On the wrong planet

The Artist - a must see

2012-01-14T09:50:00.000-08:00

In the late nineteen-twenties a newspaperpublishes a picture of heart-throb silent screen star George Valentin (JeanDujardin) being kissed by Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). The young aspiringPeppy has yet to embark on her career in the new "talkies" but in atouching subsequent encounter in George's dressing room, he gives her a gift. It is the idea of how to make herself memorable and stand out from theother actresses: quite simply, that she should always wear a beauty spot. This is alove story, powered by the ambition and gratitude of Peppy, overcoming thepride George.

George refusesto adapt to the new talkies medium and this soon puts him into decline, losinghis wife, wealth and self-esteem. Peppy, now wealthy but living alone in hergiant mansion, does not forget him and ... well you'll have to watch thisbrilliant film to find out what happens.

Whilst deploying all the modern techniques of modern cinemaproduction: camera angles, editing and production, this film cleverly exploitsthe recursive device of being produced in square aspect ratio black and whitesilent movie format. Reminding us how powerful and expressive silentmovies can be, this emphasises Georges dilemma: why do we need the talkieswhen the silent movie offers all that is needed. The story is told for the mostpart from the facial expressions of the actors with a whit and elegance farmore sophisticated than the standards of the 1920, it must be said, but theconstraints of the medium do not prevent the heart-warming story from burstingthrough with an impact that defies the budgets of so many modern films.

I suspect that this film is not the start of a new genre but willnever-the-less be remembered alongside many seminal cinematographic experiments.

Kodak - don't you love them

2011-12-05T12:20:00.001-08:00

Genuine Dialogue with Kodak on-line chat support

Dinesh Raghuram: Welcome to Kodak, my name is Dinesh Raghuram. Please wait while I review your question.Trevor Smith: OKDinesh Raghuram: Could you please elaborate the issue you are facing with the printer? Trevor Smith: Printing a document that is double sided, so I print 20 copies of the first side. Then I turn the paper round and try to print on the other side. Now that the paper has ink on one side, the sheet feed often (not always) does not pick up the paper. If I get a Tray empty error, I push the paper into the feeder one sheet at a time, but then I eventually don't get a proper print. Only one half of the second page is printedDinesh Raghuram: Okay. Dinesh Raghuram: Have you tried taking a single document printed? Trevor Smith: Sorry, I don't understandDinesh Raghuram: Please clean the printhead and then print a test page. Dinesh Raghuram: And please review the printed test page. Trevor Smith: OK, have cleaned heads, replaced both ink cartridges and successfully printed test page. Printing is perfect. It lists 5 errors for earlier today: one is code 3517, then four are code 3502 Dinesh Raghuram: Okay. Dinesh Raghuram: Now I think there is no paper jam in your printer. Dinesh Raghuram: Am I right? Trevor Smith: The jam only occurs when I put paper in the printer that has been printed on one side alreadyDinesh Raghuram: Okay.

Planning Law Changes Set to Ruin Countryside

2011-09-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

Last year we visited Ireland and toured the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle peninsular, and then up to Galway and Connemara. In so many beautiful places one thing that stuck me was that so often the skyline was littered with houses. The Irish love to paint their houses, indeed it seems almost obligatory. But this does mean that when ill positioned they so easily spoil beautiful countryside. And so many are ill positioned.

Ireland’s planning regulations are much less stringent that those in the UK and this ruin of beautiful areas of countryside is the consequence. Once housing has been established, it will never be removed.

The government’s proposed new framework on planning regulations streamlines more than 1,000 pages of policy into just 52. One important change is to put decisions into the hands of new local groups. But a YouGov poll, commissioned by the National Trust, found that few people were aware of the government’s proposals to dilute the planning laws radically, and even fewer had the inclination to address planning issues in their local area. Developers will, for sure, find it easier to pressure these new local groups to approve their plans. The well practiced planning departments in local government already know how developers will pester until they get what they want.

Please support the National Trust campaign to get the current government to re-think the changes they are making to UK planning regulations by signing up to their petition.

Best Steak Frites in London

2011-08-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

French style restaurant chain Chez Gerard offers the exciting rooftop location opposite The Royal Opera House in a beautiful Grade II listed building on the Covent Garden Piazza. This unique al fresco first floor balcony takes you to another world; even though in London you feel as though you are transported to an exotic French ambience.

I had the Steak Frites from the prix fixe menu and was not disappointed. I know there are reports of poor service (see the review sites) but after breaking past the initial French arrogance of our intense waiter, actually service was very good. I used my daring French (“merci Monsieur”) and ordered my steak rare. Maybe that was enough for our waiter to feel more kindly disposed to us

In a Better World

2011-08-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

With a comprehendable story, superb cinematography, brilliant acting and a deep moral message, this film should not be missed. Avoiding use of any of the familiar film cliches and with everyone behaving as you might expect, "In a Better World" examines human conflict and violence from a supremely balanced and mature perspective. You are eased into understanding how people react the way they do, based on their experience and background - how in one environment (wealthy Denmark) the rules subtly differ from another harsher place (Sudan). So often we see what we believe to be extreme situations in our own comparatively safe western culture, we forget what life can be like for others. The simple device of contrasting conflict in Sudan with that of two Danish school boys, powerfully allows us to unpick the motives and feelings of the participants. In one case a local war lord will cut open the bellies of young pregnant women in order to settle a bet as to the sex of their children. In reality the conflicts created by a school bully and the mildly violent dominance of a protective father pale into insignificance by comparison, but the violence in both the Sudan and Denmark stem from the same flaws in human nature. In a better world we could all live peacefully, but in the meantime the world plays out its bitter story.

Black Lion in Long Melford - Special Recommendation

2011-08-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

A genuine Georgian dining room overlooking Long Melford village green is an ideal location for a most enjoyable Sunday lunch; this hotel restaurant, frequented by celebrities and literally a stone's throw from the delightful NT property of Melford Hall, provides attentive personal service, waist-line worthy portions (without being over-powering) and superb cooking. I thoroughly recommend this as part of a day out to deepest Suffolk.

Monsters – the War on Terror Re-analysed

2010-12-10T21:15:00.001-08:00

Technically, Gareth Edwards movie "Monsters" breaks new ground in production methods and animation. It was shot on a shoestring budget in Guatemala and Mexico, with a professional actor cast of just two (Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy) using improvised dialog and extras hired in at each location. With Adobe Creative Suite to edit the film shot on a Sony EX3, Edward's visual effects engineer background allowed him personally to deliver all the "Monster" animation with five months of work; with 250 effects shots that is a phenomenal rate of 2 per day. The monsters were created with a software package called "3ds Max": "It was the hardest challenge of the whole film because I had never done proper creature animation before," says Edwards.
Edwards also wrote the script and this is what sets him apart from so much of the SF genre. Much of the film is an emotional journey between the principle characters, Kaulder, a news photographer and Able, who he is ordered to escort safely back home to the USA by her father who is also his boss. Various convincing mishaps result in their needing to cross the "infected zone," a route used only by the desperate. On another level, this is a movie about how real people might actually cope with an alien invasion. In northern Mexico, the locals have accepted life coexisting with the aliens: they are only dangerous when the US air force is delivering their chemical warfare over the infected zone. From the US perspective, the approach is containment and then destruction: a massive wall to defend the US border and then chemical attack.
Parallels with the war on terror and indeed the general approach of the Western world to any perceived threat, are disturbingly evident. When we encounter the aliens close up, however, we witness behaviour you might reasonably expect from humans. Yes they will destroy you if you shoot at them, but we also see inquisitiveness (tentacles touching a TV screen to try to understand it) and an encounter between two of the aliens that is evidence of a bond between them, maybe even love. Perhaps these aliens would be no threat to us if we only tried to understand them and treated them reasonably!

I'm afraid I did

2010-05-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

This is that moment: when David Cameron admits to Nick Clegg that he did say "Nick Clegg" in reply to the question "What is your favourite joke?" Need I say more?

