odd whirring noise began to be heard in the southwest wing of the palace. When workmen traced the strange sounds to a brick wall, they uncovered a small forgotten room containing an old spinning wheel, just like the one Penn used to use.

Henry’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, condemned for adultery, was held at the palace under house arrest before her execution at the Tower of London. An 1897 book about the palace says she was reportedly seen, dressed in white and floating down one of the galleries uttering unearthly shrieks.

[This is another article from the pre-blogging days - can't be attributed, unfortunately. Probably BBC.]

Forward, not back - Mr. Eugenides guest blogs this evening

What do Scotland, Greece and Russia have in common? Mr. Eugenides explains:

On Calton Hill in Edinburgh, not too far from where I am writing this, sits the Parthenon. Well, a replica of the Parthenon – the “
National Monument”, constructed in the nineteenth century as a memorial to the dead of the Napoleonic War , but never finished due, so it is said, to lack of funds (say what you like about the Greeks, but at least we finished ours). It stands today, overlooking Princes Street, frequented by gawking tourists by day and moustachioed homosexuals by night, mute testimony to the ambition of a forgotten age, and known now as “Edinburgh’s folly”.

Nor are the links between Scotland and Greece limited to ersatz monuments and questionable sexual practices. We also
share a national saint; indeed, St Andrew divides his attentions between Greece, Scotland and mother Russia, from where James writes.

One hesitates to draw out such a flimsy thread too far, but it is worth noting that each of these three countries is, in its own different way, in thrall to a glorious past, and each is struggling to recapture some of that lost glory.

Read the rest here…

[birthday present] just a little house in the country


Introducing the new home I just bought for a birthday present to myself. You like it?

Updown Court in Windlesham, Surrey, has 58 acres of gardens and woodlands, five pools, 22 marble bathrooms and more than 50,000 square feet of living space, according to the list posted on Forbes.com, which did not say who the seller was. Oh, and a bowling alley, too.

Coming a close second is The Hala Ranch (welcome in Arabic), a 95-acre property in Aspen, Colorado, owned by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States - a job that must pay well as the asking price is $135 million. The 56,000-square-foot mansion has 15 bedrooms and 16 baths.

You doing anything speical next weekend?

[help please] between a rock and a hard place

Recently, I put out a distress call to the blogosphere because though New Blogger is tolerating my current template for the moment, they're poised to reject it, should I make any changes. I know this because I've been experimenting on another blog.

I dearly want to tweak the colours and make other adjustments but I daren't go into the template for fear of New Blogger. That's why I asked if anyone knew of a good three column template, acceptable to New Blogger.

Tim Almond, bless him, made a very sound suggestion but it involved leaving Blogger altogether, which I'm loathe to do, as it's the only free blog which allows flexibility on headers, html etc. Wordpress doesn't give you this freedom in its base version.

UPDATE: I've finally decided on one which I can tweak and am in the process of building it right now. If you'd like to see paint dry, it's here at Mister Badger. When it's near done, it will be transferred across.

[who's guilty] us psy-ops, iran or saudi

Nice article on the growing Saudi-Iran factor in the Middle-East:

Given the unprecedented instability across the Middle East - with opposing factions allied either to Iran or to the US - there is a real danger of misunderstandings spinning out of control.

An example of US psy-ops, according to the Ahmadinejadists is:

The Rafsanjani camp has lately started a widespread misinformation campaign against the Ahmadinejad government, accusing it of radicalism, unnecessary militancy, economic incompetence and disregard for the national interest.

In explaining the mindset of the current Iranian elite and their blaming of the U.S. for all Middle-Eastern ills:

From their perspective, the Islamic Republic ensured its long-term stability by facing much of the world with modest means and with iron will as its only real strategic asset (against an enemy that enjoyed the unqualified support of much of the Arab and Western worlds). They believe that the culture of sacrifice born out of eight years of war, and the unique nationalist-Islamic political heritage it has spawned, will ensure the survival of the Islamic Republic against all odds.

