mayfly.net

No spam since upgrade 🙂

Upgraded WordPress to 2.05 in the hope that Akismet will catch some of the comment spam I’ve been getting. Upgrade was very easy 🙂

Been thinking a lot about my “career” recently. These two quotes struck me…

George Monbiot’s take:

The advisers say that a career path like this is essential if you don’t want to fall into the “trap” of specialisation: that is to say, if you want to be flexible enough to respond to the changing demands of the employment market. But the truth is that by following the path they suggest, you are becoming a specialist: a specialist in the moronic recycling of what the rich and powerful deem to be news.

John Naughton’s take:

I’m a bit suspicious of the idea of a ‘career’ — it sounds like something out of control. It’s a media concept like ‘lifestyle’.

Just got my final U316 results. I got a distinction mark in course work but much less in the exam component (a sort of mini dissertation with web site) resulting in a level 3 pass (there are 5 grade levels, from 5, which is a fail, to 1, which is a distinction). I clearly misjudged what they were after. One major problem with the OU is the lack of any route to get really good quality feedback on where you went wrong in the exam component of a course – basically there isn’t one. This is a big black mark against it versus a conventional university where you can engage with tutors face to face and discuss an exam. Still, I passed, so another 60 points in the bag, and progress.

I suppose I shouldn’t complain since I had a woeful amount of time to do the dissertation and as a result it was rushed. I’m left with the feeling that to do this studying lark justice, I really need to find more time, and I can’t really see where! Lots to think about. I’ve not committed to any more courses just yet.

Regular lunch-time haunt at the weekend

Same trip to Pizza Express. She spotted a pink mini!

Catching up with some phone photos from the last few months. Eleanor striking a line dancing pose in the fishing hut at Mulberry Whin during lunch in a downpour. Wearing Phil’s hat. Jill in the background. We had an excellent if quite wet day. Sam caught his first ever chalk-stream trout.

Waiting for the next train. This is the start point for my regular trek to London.

Pretty conclusive proof that social networking (interesting New Scientist article) has a sinister side. Not that it will be easy to consistently catch such abuse.

