Digital Dreams
Hi. I still use LJ, follow my friends and similar, but I've moved my main host to Dreamwidth now, and am crossposting everything to here, but asking people to comment there.
Mat Bowles.
It's still fully interoperative, the OpenID comment functions there are good and improving, and I can follow everything from both sites easily.
Mat Bowles.
It's still fully interoperative, the OpenID comment functions there are good and improving, and I can follow everything from both sites easily.
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There are elections next week across the UK. In Britain, the votes are counted using the D'Hondt closed list PR system. This is one of the few electoral systems I've encountered I consider to be worse than the one we use for Westminster, when you get critics attacking "PR", they're having a go at this pile of arse, which no one sane suggests for Westminster (and Labour had to force through the Lords after a lot of opposition). If you're not sure who to vote for, and don't want to spend too much time thinking about it, go out and vote either Lib Dem or Green; there's a small chance the BNP could win a seat in the North West. Giving Nick Griffin a tax funded salary and the ability to hire a bunch of staff just doesn't appeal. It's unlikely he'll get in, but it could happen. So just go vote, please? Even if the system is arse, the EU parliament does actually have power these days, even if it's not as much as would be liked.
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Not a bad bit of viral marketing this: what happens when the stuff on the display screen starts falling over. A nicely animated product catalogue as it slowly blows itself up.
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I pretty much agree with this. Most of us writing our own personal blogs and journals are copying the old small press pamphleteers and chain letter writers. We're just doing it with better technology. Most of the established newspapers grew out of various small presses—the biggest blogs online now have copied this model, bringing in lots of individuals to create a more coherent whole.
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Some of them really are a bit daft, yes, but still worth thinking about. What the antis always seem to miss is that most supporters of EU membership also constantly argue for reform of the system. That it's a bit crap isn't disputed, how to improve it is. Bit like everything else in life really.
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A UKIP campaign slogan that doesn't make sense and is based on unfounded and uncosted hyperbole? really? Never would've guessed.
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There are Euro elections due. One of the issues the EU legislates on is software patents, the Free Software Foundation thinks we should ask the candidates their views on this. Makes sense to me, go do it...
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The underdog can always win if enough effort is put in. Being able to put that effort in is the main barrier. Does this apply to any walk of life, if at all?
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Makes sense to me: a successful web technology will have cute cats, porn and activism. If it doesn't have a mix of the three, something isn't working right.
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This, however, is one of the crazier ideas for solving the EU governance issue—when the paranoid fringes talk about 'plots to break up Britain'? This is the sort of thing they're referring to. But, y'know, interesting idea, even if he does make godawful beer.
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Apparently from a Spitting Image annual from the mid 80s. It's really quite funny and rather accurate. Note to those supporting Cameron's modern Conservative party (or even those that can remember Major). Yes, Thatcher's Tories really were like this. Some of them still are. That the majority of MPs after the next General Election will be 'untainted' by this association doesn't mean those of us that can remember will trust them.
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If your identity has been used by a fraudster, and you're required to log all your movements, the authorities will keep trying to arrest you. And a national mandatory identity scheme WILL get cracked by a fraudster almost instantaneously. WebOfEvil shares a personal anecdote
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Dear Warner. Getting YouTube to remove your subsidiaries officially posted music vids because they infringe your copyright means that people won't see your videos. You know, the ones you paid for to advertise your product? Is there a chance that, at some time soon, the recording industry will grow up and get a clue?
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Paging George! This bloke seems perfect for you girl...
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Heh—banning books from teens makes them more likely to want to read them. So a kid running a library of banned books is encouraging her schoolfriends to read more. Cool
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I never did understand the whole "he'll grow out of it" approach to my liking of SF and fantasy when I was a teen, why would I WANT to grow out of it? Just because I like Asimov and Stross doesn't mean I can't appreciate Nabokov (who wrote some SF anyway) or the likes, just as liking Therapy doesn't prevent me also liking Dvorak or Gershwin. Silly elitist snobs. Still, at least we're winning...
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Really. It's a hoversnail. It's cool. Go look.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
blog_medvedev) and updates it (or gets someone to, anyway) fairly regularly. ( LJ, its future, DW not a threat and SUp taking it in the wrong direction )
Ah well. I'm supposed to be writing up what's wrong with the OpenID implementation on both LJ and DW, but I keep getting distracted.
