hard but not

Word of the year (so far)

2012-01-03T17:14:00.000Z

univowler: noun
A person whose name contains more than one instance of a single vowel. e.g. Peter, Salaman, Rishi.

And a happy new year to you too.

Anti Viral

2011-09-08T09:57:00.000+01:00

It can't be that hard to make an anti-virus programme can it? We should have them sponsored by Dettol, Domestos, Zoflora (who knew?) and the rest. Then it'd be a free thingy with the odd pop up we'd have to close. "Your computer has been dis-infected by Dettol". Can I be the only one who thinks this?

Thinking

2011-08-17T11:03:00.003+01:00

I am well acquainted with 4 people whose birthday it is today, the 17th of August. Mr Johnny Faulds, Mrs Katie Sant nee Portwin, Mr Matt Brouns and Mr William Phipps. To this end, I started thinking about a silly website. "Why my conception" is a brand new (so new it hasn't been built yet) service into which you enter your birth date. It then works back to your probable conception date, it then needles around a bit to present the most likely "cause" of your conception. The biggest news in the related period is then delivered as the "reason" for your life. It won't in any way represent the truth of the sexual transaction that evidently occurred or be in in any way accurate, but, you know, it's free and therefore of some value.

Also, and "Good God", that man Mr Faulds (ex-aka 0131 Handyman) is actually 40 which makes me about to be 40 too.

so tall she's got her own post cloud

2011-06-16T09:44:00.004+01:00

Or similar. Just thinking that if weight and height were swapped, wouldn't all that pseudo congratulations around the loss of a few inches in height be even more clearly transparent? I really don't care what height anyone is, neither do I care what weight anyone is. Yes there are the odd outliers which might have health implications, but the massive majority is of no interest whatsoever. So why do people seem to feel the need to comment on the weight of one another a good deal of the time?

And I understand that I do not understand.

only a big data problem

2010-11-19T14:11:00.002Z

In attempting to drive into the centre of Oxford yesterday evening, the wife and I came up with what seemed like a simple question... "Why does x.maps think that it'll only take 5 minutes to drive from work to town in the rush hour?". In discussion, we concluded that it shouldn't be hard for x to pull in all the real GPS time data gathered from the myriad of devices travelling along every route in the UK. There is a lot of data, but x should be able to work out an average route time for each route at a particular hour of the day. Thus when x says it'll take 5 minutes, then we change it to say we'll start the journal at 17:30, x will update to say it'll take a more believable 15 minutes.

Then I had a play and google maps has a 'traffic' button with a time and day selector which does the kind of thing we're looking at. There's definitely more data to be mined on this...

a google map with traffic.

funny, while we was away

2010-10-29T13:11:00.002+01:00

While enjoying the undercurrent of historical oppression that is South Africa, with a lovely aside into Lesotho and it's much more real feel, other people were being funny.

Oatmeal - photos, Oatmeal - car needs, SMBC - time travel, XKCD - Airfoil (aerofoil?), Dilbert - word of mouth and Joyoftech - corporate auto-mobiles.

I do wish people would stop doing this while I'm on holiday so the catch-up process is easy and achievable in a reasonable timescale.

Zatawl? Yes it is thankyou.

links for the month/quarter

2010-08-12T12:16:00.002+01:00

hubless bike

DRAG!
cdp?
Rum Doings Episode 32 - Botherer
The Unphonetic Alphabet - Botherer
Yahoo Tries To Set The Standards With Online Style Guide | paidContent
Wizard of Goo
Processing.org
GALACTIC PLUNDER
Pro Webmasters - Stack Exchange
BBC News - UK to open Earth observation hub
An HTML5 Interactive Infographic featuring Dribbble
YouTube - Newport (Ymerodraeth State of Mind)
Wikileaks' Afghanistan war logs: how our datajournalism operation worked | News | guardian.co.uk
Amick Global - Energy Design Innovations
Looking back at Look Around You with Popper and Serafinowicz - Boing Boing
Why You Can’t Work at Work | Jason Fried | Big Think
Make: Online : Outlet mount device charging pocket from plastic bottle
Glastonbury Festivals - News - Video: Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood's surprise set in The Park
Make: Online : Real R/C cars meet racing arcade action
Surfin’ Safari - Blog Archive » The HTML5 Parsing Algorithm

simpleGeo help
webkit
orcid author id (n)
JS vector graphics
google charts
8 bit colour

'full of water', a Quantum theory analogy

2010-07-19T12:36:00.004+01:00

Some time ago, I and the good lady sat down to watch some telly as we are wont to do of an evening. Up popped Alan Davies and a quirky query 'How long is a piece of string?' - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p1fpc (available at the cheeky version here : http://www.cosmolearning.com/documentaries/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string-726/1/). Most pleasant it was - sometimes simply confirming prior reading/knowledge and sometimes being remarkable. The lady was well impressed and I could argue (with a slight bent towards the patronising) that she got most of it and was encouraged to think some more on the various subjects raised.

Two things were of most interest to me (chapter 7 of the above) - a) the leaf that makes use of quantum displacement in order to get energy from any point on its extremity to the central point of interest and b) the nostril's receptor quantum tunnelling. In BOTH cases, an analogy jumped out at me some time later which has been discussed and somewhat honed by that discussion.

In the first instance, the energy is absorbed at the extremity of the leaf and exits at the stem with no time delay and without any loss of energy (in rough Peter's understanding laymen terms). In the second instance, the molecule 'smell' arrives at one side of the nostril receptor and then tunnels through to the other side without being changed and once more without losing energy and taking no time. The analogy is simple and I'm going to call it 'full of water' from here on in.

If we imagine the leaf as a casserole dish with a wee spout at one end to simulate the stem, and then imagine that it is already 'full of water'. Add a single drop to anywhere in the dish and a drop will immediately appear at the spout as it overflows. Simples.

If we imagine the nostril receptor as a, well, there isn't a clear model here, but lets say an array of smarties tubes, 'full of water', with both ends removed, lying horizontally, in a sort of big pile. If we throw a drop of water at one side of this big pile, it will hit one end of a single smarties tube of water, and immediately push a drop of water out the other end of that very same tube - appearing to 'tunnel' through the big pile.

Not sure if it's been said before, various googling about didn't find anything, but open for comments should that be necessary.

Now back to real work.

motorway electricity generation

2010-07-12T13:35:00.005+01:00

In driving across to East Anglia at the weekend along that pain that is the M25, I had a bad idea. Imagine making use of some of the waste movement delivered by passing vehicles. In the central reservation of a motorway, a 'wind shear' effect will be present as cars on one side push the air in the opposite direction to those on the other carriageway. How about making a simple spinner electricity generator thing ...

which on spinning, would return this energy to the national grid, or to power the lights on the road.

Some examination of the actual wind that occurs in the central reservation would be required, and a number of prototypes would need to be tested - which reminds me why I swapped my career away from physical to virtual. This is I think, the good idea I'm going to have this year so beware as I'll no doubt talk to you about it over the coming months... Hmm, maybe Dyson would be interested...

Stuff without nonsense

2010-07-12T12:32:00.002+01:00

Un-phonetic alphabet - the original : here. I think S should be as in 'see', and perhaps E as in 'ex' is at least as good as E as in 'eye'.

I recently done weddings with roles for a change - I was best man and the lady was a reader. When I had no job, I got beyond drunk and lost a few hours from memory. That hasn't happened for many years, but I am reliably informed by the lady that I was giggling throughout about my lack of balance or control. I have a partial memory of the giggling, and seem to have been able to take a picture despite the descending haze.

context + hindsight = mantra now funnier

2010-04-28T14:40:00.003+01:00

So a mantra for life that I picked up from my grandmother on my fathers side is 'Never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today.' This means I generally stay up late finishing things and so long as the sun hasn't come out yet, consider the completion more important than the sleeping. In recent discussions with the wife, the fact that this was written on a toilet roll holder in said ladies house had never occurred to me as being in any way funny. Now, with hindsight and context, it suddenly is. Kind of at least.

