As secure as a metal bowl full of holes...

[Mike]

Mike, if we take the argument the whole way, we may as well provide no benefits or health care for the disabled, thus killing them earlier and removing the inconvenience of their existence: it would cost less and remove them from the gene pool. And then our buildings would look cool!

All I am saying is that the intent need not actually prevent a building from being built.

Also there are other disabilities we need to be coping for but people fixate on the wheelchair users because they are a visible sign of disability. The actual percentage of wheelchair users to disabled is really a minority.

I am definitely not advocating the death of all disabled people! shame on you mr_e!

[mr_e]

Andy, I understand where you're coming from: our sixth form didn't have to wear uniform. However, the boys had to wear suits, with ties. The girls just wore...pretty much whatever, including cargo/combat trousers in some instances. We felt slightly aggrieved.

Mike, you know me, I just like to take those arguments and run with them. You could've said "0.35% of the disabled population", then I would've better understood your point first time round. I was going to say something similar with regards to wheelchair users being a small fraction of the disabled population, but I went with the disabled genocide line instead. The "ramp fixation" is a sad reflection on the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality some people have towards disablilities.

Is there actually any legislation with regards to tactile/high visibility design for the registered blind?

[Andy]

But isn't not tucking in of the shirt an essential part of rebelling against authority. Whereas the constant insistence of the teachers that they should be tucked in is a useful life lesson in the futility of trying to be authoritarian?

Uniform must be important if a school has decided to have one. If it is not then they should state the students should come in what they want.

I feel that I should clarify where I am coming from here - it is not simply the lesser details - tie slightly down, shirt untucked, etc. I am talking about kids wearing trainers because they don't like wearing shoes, black jeans, the skirts that resemble belts, make-up and jewellery on an 14 year old that makes her look 17 and a dirty pervs dream, etc.

Some rules are there to be broken but they are also there to be enforced. I personally feel that working harder is better than a smarter uniform but if you pay attention to the minor details then the major incidents tend not to happen. Since we did a major sweep on uniform and seriously enforced it, stopped our lot walking out to the chippy at lunch and changed the school day behaviour and work output has improved massively.

[Mike]

Is there actually any legislation with regards to tactile/high visibility design for the registered blind?

In a word. Yes! :D

[Mike]

BBC are reporting that the UK government is considering plans to record and database every call and email made in the UK. This reminded me of the security of the other databases lost by UK government. Could you imagine, every emailed confirmation, password, correspondence etc being in their hands?! What freaks honestly think this is a good idea?

[mr_e]

That would be a blackmailer's (and fraudster's) dream. Such a database would rapidly become the target of large-scale fraud attempts, arguably a bigger target than the national ID database. The mind just boggles at the possibilities for fraud.

The Information Commission... said the database "may well be a step too far".

That's putting it mildly.

[johnriley1uk]

The only consolation is that non-one would have the time to read any more than a miniscule amount of it all. They would also run out of reasonable storage capacity very quickly, the abilitly to actually retrieve any information would be compromised, they'd lose the password to all the data....

In other words, government incompetence would render the project virtually useless.

[Mike]

I suppose it would be fun to sabotage the project by sending a 10mb attachment with each email showing a propaganda picture of them scooping up all the emails into a big suitcase!

[liz.brownlloyd]

Going back to the previous point, I'd love to have a simple wardrobe that is a suit, shirt and tie. There are points when I get up, chuck clothes on and look in the mirror halfway through the day and wonder really what was I thinking!!! Used to wear suits and smart top for EK, but Pozzoni just requires you being smart, which is just a lot more difficult.

[Andy]

There are points when I get up, chuck clothes on and look in the mirror halfway through the day and wonder really what was I thinking!!!

Well, I never was going to say it, but.............

Whilst we're on this point again, OFSTED were in this week and everybody was in a smart suit. Coincidence? I think not. I still am in a smart suit even though quite a number aren't. Still, we pulled through and got a very reasonable report.

[Mike]

New York is using a $10 million dollar super spy helicopter to scan the faces and number plates of citizens and visitors in their city from up to 1.5 miles away. That is quite an amazing feat and surely one of the big steps towards total surveillance. I wonder who they would trust to actually work on the surveillance posts. . .

[Andy]

I wonder who they would trust to monitor the people who are monitoring us.... I sure don't trust any of them.

[Mike]

From their perspective they are on the right side of the fence. At least they are not going to be spied upon (at least whilst they are at work!)

[mr_e]

I was watching some random programme where the presenter went to a CCTV monitoring place. They had a camera monitoring them as well, which someone higher up the local authority chain could view...

[johnriley1uk]

Wonderful, we can all watch each other. Technology is now starting to be available to measure our intent, our thoughts...

The future could be very bleak indeed.