Links from May 2011

Links for Tuesday 3 May 2011
A New Theory of Justice by Samuel Freeman | The New York Review of Books
Starts with a good summary of John Rawls' 'A Theory of Justice', then Amartya Sen's critique of that, then the article's author, Samuel Freeman's, critique of that. But subscribers only, booo.
The Myth of Charter Schools by Diane Ravitch | The New York Review of Books
If I ever see 'Waiting for "Superman"', I should read this again. A relentless critique of the film's arguments for US charter schools over public schools, probably applicable to the UK's academies too.
All Programs Considered by Bill McKibben | The New York Review of Books
An overview by Bill McKibben of the good bits of American public radio, comparing radio to other media, outlining its difficulties. Some things I should listen to, given the time.
Foreign Aid for Scoundrels by William Easterly | The New York Review of Books
Given the recent distancing of organisations from Gadafi, who turned out to be a "bad" dictator, rather than a "good" one, reading this article from November 2010 about the billions in aid the West gives to many dictatorships with no meaningful requirements for reforms is funny (as in "not funny").
Religious Faith and John Rawls by Kwame Anthony Appiah | The New York Review of Books
Tracing John Rawls' changing ideas from "the eternal claims of Christianity," through 'A Theory of Justice's "appealing to the universal truths of reason," to deriving ideals from the "shared consensus of democratic citizens." (Subscribers only.)
TimeRime.com - Homepage
Create your own (Flash-based) timelines. You know when you have an idea for a site and then you find something that sort of does it, but not quite how you wanted?
YouTube - The Netizen
Finally able to transfer my previously Google Video-hosted copy of the 1996/7 Wired TV pilot programme to YouTube. Whatever happened to cyber-rights?
I will commit £23.32 per month to a citizen-run news service for Leeds... – Matt Edgar
Interesting... trying to get a regular, quality, local, online news-site funded. Not by individual readers paying, or by one deep-pocketed entity paying, but something in between. (via gilest)

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Links for Wednesday 4 May 2011
Sustaining Local Journalism: new ways of funding local reporting | City University London
One day conference on 13 May. Might be interested for anyone interested in that post I wrote yesterday about funding online news.
The FactCheck Blog - FactCheck: How does the world rank FPTP vs AV?
First Past The Post is mainly used by ex-British colonies. "What does seem worth noting however is that not one European country, apart from the UK, uses FPTP." (via @JamesWallis)
Generation PC, 1964-73 - Brainiac - The Boston Globe
A guide to the names of different generations. Generation X etc. (via Kottke)
Locks that work - London Fixed-gear and Single-speed
Looks like a nicely comprehensive list of the good bike locks. (via tomtaylor)

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Links for Friday 6 May 2011
A beginner's guide to freelancing (Phil Gyford’s website)
I've updated and expanded my lengthy guide to freelancing (originally written 2006). More stuff about limited companies, other tips, and mentions of Twitter.
Topsify - Top 40 chart playlists for Spotify
Exactly what I was after -- I feel I should listen to the Top 40 once in a while and maybe this will help me do it. But the charts are in the "wrong" order, with number 1 first.

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Links for Saturday 7 May 2011
LRB · James Meek · In the Sorting Office
A long, interesting look at the problems facing the Royal Mail and how the privatised Dutch and German postal services are managing.
LRB · Will Self · The Frowniest Spot on Earth
A critical look at the "breathless," airport-centered vision of how we'll live in the future, according to the book 'Aerotropolis'.
FT.com / Arts / Film & Television - Joking apart
Stewart Lee on things being what they are, on the wrongness of turning one thng -- a book, performance, etc -- into another. (via Tom Taylor)

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Links for Tuesday 10 May 2011
Paul Ford on interacting with his archived self
On what it's like to search his archive of email since 1995, and what he may or may not have been like then. (via Waxy)

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Links for Thursday 12 May 2011
LRB · Stephen Sedley · Plimsoll’s Story
Some interesting bits about the development of laws and reforms in 19th century England.
Welcome to alpha.gov.uk
A prototype version of a future comprehensive UK government website. So nice that you can't believe it came from anywhere within government. Well done folks!

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Links for Friday 13 May 2011
Silicon Roundabout Roundup
Alex is tracking the ups and downs of events in the area via Tumblr.
Overhere
Listen along with any last.fm user in real time, using Spotify. So simple.