And then a pile of things that I may or may not have read and may or may not be of interest in the future to me or you;
w3c mobile web and again.
slash head earings.
wifi cameras.
3 dollar healer - some good product design here.
schitemill 5ive - some reading.
unlock.edina - Edinburgh Uni unlocks the ordinance survey mapping api.
w3c geolocation api - a spec that I guess we missed all those quakr days ago.
Business model not a news problem - from paid content.
paywall vs no paywall - fight!
ft paywall - 4square = free access!
battlestar galacticar - oh yeah...
bobbing - sounds like something naughty but is a generator based on the heat of the ocean.
FT = perfect - a digital model for everyone to copy?
epub extensions - following iPad release?
Google Street View with 3d goggles - is wow.
schitemill 5ive - more reading.
times gets a paywall?
times paywall? 1 a day, 2 a week model?
paywall workaround.
FT paywall- everyone pays now.
rubics 1.
rubics 2.
legos little green men.
else cam - some else's photo in my camera.
MS iPhone killer?
personal jetpacks - as dreamed about for many years by everyone.
please spill.
crumbs - all gone!
mapping plants - now where was that field of mushrooms?
platial == dead.
press record while not at home?
healthbase - a search for worms in treatments!

less a blog, more a personal digg

2010-02-19T09:47:00.002Z

So instead of signing up for another "soon to be forgotten and actually that bandwagon has passed already" service like digg, I've decided to to simply copy and paste links into blog posts. Thanks to the ever present google cache and buzz and, you know, all that, it's the same but different.

Modern sayings
Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Give a man an elephant and he’ll be all like LOL WTF dude give me a fish.
blatantly stolen from here.

hip hop and you don't stop writing PHP that goes faster cause it's compiled.

ebook vs stanza vs epub vs all that. FT buys stuff, and signs up for g-click, and BING says we 'protect' your stuff. The Maybe pay business model? with graphs. NYT pay model not enough? Paywall discussions.

facebook amp gt semicolon google?

backward case mod - something we could have thought of 10+ years ago but didn't. vday for nerds. Glitch - a.n.other game for me to get addicted to - do I really have the time? and pacman furniture ++.

iPhone spling = quality? and iphone = IE6?

gmap historical views and here.

online database CMS thingy from factual.

Quakr - done by the big boys

2010-02-12T09:32:00.002Z

So, some 3 years after we started the Quakr thing, Google Maps and MS Bing have taken our idea and 'done it'. With their respective street view bubbles and geotagged photos from flickr, Picasa and Panoramio, they have machine managed them into 'place'. Exactly as we imagined all those moons ago, only with bigger resources than we were ever able to muster in our spare time. Perhaps we should have really gone for it and quit our proper jobs and then been bought out by them thar big boys, but perhaps we've had our fun and we should focus on doing something new...

Bing with street images.
Geoblogger talks about Gmap's thing.
Oxford's Carfax Tower with pictures machined into place.

ps - If it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. And if it kills you you're dead and don't care anyways. So get on with it.

a side issue

2010-02-04T14:51:00.002Z

this world of blogging - once misnamed as a sphere (in which one can explore the furthest reaches and the odd corners) - is now past. Social networking stuff is now 5 times more used/read/interacted with and it's a growing number where these bloggy things are stuck at 15% take up.

And a joke I made up (with a to-be-improved punchline)
Man says to Wife 'fancy a quicky?'. Wife says 'is there any other kind?'.

so. gosub twitter, goto facebook and otherwise ignore this space as I am increasingly want so to do.

the end?

bunch o'links

2010-02-01T14:32:00.004Z

to save on bookmark space in browsers...

*) mirror's edge 2d platform game
*) sem web triple rank thingy
*) worthwhile things with geography
*) get chromium
*) unity 3d game dev thingy
*) AOL mapquest gets streetview-ish
*) google maps with time shift-ish view
*) gmaps gets perspective
*) eye-fi and google picassa
*) paywalls will never work?
*) NYT charging models?
*) TBL on data.gov.uk
*) data.gov.uk is like beatles?
*) O'Rielly - building iPhone apps doc
*) video embedding for all
*) getty images pay wall/subs models
*) e-reader comparison chart
*) amazon vs macmillan
and otherwise, the world is partly filled with rats...

parents

2010-01-06T15:07:00.002Z

It seems that before I knew what was happening, I've come to the stage of life when the parents of my generation are a dying breed. It was always going to happen, but one never really sees it coming. Nowadays we've all got multiple parents what with the divorces and remarriages and the like. Nowadays we're lucky if there is one grandparent out of the many that is still with us and communicative. And soon it'll be our turn to be the ones dropping off the living radar to become memories in some young things head.

It would make me feel more like having some of my own if everyone else hadn't already done it for me in triplicate. For vanity's sake should we invest in a new generation, or let ourselves be forgotten in a peaceful and quiet way? I'm erring towards the peaceful forgetting myself, convinced that I was never all that good in the first place. Mad Stinky Pete finally subsumed into his own ass from where most of his words fell anyway.

Happy New Year!

merry new year

2010-01-04T12:08:00.002Z

What's the difference between Michael Jackson and your best friend's mother?
What's the difference between Michael Jackson and your mother's best friend?
In both cases, you can make jokes about Michael Jackson's departing.

Sad days, but I guess things can only get better from here on in.

its over?

2009-11-30T09:55:00.006Z

The roundabout has been cleared. It happened Friday after the court action Tuesday and an appeal which won a days delay.

here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Meanwhile the IOW council reject a planning application for some wind turbines on Chiverton Downs... here, here, here, and here.

And in another world, Turbines deal for 'largest wind farm' secures jobs.

More vestas stuff

2009-11-16T14:38:00.003Z

Links aplenty from the past few weeks.

here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

cool clocks and other stuff

2009-11-11T11:32:00.002Z

And surprisingly, there's no other stuff. Originally via (the somewhat old school now tw4tting is taking over the world) RSS from Make Magazine.

inputs and length

2009-11-05T10:06:00.003Z

So, if you're building a unknown sized form, and want to iterate through the inputs in order to change them all in some way (i.e. add an onchange function), be careful with the ID's of them. IE will interpret any inputs whose ID is "length" and mess up the otherwise (and other browser) safe document.fields.length in your for loop and mess up big time.

f'rinstance:
var fields = document.getElementsByTagName('input');
for (var i = fields.length; i >= 0; i--) {
var field = fields[i-1];
field.onchange = changeFunction;
}

IE interprets fields.length as the input whose ID is "length" and therefore makes 'i' into an [object HTMLInputElement] and the iteration breaks with effectively a null pointer. So. Change the ID of the input from "length" to "legnth" and all is well again.

Took an hour or two to sort out so I thought a share might ensure I don't forget it again.

more from the man

2009-10-29T11:11:00.002Z

or about the continued protests;

BBC: a restarted review, 3rd Qtr profits for Vestas, Jamie and his working life.

IWCP: planning, OAP campaigner banned, visit by Caroline Lucas.

VENTNORBLOG: retraining, Caroline Lucas visit, councilor Pugh finally speaks out, successful meet with Miliband, meet with Ed Miliband.

BUSINESS/POLITICS: green review of government economy, vestas workers decide trades council drive, the Germans are coming, Vestas profit 'increase', 4MW but more needed, old glossy news, indy 'we're all in this together', a wind review, save vestas Pugh response.

OTHERS: more(?) on Jamie court case

more vestas stuff

2009-10-01T16:47:00.002+01:00

Maybe its time to move my postings on from the vestas campaign, but although the main thrust of the fight has tailed off, it's still a family affair for me and more information never hurt anyone.

So... the bbc re-visited the original set of people it interviewed at the time of the sit in.

Ventnor Blog has coverage and quite a few comments about the repercussions of a protestor who climbed over a fence and inside a blade at the plant in the IOW. Also covered in the IWCP which also has the recent removal of the camp at the marine gate here.

Ventnor Blog also has coverage of an Island group showing support for them. the ecologist mentions them in relation to ensuring that green jobs are also good jobs. socialist party has coverage from the trip to Brighton Labour conference, but very few other mentions of it. business green notes that all major players are to "focus all future wind-energy investments in North America".
Caroline Lucas MP says re-instatement should occur. The daily green talks about wind being a "disruptive technology." TUC remarks that vestas may be the way forward?

wordz cool bikes and news

2009-09-24T12:01:00.006+01:00

In watching the much acclaimed and recently returned Shooting Stars last night, I was hit by the idea that the programme is a bizarre mixture of slapstick and abstract comedy. So the term 'slapstract' was born.

both blogged on the makezine.

Meanwhile, it seems police have stormed the Vestas marine gate blockade and allowed the company to move out the remaining blades from the now closed factory. Workers are still saying that this is not the end of the fight, but another bargaining chip has been lost.

