My view this morning!

It’s really unusual to have snow this early in the year on the ridge opposite the front of my farmhouse.  Sometimes, the larger peak Mount Leinster does have a dusting in mid November but normally we only have it on the whole range in the thick of winter (if at all) so I was delighted to wake up to this pretty picture first thing this morning!

Hilary joined me just before half past ten to felt for the first time, our project was a simple felt vessel.  We had a chat about the basics of felting over a warming freshly ground coffee (part of a Going Green swap package from Chaimama via Ravelry) and then got stuck in selecting and weighing fibre.  The Icelandic wool batts (available from my Etsy store) are excellent for sculptural felt and it is important to have roughly the same amount of fibre on each side of your resist hence the weighing!  Hilary decided to make a round vessel with the main colours being my favourite apple green in combination with a gorgeous turquoise.  We sub-divided the wool into four equal piles giving us two layers to lay out for each side prior to any surface embellishment.  Once the two layers were laid and wet out lightly Hilary then added some turquoise mulberry silk and some swirls of wool in another complimentary turquoise/greeny shade.  As I have mentioned before using more soap than usually advised coupled with a lot less water seems to work really well with the Icelandic wool. 

Hilary sealing the edges

Once Hilary’s vessel passed the pinch test I cut out a very small hole to release the resist.  As you seal and work the cut edges the opening will always widen so a good tip is never to make the initial cut too big!  When sealing the edges use a lot of soap on your hands, this helps you to make a nice clean edge.   Now the vessel was worked by hand both on the bamboo blind (we had started with bubble wrap and progressed to the blind as the fibres started felting together) and in very hot  soapy water in the sink.  Hilary also threw the felt onto the table to help shock and full it, then kept stretching it to form the final shape and help the wool form the memory.  Finally all the soap was rinsed totally out of the felt, the vessel was reshaped, the texture and form admired and all that was needed were a few images to mark a great mornings felting!

Hilary with her stunning first piece of felt!

For some reason the image uploader is playing up this evening so check out my Flickr images for a larger shot of the finished vessel, the texture is beautiful!

Want to stay trim? Just eat lots of tomatoes, says a new study. Previous studies have shown tomatoes, rich in vitamin C, can help heart health, with regular helpings of ketchup and tomato juice sending cholesterol levels plummeting in a matter of weeks.

Now, a team at Reading University has found that eating the fruit leaves one feel satisfied, suppressing the urge to snack, and also help one shed the excess weight, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported. According to researchers, it could be because tomatoes are rich in compounds that alter levels of appetite hormones, making them an easy — and cheap — way to keep hunger pangs at bay. In fact, the study is based on findings from research into the benefits of enriching white bread with fruit as well as vegetables.

A small group of normal weight women aged between 18 and 35 were offered cream cheese sandwiches that had been made with either white bread or bread enriched with carrots or tomatoes. It was thought that the extra fibre provided by the carrot would make the carrot-bread lunches the most filling. Instead, the tomato bread was the most satisfying.

According to the researchers, further research will focus on whether eating tomatoes alters levels of appetite- regulating hormones, including ghrelin. A lower level of ghrelin makes people feel full. However, it is not known which part of the tomato dulls the appetite, but it may be lycopene, the pigment that gives tomatoes their red colour.

Lycopene is already credited with a host of health benefits, from warding off cancer to boosting fertility. It is thought to be particularly effective at combating prostate cancer, protecting against the disease and slowing its progress when it does develop

Go here for a great wool dyeing tutorial, dyeing is simple enough to do at home with every day items for tools e.g.
# Wool
# Stock Pot
# Plastic Container
# Water
# White Vinegar
# Dye
# Potato Masher
# Strainer
# Kitchen Stove
# A place for the wool to drip dry
For those who are after a more in depth look at the process, this is a really great bit of information for those interested in dyeing.
You do need a degree in chemistry to be able to understand huge swathes of it, but there is so much of it there that everyone is bound to find something useful!

This post will not be to everyone’s liking!
However for those of you who slog through the pages it is interesting to see the value and potential of Angora Rabbit in the felting process.

If interested in the process of fibre from Angora rabbits, this blog has an interesting but long discussion about it and a fascinating picture.

THE MYTH: It’s just too hard to cook beans and legumes, and I never know what to do with them!

I’ve heard this from a lot of friends and family lately, and I think it’s safe to assume it is a pretty common issue.  Everyone seems to know that adding some beans or legumes to your meals is good for you, but they may not know ways to include them, or even why they’re good for you.  These non-meat sources of protein are often thought of as being foods “only” for vegetarians, but there are plenty of easy ways to include them as part of a healthy diet for both vegetarians and meat-eaters.

