Large and mostly empty, it turned out that almost everyone in the building was queuing to check-in for the flight to Singapore.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Hong Kong by Night
Here are a few shots taken from the side of the hotel pool on the 32nd floor. I thought it might be nice to have a quick dip after wandering around Hong Kong this afternoon so I popped up to the roof (where they keep the pool). Unfortunately, the pool was closed because of a thunderstorm warning (no sign of the storm yet) so all I could do was test the water with my fingers, take a few photos and try not to worry about the railing collapsing as I peered at the view (it didn't, you'll be relieved to know, and I didn't plunge 300ft to the pavement below). Defeated in my quest for a swim, I thought I'd have a go at the restaurant instead. The buffet wasn't bad if you like fried food; I had fried rice with fish, deep-fried cuttlefish, stir-fried ostrich and marinated lamb (grilled, it appears, although it may just have been frying for a long time). Tomorrow I think I'll try the menu in case it offers a larger selection of fried food. I'm now in the hotel bar "enjoying" the Tottenham v Manchester City game (Spurs are 2 goals down at half-time and look like they may have been better off if they hadn't turned up at all) with a glass of Merlot. Frankly, the free peanuts are better than both the wine and the football. Update: I didn't make it back to a wifi hotspot before the end of the game; Man City won 5-1.
First shots of Hong Kong
Hot, humid and polluted. Lots of people, lots of noise. HK has a lot in common with London. Haven't tried food from the street vendors but coffee and quiche from a French cafe in a shopping mall is probably ok.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Article: Facebook’s Big Privacy Changes: An Overview
Probably worth reading. Makes Facebook a lot more like Google+.
Facebook’s Big Privacy Changes: An Overview
http://mashable.com/2011/08/23/facebook-privacy-changes-guide/
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Running Tales
I went for a run this morning, just a short one, around Peckham Rye Common before breakfast. There I was, struggling down the hill (I don't run easily) listening to something on my phone, when a lady (mid fifties, maybe?) said something to me. No idea what, couldn't hear, so I stopped, took out an earphone and heard her say:
"Jesus Christ is your saviour"
That's what you get for running on a Saturday, apparently - mad women preaching at you from bus stops. Why me? It's not like I accost churchgoers and ask them if they should really be worshipping an entity that sacrificed his own son and killed every living thing in a planet-wide flood - what makes it ok for them to lie to me about Jesus?
I didn't want to hang around arguing with a daft old biddy so I said "Not today he isn't", slipped the music back on and jogged off down the hill. Next week I'll run a bit earlier, or maybe on Saturday, to try to avoid the weirdos.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Solar Roadways Get $750,000 For Bigger Prototype
Neat idea.
Solar Roadways Get $750,000 For Bigger Prototype; Maybe It's Not So Crazy After All : TreeHugger
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/08/solar-roadways-not-so-crazy-after-all.php?campaign=th_rss
Making the world a safer place, one demon at a time
I stumbled across this link to a story on the Daily Mail while browsing Facebook (I would hate you to think I read the Daily Mail) and initially I assumed it was a little exaggerated. Unfortunately, it turns out that this church, with its mad, demon-fearing Pastor, really exists and you really can take courses in exorcism.
It would be laughable if they weren't trying to "help" people by taking money from them. As it is, with no evidence to support their claims of demonic possession, their activities look a bit like fraud.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Homeopathic Thuggery
According to the BMJ this has happened yet again – this time the international homeopathy producer, Boiron, is threatening a lone Italian blogger because he dared to criticize their product, Oscillococcinum.
Given the way homeopathy "works", I wonder if Boiron would find a diluted legal team to be more effective.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Three steps to build a wind farm
via bbc.co.uk
It isn't clear where the BBC got their price data for this chart (why do they not link to their sources?) but assuming that they have the right information, isn't it surprising how cheap nuclear power is? I wonder if these figures include decommissioning (of all plants, because at some point they will all need to be dismantled)?
Microsoft sends Mozilla tiny cupcake to celebrate ‘small’ Firefox release
Hadn't heard of this until today but it's most amusing.
