Today, Nick Clegg has set the date for the UK voting referendum, giving us a chance to reform the badly flawed voting system.
If you're not convinced that the system is unfair, compare these charts: How we voted in the 2010 election vs what we got.
Unfortunately some backbench Conservative MPs are trying to propose a 40% threshold, meaning that at least 40% of all registered voters would need to support the reform. This is totally unrealistic and unprecedented: it's not the way we elect MPs, in fact only 35 out of our 650 MPs got support from 40% of their electorate.
Their fear is understandable: under a fairer voting system the Conservative party would probably not get an overall majority. But it is not right to use an unfair voting system to save another very unfair voting system.
The most important thing right now is to urge your MP not to support the threshold and to give the referendum a fair chance. You can do so here:
Follow the instructions to write a letter to your MP. A suggested letter will be provided for you; all you need to do is add in your MP's name (the site will tell you) and sign it with your name. If you personalise the letter more, so much the better.
For reference, here's the letter i wrote to my MP for Winchester, Steve Brine.
Dear Steve,
My first opportunity to write to you! :) This is about the Alternative Vote system referendum.
I really welcome a fairer system than the one we have currently. I led a debate at The Roebuck Inn recently proposing that First Past The Post is undemocratic. I did not vote for you, and my vote was discarded. It bothers me that 28,800 votes in Winchester counted for nothing. I won the debate, by the way!
Now that we have a real chance to get a fairer system I'm concerned that some backbench Conservative MPs are already trying to fight against it by trying to argue for a 40% threshold rule — that's 40% support from all available voters, even those who choose not to vote.
This doesn't sound at all fair to me, and sounds like a sign of fear. By the way, Steve, you only got 36.79% of the total available electorate in Winchester, so you should be able to see why this proposal doesn't make sense!
You may not be the representative i voted for, but you are now my representative in Parliament, and therefore i hope i can count on you to oppose this suggestion and give the referendum a fair chance.
Yours sincerely,
aimee daniells
twitter: @sermoa
After one afternoon already 1,873 letters have been sent to 548 of our MPs. It is important that we get the message to all 650 MPs, so please do your bit and support true democracy.
I'm going to do the unthinkable and blog about a soap opera!
Yes, i watch Eastenders. Sometimes it's really good. The whole Stacey and Jean bipolar storyline has been the most powerful drama i can ever remember watching. Both Lacey Turner and Gillian Wright are incredible at acting, and they portrayed the story with heart-wrenching emotion.
Sometimes Eastenders really annoys me. The Syed and Christian storyline has been bothering me for almost a year because apparently nobody has ever considered the possibility that Syed could be bisexual. I strongly disapprove of the notion that Syed has to choose between straight and gay, and having slept with Christian and enjoyed it, Syed is for evermore labelled as gay. This, as far as i am aware, is definitely not how sexuality works. Eastenders had the perfect opportunity to do a good bisexual character, and they messed it up time and time again.
My latest gripe has been with the Eastenders treatment of Ben Mitchell. Ben is an annoying winging kid whose whiney voice often gets me screaming at the television! (Do these kids go to acting school?!)
But Ben had a moment of glory dancing to Love Games by Lady Gaga. I cheered at that. It's not the first time we've seen Ben enjoy dancing and shunning "traditionally masculine" activities. Of course, everyone thought they saw exactly where the BBC was going with this. I saw where it might be going and hoped desperately that they weren't about to do the obvious.
So it was with some frustration tonight that i saw Ben's dad, Phil Mitchell, bring up the gay thing. Credit to the BBC they did the best thing for diversity that they possibly could do: effeminate flamboyant dancer Ben Mitchell fancies a girl! Hooray! Or is it?
Ben definitely played the pronoun game to start with. Whether that was for dramatic effect by the script writers or if they are paving the way for a future coming out for Ben, i don't know. I sincerely hope they're not going to fall prey to stereotypes and make Ben gay. I think there is so much more potential for Ben as a role model for young straight boys who are comfortable enough with their sexuality not to feel the need to be tough and act macho.