Let’s start at the beginning: why should you eat beans and legumes?  They’re full of soluble fibre, which works hard in your body to keep the digestive system healthy.  This fibre also helps to stabilize your blood sugar after eating a meal, and can even help you feel “fuller” while eating less overall calories.  When combined with whole grains, they provide high-quality protein that satisfies your hunger, helping to prevent cravings.  It’s important to note that if you are just starting out with increasing your bean intake to also increase the amount of water you’re drinking each day to make sure that you don’t get cramps and bloating from the extra fibre.

A closer look at how to use some popular beans and legumes:

• Black beans:  Add their rich flavour to chili, soups, tacos, or even in layered salsa dips.
• Chickpeas: Work well in classic hummus, but can also be added to soups, pastas or salads.
• Kidney beans (red or white):  Their meaty flavour lends itself well to pastas, chili or even lasagna.
• Navy beans:  Can be blended to make a white-bean version of hummus, or added to chili, soups or pastas.

In addition to all of their health benefits, beans and legumes happen to be a relatively inexpensive source of protein and fibre.  You may feel like you have to soak beans for hours and hours before they can be eaten, but canned beans and legumes (that are already cooked) are readily available in grocery stores.  Giving them a quick rinse with water in a strainer before using them will help to reduce the salty solution that they’re often packed in.  I’ve personally used canned beans for years, and only recently started to try cooking dried beans for fun – so let me know if you have any questions about the “soaking” process and I’ll do my best to help!  In the meantime, this video was extremely helpful to me when I was starting out with dried beans:

THE UGLY TRUTH: Beans and legumes are a quick and inexpensive ingredient that can be added to a large variety of foods.

Still not convinced?  Head on over to the Recipes page where I’ve posted some of my favourite recipes with beans, including the “famous” black bean brownie recipe that was requested after my post on desserts.

How do you include beans and legumes in your diet?  I’d love to hear your tips – leave me a comment and let me know!

A while ago I posted that I’d made some wet felted slippers, well now I’ve taken the photos for you to see. I have also been asked by Sara of the Working with Felt community to provide a slipper tutorial for the next felting challenge on the site, and to judge the entries, which is something that I’m very excited about!

As you can see, I have added some extra fibres on the final layer to embellish. As said in the original post (which you can click on above), I used Wensleydale and silk tops for this and the ‘inner’ is merino whereas the ‘outers’ are finn.

Here are some photos and a picture of the first attempt (these were the 2nd) which as you can see were wearable but not a patch on the new ones

Felted Slippers

Felted Slippers from above

Felted Slippers again

Success and the learning curve

3 Felted slippers

My first attempt failed for 2 main reasons:

1. The template I made, though following a tutorial, was far too small. This meant that I couldn’t felt the slippers well enough as they would have become too small for me in the process.

2. I didn’t use enough felt. I think they only had 4 layers whereas the second pair have 8 (and they are thicker).

Heed that advice if you are going to try your own for the first time

Next time I make slippers (probably for my Mum, although my boyfriend keeps asking for some too!) I will make boot style ones. This will be easy to do as you basically just extend a line between the feet parts of the template and felt them as one piece.

Once the tutorial is no longer in its draft format and is on the felting community I will also upload it here, so keep your eyes peeled.

I think I’ve mentioned my Mum’s knitted handbags a few times…well I’ve finally got round to taking some photos…

Noro Bag

Noro Bag 2

Noro Bag 3

This is the bag my Mum is using as her handbag at the moment, and I have to say is definitely my favourite – it’s gorgeous! It was knitted in Noro Blossom yarn and has a felt lining, inside pockets and flower that I wet felted for her (with the exception of the center of the flower which is needle felted).  I was a bit annoyed as in my opinion I hadn’t felted my parts well enough, although she’s very happy with it. I will know for the future though.

Next up is the bucket bag which she knitted in pencil roving and then felted. It has a needle felted flower on the front but the colours on the photo aren’t truly representative (nor are those on the Noro bag pictures but they are much much better).

Bucket Bag

Bucket Bag 2

Flower Close Up

As I mentioned, my Mum came to stay for the weekend. I am lucky enough to have a great little wool shop just round the corner from me (it’s called Cocoon and is in Hove and worth a visit if you’re in the area). As usual we went and had a look there yesterday and after being disappointed by the fact that they didn’t have patterns for the knitted Christmas decorations in the window found a Sirdar pattern book for an advent calendar and lots of knitted decorations.

