Flying Aqua Badger

Return of the O' Levels

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 00:13:00 +0000

A leak of the Education's Secretary's plan to scrap GCSEs and replace then with old style O' Levels has attracted the expected amount of criticism. Well there is no life left in GCSEs unfortunately. To save the standard of education they will sooner or later have to go. That's simply because no government is going to stand over the headline of GCSE A*-C pass rates falling to 50%. It now stands at 81%. 7 years ago it was 55%.

Sadly there is no way that better teaching practices and the idea that pupils are working harder than their predecessors is solely or even largely responsible for making those gigantic leaps in improving numbers year on year. Instead we have teaches to exams and perverse competition between the Exam Boards working to increase scores whilst not necessarily increasing comprehension.

The negative effect it is certainly having is in confusing higher education institutions and businesses as to how bright a particular student is.

O' Levels are not the answer. We need a bit more thought than going back to the old system that was deemed to need replacing itself only 25 years ago.

With school leaving age shifting from 16 years old to 18 we have an opportunity to rework education and start competing with the great results that are coming out of other systems like those of Finland and South Korea. For starters we can get rid of this aspiration for smaller class size nonsense. There aren't enough brilliant teachers to go around and they are more important than the class size. I'd rather have my child with a brilliant teacher in a class of 50 than an average teacher in a class of 25.

The State of British Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:51:00 +0000

What's happening in British politics today, in the wake of the local elections held on May 3rd 2012. Labour did well. They didn't shatter expectations but they did well. They had an open goal to aim for with the calamitous budget from George Osborne, Theresa May's lost day, Francis Maude's jerry can gaffe, Vincent Cable's lack of strategy letter, the 500 families Newham council wanted to foist upon Stoke, and then the small matter of Britain re-entering recession.

Ed Miliband thought now would be a good time to revive Malcolm Tucker's "omnishambles" as the buzz word to describe the situation for the government. Blowing his load too soon, in my opinion and that's a brilliant word to being out for a general election. He'll do very well to top it and even now only a month or two later it's lost its edge. And with all that Labour pretty much rode the wave of inertia which punishes governing parties at local elections.

So, what's going on? Well, Labour can't shake off their guilt from landing the country in the situation it's in. Their leadership duo were in it up to their eyeballs which means when they tell us they have the economic remedy any right thinking person doesn't believe them for a second. Alistair Darling was the best person Labour had coming out of government. The idea that Labour want to ride his coattails with the growth in GDP that he oversaw just before the party left power is despicable considering Gordon Brown wanted him out and replaced by Ed Balls.

Besides which there is no way of telling whether Darling was doing everything right or whether he enjoyed a dead cat bounce. Considering the depth of the fall in GDP and the relative stability elsewhere (Greece was bad but nothing like now) there's plenty of room for doubting his perfection.

It can't get much worse for the Tories. The disingenuously named double-dip recession is only expected to be short. So maintaining control of the deficit now and recognisable growth to come ahead of 2015 would mean they are not looking to hand Labour a solid majority. The daily stack up of poor news has abated. The jobs figures for the past 3 months have showed mild improvements. Take the economy back the same way and they'll start having some confidence in themselves again. Though David Cameron's continually questionable choice in company keeps plaguing his leadership. Gary Barlow is the case in point this week.

The Liberal Democrats, well. They just can't get over the tuition fee debacle. They thought they could ride it out but nearly two years on it still overshadows everything they do. Nick Clegg will never regain trust of the voters and so they'll be left with only loyal hardcore support until there's a large scale jettison of the betraying pledgers.

Of course, the two main parties aren't being shifted from their perch yet. However, there is a chance that this country will awaken from its stupor and actually vote someone else in who might do something different. UKIP and the Greens did well. The Green's already have their first MP in Caroline Lucas. Hopefully that's a stepping stone for them rather than a flash in the pan. UKIP need to stop being a one man show with a single policy. Nigel Farage can only spread himself so far. He needs his team to be more visible to capture the public's imagination.And George Galloway of Respect is back in the House with a recent by-election win.

It'll come around eventually...

Jimmy Carr Opens the Book on Tax Morality

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 23:32:00 +0000

A satirical comedian who makes his living out of jokes about bankers bonuses and fat cats has been caught out as a tax dodger. He's going to earn a lot of money, went to his accountant going what do I do with it, and gets told he can legally pay 1% on it with a K2 arrangement.

So who's in the wrong? Jimmy Carr? His accountant? The companies that pay into his company knowing it's bound to be dodging tax as it has a Jersey address? The law makers who allowed this loophole?

