whitney music box (look they move and everything)

I was on this Mobile Reviews – O2 page just now, when I noticed firefox showing it was trying to contact 127.0.0.1, that for those who don’t know, is a special IP address which points to ‘localhost’, i.e. the client computer which is viewing the page. the line is question is:

< script language='javascript' src='http://127.0.0.1:1030/js.cgi?ca&r=4675'>script>

It appears as if this o2.co.uk page is trying to connect to port 1030 on the user’s computer and request a javascript file. This is vary strange and I presume (in good faith) that this is a mistake, but o2 should not have this on their website, people do not expect a website like this to be contacting an obscure port on the local computer.
O2 have had much worse security issues in the past (as reported on jibble.org)

Ask Yahoo! – Best of 2005

The link above goes to the ‘Best of 2005’ page. Only just found this site, but seems useful for future work avoidance.

I want this

Main Page – Uncyclopedia : wikipedia done properly.

Old Ordnance Survey Maps : website showing UK maps from the 1920s, uses the google maps api to provide an interface and to show the same location on a current map.

[2008: this blog post was written in 2006, the link no longer works and the functionality described can now be found in other websites]

PlanajourneyScotland:
Basically a journey planner like any other, except that it also provides platform numbers with train times. Useful if you are arriving at a station with little time to spare and need to quickly catch another train.

Really just pointing to other places on the web regarding Talis’ recent talk and paper on the idea of library 2.0, based on the ideas behind 2.0. I found most of these after doing a search on Technorati.

ALA techsource: Do Libraries Matter: On Library & Librarian 2.0
‘Infomation takes over’: Library 2.0 at Talis Insight 2005
The shifted librarian: Prepare Yourself for Library 2.0
Library Crunch: who controls it?

The original paper can be found here.

I don’t have much to say on it, it certainly seems like the right direction (though it is so hard to know what is the right direction). My main complaint about Talis is that for the last year or so they have made lots of noise about rss/blogs/cool web things, but their flagship web product, Prism (web interface to library catalogue) has been sitting there with no new releases. I want to see some of these ideas in to Prism asap.

Can Europe still compete in technology? – The Practical Futurist – MSNBC.com. Interesting view from the colonies. In a way it is no suprise that the main stream US media is downplaying Europe.

But perhaps there is a point, are we living on borrowed time. Should we in Europe be worried that we lack innovation (especially relating to new technologies), when it is claimed that is where the future lies for sucessful first world countries?

One thing i disagree with, the suggestion we should cut back our holidays. I don’t know how Americans can live we just 2 weeks hols a year. A few days at xmas and a few other odd days off for various reasons (probably not real holidays, moving, diy weddings etc) and you only have a week to do your own thing. It’s all very well being in the richest coutry in the world, with the highest GDP, but what does that really mean when it comes down to one week a year for you. The rest for your employer.

No, cutting back things like holiday (and other employment rights and regulations) is not the answer to ensuring you live in a sucessful country. It will just end up going round in circles, like a price war, every time one country reduces rights for employees, other countries will feel the preasure to do the same. Until we have none at all.

BBC NEWS: Davis wants England-only voting. Something I agree with (I’m agreeing with David Davis??). Having a seperate English parliment for issues that only apply to England (due to other parliments/assemblies deciding on the same issue in Scotland, Wales etc) would be a waste of money.

Far simplier to restrict who can take part and vote in a commons debate if it only affects one or more country within the UK.