I’ve just pushed out a quick update to Last FM for WordPress. As well as validating compatibility with recent changes to WordPress core, the release comes with a number of useful bug fixes and features, including a rather nice one that permits the display of album covers alongside the track listing. Hope you enjoy the release!

It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a blog update on the WordPress Calendar plugin, but as I’ve just pushed out another bug fix version I thought it a good idea to outline what has changed since I last posted and what is to come.

Firstly in skipping the last 2 versions worth of blog posts I’ve missed trumpeting a really useful new feature. I was contacted by an individual at the BBC last year who wanted to use my calendar (amongst others) to syndicate music event listings across a number of websites for a local radio station. What emerged was an iCalendar feed which both provided long desired functionality to the masses as well as allowing BBC local radio to syndicate events to their own music pages from dozens of local music related websites. Beers all round I think. The 1.3.10 release contains some well deserved fixes to this new functionality along with the usual checks to ensure the latest version of WordPress causes no issues.

In the pipeline then are performance boosts and a semi-rewrite which will seek to harmonise the visuals of a much loved and actively used front-end with developments and improvements in the big wide world of online calendaring. I’d like to provide a date, but as ever, these things take time and thought, neither of which are easy to estimate when holding down a day job and a hectic social schedule.

As ever it’s well worth hitting the update button to get hold of 1.3.10. Any problems or questions in the forums as usual please.

Living in Central London I recently submitted the following response to the consultation on expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone from the congestion charging area outwards to the boundaries of the North and South circular roads. While I strongly believe that greener vehicles alongside reduced car use is essential for the improvement of our health and environment, I feel it’s not right to impose such things at a local level in such a way as to cause those who are already doing their bit to end up paying a pseudo tax.

While the rationale behind these proposals is extremely laudable, the financial implications for residents living within the proposed expanded ULEZ zone who own non-compliant light vehicles is simply unacceptable. For car users in this category, many will be faced with the prospect of borrowing large sums of money to replace perfectly serviceable vehicles or paying a pseudo tax every time they drive their existing car (the word pseudo is used here because if there is little choice in the matter it equates to a tax). The daily charge is most likely then to be paid by infrequent car users as such a cost would be significantly less than replacing their vehicle and yet these infrequent car users are the ones who should be supported; though infrequent car use they necessarily use public transport where possible and in turn will be at the bottom end of the scale in terms of contributors to pollution and congestion amongst the car owning public. These issues are compounded by the fact that there is no proposed sunset period for expanded ULEZ area residents which might have allowed for either a period of saving for replacement or natural wastage in terms of eventual expensive repairs necessitating replacement anyway. Despite the undoubted health and environmental benefits for such residents, the uncompromising nature of the proposals make it impossible for these individuals to support these plans which is very great shame.

Having shared my response, I now feel that I should explain my position in an attempt to solicit a response from readers. I own a car, but use it infrequently – primarily for visiting friends or family out of town at weekends or to facilitate hiking trips. It is an old car, but as current electric vehicles are not capable of the kind of range I would require, I’m retaining my existing car until such time as technology improves to allow me to make the switch.

I feel this is the greener option; if I was to switch immediately, it would likely be to another fossil fuel vehicle which I would then keep for much longer on account of the investment cost and thus would, most probably, end up contributing more negatively to emissions. Insight and opinions from those with a better knowledge of these matters would be most welcome!