Gillian Duffy

2010-04-29T20:04:00.001-07:00

It's very easy to criticise Gordon Brown's gaff captured by Sky News when he drove off with one of their microphones, but more respectable reporting would not spy on someone's private conversation in this way. I'm quite sure that any politician will have said equally damning things in private. In fact we all have. The real question for me is what did Gillian Duffy actually say. Here is a transcript:

"But there's too many people now who aren't vulnerable but they can claim and people who are vulnerable can't claim, can't get it.....You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you are ... But all these Eastern Europeans what are've comin in, where are they flocking from... And what are you going to do about students that are coming in now...."

Is this bigoted? Or to put it another way, do you think she would be a suitable recruit into our immigration department?

Three Ghosts for Your Money

2010-04-25T09:19:00.001-07:00

In Roman Polanski's film "The Ghost" (renamed "The Ghost Writer" when released in USA; presumably so that that particular audience would be able to understand the title), you get three ghosts. Based on Robert Harris' novel, the naive unnamed narrator is appointed to ghost write the memoirs of Adam Lang, ex-prime minister of the UK. Lang is taking refuge at the holiday home of his publisher, on Martha's Vineyard, whilst charges of war crimes are being levelled. Our second ghost is the previous ghost writer, Mike McAra, who drowned in suspicious circumstances following a row with Lang. The third ghost is the UK prime minister, who has ghost-written the justifications for invading Iraq, in support of the US president. This film has a worrying credible plot and a curious twist at the end. What was not credible to me was why our narrator would reveal what he discovers near the end of the story and so put himself in such jeopardy. A desire to show off your deductive powers for me would be outweighed by a desire to survive.

Tattoo Transcendence

2010-04-03T22:38:00.000-07:00

StiegLarsson’s bestselling thriller “The Girl withthe Dragon Tattoo,” was originally entitled “Men who hate Women,” and dividedcriticson the question: is this book feminist or misogynist? The filmdepicts the violence alarmingly accurately for UK audiences and whilst any entertainmentdepicting violence will always be condemned by some as indulgent, the sceneshere are truthful and informative. English speaking cinema has ratings chasingconventions about the depiction of violence that are intended to be slick butare now hackneyed. This film is refreshing in its honesty and has asatisfying story line: the misogynists get their come-uppance. I highlyrecommend it, but the 18 rating is there for good reason.

Death by Humiliation

2010-03-29T23:19:00.001-07:00

"In Memory of Myself" (2007) is based on a 1960 novel by Furio Monicelli, "The Perfect Jesuit" and is Saverio Costanzo's second film (his first film, Private, set in Palestine, won festival prizes). Monicelli experienced the novitiate directly, so this film carries the chance of authenticity. Set in the Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore on the Venetian island of San Giorgio, you enter a world the Catholic Church has devised for the selection of priests. Denied any personal relationships (fellow novices are trained to report private conversations) and humiliated in group sessions, it is surprising that any novices make it through the gruelling and austere process. "You are here to test the order and the order will test you" One incumbent is dying, but only allowed occasional visits from his family. Another is found banging his head against a wall in the middle of the night; he amongst others realise that this life, after all, is not for them, and leaves.
We see the novitiate through the eyes of Andrea (curiously Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore was designed by Andrea Palladio in the 16^th century). Andrea is tested to the extreme. "Who am I," exclaims Andrea tearfully in the chapel. "Why am I here?" The homily rota is changed, Andrea must produce his homily the next day and works all night to achieve this. Fellow novices decry his offering as lacking in love, insufficiently humble. Will Andrea leave as others have done, or will his conversion to a selfless state be completed?
As a piece of cinema, this work is unique, memorable, challenging and rewarding. The sound track itself provokes extreme contrasts between the mood of the music and the sombre timelessness of the monastery atmosphere. As an insight into Jesuit life, I suspect you will not find better. As a two hour journey away from normal life, it was an unforgettable experience.

Standby Surprise

2010-03-28T01:18:00.000-07:00

On the UK government "Act on CO2" website there is clear advice, which no one would disagree with: Don't leave it on standby
"If everyone in the UK switched off unused appliances it would save £800 million a year. Leaving appliances plugged in and switched on at the socket means they're still using energy – so turn TVs, games consoles and mobile phone chargers off at the mains to save yourself money."

This is self evident advice and easy to implement. Why would any one question it? Turning something off that you don't need will save energy and save the planet. But is it always true?

Here is a simple quiz question for all you energy gurus out there:
I go out for the evening and despite my usual vigilance I leave my phone charger switched on, my TV on standby, and (horror of horrors) an electric light on. The room is heated (it is winter) by an electric heater, which has a thermostat. So here is the question, does leaving the electrical devices on unnecessarily:

Use extra energy, contributing to my carbon footprint?
Make absolutely no difference to my energy consumption, but increase my carbon footprint?
Increase my energy consumption by the wattage of the devices left on, but make no difference to my carbon footprint?
Make no difference to either my energy consumption or my carbon footprint?
I need more information and need to thermally model your home and the insulation system on a computer before I can say.

So here is the surprise (for some people). If you want to be pedantic and very accurate, the answer is (5), but to a very close approximation, the answer is (4). The reason? Let me go over some very simple physics.

All these electrical devices convert the energy they use into heat (I'm assuming that the phone is not plugged into the charger so we are not converting any mains electrical energy into battery energy). Actually, conversion of electrical energy into heat energy happens at 100% efficiency for almost all electrical devices. The electric heater does the same. The thermostat on the heater does not know if the heat delivered to your room is from the heater or the other devices; it is all just heat. So whilst you are heating the room, the job of the thermostat is to maintain the room at a particular temperature. Everything else being equal, it will turn on the heater for slightly smaller periods of time to exactly compensate for the heat generated by the offending devices. The energy you use will be whatever is necessary to maintain the temperature difference between the outside and the chosen thermostat temperature inside. Which electrical device generates that heat does not matter. Obviously the thermal installation makes a massive difference and air flow from the outside through your room (a draft) is probably even more important. But the TV on standby makes no difference at all.

So why might answer (5) be important. We let us suppose that the phone charger is on the window sill, behind the curtains. It might then lose the heat it generates without contributing so much to the heating of the room. There would then be an argument for switching it off to save energy. I mention this only because there will be people who spot this and then claim that my argument is completely wrong. I will let you judge, on this.

Don't be complacent if you are in a hot climate with air conditioning running. Unfortunately the physics works the other way around in this case. Because air conditioning uses more energy than it shifts, the extra devices in your home now get multiplied by the efficiency of the air conditioning. A TV on standby using five watts now needs, maybe, another 5 watts of air conditioning to keep the room at the same thermostatically controlled temperature. And this will increase both your energy costs and your carbon footprint.

Murdoch Madness?

2010-03-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

Let’s get real here. All the main newspapers have invested in their web sites in order to maximise income. Murdoch is just the first to blink and pursue subscription in addition to advertiser income.

Look what happened in the airline industry. Three years ago you had to pay extra to do an on-line check-in with Ryan air. Now you get fined £40 if you don’t. In the meantime, all the check-in desks (and the people who staffed them) have disappeared. Similar cost savings will occur in the news industry, once the market can be moved to the low cost automated delivery of the web.

No Justice for Venables

2010-03-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

In order for Jon Venables toreceive justice, it was essential for him to remain anonymous and to be triedfor any new crime without his identity being revealed. Why do we even know, atthis stage, that he might have re-offended?

It seems to me that the veryrelease of the information that he is back in prison is itself a criminal actand not in the public interest. It has increased the likelihood ofhis jury knowing who he is, which will then prevent a trial at all, since hislawyers will rightly argue that he cannot be tried without his previous crimebeing known. This is being handled extremely badly.

In any case, it was decidedthat this 10-year-old killer should be given a second chance at life - but nowwe are reneging on that decision. Of course being in a young offenders prisonwill not have been the best rehabilitation anyone could receive, but is regrettablythe only one available.

The press are guilty ofstirring up the potential lynch mob here. We see interviews with Jamie Bulger'smother, who of course is totally distraught. But I am sorry, she has no moreright to know what is happening than any of us do. If we believe in thecriminal justice system, then its decisions need to be followed through and notflouted by a blood thirsty press. Yes, justice must be seen to be done, but letjustice be done first. The debate about how we treat a killer who was still atprimary school can come afterwards.

