Observed and Evaluated

It's the longest day

2010-06-21T20:37:00.000+01:00

It's the time when the sun stays up for longest amount of time (in the Northern hemisphere).

Here's more about the longest day of the year.

Science so what

2010-03-20T22:13:00.001Z

Science so what

Pursue your passions

2010-01-02T20:11:00.000Z

Pursue your passions
- seems a good idea.

Copenhagen Climate Chaos

2009-12-19T13:27:00.002Z

Let's face it, very little was achieved in the climate change conference. A huge number of people got to burn off more carbon into the atmosphere getting there, but other than that and a load of nice meals (no doubt), little was achieved.

Still to be honest the huge changes in lifestyle and the economy, and a $100 billion annual fund is a HUGE commitment! Ignoring the on-going debates about man-made contributions to global warming there's a BIG question that needs to be asked:

Just what EXACTLY will $100 billion per year be spent on?

Let's see the breakdown of where this money is going. Strange how it's a nice round figure. Such a huge fund must be totally transparent and spent very efficiently and effectively. It must not be splashed about on political events, politicians' expenses, dictators' bank accounts, politicians, criminals, global corporations, etc, etc...

If there is no plan that details how the money will be spent wisely then let's not support it. In the UK "we" [aka our dictating Prime Minister] have "volunteered" to contribute about 1 to 2 billion per year. However, what our PM fails to realise is that the UK is in a recession, and the country is on its knees [perhaps waiting for the final collapse].

Data Change or Climate Change

2009-12-07T20:39:00.002Z

When the hacked information - from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) - showed that some scientists had been practicing dubious behaviour this started a feeding frenzy for those skeptical about climate change. In a climate of doubt the last thing the pro-climate change gang needed was this.

On such a unique issue of global importance the science needs to be as transparent as possible. That means all of the data should be publicly available.

The "scientists" at CRU have clouded the clarity of the science. Their behaviour is unacceptable, if the allegations are true: failing to comply with freedom of information requests; using "tricks" to modify data; deleting / losing raw data; obstructing the work of other scientists; and, perhaps, letting their emotions and egos get in the way of transparent scientific debate.

Science is the most robust methodology we have, and its findings and methodology should be treated with respect. It seems some at CRU may be guilty of not showing adequate respect.

Given how high the stakes are in the global warming debate, heads should role (if found guilty of malpractice).

Government with scientific advice

2009-11-02T20:51:00.002Z

Sacked drugs adviser

A government without scientific advice could be a dangerous thing. What do politicians base decisions on if they have no scientific evidence?

Sacking a scientific adviser for not singing off the Government's hymn sheet sets a dangerous precedent.

Admittedly drugs are a hot and complex topic. Part of the problem here may be the system of categorising drugs A B C. What is the point in having illegal drugs category A and illegal drugs category B? They are either legal or illegal - aren't they? We only need two categories: legal and illegal.

Using the above legal/illegal diffuses all the hot air out of the current argument between scientist and government. They'd be no argument about whether a drug should be A, B or C. As the meerkat says Simples.

Critics everywhere

2009-10-27T22:31:00.003Z

There's critics everywhere; and a lot of what they say are subjective shots in the dark - little substance; with a strong attitude. They know who they are.

So consider using an objective approach.

Consider an objective scale to compare the relative merits of different approaches.

You know your boss is a sadistic...

2009-10-26T22:15:00.001Z

... if he says to you:

I'm disappointed that your don't take on roles that are more stressful.

What a *&^#!

GM crops - in Britain!?

2009-10-21T21:29:00.003+01:00

The title claims GM crops must be grown in Britain.

We've been here before with the GM debates, and it's that time again.

But this time instead of focusing on GM let's address the above claim that GM crops must be grown in Britain. The report, by the respected Royal Society, points out - according to the above article - that the global challenges of: (1) climate change, and (2) an increasing global population, means that more food will have to be grown (and the crops will have to be tolerant of the environment they're grown in).

It's worth arguing that:

(1) Climate change is agreed by many scientists, but the uncertainties in the predictions may cover a large range; and all conclusions in this area are susceptible to unknown factors and limited knowledge - not to mention the challenges associated with predicting the interaction of the Earth's complex systems, the Sun, and chaos theory. Even if the climate change does result in significant changes then it is possible to have a technological Plan B, C and D, despite what some politicians state. It is possible to manage and reduce the impact by using technology. So the pro GM argument it is making an unreasonable, biased, assumption that climate change is an absolute certainty and that the only solution is GM - this is not the case.

(2) The increasing global population is the elephant in the room that everyone avoids. The major cause of all human generated environmental impacts is due to the large global population. The solution to all of our environmental problems is obvious. Yet despite this, politicians (and even some scientists - it appears) accept an increasing global population and attempt to fix our global problems by tinkering around the edges.

The premise that we should support a growing population is fundamentally flawed - it is not sustainable.

No matter how much money [taxes] you throw at such a problem the approach will eventually fail. Not even advanced technologies can support an unlimited number of people on a finite sized planet. At some point there will be too many people. If you doubt this then ask yourself could Earth support a population of 10 billion, 20 billion, 100 billion, or even 1000 billion? Clearly the amount of land needed for crops, homes, factories, utilities, transport and the like would be severely stretched. Obviously, at some point the population could not be supported; a finite resource (in this case Earth) cannot support an infinite number of people.

So what we need to do is go back to basics and start by admitting what the real cause of the global environmental problem is. Unlimited population growth is not sustainable. Either we make a conscious effort to control it; or eventually the Earth's finite resources will do it, in a less gracious way.

The solution starts with discouraging unsustainable population growth.

