For Your Own Protection

Having already replaced our staircase’s combination lock earlier this term (as it had a habit of sticking), College has now replaced the locks on every single one, only this time with key locks. As with the gates, this allows Downing members in and out easily but will cause major problems for visitors who now cannot even get into the staircase without a key. It certainly seems like a more secure system, though a key now grants full access where before a knowledge component was also required. Further, since every person has a lockable door, should they choose not to lock their room one might argue the consequences are their own fault.

The reason becomes clearer on discovery that the latest spate of university burglaries were not targeted at students but offices. Expect to see increased security in all Colleges now as they attempt to protect themselves. Pembroke’s back gate now features an alien keypad that emanates an eerie blue glow at night. But then with an ex-Chief of MI6 one would imagine access to some interesting (if not extraterrestrial) security technology is a given.

Scott Adams offhand suggestion that Bill Gates ought to run for President acquired much attention. The idea has since rapidly expanded resulting in the new Bill Gates For President website. As far as I can tell it’s not so much “why Bill?” as why not? He’s challenging people to look hard at American politics and ask themselves why he would be any worse than the alternatives.

It has come to the attention of certain people that I have started reading their blogs more closely once more. The reason, at least for the moment, is Google Reader. Sage provides a great Firefox aggregator for news feeds that are updated regularly and so checked on a daily basis. However neither it, nor the live bookmark system, provide a desirable interface for spotting changes to sporadically updated feeds. Google Reader lets me drop these occasional blogs into a folder so that I can read the latest additions to all of them with a single click. So if I have been noticeably absent from from yours, be warned: you are being watched.