Jeffrey Archer - The Nearly Man

2010-03-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

Jeffrey Archer has a very wide range of talents: athlete, auctioneer, charity fund raiser, PE teacher, politician, celebrity (loved in Immingham, apparently), actor, convict and, of course, author. The Beetles visited Brasenose College, Oxford at his invitation in 1964 and Ringo Star is quoted as saying 'He strikes me as a nice enough fella, but he's the kind of bloke who would bottle your piss and sell it.'
Jeffrey Archer's original motivation for becoming an author was to repay massive debts of over £400,000 after investing in a company called Aquablast in 1974. His first novel, "Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less" was the success he needed to avoid bankruptcy. No one can deny him his story telling talent, he is always a good, if not demanding, read.
Archer, however, is the nearly man. His web site claims he ran 100 yards in 9.6 seconds in 1966; that's nearly the same as Usain Bolt dramatically breaking the 9.6 second barrier for 100 meters in Berlin in 2009. Archer nearly went to Wellington College (actually he went to Wellington School) and nearly went to Oxford, but with only three O'levels when he left school; it is true he did get a teaching qualification at Brasenose as a mature student. He was nearly prosecuted for insider trading when he made £77,000 profit on shares in Anglia Television, purchased for a friend and just before its takeover by MAI, whilst his wife was a director. He nearly got away with falsely suing the Daily Star for reporting that he slept with prostitute Monica Coghlan and we were all nearly convinced that he raised £57 million in his Simple Truth campaign for the Kurds although they received only about £250,000. John Major was convinced enough to recommend him for his peerage.
It is ironic, then, that Archer's novel "Paths of Glory" is based on the true story of George Mallory, who, along with Andrew Irvine, nearly got to the top of Everest in 1924; his body was discovered in 1999, only a few hundred meters from the summit. Mallory and Irvine may have preceded Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in reaching the summit by nearly 30 years; we will probably never know. There is a touching parallel here between Mallory and Archer; both gaining schooling by scholarship, both aspiring to climb to greater heights, be they social or mountainous. Both maybe not recognised for their true achievements. The story is embellished with minor conflicts about class and establishment behaviour, but fails to address the real passion of the mountaineer. Mallory is of course credited with the famous three word explanation for why you should climb a mountain: "because it's there."

Salinger's Message Still Apposite

2010-02-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

The death of J D Salinger (for some reason nobody calls him Jerome) on 27th January prompted me to read his one famous book, "The Catcher in the Rye," again. This book "had the dubious distinction of being at once the most frequently censored book across the nation and the second-most frequently taught novel in public high schools" (Yardley, Jonathan (2004-10-19). "J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-04-13.)
Holden Caulfield, 17, has been expelled from prestigious Pencey Prep and it is not the first time he has been expelled from a school. Action takes place over 48 hours starting when he decides to leave early, not wishing to face up to his parents' inevitable rebukes. He travels to New York and checks into a hotel, near where he lives. His experiences, include contact with old girl friends, an encounter with a prostitute (he is unable to follow this through) and the rescuing hand of his younger sister Phoebe.
The language, uniquely for its time, is that of the disaffected youth, struggling to make sense of the world; alienated, defensive, cynical, immoral. Holden, in a touching conversation with his sister (chapter 22) confesses that all he wants to do is "catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff." "I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all."
With authentic turn of phrase, no censorship of profanities, his opinions, presented in a stream of consciousness, are cutting, shocking and depressing. When you realise that this young man, with life's big puzzle yet to be solved, is simply telling you how it is for him, the world turns upside down, and you question the sanity of our culture and morals; the pretensions of the modern world; the expectations we try to live up to and mostly fail. Who is it who is having the nervous breakdown here. Is Holden's treatment by "the one psychoanalyst guy" helping him or breaking him in.

Superman Returns (2006)

2010-02-26T23:44:00.000-08:00

The original SUPERMAN and SUPERMAN II films of 1978 and 1980 were spectacular at the time for their special effects and heralded the Super Hero genre. Superman Returns (2006) updates the brand to our modern expectations of production quality, but is disjoint from the sequence. Events in Superman III and Superman IV are ignored and my disbelief received little encouragement to be suspended from the arrival of flat screen TVs and mobile phones only a few years after we had been in the 1930's comic book world of Metropolis. Brandon Routh was cast, I suspect, for his likeness to Christopher Reeve rather than for any charisma although Kate Bosworth fared well as a chirpy Lois Lane. In all perfectly serviceable cinema but it only reminds me of the original series rather than adding to it. No surprise, then that that Warner Bros. have the Superman franchise on hold.

Seek confidentiality or you will not get it

2010-02-25T22:33:00.001-08:00

“Where confidentiality is sought it is always given – unconditionally” – so says the home page of Christine Pratt’s web site for the National Bullying Helpline. I wonder if the “three or four” callers from No 10, of whom Christine Pratt speaks took the trouble to “seek confidentiality.” They certainly did not get it. How many staff are there in No 10 and how many of those might have made such a call. It is no wonder that Professor Cary Cooper, Ann Widdecombe and two other patrons have resigned. The charity has apparently “resumed service”, but I cannot see how it can continue whilst Mrs Pratt continues to be associated with it. Now that it emerges you are late filing your accounts at the Charity Commission, and you were alleged by Jane McGrath to be only ‘offering her "independent investigation services" at a considerable fee to my employer’, I think it is time for you to find another way of earning your living, Mrs Pratt.

Do we get the journalism we deserve?

2010-02-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

"The day the immigrants left" (BBC1, Feb 24^th 2010, 9:00 p.m.) is fascinating on several levels, but so excruciating that I could not watch it to the end. Where does the concept for a documentary like this come from and why do so many people want to watch it?

Let me take you back to the first production meeting. “What we need must appeal to all political strains: the right wing middle class need to see the workshy British reveal the attitudes that ensure they never hold down a job; right wing workers can relate to the BNP arguments voiced by the workshy; the socialists can grieve over the dilemma that the influx of immigrant workers creates and the would-be TV stars can relate to the workshy no-bodies getting their break on national TV.”

‘So what is the concept?’

‘We go to a town in the UK where there are lots of low wage jobs, a high immigrant population and high unemployment. Then we persuade some of the local employers to lay off some of their immigrant workers for a few days; put in some of the indigenous unemployed in their place; let the cameras role.’

‘But how are we going to recruit the workshy British to be on the program? What do we do when they realise we are humiliating them and they don’t turn up on set?’

‘That’s easy; we’ll just pretend that they didn’t turn up for the jobs. They probably don’t turn up for new jobs anyway, most of the time.’

I’m sorry, but there are both workshy and diligent people the world over. So of course pitting the most determined workers from Eastern Europe against the most pitiable you might hope to find amongst the UKs indigenous population never was a fair competition. Actually, it’s a blood sport. Not like cock fighting, where both sides are equal; more like fox hunting. And how we love a good blood sport!

Let’s just remember that the migrant workers in Wisbech are people who have had the foresight and determination to make a new life for themselves in a wealthier economy than theirs. They are also most probably the most skilled and conscientious at what they do from their background. They have crossed Germany and France to be here, countries incidentally that deny the people from the EU's new Accession states the right to work. If everyone in their own countries were like them, their economy would be stronger and they would not need to move.

Getting the many without jobs in the UK back into work is obviously a major problem. These days we shy away from concepts like “work ethic.” Many would say that the benefit system is less a safety net and more the cause of unemployment. But does journalism of this nature do anything to promote a UK work ethic, to help those struggling back into work? Does it help promote pride in being British, whatever your ethnic origins. No, its just cruel exploitation of gullible unemployed for our entertainment. Shame on you BBC!

Secrecy for Success

2009-07-18T03:46:00.001-07:00

War has always been as much about propaganda as it has about fighting. In the end, success is only achieved when you have won the hearts and minds of the vast majority on both sides. We are continuing to engage in a war in Afghanistan, a country that has been in continuous civil war since the late 1970s. This war started with Operation Enduring Freedom, a campaign to destroy the Al-Qaeda terrorist training camps inside Afghanistan, following the September 11^th US attacks in 2001. The Taliban government refused George W Bush's demand to turn over all resident Al-Qaeda members to the US and close all the terrorist training camps. Let us remember that the Taliban were overthrown in 2001 and a democratic government led by Hamid Karzi put in place. The freely elected National Assembly of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan includes women as voters, candidates and elected members. We have come a long way.

