So it’s all over and descended into absolute chaos, but is it really that suprising? It wasn’t only inside that things started to take a turn for the worse last week, as talks stalled police and activists clashed on the streets surrounding the Bella Centre in Copenhagen.

It now transpires that China chucked the largest spanner in the works and is getting most of the blame for the demise of COP15, alongside America who according to Gordon Brown, showed a lack of ‘ambition’. Without the superpowers agreeing to anything meaningful or tangible, the weak agreement that has been signed could place a legally binding deal in serious jeopardy. When world leaders were gathered at the summit on Friday to ’sign’ on the dotted line, in fact they were thrashing out a weaker international consensus which merely capped global temperature rise by 2 degrees and agreed remuneration packages and aid for countries who face the immediate onslaught of climate change.

Here’s the Channel 4 news coverage from last night. Keep watching as the live interview between Ed Miliband and George Monbiot is particularly compelling – it starts just before the 4 minute mark.

Crucially, no date was set for a peak in carbon emissions, no date was set for any of it to become legally binding, nor were any international emissions targets defined. However much activism and pressure was placed upon world leaders to reach a deal, could we really have expected anything more in just two weeks? Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband are now insistent that the procedural process for the talks must change, as negotiations involving 193 separate countries made for a diplomatic nightmare.

They say that some of the smaller nations were effectively holding the whole summit to ransom, as talks stalled last week for hours at a time when smaller countries threw their toys out of the pram over the developed world not taking enough responsibility for their historical carbon emissions. This meant hours of precious negotiating was wasted and talks had to continue until well after midnight on a number of occasions to make up for lost time. It was also probably part of the reason why a hurried and weaker agreement was signed in the dying moments of the conference so that the fortnight’s talks were not deemed as a total failure. This certainly needs to be addressed in time for next years summit in Mexico, as although it is commendable that the UN ensures every nation has its chance to speak, this is evidently not the forum in which such a discussion should take place. How can a fortnight’s worth of negotiating be enough to hear each and every one of the 193 countries represented, with over 25,000 delegates in attendance, with such an emotive issue on the negotiating table?

This can be demonstrated by last-minute comments made by the Sudanese delegate Lumumba Di-Aping, who likened the final accord to the Holocaust. This was quickly denounced by European leaders and however inappropriate it shows the frustrations of the G77 and developing world that the richer nations could not get together to agree lasting targets based upon their previous behaviour.

Last week saw Carwyn Jones on behalf of the Welsh Assembly pledge to help the Mbale region of Uganda prepare for climate change, but unfortunately this is small fry on such an international stage. Such measures should be adopted by other larger developed nations rather than keeping their own interests top priority. This is only demonstrated by China, America, South Africa, India and Brazil breaking away from the main talks to forge a watered down strategy that better suited their economies rather than the environment or consideration of the most vulnerable of nations.

So what will happen now? Well it’s important that international momentum does not falter in the hangover of the conference, although this looks bound to happen. Also, does achieving this ‘weak’ agreement stand in the way of further definition of a legally binding political treaty? With talk of countries making voluntary targets, it’s no wonder the developing nations kicked up so much of a stink in the first week of the summit that the Kyoto agreement should still stand. Just because COP15 is over, it does not remove the obvious challenges we face with Climate Change. World leaders seem to have sidestepped the main issues and chosen short-term gain over long-term probability. It is now back in the hands of NGO’s, International Environment groups and campaigners to lobby world leaders to pull their proverbial fingers out, as there certainly is no planet b.

Right well I’ve been speaking about the build up a fair bit but have yet to actually talk about what is going on at COP15. It seems the jargon busters are at work and negotiations are truly in full swing, and the enormity of what needs to be agreed is becoming apparent. The BBC World Service have created this interesting article on where every country stands in relation to its Carbon emissions and future carbon planning, which contextualises what needs to happen in Denmark.

Despite pledges to the tune of £1.2 billion being made by Gordon Brown to help developing nations adapt to climatic changes, it appears that reaching a singular global deal, or text, is looking difficult. Poorer nations feel that they should not have to reduce their carbon emissions and it should only be those who were part of the previous Kyoto protocol who should make massive reductions. There has also been controversy with yet more leaked documents, this time the draft Danish text setting out their plan B if negotiations don’t go according to plan.