Short version: ( Both sites are problematic, DW has the excuse of being new, LJ has no excuse at all )
That's pathetic. Hopefully the competitive pressure from DW will push them into making more improvements, like it has done elsewhere. Competition is, after all, a good thing, and LJs been stuck in its own little rut with nowt but a bunch of clones for too long.
Meh, rambling. Time to go do something constructive.
This entry was originally posted at http://matgb.dreamwidth.org/362185.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I've also, previously to that, talked about other alternative platforms, specifically trying to build a distributed platform with the social/privacy features of LJ but without the reliance on one centralised point of failure. The specific idea being to try to Reclaim the Web.
our sort of blogging
Well, I never did get that project going. Partially because, well, it was fairly reliant on a few other individuals. All of whom are involved in Dreamwidth. All of whom share the idea of a distributed social model for our sort of blogging, a way to write about whatever you like, keep in touch with friends, but be able to interact with others on other sites easily and effectively, and crucuailly allow them to interact with you.Dreamwidth is doing all that.
The Friends Page is replaced
But more importantly, they've taken so many little annoyances or stupidities out of LJ and replaced them with something that makes sense. The Friends Page has gone, it's a Reading Page. If you add someone to your friends page, you subscribe to them. You might also want to Grant Access to your privacy enabled posts, or you might not. Essentially, find someone interesting, follow them for a bit, learn to trust them, you can grant them access. Meaning I can follow the execrable![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
j_rentoul's outpourings but not let him read my private thoughts.OpenID actually works!
OpenID is substantially improved. You can tie an OpenID to your DW account if you've got one, and you can use your OpenID to control any syndicated feeds from any sites you've got (so LJers can turn off comments to the Dreamwidth feed of their stuff if they want, which is good). Well, you'll be able to anyway, that's not quite working yet.easiest backup I've ever done
Most importantly, the import feature isn't finished yet. It's still the easiest backup of everything I've ever done—all my stuff from LJ is over there, including my icons, filters, bio, etc.So, even though I still hope to set up my own server running the code eventually, I'll wait until the code is in a proper release model to do it first. In the meantime, I'll be going there properly as soon as they've finished a few features.
I won't be leaving here
Most importantly, I'll be going there, but I won't be leaving here. They're building a cross poster, so when I write a post there, it'll turn up here. You'll be able to follow links there and comment there using your LJ ID without problems, and I'll still be reading everything here.Basically, it looks damn cool. It's what LJ should already be, and they've not finished yet.
Interested?
akicif. I'll Firstly, when designing the site navigation structure, they used a card sorting usability test to get it right, and came up with this navigation scheme, based around a design by
grrliz. I've used my LJ OpenID to login at the site, and while it's superficially similar to Horizon, it just makes sense. I was stoked about this project just fromt he basic ideas behind it, that they're actually following usability and accessibility guidelines? Yowsers. I uploaded a userpic. I was asked to provide "a description for visually impaired users". Userpics will get proper ALT text. If that means anything to you you know this is cool.Secondly, they've got what appears to be a top notch comment importer:
( When I import, your comments will be assigned to the OpenID you made them with, which means you take control of them if you want )Such a simple, simple thing to do, but apparently beyond the ken of most other import tools I've encountered.
On the subject of importing or backing up, remember when I promised I'd write a backing up how to? Well, I never did. Don't really need to now, Wordpress.com (my preferred online backup option) has upgraded their importer and launched Even Easier LiveJournal Migration. Seriously, you create an account, go to 'import', and follow the easy instructions. Mine is here if you want to bookmark it somewhere in case of LJ dying unexpectedly, I'll be turning off the search presence over there, don't want it to look like a mirror. Thanks for the heads up
foxfirefey. SRSLY people, you can mark the whole thing as private "your eyes only", just make sure you've got a copy of your journal, just in case?Lastly, a completely non geeky post. I post a lot of anti-religion stuff when I'm in a ranty mood. I know that not all religious types are crazy bigotted loons, but idiots like Christian Voice tend to spoil it for the sane majority. Today, I got another reminder, several people linked to:
The Life and Opinions of Andrew Rilstone: An Immodest Proposal
Go read it. Really.