Afghanistan is a poor country, plagued with landmines, a massive illegal poppy cultivation and opium trade and new to the concept of democracy. The Western troops are now faced with an increasing Taliban presence, fighting back at the changes we have brought about. They continue to see a threat from the few remaining elements of Al-Qaeda. Recently, attacks on our troops have seen many casualties from road side bombs. This is very regrettable, but there is still a job to be done. If Western support was withdrawn at this stage, it would have only one consequence. All the bloodshed and sacrifice needed to achieve the toehold of democracy established in Afghanistan would be in vain.

Frank Skinner writes (in the Times): "It's not just about helicopters and the right kind of armoured car, is it? The problem is that we, as a nation, can't really do war any more." Our democratically elected government acting on our behalf embarked on this war. The least we can do is support them in the propaganda war that surrounds the whole affair. What I find almost unbelievable is why senior military personnel express publically any view on the adequacy of our helicopters and armoured cars. To question our capability is to question our ability to continue in Afghanistan, when popular opinion has withdrawal on the agenda. Whatever happened to secrecy and any awareness of the propaganda war involved here. Sitting in my Al-Qaeda bunker at the edge of my Taliban supported terrorist training camp, I am greatly encouraged to browse the internet via my satellite link and learn that Sir Jock Stirrup and Sir Richard Dannatt both find our helicopter fleet inadequate. Why do we even see reports on the success of the roadside bombs – surely that information itself should be kept secret.

Contrast this with another age: The Enigma code-breakers of Bletchley Park are finally to be honoured with commemorative badges. Crucial to our success in World War II and the continued establishment of democracy in Europe, this was an operation which depended on absolute secrecy. Indeed the identities of those involved have been kept secret for all this time. There is a lesson to learn there, it seems to me.

Security Barclaycard Style

2009-02-25T16:19:00.001-08:00

Trust is a fragile thing. I count myself as fortunate not to have knowingly been defrauded on the internet, but from all that I hear it is only a matter of time before it is my turn. Extra transactions on my credit card statement, a large transfer out of my current account or a complete identity theft. The spectrum of possibilities makes one edgy to say the least.

I am always aware of the dangers and whenever I do an on-line purchase, I pride myself that I might know enough about the methods of internet fraudsters not to be easily caught out. Today I was making an on-line purchase at work, using my company credit card. The personal risk is somewhat less, I suppose, but this did not make me any less wary. Having entered the card details and clicked the confirm button there was a very brief display saying transaction confirmed, or words to that effect, then the whole browser window was taken up by a "Verified by Visa" page (see below). So now I am being asked to enter my credit card details again, into what looks like a pop-up window. And this is for my own security? How am supposed to know if this is genuine or not? Why would they ask for the credit card details again?

So either this is a scam or, it seems to me that Barclaycard have got it very wrong!

The Darling Buds may not

2009-02-25T15:54:00.001-08:00

Alistair Darling is to offer guarantees of up to £600 billion to RBS and Lloyds Banking Group. He is asking them to lend out £40B to re-start the economy. Now let me get this right. UK GDP = £2800B, so that is more than a fifth of our gross domestic product that the Chancellor is gambling on our two biggest banks. To put it another way, that is nearly £10,000 for every man, woman and child in the UK. Hmmmm!

All this to promote the new buds of economic growth.

Welcome Communism

2009-02-25T13:00:00.001-08:00

In a mixed economy such as the UK or the USA, there are laws, such as the UK Companies Acts (most recent 2006), which protect shareholders, limiting their liability provided a company is run according to certain rules. This legislation is designed to encourage the investment of capital in businesses so that they will thrive, creating employment, goods and services and wealth for the shareholders. This is the capitalist system. The stability of the system depends on a fine balance between risk and reward. The board of directors is appointed by the shareholders and is responsible for running each company. Shareholders risk their money, based on the information provided by the directors. Directors are responsible for filing company accounts annually and for ensuring that the company is trading legally at all times, usually this means having assets that are equal to or more than liabilities at any one moment in time. Assets include cash, capital investments such as property, stock, machinery. The money for these is raised by selling shares to shareholders or from the profits made by the business. If the business in which they invest does not succeed (i.e. at any time liabilities exceed assets) then shareholders stand to loose their investment, but, under company law they are protected from being pursued by creditors of the business, provided that the company ceases trading the moment it is no longer solvent.

Banking is not an ailing industry for the UK. It has been badly managed recently and it has taken risks beyond what is reasonable (alongside banks the world over). Whilst the banks may deserve to go bankrupt, it is not really in anyone's interest to let this happen. It's not the Government's money being used, of course, but the UK tax payer's money or money being borrowed on our behalf. Actually, the tax payer stands to gain when the banks are sold back to the private sector in a few years time.

Now that we are bailing out other industries, the risks may be higher to the tax payer. Giving the motor industry £2.3B may not save it and certainly won't create a greener motor industry into the bargain. But what is now clear is that the threat that always hung over the shareholder, that he would loose all his money if the business he invested in failed, is no longer a threat. Fail and the government will bail you out.

Does this mean a turning point in the Western capitalist system? The work ethic, the motivation to succeed, may have dried up. The great criticism of communism was that motivation was poor. With no capitalist reward, under communism the state will always struggle to grow an economy, maybe even struggle to provide the basics for it population. Isn't this where we are heading in a system that no longer punishes the investors of a failing business and therefore takes away a sizable part of the motivation?

Don’t worry Papa

2008-11-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

We arrive in Florence on Saturday and SWKB is anxious to go to mass, Saturday evening is her favourite time. It avoids messing up Sunday, for sure. At about 6:30 we arrive at the south east door of the Duomo, and find a mass in progress; strange since it was scheduled to start at 6:30. There are large TV screens including one outside in the Piazza del Duomo which show the proceedings. This looks like it is going to take a long time, so SWKB asks an official what is going on and reports back that the Pope is dead. There is a long sermon going on with occasional applause throughout the cathedral, but not much crying. This is a strange reaction for Italian Catholics on such an occasion; however, we go along with this explanation.
Back at the hotel, SWKB asks the receptionists if they know that the pope has died. No one is aware of this sad news. “Who told you this?” and “Were they speaking Italian?” Eventually, the comment was made: “don’t worry, we can make a new pope!”
It turns out that the occasion was the appointment of a new arch bishop, since the previous one has died some time ago.

Well, why not, madam

2008-11-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

Italian waiters attend a special school. They are trained over many years. They know the correct procedure for handling any dish you care to mention, any cocktail or drink you can request. Entering the profession is never taken lightly. You may have to work under a true master for nearly all you working life before you can achieve the pinnacle of your dreams. When you are the head waiter of the Terrazza Brunelleschi, roof top restaurant of the Baglioni Hotel in Florence, you know all there is to know.
So when SWKB took it upon herself to specify how to make a pot of English tea, our dear host had the air of a Pope being told how to pray. "Could you please put the tea bag in the pot first?" He had obviously just bitten into a lemon, such was the expression on his face. "And then pour in hot water." He backed away, as if near a fire that was too hot. There was a pause. Building in his head was a frantic desire to reinstate the correct order. He was the Pope, we were the humble pilgrims. How could she possibly imagine that she could teach him anything? But the years of training, and indeed the very reputation of the Terrazza Brunelleschi itself were at stake here. After a long pause came the classic reply: "Well, why not, madam," uttered as if it clearly could make no possible difference to the outcome, but if madam wished to be humoured, then madam will be humoured. We were indeed served with a pot of tea in which the tea bag appeared to have been present before the water was added.
Needless to say the Terrazza Brunelleschi served impeccable food and generous helpings. The service was at the relaxed Italian pace that we had come to respect during our short time in Florence. Also of note are Ristorante Ciro and Sons (via del Giglio 28R) (see photo below), sporting a massive chandelier, family owned and run, extremely friendly in the way that only Italians can be. We were treated to a display of the children in their Halloween costumes whilst enjoying our lunch, at an outside table on the last day of October. Trattoria "Il Porcospino" (Piazza Madonna degli Aldobrandini) served superb Lobster, again in a friendly atmosphere.

