There’s an interesting discussion over on David Heinemeier Hansson’s blog about how the technical publishing industry could change in order to give better deal to technical authors. It’s particularly notable for the contributions from Tim O’Reilly and Gary Cornell (the publisher at Apress). One point that interested me was DHH’s assertion that all books are… Continue reading Shaking Up Tech Publishing
Author: Dave Cross
Shoe Shops
I hate shopping for shoes. I particularly hate the sixteen year old sales assistants that you get in most shoe shops who seem far more interested in flirting with themselves than actually serving customers. The whole process is made even more stressful by the fact that my feet are quite big[1] which tends to limit… Continue reading Shoe Shops
What’s Wrong With ORM
Last night I gave a talk to the London Perl Mongers about “What’s Wrong With ORM”. It was a first draft of a talk that I hope to be giving a few times this year. There’s also an article in preparation (well, I say “in preparation” but I actually mean “slowly coalescing in my brain”).… Continue reading What’s Wrong With ORM
Express on the Budget
This pretty much sums up the difference in opinions between sane people and the people who read papers like the Express and the Mail. Express readers would rather have more money in their pocket than having it wasted on things like education and healthcare. Oh, and by the way. Where can you buy nuclear weapons… Continue reading Express on the Budget
Most Distrusted
American’s increasing acceptance of religious diversity doesn’t extend to those who don’t believe in a god, according to a national survey by researchers in the University of Minnesota’s department of sociology. From a telephone sampling of more than 2,000 households, university researchers found that Americans rate atheists below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and… Continue reading Most Distrusted
V For Vendetta
So I should write something about V For Vendetta, if only to say how much I disagree with Peter Bradshaw’s review. The graphic novel that the film is based on is one of my favourites, so I’m probably a bit biased and you should bear that in mind when reading my comments. Having said that,… Continue reading V For Vendetta
Archbishop: Stop Teaching Creationism
In an interview in today’s Guardian the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has come out firmly against the teaching of creationism in schools. AR: Are you comfortable with teaching creationism? AC: Ahh, not very. Not very. I think creationism is, in a sense, a kind of category mistake, as if the Bible were a theory… Continue reading Archbishop: Stop Teaching Creationism
You Spent How Much!
There’s one thing that I have haven’t seen mentioned in any of the discussion of the current Labour party loans scandal. The Labour party “borrowed” nearly £14 million from various people in order to finance last year’s election campaign. That means that they spent at least £14 million on the campaign. Am I being naive?… Continue reading You Spent How Much!
MySun
Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace last year as part of his drive to make more effective use of the internet. According to the Guardian, the first results of this purchase will be the use of MySpace technology on the Sun‘s web site to create a “MySun” network. The plan, in its early stages, would allow readers… Continue reading MySun
Fee-Paying and Faith-Based Schools
From the Guardian‘s new Comment is Free site comes a great article by Stuart Jeffries. Here’s a modest proposal. In fact, here are two modest proposals. If the Labour government has any socialist principles left, then surely it should do two fundamental things in order to make our schools truly egalitarian rather than crapshoots for… Continue reading Fee-Paying and Faith-Based Schools