Jimmy is taking all the personal flak but there's another 1000+ people abusing the scheme, including folks like the lovely Gary Barlow, who need to share the public wrath. It's not turning out too bad for Mr Carr. He's held his hands up, admitted it's an error in judgement and pulled out of the scheme. The twitterati are certainly largely forgiving of him.

If he earns a similar amount to last year that'll mean he'll pay more income tax in 3 months than the average British worker will pay in their whole 40+ year working life. Does that square things up? What about his charitable giving. Does denying the treasury the choice of where to spend a large chunk of his money cause less upset because he chooses good causes to give some of it to instead?

Individual choices are poor when it comes to the common good. That's why we have a system of laws in the first place. The laws on income are clearly faulty as it doesn't capture all income for liability to income tax. The tax code is amazingly long and wasteful. The amount of human energy and resources that goes into both exploiting and enforcing complicated tax rules is shameful. It needs to be kept simple so morality is off the table and all this effort can be redirected to something more useful.

The End of Free Banking (Again)?

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:51:00 +0000

The vague and lengthy declaration that retail and investment banks need to be split at some point in the distant future is going to be announced tomorrow. Desperate cries of horror from the banking lobby will follow as they always do. The most usual horror story designed to bring fear to the masses is the idea that free banking would become a thing of the past.

It's a good threat but one that will only be pulled out as a very last resort. Oddly enough, its coming about would be a sign of victory for the public. Banking most profitable asset is their customer's inertia; The infinite number of "you're more likely to change ... than your bank." There's a reason for that and that's not seeing the bank suck money out of your account. Should they start making it visible, customers will notice and all the efforts banks have been forced to make to smooth the process of transferring current account supplier will begin to haunt them.

The Electoral Smell of 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:14:00 +0000

There's something about the Conservatives recent showing in the polls which makes me think back to 2007 and wonder whether they are thinking whether it's the best time they are going to get to call an election considering the ever diminishing forecasts for the economy.

David Cameron's use of the veto seems to have persuaded the voters that he will stand up for our interests in Europe. They aren't used to that and have been calling for it for a long time. It's never been the most important issue so it's questionable how long this bounce for the Tories will last. In their favour it may bring back the UKIP supporters into the fold.

The Liberal Democrats look to be a shell of a party with their integrity shattered due to not voting against student fees rises. The taint still shows, over a year after the issue passed, indicating it won't go away this parliament and will weigh heavily on them in the next election.

Labour are suffering a real crisis of leadership. Ed Milliband was always a risky prospect. He has 3 factors affecting how he is perceived that he will not ever shift:

The support of the unions secured his victory
As a key member of Gordon Brown's team he is implicated with the creation of the economic mess
The "betrayal" of his brother David

Top that all off with having Ed Balls as his No.2 then you have an unelectable party whose leadership had far too much dealings with the problems in the economy. Now that the most prime ministerial candidate as next leader is invalidated, David Milliband being second best the first time around leaves too many open goals, there is a struggle to find a credible replacement.
If the best they can come up with is Yvette Cooper, her 18 months as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and simply referring to her as Mrs Balls introduces the same problem.

Still, it won't happen yet I feel. The all important constituency boundary changes is the vital advantage that the Conservatives need to remove doubt from the result. If the Labour leadership remains unchanged then October 2013 is the time to look for.

The Distractions of Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:39:00 +0000

There are some big moving pieces shaping life and thought in Britain today. Prime Minister David Cameron taking the nuclear option to the EU. The governments junior coalition partners poor reaction to it. Though no-one is surprised the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats disagree on Europe. The question is, as the gravitational mass of the Euro crisis increases, can the coalition sideline the issue and still work together?

Some are amazed that Cameron used the veto. It's a threat, you're not really supposed to use it. He couldn't sign a new treaty without an uncomfortable referendum and leaving a large chunk of his backbenchers furious. The public is mostly favourable that, finally, a British leader is willing to stand up to Europe. The protection of the City of London didn't seem the issue to me and if it was I am shocked that we'd otherwise so easily had over sovereignty regarding the national budget.

The EU summit, where the weapon was wielded, went on to produce another plan to fix the eurozone crisis. Sadly, it is there to fix the next crisis and does little if nothing to address the current problems. The politicians have been shielded by the central bankers move on November 30th to bring extra US dollar liquidity into the transatlantic financial system. It's only today that the effect has worn off and the markets have taken a big tumble again.

