links for 2008-01-28

"When I was 10, we did a project about newspapers in class and I was so excited that I went home to make my own newspaper". Great scans from Jemima. Maybe my 1990s 'Gillian Anderson's Soccer X-Files' should eventually make it on to the web as well?

"Babbage started to build his first engine, which was composed of around 25,000 parts, weighed 15 tons and stood 8 feet high. It was never completed". I foresee many of these images illustrating currybetdotnet articles in the future ;-)

Interesting interview with the person behind Maps of War - visualisations of history that only serve to strengthen my conviction that the Cold War I grew up in was the abnormality, and that Christian West vs Islamic East is the status quo we forgot about.

"Unless I can describe in tech neutral terms what I want to do, and unless I can explain a) how technology will help me, and b) why a tech solution is preferable over any other - I'm probably not going to end up with technology that fits my needs".

"Criticism about last time should not be focussed at YouGov but at the Evening Standard's coverage. That's why I always say look at the polling details and not the news reports". Now, why don't I find that a surprise?

"BBC Online has the vastness of scale to do way more to report what's happening or link to it. There's not even cross links to the World Service. I don't think their coverage lives up to their responsibilities and given their resources is pretty pathetic"

"About the author: Chania lives in Bucharest, Romania". Sometimes my blog search for my hometown 'Chania' turns up the strangest things - how else would I find out about the trials of teenage dating in Romania?

"Latest viewing figures from Barb suggest the much-reported demise of TV viewing has been greatly exaggerated. Figures for 2007 reveal that overall viewing remained stable at an average of 3.63 hours per day, a slight increase from 3.59 hours in 1997".