Monthly Archives: September 2008

Hit & Run > We’re the Government. We’d Rather Pay for It – Reason Magazine

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This is one of the reasons why defence contracting costs can go through the roof. This man wants to donate a high grade piece of marble and the costs of transporting it to the US military graveyard to fix a break on the Tomb of Unkowns. The cost of the marble, selected from the same mine as the original piece, was $31.000,-. The military won’t take it though, as they need to set up a tender, set up a committee to oversee the setting up of the tender, set up a committee to check the tender and the results etc etc etc. which means the cost of the project is a whopping $170.000,- to set up for the bid and $2.2 million (!) for the actual marble and transport thereof.

Park attendants ordered to interrogate adults spotted without children | Mail Online

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Earlier in the UK, they’ve decided that in order for you to be anywhere near a child, you need to be government vetted, a useless and innefective process that only shows security theatre.

Now, park attendants have been ordered to interrogate adults spotted without children. Adults in the park must have a good explanation for being there, or otherwise they will be kicked out. By a Park attendant. Who is obviously totally trained to spot dangerous people and situations. Not. Other than the fact that they are in no way capable of this kind of security selection, aren’t parks there for the entertainment of everyone? Is everyone without kids now a suspected paedophile? Maybe we should just have everyone neutered at birth, that way there’s no way a peadophile could ever endanger a child.

iPod ripped off from failed inventor

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Ahhh I knew it was too good to be true! The only good thing to come from Apple since the 1980s – the iPod – wasn’t thought up by Apple, but by an Englishman who in 1979 couldn’t raise the venture capital needed to renew his patent!

And no… he isn’t going to see a cent from Apple for it, apart from the consultancy fees it took to fly him to California to testify it was indeed his expired patent.

French Education to include more English

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France’s education minister yesterday admitted for the first time that the secret to success is speaking better English.

Xavier Darcos claimed poor English is now a ‘handicap’ because all international business is conducted in the language, and said French schools would offer extra lessons during the holidays.

He also admitted that, because of globalisation, very few people outside France will being able to speak French in the future.

This is obviously a big deal in France.