Innuendo Fruit

2008-05-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

What is a Melon? A sweet soft fruit from certain members of the gourd family. Actually, the word derives from the Greek for gourd-apple: “melopepon”. It can also mean a colour (of melon flesh) or the visible upper portion of the head of a surfacing whale or dolphin or even any windfall of money to be divided among specified participants.

What about Melons? Oh dear. All of a sudden we have leapt to the world of Benny Hill and the "Yakety Sax" tune is ringing in our ears. Benny is chasing a half naked woman around in jerky fast motion. Or Barbara Windsor, displaying her ample melons is being ogled by Kenneth Williams and he is making a sound that only he could make.

There we go again. The word “ample” is high-jacked by such a specific use. There are so many words we must avoid unless we intend to exploit innuendo or euphemism. Take “cervical” for example. I know what you are thinking. It has to refer to the cervix of the uterus. But no; check out where your cervical vertebrae are?

Balls, ejaculate, erection, fag, gay, hump, intercourse, jerk, pendulous, penetration, petting, pussy, queer, rigid, rosebud, rubbers, scoring, sheaths, starfish... So many words lost to reasonable use.

This type of innuendo relies on euphemism. Here we find an even richer seam to mine. Just take the euphemisms for death, as an example: passed away, passed on, checked out, bit the big one, kicked the bucket, bitten the dust, popped their clogs, pegged it, carked it, turned their toes up, bought the far, cashed in their chips, croaked, given up the ghost, gone south, shuffled off this mortal coil, Run down the curtain and joined the Choir Invisible, or assumed room temperature, checking out the grass from underneath or six feet under.

In fact, Dr. Bernard Nathanson has pointed out that the word "euthanasia" itself is a euphemism, being Greek for "good death".

Pretty soon there will be nothing we can say that does not carry multiple meanings. If multiple meaning is the source of much humour, then perhaps the real danger is that we all die laughing.

Information is New World Energy Threat

2008-05-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Koomey of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Stanford University has estimated that 1.6% of the US electricity consumption is now being used to power servers in data centres. This includes the necessary cooling systems and associated data-networking equipment. The figure has doubled in the past five years giving an annual growth of about 14%. This represents the output of five 1000 MW power plants. For the whole world, the figure is 14 such plants, and the total cost of this electricity $7.2B per year.

If growth continues at this rate, information could become the dominant use of energy. The calculations above do not account for the domestic use of energy for information purposes. Consumption by TVs is a comparable level (1.5%) and the consumption from domestic and office computers similarly is significant.

So even if we stop burning up fuel to fly around the world, eventually, energy needed to sustain our data bases and provide the video conference in place of flying will be our next energy problem.

The solution: maybe a shortage of energy will itself bring about a population reduction. The human race is subject to the laws of nature just as much as any other species on the planet, but the implications of this may be harsher than we would wish (see Paul Chefurka, 2007)

Warnings about Warnings

2008-03-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

Rumble strips warn you about something – right? Rumble strips are supposed to make you look around, see what it is, wake you up at the moment when it might be important. Rumble strips are there to deliver a simple message - beware!

You are just coming towards a pedestrian crossing! You are approaching a roundabout! This is where the 20 mph zone starts! Cyclists cross here!

So when you get a warning that there is a warning ahead, is this good or bad. Or does it just make more money for the vendors of street signs.

I can hear the street furniture vendor talking to the road safety committee of my local authority: “You should be aware that we sometimes get complaints when we fit rumble strips. The best way to minimize the risk from this is to warn people that there are rumble strips ahead. Other authorities we work for tell us that if they fit the rumble strip warning sign then at least when they get a complaint, they can say that the plaintiff was warned. Unfortunately, that will add another £2700 to your costs, but that is a small price to pay to prevent you being sued”

“I thought something awful was happening to the car, so I braked hard. I was concerned that I might otherwise loose control. I didn’t notice there was a juggernaut just behind me. The juggernaut driver was very understanding, but he still wrote my car off.”

Maybe, sir, you were too busy trying to work out what the “Rumble Strips 200m” sign might mean, or why there might be rumble strips ahead anyway.

Building Modern Cathedrals

2008-03-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

Managing a team of software engineers, as I do, was once likened to ‘herding cats.’ I knew immediately what was meant.

We expect a lot from software engineers. Their work requires them to obey very specific rules – rules of the computer. So when it comes to controlling them in other ways, their energy for obeying is all spent. The tedium of the machine’s demands dominate any demands that I may have.

The software engineer, or programmer, has to work to a consistently exact set of rules. Everything she or he creates must comply, there is not escape. The code must compile! Before the code can be used, or even tested, the exact syntactical rules of a software compiler must be obeyed, without question. You have nothing until all the compiler errors are gone.

Now getting your program to compile is only the first step. There are other things I want our software engineers to do. I want their software to do something useful. I want it to meet the customer needs and do this better than the competition.

To do this, I want us to create software that is easy to use. Anybody who has used a computer has come across software that does not seem to make sense; you just can’t work out what buttons to click or what to type on the keyboard to get what you want. I don’t want that to happen with our software.

Also, I do actually want the software to do what it is supposed to. If is has to add up a column of numbers and then find the average, then that is what it must do… under all circumstances. Is that too much to ask?

Then there are the bugs. What happens when the computer’s disk is full? Does the program grind to a halt, but never reveal the secret of why it has stopped doing anything. If you do things in an unusual order, or simply use a feature that no one actually tested, does it ‘crash’ or ‘hang’ – i.e. stop working either by disappearing, or freezing. Does the program ‘crash’ or ‘hang’ just occasionally, for no apparent reason? That is the most difficult one to sort out!

Finally, how quickly does the program work? If the user asks for something, by clicking on a button on the screen, how long do they have to wait before it happens?

The compiler checks for none of these things; all the compiler is interested in is that it can understand the code the programmer has written. It checks for syntax, a bit like a very fussy spelling and grammar checker. If you get both these correct, it is happy. If the sentence you have written is complete gibberish, then that is of no concern to the compiler.

In order to build large and complex applications with lots of useful features and do this in a reasonable time (months not years) you need a team effort. All the discipline of the software engineer must now happen whilst a whole team work on all the code together. Each coder will be working on different bits, but everything must join up and work together. This is not easy.

In spite of the demands on software engineers, my greatest satisfaction is to see their devotion to their art.

Our application is not the biggest or hardest piece of software that engineers have created. An operating system, the bit of software that runs the whole computer and allows various applications all to run together, is even more complex.

In his book ‘The Craftsman,’ Richard Sennett talks of modern crafts: Linux (an operating system), for Sennett, is the work of a community of craftsmen “who embody some of the elements first celebrated in the (Homeric) Hymn to Hephaestus”. Craftsmanship is “an enduring, basic human impulse, the desire to do a job well for its own sake”.

