My Blog Posts

Just a short note to let you, dear reader, know that a couple of the links in my sidebar are now working. I’ve had no complaints, but if you had tried the links to Jonathan James Palmer or Ciaran Hennessy recently you would not have had a great deal of joy. Luckily for us the chaps have managed to get their acts together and rejoin this here world wide intarweb net. Good work fellas, may your links never rot.

Chris Applegate has an interesting take on the home secretary’s latest ID card justification. Well, at least we know now how to deter anyone wishing harm on the country - unless they are a member of the cabinet of course. [Courtesy of the ever vigilant Simon Brunning] Oh, and in case you thought that death would be an escape, think again.

As I’m known as someone who has a bit of inkling into the world of technology friends and family often ask my advice. After they have signed the non-disclosure agreement and agreed to my very reasonable fee structure (available on request) they get the benefit of my “wisdom”. This weekend was no different. We spent a lovely time with the Lewis family, and the IMOT decided to quiz me about his domestic computing set up over a couple of cold drinks. He was insistent that he had a touch screen in the kitchen connected to a computer in the study (upstairs) so that he could play his MP3s in either room. He was a little distressed when I suggested that the only sensible solution, currently, was to have two computers linked via a network. Outraged was none too happy either, as she didn’t wish to give up the counter space in her kitchen. I mentioned that he could get a wireless MP3 player, perhaps a Squeezebox but that wasn’t really good enough. For starters it doesn’t have a touch screen.

In the comments to my last gadget post Mrs Buck asks for some evidence of my camera use. After a weekend of heavy snapping I added over a hundred photos to my library - and that’s after a little judicious culling of images. But unless I give proof no one will believe me, There are a couple of really good shots in that bunch so here you go CB. Don’t say I don’t listen to my readers. Click on the thumbnail for a nice big shot, which I have shrunk down from its original large size to speed up the downloads of those of you still in the twentieth century (on dial-up). For the uninitiated the picture is of Jumbo Buck on our trip to Fishers Farm in sunny Sussex. A very nice day out it was too.

It’s all tinky winky’s fault. We went to see the very pregnant Palmers at the weekend. Whilst we were there tinky winky (or Tim as he is sometimes known) whipped out his camera and took a few snaps of the boy wonder. He then put them on his website and sent me an email that same evening. SWMBO took one look and proclaimed that the pictures were much better than any I had taken to date. Click on the thumbnail to see a sample (cut down from it’s original 3 megabytes though). She insisted that I rectify the situation immediately. I, however, could put a fairly accurate price on the equipment that tinky winky had been wielding and was a little fearful of parting with that much cash.

So, seriously, how do we stop dangerous loony? ID cards will stop terrorism because everyone can be identified, unless they are visiting the UK for less than three months. Say hello to (as the Reg says) “away day terrorists” We also discover that the legislation will include provisions for public services only being available to those with ID cards (thus making them compulsory for poor people) but we won’t be forced to carry them all the time - until they amend the bill of course. Any bets on how long that will take?

The Home Secretary has started to fast track ID cards. Bah bleeding humbug.

Here you go - rockers Marillion back in charts. I, of course, bought three copies. Bloody marvellous single.

Friday night is a funny old thing. A few years ago I wouldn’t be seen dead at home until well after the pubs had closed. Today? Well today is a different kettle of fish. I’ve finished all of my chores (apart from unloading the last lot of baby gear from the steriliser), got a nicely chilled nelson on the go, the stereo is playing the new Marillion album and I’m surfing this here intarweb. Which all adds up to my own version of bliss. You may think it’s sad - and you may well be right - but I’m happy, and that’s what counts.

As a very well written chap once said; “Cry God For Harry! England and St George!” Happy St. Georges day everyone. It’s not usually celebrated much but there seems to be the start of a movement (in the media at least) to mark it more notedly and I fully support it. There is, of course, then the question of how to mark our national day. The Irish get drunk, the French storm their prisons, the Australians hold a barbecue but what should we do? My suggestion, and one that I’ll be carrying out tonight whilst SWMBO is out with the girls, is to form an orderly queue for a cup of tea. Alternatively I could down a few nelsons and start a fight.

According to a Mori poll the public of this great country are ‘happy to carry ID cards’. Dear sweet lord. Has no one read my previous posts? The only bright spot in this sea of idiocy is that “almost half those surveyed said they would not want to pay for the cards.” Tough luck suckers, you’re paying regardless. Even if the lovely government types issues you a card without a fee you still have to pay for the implementation through taxation - and it isn’t going to be cheap.

Andrew Losowsky describes the loss of chin fluff much better than I ever could. Yes folks, the goatee is no more. After seven years of hiding my dimple it now gets exposed to the light of day again. Not that some people noticed mind you. SWMBO took several hours - but the reaction was worth it. Mrs Ramsbottom took nearly two weeks and then wasn’t too sure what had changed. Tsk.

Not a lot happening around these parts at the moment. The Sky+ box is fixed (well, replaced) - thankfully - and normal tv viewing has resumed. I left the small bloke with strangers for the first time this morning. Balham leisure centre has a creche, and he played in there for an hour whilst I went for a swim. Which was nice. Reports from the staff were positively glowing, so we will be doing that again.

Look, it’s really not just me against this thing you know. Look at the bright colours on CASNIC’s web site. I’ll get back to the nappy stories and obscure bands now, honest.

According to No 2 ID Cards the current government estimate for introducing this impingement on my personal civil liberties is going to be £1.3bn. Lets bear in mind that this is an estimate, and virtually without exception these are far below the actual, final cost to the tax payer. Why do I make that claim? Bearing in mind that the majority of the cost is going to be for an IT project, and that it will go out to competitive tender, the scenario will play out as follows;

Look, this guy is much smarter than I am, and a security expert to boot, and he says that a national ID card wouldn’t make us safer. In fact he says, and I can’t agree more, that the whole farce will actually make life worse and probably make our countries less safe.. Latest news from the government in this neck of the woods is that the “voluntary” UK id cards will only cost £80 each. I told you they would be expensive, but think of it this way - how many pints of beer you will miss out on by forking that much money over to the lovely people in Whitehall? Ergo anyone who drinks beer must stand up and oppose this hideous idea in every way possible.

Sky+ box goes boom. Andrew becomes even more grumpy. I am not even thinking about the four episodes of Angel that were stored on the hard drive and are now lost to us.

I’m not going to shut up about this ID card thing, OK. There haven’t been any comments from anyone purporting to be in government on my last piece so I presume that the civil liberties argument is still languishing under the carpet So today we present the technical and economic arguments against ID card courtesy of the Register. In ID cards: a guide for technically-challenged PMs they point out that biometric IDs may not actually be the panacea for spotting people who are a little bit naughty as promised by our leaders. Oh, and the whole thing is going to cost a fortune because large government projects virtually always go way, way, over budget.

I’ve only just realised it, but now that she is married my sister’s initials are VCR. Well, it amused me. Unlike my wife’s initials which are definitely not a laughing matter. Oh no.