And as much fun as the geopolitics are, there is outright refusal to address the real problem. The financial system. Richard Koo rightly points out the absurdity of having near zero interest rates and instead of borrowing cheaply, paying down debt is the order of the day. We work to a fractional reserve banking system. That means money paid back is money destroyed. It has to be replaced with fresh borrowing to keep us treading water. And in order to grow it has to be replaced with greater borrowing than what is repaid.

We can't pay down debt and have growth unless existing wealth is put to work. If we're not going to fix this unoptimised system and won't accept a write down on debt then I only see one path to generating the growth that'll turn the economy around. The existing wealth of the elite and cash rich corporations needs to be put to use on new/small enterprise, where innovation will be most significant and the next major companies will be born from.

Teach our kids to code | John Graham-Cumming

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 23:10:00 +0000

Teach our kids to code | John Graham-Cumming

Agree with John's sentiment entirely.

Program or be Programmed

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 23:59:00 +0000

So goes the title of Douglas Rushkoff's book. Unless I missed a turn somewhere, the direction our world is going suggests programming will be a bigger part of our children's lives than it is our own. Jim Anning in his post Kids and Programming argues that we need change.

I left state schooling at the end last century but very little strikes me that things there have progressed as much as they should have. ICT wasn't a real subject them. Yes, the token room and single teacher but there was little more in it than creating basic files and organising folders. In fact the most advanced stuff was the 4 PCs in the graphics room which had Macromedia Fireworks on it.

In the same way that the British struggle with foreign languages it's all too easy to see programming languages following that path.

If we have to start somewhere then if Microsoft Office holds the programs of choice then at least the kids should be taught VBA which enhances it.

Biggest Strikes Since 1926 - Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:45:00 +0000

The unions have got themselves a bit carried away in their rhetoric of late. Talking up strike action to rival the General Strike of 1926 only prompts people like me to look up how successful that particular campaign was.

What was it about?
Miners workers pay and conditions.

What was the problem?
They were going to get paid less and work more.

Why?
The mining industry in this country was dying on its arse. The easy rich seams were depleted long ago. Extracting the remaining sources was getting increasingly expensive and foreign supplies were becoming ever cheaper.

Why did the strike get so big?
Largely out of sympathy strikes. Subsequently made illegal.

What was the result?
Take a look at our thriving industry now. There's no escaping the inevitable.

And moving on to the present. Lets spot the similarities:

What is it about?
Pensions, mostly.

What is the problem?
Well, they are going to get paid less (by contributing more to their pensions and getting less back than they thought) and work more (extra years per lifetime rather than hours per day).

Why?
Well, the demographics of supporting large pensions are dying on their arse. The days were there were 9 workers to support each pensioner are long gone. We're now looking at closer 3.

Why is the strike getting so big?
As our Chancellor likes to point out we're all in it together. It's a mutual cause that chimes with almost every union.

What will the result be?
Take a look at the private sector. What's unsustainable will not be sustained. Kick and scream about it by all means, but it won't change. Not without a great shift in the demographic layout of the country.

Greece - Will it Make it to the Long Grass?

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:12:00 +0000

The Eurozone leaders are becoming increasingly desperate to see Greece's problems dismissed to the long term. Voluntarily extending maturity on loans by 30 years can only be an option taken by someone facing obliteration if they do not.

The usual answer to being unable to pay debt is default. It's painful, it's ugly but it's necessary. Ever increasing debt gets to the point where you are paying nothing but interest on that debt and never repaying the capital. Greece isn't there yet but with it's bond yield in double digits and its economy in recession that is the trajectory.

Far better to accept the consequence now. Restructure the loans and reform the economy. Greece will learn to balance it's budget as it struggles to find foreign funding for years to come. Spurious lenders get their hands burnt and learn to invest more wisely in future. Something to be said for a balanced portfolio. But at least everyone will know where we stand.

The uncertainty is stopping us for moving on after the world financial crisis.

The AV Referendum

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Mon, 02 May 2011 09:36:00 +0000

I just received the No Campaign Ltd mailshot. To summarise, it's position is the voting system should be simple, just like you.

"The winner should always be the one who comes first." Comparing electing a government to winning a race, match or bout is a terrible analogy.

Imagine the following election results under first-past-the-post:
BNP 18%
Conservative 17%
Greens 17%
Labour 16%
Liberal Democrats 16%
UKIP 16%

Under this system we have a BNP Member of Parliament with 18% of the vote. Congratulations.
The 82% majority that didn't vote for this candidate would mostly veto him/her if they could. But they can't, so tough. And they can't even register their opposition by putting him/her 6th or even leaving off entirely. Your preferences beyond your first choice are completely ignored.

