Monday, November 26, 2007
A little house in the country
Having only just got back (as it were) I'm now off again on holiday for a few days. Miss C and I just rented a little cottage in the Cotswolds for a bit of a break. I won't post the website for it until I get back, don't want any stalkers turning up midweek looking for me!
I'll be coming back refreshed, relaxed and 33 years old (urghh, birthdays - who needs them?). Bring on the log fire, cosy evenings and lots of wine!
I'll be coming back refreshed, relaxed and 33 years old (urghh, birthdays - who needs them?). Bring on the log fire, cosy evenings and lots of wine!
Labels: Personal
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Sunday, November 25, 2007
In the news
Great interview technique. I knew Fox News were bad but....
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Video
Stupid
Idiotic idea of the day goes to this guy for sticking his head in a fire ant nest. You start to question their intelligence when you see they can't actually even spell 'ant'...
Labels: Stupid
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Video
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Amusing
Science
A new simple theory of everything or a pile of tosh as this person thinks. One of them is going to look a tit....
Labels: Science
In the news
I can't help feeling a little sorry for this guy - 3 years probation for trying to have sex with a bicycle. I mean he's in the privacy of his own room in engaging in a (somewhat odd) intimate act with a consenting bike when a couple of people let themselves in, become shocked and call the police. I'm not really sure why he got put on the sex offenders register either....
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Amusing
I think the only thing you can say really is pwned!
Never underestimate the power of the internet (or peoples stupidity).
Talking of stupid people...
Never underestimate the power of the internet (or peoples stupidity).
Talking of stupid people...
Labels: Amusing
Generation Text
I'm currently looking about for a new mobile phone. I don't really use the one I have which is why I am still using the same little gadget I bought five years ago (rather sadly the only reason I bought it then was in case my ex at the time wanted to get hold of me for.. ummmm... anything). Even with the limited use it has had I think it has about reached the end of the road however...
I'm not after anything fancy - no Jesusphone for me, especially considering the monthly tariff is about £32 a month more than I currently spend. I just want something simple that sends text messages and occasionally can be used to make phone calls - something like this.
Of course my conscience prevents me from heading out and buying a new one but considering the number of phones thrown away each year I thought it wouldn't be too hard to find one secondhand. So I headed off to eBay.
It's amazing the number of stupid people out there that will buy something secondhand for more than it costs new.
Anyway there are plenty there the only problem is a large percentage of them are pink. So the question is, do I ignore stereotypes and buy a pink phone.....
I'm not after anything fancy - no Jesusphone for me, especially considering the monthly tariff is about £32 a month more than I currently spend. I just want something simple that sends text messages and occasionally can be used to make phone calls - something like this.
Of course my conscience prevents me from heading out and buying a new one but considering the number of phones thrown away each year I thought it wouldn't be too hard to find one secondhand. So I headed off to eBay.
It's amazing the number of stupid people out there that will buy something secondhand for more than it costs new.
Anyway there are plenty there the only problem is a large percentage of them are pink. So the question is, do I ignore stereotypes and buy a pink phone.....
Labels: Personal
Internet
Monday, November 12, 2007
Film
Animation
Amazing what some people can achieve with a lot of hard work - Killer Bean Forever. Be great to see something like this getting to the cinema.
Labels: Animation
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Games
Interesting
In the news
Never use Babel Fish to translate emails to send to important people. Not unless you want to know about their mothers sleeping arrangements apparently...
I also like how the teacher in this story waited until the stripper told the young lad to run cream on her buttocks before intervening....
I also like how the teacher in this story waited until the stripper told the young lad to run cream on her buttocks before intervening....
Film
Found this story quite interesting. On the one hand I can see that they feel the need - are obligated even - to defend and be seen defending their intellectual property. On the other they must know they are missing out on some huge advertising that won't cost them a penny.
Of course once something like this has been made I'd be surprised if it managed to be kept under wraps forever. Sooner or later it'll be out to download on sites of a dubious nature having been leaked somewhere along the line. Course, that could be what Games Workshop are counting on?
Of course once something like this has been made I'd be surprised if it managed to be kept under wraps forever. Sooner or later it'll be out to download on sites of a dubious nature having been leaked somewhere along the line. Course, that could be what Games Workshop are counting on?
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Off on a jolly
I'm off to York tomorrow to preach the wonders of software virtualization. It's going to be brilliant and I'll love every minute. I think my job is sooooo super!
Do you think my boss will be able to tell that I know she's reading this?
Do you think my boss will be able to tell that I know she's reading this?
Labels: Personal
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Science
Research into harnessing the cosmic orgasmic life force for good 50 years after the death of the scientist that 'discovered' it. More info here if you are interested.
Labels: Science
I'm a secret lemonade drinker
Strange how some advertising campaigns can become embedded into the culture of a whole generation. I was at a party last night and went into the kitchen to get a drink. Sat there on the side was a bottle of R Whites lemonade. I looked a my mate and we both just did the line.
Although having now seen the campaign lasted over 10 years, maybe not so funny everyone remembers it...
Edit: Why??
Although having now seen the campaign lasted over 10 years, maybe not so funny everyone remembers it...
Edit: Why??
Labels: Personal
Friday, November 02, 2007
Shine a light on me
I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front recently - party because of work and partly because I've not been finding many things I wanted to post about. I used to regularly post about environmental issues but as 'green' has hit the mainstream there are just dozens of stories everywhere, everyday. Extinctions, green buildings, interesting arguments, fairly pointless stories, messages of hope, not so hopeful messages and plain doom. Don't know about you but one story just starts to sound like the next after a while...
So something different today. Rather than just linking to the same old same old stuff, something hopefully informative. And the topic - low energy light bulbs.
