Author: jon

Jon Curnow writes on curnow.org about things that interest him. The site has been around for many years in various forms and he always wants to write much more here than he does.

City Hall

I think the London Assembly building, which was opened by The Queen yesterday, is stunning.

I may not agree with everything our delightful new Mayor does, but I have to say that I think the London Assembly building, which was opened by The Queen yesterday, is a stunning building. I am pleased to see that, in this age of taller, squarer buildings, we (occasionally) still strive to build something that is visually stunning. Now all I have to do is get down there and see it with my own eyes.

Try the M11

With apologies to all my neighbours who were woken by the noise.

I feel it was an interesting weekend. Some of it I don’t want to repeat, but mostly it was good fun and the kind of things you should do at weekends if you slave all week in an office. It started yesterday afternoon when my brother arrived, and we spent two hours in a car driving round south London roads to get across the river and on to the M11 motorway. It’s not the easiest thing from South West London and should really start another rant about the state of London’s roads, but I am too tired for that! (It’s also good to see somebody else wondered what the strange tower was)

Arriving in Takeley for a family christening, and all is well. It is nice to see some of the family members I do not see too often. We had planned to leave around 8pm and head back to SW17, but we were having a good time and partied until 11pm. It’s hard partying and drinking only water, but I still had a good time.

So, off we set. 10 minutes on the M11 and the radiator overheats; I lose all power on the car and just about manage to get it onto the hard shoulder before it grinds to a halt in the middle of the carriageway. Then, 50 minutes later, a bloke from the RAC arrives and, without really looking at the engine because he can tell it would do no use, loads the car onto the back of the truck and me & my brother into the cab for the ride south. Then we hit the Blackwall Tunnel. At 1am (Sunday) we are caught in a traffic queue for an hour as traffic tries to negotiate one lane in the tunnel (cue for another rant about London traffic). Eventually, the car is unloaded outside my house at 2.45am (with apologies to all my neighbours who would have been woken up by the noise).

A Non-Existent Dream

If we’re not careful, the UK will topple over as the South East of Britain sinks into The Channel under the weight of all the people migrating from other parts of the country.

After last night’s little rant on the state of the London Underground system, I heard about this morning’s nonsense from the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) to start charging commuters more to sit on overcrowded, dirty, late-running trains. I guess the plan reasons that charging higher fares means fewer people will travel by train. Surely, this proves that an integrated transport policy for London’s workers remains a non-existent dream. Ken Livingstone wants to charge people for driving into central London. The SRA wants to charge more for travelling on trains. How are people expected to get to work? The answer is they will still drive and take the train, and it will cost them more – status quo remains. It seems to me that nobody is prepared to do what it takes to sort out transport in the South East. And that still stinks.

So then, I got to thinking about John Prescott’s[John Prescott as Boss of Bosses?] little plan to build more affordable housing in the South East of England (to ease the chronic housing shortage, apparently). Affordable housing implies that this is aimed at people on a lower wage (am I taking a big leap here?). How, exactly, are these people going to get to work in London if train prices rise and roads get tolls? Again, it appears inconsistent and badly thought out. Why not take some of this £4 billion and encourage businesses to move out of the South East to areas with too many houses or less congestion? If we’re not careful, the UK will topple over as the South East of Britain sinks into the Channel under the weight of all the people migrating from other parts of the country.

London Life Underground

It’s a rant about the tube. Summer brings its own special brand of problems for London’s sub-terrain commuters: hot, sweaty and stuck in tunnels on the way to the office does not make for a contented work force.

The great struggle to and from work in London is over as another strike by London Underground staff finishes and the tube returns to its normal, over-crowded, hot, sticky self. I don’t think there can be a person in this City who does not believe that the Underground is under funded and appears, at times, not too far from breaking point. Summer brings its own special brand of problems for London’s sub-terrain commuters: hot, sweaty and stuck in tunnels on the way to the office does not make for a contented work force. When will Tony Blair,Ken Livingston and Bob Crow stop using the Underground as a great big political football and start doing something to ease the plight of those who try and use London’s public transport on a regular basis? I, along with most people who have chosen to live, work or visit London, am fed up with the self-serving posturing of the politicians and union leaders. I can’t say if I think the strike was wrong or not but I do know that the very fact that non of the parties involved are currently at a negotiating table resolving all issues and developing long-term strategies for coping with increasing commuter volumes stinks worse than the armpits of that harassed member of the public I will be squashed against tomorrow morning. Please somebody, for the sake of those of us who voted for you and pay for you, sort out the mess. [current tube status]

50 Things

The list of 50 things that have most affected our lives in the last 50 years is one of those fascinating lists that I will read and re-read for a long time to come. I can’t decide which affected me most.

Overyourhead is a London-based blogger bloke. He has this list [official site] from Birmingham’s Thinktank. Thinktank is the city’s new museum of science and technology, and it looks fantastic. I will certainly pay it a visit on my next voyage to Birmingham.

The list of 50 things that have most affected our lives in the last 50 years is one of those fascinating lists that I will read and re-read for a long time to come.