In Britain we currently pay people to have children. The parents get direct child benefit support, and indirect state support via many services. Billions is spent on promoting an unsustainable philosophy. If you're a fan of financial incentives and deterrents then one solution would be to reverse this approach: withdraw child benefit and instead tax parents for each child; and for childless adults there could be a financial reward [though that's not my preference - there's much better things to spend our finite taxes on]. OK, I expect all the parents to be in revolt mode, but hopefully you see my point.

We're encouraging an unsustainable scenario and we all know it but prefer to keep our heads in the sand.

Beware of "Smart Speakers"

2009-10-15T22:00:00.002+01:00

Beware of people that seem to have a skill of talking with confidence and style.

Many of these people just have that skill - they give the impression that they are the expert in a field, but in reality they are bluffing, or arrogantly believe their views are correct.

You've almost definitely come across these people - they are everywhere: in politics, business, finance, banking and in almost all workplace meetings. The whole of our society is influenced by these people - decisions are made based on what they say!

Would our society be a better place if we challenged these bluffers?
What would happen if we asked them to provide evidence to back up their claims?

Technology of the 21st century: T21

2009-10-15T21:19:00.002+01:00

We've heard for ages that technology will change our lives; and over the centuries it has indeed. But there will be something radically different about technology in the 21st century...

It's not that the pace of change will be much faster (which it will).

It's not that processing power will get faster, more powerful, smaller, and cheaper (which it will).

So what is radically different about T21?

This is the first century in which human evolution can be determined by humans, in a significant way. Science and technology opens the gates of human determined evolution, with promises of improved health, enhanced physical and mental capabilities, and extended life spans.

But it doesn't stop there...

At the same time computing power brings us towards the "singularity": the point at which artificial intelligence matches human intelligence. From that point on the AI systems will continue to self-improve at a significant rate. They will be able to perform mental operations that we are not capable of, and may not even understand. But perhaps the most important thing is that the potential for improvements in the understanding of everything and discoveries in the universe could have profound consequences; and beyond the singularity the future of human society becomes unpredictable (by humans, but perhaps not by the emerging AI species). This will become the biggest "disruptive technology" ever encountered [meaning it's so innovative that it radically changes the way we live].

Techno Tosh

2009-10-15T21:14:00.002+01:00

Technology, particularly IT, has allowed us to do many things; in many ways it's great. But what's not so great?

Setting servers up and configuring all the darn modules.

If it involves fiddling with lots of configuration files then that's not progress. A few files and some well defined logic is fine, but having Google every step to find out what values go in what files is somewhat disappointing. Let's have simple systems and good documentation; banish needless difficulty and complexity to the history books. Let's see some progress here.

BBC One Show: One Voice on EU Treaty

2009-10-05T19:51:00.001+01:00

BBC1's One Show had one voice on EU Treaty.

Note this

2009-09-24T20:35:00.001+01:00

www.evernote.com

Keeps all your notes - can be searched by keywords, title and tags.
The clever bit is its searches the text in images.

PC: perhaps crap

2009-09-05T16:31:00.002+01:00

Computers and IT are great BUT...

When things don't work properly they're a pain:-

A renewal/install of McAfee software didn't report any errors but it didn't install the software. After contacting tech support - which was good - they said I had to download and run another program first to clean out some old McAfee components.

Well why the heck don't they write the software to deal with this automatically!!!

I'm not picking on McAfee - similar problems crop up everywhere.

I just feel that PCs are becoming complex and inelegant: unstable, unreliable, and not always user friendly. I might take another look at Unix/Linux systems - although they too have very frightening administration interfaces and complex concepts.

Why doesn't someone develop a new computer with SIMPLICITY a core feature in every aspect?

Is this a nice challenge for a competent open source community and/or Google? Shows us what you can do and remove the IT nightmares that we all encounter (at some point). Please.

An Opinion on Success

2009-08-07T14:20:00.003+01:00

John Wooden on true success

peace of mind
never be late
neat and clean
no profanity
never criticise (a team mate)
work hard
faith and patience
do the best of your ability
a journey is better than the end

From TED Talks.

Dawkins bashing: Why does evolution need God?

2009-08-04T21:59:00.003+01:00

A knol about Dawkin's God Delusion is critical of his book. (Dawkin says there's no god, and that gets the religious replies going.)

But a thought I had made me smile:

Dawkin's maintains that evolution is responsible for what we humans are
This implies that evolution created religion, or the need for religion

Mmm, interesting.

This might give Dawkin sleepless nights: Why does evolution need religion and God?
(Will this be the subject of his next book?)

Cheap crap and water

2009-08-04T21:47:00.002+01:00

Water off, water on
the toilet cistern
it has a gone
on the blink
cheap stuff don't half stink!

Corinthians 6

2009-08-03T19:56:00.003+01:00

"Corinthians" and then "corinthians 6".

What does this mean? A search immediately led to the following: Corinthians 6:19.

¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Super Calculator and Data Store

2009-05-18T23:37:00.001+01:00

Quite impressive in some areas!

Wolfram|Alpha

If you want numeric data, maths maths and more maths then this is well worth a look.

Beware of the Scam

2009-05-14T21:41:00.001+01:00

They're still out there - the scammers and their quite clever scams. Beware.

England: The Strange Country

2009-04-25T19:15:00.002+01:00

Political correctness gone mad (again):

An English public sector institution celebrates just about every cultural event, if the event has roots from around the world.

Come St Georges Day there was not a whisper; nothing; zilch; zero.

Why are the public sector pushing alien cultures and turning their backs on their home culture? Is it a master plan to continue recking England?

Look out for: The march of the PC zombies into the void...

