Archived posts
A Future in Europe
I am, and will always remain, a firm believer in what used to be termed "The European Project" ie a …
Mrs May
Theresa May keeps insisting that she was for Remain, but I've yet to see any evidence that she actively campaigned …
The cult of personality
It is a regular thing to hear - sometimes in fiction, very often not - that the world would have …
Clinton v Trump looking more likely
Although Trump increased his delegate lead for the GOP nomination some of the states weren't actually decisive in the numbers. …
Dangerous stuff!
A group of disabled people in Bolivia are protesting against the government by suspending themselves in their wheelchairs from a …
Who do you trust with your life?
It's often said that strikes are always about money, but might I draw your attention to something else … trust. …
Safety first
About that Saturday working … I, like many people who have worked in retail, have been subject to an employment contract …
I love Star Wars
Chyrp
Between 2006 and 2009 my blogs were build around the lightweight open source blogging platform [[Chyrp]]. …
On our way there
One of the fun things of flying intercontinental is being able to follow the position of the aircraft you are …
Wikimedia in trouble?
I'd like to think that if things had gone differently in whatever year it was (WMF still in St Pete) …
London Mayoral candidates threaten travel plans
One of the main drivers of fares policy in London is the policy of the Mayor in office at the …
We have the power
There's "quiet" and there's "are you sure this thing is ON????" New power supply for main comp arrived and …
What we learned this weekend...
Sherlock Holmes, a London-based inquisitive mind: "It's _never_ twins!". Endeavour Morse, a junior Oxford Police …
What's the date?
Back in London again - nothing here changed, not even any post (apart from a bank statement). …
Cold
Cyril Smith and others
"Sex parties" take place between consenting adults. What Smith et all have been accused of is child exploitation, abuse and …
Let there be light
Security
This evening I've been going through ALL of my internet accounts changing their passwords. It takes quite a while as …
The Rennard affair
still around. mostly elsewhere though. However . . . being on tv last week was 'interesting' as well as being …
quelle langue?
A Swiss guy, looking for directions, pulls up at a bus stop where two Englishmen are waiting. …
pr0n filters
I do wish politicians would stop trying to 'talk tech'. What I want from my electricity, gas, water, phone, and …
Europe and 'that referendum'
I was listening to BBC's Any Questions on Friday night and tweeted along with it (I *love* backchannels!) After the …
Events, dear boy, events.*
Well, yesterday I promised a post here on what I did on my holidays Friday afternoon. …
London calling
Finally back in Highgate again after being at my mum's since mid-December. Original idea had been to come back the …
Shooting the messenger
Earlier this week, The Home Secretary Teresa May decided that Gary McKinnon should not be extradited to the USA to …
Downhill
Yesterday I woke up at 6am (yes! really! it does exist!) but delayed getting out of bed for a whole …
I really don't write enough any more
or rather I tweet so much that I rarely engage in long-form (or longer-form, anyway) writing any more. …
Keep buggering on
A few days ago, James Graham told why he was quitting the LibDems. Yesterday, another friend did so too, indeed …
MITx i18n fails
One of my 'pet' topics over more than 20 years has been how to Internationalise (i18n) web sites and services; …
Student
I've always been interested in the topic of remote teaching & learning, from looking at the possibilities for …
A letter to MLB.TV
For the last couple of years I've been really happy with my subscription to MLB. tv - there being no …
Software licencing revisited
Look in the sidebar on the right and you'll see a number of entries for the FLOSS software which runs …
What's really in a name
Yesterday I attended #BenefitsCamp , which was considering various ideas and creating option around the issues related to the UK …
Fine tuning
Since late last year I've started to get interested again in hardware hacking and the 'maker' movement, up to the …
Status check
Went out on Sunday to the celebrate-new-(Chinese-)year meal and it was very yummy indeed. TONS of food between the ten …
The SOPA/PIPA Result
The people spoke on Wednesday and, it seems, they were heard by some of the Senators and members of Congress …
SOPA/PIPA blackout effect
One thing I've noticed a lot of since late last night about the whole "ohnoestheinterwebismissing!111!!" thing has been how much …
Age and DNA
Over the last few days a similar topic has come up during online and offline discussions with friends: does one's …
IPv6 down
It being a 'season'able few days where one isn't necessarily pushed to do work stuff, and not being at home …
Breathing, Matters
I've just read about a hackday in Amsterdam this weekend on the matter of developing cheap personal testing of air …
Where next for Wikipedia
Once upon a time there was an idea, and the idea was new and untested, but they went ahead and …
b0rkken
Yes, I discovered earlier today that I had broken my install here. Mea Culpa. I hadn't realised earlier …
Issues in 2012
One of my ISPs, entanet have posed the question "Which of the following issues will most greatly affect the Internet …
Task done.
