Tim Atkinson's Blog, page 78
September 11, 2012
Open wide!
First, let me apologise. For the delay. For any inconvenience caused. You see, your comment is important to us. Please hold.
If you're human please press 'comment' and then carefully type your words of wisdom in the box provided. Now squint at the screen in an attempt to decipher the random lines and scrolls and curlicues before typing them in with your thumb. Then press 'publish'.
Now find an open space and scream. Loudly.
I've written about the decline in comments before. I've no desire to repeat myself but I do feel the need to explain why - if you've been trying to leave a comment recently - it might have been a little tricky. (Or bloody hard, or a challenge of Gordian-level complexity.)
But it's not my fault. Well, not entirely.
You see, I've been plagued by comments, inundated by them, overwhelmed both by their volume and their frequency. They've been occupying me, entertaining me, frustrating me and, well, baffling me for months, ever since I reverted to the in-house Blogger comment system. It's as is Boris Johnson has been spamming me several dozen times daily with flights of flowery fancy freely flowing from whatever key words I've been using, randomly held together by odd conjunctions and peppered with inappropriate adjectives.
I mean, here's just one that arrived this morning, ostesibly from a florist in Richmond:
'your passport are renewal . missing your possport so you found a new passport.'
That was in response to (guess what?) my post about my missing passport. No link; no attempt to hijack traffic or to lead people astray. Just a random (and barely literate) attempt to re-use my words in the guise of a comment.
Comments in general (or genuine ones, that is) seem to have become a rather scarce commodity recently. (Or is that just me?) From my own point of view, it's easily explained. Increasingly I read blog posts on my phone, whether through Google Reader or links on Twitter. And it's almost impossible to leave a comment from a smartphone, especially if the host has turned on the dreaded WV (or word verification - an updated version of mediaeval trial by ordeal).
Which brings me to the apology. You see, I have. And I know how difficult that makes leaving so much as a 'here, here' or a 'no way', let alone a full-blown, thoughtful and clearly articulated response to anything I've written. And for that, I'm truly sorry. No really I am. Because I like comments - both in the giving and receiving, thereof. And I don't want to stand in anyone's way.
Of course, comments aren't always benign. Someone in The Telegraph even wrote the other day that comments are 'the radioactive waste of the web'. Although I wouldn't go that far I've had my share of vitriol in the past. Whether they're on blogs or twitter, comments can be upsetting. Only last month Helen Skelton (yes, she of the Marilyn moment in yesterday's Olympic parade) left twitter because she could no longer cope with negative comments.
But for my part I'm going to open the flood gates, turn off the dreaded WV and let everyone have their say. It's not as if what the bots write is difficult to delete, after all. So no longer will the tail of protection wag the dog of interaction. It's time to roll the comment bandwagon, smash the chains of moderation and extend the arms of a great big cyber welcome to everyone - even Boris and the dreaded spam-bots.
Open wide!
If you're human please press 'comment' and then carefully type your words of wisdom in the box provided. Now squint at the screen in an attempt to decipher the random lines and scrolls and curlicues before typing them in with your thumb. Then press 'publish'.
Now find an open space and scream. Loudly.
I've written about the decline in comments before. I've no desire to repeat myself but I do feel the need to explain why - if you've been trying to leave a comment recently - it might have been a little tricky. (Or bloody hard, or a challenge of Gordian-level complexity.)
But it's not my fault. Well, not entirely.
You see, I've been plagued by comments, inundated by them, overwhelmed both by their volume and their frequency. They've been occupying me, entertaining me, frustrating me and, well, baffling me for months, ever since I reverted to the in-house Blogger comment system. It's as is Boris Johnson has been spamming me several dozen times daily with flights of flowery fancy freely flowing from whatever key words I've been using, randomly held together by odd conjunctions and peppered with inappropriate adjectives.
I mean, here's just one that arrived this morning, ostesibly from a florist in Richmond:
'your passport are renewal . missing your possport so you found a new passport.'
That was in response to (guess what?) my post about my missing passport. No link; no attempt to hijack traffic or to lead people astray. Just a random (and barely literate) attempt to re-use my words in the guise of a comment.
Comments in general (or genuine ones, that is) seem to have become a rather scarce commodity recently. (Or is that just me?) From my own point of view, it's easily explained. Increasingly I read blog posts on my phone, whether through Google Reader or links on Twitter. And it's almost impossible to leave a comment from a smartphone, especially if the host has turned on the dreaded WV (or word verification - an updated version of mediaeval trial by ordeal).
