No geek
is an island

Sheffield MP Meg Munn suggests a new political party that is now, happily, redundant.

In all elections in the United Kingdom, the names of candidates are currently listed on the ballot paper in alphabetical order using the surname. When the election concerns parties, such as in the European elections, they are also listed alphabetically. Consequently, someone with the surname “Blair” would find themselves listed above someone with the surname “Howard”, or, indeed, Kennedy. The Ant Liberation party, should such a party exist, would appear above the Bring-Back-Doctor-Who party or the Flat Earth party.

Feeling hungry at a station yesterday, I popped in to Burger King to get myself a Chicken Whopper meal. I ended up being relatively virtuous: I refused to “go large” (although this was undermined by the woman serving me, who charged me for a regular meal but gave me a large drink and large chips - sorry, fries - anyway), and I opted to lose the mayonnaise from my Chicken Whopper (as much to make it easier to eat and because I’m not a mayo fan, but also to cut the fat).

The best bit, though, was the fries: Burger King have stopped adding salt! They had a flyer to explain and everything. You can ask for salt, but by default they come without. Since I’ve never been able to fathom why people want to pile salt on their food (it doesn’t “enhance the flavour”, it makes it taste of salt!), I was very pleased.

In other weekend news, I’m one clue off solving Auraucaria’s devious prize crossword from Saturday’s Guardian, although one of my other answers is a little dubious.

Not, I should make clear, having a lunchtime snifter.

There’s an animal rights demo going on outside the building, so I had to show my badge. Which I stopped carrying months ago because I was never asked for it. But I talked my way in, which makes me feel safe.

I think I like GMail, although I have so many e-mail address already that I’ve not started using it much yet. However, I do have a whopping great six invitations for GMail accounts, so if you want one say so in the Comments box (if it’s working) or e-mail me.

So Alan Milburn is drafted back into the Cabinet as Chancellor - sorry, Chancellor of the Duchy as Lancaster - after Blair gave up trying to drop Ian McCartney as party chairman.

Does this mean my taxes are now paying Cabinet level salaries for two party operatives? Or do these posts not cost taxpayers money? I don’t know the answer, but there is something distinctly wrong if we’re paying for Labour to employ a General Election co-ordinator.

Meanwhile, Michael Howard has also shuffled his front bench team. He seems to have given up on his supposedly radical idea of a small shadow cabinet from a few months back, although it’s not entirely clear why since the shadow cabinet doesn’t actually run anything. I wonder who the new Shadow Minister for Deregulation is actually shadowing; the same applies to Teresa May in her role as Shadow Minister for the Family.

Is he just inventing jobs for the sake of it? It’s a somewhat ham-fisted attempt to brand posts with a certain message. What next: Michael Ancram as Shadow Secretary of State for Looking Down Our Noses at Foreigners? David Davis to become Shadow Minister for Hanging and Flogging?

Thanks to Popbitch, I have learnt that from next Monday, Five will be repeating Sunset Beach.

And, lo, there was dancing in the streets.

If you missed it on ITV2 or on Channel 5, don’t miss it this time. Watch the saga unfold!