A while ago I started on what has turned out to be the long process of making everything I do …
The Child Seat
I remember when I first found some 'erotica' at home. I was still very much a young and naive child …
I want to vent ...
. . . but I'm not sure where to do so. Because, in some ways, it feels like I've failed …
Enough being sufficient
ok, I'm admitting a level of defeat here and making it harder to post a comment. …
Another tense night
"I am a fan of the Boston Red Sox. " Once up a time -- before 2004 -- making …
Expensive hobbies, general updatiness
(I initially titled that "expensive hoppies" which gave me visions of lots of energizer bunnies everywhere. …
Location, location, location
Returned to London today, arriving about 30 mins ago. Staggered up the stairs and currently trying to work out the …
Getting a taster
This article -- seen via Glyn Moody on G+ -- reiterates the point that it is frequently the people who …
The Global Phonebook?
I've been thinking a lot about why Google seem so concerned about having "real" names; what difference it could actually …
Who are you
This is actually an issue I've been meaning to write about for a week or two, but it has taken …
End of an Era - or maybe not
At first sight, the "closure" of the News of the World sounds like a good thing for public opinion and …
Unexpected endings
In the last few days I've watched the final episodes of two television series I've liked a lot. …
A New mayor for London
We are fast approaching the time when all Londoners -- like myself -- will have to vote for a new …
Blast the English (language)!
When searching online you have to guess how a website which might have what you are seeking has chosen to …
Onward the Future
We're fast approaching World IPv6 Day in June and, after a few hiccoughs, my servers now have an allocation of …
Towards a 'big' society?
As I see it, the concept behind Cameron's 'Big Society' is one of the tenets of wikipedia: "So do it", …
Mind games
I was talking with a friend on the phone yesterday and telling her that I've worked out what my mind …
Tweeted
Late this evening† I received an email from Twitter confirming that I had been un-suspended. Somewhat worrying though was that …
Reputation redux
I have - 90 hours after submitting the ticket! - had a response from twitter support regarding the suspension of …
Reputations
Specifically, mine. It is now over 21 24 hours since I was suddenly and unexpectedly disconnected from Twitter without notice …
Twitter silence
Well this is a worry. After watching this afternoon's RedSox game - which we sadly lost, but then it is …
Census meme
1961: Four years old so I'd have been in Hemel Hempstead and about to start my first year at primary …
Coming in June
This year has already seen the exhaustion of the IPv4 address supply and the move to the future - IPv6 …
First impressions
Semi-related to an earlier post, I just answered a query elsewhere about the 'secret' of making good first impression. …
The power of image
Over the New Year break I received a letter from the DVLA requiring me to update the photograph on my …
A little more time
I just snapped a shot of the offsets of my time server since I changed over the box]. …
Observations
I spent New Year's Eve in London and around midnight watched the fireworks going off all around the city, from …
Time
My public timeserver has been playing up a bit lately, but I've not been certain whether it is a machine …
The False Post
I am currently watching recorded coverage of the debate yesterday in the House of Lords regarding the Parliamentary voting system …
Too cold for comfort
What with winter starting so early this year and the snow falling and making the landscape all pretty like …
Impossible to answer
Every so often I get asked some questions by Yougov. And at the moment I'm filling in a survey for …
BarCamp8
In just over two weeks I'll be attending another BarCamp in London. Whilst it will be the eighth London BarCamp …
Tech update
Popped home on Friday to collect some data I'd left there, otherwise I've been looking after my mum mostly. …
A question of education
There has been much discussion about university fees and the recent Browne report proposing that the present cap should be …
Privacy (revisited)