Which brings me to the apology. You see, I have. And I know how difficult that makes leaving so much as a 'here, here' or a 'no way', let alone a full-blown, thoughtful and clearly articulated response to anything I've written. And for that, I'm truly sorry. No really I am. Because I like comments - both in the giving and receiving, thereof. And I don't want to stand in anyone's way.
Of course, comments aren't always benign. Someone in The Telegraph even wrote the other day that comments are 'the radioactive waste of the web'. Although I wouldn't go that far I've had my share of vitriol in the past. Whether they're on blogs or twitter, comments can be upsetting. Only last month Helen Skelton (yes, she of the Marilyn moment in yesterday's Olympic parade) left twitter because she could no longer cope with negative comments.
But for my part I'm going to open the flood gates, turn off the dreaded WV and let everyone have their say. It's not as if what the bots write is difficult to delete, after all. So no longer will the tail of protection wag the dog of interaction. It's time to roll the comment bandwagon, smash the chains of moderation and extend the arms of a great big cyber welcome to everyone - even Boris and the dreaded spam-bots.
Open wide!
September 5, 2012
Back to school
Or, in Charlie's case, just 'to' school because today was the first day in the next fourteen or so years of the eponymous hero's life and things, as they say, won't ever be the same again.
For a start, in spite of our best laid plans, the blog - and my life as a stay-at-home dad - goes on. And why not? I'm not about the change the URL but there's still a deal of bringing up to do and if my own return to the classroom has been postponed thanks to Eloise well, so be it. I'm in no hurry; I quite like it.
But it's undoubtedly the end of an era and it was with rather mixed emotions that we did the first of many school-runs this morning. I still find myself mentally planning things (trips to the park, potential days out) as if we've got the Monday-Friday freedom we've enjoyed for the past few years; old habits die hard, even if they're only relatively recent ones and changes of routine take time to become what you expect when you wake up in the morning.
I also find myself looking back at the last four years with a mixture of pride and a slight tinge of regret. There was much, much more I thought I'd do with Charlie before he started school; there have been many unexpected bonuses along the way, too. It's certainly been a privilege and mostly been a pleasure. But it's also been hard work. I'd never pretend otherwise.
From today we're on a different path and I'm making no predictions for the next three years. Who knows where this particular path will lead? (I'll give you a clue, though... it begins with 's'!)
For a start, in spite of our best laid plans, the blog - and my life as a stay-at-home dad - goes on. And why not? I'm not about the change the URL but there's still a deal of bringing up to do and if my own return to the classroom has been postponed thanks to Eloise well, so be it. I'm in no hurry; I quite like it.
But it's undoubtedly the end of an era and it was with rather mixed emotions that we did the first of many school-runs this morning. I still find myself mentally planning things (trips to the park, potential days out) as if we've got the Monday-Friday freedom we've enjoyed for the past few years; old habits die hard, even if they're only relatively recent ones and changes of routine take time to become what you expect when you wake up in the morning.
I also find myself looking back at the last four years with a mixture of pride and a slight tinge of regret. There was much, much more I thought I'd do with Charlie before he started school; there have been many unexpected bonuses along the way, too. It's certainly been a privilege and mostly been a pleasure. But it's also been hard work. I'd never pretend otherwise.
From today we're on a different path and I'm making no predictions for the next three years. Who knows where this particular path will lead? (I'll give you a clue, though... it begins with 's'!)
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August 31, 2012
Zing Bop!
Well, the hols are almost over. (If you live north of the border, they're already over and you're probably beginning the countdown to Christmas.)
It wasn't much of a summer (weather-wise) but it's worth remembering (especially when the Gradgrinds of the political and educational establishments start talking about abolishing it) that the long summer vac is so good because it gives kids the time and the freedom to just 'be'... and that includes to be bored.
I'm convinced children need a little boredom so they can learn how to entertain themselves. Life isn't a multi-media show and sometimes, some of the best pleasure are the simplest. And here's one of hours: a brief moment, early in the morning at granny's.
And who says telly can't be interactive?
It wasn't much of a summer (weather-wise) but it's worth remembering (especially when the Gradgrinds of the political and educational establishments start talking about abolishing it) that the long summer vac is so good because it gives kids the time and the freedom to just 'be'... and that includes to be bored.
I'm convinced children need a little boredom so they can learn how to entertain themselves. Life isn't a multi-media show and sometimes, some of the best pleasure are the simplest. And here's one of hours: a brief moment, early in the morning at granny's.
