aspidistra

And as a postscript to my previous post, much of the content of the ballot is unfortunately prescribed by law - in various Acts of Parliament - and lawyers make even worse forms designers than sociologists. (By the way, I was told at that workshop that 'none of the above' would be politically unacceptable in the UK, and so would never appear on a UK ballot... though I'm sure it's something a lot of people would wish to see.)

The London ballots were badly designed, and we told them so in 2004. The reason being, they took advice from a sociologist at the LSE (I won't print his name, to save embarrassment) rather than from anyone who knows about forms design. Uproar in 2004, and London Elects ran a workshop - which I was invited to - in 2005, and they were still listening to the sociologists rather than the forms usability people when it came to 2008. London Elects fawning over a 'professor' of some irrelevant subject does not make a good ballot design. And a good ballot design is one that people can use easily to register their intention, without error. That is not what they have.

Marmora Man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- The NO vote claims FPTP is > simpler and less costly. Both are verifiable and > testable. The No campaign has made many unverifiable claims, including the claim that AV gives people multiple votes, or gives some people multiple votes. Widely scanned and discussed on the interwebs.

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > uuugghhh! > > My brain is simply incapable of understanding how > this works. "List candidates in order of > preference"? I mean - wtf?! > > Seriously. And if I (BA Hons, knight of the realm > etc) can't manage it, how it poor Terry from > Plumstead going to cope with the intricacies of > listing candidates in order of preference? If Terry from Plumstead can't master a form with a single order of preference, how does Terence the Third from Travis, Texas master this: http://www.co.travis.tx.us/county_clerk/election/20081104/sampleballot_localelections.pdf (randomly found sample US election ballot. BTW, write-in candidates are a regular feature of the US system, but are tricky to use correctly) And this example is a lot less complicated than a lot of the ballots US citizens have to face every year (or every other year). I have seen far, far worse. And I won't even begin on countries where all the political parties print their own ballot forms...

But then anyone who drinks Staro-whot-sits has probably got anything and everything coming.

So James, the big, big heading that goes... "Lighting does reduce crime: The evidence" and all the subsequent links...? such as Home Office Research Study 251, Effects of improved street lighting on Crime: a systematic review by Farrington & Welsh You're telling us that's not on that page at all?

I pay around 3.50 for a pint of real beer - as in Bombadier - at a popular local hostelry in Spitalfields/Shoreditch, and that is expensive compared to some others I know. If pubs are charging over 4 quid, they are piss takers.

They bug me. But more of a bug is the God-squad team that pull me out of the shower - with a head-full of shampoo - on a weekend morning. (It could have been an Amazon parcel expected, otherwise not would have bailed from the shower.) And being acosted by three God-squads in the space of one hour on a weekend is beyond a joke.

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi rahrahrah, > Please email me where you're experiencing this > problem and we'll try and resolve it. > NB. the brighter street lighting not only reduces > the fear of crime, in some instances will reduc > crime hotspots and uses significantly less > electricity than the previous light fittings. > > Hi kford, > Referinig people to a campaign against street > lighting is hardly likely to be a balanced > website. James, that is not a "campaign against street lighting", as you put it. I quote: ********* CfDS is a campaign for quality lighting. The Campaign acknowledges the need for lights at night, and we do not suggest switching off any necessary, unobtrusive light. What CfDS campaigns against is the misuse of lighting. Lights should be no brighter than needed, and they should only illuminate the area needed to be lit for the time necessary - not neighbouring areas and the night sky. If street lighting is present, it should be just that: illuminating only the street, and not shining into people's homes without their permission, or above the horizontal. ********* As you will see if you scroll down that page, there are sections on *both* sides of the argument.

I'm with Mr Moyles on the Darwin v the crazies/creationists thing. A pity if Ms Patterson took it personally - and seems somewhat over-reacting to call in the fuzz. I hope it has all indeed blown over.

The Arab World's Next Battle http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/22/water-the-next-arab-battle

Hackblade Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Huggers - yes, that's what I intend to do if I > don't destroy it first. > > CBL - it was unbelievably loud. Why on earth do > alarms have to be so damn loud and long? The > police said they would only respond 'if I could > see someone running away'. I had already told them > the alarm had been blaring for an hour so it was > hardly likely. Loud and pointless. If it happens again, tell them you're going to commit a 'breach of the peace'.

Nicholas Spears Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > anyone know if it did happen when police in > pursuit? if so that would help explain the > long-term closure, as a police inquiry would have > to take place to see if they were at fault... Police pursuit would also explain almost instantaneous response from the boys in blue. I mean, they don't turn out that quickly for shootings - and this was an RTA.

There are day moths and night moths, and some moths can be marvellously coloured. The Jersey Tigers are now quite common around these parts. I get around 15 or 20 at a time when they get going. They seem to like basking on the kitchen windows and window sills in the sunshine. There must be something they like eating here too. Check out the fabulous UK moths website http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=2067 Ian will even ID moths from photos you send in.

Sue Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In a previous thread on this subject, I believe it > was said that the flight plan varies depending on > wind direction? Or that it was varied to give > residents of different areas some respite! > > Can't remember which though :-S Planes fly into the wind to land at Heathrow. Prevailing UK winds are westerlies. So most of the time they fly in from the east, over ED.

Thinking about making a home for mason bees and similar solitary bees? Here's a bit of inspired construction at Roots & Shoots. Trellick Tower for bees!

