Huguenot

Hmmm, if you really wanted to make a go of this it might be worth... Identifying all the key stakeholders (I'd guess Station owner (is that Network Rail?), TOCs, Station Manager, staff, passengers) Identifying final decision making body Identifying decision making criteria (customer satisfaction, comfort and convenience, reliability, consistency and longevity, price, appearance, revenue, variety, local community) I'd then try to gauge the relative strengths of the incumbent against these criteria, and look to prioritise amongst stakeholders and decision makers those criteria against which Sam is likely to be more successful than a chain. I'd also discuss with Sam what could be done to mitigate for those criteria against which he is likely to fall short. I'm guessing that Sam will score highly against criteria like customer satisfaction, comfort and convenience, price, variety and local community. However it may be that the decision making body is currently scoring according to appearance, revenue, reliability and longevity. If you want to win the argument, a petition simply isn't enough - you need to prove that the needs of all stakeholders are best served by judging the winners according to Sam's advantages, not Costa Crappee.

I'm glad you recovered!

I always become a little confused with these retrospectives, because sometimes it doesn't 'sound' quite like computedshorty - is there another source that's sometimes being quoted, or was it possibly written at some other time?

I believe there's a 'correction' facility, but also that you can create your own name for the location and if it's used persistently it'll rise to the top of the rankings.

Banning access to particular types of content online can be attempted a number of ways online. First you'd need to decide whether to attempt it through ISPs (like BT) or at a national level through overseas routers. If you tried to do it through ISPs there's always the challenge of identifying and regulating them. If you tried to do it through overseas routers you'd struggle to block local servers. The most obvious way is to block access to particular servers where the content is hosted by preventing routers transferring data from a particular set of IP addresses. This is easily circumvented by suppliers changing servers or changing IP addresses. It is also easily circumvented by viewers using virtual private networks (VPNs) which encrypt the data so that the originating server is unidentifiable. It's also silly as it only applies to existing content, not newly created content. Another route may try to block certain URLs (web page names) so that the IP address (physical location) couldn't be looked up at the domain name server (DNS) lookup. However, the DNS may be based overseas and not be subject to UK law. Other 'instant' approaches can try and block content according to certain keywords on page - a route that would inevitably lead to incorrect classification and restraint of trade on legal businesses who would be right to sue.

I'm guessing that no-mark refers to a personal of such little significance that they will pass through this world without leaving a trace. Numpty must be a variation on 'numbskull' I would have thought - implying that their cognitive function is so limited that it fails to raise a wobble on an electroencephalogram.

Incidentally, on a similar subject... Never be exasperated with the-e-dealer who is known and respected for their ability to negotiate tight corners on life's journey whilst so many bricks short of a full load. Also, at some point you will misinterpret my economical prose for antagonism. This would be foolish. I am hilarious.

Voyageur, do you really think that? I don't think there's any justification for that belief. Very few comments will be smartarse put downs, and an even smaller amount of correspondents are no-mark numpties. ED is great, still miss it, but I prefer my 4pm tropical cyclone every day on the weather front. The one 'professional' thing you may need to be aware of is that those trains between 7am and 8.30am are going to be full and unreliable. Leave early and relax. The other thing is that locals will recognize you very quickly, so it's important that you treat them as friends not passers-by. That will also account for Alan, who is concerned that by using the term 'professional' you are distancing yourself from your neighbours. As you can see, that is unwise.

Use Blurb. http://www.blurb.com/ ?20 to create the book. It will be available to reprint for eternity then ;)

Why? Does an inability to express oneself prove the existence of an Almighty? ;)

I'm not sure that political will would have much to do with it - I'm pretty sure that any government that tried to restrict private car usage would simply get voted out at the next election. I think the problems are a bit more fundamental. Firstly that the isn't a link between the polluter and the health costs. The people who pollute the most are not the ones that suffer (unlike, say, smoking or obesity). Secondly that the people most affected by pollution (and other long term issues) are children and don't have the vote. Thirdly that in an optional democracy (you have the choice to vote) the votes are disproportionately cast by old people whose primary goals are short term indulgence not long term benefits.