Pothole go-slow to 'calm traffic'

2009-04-25T19:07:00.000+01:00

Pothole go-slow to 'calm traffic'

Disgraceful state of a nation: when our 3rd world roads are claimed to be useful for something.

It'll get worse...

David Attenborough to be patron of Optimum Population Trust

2009-04-15T21:55:00.001+01:00

Finally, someone has the courage to stand up and proclaim the obvious. On a finite planet, only a finite number of people can be supported: there is a limit to the feasible size of a global population.

Life's Learner

2009-03-24T20:02:00.000Z

Life's Learner
Another blog is born. This blogger is talking about reflecting on life's learning.

There's an interesting article on relaxation and focus - something we'd all benefit from I'm sure.

Child protection plans revealed

2009-02-04T21:54:00.001Z

BBC NEWS | UK | Child protection plans revealed

It's a difficult balancing act to do the right thing: take a child away from parents or leave with risky parents.

That aside, this incident was aggravated by the growing levels of bureaucracy and incompetence in our society.

More and more people are failing to do their jobs properly. So why do managers get higher and higher salaries as work-based performance nose dives!?

Longest and greyest day

2008-06-21T15:03:00.001+01:00

Today is the longest day, apparently - but it is more like the greyest day, with gloomy, misty weather.

zimbabwe - Rob Mugabe

2008-06-21T14:51:00.000+01:00

zimbabwe

Rob[ber] Mug[ger]abe - robber and mugger, Robert Mugabe

Why does the world watch and fiddle while this catastrophe is allowed to unfold?

The robber and mugger of his own people has said only God can stop him. So perhaps we should all say a prayer that justice is served swiftly.

Law is US

2008-06-21T14:40:00.000+01:00

Infinite stupidity of humans: demonstration:

26-Year Secret Kept Innocent Man In Prison, Lawyers Tell 60 Minutes They Were Legally Bound From Revealing Secret

Is the US law US? Well for this innocent man wrongly imprisoned for 26 years the answer might be yes the law stinks.

Because a client confessed to his lawyers that he had committed the crime (and not the wrongly convicted guy) the lawyers had to protect client confidentiality.

Well hey here's an idea for overpaid idiotic lawyers. Change the facking terms of client confidentiality. Tell clients if they confess to a crime that the information CAN be revealed to the courts. Doh!

Petrol biofuel - you can't eat it

2008-05-20T19:23:00.000+01:00

Petrol must now include biofuels: "All petrol and diesel which is sold at UK pumps now has to include at least 2.5% biofuels.

These renewable fuels, made from crops such as sugar cane or maize, have been added to fuel sold around the country.

This target will rise to 5% by 2010. The move is aimed at making transport fuels more environmentally friendly and will not change how cars work.

But some scientists and green groups say biofuels contribute more greenhouse gases than they save.

Oxfam said millions of indigenous people faced clearance from their land to make way for biofuel plantations such as palm oil.

The aid agency is also concerned that the switch to energy crops from food production - including a large-scale drive in the US to produce bioethanol from maize - is contributing to rising food prices."

Pneumonia linked to pollution

2008-05-20T19:20:00.000+01:00

Pneumonia 'linked' to pollution: "'Road transport was the chief source of the emissions responsible, although it was not possible to discriminate between the different chemical components'.

The team estimated that the annual number of excess deaths - or those which could be attributed to the pollution - could approach those of the 1952 London smog, which killed 4,000 people.

But lung specialists said more detailed research was needed before a clear link between pneumonia and exhaust fumes was declared.

'What this paper does show, however, is that there is clear geographical variation in deaths from pneumonia, lung cancer and COPD,' said Richard Hubbard of the British Lung Foundation.

'This would suggest that social factors such as deprivation and smoking, and possibly pollution, are important and that there is great potential to prevent deaths from lung disease.'"

BBC NEWS | Health | Air pollution causes early deaths

2008-05-20T19:17:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS | Health | Air pollution causes early deaths: "UK 32,652" [2005 report]

Mobile phones: Are they safe?

2008-04-07T17:14:00.000+01:00

Innovation Research: Cancer: Cautious approach to research: Mobile phones

Officially, in the UK, there is no evidence of a problem. However, a few new studies and reports have cast doubt...

Embryo research

2008-04-07T16:38:00.000+01:00

Voters against embryo research, claim Catholic Church

It is helpful to consider a balanced view on embryo research (using animal-human hybrids).

From the perspective of religion, God said though shalt not kill. Many religious followers may also feel that humans are blessed and sacred, in the sense that they should not be tampered with.

In terms of science, the opportunity to be able to conduct more experiments, in the near future, on human stem cells provides a quicker route to understanding more about stem cells (and other aspects of human life). The results from such experiments will help to find cures to medical problems quicker. This could include cures for neurological conditions, organ replacements, and other problems. The benefits are expected to be great.

If the proposed bill only allows scientists to use animal-human hybrids for laboratory research, and the maximum number of cells is limited to petri-dish portions, then that should not represent too much moral or religious concern. Such experiments are not conducted on anything that represents a complete human, nor do they represent a human organ. There would be little to worry about from that perspective. The group of cells in the petri dish is not really a human (in terms of its functionality) and so no human has been tampered with and no human has been killed.

Sure, the cells had the bio-chemical potential to become a wonderful working human, but that's all - just a potential. There would be no greater functionality than, say, that of a worm.

Caution does need to be stated for some aspects though. For safety reasons these animal-human hybrids should not be allowed out of the lab. No products should be derived directly from these hybrids, with the intention of exposing humans to them. Mixing animal and human genes presents the same potential dangers as GM foods.

As laboratory research, a few human cells represents little concern, and it offers pioneering benefits able to cure many health problems.

As for God...
Does God wants us to become the best that we can be?

