Good news:
Under new proposals…. “Motorists would be responsible for all accidents involving cyclists”. When I was cycling in Spain, the motorists all knew they faced this responsibility; and so even the most manic were always very careful to give cyclists respect and room on the road. It seemed to work fine.

Bad news:
The Dept. of MindNumbingly Obvious Research strikes again. Researchers really get taxpayer’s money to do this kind of junk science?

Not content:
The Observer doesn’t like Manchester’s new Urbis, either (see 2nd Aug). Urbis apparently suffers the same fate as the Millenium Dome and Birmingham’s ThinkTank; the architecture is impressive, but the content inside is so poor — “a spectacular lost opportunity” & “could happily have been consigned to a skip”. The same is apparently true of the new Film Council, according to The Sunday Telegraph (free registration required).

Bargain bin:
Search the world’s second-hand bookshops, in a few seconds. Even better than the great addall.com? Maybe, but it certainly offers a useful extension to places like Australia and New Zealand.

Donkey Derby:
I sent Loadstar my congratulations on their recent AN article, and a mention of the idea of creating an “artist’s flatpack ” (al la Ikea) around what they’ve done so far, containing all the materials and fittings needed to retrofit a terraced house so it looks newer and funkier. Tonight I got the one-line reply; “Ikea are shite, are you taking the michael?”. Ah well, Derby – it’s obviously not yet ready for the big time.