The Artesea

It’s a question one might ask if they visited www.lincoln.gov.uk.

The homepage has no mention of an event taking place on the 6th May

Clicking on Residents still has no clues.

Trying Elections in the sidebar finally takes me to a bland page which has a link for 2010 Elections.

And then visiting this page I am only informed about the seats per ward for the council elections with the rules.

At the moment there isn’t a list of candidates for the City of Lincoln council election for which we have thirds (nominations closed last Thursday).
And amazingly there is no mention of a General Election. No information on what to do if you wish to stand, when they might be counting the result and how to register to vote if you aren’t on the electoral register.

Whilst I knew that this was never going to be the year of the e-lection, this is shocking behavior from the City Council.

Currently down Dixon Street in Lincoln we have the privilege of two Tory posters. However glancing at them whilst in the car I seem to be coming back with these messages:

Never Vote Tory

Vote For Me

Of course on May 6th I’ll be voting Liberal Democrat.

• @timlovejoy was that the "adult" remake? in reply to timlovejoy #
• RT @jupitusphillip: Electoral Commission to announce 'Votes For Pets' to resolve marginals. #electionfacts #
• dear Apple, when asking if I want to update iTunes please don't autotick "Download Safari" as well. tvm #
• @rickysline1978 overhyped in reply to rickysline1978 #
• @doctorvee you can "download" the mp3 audio from the BBC, just tricky to do it in an automated podcast way. in reply to doctorvee #
• BENDTNER!!!!!!!!!! #
• according to Fox Sports the game is being played at Camp New #
• @mrchrisaddison You can watch it on http://www.tvcatchup.com/ in reply to mrchrisaddison #
• @rob_knight I'm loving my Nexus One. in reply to rob_knight #
• @rob_knight handset free on a £30 per month contract and I can sort you out a 30% discount http://bit.ly/cusVIT in reply to rob_knight #
• Win one of two copies of @Navigon UK for iPhone with UK PostCodes see http://bit.ly/a9CBuy RT for a chance to win (UK only) #PGPSComp #
• @rob_knight it's 500mb fair usage so you can go over. 3gb is available for an extra £15(!) a month. But I've never used more than 250mb. in reply to rob_knight #
• mind fooked from watching the latest episode of Lost. Just as answers started appearing they give us more questions! #
• @upyourego which model? in reply to upyourego #
• @upyourego and from a company who solved the search issue with the web. in reply to upyourego #
• @ruskin147 if you can manage to read Hansard, why are the BBC still ignoring the fact that it was the LibDems who voted against it? in reply to ruskin147 #
• no surprise to see Gillian Merron voting for the #debill http://bit.ly/aR533Q she seem only able to do what the whips tell her. #
• having to use pen and paper to pass notes around the office as IM and email seem to be all over the place. #
• @davidcarrington if you want I can get you 30% the line rental on any (standard) tariff. Makes £35 a month only £24.50 http://argh.tc/30pc in reply to davidcarrington #
• @davidcarrington nope only one discount per number, but if you can get a £30 contract then it's only £21 via me. in reply to davidcarrington #
• @DratVanity pleased you found my site useful. Fingers crossed we won't have Gillian in 4 weeks time. in reply to DratVanity #
• @rickysline1978 the Record Industry in reply to rickysline1978 #
• @alixmortimer nah, osborne couldn't manage that #wheresgeorge in reply to alixmortimer #
• looking at http://www.lincoln.gov.uk you wouldn't realise that there are council elections and a general going on. #
• @chriskeating I'm not but @floatyhev is. in reply to chriskeating #
• due to someone forgetting to pay a bill, the phone lines are rather quiet at work today. #
• 
  http://twitpic.com/1e3506 – Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? #
• 
  http://twitpic.com/1e3506 – picture mocked up by @MarkReckons http://bit.ly/9Up0aw #
• @katebevan quick question, did it need to be activated with iTunes on a PC/Mac first, like the iPhone? in reply to katebevan #
• @androidandme where? in reply to androidandme #
• @lincolncouncil still no decent sign of the elections on the site. Lists of candidates should really be available by now. #
• I have a letter from Gordon Brown asking me to vote Labour with a reply slip asking if Im voting #labservative and expects me to pay postage #
• @upyourego have you disabled Sense and gone to standard Android desktop? in reply to upyourego #
• with the Tory marriage tax break, we might cover the cost of our wedding in 50 years. #
• @DrEvanHarris you should start deleting them before everyone else has to go through them all just to get to tweets from 30 minutes ago. #
• RT @nickjbarlow: I wonder how many Tory MPs would have stayed with their first wives if they'd got a tax break? #
• @dabr any ideas why the timeline suddenly ends part way through? Guessing a "bad" tweet as it's at the same point on different dabrs. #
• @dabr looking at the json and xml files straight off the twitter api it seems to be their fault. but dabr doesn't show next/previous #
• @edent doesnt look like a rouge tweet but possibly linked to when someone deletes tweets Bug is appearing around when @drevanharris splurged in reply to edent #
• @davidcarrington found the lines in twitter.php, will comment them out (on my install) as this seems to be happening quite often. in reply to davidcarrington #
• @rfenwick sounds about right. in reply to rfenwick #
• @adventitiously but Doctor Who is on BBC1 in 10 minutes. in reply to adventitiously #
• @red_imp can't you just steal the rabbit food? in reply to red_imp #
• RT @po8crg: @helenduffett Charge all your spare Blackberry batteries tonight. #
• two blog posts in two days! Wonder if I can do another tomorrow? http://ldv.org.uk/18825 http://bit.ly/dy4iUv #
• @krishgm so they refused the middle podium but then went on to complain that Vince was in it? http://bit.ly/duojIo in reply to krishgm #
• @edent self rated with Apple agreeing when putting it on the store as far as I can see. in reply to edent #

