Failure, failing, and being "a failure" is such a part of tech culture that it is a cultural locus for entire posts, blogs, pep talks and conventions. Failure is universally feared and derided, yet framed and re-framed again and again as a means of staying positive, of learning from mistakes, of using failure as a measure of working hard for success.
Well as it's nearly new year - I suppose there was only one choice. Here's a young (and somewhat podgy) Bono and U2 at a distinctly unfestive live performance in California from May 1983.
Way back on New Year's Eve, 2010, I made the following ten predictions. How well did I do? Well, fair to middling really. Not great, but not bad. I'll leave it to others to comment but Mark Thompson (at did much the same as me. Great minds think alike and all that..... 1. All three main political party leaders will be in post at the end of the year. However, there will be continual media speculation about the future of all. Not far off the mark, this one. 2. The Coalition will still be in Government. I believe this ...
I've had a couple of important notes about the routine weekly rubbish collection in the past few days. First is an apology for the delays some residents are experiencing in having their rubbish collected. This is the text of a press release the Council have issued: "Birmingham City Council would like to apologise for the problems experienced with refuse and recycling collection over the Christmas Bank Holidays and would ask the public to bear with us as we endeavour to catch up with any missed collections over the next few days. This is due to the much higher than normal ...
Man flu has kept me largely indoors since Christmas, but on one of my rare excursions I was sorry to see that the Walkers bookshop in the town has a closing down sale. It is a small shop that sells new books and also has a Thornton's chocolate franchise. In short, it has been a godsend for the present-buyer in a hurry. The Harborough Mail explains that rent negotiations with the new owners of St Mary's Place have fallen through. There are still other Walkers bookshops in the East Midlands.
I've just seen the most horrendous, sexist, nastiest video ever. The man labour trumped as the face of the rebellion to the NHS reform MC Next Gen came to prominence because of the tories and is about to fall disgracefully because of his own distorted view of women. or Not suitable for anybody to watch ever
Fri 30th
20:18
December Books 23) A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee.
I was startled to find this referenced in the bibliography for Lois McMaster Bujold's The Sharing Knife: Passage, and sufficiently intrigued to track it down on Project Gutenberg and speculate about the author's uncle. It's a book which is quite obviously a first step in a presidential election campaign that never happened, full of references to the incumbent Andrew Jackson, most of which are rather obscure to anyone not familiar with the micro-politics of the year 1834. There is a lot of interesting detail about life on the frontier, including gruesome details of combat with various tribes and indeed with ...
It was the Mike Moyle Memorial Annual Christmas Day Sponsored Swim at Crooklets Beach, Bude. I am among the 500 people charging into the sea in the YouTube vid below. Mad or what? I also have the tee shirt! [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
The short answer is it's a mixed bag. The longer answer: Labour will win the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election but the Lib Dems will be a close second.CORRECT. They did indeed win and Lib Dems did indeed come a fairly close second. Certainly by the standards of later by-elections!All 3 main party leaders (Cameron, Clegg and Miliband_E) will still be in post by the end of the year.CORRECT. The AV referendum will be (narrowly) won.WRONG. I could not have been more wrong really. We were trounced 68% to 32%. Polls in the months before really did make it look ...
So, the Occupy movement. Let's get something straight, first: I like the idea of Occupy, what it was like in its infancy around the world: a grassroots movement to expose corporate malfeasance and the like. A left-wing version of the Tea Party, but without birther idiots. But I don't like Occupy as it is today. There's a reason for that. People have stopped caring, so a lot of sympathisers, like myself, stopped being involved. It left the movement with only the dedicated people. And it's not dedicated anarchists or dedicated socialists or dedicated liberals, it's the dedicated anti-establishment. Let's use ...
Fri 30th
18:45
Which Lib Dem minister had the worst year? Find out who tied for first place among party members...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days. Huhne and Clegg tie for the award neither would want to win LDV asked: In your opinion, which Lib Dem government minister has had the worst year? Unusually for our Voice surveys, this question allowed an unprompted, free-text response, which 385 of our respondents rose to. And here's what you told us: 1. Chris Huhne — ...
So yup, its blog annual review time. It always interests me to see what people read over the course of the year so here are the top ten most read posts on this blog this year. 1 BREAKING: Riots in Tottenham tonight - ...
I am not one for holding back when a member of my party does something that I do not agree with that is well documented. But I would like to think that I draw the line somewhat when something was ...
I can't let the Festive Season go by with out posting this hilarious cartoon Christmas card, featuring Michael Moore, Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander, Vince Cable and Chris Huhne as elves. It makes me howl with laughter every single time..... Thanks to the Lovely Mr Dr Chocaholic for sharing.