Ventnorblog - redundancy vs sacking, blockade moved, blades loaded, and (older)marine gate.
SaveVestas - report on police action, Vestas remove some blades, and close the marine gate camp.
bbc coverage of the forced eviction and blade move.
Workers Liberty - The fight continues, The fight goes on, Vestas move blades.
Socialists - A review of the TUC here, determined to continue fight, the blades are moved, and the fight goes on.
IWCP - planning approved, police order withdrawal, and a letter.
Other related stuff - Birmingham Post - an article about a planned farm.

new news unlike every other post...

2009-09-18T15:29:00.002+01:00

ok so I lied in the title but ...

here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Seems the key position is that there was a fairly large response to the request for a day of action on the 17th, and the blockade is broadly successful in that no blades are moving from the factory. However some and possibly increasing numbers of people are seeing the whole protest as becoming a mainland activist thing instead of an IOW workers thing and that paints it in a massively different light in the media. There's only so much patience the general public have even if the actual hard-done-by workers are able to stand it for *ever*.

further developments

2009-09-16T11:50:00.003+01:00

four arrested says the hampshire police via the bbc. The same details are noted in the iwcp. save vestas has the same story.

save vestas also has a story detailing that the protestors are still in place, I'm not sure I'm clear on what's going on.

Meanwhile;
The socialist worker blames big business for climate change.
The guardian talks about the TUC meeting in Liverpool.
The socialist party talks about the vests fight being far from over.

At this stage the main focus of the campaign, apart from the urgent fight for redundancy pay for the eleven sacked occupiers, is stopping the turbine blades that were inside the factory getting out. The blades are worth £70,000 each and around nine remained in the factory. They also hope to prevent Vestas removing the moulds used to make the blades, which are worth £1 million each. A 24-hour picket is in operation, and support continues to grow.

wales online talks of a vote within the RMT to 'support' for the government to step in and run the Vestas factory.
Ed Miliband - Address to TUC conference - DeHavilland (press release, requires subscription)

Moving on to the Vestas plant, where staff were laid off and occupied their workplace, Mr Miliband, said that closure was a tragedy for the staff.

DECC announce funding for various companies (not Vestas) to build the largest offshore wind turbines to be made in a factory in the north east of england??

But I got heavily distracted by this quite beautiful thing;

breaking news

2009-09-15T20:42:00.002+01:00

Protesters have climbed a crane or two and jumped onto the blade moving barge in Southampton docks. They are asking for Vestas to reinstate the redundancy of the sacked 11 workers.

VentnorBlog, as ever, are well on the case...
face arrest? photos and a podcast, cranes being moved!

It's also on the bbc, iwcp, thisishampshire.net, and socialistworker.

more of the same

2009-09-14T17:50:00.002+01:00

So as I sat in a field smiling at the people having fun, the brother continued a protest that to me is looking more futile and *activistic* by the day. At the moment I'm still in support, but it seems that beating dead horse will not make anything change apart from the internal anger released by such a move.

So. the news...

save vestas talks about direct action training. I don't like the sound of it even if I understand that it is meant as peaceful and everything.
The BBC coverage of the man standing on a stick last Thursday 10th.
County Press - a man sitting on a stick. Looking older and thinner than I remember him.
Socialist Resistance talking about the maintenance of the blockade.
The guardian had an article about women who protest and duly mention the ones that strapped themselves to Mandelson's house.
Workers Liberty talking about the Rugby club who are sponsored by Vestas and the continued struggle and a meeting between greens and reds.

Investors.com - a perfect opening paragraph...

You couldn't make it up even if you tried:

One day Energy Secretary Ed Milliband sets out his proposed expansion of the U.K.'s wind power-led alternative energy revolution; the next day, Vestas, the U.K.'s largest wind turbine manufacturer, shuts down a big part of its British operations citing "low demand" and public opposition to onshore wind farms.

Bob Crow says some stuff from an RMT perspective.

bestival

2009-09-14T10:57:00.003+01:00

A follow up from a weekend of hot fun:

Bit tired. Memories involving Public Enemy (bring the noise) mixed with White Stripes (who still have the best music video in the lego world ever) and forgetting Roots Manuva's name while eating nachos mixed with a general sense of almost well being. In summary, it's more 'dancey' than I am right now, but the site's big enough to create a decent amount of space for us oldies. So long as they sort the acoustics and don't have to phaff around for 15 minutes PER SET then it'll be so much the better.

Some blokes and birds who *everyone* knows were sitting on the ferry home. I was concentrating on ensuring enough relaxation prior to a longish drive in a bus and therefore was mostly uninterested.

IOW Bestival and the coming week

2009-09-09T19:25:00.001+01:00

So the line up has been confirmed and the arrangements for travel discussed at length, but tomorrow, I head off to bestival. If all comes good, I might even hook up with the man and wander round the IOW in general.

Meanwhile, The guardian looks at the climate change question in general and notes the Vestas closure. Workers Liberty reports on the day of solidarity on 17th Sept and claims a victory in the blockade of the removal of completed blades. New Energy Focus talks about the greens shouting at the government and three separate articles in the Socialist Worker makes me think that they are becoming the engine even if the Vestas workers still have the wheel. Journalism.co.uk notes both the dispute and VentnorBlog in a decent note on using public data for real time journalism.

ballet on bikes

2009-09-07T09:14:00.001+01:00

really rather excellent...

another week or two

2009-09-06T14:57:00.003+01:00

Of Vestas stuff. Seems the man is now a camper on the roundabout and the protest continues. *The site office* (caravan) is just getting fitted for some solar panels and our man has had only about 6 nights since occupation on a bed/in a house! There are still 10 blades in factory and whatever they can do to keep them from shipping before a deal or other is made is the plan.

Meanwhile, our man has gone all beardy...

Aug 27th
Vestas in bid to run schools? also here.

Aug 29th
how to protest by the Guardian.

Sept 1st
day of action planned for Thursday 17 September.

Sept 4th
Vestas closure will hit island badly.
They picket to stop the blades moving and succeed.
Irish Times pick up the fact that although Vestas look like the sensible heads of green windfarm business, they have still shut down UK production.
ventnorblog photos from the riverside protest.

Sept 5th
blackrock investment portfolio contains Vestas stock.
Disruption to IOW looks to confirm that Vestas will be building a new office.
Climate camp swoop.

Sept 6th
A large offshore farm discussion for North Carolina, USA.

on R4 last night

2009-08-21T11:01:00.007+01:00

A reasonable and generally balanced view on the whole affair on Radio 4 last night. article, radio prog and mp3 podcast.

bbc - Life after Vestas - what next? - David Arbuthnott, "The 49-year-old" !

ventnorblog - time to give it up - an opinion?
ventnorblog - pictures from last saturday including our man...

ventnorblog - continuing protest attempting to stay eco!
warrington guardian - a protest outside a rugby ground to stop sponsorship from vestas.
iow county press - report on council meeting "... Ditlev Engil honours his promise to look again at the sacking ...".
reuters - vestas secure a large loan - or is this just India??

I know it was last weeks news but ...

Pre-tax profits in the three months to June 30 dropped to €59 million (£50 million) from €90 million at the same period last year.

from here - the times. One might think that that was a lot of money if one didn't know better. One might think that closing factories would not be part of the plan with such a large profit being made. One shouldn't think as one doesn't have the facts I guess.

northernargus - new 190 million wind farm and a nice cartoon...

electric.co.uk - vestas to add 5000 jobs to China and Spain?
wall street journal report - vestas say it's on the rise?
times - virtuousness under the magnifying glass.
guardian - letter on socialism.

bbc - a nottinghamshire wind farm might just get the go-ahead...
daily echo - council meets with ex workers.
reuters - germany chooses Vestas for north sea wind farm. It was never JUST a UK market decision, and they are quite obviously winning business in western europe / the north sea to which the IOW Vestas plant would be well placed to supply?
the guardian - a letter about marxism quotes the sit in.
swp - vestas protest mentioned as "we're doing more than the BNP" chant!

todays news today

2009-08-18T14:04:00.002+01:00

ventnorblog - a podcast after the recent meeting with IOW council people.
personnel today - the legal position on dealing with occupations.
IOW press - reinstated workers?? Should wait for confirmation by letter I guess but possibly good news...
IOW press - report on yesterdays picnic.
Reporting on the Vestas company results from click green, uk net guide, the engineer, the times, bbc, new energy focus, business green, the press assoc, sky, the guardian, in the news and save vestas.
workers world - a general report on sit ins.

weekend and 3 bikes

2009-08-17T10:38:00.002+01:00

A march on Saturday coverage here, and a planned peaceful picnic at the job centre. The guardian writes about the left in general. Working liberty talks to vestas workers and reports on the march. The daily echo writes up the march. Not sure why, but a jobs directory site notes the closure. Save vestas writes up the march and a reply to the guardian article.

bike 1 - a chopper
bike 2 - mr fat tired
bike 3 - a beautiful concept

And finally, where we didn't get at the weekend...

and the other lot removed themselves too

2009-08-14T19:08:00.003+01:00

today...

the telegraph - came down to attend a wind protest at the IOW council.
bbc the story.
bbc the video.
press assoc - general wind turbine industry is blown off course.
gl group - a quiet burial?
ventnorblog a big rally in Ryde.
ventnorblog andrew turner statement.

updated light at end of tunnels

2009-08-13T09:54:00.003+01:00

The plant is officially closed as of yesterday. Demos yesterday were well attended and country wide. Seems there is still an appetite for some sort of fight, but I can't be very confident of any further outcomes from any action.