Our challenge is to use our new found knowledge wisely: with love and ethics at the forefront of our minds, and with selfish greed and financial profit cast aside.

Politics Observed and Evaluated: Science for the poor

2008-03-24T16:59:00.000Z

Politics Observed and Evaluated: Science for the poor: "Science for the poor

We've been dancing around this issue for decades, so...
What really would end world poverty?

Hospitals to waste money on ads

2008-03-24T16:18:00.000Z

Shake-up of hospitals will open door to McDonald's sponsorship
"Hospitals are also to be allowed to promote their own services to compete with each other for 'custom' within the NHS. The code says there will be no official cap on how much they can spend on advertising their services to patients."

What a disgrace!
The NHS is to waste its limited funds on advertising, to attract patients. Do these idiots not realise that pateients want to go to the nearest local hospital, and that they expect that hospital to offer a good service. We don't want to travel miles to get a decent service. Stop this nonsense now!

The science of religion

2008-03-24T16:09:00.000Z

The science of religion

Well this is an interesting subject: science looking into aspects of religion. Let's see where it goes...

UK reduces its role in innovative sciences

2007-12-31T16:33:00.000Z

UK pulls out of key physics and astronomy projects - space - 13 December 2007

The government always spouts about the importance of science and innovation then it makes the above blunder.

Here's something for politicians to learn: physics is the fundamental driver of many advances in science and technology.

To make significant cuts in physics is to risk harming the UK's last economic hope: innovation.

Norton Internet no real Security

2007-11-04T11:04:00.000Z

Norton Internet Security - doesn't inspire:

Its updates failed to install AGAIN ... and so this must mean that the product is unable to protect my computer! What a facking useless product!

... and just why does it hog all the computer's resources,
and crash when the computer shuts down!?

'Cos it's facking useless.

Richard Dawkins - A scientist?

2007-10-25T19:45:00.000+01:00

Richard Dawkins - Wikipedia: "Dawkins stated that 'among the things that science does know, evolution is about as certain as anything we know.'"

If Dawkins stated the above then he has a poor knowledge of science.

Scientific research in complex systems, which includes ecology biology and chaos theory, is greatly limited in its accuracy and certainty, compared to science in non-complex systems. In other words, among the things that science knows evolution is not as certain as anything we know.

If this is Dawkins view of the universe then his philosophy is fundamentally flawed.

God: The Believers and the Nons

2007-10-25T19:29:00.000+01:00

What evidence would make you believe in a God?

- the above links to a poor quality forum. No scientific debate there.
- it's like it's been written by a bunch of Dawks

Even Blogger has Gone Bonkers

2007-09-17T21:38:00.000+01:00

For an English user the following prompt from Blogger wasn't expected!

Blog anzeigen (in einem neuen Fenster)

Rock Solid Banks?

2007-09-17T21:32:00.000+01:00

Well it appears that it's not just the customers at Northern Rock that are getting worried about online banking. Is it more than a coincidence that the web services of HBOS (Halifax and Bank of Scotland) were both running very S L O W L Y. It can't inspire confidence in online banking - can it? The over paid people in the banking sector aren't that bright - are they? They should anticipate these reactions instead of mucking about with figures all day - get your head out of the spreadsheets and into the real world, you bankers.

Set Policies To Drive Innovation

2007-07-29T11:00:00.000+01:00

Human skin to replace animal tests

The above example demonstrates how setting policies can drive innovation successfully. Not only will these policies reduce animal testing they have resulted in improvements that exceed the capabilities of animal testing.

Great! Let's have more thinking and policy setting along these lines.

What next?

Perhaps we could set a policy to ban all emissions of air pollutants from combustion
phase in targets perhaps...
e.g.
... by 2017,
50% of all new vehicles to have zero emissions of air pollutants
50% of an industrial plant's emissions to be cut
...

By setting realistic and enforced policies science, technology and innovation will come to the rescue, bringing multiple new benefits.

Be bold, set worthwhile policies that push the boundaries for the better.

Government's Dull Response to Homeworking

2007-06-07T22:15:00.000+01:00

homeworking - epetition response

It's amazing isn't it... Give the government a good idea and they aren't interested. Here's a key initiative to solve the transport problem (in part) and yet the government's response is apathetically negative. No wonder the country is in the state it is. Transport will only get worse and worse until innovative solutions like this become the norm.

For a government that, allegedly, promotes the knowledge based economy they are a sham.

Climate change: A guide for the perplexed - earth - 16 May 2007 - New Scientist Environment

2007-05-21T22:36:00.000+01:00

Climate change: A guide for the perplexed

It's a complex subject. Even some of the experts sometimes get things wrongs. The skeptics often get things wrong. Read the above link to find out more about the facts and uncertainties behind the modelling of climate change.

Climate Change: Possibly very significant impacts for some - if left unchallenged, and without a Plan B. It's unlikely the world's emissions are going to be reduced, so let's have a Plan B in standby. Let's turn a challenge into an opportunity for all - not just the West but the whole world.

Buses are s o ... s l o w

2007-05-10T19:57:00.000+01:00

When you have to wait a total of 50 minutes for 2 buses to travel just 6 miles, then surely Stage Coach is living up to its name.

This is why people don't use public transport:
waste 50 minutes of your life waiting for buses (to travel at less than 6 mph)
or get there 50 minutes sooner by car
- it's a no brainer
- public transport is sh1t.

Another targetted delivery against Cancer

2007-05-10T19:04:00.000+01:00

'Mini-cells' could stop side-effects of chemotherapy

It'll sure be a great day when we crack cancer.
Keep up the good work researchers.

Bye bye PM Blair

2007-05-10T18:54:00.000+01:00

Today Prime Minister Blair announced he'll soon be plain old Mr Blair again. He's handing his notice in.