I've decided now that the referendum was almost last year that it was time to allow people into some of the more amusing aspects of the campaign. I should explain, that as the North West regional organiser of the Yes campaign it was my responsibility to deliver the 'ground campaign' in the region. Although many of ...
This first appeared on Scots Gazette on 12 September The whole university fees issue continues to be a hot issue as they take shape. Recently the Scottish universities have been announcing what fees they will charge students from the rest of the UK and non EU foreign students. This has of course put into focus the absurd situation where we are charging students from other parts of the UK but not from other EU countries. However, this got me thinking about the issue of lifelong learning and mature students. I read an excellent piece from LibDem blogger, Richard Morris which ...
Fri 30th
16:25What Lib Dem members make of drug reforms and regulations on alcohol and tobacco sales
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days. Seeking to assess the support amongst the party membership for reforms to how alcohol, tobacco and currently illicit drugs are regulated, the latest LDV members survey has thrown up some interesting results – we'll start by looking at what respondents make of the current regulatory regimes for alcohol and tobacco. Most LDV readers back status quo ...
As can be seen from my tally here, I found last year's poll asking what books on my TBR shelves you have read tremendously helpful in deciding what to read in the course of 2011. Unfortunately, the number of books on the shelves remains about the same as acquisition more or less keeps pace with completion. So I would be very grateful once again if you could fill in this poll: View Poll: #1807240 Again, particular recommendations of books to read or avoid very welcome in comments; I shall also bank recommendations from previous years.
This post first appeared on Scots Gazette on 12 December I do not yet know what to make of what happened in Brussels last week and what the consequences will be for the UK as a result. My feelings are these: 1. I think the EU has failed to reach an agreement that will solve the current financial crisis. I think this agreement will fail to save the Euro. 2. I have some concerns that the aim of European leaders is a little too much to save banks that have loaned money to various European states rather than about saving ...
This post first appeared on Scots Gazette on 6 December Today Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy met for make or break talks to save the Euro. If they implement what they have agreed the Eurozone will become essentially both a monetary and a fiscal union. If they fail, the enormous debt mountains threaten to bury the currency, along with several countries and with it perhaps the EU itself! And what of Britain? What is the future in an outer ring of nations outside a core of 17 nations joined fiscally and monetarily? In trying to answer this question I am ...
This post, by me, first appeared on Scots Gazette on 29 November The sad death of footballer Gary Speed has thrown mental ill health into the spotlight again. As I write I do not know what led to the death of a popular young man by his own hand at the tragically early age of 42. However, it highlights the battles many suffer from illnesses such as depression and the desperate challenges faced by their families and loved ones. I want to consider the issue of those who suffer mental ill health and their carers. I want to talk about ...
Six weeks or so ago I tweeted that I was more excited than the most excited thing on the planet, but I couldn't tell you about it. You all knew that it had to be something really special if it was going to top my McCartney excitement. The reason I had to stay quiet was because it was one of Anna's Christmas presents, the one from us rather than Santa. But now I can tell you. She and I are off to the first Official Doctor Who Convention at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff in March. Not only have I ...
Forgive my surprise. This week's Advertiser tells me that Pat Glass MP will be contacting Consett's councillors to back the restoration of a Sunday Bus Service to Durham with their neighbourhood budgets. It was September 13th when I first went to see Go North East about this matter and was promised a quotation of the cost of restoring the service, but November before I got it. It was also in September that I started talking to the NHS about contributing to the cost of restoring the Sunday service. I took that approach because I believe this is an NHS matter ...
With the prospect of Scottish devolution going at least one extra step towards Home Rule or even outright independence from the UK, Cornwall should decide, like Wales, whether it wants to see greater powers come from Westminster to decide more of its own future. The Coalition government has evangelised the concept of localism, and although ...
Given my recent blogging hiatus we've missed a number of things I could have included in my Random Thoughts series of posts. So here is a bumper catch up of thoughts I should have posted over the last two months. Various thoughts I should have posted in November At the beginning of the month I found this handy flowchart for working out where you should post your status on social networking sites. Much truth in graphical form. The organisers of London 2012 have released a series of Olympic posters designed by contemporary artists. I liked the nod to classicism in ...
Fri 30th
14:08Alcohol minimum pricing should be this government's first bold evidence-based drug policy
One of the most common arguments I read against the government control and regulation of the currently illegal drug markets is that we have so many problems with alcohol. Were cannabis for instance to be "legalised", authors presume its use will increase and create new social problems to rival those that alcohol inflicts.The simple counter-argument employed by myself and other drug policy reformers is that alcohol is a very poorly regulated drug. Were any of the other currently illegal drugs to become regulated by the state, the alcohol model is one model it would be extremely unwise to replicate. Alcohol ...
by Raphael Cardinal Merry del Val At Thy feet, O my Jesus, I prostrate myself and I offer Thee repentance of my contrite heart, which is humbled in its nothingness and in Thy holy presence. I adore Thee in the Sacrament of Thy love, the ineffable Eucharist. I desire to receive Thee into the poor ...