The Trial – Franz Kafka

2008-02-12T13:01:00.001-08:00

We all have stories that you could not make up. I was once allocated the budget to recruit a new member of the engineering team I managed. However, before I could spend this approved budget, I had to apply for approval to 'increase the head count'. To do this, I had to submit a particular form at a certain date to the HR department and this, I was told, would be reviewed at the next board meeting. My first submission was rejected, with the instruction that more information was needed, which I duly provided – a full A4 sheet justifying the need for the post. This was also rejected – I was informed that the extra information must fit the form. OK, much reduced information was now provided, and soon I heard from one source that the position had finally been approved, and I should expect official notification soon. I proceeded with the recruitment, but on the day before a second interview with a candidate to whom I expected to make a job offer, I was told through the official channel that in fact the position had not been approved. I cancelled the interview. Half an hour later I heard from a more senior person in the organisation that yes, the position had been approved. After explaining the situation, I got an e-mail endorsed by the CEO to confirm this. Through the recruitment agent I then tried to contact the candidate, who as it happens was flying to the UK for the interview. Sorry, I wanted to say, can you come after all? The message did not get through. The second interview never happened. Who in their right mind would want to work for an organisation which behaved like that? Like me? How could I find myself in such a position? In the event I had to continue the search and the position was filled more than a month later than it could have been.
Kafka knows this world. A world were little makes sense. Where each action you take made sense at the time, but, when you are judged by the result, none of it makes sense. A world where snippets of information must be weighed for their value in influencing your decision, but the rules are never clear and the results unpredictable. A world where your emotions, you anger, must be harnessed, not unleashed, if you are even to survive. In the human search for understanding, familiarity sufficient to achieve predictability, there is so much to digest, so many theories to test against the meagre data.
'The Trial' is probably Franz Kafka's most pure example of his art. A complex fabric of topics, treated with consummate ease. In simple language. On bureaucracy? Is Kafka's world an amplification of the absurdity we find all around us? That absurdity that results from human behaviour that is the natural consequence of animals with consciousness, driven by emotion. We only pretend to be working in a rational framework of necessary rules designed to achieve a clear purpose. Worse than that, the fabric grows as we each attempt to carve out our own livelihood in what has gone before. We are at once cushioned and shielded from the original intent by the ever expanding fabric of the organisation. Inscrutable procedures are evident but few clues as to what you should do are available. The rules are never explicit; they depend on interpretation and everyone has their own interpretation.
Equally, this novel evokes a tingling sensation reminiscent of that curious state between wakefulness and sleep, between dream and reality where nightmares are mixed with reality and it is impossible to tell which is tangible and which pure imagination – or horror. For a Jew living since the holocaust this novel is a chilling echo to the view held by Nazis that Jews are in some way guilty to the extent that they must be eliminated, a whole race. But no one can say what they are guilty of.
Sex is a recurring theme. Kafka explores this in its many aspects. Read the novel, there is much, much more in store for you!

EDF – Rewards You for Using Less!

2008-02-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

EDF now have an advertising campaign in which the strap line is “rewarding you for using less.” This is a very interesting concept in view of the way they treated me. I used less electricity (because I left my house vacant) and they rewarded me by charging me for a complete trip round the meter, which incidentally costs about £13,000!

I moved to a rented house in another part of the country and left my house in Bolton empty because of a change of job. As it happens, just before I moved I changed gas and electricity provider. This is something we should all do periodically in our free market economy of energy supply. I this case, it was a coincidence that I made the change just before moving out of the property. But the consequences were very interesting:

On 2nd January 2007 EDF Energy claimed £13,367 from my bank account. This was done under a Direct Debit arrangement. In the event, my bank honoured the payment, but informed me by letter: “We’ve made all the payments that you arranged to come out of your account this morning. Unfortunately, because there was not enough money in your account to cover them, this means your account is now over your overdraft limit.” A slight understatement!

EDF Energy customer services were phoned immediately on receiving the letter. They told me that obviously an error had been made, but that it would take weeks to refund the money as it would need to be approved by a series of managers. When I asked why a similar procedure was not in place when claiming large amounts from domestic customers, they declined to comment (the line went silent).

After discussion with my bank, I requested that the money be claimed back under the indemnity insurance for direct debits. Interestingly my bank did not tell me that this was possible when I phoned them initially. Until that could be arranged I had to transfer some of my savings into my current account, so that I could continue to operate my bank account. The bank charged me £30 for dealing with exceeding my overdraft limit plus some interest charges.

Having looked into this further, I find that this has occurred as a result of a series of mistakes or poor practice made by EDF Energy, Atlantic Electric and Gas (my previous supplier) and possibly a meter reader contracted by EDF Energy. These three organisations each played a part. Further investigation reveals further alarming practices by both EDF Energy and Atlantic Electric and Gas.

My findings are as follows:

1. EDF Energy failed to put in place any system to check a claim for payment against a domestic customer that was clearly ridiculous.
2. EDF Energy also failed to present me with an invoice for this claim for payment. Interestingly, this was a final payment arising from us moving out of the property with tenants moving in on 1st December 2006. Final meter readings were phoned through for both electricity and gas at the same time. We received a final invoice for the gas, which we settled by cheque, but no invoice for the electricity has arrived. The first we knew about it was when my bank contacted me.
3. A meter reading made on 25 November 2006 by a contractor was incorrect for both the daytime and night-time meters. Either this or EDF Energy deliberately changed the readings.
4. Atlantic Electric and Gas, who were my supplier until 12th March 2006 provided EDF Energy with estimated meter readings that were artificially high and presented these as actual readings. This enabled them to claim more money than they were due, at a time when they knew that they were loosing the account to EDF Energy. To me, this looks to me like sharp practice.
5. EDF Energy increased their prices just one day after I transferred to them as a supplier. Clearly I changed supplier in order to achieve the best possible price. This again looks suspicious to me. Did all their customers have increased pricing on 13th March 2006?
6. Atlantic Electric and Gas produced a series of inaccurate meter readings for my night meter. This simply suggests incompetence to me.

Poor Rowan – He is Doing his Best

2008-02-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

The commentary and controversy about Rowan Williams' recent foundation lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice entitled “Civil and Religious Law in England: a Religious Perspective” seems to be generated by people who neither heard the lecture nor took the trouble to read the transcript. Here is my attempt to translate - from Dr William’s regrettably difficult turn of phrase – the last three paragraphs (my apologies, Dr Williams, if I have mistranslated):

The concept of human rights now dominates the thinking behind the laws of many countries, including Britain. However, we must remember that our laws stem from our historical context of religion and culture. With respect to certain “aspects of marital law, the regulation of financial transactions and authorised structures of mediation and conflict resolution” there is room to reconcile Islamic law (Sharia) with UK law. This may be achieved by parallel systems, as is currently the case with the Beth Din, a Jewish court which mediates on a range of disputes within the orthodox community. If we wish to reconcile the particular religious beliefs of minority groups within our society with our current laws, both sides must be prepared to work at this (“transformative accommodation”). The legal systems stemming from particular religions must be careful not to alienate their followers by being “inflexible or over-restrictive” and the secular legal system may need to find creative ways to prevent “ghettoising and effectively disenfranchising a minority.” In running parallel systems, one religious and one secular, however, it is “unavoidable” that people will have to make choices between the two.

What is so wrong with what Rowan Williams has said? I suggest that the reaction that has ensued betrays a deep prejudice and bigotry. Dr William’s legacy may turn out to be as precipitator of a turning point in cultural reconciliation. Sorry, to translate: we may one day be thankful for what Rowan has said, because when we have worked out what he meant, it will help the world become a better place.

Public and Private – Please do not Mix Mr Cameron

2008-01-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

In the public sector, by due process of democracy, politicians are elected, majority parties form governments, ministers are appointed by a party elected party leaders (prime ministers) and ministers run departments to spend tax payers money. The government, and hence the ministers and the departments are accountable to the electorate via the ballot box. Opposition parties are able to challenge on a weekly basis (question time) the decisions made by the prime minister and his or her ministers. Guided by party policy, declared in a manifesto, ministers and or officials in a department can be held accountable and ultimately may loose their jobs if the wrong decisions are made or behaviour deemed unacceptable. The whole system is designed to achieve the best interests of the taxpayer, in terms of how our money should be spent. Government also proposes new legislation and deals on an hour by hour basis with both internal and external (foreign) issues that may arise, such as natural disasters, war, terrorism, and defending our borders against a foe. Success or failure is judged by how successfully the government meets the will of the people, collectively by a democratic system.

The private sector is regulated by legislation developed by various elected governments over a period of decades such as the companies act. It is, however, a completely different system. In this system everyone is accountable to the shareholders. The driving force is profit. Please let us not confuse this. The success or failure of a company is ultimately judged purely by profit. The ultimate threat to those running either publicly quoted or private companies is that the company may fail financially. If no profit is made, or insufficient investment is made by the share holders backing a new venture whilst it is being developed to profitability, financial liability will exceed assets and this will become evident in the accounts a company is required prepare under the companies act. If a company fails, the shareholders loose their money, the company is sold or closed, creditors may never get paid and jobs may be lost, in that order. In particular, the shareholders are motivated to ensure that the executives they employ to run their company do a good job in creating the profit, and it is the shareholders who decide whom they employ.

