This worries me.

Bring it on. Why do we need a server with Media Player on it? Most servers don't have speakers, and many don't have particularly great graphics (or in my case, have a low res selected so it fits a nice VNC window). So, why would I want Media Player on there? (never mind that the server's in the computer room, and really could do with as little software on it as possible).

Was the noise in my hungover head real this morning? No it was the tree surgeons finishing the job on the huge old ash tree in my back yard. Here's a before, during and after...

Big TreeTree TrunkTree Stump

RIP Big Ash Tree :-(
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If this is propaganda, it's not very good. If it's supposed to be entertaining, it's also not very good. If it's supposed to get you interested for the long-term, it's not very good.

CNN are reporting that an International team will monitor the US presidential election (via TJAW). Seemingly they were requested (via the UN) because of some concerns about the 2000 election.

I find this incredible in three ways. Firstly, that any self-proclaimed civil state (and "the land of the free", after all!) should ever need to be observed. Secondly, it's one of those things that you can't really say no to, although there seems to be some concen that these pesky foreigners should be taking such liberties. Thirdly, it's amazing that an ammendment was passed to specificically take any US funding away from the observers if they came to the US.

This all seems to be one of two things. Either a public verification of US "democracy" (but why remove the funding aspect, if that's the case?), or it's a genuine look into problems with Diebold (and other) voting machines, the vote counting, the voting papers, chads and all the other flannel.

What ever happens, if the observers don't like what they see, it'll be disregarded as "foreign interference" and "unamerican". Only true patriots can observe elections properly, and true patriots wouldn't dare to critcise them ;-)

The BBC has an article about how David Blunkett thinks Labour should be radical and find new ways to "reach the people".

"Whether Iraq had ready-to-fire weapons of mass destruction should be separated from the rightness of taking action when Saddam Hussein flouted UN resolutions, he says."

Therein lies the problem: Saying you need to depose a leader because he has WMD and then saying something else isn't a good way to heal the rift between the people and the goverment. Don't even get me started on facial recognition at airports, ID cards, and the other pathetic idea that danger to libery has. Go ahead Labour, let DB speak his mind, and watch the election slip away from you.

This really annoys me. This is a waste of European resources, and makes a sham of an otherwise useful entity.

Okay kids, go and read all about it at www.no2id.net.

I've just finished trying to bleach my hair. Instead of the "extra light blonde" promised by the box, it's got a slight (brace yourself...) ginger twinge, and isn't particularly blonde (despite being on for the longest time it says you can do).

Damn it! Months of bad hair...

It looks like XMLtv has conked out again. I'd only just upgraded/reconfigured it to make it work again. It's getting to be high maintenance, and mostly pointless given that radiotimes do everything I used to do anyway. Instead, I've got slimserver to tell me what it's playing, so I'll use that as a web gadget instead. If I can find a decent music info site, I'll link artist and album to useful info.