With regard to last weeks ‘ClimateGate’ debacle, it was interesting this week when the Met Office announced that the last decade has been the hottest on record. That certainly should douse the spurious claims of climate change deniers that there is no such thing as global warming. And not only that, but next year is also predicted to being the hottest year yet experienced in modern history. Alongside this new research which seems has been perfectly timed to counter the leaked emails from the University of East Anglia, the Met Office have also produced some stark projections for what will happen if global temperatures were to rise by 2 degrees and then 4 degrees centigrade.

So what will week two of the summit bring? Well the leaked draft text is part of the way there but what is looking like a two tier agreement will only exacerbate the disparity between rich and poor. With Environment Minster Jane Davidson and new First Minister Carwyn Jones in Copenhagen rubbing shoulders with their international counterparts, can they persuade other larger nations to take Wales’ lead with the ambitious carbon reduction targets set out by the Welsh Assembly?

As more ideas are thrashed out WGD will try to get in touch with some people who are in Copenhagen and see if they can give an insight into what is happening first hand.

The park is a popular retreat for Cardiff’s residents and visitors. It offers somewhere to escape the busy hubbub of the city centre. Somewhere for people to stroll on a Sunday afternoon. Somewhere to walk the dog or go for a jog.

It is always, whatever the weather, a hive of activity.

Cardiff Castle and Bute Park

And it has been this way since 1947 when a significant area of the Bute Park grounds was given to the people of Cardiff by the fifth Marquess of Bute.

Presentation of Bute Park 1947

Since then it has been expanded and developed. A variety of rare and ornamental trees have been planted to form the Bute Park Arboretum. Forty eight of these trees now have Champion Tree status – for being the biggest or best example of their species in the UK.

The park has won numerous green awards for its sustainable development and management.

But recently, Cardiff Council has been criticised for its proposed developments of the park. A group of local residents and academics have formed a group – the Bute Parks Alliance – to campaign against the Council’s developments.

Last week tree specialists starting felling 21 of Bute Park’s nationally significant trees. The felling is part of the £5.6 million Bute Park Restoration Plan.

Funded by over £3.1 million pounds from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the plan is to restore some of the important historic features within the park, including the medieval Blackfriars site and the Victorian animal wall. The council also hopes to provide new facilities for visitors and improve accessiblity to the park.

As part of this work the council is building a new bridge into the park from North Road. The council says the £1.4m constuction will direct heavy articulated lorries away from the busiest parts of the park and give them better access to the nursery in the centre of the park. But local residents say the bridge will destroy an important part of the park and allow more traffic into the area.

The council says the trees need to be felled because they are diseased or dead. According to the council, the trees have been independently surveyed and recommended for removal on arboricultural grounds.

Tree management work in Bute Park

But Professor Kevin Morgan, an expert in city development and chair of the Bute Parks Alliance, says he’s concerned there hasn’t been enough research into this.

The Bute Parks Alliance is also concerned that the council are removing healthy trees. Campaigners say they are suspicious that some of the trees are positioned so close to the controversial new bridge and the road leading to the nursery.

I asked Councillor Nigel Howells, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Parks, if there was any truth behind this accusation.

Councillor Howells says the bridge is an important part of the park’s development. He believes it will reduce vehicle mileage in the park and direct traffic away from the popular area around the north gate.

But Professor Morgan thinks there has not been enough sustainable planning behind the bridge. He believes that the bridge development has been led instead by the council’s desire to cater for big events in Cardiff.

View Larger Map

The next stages of development for the park will begin in the spring with the restoration of the animal wall.

Racoons on the animal wall that borders part of Bute Park

Developments will then continue with the conservation and preservation of the medieval Blackfriars site, preserved sections of the nineteenth century planted layout and the twentieth century Arboretum.

The stone circle in Bute Park

In addition, new visitor facilities will be provided, including a training and education centre, better seating, path surfaces and signage, improved visitor information, public toilets and refreshment outlets.

Professor Morgan says he hopes the future developments of the park will balance ecological, social and cultural needs in consultation with local people.

There are many aspects of this project that local residents support. Improved interpretation and facilities throughout the park and the restoration of its historical features are welcome developments.

But many local people are alarmed that despite the opposition and campaigning the bridge is still going ahead. They are suspicious that the council is not listening to their concerns and a distrust of the council has started to develop. Many people feel the decisions taken over the bridge have not considered the longevity of the park’s tranquillity and character.

It is, for them, a bridge too far.