And who says telly can't be interactive?
August 28, 2012
I have a dream...
Forty nine years ago today Martin Luther-King delivered one of the greatest speeches in history, arguably the greatest of the twentieth century. Alluding to Abraham Lincoln (who was no slouch in that department himself) and standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, King galvanised the civil rights movement and at the same time created a memorable rhetorical legacy.
If you've never seen or heard it there's a short extract here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcbpGK9_aw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
It's worth a look. We now know that King had feet of clay but that doesn't diminish his achievements or detract from his courage. It's hard now to believe that Uncle Sam - defender of the free, evangeliser for the cause of 'mocracy everywhere - could be just half a century ago a place where blacks and whites went to separate schools, ate at separate cafes and travelled on different buses.
King's dream - that his four little children might one day live in a nation that will judge them on the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin - might still be some way off being fulfilled but the promised land might be a little nearer.
And if it is, that's thanks in no small part to a dreamer. Its good to dream; I have a dream; we all do. And keeping those dreams alive helps banish our nightmares.
If you've never seen or heard it there's a short extract here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcbpGK9_aw&feature=youtube_gdata_player
It's worth a look. We now know that King had feet of clay but that doesn't diminish his achievements or detract from his courage. It's hard now to believe that Uncle Sam - defender of the free, evangeliser for the cause of 'mocracy everywhere - could be just half a century ago a place where blacks and whites went to separate schools, ate at separate cafes and travelled on different buses.
King's dream - that his four little children might one day live in a nation that will judge them on the content of their character rather than the colour of their skin - might still be some way off being fulfilled but the promised land might be a little nearer.
And if it is, that's thanks in no small part to a dreamer. Its good to dream; I have a dream; we all do. And keeping those dreams alive helps banish our nightmares.
August 25, 2012
Exam sham
I wasn't going to write a post about exam results this year. I do one almost annually and usually end up saying the same thing because I'm astounded that nobody - nobody - seems to understand what the real issue about grade inflation is. So here's a handy guide for journalists, parents, politicians and anyone else who'd like to know why grades have steadily improved for the last almost quarter century and why - this year - there seems to have been some interference to make sure they didn't...
In the good old/bad old days, exams were always norm referenced. People thought the population didn't get cleverer from one year to another so they allocated A, B and C grades in roughly the same proportion every year.
A Tory government, no less (think Mrs Thatcher, Kenneth Baker) introduced a new and radical approach - exams were taught and marked according to a clear set of criteria (things you had to know, skills you had to show) and if you met the criteria you passed the exam. Inevitably, over time, as teaching got better (and let me tell you it has - twenty years ago when I first set foot in a classroom I was bloody awful! ...and so were a few of my colleagues) results improved. If the kids did what they were taught to do they couldn't not get the grade they deserved (unlike the bad old days when - in a good year - what might've gained a C before might qualify for an A just to keep the proportion of pupils getting each grade roughly equal).
Frankly, the current system seems fairer to me. Not only that, it's consistent. How could an employer know, twenty years ago, that the grade A candidate from 1976 had actually attained pretty much the same as the candidate with a B from '77? Only norm referencing had the answer and Norm wasn't available for questioning.
Cue a British educational success story: teaching Improves, kids do better, everyone's happier.
Except they're not. The Tories think things were better long, long ago when only the lucky few passed exams and they all spoke nicely and had decent, middle-class parents. That's the definition of Conservative, I suppose.
So now, this year, we have the ridiculous situation of trying to reduce so-called grade inflation while still operating a criterion-referenced system.
That's easy to do, of course. You just raise the bar. Except that's not what had happened with this year's English papers. Instead, pupils have been set the same paper, marked to the same criteria, but according to whether they sat it in January or June they've got different grades - for the same standard of work.
Just like they did in the bad old days
In the good old/bad old days, exams were always norm referenced. People thought the population didn't get cleverer from one year to another so they allocated A, B and C grades in roughly the same proportion every year.
A Tory government, no less (think Mrs Thatcher, Kenneth Baker) introduced a new and radical approach - exams were taught and marked according to a clear set of criteria (things you had to know, skills you had to show) and if you met the criteria you passed the exam. Inevitably, over time, as teaching got better (and let me tell you it has - twenty years ago when I first set foot in a classroom I was bloody awful! ...and so were a few of my colleagues) results improved. If the kids did what they were taught to do they couldn't not get the grade they deserved (unlike the bad old days when - in a good year - what might've gained a C before might qualify for an A just to keep the proportion of pupils getting each grade roughly equal).
