Google SV & BBC Breakfast

At about 6.45am Charlie and Susannah (?) did a piece on Google SV. It was one of the most Daily Mail, spread fear, unbalanced interviews I have seen.
I say this as someone that mostly loves bbc breakfast.
It was clear that they both don't like the product, every comment and question to the google rep was negative and in the spirit of the Daily Mail encourage fear and hatred of a new product into the minds of viewers. Many of the bbc breakfast viewers probably haven't given Google SV a go, and they have been given a wholly negative starting point.
It absolutely is NOT the role of the bbc to endorse a product, but nor should they deliver such a negative 5 minute slot.
Both of the presenters said a couple of times "but why would you use it" and I swear Susannah almost snorted at the Google Rep when he said people could use it to plan journeys etc. Well, as a person who navigates by landmarks and is often nervous of driving in the centre of an unfamiliar city - I'm going to love GSV - it suits me very well - I loved the satellite google maps for the same reason - GSV is even better.

It is a pity that Susannah saw unblurred faces & number plates on her street when she was looking at it last night, but she really didn't listen to what the Google Rep said - 99% of faces and number plates are blurred - it is unfortunate that a tiny percentage may not be. But if someone reports such things to google they can fix it straightaway (but at least she got to ambush the Rep about it on live TV, because to me (and I am just an individual viewer) her approach really smacked of an ambush, rather than a genuine question to him - a bit commercial TV style).
I was on GSV for an hour and a half last night looking at Edinburgh & Newcastle & London - I did not see one unblurred face or numberplate. Nor did the shots they were showing on the programme of outside TV Centre - all were blurred.
Also, they presenters were banging on about burglars using GSV. Really? Has this happened in the USA where GSV has been live for ages...
Also, Google consulted with the UK Police a whole lot over this product.
Susannah said something along the lines of " but people can look and see which streets are affluent houses and have expensive cars parked in them". A couple of points:
burglars already know which postcodes have nice houses and cars in - never been hard to work out
burglars are like normal people, they have eyes and legs and can walk around the streets
it is the choice of an individual to buy an expensive car and park it on the street or front driveway in full view of the public.
And the presenters were going on about zooming into people's windows. Now I must admit that this never crossed my mind last night - maybe I'm just not as nosey as the bbc (obviously I am now going to try it and see if I can see into the living room of my friend).
This aspect I am a little uncomfortable with - on the one hand we can all see into other people's houses at sometime - at dusk, people put a light on but don't close the curtains - I can walk past and see all their flash wide screen TV's and stuff. But I don't think it is right if you can zoom using an online image that no-one asked you about. Still wrestling with my two arguments in my head about that aspect.
Another part of the BBC has taken a different view this morning - Radio 1 breakfast team were having lots of fun - they seemed a bit baffled about why people would want it, but were much more open. Chris Moyles got very excited when he saw his car on GSV - much the same way that I did, and they had great fun trying to identify people they know even though faces are blurred. They even had a quick mention about some of the team thinking it was a bit 1984 Big Brother-esq. So, Radio 1 seems to have given a much more balanced airing than the BBC news programme.

And, I'm so riled up about the bbc breakfast thing, I'm tempted to see if it shows in i-player to see if their reports throughout the morning show a more balanced approach. If not I am really tempted to write into the News Points of View programme that gets shown on bbc news 24.

I guess this all just leads to a big debate about the shifting sands of privacy in the evolving digital age....and about people taking responsibility for their own privacy.

Still a bit meh, but better

I think I am working way too much and have too many personal things to think about.
I think my brain has had some sort of melt down.
Less sad, more stroppy - which I think is actually a positive sign.
Also, I had my hair cut today - not much- but enough to perk me up and make me outwardly feel better.
Now if only I could sort out this ever expanding tummy issue (and yes I know that means cutting down on the wine, the comfort eating etc) :-(

Confusion of the mind

There are things that I can't go into, but I am sooooo confused right now.
To jump or not.
To live in status quo because its easier, or to fling yourself into the unknown. Ok it might not work out, but it really might be worth the risk.
I approached 30 with no real concern.
I seem to be approaching 31 with a very tangible sense that life is passing me by way to fast.
It's not the last chance, but what if its the best and I let it slip away because of fear, or because of the social constraints I am beholden to?
Crap-a-rama.

Bit calmer

Sorry. Bit calmer.
Biting tongue.
Still not sure why life does these things to me though.
Do I look like I need to be tested?
I think not.

Anger

Anger is a bad thing.
Unfortunately, current circumstance mean I have a lot of latent anger.
Time moves on.
31 is coming soon.
No baby.
Not enough love.
Too much anger.
Don't worry, I'm sure it will subside with another glass of wine and then yet another busy week at work will distract my mind.

What's in a name? A 'free' cupcake.

So, today the University officially changed it's name. Fine in principal - I can understand the reasoning.
Have we been able to change all the logo's? No. Would it have been nice to get templates that actually work with the type of things we produce. Yes it would have been nice, but this is reality.

Do I think money has been spent wisely in the revamp of the foyer to coincide with the name change? Not really. Tart it up as much as you want, but the main problem remains. It's draughty. Nice new sofa's - shame people need to bring blankets with them to use them. Also, excellent work placing the lcd screens in an area that is already a total bottleneck.
But don't worry, we got a 'free' cupcake. Free if you bought a drink that is.
Happy new name day.

For A Vegetarian I Can Kill with Remarkable Ease/Stealth Sheep

The thing about my renewed vigour at making the kind of outdoor life I want, is that I have to drive to get there. Usually in the direction of the Borders. Most weekends I drive down without incident.
Today I was on the road before 8.30am. Little bit of high cloud, but with the sun making a welcome appearance. The patchwork of snow remaining in the gulleys on the hills was making for stunning scenery.
And then a stupid pheasant decides to saunter across the road. Not fly. Not run. It was dawdling. Unfortunately there was a car coming the other way so no swerving. And I wasn't going to slam on the breaks on a greasy, bumpy road.
I swear the bird turned to look at me the split second before impact...
Thump followed by a really impressive cloud of feathers.
Being the middle of nowhere and a familiar route I knew there were no laybys nearby so I pulled in on a not too muddy verge-side. As I got out of the car, my sheep radar kicked in and I noticed there were sheep at the far side of the field I had pulled in next to.
I was relieved that my initial inspection showed that the bird was not spreadeagled across my bumper - just a patch of feathers and blood.
Luckily my car is well built, with a sort of plastic cover bit at the front underside, so no bits of birds attached underneath. And I checked the wheel arch to make sure it wasn't splatted up in there. Good job it wasn't, as there wasn't a stick nearby to scrap it off with, or a rock to hit it over the head if a mercy killing had been required.
What I hadn't noticed was that while I was on my hands and knees looking for Deathwish the pheasant, the sheep in the field had decided to take interest in me. I heard the faintest soft rustling noise and looked up to see a mule faced sheep about 5 inches away. In fact about 40 sheep had tip toed across the field with lightening speed and now had their noses pressed against the fence, staring at me with the most interested look on their faces.
It's a good job I like sheep or it might have been a bit intimidating. As it was, I tickled a couple behind the ears, we exchanged 'baaaas' and went our separate ways....