The View from the Spaghetti Factory (proper redesign coming soon!)

Farewell to the SuperSaver as train tickets change to simplify travel (Guardian)

The complexity of the train ticketing system is not the problem. It’s occasionally a minor annoyance, but not a real problem. The problem is the illusion of choice, where only a tiny number of cheap tickets are available, and the majority of available tickets are “full fare”. When the train companies reduce the price of standard tickets by about 50%, we’ll talk.

It’s all balloons and bunting here, as I prepare for a day of national pride. I decided that we just don’t spend enough time celebrating our identity in the when-it-suits-us British regional sub-entity of England. Maybe it’s because we share our current patron saint, St George, with rather a lot of Johnny Foreigners. We need a national identity we can live by!

So, after at least five minutes of serious thought, I came up with a name for our new patron saint. Please lumber reluctantly to your feet and mumble some sort of half-hearted praise for…

ST GORGE!

St Gorge is so much more relevant to England in the 21st century, and the people who are so desperate to show their pride in this sub-division of an already tiny country. A symbol of indiscriminate consumption, St Gorge celebrates our love of cheap lager, stodgy fast food and shouting abuse at strangers (especially immigrants and poofs).

I’ve even made a new flag! However, rather than completely dispensing with the old one, so popular with those lovable racists, I’ve incorporated elements of the old flag of St George. To bring things up to date, I’ve added the familiar “Stella Rampant” motif, and modified the shape of the cross to reflect the sagging beer bellies and limp dicks of the proud warriors who represent all that is specifically English.

I’ve been a fan of Paul Ford’s Ftrain writings for ages, but this article, from the Morning News, is one of the best things I’ve ever read by him…

Six-Word Reviews of 763 SXSW Mp3s

I’ve never yet been the victim of credit card fraud, but I know that the banks tend to treat their guiltless customers like criminals in these cases. On the moneysavingexpert site, forum member “zincoxide” has been plagued with calls from a debt collector after being a victim of card fraud, and his responses are some of the best comedy I’ve read in ages…

Having fun with Debitas

[edit: oh, and post #147, from a call-centre worker, is interesting]

Given the amount of preparation required, it’s probably a bit late to think about doing this as an April Fool prank, but it’s pretty damn impressive…

Bathroom Mirror Prank