Anyway, my importer has finally finished, so time to shut down the PC. G'night all
I first heard about the tedious cock in that post of
liadnan's, a long time before I moved up to London, and he's done nothing to impress me since. For quite awhile, my old post about him was top Google result for his name, it's fallen now to seventh. But I think he's more than a cock now, he's an expensive ignorant sexist git who deserves as much opprobrium as possible. So, given I no longer live in London, I don't have AMs or MPs to complain to. So I figure I'd hurt his rep on Google a bit instead.If you fancy joining in, and have a publicly accessible website that's indexed by search engines, especially Google,
I don’t think that’s true. I think it is—if you’re on MySpace now, you’re a [expletive] cretin. And you’re not only a [expletive] cretin, but you’re poor. Nobody who has beyond an 8th grade level of education is on MySpace. It is for backwards people.Which, in slightly less fragrent terms, is what I've read about the demographics of MySpace use as opposed to Facebook use (Livejournal demographics are a subset of the Facebook demographic, Facebook is used by educated people, LJ is used by educated goths, geeks and weirdoes). All of this via the excellent
jleach, who is The Independent's digital media editor. I was planning on doing a whole "LJ has grown up and poached The Independent from Six Apart" post, but I haven't. So here we go. LJ has poached the Indy and is working on others. They were using the execrable TypePad service for their blogs, now they're on here. And promoting LJ to their readers and website users. So there's a big influx of slightly confused new users with the 'Independent Minds' logo as their default userpic. If you see it, be nice, a lot of them are all confused.
Oh, and my 'Livejournal is doomed' posts that used to be fairly regular aren't any more—the new owners, it seems, definitely 'get' what the site could be, and are working towards it. For the first time in years, we're back above a million active users per month now. That's awesome.
LJ is competing with the big boys of blogging now. And it looks like it could be winning.
So, having installed it, verified myself, and everything, I follow the link to the website they've set up to support it, NetworkedBlogs.com. Not bad, and possibly a useful resource (need to explore a lot more). But, as is always the case, the 'similar blogs' category throws up interesting results from the algorithm. Here's a screenshot:
( Piccy! )( Some guesswork about how the Algorithm got me similar to Dizzy Thnks )
Help me!
[1]
andrewducker, who most of you should probably be reading as he posts more than me currently, on frequently similar topics.[2] ( Why I think Dizzy is an arsehole )
Dizzy doesn't think, and I'd rather not be associated with him. Help me out? Danke.
http://www.liberalconspiracy.org/2008/1
So, two of the mainstream politics blogs I hang around on a lot are 'liveblogging' the US elections, and I'm supposed to be contributing.
Liveblogging? That means actually writing content on the blog, using the comments box for information, and updating the post with important information as and when you get it. It was
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif){kind=small}
nosemonkey's liveblogging of the London bombings that got me into the idea of blogging in the first place. I think it's a great thing.So my favourite blogs are liveblogging the election results. Cool.
Except they're not. They're using www.coveritlive.com. It's a fucking flash embed chatroom.
Wonderful. We're using the wonders of modern technology to do something you could do on AOL 15 fucking years ago. And you can't scroll back to backread, so if you move to a different screen then come back you miss stuff. Stephen is at least updating the main post, but he's disabled the comments so you have to use the outdated unimpressive POS 'liveblog' software. FFS, I had been looking forward to contributing to both sites. Ah well, back to the email mailing lists, if we're going to use 15+ year old ideas, might as well use one that works.
What a peice of shit.
Or will the Republicans, like the post ‘97 Conservatives over here, fail to understand the depths of their own failure and be condemned to decades of opposition as they fail to understand the way modern America is truly rejecting their failed position?Do you think I may've got a bit too attached to the word 'fail' there? FFS
*goes to edit*
( The finalists are... )
( The poll itself in all its glory )
For some of the above links to off-site blogs I've added in links to their LJ syndicated feed if I could find it quickly, even with my nifty LJ Addons insets it was a PITA so I missed a few more than I intended, but still.
Also, if you want to be nice and plug this on your journal, have a copy/paste text area of the links and poll code:
Which is a bit weird as I don't really do that much politics on here (well, actually everything I write about is political but that's because everything is political, especially if it involves more than one person). Also, um:
By more than one person, some of whom the feelings definitely mutual. Weird.
Nominations close tonight at midnight, mine are here, but I'm repeating them below so I can add links in for SB tomorrow, gotta go now, just got out of the bath and we're off to Leeds for
susannah_banana DJing at the Wendy House and I'm late...( My nominations are... )
Specifically, I've updated Warlord TaKtiX[2]. ( What had previously stumped me was complete in 10 minutes, and done better than I thought possible )
The posting interface is clean and quick, they've ( done other cool stuff and really beaten LJ and Blogger down a peg or two )
I approve. I really do. I may dig out the old crossposting plan again. Maybe. Definitely play with the idea anyway—so looking forward to working on this for proper paying clients.