Publicity campaigns 'directly' improve air quality? Eh what? Advertising should tell people not to breathe polluted air? Which air do you think they should be breathing then? Yes, white vans do emit more particulates than private cars - but a white van delivery service replaces 40 individual car journeys. There's no comparison. The more people that order for delivery the more efficient the process becomes. As the article points out, polluted air is causing as many health problems as obesity and road accidents combined (there's no justification to claim that fatties deserve more advertising). In some ways these people are more deserving of attention, since many of them will have played no part in creating the pollution that's killing them. I'm not sure your arguments hold out malumbu. It looks like a knee jerk reaction that you're trying to post rationalise - you can't even remember what you were talking about on coal after all ;-)

Makes sense - bizarre that taxpayer money should be used to disrupt an open market though? Wasn't there a story about one of these schemes that achieved fantastic rates for buyers?

An intriguing blend of what appears to be astute insight and complete nonsense, malumbu. :) I'm interested in your insistence that less indulgence would lead to more air pollution. If we shut down Ocado, we get pea-soupers? The world deserves to know. Devastating also to hear that hospital closures are the responsibility of EU clear air legislation - really? I haven't even seen the Daily Mail make that claim. This needs a wider platform surely?

It might get a bit tiring, a bit air steward. Cultural habits like repetitive greeting often appear friendly, but I doubt they convey any meaning. After all, if you say hello to everybody, it's automatic. It's a rather likeable thing about Brits that, save comments on meteorology, they can share the love without the handicap of bizarre repetitive ritualistic noise making. I'm not sure it's healthy to take it upon yourself to 'test' people. Equal joy can be found in loving everyone you see without putting them to the sword.

What's in it for you guys? Who is paying your salary?

Opt-in Internet is just dim. Not only is it technically naive, it speaks to a bygone age of paternalism. 'We know what's best for you' is smug, self righteous and irrelevant. 'I'll watch the porn so you don't have to' deserves the can of beans on your lap that you'll get for it. 3 billion people in the world live in the same room as mummy and daddy making whoopie. They don't end up twisted or deluded or paedophiles. This is Puritan Victorian middle class idiocy. 'Necessary and fair' is an extraordinary claim to make from someone who has no more right to tread the pavements than the guy in the house next to you. Who appointed you? Seriously Dudley, I have no idea what world you're living in, but you don't call the shots, no-one does. Censorship has nothing to do with it.

Ennui, *Bob*. It was interesting, it's not any more. Like Tillie I was engaged with the recipe story, whilst momentarily distracted by the use of 'canon'. I intended no insult or humiliation, nor invited a musician labouring through midlife crisis to unburden his quiet desperation upon my tired shoulders. What's your favourite lamb dish?

Maybe lean against the fridge *Bob*, more people might see you there. I tried a Raymond Blanc veal and orange thing once.

*Bob* checks the line of his nonchalant swagger in the reflection from the double glazed kitchen window, before casting quickly around to see if anyone else noticed just how cool he can be.

Tillie, I appreciate your frustration, it was just a throwaway comment. Canon is a terrific concept, but in this case used and spelled inappropriately. I just wanted to share the joy of the English language when used well. If others became competitive it's up to them. It remains used incorrectly, WorkingMummy and *Bob*'s comments are fun and interesting. As for the party, enjoy. It strikes me that the best parties are full of variety and alternative perspectives. If you prefer a party where everybody talks about what you want to talk about, I suspect you'll get pretty bored pretty quick. See ya.

This week I am mostly having Marmite on toast. Bread, Flora, Marmite. Slice and flash grill the bread until the sugars caramelise to create a crisp brown texture, allow to cool for 30 seconds. Apply Flora to one side creating a smooth even topical coat, repeat with Marmite. Consume hot or cold to taste.

Canon comes from the Latin 'canon' or even the Greek 'kanon' which means measuring stick. ;-) All English uses are derived from this. In that sense something can become 'canon' because it is archetypal: this is the derivation for the musical use as 'oeuvre'. The musical use for repetition or imitation relates to the 'canon' being a measured distance behind the leading melody. So you can't really 'add' something to your canon - but it can become your canon if it becomes archetypal of your cooking through repeated use. A meal you cook could be compared with your canon. I was being abrupt for my own entertainment WorkingMummy, no offense intended!

They'd have to be simple minded to vote for a party whose entire manifesto is 'we don't like foreigners and we don't like gays'. I mean, really??? Let's not attempt to elevate it by calling it a 'protest' vote.

Is this thread really about Nick Clegg, or is it a vehicle for another agenda? Most attacks on Clegg seem to come from Tories or Labour who see him as an opportunity to undermine Liberal Democrats. It's politics of the worse kind - no attempt to create policies or strategies for a better nation, simply smear tactics. It's small minded and destructive. My annoyance is that tactics like that are an act of deception and manipulation - something that the readers of this fair forum really don't deserve.