Not-Really-Subliminal Message: Yes To AV.
Yesterday, I absently thought 'hmmm, I wonder when the new series of Waterloo Road is going to start?', and I looked it up, and SURPRISE, IT'S TOMORROW (by which I mean tomorrow from yesterday's perspective, i.e. today). What on Earth, Waterloo Road? The sixth series only finished a month ago!
Still, I'm not complaining. Spoiler blackout for reipan's benefit; highlight to read: Except I am complaining, because after turning the television off at the end I sort of freaked out and cried a bit. WATERLOO ROAD HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME. I was so happy to see you again and you turned around and punched me in the gut. Sam I love you so much :( :( :( :( :(
Not-really-spoilery notes on the episode (7.01):
- TOM IS CLEAN-SHAVEN. WHAT. For a while it was in danger of making me like him a bit less, because he was clean-shaven way back in the first two series, when he was an arsehole. For all I knew, all his morality was contained in his stubble. But apparently he has not regressed in character, which is nice.
- Josh has lopped off all his beautiful curls and it is a tragedy. :(
- Sambuca looks completely adorable in her reading glasses! Everyone who made fun of her is an idiot. Guys, if you mock her she might take off her glasses. Have you seen what she looks like in those glasses?
- I want Sam to be the Doctor's companion. She would be wonderful. Somebody write this.
On a much more serious note: AV referendum day tomorrow, UK voters! If you haven't yet decided how you're going to vote, do me a favour and vote Yes?
AV, in case you're not clear on it, works like this:
- Voters rank candidates in order of preference.
- If a candidate has over 50% of the vote, they win. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is knocked out and the votes for that candidate pass to the voters' second preferences.
- Repeat until one candidate has over 50% of the vote.
- Winner!
It is not nearly as complicated as the No campaign is making it out to be. (Here is a rather excellent video explanation with cats!)
(Special invisible browser ink that can be read only by supporters of the left: under FPTP, the current system, the Conservatives have an unfair advantage because they're the only viable right-wing party; the right are united behind them, and because the left-wing voters are split between Labour and the Liberal Democrats the Conservatives can sail past the divided votecounts of the other parties, even if the majority of voters in a constituency are on the political left. AV makes a lot more sense, in my eyes. Then again, I'm not a Conservative.)
The No campaign is exaggerating the cost of AV, incidentally. The £250 million figure being bandied about includes the £91 million being spent to have the referendum in the first place, which is happening whether you vote Yes or not, and the £130 million cost of the electronic vote counting machines that there are no plans to introduce. Basically, the No campaign is a pack of outrageous lies and actually makes me quite angry.
ALSO, 'UNDER AV THE CANDIDATE WHO COMES SECOND OR THIRD COULD BE THE WINNER': TOTAL NONSENSE. YES, UNDER AV THE CANDIDATE WHO WOULD COME SECOND OR THIRD UNDER FPTP MIGHT BE THE WINNER. You may as well just say 'under AV the results will be different!'
THAT'S SORT OF THE POINT OF VOTING REFORM.
So, yes! AV referendum tomorrow. Please vote Yes to AV? Or, you know, you can vote against it if you really want to. I'll still love you. But please do consider voting Yes.
(My evil plan comes to fruition! Step one: accumulate blog readers; step two: influence political outcomes. YEAH.)
Still, I'm not complaining. Spoiler blackout for reipan's benefit; highlight to read: Except I am complaining, because after turning the television off at the end I sort of freaked out and cried a bit. WATERLOO ROAD HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME. I was so happy to see you again and you turned around and punched me in the gut. Sam I love you so much :( :( :( :( :(
Not-really-spoilery notes on the episode (7.01):
- TOM IS CLEAN-SHAVEN. WHAT. For a while it was in danger of making me like him a bit less, because he was clean-shaven way back in the first two series, when he was an arsehole. For all I knew, all his morality was contained in his stubble. But apparently he has not regressed in character, which is nice.
- Josh has lopped off all his beautiful curls and it is a tragedy. :(
- Sambuca looks completely adorable in her reading glasses! Everyone who made fun of her is an idiot. Guys, if you mock her she might take off her glasses. Have you seen what she looks like in those glasses?
- I want Sam to be the Doctor's companion. She would be wonderful. Somebody write this.
On a much more serious note: AV referendum day tomorrow, UK voters! If you haven't yet decided how you're going to vote, do me a favour and vote Yes?
AV, in case you're not clear on it, works like this:
- Voters rank candidates in order of preference.
- If a candidate has over 50% of the vote, they win. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is knocked out and the votes for that candidate pass to the voters' second preferences.
- Repeat until one candidate has over 50% of the vote.
- Winner!
It is not nearly as complicated as the No campaign is making it out to be. (Here is a rather excellent video explanation with cats!)
(Special invisible browser ink that can be read only by supporters of the left: under FPTP, the current system, the Conservatives have an unfair advantage because they're the only viable right-wing party; the right are united behind them, and because the left-wing voters are split between Labour and the Liberal Democrats the Conservatives can sail past the divided votecounts of the other parties, even if the majority of voters in a constituency are on the political left. AV makes a lot more sense, in my eyes. Then again, I'm not a Conservative.)
The No campaign is exaggerating the cost of AV, incidentally. The £250 million figure being bandied about includes the £91 million being spent to have the referendum in the first place, which is happening whether you vote Yes or not, and the £130 million cost of the electronic vote counting machines that there are no plans to introduce. Basically, the No campaign is a pack of outrageous lies and actually makes me quite angry.
ALSO, 'UNDER AV THE CANDIDATE WHO COMES SECOND OR THIRD COULD BE THE WINNER': TOTAL NONSENSE. YES, UNDER AV THE CANDIDATE WHO WOULD COME SECOND OR THIRD UNDER FPTP MIGHT BE THE WINNER. You may as well just say 'under AV the results will be different!'
THAT'S SORT OF THE POINT OF VOTING REFORM.
So, yes! AV referendum tomorrow. Please vote Yes to AV? Or, you know, you can vote against it if you really want to. I'll still love you. But please do consider voting Yes.
(My evil plan comes to fruition! Step one: accumulate blog readers; step two: influence political outcomes. YEAH.)