The Saudis have been pursuing a more pro-active foreign policy, brokering the Abbas-Hamas truce, for example but the Iranians tend to solely blame the Americans for the new Saudi stance:

If this is indeed the case, then the Iranians have badly miscalculated. All evidence suggests that the Saudis have decided on a more pro-active foreign policy largely because of Iran's growing role in the region. Far from neutralizing US intrigues, by engaging more closely with the Saudis the Iranians are in fact bolstering the position of their only serious regional rival.

It's an interesting read, touching, as it also does on the article in Jane's Intelligence Review last month by Michael Knights, implicating Iran at the deepest level in Basra and therefore leaving one to puzzle over the U.S. backpeddling on what is seemingly obvious.

[cutting edge] vital issue of the day

Far more important than cash for honours, more profound than Richard Rorty and as dramatic as the recent blogwar, you might be forgiven for feeling that trivialization such as this does dirt on a genuine tragedy such as this. Not a bit of it. Read the purple prose below and you'll agree, I'm sure, that this is where the real world's truly at:

Giorgio Armani took hemlines higher for his less formal Emporio Armani collection, while Gucci swept evening dresses right to the floor in jewelled black and Grecian column white. Armani, who kept dresses just above the knee for his main Giorgio Armani line on Monday, made them shorter and cheekier for Emporio Armani, but kept to the bubble skirt shape nipped in to the hem that he had used before.

He also kept feet firmly on the ground in flat pumps, after saying on Monday that you did not need high heels to be sexy. Models strolled down the catwalk in pairs, wearing complementary outfits so that chiffon stoles slung over shoulders were twinned, black spots on white and white spots on black. Charcoal grey with a fine horizontal chalk stripe was used in one outfit for a skirt, and parallel for a shirt.

For the breathtaking attempt to put socks on models, you'll need to read the full article. This news most definitely qualifies under the Cutting Edge label.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

[another year] the power of a kiss

Birthday celebration tomorrow, nothing else planned. Kisses today and chocolates. Minus 20 degrees and snow everywhere. Happy man.

[thought for the day] misogyny

Most abused word in the blogosphere: misogyny. There are very few people out there who hate women. Hating what feminism has done/is doing to society does not equal misogyny. Wendy [commenter on Vox Day's recent post]

Don't know about you but I have a real weakness for an intelligent woman with common sense as well.

[cutting edge] the issue all bloggers should catch up with

What with ID cards, the NHS, presidential elections, the EU criminal justice horror and so on, it's so easy to miss the REAL world issue just now:

Fifty large trees went missing from Reykjavík’s largest outdoor recreational area, Heidmörk, during the installation of a water pipeline. Police found the trees in Hafnarfjördur yesterday. They are currently investigating whether the contractor hired by Kópavogur City, which is responsible for the operations in Heidmörk, was planning to sell the trees. Fréttabladid reports.

Kristinn Wium Tómasson, supervisor of the water pipeline project on behalf of Kópavogur, denied those accusations: “We decided to try and save trees that were three metres and lower in cooperation with the head gardener of Kópavogur. They will be replanted after the operations are finished.

Tómasson explained that the company Klaedning ehf. had moved the trees from Heidmörk to the lot of the contractor company Gardafell ehf. at Kópavogur City’s request because then the trees would be more likely to survive. Kópavogur Mayor Gunnar I. Birgisson said he was surprised by the reaction to the operations in Heidmörk. “We will plant trees instead of these, so everything will be as it should,” he said.

Now I think you'll agree - this is an issue that has to be thrashed out.

[blairs id cards] the definitive answer

Disillusioned and Bored has written perhaps the definitive response to Tony Blair's reply to the ID card petition in Extent Of Blair's ID Card Intrusion Revealed . It's not my intention to rehash the issue here but simply to conclude with Guido's words:

The Downing Street e-petitions exercise tells us something fundamental about Tony Blair and his government. They are not listening, your opinion is irrelevant. They view the e-petitions project as a means by which they can put their case to opponents. Tony doesn't take note, a million signatures against road pricing merely means that they will have to explain it again and again until they get their way.

[lit quiz] part 2 - thursday

All of these describe or are spoken by famous female characters. Who are the females, what was the book and who was the author? [Score half each for the literary work and the author and one point for the character.]

