Scott’s Flickr pics
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Scott’s blog
Musings on a world I am no longer sure about
Blurminal and other simbl plugins in snowleopard
Had a minor brainwave (as I was mourning blurminal) that Snow Leopard is mostly 64bit whereas Leopard is mostly 32bit. So, things loaded using SIMBL plugins don’t work on Snow Leopard. However, if you press apple+i on the icon (show info) then click the “open in 32bit mode” checkbox on whatever app in question, you can have all your SIMBL plugins back. So I have Blurminal back, which makes me very happy 
Blurminal is a must if you use the terminal app lots. It’s sooo pretty.
Here, have a picture!
www.flickr.com/photos/scottlet/3674010417/
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Picnic and clubbing and xxl and missed flights
Marvellously, we managed to have an entire picnic without rain right until the end. When we got a fantastic thunderstorm that made us scurry to Retro an hour early for gin and gossip.
Highlight of the picnic for me was squirting cream at Ulf. Highlight for moogal was probably Rassilon’s crotch. Which for those of you that don’t know the lovely Matt, might give you terrifying mental images.
Ended up at XXL scaring Mr Tittybiscuit with leather clad bears dancing to Lady Gaga. how perfect a day?
Apparently their membership thing is all fingerprint based now. No more cards. So not renewing my membership. Pointless infringements on civil liberties are pointless.
Ended up up the Eye on Sunday. It was like being in an airplane! But with a crappier view!
Sadly got delayed on the way back from London (by buses being on divert, only not actually mentioning it on bus stops). Got in, rushed about trying to pack everything as quick as I could.
Made it to the DLR with just enough time, or so I thought. Until I got to Hammersmith to discover there was no Picadilly line. Something I’d have checked for if I hadn’t been delayed. Gah! Back on the District then Circle round to Paddington to find I was 2 minutes late for a Paddington Express and had to wait for another one. Checked to see if the flight was delayed, it wasn’t, noticed also that they’d changed from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 and I’d not known about it. Arrived at 19:25 for a 19:50 flight to be told the gate was already closed. Slight frustration but inevitability. I know had I been on time I’d not have checked to see if the flight had been delayed and so I’d have ended up in Terminal 2 and still probably missed it. Le sigh. Still, this time around it only cost me €50 to change my ticket instead of £320, so that was a bonus. Soooo very tired now...
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Reading through last week’s SchNEWS made me very angry
Catching up on emails...and a few stories in last week’s SchNEWS made me really quite angry tonight.
COPS, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE AS SUSSEX POLICE RAID BRIGHTON FILM MAKER
Given the amount of aggro handed out to those brave enough to document Babylon’s excesses we wondered how long it was before we started getting our collars felt. Of course they’d need a task force to batter down the steel doors of the SchNEWS bunker - let alone take us alive - so Sussex Police took a more indirect route.
At approximately 8.30am on Tuesday 2nd June, Sussex cops arrived at the home of Paul Light, now revealed as one of the SchMOVIES collective. (For anyone thinking that SchNEWS was still stuck in the Dark Ages with just a scrappy sheet of A4, we’ve moved right into the twentieth century and have our own slightly estranged film-making department.) Paul’s arrest has wide ranging implications for anyone who reports on controversial issues.
When the cops came round Paul was getting his ten-year old son ready for school. He was immediately arrested on suspicion of being involved in the ‘decommissioning’ of the EDO ITT weapons factory in January (see SchNEWS 663). The actual charge was ‘conspiracy to commit criminal damage’.
This vague charge was enough for the police to launch into a full-blown fishing expedition.’The only evidence they [Sussex police] have is that someone phoned me, asking if I wanted to film the police response,’ Paul told SchNEWS, ’I said I couldn’t because I had my son and his friend sleeping over that night. That was the end of it as far as I was concerned. As a film maker I frequently get phone calls about possible incidents to film - this was one shoot I couldn’t and didn’t make.’
Paul was held and questioned for eight hours and his home was raided. The police took Paul’s son to school in a police car, where he burst into tears due to the stress. His father was released on bail and is awaiting the outcome of the arrest.
roomba and me. And a little bit of politics.
I had a dream last night. In my dream, I came home. It wasn’t my real home though, it was something I remember from my childhood. When I got home I was in receipt of my post. It was the roomba I bought on eBay. dirty, dusty, brushes missing.
The rest of the dream was about the end of the world.
I have strange dreams!
Now, all I can think of is “I had a dream last night. It was the same dream”.
Politics is annoying me. We should ditch the entire lot of them and start from scratch.
They’re all generally self serving gits that believe they know how the country should be run as opposed to genuinely listening to what we believe should happen.
So. New Democracy. Everyone asked their opinion on matters directly. We have the technology, why not do it? We could elect people to come up with ideas (politicians) and then once they’ve come up with an idea we (interested parties) vote on it.
