Grey Noughts

Repost: Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000Z

There, I said it! And no, that is not me in the photo to your left. Unfortunately? Not so sure. You tell me. Anyway, here's one holiday that, on the face of it, I could easily subscribe to, what with being a radical atheist, and all that. Well, yes. Sort of. At least it's not obviously a religious event. However, it has almost as much meaning as Christmas (or Hanukkah, or Ramadan, or what

Repost: Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:01:00.000Z

Hey, hey, hey! We thought you're a radical atheist! What's this now with Merry Christmas? Slow down my dears... Despite the rumours you might have heard, even radical atheists can be polite, well mannered, and considerate of others. Even those others who have chose to live their lives in a state of delusion, filled with angels, demons, and ghost - maybe even ghosts of Christmases past. So,

If...

2011-12-16T05:00:00.000Z

Religious or not, you probably wondered at some time or other how it would be if you were a god, or rather, the God... OK, if you ever wondered how it would be if you were that kind of god then I'll happily give you that it'd be cool, noodly, and most of all filled with fun and freedom lovin' pirates. But that's not what I had in mind... What I did have in mind is a deity not unlike the

What's Wrong With Gnome 3

2011-11-18T16:00:00.000Z

In a word: EVERYTHING*! Oh, I know full that Gnome 3 is better from the point of view of software development practices. Of course it is. But that is not - and should not - be the point. It is also not - and should not - be the point that it is somehow more approachable for new users. Which is not to say it should be outright hostile, either - of course. But surely it should also be

Tablet FAIL

2011-11-10T17:00:00.000Z

OK, it's high time I listed all the reasons current (and foreseeable) crop of tablet computers is even more useless than a recent poll in the UK shows. So, without further ado, let me take you through a number of use cases... 1. Watching Video This is one of the most often cited things a tablet computer is supposed to be good at. But is it, really? If you want to watch video at home you

Apple Does It Again

2011-11-08T11:00:00.000Z

I am never surprised by how silly, short-sighted, and short-attention-spanned people can be, but I am constantly amazed by Apple managing to fire up everyone with things which should really elicit only a "meh... not again?!". First, there was FaceTime. If you were born yesterday and on top of that had your ability to read up on recent history surgically removed at birth, you'd think that

We Are Everywhere

2011-10-30T11:50:00.000Z

Now taking advance bookings for weddings and suchlike in enlightened jurisdictions recognising this certificate of ordination. The exact rites and fees agreed on a case by case basis. Preferred currency: spaghetti meatballs. Preferred attire: pirate costume. We Are Everywhere

Judas's Priests

2011-10-25T19:24:00.000+01:00

I should really know better, but I have been watching reality TV... And, while I was at it, a particular turn of events got me thinking. A groom desperate to find a church - any church - to get married in opened all sorts of questions - to me, at least. In this particular case the religion is Catholic, but I am sure the thinking - and the problem - applies to almost any other religion you

exit 1;

2011-10-22T09:48:00.000+01:00

I know it's been a while, but I have been busy (yes, it does happen on occasion). And, while I was otherwise engaged, another luminary of the digital age has left us to continuously look for ways around this valley of tears we inhabit (and no, I do not mean the Silicon variety). To stop beating around the bush - and especially stop trying to mint horrible metaphors - let's all stop for a monet

RIP St Steve

2011-10-06T18:39:00.000+01:00

Not much more to say, really. I never really liked you, Steve Jobs, but I have always respected you. I have also always appreciated immaculate design of all the various and varied kit you and Apple churned out over the years. Business practices? Not so much. Still, hugely sorry to see you go. Period. Ⓐ

Multi-Kulti

2011-09-19T10:00:00.000+01:00

There's been renewed interest and some hot debates about multiculturalism recently and, as far as I can see, most have been misplaced. Or rather, I think that both (all?) sides to the current argument have it wrong, including (especially?) the PC brigade. Here's what I see as options presented in most debates: Pro (aka "Repeat after me: we are all individuals...") This is usually peddled by

SNAFU

2011-09-14T12:22:00.000+01:00

I don't know WTF happened to my Blogger account, but for the past however many days this blog was only visible to a select list of readers. Not only that, but on inspection it turned out the select list was quite empty. I have a sneaking suspicion this happened at, or around, the switch to the new Blogger interface. Normal service has now been resumed, with Grey Noughts again being available for

