The Birminghamisation of China continues….
(Found via Guy Fraser)
Proposed 'Seed Cathedral', 2010 World Expo, Shanghai
Selfridges, The Bullring, Birmingham
Blogposts I haven’t had the time or motivation to write this week:
- Opinions on the manufacturing industries of the UK
- Thoughts about the passing of the Digital Economy Bill
- A discussion of the different types of idiot who drive around the midlands on sunny friday afternoons
- Another breakdown of the tax/cost/profit elements of the price of road fuel
- A post about the pluses/minuses of each of the major political parties policies for the upcoming general election
Come back next week for more posts I didn't write!
If you want to vote for one of the non-existent posts above, or suggest another subject for me not to write about; please comment on this post.
Seriously though, I've been busy at work for the past few weeks and I'm in the long and tedious process of getting a new flat so blogging will remain light for a little while. In the meantime please poke Gav with a pointy stick and he may well post something on here himself.. 
Gordon Brown goes on strike
We've had reports that following his declining poll performance, widespread criticism and a reduction in allowable expense claims the Prime Minister has gone on strike this morning.
Witnesses describe the bovine-featured PM marching up and down Downing Street, carrying a placard reading "Equal terms for equal PMs". Sources close to the Prime Minister claim that Mr. Brown is dissatisfied with the possibility that he may be removed from his role by the electorate this year, along with grievances about pay and conditions.
Government work may be affected by the strike. No. 10 has already stopped work completely, and there are rumours that senior civil servants in various government departments may also walk out in sympathy. If the strike continues or worsens, crucial work on the implementation of ID cards or the ban on mephedrone may be delayed.
So far though the public seem unconcerned. Trevor Gobbalott, a shopkeeper in Tottenham said "he can strike as long as he wants... the cunt can do precisely fuck all for the next 20 years for me".
Further updates are coming..
Celebrate ‘Human Achievement Hour’
As found via Dizzy Thinks: http://dizzythinks.net/2010/03/human-achievement-hour-turn-lights-on.html
Now, I didn't know it was imminent but I had heard of it before; once a year environmental organisations encourage people to switch off their lights and otherwise fail to consume energy for an hour, once per year under the banner of "Earth Hour". Presumably this will act as a sacrifice to placate the righteous and vengeful forces of Gaia and draw her attention from the bare faced audacity of our living on the earth.
The libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute have another idea- that we should go about our lives as normal to celebrate the massive beneficial effects of technology in our lives, they dub this "Human Achievement Hour".
“Environmental challenges will not be solved by turning off our lights and symbolically hiding in the dark,” ... “If anything, we should be looking to technology and innovation to help solve environmental problems.” - CEI policy analyst Michelle Minton
I would go one step further- turn all your lights ON as a beacon of optimism and truth to anyone cowering in their darkened home, or anybody out patrolling (presumably by bicycle) to estimate support for Earth Hour.
Do you want a future of 300mph flying cars, pocket computers and ever-rising standards of living; or a future whittling bits of wood in huts, shitting into a straw-filled bucket ready for composting to grow your own meager beans? The choice is yours..
27/03/2010 8:30pm - switch ON!
“Leading doctors call for ban on smoking in cars”
From here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article7073299.ece
"Twenty of Britain’s most senior doctors call today for a ban on smoking in cars as part of a sweeping expansion of laws to protect children against the effects of inhaling smoke."
"The doctors say that the national strategy must include tobacco price rises, media campaigns, more effective health warnings and better provision of smoking cessation services."
And here's another thing:
"Leading internet radio presenters call for doctors to go fuck themselves"
Whenever such "Doctor's" pronouncements are in the press, they cause me to become quite annoyed and as such my blood pressure rises dangerously. Of course this is rather bad for my health and wellbeing. As such I call for a ban on 'doctors' sticking their frigging noses into affairs that don't and shouldn't concern them.
More and more the attitude of the state appears to be that our bodies are somehow owned by them, much like a mortgaged house is actually owned by the bank, and that action should be taken against anyone who has that audacity to 'abuse' 'their' property.