So last night she knitted 2 snowmen and 2 stockings, whilst I needle felted the snowmen’s hats and eyes, carrot nose, mouth and buttons and also a felt ball for the Christmas tree (of which I hope to make more co-ordinating ones).  Talking of felting, I also told the owner of Cocoon how to wet felt (or at least I do, she mentioned she had olive soap already for doing it with but I don’t know if she’s tried any yet) after she was admiring my Mum’s knitted handbag with a felt lining and flower I made (photos to follow in next post). Maybe one day she’ll supply wool tops…here’s hoping!

Anyway on to the photos…

Christmas Decorations

Christmas Decorations 2

I made the tag on the bigger stocking in a bit of a hurry today before she left, so it’s not perfect but I think it looks nice on there.

]]> http://fortheloveoffelt.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/reasons-for-buying-lots-of-wool/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:29:00 +0000 For the Love of Felt http://fortheloveoffelt.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/reasons-for-buying-lots-of-wool/

My Mum’s down for the weekend visiting, hence lots of woolly activities going on – as I write this she’s sewing one of my felt flowers onto one of her knitted and felted bags!

Anyway one of her friends from the knitting group she goes to has written this funny list, so I’m putting it on here – thanks Cas!

Reasons for buying lots of wool:

1. It keeps the shelf/storage box warm

2. It is our duty to support British farmers

3. It is less expensive and more fun the psychiatric care

4. It is useful for filling up all those empty spaces where dust may otherwise gather

5. A sudden outbreak of foot and mouth might mean a reduction in fleeces available for wool production

6. I am participating in a contest – the one who dies with the biggest stash wins

7. Stress relief from dealing with the Stash Control Officer (SCO, otherwise known as DH or Dear Husband)

8. It is not immoral, illegal or fattening. It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and makes you feel good

9. Buy it now before your husband retires and goes shopping with you

10. It keeps without refrigeration; you don’t have to cook it to enjoy it. You never have to feed it or walk it

11. A ball a day keeps the doctor away

12. YOU DESERVE IT!

It put a big smile on my face, hope it does for you too. Have a good night everyone

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant and pulsar wind nebula in the constellation of Taurus

Since these historic WSIS events (3003 and 2005) a lot has been achieved. Most governments have developed an Information and Communication policy and established a framework needed to foster the uptake of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in their respective countries. Many governments have established dedicated ministries and regulatory bodies and policy needed to coordinate their ICT efforts. Early framework and legislation have been implemented and considerable investment in infrastructure continues to be made. Public sector utilities have been liberalized and most governments now actively encourage private sector development. It is hard to find an African government who does not see the value of ICTs or encourage their implementation on some level.

As the result of African governments implementing many of these initiatives, the continent is in the process of experiencing a digital communications explosion. Nowhere has growth been so rapid or had such a marked impact. The uptake in both mobile and Internet access the last three years is significant and positively reflects these initial efforts. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says that the mobile phone industry in Africa is growing at twice the global rate and remains the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world. David Rogers of Open Mobile Terminal Platform says, ‘More people have access to a mobile phone than have access to running water. More people have access to a data enabled mobile phone than there are desktop computers in the world.’ The spread of mobile in Africa is rampant and continues to spread faster than even our wildest expectations. More than 60% of Africa has access to a mobile phone that is soon to be the continent’s most ubiquitous piece of technology.

Some statistics 2008:
• The total African mobile subscriber base is roughly 280.7 million people (30% of total)
• The total African mobile subscriber base is expected to reach 561 million (53.5%) by 2012.
• The mobile penetration rate in South Africa is 84%
• South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria and Kenya constitute the key mobile markets in Africa in terms of potential growth.
• At least 15 operators have already announced plans of introducing 3G voice and data services (including among others, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria)
• SMS is being used in innovative ways such as pricing information for agricultural products, mobile banking and human rights abuse notifications.

This growth is also reflected in the spread of Internet connections that have increased by 1,031.2% between 2000 and 2008. 5.4% of the African population now has access to the Internet and the continent accounts for 3.4% of the global Internet population. Internet access continues to grow faster than any other part of the world. New telecom infrastructure is set to boost capacity and cut tariffs, further unlocking the continent’s high-speed Internet potential and creating new growth opportunities.

U.S. based advisory firm AfricaNext Investment Research expects Africa’s broadband market to grow from 2.7 million subscribers in 2007 to 12.7 million users in 2009. AfricaNext says submarine cables and national networks due to launch this year and next will only accelerate the process. This trend is strengthened by the emergence of wireless technology such as EVDO and WiMax. The group argues that, ‘2009 could represent the most significant opportunity for investment returns in the African telecoms sector since the mobile voice boom, which saw subscribers rocket to 270 million in 2007 from 2 million nine years earlier.’