Yesterday I tweeted ""I'm more than a bit worried about this #rainmaker thing. it requires others giving my email address …
All in the Family
I've just listened to an interview on PM with a man who has -- with his partner -- a total …
The eBuying bug
My mail server runs Zimbra, which is nigh on perfect for my needs (vast number of domains, vanishing few actual …
Diaspora
Wikipedia would have us believe that a diaspora is "the movement or migration of a group of people, such as …
The simply divine Miss Tarabotti
My dears! I simply must tell you about the most wonderful book I came across in my perambulations on the …
French novelist Michel Houellebecq
Posted without further comment
If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child? …
Conversations
In my previous post I wrote an open letter to Lynne Feathersone about her proposed ban on the enforcement of …
The ban on clamping
The BBC are reporting that Lynne Featherstone, as the Equalities and Criminal Information Minister, is to bring forward a bill …
Museum redux
I've received more friendly email from others at the museum (where I quit on Monday): "I was very dismayed …
The girl did right
I'm mostly calmed down now from the stress of earlier in the day. Before I was cut off from the …
Button pushing
So someone reading my tweets yesterday and today might -- correctly -- conclude I've been getting somewhat exasperated with something. …
Notes to Self, number 86986
86986. When reconfiguring a set of servers ensure that all services on them are working properly when you have finished. …
Time enough
Listening to the radio last night I was reminded of something I was taught when I first worked in the …
A New "Routemaster"?
On the day we discover how empty the public purse really is, Boris Johnson – somehow elected as Mayor of …
Where you live
I'm listening to Radio 4's The Westminster Hour at the moment and, unsurprisingly, the discussion is about the recent General …
Random lines
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a fairly well-defined entity. A really big island, lots of …
What is a bigot?
Yesterday, a certain leader of the Labour Party went walkabout 'meeting the people of Britain' as part of his election …
The politics of downloading
First off, before I get started, let me say quite clearly and absolutely that I do not hold with people …
It's about the heat
I've been getting concerned lately with heat. The temperature kind, that is. With the increase in the number of servers …
Bye bye birdie out the window
I've been very satisfied with the beta and release candidates of Windows 7 but the lifetime of the (free) RC …
Erotic Awards
Last night saw this year's semi-finals of the Awards in London, and a great show it was with many new …
The tweak that broke
Yes, I had a little accident ;-P With the increase in technology came an increase in what I'd like …
Back on-line
Did you miss me? Over the last few days I've been upgrading the server kit I use to …
Acts of god
All the recent media coverage about weather-related transport service problems has brought to mind that on this night exactly thirty …
Social Media politics
Once Parliament is Prorogued Members of Parliament still receive their salaries but may not campaign during the election period as …
The ultimate "what if?"
One of my favourite shows this autumn / fall season has been the second outing of Being Erica from CBC. …
So I _can_ blame my parents!
I was looking in the mirror this morning, and realised that I can no longer ignore the strands of grey …
London #140conf - all it could be?
On November 17, @JeffPulver came to town with his 140 Characters Conference show, following in the footsteps of past 140conf …
A thought or two about porn
This is going to be one of those blog posts where you first ponder whether you should actually make such …
State-sanctioned murder
Earlier this evening I watched a powerful drama on Channel 4. "The Execution of Gary Glitter" was …
Subtitles
No, not the ones which are ever-so-useful to many people on the television or at the opera, but the one …
The Post Office Problem
Last week there were -- allegedly -- two days of strikes at the Royal Mail. I say 'allegedly' as I …
Are the EVE-Online servers moving to Iceland?