New Democracy II.
Instead of voting for parties, we vote for positions. Government split into discrete areas, experts in those areas are elected by people to run those areas. No overall leadership.
Although I much prefer the choosing at random of people from the public to serve for a year at a time (much like juries) with the guidance of civil servants and the backing of referenda for the public to have a say.
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Arg!
Oh dear. It’s pissing down. Rumour has it it’ll piss down on Saturday too. Do we
a) chance it, picnic with brollies in a terribly English way under a tree if it rains but trust that the weather forecasters will be wrong...
b) find a local pub and picnic there
c) other suggestions?
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2 comments.
Tinfoil hats!
Well, not quite. I’ve always suffered from not being able to sleep past dawn. At home I have very butch curtains that mostly do the job. Here in Berlin, I have some curtains made of tracing paper and nets. So I’ve been getting up shockingly early and going to bed at 10 for a while. However, it’s the longest day of the year today and it’s been getting slightly irritating only getting 6 hours sleep. I’m quite productive at 5:30 but I’d rather be quite productive at 7. Bah. So, bearing in mind there’s a war on, I thought I’d do my bestest to make do. Investigating, I discovered tinfoil and sellotape were within my budget.
Now I have a permanently dark bedroom.
Photos to follow 
In other news, today marked the start of a huge Berlin gay thingummy. www.regenbogenfonds.de/index_en.php so I’ve been out and been taking pictures of it all. Piictures to follow soon!
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I think
I need to test the new rich text box thingummy a bit.
So here
Have a test from Firefox
(copied and pasted from www.wolframalpha.com/screencast/introducingwolframalpha.html )
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General malaise
The BNP get elected to the EU. This amuses me greatly. The stress of dealing with all those foreigners might just take its toll on the lovely Nick Griffin (no relation to Peter, we assume).
They get elected with fewer votes than they got in 2004. So apparently more people should’ve voted.
How does this work? Well, the nice political parties that are losing voters with failed policies aren’t to blame. It’s voter “apathy”.
I’d like to point out that I’m not apathetic. I’m frustrated, angry, annoyed and above all, not represented by any of the people that would want to represent me. So what, I should choose the least bad and hope for the best?
Because that’s all we can do, in our land of the free. No legal recourse for anyone should their champion turn out to be lying.
People should stop flapping anyway, the BNP won’t ever have any real power, not until they start cozying up to big business and changing their xenophobic policies to policies more akin to those of the major parties.
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The pointless game of modern politics
They talk of the left and the right. but what are the left and the right? Tories are not right wing and haven’t been for a while, their bid to become electable is to become more like Labour were when they beat Major. Labour are not left wing. Labour stole most of the Tories policies in a bid to beat Major. The left is now inhabited by the Greens, I’d say even the Lib Dems are lefter than Labour. The right is inhabited by the BNP,UKIP, etc. Single issue parties, thankfully quite happily splitting the sizeable voter demographic they have. If anyone actually thinks there’ll be a difference when the Tories get in, they’re quite mad. It’s like football. Rant all you want about how great your team is, but what about those of us who hate football? Politicians from the two major parties have become faceless clones of each other. Broadly the same policies, only subtle differences set them apart from each other. It’s a sick sick game. Those with the money get who they want into power, always. Labour started playing the game when they cozied up to big business and they were allowed to be elected. Big business fucked us over and so now Labour have to be the scapegoat for their economy failures, the Tories will be elected. Those failures were not caused by anything the government did wrong. They did what they were supposed to do, distract us with petty enemies whilst business went on as usual. It’s not really Labour’s fault and they won’t change anything because they’re too busy playing the game. They could decide to regulate banks. They won’t. They could decide to make certain kinds of financial transactions illegal. They won’t. They will lose power now, slowly, quietly, everyone in the cabinet will be replaced by new players. The old players, having served their purpose, will be rewarded with directorships and millions of pounds. Ultimately, they’ll have won the game that everyone sees but no-one notices. It doesn’t matter who you vote for out of the two main parties. You will still be taxed too much. You will still have fewer freedoms than you should have. You will still be shat on from on high. You will still go to war when and where they say you should. You will still be encouraged to spend spend SPEND on credit to keep the economy afloat. The NHS will still be shit. Teachers will still be underpaid. Public transport will still suck. You will still have to work too hard in a job for fear of losing it. These are the things that affect you. Not immigration, not terrorism, not Europe, not even MPs spending public money. You have the illusion of freedom. The Game: Major’s cabinet 1994 Prime Minister John Major - now Sir John Major. Retired. Prolific after dinner speaker, earning £25,000 per engagement. He is a millionaire. Chancellor James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern. - Now, Lord of the Thistle. Publishes legal stuff. Can’t find any info on earnings but assumed to be quite well off Secretary of State Douglas Hurd - Now Baron Hurd of Westwell, Held posts including deputy chairman of NatWest Markets and a board Director of the NatWest group (95-99). Also very well off. Chancellor of the Exchequer - The Rt. Hon. Kenneth Clarke - Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of British American Tobacco plc from 1998-2007, Non-Executive Deputy Chairman of Alliance Unichem plc from 1997, Non-Executive Chairman of Savoy Asset Management plc from 2000, Non-Executive Chairman of British American Racing from 2000, Non-Executive Director Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust plc from 1997, Non-Executive Director of Independent News and Media (UK) from 1999. Also available for after dinner speeches, earning between 5.5-10k per dinner. Secretary of State for the Home Department - The Rt. Hon. Michael Howard - retiring at next election, assumes position of Chairman of “Diligence Europe” a private intelligence and risk assessment company founded by former CIA and MI5 members. Six figure salary for his
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The lives of others
What qualifications do you need to become a politician? What happens if you decide to ignore your election promises and instead chase money? What happens if you decide to claim your second house allowance for your primary house and claim your primary residence is a room you rent from your sister? What happens if you employ all your family members in menial tasks paying far more than your average wage and claim it on expenses? What happens if you’re elected and decide not to turn up to council meetings? What happens if you decide to ignore the wishes of the majority of your constituents and instead vote with your “conscience”? Nothing. Well done for going out yesterday and making a difference. Well done indeed.
