Category: notes

So this is a famous case and every single one is just as important, but two things are so wrong about the execution of Stanley “Tookie” Williams. First of all the death penalty is just so crazily ethically corrupt – especially in a country run by a religious zealot who ought to set some store by rules particular to his religion such as ‘Thou shalt not kill’…

And secondly because the man perceived to be behind this decision, even if he is only a puppet figurehead, is ‘Arnie‘, a once famously slightly ridiculous muscle man who somehow made it into politics.

Anyway, Amnesty International explains the rights and wrongs of this far better than I.

Here’s the story in Spanish.

So, the double December bank holiday week is over and we have the usual figures to contemplate: 98 dead in 80 traffic accidents – an average of 10 deaths a day. A third of those that died weren’t wearing a seatbelt, and 45 % of the accidents involved excess speed. No figures on the involvement of alcohol yet but I’m sure it played a significant role.

I still believe that a bit of ‘mano duro‘, no-messing discipline is what’s needed here. A year ban for drink-driving on any scale, and higher fines or bans for everything else. Many Spanish regularly drink and drive, speed like crazy, and drive 2 feet from the car in front. Up the punishment and double the level of enforcement, and maybe these figures will fall to rest-of-the-world levels one day.

Meanwhile, in related news, 5% of drivers that died on the roads last year had cocaine in their system, double the figures from four years previously.

We’re touring around rainy, green Galicia in Northern Spain for a few days. As soon as we find a hotel with decent internet (tomorrow with any luck…), I’ll upload the first podcast from our trip. ¡Hasta Pronto!

Everyone’s doing it, so we thought why not join the latest craze…

Please click on the box to the left and join our Frappr Map!
 

Do you ever suffer from technological overload? I’ve been trying to keep up with all the latest developments in the world of tech: RSS, Web 2.0, google / yahoo / microsoft wars, diggs, boing boings and endless other newer and cooler ideas and blog-based knowledge banks.

But I think I am about to overload. This is starting to drive me crazy! It started with a casual reading of Scripting news and the odd browse around Flickr. Now I have a score of RSS feeds on my (admittedly great) on-line aggregator, Rojo, and thousands of unread news items reminding me of the futitily of it all. I simply can’t keep up with all the above whilst trying to come up with an equally cool world-rousing web invention all at the same time (because yes, of course I’d love to dream up the next million dollar homepage or frappr phenomenon.)

Sometimes the internet is a curse as much as it is a blessing. What’s a twenty-first century guy to do ? (Help!) Maybe a weekend away from the PC would be a good start!

I may be the last one on the net to hear about this but wow, what an idea…. A 21 year old guy from the UK who has made half a million bucks in 2 months from an interesting website idea. Here’s the site: http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/, once you’ve checked that out read the interesting part, the blog – read from the bottom up. Amazing…

Matt from “Housetrapped in the sun” is looking for people to participate in the next series of programmes.

“There are two aspects to the programme,” explains Matt, “the first part looks at properties that have been on the market for around six months plus and haven’t sold, be it for cosmetic, structural or other reasons. The idea behind the program is that Andrew Winter our presenter, with his 20 odd years experience in the property market, will step in to offer advice to the vendors to overcome the issues with their property and ultimately get that sale! So far on Selling Houses our programme’s UK sister production, we’ve had a 100% success rate with properties Andrew has been involved with and we’re looking to repeat this success in the foreign market.”

“The other part to the programme aims to help people with other property related issues, situations that they are completely stuck in.In the past we have covered topics from the Valencia Land Grab Laws in Spain to termite infestation in France. In each case we hope to offer some sort of help, some way to move the owners situation forward.”

For further details and to take part, check out the website:
www.channel4.com/4homes/ontv/sellinghouses/his.html