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Archive for 2004

Calling occupants of interplanetary craft Jun 18

Hurrah! I have made it into the top 10% of SETI@home users. Although I’m still in joint 460,011th place.

If you haven’t already got it, download and install the SETI@home software to join in. This runs in the background of your computer, analysing data from radio telescopes for signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence.

BBTV and CCTV Jun 18

As Richard Allan vents his spleen about hooliganism, does the Big Brother brawl prove that CCTV doesn’t deter violent anti-social behaviour?

And it seems not a moment too soon Jun 16

So Labour’s quarter of a century dominating Leeds is over. Labour took 40 seats, LibDems 26, Conservatives 24, Morley Borough Independents 6, and Greens 3. No one party has a majority, but the LibDems could feasibly run in coalition with the Conservatives and the Greens (and Labour, if they’d be prepared to swallow their pride). In Wetherby, I got 1,026 votes – I’m pleased to say it’s a personal best in any election, and represented a 1.1% swing from the Tories to the LibDems.

The first past the post electoral system for once worked in the LibDems’ favour. It hindered the Tories but still let Labour get 40% of the seats on much less of the vote. I still believe strongly in following the example of Scotland and introducing STV for local council elections.

There were some curious other results, particularly in the way tickets were split and voters mixed and matched the parties for which they voted. While I can’t pretend to know every voters’ reasons, it’s possible to spot trends. In one ward, for example, where one Tory candidate polled noticeably less than his colleagues, it is, sadly, safe to assume that his Arabic-sounding name put off a few hundred voters.

In Headingley, a former Labour seat (albeit after boundary changes), Labour fell below the Greens. The LibDems made more progress in Kirkstall, but Labour, running scared and making an effort for once, managed to hold on. My friend Kath, the only local council candidate in Leeds standing for “Respect – The Unity Coalition (George Galloway)”, succeeded in pushing the Tories into fourth in her ward.

Congratulations to everyone who was elected last week. Particular mentions go to Penny Ewens, who stormed home in Hyde Park and Woodhouse, and No geek is an island reader David Morton who topped the poll in Headingley.

Full results by ward are on the Leeds City Council website.

And then there were eleven Jun 16

Michelle’s and Emma’s triumphant return to the house this evening was top telly. It was obvious immediately that Victor and Jason were horrified. Jason has now taken Victor to one side and confessed that his “game plan” is in tatters.

While I shan’t go as far as to claim some pseudish credibility from “studying the psychology of it”, it is educational watching how the different personalities react as the situations become more extreme.