To listen to the full interviews with Councillor Nigel Howells and Professor Kevin Morgan, please click on the links below.

Councillor Howells

Professor Kevin Morgan

The thought occurred to me that there is so much information about people regardless of how private they think they may be. The common argument I hear people have against the internet and web 2.0 is ‘I don’t want to share x about me‘. This is valid but shows serious myopic vision. My counter is if you cannot manage the information about you, you will be managed by the information valid or not. It is impossible to put the smoke back into the candle. Today, western society is dependent on information and makes decisions based on its flow.

The reason I thought about this was that I am piecing together all the skills and experience I have developed over the years and can imagine and (have) developed applications that make decisions based on collected data. Knowing where to find information and being able to correlate it to seemingly unrelated data, then using that to make informed decisions seems so easy now. I like to imagine that this is what government intelligence agencies do – collect data (vast volumes), look for patterns, make hypotheses, experiment and dis/prove conclusions.

If you do not actively manage the information about yourself, you will be managed by it in the not so distant future.

I finished a project tonight for my Advanced Geographic Systems class (GEOG 563). This was the final project in what I expect is my final class in the program. Only thing left is a final exam on Monday and I should be finished.

The project was actually interesting, I came up with a problem where an organization needs to organize six groups with dynamic memberships based on geographic location. Using models, VBA and python scripting (programming languages) the process needed to be run at will and output dynamic groups (constantly changing) with relative ease. The output needed to be exported into non-GIS software that the uneducated user could follow a few (less than 3 steps) lines of instructions and see a satellite rendering of the geogrpahic location. This was my creation.

I took a membership roster, calculated very specific geographic locations for each member of the roster, observed trends or natural groupings and output the results to a Google map. Not just a Google map, but a KML file that took each coordinate and plotted it on a satellite view even showing the street level view of each spot.

The really cool outcome is that it is scalable – meaning I now have 200 plots over a small portion of a county. The same process can be done for two thousand, two million or more plots over a county, state, or country. What I did not do is to route the shortest path to each point. This would be helpful if say you were a delivery person who needed to visit each point in the most efficient path possible. Another thing I could do is collect information like age, gender or economic status and organize plans involving these types of targets selecting the necessary from the masses and route plans accordingly.

The application of data collection and the things you could do with these results are limitless. Makes me think of my next post – deliberate information confusion.

Despite it being a very early start and a pretty dismal December day, people turned out in droves to march on the Houses of Parliament in London to demand action on controlling Climate Change.

The morning started for me with an early coach ride laid on by The Co-operative from Cardiff where I met a very friendly bunch of people from around South East Wales. I asked Christian, who is a Social Worker from Cardiff, why he forfeited his lie in for a day of demonstrating.

After shamelessly plugging this blog I set about my mammoth task of documenting the day, which you may have seen on our twitterfeed and you can also listen to in the podcast/documentary that will be on the site by the end of the week.

When we arrived in London, Dai the Blue Dragon emerged from his cave (well the underpass off Park Lane) to join the throng of people gathered for The Wave rally and march which would set off from Grosvenor Square.

At one o clock the procession of blue began to snake its way through central London bringing traffic to a standstill and leaving tourists and onlookers bemused on the pavement. Bands played, drums were beaten, as we passed The Ritz and Picadilly Circus in a steady trickle towards our final destination, Westminster bridge.

View Larger Map

Despite the numbers and strong feeling amongst campaigners, the day’s event passed by without trouble, except for a handful of Climate Change deniers who shouted abuse from outside the cordon as the procession reached Trafalgar Square.

I joined campaigners from the Stop Climate Chaos Cymru Coalition which included representatives from Oxfam and Friends of the Earth and asked them why taking part in The Wave was important. I spoke to Haf Elgar, a campaigner for Friends of the Earth Cymru, who has been planning Wales’ presence at The Wave for months. I asked what she thought about the ‘ClimateGate’ scandal at the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia.

I also spoke to Luned Jones, who is a campaign officer for Oxfam Cymru who I managed to tear away from leading the welsh Stop Climate Chaos brigade for a mini interview. I asked her about the policing of the event.

On that note, one Policeman confessed how he was glad to be at a protest which he could actually sympathise with, and how the atmosphere was more reminiscent of a carnival than a highly charged political rally.