East Africa offers the greatest room for development. Where West Africa benefits from high-speed Internet connectivity, supplied by the SAT-3 cable that connects the continents’ Western seaboard, East Africa still depends on slow dial-up and expensive satellite connections. A 2005 study by a U.N. task force found that 90 percent of calls between African countries are routed by satellite through Europe or North America at a cost of $400 million a year. Some experts claim that bandwidth prices in Africa can be as much as 25 times greater than equivalent service in Europe. BMI TechKnowledge, a research firm based in South Africa explains, ‘projects worth around $6 billion, including 10 undersea cables and several national networks, are planned or under construction in Africa.’ These recent investments in undersea cables and national networks could make the difference in ‘unlocking’ the region.

One example is SEACOM, the Mauritius-registered private equity venture. The organization has invested $650 million in fiber-optic undersea cable that will link east and southern Africa to Europe and Asia. The cable has reached the shores of Mombassa, Kenya and is currently making its way across the region. Another initiative is the EASSy submarine network, a second investment worth $265 million and scheduled to be completed in 2010. The project is owned by African operators, including Telkom Kenya and Telkom South Africa, and has the potential to supply additional bandwidth to 23 landlocked African countries. Richard Hurst, telecoms analyst at global telecoms advisory firm IDC, explains international bandwidth rates were expected to drop to a fifth or less of current rates of $3,000 per megabit after these two cables are in operation. Richard Hurst says, ‘Undersea cables are a major positive step in a right direction.’ Two other projects, TEAMs (The East African Marine System) and Lion, will only add to supply and further spur competition.

At the same time, African governments are starting to upgrade their national infrastructure. MTN, and second fixed-line operator Neotel, are rolling out 5,000 km national network in South Africa. Angola and Zambia have also either recently expanded or plan to beef up their national networks. The government of Uganda is in the process of completing a national fiber optic backbone that will serve to connect a large part of the country, most importantly in rural areas. AfricaNext says, ‘There is a confluence of indicators that suggest that for the first time in more than a decade, broadband growth in the African continent may be on the verge of truly taking off.’

Developments are not limited to cable and local infrastructure. Jersey-based O3b Networks, which means the ‘other three billion’ people, is working to build satellite-based infrastructure. An eventual network of 16 satellites will bring high-speed Internet to even the most rural parts of the African continent. This will be made possible regardless of a country’s local infrastructure. O3b’s approach is different from that of traditional satellite communication. Normally communication satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of around 22,000 miles, which can limit signal strength and bandwidth; O3b satellites will use cheaper medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites that only reach an altitude of around 6,000 miles. This design improves the strength of the signal and can provide speeds of up to ten gigabits per second. Greg Wyler, the founder of the company explains, ‘high-speed Internet access will bring a series of advantages to developing countries, including locally generated content, widespread e-learning, telemedicine and other enablers of social and economic growth.’ Google is one of the investors in the company and highlights the projects ambition to launch in the coming year. Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive officer, explains in an e-mail interview with the New York Times, ‘Africa is a huge long-term market for us. We have to start by helping people get online, and the creativity of the people will take care of the rest.’

Infrastructure aside, organizations increasingly understand that they need to adapt to the African context if they are going to successfully meet its needs. In the same article the New York Times expands, ‘People in the mobile-handset business talk about adding customers not by the millions but by the billions, if only they could get the details right.’ More specifically, ‘How do you make a phone that can be repaired by a street-side repairman who may not have access to new parts? How do you build a phone that won’t die a quick death in a monsoon or by falling off the back of a motorbike on a dusty road? Or a phone that picks up distant signals in a rural place, holds a charge off a car battery longer or that can double as a flashlight during power cuts?’ These are the issues that have been ignored in the past and are now a priority for organizations eager to work in the African context.

As a result, both Nokia and Sony Ericsson have opened research centers on the continent. On the Nokia website they explain, ‘Nokia Research Africa focuses on understanding the needs of the African mobile phone user and creates concepts and visions to fulfill these needs. The concepts are built into prototypes and pilots and then field tested.’ These African based research centers support the idea that companies have to embed themselves within a given context if they are to really understand it. This approach goes well beyond the techno deterministic approaches of the past as both companies now count anthropologists like Jan Chipchase amongst their ranks, people specialized in understanding the relationship between the technology and the user. Nokia goes on to explain, ‘the team must face some Africa specific challenges. The majority of Africans have extremely low-income level and less than 10% of the population has access to the fixed electricity grid. This creates a need for new models. Chris Kiagiri, a Google technology officer in Nairobi, says, ‘A lot of people assume Google is trying to replicate in Africa what it has done elsewhere. Sure, we want to bring existing products into this market. But we also want to organize information locally in a way we haven’t done elsewhere.’ Adding to the challenge is the more than 1000 languages spoken in 56 countries, sometimes in very isolated communities.’ Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Google and others highlight only some of the challenges organizations must overcome if they are to successfully engage the continent.

