http://www.alisonw.com/2009/10/11/are-the-eve-online-servers-moving-to-iceland/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Alisonw+%28alisonw+-+Alison+Wheeler+-+mostly+harmless%29/feed/Are+the+EVE-Online+servers+moving+to+Iceland%3F 2010-08-18T13:57:46+01:00 Chyrp tag:www.alisonw.com,2010-08-18:/id/181//comment_1757 2010-08-18T13:57:46+01:00 2010-08-18T13:57:46+01:00 Tagesgeld Anlage http://finanzwissen.germanblogs.de/ It cannot be true that the Mayor of London wants to replace the current buses by those ugly transporters. The charme of the buses so far was that they were neither new nor spacy nor futuristic in any way. And how can he even think of spending so much money for something that does not even properly replace what there is now? Some of the London streets are so narrow and the junctions tight that the busdrivers do a really good job in passing them savely. So how can this work with even broader and longer buses? Really can't understand. tag:www.alisonw.com,2010-08-17:/id/192//comment_1756 2010-08-17T14:16:01+01:00 2010-08-17T14:16:01+01:00 Alison Wheeler http://alisonw.com Tweeted response from Lynne: <em> lfeatherstone: @AlisonW Holly Lodge has gates-first defence-and ticketing better alternative which is properly regulated and a proportionate punishment </em> tag:www.alisonw.com,2010-07-22:/id/188//comment_1636 2010-07-22T00:37:33+01:00 2010-07-22T00:37:33+01:00 Rax Lakhani http://raxraxrax.com Without a doubt, the original was the best version. The worst was the Paul McGann theme tune - 8th Doctor. (4mins16) tag:www.alisonw.com,2010-05-12:/id/177//comment_1519 2010-05-12T14:11:58+01:00 2010-05-12T14:11:58+01:00 Robin Stacey http://greywulf.net It's my belief that the major difference we'll see is an increased likelihood of coalition governments. That's not in itself a bad thing if it means parties are forced to identify cross-party commonality on issues. In the short term this will doubtless cause disruption while parties adjust to the idea of having to work together. The childish adversarial system, frankly, deserves to die a quick and painful death.<br /><br />For larger issues where no cross-party majority consensus can be reached I'd much rather the government calls a referendum and learns to trust and adhere to the will of the public which elected them in the first place.<br /><br /> tag:www.alisonw.com,2010-05-10:/id/177//comment_1517 2010-05-10T17:53:19+01:00 2010-05-10T17:53:19+01:00 Alison Wheeler http://alisonw.com Yes, I agree with you Duncan about the dangers of the list system, especially the closed (central Party control) list method. Having known friends standing for the London Assembly on the top-up list discuss the viability of their position on that list. <br /><br />Whilst the published list had ten places on it it was clear that only the top three or four and any realistic possibility of being successful, and beucase the ordering of candidates on the party list was determined in advance (and by party members) then there was nothing the electors could do to make a preference for one individual candidate over another.<br /><br />My view is that the should be <em>some</em> level of relationship between where you live and who represents you which can be affected by the voters, even if there are more widely-sourced 'topup' members also elected.<br /><br />I'm a former member of both the LibDems and of the ERS, and whilst I consider STV to be acceptable in single-member elections I find it very problematic where multiple members are being elected in a single count. tag:www.alisonw.com,2010-05-10:/id/177//comment_1515 2010-05-10T17:40:54+01:00 2010-05-09T23:17:50+01:00 Duncan Crowe http://http:// So, the argument is predicated on the idea of political incentives (you might think of it as the Public Choice account of representation); as a politician my incentive is to act in the interests of those who put me in power and sustain my being in power.<br /><br />If I'm elected under first past the post, AV, STV or (argumably) AMS, AV+ or FPTP+ with open lists*) then I owe my position principally to people having put a cross or a number beside my name at some point in the voting process.<br /><br />If I'm elected as part of a closed party* list then I owe my being elected to a) people in my area liking my party and b) my party liking me. The extent to which I am beholden to the voters in my district is thus diminished compared to the above systems.<br /><br />So if there is an issue in which the interests of my constituents was set against the interests of my party you might expect someone elected by FPTP, AV, STV or open list systems to side with the constituents and someone elected via a closed list system to side with the party as it is primarily by keeping them happy that I maintain my position.