Harry’s Place, Harry’s rules, Harry’s values. I have to say I have grown tired of Harry’s Place, and I too found the little exchange on Perfect.co.uk pretty pathetic.
I have never deleted a single legitimate (ie. non-spam) comment from this blog, and I’m proud of it.
Last night was when I changed my mind about the upcoming ban on smoking in public places again.
You see, initially I was in favour of the ban for purely selfish reasons, because I don’t smoke you see.
Then I sympathised with the libertarian argument. Nobody forces me to go into a smoky pub. It is a matter of choice for everybody concerned: the customers — smoking and non-smoking; the staff; the pub owners. Just as I was thinking about posting on this subject, Simon at The Liberal Dissenter posted about why he holds this view.
But while I have officially been against the smoking ban for liberal reasons, I simply cannot wait for it to come into force. I’m not overly concerned about the health issues. I guess my exposure to cigarette smoke is minimal enough for me to get away with it.
My problem is with the general unpleasentness of it all. To put it mildly, it is not nice to breathe in smoky air. When I emerge from the pub, the stench from my clothes is no less unpleasent than it would be had I been urinated upon. It gets in my hair aswell, and I have hardly any hair.
AH! But it’s their right to smoke, it’s my right not to go into the pub if I don’t want to, etcetera.
But nobody would stand for it if that creepy guy in the corner was able to urinate all over you. But I mean, it’s his right to urinate if he wants to, and it’s my right not to go into pubs with creepy guys in them if I don’t want to.
Simon claims that 90% of restaurants are already smoke-free without the need for legislation. Which is all very well, but that’s useless for me sitting here in Kirkcaldy. I can’t think of a single pub or restaurant anywhere around here that is smoke-free. And yes, no smoking areas are useless.
But don’t I have a choice to not go to the pub if I don’t want to?
Er, sort of. But I’ve found it too easy to get a reputation as an unsociable party pooper; I can’t really say I don’t want to go to the pub… in case I come out stinking of smoke.
But I reckon most of my contemporaries would sympathise. I can’t think of anybody who has complained to me about the upcoming ban. Out of the people I most regularly go out with, I can count the number of smokers on one finger (you know who you are!). It is fair enough for people to do whatever they want in the privacy of their own home. But out in the open, you should treat your fellow members of the public with respect. Smokers are in a minority and for them to dirty the atmosphere so much is, at the very least, pretty damn rude.
Whether it should be illegal or not is another matter. But I look at it this way: Will I be happier when the new legislation comes in? Yes. Will most people be happier? I’m pretty sure of it.
I can’t wait.
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Well, it was a nervous day to be a Formula 1 fan. But it turned out to be not as bad as I had expected.
The Michelin teams were found:
- guilty of failing to ensure that they were in possession of suitable tyres for the 2005 US Grand Prix; but with strong, mitigating circumstances
This is quite fair in my opinion. Michelin undoubtedly supplied the teams with unsuitable tyres, but the World Council has recognised that there wasn’t much Michelin could have done about this, as they did not know that the changed conditions would so adversely affect their tyres.
- guilty of wrongfully refusing to allow their cars to start the race, having regard to their right to use the pit lane on each lap
This, I think, is unfair. I have mentioned several times that having the teams going through the pit lane on every lap would have looked every bit as ridiculous as the six car race.
- not guilty of refusing to race subject to a speed restriction, having regard to the absence of any detailed plan for this
- not guilty of combining to make a demonstration for the reason that they had hoped to race until the last minute
- not guilty of failing to inform the Stewards of their intention not to start (Article 131) for the same reason
Phew for all that then.
There’s still one problem though.
The World Motor Sport Council has decided to adjourn discussion of any penalty to an extraordinary meeting of the WMSC to be held on 14 September 2005…
So instead of having this all out of the way, the Sword of Damocles will be hanging over Formula 1 for another three months.
The FIA will look at how Michelin or the Michelin runners compensate the spectators (which they have done already). But the magnifying glass will be on the Michelins now. One puncture too many could see serious punishment.
The teams are unhappy about the whole situation, and apparently the French Grand Prix is still in doubt.
The problem is that the FIA cannot punish Michelin because it is the teams’ responsibility to follow the rules; Michelin merely supply tyres. If Michelin supply the wrong tyres, it is the teams’ fault. The problem is, though, that it isn’t the teams’ fault at all, is it? But the FIA have to be seen to be upholding the rules, and they can only punish the teams. No wonder the teams feel hard done by.
It’s difficult to see a way out of that one though.
Hopefully all the parties can be sensible about this whole situation.
Update: Six teams issue statement. Red Bull are consipicuous by their absence, but it’s not too surprising. Ever since they bought Jaguar they have increasingly joined Jordan Midland in the FIArrari camp.
The main thing, though, is that the French Grand Prix looks safe, as do all the remaining Championship events (until September at least). Thank goodness for that.
Google Earth is pretty cool.
But I have one question.
Why does Edinburgh suddenly become a greeny-purpley mass of ugliness past Murrayfield?
It looks like mince salad. Kirkcaldy also looks like this.
When you zoom out, it looks like just about the whole of the UK (and no doubt much of the world) is like this, save for a few squares here and there which go into more detail. One of these squares almost entirely covers the Firth of Forth, and a bit of a town called Gullane, which I have never heard of.
Mind you, it might be a mis-spelling. All of a sudden there is a town near me called Birntisland.
Update: Cross-posted at Broken Doll.
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I am Duncan Stephen, based in Dundee but originally from Fife. I work as the Web Editor for the University of St Andrews. This is a personal blog.
My interests include motorsport and experimental / electronic music.
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