1980 Ghetto blaster and Sony Walkman
1981 Compact discs on sale
1982 Video keyhole surgery
1983 Synthetic human insulin cleared for sale
1984 DNA fingerprint
1985 First registered dotcom

I can’t decide which affected me most, but there was a woman on the radio last night citing 1955 – the invention of the non-stick saucepan – as being fairly important to modern life. As I have never found a non-stick pan that is exactly that, I would have to disagree.

All For A New Pair of Shoes

While there, I was made to run up and down with my trousers rolled up.

Tonight was the Official Opening of The Commonwealth Games. Does anybody still care about The Commonwealth except when they have these games? And I missed the opening ceremony – which, to be honest, is likely to be the only bit I would have watched. I was running in my new running shoes, which I suspect is one of the best excuses I have ever had for not sitting on my backside) I bought them this afternoon. I went to Run and Become, which has a branch not too far from where I work. While there, I was made to run up and down with my trousers rolled up. Apparently, this was so that the sales assistant could see how I actually run. Personally, I think she was doing it for the amusement of the diners in the cafe opposite. Anyway, I came away £60 lighter with a nice new pair of running shoes.

Less Substantial Thinking

I know one thing for sure, Google is a lot easier than the old Encyclopaedia Index volume.

Why do I always seem to post the links the rest of the blogging world sees? Anyway, this caught my attention today. I use the internet for research purposes but I was not fortunate enough to have access when I was studying. This article essentially implies that researching on the ‘Net is not as good as reading a good old-fashioned book. “The quality of information [on the Internet] is below what you find in print,” according to the story. Perhaps it is but then most of the information still remains free on the web. I wonder if we’ll ever get an appropriate charging model that allows people to use the ‘Net for the research they need but pay in the same way as those who buy the books. Is it down to the libraries to pay to put the information online? On the upside, “‘Net thinkers are said to generate work quickly and make connections easily”. I know one thing for sure, Google is a lot easier than the old Encyclopaedia Index volume.

Number One

I decided to look up what was the number one UK single on this day in 1982.

I got more than you
And you can set it free
I can catch the moon in my hand
Don’t you know who I am
Remember my name

Well, for no reason at all, I decided to look up what the number one UK single was on this day in 1982 (I don’t even know why I chose that year). Well, it’s a bit of a minefield as it somewhat depends on which chart you count as being the “official” chart. Still, it would appear that it was Irene Cara and the theme from Fame, which is, of course, one of the greatest records from my childhood.

Online Advertising Wasn’t The Same in 1996

Still, publishers need to make responsible decisions about what kind of ad content they will accept. They need to scrutinize both the product being advertised and the ad vehicle being used to promote it. Users will rebel at a certain point — and an ad like this perfectly illustrates the point when you’ll hear from more than just the “noisy few”; you’ll hear from the “loud masses.”

Eric Picard

Looking at yesterday’s Way Back Machine link again, [yesterday’s link], I am struck by the lack (almost, anyway) of commercial messages on the Yahoo! Page from 1996. Obviously, any sensible person realises that, in the end, all this great web content has to be paid for somehow. I am more than happy that the company I work for manages to pay my salary on time each month. Still, can’t help wondering if it’s all gone mad now: Is Our Industry a Modern-Day Sodom and Gomorrah?

I Like Yahoo!

A nice clean interface for the new look Yahoo homepage which is very nice indeed.

The new-look Yahoo homepage (http://www.yahoo.com/) carries on Yahoo’s tradition of a clean interface but brings a fresher look. I have always liked that clean feel about most of Yahoo’s interface. I hope they bring it to the UK site soon and make similar changes to My Yahoo! It’s so sad that this makes me happy!

UPDATE: Of course, the problem with a post like this is that it dates very quickly. Still, back then Yahoo had a very clean interface!

Did They Make It Up?

I swear some news is made up: A pair of Canadian otters brought to Britain a year ago are under 24-hour guard at the National Sea-life Sanctuary, near Oban in Scotland, because of fears they will be attacked by indigenous cousins unable to understand their “foreign accents”.

I swear some news is made up: A pair of Canadian otters brought to Britain a year ago are under 24-hour guard at the National Sea-life Sanctuary, near Oban in Scotland, because of fears they will be attacked by indigenous cousins unable to understand their “foreign accents”. [Independent]

Amazon A Go-Go

I love Amazon. They’re the way the world should do the online shopping experience.

I love Amazon. They’re the way the world should do the online shopping experience. Then again, I hate Amazon. They keep recommending stuff I want, so I buy it. But just now, I love them. I got my first two reviews published:

Start Up – Jerry Kaplan
Piloting Palm – Andrea Butter and David Pogue

Continue reading “Amazon A Go-Go”

Scooby Thoughts

Despite differing opinions, “Scooby Doo” is successful in entertaining

Scooby Doo Movie Poster, 2002
Scooby Doo Movie, 2002

Looking back, I do have to say Scooby Doo was a great film. If one of the goals of cinema is to entertain, then this was a successful film. If another of the goals of cinema is to provide escapism, then, again, this was a successful film. I believe I am the only person I know who thinks this. That, of course, makes me right and everybody else wrong (kind of).