Yesterday I noted an interesting article on the BBC website about a firm setting up …
Today I killed a fly
This morning I saw a large fly trying to escape my room here. As all the windows were locked and …
The arguments about filesharing
It seems that every day there are new comments about the issues involved in people downloading content over the internet, …
Where next?
"Won't anyone think of the adults?" First they came for the cigarette advertising and sponsorship. …
Leaving the pod.
CCP Games, the Iceland-based company behind EVE Online and the forecast 'World of Darkness' MMORPGs has …
Going v6
As it happens, my car is a V6. but I'm wanting here to mention the 'upgrading' of Internet Protocol to …
ID Cards fail
I'm not a lover of the Daily Mail, but their article today on how easy -- and fast -- is …
Zimbra
Here at AlisonW towers I run an installation of Zimbra Collaboration Suite (Open Source Edition) on a stand-alone server to …
The word of the day is ...
"Redacted". It is everywhere today due to the 'publication' of the last four year's worth of MPs' receipted …
Brown's Mandate
Repeatedly one hears political commentators exclaiming that Gordon Brown has "no mandate" to be the Prime Minister given that he …
Re-shuffle?
Surely, to be a reshuffle one must randomise the pack somewhat? I'd always understood that to be the meaning …
Expenses and Allowances - the bubble bursts
The major topic of conversation in the UK lately has -- very unusually -- been politics, or more precisely the …
Fallout
A few days ago I received a request from the Party to respond to an online questionnaire about the whole …
Deep Packet Inspection
Just to be clear, I'm writing here about the abomination that is the idea behind Phorm; that getting internet service …
Yak shaving
"Yak shaving" is a wonderful term -- reckoned to have been coined by Carlin Vieri at MIT -- that boils …
Seen on a website
The form was sitting there to be filled in: "The fields marked with * Asterix are mandatory" Do you …
The Thought Process
How different people approach the same problem is an interest of mine. Ever since I first started analysing requirements for …
Disturbing image
The picture below, displayed on flickr, was taken during the G20-related 'activities' on April 1st in Threadneedle …
BarCamp London
I've spent the weekend geeking out at the latest BarCampLondon in the lovely new offices of …
Baseball World
This morning I watched the final match of theWorld Baseball Classic between Korea and Japan. …
Ada Lovelace Day
Some month's ago, Suw (Charman-Anderson) suggested that there should be a celebration today of admirable women in …
Is recycling a good thing?
Twenty years ago a political advert appeared on billboards around the UK which went on …
In case you were wondering
Having been somewhat MIA over recent weeks, herewith a quick post to let you know where I've been. …
Investments
I want to write about something that affects most of us at one time or another, especially those of us …
Short notice film
So I'm looking at my twitter feed this morning and someone I know mentions that there are invites going for …
Socialising people
The current fondness for "Social media" suggests that much of the media isn't 'social', yet perusing the racks at your …
Dyslexia a 'fiction'?
Labour backbencher Graham Stringer has attacked the very concept of dyslexia, claiming it is a myth designed to cover up …
Disaster narrowly averted
Although it really shouldn't be season-specific, I associate the end of the year with a nice Stilton and a glass …
Death nell for VHS
I have somewhere around 450+ VHS video tapes, nearly all recorded with stuff I thought was 'important' off-air during the …
Social Pantomime
This afternoon I 'took part' in a social network pantomime. No, I don't mean a client presentation which went badly, …
Skyline
This morning was one of those mornings where the view goes into monochrome in the distance. …
The the phone rang
I've had three major posts on my mind for the last few weeks, which I'll tell you about later, but …
an update on the uk blocking of wikipedia
Statement by the Internet Watch Foundation: …
Albums and abuse
Child abuse is, clearly, something that nobody considers acceptable and would want to prevent. Whether it is recent court cases …
Truth in Advertising
A letter addressed to me this morning included the line: "how you can cut your energy bills by around £340 …
Whatever happened to Purdah?