Frankly, the current system seems fairer to me. Not only that, it's consistent. How could an employer know, twenty years ago, that the grade A candidate from 1976 had actually attained pretty much the same as the candidate with a B from '77? Only norm referencing had the answer and Norm wasn't available for questioning.
Cue a British educational success story: teaching Improves, kids do better, everyone's happier.
Except they're not. The Tories think things were better long, long ago when only the lucky few passed exams and they all spoke nicely and had decent, middle-class parents. That's the definition of Conservative, I suppose.
So now, this year, we have the ridiculous situation of trying to reduce so-called grade inflation while still operating a criterion-referenced system.
That's easy to do, of course. You just raise the bar. Except that's not what had happened with this year's English papers. Instead, pupils have been set the same paper, marked to the same criteria, but according to whether they sat it in January or June they've got different grades - for the same standard of work.
Just like they did in the bad old days
August 22, 2012
Happy Birthday Telly
Did you know TV is eighty years old today? Or to be more precise, today is the eightieth anniversary of the first public broadcasting service by the BBC.
My wife's great grandfather is ninety-three (bet you didn't know that either!) which means he would have been thirteen - thirteen! - when telly started eighty years ago today.
Now, I'm no telly addict (neither is he) but the thought of not having any till I was thirteen started me thinking...
... and here are just a few of the shows I'd have been missing:
Trumpton
Chigley
Camberwick Green
Hector's House
Mary, Mungo and Midge
Top of the Pops
Swap Shop and, of course,
Blue Peter
To be honest, I was a bit of a TV geek when I was younger and I loved Blue Peter when they flung wide the studio doors to let an elephant or a marching band come in. Not 'cos I wanted to see the elephant or band or anything else for that matter, but for the backstage glimpse of the studio that it gave you - cameras, lights and telly-action. I loved the episode when they made an entire behind-the-scenes feature, and here it is on YouTube, for all to see:
I always wanted to see all that stuff for myself and - what d'you know? Wait forty years for one visit to a TV studio and then two come along at once. Because - in addition to my moment of glory on ITV This Morning last Tuesday (which you may *ahem* have noticed!) I was a guest on the ChrissyB show on Sky channel 203 (along with @CommandoDad) the night before. Here's that show (in case you missed it). And you'll notice I'm wearing the same pink shirt as I did the following morning (which wasn't intentional)...
My wife's great grandfather is ninety-three (bet you didn't know that either!) which means he would have been thirteen - thirteen! - when telly started eighty years ago today.
Now, I'm no telly addict (neither is he) but the thought of not having any till I was thirteen started me thinking...
... and here are just a few of the shows I'd have been missing:
Trumpton
Chigley
Camberwick Green
Hector's House
Mary, Mungo and Midge
Top of the Pops
Swap Shop and, of course,
Blue Peter
To be honest, I was a bit of a TV geek when I was younger and I loved Blue Peter when they flung wide the studio doors to let an elephant or a marching band come in. Not 'cos I wanted to see the elephant or band or anything else for that matter, but for the backstage glimpse of the studio that it gave you - cameras, lights and telly-action. I loved the episode when they made an entire behind-the-scenes feature, and here it is on YouTube, for all to see:
I always wanted to see all that stuff for myself and - what d'you know? Wait forty years for one visit to a TV studio and then two come along at once. Because - in addition to my moment of glory on ITV This Morning last Tuesday (which you may *ahem* have noticed!) I was a guest on the ChrissyB show on Sky channel 203 (along with @CommandoDad) the night before. Here's that show (in case you missed it). And you'll notice I'm wearing the same pink shirt as I did the following morning (which wasn't intentional)...
August 17, 2012
Eamonn's Question
I like Eamonn Holmes, I really do. I like him even more having met him the other day.
But has to be said, doesn't it, I mean, really I think it does, and do you agree, that, y'know, because I think it does, really, and right there in the middle (well, 07:32 at any rate) of Tuesday's item Eamonn asked the most obscure question in the whole history of questions.
And I've got training in obscure questions; I did a degree in Philosophy.
But what on earth do you make of this? (And how the hell do you answer it?)
So here's the question I want to ask the both of you: do you... you had the choice and you had the choice, right? Right. So. Do you actually like doing it or is there a difference, did you actually find that you didn't like doing it and you do like doing it or do you not like doing it and it is your duty you know because I don't think I would like doing it, I'll have to be honest.
