Monday, December 06, 2004
Good Gifts
Wonder if my nephews will thank me if I buy a goat for some Africans instead of fighting my way through the wild-eyed desperate Hamleys hordes to get them some overpriced plastic Thunderbirds toy for their Christmas.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Friday, December 03, 2004
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Neighbourhood Statistics
Home owners - enter your postcode at Neighbourhood Statistics to find out the truth about your council ward!
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
Geeks Grants
Geeks - sorry, Pro Ams - make a positive contribution to society and should receive Govt funding to pursue their hobbies, according to Demos.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
You know you're a bit homesick for Scotland...
...when you find yourself looking at travel webcams for the central belt's road network. Ahh, the Newbridge Roundabout...
Friday, November 26, 2004
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Pub Tonight?
Are we still up for it? I'll probably be there closer to 7, but see you there. Think Tom's on childcare duties.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Christmas Threatened by Ukraine Unrest
I hope Santa sorts out the electoral chaos in Ukraine in time to deliver presents to all the children...
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
The Man Who Fell Asleep
Met this depressed and boring bloke at a party last week. Turns out he's a genius - check out his blog
Monday, November 22, 2004
No Blogo
Naomi Klein's websites recommendations: www.democracynow.org, iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk, empirenotes.org.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mastering the race
Nature reports that apparently humans are the shape they are because they're good at long distance running. Don't know what happened to me.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Election result maps
In case you haven't had enough yet, these election result maps redraw the red and blue states according to population density, county level constituencies, electoral college, shades of purple etc.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Monday, November 01, 2004
Following up on a couple of earlier posts...
Further to the ancient bittorrent discussion, I've just discovered uknova.com which links to torrents of British TV and radio media. They've got the first two episodes of "The Power of Nightmares" (I can put them up on fitzroytuesday.homelinux.net if anyone's wanting them for conventional download). Terry Jones Medieval Lives series plus loads of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue also available - fantastic!
Also, my Neal Stephenson posting spurred me toward buying "Quicksilver." Amazon delivered end of last week - started reading it immediately and it is astoundingly good, can't recommend it highly enough etc.
Also, my Neal Stephenson posting spurred me toward buying "Quicksilver." Amazon delivered end of last week - started reading it immediately and it is astoundingly good, can't recommend it highly enough etc.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Monday, October 25, 2004
Saturday, October 23, 2004
MP3 players
I'm thinking of buying one, preferably with quite a lot of storage capacity, but not too bulky. I know that a lot of techie-minded people are very anti-ipod, but what do they recommend instead? Anyone know?
Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004
Entertaining piece by Hunter S Thompson in Rolling Stone, apparently written during the optimistic blip following Kerry's debate wins: Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004.
Excerpts:
When young Bush was at Yale in the Sixties, he told the same joke over and over again for two years, according to some of his classmates. One of them still remembers it:
There was a young man named Green
Who invented a jack-off machine
On the twenty-third stroke
The damn thing broke
And churned his nuts into cream.
"It was horrible to hear him tell it," said the classmate, who spoke only on condition of anonymity. He lifted his shirt and showed me a scar on his back put there by young George. "He burned this into my flesh with a red-hot poker," he said solemnly, "and I have hated him ever since. That jackass was born cruel. He burned me in the back while I was blindfolded. This scar will be with me forever."
There is nothing new or secret about that story. It ran on the front page of the Yale Daily News and caused a nasty scandal for a few weeks, but nobody was ever expelled for it. George did his first cover-up job. And he liked it...
BULLETIN
KERRY WINS GONZO ENDORSMENT; DR. THOMPSON JOINS DEMOCRAT IN CALLING BUSH "THE SYPHILLIS PRESIDENT"
"Four more years of George Bush will be like four more years of syphilis," the famed author said yesterday at a hastily called press conference near his home in Woody Creek, Colorado. "Only a fool or a sucker would vote for a dangerous loser like Bush," Dr. Thompson warned. "He hates everything we stand for, and he knows we will vote against him in November."
Thompson, long known for the eerie accuracy of his political instincts, went on to denounce Ralph Nader as "a worthless Judas Goat with no moral compass."
"I endorsed John Kerry a long time ago," he said, "and I will do everything in my power, short of roaming the streets with a meat hammer, to help him be the next President of the United States."
Excerpts:
When young Bush was at Yale in the Sixties, he told the same joke over and over again for two years, according to some of his classmates. One of them still remembers it:
There was a young man named Green
Who invented a jack-off machine
On the twenty-third stroke
The damn thing broke
And churned his nuts into cream.
"It was horrible to hear him tell it," said the classmate, who spoke only on condition of anonymity. He lifted his shirt and showed me a scar on his back put there by young George. "He burned this into my flesh with a red-hot poker," he said solemnly, "and I have hated him ever since. That jackass was born cruel. He burned me in the back while I was blindfolded. This scar will be with me forever."
There is nothing new or secret about that story. It ran on the front page of the Yale Daily News and caused a nasty scandal for a few weeks, but nobody was ever expelled for it. George did his first cover-up job. And he liked it...
