simoncoles.org   Simon Coles Personal Blog

So we have AppleTVs on all the TVs in the house. Works great, we have a server which runs iTunes and has all the Music/Video on.

The boys are getting older, and there’s now an element of self-service going on. After a few near misses, parental controls are in order.

Turns out the AppleTV has parental controls, which is great. But… you type in the PIN in a way which means it is displayed on the TV, so if you’re looking at the TV they’re going to see it. And of course, because it’s a secret there’s lots of child effort being put into finding out what it is, and great delight in remembering it.

I’ve probably only got a few months before the whole “Close your eyes, Daddy’s typing in a secret” will continue to work…

Ideally Apple will come up with a better way….? Because the current one sucks.

Alternatively I’ll need to setup a separate “Mum & Dad” iTunes install and stream anything rated stronger than PG off that.

The Telegraph has an article about how the “Professions” have been told to cut down on the number of Private school people they take – apparently this is discriminatory against people from State funded schools.

This makes me cross.

Let me get this straight:

• My parents paid tax, and part of this is meant to pay for education
• They decide they want the best for their children
• So they pay for a better education for their children (Mum was a teacher herself- this was an informed decision)
• Their children don’t take up the state-provided place (thus presumably saving the state money)

And because of this, I should be discriminated against!

There’s a whole bunch of people popping out of private schools, who’ve had a better education than that can be provided by the State, and we don’t want to utilise all that human capital – all that potential – for the good of the country – just because their parents paid extra for their education????

If that’s the case, we’re all screwed. Because we’ve created a country where the parents who invest in their child’s future causes their child to be punished, and the parent who pisses away their money is given a helping hand.

I’m really sorry – my parents sacrificed a huge amount to make sure their children got a good education. Apparently that’s something to be apologised for, and I shouldn’t do for my children?

Surely the solution is to figure out what makes Private Schools better, and replicate that in the State sector??

Surely there’s a big hint that parents are more willing to invest in their childrens’ future – if they feel they are getting something back??

Why can’t we all do better, rather than dragging everyone down to a level of mediocrity??

We should judge people on their merits, not on where they came from. Discriminating against applicants just on the basis who paid for their education is just as idiotic as judging them by gender or age.

Ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous.

The Christmas experience has been enriched with the discovery of Herman, a homing pigeon who sits on Santa’s sleighdoing all the navigation of the Sleigh – he’s Santa’s GPS, and will fly down to Rudolph and whisper instructions in his ear as needed. Additional responsibilities include liaising with Air Traffic Control.

A little known fact is that Herman lives on Gin & Tonic and all good Children will leave a G&T alongside the Sherry & Mince Pie (for Father Christmas) and Carrot (for Rudolph).

There is currently a lively debate ongoing chez Coles about the existence of Herman and how it all works out. However we believe we have spied him on some of the NORAD Santa Tracking videos.

Happy Christmas everyone….

We sometimes use Wikipedia to help the boys with their homework – most recently Josh had to write about India etc. However, we’re always a little nervous about what else they might find.

Then I bumped into Wikipedia for Schools and the problem is solved!

This 2008/9 Wikipedia DVD Selection is a free, hand-checked, non-commercial selection from Wikipedia, targeted around the UK National Curriculum and useful for much of the English speaking world

Excellent stuff – the power of open content…

Both my parents have passed away, so I’ve done the whole Will/Inheritance/Estate thing and having a passing interest in all things legal I found it all quite fascinating.

In last week’s Economist Magazine they had an article on how inheritance laws differ across the EU.

In 26 out of 27 European Union countries, Mr Buffett’s plans would not just be shocking, but illegal. The exception is Britain, or rather England and Wales (Scotland has its own, centuries-old legal system, with a strong continental flavour). In continental Europe a big part of an estate (often around half) is reserved for the surviving children of the deceased and must be equally divided between them. This “forced heirship” makes it impossible to disinherit feckless children (though several countries exclude bequests to “unworthy” children, who have for example murdered a parent or two). Such rules also make it hard to reward the deserving by, say, leaving more to a daughter who gave up a career to care for her ailing parents. Finally, “clawback” laws in many countries stop parents from dodging forced heirship by giving assets away while they are still alive. This applies to gifts made in the last years of life (two years in Austria, ten in Germany), or much longer: in some countries, no time limit applies.

Wow – I had always taken it for granted that you could leave your assets to whomever you pleased. But apparently not… and I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Read the article for all the details, but I can see it would cause us real problems.

It is quite a shock how something Id’ viewed as almost a human right turns out to be viewed with abhorrence in a next door country which I had viewed as being broadly similar to the UK. It’s a reminder that some things are very cultural dependant and you can’t make assumptions… especially about things you assume are common!