Busybodies will be the death of us smokers
Leave it out! I mean the 'smokers' bit in your headline.
I have never smoked. Never will. I loathe all about it, and cannot stand the fact that a person who would get most agitated if I started burning polystyrene cups next to them as they travel, eat or any other activity that brings us into proximity, can think they have had any right, ever, to do so. But...
I agree. You want to do for yourself in or outdoors where it doesn't affect me and my own, knock yourself out. But here I see the matter of policing sensibly the how and the when gets tricky, along with costs to the taxpayer in scooping diseased lungs out of 30 year-olds at the expense of a kid with a hereditary ailment who happens to have lost a postcode lottery.
These would of course be matters for civilised debate, to arrive at an equitable solution.
But oh no, we have some fatuous 'the people require' vindication slapped on top of a spun elf & safety justification, when in fact it is just another attempt to stick more vote-nanny-loves-ya bodies on the solid gold, index-linked public payroll, funded in part by fines imposed outside of due legal process by the very folk whose salaries depend on a bust, on the sector of society who are most likely to cooperate and stump up. Meanwhile, at a gun dealer near you...
It's almost as logical as allowing a certain class of car to be made and then demonise the manufacturers for making them and people for buying them, when overhead a much worse form of transport pollution flies by almost unhindered by legislation to deliver air-flown berries to Islington supermarkets.
What next? Fining kids for putting (if indeed they did - innocent 'til proven, 'n all...) the wrong type of paper in a recycling bin. Oh... they have.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
tushtissue.info
Last night I did not go out for my Friday pint or two.
So I decided to invest what I would have spent on yet another website. Tushtissue is dedicated to all those who seek to paper over the cracks only enough to cover their own sweet selves and careers with meaningless action, but are not too concerned with actually doing anything that will make any difference than looking like you are acting.
It has been inspired by this morning watching the news media packed with pictures and interviews of pols, police and all sorts of other talking heads rushing around being interviewed and wearing nice outfits as a response to some high-profile, low-surprise murders with guns - as opposed to all the other much safer ways there are to get dead if anyone wishes to so commit such a crime, especially if the perpetrators are not complete cretins and have the patience to wait about a week 'til the police O/T budgets runs out, and the media get bored enough to move to more productive areas of outrage.
Tushtissue can apply across most areas of public protection and concern, including the environment, of course.
I have, at present, NO IDEA what form the design of this site will take, but have in mind some kind of graph (the logo is sweeeet) that tracks various public events along with the official response and resource commitment, as well as that of the media, etc as time progresses.
I'm guessing a peak for a few days on the latter, maybe a month on the former, followed by a slow tail-off on both. Until the next.
Best use of funds (I mean my £5 - there's a chance a wee bit more has been blown on what we're tracking already)? Let the viewer decide.
Anyone fancy working on it with me?
BBC - Man dies after new gun killing
So I decided to invest what I would have spent on yet another website. Tushtissue is dedicated to all those who seek to paper over the cracks only enough to cover their own sweet selves and careers with meaningless action, but are not too concerned with actually doing anything that will make any difference than looking like you are acting.
It has been inspired by this morning watching the news media packed with pictures and interviews of pols, police and all sorts of other talking heads rushing around being interviewed and wearing nice outfits as a response to some high-profile, low-surprise murders with guns - as opposed to all the other much safer ways there are to get dead if anyone wishes to so commit such a crime, especially if the perpetrators are not complete cretins and have the patience to wait about a week 'til the police O/T budgets runs out, and the media get bored enough to move to more productive areas of outrage.
Tushtissue can apply across most areas of public protection and concern, including the environment, of course.
I have, at present, NO IDEA what form the design of this site will take, but have in mind some kind of graph (the logo is sweeeet) that tracks various public events along with the official response and resource commitment, as well as that of the media, etc as time progresses.
I'm guessing a peak for a few days on the latter, maybe a month on the former, followed by a slow tail-off on both. Until the next.
Best use of funds (I mean my £5 - there's a chance a wee bit more has been blown on what we're tracking already)? Let the viewer decide.
Anyone fancy working on it with me?
BBC - Man dies after new gun killing
At least we can reply on the media
Trouble is, I don't think we can rely on them necessarily where it counts.
Bad Science.
'That's Sir Trev McD.... and you can't buy a title that good without having made a serious contribution to, er... what?
Dontcha just lay in bed at night feeling that little bit more secure in the knowledge that those tasked and/or paid to make sure our lives and those of our kids are safe, are in the hands of such a caring, competent bunch of folks.
Next thing they'll be doing is giving airtime to any bozo who can rack up ratings by claiming climate change will just make holidays in Bognor a better reason to get into sunscreen futures.
As to Sir. T, well, let's not go there. I doubt he will be.'
Bad Science.
'That's Sir Trev McD.... and you can't buy a title that good without having made a serious contribution to, er... what?
Dontcha just lay in bed at night feeling that little bit more secure in the knowledge that those tasked and/or paid to make sure our lives and those of our kids are safe, are in the hands of such a caring, competent bunch of folks.
Next thing they'll be doing is giving airtime to any bozo who can rack up ratings by claiming climate change will just make holidays in Bognor a better reason to get into sunscreen futures.
As to Sir. T, well, let's not go there. I doubt he will be.'
All in the best possible taste!
Maybe they could conduct a seance to get Kenny Everett to present Newsnight:
Sadly I missed both the programme and yesterday's opportunity to view it online - please consider archiving!
