Thinking Positive: FixMyStreet.com and the Man Who Applied for Planning Permission to Demolish Parliament
19 January 2010
“I think it would make a good nature reserve or even a landfill site”, said Tony Hickson, after he applied for planning permission to turn the houses of parliament into a nature reserve, complete with duck pond and duck hotel.
Tony, a stand up comic, pulled his stunt last year, when public anger over MPs creaming the system was at its height.
Tony conveyed many people’s frustration in a funny way, but obviously it was to no end beyond a laugh.
I have recently discovered this website;
FixMyStreet.com, and think it is a stunning example of how the internet can allow people not just to air their frustrations, but to pass them on to those responsible.
The site allows you to report issues in your area to the council, quickly and easily. Sure, the majority of complaints might appear trivial, but they are those things that, when they are not sorted, really nag the heart out of a place; the things that career savvy politicians overlook as inconsequential but which really, actually matter to how people feel about where they live.
And of course, once the complaint is out in the open, the responsible council is presented with the perfect opportunity to convey how great they are; fix the issue quickly, report back to the site’s users, and - hey presto! – pretty good free advertising.
1 Million Dodgy DIY Guides Recalled in the States
11 January 2010
We don’t often follow what’s going on over in the states, but yesterday we came across a story that made us perk up our ears.
Over 1 million DIY manuals from one of Time Warner’s companies have been recalled, after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission found that some of the instructions in the books were incorrect, and that home owners who followed the wiring diagrams were in danger of giving themselves electric shocks or starting a fire.
Apparently no injuries or accidents have been directly linked to the incorrect information printed in these books, though the company admits that it has been printing and reprinting the incorrect, and potentially dangerous, information, since 1975.
Time has also refused to make public exactly which information in the books was wrong, simply saying that the books “contain errors in the technical diagrams and wiring instructions that could lead consumers to incorrectly install or repair electrical wiring.”
This suggests to us that the mistakes were at the schoolboy end of the spectrum, rather than something more easy to overlook (why else would they refuse to point out their own mistakes?) – and we imagine that both professional tradesmen and amateur DIYers are now closely studying the guides, to see if they can spot Time’s errors for themselves.
Whilst people in the UK are not apparently affected by this alert, the lack of editorial control and diligence which allowed for at least 1 million dodgy books to go into circulation is of concern, and the potential danger as a result of these mistakes highlights the reliance that homeowners undertaking DIY projects have on their sources of information.
With the internet now used as the first point of call for people undertaking everything from A levels to rewiring projects, perhaps there is a question as to whether people can have the same confidence and trust in information they find online as they can in printed manuals, which at the very least should have gone through an editor (even if the occasional blooper, such as in Time’s case, slips through).
The World Wide Web, as its name suggests, assembles information from all over the world, leaving it up to the reader to distinguish whether the information they are reading is relevant to them.
In the past, differences between the UK and other EU countries on cable colours (which have been “harmonised” over the last five years,
click here for more) is one example of where information relevant to someone in England wouldn’t be of use to someone in another country, even though both readers may come to the same piece of information through the local version of Google. This is just one potential area where misunderstanding may arise.
DIY is, of course, a great way to save money and, for many people, an enjoyable hobby. In the majority of cases there is no reason why people can’t approach a project in their house with full confidence that they will be able to complete the task safely and to a good standard.
However, past experience is the key – if you are doing something for the first time get advice, and then check that advice once, twice or as many times as you need to feel that you are working from the soundest information available.
Oh, and on the off chance you collect American DIY guides, or are a visitor to the
forum from across the pond, here is a list of the recalled guides:
"Sunset Basic Home Repairs"
(1995, 1975)
"Sunset Complete Home Wiring"
(1999)
"Sunset Complete Patio Book"
(2006, 1998, 1990)
"Sunset Home Repair Handbook"
(1998, 1985)
"Sunset Water Gardens"
(2004)
"Sunset You Can Build: Wiring"
(2009)
"AmeriSpec Home Repair Handbook"
(2006)
"Lowe"s Complete Home Improvement and Repair"
(2005, 1999)
"Lowe"s Complete
Home Wiring"
(2008)