Manchester World Naked Bike Ride 2009
Last Friday’s naked bike ride was fun, even though the Police stopped us and claimed that no-one had told them that Naked meant we’d have no clothes on. More pictures in the Manchester World Naked Bike Ride set
Monthly archives: June 2009
Hooray for the Royal British Legion
An open letter to Nick Griffin, Chairman of the BNP and MEP for North West England
09 June 2009
Dear Mr Griffin,
We couldn’t help but notice that there was egg on your face (and on your suit jacket) on the day after you were elected MEP for North West England.
Please don’t leave egg on ours.
You wore a Poppy lapel badge during your news conference to celebrate your election victory. This was in direct contravention of our polite request that you refrain from politicising one of the nation’s most treasured and beloved symbols.
The Poppy is the symbol of sacrifices made by British Armed Forces in conflicts both past and present and it has been paid for with blood and valour. True valour deserves respect regardless of a person’s ethnic origin, and everyone who serves or has served their country deserves nothing less.
The Poppy pin, the Poppy logo, and the paper Poppy worn during Remembrance are the property, trademark and emblem of The Royal British Legion.
For nearly 90 years, The Royal British Legion has pursued a policy of being scrupulously above the party political fray. It is vital that everyone – the media, the public and our beneficiaries – know that we will not allow our independence to be undermined or our reputation impaired by being closely associated with any one political party. This is more important now than ever.
On May 27th, 2009, the National Chairman of The Royal British Legion wrote to you privately requesting that you desist from wearing the Poppy or any other emblem that might be associated with the Legion at any of your public appearances during the European Parliamentary election campaign.
He appealed to your sense of honour. But you have responded by continuing to wear the poppy. So now we’re no longer asking you privately.
Stop it, Mr Griffin. Just stop it.
Regards,
The Royal British Legion
The Royal British Legion is the nation’s leading Armed Forces charity providing care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present and their families. It is also the national Custodian of Remembrance and safeguards the Military Covenant between the nation and its Armed Forces. It is best known for the annual Poppy Appeal and its emblem, the red poppy.
One day I will have my own 3d printer
Such as the CupCake CNC from MakerBot Industries. $950 for the deluxe version, though I’d have to swap out their ATX power supply for a British version.
Oh the things I could do with one of these.
Tweets today
23:44 Blog: Tweets today tinyurl.com/moeuqu #
12:06 My film gear fits in a backpack. I’m always jealous when I see the van loads professionals cast around. #
15:01 Barbecuing at Damian’s house from 6ish. You bring meat and drinks, we supply fire. #
18:13 @grimnorth You’ll need to shift it back and forth until the wheel sits square. Can be tricky as tightening may move it a bit. #
21:35 Porn cheese- eat it before bed to have dirty dreams. #
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Tweets today
23:27 Received- Moody says there is no video clip involving porn and luminous bicycle clips. You need to find one! :-D, rule 34 this for me please #
23:43 Blog: Tweets today tinyurl.com/lxn4yy #
10:40 Blog: Spinneyhead is number two for Welsh themed vibrators tinyurl.com/nchuxx #
12:15 Shadigm! #
13:37 Blog: Recording the voice over for 60 tinyurl.com/kocwyp #
13:51 Goatse cheese! #
16:47 Ice creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem #
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Recording the voice over for 60
Scarlett and Gabe are Voice 1 and Voice 2 for 60. We have recorded 4 takes and I’ll pick and mix the best versions to dub over the live action.
Spinneyhead is number two for Welsh themed vibrators
If you search for “Welsh themed vibrators“, without the quotes, on bing.com, Spinneyhead is currently the second result.
