Good stuff from Barbara Ellen: Alternatively, maybe it is time to acknowledge a bizarre cultural shift. That far from being a nation of politically correct scaredy-cats, we have all gone too far in the other direction, becoming so kneejerk anti-PC... — read the rest

One for the political geeks out there: on a train to Leeds on Tuesday, I was sitting near Michael Howard, one time Tory leader and well-known politician. Obviously, his being a Tory, I wasn't that bothered by him. Nevertheless, my... — read the rest

Excuse the vulgarity of the title of this post: some people just have that effect on arbitrary constant. One such example is Foxtons the estate agents, which has been affectionately renamed "Fuck 'Ems" in this household. Not usually being one... — read the rest

I am away for parts of the Bank Holiday weekend, but will get my thoughts down on the local elections, including the bloody Mayor, by Monday. Have a great weekend.... — read the rest

I've recently returned from an excellent holiday in Paris. For anyone interested in photos of Parisian buildings, you can see a selection here.... — read the rest

As a young man, I enjoyed sport. As a slightly older man, I still do, though I don’t play nearly as much as I’d like to. This aside, I used to have a list of sporting achievements I wanted... — read the rest

The young priest of science begins telling me, not without agitation, that he has passed his doctor's examination this year and that now he has only to write his dissertation. He would like to work with me, under my guidance,... — read the rest

Another busy day at work and not enough time to post what I was hoping to, but such is life. Instead, then, let us note a frivolous but fun article at the Guardian about how people arrange their book collections... — read the rest

Norm today wonders how we cope nowadays with the superabundance of everything. Not everything, but everything, like books, CDs, films and so on and so forth. In such days i.e. nowadays, it seems like there simply isn't enough time for... — read the rest

Have you ever considered how necessary getting your hair cut is? And if so, has the average cost of getting your hair cut ever bothered you? It certainly has me and I am grateful that there remain hairdressers at which... — read the rest

Having updated you on my favourite Queen song, here are two words currently hovering towards the top of my favourite words list: Steatopygous Oligopoly The first describes someone or something whose bum sticks out, whilst the second means an area... — read the rest

That's the civil service in Germany, the Beamte. What's interesting about the Beamte, amongst many other things, is that university lecturers are classed as civil servants in Germany. What is even more interesting is, according to a lecturer of mine,... — read the rest

The bbc today reports that James Blunt's Goodbye My Lover is the most requested song at people's funerals (that is, it's the song people request to have played at their funeral, not simply what the gathered fancy hearing when they... — read the rest

With the power of the internet now surging back into chez arbitrary and me having to prepare for a new job, I'm off. It's been etc. and so on...... — read the rest

I am leaving my current job to take up a new position at the Disability Rights Commission from Monday. As a result of this and my recent house move, I'm afraid posting will be light and irregular here for around... — read the rest

Having occasion to drive around south east London last night, I passed three roads in succession with quite impressive names: Marmora Road Therapia Road Mundania Road Does anyone know any other impressive or unusual road names in their local area?... — read the rest

Money: There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money. — Sophocles Never spend your money before you have it. — Thomas Jefferson Today, both of these quotations would serve just as well.... — read the rest

I was reminded recently of The Political Compass, which is essentially a useful tool for indicating where on the traditional economic and social scales you sit. Having taken the test, it did not surprise me to find out I was/am... — read the rest

Having been away for the weekend, I wanted to register the fact that my first visit to the Lake District was a very relaxing affair. Sunday morning saw me complete my first ever fell run, which was ever-so-slightly knackering but... — read the rest

Please accept my apologies for the lack of posts over the weekend — a family birthday visit was the order of the day. The silence from me will return as of next Sunday, when I will be on holiday... — read the rest

Note: I was recently whisked away for a weekend trip to Dublin with my girlfriend. What follows is my summary of the trip, which was originally written for a private audience but — following their suggestion — opened up... — read the rest

The following are the opening gambits of three conversations I have recently been involved in whilst sitting on the London Underground.Those are nice. Did your grandmother knit them? Is the Lord Jesus in your life? F*ck off, you pr*ck.Strictly speaking,... — read the rest

Consciously giving rise to a death wish that I've long-suspected him of holding, Simon recently highlighted what music he would like played at his funeral. Clearly not happy with his own mortality, Simon invited other people to consider their own... — read the rest

Posting will be slightly lighter this weekend due to some birthday celebrations (not mine) and some good living. Photos on flickr of the weekend will be up by Monday. There will also be another cracking letter from the Metro.... — read the rest

Using the analogy of how an individual comes to decide whether to use an umbrella or not, Andy Clark discusses (in the London Review of Books) Alan Turing and his Universal Turing Machine:Since even the decision to use an umbrella... — read the rest

I completed Beliefnet's Belief-O-Matic quiz some time ago, the results of which are below:1. Unitarian Universalism (100%) 2. Secular Humanism (96%) 3. Liberal Quakers (88%) 4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (85%) 5. Nontheist (78%) 6. Theravada Buddhism (78%) 7.... — read the rest