6. 'She had the oddest sense of being invisible; unseen; unknown; there being no more marrying, no more having children now, but only this astonishing and rather solemn progress with the rest of them, up Bond Street.'

7. '. . . handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence and had lived nearly twenty-one years with very little to distress or vex her.'

8. 'She speaks much of her father; says she hears There's a trick i' th' world, and hems, and beats her heart; Spurns enviously at straws; speaks things in doubt That carry but half sense.'

9. 'Being alone, and conscious two yards of loose earth was the sole barrier between us, I said to myself- "I'll have her in my arms again! If she be cold, I'll think it is this north wind that chills me; and if she be motionless, it is sleep." I got a spade from the toolhouse, and began to delve with all my might.'

10. 'Being of a sentimental nature rather than an artistic temperament, in search of emotions, not scenery.'

Clues

6. M D in M D by V W
7. E W in E by J A
8. O in H by W S
9. C L in W H by E B
10. E B in M B by G F

Answers are here. Part 1 is here.

[renault] how many suicides to make one car

A 38-year-old worker hanged himself in his home in the town of Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole west of Paris on Friday after leaving a note in which he complained of problems at work. French authorities are investigating working conditions at carmaker Renault following the suicide of three employees in four months at one of its plants near Paris. The workers who committed suicide worked at "The Beehive", where new car designs are developed.

Of course, it might have nothing to do with the working conditions. Why not go on strike, for example? Why not leave the job and go elsewhere? Was it bullying by sub-managers? Or was there more to it? Keep your eye on this space.

[iran] arab states ponder the juggernaut

The news: Delegates from Arab states are meeting at an arms fair in the United Arab Emirates, embarking on huge military spending in a bid to contain a perceived threat from Iran. Gulf leaders will use billions of dollars in oil revenue to buy the arms, with many of the deals to be finalised at the Idex arms fair which began in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. Saudi Arabia is thought to have ordered almost $50bn in military hardware, including fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, attack helicopters and more than 300 new tanks.

Interesting that Iran is seen as such a threat, which puts the Israel question in a different light. Apocalypse, yee-hah!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

[geography of a woman] don't believe it

Between the ages of 18 - 21 a woman is like Africa or Australia. She is half discovered, half wild and naturally beautiful, with vegetation around the fertile deltas.

Between the ages of 21 - 30 a woman is like America or Japan. Completely discovered, very well developed and open to trade, especially for those with cash or cars.

Between the ages of 30 - 35, she is like India or Spain. Very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.

Between the ages of 35 - 40 a woman is like France or Argentina. She may have been half destroyed during the war but can still be a warm and desirable place to visit.

Between the ages of 40 - 50 she is like Yugoslavia or Iraq. She lost the war and is haunted by past mistakes. Massive reconstruction is now necessary.

Between the ages of 50 - 60 she is like Russia or Canada. Very wide, quiet and the borders are practically unpatrolled but the frigid climate keeps people away.

Between the ages of 60 - 70 a woman is like England or Mongolia. With a glorious and all conquering past but alas, no future.

After 70, a woman is like Albania or Afghanistan. Everyone knows where it is but no one wants to go there.

[geography of a man] believe it, believe it

Between the ages of 12 - 80 a man is like North Korea or Britain - ruled by a dick.

[instructions] on how to tie your bandana

Hat tip: Welshcakes [actually, I'm lying through my teeth]

[lit quiz] part 1 - wednesday

All of these describe or are spoken by famous female characters. Who are the females, what was the book and who was the author? [Score half each for the literary work plus the author and one point for the character.]

1. 'For she was dead. There upon her little bed, she lay at rest. The solemn stillness was no marvel now. She was dead. No sleep so beautiful and calm, so free from trace of pain, so fair to look upon. She seemed a creature fresh from the hand of God, and waiting for the breath of life; not one who had lived and suffered death.'

2. 'I looked back at my cousin, who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again.'

3. 'There she weaves by night and day A magic web with colours gay. She has heard a whisper say, A curse is on her if she stay To look down to Camelot.'

4. "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent mamma says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live here with gentleman's children like us, and eat the same meals as we do, and wear clothes at our mamma's expense."'

