The Thanet Star

site feed icon

Thanet Star - actively improving Thanet one idea at a time

The effect that the snow has affected

Given that Michael brings it up in his Sunday ramble I thought I would look up the difference between affect and effect.

Basically affect is the cause and effect is the result.

Now we can all talk about the effect that the snow has affected and sound like we had a reasonable education.

Affected/Effected

By selecting the general term epilepsy to stand for two more specific ideas, you seem to be trying to make it appear that affect and effect somehow mean the same thing. But the mere fact that two different words can be placed in the sameposition in a sentence proves nothing

Have your say (there are No Public Comments Yet ) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

Bums, Banditry and How to Lose Votes.

This post could as equally be called a beginners guide to responsibility and blog comments but given the situation that has prompted it I think the headline far more, well not apt as such, appropriately witty maybe?

I am off course hoping to weigh in on the latest storm in a tea-cup that is the Cllr John Worrow vs James Maskell. Anyone further left of the political spectrum than the boundary of "undeniably right" might have missed this one completely. So here is a really brief recap:

Cllr Worrow has apparently taken umbrage with certain not named Thanet Conservative members on the grounds that he feels that they are being homophobic. Fair play I guess as such outdated non-topics as to whom another is attracted should have very little play in today's political party especially on a local level.

Apparently someone said something like we have J Worrow now on our side backs to the wall you know what I mean which is arguably a touch ambiguous but potentially a little childish.

Anyway on the 22nd James posted Mucho Worrow where he talks about Worrow departing the Conservative party (thus removing the one seat lead they had). In this post James talks about Worrow's blog posts. Sadly as he linked to the home page rather than the post I can't check this out any further.

The first reply seems to have been Worrow casting aspersions on James's accuracy which is fairly typical for a right of centre councillor in my own experience (you know who you are each of you). Generally this rarely amounts to anything and later the member in question cannot be reached for comment when the information they had been shouting "it's all lies" at turns out to be true.

Worrow was then called a drama queen and it went rapidly downhill from there.

Some anon suggested that Worrow and Will Scobie had a thing going and within the hour Will had popped in to point out that he preferred the fairer gender, sorry to disappoint.

Worrow got mad and demanded the post be taken down.

James said that it did not breach his personal comments policy so it was staying.

Worrow made vague threats about litigation.

James unsurprisingly failed to back down.


That's the back story but could you spot who has made a miss step? (It might surprise you).

Keep reading to see not only a number of councillors miss the mark, the point and the opportunity to win votes and just as interesting how Worrow himself is costing himself support with what should have been a free PR boost.

...

» Continue Reading: Bums, Banditry and How to Lose Votes.

Have your say (there are 2 Public Comments) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

I'll keep blogging until the lights go out

Having been shafted by the Christmas Humbug Jobsworth Society there is little chance of me paying the hosting bills this side of Chrimbo.

I will however keep blogging until the lights go out.

In the unlikely event that my hosting company are very understanding I hope to pay up in the new year (somehow) and maybe come back on line. If not it has been great knowing you and my many thanks for staying around to read the blog.
Have your say (there are 7 Public Comments) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

Farewell cruel world...

I'm jacking in blogging.

Just kidding. I am taking 5 days out from everything. I'll be back.
Have your say (there are 1 Public Comment) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

The lights are on and we are home

The lights have been kept on at Thanet Star and Thanet News Network thanks to your fantastic donations. I would like to thank the following fantastic people (in no particular order)

  • Harry
  • Tommy
  • Frank
  • Sherrie
  • Sarah
  • Maya
  • Vlad
  • James
  • Mike
  • Esmaa
Have your say (there are ) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

Keeping the lights on: A social Experiment

Rather than worry about the cost of maintaining Thanet Star I thought it might be better to run a fun experiment.

Right now there is one web server that runs not only Thanet Star but also my personal blog and hosts the Thanet News Network project.

It would be a shame to see it all go dark and this is where the experiment comes in.

They say many hands make light work and this is what I hope to prove. I have created a "pool" on Friend Fund and now it remains to be seen if enough people value Thanet Star and my other efforts enough offer to chip in £1.

How it works: there is one central pool controlled by a trusted third party. We all pledge a pound (or more) and if as a group we hit the target we pay our pledges. If we miss the target then we shrug, say "oh well" and move on.

The money will be used exclusively to keep Thanet Star and Thanet News Network online and live by funding the server they are hosted on. Contributors will be thanked publicly (if they wish) and we may just prove that as a group we can do anything.

Perhaps for our next experiment we can raise a lot more money for a worthy local charity.
Have your say (there are 3 Public Comments) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

To Impressed of China

I was sent an interesting message via the contact page here at Thanet Star recently. The problem is I'm not actually sure what it is in reference to. So I'm hoping the reader will follow up with a comment here.

A user writes: I'm impressed! You've managed the almost impossible.

