It seems that Michael Howard has apologised for his part in the Poll Tax. It’s a start I suppose, but personally I won’t be happy until Thatcher has been made to travel every road in the UK on her hands and knees apologising to everyone she meets.
Pedantry
When did the meaning of the word “acronym” get changed? As I understand it, an acronym is an abbreviation which can be pronounced as a word. Like “scuba”, “nato” or “radar”. But many people seem to use “acronym” when they actually mean “abbreviation”. There’s already a perfectly usable word for abbreviations. It’s “abbreviation”. Why not… Continue reading Pedantry
Bah Humbug
Early December and I’m already deep in “bah humbug” mode. I really hate Christmas. I can’t understand how some many people who don’t follow a religion can get so excited about one of that religion’s festivals. And I also don’t understand why people who do follow that religion get so excited as it’s obvious that… Continue reading Bah Humbug
Homophobic Fuckwittage
Marcus McLaurin was waiting in line to go to recess on November 11 at Ernest Gallet Elementary School when a classmate asked him about his mother and father. He responded that he didn’t have a mother and father; instead he has two mothers. When the other child asked why, Marcus told him that it was… Continue reading Homophobic Fuckwittage
Railway Rant
Some ten to fifteen years ago the Conservative party was in power in the UK and to them the free market was king. It would solve all consumer problems, give us better services across the board and make everything cheaper. One of their biggest projects was to turn our nationally owned railway service into a… Continue reading Railway Rant
Blunkett is “Not King Herod”
David Blunkett writes in today’s Guardian that he is not King Herod which, of course, clears up the confusion in many people’s minds. For those of you who don’t know much christian mythology, Herod ruled parts of the Middle East as a puppet king under the Romans at about the start of the first century… Continue reading Blunkett is “Not King Herod”
Glastonbury 2004
The Glastonbury festival has been given the go-ahead for 2004. The dates will be 25-27 June. I should really think about going back soon. I haven’t been since about 1995.
OBE? No Thanks
Someone thought that it would be a good idea to offer Benjamin Zephaniah an OBE. Unsurprisingly, he has turned it down. In today’s Guardian he explains his reasons. The UK needs more people like him.
Dotcom Memories
It’s summer 1999 and I’m working for QXL. They are in the middle of a major redesign of their web site. This involves changes to both the back end (replacing a home-grown file based system with Oracle and a commercial shop-building application) and the front end (a complete redesign). We are doing the back end… Continue reading Dotcom Memories
Tabloid Broadsheets
The Times announced today that it is going to follow The Independent in experimenting with a tabloid version. I’m guessing that The Guardian can’t be far behind.