Quit Facebook!

A real charge of the light brigade here, today is quit facebook day.

http://www.quitfacebookday.com/

22000 users (globally?) signed up with their pledge. Well intentioned and all that by I don't think that the ill of social networking is going to be rocked by this.

Might make them sort out their privacy and usage of user data? Probably not.

Microsoft Robbie Bach "Quits"

The only reason I know this guy is from the CES keynotes each year. Head of the entertainments (Xbox, Zune, Windows Mobile, probably TV as well) part of MS, he is apparently retiring.

So is J Allard, not someone I know so much of, who headed up the original Xbox and 360. I do remember seeing one absurd "Money programme" where they featured the then loss making Xbox, Allard had a scooter to get between bits of the office - crazy over indulging of employees!

So Xbox has been loss making, and is now making money just it seems. Windows Mobile has never impressed in terms of he figures they quote at CES. Zune - probably great but a "me too" product that has never got the mind share.

I don't blame Bach for wanting to play some more golf after 22 years. Preferably the real thing and not some Project Natal inspired game.

Walk: Shortened Extended Run Route

Did this walk twice this weekend, cutting the route slightly shorter by going down Catisfield Road. Ran a small part of this road, and a longer stretch of the road home after the garage.

First Government Casualty

Maybe I spoke too soon, David Mills kind of out first ball. Shame really the loss of a serious Lib Dem will make the coalition weaker.

He probably had to go, he should take heart from the serial resignation man Mandelson - a comeback from this is possible.

The government probably also need him, apparently someone with experience outside of politics and successful in the city. It sounds like he didn't overly need to make a £40k expense claim as he was independently wealthy.

I can't help thinking that there was some foul play here, last week he was maybe breaking an unwritten rule by going public with the "there's no money left" note left in jest by his predecessor. Makes me think if that encouraged someone to let some little known facts into the public domain.

Government early signs

So far so good, if we can ignore the treasury secretary David Mills with an expense claim that didn't seem to have been dealt with the tidal wave of the last parliament.

I watched the Cameron speech in Yorkshire. He mentions local stars Pace, and that he used to be involved with OnDigital trying to flog their freeview platform. Ok you cannot win them all.

Good points, 1 in 1 out for tax legislation. Bad points they could really mess up on Capital Gains Tax. Although I can see the point in wanting to address the imbalance of 40/50% on income and 18% on capital gains - a lot of people have structured themselves around this being the status quo, and it is unfair to suddenly hit them with this.

On the other hand this is hard times, as long as the public see enough of the banks getting pushed harder in our interests maybe we'll buy it.

Economically Inactive

This is a term that has been getting some coverage in recent years. Something like 8 million UK citizens of working age are "economically inactive" - presumably that just means not working.

That's a pretty large number, and for hugely different reasons the government is looking to tackle the welfare bill.

But there's a few problems:

1. You can't have people take jobs that don't exist. Jobs that they could take tend to be transient and just end up in cycles of benefit reclaiming.
   
2. Many people would need schemes and other expensive measures to get them back working.
3. Although these people might be portrayed as work shy, I genuinely believe the majority would want to work if they could find the right conditions.

So a sad state of affairs and one the new government must come at from the point of view of needing to safe money fast. I do also hate the rubbish talked about "tapping all our talents", it's not as simple as tapping some great unused resource of talent - but somehow our leaders delude themselves that it is.

Walk: Extended Run Route

Getting repetitive maybe, but I did the route again. Ran at four points, twice before and after the main traffic lights, bus stop back to road crossing, and at the home stretch past the petrol station.

Book read: The Greatest Show on Earth : The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins

A very detailed but still accessible book about the evidence for evolution. Dawkins targets his audience as including the 40% of Americans who think the Earth is around 10000 years old.

This is wide of the mark, you would have to be a believer to pick up this book in the first place, if you have suffered years of religious mis-teaching it is probably already too late.

But it is a great book, very interesting and full of detail. Dawkins sometimes slips into the role of the prize fighter picking off the Creationist tyranny - but only occasionally does this detract from the presentation of the actual science (something he does much better).

I can well understand his frustration with the Creationist/religious lobby that in turn controls education and what can get taught - so I can forgive his sense of outrage.

Walk: Extended Run Route

The same as last week's walk. Slightly more running this time, two stints one back to the traffic lights and one past it.

Listening to a Clive James audio book, "Cultural Amnesia", very interesting.

House of Lords: Gravy Train

Labour peerages announced:

Ruth Kelly - I can never forgive her for failing to provide compensation for Equitable Life having found "no evidence whatsoever".

John Prescott - I probably do not need to say anything here. The man with the comprehensive transport plan that never materialised, well only in the form of two Jaguar's.

Sue Nye - A long time aide of Brown, the "Sue" who arranged Brown's Bigotgate moment.

John Reid - I can just about support this one.

What a gravy train, I cannot see any of these people being of use in public service save Reid.

Film: There Will Be Blood directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

An interesting film about an oil prospector at the turn of the 20th century. The film shows a great recreation of the hard life these people had, the physically tough work, and danger of drilling wells.

That was enough to captivate my attention, and unfortunately the plot about the main character becoming entwined in a religion so that he could pursue drilling rights wore a little thin on me. The film descends into a unexpectedly dark ending.

Still an impressive film, 7/10

FA Cup: Chelsea 1 - Portsmouth 0

A bridge too far in the end. Portsmouth gave a good account of themselves, missed a penalty. Chelsea had many chances too and also missing a penalty, the game always remained a tight affair.

So the end of an era, the team will break up, the manager will leave - an uncertain future awaits.

Well done to Avram though, I can see why he is in demand.

Walk: Extended run route

Distance 4.66 km, 2.90 miles around 45 minutes.

No bike ride this weekend, not great conditions. So a walk instead down to the station end of the main road and along back the round the extended block. The reverse of the route that was a running route last year.

I also tried to run some of it, but I'm a long way from that being easy to do.

Labour Throwing the Election?

A thought crossed my mind after the recent snooker frame fixing allegations.

This is a government term that no one really wants to win, they all have to do tough things to bring down the deficit.

So maybe, by leaving Gordon Brown in charge, Lord Mandelson has kind of thrown this election. Gets him out the way, ready for 5-10 years time for the next "New Labour" experiment.

Just a thought.