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So it turns out the Tory bribe to those married isn’t really worth much at all.
To start with it’s only worth at the most £150 a year. With the average cost of a wedding around £20,000, it would take 133 years to get your money back.
Secondly it is only available as a tax-break transfer. So if someone in the relationship is earning less than £6,475 you could transfer £750 of your tax allowance to your partner, both earning more than this and it’s pointless.
Thirdly the person receiving the transfer must be earning less than £44,000 a year.

However the greedy nature of me went, at least I’m going to get the cash. That was until I got out the calculator. Currently the wife is getting statutory maternity pay which means that even we won’t get this bribe.

Of course under equality law this tax break is also available to couples in a civil partnership, but really, how many are in the situation where one is earning less than £6,475 a year, whilst their partner is on less that £44,000??

I think I prefer the LibDem proposal to lift the basic rate of tax up to £10,000 instead of this Tory fudge.

• RT @frasereC4 Yougov/C4 poll finds Vince Cable more popular than Darling or Osborne as potential chancellor #askthechancellors #
• apple, why does it take over 2 hours to download updated firmware for an iPhone? hmm!!! #
• @gift_of_the_fab could have been worse, those in the US have been waiting since Christmas for a new episode. in reply to gift_of_the_fab #
• @rickysline1978 it's not reached the backup part yet just the download. failed 3 times on multiple days already, and it still has 30 mins! in reply to rickysline1978 #
• @EmilyCagle you could try http://bit.ly/an4gN5 and then just use Ctrl+F in reply to EmilyCagle #
• @PaulOBrien The Desire is even cheaper! in reply to PaulOBrien #
• @flashboy yup but don't understand a word if it. in reply to flashboy #
• @EvanHD surely you should be asking that question to the Tories and Labour too? in reply to EvanHD #
• @freesat_TV season one is only on a break and returns in a few weeks. in reply to freesat_TV #
• wondering if my bush @freesat box will have updated to allow the iPlayer before I get home? #
• @Simon_Goldie all Freesat "HD" boxes/tvs will get the iPlayer, quite a few already have, whilst the cheap ones are getting it today. in reply to Simon_Goldie #
• @qwghlm and mobiles will be affected too. in reply to qwghlm #
• RT @ProfBrianCox: Anyone who wants to complain about my astrology comment last week on #wonders – bbc.co.uk/dev/null is the place #
• @dracos am I seeing postcode geocoding being given to us for free? Or is that wishful thinking? in reply to dracos #
• @gordon you will get the channel official tomorrow anyway. in reply to gordon #
• @gordon its replacing Men and Motors, although on a different channel number. in reply to gordon #
• Theo! #
• grr, http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendata still prompting for usernames and passwords. I wanna play!!! #
• RT @DrEvanHarris: The judgment is simon…. Wins! #
• is @libdemvoice worth £30 for the year? Of course it is! http://www.libdemvoice.org/ #
• @CollingsA oh dear in reply to CollingsA #
• @red_imp that's what you get from buying fuel at Tescos. Nearly everywhere else in Lincoln is 1 or 2p cheaper. in reply to red_imp #
• ooh the 007 stage #
• @Glinner great recording last night. Look forward to seeing the finished show soon. #
• have no idea why the BBC don't just use the #5live F1 commentary with @CroftyF1 and Ant as the normal audio. 100 times better. #
• @jamescousins I've manually removed it, however you could have re-tweeted it once you had found it and it would have replaced the date. in reply to jamescousins #
• simple #iPad question. Do you need a PC/Mac to activate it like the #iPhone #