5. 'She did not go to the wood that day or the next, nor the day following. She did not go as long as she felt, or imagined she felt, the man waiting for her, wanting her. But the fourth day she was terribly unsettled and uneasy.'

Clues

1. L N in T O C S by C D
2. D B in T G G by F S F
3. T L of S in T L of S by A L T
4. J E in J E by C B
5. C C in L C's L by D H L

Answers are here. Part 2 will be tomorrow evening.

Guest blogging the EU - by Tom Paine


"
I used to be a Eurobore. Tony Blair cured me by setting out, from 10 Downing Street, to destroy everything I had once feared would be destroyed from the Berlaymont. It's not that I love the EU now. I just fear it less than Labour.

Yesterday, however, I had a twinge of the old complaint, when I received a mailing from openeurope.org.uk as follows:-

On 8 February the EU Commission put forward proposals to punish “environmental crimes” with harmonised EU-wide criminal penalties, over which the power of national veto would not apply...

The proposed directive is the first result of a controversial European Court of Justice ruling in September 2005, which said for the first time that the European Community is able to set criminal penalties and offences, if it is necessary to achieve one of the “fundamental objectives of the treaties.” ...

According to the BBC, at his press conference EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini also raised the prospect that the European Arrest Warrant could be used to detain polluters and send them for trial in other member states. (9 February)

The Commission hopes that public support for punishing “environmental crimes” will be enough to convince member states’ governments to give up their principled opposition to the Commission being able to decide the substance of their criminal law. One EU official told the Independent, "I am 100 per cent confident that we will get the support of EU citizens, despite the worries of member states that want to hold on to individual sovereignty.

I have a problem with the concept of European Criminal Law. There is no reference to it in the founding treaties. Eleven out of (then) fifteen member states argued against it in the ECJ case mentioned above. The ECJ has effectively changed the nature of the EU, with no democratic mandate and (in my view) with very flimsy legal justification.

The British Government, despite originally opposing the idea, now plans to go along with it - at least when the Commission criminalises things that Labour might criminalise itself, had it the time. New Labour has criminalised more than 3000 activities since it came to power - an average of more than 1 new crime a day. I guess the Government feels it needs help to achieve its apparent goal of putting us all on the wrong side of the criminal law."

[criminal law] globalization continues

Perhaps you might skip through this post then, if you haven't already done so, you might read Tom Paine's post. Then head across to Mr Eugenides.

Weishaupt's criteria - May 1 [Walpurgis Festival], 1776 [also auspicious]:

1) Abolition of all ordered governments
2) Abolition of private property
3) Abolition of inheritance
4) Abolition of patriotism
5) Abolition of the family
6) Abolition of religion
7) Creation of a world government

Congressman McFadden, [1931] states:

When the Federal Reserve Act was passed, the people of these United States did not perceive that a world banking system was being set up here. A super-state controlled by international bankers and international industrialists acting together to enslave the world for their own pleasure.

John Foster Dulles, [October 28, 1939], proposes:

"that America lead the transition to a new order of less independent, semi-sovereign states bound together by a league or federal union."

Sir Harold Butler, in the CFR's "Foreign Affairs," [July 1948], states:

How far can the life of nations, which for centuries have thought of themselves as distinct and unique, be merged with the life of other nations? How far are they prepared to sacrifice a part of their sovereignty without which there can be no effective economic or political union?

John Foster Dulles, [April 12, 1952] , speaking before the American Bar Association in Louisville, Kentucky, says:

Treaty law can override the Constitution. Treaties can take powers away from Congress and give them to the President. They can take powers from the States and give them to the Federal Government or to some international body, and they can cut across the rights given to the people by their constitutional Bill of Rights.

And so on and so on and so on.

[anglicans & episcopalians] dear oh dear

Fine man, noble purpose, enormous gravitas but still - is all the paraphernalia necessary?

From U.S.A Today:

The worldwide Anglican Communion and its liberal U.S. branch, the Episcopal Church, continued [their endless dispute] Tuesday after bishops released a draft "covenant" and a "communique" intended as a roadmap to mending divisions over views of the Bible, homosexuality and other questions. But the covenant, which could take years to be refined and ratified, could be used to declare that a church is so far afield that it is no longer Anglican.

