The National Projects catalogue has been published at:
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
ODPM 10 Year vision for Local Government
ODPM has just issued a press release at:
1. 'Securing Better Outcomes: Developing a new performance framework' is available from the local:vision section of the ODPM website at: www.odpm.gov.uk/localvision Other documents in the local:vision series, including 'The future of local government: Developing a 10 year vision’ are also available here.
2. As with other aspects of the local:vision process, there will be a series of opportunities to take the debate forward in seminars, workshops and meetings over the coming months. Any views and comments can be sent to: [email protected]
3. The product of that debate will be drawn together along with reactions to other local:vision documents over the next 12 months into a fuller strategy document. 4. A research report "Meta-Evaluation of the Local Government Modernisation Agenda - Service Improvement in Local Government" is published today. A copy of the report is available at: http://www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_control/documents/contentservertemplate/odpm_index.hcst?n=5902&l=3 Key findings from the report are attached as an Annex to this press notice.Research Summary (29 K) 5. The joint ODPM / LGA Capacity Building Fund was launched in April 2003, as a 3-year initiative to support improvement in local government, through enhancing the skills, leadership and confidence of councils. 250 LAs have already benefited from support through national programmes, local projects or direct support. 6. The Spending Review 2004 announced additional funding of £150 million to extend the Programme to 2008. Today's announcement covers the allocation of £57m of this money. 7. The Capacity Building Brochure will detail progress on the Capacity Building Programme as a whole, building on the "key facts "brochure issued in 2004. Copies are available from: http://www.lga.gov.uk/Documents/Publication/capacitybuildingupdate.pdf 8. A separate press notice is being issued today on the signing of 20 Local Area Agreement (LAAs) pilots, the selection process for a further 40 LAAs and the payment of £93 million of Local Public Service Agreement reward grant. This is available from:
www.odpm.gov.uk
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
I keep telling everyone about this song, here are the lyrics.........
| Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen) |
| Mary Schmich Chicago Tribune |
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’97... wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are NOT as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing. Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own. Dance. Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen. |
You can buy it from:
Angels and Demons
What an interesting read Dan Brown's angels and demons is.............
One bit in the book:
Angels and Demons speech piece worth reading pp 418-425 Chapter 94 Really could be one of
the best sermons i've heard in a few years!
A few bits:
Cross bar latch - the next generation of the transistor.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" Arthur C Clarke 1962
"640k(of memory) should be enough for anybody" Bill Gates (Microsoft) 1981
"Computers in the future will weigh no more than 1.5 tons" Popular Mechanics 1949
WIKI webs - Watch this space they are going to be big, as will blogging............
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
To find out more about WIKI Webs see: http://wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WelcomeVisitors
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
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