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• @dabr have you thought about allowing users to geotag their tweets? should be possible on android 2.0 and iphone 3.0 in reply to dabr #
• @edent http://m.artesea.co.uk/ does a Geo Request and then uses Google (Reverse) Geo Lookup API call to get the location. in reply to edent #
• Major #cashgordon <script type="text/javascript">alert('FAIL!');</sc­ript> #
• @edent it uses navigator.geolocation which is supported in android 2.0, iphone 3.0 and Firefox 3.6 not sure what Blackberry use. in reply to edent #
• RT @higgis: I propose a new verb. Usage: "holy shit, they've made a right #cashgordon of that" #
• RT @MsEmmaMorgan: The Tories can't run a website, let alone the country. #cashgordon #
• @davidcarrington Nexus if you don't mind paying cash up front. Desire if you prefer network sub'd handsets. in reply to davidcarrington #
• has two spare tickets for the IT Crowd recording on Good Friday at Pinewood Studios. Let me know if you want to come along. #
• has just renewed my flickr pro account. This will be the 5th year I've been pro. #
• RT @alexwilcock: Don't forget Cameron welcomed 10p tax fiasco. Lib Dems spotted it in under an hour. #Budget <– *cough* *credit* *cough* #
• @alexwilcock first to blog http://wp.me/pogAB-6a before anyone else picked it up / spotted it. in reply to alexwilcock #
• @CharlotteGore Lost was on this morning before I went to work in reply to CharlotteGore #
• @paulfinney they weren't asking you to check your Orange coverage but potential Vodafone coverage if you switched. in reply to paulfinney #
• @rickysline1978 doctors != labour party in reply to rickysline1978 #
• @rickysline1978 doctors are calling for bans on smoking in cars, not the government. in reply to rickysline1978 #
• @timminchin previews start this Friday, although you might need to look at other cinemas in the area. in reply to timminchin #
• slowly recovering from pushing myself too far at the gym this morning. #
• @sshrpe if you want I can tweet spoilers to you instead in reply to sshrpe #
• The complete 6 seasons of Lost on Blu-ray for $194.99 (pre-order) http://bit.ly/bTSbxM #
• @CharlotteGore Amazon doesn't have it on .co.uk although there is still time. in reply to CharlotteGore #
• RT @FakeAPStylebook: To use a Euro symbol, do UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A SELECT START. #
• @BeauBodOr don't block them, but put redirect to a paypal donation page. in reply to BeauBodOr #
• @nickjbarlow was a beta feature which went mainstream. Useful for when you do forget. in reply to nickjbarlow #
• RT @guardiannews: Labour's election publicity: all the boldness of a muesli advert http://bit.ly/cuNXle <- not even worth the parody #
• Mmm new computer #
• urgh, about to install iTunes on my computer #
• @alexwilcock I'm more worried about the whole of the unelected lords than just a few of the religious ones. in reply to alexwilcock #
• @alexwilcock just go to the BBC website. in reply to alexwilcock #
• @gift_of_the_fab I'ld say it's not as worth as much as the Independent, so 80p for the whole club, making it 20p for 25% in reply to gift_of_the_fab #