Tweets today
23:44 Blog: Tweets today tinyurl.com/luln9q #
09:32 Yay, sunshine! It’s like the sun knows people are getting naked later. #
11:24 Just spent an hour researching a comment for a climate change deniers blog that will probably just be deleted. #
11:53 I didn’t like you very much when I met you and now I like you even less. #
14:05 Save the World: Global Warming Art twurl.nl/qilo3o #
15:47 On Two Wheels- Look out for the naked cyclists this evening tinyurl.com/nu8oaj #
16:03 Bye bye Sally. I just renamed her Elizabeth all the way through the current draft of Sounds of Soldiers. #
18:27 I see naked people. #
18:52 Becky may want to look away now. Dan’s kit is off. #
20:02 Caught by the fuzz! #
20:35 Apparently, noone told the police the World naked Bike Ride would involve naked people. #
21:01 I just cycled 6.38 miles with no clothes on, at an average speed of 6 mph (rolling, the police pulled us over for a while) and max of 13.6. #
22:35 @richjohnston I cycled around Manchester’s city centre with no clothes on. Bet you’re sorry you asked now. #
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Global Warming Art
MAking climate change almost look pretty, Global Warming Art presents the data as clearly as possible.
Note I found Global Warming Art whilst researching a reply to this post. As I had comments deleted the last time I questioned the veracity of that particular graph, here’s what I said-
Thanks for the links, but I couldn’t find the graph in your post or the figures used in it. You should know that a number of the theories championed by Easterbrook have been examined and shown to be lacking.
For example- Mid century cooling- http://scienceblogs.com/illconsidered/2006/03/what-about-mid-century-cooling.php – CO2 isn’t the only thing controlling the planet’s temperature, during this period the global dimming effect of particulates overwhelmed it. Various other of his arguments, such as that it’s a natural cycle or all down to sun spot activity- and several other points- are addressed in articles linked to on this page- http://scienceblogs.com/illconsidered/2008/07/how_to_talk_to_a_sceptic.php
But back to the graph at the bottom of your post. I wanted to address it because it just looks wrong. Not the numbers are wrong or it’s wrong because I don’t agree with your position, but wrong as a graph. Look at the red trend line. Before 2005 it’s steady, the wild variations of individual data points don’t make it jump around. After 2005 it’s following the data points almost exactly. The red line is based upon average anomalies over a given period, but it looks like the averaging was done over a far shorter period post ’05 than pre. If the average reacts that drastically to a dip in the recorded anomalies then it should also have kicked sharply up for the El Nino year of 1998 and less sharply down for 1985 (La Nina) and 1993 (Pinatubo volcano).
Basically I think someone has fudged the post 2005 trendline. Or, more bluntly, I think that graph is a lie. I’d recommend checking its provenance before using it again. For graphs of temperature change created from publicly available figures you could try http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Temperature_Gallery
Technorati tag: Climate Change
Tweets today
23:41 Blog: Tweets today tinyurl.com/n34exm #
00:39 Blog: I think I want a flying hydrofoil tinyurl.com/mp4ymo #
15:38 Blog: Set us up the bomb tinyurl.com/nz6tou #
19:03 Have you ever dreamt of romance, no matter how experimental? #
20:11 Save the World: Eight home energy projects tinyurl.com/ljfua3 #
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Eight home energy projects
After the build your own windmill projects, here are eight energy saving or generating projects you might like to try. It’s unlikely many people will be won over by the human powered washing machine, but my parents have a stream on their land that would benefit so much from a water wheel.
Technorati tag: EcoHouse
Set us up the bomb 2
There will probably be a bit more in the case when we film, but this is the nuclear bomb prop as it stands, all wired up and ready to blow.
I think I want a flying hydrofoil
The X-Planes tumbleblog has been doing a special feature on the Schneider trophy. The race was for flying boats and the floats they needed slowed the planes down. In 1929 the Italians came up with a typically gorgeous but mad design that tried to get around this. The Piaggio-Pegna PC.7 had a fuselage that doubled as a hull, two little hydrofoils instead of floats and a screw and rudder that would power and control the aircraft whilst the propeller was submerged. When it reached a sufficient speed the hydrofoils would lift the body, and propeller, clear of the water and the drive could be switched over. The one seated plane had too many controls that neede attention at once for one man to be able to operate it.
It’s completely mad, and it looks like the sort of thing you’d see in an anime or propellerpunk alternate history. It never flew.
