Manga Egg

An egg decorated in the Manga style by my daughter Zoe.

E-voting Technology is Too Advanced

"Ten years ago, the replacement of pencils and ballot papers by machines was seen as a badge of modernity. But technology was not sufficiently advanced to guarantee security of the new system."

I disagree with this assertion. I think the technology is /too/ advanced to guarantee security of the system. I'm reminded of Clarke's 3rd law: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." We cannot have a trusted system of democracy if voting works by magic. Voting needs to work in a way that everyone can fully understand.

Robert 'Jamie' Munro, commenting here on this post by Peter G. Neumann.

Floordrobe

This morning I was browsing my way through Waterstones when I came across Kitchen Table Lingo by the English Project, a celebration of new words that have been invented and used within families.  'Floordrobe', my favorite, is a term for the place where a teenager keeps their clothes (ie: the floor as opposed to a wardrobe).

Egyptian Goose

The male Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus) enjoying the spring sunshine beside the large lake in Reading University grounds.  It's mate is thought to be on the island, sitting on eggs.  In previous years the male has been rather aggressive towards other geese while it's mate was sitting, but this year it seems much more laid back.

Photo taken by my daughter Zoe on 2009-03-21.

Lions in Europe

From Wikipedia:

In relatively recent times the habitat of lions spanned the southern parts of Eurasia, ranging from Greece to India, and most of Africa except the central rainforest-zone and the Sahara desert. Herodotus reported that lions had been common in Greece around 480 BC; they attacked the baggage camels of the Persian king Xerxes on his march through the country. Aristotle considered them rare by 300 BC and by 100 AD extirpated. A population of the Asiatic Lion survived until the tenth century in the Caucasus, their last European outpost.

Via Gene Expression.