Are Energy Efficient Boilers Any Good?

I ask because I recently received my energy usage statement from EdF and as a result I’m starting to have my doubts.

Another Letter That Should Be Sent

Somebody over on the Bad Science forum posted this. I really hope he does send it.

Oxford University PPE Course Convenors

Dear Sirs,

There are many famous and successful alumni of the Politics, Philosophy and Economics degree – indeed, a truly disproportionate number of the higher echelons of government and parliament hold PPE degrees. This is a credit to the success of the first P – you have obviously taught them politics very well.

However, given the country’s performance, maybe the Economics syllabus could be improved. I realize that it is not a precise discipline, but it is possible that you could revise parts of the syllabus to correct the obvious errors in belief held by your former students.

But, and this is the biggest “but” of all – I think your teaching of Philosophy requires a major overhaul. The current crop of PPE graduates in parliament on all sides of the House clearly do not know how to think things through properly, how to make decisions and how to consider what probable outcomes of those decisions will be. They have not been taught to think critically and analytically at all. C-, must try harder.

Yours faithfully, etc.

Fairer Pensions

Inevitably, the Hutton report into public sector pensions has reccomended changes – the most notable being basing pensions on career average salary rather than final salary. This change is being presented in some quarters as ‘fair’ because the final salary scheme disproportionately benefits high-fliers. Aye, right.

Policy By Anecdote

I think I am safe in saying that I am not alone in having great concerns about Ian Duncan Smith’s proposals that the unemployed be forced to undertake manual community work to instil the work ethic in them. Or something.

Three Cheers For The RMT

As usual on a strike-day, the Evening Standard is full of selected quotes from commuters condemning the strike. Allow me to have a different take.

TaxPayers Alliance on Speed

[BPSDB]Numerous newspapers have carried the TaxPayers Alliance’s claim that speed cameras cause road deaths, so I thought I would take a closer look at the figures.

Ten Misconceptions From Natural News

[BPSDB] In another of his rants about conventional medicine Mike Adams gives us ten supposed ‘A-Ha’ moments that should tell us that it does not work:

Selling Salvation Is Big Business

I have been looking through the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) accounts on the Charity Commission website. Most interesting they are too. Anyone who wants to check my working or find out more, go to the website and enter 1043985 (the UCKG HelpCentre’s registration number) in the search function.

Bad Science and Bad Finance

[BPSDP]A fundemental axiom of science is that if the predictions made by your theory are wrong, the fault lies with your theory, not with reality. Somebody really should have told the Wall Street and City wbankers that the same applies to mathematical models of the economy.

I’m So Glad I Didn’t Pay For Them

I mean my Bradford & Bingley shares.