The random ramblings of Penny.

During 2011, Stop HS2 made a number of submissions to various inquiries as well as producing numerous leaflets. Although I didn’t write everything we published (although at times it felt like it!), the following three reports were written by me. Transport Select Committee Inquiry into HS2: Stop HS2 TSC Submission May 2011 Labour Party Policy […]

This was originally posted on Stop HS2 on 15th November. “We should look sceptically at grand plans and utopian visions” said David Cameron at the Lord Mayor’s banquet last night. Although David Cameron was talking about Europe, he should also use this scepticism when he looks at HS2. We are often told that the Europeans […]

Penny’s being doing internet stuff since 1993. She was a founder member of Stop HS2 and now runs the Stop HS2 website. Penny can also be found on Twitter and Pinterest. About Us Stop HS2 is the national grassroots campaign against HS2, the proposed new High Speed Two railway. We formed after several months of […]

A few weeks ago, I was invited to “say a few words” at a meeting chaired by Seb Berry, a former LibDem councillor, with Nigel Farrage, the UKIP leader as the main speaker. The event was on Friday and over the weekend I compiled a short list of a few tips I’ve picked up on […]

Challenge 86. Following its establishment in 2009, HS2 Ltd established three challenge panels (strategic, technical and analytical) “to provide independent expert scrutiny on different elements of [its] work.” These panels continue to meet. Of the three groups, currently comprising 22 people (all men), only the Analytical Challenge Panel contains any evident critic of high-speed rail. […]

This was originally posted on Stop Hs2 on January 12th 2011. At the netroots UK conference on Saturday, I went to the “Beyond Twitter & blogging” workshop, a review of existing on-line tools for use in political campaigns. The first tool discussed was ushahidi, which can be used for geographical data applications. It was used […]

This was originally published on Stop HS2 on 13th October 2011.  Chris responded in the comments there, in a most surprising way. In the early hours of this morning, Chris Howe, who runs the Yes to HS2 blogspot announced on Twitter, the publication of a document which he calls “Stop HS2 myths”. I’ve glanced through […]

Once upon a time, before the world wide web was woven, to find a file on the internet, you had to know in which directory it was to be found, and you had to log into the computer to be able to access it. This made life hard and complex, and the internet was a […]

This was originally published on Stop HS2 on 12th October. Stop HS2 campaigners delivered over 108,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street yesterday, before HS2 debate on Thursday.

An article about http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/10/form-and-function.html Form and function When the form changes, so does the underlying business model, which of course changes the function as well. Mail —> email Books —> ebooks DVD —> YouTube/Netflix 1040 —> Online taxes Visa —> Paypal Open outcry —> Electronic trading Voice call centers —> forums and online chat Direct […]