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Random things:
1. Let It Snow, Let It Snow. Let It Snow
We've had proper snow in London for the first time in a decade. London does not cope well with snow. I grew up in Scotland where it takes two foot of snow and a strong wind before serious transport problems crop up. In London, and inch of snow falls and the transport system collapses. How hard can it be to deal with an inch of frozen water in discrete particles?
Mind you, having seen the absolute hash the Connex staff made of salting and gritting the platforms at Lewisham station yesterday, I'm not surprised that the trains were screw. If they can't even manage a simple task like salting a pavement, how can we expect them to run a railway?
2. Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
It appears that the Vatican City is in the grip of a crime wave. Of course, when you look at the main crime - pick pocketing - and think of the nature of the Vatican, and the number of tourists that pass through it each year, it all begins to make a little more sense.
It does illustrate the danger of just taking statistics at face value, though. They give a crime rate of 87.2% for civil offences and 133.6% for criminal offences. That's 1.33 crimes per head of population. "Damn, but those Catholics must by a dodgy bunch," is a reasonable first reaction, until you twig that most of the crimes committed are almost certainly perpetrated by non-Vatican residents.
3. New Year, New Me
8am this morning found me in the gym, having a new workout set. I have three months to turn myself into something that I'll be happy to look at in wedding photos for the rest of my natural life. Stage one - intensive CV work - starts tomorrow. Wish me and my iPod luck...
1. Let It Snow, Let It Snow. Let It Snow
We've had proper snow in London for the first time in a decade. London does not cope well with snow. I grew up in Scotland where it takes two foot of snow and a strong wind before serious transport problems crop up. In London, and inch of snow falls and the transport system collapses. How hard can it be to deal with an inch of frozen water in discrete particles?
Mind you, having seen the absolute hash the Connex staff made of salting and gritting the platforms at Lewisham station yesterday, I'm not surprised that the trains were screw. If they can't even manage a simple task like salting a pavement, how can we expect them to run a railway?
2. Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
It appears that the Vatican City is in the grip of a crime wave. Of course, when you look at the main crime - pick pocketing - and think of the nature of the Vatican, and the number of tourists that pass through it each year, it all begins to make a little more sense.
It does illustrate the danger of just taking statistics at face value, though. They give a crime rate of 87.2% for civil offences and 133.6% for criminal offences. That's 1.33 crimes per head of population. "Damn, but those Catholics must by a dodgy bunch," is a reasonable first reaction, until you twig that most of the crimes committed are almost certainly perpetrated by non-Vatican residents.
3. New Year, New Me
8am this morning found me in the gym, having a new workout set. I have three months to turn myself into something that I'll be happy to look at in wedding photos for the rest of my natural life. Stage one - intensive CV work - starts tomorrow. Wish me and my iPod luck...