<br /><br />It has been argued that because candidates in a multi-member constituency STV system are essentially competing with other party's representatives to tend to the interests of the same body of people that there is actually more of an incentive for them to be actively engaged in their local community; thus the constituency link is stronger under our proposed system than under the status quo. This seems to be the case in Ireland, which uses MM STV although, in the interests of fairness, one could argue that it simply a product of a peculiarly Irish form of politics.<br /><br />*Open vs Closed list - A closed list system is one in which the proportional element of a run-off election (FPTP or AV) or of a straight proportional system (such as if we just allocated seats based on the popular vote or the regional equivalent, as we do for the European Parliament (other than in NI which uses STV)) is actioned by people putting a cross/number beside the name of a party rather than individuals. This means that their and the votes of those who chose similarly will be allocated to candidates in the order in which the party decided they should be elected. In an open list system, by contrast, I choose to which individual my top-up/proportional vote will go. (There may be additional calculations to ensure the proportional-element per-party is allocated in the order of candidate votes chosen but not exclusively on that basis so if 40 people voted for party A's first candidate and 20 for party A's second candidate and you need 30 votes to get elected, other things being equal they would. How you feel about that depends entirely on how you feel about the institutionalisation of political parties).<br /><br />Suppose for example party A has two candidates: 1) an outspoken occasionally rebelling maverick and 2) a tow-the-line always-votes-with-the-whip party lackey. I might like the party and their manifesto but would prefer that (1) were elected over (2). The party, presumably, would prefer (2) were elected over (1). In an open list system you would have your way, in a closed list system the party would have its way (though the candidates' order would probably be chosen by party members; that's how it works with the Scottish Liberal Democrats).<br /><br />IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS CONCERN ABOUT CONSTITUENCY LINK IS IRRELEVANT TO THE SINGLE-TRANSFERABLE VOTE (with multi-member constituencies) SYSTEM FAVOURED BY THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS AND THE ELECTORAL REFORM SOCIETY. tag:www.alisonw.com,2010-05-08:/id/174//comment_1511 2010-05-08T14:21:36+01:00 2010-05-08T14:21:36+01:00 vicky ayech http://http:// I was a young Liberal in Finchley from around 1962 and then voted Tory and Green at various times in the 70s and 80s, but was Lib Dem by the late 90s. I joined the party and helped stuff envelopes, tell and was an observer during the last election. I quit when we left the UK and although I sent a little money this time didn't rejoin as I was annoyed about Nick Clegg's speech about Israel. I don't think anyone actually voted for a hung parliament. Everyone wanted their party to win. But a government of national unity sounds a good idea, with perhaps every MP voting according to their conscience and then another election in 4 or 5 years. No whips. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-11-10:/id/149//comment_1191 2009-11-10T02:36:07+00:00 2009-11-10T02:36:07+00:00 Unstepped http://http:// Here here on the death penalty views. 1984 is coming ever closer. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-11-04:/id/118//comment_1184 2009-11-04T12:36:54+00:00 2009-11-04T12:36:54+00:00 günstige versicherung http://www.autogenau.de/kfz-versicherung.html Weekly i have problems with my server. I hosted a small server at strato and i´ve only truble with them. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-09-08:/id/131//comment_1039 2009-09-08T19:03:35+01:00 2009-09-08T19:03:35+01:00 Oliver http://cardiffstudentlibdems.blogspot.com Just... brilliant. I absolutely loved this. And it makes an incredibly important point, too! Thanks! tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-08-15:/id/124//comment_994 2009-08-15T12:50:59+01:00 2009-08-15T12:50:59+01:00 Neil Walton http://http:// Hate to disagree with you Alison but the majority of network equipment out in the world today, assuming it was built after 2000, will be IPv6 capable. Whether it will work will depend on the OS installed on the boxes. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-08-01:/id/118//comment_979 2009-08-01T11:43:50+01:00 2009-08-01T11:43:50+01:00 rumah dijual http://www.bestsurabayaproperty.com/aneka-properti/ Me too. I frequently experience trouble with my PC. Unfortunately can't do anything with the problem. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-07-07:/id/118//comment_939 2009-07-07T10:10:54+01:00 2009-07-07T10:10:54+01:00 Alberta Rencontres http://www.relation-amoureuse.net These happens to me too :) like today, i have some work to do, very urgently and what I see my program which was on the server didn't work and why? because my servers need a break :)) but we solve the problem fast :))) tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-06-05:/id/115//comment_893 2009-06-05T15:16:58+01:00 2009-06-05T15:16:58+01:00 Wayne http://optionscoop.com Technically correct, but in most cases people vote for their representative based on the leadership of the party. Ergo, the mandate though not explicit, is definitely implied. The flip side of that can be seen in that people are turning away from their local Labour members because of Brown et al, not because their local member was bad. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-02-21:/id/92//comment_99 2009-02-21T13:26:04+00:00 2009-02-21T13:26:04+00:00 Tony Sidaway http://lambdadelta.wordpress.com/ A lot of the problem here is psychological. The later passengers were able to query you and ascertain that you had been waiting for some time, so they would have reasoned that a bus was _probably_ due any minute. You on the other hand knew that you had a 6-9 minute wait because you had seen the previous 214 bus depart. Had you arrived at the stop after the bus departed from view you might have felt less certain that you had a long wait. Thus you were in an ideal position to make the decision on whether to stay or go to the next stop. On the other hand you soon knew with certainty (as did the later passengers) that the bus was long overdue. A close friend of mine has a problem with buses that goes like this. She often takes the bus, and most times it arrives within five minutes. Fairly often, though, she'll see the bus arrive at the stop when she's still too far away to run and catch it, and this distresses her (she'll say "this _always_ happens to me," although of course it really doesn't happen very often). Another problem is when she's waiting at the stand at the bus station. Not every bus that arrives at the stand will take her to her destination, so when the wrong one comes first she again becomes distressed and insists that this _always_ happens to her. I've sorted this out. I know the solution, and that is to redefine the purpose of the stop. A bus stop is a place for reading books and newspapers, and checking an organizer or palm computer or mobile phone if I have one with me. If I have no paraphernalia, then it becomes a place to muse and daydream. Occasionally this leisure time is interrupted by the arrival of the bus, which is inconvenient because I then have to interrupt my leisure. And you know what? This is *always* happening to me. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-02-21:/id/90//comment_98 2009-02-21T13:07:46+00:00 2009-02-21T13:07:46+00:00 Tony Sidaway http://lambdadelta.wordpress.com/ Reminds me of one I did on my much-neglected photoblog. http://noonoo.tumblr.com/post/75815441/theres-probably-no-teapot-so-relax-and-enjoy tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-02-13:/id/89//comment_35 2009-02-13T13:53:35+00:00 2009-02-13T13:53:35+00:00 tonysidaway This item sent me scurrying for the Wikipedia articles on Archie, Veronica and WAIS. I'd forgotten all about that mallarkey. Incidentally I clicked on the prompt box above three times before I spotted the "Add Comment" button. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-01-16:/id/82//comment_27 2009-01-16T00:00:55+00:00 2009-01-16T00:00:55+00:00 Benjamin Ellis http://redcatco.com/blog What does it affecting 10% of the population make it an unlikely condition? What percentage are left handed? Does that mean left-handedness is a teaching error? Look into the research doing using fMRI techniques on dyslexia. Whilst it might be an individual difference rather than a disorder, there are definite cognitive differences in dyslexics in the area of phonological processing. Ask yourself why Graham Stringer is pushing synthetic phonics and what his agenda is in doing so. His misuse of stats on other nations show an astounding ignorance for how heritability and cognitive functions work, let alone a lack of knowledge on the history and state of literacy. I went to an excellent school, and yet would be classified as dyslexic. Was my school bad? 25% of the sixth form went on to Oxbridge. I was taught via phonics. Stringer really needs to do his homework before he becomes a PR mouth piece for an educational supplier. tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-01-10:/id/79//comment_26 2009-01-10T17:05:30+00:00 2009-01-10T17:05:30+00:00 Alison Wheeler http://alisonw.com Maybe it is a case of 'If it works, keep doing it'? though I do agree with you that a decent wine cellar is also a nice thing™ — indeed at my old house I had a good one ;-P tag:www.alisonw.com,2009-01-08:/id/79//comment_25 2009-01-08T07:40:28+00:00 2009-01-08T07:40:28+00:00 Mainframeguy http://didactic.me male stereotyping - I also loved the first more... In these modern PC times you think they'd drop the sexism of it, but men have to be "macho" an not complain when they're depicted with prejudice.... in fact it is treating women as badly actually..... Change the beer for quality wine/port and would the title remain the same though?