We all know about his legacy, so we'll not dwell on that again.

Despite his (possible) desires to do good, he admitted that he had made mistakes or 'fell short of the mark'. He believed he was doing the right thing. Probably most politicians do...

... that's why we need proper democracy!

No one person will always be right, and no one person has infinite wisdom.

Perhaps there are a few lessons to learn from this:

* Arrogance versus Humility
* Confidence versus Self-assessment and doubt (no not the damn tax return)
* A Leader versus Proper democracy (Acts passed by all of the people)

How many more mistakes have to be made throughout history and in to the future before society really grasps this!?

Brightest supernova

2007-05-08T19:11:00.000+01:00

Nasa sees brightest supernova

Wow that's a big bang!
Well it would be if sound travelled through space.
So it's more of a big flash!

100,000 million times brighter than the sun!
Wow!

What factor sun cream would that require!?
;-)

Ration the NHS where it counts!

2007-05-08T19:08:00.000+01:00

Doctors call for 'rationing' of NHS services

OK it may be that the NHS can't save everyone forever - that requires a huge budget. So rationing is fundamental in the sense that the NHS has a finite budget, and some talk of rationing is stating the obvious...

...BUT...

The NHS is already limited and rationed, in some cases, perhaps too much.

So do we need even bigger NHS budgets? Perhaps not. Let's start by giving sensible salaries to NHS staff --- and that means LOWER not higher salaries, especially in the case of doctors, consultants and managers. Their salaries are a disgrace. How can anyone - especially in the public sector - justify salaries that are over 7 times the national average wage! It's a disgrace.

Rationing should start with sensible salaries:
let's make the maximum NHS salary less than 2 times the national average, i.e. less than 50K.

The savings would enable the NHS to deliver the services its society needs; rather than wasting huge budgets on greedy staff.

Blair blurb

2007-05-08T18:38:00.000+01:00

Tony Blair addresses French President on Youtube

As he takes his last bows: he post a You Tube video.
Perhaps that's what he was always the best at:
acting.

Such gross New Labour incompetence

2007-05-08T18:35:00.000+01:00

MP leads amnesty call for 500,000 illegal immigrants

So that's how bad labour's policy has been is it? Half a million people in the UK illegally! It's hard to believe isn't it.

Well that's another legacy Tony Blair can put in his book.

You can be sure the Iron Lady (Thatcher) would never allow such an appalling state of affairs. In fact, any PM worth their salt wouldn't - would they?

God: Signs, Science and Coincidence?

2007-04-29T09:51:00.000+01:00

"Is God real?" you might ask, and perhaps you should ask.

Here's some thought provoking articles on this:

Search: signs of god

Search: science of god

Search: coincidence and god

Examples from the above searches:

PDT's Prophets, Visions, Miracles & SIGNS FROM GOD in Medjugorje, Stigmata of Father Sudac, Catalina Rivas of Cochabamba, Bolivia, Garabandal, Spain and more

Evidence for God from Science

Can any of this be true?
Is it subject to (unscientific) human interpretation?
Is it subject to "Chinese whispers" or exaggeration?

May be.

You'll have to do your own experiments to know for sure!

On this day in history: Good Friday

2007-04-06T12:07:00.000+01:00

On this day in history, or perhaps round abouts, the ancient Roman empire nailed a well meaning person to a cross. Perhaps this was even the son of God. This person certainly had great honour. How many of us could forgive people for killing us!?

Whether you believe Jesus was the son of God or not, his teachings show great wisdom. We could all learn at least one valuable lesson.

Climate Change: Why such a narrow focus?

2007-02-13T21:26:00.000Z

VIRGIN EARTH CHALLENGE

What might seem a noble and worthwhile competition - to solve global warming / climate change - has fallen short of the mark.

The stated objective is to remove carbon dioxide. That's fine but we already have a widely proven and widely available technology that does this adequately - it has been in use for many millions of years.

Yes, that's right - as any school kid could probably tell you - this technology is part of nature and they are called TREES.

Consider repopulating the Amazon rain forest, and the deserts of Africa. In the latter case, irrigation would be required - which is a trivial task in the context of this 21st Century global challenge. It also brings huge benefits to the African population: agriculture, food and a chance of a decent life. That's a win-win situation.

The Virgin challenge also falls short for another reason, but this is the fault of many people - not just Sir Richard Branson. Just because carbon dioxide (and let's not forget methane) are a cause of global warming it does not mean that the solution has to require the removal of these from the atmosphere.

An alternative solution could be to deploy reflectors (on the ground/desert and/or in space) to control the amount of heat received by the Earth and hence regulate the average global temperature. There may be other solutions too that offer additional benefits. It's called thinking outside the box.

Don't just rely on scientists - because they are, in effect, taught to think inside the box. The ultimate solutions require a diverse range of skills, and above all a genuine will to succeed.

As for the finance - perhaps this should be a UN project, and contributions (aka taxes) collected from nations based on their carbon dioxide (and methane) emissions.

Finally, thanks to Richard Branson for doing this worthwhile competition.

Norton Internet Security Suspect

2007-02-03T22:01:00.000Z

OK so the above security software has 4 downloads to do, and eventually they all download. When it tries installing them only 2 out of the 4 are successful. So does this mean that my "security" software is half broken!!!!? This doesn't inspire me at all, and if these idiots don't fix this problem I will be going else where...

Also why the hell does it need SO much memory!?
As crap products go this gets my vote.

Are thousands wrong and a handful right?

2007-01-30T18:33:00.000Z

Cardinal in ban on religion warning

The argument over the rights of gay people to adopt versus the Church's view that children do better with a mother and father continues to fan the flames. Whatever your view on this it raises a bigger question (though not as big as are God's teachings correct!)...

