Kevin Partner

Kevin Partner

My thoughts - don't say you weren't forewarned

  • LibDems, cheer up. It really doesn't matter. Carpe Diem.

    • 4 May 2012
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    What is the purpose of any political party? It depends on how you look at it, but given the way our democracy (such as it is) works, if the point of a party is to have a real impact then that can only achieved by being in power. 

    In that sense, then, the Liberal Democrats have achieved their aim for the first time in many, many years. They have a share of power and are able to implement some of their most cherished policies. The counterpoint to that, however, is that as part of the government they share in the poor mid-term electoral performance of just about every government.

    The plain fact is that the British hate their government, they always do, whatever the flavour. The problem for the LibDems is that they've always been seen as the plucky underdogs, the "good guys" of politics who would never get in. And when they formed a coalition with the true "bad boys", the public expected them to prevent any unpopular policies, standing like a political shield between the great British voter and the worst excesses of rampant Toryism.

    So, the Student Loan fiasco was seen as a betrayal by the LibDems even though it was a Tory extension of a Labour-created policy (a policy Labour expressly said it would NOT implement in its 1997 manifesto). 

    To a very real extent, it doesn't matter that the LibDems are being slaughtered at the polls. If the ultimate purpose of the party is to be in power and to enact its policies then it has achieved that. What it must NOT do is waste the opportunity to have an impact out of fear of the electoral consequences either locally or nationally.

    As it happens, the best chance the LibDems have of staying in power after the next election is if they have enacted clear, important, meaningful policies that would clearly not have been implemented by the Tories.

    So far, we have one: the massive rise in personal tax allowance. Had the Tories been in power on their own, they would have reduced tax from the top down (as they always have) rather than from the bottom up. By the time of the election, people on low to moderate incomes will be hundreds and hundreds of pounds per year better off because of this one policy. It's an absolute winner.

    But it's only one thing. We need more. Whilst reform of the House of Lords is important to me, it simply doesn't register with most people (sadly).

    Promoting and supporting the employment of young people is a good thing but the results aren't clear to the general public and the LibDems are still not closely enough associated with it. The Pupil Premium is having a real effect on my small local primary and yet we hear NOTHING about it. 

    My advice? Focus on the young and old - be distinctive. Influence policy on the old in a distinctly LibDem way to put money back in their pockets or make their lives easier in a tangible way.

    Come the next election, it must be possible to say "we did this" and to list at least 5 things that are clearly LibDem derived and have tangible benefits that most people will feel. So far we have one. If, when that election comes, the party is slaughtered at the polls, but has achieved something with its power, it won't have failed.

    However, if it's slaughtered having underachieved because it had an eye on political survival, that is unforgiveable and I'll be the first to end my lifelong association with the party.

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  • Things I'd like to try with Raspberry Pi

    • 29 Feb 2012
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    Raspberrypi

     

    Raspberry Pi is a very small self contained computer on a printed circuit board. It runs a form of Debian Linux giving a Windows-like environment, has USB for connecting keyboard/mouse, HDMI for connecting a monitor/TV, space for a memory card for storage and various other bits and pieces.

    And it only costs £25 (or will, when it launches).

    A £25, tiny computer with no moving parts suddenly opens up all sorts of possibilities for home hobbyists and home scientists as well as the intended school market. Here are some of my initial ideas:

    1) Weather Station

    Stick it in the shed along with a low voltage power supply (the Pi uses a mobile phone charger) - maybe even solar. Connect it to a USB temperature and humidity sensor and write a program to regularly sample rain fall and temperature. The data could be stored to the SD card and, if you have ethernet out in the shed, uploaded to the internet.

    Add other sensors to make it more sophisticated. 

    2) Plant Monitor

    Similar to the above, but this time the humidity sensor is embedded in the soil of plants in a greenhouse. When it dips below a certain pre-programmed level, the water supply is turned on. Add a temperature sensor and it could open the greenhouse vent.

    3) Mobile Robot

    Add light or infra-red sensors, motor and wheels to create a mobile robot that heads towards light, for example.

    4) Cat Repeller

    I'm keen on this one. Add motion detector sensor, water control and, when the sensor is tripped, turn on the hose!

    5) Home monitoring

    Connected to webcam, placed in hallway and wired to ethernet- log in remotely and see what's occuring

    6) Home remote control

    Connected to internet router via ethernet, log in from office to activate functions (including power switching, turning on the Sky box, unlocking the cat flap, turning on external lights etc)

    7) Unbreakable PC for my 5 year old

    Not sure what the Flash performance will be like (if, indeed, it'll run Flash at all) but there's bound to be plenty he can do. With older kids, these make the perfect Facebook computers - hook them up to the TV and off they go without risking your laptop

     

    Challenges: Driver software for sensors, bespoke programming (the latter being less of a problem than the former.

    Any more ideas?

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  • About

    I'm a web developer and writer based in Waterlooville, UK. I'm blissfully married with three children: 21,20 and 5 plus Dizzy the dawg (3)

    I run several small companies and spend my days creating smartphone apps using Corona SDK, writing for PCPro magazine and running the businesses. I've recently written a book for PCPro/Dennis Publishing about starting up a web business.

    I spend my spare time with my family, reading, walking, gardening and vegging.

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    My tech blog: http://www.scribbleit.co.uk

    My driving theory test site: http://www.passyourtheory.org.uk

    My business advice site: http://www.microbusinessentrepreneur.co.uk

    My candle making kit site: http://www.makingyourowncandles.co.uk

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    • Scribbleit, my coding and writing firm
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