The Guardian - article 1 - Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, Ditlev Engel said that the company is planning to look again at the decision to strip the workers of their redundancy package because of their involvement in the protest.
The Guardian - article 2 - Asked whether it meant Vestas would change its decision to dismiss the men and remove their redundancy package, Engel said, "I am not ruling anything out".
The Guardian - a letter - Gordon Brown's silence on this matter has been deafening.

the independent - Protests fail to save Vestas turbine plant.
times online.
sharecast - officially declared.
taiwan news - I'm a bit surprised it made the news considering the devastating typhoon...
workers liberty - declared redundant, but "the battle certainly isn't over".
click green - “difficult decision”.
AFP via google - "This commercial decision was absolutely necessary to secure Vestas? - looks like an unfortunate entity error rendering a '?'?.
new civil engineer - following a protracted and often vituperative dispute.
iow county press - expect some delays.
iow county press - the company would look again at its decision to strip workers of their redundancy.
this is cheshire - unionists gathered this morning to protest
the news (portsmouth) - coincided with 16 protests scheduled to take place across the country.
southern daily echo.
politics - Britain was struck by nationwide protests today.
workers liberty - a second day of protests confirmed.
socialist worker - interview with Ian Terry.
ventnorblog - a film.
ventnorblog - the rallies.
save vestas - local (to me) protests.

end of the day

2009-08-10T19:10:00.003+01:00

the scotsman reports on Mr Mandelson.
more backing down / outcomes of protest
worth it? one unions opinion.
an old favourite picks up the story.
The Prime Minister is in charge of the country from assoc press.
who me? from the bbc.
no no no from the metro.
No, not me from the times.
I'm not in charge here from the sun.
guardian more film footage.
good review of Sunday meeting.

more action today

2009-08-10T14:00:00.003+01:00

But this time at Mandleson's house...
bbc - Meanwhile, protesters against the closure of the Vestas wind turbine factory in Newport, on the Isle of Wight, have chained themselves to Lord Mandelson's central London home.
Vestas protestors?
Times Online - "we want more money on wind power to combat climate change".
The Sun - "If we're going to have a low-carbon Britain then we need our Government to support these workers, rather than forcing the closure of their factory and the loss of their jobs".
Press Association - an "act of solidarity" for 625 workers.
London Evening Standard - Lord Mandelson's home was besieged by protesters today angry at the closure of Britain's only wind turbine factory.
the guardian - "to expose the government's hypocrisy".

IOW County Press - IW Council leader David Pugh and chief executive Steve Beynon urge government to support the authority’s Eco-Island agenda, and help find alternative Green uses for the Newport factory.
BWEA - "the supply market for onshore turbines is very competitive".
bbc - rooftop protesters 'digging in'.

Workers Liberty - ‘The government does not want to be producers of wind turbines.’
Socialist Resistance.

weekend's worth

2009-08-07T17:56:00.005+01:00

Based on the coverage, the world thinks it's all over. The protest march on Saturday gathered some 250 people and walked into the grounds of the plant *for fun*, or in the man's words... "sod it, lets go in".

So -- was it worth it? Is it still worth doing anything? Is there a clear objective (SMART or otherwise)? What is the intention for any continued actions?

I'm not sure I can see a singularity in there instead I see 3 or 4 different parties all with their own agenda all of which sort of tie together, but ... We'll see I suppose.

Today:
here
here

Sunday:
here
here
here
here
here
here

Saturday:
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here

Friday:
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here

outgoing coverage

2009-08-07T13:54:00.002+01:00

here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here
here.

officially out

2009-08-07T12:22:00.002+01:00

bbc. Originally updated from Ventnorblog's twitter.

Text from the man confirmed it.

Meanwhile, there are a pile of photos on Flickr from the following people;

more

more info, no real news though

2009-08-07T09:19:00.002+01:00

It seems more and more like Vestas are trying to keep it all quiet, move the fight from Workers vs Vestas to Red/Green activists vs Government/DECC. In all honesty, I can only see fairly sensible non-aggressive moves by Vestas in all this - apart from the Pizza P45 palaver. I'm still not really seeing the 'lack of demand' argument in any kind of clarity. If the UK market is so slim, then export some? If the UK market is so slim, then generate some 'government sponsored' wind farms (they've earmarked one billion for projects...?). But maybe Vestas and the Government are in collusion and making it up as they go along in order to keep the media blinded by the US/UK onshore/offshore debate. Maybe the SWP and other Red activists are right and it's all a big government sponsored 'keep the workers down' policy.

The next question for me is how much of a thing is this? It could in theory spark the UK into picking up the climate change/green energy bug and pushing us into the lead on all this. It could wake us all up to the need for ignoring individual objections in certain circumstances for the gain of the wider good. Is it more than a footnote in the future of this country?

Anyway, me mam's off to see me bro and it'll all be settling soon.

an MP steps in - "fully supportive that those who took part in the sit-in should not lose their redundancy benefits".
Of those leaving Video 1, Video 2, Video 3.
"We understand from Jackie Hawkins, on the ground outside Vestas, that the number of police there have increased." here.
bbc - "due to end", "It has managed to get the government to the table, to say we are going to do something about it" - Dave Arbuthnott.
the guardian - "face eviction tomorrow".
teletext - (Vestas) "rejected a rescue package".
savevestas.wordpress.com - "government has had talks".
planningresource.co.uk - "booming green industry" vs "Vestas was closing".
tribune magazine - "vowed to continue their campaign".
churchtimes.co.uk - "Operation NOAH" and the Christian Ecology Link (CEL).
workersliberty.org - "no hard commitments" (from government).
infoshop.org from Wednesday.
wiki news - "We will continue to fight this".

Randomly related:
guardian - "Canterbury, have gone bust, and their unlikely shirt sponsors, the Danish wind turbine specialists Vestas, have closed down their factory on the Isle of Wight. Huddersfield have just kept winning – six on the bounce to ensure a third–placed Super League finish, at worst."

heading home

2009-08-06T16:57:00.003+01:00

for a shower, a shave, some space, a forest and a dog.

Video of a previous leaver.
http://www.seizetheday.org/ - the song.
BBC confirmation.
ventnorblog confirmation.
click green the last 24 hours.
climate change vs the police?

Dear friend,

an eviction notice has been served on the occupation at Vestas IoW. The eviction is due to take place tomorrow, Friday 7 August, at 12 noon.

Please get to the Island if you can. The workers want support tomorrow.

There is free transport from London tonight (Thursday) on the train (although donations welcome). Meet at 10pm at Waterloo station, at the foot of the escalator going up to Waterloo East. We can pay for group travel to the IoW, taking the 10.30pm train and a late night ferry. There will be a shuttle service from Cowes ferryport on the Isle of Wight to the plant. If you want to know more, phone Maddy on 07954 251724 or Bex on 07971 719797. Bring tent and sleeping bag if you can.

We are hoping to put on minibuses tomorrow. If anyone can drive or offer transport, please let us know. We can post details on the blog or put you in touch with people seeking transport.

If you can’t go, please organise a protest in your town or join one of those already planned. Protests we know about are
- tonight, 6pm outside Department of Energy and Climate Change, 3 Whitehall Place, London
- tonight Bristol: demonstrate 5.30pm Bristol fountain
- tomorrow night (Friday) Manchester/ Monday morning Warrington: demonstrate 5pm in Piccadilly Gardens and protest at 8am tomorrow morning at Vestas HQ in Warrington, tel Hugh 07769 611320

Let us know if you are organising something and we can advertise it.