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Links for Saturday 14 May 2011
Who Invented the Avant Garde v.3
Oh, this is a nice painted timeline which I want to spend lots of ink on printing out and putting on the wall to ponder. (Via @mildlydiverting)
Unabomb08 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The Unabomber's cobbled-together shoes, designed to leave fake, wrong-sized footprints. (via @GreatDismal)

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Links for Thursday 19 May 2011
Certain Productions - The Special Effect
Here's a short film I was in about 18 months ago, which has just appeared online. I wear pig mask.

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Links for Friday 20 May 2011
Stewart Lee - Officially the 41st Best Stand Up Ever - Latest News
Scroll down the newsletter for "More from the message boards", nearly 500 web comments and press reviews describing how awful Stewart Lee is. Brilliant press. (not a permalink)
LRB · Howard Hotson · Don’t Look to the Ivy League
A good account of why the US's market-based university system (admired by Tories) harms the public system and isn't as good as a first glance at league tables suggests.
LRB · Donald MacKenzie · How to Make Money in Microseconds
A look at algorithms used in stock market trading, their effects, and including an explanation of why the market fell by 6 per cent in five minutes in May 2010.
LRB · Christopher Tayler · Short Cuts
Mainly for this phrase about the School of Life: "My friend said that it was like watching people marooned on a desert island doing their best to re-create Radio 4."

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Links for Tuesday 24 May 2011
Who Is Happy and When? by Thomas Nagel | The New York Review of Books
Subjective vs objective happiness; day-to-day happiness vs life evaluation; happiness as a measure vs GDP; how inequality affects happiness and, therefore, which aspects of inequality it is right for government to try to change. (Subscribers only)

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Links for Wednesday 25 May 2011
Helicopter Routes in the London CTR and London/City CTR (PDF)
London's helicopter sky roads.
A Complete Guide to Seinfeld's Sneakers | Complex
Not that Jerry's style is one to be emulated, but top marks for obsession. (via Kottke)
The New Aesthetic
James Bridle is accumulating a lovely collection of images/videos/ideas here. Both vague and very specific.
How to Merge Two Airlines - Graphic - NYTimes.com
A post-it timeline from Delta Air Lines' headquarters outlining its gradual merger with Northwest. (via Cal)
Django-treebeard
"A library that implements efficient tree implementations for the Django Web Framework" (as used by Simon on Lanyrd). Possibly faster/better than django-mptt, which I had problems with.

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Links for Thursday 26 May 2011
Reeder for Mac (made@gloria!)
This is the first feed-reading app I've ever got on with. Now Helvetireader is ceasing development this has won me over. It's as lovely as the iPad version.
Difference between geo and coordinates in status - Twitter Development Talk | Google Groups
Coordinates vs geo vs place in the Twitter API. It's not good when you have to read email threads to work out how to use a company's API.
Remembrance of Links Past (Pinboard Blog)
"About a quarter of [pages linked to from bookmarked URLs disappear] every seven years." Not an exhaustive survey, but an interesting quick look at how quickly linkrot takes hold.
HIUT — Our Town is going to make jeans again
"Cardigan is a small town of 4,000 good people. 400 of them used to make jeans. They made 35,000 pairs a week. ...our town is going to make jeans again. ... Here goes." Re-starting some British manufacturing.

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Links for Friday 27 May 2011
The Ancient Tree Hunt (PDF)
A cycling route to some of London's oldest trees.

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Links for Saturday 28 May 2011
Grain & Gram — The New Gentlemans Journal / The Exchange / A Conversation With Roy Slaper
An interview with a man who started hand-making jeans, with no experience, and now does it full time. (via @hiutdenim)
S.E.H Kelly — Clothes made in England and the British Isles
Men's clothes, made entirely from UK materials (including the buttons), based in Hackney, London. Although they all look too short for me.

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Links for Tuesday 31 May 2011
Luna’s Café: Typography is about reading – and so are ebooks
There are a few reasons I've never bought a Kindle book, and this thoughtlessness on the part of publishers and Amazon is one. (via Daring Fireball)
Kindle typography
Going to some lengths to make Kindle typography better using JavaScript and CSS.
John Smedley factory tour « Lineage of influence
Photos from a tour round the factory of John Smedley, who make knitwear. (via @sehkelly)
Black Diamond Introduces New Tactical Computer System « Soldier Systems
This, with an iPad on the chest, in tweed (because everyone seems to like that retro and "authentic" country look).

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