The bigger question is if we live in a democracy, why are laws dictated by a handful of politicians, rather than by the views of the people!?

Why should a handful of people, including the likes of Mr Blair, tell the nation what it should do and what its people should think?

Remember in a democracy the people decide!

New Blogger Post

2007-01-23T19:34:00.000Z

Here we go ... it's the new blogger. The things that seem new (in create post) are:

Post options: allow comments, post date and time.
Labels.

Not a lot is obviously different ... perhaps I need to explore further... :-)

[Edit]
Ah ha, it publishes the post straight away. Yeh that's better :-)

I'm sure other goodies will appear over time too...

Climate Change - role on Plan B

2007-01-21T21:23:00.000Z

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Climate Change

More disaster scenarios from climate change and what it could mean for the UK. Big problems - even if only a small part of these scenarios were to happen.

However, the UK's efforts are merely pi**ing in the wind, when viewed from the global scale. No matter what the UK does it will not be enough for the planet. Other countries have to do there bit too - and we all kn ow who those other big countries are!

The "point of no return" trigger may be activated within 10 to 20 years, which results in the climate system having positive feedback and getting hotter and hotter.

It is unlikely that all the key polluters will do enough within this short period to do anything about it. Therefore, we should be wise to consider that we need a Plan B.

Plan B: Seek technological solutions to counteract the global warming scenario. Plan B may be costly, but it is technically feasible.

Let's develop Plan B now.

A project for the UN perhaps?

Yahoo Mail beta

2007-01-20T21:13:00.000Z

Oh I do hate slow flashy gimmicky software that tries to look clever and runs as slow as a dog with no legs, e.g. Yahoo's new attempt at email.

Virus checkers are sh*t

2007-01-16T19:18:00.000Z

What a farse! Virus checkers!
Why have we not got a better solution - like a secure operating system!?
Virus checkers have a list of virus signatures that will continue growing forever!!!
The result: The computer runs as slow as a dog with no legs!

Take Norton Internet Security for example - my computer takes an eternity to get started, while the damn virus checker hogs the PC. Someone please put an end to this pathetic carry on.

Oh and another thing if we do have to have them - because of weak operating systems - why oh why aren't they included in the O/S?

Coincidences or Signs of Significance

2006-12-05T19:46:00.001Z

When is a coincidence just that, and when is it a sign of something more significant?

For example:

What if in the morning you think of the Pink Floyd song "we don't need no education... all in all you're just another brick in the wall", and then just an hour or so later you see the same song/video playing on TV. Is that just a coincidence?

What if you think of a place, say Hemel Hempstead, and then a few days later it appears on the news. Is that just a coincidence?

Admittedly, the brain is a brilliant pattern matching machine and will do its ultimate to alert you to any pattern matches. But when are lots of coincidences more than just a coincidence??

Coincidences or Signs of Significance

2006-12-05T19:46:00.000Z

When is a coincidence just that, and when is it a sign of something more significant?

For example:

What if in the morning you think of the Pink Floyd song "we don't need no education... all in all you're just another brick in the wall", and then just an hour or so later you see the same song/video playing on TV. Is that just a coincidence?

What if you think of a place, say Hemel Hempstead, and then a few days later it appears on the news. Is that just a coincidence?

Admittedly, the brain is a brilliant pattern matching machine and will do it's ultimate to alert you to any pattern matches. But when are lots of coincidences more than just a coincidence??

Spammer

2006-11-07T20:19:00.000Z

Here's another spammer site. Do not buy from:
seblog.name
or any of its sub-domains.

We can stop the spammer by refusing to buy or visit their sites.

Spammers: Hit them where it hurts

2006-11-02T20:49:00.000Z

Here's how we cure spam.
Never, never, never follow a link that is in a spam email, and
never buy from them!
- especially the obvious garbage type run by a load of crooks!

If no one buys from them they'll have to give up.

Today's spam web site to avoid is: alltheguide.org
... and all of its sub domains.

Some people are strange: illogical

2006-10-03T20:45:00.000+01:00

Woman seeking man says she doesn't want to meet any more b*st**ds (men), yet then goes on to say I want to meet a bad boy because they are strong blah blah ...

Then these people wonder why they never attract the right type of person. Stupidity springs to mind. Mmm.

Finance: Bankers

2006-08-05T12:09:00.000+01:00

The finance industry never inspires me, and never makes me happy!

Bank X sends out its credit card balances so late that if you went on holiday you'd miss the payment deadline and have to pay interest!

Bank Y's credit card balance is paid from my account 3 days before the deadline yet claims a late payment fee from me and interest! Probably the usual 4-days processing in no-mans-land scam.

Do banks deserve our respect, or are bankers just a bunch of greedy w*nk*rs?

A new opportunity for cancer therapies

2006-05-27T21:02:00.000+01:00

LOX holds a key to curbing cancer's spread

Let's hope this brings cures for cancer.

Politics Observed and Evaluated: Victoria Climbie Inquiry - Phase Two

2006-05-15T20:39:00.000+01:00

Politics Observed and Evaluated: Victoria Climbie Inquiry - Phase Two

What's wrong with UK authority?
See the above, for an example.

Aspartame - Cancer link

2006-05-14T10:26:00.000+01:00

Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukaemias
- not such a sweet story.

Don't be a clot: Stay smart

2006-04-29T19:00:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS | Health | Brain blood clots dementia clue: "Blood clots in the brain may be associated with a higher risk of dementia, scientists suggest."

