This is just so wonderful... here.
As is this one here. And this one too... here.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Friday, August 07, 2009
Apart from Angela Landsbury....
... the Vitamix mix is rather bizarre. Watch these in order, one two three... here. Someone has an odd mind.
We're All Living In Amerika
Ist Wunderbar... here. I had forgotten about this rather wonderful song by Rammstein. LOUD.
Beetroot is good for you
According to this completely nonsense bit of research on eight men. Hmmm, let me see, which crop is just coming up for harvest... hmmm, beetroot. What a coincidence.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
The Ten Best Sci-Fi Movies
I am not sure I agree with the order or the inclusion of a couple of these movies at all... here.
Plum Property for sale
Fancy an island? This 840 acre one (with a further nine acres elsewhere) is possibly going to go under the hammer. It might be necessary to exercise some caution when planting vegetables or opening any boxes or jars you might find around the place though...
With a first name of Lafayette...
... how on earth could anyone take Scientology seriously. Apparently though, the investigations behind the scenes by governments have turned up all sorts of things. This Times article covers part of the story of Scientology with some interesting side line stories too.
(N.B.: I am making the most of the free access while it lasts.)
As an atheist and none God Botherer I find placing my trust in a mystical, mythical entity somewhat difficult in line with 'normal' day to day life... some of the Scientology stuff would be better presented as a comedy show ... oh, it has been already... here.
(N.B.: I am making the most of the free access while it lasts.)
As an atheist and none God Botherer I find placing my trust in a mystical, mythical entity somewhat difficult in line with 'normal' day to day life... some of the Scientology stuff would be better presented as a comedy show ... oh, it has been already... here.
The New York Times tried this
After a protracted attempt to raise revenue by charging people for access, the NYT realised that charging people for news from a web site does not work. Yes, some people will sign up but the number who do will not pay for the infrastructure required or the content contributors.
Rupert Murdoch has stated that News Corp will start to charge for access to their sites. I wish them well in their attempt but, without wishing to be a doom merchant, predict that it is doomed to fail. I give it perhaps 9 months or so from when it begins.
News sites in the UK: Times Online, The Sun - I will miss the commentary on articles like this in the Times. For The Sun... draw your own conclusions here.
News sites in the US: New York Post, Wall Street Journal
Rupert Murdoch has stated that News Corp will start to charge for access to their sites. I wish them well in their attempt but, without wishing to be a doom merchant, predict that it is doomed to fail. I give it perhaps 9 months or so from when it begins.
News sites in the UK: Times Online, The Sun - I will miss the commentary on articles like this in the Times. For The Sun... draw your own conclusions here.
News sites in the US: New York Post, Wall Street Journal
Sacrifical Virgins of the Mississippi
Kenyan Birth Certificate
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Nero 9 CD and DVD Burner now Freeware
The ubiquitous Nero Burning Software that I normally got free (often with lots of unwanted garbage with it) has now been released as freeware. This is the basic software with the full version available with an upgrade... here.
Hard drive docker
This SATA hard drive dock has lots of whizz-bang for a mere €35 or so. It includes numerous card readers too and allows for data transfer or copying of an HD's contents 'easily'. We shall see...
The Time Cube
Someone, somewhere, forgot to take their meds... here is positive proof that "Life encompasses a 4-16 cube principle" or, should I say:
Life encompasses a 4-16 cube principle
The Ninja are coming...
The Cyberdyne Corporation in Japan have developed a robotic suit that has many uses. It weighs 23kg and is controlled by thought. Here is one article about it in the Telegraph.Perhaps if you skip the human bit, transplanting the brain into something like this here and we can all rest uneasy in our beds as we evolve into the future...
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Monday, August 03, 2009
Suntan or Sunscreen?
With holiday season in full swing many people are stepping out of the shade and into the sun. There has been a lot of coverage on the risks to your skin with plenty of advice from government health departments, magazines, and advertising warning about the dangers of sunbathing and the need to cover up. Note the 'cover up' phrase. This does not simply mean dip yourself in a barrel of scented lard.
Where we live in southern Spain, the general rule of thumb we give to those of the pasty flesh is to be in the sun for a maximum of twenty minutes for the first few days. With no clouds to be seen and low pollution levels the effects of the sun are unforgiving. For the past month the temperatures have been in the mid to high 30C's (95-105F) but it has cooled down a tad over the past few days. Despite this, only yesterday we watched a family of lardy English holiday makers who had probably arrived the day before stretch out their over-burdened carcasses on sun beds and proceed to George Foreman themselves for 7 hours. We have lived here for many years and, despite having acquired natural tans, we sit for the most part in the shade. Even so, we managed to acquire a level of minor 'burning' from our trips to swim in the pool.
It would seem that not is all simple with regard to covering up using many of the products available over the counter. What factor to use is not necessarily an indicator of the effectiveness of blocking the suns rays nor is the price. Additionally there is the issue regarding what exactly are the ingredients of the chemicals that people smear over their bodies. Given that is IS known that "around one in five of the British population (and one in four white British) will develop skin cancer at some stage in their lives" perhaps people should have a serious re-think regarding their intake of high levels of Vitamin D. At the same time it is important to note that there are some serious questions being raised with regard to the ingredients of "sun-blockers" and (although skewed to American products) this database has a list that you can use to compare ingredients and the hazards they present.
