Name: MJ Ray
Member since: 2001-02-11 21:55:32
Last Login: 2008-04-21 10:06:27
Homepage: http://mjr.towers.org.uk/
Notes:
See my website for the full current details and my email address.
Current Projects: Partner in a Free Software programming, training, web development and publishing workers' co-op, helping with LUG communications, teaching a bit, revising my book for publication and trying to make helpful and encouraging suggestions about various projects. That and 1001 other things.
Past Projects: Sapphire WM, themes.org, writing good lecture courses, IceWM-related websites, FMPorts, some DOS programs.
Strategy on Strategies
![Photo [SNR Event Welcome Slide]](http://mjr.towers.org.uk/writing/reflections/attachments/snrevent.jpg)
Anyone seen this before?
Today, I went to an event about the Sub-National Review Consultation (as a substitute for someone else AIUI).
I'd not heard about this before, but if you're in England and you've any interest in our regional planning system (which I think you should, if you have your main home here or run a business here), you have six weeks left to comment on the UK Government's suggested changes.
As I understand it, it will move the second-highest tier of planning control from democratically-accountable regional bodies to the business-led Regional Development Agencies, with some oversight by MPs and the very- indirectly-accountable council leaders. I've posted more detail on Co-opNet.
When I asked about local involvement and cooperatives, I was directed towards Local Strategic Partnerships, but I'm pessimistic about how easy it will be to influence regional planning through those: a few weeks ago, I was at the launch of the North Somerset Partnership Sustainable Community Strategy for 2008-2026.
It's a 72-page A4 glossy book which I've still not found time to read properly. I think the size says something about its sustainability. I've posted a little more detail on WsMForum.
I'll try to answer questions about either of them on this blog or those forums...
Back from Cuba
I'm just back from a trip to Cuba. Sorry for the abrupt disconnect. I expected to have limited connectivity there, whereas I actually had none at all except for 23 minutes! I hope the other members of the cooperative and the editorial team stepped in suitably well. I'll check in with them now and then start on the emails, but I wanted to put this broadcast out first for those who are watching closely and wondering...
Updated GnuPG Key Expiry
I'm still alive, so it's past time to update the signature on my gpg key into next year. The key phrase in the handbook is:
"The expiration time is updated by deleting the old self-signature and adding a new self-signature."
but somehow I always have to look it up, so I thought I'd make a note of it here.
It looks like debian-keyring should update now I did --send-key to it, but I guess I'll find out in a few weeks.
Computer things that puzzle me today
I can suspend my laptop and it restarts happily enough in X, but playing video results in a strange green square. I've found that starting and killing another X server (like X :1, wait for the grey mesh and then zap it) fixes the problem and I can switch back to my original :0 X and play video again. I wonder if these notes on X suspend and video BIOS by Matthew Garrett explain it.
Why on earth did someone change the .changes format so swiftly and why does a change that breaks a common upload process (build in a VM, sign on a stable system) only warrant a -devel-announce paragraph under the headline Misc Development News (#6)? "Small news" - my foot!
UK mobile micropublishing choices?
![Phone from gallery.hd.com [Photo of Phone]](http://mjr.towers.org.uk/writing/reflections/attachments/mopho.jpg)
My communications connection
I'm going travelling this summer. I don't know what internet connection I'll have (if any) but I'm pretty sure I'll have fairly cheap SMS access from my phone. Maybe even MMS. So, I want to use one of the mobile micropublishers to try to avoid sending international SMSes to lots of people.
Facebook doesn't look good - it gives a shortcode (which would cost me extra to use and I don't know whether it works while roaming) has no number for SMS that I found and it looks like O2 is the only UK carrier it knows - bizarre.
LiveJournal has mobile access but the FAQ makes it look like it's only for paying users. If I was sure it was going to work, I might pay and support the GPL'd codebase.
Jaiku is cost-free and gives an SMS number, but is joining the Goolag and I don't see how to download their Java applet.
Twitter is cost-free, gives an SMS number and looks like it plays nice with Jabber (which is already on my phone), so that looks good but I found some complaints about whether SMSes get through.
20six is a German-based cost-free service which takes SMS and email (which is also on my phone), so that also looks good, but there are some old doubts about whether it will stay cost-free.
Is there a service you'd recommend?
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