These developments are deep as they are wide and diverse. They mark a new era in which an increasing number of organizations and individuals recognize Africa’s potential to become a fundamental partner in this process. In a recent BBC interview with Dr. Diarra, the chairman of Microsoft in Africa, says, ‘Africa is really the last frontier in not only developing technology that is specific to people’s needs, but eventually even developing new business models that will enable the emergence of local software industries, such as young people who have the skills to be able to write their own applications for their own community.’ Microsoft is not known for making these kinds of statements. Historically the company has treated the African continent as a place to simply advertise and sell their products, as opposed to investing in African talent and developing company solutions locally. These remarks clearly acknowledge a shift in thinking and further hints to the emergence of something really new.

Interested in connecting with entrepreneurs and investors?
Join us on www.VC4Africa.com!

I have placed some knitting patterns over on my etsy shop so head on over and visit me ,I will add more as I get them ready.The majority of items in the shop are felted items all unique and items made to deomonstarte techniques or for shows.I have been asked so often if I sell my finished pieces and the answer has always been ‘no’ but now I have had a change of heart and listed them .So do come over and visit.The vision long term vision is to offer techniques classes online and the opportunity to purchasethe worksheet, template/resist and fibre etc all in one pack.

Tomorrow evening I have to show my face at the Golf Club Captain’s Dinner.  Being on a budget I was wracking my brain deciding what to wear (it is informal this year which is unusual) when to my absolute delight I found my ‘lost’ black velvet trousers!  I managed to pick up an inexpensive plain turquoise top that compliments them perfectly so today I set myself the task of creating some eye-catching accessories to glam up the outfit.

Turquoise and black nuno felt brooch with Victorian button

My mother is lending me a gorgeous diamante bracelet of my grandmother’s and I wanted to make a matching nuno felt brooch using this fantastic Victorian button for the centrepiece.   I was lucky enough to pick up the button in a charity shop while in the States and the nuno felt seemed the perfect setting to really show it off!  I cut out a rough circle of pongee silk, laid one layer of short fibred merino on top and within a very short space of time the brooch was made.  Not being too fussy about the evenness of the circle makes for a simple organic shape and I like this brooch so much that I think I will make some more of them tomorrow morning and put them up for sale!

My next project was a small black evening bag and for this I used an old resist that I already had and made it a little bit smaller.  I wanted a clutch (purse for those of you over the water) which was easy to carry and not too big, something just to keep a little bit of money, car keys and the obligatory lip balm that I always manage to mislay!  To jazz it up and tie the whole outfit together I have just finished another nuno flower to stitch onto the flap, this time using turquoise silk felted with a deeper turquoise merino.

I felt like carding today and finished some mighty fine merino/silk blends! They are now out and displayed in my ebayUK store, and here they are, have a look:

And two handspun super soft merino yarns made it off the wool rack. Oooooh I am delighted and very pleased with the colourways, especially my “MON COEUR EN AUTOMNE”, here it is:

I think I will never ever get enough of those automn shades, they just make me feel so ad ease and are therefore a joy to spin.  The second yarn design is called “OPHELIA”:

 Both yarns are now displayed in my Etsy store and can also be custom made at any time. Feel free to contact me for more information.

En septembre 2009 NKM a lancé un programme d’initiation au Web 2.0 auprès des parlementaires. Cette initiative a reçu de la part des internautes un très faible écho dans la blogosphère et pour les plus geeks un accueil des plus sceptiques.

Autheuil blogueur  donne une vision très amusante du questionnaire dûment rempli. Il en tire une conclusion peu optimiste : les politiques sont des handicapés du mulot.

Des critiques justifiées ? :

Les critiques adressées à la ministre sur son projet semblent un peu sévère mais pour certaines fondées. Au vu de la moyenne d’âge (53 ans et 9 mois)  et de leurs agendas, la majorité des députés et sénateurs ne sont pas réputés pour être des technophiles avertis. En ont ils d’ailleurs le temps ?.  NKM en proposant un questionnaire simple, voire réducteur  ne prend pas (trop) de risques et se donne une forte marge de progression dans la sensibilisation et l’adoption aux outils Web 2.0. Et pourra donc communiquer ensuite sur le succès de l’opération.  Mais qu’en sera-t-il vraiment de la suite des évènements  : un coup d’épée dans l’eau ?  Pourtant utiliser  un tel argument serait facile et n’apporterait rien de positif.