The culmination of the day’s event was The Wave itself, where by 3pm the line had completely encircled parliament. When Big Ben bonged three times, 50,000 pairs of hands painted blue or snug within gloves waved frantically towards the palace of Westminster. Right on cue the heavens opened; what a great irony.

By three the protest was over and we were shepherded to the buses. Cheers for campaigning, now go home please! If there were a competition for the best protest declaration, Dai the Dragon would have come first. He got a lot of media attention and earned his spot on Sky News and BBC national news and BBC Online on Saturday. When he crossed the line we had shouts of ‘well done Wales’, we felt like we had run a marathon.

The question is how succesful was the demonstration? It certainly gained plenty of media attention and recognition from our government, with Gordon Brown inviting 24 Stop Climate Chaos representatives to 10 Downing Street afterwards. Ed Miliband was also getting involved at the start of the protest down in Grosvenor Square doing interviews from the top of the media bus. Whether it will influence the politicians at the Copenhagen summit still remains to be seen.

I think its useful however to put the numbers into context. Fifty thousand people is a lot, but not extraordinary – you only have to look at the Anti War rallies in 2003 where an estimated one million people took to the streets in opposition of the forthcoming war in Iraq for that.

Arguably, the threat of imminent war is more real than the omnipresent and invisible threat that Climate Change poses. In the developed world and especially northern hemisphere we are yet to see any lasting effects of climate change; it’s the poorest nations and far away shores who are suffering first. Yet climate change will affect everybody eventually and could have catastrophic consequences. The fact that the amassed crowd is representative of only 1,240th of the population of Britain is alarming.

A few of my colleagues went out into Cardiff today to randomly ask shoppers about what they thought of the Copenhagen Summit starting. Many people busy doing their Christmas chopping gave blank expressions and didn’t know a thing about what they were being asked. Other cynical people who had heard of the summit thought it was just the politicians’ excuse to ‘go on a jolly’.

I hate to end on a pessimistic note as you couldn’t help but feel upbeat after spending the day with like-minded environmentally aware people at The Wave. Unfortunately it seems that back in the real wide world such progressive thinkers are in the minority.

In the past day I have resurrected a term I learned two decades ago. Sneaker Net.

sneaker net \ˈsnē-kər ˈnet\ a tongue-in-cheek term used to describe the transfer of electronic information, especially computer files, by physically carrying removable media such as magnetic tape, floppy disks, compact discs, USB flash drives, or external hard drives from one computer to another. This is usually in lieu of transferring the information over a computer network. This mode of data transport is often used as an academic example to illustrate the trade-off between latency and bandwidth. (Ref)

The term nor the definition are original but do represent an effective means for moving data without regard for the large, expensive networks we build.

An effective bilingual advertising campaign, created by Golley Slater, has been launched by Waste Awareness Wales in order to meet an ambitious new target of 70% recycling for all household waste by 2025.

Owain Griffiths, head of Waste Awareness Wales, said: “There is a lot more work to be done to reduce the effects of climate change. While 98% of Welsh households receive a recycling collection, only 50% of householders currently take part and this is simply not enough.”

Failing to recycle will soon start to cost us all money. There is a need to meet strict European targets and failing these will result in the taxpayer having to pay more.

Waste Awareness Wales are using children in this television advert, currently being run across ITV1 Wales and S4C, to combat our ‘throw away’ society.

So it seems the people in the valleys of the Cynon, Rhondda, Afan and Neath valleys are Y.I.M.B.Y’s?

The not in my back yarders must be a little miffed as it seems this time they are in the minority, after an independent survey has revealed that only 1 in 10 people were against wind farms being developed.

The survey was carried out by BMG Research on behalf of Nuon Renewables who are planning to construct wind turbines near Pen-y-Cymoedd.

All the stats can be found in the Western Mail’s online article from last week but the most interesting is that 73% of people are in favour of more wind energy but with 63% percent fully backing wind farms. What does this mean exactly? Whats the difference? A bit dubious that one.

It’s all certainly at odds with last months news in the South Wales Argus that residents were not consulted about Tesco’s plans to erect two turbines at their store in Newport. Check out the comments on the article, it certainly ruffled a few feathers.

Regardless of that case, could the acceptance of the more isolated valley communities mean that public feeling towards wind turbines is changing, or are people just indifferent? What could be the reason behind it? Maybe its internet based campaigns which have cast this renewable energy source in a more favourable light? Plus if big companies and brands are beginning to back the use of wind and appear sustainable, then psychologically people may think, ‘Well if its good enough for them then its good enough for us’.