Another question, of course, is that of female clergy and in particular, bishops.

It comes down to what Christianity is:

1] Narrowly, which is how I view it, one can only use the Gospels, then the Old Testament insofar as Jesus referred to it. This gives a very humanitarian or altruistic view of the faith, with all its healing, charity and so on and doesn't actually mention homosexuals and women per se although the spirit of what was said makes comment on these;

2] Together with the Acts of the Apostles, the Paulian letters are a whole new ball game, bringing in strictures against homosexuals, women in their place and so on. This version has given Christianity its bad name, certainly in the modern era and yet the question remains of whether Paul directly spoke from G-d or whether he added a few little touches of his own, as some cursed infidels [peace not be upon them] suggest Mohammed also did.

3] Then we have the whole panoply of gobbledegook, as represented in the photograph, with its consubstantiation/transubstantiation and so on.

And what Anglicanism is:

1] Born in iniquity and conceived in sin, as nationalism, banking and the United States have also been accused of, the Church of England put a man at its head who had no claims to deification but many to expediency;

2] It became the Conservative Party at prayer. I have no problem with this in itself. I'm technically an Anglican.

Having said all this, the current dispute in the Church comes from deviating from the Word little by little, under the justification of 'modernization' and 'being relevant to our times'. There is ample scriptural evidence that the faith allows of no such thing and time has zero effect on what He asked people to do. In fact, it was stated quite clearly that mankind should 'build on the rock'.

The only problem with this is that rocks eventually erode but to take the analogy too far might be mischievous.

[new blogger] between a rock and a hard place

HELP!!!
Please?

First request: Does anyone either know of or could anyone send, to jameshigham[at]mail[dot]com, a three column New Blogger template which:

1] does not require css sheet fiddling or any sort of html construction at higher than moronic level;
2] is not Beta - this one has now superseded Beta [2006] and Beta templates aren't accepted any more;
3] is not an old Classic, widened to over 900px with an extra column tacked on but is the standard 790px width?

Second request: As if that isn't enough, does anyone have any idea how to put in:

1] "Blogging" blogrolls, such as my page and Blogpower uses;
2] codes in sidebars, such as for the quizzes people have been doing, [not in the post itself,] plus various other bits and pieces?

The issue:

1] Blogger tricked me into converting, by routing me to my site through New Blogger set-up, then informed me that ALL attached sites were also converted - no way back;
2] It's supporting my current template here under sufferance but the moment I change it [which I do frequently], I've lost my blog. I know this because I've copied my template and put it in an experimental New Blog [Mr. Badger] and it simply won't take it, with either widgets expanded or not;
3] There is only one site on the web, "Templatepanic", which supplies a usable three column in New Blogger. Gecko no longer do, Thurs, Freetemplates Inaini - they provide them but none of them work anymore in New Blogger. The one I found is the cursed Rounders with an extra column which is 995 wide [way off the screen] and though I've modified it, it's still not good.

Finally: It's a big ask, I know but I have to do something soon so please, please, kind people, if you have definitive knowledge to resolve this problem and can communicate it at technical nincompoop level, I'd appreciate it so, so much. Thank you.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

[blogfocus tuesday] part two of the boy bloggers

Moustaches maketh the man, as Poirot might say.

Maintaining my image of being one brick short of a load, my dozen bloggers today are one man short of a dozen. This is part two of the boy bloggers and the girls will reappear next Sunday, merged with the boys once more. Let's get down to it:

1 Colin Campbell's perspective is always fresh and not just because of the strange place he blogs from - not so far from the City of Churches. Hanging upside down like that downunder, is it any wonder he's occasionally apoplectic, this time illustrating that sheer mindlessness is a global phenomenon:

Shopping is bad enough as it is. The thought of having employees critiquing your selection would be unbearable. Will they get self defence training as angry consumers bash them over the head with a baked bean can. You couldn't make this up if you tried.

Just don't even think about it, Coles and Woolworths.