Une fracture numérique et/ou sociale ?

Dans un second temps, on peut se dire que la fracture numérique et sociale entre les parlementaires et les connectés est installée. Les « handicapés du mulot » sont certainement plus proche des non connectés (qui représente tout de même 30% de la population) que des connectés, la seule différence c’est que leurs assistants maîtrisent les outils.

Le problème est que les débats sont orientés avant tout sur la partie technique : Fibre, satellite, cuivre, financement et beaucoup moins sur les usages. Certes, fibrer le territoire en TTHD est important. La compétitivité des territoires et des entreprises en dépend, mais à quoi sert de fibrer si les populations ne savent pas se servir des outils ou les utilisent à mauvais escient Voir pour plus d’informations : http://www.lcpan.fr/emission/77494/video .

De même, il serait peut être opportun de permettre aux parlementaires d’utiliser aux sein des assemblées la consultation en ligne de la presse des vidéos, mais aussi d’avoir accès au format électronique des documents de travail.

En quoi les politiques sont concernés par ces évolutions à titre individuel.

Les politiques doivent se sentir concernés par ces évolutions. Mais pas là où se concentrent la majorité des débats. L’‘impact des outils Web 2.0 dans la relation élu-administrés, candidat-électeurs et des nouveaux territoires créées. A écouter les parties prenantes, l’impression donnée est que les parlementaires ne sont pas concernés par cette évolution.

Pourtant à l’heure de l’e-administration, du mélange vie privée et vie publique. Ne pas prendre en compte ses avertissements seraient une grosse erreur.

Le buzz négatif ou l’image écornée de ces hommes et femmes politiques laisse dans la mémoire collective des traces indélébiles et risque de ressurgir en permanence à plus ou moins brève échéance.

Les politiques locaux volent-ils en dessous du radar ?

L’actualité politique à surtout mis en avant pour le moment des hommes politiques d’envergure nationale (Nicolas Sarkozy, Dominique de Villepin) et un peu plus rarement les échelons inférieurs. Ce caractère local peut donner l’illusion de pouvoir passer sous le spectre des médias sociaux.

Ils ont tort. Non pris en considération, les réseaux sociaux peuvent devenir une source d’incertitudes et de controverse quelle que soit la thématique et le lieu, c’est une caisse de résonance qui abolit les distances et le temps. Des auteurs de blog locaux ou des vidéo mis en ligne peuvent trouver un écho ou passer complètement inaperçu et ressurgir plusieurs semaines ou mois après. Une actualité ou un événement politique comme des élections peut faire ressurgir des événements que l’on croyait passé. Rien ne permet aujourd’hui d’affirmer qu’Internet  ne jouera  pas un rôle dans une élection locale, comme les élections régionales de 2010.

De même, au-delà de ce rôle très ponctuel, les politiques ont aujourd’hui peu investi la sphère numérique de manière permanente. Peu d’hommes et de femmes politiques d’envergure nationale ou locale s’investissent personnellement et durablement auprès dans une relation avec les internautes. Les 100 premiers comptes Facebook (56 millions de personnes) sont assez symptomatiques de cette appropriation, entre le premier (plus de 100.000 adhérents) et le dernier compte (354), plus de 99% des élus n’ont pas investi d’une manière ou d’une autre l’espace numérique.

Quel serait les avantages pour les politiques

Se poser la question de l’intérêt des médias sociaux dans le domaine politique n’est pas anodin. Qu’il soit national ou local l’homme politique se doit de diffuser sur tous les médias son message. Laisser un territoire vierge, c’est laisser un territoire d’expression à un concurrent ou à un faussaire.

C’est l’expérience malheureuse que Martine Aubry a eu l’occasion d’expérimenter récemment avec Twitter.

L’autre avantage pour un homme politique d’utiliser les médias sociaux est la capacité de ceux-ci à créer, accroître et pérenniser les liens tissés pendant et après la campagne électorale. C’est ce qu’à fait Dominique de Villepin avec son site Villepin.fr, en fidélisant autour de son identité numérique ses adhérents, il pose les bases  d’un dialogue entre lui et ses admirateurs et admiratrices. En effet, les politiques ont tendance à communiquer sur tous les supports en période de électorale et d’abandonner dès l’élection passée. Pérenniser le lien permet donc de prolonger la présence de l’homme politique dans les médias. Doit-ils pour autant twitter ou communiquer partout et tout le temps,  est aussi unes question qui mérite qu’on y réponde (voir Article sur Médias Sociaux.com). Christian Estrosi ayant expérimenté le tweet au Sénat dernierement….

les inconvénients.