Which reminds me: BBC: don't do this horrible "abused becomes abuser" thing that it looks like you're about to do. Seriously, we don't want to see it. Ben can be tough and strong without becoming a bully.
I am a believer in logic and reasoning. I believe in things that can be scientifically tested and proven by independent non-biased parties. Things, in short, most unlike homeopathy.
Homeopathy is an alternative "remedy" system from the 18th century based on the bizarre conjecture that to dilute something to virtually nothing will increase its effectiveness. It relies on such nonsense as water having a "memory" so that it can "remember" what has been added to it even after it has been diluted so many times that it can no longer have any trace of the intentional ingredient.
Until recently, if you mentioned homeopathy to me, my mind would have conjured up an image of a dusty old shop with small windows in lonely back street. I certainly did not imagine that homeopathy was on sale bright and cheerful in every high street in the country!
Homeopathy for sale at Boots
Thanks to the 10:23 campaign i have learnt a lot more about homeopathy. This saturday, 30th january, at 10:23 hundreds of demonstrators will "overdose" on homeopathy remedies outside branches of Boots across England. This is in order to show that homeopathy does not work, and to raise awareness of what it really is.
I hope that the demonstration will put pressure on Boots to stop selling this nonsense. Homeopathy is not something that a reputable chemist should be indulging in. Paul Bennett, the professional standards director at Boots has even admitted that there is no evidence that homeopathy works. Paul Bennett cites "consumer choice" as an appropriate reason to sell and profit from the little pills.
Interestingly enough, some homeopaths are in support of the 10:23 campaign. They say that homeopathy needs to treat the person as a whole, and is to be given with consultation of a "trained" homeopath! Either way, we're in agreement that this stuff should not be available over the counter on the high street!
If you want to add your support to the cause, whichever side you're on, go to www.1023.org.uk where you'll find plenty of resources and more information.
Things like this sadden me: Mike Gunderloy resigns as a Rails activist, no longer wishing to be a public spokesperson for Rails. This is a great loss for the community.
Unexpected pornography at a professional conference surprises me, shocks me a little. I wonder whether Matt Aimonetti, at any point during the preparation of that presentation, thought "This is likely to offend some people", and if so, whether Matt decided not to care.
The refusal of some Rails representatives to even acknowledge that there is a problem angers me. Yes it was edgy. Yes it was creative. It can be those things and still be offensive. "Creative" is not a synonym for "acceptable". Offending people is a big deal. The unpology "I'm sorry that you happened to be offended" is a world away from apologising for having been the cause of offence.
It is not a person's fault for being offended. Without wishing to be a Bible-basher, there is a lot to be said for this little nugget of advice:
"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
You can't please everybody all the time, but there are basic precautions that you can take, and when you have made a mistake, you can take responsibility for it and apologise for it.
I think that is the end of my rant, and i hope i will have nothing more to say about it.
* * *
I would like to say publicly, again, that i appreciate my job so very much. I am extremely lucky to work in a family-friendly, vibrant, fun, laid-back yet totally professional environment, doing a job that i enjoy with my whole heart. I don't expect expect to be discriminated against, nor do i expect any special treatment. I receive precisely the appropriate amount of respect and admiration that i deserve based on my skill as a programmer. I am extremely grateful for it.
Here's a picture of me loving my job today, along with some of my colleagues, sat on the picnic bench in the sunshine: yfrog.com/4o8a2j :)
* * *
Sort of related to the rant, i have been wondering tonight where my opinions come from. Different people have different opinions, and i can read and intellectually understand varying stances, so what is it that sways me so strongly in one particular direction? I have an opinion on almost any given topic, but i don't always know what it is that makes me feel that way.
I find the various out-of-control tram hurtling down a track thought experiments quite interesting in terms of moral dilemmas to which people often have a strong opinion, yet cannot quite explain why. Ethics and morals are curious subjects.
