Global warming rigged?

George Monbiot from the guardian comments on the evidence necessary to discredit human induced climate change. Very amusing. 'nuff said Link
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Do you? Should you?

If there was a simple easy and free way to backup your important data without having to remember to do it manually would you use it?
Most people I know understand that they ought to backup their computer, and the majority of those don't actually do it; even the few that do backup don't do it very regularly.
Mozy provide such a service, a little backup utility will sit in your task bar and encrypt and backup your data to an online server. Files can be retrived by the utility or from a web interface. You get 2Gb of free storage, if you need more you can pay for it.

Disclaimer: I do get some more storage by referring people, but I wouldn't do it if I didn't think the service was great.Link
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Secrets of the ultimate car

Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, commissioned Kirkham Motorsports build the ultimate, cost is no object, roadster.

The result is this car and you can see how it was built.
This car looks lovely with a capital LOVE, I want one, not that I'm likely to be able afford it. The chassis and most of the hardware is milled out of billet aluminium and it looks incredible.
The body is made from sheet aluminium and then polished to a mirror shine, the stripes on the bonnet are just sanded into the polished surafce.
Link
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Cheep Cheep Cheep

People who know me will know I like to check comparison websites in order to make sure I'm getting the best deal. My broadband provider is plusnet, they are pretty good value for money (the best I can get from my exchange) and their customer service is top notch, they have responded quickly to my queries and I don't hesitate to recommend them. Oh and they do my landline too.

I also use greasypalm, this site gives you cashback for shopping or changing your provider for energy or insurance (among other things), so far I have got more than £100 from them (which is nice). Not only do I have a nice fixed deal from E.On but I got £30 cashback too - bargin
Link
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Wow

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1137883380?bctid=21337502001
All I can say is 'wow'
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What is 'Good' energy?

What exactly is Good energy? is Wind better than Solar? Is Hydro ok? What about Nuclear or Carbon Capture and storage?
Most forms of renewable energy are generally thought of as good and most fossil fuels are thought of as bad. Where does nuclear fall in this range? Atomic energy after all emits no C0₂ (at least during power generation) but it is not normally seen as all that safe.

Is it suitable to look only at the carbon emmisions of a technology to determine if it is good or not? should other things be considered? Wind farms seem to be the most economically accessible - each turbine can be built for a relitvely small investment which will pay for itself within the lifetime of the device - but some people think they are a blot on the landscape and the fact that they are often in mountainous (and therefore picturesque) areas makes this worse. I think they actually look quite majestic as they slowly turn generating 'clean' power.
Tidal power is another similar issue, the severn barrage could be built to produce nearly 10% of the UK's electricity requirements but in doing so would adversely affect a delicate ecology. Is this good? (would the ecological balance be affected by global warming anyway?) At least tidal power is predictable.

Solar power, wind power and wave power power are not prdicatable - geothermal power is not very viable in the UK (so far as I know) Are we always going to need some dirty power as a base load to cover when tidal power is at an ebb?

I don't know the answer to many/any of these questions. If you do let me know
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At seat power?

I read this blog whenever it is updated, he works for the mozilla foundation and is involved in Firefox - so he knows a bit about user interface design.
I normally take what most people say with a pinch of salt, but this analysis of the A380 interface is very telling.
Just to be clear - I have nothing to do with the design of this system.
Link
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How small is too small?

Is it just me or are somethings just made too small, miniaturisation can give you some incredible looking pieces of work. Like this stove.
I have long been a fan of the beverage can stove as it weighs next to nothing and works really well.
This stove is so tiny it can be worn as a necklace, there isn't any detail about how long it will burn for but I don't care. it is worth it even if only for aesthetic valueLink
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When is French British?

Team Green Britain is the new advertising campain launched by EDF energy. EDF stands for Électricité de France and is owned by the French government. Of the Big six energy providers they sit at the bottom of the green spending league.

So ... not Green ... not British

What is worse is that they have hijacked the logo of Ecotricity who are (as far as I can tell) one of the greenest energy providers around.
The Ecotricity Van
 The EDF van

Some EDF facts
• 85% owned by the French State.
• The worlds third largest producer of toxic Nuclear waste – but the two producers ahead of them are actually whole countries, rather big ones too – The US and Canada. So EDF are the world’s biggest corporate nuclear polluter.
• They have some 5 million domestic customers in the UK.
• They produce about 30 million Tonnes of CO2 per year (in the UK). No small amount.
• Recently they bought British Energy – might explain why they suddenly feel so British.
• They sit at the bottom of the green spending league (of the Big Six anyway, Good Energy pip them to the very bottom…:) ) spending the least per Capita (per customer) building new renewables. A measly £10 last year.
• EDF have never met their minimum legal obligation under the RO – how green is that?
• Fred Pearce from the Guardian has some useful info on that front, including the fact that - EDF Trading boasts of being “one of the largest participants in the global coal market” and it imports 30M tonnes a year in to the EU, for burning in it’s own and other peoples coal fired power stations (the ultimate CO2 producers of course).

It's just not cricket!
Link
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Microsoft Furniture

A salesperson walks into your office today and tells you that you have to buy a new, pre-built, expensive desk for every one of your employees. You have to buy a new desk today and replace it every three to five years. Additionally, there are no options for the desk and you may not alter it in any way - one desk is all we make and you have to buy it from us. You see, you don’t really own the desk; you’re simply purchasing a license to use the desk. Chairs are sold separately and we have the corner on the market for chairs that are 100 percent compatible with the desk. The chairs are also very expensive.