Given the user's email address comes from a big Chinese email host I am assuming that the impressed user is from China. If you are reading this I am very glad that you like what you see and I would love to know what it is that you are specifically impressed with.
Have your say (there are 7 Public Comments) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

Thanet District Council press office breaks up with bloggers

While the writers at Big News Margate and Thanet Online understandably feel hurt by Thanet Council suddenly breaking up with them the real casualty here is the council itself.

Thanet District Council have for a good long while sent out press releases by email. Independent media (blog writers and the like) along with newspapers, pressure groups and any other interested party could have Thanet District Council's press releases arrive in their inbox.

It seems that Thanet District Council may be shutting down their press office but they are also cutting off all but a select few from mail shots which seems strange.

Keep reading to find out why they are doing this and how big a cock up they have made.

...

» Continue Reading: Thanet District Council press office breaks up with bloggers

Have your say (there are ) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

Thanet Star Blog List: May 2011 Update

You might have noticed that yesterday I updated the blog list on the sidebar. If you did notice this well done for paying very close attention.

I have expanded the list to include a lot of blogs that were, strangely, missing. I have no doubt that I have missed other active Thanet blogs so in the spirit of working together (something TDC will have to learn to do) please feel free to point out blogs that I might have missed.
Have your say (there are 4 Public Comments) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here

Focus on Thanet

The summer is here and with it comes a new crop of Jonny-come-lately Thanet blogs. Encouragingly the latest crop of editions to our circle appear to be departing the dump it on blogger approach and have branched out with more serious platforms. Focus on Thanet, for example, uses wordpress.

focusonthanet.co.uk

Welcome to Focus on Thanet, a website dedicated to news, reviews and discussions about Thanet. For 5,000 years up to Roman times, Thanet was an island until the Wantsum Channel silted up and joined it to mainland Kent.

Have your say (there are 1 Public Comment) · read more items categorised Blogging · Don't miss a thing: Subscribe Today · Help: what's a feed? · This site is operated on set principles of policy and disclosure read them here
 
Matthew Brown Thanet Star Sponsored by Hiltons World Wide Ltd

Stay in and Read Thanet Star

Support Thanet Star

Help keep Thanet Star up and running by buying Matt a cup of coffee or even making a more seriouse donation.

Tweets from @thanetstar

Waste and recycling collections may be suspended say council http://t.co/vMCPUDLU
2012-02-06T11:38:45Z
RT @academyfmthanet: #Thanet News: Council to Reinstate 24hr CCTV Monitoring http://t.co/hJpiGBTy 107.8 Academy FM #Kent
2012-02-05T20:10:29Z
@huddi1 Short thaw expected Monday then freezing conditions. Expect lots of road ice. Could get stuck at a friend's house for a while.
2012-02-05T20:06:57Z
Dreamland Organ Restoration Under Way http://t.co/tEkKJ4yY
2012-02-05T20:03:19Z
Would you eat oddly shaped food? http://t.co/Lh6tgfkZ
2012-02-05T20:03:02Z

Thanet Star Mini Blog

Thanet's only microblog - tiny wee blog posts from Thanet.

Thanet Directory

I've been working on this for a while and now here it is The Thanet Directory. It's a work in progress that you can add to.

Recent Comments

Matt B says Update - once more the snow is closing everything down. Are we ever ready for the...

Ted Todd says Don't worry Peter, there is always pocket billiards.

Peter Checksfie... says I wish they'd have clarified things BEFORE I signed up...

Matt B says The humbugs are getting addressed. Thankfully some super examples of Christmas...

mickbuely says hi there every one - hope yous had a realy nice one - doing the rounds and back...

James Maskell says The power struggle between the Tories and Labour is going to be fascinating. My...

Matt B says I should point out that the Conservatives I stood against were both nice people and...

Peter Checksfie... says Whilst I agree with alot of this Matt, I really don't see the local Conservatives...

Get the latest comments by feed

Thanet Finder: Search Thanet

Thanet Finder is Thanet's search engine created by people like me and you.


The following links area provided as is. Thanet Star is not responsible for the content of third party sites. Last updated May 2011. This list uses the ground breaking words-in-alphabeitcal-order-generally-speaking format.

Additional Points of Presence

Technology Tips

Keep safe online with an anti-virus, firewall and malware protection. I can recomend F-Secure Internet Security 2010


Blog Like a Pro

You need 3 things to host your own blog

  1. A host
  2. Some software
  3. A domain name

Web Host

You can pick up web hosting from £2.49 and have the freedom to do it your own way. (Seee also this Web Hosting Review Blog)

Blog Software (free)

Combine your low cost hosting with no cost software.

Domain

The domain name (such as www.thanetstar.com) is how people find you: Get your domain here (from me)

Contact Us

If you would like to chat with Thanet Star's Editor Matt B then a number of options are available to you. (You can also leave a message).

You can also get hold of Matthew on Yahoo IM, MSN IM and GTalk if you know how. However, the screen name(s) he uses on these services are not public.

Connect with Thanet Star on twitter as @thanetstar

Connect with Matthew on twitter as @lordmatt

Like Thanet Star on facebook



The "Name" saga:

Who is Matthew Brown?

On being Matthew Brown