The adventures of 2 Beatles obsessives and a Responsible Adult in Liverpool, Part 3 You may also want to read Parts One and Two of this happy tale. [IMG: Paul McCartney Setlist Echo Arena, Liverpool, England 2011, On The Run Tour] Edit this setlist | More Paul McCartney setlists The second encore was all about contrasts. We were jetisonned out of our Yesterday and Mull of Kintyre mellowness (complete with band of piping children from the Loretto school in Edinburgh) by a lively, raucous and loud performance of Helter Skelter. Not that that song could ever be anything other than ...
Three months on from my first blog post on Ed Miliband's leadership it is being questioned by the polls and there are warnings that 2015 won't go Labour's way in a pamphlet warning of "Cameron's Trap" unless they change tack quickly. Lets start with the Leadership; According to the ICBM poll carried out for the Guardian 48% of people believe David Cameron is doing a good job, second on 33% Nick Clegg is doing a good job and finally on 32% Ed Miliband. A further blow is that 44% thought Cameron/Osborne were doing a good job of managing the economy ...
The website of the region's Liberal Democrat MEP Sir Graham Watson is undergoing a revamp and is getting a fresh new lick of orange paint in time for the new year 2012. The former website, a modified form of a template used on many other Liberal Democrat websites, has been discarded in favour of a fresher and more interactive site layout featuring amongst many other things an embedded feed from
The Labour party think they can win the economic argument by just wailing about cuts on behalf of their public sector union paymasters. They give no credible alternatives for what they would do about Britain's economic crisis. What they also like to ignore is some of the changes that are being made towards making this country fairer. Here is a list of cuts WE should be talking about because they are mostly happening through Lib Dem action and pressure. The CUT from £250,000 to £50,000 in the maximum annual pension contribution to receive tax relief clawing back a staggering £4,000,000,000 ...
You get the sense that the fashion for political party leaders sending New Year messages to supporters and party members isn't one that will endure. Or at least it probably shouldn't. Dan Hodges in the Telegraph yesterday speculated on whether Ed Miliband had been captured by aliens and had his memory washed - it would explain the vagueness of his message and its apparent failure to register anything that happened in 2011. Admittedly, Hodges occupies a peculiar place in relation to the Labour party, but I've not seen any comment on Miliband's effort that was much more enthusiastic than distinctly ...
Over the last few years we've seen a lot of highway renewal works in East Dulwich - Crystal Palace Road, Dunstan's Road, Grove Vale, Melbourne Grove. Great in principle but painful in the delivery. At a recent council committee council officers reported on surveying residents on how some of them went. Eye opening to discover that 43% of residents on Crystal Palace Road and 35% of Dunstan's Road reported they were not aware of the road renewals before they started and that respectively 47% and 39% hadn't received a leaflet or letter about the works. We're not talking about little ...
Nearest branch is in Glasgow. I wonder was this branch only here as a result of the EMAs. Filed under: Blogging
Lib Dem Voice has an affinity deal with Amazon, which means if you purchase goods from Amazon via our link, Lib Dem Voice earns a small commission. We don't get to know about people's individual orders, but Amazon does report overall sales and these show that the five best-sellers to our readers in 2011 were: 1. The British General Election of 2010 (reviewed here) 2. 22 Days in May by David Laws (reviewed here) 3. Peace, Reform and Liberation: A history of liberal politics in Britain 1679-2011 (watch the book launch with Paddy Ashdown and Shirley Williams here) 4. Don't ...
[IMG: Stroud Green School] Just before Christmas, I was sent a spreadsheet setting out how much 'Pupil Premium' will be received by local schools next year. The Pupil Premium is a Lib Dem initiative to target extra money at schools in the most disadvantaged areas. Next year each school will receive£600 for each pupil in receipt of free school meals. The money can be spent however the headteacher thinks best – and will benefit the whole school. According to the Government data, our three local primary schools are are due to receive significant sums: Weston Park Primary School on Denton ...
Yesterday I was reminded that I had not blogged in many months. At the beginning of last year I started blogging again and thought I had really caught the bug again... then life changed. After a busy spring conference I got busy with family bits, then in May I got a job. The children loved the experience of coming to conference, enjoyed seeing what mum does and started out on their own political (or non-political) path. They joined me again in September and are disappointed not to be joining me in Newcastle Gateshead. With the job came a new juggle. ...