Some of my colleagues studying the Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism ventured north to gauge public opinion in Aberdare for themselves.

I think it would be much easier for people to stomach if the wind farms became community projects or co-operatives. When fuel prices start to rocket perhaps more wind farm co-operative projects like the West Mill Farm in Oxfordshire formed in 2006 or the Baywind project in Cumbria which goes back to 1996, will become more commonplace.

It certainly is important to dispel some of the myths that surround wind turbines, with regard to noise and also the public fearing the safety of birds – why would the RSPB back wind farms if that were the case? I could not comment on the noise as I am yet to get up close and personal with a wind turbine, although it is definitely on my list of things to do (that makes me sound a little bit like a train spotter!). Its all about personal opinion, and the press seem to be filling many column inches with arguments for and against our move as a nation to utilises the renewable power of the wind.

The Environment Minister has said people in Wales must make a fundamental lifestyle change to tackle climate problems.

Jane Davidson says Wales is not doing enough towards sustainability. Evidence from scientists and economists shows taking action now will cost us less than taking action in the future.

Talking at the recent Welsh Green Heroes event, the Assembly Mininster told me that everyone needs to think about their way of life to ensure they are as energy efficient as possible.

Listen to the full interview here.

An exhibition showcasing Wales’ green heroes is currently travelling across the country.

The Welsh Green List celebrates people who are working towards sustainability across the country. It’s the first of its kind, and organisers hope it will inspire others to take action against climate change. 

There are 52 green heroes on the list – one for each week of the year.  And all of them have been judged as a ‘champion’ who deserves recognition for tackling sustainability and climate change.  The idea is to celebrate the work of environmentally-minded people in communities across Wales, and then to inspire and motivate others to follow their example.

The list profiles all sorts of people, including school children, business people, community workers, teachers and musicians.  There are also some well-known names, including the Environment Minister Jane Davidson and Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales.

At the launch event I spoke to organiser Helen Nelson, executive director of Cynnal Cymru Sustain Wales, to find out more about this unique award.

The list comes from a nationwide hunt, which started back in the early summer.  People across Wales were asked to think of green champions in their own communities and nominate them to feature in the Green List. The nominations were then short-listed by a panel of representatives from the business, media, voluntary and sustainable development sectors. 

The judging criteria centres on sustainability and people who are ‘building a healthy, happy and fair society’. So the chosen green heroes are not just stereotypical environmentalists.  They are ordinary people, from any background, making a difference to their communities.

Judges told me the idea is to show that green issues aren’t just something you read about in the paper or watch on TV.  They’re about real people, real lives and making Wales a better place.

To help promote the list, Cynnal Cymru has launched a new film and photographic exhibition profiling some of the green champions.  It shows what different people are doing in their quest for sustainability.  

The exhibition will tour across Wales over the next six months. It has now opened at Bridgend. It will then move on to Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda in December and January.

The people on this list are quite extraordinary.  Some have dedicated their whole existence to sustainable living. And, without doubt, the idea behind the list is well considered.  But there continues to be a denial among many people across Wales as to the need to change our lives to be more sustainable. I hope the exhibition will prove very popular and a great success in inspiring people to ‘do their bit’ for the environment.

But the cynic in me worries that even if people visit the exhibition, their admiration and good intentions will quickly turn down the normal road to denial and a reluctance to give up the luxuries and simplicity of their current lives to save the world. 

I hope I’m wrong.
To find out more information on the exhibition and to read profiles of the Welsh Green heroes, visit the Cynnal Cymru Sustain Wales website.

How can we be more sustainable through going shopping? Head down to your local farmers market apparently – I braved some blustery conditions over the weekend down at Riverside Farmer’s market in Cardiff and this is what one shopper had to say about the experience.

Eating more locally grown produce and reducing food waste were just two of the things spoken of at a debate that I went along to as part of Cardiff University’s sustainability week.

In a question time styled debate, a panel including Environment Minister Jane Davidson,  Dr Pam Robinson, School of Social Sciences (who knows her stuff about the supermarkets),  and Professor Kevin Morgan (of an Urban and Regional governance background), fielded questions from a fully charged audience of academics and students.

