Queen of the geek scene Emma Mulqueeny has recently been asked to sit on Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy. They're currently soliciting for comments on the question: The system of laws and law-making in the UK is complex, but is that inevitable given the highly developed and interconnected society which laws regulate? Should you need to be a lawyer to understand and use an Act? You…
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It has been an intense few months digging through the security failings of the UK Government’s websites and trying to responsibly disclose them. It culminated with a week of blog posts exposing the vulnerabilities - and an award winning hackathon project. So what has been the reaction? The Good Privately, I've been contacted by people within the Civil Service who are working hard to make t…
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I've written before about the difference between a person being childless and being childfree. It is a simple matter of intention. Those who want children but don't have them are childless - whereas those with no desire to procreate are childfree. This is quite an important distinction - and yet it is almost completely absent from the recent Office of National Statistics' report saying "one…
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During my commute home I like to listen to podcasts. The London School of Economics has a regular lecture series which it is gracious enough to record and podcast. The lectures are consistently interesting - although of inconsistent audio quality - and offer a fascinating glimpse into the minds of its speakers. Last night, the crackly audio gave way to a familiar voice; Nelson Mandela. In this …
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I'm sure that the Word Of The Year for 2014 will be Polinfographic - a hideous portmanteau I've just constructed of "Political" and "Infographic". Infographics are the content-lite, citation-free, colour-heavy spurts of marketing jizz which have replaced the sound-bite as the political parties' weapon of choice. Voters, apparently, can't remember such complex ideas as "Education education…
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Imagine, just for a moment, that the Government wanted to keep a record of everyone's sexuality. They need to know this detailed demographic data because it will be highly useful in civic planning. It will help them work out what provision needs to be made for sexual health services, how many children are likely to be born, how many schools to build, etc. You trust the Government, you voted…
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You should visit Bletchley Park. Seriously. It's the most amazing museum - dedicated to the wartime effort to crack Enigma; the Nazi cryptographic machines. The tour guides of Bletchley Park are full of fascinating stories. They can tell you how all the primitive computers work, about the history of each building, they know all the curious little facts which make visiting the park an absolute …
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There's a popular meme which resurfaces every so often. Politicians who have accepted campaign contributions should be required to to wear those "sponsor's" logos names during all official duties and visits to constituents. The size of a logo or name would vary with the size of a donation. This is often called the Nascar proposal - after the sponsored uniforms that the racing drivers wear. …
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I once read an excellent article which asked the seemingly simple question "Is Kosher food Halal?" It's worth a read to understand the politics, religion, cultural assumptions, ecclesiastical law, and bigotry behind the two systems of approved food. To me, the argument is a bit like saying "Who would win in a fight - Chewbacca the Wookie, or Worf the Klingon?" Fascinating, but ultimately the…
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If I were a despised broadsheet journalist, I'd probably write a really insensitive article about all the fab finds you can pick up for free at your local food bank. I'd write about how very jolly it is, top tips for bagging the best stuff, and promptly get a load of angry Twitter messages sent to me - along with a gazillion page views. I'm not that person. So here's my middle-class experience …
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A couple of years ago, we had solar panels installed on our roof. We based our power generation estimates on the Europa Solar Calculator which estimated that they would generate around 2,700 kWh per year. Every few months we take a reading and see how the panels have been performing. Our meter reading for the end of May was 4,271kWh - our reading at the end of August was 5,791. That means…
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The BBC is reporting that the Government is so afraid of prisoners having access to concealed mobile phones, they want to introduce a ban. UK officials are considering banning the sale of small mobile phones designed to resemble car key fobs. A government spokesman told the BBC that it was discussing the issue with the National Trading Standards Board and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It …
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