(Non) Working Mums

2011-09-07T12:00:00.000+01:00

There's a certain amount of brouhaha in Britain this morning regarding child care costs. One thing that's is undoubtedly true is that the cost of someone else looking after your pre-school child is, and I have no better word for it, ridiculous. In a smallish town where I live it ranges from £250 to £350 per week for under twos. This makes it well over a £1000 a month, a sum that is very

Google's Not New Microsoft

2011-08-15T17:00:00.000+01:00

Despite what a significant (or at least an influential) part of the tech press is trying to tell you, Google is not the new Microsoft. If you're not old enough to remember the really bad old Microsoft days you may be excused for buying the argument you are presented with. After all, it is in fact mostly the older journalists who tend to forward it. And knowing they have been there and have seen

Food: Now With 25% More Tomatoes!

2011-08-08T05:00:00.001+01:00

Hello there, and welcome back to these pages after a (not so) brief self-imposed hiatus. No, I won't tell you why I was gone. It's not important, and, more importantly, it's also not very interesting. To you, at least. Yes, I know it's patronising. But then that's why you come here, isn't it? To be patronised, or hoping to see somebody or other beign patronised. I know how you people are... But

Beer: Too Much... And Not Nearly Enough

2011-07-15T12:00:00.003+01:00

Contrary to what you may think I did not have too much beer... As a matter of fact, I didn't have nearly enough of the brown nectar. This is mostly because I simply had too much to do. And, maybe surprisingly for some, I had too much to do in the office. Maybe it's good. Maybe I will manage not to bring yet another company to it's knees. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel - and it's

Introducing Grey Books

2011-07-15T05:00:00.001+01:00

Ladies and gentlemen, children... Grey Noughts is proud to introduce its new sibling. Very early this morning, way to early to tell you exactly when, our sister-blog Grey Books saw the light of day. Or, rather more appropriately, it saw a glimpse of a grey English summer dawn through the eyes still half closed. Grey Books is really an offshoot of our Reading... page. As you can read in a bit

Religion: Holier Than Thou

2011-07-12T12:00:00.003+01:00

Our old friend vjack had a bit of rant recently... But no, this is not about how I felt the need to chastise him over his chastising of Richard Dawkins. Well, not really because he chastised him, but because - regardless of the riposte - he chose to see RD (just) as an atheist, rather than what he mostly stands for in this world. It is actually the whole of vjack's rant I want to address here.

Business: Five A Day

2011-07-11T17:00:00.001+01:00

As you can see below, there's no business like five-a-day... Hot Cakes by =vlad-the-impatient on deviantART Strangely, the more I look the more I want some, too...

Religion: Q&A

2011-07-10T12:00:00.000+01:00

Via vjack and RagingRev, this gem of a Q&A... If we came from apes, how come there are still apes? If we came from Europeans, how come there are still Europeans? That's just stupid! Exactly! I guess RagingRev won't mind if you used it yourself... PS It is left as an exercise for the reader to figure out which colour corresponds to an atheist and which one to his religious interlocutor.

Beer: Or Red Bull

2011-07-08T12:00:00.000+01:00

Formula 1 introduced some changes to the rules this weekend... And - surprise! surprise! - Red Bull team are not very happy about it. Yep, they're not going to be able to use their unique exhaust diffuser technology any more this year. Now, I don't know enough (or much, really) about this technology, and especially not whether it is what made Red Bull cars so invincible up until now this season.

Politics: Unplugged

2011-07-07T05:00:00.001+01:00

I have recently unplugged myself from politics... Unplugged by =vlad-the-impatient on deviantART Well, at least a little bit...

Science: Of Imagin(i)g

2011-07-06T14:00:00.000+01:00

I hope you'll enjoy this image... 'Cause, heck, can't be bothered to blog today either...

Food: On The Table

2011-07-05T14:00:00.000+01:00

You may enjoy some pasta with meatballs... As I am too busy putting food on my table today...

Business: CEO Weaknesses

2011-07-04T05:00:00.000+01:00

BBC managed to serve up another waste of my money... Lucy Kellaway apparently spent 15 years of her life studying CEOs. Which would be fine and well were it not for the fact that the BBC chose to let her enlighten us about the frankly useless part of her "research". Surprise, surprise, when asked a bog standard job interview questions, CEOs give bog standard job interview answers. This fact