A quote from the Environmental Working Group sums it up succinctly:
"EWG research shows that 84% of 910 name-brand sunscreen products offer inadequate protection from the sun, or contain ingredients, like oxybenzone, with significant safety concerns."
More information here.
Where we live in southern Spain, the general rule of thumb we give to those of the pasty flesh is to be in the sun for a maximum of twenty minutes for the first few days. With no clouds to be seen and low pollution levels the effects of the sun are unforgiving. For the past month the temperatures have been in the mid to high 30C's (95-105F) but it has cooled down a tad over the past few days. Despite this, only yesterday we watched a family of lardy English holiday makers who had probably arrived the day before stretch out their over-burdened carcasses on sun beds and proceed to George Foreman themselves for 7 hours. We have lived here for many years and, despite having acquired natural tans, we sit for the most part in the shade. Even so, we managed to acquire a level of minor 'burning' from our trips to swim in the pool.
It would seem that not is all simple with regard to covering up using many of the products available over the counter. What factor to use is not necessarily an indicator of the effectiveness of blocking the suns rays nor is the price. Additionally there is the issue regarding what exactly are the ingredients of the chemicals that people smear over their bodies. Given that is IS known that "around one in five of the British population (and one in four white British) will develop skin cancer at some stage in their lives" perhaps people should have a serious re-think regarding their intake of high levels of Vitamin D. At the same time it is important to note that there are some serious questions being raised with regard to the ingredients of "sun-blockers" and (although skewed to American products) this database has a list that you can use to compare ingredients and the hazards they present.
A quote from the Environmental Working Group sums it up succinctly:
"EWG research shows that 84% of 910 name-brand sunscreen products offer inadequate protection from the sun, or contain ingredients, like oxybenzone, with significant safety concerns."
More information here.
iPod - Overheating and Exploding?
Recent news and other reports are leaking out with regard to various models of the iPod range either overheating or exploding. The real crux of this story is that Apple have been offering refunds or replacements on the basis of 'complete confidentiality'. What is really difficult to understand is how Apple could possibly imagine that this sort of thing could be kept quiet. People talk and, with the Interwebnettubes, the word soon gets out.
Having experienced first hand an iPod that overheated to the point that it was unsafe to touch (making it necessary to place it where it could cool down or burst into flames without hazard to ourselves), I will make a couple of personal comments. Firstly, one area where Apple truly excel is in customer service; the iPod was replaced with a new one (with bigger HD) without question (hmmmm), this was in a matter of days once the unit had been 'tested'. Secondly, we bought an additional iPod over the Interwebnettubes and it arrived in a matter of days. Thirdly, I took over the old one. Not being a fan of any device that has a requirement to use a specific piece of software in order for it to work (iTunes and the iPod OS) I have installed RockBox.
Rockbox is a simple boot replacement that overlays the iPod system (as well as other MP3 players without replacing it. Want to go back to using it as a 'normal' iPod? Simply remove the software or plug the device into a computer or external player without it being powered up and it defaults to iPod. It has a few 'quirks' that you get used to like when you forget to power up the iPod before plugging it in BUT... it comes with a whole host of settings, controls, games, and applications that put the iPod to shame. The software is Open Source (they actually listen to feedback and incorporate improvements into future releases quickly) and donations are gladly accepted via PayPal.
You can read about RockBox here. Version 3.3 was recently released. It works with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Rather splendid.
Having experienced first hand an iPod that overheated to the point that it was unsafe to touch (making it necessary to place it where it could cool down or burst into flames without hazard to ourselves), I will make a couple of personal comments. Firstly, one area where Apple truly excel is in customer service; the iPod was replaced with a new one (with bigger HD) without question (hmmmm), this was in a matter of days once the unit had been 'tested'. Secondly, we bought an additional iPod over the Interwebnettubes and it arrived in a matter of days. Thirdly, I took over the old one. Not being a fan of any device that has a requirement to use a specific piece of software in order for it to work (iTunes and the iPod OS) I have installed RockBox.
Rockbox is a simple boot replacement that overlays the iPod system (as well as other MP3 players without replacing it. Want to go back to using it as a 'normal' iPod? Simply remove the software or plug the device into a computer or external player without it being powered up and it defaults to iPod. It has a few 'quirks' that you get used to like when you forget to power up the iPod before plugging it in BUT... it comes with a whole host of settings, controls, games, and applications that put the iPod to shame. The software is Open Source (they actually listen to feedback and incorporate improvements into future releases quickly) and donations are gladly accepted via PayPal.
You can read about RockBox here. Version 3.3 was recently released. It works with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Rather splendid.
A Shortage Of Desks
A recent report from AMREF regarding the shortage of desks in Ugandan schools is rather at odds with this example of complete waste and abandonment in what is rapidly becoming a Third World country - Here is a conservative think-tank point of view which bandies around a lot of statistics to show how 'well off' America's poor are. Here are some poverty statistics. Here are some more.
This from the BBC is also interesting. Are YOU poor? Let me know.
This from the BBC is also interesting. Are YOU poor? Let me know.
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