Source : L'express

Le Web 2.0 a un gros défaut, c’est qu’il est en mutation permanente. Les outils disparaissent aussi rapidement qu’ils naissent. En constante amélioration, portés de grands groupes et des start-up, la pérennité des outils est difficile à prévoir. Qui sait si dans deux ans Facebook et Twitter seront encore là.

Le Web 2.0 a pour autre caractéristique de laisser une large part aux usages. Les internautes en s’appropriant les outils peuvent trouver de nouvelles utilisations.  Usages qui peuvent être très loin de l’outil initial proposé par les concepteurs. De même l’absence d’annuaires est un handicap sérieux à une utilisation à grande échelle au sein des institutions.

Le Web 2.0 est  aussi un outil reposant sur la confiance entre l’émetteur et le récepteur, ce n’est pas un média à sens unique comme la télévision de l’ORTF qui peut être contrôlé et par lequel on peut propager sa pensée politique.  Tout au plus dirigé dans un sens, le Web 2.0 passe par de nombreux filtres sociaux avant d’arriver au grand public. Ces filtres analysent dissèquent l’information et relèvent les ficelles et les annonces approximatives peuvent être démontées ou générer un fort soupçon comme le dernier buzz négatif de Nicolas Sarkozy sur le mur de Berlin.

Conclusion :

Entre absence et omnipotence, le monde politique trouver un équilibre. Vouloir à tout prix communiquer sur tout peut être aussi dangereux que de laisser un no-man’s land virtuel.

Les réseaux sociaux politiques soulèvent avec acuité des questions très pointues sur l’identité numérique des politiques et des citoyens, de la persistance de l’information , de l’infobesité.

Une autre question doit être posée : Mieux vaut il être sur des plate-formes spécialisées et identifiées, comme la coopol du PS, ou afficher ses opinions politiques sur des plate-formes généralistes. Ne peut-on craindre d’opérer un mélange des genres entre vie privée, vie professionnelle et opinions politiques. ?

De même quel pourrait être l’impact de la réforme des collectivités territoriales qui doit faire passe le nombre d’élus locaux de 6000 à 3000 sur la vie politique française et son vieillissement. De nombreuses questions demeurent donc sans réponses.  Nous sommes à une croisée des chemins, les nouvelles technologies permettent de raccourcir les circuits de décision ainsi que le nombre d’intervenants. Qui seront les grands gagnants et qui seront les grands perdants  ?

Pour en savoir plus : http://www.mediassociaux.com/2009/11/16/peut-on-twitter-partout-tout-le-temps

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Annexe : définition

La fracture numérique qui : “ désigne le fossé entre ceux qui utilisent les potentialités des technologies de l’information et de la communication pour leur accomplissement personnel ou professionnel et ceux qui ne sont pas en état de les exploiter faute de pouvoir accéder aux équipements ou de compétences ” (Commission nationale française pour l’Unesco, 2005) prend plusieurs formes.

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First, if your interested in the new Cisco UCS blade system and haven’t checked out the Varrow channel on YouTube lately, you should.  We’ve added several new videos from a customer while doing their UCS install.  Pretty neat stuff.

Just finished up another video for our collection.  This one walks you through configuring Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) on a Cisco Nexus 5020 switch.  As you’ll hear me say several times in the video it’s not hard, especially if you know how to configure a Cisco MDS switch.  It’s very, very similar with just a few new steps on the front-end of the configuration.  In the demo I take a vSphere server with Emulex CNAs and connect it to an EMC CLARiiON array via FCoE over the Nexus 5020.

• YouTube Channel
• ScreenCast (higher resolution)

If there is anything that you’d like to see demonstrated on a video just let us know and we’ll do our best.

The best way to reliably test an optical fiber connection is by using speciality equipment. However, having them can be expensive so I am laying out a cheap, quick, dirty and somewhat unreliable way of testing them.

All that is needed is two people, one at each end, each equipped with a camera and a flashlight, both of which can be found in any modern cell phone.

The basic procedure is using the flashlight as light transmitter on one end and the camera as a light receiver on the other end. Using naked eyes to search for light through an optical fiber can be dangerous and should be avoided. That’s what the camera is for.

Multi-mode fibers are the easiest to check, since they scatter the light to multiple angles, so it’s easy to detect it from the other end.

However, for single mode fibers things can get tricky, since both the flash light and camera should be somewhat aligned. After a little effort though, one should be able to check it.

If the distance between the ends is too great for the flashlight power, one could connect the optical equipment on one end and detect its light using the camera from the other. (But if you have optical equipment readily available, why not just connect it directly and see if it works?)

