Comments on: Vworp, vworp http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/ Airpower and British society, 1908-1941 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:37:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-59206 Brett Holman Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:26:53 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-59206 Well, I'm sold! "Technologisation" -- good word, that. Well, I’m sold! “Technologisation” — good word, that.

]]> By: Chris Williams http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58845 Chris Williams Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:42:17 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58845 vworp, vworp! Don't mess with me about police boxes - my cellar is one. No, really. Anyhow, I think that the police box is a technologisation of the old 'fixed points' system of bureacratic supervision. It's very different to the system of central dispatching (the one what owed a lot in the UK to air defence system heritage) and has been superseded by it, although the police box itself is a suprisingly late innovation. It's actually police communication systems that got me into all this air defence malarkey. All will be revealed with footnotes just as soon as I can get my temporal stasis machine to produce a subjective fortnight, giving me enough time to re-write the article for re-submission to _Technology and Culture_. Real Soon Now. vworp, vworp!

Don’t mess with me about police boxes - my cellar is one. No, really.

Anyhow, I think that the police box is a technologisation of the old ‘fixed points’ system of bureacratic supervision. It’s very different to the system of central dispatching (the one what owed a lot in the UK to air defence system heritage) and has been superseded by it, although the police box itself is a suprisingly late innovation.

It’s actually police communication systems that got me into all this air defence malarkey. All will be revealed with footnotes just as soon as I can get my temporal stasis machine to produce a subjective fortnight, giving me enough time to re-write the article for re-submission to _Technology and Culture_. Real Soon Now.

]]> By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58840 Brett Holman Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:11:41 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58840 Excellent: this post is already the top Google hit for <a href="http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=vworp%2C+vworp&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a" rel="nofollow">vworp, vworp</a>. Excellent: this post is already the top Google hit for vworp, vworp.

]]> By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58839 Brett Holman Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:09:11 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58839 LOL, well I was going to say something ... LOL, well I was going to say something …

]]> By: Jakob http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58838 Jakob Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:01:48 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58838 Ah, now I didn't click through to see the full story - ignore my previous comment... Ah, now I didn’t click through to see the full story - ignore my previous comment…

]]> By: Jakob http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58834 Jakob Sun, 02 Sep 2007 20:09:57 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58834 There's one just outside Earl's Court tube as well - IC's student television station would always use footage of this when Dr. Who came up... There’s one just outside Earl’s Court tube as well - IC’s student television station would always use footage of this when Dr. Who came up…

]]> By: Brett Holman http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58832 Brett Holman Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:30:22 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58832 Yeah, I saw that <a href="http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/~trekker/policeboxes/scottishboxes.html" rel="nofollow">Scotland</a> is the place to go for police boxes. I'm going to Edinburgh soon, but theirs apparently aren't TARDIS-style ones. There are lots of those in Glasgow, but that's not enough reason to go there :) Chris: Well, now I'm curious! In 100 words or less, and assuming that <em>Doctor Who</em> never existed, just what is the historical significance of the police box? Yeah, I saw that Scotland is the place to go for police boxes. I’m going to Edinburgh soon, but theirs apparently aren’t TARDIS-style ones. There are lots of those in Glasgow, but that’s not enough reason to go there :)

Chris:

Well, now I’m curious! In 100 words or less, and assuming that Doctor Who never existed, just what is the historical significance of the police box?

]]> By: Jack http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58764 Jack Sat, 01 Sep 2007 21:01:17 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58764 Yes, there's nice coffee-converted one in St Patrick's Square in Edinburgh. There's also, I'm fairly certain, still one in Buchanan Street right in the centre of Glasgow. It fell into a terrible state but was not, to my knowledge, ever removed. It went through a phase of being a coffee stall too, but last time I was there it had been filled with touch-screens and the likes to provide, eh....'Tourist Information' (sorry, sound of ex-Glasgow dweller stifling cheap laugh...) Yes, there’s nice coffee-converted one in St Patrick’s Square in Edinburgh. There’s also, I’m fairly certain, still one in Buchanan Street right in the centre of Glasgow. It fell into a terrible state but was not, to my knowledge, ever removed. It went through a phase of being a coffee stall too, but last time I was there it had been filled with touch-screens and the likes to provide, eh….’Tourist Information’ (sorry, sound of ex-Glasgow dweller stifling cheap laugh…)

]]> By: Chris Williams http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58763 Chris Williams Sat, 01 Sep 2007 20:24:07 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58763 There are quite a few left in Edinburgh. Many of those have also become kiosks by now. A very fine historian by the name of Jack Bunker is about to finish a book about police boxes, which ought to be worth a read - and not just by people like me who are obsessed with the history of police communication systems. There are quite a few left in Edinburgh. Many of those have also become kiosks by now. A very fine historian by the name of Jack Bunker is about to finish a book about police boxes, which ought to be worth a read - and not just by people like me who are obsessed with the history of police communication systems.

]]> By: Sharon http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58762 Sharon Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:52:56 +0000 http://airminded.org/2007/09/02/vworp-vworp/#comment-58762 There's one in Glasgow's West End, opposite Byers Road. I saw it there a few weeks ago when I went up for a conference, much to my surprise. Ah, a <a href="http://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/~gbarr/tardis/glasgow_tardis2.jpg" rel="nofollow">picture</a>. I didn't notice at the time but apparently it's now been turned into a kiosk selling coffee. Hmm. There’s one in Glasgow’s West End, opposite Byers Road. I saw it there a few weeks ago when I went up for a conference, much to my surprise. Ah, a picture.

I didn’t notice at the time but apparently it’s now been turned into a kiosk selling coffee. Hmm.

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