[air travel] fighting for those vital inches in cattle class

One of the four reasons I stay put over here is this: a study for the Consumer Associations' Holiday Which? magazine found that Britain's second biggest package holiday firm, Airtours, had the most cramped seating arrangements on long haul trips. On an Airtours flight [to Sydney], the seat offered was just 16.2 inches wide and had a backrest of only 28 inches width. An entertaining article by Rob Woodburn of The Age [link lost, sorry] then addressed the issue: to what extent are you prepared to fight for your in-flight rights? During my recent visit to Canada I read … about the lanky Ira Goldman and his battle with the airlines, in 2003, over his canny invention Knee Defenders, hard plastic devices that you wedge between your lowered food tray and the back of the seat in front, to stop it reclining. What struck me was not only the vehemence of many of the commenters but that the comments went on for page after page after page. Clearly it was an issue which touched the heart. More here.

[bitta kulcha] dark blognagar

Away ye gay blogosphere, ye gardens of roses;
In you let the minions of Mad Blogger rove;
Restore me my blog where the published piece reposes:
To distraction, not just me, Mad Blogger drove.
Yet US and UK, dear are thy readers;
Within their fine minds, thoughts unfettered breeze;
Tho' cataracts foam, 'stead of smooth flowing fountains,
We sigh for the day we can republish with ease.

[blair in iraq] entrenched position killed debate

A poster calling himself JT wrote: If reaction is kept to purely a debate, then we can achieve our goal. The trouble is that inflammatory remarks and entrenched positions do not tend to lead to a debate. They tend to lead to arguments and character attacks. He then proceeded: What is inflammatory about what you wrote? Dot, dot, dot. Which was inflammatory. The much vilified Bill Clinton said: The biggest problem confronting the world today is the illusion that our differences matter more than our common humanity. That's what's driving the terrorism. Clinton’s tactic was: Gentlemen, the differences are well documented; now let’s find the common ground. Didn’t work. Chris Dillow would abolish parties and I agree, asking how much further can we subdivide and splinter within the parties to illustrate our differences? In Project Muse it was said: The risk of defending entrenched positions is that one’s ego becomes overly invested in the endeavour. Nowhere is this illustrated better than in Blair’s knee jerk entry into Iraq but it wasn’t only ego at stake here – it was the belonging to the club, to the alliance and the alliance expecting certain things and holding him to certain positions, contrary to his actual interests. Continues here.

[gop] heart in the mid-west

Republicans will hold their 2008 presidential convention in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, choosing a location in the politically pivotal Midwest, GOP officials said Wednesday.

[etiquette] being a gentleman is unnecessary today

The vocal mouthpieces for women - the feministi - have stated that women now have no further need for men; which is fine, as it also frees men of the necessity of observing the laws of chivalry. How many of these antediluvian precepts for men can now be thrown out?

1 Always be polite Even if you don't like someone, there is no need to lower yourself to his level. Show that you're the better man.

2 Never swear It shows that you don't have the vocabulary to express your thoughts appropriately.

3 Do not speak loudly It always implies that you can't reason with people. It also draws negative attention.

Check the other 14 and my vote on which to throw out is at the end.

[education] 3 questions which have stumped intellectuals the world over

1. What is the most useless company in the world:
a. BBC
b. Blogger
c. Blogger

2. Complete the expression - as useless as:
a. Blogger
b. Ming
c. Blogger

3. The greatest conspiracy the world has seen is:
a. George Bush's cunning gas plan ahead of mid-term elections
b. Blogger
c. Blogger

[bitta kulcha] higham’s soliloquy

To post, or not to post: that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous Blogger or to take arms against a sea of endless loops and by pressing Republish, end them? To waste hours idly looping, to sleep no more while Blogger refuses to f---ing publish; and by a sleep, to say we end the heart-ache, knowing the bloody thing never got posted when it said it did, wot; and the thousand natural shocks that the computer is heir to, 'tis a consummation devoutly not to be wish'd upon any fellow blogger.

[oil&gas] a little disingenuous from the west

"Energy security" in the form of long-term supply contracts cuts both ways now that Russia has changed the rules so that suppliers as well as consumers enjoy security. This is the glittering jewel in Russia's crown, but its beauty may be lost on Western consumers used to calling the shots. - W. Joseph Stroupe [Asia Times]. On the other hand, how can you blame Russia? If Britain struck a virtually limitless seam in the North Sea and could call the shots on price, would it not do that? Wouldn't it be its bounden duty to its citizens to do that? And the US, say in the Gulf of Mexico? Can you say the US wouldn't play hardball, that it would play Mr. Altruistic? This is infrastructure which we're talking here. I find it quite hypocritical to hear complaints about Russia maximizing its advantage to the edge. And the difference is - here there's not a lot else to fall back on.

[tim worstall] entrepeneur, free marketeer and blogfather

There are those who would say that it takes an economist to adequately assess a fellow economist and for any assessment to carry weight, the writer should have at least a nodding acquaintance with the Duhem-Quine thesis and the theory of volatility. There are those who would say that it is more refreshing and less incestuous to write from the sidelines and in my case, there’s no choice. We all have our rails we run on and to carry the analogy further, those rails often lead in diverse directions. They might even put us into adversarial positions … Follow this link to read this article on Tim Worstall.

[in brief] thought for the day

All tragedies are ended by a death; all comedies are ended by a marriage; the future states of both are left to faith. [1824?]