Please contact Climate Change and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband now. ps.ed.miliband@decc.gsi.gov.uk and tell him to step in to save wind turbine blade production at Vestas, IoW, for the sake of renewable energy, green jobs and his credibility as a politician. His phone number in his Doncaster constituency is 01302 875 462, and at Westminster, 020 7219 4778. And on Twitter http://twitter.com/edmilibandMP

Email Vestas: vestas@vestas.com and vestas-celtic@vestas.com – a possible message:

This is an email in protest at your plans to evict the occupying workers on the Isle of Wight tomorrow. You should know that an eviction will only strengthen the campaign and will be responded to by demos across the country. The public mood is clearly in support of their actions.

Please forward this email to contacts or post up on your blogs/website.

Thank you,
Save Vestas
http://savevestas.wordpress.com
email: savevestas@googlemail.com

on their way out?

2009-08-06T11:51:00.003+01:00

bbc reports eviction order has been applied for.

Other Vestas mentions / related...
There is no right to work. a letter to the FT. News reported in electric. IWCP coverage. Wind Turbine Syndrome?

Quakr news:
Google kill Quakr almost http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/07/zoom-photo-navigation-in-street-view.html

more and more news

2009-08-05T20:14:00.002+01:00

Rehashed by a plastics mag reinforced plastics.
The telegraph thinks its all over.
The mirror tells the story of one couple.
The NYT says its all about planning.
The union et al write to the guardian.
Day 16 - the report.
Another good piece in the guardian.
The four who leave, filmed and photographed by ventnorblog.

Elsewhere, a mention on channel4 news here.
Previously in the day here.

news, projects and a bike

2009-08-05T11:47:00.002+01:00

in reverse order;

a cool folding bike.

'I want unwarranted optimism back'.

the other lot get into the guardian and the bbc. Vestas in no hurry? A letter or another person who has been *blinded* by the Uk / US ness of the blades? More on the new lot. Some video from ventnorblog - here and here. Staying - today's news.

on da radio

2009-08-04T20:38:00.001+01:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00lxvgc/Victoria_Derbyshire_04_08_2009/ at 1hr 50mins in.
>update<
And a mention in today's thought for the day ... in RAM format.
>/update<

latest news

2009-08-04T18:26:00.002+01:00

interview at the gates with lib man simon hughes, eGov's green jobs, more details of the re-possesion order here.

The courthouse protesters marched to the factory to continue the picket outside its front entrance. The granting of the eviction order does not mean that eviction is immediate, or that the occupiers have exhausted all non-violent ways of thwarting it.
As the BBC reports: "The firm will need to obtain a warrant before bailiffs can go in and evict those inside with 24 hours' notice. Newport County Court told the BBC Vestas had not yet applied for a warrant of possession. If the warrant is obtained, bailiffs will then need to be informed and give the protestors 24 hours' notice before going in".

nabbed from here.

so 3 or 4 more have left leaving 6 inside? here, here, here, here and here.

The other protest is here, here and here .

Despite the Vestas closure, the IOW council opposes turbines? here.

basically, our man is still inside and looks like it'll take 24 hours before he's *forced* out.

in *other* news...
very funny Calvin and Hobbes Snowmen, Botherer on Letterman and Hicks and a 2 man segway.

the bad guys are at the door

2009-08-04T13:01:00.002+01:00

seemingly - ventnorblog - bailiff's on site - I'm watching it all unfold on http://twitter.com/VentnorBlog

Following today's court hearing - here, here, here and here.

Alternative action on the union jack building - here, here and here.

a weekends worth

2009-08-03T14:46:00.004+01:00

So while I and my girl went off to see her sibling in Leominster as she is biking from Lands to Gorats, the following happened in the IOW.

Friday:
the Vestas 11 get food.
letter in the guardian.
Paul Kingsnorth comment in the Guardian.
police asked to ensure food gets in.
Stopping food is a human rights issues.
fish and chips for Friday.
alt dot Vestas dot wind dot turbines?
The Times - 2,700 new turbines?

Saturday:
Andrew Simms comment in the guardian.
food with police assistance.
Day 12 report
Siemens getting contracts instead of Vestas?

Sunday:
first external food.
TUC weight in on Ventnor blog.
The FT.
BBC on human rights breach.
Sunday Times business - foerign made turbines.
The demo on Saturday - a report

Today:
The engineer
BBC pick the story up again - but get is a bit late and a bit wrong it seems.
Day 13 report.
Daily echo - no need to close Vestas.
activists arrested in London.
More from RMT.
Save Vestas - a good opinion piece.

More news

2009-07-31T15:51:00.002+01:00

IOW Council motion for a co-op.
How to distract the guards in order to get food in.
Postponement of all redundancy... also here.
Demo'ing on a plinth.
Orders improve for Vestas?.
More fencing?.

there's been a break in

2009-07-31T10:13:00.003+01:00

the guardian covers it well.
There is another video from the guardian and a bit of a debate here The bbc just got back on the case. And have a video and interview from Luke here.

Seems to be dropping down the news slightly, but there is definitely still people joining in the debate. The mirror for instance, an alternative view of the newsnight debate from The Northampton chronicle for example.

In a hugely ironic gesture, it'd be fun for them all to leave tonight - the day when the factory was due to shut *anyway* - but that would basically admit defeat and lose any negotiating position that remains. It seems hard to see anything clearly when we're so far removed but so intrinsically linked to the whole thing. Hmmm.

really good

2009-07-30T08:48:00.003+01:00

written by a man on the inside - the story so far.

Other news;
RMT to sue over food?
A decent summary of the past year from a corporate perspective. And watch the share price fall. Further coverage and opinion in the guardian.
General coverage in cleantech.

The letter, or a photo of it is on the ventnor blog.

thrown out of court

2009-07-29T12:48:00.004+01:00

on a procedural technicality, but it's enough till next Tuesday...

First to report was Socialist worker.
Then more from bbc, Politics.

An interesting piece in Energy Efficiency News.

And *News* that the numbers quoted by Vestas and the government are not in line with reports by industry analysts? the green car website. This is also mentioned elsewhere by various sources. Seems to be crashing around their ears a bit...

The best coverage of the court hearings is probably local.

So they fight to live another day or 3.

todays news

2009-07-29T09:17:00.003+01:00

from the bbc who over the course of the 10 days have been probably the most consistent if somewhat repetitive.

Others;
mirror, building, times online, guardian, new statesman, this is hampshire, daily mail, reuters, IOW Press

aggressive and manipulative

2009-07-28T20:54:00.002+01:00

11 Vestas workers have been sacked.
Not all 25, nor all 600 - just 11.

The word arrived with their evening meal - a slice of pizza...
Confirmation from the telegraph,
bbc,
sky and
socialist worker.

more from last night...
socialist worker

infamy

2009-07-28T15:35:00.002+01:00

That thing I wrote up last night at way to early in the morning has been taken up by the main people.

Meanwhile, *everyone* is talking about it...

bbc
click green
business green
low carbon economy
electric
ventnor blog
wall street journal blog
the guardian - george monbiot
portsmouth news

news in the last 24 hours;
news.google.co.uk

links for Tuesday

2009-07-28T02:35:00.001+01:00

bbc
Unfortunate misprint I suspect...

"What [the workers] said to me was that the biggest issue
that they faced, the reason why Vestas wasn't winning the
orders it needed to win, was because of planning applications
being turned down for onshore wind"

Not [the workers] - [Vestas management]

Correction, it was bad news...
just news...
which is currently at the centre of a row over jobs...
RBS invest, but I thought that was government controlled?
workforce.com -- jobs -- just bad timing.
on the wire
two in the
ecologist
a well put piece I think

already on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestas#cite_note-11

Dear Ed Milliband

2009-07-28T02:28:00.003+01:00

I am writing after hearing you talk at Oxford Town Hall, today, July 28th 2009.

My brother, rather like yours is involved in politics. Unlike yours however, this is his second career. My brothers first career was with Vestas. He turned to politics when there seemed to be no other option in his working life and is currently sleeping on the office floor.

I was most pleased therefore to read today that there might be a light at the end of the corridor for this new career path (to which I personally think he is not best suited). Then, if you will, imagine my disappointment that the grant of GBP 6M was only for the company, and not to help out with my nimbyish concerns for employment for my family.

