Day: 1 November 2017

File in ‘unintended Consequences of a pointless election’

Here’s an interesting snippet about how a wholly unrelated decision in government (Theresa May’s decision to call a snap General Election earlier this year) can add an additional £13 million to a London transport project

For anybody with even a passing interest in how transport infrastructure works and impacts society, London Reconnections is a must-read. Although the articles explore London’s transport, the nuances of transport policy probably apply everywhere in the world. For example, if you really want to understand the complexities of Transport for London’s ban on Uber and don’t want to rely on the social media outrage, then “Understanding Uber: It’s Not About The App” (and related articles) paints a much more complex (and fascinating) picture.

Buried away in a piece published earlier today is an interesting snippet about how a wholly unrelated decision in government (Theresa May’s decision to call a snap General Election earlier this year) can add an additional (unbudgeted) £13 millon pounds to a London transport project (in this case, Crossrail 2),

It is an unfortunate fact that the election and campaign may have only been around six weeks long and have seen the same party returned to government, yet the disruption caused to presenting a Crossrail 2 bill to Parliament has probably put the project back by a full year.

£13m sounds like a lot, but it isn’t in the case of these multi-billion-pound projects. It still has to come from unplanned budget, which must frustrate planners … but pushing the whole project back by a year? Wow.

I wonder how many other projects and plans across the country saw similar issues and what they cost.

Related:

Occasionally I write, not as well as London Reconnections, about transport issues that I see. Why not take a moment to have a look?

The Whispering Years

It’s not dull or bland in any way, but perhaps because there’s a little of the 60s hippie left in Bob Harris, you feel the measured approach is entirely appropriate.

You really do get to appreciate ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris’ love of music through his autobiography, ‘The Whispering Years’. You’ll read in the blurb that he’s been married three times, has had to restart his career from scratch several times, and almost lost his record collection to a fellow Radio 1 disc jockey. What you may not get from reviews is a feeling of the genuine passion he has for the music and how big a role some of the greatest musicians of the last thirty years have played in his life. You feel as uneasy as Bob appeared to be over the fame that The Old Grey Whistle Test brought him, and you will feel somewhat betrayed when Radio One removed him (I’d forgotten he was the voice launched round-the-clock Radio One in August 1990). Throughout his career he stuck to his passion – the music – and shunned the computer-generated radio that dominates the airwaves today. His interview technique was considered ‘less than penetrating’ in the past, but that gentle approach serves him well in book form. It’s not dull or bland in any way but, perhaps because there’s a little of the 60s hippy left in Bob Harris, you feel the measured approach is entirely appropriate. If you love music (and not just progressive rock) or enjoy his radio programmes, then The Whispering Years will be engaging, fascinating and inspiring.

Buy Bob Harris’ The Whispering Years

Is Email Bad?

In 1999, after six years of using email, I was beginning to think it wasn’t as great as it could be. Ping, here comes another one.

Note: This article is dated 1 November – although the exact date of writing can’t be determined. It was retrieved from the archive and posted in March 2003.

The internet is the most wonderful tool of recent history. It’s fun, factual, interesting and full of fascinating creatures. It’s strange and freakish: at the same time useful and useless. I am thankful that it filled my night shifts and unhappy that it takes over my time. Thank goodness for the internet.

Of all the components that make up the ‘net (Archie, anyone?), email is – probably – the greatest invention. Fast and functional, it has revolutionised my working life. Back in ’93, when I got my first real-world-connected email address, apart from those people in the same office, I knew one other person. Friends of mine couldn’t see the point. However, once I was able to communicate with my Dad in Thailand at a reasonable hour without staying awake to call him, other people saw there may be uses. Then, they connected, and suddenly they sent me emails telling me how great it was to be part of this connected universe.

Now, after six years, I think I may be turning into one of the non-believers. That’s not wholly true, but nevertheless, I’ve decided email is not as great as it could be. Sure, the power to communicate is still fantastic, and the informal nature is wonderful. The ability to time-shift conversations is useful, but it gets in the way of my working day, and I haven’t the strength to do anything about it.

If you can’t put a finger on why email doesn’t always work, ask yourself these questions:

  1. How much unrelated junk do you sift through daily?
  2. How many times have you stopped working to answer the “ping” of the email to read some nonsense?
  3. How many times has your concentration been broken by the “You Have Mail” screen?
  4. When did you last get copied in on an email that was only of peripheral interest to your work because somebody felt the need to “share” or “justify”?
  5. How many times have you felt the need to copy people on an email who, if you’d conducted the communication by phone, wouldn’t have been included?
  6. How many times have you been misunderstood because you typed in a hurried, informal manner to somebody who doesn’t see email as less formal?
  7. When you last answered the phone, did the caller say, “Have you got my mail?” and they’d only just sent it?
  8. When you last met a colleague in the corridor, did they ask you what you’d thought of their email? When you said you hadn’t got round to reading it, did they look like they’d been snubbed? Did you feel bad for not having read it?

I could go on, but my day is like this. I have to get disciplined and stop interrupting myself. But I can’t. Ping, here comes another one.