The most enigmatic of the bunch was Steve Garrett, who is the founder of the Riverside and Roath Farmers markets. Agriculture, farming and food production is one of the biggest contributors to global warming, and with populations set to rise food shortages will become a huge issue.

A big question is, how can you ensure a level playing field when supermarkets have economies of scale on their side to drive down prices and squeeze a farmer’s profit margins ever lower? Remember the dairy price fixing allegations of the ‘big four’ by the Office of Fair Trading in 2008? Even then the OFT got its fingers burnt with claims of defamation, so the supermarkets certainly have some legal clout behind them.

It’s inevitably about cultural change; how can people be persuaded it’s wrong to eat strawberries in December after accruing thousands of air miles to get to the fruit aisle?

There are some good reasons why people should make a farmer’s market a higher priority for their weekly shop.

There is a general misconception that farmers markets are for the bourgeoisie, and although there were stalls with specialist cheese’s and olives at riverside, you could still get all the staples. Also people fear that farmers markets just aren’t as cheap as the supermarkets, although that wasn’t according to the people i asked.

With pros there usually always come a few cons though.

So there are clearly things that a farmers market can’t do that the supermarkets can. Perhaps the answer is a mixture of the two, and this is something that was suggested at the debate.

Anyway back to the point, what are the three key things people need to do eat more sustainably?

1. Eat less meat
2. Eat locally grown seasonal food
3. Throw less food away

Sounds simple. However, we’re struggling to get to grips with the thought of having to pay for plastic bags here in Wales, so the Welsh Assembly need to come up with something good to get people away from the supermarkets and out buying more locally produced food. Maybe they could even teach us how to grow our own!

It was honestly quite disheartening to hear Jan Cliff, founder and director of Sundance Renewables, talk despondently about her struggle to launch biofuels in Wales. A not-for-profit social enterprise, aiming to increase welsh involvement in renewable energy systems, continues its hard work to develop biodiesel and to see it succeed as a legitimate option for running vehicles. Sundance Renewables is Wales’ premier biodiesel producer and has achieved a great deal since starting out but this, apparently, is still not enough.

Their mission is counter balanced mainly by the problem of finding a platform on which to market and distribute the product. Jan explained how the political side is also a large boulder blocking the sun and that the ignorance and disinterest on the legal side is clear: “Some politicians do not even have a clue that vegetable oil can be used for biodiesel.”

Jan emphasised how this issue of renewable fuels should have been attacked over the last 30 years yet it has just not been confronted in the right way. Besides the legalities, the battle lies in getting communities on side: people are embarrassed of filling up with biodiesel as they see it as second rate in some way. How has it developed this bad name? Can we blame the media for this?

Also, people in general do not even consider the issue of biodiesel because we have enough petrol right now to allow us to plod along as we are. There is a worry that until somebody actually stands up and announces that petrol has officially run out, the general public will be content with the current situation.

Petrol and diesel are non renewable petroleum fuels. They are NOT going to last forever and biodiesel could really become an essential transport fuel in the future, even if it were just to provide a stop-gap. Perhaps people should really sit up and think about this. One day these biofuels will be essential and Sundance Renewables will be something of a gold mine. Why wait? As Jan so rightly puts it “the stone age did not come to an end because we ran out of stones. The petroleum age has to end before we run out of petrol.”

Contact Jan at jan@sundancerenewables.org.uk

View the website at www.sundancerenewables.org.uk

It has been years since I last had fried turkey. The flavor of a turkey fried in peanut oil may just be a American thing, but it is well worth the risk (almost) of burning your home down.

Alton Brown has created an easy-to-build turkey derrick to gently lower your turkey into it boiling bath of peanut oil. You may consider such a contraption to avoid burning down your neighborhood this holiday season. (Click for a more detailed picture)

It was only a matter of time. Now (in Beta) you are able to watch a selection of your favourite UK channels/programmes on your iPhone. I don’t know how long the lag time is though. I think it’s around half an hour, but still, beats reading about Amy Winehouse in the Metro.

(Originally posted 12 Sept 2007)
I am often asked how to fix a computer that seems to run slower than normal. Typically barring physical problems with the computer’s hard drive or viral infection routine maintenance will keep a good computer running for many years.

1) Clean the Temp File – Windows is notorious for storing a large number of files in a Temp directory. Cleaning these out tends to speed up system responses. Find these by doing the following:
Restart the computer, make sure all programs are closed before proceeding.
Open Start -> Run
Type in c:\docume~1\%username%\LocalS~1\Temp
From the window that opens select all the files in the Temp directory and delete them. You will get some files that do not delete, you should deselect these and continue until all (as many) files are removed.

