Monthly Archives: July 2011

AWWTM: Delivering excellence

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Joe

In a post about designing ever increasing amounts of truck and van dependence into business models, I mentioned that an “Edgar’s Cool Water” had followed me on twitter and had justified their business with the argument that some people in … Continue reading →

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Genesis on genetics

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Joe

This is another archival report, originally written for the old blog in 2008. Here’s an interesting one: Genesis chapter 30. If you think Darwin got inheritance wrong, try the Bible. 30:28 And he [Laban] said, Appoint me thy wages, and … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Friday photo: Ribblehead

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Joe

As in so many of the things that the Europeans do better than us, the model by which our railways came about is shared with the Americans rather than our continent. When the railways arrived in the middle of the … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Once more unto the bridge, dear friends, once more

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Joe

After the Conservative group of the London Assembly walked out on the first attempt to discuss Jenny Jones’s Blackfriars Bridge motion, the members redeemed themselves somewhat by voting unanimously — all parties, all members — against making Blackfriars Bridge and … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Won’t somebody please think of the children?

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Joe

In December 2005, an article of massive importance was published in the British Medical Journal. Doctors counted up the number of children being admitted to A&E with musculoskeletal injuries (breaks and sprains — many of which would have been caused … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Appendix: Bad Science Bingo in the BMA’s “safe cycling” pages

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Joe

This is just a crude brain dump of a post that comes after the serious series — posts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight. Sorry, I just can’t get over these extraordinary pages on the BMA’s website. … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: How did the BMA get bicycle helmets so wrong?

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Joe

In 1958, the UK licensed a drug for treating morning sickness. It worked very well. The studies all showed that pregnant women suffering from morning sickness received much relief with the drug. Three years later it was withdrawn, but not … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: The BMA, the BMJ, and bicycle helmet policy

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Joe

The reason I pick up the bicycle helmet theme again this week is that the BMJ is running a sidebar poll of their readers (or, more accurately, of cycling tweeters and recipients of Robert Davis’s emails ), asking whether it … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Risk compensation and bicycle helmets

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Joe

Some months ago I left a series on bicycle helmets hanging while I got distracted with other things. We had looked at what the best evidence for the efficacy of helmets in preventing injury in the event of a crash … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Setting ourselves up for economic collapse

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Joe

In January last year, while shadow chancellor, George Osborne said that the lesson of the credit crunch is that “the economy must never again be allowed to become so structurally unbalanced and poorly prepared for a downturn.” He was referring to … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Friday photo: modern mail

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Joe

This is the view from my office kitchen back when I had that real job (before I gave it all up to do this instead).  The sun is rising over the city, with the Docklands towers just visible, pale in … Continue reading →

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Flat Earth News

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Joe

This is another archival repost from the old blog — this time from March 2009. The past few weeks seem to have seen laments for the decline of journalism and obituaries for old media reaching a critical mass. BoraZ has … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Can drivers be taught a lesson?

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Joe

M’coblogger Ed thinks there is a case for teaching drivers to behave — specifically by appeals to patriotism. Education programmes are a popular idea amongst cyclists, cash-strapped councils, and road safety types. I dismissed them as a solution that doesn’t … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Friday photo: social transport

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Joe

It is wrong to think in terms of “private” versus “public” transport.  That is important only to the bureaucrats who have to manage transport problems and fund transport solutions. What matters is social versus anti-social transport. Originally posted at At … Continue reading →

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AWWTM: Three* stone circles that are way better than Stonehenge

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Joe

And now for some light diversion.  David Hembrow describes the travels and travails of a Dutch family trying to get to Stonehenge by bicycle, faced with south east England’s network of motorways and motorways-in-all-but-name.  I think I have solution to … Continue reading →

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