Mostly, I've been working and having a life. However, I've also written a couple of articles that have gone up at The Sharpener: Defend the Lords (by electing them) and It's morally right that people should die for my amusement. I'd rate them as worth a read, but then I would, wouldn't I?
Banditry
It's been a bit quiet round these parts lately, largely because I haven't been able to think of anything interesting to say. If anyone has any inspiring thoughts, feel free to leave them as a comment...
"Daggy music is one way to make the hoons leave an area", apparently. No word so far on whether this also deters the hoons from rorting.
I've been getting some bizarrely customised-for-this-site comment spam recently. For example: As well as the main critical mass ride there's now a north london version. Those Friday Thing folk said that boobah is "a bit odd" Today is the European Day of Languages. I wonder if David Blunkett is taking part? Linguist Geoff Nunberg considers … Continue reading Weird comment spam
Let's abolish inheritance tax. Let's abolish capital gains tax. Instead, let's treat all income as, well, income, and tax it as such. Whether you happened to make it from being clever and lucky enough to get a job, being clever and lucky enough to find a high-interest bank account, being clever and lucky enough to … Continue reading On tax
I've got a new piece up at the Sharpener, on the rather excellent geek-toy that is Google Trends.
You may or may not be aware of The Game. The Game only has one rule: if you remember you're playing it, you lose. I just lost the game, thanks to a reminder from Matt Turner. But Matt has a new, more insidious version of The Game, which I've also just lost: if you remember … Continue reading The Games
1) This website keeps disappearing. If it happens again I'm going to have to kill my hosting provider. Which is a shame, since I've met him and he's a nice chap. 2) I'd forgotten I said this: "blogging is a bunch of midgets fighting over bugger all". 3) The Sharpener, which is not a bunch … Continue reading Miscellany
I'm aware of most of the differences between British English (yuck, but it's the least ambiguous term I can think of) and US English, and I'm pretty aware of what's going on in US politics, at least on a national level. Australian English and politics can still leave me baffled, however: PM: I suspected Iraq … Continue reading A very common language
Julie Bindel has a comment piece in the Guardian about the class snobbery that permeates the healthy eating debate, and particularly about the way that fair-trade liberals sneer at the poor for eating badly. It's nearly sensible, but it falls down on a crucial point: Encouraging a healthy diet has far more to do with … Continue reading Healthy eating != bruschetta-eating