2) Clean the Recycle Bin out.
* Note: Before proceeding you may wish to open the Recycle Bin and examine the files in here. It might be time to permanently take out the trash.
From your desktop right mouse click on the Recycle Bin, select Empty Recycle Bin from the menu.

3) Defragment drive
This is a good step to do monthly or whenever system performance seems to fall. Ensure all windows and programs are closed on the computer.
1)Open Start -> Run
Type in defrag c: -f -v
Allow the black window to appear. Note: This step can take minutes to hours to run. Plan accordingly. It can be canceled at anytime. You will know it completes when the window disappears.
Note the line Average fragments per file. A general rule of thumb (my thumb) is when this number exceeds 1.3 you will benefit by allowing this entire process to finish.
Another interesting note will be to examine the Percent free space at the top of the report. Numbers below 10% suggest a larger hard drive is need for your existing files.

4) Rogue Programs
This is difficult to assess without a thorough interview of the user(s). Sometimes programs like WeatherBug, file sharing software or others downloaded from the internet can be running in the background. Enough of these and the computer can seem to slow.

It was in the early hours of Friday 11 September 2009 we got a call from my sister-in-law from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Her call was to let us know that my nephew Ezekiel was giving his missionary farewell in their sacrament meeting to be held in about 5 minutes. The really interesting thing was the meeting could be viewed via video stream on the internet.

My wife and I watched the stream and were amazed by the video quality. The great thing was that we were able to watch the entire meeting. The really great thing was that Ezekiel’s talk was wonderful, he discussed how priesthood service helped him grow and serve. Through his teenage years he was surrounded by quorums that shaped his life. He served by going out and finding the less active, home teaching, and learning along the way by doing the work.

After the meeting, we turned off the computer and could not help but think first, how pleased we are of Ezekiel and his preparation and willingness to serve. Second, the technology that connects us allowing us to see a local meeting from the Middle East.

It may seem odd to an LDS reader that a sacrament meeting is held on Friday. In the Middle East, to respect local traditions the Sabbath and related meetings  for LDS congregations are held on Friday. Another thing is the video stream appeared to have an LDS internet address.   The meeting house was not large, in fact the room where the meeting was held appeared large enough for fifty or so people, and the podium and stand small enough for only about 10 people.

In all I amazed and grateful for being able to participate in a meeting being held live across the world in a small meetinghouse. I am very pleased with Ezekiel’s preparation and desire to serve in the Auckland New Zealand mission. When he enters the MTC on October 1 he will begin a mortal journey he has been prepared for before he was born.

What will be the true purpose of social networks? It is hard to imagine that social networks will be sustainable in the future as they are now. The true power of these networks lie in connecting people will similar skills and interests to each other. There is no social benefit in a network overrun with puppy pictures and American Bandstand vanity voting. I can tolerate the use these networks for targeted advertising. I might even agree that lurkers be allowed to observe the conversation. However, what needs to happen in order to provide societal benefit is the network needs to connect expertise with interest. The connection needs to be between validated individuals who come with credentials already established or those willing to contribute as they build their credentials among their peers. This is the dilemma and the future of human networks as I see it. Identifying experts, self-promote experience and peer acknowledgement.

Hello Colleagues,

The Medical Library at the “Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine,” Florida International University is now open for business. The College of Medicine’ s (COM) inaugural class numbers 43 excited students. Orientation began on August 3rd. Classes start next Monday.

The Medical Library (not yet named) is currently located inside the university library building, and is expected to remain there through 2012. The library’s reporting line is directly to the Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the COM, with a dotted line to the FIU Dean of Libraries. In the next 4-8 years, the medical library will evolve into a health science library to support the emerging Medical Center on campus. For this year, we have four professional librarians and four support staff (plus students).

The collections are 99.9% digital and are licensed for all of FIU.  Students have online access to over 4,000 journals and 800 books in the medical and health sciences through FIU and the Florida Center for Library Automation. The only print materials are the required textbooks, and gifts of older materials. It will be an interesting experiment.

The new COM website should go ‘live’ on Wednesday, and we are pleased to have a spot on the home page (bottom). On subsequent pages, the library has persistent placement in the Quick Links. I’m afraid I do not have a link to offer right now.