The leaflet is quite vacuous.

The literal big picture (of Nick Clegg)
"The Lib Dems and Nick Clegg would always be part of the government." What a ridiculous statement. Clegg is going to be lucky to survive the next year in the government, let alone being an indefinite fixture.

The figures
"The alternative vote system could cost the country £250 million"

"£91 million on the referendum". Considering that money would be spent even if we stick with FPTP that's a bit of a non argument.

"£26 million explaining how people should vote under the new system". Less than £1 per voter. Money well spent. Though you would have thought that all the money we ploughed into education would have been enough. The only reason FPTP doesn't need explaining that every child is familiar with a pirate's treasure map and knows that X marks the spot.

"Up to £130 million on electronic vote counting machines". You know you're stretching the argument when you use "up to" because the item itself is discretionary.

And there's not even an "or" in the alternatives the money could provide. So the
2503 doctors,
6297 teachers,
8197 nurses,
35885 hip replacements,
69832 school places
could look very attractive to someone who must have the FPTP system because they are too ill witted to understand the alternative vote.

Lets not kid ourselves. AV is a miserably little compromise, to borrow a phrase, but that's no good reason to dismiss it because we aren't being offer proportional representation.

Getting proper political, the gap between this referendum and the last referendum in this country has a span encapsulating a 18 year Tory administration followed by a 13 year Labour one and a few years either side. If we say no to AV, how long do you think we'll get until one for PR comes along?

Youth Parliament and Tuition Fees

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:39:00 +0000

Just watching the Youth Parliament debating the rise in tuition fees. This was held on 29th October 2010. Normally, they are pretty good at showing up their elders. Not this time, sadly. This issue is far too close for objectivity.

The supposedly intelligent members of the more egotistical nature (the ones that talk about themselves) think they can't go because of the debt. Repayment is based on ability to pay. The bailiff doesn't show up for non payment when you're out of work...

Bless them.

Vince Cable Doesn't Help Himself

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 22:34:00 +0000

"Obviously one will have to be more guarded, but the problem is you need to give people an honest answer when they ask a question. Again it diminishes our role."

I don't understand the principle of telling a single constituent who asks the right question an honest answer but not the voting public at large. A coalition is expected to have its fractures. Putting on a brave face and brushing over them like they don't exist reeks of insincerity. We don't like it.

John Mann - "Crime Down 400%"

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:25:00 +0000

On Daily Politics and Sky News I've heard Labour MP John Mann claim crime has gone down 400% in his constituency following changes in the way drug users are treated.

For the numerically curious like me, I'm wondering if the thieves are now putting back 3 times as much as they stole last time they visited their victims.

Student Fees in Scottish Universities

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:26:00 +0000

By the sounds of it, what's going to happen is this:
Scottish students pay no fee
Northern Irish, Welsh and English students pay fees (rumoured to be up to £6000)
EU students pay no fee
Rest of the World students pay fees (non-capped, I believe)

What a bizarre situation. The EU ruling is that if you charge nothing at home you have to charge the same to EU students in other countries. Half-assed devolution works very well for Scotland here.

WikiLeaks - Fuss About Nothing?

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:43:00 +0000

The Middle East and Korea have made the most interesting items.

I do love the way Iran are taking the latest release of US government files by WikiLeaks seeing it as nothing more than mind games actively authorised by the US State Department. No-one is battering an eyelid that Saudi Arabia doesn't fancy having another nuclear power its neighbourhood so no news there.

It wouldn't be surprising if North Korea has tested the patience of China by failing to do communism properly and haemorrhaging it's dissident population. So if it is true that China is no longer bothered about keeping it as a buffer state to the America-by-proxy South that would make out and out war much more likely.

The Liberal Democrats - 6 Months Into Government

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 11:48:00 +0000

The good news for Lib Dems is that they are on the agenda and always being talked about. The bad news is that it's hard to find anyone with a good word to say about them. There is only one debate in town for them since the Browne report on higher education funding and student finance. The answer that the students need to pay more has not gone down well.

Pledge is a horrible word to fall victim to. And fallen they have. A pledge against raising tuition fees which all Lib Dem MPs agreed has been taken as a promise rather than a token of intent. They have failed to create a narrative which would stop this being seen as a broken promise. Abstaining isn't an answer as their pledge specifically states to vote against the rise in fees.