It's pretty common to see people advocating their use - I found this article just this morning. Most don't give you all the details though.
The Facts
CFL's use up to 80% less energy and last up to 10 times longer. Seems like a no brainer really and like a lot of people I went out and bought a load when I moved into my new flat thinking it was an easy green choice. However...
Cons
They cost more and whilst they should last considerably longer the failure rates can be high (of the five I bought, one was broken when I opened the pack and one burned out within a few months). They contain on average 4mg of Mercury - not a particularly pleasant substance and not great if it ends up in landfills so they need to be disposed of properly. Breaking one in the house can also be worrying to deal with as it should be dealt with with care.
Most are produced in China which doesn't have a great record on being green and you then have the carbon cost of shipping them around the world to add.
They cost more - in both energy and materials - to produce than incandescent bulbs. The light's take longer to reach brightness, make some people ill with the flickering and colour and don't usually work well with dimmer switches.
LED bulbs are even more efficient and last even longer than low energy CFL bulbs.
The Pros
Whilst they do initially cost more the savings over their lifetime more than make up for that - £7 a year for a bulb in a high use area which even offsets the odd faulty bulb. The failure rate can be reduce by looking around for a trusted rather than cheap brand. Considering the number of power companies, supermarkets and shops all trying to 'go green', you may well be able to replace all your bulbs for little to no money anyway.
As CFL's become more popular, places to safely dispose and recycle them become easier to find. Whilst incandescent bulbs don't contain mercury, electricity production by coal fired power plants results in mercury being released into the environment. As incandescent bulbs use more electricity they are responsible for more mercury being released - about 10mg over their lifetime or 4x more than a CFL. Of course this varies depending on what percentage of your electricity comes from coal.
The benefit to the environment in terms of CO2 reduction depends on your stance on global warming, however other impacts are more obvious. If every UK home changed one bulb to a low power bulb, one power station could be turned off. Or maybe not built in the future considering our ever growing energy demands.
The issue of exporting our pollution to China is a serious one. It does not just apply to low energy bulbs of course and if you wanted to do something about it there are probably exported goods you buy much more frequently that you could cut out of your shopping.
CFL's definitely use more electricity and resources to produce but no figures have ever been released so no one knows exactly how much. This could make CFL's a lot less green than they appear or it could have little affect on their green credentials.
LED bulbs are the future but at the moment they are in the same sort of area CFL's were in 10 years ago - expensive and still developing technology wise.
Hopefully that gives plenty of information for those wanting to make an informed choice or counter arguments on both sides of the debate.
So something different today. Rather than just linking to the same old same old stuff, something hopefully informative. And the topic - low energy light bulbs.
It's pretty common to see people advocating their use - I found this article just this morning. Most don't give you all the details though.
The Facts
CFL's use up to 80% less energy and last up to 10 times longer. Seems like a no brainer really and like a lot of people I went out and bought a load when I moved into my new flat thinking it was an easy green choice. However...
Cons
They cost more and whilst they should last considerably longer the failure rates can be high (of the five I bought, one was broken when I opened the pack and one burned out within a few months). They contain on average 4mg of Mercury - not a particularly pleasant substance and not great if it ends up in landfills so they need to be disposed of properly. Breaking one in the house can also be worrying to deal with as it should be dealt with with care.
Most are produced in China which doesn't have a great record on being green and you then have the carbon cost of shipping them around the world to add.
They cost more - in both energy and materials - to produce than incandescent bulbs. The light's take longer to reach brightness, make some people ill with the flickering and colour and don't usually work well with dimmer switches.
LED bulbs are even more efficient and last even longer than low energy CFL bulbs.
The Pros
Whilst they do initially cost more the savings over their lifetime more than make up for that - £7 a year for a bulb in a high use area which even offsets the odd faulty bulb. The failure rate can be reduce by looking around for a trusted rather than cheap brand. Considering the number of power companies, supermarkets and shops all trying to 'go green', you may well be able to replace all your bulbs for little to no money anyway.
As CFL's become more popular, places to safely dispose and recycle them become easier to find. Whilst incandescent bulbs don't contain mercury, electricity production by coal fired power plants results in mercury being released into the environment. As incandescent bulbs use more electricity they are responsible for more mercury being released - about 10mg over their lifetime or 4x more than a CFL. Of course this varies depending on what percentage of your electricity comes from coal.
The benefit to the environment in terms of CO2 reduction depends on your stance on global warming, however other impacts are more obvious. If every UK home changed one bulb to a low power bulb, one power station could be turned off. Or maybe not built in the future considering our ever growing energy demands.
The issue of exporting our pollution to China is a serious one. It does not just apply to low energy bulbs of course and if you wanted to do something about it there are probably exported goods you buy much more frequently that you could cut out of your shopping.
CFL's definitely use more electricity and resources to produce but no figures have ever been released so no one knows exactly how much. This could make CFL's a lot less green than they appear or it could have little affect on their green credentials.
LED bulbs are the future but at the moment they are in the same sort of area CFL's were in 10 years ago - expensive and still developing technology wise.
Hopefully that gives plenty of information for those wanting to make an informed choice or counter arguments on both sides of the debate.
Labels: Environmental
Thursday, November 01, 2007
I'm too young to sound old
Apparently I'm going to be a great uncle - again - as my oldest nephew has announced that his girlfriend is pregnant. I'd like to say it was planned but considering how many months they've been going out I'm thinking that's unlikely....
Labels: Personal
In the news
I'll leave it to you to decide if this dolphin hunting is any different from raising cows or pigs for meat. If you are undecided after the first video, you may want to try this one. The seconds comes with a warning for those of a squeamish/kind hearted nature....
Labels: News