So when fines are imposed on an organisation, the effects are quite different under the two systems. Fining a company for misbehaviour or poor performance will affect the share holders first and foremost. The company in question may have to be closed, if the fines are large enough or frequent enough. Fining a part of government funded organisation however has no such effect. It merely reduces the funds available that may be needed to tackle the problem. No shareholders are penalised. No threat of closure exists.

So, Mr Cameron, when you propose that NHS trusts are to be fined for allowing MRSA infections in patients to occur, what exactly do you expect to happen? Who are the shareholders who will suffer personally as a result of the mismanagement? When did an NHS trust close and all the business go to competitors because of financial pressure as a result of such fines? The whole concept of private/public partnerships is totally misconceived. This is a good example of why. Please get your thinking straight.

Also when asked, you were unable to say how, realistically, you could tell if such an infection were brought into the hospital by the patient, or acquired by the patient whilst in hospital. Your off-the-cuff reaction was that “surely modern technology could be used to check each patient when they arrive by screening them”. Just think about that for a moment. What are the costs? What is the bureaucratic burden? What a complete and utter waste of time and money!

I’m only glad that the democratic system kicks in here, so that the holders of such poorly thought out thinking will not find themselves in power in our government! At least I hope that is the case. All systems are fallible.

Nutcracker – Gerald Scarfe Style

2008-01-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

The Coliseum (St Martin’s Lane) is a spacious, opulent theatre of distinctive Rococo style, home of Sadler’s Wells Opera Company (now English National Opera) since 1968. Here is an institution of classic style; with gravitas and dignity. The auditorium is huge and grand, almost breathtaking on your first visit; the proscenium arch is the widest in London. There are innumerable boxes of varying styles and sizes; some clearly designed to be seen in rather than from which to see. With over 2300 seats, this is a large impressive theatre.

So this is a fitting setting indeed for the latest English National Ballet production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker which breaks some conventions and challenges the style barriers for this much loved Christmas tradition. With a compelling mix of old and new styles, the first act was a stunning array of humour, style and story portrayed by dance and mime. Traditional German wooden nutcracker dolls usually crack nuts in their mouths; this nutcracker, however, cracks nuts between his legs – there is a very dark joke there somewhere! Grandfather flirts with house guest Miss V. Aggra, to the consternation of Grandmother. When given a phial of medicine by Herr Drosselmeyer, he is transformed from aged Zimmer-frame user to agile and comic star. He tops an initial circus level summersault laden dance with a spectacular second wind (more Viagra!) ending in a frankly dangerous stunt with his Zimmer frame. The army of mice wear gas masks; the toy soldiers include those arriving by parachute; the snow fairies arrive through the opened door of a fridge and Clara and her Prince leave on a paper aeroplane!

The second act was a little disappointing after the standard set in the first: the medley of dances (Spanish, Chinese, Arabian, Russian etc) in a land of sweets had some original touches. Clara and the Prince viewed from a box of chocolates. The Russian dance was performed in a turquoise bear outfit, the Chinese dancers showed again the humour and slick mesmerising sparkle of Act 1. However, for the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux, and their solo set pieces, choreography reverted back to the traditional Ivanov version. We all love this of course, but have seen it so many times before. At this point, Gerald Scarfe's set had nothing to add to the atmosphere.

Global Economy - Personal Choice

2007-12-31T05:09:00.002-08:00

I ordered two tickets for the ballet from londonwestendtheatretickets.com. Seven days later, they arrived - from Oslo. Curious?

So what is happening here? londonwestendtheatretickets.com has clearly chosen to contract its ticket distribution process, and the best bid was from a company in Norway (!?). The tickets were sent by airmail. The risk of them arriving late was compounded by their long journey - they warned me to leave 7 days before they might arrive and they were not wrong. Obviously, their carbon footprint must have been a little larger than being printed and posted from London, but for something so light, is that important? However, unless londonwestendtheatretickets.com is run by idiots, it must make commercial sense to use this contractor.

Of course today we should all been concerned about carbon footprint. For example, shipping tomatoes and other produce from Israel to the UK, by air freight is often quoted. In this case, however, it may make sense, commercially and environmentally. The cost (and environmental impact) of heating a greenhouse in England to grow the same product is actually higher than the airfreight footprint (the necessary sunlight in Israel is free). However, the irrigation needed to grow organic carrots in Israel for consumption in the UK could be destroying the environment.

Perhaps this highlights the need for sensible restrictions of air freight. It is reminiscent of the use of containers, which in recent decades have allowed a free economy between road and rail. Who won? Well, left to commercial pressures, always the lowest cost options – very often road, although the use of rail has actually increase in the UK in recent years. So is this where government tariffs come in? Just make it the lowest cost to use the most environmentally friendly option.

Come to that, a ticket is not something that should need to be sent through the post, anyway. When you check in to an airline, all you need is your passport and a reference number (often, only your passport). Why can’t I check in to the theatre in the same way? Well of course I can, but using a credit card. However, my expectation is that this will be arduous and stressful. I have to use the machine in the theatre to get the tickets printed – I’ll probably be arriving at the last minute. Will there be enough machines. If I can’t get the machine to work, say I can’t work out which card I used, what will I do? Will there be adequate support? Will the box office even be open? So I opt for making sure that I have the physical tickets in my hot paw. I truly didn’t expect that I would be using airfreight in this process, though. It is my choice - maybe next time I will make sure I use the environmentally friendly option.

So what is bin Laden's problem?

2007-12-30T17:01:00.000-08:00

At http://www.acommonword.com/, 138 Muslim scholars, clerics and intellectuals have come together to declare the common ground between Christianity and Islam. Since October 10th, 2007, 3560 visitors have endorsed the site. Today, this same group of Muslims responded with a half page advert in the Sunday Times, to deliver a “Muslim Message of Thanks and of Christmas and New Year Greetings.” This is a very positive gesture in a mad world where differing points of view are normally so polarised.

In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine (originally 1920) into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Arab League rejected the plan, but on May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence. We should all remember what US and UK (supported by Australian and Polish) action was taken starting on March 18^th 2003, to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein. The resulting war has resulted in over 4000 coalition casualties and more than 600,000 Iraqi deaths.

Meanwhile, reported on Xinhua, a Chinese news site: “A year after former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was executed, his influence is still strongly palpable at his hometown as the country remains polarized in sectarian hatred.” Abdullah Jbara, governor of Salahudin province in northern Iraq, told Xinhua that the role Saddam had played should be viewed in an impartial manner just like any other political figures in the history. "The man had good acts as well as bad ones. So we need to look at his good deeds and make use of them, and at the same time we need to fix the wrongdoing he had committed," said Jabara, who gained reputation and respect in the province for insisting that Saddam should be buried at his birth place instead of a secret location. This comes after a report in Reuters on 6^th December: “Iraq will have to cut food rations in 2008 because of insufficient funds,” Trade Minister Abdul Falah al-Sudany said. So after all that has happened, and using a ration system developed by Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi people now face harsher rationing than was needed when the West imposed trade embargoes on Hussein. Are we proud of the progress we have made?

Also, in a statement posted on the Internet on 29-12-07, Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden accused the United States of having a plot to take control of Iraq's oil (is this news?). In the statement, bin Laden also accused Washington of seeking to build military bases in Iraq and dominate the region. The United States is making efforts to rebuild a pro-Washington national unity government in Iraq, which is meant "to give the Americans all they wish of Iraq's oil", said the statement, urging Iraqis to reject it. bin Laden also made very clear in this statement that a primary concern was the fate of the Palestinian people, and his intention of giving them back their territory between the river Jordan and the Sea.

So, whilst a small group of Muslims make strenuous efforts to bring peace and understanding between Islam and Christian groups, there is a miserable response from the Christian community. Instead, Al-Qaida will continue to gain sympathisers because of historical US and UK action in Palestine and Iraq.

Human Rights - Not for Al-Jedda

2007-12-26T23:44:00.000-08:00

Do we take the law on human rights seriously? It seems that the British legal system is prepared to indulge in petty argument about jurisdiction rather than deliver justice. An Iraqi citizen, who subsequently claimed asylum in the UK in the 1990s returned to Iraq in October 2004, was arrested and has been detained in Basra ever since. He may well be a terrorist, but no charges have been brought against him. In this country, of course, he could be detained for no longer than 28 days under such circumstances. However, in Iraq, it seems, detention can be indefinite. Meanwhile, this case attracts very limited coverage in the press, or even by Amnesty International. Why? Have all you journalists and campaigners gone to sleep for Christmas?