Does that sound like a scenario in which you wish to participate? Preposterous, you say? Is it? Now, what if I told you that you do have a choice of desks? In fact, just across the street from your office is an entire mall filled with desks and chairs from which to choose. Here’s the exciting part: The desks in that mall are all free. That’s right, free. Take as many as you want. You want chairs? They’re free too. If you want to customize your desk - or even build one from scratch - you can. What’s stopping you? Go pick up your free desks and chairs.

I’m feeling your reluctance to load up on those free desks and chairs. What’s the problem? Do you believe that there’s something wrong with those desks because they’re free? The free desks and chairs are just as good as the expensive one, plus they’re customisable down to the most minute detail.

If you’re like most, you’ll opt for the “one size fits none” expensive desk. Having choices, even if the other choices are free, often doesn’t make it any easier to choose. Sometimes it’s a “follow the crowd” mentality. For example, if your insurance company, family physician, elementary school and engineering company all bought the expensive desks, who are you to go in some other direction? A mind of your own is a terrible thing to waste.

Who cares if, while using your expensive desk, you occasionally have to open all the drawers and reclose them for the desk to work properly. Again, it’s what everyone else bought and it’s good enough for him or her, so why should you go to the trouble of learning how a new desk works or messing about with some new-fangled chair? After all, if something goes terribly wrong with the desk, you only have to call the manufacturer and someone will fix it, right?

Wrong.

The desk manufacturer assumes no responsibility for the workmanship or the maintenance of your desk. That’s left to independent businesses or individuals who’ll charge you to fix the desk. The manufacturer releases semi-annual patch kits to fix any anomalies you find with your desk. However, there are numerous manufacturer freebies: Cute drawer handles, holographic arm rest decals and fun paperweights to make your desk-using experience more enjoyable.

One word of caution: You should make nightly copies of all your desk’s contents and store them in a larger, more expensive desk that no one uses. Yes, you have to buy a chair with that desk too. Don’t become too attached to your current desk (now that you have it arranged just as you want) - you have to upgrade to a newer, heavier and better version in a couple of years. Not to worry, if the new one is so cumbersome and unstable that your productivity slows to a crawl, the manufacturer will have a better version in a couple of years for you to buy. You’ll buy it and again you’ll be just like everyone else.

Via LinuxPlanet
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Crazy theories

Sometimes I read about geo-engineering ideas and I think, 'that sounds like a fantastic idea' assuming of course there is no unforseen side effect; other times I hear about a scheme that makes no sense at all. I have just read about an idea to reduce ocean acidification, which is absolutely bonkers. In essence the problem is this - too much Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere means more is absorbed by the oceans, the Carbon Dioxide in the ocean forms cabonic acid whic prevents things like corals and phytoplanktons from forming shells correctly. In order to correct this imbalance Tim Kruger, a former management consultant has proposed a project known as Cquestrate. This involves adding Lime to the ocean to reduce the acidity. The lime will react with the Carbon Dioxide to form calcium carbonate which will sink to the bottom of the ocean to form a sedimentary rock sequestering the Carbon for centuries (it sounds good up to this point)

However the big question is this where does Lime come from? Lime is produced on an industrial scale by roasting Limstone at over 1000 degrees C this releases huge amounts of Carbon back into the atmosphere, and it takes lots of energy to heat it this hot too. Where is the sense?Link
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Mii Fit?

I have previously posted about using my wii to try to get fit. I have to say it worked for a while - ok a very short while.
My wife has just got a new mobile phone which came with a Wii Fit balance board, so far I have used it three days running (lets see how long I can keep it up).Link
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Fix the economy?

Any one think this is a good idea?

Dear Mr. Darling,

Please find below my suggestion for fixing Britain 's economy. Instead of giving billions of pounds to banks that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan :
There are about 20 million people over 50 in the work force. - Pay them £1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Twenty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new British CAR. Twenty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis Fixed.

4) They must send their kids to school / college /university - Crime rate Fixed

5) Buy £50 of alcohol / tobacco a week there's your money back in duty / Tax etc

It can't get any easier than that!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members of parliament pay back their inappropriately claimed expenses and second home allowances.

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Adverts

Do you find yourself annoyed by them? Do you enjoy some of them? Do you ever click on web adverts? Or do you have some strategy for avoiding them?
Adverts can often provide some much needed income to keep a website going (this isn't just a shameless ask - but if you see an advert that interests you and you click it I do get a (very very) small reward). Do you use tools like Adblock.
Just trying to gauge opinion on whether it is of any use keeping the adds on my site.
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Specification

What makes a species a species?
Are dog breeds different species?

There are many definitions of what kind of unit a species is (or should be). A common definition is that of a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring, and separated from other such groups with which interbreeding does not (normally) happen. Other definitions may focus on similarity of DNA or morphology. Some species are further subdivided into subspecies, and here also there is no close agreement on the criteria to be used.Wiki

Even closely related populations are normally considered different species if there is some kind of reproductive barrier between them. This could be a genetic barrier - incompatible chromosomes preventing offspring. It could be a physical barrier like a ocean or mountain range.
You could, using artificial insemination, inseminate a Chihuahua with mastiff semen but you might end up with an embryo so large it couldn't be carried to term. A male Chihuahua would not be able to make much progress with a female mastiff without some crampons or other climbing gear. Does this make them different species? Your call
Link
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