Blog posts

So I live in America…

When we were in Iran in the summer of 2001 one of the most striking things was the cultural gulf between North and South Tehran. The cost of property in Iranian cities usually correlates with proximity to mountains. From the mountains comes water, and the rich have historically jostled for positions near to that supply of fresh water. These days, access to clean water isn’t quite such an issue, but the property prices still reflect that legacy. ...

Since I posted this article about Comcast’s reported union-busting activities, Kari and I have decided to go with SBC’s DSL offering rather than a cable modem. I should have been ready for the prospect that SBC’s employees will be on strike over a pay-deal dispute on the day our service was meant to be connected.

This blog is powered by the Moveabletype blogging software. I discovered it a couple of years ago, and have since used it in many locations thanks to its adaptability and straightforward interface. The company behind Moveabletype, Six Apart, have kicked up a little storm over their announcement last week of new license fees that will extend to those using MT for non-commerical purposes. Such has been the backlash, that they’re asking for feedback on how people use their software. So here’s my contribution: ...

There are plenty of accounts available online of other peoples’ visits to the US Embassy as the final stage of applying for a K1 Fiance Visa. Reading them, it was readily apparent that the process was little more than a formality for most. Yet it’s still a nervous experience, knowing that the officials within hold such immediate power over you. I arrived at the office of Dr. Phelan—the Embassy’s official (monopoly provider) surgeon—at 7.35am to see a queue of people already assembling. We’d ended up with a good day for it, the sun was shining and there was plenty going on to keep us entertained as we waited, such as a man walking past dressed and looking exactly like Seraph from The Matrix. ...

My last University of Reading meeting was that of the Careers Advisory Board this morning. It was the second meeting of the board this year, and therefore the place to discuss the annual, government-required Graduate First Destinations Survey. Such surveys are always good sources of spinnable material. The survey is prepared by HESA to ensure the same template is used nationwide, and the results themselves were relatively unremarkable. Some slight fluctuations, and a few concerns that electronic engineering students seemed to be having some trouble finding employment in that field, but no real surprises. ...

There is currently much discussion about reforming the university admissions system in the UK. The current system, whereby students apply to universities during the autumn of their final school year and are then offered places subject to interviews and particular grades in exams yet to come not only places a huge amount of pressure on students, but leaves a high degress of uncertainty for universities. It is also said to often fail to adequately distinguish between the high number of students achieving the top grades, and certainly produces dilemmas of how to respond to particularly able students held back by a range of societal factors. ...

If you’re like me, you often feel like it would be good to have a recording of a concert, but are rarely prepared enough to take the requisite equipment. According to CNN there are moves afoot to outfit clubs with booths where you’ll be able to instantly download a recording of a night’s performance onto a USB flash drive like this to take home and copy to your home computer. ...

Perhaps the most curious story being carried by the BBC today is that of German band Super Smart who have taken to releasing their albums in only one format: polyphonic ringtones for mobile phones. I certainly share their belief that the traditional music industry routes to releasing records should be avoided wherever possible, but are the majority of mobile phones advanced enough for this yet? ...

Sleeping till 2pm, as I did, I missed the phone call from Kevin Walsh at Apple. Calling him back this afternoon, I was informed that Apple did indeed lose my laptop. And despite having had three weeks to do so, they haven’t found it. So they’ve ordered me a new one. He wasn’t clear on the specifications of the new machine, but I was told it would be the new equivalent of the machine I had, which should be significantly better. ...