RT @markpack: "BBC News – Tory MP sorry after novelty tie breaks into speech – http://bbc.in/fHr6Be" A case of So, La Tie D'oh! — Andrew Lucas (@bythewatersedge) January 19, 2011 Simon Hughes was actually elected in 1978 – but didn't take office until the 80′s #slfconf #terminallylate — Martin Shapland (@MShapland) June 18, 2011 On my way home I walked past a vehicle activated sign on an empty road. It told me I was walking at 7mph and thanked me.Srsly! — Alex Foster (@alexfoster) July 30, 2011 @markpackBREAKING: Ed Miliband says neutrinos going "too far too fast" — Jason Hunter ...
My most popular (or at least most viewed) posts of the last year: 1. Is this the stupidest cartoon in Scottish political history? I question the wisdom of the Liberal Democrats publishing a cartoon playing up "similarities" between Qatar and Alex Salmond's vision for an independent Scotland. 2. The psychology of a deluded dictator. I ponder the Libyan leader's fragile psychology after his hour long murderous rant on international TV. 3. Theresa May sets the cat among the pigeons. The Home Secretary makes an unwise and misleading reference to an illegal immigrant being allowed to remian in Britain on the ...
I've just got around to reading the Spectator which contains this gem from Andrew Lansley '....My problem with a minimum price, well I have two problems. One is it's regressive, so there are perfectly normal families who just don't happen to have much money who like to buy cheap beer or cheap wine. Should they be prevented? No, I don't think so and if you put in a minimum price, one of the journalists calculated that if you set it at 50p a unit it would add £600 million to the profits of retailers and drinks manufacturers which doesn't seem ...
Over at Conservative Home, supply side Tories are busy touting some sort of grand Bargain for the Lib Dems. Where as in exchange for taking over an entire ministry, say climate change, local government, or Scotland, we would step out of the way of any jobs with an economic brief to allow Tories to concentrate on getting the economy growing. As seductive as it all sounds, we must reject it. It would be bad for the coalition, and bad for the party. I know how it sounds imagine being able to go to the electorate to say, look at how ...
The recent article by Welsh Secretary, Cheryl Gillan on Conservative Home may well be a declaration of war on Carwyn Jones and his Government but that does not make her points any less valid. Her essential point, that Welsh Labour need to decide whether they are a unionist party or not is spot on. That is because Carwyn Jones' pursuit of his own foreign policy and the way that he is 'standing up for Wales', is doing more for the cause of separatism than for the 'Welsh National interest'. This is not to say that I believe that the Welsh ...
Week by week local by-election results can fluctuate greatly as the luck of the draw over which seats are up adds to the variations in local circumstances to produce a large spread of results. However, aggregated over longer periods the pattern of local by-elections does say something about the state of the parties, which is why I've been looking at the trend in Liberal Democrat performances since May 2011. This following graphs show the change in the Liberal Democrat vote share in by-elections, measured since the seat was previously contested and – to even out for those factors – take ...
As 2011 draws to a close I decided to sit down and take a couple of minutes to review what has been a pretty interesting year personally. Here are some of my reflections. Work The first couple of months of 2011 were spent traveling back and forth between Scotland and California for work. I've always ...
Merry Xmas – wished. Gifts – given. Food – eaten. Stomach – stuffed. Siesta – starting. Zzz. # Am checking out of Twitter for next 3 days to avoid Downton Abbey spoilers... # Back home after a week in Spain. How I've missed Blighty's damp greyness. #notreally # Well, I gave my nine-month old niece a run for her money on the Wii bowling. That'll learn her. # Downton Abbey, a glass of port and cats on our laps. #Bliss # Worst performing area for schools is Hull http://t.co/XgSOnNxy, followed by Manchester, Oldham, Barnsley, Hartlepool, Salford and Tyneside. # Black ...
At the latest Balgay Stakeholders' Group meeting last month, there was a discussion about lighting improvements in the park. The upgrade will be completed in January but I was given an update by the City Council towards the end of last week as follows : "We had a team working on the lighting for the whole day.We now have the first 2 lighting columns from the Scott Street end illuminated, but underground cable faults means the rest of the equipment is dark on this section of road until you get to the pavilion. Not much more can be done here ...
If you're reading this article on Friday, the 30th of December, 2011, give thought to the poor people of Samoa who will never see this day. In fact, they're shifting straight from Thursday the 29th to Saturday the 31st. The island's sun-swept sand beaches will never see dawn on the 30th of December. The clocks ...
One thing that I have made frequent reference to on this blog this year has been the story of how I became poster boy for Lib Dem misery. I spoke at the time of my fear "that from now on when anyone at the BBC wants some stock footage of a Lib Dem looking miserable it will be that picture of me looking at my phone". Well that fear has become more real than I could have imagined over the following months, and they are at it again, although this time for some reason they seem to think I am ...
I often get people coming up to me and explaining why I should leave the Liberal Democrats and why I should "see the light" and join the Labour/Conservative party etc. A few years ago, in my political naivety, I may have been open to such suggestions as I was very much finding my way. Politics ...
