Exciting Things to Do In Durham, #1

I have just received a University e-mail containing the usual planet-saving tips, including that of using a pan lid when cooking in order to keep the heat in.

In conjunction with this campaign, if you go to the Calman Learning Centre between 11.30am and 2pm on Thursday 5th November with a pan lid, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a solar powered charger for phones, iPods etc.

This, folks, is how we thrill ourselves in our simmering little city of Durham. Fireworks are such a cliché, after all, but where else will you see people converging on a single location with their pan lids proudly brandished...?

Generosity

The pay-off for tough penalties against persistent file-sharers would be a more relaxed copyright regime, Mr Mandelson said.

The details of it would need to be hammered out at European level but it would take account of the use of copyright material "at home and between friends"... It would mean that, for example, someone who has bought a CD would be able to copy it to their iPod or share it with family members without acting unlawfully.
B.B.C. News

It might have been psychologically possible to regard the policy as merely misguided and excessive if it hadn't come with the illusory sweetener of removing a dead letter which in certain other countries doesn't exist anyway. It's nice to see this sensible Gowers recommendation brought back, of course; but given the catalogue of little-regarded laws reputedly still available for this treatment, can we now anticipate that the next round of tough-on-criming will come with a 'pay-off' of curtailing freedom of association still further but making it legal to enter the Palace of Westminster in a suit of armour? Or that in return for heightened 'Net surveillance we might be permitted to apply postage stamps upside down without fear of prosecution? The possibilities for this new understanding of equanimity are scarily boundless.

Red Rag

The action comes as the National Union of Students steps up its campaign for better feedback, launching a form for students to attach to work when they hand it in.

In a move that is bound to irritate some lecturers, students will tick boxes to say whether they want their feedback in written, verbal, electronic or audio form. Tutors are also asked whether they are available for one-to-one feedback.
Times Higher Education

Not surprisingly, comments on the linked page tend to flag up the often substantial course subscription sizes. I agree that interactive feedback is a nice thing where reasonably possible (not that there are that many ways to say 'proofreading isn't optional' that demand face-to-face verbal nuance), but if I get hit with one of these forms I think my response will be that I am certainly available for critical chats, charging the same rate per hour I'm paid for leading tutorials.

‘You may not... use this message for any purpose... or take any action based on [it].’

You are an academic administrator needing to send out a largely pointless¹ Training Needs Analysis form to research students and tell them where to submit it. Do you:

(a) attach it to the notification e-mail, with submission instructions in the body of the e-mail?

(b) attach to the notification e-mail an eight-page PDF giving instructions for download and submission which tell people to log into an intranet site and navigate to a sub-page in order to obtain the form?

Perhaps a hint about the state of mind behind this business is indicated by the e-mail footer (highlights mine):

P It takes 24 trees to produce 1 ton of paper!
Think… is it really necessary to print this email?
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CONFIDENTIALITY:
This message (and any files transmitted as attachments) should be handled confidentially. If you are not the intended recipient please notify me immediately and delete the message.

You may not copy or use this message for any purpose or disclose its contents to any other person or take any action based on them. E-Mails are susceptible to interference. If you are in any doubt, please verify the authenticity of the contents with the sender.
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¹ Possibly other disciplines with different needs find it helpful, but we in Philosophy never have.