Look what happens when you try to log on to Nationwide twice without closing your browser in between times:
How rude! No, you may not close my browser!
*sigh* i guess we have the influence of Microsoft to thank for this kind of intrusion dressed up as helpfulness. We recently had to get a Vista machine for testing purposes at work, and literally every other click results in a stupid popup box offering to do something for us. It's ever more noticeable because of Vista's awful flip in – flip out dialog boxes which just look like such a failed attempt at a modern visual interface. Good visual effects should be sensed, but not noticed, in my opinion. Vista has got it so terribly wrong – it's just annoying is what it is.
This story is shocking in the extreme. After months of ongoing bullying, harassment, foul language, hate speech, smearing of a person's identity, Twitter had this to say:
"We’ve reviewed the matter and decided it’s not in our best interest to get involved."
This is absolutely shocking and Twitter need to change their tune fast. This kind of behaviour is absolutely unacceptable and there is no question that the abusive user needs to be banned from Twitter and all their hateful comments purged. Twitter are scared of a legal battle, but their Terms of Service clearly state:
"You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users [...] Violation of any of these agreements will result in the termination of your Twitter.com account."
As an internet community we have a moral responsibility not to let anyone get away with this kind of behaviour. I write this in support of the victim, but also for the good of the Twitter community as a whole. If one person can get away with it, people will soon learn that Twitter is a place where they can be as abusive as they like with no repercussions. This needs to be stopped as soon as possible.
Digg it, Stumble it, blog it … do whatever it takes. If Twitter will not deal with this, then we as a community most certainly will.
Update: Follow @wesupportariel and help take action on this! Oh, i love a good bit of activism!!
Where do you go to give feedback on web hosting companies?
I am rapidly losing my patience with HostingRails. MyChores is still not responding after all this time. Sure, they had some hardware problems, but why is it taking so long to restore? How come this blog is back but they still can't get Rails up and running? Why were they not prepared for this sort of situation?
I have been using HostingRails for 162 days. So far the downtime has been 30 hours. By my calculations that breaks their 99.9% uptime promise quite significantly – i make it 99.2%. I paid a lot of money for a service that i thought i could trust because i realised that reliability is extremely important to the people who use MyChores. I feel very angry.
Please somebody tell me … am i overreacting or is my anger justified? I really can't tell at the moment.
I am very upset about this downtime of more than 24 hours – not about my blog being down, but MyChores site itself which people have come to trust and rely upon. It's still not back yet. :( I have written about what went wrong on the MyChores Journal … can't be bothered to go through it all again here now.
Well, at least the blogs came back – that's something. But as i suspected, i have lost data. They say that one backup restore failed so they have gone to a different one. Bad HostingRails, very bad. You'd think they would have alternative servers prepared and ready to go; you don't expect more than 24 hours downtime from a company that boasts 99.9% uptime. Let's hope MyChores is at least back up and running soon.
This is a LONG post about life, death, afterlife, religion, cosmology, extra-terrestrial intelligence … and probably more! Did i mention it's LONG?!?!?!! You have been warned! ;)
When i have logged on as an administrator and i have right-clicked on something and told you to 'Run as Administrator' and i have clicked the confirm button … DO NOT TELL ME this action requires elevation!!! How much more elevated can i possibly get?!
I am starting to think Windows Vista has been sent to us with the sole purpose of annoying us as much as possible.
I seem to have found a workaround: install the program you want on a different machine, then network to it and copy the entire program directory to your desktop and run it from there. Not exactly the easiest method, but it's the only one i've found that works.
I also love the double confirmation you need to give to create a folder. Once to create it as 'New Folder' and again to rename it to a proper name! When i'm logged on as a numpty user i have to enter an administrator username and password both times. Micro$oft, would you please go and visit your nice friendly competitors at Apple and learn a thing or two about usability? Kthxbye.
