Tom Morris

Malet Street, London, EnglandHalf-day conference on Microsoft Bing for the princely sum of 110 quid. Go for it, SEO kids. (Which reminds me: every pound spent on SEO would be better spent on content.) 2009-07-13T14:37:54Z

Malet Street, London, EnglandThe New York Times has some questions for Judge Sotomayor. I'm a keen watcher of the SCOTUS (it's so much higher profile than the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords or the very grey and drab European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights - there's been no Denning-style character in our appeals court, just crusty old men who need patient explaining as to the Internet or beatboxing or whatever the kids are into - while the US does have Scalia who keeps things... interesting). SCOTUS is one area where the US beats us in public knowledge: I can't name you any of the justices of our Court of Appeal or any of the Law Lords, but off the top of my head I can name you Scalia, Alito, Stevens, Roberts, Thomas, Ginsburg and Kennedy. Only Souter and Breyer did I have to look up. The average American, my intutions tell me, knows far more about the SCOTUS than the average Brit knows about either the Court of Appeals or the House of Lords Judicial Committee (and that's before starting on the ECJ/ECHR). The high-profile public appointment and questioning period for SCOTUS nominees must be part of what makes SCOTUS so high-profile, along with blogs and media coverage. Perhaps we need some UK appeal courts bloggers to start rolling. 2009-07-13T14:36:23Z

Regent Street, London, EnglandIt doesn't take much to excite the interest of a confirmed London transport spod like myself, but Londonist reports today that the London overground network is now replacing the shitty old Silverlink stock with their own range of Electrostar trains but with Tube-style seating. Very fancy. West London can now have the same experience as us National Rail users in the South. I am not actually a trainspotter, but I have learned more than I ever would want to know about our railway network primarily so I can complain to the train company when they fuck up. 2009-07-13T11:54:13Z

Regent Street, London, EnglandPaul Downey has published one of his brilliant drawings. It truly is an innovative bit of geek psychogeography. 2009-07-13T11:47:11Z

Regent Street, London, England Daniel Dennett's report from the Cambridge Darwin Festival's theology sessions is brilliant reading. It's so reductionist for me to pull out a snippy little quote, so I'll take Dennett's report of his question to the panel: I'm Dan Dennett, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and we are forever being told that we should do our homework and consult with the best theologians. I've heard two of you talk now, and you keep saying this is an interdisciplinary effort--evolutionary theology--but I am still waiting to be told what theology has to contribute to the effort. You've clearly adjusted your theology considerably in the wake of Darwin, which I applaud, but what traffic, if any, goes in the other direction? Is there something I'm missing? What questions does theology ask or answer that aren't already being dealt with by science or secular philosophy? What can you clarify for this interdisciplinary project? The answer is, obviously, "Not much. No. Not really. Nothing. By the way, you are going to hell, you filthy atheist." 2009-07-13T11:26:08Z

Regent Street, London, England Fox News thinks the Netherlands is horrible. I don't. Lovely place with nice people. In fact, the only complaint I can find about the Netherlands is the food is awful. Perhaps as a Brit, this is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, but give me French or Italian food over Dutch, Scandinavian or German food any day. Rampant secularism, gay marriage and Amsterdam's coffee shops and red light district are fine. Hope the thought of gay people getting married in secular ceremonies before rushing off to get high in the coffee shops gives a few of Fox's viewers heart attacks. Then when they get to hospital, they get denied treatment because stupidity is a pre-existing condition. 2009-07-13T11:17:10Z

Regent Street, London, EnglandPhilosopher David Pears died last week. Guardian obituary and Times obituary. 2009-07-13T11:05:49Z

Regent Street, London, EnglandBBC News on how the Church of England are really on the rocks financially: The Church of England's ruling body, the General Synod, is to debate whether to reduce the number of bishops in a bid to save money. 2009-07-13T10:40:30Z

Regent Street, London, EnglandDamn. Borders in Oxford Street are closing. One of the few reasons to not avoid Oxford Street is removed, and it thus takes one more step towards being the shittiest street in London. So long as Waterstones in Gower Street and Foyles in Charing Cross are still around, book buying for my purposes will still be possible. 2009-07-13T10:32:59Z

If you make a minor misattribution in a book, that will suddenly become grounds to dismiss the argument presented. Yes, religious believers are so much more reasonable and even philosophical. God loves you so much, remember. Especially when someone is throwing acid in your face for having a religiously incorrect gender. 2009-07-13T08:05:40Z

More normal nerds like Cristiano Betta are talking about SPARQL. This is encouraging. Music Hack Day sounds pretty awesome. I'm really sad I missed it. 2009-07-13T07:56:56Z