Tweets today
23:10 Save the World: Build your own wind turbines tinyurl.com/nbcyqp #
23:51 Blog: Tweets today tinyurl.com/ngguve #
00:47 Blog: Mini monster truck tinyurl.com/kvvd7s #
01:31 Rewritten The Battle of Paris chapter in a rare burst of activity on Sounds of Soldiers. Also reformatted & spellchecked current draft. #
09:48 RT @doctorow: Boris is governing London about as well as you could expect from posh TV presenter whose main issue was ‘I like old buses more #
13:11 This morning I have mostly been stirring up trouble. I’m normally so meek. #
13:34 Blog: How to fuck with the BNP tinyurl.com/mr7rey #
15:31 On Two Wheels- Honest John has replied to my email tinyurl.com/l7dac3 #
16:57 Douchebag moron libtarded Eurotrash and proud. I think someone may have Tourettes is.gd/XmPq #
18:15 RT @brianfrost: Haynes are producing one of their Owners Workshop Manuals for Apollo 11. Want! #
18:32 On the way into town to talk to actors about filming on Saturday. #
18:46 25 Shall We Take A Trip pages inked. Last 4 all sex. Got 3 for cliffhangers and set ups. Then covers, maybe text pages. Cool. #
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How to fuck with the BNP
From the Whitechapel message boards.
This may or may not last here. Even if it doesn’t, then if you read it before it goes, please yank it and distribute.
I’m possibly not the only person it’ll occur to, due to ideaspace, and I hope it goes far and wide anyway.
Right. Here goes:
1. The BNP winning European parliament seats means they have a budget to employ staff and various sub-contractors.
2. These budgets and staff positions are subject to anti-discrimination laws, as they come from public funds.
3. Watch out for when these positions are advertised. If anyone sees them advertised, chuck the ads about on as many social networks, blogs etc as possible.
4. Man the Harpoons – If you fall outside of the BNP’s discriminatory membership criteria, due to being black, Jewish, whatever, apply. If you are white British and want to help out this plan anyway, just spread the idea about.
5. When you/they don’t get the job, take it to an employment tribunal.
6. ????
7. Profit.Even if you’re not especially bothered about taking the BNP to an employment tribunal, spreading this idea about, and forcing them to consider it and raaage over how unfair to the poor ickle racialists it is, it’s still funny.
Mini monster truck
A few weeks ago I said I wanted a Mini monster truck, and now I’ve found one. It’s a Mini Clubman body on a Suzuki Jeep chassis. Not as huge as Bigfoot, and Clubman’s aren’t as attractive as proper Minis, but it’s a start.
Tweets today
23:44 Alex wants gel torsos. Where do we find some? #
02:50 Blog: Tweets today tinyurl.com/nge8xv #
11:58 I won’t be at this week’s film. You could try Fighting @ 7.45 @ AMC #
12:39 Blog: British shirts for British protesting! tinyurl.com/nmx6fx #
12:39 Blog: Liam Neeson loves it when a plan comes together tinyurl.com/lreg6e #
13:01 I’m a bad man, I’m arguing with Gribbit again. bit.ly/HPaMt #
13:02 This week I should get a cheque that will, albeit briefly, put me above break even for the year. It’s not a living, but it’s promising. #
15:31 Radiation symbols and DANGER signs attached to nuclear bomb and control box. Will seal transfers later. #
16:19 I have now heard the new Lily Allen song enough times for it to become annoying. #
16:34 Just got Clint Boon to tell Manchester I’m building a nuclear bomb. He sounded a little worried. #
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Build your own wind turbines
Windmills aren’t the best solution for urban microgeneration- nearby buildings tend to make the airflow too rough for them to run efficiently. But they are cool technology if you happen to live far enough away from your neighbours and can get away with erecting a mast. So, to inspire you, here is the Instructables page on DIY wind power.
Technorati tag: EcoHouse
Liam Neeson loves it when a plan comes together
More casting rumours for the A-Team movie. Liam Neeson as Hannibal.
British shirts for British protesting!
Ms Laudanum reminded me of Spreadshirt, a T-shirt printing company based in the UK. The first design I’ve uploaded is yesterday’s “Nick Griffin is NOT my MEP” one so now you can be doubly patriotic- protest an arsehole who doesn’t represent Britain whilst buying from a British company. (I make a little on every sale as well.)
Visit the Spinneyhead shop at Spreadshirt.