Microsoft sends Mozilla tiny cupcake to celebrate ‘small’ Firefox release
http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2011/08/16/microsoft-sends-mozilla-tiny-cupcake-to-celebrate-small-firefox-release/
15-minute daily exercise is 'bare minimum for health'
Just 15 minutes of exercise a day can boost life expectancy by three years and cut death risk by 14%, research from Taiwan suggests.
via bbc.co.uk
15 minutes might improve your health but it isn't going to "cut death risk" at all (everybody dies - the risk is always 100%). Sloppy reporting from the BBC - they need to clarify the time frame for the 14% reduction, without which the information is utterly worthless.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Google buy Motorola Mobility
Google have announced today that they are acquiring Motorola Mobility Holdings, the division of Motorola that makes mobile phones (amongst other things). This deal gets them two major things:
- A patent portfolio with which to bargain with the other big mobile players - Nokia, Microsoft and Apple (although some reports suggest that this benefit may be somewhat marginal), and
- A major supplier of mobile hardware giving them design control over the whole package, both hardware and software.
Despite the published opinions of other manufacturers of Android phones I can't see this move being particularly popular with Samsung, LG and HTC. As well as Apple, they now have to compete with their operating system vendor for Android sales and they're always going to be at a disadvantage; no matter what Google say, will anyone believe that Motorola aren't getting early access Andoird builds or significant influence over design priorities?
It's particularly bad for Samsung. Not ony are they being squeezed, both legally and competitively, by Apple (who are currently Samsung's biggest customer), they also have a new, cash-rich competitor to worry about in the Android marketplace. They now have to work harder to sell Android phones just as Apple are, it is rumoured, planning to move their business elsewhere, taking a huge chunk of cash with them.
So basically it's all going to get a bit interesting over the next six months. The deal looks good for Motorola, neutral for Apple, possibly good for Nokia/Microsoft and pretty awful for the other Android manufacturers.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Government mulls social media controls (idiots)
According to BBC News:
"David Cameron said the intelligence services and the police were exploring whether it was "right and possible" to cut off those plotting violence."
I can answer that right now; it is definitely not right to turn off social media in these circumstances (how would we organise the cleanup?) and it is almost certainly impossible. Some of our politicians are either not very bright (it's a really stupid idea) or totally out of touch (it's a complete over-reaction).
London riots: Why respectable people turned to looting
Interesting, thought-provoking stuff from the New Scientist, as always.
London riots: Why respectable people turned to looting - life - 12 August 2011
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20789-london-riots-why-respectable-people-turned-to-looting.html
Hydrogen made by enzyme is faster and cheaper
Scientists have shown how an enzyme from a microbe can produce hydrogen from water more quickly and cheaply.
via bbc.co.uk
Science to the rescue! Ok, it's not quite ready to go, but I suspect it's only a matter of time before someone comes up with a damn cunning way of producing hydrogen in commercial quantities so that we can move away from fossil fuels.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
"MOBIUS," a Stop-Motion Sculpture by ENESS
Follow the link, watch the video. It's really quite cool.
"MOBIUS," a Stop-Motion Sculpture by ENESS
http://www.core77.com/blog/videos/mobius_a_stop-motion_sculpture_by_eness_20194.asp
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Peckham is a bit tense this evening
I came through Peckham this evening on the bus and apart from a brief diversion (a couple of roads are still closed), the fact that everything is shut (even the late-night nail bars) and a distinct lack of people on the streets, everything was fairly normal. It still felt tense - probably because people weren't going about their normal business - but there were no signs of riot or destruction. In that respect it was much better than last night, when there were reasonable numbers of both looters and police on Rye Lane and around the centre of town making the place feel quite intimidating. 
Clayton Arms pub in Peckham - most of the windows are boarded up after being smashed sometime yesterday evening.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Irish Pub, Almaty
Almaty, second city of Kazakhstan, near the western Chinese border, has at least two Irish pubs. Most successful national pub franchise ever?
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Caledonian Scotrail - the Sleeper to Edinburgh
The most generous comment one might make about the cabins on Scotrail's Caledonian Sleeper service from London Euston is that they are "compact". The American students on our train were more critical, calling them "caves" and it is easy to see why; at a little over six feet long and about four feet wide they can hardly be described as luxurious.
To be frank, there were a couple of other problems that seemed more serious.
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Iron-rich dust fuelled 4 million years of ice ages
Interesting theory on the ice age cycle. I'm not too keen on geo-engineering as a solution to global warming but at least this evidence suggests that it could work; encouraging, sort of.
Iron-rich dust fuelled 4 million years of ice ages - environment - 03 August 2011
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128245.000-ironrich-dust-fuelled-4-million-years-of-ice-ages.html
Article: The Most Hilariously Effective Signs Supporting Gay Marriage
The Most Hilariously Effective Signs Supporting Gay Marriage
http://www.happyplace.com/8958/the-most-hilariously-convincing-gay-marriage-signs
http://www.happyplace.com/8958/the-most-hilariously-convincing-gay-marriage-signs
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