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• @sarabedford if you get 3G vodafone coverage at your location £25 for 3gig of internet 30 days to use it http://bit.ly/agxm76 in reply to sarabedford #
• @sarabedford ps comes in colours other than pink. only £15 to top up in the future and according to my map Vicarage Road gets coverage. in reply to sarabedford #
• @sarabedford should be from any shop, although it might be £35 there. in reply to sarabedford #
• @sarabedford I believe activation (else it could be a rubbish birthday present) in reply to sarabedford #
• 
  RT @rachaelblogs: RT @marktempleton: Eric Pickles really is turning into a, err, pickle isn't he? http://twitpic.com/194n2g #
• @CharlotteGore I was thinking that more kids must be dying from solvent abuse. Wish I could be arsed to do some research in reply to CharlotteGore #
• playing about with geolocation in javascript on my Nexus and Firefox 3.6 on the PC #
• @edent BushHD freesat is about £55 in argos. Needs a dish if you don't already have an old Sky one on the side of the house. HDPVR >£200 in reply to edent #
• #save6music by replacing The Archers on #r4 with Marc Riley? #
• winner of the the worst barchart on a #ge leaflet? http://bit.ly/dkmlBP #
• has a cute girl lying on a lap #
• watching the IPL on ITV4. Looks like this is going to be a close one. #
• 
  Ducks on our roof! http://flic.kr/p/7M1hZf #
• how long does it take for a baby to give a urine sample? #
• @MarkReckons I'll be watching the episode as soon as I get up the following morning. in reply to MarkReckons #
• @alexfoster he's just upset that he isn't in the 10 political bloggers to watch this election. in reply to alexfoster #
• @rob_knight social and user focused content is why I prefer last.fm in reply to rob_knight #

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On the 4th March at 2.05am Beatrice Mary Cullen was born weighing 6lb 1oz.

Sometimes I feel like putting my hands up in the air

Many thanks for all the cards, tweets and facebook messages we’ve received.

Just a couple of quick points, until she feels old enough herself:

• she won’t have a Facebook account
• she won’t have a Twitter account
• she won’t have a blog
• she won’t be joining the Liberal Democrats

She will however have her photo taken at every opportunity and have the images uploaded to both Flickr and Facebook as quickly as possible, as well as cute.argh.tc.

Do you have a WordPress blog, but hate playing about with the source code of your theme to insert the Official Twitter Widget?
Do you wish that instead you could just have a WordPress widget which did all the hard work for you?
Well now you can, with the (Un)official Twitter Widget.

This simple WordPress widget allows you to have the Twitter widget on your sidebar.

I wrote this widget for a client who wanted the new Official Twitter Widget, however all the WordPress plugins I came across either used the plain old widget, or did their own thing with the data.
It’s based (heavily) on the work from seanys, which used the old widget.

To install either use the built in plugin installer and search for (Un)official Twitter Widget, or visit the WordPress Plugin page and download the file, unzip it, and FTP it to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.

Do you scheduled lots of posts on WordPress?
Do you then find yourself posting an immediate post 10 seconds before a scheduled post is going live?
Do you kick yourself for ending up with two posts so close together?

If yes to all three, then my plugin may help.

Scheduled Planner is an admin plugin which appears in the Add New / Edit Post section of WordPress. At the moment it just rests in the top right as I’ve yet to work out how to make it in to a nice widget. It shows the last two posts published on your blog, and then all the scheduled posts. Allowing you to work out if it is safe to hit Publish or if you should schedule this post for 3 hours time.

To install just download the ZIP file and dump in your wp-content/plugins/ folder or use the Add New feature in WordPress (search for Schedule Planner)

Tested on 2.8 and 2.9.

Latest version now hosted on wordpress.org here:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/schedule-planner/

Donations welcome