They are going to find this one very hard to get out of. During the lead up to the general election following the first prime ministerial debate the Lib Dems polled comfortably in the mid 20's. Now it is as if the surge never happened. It looks as though they have sacrificed the party for the sake of one term of government stability and a taste of power.

Will they change tact before the next election? They will increasingly find that power sharing does nothing for their aspiration to win an overall majority government in the perceivable future if they are continually forced to renege on their principles.

Their best chance of survival will come from getting everything they need out of the coalition done as early as possible. I'm thinking no longer than 18 months. Most importantly the electoral reforms which Nick Clegg was smart enough to grab responsibility for in his role as deputy. Alternative Vote and evening out constituency boundaries will do make seats easier for them to win. They will also need to get through legislation supporting a couple of their key policies. If they don't then they will have a more favourable voting system but no integrity on which to capitalise on it.

Honeymoon is over, time to get real. Look for the signs by this time next year.

The State of Student Fees

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 10:03:00 +0000

The problem seems to be a lack of understanding in finance and demographics. This is understandable as the cost/benefit analysis of the graduated workforce is complex. There are two parties which are deemed to benefit from students qualifying at universities:

The recipient of the degree
Beneficiaries of the services that they have been educated to provide

Ask a potential student who should pay and I've yet to find one that says they should. Other taxpayers have a mixed view that goes the entire specrum of their contribution from 0% - 100%.

Ministers are busy looking to a fair answer to the questions "who should pay?" and "how should it be paid?". As always, the use of the word fair is devisive and used intentionally to obfuscate as fairness is a constant aspiration but rarely pragmatic or even possible.

Of the two parties, the recipient is the easiest to analyse. Evidence should be gathered on how much financially the person gains compared to non-graduates. Halve that then devise a payment method on the sum in such a way as to not prove as a disincentive for going to university.

In some respects all the debate over student fees does little but to add weight to the graduate tax. For example the medical student on Young Voters' Question Time was using the figure of £81,000 for his argument. He was able to do that as Top-up fees and student loans result in an absolute total.
A graduate tax wouldn't lead to a grand debt which must be paid off. So instead of a potential student deciding whether or not to go to university based on a daunting lump some figure, they can do so on a small percentage, 0.5% or 1% of their income.

How Did I Miss Andy Burnham Advocating LVT?

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 21:47:00 +0000

Show's how disinterested I must have been with the Labour leadership contest a couple of months back. Turns out Andy Burnham wanted to get radical with introducing LVT. The man has just got way up in my estimates.

Maybe next time.

Guardian article:

Child Benefit Cut - It's 3 Years Away But My Word Are Folk Angry

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:08:00 +0000

There are 2 words that describe the cut of Child Benefits for households with a higher rate income tax payer from 2013 and it depends which side of the argument you are on.
If you're for it then "simple". If you're against it then "crude".

This is because it hits single earner households when dual earning households could bring in a lot more money between them and still receive Child Benefit. If you trust government IT systems then crude is appropriate. How much harder is it to track the total earnings of a household compared to tracking a higher rate taxpayer and blacklisting their house?

I can't tell which it is. It could be that the Chancellor knows that this system is the most practical to implement so the savings aren't eaten up by IT costs. Alternatively, because the perceived unfairness is so obvious, it could be a great rouse to cut Child Benefits for households bringing in more than the higher rate income tax threshold further down the line.

Of course, because it is 3 years down the line, a ludicrous amount of time, it may not even come to pass.

The thing about this benefit is that anyone affected by its absence is not going to justify a sob story. Its not going to take food off the table or mean the heating can't go on in the winter. It's going to mean less money in the trust fund, a downgrade in the family holiday or having to give up the weekend pony rides. Also, 3 years is a bloody long time to prepare for it so no-one can say they weren't given fair notice.

Sleep well, Hanni

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:06:00 +0000

It's reached the end of a day I'd rather not have happened. Ignoring the 5am bladder call (if I can't make it through the night undisturbed in my late 20's I hate to think what's in store for me in my 60's) my morning opened with a text from my mum saying our cat Hannibal was not well. Within 3 hours I crying in the car on the way out of the vets with the carry basket on my lap with the weight of my dear pet that had breathed its last minutes before.

He was only 13 years old. He died weak with a failing liver and dehydration, but I was assured in very little pain. It had only been five months since I moved out of the flat which my mum took over to look after our three moggies. I feel most sorry for her. The arrangement was intended for her to have her companions back for their elder life though I expected she'd have a good couple of years before she had to shed any tears for them.