Hilal Abdul-Razzaq Ali Al-Jedda, 50 year old father of 6 and holder of dual British and Iraqi nationality has been held prisoner in Iraq since being arrested on October 10^th 2004 by US forces and handed over to the British forces. He complains that his detention infringes his rights under article 5(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights. These claims were rejected by the Queen’s Bench Divisional Court and also by the Court of Appeal; both courts “delivered lengthy and careful judgments, commensurate with the importance and difficulty of the issues then raised”

From 29^th to 31st October the House of Lords had a hearing of his case based on a new question: “the attributability in international law of the conduct of which the appellant complains.” (http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ ldjudgmt/jd071212/jedda-1.htm). So is Al-Jedda subject to UN or British law? The judgement was made by the House of Lords on 12^th December. After thirty nine paragraphs, covering the history of who had jurisdiction over whom during both the course of the Iraq war and the period following it, we finally hear: “There is in my opinion only one way in which they can be reconciled: by ruling that the UK may lawfully, where it is necessary for imperative reasons of security, exercise the power to detain authorised by UNSCR 1546 and successive resolutions, but must ensure that the detainee’s rights under article 5 are not infringed to any greater extent than is inherent in such detention. I would resolve the second issue in this sense.

Furthermore, a third issue arises: “whether English common law or Iraqi law applies to the appellant’s detention.” Apparently, after further deliberation “The appellant’s claim in tort is governed by the law of Iraq”

In other words, the British acting in Iraq can make up their own laws, not the same as those exercised within Britain, and when it is convenient, they can claim that it is nothing to do with them, in any case, since Iraq is now in charge of their own country.

Ethiopia - Unique Watercolours

2007-12-26T10:22:00.000-08:00

Artist and explorer Sir William Cornwallis Harris led a mission to the Court of Shewa in the Highlands of Ethiopia between 1841 and 1843. Whilst there he recorded in watercolour a unique collection of images for a three volume book about the country (The highlands of Aethiopia - 3 vols., 1844). Some of his illustrations were also used in the Illustrated London News, and were some of the first images the western world saw of that part of Africa, its people and culture. The illustration shown here dates from a earlier hunting expedition into the interior of southern Africa in 1836-7.

A unique insight into the perception of Africa in the 1840’s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cornwallis_Harris

I made you deaf

2007-12-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

Jackie Ballard, Chief Executive of Royal National Institute of Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (RNID) is advocating allowing deaf parents to screen their embryos to select a deaf child over those with normal hearing. Genetic screening for “designer babies” is an area evoking considerable controversy, but this concept turns the debate on its head. Until now, the debate has been on the ethics of selecting good characteristics for your child, reminiscent of creating a master race, eugenics and Nazism. Ballard was formerly director general of RSPCA for 3 years, a Liberal Democrat MP and originally a social worker, is advocating deliberately designing a baby with a disability.

This has arisen from the debate on a clause in the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, which is passing through the House of Lords, and would make it illegal for parents undergoing embryo screening to choose an embryo with an abnormality if healthy embryos exist. Prof. Ulrike Zeshan of UCLan, Preston has said “If the intent of the bill is to prevent human suffering, then deafness does not fall under its remit. Deafness constitutes a linguistic/cultural minority and adds to our diversity. Our society chooses to say that deaf people are disabled, but left-handed people are not. Why? This is an arbitrary choice. Research has shown that there are societies where deafness is regarded as an equally viable option, not a disability.”

A spokesman said: “While the RNID believes in the individual’s right to choose, we would not actively encourage the selection of deaf embryos over hearing ones for implantation when both are available.”

So how exactly are you going to explain to your child that they are deaf because you selected them over an embryo that most likely would have normal hearing? To me this clarifies the rights of parents over choosing the genetic make-up of their children. They should not have such rights. Parents do not own their childern, who are in any case in their care for less than 20 years. The more difficult question is “should anyone have the right to design a baby?”

FrontPage Madness

2007-12-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

Story so far: New web site provided by my son (who develops commercial web sites with a major UK ISP). So no problem there!

Actually, yes. I used Word to compose my content. It's Microsoft, so natually it uses Microsoft font. However: the new " server is in iso-8859-1 so your site is telling the browser one thing and the server something else, which is where the question marks are coming from"

There are 65 .html files to change and if I edit any of them with Word, the settings are changed back.

OK, so try to convert to FrontPage 2003 and use that to sort the problem; it can't be that difficult to learn! Actually, Yes. When I run it I can't import the existing site either from a disk copy or from the live site. Most HTML insists on still being default edit in Word (see Windows Explorer screen shot above), even though I asked for FrontPage to be my HTML editor on installation. Manually setting .HTML and .HTM file types to edit in Front Page has resulted in a mixture. Open a file within FrontPage and it opens it in Word. Not really getting anywhere here.

Now FrontPage won't even allow me to create a new web site, either on disk or at the remote site - it always says the folder in inaccessible.

Oh, and every time I start FrontPage I get the message "Can't load Speech Recognition Files" - What!

Cubism - a Response to Photography

2007-06-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

I have been going to drawing workshops at Kettles Yard in cambridge on Saturday mornings (every fortnight during term). One of the tutors/leaders (Barry Phipps) got me going with Cubism . I had not appreciated what this was all about before. Picasso and others saw the emergence of photography and were looking for how art could transcend anything that photography could offer. In cubism you depict your subject from more that one point of view. This drawing is crayon on paper about A3 size. Another lesson: be bold and fill the paper!

Value for Money on a Global Basis

2007-06-01T22:10:00.001-07:00

I'm off to India again next week. Four different companies in three locations (Pune, Bangalore and Mysore). At each company we have an 8 hour meeting, although running under Indian time, it could well be more. These companies (Danaher GDCs) are the very best that India has to offer, so my expectations are high that we can find a low cost region contractor that will suit our needs.
In particular, I'm looking forward to the drive from Bangalore to Mysore and back, in rush hour and about 3-4 hours each way.

When in Rome

2007-05-28T22:24:00.001-07:00

My wife suggested we put a picture up in the lounge to remember our trip to Rome last year. This was my choice. Obviously not the usual tourist snap. I don't know who the cardinal is; we think they were from South America on a pilgrimage. Amongst the hustle and bustle of St Peter’s Square on a Sunday morning, these pilgrims arrived walking backwards. What makes people do this? Is it their 15 minutes of fame?

One thing that amazed me when we were inside St. Peter's was the poor organization. Here we were, at the head quarters of one of the largest and richest organizations in the world, people were attending the main mass on a Sunday. But old and crippled women were sitting on the cold hard stone floor in order to be at the mass because no adequate seating was provided. Isn’t St Peter’s designed to hold masses? Well, no. It seems tourists are more important.

Song of Stone by Iain Banks

2005-06-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Written in the second person from Able, nobleman, to his lover Morgan (maybe wife, but like a sister in childhood), Banks has succeeded in his unique approach to yet another confounding topic - that of loyalty.

Able and Morgan are overrun in a time of war, forced to return to their castle by a group, presumable representing the new occupation, led by "the Lieutenant", female leader of a disorderly band of soldiers.

Abe fights with his loyalties to so many things: these are the enemy, but he is unable to fight back; they slowly but systematically consume his wine and food and destroy the family art treasures, but he is powerless to stop them; the Lieutenant takes Morgan as her lover, but he cannot react for fear of what they will do to him. Inevitably, he is destroyed; as it happens as a result of a practical joke by the band of soldiers.

The total ambiguity of place or time (it could be anywhere in the western world over the last 70 years) adds power to the point. However much we may imagine that we would defend what is of value to us, the reality maybe somewhat different given the circumstance of war. The grandiose setting perhaps plays on that hackneyed phrase: "an Englishman's home is his castle" This novel questions the loyalty and strength of all of us.

http://www.spikemagazine.com/1298banks.php

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/6422/rev0342.html

http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/stone.htm

http://www.answers.com/topic/iain-banks