[1] I can assist/do the work for this, and while I haven't worked out a pricing structure yet, it'll be fairly cheap because, y'know, it's me...
[2] The revamped game is due for release any day now (Individual Starters and Demo Decks available for download on the official site). ( stuff for Laurence and players )
In 1992 Tony Blair mounted a daring expedition from Labour's heartlands to capture as much enemy territory as he could. Confronted by a worn out and divided enemy his raid was as successful as it was audacious. He managed to capture vast swaths of formerly Tory territory sweeping all before him like an all conquering Caesar.Go read the rest. Seriously. You have to excuse the typos and spelling, the best spell checkers can only help dyslexia so much at times, but the whole post is both spot on and very well observed.
Like Caesar Blair was eventually stabbed in the back by those that he had once thought his closest allies, but unlike Caesar the band that he was leading was not safe in their own territory at the time. They where still deep in the enemies native territory and desperately trying to find ways to hold their position.
Labour is now under Blair's rather less able former adjutant have found themselves, un-supplied, surrounded, and cut off from their reserves.
I have, as it happens, been to the Teotoberg site, Arne took myself and
the_prince there when we stayed on after a tournament he organised, very scary to see how little space the Romans had to try to fight in, one of the best implemented ambushes in military history methinks.-
Taxing times for Hungary's porn inspectors | The Register
A Hungarian porn producer has filed his tax forms, and claimed scene dressing props as legitimate business expenses. So the tax inspectors have to watch his films to confirm they're used. Apparently 'It's a hard job'
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Solar Cycle 24 Could Be 13 Years Long - Cooler Times Ahead? « Watts Up With That?
I'm not enough of a scientist to know if this holds water at all, written from a sceptic perspective I think, but I don't discount the anti-climate change position completely, doubt is good. Anyone able to expand, confirm or debunk?
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'The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion' - When the Anti-Choice Choose
I've read many of these quotes before, but it is a fairly good collection about how anti-abortion campaigners react if it's them that needs to make the choice.
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Hack Attack: Burn almost any video file to a playable DVD
Mostly for my reference as I've got some stuff I want to back up from my old PC and have never done it. Anyone got experience of using this or other software to burn AVIs and similar onto DVD?
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Basic UK libel law for idiots by Adam Porter
Another guide to online libel, this time from Urban 75. Seems accurate, although I'm really not sure about the linking could be defamation thing. Mentions the Staggers/Scallywag case directly though.
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Charlie's Diary: Moderation Policy
Not a bad general guide about what is and isn't acceptable on someone else's blog, and most of it applies to me as well (although the bits about huge readership numbers and similar aren't, natch). Freedom of speech doesn't apply.
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Qinetiq ships first 'Transformer' war-droid | The Register
It doesn't actually change shape, but it's got a selection opf different weapon fits, and dude, it's a robot. Um, not 100% sure I approve, but still, it's cool
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The greatest defunct Web sites and dotcom disasters - Crave at CNET.co.uk
These are cool, a set of failed 'name' websites and why they failed. Some of the could work well now, others are just bad examples of stupid business plans.
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delicious -> livejournal reposter - May Contain Nuts
Andrew's redone some of the code for the cross poster I'm using, much better, solves the timestamp problem and a few other things. I really need to reinstall an FTP client and fix mine.
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Interesting, not had time to read fully, linking for reference: The results suggest that women are not only aroused by a variety of types of sexual imagery but are more flexible than men in their sexual interests and preferences.
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Nice summary of the legal rights to copyright we have under UK and international law - in other words, don't let the Mail on Sunday rip you off without permission, and demand payment if they do.
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'As the rest of the world makes leaps and bounds in science, engineering and technology, we're perfecting a reality television.'
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Democratic pary my arse: the BNP's national election officer then goes on to say that any resulting election 'should be carried out in the most rapid manner possible with zero publicity allowed for the joke candidate.'
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Or, in other words, why having a dark background for your sites and documents cuts electric use. Lots. and it's easier on the eyes. My LJ layout: saving the planet ;-)
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Iains followd up on the landslide/wipeout link I posted: Could Labour fall to just five seats at the next election? It's unlikely, but not completely impossible. One of the preconditions is the invention of a competitor party in heartland seats
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Why I rarely buy the IndyTab anymore: The final para begins: "So the trial of lower-case lesbian vs upper-case Lesbian is going ahead. Now, a lesbian on-line magazine called The Register has put forward a solution..."
