Legislating morality

In the aftermath of the horrendous wave of crime that spread across many cities in Britain last week, we are starting to see something even more despicable: the ever-present threat of “morality legislation”. I know lots of people have written about the government’s response to the riots and I’m a little nervous about joining the crowd, but I feel I need to add my voice to the clamour. In a speech on 10th August, our nation’s leader said this: The problem with that is a complete lack of responsibility. A lack of proper parenting, a lack of proper upbringing, a lack of proper ethics, a lack of proper morals. That is what we need to change. Mr Cameron, I say this: How dare you? How dare you dictate to me or the other people in my...

Posted by on Aug 17, 2011 in Politics | 1 comment

“Smartphones” are not phones

“Smartphones” are not phones

I’ve recently acquired a Samsung Galaxy S II Android “smartphone”, and I couldn’t be happier with it. All day long and wherever I am (more or less) I have unlimited access to my email, my social networks, the news, train times, price comparison, my todo list, my calendar, note-taking, shopping lists, sudoku, maps and a hundred other things that augment my life and improve my productivity. And then once in a while some smarmy git will say to me, “well, my phone makes voice calls.” And herein lies the problem with the language we use. Phones are supposed to make and receive voice calls, but my device is not a phone. It’s a palm-sized tablet PC with voice-calling capability. I probably wouldn’t miss voice calls much if...

Posted by on Aug 10, 2011 in Tech | 2 comments

Now wash your hands

We were all taught way back in primary school that after using the lavatory, we should wash our hands. This is not a matter of personal hygiene, it’s a matter of the hygiene of everyone who has used that particular toilet and with whom you have shared germs. Remember, a lot of nasty illnesses are accompanied by irregular bowel movements, so it stands to reason that shared toilets are going to be covered in nasties. Now, with that in mind, why is it that whatever shared toilet facilities I find myself in, whether in a dingy bar, a posh restaurant or even an office building, it seems to be fewer than 50% of men that actually wash their hands before leaving the room and spreading whatever they’ve caught to everything and everyone they touch? Is this a...

Posted by on Jun 27, 2011 in Thoughts | 5 comments

British superheroes

I recently finished The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (a volume comprising the first 13 short stories) and it occurred to me that Holmes is very much an early superhero. He has immense powers of deduction and disguise, often baffling even the best police detectives (whom he frequently refers to as ‘imbeciles’) and uses those powers only to further the common good and not for his own personal profit. He also shows another superhero trait, that of recognizing the value of all human beings, even wrongdoers, often finding a way to secure their escape rather than face the corrupt justice system. But Holmes makes a big deal out of his powers being no more than any person could do with the right application of brainpower. He and Watson frequently point out...

Posted by on Jun 21, 2011 in Thoughts | 0 comments