Hair Straighteners for Changing Rooms?
Sep0
Apparently some schools in West Dunbartonshire have fitted hair straighteners in the female changing rooms. “Hair straighteners?” I hear you cry. “Why?”.
I quote from the article:
…teenage girls said they worried about “bad hair” after sports classes.
I have a much cheaper solution to their problem – it’s called shut up and get over it. In my days of compulsory PE after a lesson the entirety of the boys would be able to turn up at the changing rooms 5 minutes after the girls did, covered in mud from playing rugby, shower, dry, get changed and get out before half of the girls had managed to recover from rounders. Hair straighteners will only mean we have to sit around for another 20 minutes whilst the girls take turns at ironing their locks.
Alternatively, we take the approach from the other end. I have long hair, why can’t I get straighteners in the male changing area? Perhaps the lads are worried about bad hair after sport as well. Could we maybe get a steam room fitted for each changing room, because we’re worried about the dirt getting stuck in our pores? If the girls are worried about bad hair, why not are they worried that they should have to fix their makeup? Clearly they should be provided with mirrors and dressing tables.
Come on West Dunbartonshire, stop pandering to this nonsense and put your foot down. I did PE, I didn’t always enjoy it, but I sure as hell didn’t refuse to have a go because it might mess my hair up.
I’m Losing It
Feb0
I was merrily browsing through my daily dose of RSS feeds this morning when I spotted an unusual headline. I blinked and checked again, it still made no sense. Taking a swig of my coffee didn’t improve matters so I tentatively clicked the link to see what on earth it meant.
Sir Elton makes alien Austen film
Now I’m absolutely certain that I’ve lost the plot entirely.
Angel My Ass
Feb0
Horse (n): Solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times.
Angel (n): Spiritual being attendant upon God.
Now then, it may just be me but I can’t quite see how these two definitions match without wondering if a spiritual horse is amongst the commonly accepted attendants of God. It then surprised me to see that the south of England (specifically Kent) is commissioning a 33:1 scale horse costing £2,000,000 – and dubbing it the “Angel of the South”.
As you may know there is already an Angel of the North, so named because it looks like an angel. The proposed Angel of the south doesn’t look like an angel – it looks like a horse. Admittedly a giant horse, but a horse nonetheless.
The Great Broadband Surcharge
Jan0
Apparently our favourite government is considering changes which would basically levy a £20 per broadband connection surcharge to help prop up the inherently failing business model of the music and film industry.
Whilst this isn’t a tax which goes straight to the content producers, its purpose is to fund an agency:
The agency would act as a broker between music and film companies and internet service providers (ISPs). It would provide data about serial copyright-breakers to music and film companies if they obtained a court order. It would be paid for by a levy on ISPs, who inevitably would pass the cost on to consumers.
Given that all my music, films and TV episodes are legally purchased via the wonderful iTunes store, can I earn exemption from this? Or by paying this can I somehow get given a complementary £20 worth of content from iTunes?
This is of course in addition to the upcoming almost certain announcement that every house has a legal right to broadband internet connectivity (huh?), no doubt another place for taxes to vanish in providing a government-subsidised internet service for people who don’t want it.
Why are governments even allowed to contemplate things involving technology?
WARNING: Excessive exposure to politicians can lower your IQ!
Jan0
For those fans of Jack Thompson, it seems we have a new contender in the bit for Most Pointless Video-Game Violence Law Ever. Joe Baca wants to add cigarette-packet style warnings to game packaging.
This is so monumentally, mind bogglingly idiotic that I’ve even included a link for you to Digg the offending article and increase views amongst the technical elite, the gaming community and the sane minded. For once I’ll let the original article and the comments on it (along with the comments about it on Digg) do all the ranting on my behalf – it’d take me too long to list all the counterpoints and views that other people have come up with.