Think before you post, and then don’t – a web2.0 note of caution for us all

The Tesla Roadster – if this is the future of green transport, count me in.

More for Less, says Mark moody Stuart – see above

Adam Boulton on campaign funding and the US primaries

Macpips.com – fantastic geochron-style dashboard widget, and more

I’m by no means first with the news that TheWorldsLeading has returned, albeit in a rather different form.

I had some fun trading comments with TWL in its previous incarnation, and Dom and I had a thoroughly pleasant evening at the TWL Christmas Party just over a year ago. I think we even ended up on a webcast somewhere.

I hope the new TWL retains the combination of irreverence and insight which made the original such a hit. Whether the new collaborative / social model works remains to be seen – there’s 47 members so far …

I’ve just discovered MarsEdit, a fantastic, easy to use blog editor for Mac OS X. First impressions are very favourable indeed – easy manipulation of links, text and images, and it appears to be integrating perfectly with my WordPress installation.

There’s a free thirty-day trial, so at the beginning of March I’ll decide it it’s worth the £15 purchase price.

If you’re not using it, give it a go. Unless, of course, you’re not using a Mac – in which case you’re missing out on a whole lot more than just MarsEdit …

Simon Dickson at Puffbox picked up on this blog last week and, in the process, introduced me to his excellent blog where, in his own words, he ‘rants and reflections on the unholy trinity of online news, e-government and the new politics.’

I’ll be following with interest.

Of this blog, Simon thinks

… it’ll be interesting to see what he feels able to say, from such a potentially sensitive position.

To which I should perhaps respond slightly more fully than I have on Simon’s blog.

Now. I’m not Civil Serf, and I’m certainly not Washingtonienne. I quite like both of them, though. But I’m not here to push the boundaries, to see how much I can get away with. Alas, if anyone’s here expecting forthright and perhaps controversial views on foreign policy they’re likely to be disappointed – I’ll leave that to the FCO Bloggers.

What I will say, though, is that later on this year I hope to revamp my Embassy’s website and, in the process, to add a lot more web2.0 content. The main FCO website has espoused blogs, YouTube clips and Flickr albums to great effect. We’ll be looking closely at how we in Moscow can follow the example.

Charles Crawford’s blogoir which, if you’re American, presumably rhymes with Jaguar

The Telegraph wonders if the shine has come off social networking – didn’t we all wonder this a year ago?

Number of Russian women smokers doubles -  sad.

Some interesting State of the Union stats – from FP Passport

Chris Anderson on open source and the long tail – from Matt Asay

As is often the way, our schedule for the past couple of weekends has been largely dictated by our children’s social lives.

Our daughter, has been to two ‘limo parties’ in the past couple of weeks. Yes, apparently the latest thing for the 8 – 10 age group is to cruise the streets in a stretched Hummer, drinking sodas and watching movies.

Saturday, by contrast, saw us and son at a proper old fashioned children’s birthday party with traditional party games – pass the parcel, treasure hunt, that sort of thing, followed by sandwiches, crisps and cake. The sort of party we used to have when I were a lad.

I was pleasantly surprised as to which occasion the kids thought was more fun.

‘Back to Basics’ was an over-used phrase even before John Major espoused it in 1993. But in the age of the future shock, accelerating returns and technological singularity, it’s heartening to know that future world leaders still enjoy a good old game of musical chairs.