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Uncle Scotty
At 11:49am I became an uncle. Mum Katie and lil Lily are doing well... 
Lily at 2 hours old
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Why I’m not voting. By Scott, aged 34 2/3
A long time ago some people decided that everyone should have a say in how things were run. This was a cool and groovy idea and not that many of them were killed because of it. They called this idea democracy and it was good. Everyone had to be nice, or they would be stabbed by those opposing them. Bad for bad people, good for people able to compromise. I think that’s what we’re missing. People talk about our democracy like it’s an amazing thing — it really isn’t. It’s also not very democratic. Those that want to keep you voting, however, will try and scare you with boogeymen to make you complicit in this fantasy where everyone gets a say but no-one actually does. If you get a say in how the country is run, then surely you should be asked some questions, no? And asked what your opinion is on matters affecting you? No. It’s a democracy, just vote for the least odious politician and you’ll be fine. Even if they break their campaign promises and decide to do the opposite of what they said they would. It’s a democracy, you can simply vote them out (after 4 years and they’ve siphoned a few hundred thousand out of the coffers). Which means what exactly? My choice is between a few people who have questionable motivation and don’t actually need to carry out any kind of mandate, merely turn up. They don’t have to take any heed of my point of view, merely decide what they want to do on a whim. So if I vote, am I more or less likely to have a say in how things are run than if I don’t vote? Bout equal I’d say. I will vote when the slip contains “none of the above”. I wonder who voted for MPs to have elastic expenses rules? Every person who voted, that’s who. Did you not realise that that is what you are doing when you give license to others to speak for you? Who voted for the privatisation of the Post Office? You did! Who voted for the Iraq war? You! There’s only one way to actually enact the sentiment of “not in my name” and that’s to turn your back on all of them and make the world a better place on your own.
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To the Lighthouse my friend
+Patrick Wolf, live at the Electric Ballroom, Camden+ It’s been a long time coming, but 25 year old Patrick Wolf has a new album out in shops as of yesterday. To mark the occasion, he’s been touring. I caught up with him on the last show of his tour at Camden’s infamous Electric Ballroom last night. Entering the stage in some terrifying glam rock frock we got straight down to business with a selection of songs from the new album. Although it’s a smallish venue, he’s quite a showman, giving us a spectacle that’d be worthy of a stadium. Musically, he’s awfully talented. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man singing whilst playing viola at the same time. If you’ve not heard his music, I’d recommend it, the new album’s marvellous and I can recommend the previous couple as well. The Batchelor — the title track from the new album — was played complete with eerie disembodied Tilda Swinton voice courtesy of the small man at the back bashing out electric bleeps on a macbook. The bassist switched from electric to double and back again, which added to the backing violinist and Wolf’s viola created a strange but beautiful strings trio at points. Part punk, part baroque, part Ziggy Stardust, Mr Wolf seems unwilling to stay in the one pigeon hole. The audience was an immense mix of mosh, shiny trousers, terrifying beary gays and goths all bouncing along to a soundtrack that is all these things and none of them. Truly an interesting mix and very much an amazing gig. “I’m on the radio in literally 2 minutes, but I promised I’d leave you, Camden, with an amazing tune”, he announced, after finishing the final encore track. And then he punches the demo button on the keyboard in front of him and skips off stage as we’re left with some beepy funk born in the imagination of a synthesiser salesman in the late 80s. Rah! Wish I’d brought a camera...