Category: Random

Do you want compulsory ID cards in the United Kingdom? I would hazard a guess that you don’t. If that’s the case then get over to stand.org.uk now and do something about it:

Hands up everybody who’s really excited about the introduction of universal Identity Cards for every man, woman and child in the country! No? Well, that can’t be right. Lord Falconer says that in one of the widest ranging consultations conducted by a government, they’ve been fair swamped with positive endorsements of the Government’s Entitlement Card plans.

With just a few days to go before the end of the consultation, the Home Office is saying that overall the public’s reaction is hugely positive.

The cynics amongst you might comment that that’s because the only people who have been really gee-ed up about downloading a 13MB PDF (here’s the HTML version we knocked up), scrutinising its every word and then writing up their fascinating points of view are those with an axe to grind about ID cards in the first place. Like the IT companies who are desperate to sell the government a brand new solution. Or the civil servants who’ve been hankering after this massive simplification of their dozens of databases for decades. Or the private companies like credit agencies who would dearly love to have a single ID to store all the data they’re collecting on you.

So Steve Guttenberg is gay. Except of course he probably isn’t gay. That bit might have been made up. Or an error, maybe. On my part. Don’t sue. I wish Steve Guttenberg was gay, because I had such a huge crush on him when I was fifteen. Not that that’s why I think he’s gay. Not that I do. Certainly not. Don’t sue.

The reason I (don’t) think Steve Guttenberg is gay is this article about him: Steve Guttenberg Takes on Rear Ends, Leonard Maltin, And Directing. The first thing I thought when I read this was are these journalists mocking Steve Guttenberg by saying that he’s gay? and the second thing I thought when I read it was are these journalists trying to communicate that Steve Guttenberg is gay because they know he is and he won’t say it out-loud? Not that he is gay, you understand. Don’t sue me.

Anyway – here are the things in the article that make me think that they’re trying to horribly mischaracterise Steve Guttenberg as being a big homo. First there’s the phrase “takes on rear ends”. No comment. Then there’s the fact that the movie he’s doing is about straight men and gay men living together. Then there’s this exhange: iW: By the way, before we hang up, do you want to share any personal information. I have no idea if you’re single or married? Guttenberg: Just single. iW: Single and available? Guttenberg: I don’t really talk about it.

Plus, you know, he has a blonde golden retriever called Sandy.

Well there’s bad news and there’s good news. The bad news is that at least one of my papers for ETCON has been rejected, which means that since (essentially) I’ve already written the damn thing, all I need is for Cal to get the project that I was going to publish it through organised and then I can put it online. That is the good news – just some minor editing and rewriting required. And possibly some more conceptual and mock-up work. In related news, the other paper I submitted a proposal for (the big scary one that I’ve been thinking about for months) has yet to be rejected. So there is still hope remaining. Although not necessarily much…

One more thing as I download my new Apple browser and look towards the pub:

• Safari
  Notes: DiveIntoMark’s review of Safari and information on Safari CSS bugs and sucesses

• Final Cut Express
• Keynote
• iLife
• Powerbooks

In a little less that twenty minutes, it’s time for the January Steve Jobs Macworld Keynote speech. This is the speech that sets the scene for the next year of Apple products – heck, it’s the speech that announces most of them. As usual, the rumour sites have been going insane, with the most plausible suggestions coming from Think Secret. As usual, the relevant clump of people at work will be watching the whole thing over Quicktime and making sarcastic comments to each other over iChat.

I don’t know if his decision to take his weblog down is final or whether he’s just having a short break, but either way Mo Morgan‘s weblog will be much missed.

While doing a search for something completely different, I stumbled upon the Dead Ringers team doing some Tom Baker Doctor Who pranks. The first one I listened to, and probably my favourite, has the impressionist ringing up the real-life version of Tom Baker to discuss problems with K9 on his home-world of Gallifrey… Highly entertaining…

One of the largest news stories in the UK at the moment is the ongoing siege in Hackney. A man is holed up in a flat with a hostage and a gun and has been for several days. Some of the neighbours have been evacuated from their homes or put under armed guard until the situation is resolved. Normally these people would be distant figures for me – our only connection the one-way cordon of the television set keeping us apart. But not any more. This is the age of the internet. So local residents are now talking to one another and to the outside world via UpMyStreet Conversations: “This is literally up my street“. It’s a fascinating on-the-ground view of everything that’s going on in the area, and if you have any questions for the locals, that’s where I’d go to ask them…

Further reading: trueboy.blogspot.com | iWire

You couldn’t ask for a better quote, really. You can almost hear the tone of voice as he said it. The former soldier was talking about the new robot that can sense emotions, and which is designed to be a companion to combatants in the field. And what did he say?

“Speaking as a former soldier, the last thing I would want is an artificial girlfriend by my side to nag me about how I am feeling while out in the battlefield,” said John Petrik, corporate communications officer at the Office of Naval Research. [Wired News]

So the New Year has started, and while we may not have the most to look forward to economically or politically, but personally I feel it’s started well. Movies and drink with friends, Indian meals, Chinese meals and many movies (including Chicago) have capped off a very pleasant holiday period, which – for me – well and truly ends tomorrow when I return to work full-time. It’s all had a slightly crippling effect on my wallet, though. So I doubt there’ll be much partying or many expensive lunches for the next few weeks. But I’m not letting that stop me get WiFi’d up the wazoo! That’s the most important tech thing for me to do at the moment…