But has to be said, doesn't it, I mean, really I think it does, and do you agree, that, y'know, because I think it does, really, and right there in the middle (well, 07:32 at any rate) of Tuesday's item Eamonn asked the most obscure question in the whole history of questions.
And I've got training in obscure questions; I did a degree in Philosophy.
But what on earth do you make of this? (And how the hell do you answer it?)
So here's the question I want to ask the both of you: do you... you had the choice and you had the choice, right? Right. So. Do you actually like doing it or is there a difference, did you actually find that you didn't like doing it and you do like doing it or do you not like doing it and it is your duty you know because I don't think I would like doing it, I'll have to be honest.
August 14, 2012
ITV This Morning
Well, that's telly land I suppose... Kids, dogs, footballer's wives and two of the loveliest presenters I think I could ever wish to meet.
Quick back-stage gossip: the guys and girls behind the scenes work miracles. How else would I have looked so vaguely human and relatively calm?
Eamon Holmes and his wife make a great team; if it looked like a friendly chat with friends that's because they made it feel that like that.
I cannot believe the chaos and intimacy of the studio: moving from one corner to another, set construction going on behind us as we went 'live' and you wouldn't have a clue that that was happening, would you?
Although we were pitched against each other for the purpose of the programme, Martin Daubney and I agreed on an awful lot of stuff, so much that the researchers got a little jittery before the item wondering if we'd become too pally. Well, we did go for a pint in the Mulberry Bush (opposite the studios) afterwards, observing the antics of the paparazzi as they sit behind their laptops waiting for the next celebrity to snap!
Those kids, those children in the fashion item along with Mrs Peter Crouch, they were utter stars. They were all there when I arrived (which was well over an hour before the programme started) and yet they were so well behaved while waiting for their slot. Respect to the mums who were with them; I know that doesn't happen without hard work.
And the dogs were quite well-behaved too!
Quick back-stage gossip: the guys and girls behind the scenes work miracles. How else would I have looked so vaguely human and relatively calm?
Eamon Holmes and his wife make a great team; if it looked like a friendly chat with friends that's because they made it feel that like that.
I cannot believe the chaos and intimacy of the studio: moving from one corner to another, set construction going on behind us as we went 'live' and you wouldn't have a clue that that was happening, would you?
Although we were pitched against each other for the purpose of the programme, Martin Daubney and I agreed on an awful lot of stuff, so much that the researchers got a little jittery before the item wondering if we'd become too pally. Well, we did go for a pint in the Mulberry Bush (opposite the studios) afterwards, observing the antics of the paparazzi as they sit behind their laptops waiting for the next celebrity to snap!
Those kids, those children in the fashion item along with Mrs Peter Crouch, they were utter stars. They were all there when I arrived (which was well over an hour before the programme started) and yet they were so well behaved while waiting for their slot. Respect to the mums who were with them; I know that doesn't happen without hard work.
And the dogs were quite well-behaved too!
August 11, 2012
Olympic Gold
I confess I was somewhat underwhelmed by the Olympics, facing the prospect with a non-committal shrug and a 'perhaps I'll watch some of the girls' beach volleyball' kind of approach. But I've been gripped, glued to the TV (and not only to the beach volleyball either). I'll be sorry when, tomorrow, it'll all be over.
But there's more to come. Oh yes. The Paralympics. Do you know what the 'Para' in paralympics stands for? I confess I didn't until the other day. And I know my videos have been somewhat hit-and-miss just lately, but bear with me. These are well worth watching...
But there's more to come. Oh yes. The Paralympics. Do you know what the 'Para' in paralympics stands for? I confess I didn't until the other day. And I know my videos have been somewhat hit-and-miss just lately, but bear with me. These are well worth watching...
August 8, 2012
Family fun for a fiver!
Last week when I posted about the Evergreens miniature railway (a whole day of family fun for a fiver!) and mentioned Becky's new eBook Frugal and Fun it was supposed to be accompanied by a video of us having said fun for a fiver, just to show you we weren't making it all up.
I was away when the post published so didn't notice that the film was missing. There was a gap in the post where it should've been. But no vid.
So here it is. Better late than never, I suppose. What do you think?
I was away when the post published so didn't notice that the film was missing. There was a gap in the post where it should've been. But no vid.
So here it is. Better late than never, I suppose. What do you think?