BULLETIN
KERRY WINS GONZO ENDORSMENT; DR. THOMPSON JOINS DEMOCRAT IN CALLING BUSH "THE SYPHILLIS PRESIDENT"
"Four more years of George Bush will be like four more years of syphilis," the famed author said yesterday at a hastily called press conference near his home in Woody Creek, Colorado. "Only a fool or a sucker would vote for a dangerous loser like Bush," Dr. Thompson warned. "He hates everything we stand for, and he knows we will vote against him in November."
Thompson, long known for the eerie accuracy of his political instincts, went on to denounce Ralph Nader as "a worthless Judas Goat with no moral compass."
"I endorsed John Kerry a long time ago," he said, "and I will do everything in my power, short of roaming the streets with a meat hammer, to help him be the next President of the United States."
My Life As A Morrisons Employee
Fascinating. My Life As A Morrisons Employee. Sample quote: "it's christmas here at Morrisons and has been since the 3rd September".
Friday, October 22, 2004
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
reminder about tonight's telly
The Power of Nightmares
BBC2
Wed 20 Oct, 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm 60mins
Baby It's Cold Outside
In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares. The most frightening of these is the threat of an international terror network. But just as the dreams weren't true, neither are these nightmares.
This series shows dramatically how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media. At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neoconservatives and the radical Islamists. Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. These two groups have changed the world but not in the way either intended. Together they created today's nightmare vision of an organised terror network. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful.
The rise of the Politics of Fear begins in 1949 with two men whose radical ideas would inspire the attack of 9/11 and influence the neoconservative movement that dominates Washington. Both these men believed that modern liberal freedoms were eroding the bonds that held society together. The two movements they inspired set out, in their different ways, to rescue their societies from this decay. But in an age of growing disillusion with politics, the neoconservatives turned to fear in order to pursue their vision. They would create a hidden network of evil run by the Soviet Union that only they could see. The Islamists were faced by the refusal of the masses to follow their dream and began to turn to terror to force the people to 'see the truth'.
BBC2
Wed 20 Oct, 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm 60mins
Baby It's Cold Outside
In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares. The most frightening of these is the threat of an international terror network. But just as the dreams weren't true, neither are these nightmares.
This series shows dramatically how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organised terrorist network is an illusion. It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media. At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neoconservatives and the radical Islamists. Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. These two groups have changed the world but not in the way either intended. Together they created today's nightmare vision of an organised terror network. A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful.
The rise of the Politics of Fear begins in 1949 with two men whose radical ideas would inspire the attack of 9/11 and influence the neoconservative movement that dominates Washington. Both these men believed that modern liberal freedoms were eroding the bonds that held society together. The two movements they inspired set out, in their different ways, to rescue their societies from this decay. But in an age of growing disillusion with politics, the neoconservatives turned to fear in order to pursue their vision. They would create a hidden network of evil run by the Soviet Union that only they could see. The Islamists were faced by the refusal of the masses to follow their dream and began to turn to terror to force the people to 'see the truth'.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Guardian Clark County campaign
Tom - prepare to do no work for the next few hours: 'What WERE you thinking?'
The Guardian's (pretty misjudged) letter-writing campaign gets big Blog reaction.
The Guardian's (pretty misjudged) letter-writing campaign gets big Blog reaction.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Thursday, October 14, 2004
Team America
Have you heard about this new puppet action movie from the South Park guys. It's either going to be hilarious or absolutely terrible (he says, hedging his bets).
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Cornwall
Back last night from a few days in St Mawes, Cornwall. St Mawes is fantastic - stayed courtesy these people who I can highly recommend. Enjoyed the Lost Gardens of Heligan v. much - my holiday snaps are up at http://johnmain.fotopic.net.
New Onion Out
I quite like Cheney vows to attack America if Kerry elected. Also, has anyone noticed that the people in the BBC news site's 'Voters Views' panel look strangely like the vox pop panel on the Onion?
Friday, October 08, 2004
More music...
...for the rest of you... ;)
Actually, I had to get Quicktime to play this, and realised how much I hated the damn program. So, if you're sick of Quicktime and Realplayer being just generally crap, go to this site and get Real Alternative and Quicktime Alternative. You won't regret it (this is assuming you've got Windows).
Actually, I had to get Quicktime to play this, and realised how much I hated the damn program. So, if you're sick of Quicktime and Realplayer being just generally crap, go to this site and get Real Alternative and Quicktime Alternative. You won't regret it (this is assuming you've got Windows).
Classical music
I know John is a refined man who'll appreciate some fine classical music, so this site is for him...
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Monday, October 04, 2004
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power
Excellent - hope this one takes off: How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power.
Homage to Gaudi splits community
Anyone else seen this interesting storefront up Muswell Hill way? Personally I'm not sure if the style makes the Catalonia - North London transfer that successfully...
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Guardian Unlimited | Life | Guardian life bad science
bad science - inspired by John's dirty bomb debunking...
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Blogger templates
I've revisited some of the blog settings - there's now a title field for posts and I've enabled the new "official" blogger comments rather than the third party system that was in place.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Shameless lift from the popbitch mailout. Definitely worth watching though - I deliberately avoided the drama thing last week...