However I did get the promo email, which started with a 'joke' (the one at the end was funny:
"One guy in a bar licked his finger, then touched a girl's shirt, then said
"Hey, baby, how about we get out of these wet things?"
Classy, eh?
Followed immediately by: 'In tonight's programme":
SHOOTING
Another gun killing in south London last night.
Classy, eh?
Sadly I missed both the programme and yesterday's opportunity to view it online - please consider archiving!
However I did get the promo email, which started with a 'joke' (the one at the end was funny:
"One guy in a bar licked his finger, then touched a girl's shirt, then said
"Hey, baby, how about we get out of these wet things?"
Classy, eh?
Followed immediately by: 'In tonight's programme":
SHOOTING
Another gun killing in south London last night.
Classy, eh?
Words' Worth?
Today I have already watched and read two separate items that got a bit under my skin with the way people in the news say things that really are less than accurate, or substantiated, and the news outlets that allow such messages to go out.
First up is an enduring one, usually spouted by a pol or other spokesperson pitching or defending something under the spotlight; 'The [name social, racial, local, ethnic, national, etc, group here] want/are calling for, etc [this action, inaction, positive, negative, etc].
Er, no. I wasn't asked. And didn't offer any such view. So how do I suddenly get told I am supporting this? My immediate reaction is to rebel. Don't do it. Pitch on the basis of fact and reason.
Next is more topical: ' The climate debate is over'. Er, no, it patently is not. And trying to shut it down in this way is silly. There are still a horde of 'deniers' keeping it going well and truly, and denying this is just playing into their hands.
Find another way of phrasing to persuade those who do not live and breathe the day and night twists of the whole issue. Quick!
First up is an enduring one, usually spouted by a pol or other spokesperson pitching or defending something under the spotlight; 'The [name social, racial, local, ethnic, national, etc, group here] want/are calling for, etc [this action, inaction, positive, negative, etc].
Er, no. I wasn't asked. And didn't offer any such view. So how do I suddenly get told I am supporting this? My immediate reaction is to rebel. Don't do it. Pitch on the basis of fact and reason.
Next is more topical: ' The climate debate is over'. Er, no, it patently is not. And trying to shut it down in this way is silly. There are still a horde of 'deniers' keeping it going well and truly, and denying this is just playing into their hands.
Find another way of phrasing to persuade those who do not live and breathe the day and night twists of the whole issue. Quick!
Don't Drive or Drive?
Missed a day. Did you miss me?
The boys are on half-term and 'er indoors had set them up with an eye test in Hereford, so I decided to combo a whole set of chores.
So we set off at 8.45am for the 9.15am appointment. 30 minutes. By car. 3 up. Half a gallon. £2 round trip, plus £1 parking. Back after chores (see below) in time to get lunch ready for Mum.
Took a large box set of exhausted toner cartridges and expired drum thingy to Cartridge World to be refilled. Went to Volvo to see about connecting my solar trickle charger to the cigar lighter (it doesn't seem to work - no answer). Then to Sainsbury's to restock my supply of tinned palm hearts (shipped, I trust - do food miles weigh air vs. sea?). Home.
Now, the simple answer to how to do that 'eco' is to do it slowly or not at all. Was that an option? I guess. But I missed a morning anyway and a lot I needed to do will not get done (you could argue my reading and blogging the day's media is non-essential, but there are a lot of 'jobs' being carried out I'd say are equally forgoeable. It would have been a long day without the car, and more money (unless I never owned the car in the first place. Not really an option in the country). At least I can get this blog post out of it. The green elite would turn it into a TV programme, and pay their mortgage on the proceeds. Most are not so blessed in being rewarded for their good green practices, and I do wonder if those who preach most vocally would do so if not compensated for their special status
Hmmmn.
The boys are on half-term and 'er indoors had set them up with an eye test in Hereford, so I decided to combo a whole set of chores.
So we set off at 8.45am for the 9.15am appointment. 30 minutes. By car. 3 up. Half a gallon. £2 round trip, plus £1 parking. Back after chores (see below) in time to get lunch ready for Mum.
Took a large box set of exhausted toner cartridges and expired drum thingy to Cartridge World to be refilled. Went to Volvo to see about connecting my solar trickle charger to the cigar lighter (it doesn't seem to work - no answer). Then to Sainsbury's to restock my supply of tinned palm hearts (shipped, I trust - do food miles weigh air vs. sea?). Home.
Now, the simple answer to how to do that 'eco' is to do it slowly or not at all. Was that an option? I guess. But I missed a morning anyway and a lot I needed to do will not get done (you could argue my reading and blogging the day's media is non-essential, but there are a lot of 'jobs' being carried out I'd say are equally forgoeable. It would have been a long day without the car, and more money (unless I never owned the car in the first place. Not really an option in the country). At least I can get this blog post out of it. The green elite would turn it into a TV programme, and pay their mortgage on the proceeds. Most are not so blessed in being rewarded for their good green practices, and I do wonder if those who preach most vocally would do so if not compensated for their special status
Hmmmn.
A Century of Scouting
For not much better reason than to test this blog system, which is playing up with error messages, I offer a video for your delectation: A Century of Scouting
Our kids' local group was asked to help with an original song, and Firebird was asked to film, record and edit the results. So we did.
You never know, what goes around may come around.
Our kids' local group was asked to help with an original song, and Firebird was asked to film, record and edit the results. So we did.
You never know, what goes around may come around.
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