I try and avoid religion. It's not that I'm anti religious, it's just that it people can take their views very seriously and it can end up in violence - and that's just football crowds who get a bit a drunk, never mind the extremist views some people have.

I came across this video which I found interesting. A Dutch comedian was confronted about some of his satire on a Dutch TV show which was run by three Muslim girls. They took offense at what he said. He responds and expresses it is his right to free speech and they are taking offense when they should just get on with it and deal with it. "Everybody else does it, why can't you?" seems to be the message.

There is an interesting back story to this. Hans was friends with Theo Van Gogh, the director who was shot in Holland a few years ago having made a film about Islamic culture, and this seems to have fueled his ambition to ensure nothing is ever deemed "out of bounds" as to what can and cannot be said in free countries. It's a valid point and one that you can see every day in the UK, with concessions here and there in case it upsets someone, or their religion.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=knRLJp-nqSg

Anyway, I'm not going to preach and say he is right or wrong, but in a free world, people can say what they like regardless of the target. You may not agree with them or their views, but that is what makes life interesting. If we all liked the same thing, it would be a very dull place.

It's always nice to be at home, and this week I'm on a course in central London learning about the application we are building. It seems it will be a good week but the first day is scene setting and most was a recap or confirmation of approach. What was good today was it was my first "hands on" with the product. It has it's own little foibles and tricks, but once you start thinking about how it works it all makes sense and it should be a good week.

What was not so pleasant was the rush hour commute to the city - I've not done it in three years since I left work on a project on the Strand, and I forgot just how many people try and get onto the trains and tubes. It does make you think like the Egg Card advert - for every clever thing that happens in the world (me being at home) there is an opposite reaction somewhere else (the tube journey).

I also read an interesting article in GQ about blogging and that 50% of blogs created every day has the subject matter of the author and his or her life. I scoffed till I realised that's what this was. I might come back to the topic as you could get all deep about this subject and I don't think I can deal with it just now.