Radiation bombs are a government fantasy
Last week’s BBC drama about a dirty
bomb in London has helped keep everyone
terrified about terrorism.
But a forthcoming documentary shows that
dirty bombs are actually a fantasy. The
Americans should know: the CIA tried for
years to make one, before realising that
blowing up radioactive material won't hurt
anyone. Radioactive dust disperses so
quickly you'd need to be exposed to it
for about a year before any real
damage occurred.
The documentary, The Power Of Nightmares,
shows how politicians are using fake stories
like the dirty bomb to keep people scared,
and themselves in power. It also demonstrates
that the claim that Al-Qaeda is a global,
hidden, terror network is also a myth.
So what channel is this BBC-debunking
documentary showing on? Er, BBC2.
The Power Of Nightmares. BBC2, 20th October, 9pm.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Quite interesting perspective on fallout from Iraq war from a pretty right wing perspective. Though, like a lot of these wankers, he seems to have conveniently forgotten how up for it he was 18 months ago.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
I've enabled my webserver to serve content from user directories (ie http://fitzroytuesday.homelinux.net/~mainj/test.html) - drop me a line if you want some free webspace!
Saturday, September 25, 2004
This is quite good - Purple States. Shows republican/democrat vote distribution not as red and blue states but as different shades of purple. Trouble is, i'm too colourblind and can't tell with any certainty which ones were for bush and which ones for gore (it's based on last time round I think).
Friday, September 24, 2004
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Monday, September 13, 2004
idokorro mobile : Blackberry and Nokia SSH Telnet & Wireless Windows Administration. This is extraordinarily cool. Shame it's not free ;-)
Sunday, September 12, 2004
new webserver back up online - had a few technical probs with the old platform so have moved to Redhat Fedora 2.0 running on a different machine. this new setup should be a lot more stable (fingers crossed) so should be able to start doing stuff with it this week. not sure what though...
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Friday, September 10, 2004
Why we're all doomed: Republican Voters Speak Out About Bush, Iraq War. Don't be fooled by that misleading title into thinking they're all speaking out against the war.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
This seems to be the best poll website for the US elections. As with everything in that country, all of the polls and sites are highly partisan and biased, but this one seems pretty reasonable.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
A friend of mine runs this very good short stories website. Well worth checking out - he is almost earning enough from advertising revenues to give up his IT job.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Couple of good ones from the education guardian email newsletter - the multi-disciplinary environmental MA at Oxford, and the maths problem that would render internet encryption useless.
Monday, September 06, 2004
By the way, the reason I can't go next Tuesday is that I'm going to this IPPR Vote USA event, if anybody fancies it.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
One of the world's greatest unsung heroes? | Metafilter This is very interesting, never heard about this before. There's a *fantastic* Einstein quote just over half way down the thread...
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Retro vs. Metro - the Great Divide, why the retro states, representing a third of the population and standing for reactionary political values, run America instead of the more progressive, liberal metro ones.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Fitzrovian Tuesdanians - do you fancy coming along to this?
How To Get Published - September 15
Colin and I have been involved in putting it together, and could do with all the support we can get. It should be a genuinely decent event, with food and drink and literary chat. You don't have to come for the whole afternoon, but the evening networking should be good.
How To Get Published - September 15
Colin and I have been involved in putting it together, and could do with all the support we can get. It should be a genuinely decent event, with food and drink and literary chat. You don't have to come for the whole afternoon, but the evening networking should be good.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Friday, August 27, 2004
Webserver: progress report
Locking down security is progressing well - should be internet ready by end of the bank holiday if I can devote a few more hours to it.
Next steps will be to setup user accounts and access rights for individual users (if anyone is interested). Can then offer free webhosting plus PHP and MySQL access, and start thinking about setting up a more sophisticated blog.
Could also start thinking about acquiring a proper domain name - I reckon fitzroviantuesdays.com will come in at ~ $25 per year. This would allow me to set up a mail server on another machine for username@fitzroviantuesdays.com addresses...
Locking down security is progressing well - should be internet ready by end of the bank holiday if I can devote a few more hours to it.
Next steps will be to setup user accounts and access rights for individual users (if anyone is interested). Can then offer free webhosting plus PHP and MySQL access, and start thinking about setting up a more sophisticated blog.
Could also start thinking about acquiring a proper domain name - I reckon fitzroviantuesdays.com will come in at ~ $25 per year. This would allow me to set up a mail server on another machine for username@fitzroviantuesdays.com addresses...
Life is too short
My friend's doing the marketing for this great ormond street fundraising campaign. They hope the webpage will spread virally - but it revolves around people getting sponsored to wear jeans to work (?!?) - and most people I know can do that anyway. Most of their supporters are middle aged women, so if you know anyone suitable, please visit the page and forward on the link. Ta.
My friend's doing the marketing for this great ormond street fundraising campaign. They hope the webpage will spread virally - but it revolves around people getting sponsored to wear jeans to work (?!?) - and most people I know can do that anyway. Most of their supporters are middle aged women, so if you know anyone suitable, please visit the page and forward on the link. Ta.
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