Unspun

Work culture

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:34:00 GMT

Far be it from me to make the economic outlook of the country any more risky than it is - we can blame the Kiwis for this. The New Zealand Book Council has come up with a fantastic website that resembles a standard Windows desktop with important looking PowerPoint presentations dottered over it. Except open them up and instead of nonsense management speak, the graphs and charts are surrounded by classic literature. And the odd collection of works from the Antipodes. Take a look here...(read more)

Sudden interest

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:58:00 GMT

I can't think of a sport less likely - ok, maybe snooker - to have a sudden death play off than golf. But there was Tiger, grasping victory from the jaws of a tie with lightning quick study, calculation and trigonometry. Oooh, the tension. Worse than the attempt to inject some drama into a spoiled walk though, was Woods' vainglorious victory speech. There didn't seem to be a word of tribute to Rocco Mediate (what a name!), but instead it was all about how he had been playing a poor game, that he...(read more)

Disgrace

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:43:00 GMT

Labour MP Austin Mitchell has said he voted in favour of new terror laws not because he agreed with them, but to "save Gordon for the nation". He isn't fit to be in the Commons. And when the Lords savage and throw out the bill - as they are sure to - it will come back the Commons and embarrass the Supreme Leader all over again....(read more)

Off the rails and down the pan

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:46:00 GMT

I'm normally relaxed about the state of the railways. Commuting daily I realise that there will occasionally be delays - just as there were when I drove to work every day. The added bonus of train travel, though, is that rather than sit in a car fuming in a jam you can relax at the station, get some food, drink, and chat to fellow passengers. In the sunshine, it can even be quite pleasant. That calm outlook was shattered yesterday. I'd been waiting for my train from Ipswich to Norwich for...(read more)

42

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:43:00 GMT

David Blunkett shows why he was always unsuitable for the job of home secretary, and I'd rather he wasn't an MP either: "I really don't understand how anyone can believe that you can pat a terrorist on the head and say: 'Don't worry, we won't hold you while we investigate these multiple links across multiple boundaries across the world - we'll let you out, so we're being ultra-careful not to infringe your rights, even though you might well infringe our lives'," he said. "We're trying here to ensure...(read more)

Winter in May

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Wed, 28 May 2008 14:56:00 GMT

Ok, so the weather's not exactly as its best at the moment but I'm still confused as to why someone's just phoned me and sung Jingle Bells down the phone at me. They said they aim was to make my day better, which it sort of did. But it also left me very confused. If you're reading, Jingle's good, but I prefer White Christmas, or, if you're feeling coquettish, Santa Baby....(read more)

Saving the best for last

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:56:00 GMT

It's been a tiring few days - I've been up all hours writing my best man's speech for my brother's wedding tomorrow. Hopefully I've got the balance of embarassment, humour, and schmaltz just right, and I won't have to dodge too many punches as a result. Now I've just got to make sure I don't lose the rings and stay sober until all the important stuff is safely out of the way... Oh, and: Congratulations Colin and Kayley!...(read more)

Something borrowed, something blue

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:51:00 GMT

I've known it was coming for ages, but my brother's wedding has rather crept up on me. He's getting married this Saturday, and while everything promises to be wonderful there's one little fly in the ointment. I'm best man, and I've got to a give a speech. While I'm not particularly worried about speaking in public - I've done it before to larger and (presumably) more hostile crowds - there's a certain level of importance attached to this particularly gig. There (should) be only one of them. It...(read more)

Blighted

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:34:00 GMT

I woke up full of joy this morning, but it was sadly short lived as I soon discovered that some little sod had stolen the solar lights from outside my house overnight. It's not the first time either. When I first moved in a little over two years ago I installed the little lights in my front garden so that I could find the front door in the dark, especially helpful when you're a little tipsy. This was fine for a few months, but then someone nicked two of the four lamps. It's taken me more than...(read more)

Eek

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:22:00 GMT

Sadly no pithy comments this time round - just a little local anxiety. I've just heard that the house I rent is about to be auctioned off. Apparently the sale will take place with me inside (figuratively, rather than literally - though perhaps both, depending on the timing) but, dear reader, would you want me as a tenant? It's a strange time in the housing market, making the decision whether to look to rent elsewhere, to buy or to escape and go set up a monkey-training business in Belize a difficult...(read more)

I'm on the train!

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:14:00 GMT

It's no longer restricted to idiots on mobiles, now idiots on laptops can communicate online while on the track. I'm writing this from a National Express train that's winding it's way from Leeds towards London and the contrast with their East Anglia service is astounding. On the East Coast the slam door cars have been replaced with automatic doors, the coaches have had a decent refurbishment with bright but not clinical lighting and comfortable seats, and there is free wi-fi throughout. First...(read more)

Well, they would say that, wouldn't they?

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:41:00 GMT

Apparently Britain's tabloid newspapers are full of inaccurate stories - and in particular misleading stories about climate change. It seems coverage of global warming over the last six years has been between 67% and 83% accurate. Now as soon as someone starts giving percentage scores for truthfulness I start to smell a rat, and it didn't take long to track it down in this case. Guess who published this ground-breaking research: the Environmental Climate Institute of the University of Oxford...(read more)

Off message

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:07:00 GMT

Hat's off to the dullards at Orange. Last night - without any kind of prompting from me - they decided to make my mobile phone work abroad. By sending me a text message. At 0.26am. It's good to talk, but it's even better to sleep....(read more)

Ring of fire

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:30:00 GMT

What a complete farce the Olympic torch relay through London was. It's never really been clear what the purpose of the fairly random romp through the capital was - the aerial footage of the relay showed that hardly any members of the public turned up. It became even more pointless when the torch was hidden behind a phalanx of Chinese security guards and police. Even in Downing Street, the Oriental minders blocked the view of tv cameras, so paranoid were they of the protestors. Add to that the...(read more)

Nervous in the wings

james.goffin@archant.co.uk — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:23:00 GMT

Those of you who use the BBC's website will be aware that it has changed a lot recently, with a new frontpage a few weeks ago and revamped news and sports pages this week. The response from the public has been mixed, with lots of people getting very animated about the changes. It's interesting to see the feedback, and slightly worrying. We're working on a new look for the EADT and the Star sites at the moment. Fingers crossed it goes down well......(read more)