Wow these ships just get bigger and bigger

2006-04-29T18:58:00.000+01:00

Telegraph | News | Largest cruise liner stops in British port: "The world's largest cruise liner has docked for the first time in a British port, ahead of its maiden trans-Atlantic crossing.

The ship boasts a climbing wall and a surf centre.

The 160,000-tonne Freedom of the Seas, owned by Royal Caribbean International, sailed into Southampton this morning, where it will remain for four days.

At 1,112ft, the ship is longer than 37 double-decker buses and is 237ft high - more than half the height of the London Eye."

Coincidences or Signs of Significance

2006-03-11T19:36:00.000Z

Humans are strange. Some believe in all sorts of things, without the slightest bit of evidence. Some believe in nothing unless it is completely scientifically proven. Some don't believe even then!

So what about coincidences. Are they just coincidences, or signs of something meaningful and real. How many coincidences would need to happen before you believe in something? Two coincidences? 10? 1000? 1,000,000? Are all coincidences just coincidences, or is there a point at which we should say there's something significant here?

It's good to help

2006-03-11T19:30:00.000Z

Someone willingly volunteered to help me - without even being asked. That was so nice of them.

When was the last time you did a good deed?

Year 2006

2006-01-21T13:54:00.000Z

The start to the year 2006 looks just like any other year so far. But will this year be a year of special significance ...?

PC: Pull out Christ

2005-11-12T18:05:00.000Z

The UK's unelected "politically correct" army are having a field day banning the use of Christ in Christmas. They mandate that there should be no Christmas cards, lights or trees; no cards with Christ on; etc... etc... blah... blah... Or they say you can have lights - just don't call them Christmas lights.

The PC army argue that it might offend muslims, yet the muslims say it doesn't offend us.

So why don't the PC army just belt up and get proper jobs!? Perhaps it's because there isn't much call for stupidity in the real world. The PC army can only survive in the public sector, by abusing the tax payers' contributions.

PC: Proper Cr*p

Bird Flu

2005-10-24T18:59:00.000+01:00

It's being taken more seriously now.

Cambridge enterprise

2005-08-23T11:00:00.000+01:00

University enterprise arm to be spun out after major success

East Midlands Science Enterprise Network

2005-08-23T10:47:00.000+01:00

UNIEI at Nottingham University

A worthwhile field no doubt. But on a global scale this is still a drop in the ocean. More effort and impact required.

Climate change in Greenland - We See It

2005-08-23T10:38:00.000+01:00

Minister witnesses climate change, we all see it, but what do we do about it?

UK technology industry now at threat

2005-08-09T10:30:00.000+01:00

Granville crash raises fears over future of UK technology industry

Another wake up call for the prognosis of the UK economy. Even, so called, hi-tec industries in the UK now have major competition. The threat is present and real.

The really bleak news is that we aren't even planning to rectify this declining economic trend.

What's wrong with this picture?

2005-08-06T12:21:00.000+01:00

esd-toolkit

"In co-operation with the Regional Centres of Excellence..." blah blha blah...

That's the problem with public sector initiatives. They talk about "best practice" and demonstrate poor practice. Look at the above link - what's wrong with that page?

(At least it's faulty in a Firefox browser.)

Onxy Not a company You'd want in your back yard!

2005-08-05T13:58:00.000+01:00

Lawsuit - Environmental Law - Sierra Club: "Proposed Suit Aims to Reduce Air Pollution from Onyx Incinerator"

" Onyx hazardous waste incinerator across the Mississippi River from St. Louis has a long and detailed history of repeatedly violating laws that normally protect residents from toxic air pollution. This history includes explosions that have hospitalized workers and plagued the neighboring communities with clouds of poisonous gas along with continued, long-term releases of cancer-causing air pollution and damaging mercury. The company recently applied for an operating permit that would do nothing to address the ongoing pollution problems or to resolve its continued violations. Sierra Club has now filed a notice letter with the federal administration to take a long and serious look at the permit, and to come up with a realistic plan that will properly manage the dangerous pollution. We hope that the EPA addresses our concerns for the health of local communities before the end of our 60-day notice period; if not, we will move forward with a lawsuit... "

House price inflation A BAD THING

2005-08-05T11:08:00.000+01:00

House price inflation at 9-year low in July

Good!

Let's get one thing straight: Rapidly rising house prices are a bad thing.

Why? Think about it - just for 15 seconds... Got the answer yet?

* People now can't afford their first house
* People now can't afford that upgrade to a better house - the price gap is too big

The only so called winners are those that buy and sell additional houses for investment - and they are the damn parasites causing part of this problem!

Then Mr "Prudence" Brown considers allowing people to buy property as a pension investment. That just makes the damn problem worse.

Is anyone awake in this country!?

Do Whatever You Have to Quickly

2005-08-05T10:56:00.000+01:00

Russian Mini-Submarine Stuck on Sea Floor

This time swallow your pride and accept international help, if that will help. Do whatever you have to, to save the submarine crew. Don't let another crew die because of pride, arrogance, national security, or whatever...

React quickly and effectively.

Nuclear Reactor or Bomb? Go Fusion.

2005-08-05T10:49:00.000+01:00

Europeans prepare broad deal for Iran

Now there's a tricky political process.

Let's look at this from a global perspective and opportunity. We know that the theory of nuclear fusion (not traditional fission) reactors is sound - a prototype reactor has shown that. So given that it does not produce hazardous radioactivity byproducts, nor weapons grade material, let's give it a go. Let's pump loads of money into nuclear fusion. Let's get the thing up and running soon - much sooner than the predicted 20 or 30+ years. Let's set an objective to have a full scale plant operating by the next decade, before 2020.