Pearson Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Jeez, we live in a global capital city... > if you can't handle aircraft noise move to Orkney > or somewhere else suitably quiet. Peason: many other 'global capital cities' have a complete ban on night flights. In fact entire countries do. A ban on night flights does not seem correlated with poor economic performance in any sense. And we seem to be talking about 16 planes waking up hundreds of thousands of people too early, most (80%) days of the year. Not some occasional occurence. oilworker: binmen never arrive before 5.30am! Not around this road, anyway. And that's once a week, not 80% of the year. Foxes is once in a blue moon; likewise cats fighting. Milkmen: have you seen a milkman since 1975?

I've lived in ED for over 25 years, and the problem has most definitely got a whole lot worse in that time. In the mid-80s there really was no aircraft noise. I can put up with high noise levels while sitting in the garden/outside during the day (raising voices, waiting for the plane to go over before you speak), but the early morning flights are a killer. Your mileage may vary: the noise experienced depends on exact location and the terrain as well as the weather, and which way your bedroom faces etc. etc., and indeed how good your hearing is and how you as an individual respond to certain frequencies. I find ear plugs are not so good at dealing with the lower, rumbling frequencies which the planes make as they bank. Thanks for the link, taper.

ClareC Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Wouldn't go with IKEA kitchens at all, they are > not great quality. > > Would recommend Howdens, much better quality and > reasonably priced. Howden store's compete with > one another on price too. My builder used to use Howdens (used by a lot of builders)... Then he saw and fitted my John Lewis kitchen... and called his building mates to come around and check it out, he was so impressed. Best kitchen he's seen, he reckons. This was a fairly bottom-mid-range JL kitchen, which he fitted for me.

LL Carpets - I can only agree with those commenting adversely. I found an extremely rude person in the shop (after I had phoned beforehand to arrange an appointment) and I took my business elsewhere.

I hear the old Unigate dairy building in West Dulwich has been empty for a decade.

First Friday of the month

Marmora Man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think the fact that your entrepreneur got to > ?150k a year should be seen as success enough - > unless you are, to quote Peter Mandleson, > immensely relaxed about people getting extremely > rich. If I was lucky enough to be earning over > that figure I should think it fair an equitable > that I should pay large amounts to the Treasury. > I'm not going to be going short any time soon. > > But if every entrepreneur stopped at ?150K there > would be no new businesses of any real size. It's > not personal taxes that fund gov't services in UK > - it's business taxes. Poppycock. Making up the total tax take: The share of income tax is? The split shares of NI are? The share of corporation tax (paid by only a third of companies) is? The share of business rate is? v council tax? Even totting up the niche areas such as aggregates - and splitting those taxes payable by both - will not get you the sum you claim. Or are you claiming - as I think Barclays did - that income tax paid by Barclays employees was tax borne by Barclays group! :) Before they were publicly derided, that is, and withdrew the statement. The figures look even worse in the US, where personal taxation has been roaring ahead of corp taxes for 4 decades plus.

Dulwich Park could do with something that caters properly for the late afternoon/early evening visitor. The Cafe doesn't. Perhaps they are just not interested, but it seems a shame.

I have a cycle computer. On the flat, my average speed is 14-15 mph, sometimes 16-17 with the wind behind, up to 20 mph on a gentle consistent downhill, 11-12 with a gentle uphill and the wind against me. On the kind of long, long steep downhills you get in other parts of the country, I can get to 30, but you don't get that terrain in London, and I wouldn't want to travel at that speed on a bike. Cycling downhill along the length of Court Lane I just about reach the speed of the cars (20mph or so) but not quite. I do cycle on the pavement on the 100m section of the South Circular between the park gate and the pond/lights, to link up with the lights/pedestrian crossing for the westbound section of cycle path on the pavement. There's rarely anyone walking there (they all drive to the sports clubs) and I always take it very slowly, 5mph or so. It's less dangerous that trying to get though a bi-directional log-jam to the other side, and if you waited for a 2-way break in the traffic here you could be waiting until next month. I consider this kind of occasional pavement cycling (short and occasional linking sections to get around specific difficulties, no pedestrians etc.) a very different proposition from jumping a red light - which I have never done and which I get extremely angry about when I see it. Jumping lights endangers all road users, including the cyclist, and I'm afraid I scream my lungs out at any cyclist I see doing it. I would like the police to take strong action against that. Chicken - both girls and boys - is happening increasingly. Then there is some kind of game where some kids (in groups of 10 to 15) push others into the path of vehicles. (I wouldn't call it chicken, which I've always assumed chicken is someone doing it of their own free will.) I've seen this happen a few times, such as this week opposite Camberwell Green (beyond the bus stops), and last week on Crystal Palace Parade. Also increasingly common are bike muggings/physical attacks on cyclists; there have been two bike muggings less than 150m from my house. I've stopped using one cycle path unless accompanied by other cyclists, after another particularly nasty attack on a cyclist there, by a pedestrian. Pedestrians are just like other road users (including cyclists): mostly sensible, but others extremely stupid or even criminal. Here's Boris Johnson and his mate Arnold Schwarzenegger cycling on the footpath outside City Hall... where cycling is supposedly banned. http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/uAFVzpA1VWL/Governor+London+Boris+Johnson+former+Governor/-tsz5COqmPD/Arnold+Schwarzenegger