2 Mr. Eugenides is in the master-blogging category, rarely making either an incorrect or unsupported statement. His vocabulary embellishments may be a little rich for some tastes but the substance is unerring. This is the man to shoot the breeze with on a winter's evening, whilst getting maudlin pi--ed.

If Music Trading Online can undercut the big music companies, why the hell shouldn't they? The price of recorded music remains high - though it's probably declined in real terms over the past 20 years - but if someone can buy a Coldplay CD from Hong Kong [legally], import it, and sell it on for £7, why the f--k can't EMI?

Anyone who's ever walked into a big commercial record store to browse for music will be familiar with "rare" imported CDs - the ones with the stickers on which retail for up to twice the price of a band's regular albums. They're designed to make money out of fans and "completists" who need to have every recording their favoured artist has ever released - as with my collection of rare deleted Judy Garland albums*.

*This is a joke**.

** Higham wonders.

3 Tom Paine, as anyone who has any sense knows, is a top libertarian blogger with connections you'd never fit into a book. Quiet and yet deadly, he observes and then cuts right to the heart of the matter and does it with a neat turn of phrase what's more:

The City of London is a legacy centre of excellence in an otherwise mediocre nation. It competes on a global scale, attracting talent from all over the world. It is handicapped by the poor infrastructure of London, its high costs of living and the perception (not helped by London's mayor being a fan of Castro and a supporter of terrrorists) that it is a hostile political environment. It is a filthy, unpleasant and dangerous place to work.

Operating costs are high, not because of salaries and bonuses, but because of taxes, property costs and costs of compliance with (mostly unnecessary) laws. To run a big business in the City (as anywhere in Britain) you must employ many costly drones to interface with Government and regulators and to collect taxes for the Treasury.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Eight more boy bloggers here.

[french presidency] segolene fighting rearguard action

One photo says it all. A beautiful woman appeals to the ordinary citizen for a fair chance. Trouble is, politics is cruel.

"I will be the president who will battle against youth unemployment," she told an audience of ordinary citizens on French television … She is widely seen as now seeking to revive her campaign after a series of gaffes and policy disputes. Overall, French papers agreed it was a solid but lacklustre performance, which failed to ignite enough sparks to re-start Ms Royal's campaign. Her standing in the polls has continued to slip despite a 100-point platform she unveiled on 11 February.

Opinion polls published just hours before the appearance showed less than a quarter of people intended to vote for her in the first round of ballot on 22 April. This was her worst showing since she won her party's nomination in November. Two new polls also indicate that the candidate who came third in voting intentions for the first round, Francois Bayrou of the centrist UDF party, would beat either Mr Sarkozy or Ms Royal if he made it to the run-off.

Count me in as one who admires her demeanour, her presence but sadly, that alone is not going to make her president, for these reasons:

1] She's a political lightweight with no real agenda although she's tried to rectify that. Can you see her in negotiations with North Korea and China, getting the better of them? With Cheney or the Taliban?

2] She has loopy ideas based on some sort of vague, PC, love-everyone niceness, which brings us to the next point:

3] She's too nice, too naïve. Of course she's a clever woman who knows how to get what she wants but her comment about the UMP's dirty tactics is the comment of a schoolgirl, which is really how many view her. Too pretty for power.

4] There's Sarkozy. Disliked and distrusted by many, he's still a hardened campaigner who knows where it's at. Everyone in France, deep down, knows that.

[iran] russia's bane

The Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran is an embarrassment for Russia. They're claiming that the project might be delayed because of non-payment for work done but as the UN Security Council deadline is due to expire on Wednesday for Iran to stop the enrichment of uranium, this may be the real reason.

Looked at strategically, would it suit Russia's book to have a nuclear power, with madmen at the button, right on her doorstep? It's bad enough having the Americans encroaching into Europe. Russia has some serious thinking and hard talking to do before half this year is out.