The potential benefits are:

* Huge sources of energy for several centuries
* No radioactive biproducts
* No reactor meltdown issues
* No nuclear weapons production issues

Nuclear fusion has the potential to solve many of the world's problems. For example, with huge amounts of energy readily available to all there need be no thirst and no starvation - desalination plants could produce all the irrigation and drinking water needed.

Sometimes the solutions are obvious. Yet we fail to progress because people lack vision, and the will to pursue the vision.

Breast cancer drug outshines tamoxifen

2005-08-05T10:37:00.000+01:00

Breast cancer drug outshines tamoxifen

Good Luck Discovery crew of space station

2005-08-05T10:35:00.000+01:00

Discovery crew readies for space station departure

Good luck. It's a shame the shuttle programme is hindered by such reliability issues.

Perhaps with a little bit of creative thinking a simple solution can be found to the foam problem. Think, think... Yes it can.

Zero Tolerance Required for This

2005-08-05T10:30:00.000+01:00

Pair charged with racist axe murder

When the murderer(s) are found guilty, whoever they turn out to be, they should be locked away for a long time. An unprovoked attack, or murder, should not be tolerated by society. Send a signal of zero tolerance for such mindless evil.

Patents in Europe

2005-08-05T10:22:00.000+01:00

Patents article

The debate goes on. It's a tricky balancing act, but it must be done right.

European R and D gets the funding

2005-08-05T10:21:00.000+01:00

Tech research gets €1bn funds injection

European research and development ("Framework") programmes are quite respectable. It would be nice to see the UK take this area more seriously with an effective national R&D programme - one that goes beyond university research funding.

Britain warned over bird flu pandemic

2005-08-04T13:00:00.000+01:00

Britain warned over bird flu pandemic: "Britain would be 'overwhelmed' if a deadly strain of pandemic bird flu reached its shores, a leading expert warned today."

No surprise there then.
On a daily basis Britain's NHS is already overwhelmed.

350,000 civil servants!

2005-08-04T12:28:00.000+01:00

New intranet rolled out to 350,000 civil servants

It makes "efficient sense" to integrate IT systems, but the facts in the above article that are of more interest are...

150 UK Government departments!
350,000 civil servants!

Wow, no wonder taxes are so much and we get relatively little in return.

So how much is that in salaries then!?
Assume an average of 22,000 Pounds times 350,000
= 7,700,000,000 Pounds every year!!

Then there's the expenses, building, infrastructure, and running costs to add to that!

Wow! The UK tax payer pays out about 10 billion Pounds every year, just to an army of bureaucratic "pen pushers", or now I guess it's mouse clickers.

But wait there's much more: European Parliament, European Commission, MPs, Lords, regional assemblies, RDAs, councils, councillors, mayors, ...

So how much every year are we paying to politicians and bureaucrats!?

At 10 billion Pounds every year that means the average tax payer is perhaps wasting over 250 Pounds each year on mouse clickers. Just think, you could have another holiday every year if there were no mouse clickers. Or you could get medical treatment as soon as you needed it. Or you could have a modern and efficient transport system. Or...

You can have your cake and eat it: God and Evolution

2005-08-04T12:17:00.000+01:00

Bush adds to evolution buzz - Debate goes on in the US about education and religion and evolution.

In this case it need not be an "either or" issue.

Theory of Evolution
It is generally accepted in science (particularly biology) that the theory of evolution holds true. In concise practical terms: historical evidence over thousands and millions of years has shown that species have evolved and gained or lost attributes with each change. The theory implies that because of a finite amount of resources organisms have to compete for resources (e.g. food). Those organisms that evolve useful features and lose unuseful features compete better in the environment and thrive. Those organisms that don't dwindle, and tend towards extinction.

Religion and Evolution
So accepting the above 100 percent, there is nothing that describes how the DNA in an organism changed to create a new species. The scientific evidence is very sparse in this area. There are theories of how DNA can change, or mutate. However, it has never been scientifically demonstrated that a series of random changes in DNA would in less than 4600 million years evolve from basic one celled lifeforms into the human race, for example. We do not have proof that this is the result of random DNA changes, as opposed to "intelligent design". There is nothing in science that prevents God from being the intelligent manipulator of DNA.

There is room for science and God.
We will know when science is perfect: that's when we can explain everything exactly, without any doubt.
Perhaps by then we will have also found God?

emda - Backing Innovation

2005-08-04T11:51:00.000+01:00

emda - Backing Innovation

They do "try" bless 'em. At least they recognise that innovation is important to the region's success and survival - and they have taken down that previous monstrosity of spaghetti pages.

But is this it!? Is this all we get about innovation - just one page. Where's the plans, actions and results. The clock is ticking... The region is holding its breath... The region's economic life is on a knife's edge...

£25m boost for research

2005-08-04T11:42:00.000+01:00

Promoting best practices in manufacturing - - £25m boost for research

Good, but it's hardly a boost at just £25m. Let's remember what's happening to the global economy and the UK economy. We're talking about £25m out of thousands of billions of pounds. A boost of less than one millionth of our economic output. A drop in the ocean.

While a huge fire rages and destroys the UK's economy, a small lone government entity pees towards the wind.

UK Students Produce Folding Composite Bike Prototype

2005-08-04T11:33:00.000+01:00

UK Students Produce Folding Composite Bike Prototype

Sss-poof

2005-08-02T10:36:00.000+01:00

In the Sss-poof parallel universe, detected by astronomers early this morning, there's some amusing signs of intelligence...

Nanotechnology in the sights of India

2005-08-02T09:06:00.000+01:00

Nanotechnology among 4 new courses in Maitreyi College

Just in case the UK thinks it's the outright leader at innovation, think again. India catching up... and remember just recently China was number 2 in academc research into nanotechnology. Where does that leave us in the UK!?