The televised debates have brought all this sharply into focus. The gloating, self-satisfaction of the TV crowd is so palpable, and somehow, so pathetic.
words, pictures, quotes and found musings
The televised debates have brought all this sharply into focus. The gloating, self-satisfaction of the TV crowd is so palpable, and somehow, so pathetic.
In 2007, Islington Council issued a parking ticket to one of its own vehicles. The department receiving the ticket disputed the validity of the Penalty Charge Notice and appealed against the fine. The council declined the appeal so the department took the case to the Parking Adjudicator. At this stage, the council submitted no evidence so the ticket was cancelled. The department that appealed the ticket then applied to have their costs reimbursed. The bewildered Adjudicator did not award costs, saying: "The legal status of the two parties in this appeal amounted to one and the same.
what a gem!
More than 100 jobs at the British Council are to be outsourced to India as part of a massive cost-cutting drive to save the taxpayer money, The Times has learnt.
Ironic really.
(via Dialogue Box 3.8: Fake finger fools fingerprint reader - at ZDNet.co.uk)
How to render the governments £6bn ID Card project useless
UK spends billions on high-tech IDs, forgets to buy card readers by Devin Coldewey on February 5, 2009
This has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve heard in a long time. The UK has spent £4.4 billion ($6.6bn US) on a controversial high-tech National Identity Card scheme for the whole country. The card, intended to be issued to government workers first and the general population soon after, would include biometric information such as facial scanning data and fingerprints, encoded onto the card. Sounds great if you’re into the whole Big Brother thing — but they forgot one thing. No police or border station, to say nothing of licensing and job centers, has a machine capable of reading the damn things.
Incredibly, they neglected to include in the budget the absolutely necessary counterpart to the card: the card reader. Like an inexperienced shopper who buys a digital camera but not a computer to view the pictures on, they are now in possession of a far-reaching and complete ID tracking solution that they can in no way use. What a boondoggle!
The official word is that the reader rollout may cost taxpayer money (brilliant, Sherlock) and is not really being pursued that actively. While it would make sense to get a few IDs out there first and then follow up with the readers after six months, perhaps, that was not at all included in the budget and in fact the readers’ manufacturers haven’t been convinced it’s “worth their while” to make the things.
Sure, it’s nowhere near the scale of the national facepalm called the Bailout here in the US, but the foolishness on display here is just staggering (via UK spends billions on high-tech IDs, forgets to buy card readers )
Larry Lessig says the law is strangling creativity | Video on TED.com
A great talk on a fascinating subject. Brilliant example of how to use slides to emphasis your main subject.
Nik is pondering life in his mid-30's and is fearing that his parents might have been right all the time.
During his ever increasing years he has discovered
*that short hair is better than long
*Thai food is funky
*Your kids only pretend to like your music.
*You can never have enough gadgets
*Jean-Paul Sartre was right
*Gardening and DIY are boring
*The Velvet Underground were the greatest band ever. Period!