In reading around the subject I first came across a couple of interestingly similar situations in a not too distant country. Seems that a Mr Alex Salmond of Scotland can find GBP 10 M to keep an equivalent factory in Cambletown open. This was backed up by An external investor and it's looking like the factory will expand to 3 times it size. I heard you, Mr Milliband say only today how Vestas claimed they needed almost exactly the same amount to turn the Isle Of Wight factory to produce offshore blades. It surprised me therefore that a country the size of Scotland can afford to pay the right amount to get the jobs retained, but the much larger purse strings in Whitehall cannot seem to replicate that behaviour. Is this
a) just because the Scottish First Minister has more money than you to promise in the negotiations,
b) because he's more dedicated to the task of keeping his country in work, or is it
c) that he understands how the bigger picture fits together and how saving a factory can somehow be related to saving the planet?

Once I had an answer to that conundrum (I'm currently guessing a), I was able to continue my investigations. Confusion reigned until today, when you put me straight on the matter. The two simple facts you provided clarified the situation entirely. The first fact was that the Vestas *said it wasn't about the money* and it was purely a matter of a lack of demand for the Vestas product in the UK and European market. This fact tied so neatly with the one about Vestas investing in a large blade manufacturing plant in the US and therefore not being able to sustain both.

Again today, you informed that nationalising the plant was not an option. I am still unclear about this one. You said (and please forgive me for paraphrasing) that it would set a bad example to other companies wishing to invest in the UK if the government simply took it over. That all seems sensible, except that the company in question don't actually want the thing that the government would be buying. If I was Vestas I'd take tuppency ha' penny for the thing and jump ship with the lovely investment monies promised. Sure, I'd say, do what you want with the place, I certainly can't make it work cause there are no orders for the stuff it can produce. I'm fairly sure that this kind of 'come here, dump on us and then we'll buy you out' type of attitude would attract lots of companies wishing to invest in the UK. Am I wrong about this, or can you see my possibly warped perspective on this?

I am probably daft, but as an ex mechanical engineer, I am unable to see what the difference between an offshore and an onshore wind turbine BLADE could be. I am pretty clear that difference in the electrical systems in use may be required when crossing the pond. I am unable to work out from any of the literature what the difference between an blade made for the US and one made for the UK. Even if they drive on the wrong side of the road, the thing that goes round (the wheels) seem to go the same way and in general a car from the US kind of works here in the UK. In order to understand this deeply technical issue I decided to speak to my kin who would, I assumed, be well informed about these things. Hmm says he. Well we make them both see at different times and I never really know, cause the management don't really know, where one blade will end up. We do make em in different sizes he added. This all seemed somewhat different to you understanding and I'd love to hear how you are seeing the onshore/offshore/UK/us technicalities so that I can be sure myself about it. Is this something that you can furnish me with I wonder?

In recent months, Vestas have changed the working practises for the factory in the IOW. Once upon about a year ago, the factory worked on a 4 day on off cycle with shifts running in three batches each day. It certainly messed with the normal world a bit and working out when the man was off was always a pain. In this scenario, each team was responsible for completing a set number of blades before the shift ended. Sometimes that meant going home slightly early, and sometimes it meant hanging around a bit longer. A pain for the workforce in general I guess, but one they were willing to bear if it was required. Then it all changed and it became 5 days in 7. Kind of like normal people, but still with the 3 shifts a day. Suddenly it became less of an issue to finish the blade as part of the shift cause it'd just be there for when the team returned 24 hours later. Not quite sure why these things were related, but it seems from talking to another man in the know, that they are. This, along with a small pile of other concerns makes me doubt what I used to think about one of the major employers in the IOW.

I know this is a bit of an incoherent ramble, but it is quite late and I've only just seen the time.

I look forward to any kind of reply,

Regards,

Peter Arbuthnott

politics is a great thing

2009-07-27T15:43:00.002+01:00

Or is it...

Despite recent support here this morning I find the following;

Part 1 -- makes me think there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Part 2 -- closer reading makes me consider that as not quite the light I was expected, and it's beginning to look more like a train...

meanwhile, earlier today...

It'll no doubt come up later tonight.

Oxford, Monday

2009-07-25T15:57:00.003+01:00

The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan comes to Oxford.

On Monday 27 July, as part of the bringing the national strategy for climate and energy to the Country, Ed Miliband will be in Oxford. He will meet with with local residents and community environmental groups to discuss the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and see and hear what they have been doing in the fight against Climate Change.

Oxford Friends of the Earth panel discussion, Oxford Town Hall, 19.30 - 21.00:
A discussion event with the Secretary of State, open to the public and chaired by Friends of the Earth, about the Government's plans for a low carbon Britain. The discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with audience members.
Panel members consist of environmental writers and campaigners Oliver Tickell and Mark Lynas, Ian Legget (People and Planet) and Dr Khalid (Earthwatch India).

from here... Ed Milliband says...

START CUT AND PASTE

And also we're arguing that it's right to make these changes in our economy – which are big changes – on grounds of energy security, because it will make us more secure to have more home-grown, low-carbon energy, and it will be good for employment as well, because we think there is a big green jobs opportunity in making the right investments in the future.

But I think that when you're talking about energy investment, and when you're talking about the kind of transition we have to make, not just in renewable energy and the wind turbines that we need to have, both offshore and onshore, but nuclear power, clean coal technology, these are very big changes ... these are very big changes which require action by Government.

Alistair Darling set aside some money in the Budget for encouraging the green industries of the future to come and locate in Britain.

But the Vestas plant in the Isle of Wight has never made wind turbines for Britain; it's made them for America, and it now has factories in America which do that.

Now, we can have a lot of offshore wind turbines, but I'm being completely honest with you when I say we also need a lot more onshore wind turbines as well, and that's difficult. And part of my job, including today, is to persuade people that the biggest threat to the countryside are not wind turbines – of course there can be local objections that are legitimate – but the biggest threat to the countryside is climate change

I've been quite honest that there are going to be costs of making this transition – and, you know, part of the art and the job of politics is to persuade people to make some difficult decisions

or we can go for more home-grown energy, which will also cost, but I actually think the cost will be less in the end of making that choice

END CUT AND PASTE

MORE LINKAGES
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8168608.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8164486.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2009/jul/25/vestas-wind-turbine-plant-dispute
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/hundreds-join-vestas-protest-27549.aspx
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/jul/24/wind-turbine-factory-protest
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/5902425/An-end-to-the-hot-air-over-wind-power.html
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4512580.Vestas_protest_takes_to_streets/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1199939/Plans-4-000-new-wind-turbines-blight-Britains-beautiful-countryside.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/58bd790a-7615-11de-9e59-00144feabdc0.html

many more linkages

2009-07-24T15:42:00.003+01:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8166513.stm
http://www.prw.com/subscriber/headlines2.html?cat=1&id=1248437220
http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=284&storycode=3145678&c=0
http://www.politics.co.uk/news/energy/protest-escalates-over-wind-turbine-factory-closure-$1313902.htm
http://www.teletext.co.uk/regionalnews/souththamesvalley/33a03c6e3f19232279953a7833a3a8ac/Talks+call+over+turbine+plant.aspx
http://www.worthingherald.co.uk/latest-south-east-news/Talks-urged-over-wind-turbine.5491599.jp
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/aerial-support-for-vestas-as-hopes-of-government-help-dashed-27494.aspx

http://another-green-world.blogspot.com/2009/07/jerry-and-jo-report-back-from-vestas.html
http://planestupid.com/blogs/2009/07/24/vestas-on-twitter
http://ventnorblog.com/vestas-sit-in-possession-order-explained/

so I joined twitter. What a twit. http://twitter.com/hardbutnot if you want to see my lack of updates...

today (programme)

2009-07-24T09:52:00.002+01:00

news on the hour this morning on the drive in mentioned said IOW plant sit in.

Good coverage on the BBC here, here, and here.

A joke! already. Red + Green = Brown? Saying the same thing more than once, doesn't make it any more true... or is this just double reporting?

Channel4 special report;

more words

2009-07-23T15:52:00.002+01:00

from the man on the inside...

last night the occupiers refused an offer from Vestas which meant that they are effectively unemployed ... maybe ... if that's legal.
09:30 they were given some food by the Vestas management - not enough for the number of people inside, but some.
13:30 they were given some more food - a carrier bag with a better amount. They were informed that this was 'from the outside' and would be the last such delivery, but that therefore the Vestas management would have to deal with their need for food themselves.
14:00 further negotiations with management were cut short after 2 police officers appeared to approach the discussions and frighten off the workers.