When did we become the property of the state? Was it when the NHS was founded, or did it come later? Was there a defined event, or was it a slow and creeping process? Answers on a postcard please...
Aargh! Firefox 3.6 is adding tabs in the middle!
I , presumably along with a lot of other people upgraded to FireFox 3.6 this week. Most of the changes are 'under the bonnet' so to speak; but there are a few differences in the UI as well.
Now, when you open a link as a 'new tab', the tab appears next to the one you currently have open; instead of at the far right hand end of the bar as before.
If, like me, this gets your goat then there is an easy solution.
Type about:config into the address bar, click "I'll be careful, I promise" on the nanny screen and filter the results for browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent . Double-click the entry to flip it from 'true' to 'false', and you're done.
As found here: http://lifehacker.com/5456366/make-new-tabs-open-at-far-right-in-firefox-36
Hi-vis jobsworth patrol
To cut a long story short, it's St Patrick's day today [edit: no it wasn't] , and much of Digbeth is closed off to allow the parade and related festivities to take place, as they have done every year in Birmingham.
Normally we residents of the surrounding area receive information about road closures etc, so we know what is happening and can make plans to accomodate. This year I received precisely fuck all.
Anyway, I had to visit my mother this morning, and returned home about 2:15. Every road in the vicinity of my flat is utterly clogged up with buses, taxis and cars; not helped by the many minicab drivers who attempt to cut the queues and end up blocking what little clear road remains when they try to get back in to the queue.
My flat (and the car park entrance) are within 50 yards of the somewhat generous road closures.
Last year I seem to remember residents being allowed through. Not this year.
A certian hi-vis vest wearing tosser seems to be taking great pleasure in his 'duties' of causing maximum inconvenience to everyone and wielding what little 'power' he has, or at least thinks he has; backed up with lots of authoritative sounding words like 'council' and 'police'. Apparently we're supposed to drive round hideously congested streets for hours, hoping to find a parking space somewhere nearby (clue: there's a festival on; there aren't any) and walk a mile or two home, then back again later to collect the car because he, THE ALL POWERFUL ROAD CLOSURE MAN OF JUSTICE, allows NO-ONE TO PASS!! I should "take it up with the council if I don't like it" (his words).
What I will say is this- fuck you, you utter waste of skin, oxygen and everyting else; you fuckpigs in yellow bibs (inspectors of various types, 'compliance officers' etc etc etc) are the one thing above all wrong with Britain today, and I know it's a terrible cliche but your backs will be first against then wall when the revolution comes. Fuck off and die.
N.b: I'm home now, thanks to a barricade nearby being unmanned and having blown down in the wind. The roads inside the cordon are of course deserted.
Jim Pavloff re-creates “Voodoo People”
Found via here: http://www.synthgear.com/2010/video/recreate-prodigy-voodoo-people/
Jim Pavloff re-creates The Prodigy's 'Voodoo People', putting together the original samples in Ableton 8, demonstrated piece-by-piece in this YouTube video:
Fascinating stuff I'm sure you'll agree, especially for an amusical idiot like myself seeing how one of my favourte tracks was produced.
Televised debates
Mr Eugenides is right on the money wth this post: http://mreugenides.blogspot.com/2010/03/on-debates.html
I strongly recommend that you read it.
I am personally wary of the idea of televised election debates between prospective prime ministers taking off in the UK. In my opinion, politics is already 'dumbed down' enough; with too many voters utterly unaware of the policies or ideological standpoints of the main parties or their leaders, ending up voting on the basis of 'first impressions' or similarly irrelevant bases. Another soundbite rich platform, with the best presented politician 'winning' and then forever lauded in a press that should know better will only make this worse.
People say that such debates would 'raise public awareness of political issues' but I disagree; people uninterested in politics won't watch the debate(s) anyway and will only have their preexising ideas reinforced by what they read about them afterwards.
Ho-hum.