Once upon a time a British Chancellor wouldn't let on what might -- or might not -- be in his …
Radio but not ga-ga
After I returned from Iceland I fell somewhat ill. The usual sore throat, blinding headache and such that precursors an …
Iceland
Flew up to Reykjavik last Wednesday for the Eve online Fanfest event. Mostly great fun with lots of news about …
Linkage
Some recent stories and articles which have grabbed my attention: …
The banks are just making complete monkeys of them.
The Guardian is reporting that the Royal Bank of Scotland, having received £20 billion from the …
Trust in Wikipedia
I regularly have the question "How can we trust wikipedia when anyone can edit it? Shouldn't we ban it from …
Executive contracts
"François Barrault, who has been chief executive of Global Services (of BT) since April 2007, has resigned with immediate effect …
What's in a name?
My name is Alison Wheeler -- Alison Mary Wheeler, in full actually -- and Google alerts regularly sends me 'news' …
To backdate or not to .. etc.
I've been writing an online diary -- a 'blog' in the vernacular -- in one form or another since 1995, …
Connections
With all the 'Web 2. 0' services come 'Friends'. They aren't necessarily people you've met face-to-real-face or even people you …
Privacy for pointers
Link-length reduction services like TinyURL, bit. ly and is. gd have been around quite a while now, but I've tended …
Íslendingar eru ekki hryðjuverkamenn!
I've only visited Iceland once so far -- in June this year …
Compare and Contrast
n the USA today, former Secretary of State and General Colin Powell (Republican) has …
Looking for a purr-fect home?
If you like kittens then they'll love this Japanese home …
Servers and alcohol
Today I successfully moved my MySQL databases from a server in Pittsburgh PA to a server closer to home, UK …
Leaving Life
Second Life, that is. I joined the artificial world that is 'SL' a few years ago, eventually buying quite a …
A Paper Chase
Yesterday afternoon, while doing some yak shaving with cables, I opened a cupboard I haven't seen inside of in years …
Party President
I received my ballot paper for the next party President this morning and was rather surprised to find that there …
God plays dice
"As we saw in the demonstration, when an intruder did try to listen in on …
Average speed cameras
"Orwell himself never imagined anything quite as observant as the Specs 3 camera. It represents the probable future of British …
Database nation
Cory Doctorow: "The identity card I'm to be issued when I renew my visa is intended to be linked …
DOCTYPE
One can make good arguments about when to be 'Transitional' and when to be 'Strict' and whilst ever site should …
Creeping Elegance?
I recently came across this term in a discussion on facebook and thought it sounded nice. …
Why sharing is good
Speaking in July, security expert Bruce Schneier said: "As bad as the damage is …
Tell them Mandy is back
"Tell them what you're going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you've told them" That is the …
Where to put enemies
"Four of the MPs who signed the backbenchers' letter which prompted Mr Brown's predecessor Tony Blair to announce a timetable …
Matrix
Remember all those business school 2×2 matrix diagrams that supposedly explain everything about how to understand …
Joe Six-Pack
As it happens, I stayed up late into the night on Thursday to watch the Veep candidate's debate. …
Jubal Harshaw
My spaceship is docked
About four months ago I was elected to the 'Council of Stellar Management' in the …
Howard Fineman, Newsweek.com
Burn it!
No, I don't mean the man in the desert (though I did watch it this year from the comfort of …
Infest 2008
Modules
As I've been having some problems accessing the main Chyrp site to update my modules there (and add a new …
Time passeth
So it is probably time for a second testing post? …
3 - 2 - 1 - Initiate!
I'm developing some ideas and code to extend Chyrp. . . come back when I sort it out to find …
HP: webOS 2.0 and beyond
I have a Palm Pre mobile 'phone'. As soon as it was announced I knew I wanted it - not …
Mythology
A friend has noted on his blog the following test from an email sent to him by an industry recruiter: …
Ex computer operator sings a song