Discussions are continuing over the balcony with management as the previous discussion point is deemed unsafe.

The police have said that the approaching officers were part of a shift change and didn't know about the consultation process - i.e. it wasn't malicious.

Inside, the moral seemed good and all who remain are Vestas workers willing to stay for the duration until a settlement is reached. It seemed well organised and communications with the Press and other outside organisations was being made via telephones, mobiles and faxes.

It made the front page of the Independent today... here.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "This closure exposes the hollow truth of Labour's climate change strategy." Five Labour MPs have already signed a Commons motion protesting against the closure.

times

2009-07-23T12:13:00.003+01:00

vestas protest covered impartially? and by some contrast, probably not impartially. On sky they say the sameish. A bad day to release the good news? And it has made it all the way up to united press international.

this ere blogsphere can't stop talking about it... (a top 9 in the last 12 hours)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

The best is always local. Probably.

free

2009-07-23T01:35:00.001+01:00

but might just help...

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SaveVestas/

word from the man

2009-07-22T11:21:00.003+01:00

at the protest...

"We've had no food allowed in 2 the occupation since yest at 10am but hey we're all still breathin"

moving on

2009-07-22T10:56:00.002+01:00

More news;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8162145.stm
and then the closure?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8160331.stm

currently the top story for BBC Hampshire (here.

Exciting or worrying??

fight

2009-07-21T08:49:00.003+01:00

or at least, sit down in protest...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8160218.stm

I still think its hypocritical, but it is also *just business*. If you're in London tonight, please attend this on my (or your own) behalf.

funny part n

2009-07-16T13:49:00.002+01:00

but you don't want to know why; here
an in maps gag; here

save vestas

2009-07-14T10:52:00.003+01:00

My brother, as I'm sure you're aware, work(s/ed) in the IOW for Vestas. They ma(ke/de) wind turbines and have decided that they want to make them in America instead of the IOW. Loss of 600 jobs,

Links to info follows;

http://vestasjobs.net/

http://charliemarks.wordpress.com/2009/07/08/save-vestas/
http://ventnorblog.com/save-vestas-public-meeting-this-friday/
http://ventnorblog.com/friends-of-the-earth-call-to-save-vestas/#more-24199
http://workersclimateaction.co.uk/
http://www.islandpulse.co.uk/b2/?s=vestas
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate/press_for_change/vestas_petition_20414.html
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55989366737
http://www.bwea.com/index.html
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SaveVestasIOW/

long time no post

2009-07-13T17:05:00.003+01:00

bloomin letter box was stuck innit. Freed with a screwdriver earlier this morning and suddenly look what was waiting in the tray for y'all.

Kids by the octoplet;
Mike + Jo Banbury += Felix
Moz + Melissa Sanchez += Huxley
Gary + Kate Leicester += Ilo
Will + Katie Hanrott += Wynn
Steve + Anna Gasking += Esme
Tom + Kathryn Fulford-Jones += Ben
Darren + Harmonie Limb += James
Nick + Kate Wright += Sophie

Good thinking I think.
The big G has passed for another year.
So many W&B's I've got to find a few hours free to watch them all soon.

She's a winner that one

2008-10-29T16:45:00.001Z

Check it; Leonard Cohen Sunset.

And see you there you paying punters!

tinternet

2008-09-07T09:39:00.004+01:00

Bad ideas from the weekend with J n Shaz.
1) need to go to the post office to get a top up token for tinternet which is ran out Saturday.
2) FAB for the Mike and Jo arrived.
3) Churchill visitation = seen someone famous.
4) the most boring flag in the world maybe. see?

Cheese

2008-08-10T22:11:00.003+01:00

Cheese, I love it I do. But why oh why oh why do I have to keep bringing up a conversation along the lines of ...

So there's double and (was) single gloucester, cheddar, edam, gouda, brie, manchego, and a whole pile more... mostly made from cows, but why is there only one goats cheese? And whatever happened to human cheese?

Essential German for Romans

2008-07-31T12:37:00.001+01:00

C.Kidd> If Ally has any experience in mediating during uncomfortable passport/immigration situations - that would be an added advantage. My last trip with Euan involving air travel led to a "serious breach of security".

Ally> Alles ist in ordnung - reg dich nicht auf.

Aki> Gut. Ich kann mich aus ruhen.

Marty> Madeleine my sweet, can we have 24 more beers and another plate of sausages please.

C.Kidd> Entschuldigung mich Frau Kollegin, kannst du zeigst mir den Weg in die Bordelle bitte.

Pga> Was ist die Größe seines suasage?

Aki> weiner.

not dead, just busy

2008-06-20T15:28:00.001+01:00

Now that I'm actually working for a living, I can't see how anyone can have the time to update their blog on a regular basis. Oh and GTA4 doesn't help, but it does if you see what I mean. Darren got married, we lost the shiskine cup again this year and it's the G next weekend - that's the important stuff I think.

goodness

2008-04-22T11:15:00.002+01:00

me - I've been taped and delivered! http://earideas.com/earideas/explore/show/45544/Peter+Arbuthnott+-+Quakr:+Building+the+World+One+Photo+at+a+Time.
Obviously that's not what I really sound like.

Possibly the best GTA thing ever - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfhZfSVuup4

And the 4 is here... I need to buy a new console to be able to play, but I just might have to do it.

mobile's back

2008-04-11T13:46:00.002+01:00

so call me and I'll be able to save your number rather than having to type it in all over again. Why can't the phone read an exported CSv from outlook? Hmmm...

mobile lost/stolen

2008-04-08T22:32:00.002+01:00

Hmmm. Played a game of football, returned to changing rooms which were locked for the majority of the game to find no mobile phone. Checked all baggage to no avail. So. Orange and the Police are on the case, but for the next few days, contact me on landlines.

Hmmm. All those new photos of the bathroom lost! And some pictures of the recent snow. And all your numbers. Hmmm. Ach well.

I'm in

2008-04-06T10:59:00.001+01:00

so the third time I was lucky... and it was only minutes ago.

Woop / see you there?

It's getting busy

2008-02-25T12:34:00.002Z

summer that is... June and July weekends going fast - looking like I'll only have one left by the end of the week.

Magnus found this. You should all go press buttons like it was 1989. Someone with my other name - http://www.arseiam.com/.

Po-Na-Na with George/Janet, Rich, Trev, others was ace on Saturday to commemorate the leaving of G/J and Rich (again). Dancing like it was 1989 and the Stone Roses were new is always fun, and I'd almost forgotten. Also forgot how much vodka and redbull one can drink in a couple of hours without any noticeable effect till bed time...

Had a what no football Sunday, and the bathroom is now due to be begun next Monday.

funny, good and silly

2008-02-22T11:04:00.002Z

funny: chickens

good: songza

silly rabbit: Don't Believe The Hype

Suckers, liars get me a shovel

Some writers I know are damn devils

For them I say don't believe the hype

Yo Chuck, they must be on a pipe, right?

Their pens and pads I'll snatch

'Cause I've had it

I'm not an addict fiendin' for static

I'll see their tape recoreder and grab it

No, you can't have it back silly rabbit

betamax

2008-02-18T13:59:00.002Z

HD DVD is the new betamax it seems. Awww, poor HD DVD. Yay for Blu-ray.

Nu Musak - in recent musings, I wonder whatever happened to the 'label'. An excellent documentary on the UK's STIFF record label brought into sharp contrast the way it was to the way it is. People bought music based on the label, nowadays they download whatever they feel like, regardless of taste (it seems). And Myspace is NOT a label in any way shape or form. Yes it's a decent repository of stuff. Yes it has been used successfully by a number of breakthrough people (one of whom we saw in George & Delilah only yesterday). But it definitely does not have the trust and kudos of STIFF in its prime. I wonder...

And how about a daytime TV show like this or this which has a simple premise... Go into someones iPod (or similar) and remove all the dross and replace it with classics... "Changing Choons"(™ © ®)

Mr Sant, of 'Matches', Juno Pixie, My Father the Beat and other minor fames, is to be setting up himself to go gigging again. We believe his *band* name should be one of the following;
1) The Sant^o
2) Dave's Yer Aunt
3) Dave's Ant
Votes please!

And finally, I've said it to many people after some discussion with the lady. TLA = Three Letter Acronym. But. Acronym is defined as "An acronym is pronounceable, whereas many other abbreviations are not". Thus. TLA != Acronym. So. Initialism is defined as "pronounced by spelling out the letters one by one rather than as a solid word". Aha. So TLA is in fact a TLI. End of story.