The Medical Library has joined DOCLINE, so feel free to add us to an appropriate cell.

Special thanks go to Barbara Shearer and her medical librarians at Florida State University, Nadine Dexter, the FIU university and law librarians, and to other colleagues too numerous to mention in Florida and around the country for their assistance.  Now we’ll see what happens.

Dave

David W. Boilard
Director, Medical Library
Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine – GL 324
Florida International University
11200 SW 8th St.
Miami, FL 33199
(305) 348-0643 phone
(305) 348-0631 fax
dboilard@fiu.edu

What we see in 2030….

(The following scenarios are based on ideas that emerged from the open workshop).

Emotive news is unpopular. Journalists realise how much responsibility they hold in effecting societies’ progress. Public announcements that state the obvious have been abolished. Common sense is more valued than health and safety. The public (not parliament) vote on key issues like war, education reform etc. Education is more ‘life focused’. Creativity is valued as highly as other subjects. Schools are worth more than banks. We vote for ideas not political parties. Power is taken away from parliament and given directly to people in their local communities. The ministry of defence is replaced with the ministry of peace. The arms industry has gone bankrupt. Old age is sacred. The beauty industry has gone bankrupt. People are more important than money. The illuminati is no longer a threat. Footballers earn average wage. Lables based on ethnicity, gender, nationality and (dis)ability no longer exist.

The Environment in 2030….
Just like nature, everything is powered by solar energy. Society sees the earth as a living being. All public transport is free and solar powered. Petrol cars no longer exist. Waste becomes a source of power. Trees grow on roofs. Landfill sites are extinct because everything is recycled. We have a bartering system and country-side co-ops, less supermarkets. More farmers markets in cities and city plots for growing produce free to the public.

Date: 1st August 2009

Time: 3pm

Location: Swiss Cottage Community Centre – Room 4, 19 Winchester Rd, London, NW3 3NR

Who Should Attend: ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED!

Entrance Fee: £free

RSVP: designingfromthefuture(at)gmail.com

In 2030…

* In 2030 the government is no longer in ‘Power’ but in ‘Service’.

* In 2030 there is only a market for morally and environmentally sound businesses.

* In 2030 racism is absurd and archaic.

* In 2030 ‘Reality TV’ is considered harmful for the mental health of participants and viewers.

* In 2030 everyone is equal irrespective of their gender, race or (dis)ability, and associated labels have become obsolete.

* In 2030 we respect nature and deal with environmental issues by empowering ourselves rather than relying on institutions, ‘experts’ and the government.

On Saturday 1st of August 2009, an open meeting is being held so that we, the people, can design the future that we want to live in. Focusing on the year 2030, the meeting is an opportunity to imagine best possible futures for ourselves, our communities and share ideas with others. Through wishful thinking we will imagine what we want to see in the future and take the responsibility of designing our society away from the government and ‘experts’ regardless of our education, job or social status.

(i) The first stage is to let our imaginations run wild. Holding on to the truth that anything is possible, we will imagine preferred futures and list all the things that it will entail, including how we treat the earth, how we govern ourselves, what we teach our children, how we generate energy, how we travel etc.

(ii) The second stage is then to work backwards with the question in mind: What will make this happen? We will decide on key events that will make these changes happen.

(iii) The third stage is to decide what we can do now.

‘Designing From The Future’ is a grassroots project started by people who believe that it’s time to stop focusing on what is wrong with the world and begin to focus on what we want the world to look like.

]]> http://dekcuf.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/will-all-social-media-have-avatars-in-the-future/ Tue, 26 May 2009 04:49:00 +0000 Linn http://dekcuf.wordpress.com/2009/05/26/will-all-social-media-have-avatars-in-the-future/

I’m not sold – but Vincent Sider certainly got my attention with this slideshow (which has, btw, been resting in my browser for so long I can’t remember where I found it! Sorry!).

MIT researcher Pattie Maes demonstrated a new gadget earlier this week at a technology conference in South California. It is called Wear Ur World (WUW), or 6th Sense and allows you to access information as though you always have a PC in front of you, but controlled by hand gestures.

Chalking = Reclaiming a public space and writing messages on the ground with chalk.

Subvertising = The practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements in order to make a statement.

Brief cases for goal posts = Using briefcases to make goal posts for playing football in a public space.