Hanni was a lovely, loyal animal. He'd visit me at the desk to see what I was up to and bop the screen where the cursor moved. There was very little chance of watching TV on the sofa without him digging his claws in trying to make a comfy spot. First task after getting home from a day at work would be to change trousers to slacks which could afford the snags. And at night he'd watch over me from the bench next to the bed before clambering over my head to go settle himself down somewhere around my feet.

No doubt mum and I will continue to tell his story wherever opportunity presents itself. He will always be remembered as the young cat with crazy perseverance. As a 2-3 year old, insisting that the 2"x 3" banister post was the best place to get a good night's rest, he scrabbled his way up there every night but for weeks on end. Bedtime would be punctuated each evening with a thud, thud, thud, thud, thud of increasing tempo as Hanni dropped off and, well, dropped off down the staircase. Each episode was repeated half a dozen times or more before he realised the futility of his endeavours.

I'm going to miss him.

Facebook - Why the break?

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:29:00 +0000

I caught myself the other day logging into Facebook for the first time in weeks. Along with thousands if not millions of others, I'm fairly concerned about the company's attitude towards their users privacy of late.

Matthew Stibbe of BadLanguage summarises the point beautifully in his post Word bloat and privacy policies. Why does it take 5830 words for Facebook to say what Flickr says in 384? Unless of course, they are very, very different.

Ultimately Facebook is a fad. It's stronger than MySpace ever was, before it was forced to retreat into it's niche of up and coming indie music, but will someday be overtaken by a new upstart that doesn't face the same restrictions on will see portions of it's market share move to various other quarters.

Think that won't happen? Then I'll ask you this question: Do you Yahoo!?

What's a struggle right now is the alternative to Facebook. Twitter is great for thoughts and status updates. Flickr great on pictures. LinkedIn does business contacts but nothing really competes in the same place as Facebook at the moment.

The weeks may drift by and I'll either go back to daily use or forget to use it entirely again. I'll be looking out for alternatives none the less. I'm doubtful Facebook can pull it back.

The Budget and the Wing Men

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:09:00 +0000

Stoney cold faces of Lib Dem seniors Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander flank the Chancellor George Osborne as he delivers his first budget. Nothing quite like unity, ay.

The good news for my team is that it gives us 6 months to plan for the 2.5% increase compared to the few weeks we got for the 2.5% decrease in 2008.

Next, some stability please.

Away One Week and the Coalition Hits Scandal Already

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sun, 30 May 2010 20:38:00 +0000

Having just returned from a weeks holiday in the Mediteranean and being totally cut off from the internet, 24 hour news and news in general, I expected the BA strikes to be headline. My flight got cancelled so I was moved onto an earlier one so lost my day in Barcelona (grrr) but my missus got her little boy back a day earlier (ahhh). So on balance I'd let BA off if it wasn't for the Titan Airways pilot, performing the stand-in service, finding every bit of turbulence in UK airspace.

Instead, I pick up the paper and read a headline that feels a year out of date: another damned, bloody expenses scandal. David Laws resigned, thankfully, showing the dignity fitting of a Minister (something which became rarer and rarer with the Labour administration). But what the hell was he thinking. Rightly or wrongly, sexual improprietry brings about more government resignations than results of their competence.

First rule of putting yourself up as a candidate for parliament in the 2010 was thus:
Are you comfortable with your sexuality?

Three or four elections ago I could understand it, but there's no need for public figures to stay in the closet this day and age. And if you do, don't leave a breadcrumb trail with public money.

Irritating, that's all I can sum it up as.

Icelandic Ash Returns

noreply@blogger.com (Dan Hill) — Sun, 16 May 2010 16:55:00 +0000

The ash returned to the UK this weekend with a number of airports being shut down and no-fly zone restrictions over the airspace being imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority. I have lots of vested interest this time with 3 flights including family and myself scheduled this week.

Nothing can be done in the short term but hold tight. However, in the long term picture, where the frighteners have been put out by saying this volcanic disruption could last 20 years there is this strange quote in this BBC article from aviation expert, David Learmount:

"This could go on for 20 years or more. We just don't know how long this volcano is going to erupt for. Technologically there's nothing we can do about this. We cannot build engines and aircraft which can fly safely through volcanic ash, it's just out of the question. The only thing that we can do is get better at predicting precisely where every part of the volcanic ash cloud is."

So with all our technological prowess there's no chance at all that we can disperse or filter dirty air before the engine sucks it up? No way at all? In 20 years? I find that incredibly hard to believe.

Lets just say, where there's a profit, there's a way.