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Hari is one of those people that I either agree with strongly or disagree with vehemently. This analysis of WHY people voted BNP is better than many I've read, and accentuates the futility of the No Platform posturing.
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Nielsen is awesome, again, and proves why formatting matters: On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.
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Mostly agree with this one to: Active voice is best for most Web content, but using passive voice can let you front-load important keywords in headings - This enhances scannability and effectiveness.
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Started reading Alertbox before I learnt the basics of HTML, it's definitely helped in my approach, especially for blogging - I break the rules more often than I follow them, but when I really want people to read you'll notice
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Zoe's spot on here - if a newspaper copies your entries wholesale and reprints them then they need your permission and they ought to pay. Exerpts for critique are fine, but substantive content isn't
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Some good observations on blogging - there's a reason I always write in my name, gives me control: In a Google-Indexed Universe where the lines between online and offline lives are blurred, you don't have to fill in all of the blanks.
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I grew up on Marvel comics, from the stuff I bought in the store at Butlins aged 5 through to the Transformers when I was 10 to the X Men when I fell for Psylocke. But comics take loads of money. They're doing The Avengers. Properly. Woo Hoo!
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We saw this before Iron Man and, well, we loved it. I await the actual release as Smith really can act if made to, and he can definitely do comedy. I even laughed at the bit with the whale. Um, sorry bout that.
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Site campaigning on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, going through parliament, because it has widespread implications for ordinary Britons. Next due on May 12th, more to follow when I've time, and a big reason to dislike Mad Nad
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What it's like being part of a gay couple, even in supposedly liberal, civilised areas, still. From Debi, comes with a challenge I doubt I could manage at all: Spend an entire week pretending that you're not a couple.
- 12:24 is trying to summon the energy and inclination to write a proper blog post. Bloggers block is a horrible thing. #
- 14:57 has finished the first draft styling of his tweet imports and wonders if anyone wants a how-to? eg: matgb.livejournal.com/296525.html #
- 22:45 is arguing over pavement cracks, bears and Milne. theyorkshergob.livejournal.com/65620.htm
l # - 00:36 is watching the first episode of Trek series 3. Not seen it since I was a kid, and am told it's the worst ever. So it's REALLY bad, yes? #
Microblogging by SMS, using LoudTwitter and Twitter.
( Sent by text from wherever I was at the time )
Microblogging by SMS, using LoudTwitter and Twitter.
minnesattva's: The sensible thing to do would be to differentiate LJ, position it if you like as an 'intellectual networking site', or the equivalent of a collaborative newspaper (it has news, opinion, cartoons...) - something you *read* (or write) rather than something you play at. You could even have a default set of people who would be added as your 'friends' when you started on LJ representing some of the best/most popular writing on here - people like sayCan't say I disagree with that at all, and am amused at the two choices given as examples. I have, naturally, got a whole passel of posts in my head on the whole SUP buyout/ending-of-Basic/interest not-really-censorship thing, but, y'know, lack of motivation strikes again. I do think ending Basic accounts is a daft idea, and I thinkt he way it wasn't clearly announced was insanely stupid.
SUP appear to want to treat LJ as a Social Network, not a blogging platform with SN elements, which I think is completely the wrong way to go, especially given the Russian market success where blogging means LJ. Ah well.
Possibility my long-on-hiatus alternate platform collection of ideas might get dug out again soon. Possibly.
( What I should write about and what you like me writing about... )
As always I prefer check boxes so you can choose everything you like/want—the polling methodology geek in me could witter about how it's a perfectly valid method etc but you don't want that sort of stuff (do you?).
There's a part of me that's wondering if I'm not posting as much because I'm displacing and putting off the forthcoming Dreaded Friends Cut thing because I really need to cut back on the number of different things I try to read each day. I just can't choose which.
Oh, as I post this Ryan emails me to confirm that he's listed me on Lib Dem Blogs after I finally got around to asking him, several at conference asked me to so, well, here we go—hi guys, I promise to write up a "how to comment using your blog address and OpenID" and "how to log in and vote in polls" soon. Honest. I promised I would. About a year ago...
Feeds
Introspection
There probably ought to be a Creative Commons licence in here somewhere but in the meantime consider this permission to quote me (link) & link to what I write.
If you decide to keep reading, please do say hello, let me know where you found me from, etc. I promise not to bite (well, unless you want me to...)
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