Getting there...

Yesterday started in the pits.

I was being stalked by a nutter on a BBC blog, the boiler didn't work, the washing machine repair was 2 weeks' off, it was raining... and I was staring at a potential 'efinsaftee disaster to my proposed stand to next week.

Fire regs on non-certificated plastics.

Notwithstanding that any Junkk stand is usually 95% plastic junk anyway, this was going to be a real issue.

Anyway, in the course of the day the nutter got modded (might be back mind), the boiler fixed (on insurance), the washing machine fixed (on insurance) thanks to me being a home worker and getting a cancellation, the sun shone again, and.... the lovely organisers of BIS said they had no problem with my stand proposal. Especially as it is made from two reused climbing frames the boys are two old for.

Now all I have to do is figure out what to put in it, on it and around it, and then get it all to London to set up in a few hours on the 13th.

Data Day

Postcodes: Adam Crozier letter

From MP Tom Watson.

From me:

I will follow this issue with interest: thank you for raising it. And for pursuing it further.

I think a nice balance between sympathetic commercial realism and community challenge on matters of 'public' data.

My website has a postcode location facility to help, amongst other things, people to locate each other to facilitate reuse swaps, etc.

I think I paid for that, a long while ago.

Now many folk, especially new registrants, are complaining that their postcodes 'don't work'. I'm guessing boundary changes or additions.

Now as a commercial business I can see how things that take money to create need to be compensated, but I do get interested when the ways such data are gleaned are less clearly defined.

And, as stated above, when there is a clear public benefit to having access to information about themselves.

I believe the Guardian has been on this case also for quite a while: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/free-our-data

Taking a tip from another poster, as Junkk.com also finds itself followed in, but (until now, for monetary reasons, poorly serving) the USA, this is pretty significant, and cheering:

Federal Register in XML