Exciting

2008-02-12T17:04:00.000Z

I, Bob, Mag and Davo will be listening to this at the Brixton Academy in May. Like it was 20 years ago.... "London England are you ready for the Def Jam Tour??? Let me hear you make some noise for ... PUBLIC ENEMY!". Makes me want to beatbox all the way home. Don't believe the hype.

And it's Glastonbury registration time again for those who might be interested. This year I will be known as the individual number 105708X whereas last year I was 1105857. Evidently I got in earlier this time. Doesn't mean owt as I'm sure when it comes to attempting to purchase on the day, I'll still be locked out by NTL or whatever they are called now... Oh joy. And the lady can't attend due to having to appear at a hen night to be pampered. Oh deeper joy. Still it'll be worth it I'm sure.

mobilion similarity syndrome

2008-02-11T14:19:00.000Z

An extension to the now age old post which describes the frustration encountered when trying to text type the simplest of messages;
Gone to a good home.
A game in hand.
Any sentence involving the words c0ck and ana1.

Meanwhile, I got a letter from Google with a number in it. Cause I've now made a whopping $15.50 by displaying adds and that there search box on various pages. Wowzer, time to quit work methinks.

3hree 3hings

2008-01-22T12:47:00.000Z

as ever...

1) Like the 'last post date' before Christmas, there needs to be a 'last text time' before the New Year. I got 24 copies of an SMS from someone, and when I attempted a generic message, didn't get it out there until 45 minutes past the relevant hour. Seemed so late that I canceled most of the lovely people I should have shouted at...

2) Quakr - yeah I know, shut up about it... but It's gonna get way better in the next week. Just as soon as I complete Daxter on my new PSP. Oh there's a story in that if and when I see you next...

3) Chose your very own third thing from the following list;
a) Aki and Lil's Eve is lovely and I'd thoroughly recommend a visit if you're in Camden anytime soon.
b) From here on in, I'm Peter from VISTA, not Peter from Ingenta - OK!
c) Both BMJ and Sdu are nice companies.
d) The bathroom is still not done, but it will be soon.
e) See I told you it was coming... the contact lens augmented reality device (almost).

Goodly, woodly.

why?

2008-01-12T21:51:00.001Z

oh why oh why oh painfully why?

In IE, the maximum URL length is 2,083 characters. However if you are using GET method, you are limited to maximum of 2,048 characters."

from here.

So the loveliness that is tinyurl isn't allowed to do it's thing - see.

Oh and meanwhile, hardly new yeeha.

Other Peoples

2007-12-21T15:40:00.000Z

says it better than I... here.

And Mr Atkinson is now to be known as 'Father Atkinson' following the happy birth of his wee Eve. And did he steal the G Man's idea of a name?? I think so. Oh, but Eva and Eve aren't the same it says here... maybe not then.

See you next year.

Word of the day - Cebfog

2007-12-14T16:07:00.001Z

Cebfog ⁽ⁿ⁾ (seb-fog) - Anything which creates in the responder the idea that they "Can't Even be Bothered Finding it On Google."

This is proof that just because there is an answer in the world, the impetus to go find it (regardless of how easy that finding process may be) may not exist. The question ...

Is there an ASDA near our workplace?

... is my most recent example. Do post yours into the comments.

this weekend

2007-12-10T16:36:00.000Z

I had my first Christmas dinner, and what a Christmas dinner it was. Only the best ass-toasted turkey, some overly soggy snips and under crunchy tats, beautiful cabbage, brussels, gravy, stuffing twice and carrots to boot. A chocolate mousey thing produced by mine own hand cause the lady is/was well ill, with (a new one on me...) tinned strawberries and whipped cream - topped with some creme anglaise (white custard) - beyond heaven. Was a bit odd not to be drunk at the dinner table to be honest, but ace to get home to my own bed after it all.

Oh and Tal and Ruth are now engaged. Twas speculated some weeks ago, but t'as appened now. So Yay for them.

Chickens and Lego

2007-12-04T14:10:00.001Z

The funniest chicken and film based post-it note cartoon in the world ever is :
here.

The second funniest chicken and film based post-it note cartoon in the world ever is :
here.

Some very funny Lego based Eddie Izzard sketches are around :
here, here, here and related...

and does Lego vs Legos negate the Maths vs Math debate?

things to smile about

2007-12-03T10:31:00.000Z

1) Sunday football...

DIVISION 1

Sandman finally get off the mark this season, holding Saxton Rovers to a 3-3 draw, a result that keeps the Abingdon side, off top spot.

Rovers scorers were Matty Shelton, who hit a brace & Steve Pitson, James Pomeroy grabbed a double for Sandman but with time running out, Justin Helmsleys tame shot ended up in the net, as Matty Woodside managed to get his head to it & divert it into the goal, for a late, late equaliser.

from here

2) Pointing has begun!
Quakr: What's the point of your photos?

3) Pointing has been grouped!

About Pointers

Giving geotagged photographs a direction allows them to appear in the Quakr 3d Viewr ( www.quakr.co.uk/viewr ). This group has been set up to encourage those who have already geotagged their photos to add this directional information to add utility to the world.

There are number of ways to do this...(in order of preference)
1) geo:dir=[0 to 360]
2) point=[0 to 360]
3) point=[n/nne/ne/ene/e/ese/se/sse/s/ssw/sw/wsw/w/wnw/nw/nnw]
4) point=[north/northnortheast/.../northnorthwest]
5) ge:head / ge:heading=[0 to 360]
6) kml:heading / geo:heading=[0 o 360]

All feedback most welcome on either this initiative or the project as a whole.

Join us!

4) WTRD 2007 was Wicked Times, Respectably Drunk.
2006 pictures are here...

----
In other news;
o) Congrats to Euan & Morv, Chris & Rosie, Andrew & Rose and Darren & Harms who have decided to join us in the light of married life next year.
o) Facebook is the new blogger.
o) Facebook is trying to be the new Flickr (but I'm not sure it'll get there).
o) Facebook might actually become useful one day soon (project management via FB app anyone?).
o) Dave.tv is the only television worth watching.
o) Heroes is actually quite good.
o) Studio 60 on Sunset strip is also pleasantly funny in a reasonably intellectual way.

Its amazing

2007-10-16T09:11:00.000+01:00

what one can do when one's wife is away. Funny thing wives. They take up the time in a remarkably pleasant and endearing way, generally asking for stuff and talking about stuff and stuff. When they have to spend a week away at "work" in some foreign country or other, it leaves one with a remarkable amount of sitting about time. After three days of sitting about (or drinking with old friends) I found myself at a loose end. So.

This happened - isn't it funny how these things do? I obviously haven't been able to talk at length about anything else this week following the amazing developments therein. So if you see me, just try to stop me! Quakr is sooo much cooler than it was and it was already flipping ace.

A month of other stuff

2007-09-28T12:19:00.000+01:00

but I did see this and investigated a bit further... looks like she's actually going to do it! Check it out at http://www.teamtheolia.com/. I've got a few reams of paper with drawing so similar to this it's scary. Helium is sooooo the way forward.

not the time to post

2007-08-27T21:33:00.000+01:00

nor the place to post from, but I didn't think and did it anyway.

PHP is like JOE is like GNU is like a few others, and they're all here for future reference.

That'll be all. As you were.

platial

2007-08-07T17:24:00.000+01:00

is probably quite cool.. I'm not sure yet tho...

wer hand in varsity

2007-08-01T00:18:00.000+01:00

2 years yesterday/today/tomorrow I wiz married to the lovely lady.
Now. In searching for me ma don la google, I find that she's only really listed as being there, said two years ago.

Only really interesting for me, but interesting nevertheless.

take my log [dot] com

2007-07-18T23:03:00.000+01:00

a.n.other bad idea came to us one Wednesday last week.
It's called "take my log" for now, cause that sounds better than upload my apache log and it basically takes yer home systems apache log and it'll forward it to the lovely goolge analytics thingy. Saves having to javascript the relevant pages cause I can't be fussed with that. Perhaps it also pulls all the image and other gunky requests out and it probably tells you about missing files and stuff.

Can't be hard can it?

Meanwhile, the floods don't affect us much as there's a canal between us and the river. It's pretty horrible West and South of here, but here it's fine. And in the past, we almost purchased a house on GrandPont which is currently under water. Lucky escape for us methinks...

Tonight is BOTH SWIG and Geeknight. I'll prolly be at one or both depending on stuff that is not important right now.