Ooooh 8Gb

I want this for my n95, expect the pricing wont be pretty at start but as with all the solid sate memory I am sure it will drop fast.

The power of S60

This is a very impressive little application that leverages the power of the Series 60 platform to do the kinds of thing that you can't do on a closed platform, iPhone I am looking at you. Movino can stream video and audio, from your S60 device either via bluetooth or via any network connection and tcp/ip. The lag is a little high but the quality of the video is good and its a very cool way of adding a webcam to your Mac, or even taking people on a video tour using an N95 and a wireless connection. Movino

On the folly of stop signs

Stop signs are my single largest annoyance about cycling and driving in the States. Every other country in the world seems to get by just fine with give ways, which allow the driver/cyclist the opportunity to roll straight into the junction if it is clear obviating the need to waste energy in stopping and starting. Replacing most stop signs with give ways would have a positive impact on fuel economy, the constants top start regime is a total waste of energy. As a cyclist 99% of all stop signs are completely irrelevant, you can safely merge with traffic without the need for coming to a complete halt. However in this fair country they employ highly paid police officers to sit around on street corners fining cyclists and drivers that don't come to a complete stop at this unnecessary red signs. I was very fortunate on my first ride to work that they were too busy fining other cyclists to stop me. This was on a very lightly trafficked industrial estate, where stopping at the signs for safety reasons is a completely redundant argument. There were three motorcycle police at three different junctions within 200m of each other. The whole thing kills the flow of riding. Please America lets have some more give ways and roundabouts and drop the idiocy that is the stop sign.

Portland Commute

Here is the ridiculously easy commute I have in Portland. compare this to my London commute and you can see why I am worried about piling on the pounds. Distance: Portland: 4.03km London: 26 km

Great viral promoting science & engineering education

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlczxXqez-Y[/youtube] Really well done viral from Norway.

Untitled

Some pictures of the fantastically green GreenPrint office!

Back to Voodoo

now we know, now we know.

For the record

I weighed in at 191lb or 86.6 of your metric kg. Lets see what 3 months in America does to that number

Singles Map

Did I make a mistake, looks like NY is the place to be for a single man like me. Map shows the excess of men and women by region in America.

Back to the USA

Heading back to Portland for the summer. Huge thanks to everyone that made the winter here in London special. Its been a pretty strange couple of years living in various countries, creating new friendships and rebuilding old ones. Looking forward to checking out all the newly purchased houses when I get back in September. Good luck to everyone in the biganimal studio, been great sharing with you all.

A fantastic compilation of fire and water simulations

This is a great compilation of computational simulations of water and fire, some serious number crunching going on here. A little taster, follow the link for the full set. link

Portrait of the Modern Terrorist as an Idiot

Bruce Schneier has an excellent article in Wired and on his blog about the idiocy of the recent terrorist plots that have been foiled by the authorities and the hype and disinformation that has been central to the reporting of them.

The alleged plan, to blow up JFK's fuel tanks and a small segment of the 40-mile petroleum pipeline that supplies the airport, was ridiculous. The fuel tanks are thick-walled, making them hard to damage. The airport tanks are separated from the pipelines by cutoff valves, so even if a fire broke out at the tanks, it would not back up into the pipelines. And the pipeline couldn't blow up in any case, since there's no oxygen to aid combustion. Not that the terrorists ever got to the stage -- or demonstrated that they could get there -- where they actually obtained explosives. Or even a current map of the airport's infrastructure.

Compare this with the comments from media reports.

"The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf said at a news conference, calling it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable." Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) added, "It had the potential to be another 9/11."

This reminds me of the liquid bombers that were supposedly going to blow up planes leaving the UK. We have no idea of how far along they were in the plot, whether it was feasible or even if they were ever to go through with it. As Bruce says these are difficult prosecutions, proving intent is incredibly difficult and I believe the wrong stage to intercept these groups. It risks creating thought crimes, being arrested etc for thinking, writing or discussing an act that you may have no capability or intention to carry out.

Even under the best of circumstances, these are difficult prosecutions. Arresting people before they've carried out their plans means trying to prove intent, which rapidly slips into the province of thought crime. Regularly the prosecution uses obtuse religious literature in the defendants' homes to prove what they believe, and this can result in courtroom debates on Islamic theology. And then there's the issue of demonstrating a connection between a book on a shelf and an idea in the defendant's head, as if your reading of this article -- or purchasing of my book -- proves that you agree with everything I say.

When these cases come to trial they deserve the utmost scrutiny to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice. Read Bruce's commentary here

Apple 4 Sale

My trusty powerbook has to go to finance my lavish lifestyle. If you are interested in this piece of history feel free to go bid it up over on ebay. GreenPrint was started on this laptop but ironically doesn't run on it. This was my first apple laptop and there has been no going back. OSX is so much more pleasant to use on a day to day basis, and I couldn't get through the day without quicksilver which really should have been built into the OS years ago.

Not bad for a phone

Here is the speedtest.net result using my N95 as a modem on T-mobile web and walk.

Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

A brilliant example of re-framing the debate by US politicians and particularly the Republican party. Lets not call it torture instead we'll call it enhanced interrogation techniques and claim that it makes the world a safer place for Americans, well Americans that aren't being tortured, sorry interrogated in an enhanced way. Fortunately satire rides to the rescue once again to show us all how absurd this is, remember no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1_c7uHcM1E[/youtube]

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Specialized Toupe

My specializied toupe saddle has cracked. I really like this minimal lightweight saddle. It's comfortable, light weight and absorbs the worst of the road vibration. Unfortunately I noticed today that it had developed a significant crack from the back wing of the saddle causing the whole right side to flex dramatically. Getting a replacement was not as easy as I had hoped, it has to be sent back to Specialized for analysis before they can issue a refund. Which means splashing out on another one while I wait to hear from Specialized. Not the kind of performance that I would expect from a top of the range saddle.

Pups & Big

Pups and big is the fantastic creation of Neil McFarland, who I have the good fortune to share a studio with. He's currently looking to further develop the concept for TV and other media.

When Pups becomes home to a megalomaniac giant flea called BIG his life changes forever. Now Pups is finding out just how much fun life can be when adventure rides with you...

More fantastic concept art and background on the characters at Pups and Big

I want one

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyZtBYG0QOg[/youtube]No idea what I would do with it or how much it costs, but it does look very cool.

Battersea Powerstation

Cycling home last night I was passing Battersea Powerstation at sunset and snapped this photo with my Nokia N95.