[warning] notice to dearieme and dsquared

Gentlemen, you are firmly in my sights and I'm collecting material. Blogfriends and readers - please help out with any juicy dearieme or dsquared snippet you've come across. Please, please send it to me - e-mail is near the top of my left sidebar. Here is a trailer from Stumbling and Mumbling, one of their regular haunts:

Surely the answer is, by raising the benefits replacement ratio (this is my big point of disagreement with your Citizen's Basic Income proposal - it means that there is, for practical purposes, a cap on the replacement ratio at quite a low level, which institutionalises this sort of power relationship).
Posted by:
dsquared February 19, 2007 at 03:19 PM

"The firm pays above-average wages": the bastards - is there no trick to which these capitalist swine will not stoop? So if you take this generous offer, you might worry a bit that you might find it hard to keep this job or replace it. But experience probably suggests that a CV bearing just such a job on it is probably the best passport to another such job. 'Nothing succeeds like success' as they used to say.
Posted by:
dearieme February 19, 2007 at 06:34 PM

I wonder if they ever look at this blog.

[guest bloggers] a breath of fresh air

Tom Paine, at The Last Ditch, has suggested some 'guest blogging'. I think the idea would be great and yet there are clearly issues here, many of which are starting to be discussed over at Blogpower. My thoughts are:

1] How many do you invite? There might be 12 people you'd love to see at your site but the moment you start with three, as I have, inviting Tom himself, Lady Ellee and Mr. Eugenides, then others may well feel miffed. The solution is to invite more the following week and hope that your guest posts within the week.

2] A blog is like a person's home and the guest is just that. You have your own style - ranter, 'issue discusser in depth', 'short grab poster' or 'long piece devotee'. You might be a historian and she's in PR. You might be a swearer and he's not. Clearly, the styles must match at least to a small degree.

3] The guest might feel reticent for a number of reasons.

# Firstly, your blog is below his or hers in the pecking order and it is descending for him or her to post on your site. It would also brand him or her as a consorter with the 'little people'.
# Secondly, there is the time factor. To do your host justice, and a guest blogger would wish to do that, it takes time, research and thought.
# Thirdly, it cramps your style - you can never let loose as you would on your own blog although that is precisely what the host is hoping for.

4] Then there is the question of editing. I was edited almost out of existence by one host and the piece never appeared. I think if you invite a guest, then you trust that person enough to recognize the style of your blog and you do the same in reverse. As a libertarian, I think it's outrageous to edit another person's work and yet I don't know how many c--ts and f--ks I'd like to see on my site, as it's read by many from my town here.

Anyway, it's worth a try.

Monday, February 19, 2007

[avalanche] what you should do in one

How are you for avalanches over there, after the weekend tragedies?


"A cascade of avalanche-related deaths hit Utah on Saturday as snowmobilers and skiers traveled into the backcountry for a long Presidents Day weekend."


The USDA Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center Web site at www.avalanche.org/~uac/ offers these tips:

* Venture onto slopes one at a time, leaving someone in a safe spot. Split large groups and stay in visual and voice contact.

* Plan an escape route. What will you do if you trigger a slide?

* Use slope cuts. Keep up your speed and cut across the starting zone, so that if you do trigger an avalanche, momentum can carry you off the moving slab into safer terrain.

* Watch for cornices and give them a wide berth. Never walk to the edge of a drop-off without first checking it out.

* Look for alternatives: Follow ridges, thick trees and slopes with safer consequences. You can usually go back the way you came.

* If there's no other choice, go underground. You can almost always weather a bad storm or bad avalanche conditions by digging a snow cave in a protected area. You may be uncomfortable, but you will be alive.

So if you're in London, Edinburgh or maybe Adelaide, you'll know what to do.

[notice] well, the blog's sort of back

Hello again. I'm sort of back but everything's everywhere, like shifting house. Thank you to the people who sent kind wishes - they were much appreciated.

The technician was here seven hours today, [I had very tolerant clients], and finally he made it all work after the fan blew out and one of the boards melted. We had to buy new components but it turned out fine.

Just before he left and as I was getting ready to go to the Ministry, he went to the bathroom, twisted the tap handle off and water went everywhere. It's now off at the mains. This is tomorrow's job and I'll do the car the next day.

The plan is to be back and visiting tomorrow and putting together a Blogfocus. This evening I'll have to come out of the net and arrange all the components in their right places. By the way, I'm now in Beta or whatever has superseded it. This equally applies to DTB.

Have a lovely evening and see you guys tomorrow.