I should mention again that is test is just for continuity. Nothing is better than speciality test equipment.

This hand-dyed blue-faced leicester: weaving procrastination.

I think I’ve got too much on the go. I say this because I keep starting things and working on things but nothing gets done. My new woven scarf is a prime example; I think I started it a month ago, but I only work on it once a week at my weaving class. There are too many things to knit, projects to weave, rovings to dye, colours to think about, and books to read. They’re all too much fun not to work on.

And so we limp along.

The scarf is being woven on a borrowed Nilus Leclerc table loom with various wool and alpaca yarns. To be honest, I’m not digging this new scarf. Part of my brain keeps telling me to do warp-faced projects, but it’s not actually what I end up liking. Plus, I don’t recommend stash-busting for beginner weavers like me. The results are too unpredictable, and in this case I ended up really struggling to find a weft that works with these yarns. I’m hoping for a transformation once it’s washed.

C. just complained, “You know, you really should have a glossary for this blog.” Warp-faced: the warp shows more. In the photo above, the warp is the brown and green yarns. The weft is the thin green yarn running perpendicular to the warp. So for a weft-faced weave, the weft pattern would be dominant and cover up more of the green and brown warp.

I have been putting Kellogg’s on the back burner for awhile.  I am sickened by the Special K Diet.  It is crap.  Cereal should never be a part of any diet.  It is one of the most calorie dense foods on earth.  You will be hard pressed to lose weight while eating cereal.  True, you could do a lot worse, but that isn’t a ringing endorsement of a diet, it is a criticism.  Here is a great explanation.  The advertising campaign is just a sick attempt to associate their cereal with health based upon the most ridiculous study results ever.  It is offensive and it should stop.  I will write more about the Special K diet later, but strangely, that is the least of the problems I have with Kellogg’s today.

Yes Kellogg’s has done something more egregious than ‘challenge’ you to lose weight by eating chocolate cereal bars, strawberry waffles, and chocolatety delight cereal.  It is ironic though when you put it that way.  I too challenge you to lose weight that way, it would be beyond difficult.  Maybe that is what Kellogg’s meant

Seriously though, the thing that has me upset is using kids to act as doctors and talk about how good Fruit Loops is for your health!?!?  Yes, I said it, cute kids acting like doctors extolling the virtues of Fruit Loops as part of a healthy diet.  What has the world come to.  Seriously… have we become so inured to questionable claims that we are going to let Kellogg’s get away with this?  Do we need to convene a senate sub-committee to determine why we are getting fatter?  Hmmm… let me think….   boy, this seems like an unsolvable problem.  How do we go about solving this conundrum.  I can’t think of any way to figure out why we are getting so fat…  While I think on this one, enjoy the ad.

Wow, 3 whole grams of fibre….  (OH MY GOD, I just searched Kellogg’s Fruit Loops to see how much sugar you get with those 3 whopping grams of fibre, and they have already launched their kids fibre website!!! ) Okay, so I have found the nutritional information and it turns out that you get 12 grams of sugar to 3 grams of fibre.  Hmmm… thinking that is a great idea.  Sure you could go for a 4:1 sugar to fibre ration, which I guarantee you is a TOTAL LOSER OF AN IDEA, or you could say eat All Bran Buds (the only cereal that you should eat, and you should eat it by the way) and get 11 grams of fibre to 7 grams of sugar.  Kids talk to your parents, tell them how good for them Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks are.  Tell them that all of the kid doctors you see on TV actually give prescriptions for it.  Oh, and Kellogg’s advertising execs, whoever thought up, funded and approved this advertising campaign, YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.  You are at the heart of what is wrong in world right now.

Yippieh, finally almost all of my latest yarns and fibers have made it off the wool rack! Handspun & handpainted extra soft merino slub yarns (= thick and thin yarns), handpainted fine wensleydale fleece locks for all feltmakers, handspinners and dollmakers, and ultra soft handpainted merino-silk rovings, all now out and displayed in my ebayUK store. Here they are in all their splendor:

And this new yarn beauty is called “INDIAN SUMMER” and is now displayed in my Etsy store )

There are some more rovings and also a new set of custom made felt strings that I haven’t taken any photos of yet, but I will display them in my next blog. Until then, everyone have a very find autumn season!!!!

Gaia’s Colors offers yarns and spinning fibers dyed in colors inspired by the Goddess and Mother Earth (Gaia).  The colorways are variegated, semi-solid and solid, with a variety of yarn weights.  There is also a yarn club option available.

Website: http://www.gaiascolours.com/
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