For a project I am working on

Annex 1: list of OGGI indicators

Legend

• Environmental = En
• Socio-Cultural = So
• Economic = Enoc

The list

Environmental

En1 Water reserves and consumption

En2 Water consumption per inhabitant

En3 Water quality

En4 Greenhouse gas emissions

En5 Atmospheric pollutants

En6 Land use

En7 Listed sites

En8 Buffer zones

En9 Endangered species and biodiversity

En10 Fertilisers, pesticides and agricultural production

En11 Hazardous substances in foodstuffs

En12 Energy used by agriculture

En13 Irrigation rate

En14 Deforestation

En15 Raw material consumption

En16 Open-air leisure areas

En17 Housing areas

En18 Ozone

En19 Indoor air quality

En20 Transport networks

En21 Daily travelling distance

En22 Road congestion

En23 Solid waste

En24 Waste and waste water treatment capacity

En25 Waste treatment

En26 Water treatment

En27 Area listed compared with area disturbed

En28 Developed area of Olympic sites

En29 Primary ecological assessment of developed areas

En30 User capacity of developed areas

En31 Operating flows of developed areas

En32 Food production consumed during the Olympic Games

En33 Reassignment of developed areas

En34 Primary ecological assessment of facilities

En35 Construction and surface floor areas of Olympic buildings

En36 User capacity of facilities

En37 Operating flows of facilities

En38 Average journey times between Olympic sites

En39 Reassignment of facilities

En40 Prospective impact studies

En41 Per capita energy consumption

En42 Energy consumption broken down by source

En43 Breakdown of energy consumption by use

En44 Energy self-sufficiency

Socio-cultural

So1 Distribution of political power

So2 Public consultation and participation

So3 Fundamental rights in the constitution

So4 Classification in international ratings

So5 Global agreements

So6 Laws and amendments

So7 Pressure groups

So8 Human Poverty

So9 Educational level

So10 Crime rate

So11 Health services

So12 Nutrition

So13 Sanitation facilities

So14 Information media

So15 Telephone lines and Internet connections

So16 Community centres and associations

So17 Cultural venues

So18 Participation rates in sport

So19 Sports played

So20 School sports

So21 Available sports facilities

So22 Top-level sportsmen and women

So23 Professional Leagues

So24 Results at the Olympic Games and world championships

So25 Media specialising in sport

So26 Sports broadcasting

So27 World and continental championships

So28 Cases of illegal drug use and drug tests

So29 Political involvement in the organisation of the games

So30 States officially represented during the Olympic Games

So31 Security agents

So32 Parliamentary votes connected with the Olympic Games

So33 Public referendums connected with the Olympic Games

So34 Deferment and abandonment of public policies

So35 Consultation with specific groups

So36 Arts and architecture

So37 Volunteers

So38 Ceremony participants

So39 Spectators at the ceremonies

So40 Recognition of logos and mascots

So41 Cultural programme

So42 Educational activities

So43 Media accreditation

So44 Visitors to the Olympic Games website

So45 NOC delegations

So46 Officials

So47 Administrative and technical staff

So48 Guests

So49 Spectators

So50 Official sports

So51 Judges and referees

So52 Drug testing

So53 Complaints and appeals

So54 Medals and national records

So55 Olympic records and world records

So56 TV and radio audiences and broadcasting time

So57 Opinion polls

So58 Media image

Economic

Enoc1 Structure of the productive sector

Enoc2 Concentration of the productive system

Enoc3 Quality of the productive system

Enoc4 Socio-economic indicators

Enoc5 Breakdown of building stock

Enoc6 Structure of motor vehicle population

Enoc7 Structure of the transport system

Enoc8 Hotel infrastructure

Enoc9 Hotel occupancy rate

Enoc10 Registered passengers at airports

Enoc11 Tourist nights

Enoc12 Number of foreign organisations established

Enoc13 Hosting of international events

Enoc14 Structure of the economic product

Enoc15 Gross domestic product

Enoc16 Dependence of the economy

Enoc17 Wages

Enoc18 Low wage proportion

Enoc19 GINI income distribution index

Enoc20 Consumer price index

Enoc21 Price index

Enoc22 Economic balance (import/export)

Enoc23 Dynamics of service activities

Enoc24 Exchange rates

Enoc25 Investment risks

Enoc26 Economic role of the state

Enoc27 Structure of public spending

Enoc28 Structure of fiscal revenue

Enoc29 Public debt

Enoc30 Composition of committees by sector

Enoc31 Breakdown of origin and sector (Olympic activities)

Enoc32 Breakdown of origin and sector (context activities)

Enoc33 Size and quality (Olympic activities)

Enoc34 Size and quality (context activities)

Enoc35 Jobs created in Olympic and context activities

Enoc36 Overnight stays by category and origin

Enoc37 Olympic family vehicles

Enoc38 Structure of OCOG revenue

Enoc39 Structure of OCOG spending

Enoc40 Catalyst effect of the Games

Enoc41 Ratios specific to Olympic activities

Enoc42 Breakdown of operating expenditure (Olympic activities)

Enoc43 Breakdown of capital expenditure (Olympic activities)

Enoc44 Breakdown of operating expenditure (context activities)

Enoc45 Breakdown of capital expenditure (context activities)

Enoc46 Directly induced earnings (Olympic activities)

Enoc47 Directly induced earnings (context activities)

Enoc48 Breakdown of visitor spending

Enoc49 Public share of expenditure (Olympic activities)

Enoc50 Public share of expenditure (context activities)

Enoc51 Revenue from Olympic activities

Enoc52 Revenue from context activities

My home ISP PlusNet are getting worse and worse. Their ticket system is prone to one line dismissive answers from rather geeky types who think they know better and that the customer is wrong. There is no clear way to escalate a complaint. I’m exasperated after 3 months of problems without any evidence of real determination to understand my problems and find a solution. I get a different support person every time with yet another ‘it’s not us’ angle. Maybe the various reports in ADSL Guide have something to do with it. I’d be surprised if a lot of customers aren’t walking. I may well do so very soon. If you are thinking of using PlusNet, don’t! This is a shame because I have reccomended them to several people in the past. <sigh>

Doing pretty well on my latest OU course. It is interesting stuff. Just published a news story on pollinators – bees. Copy below. Have I got my facts right? The story gets peer reviewed and marked so we’ll see.

The humble bee, regular visitor to summer gardens, is threatened by changing environments and disease with potentially significant implications to our food chain. Bees are the ultimate pollinators of many of the plants we rely on for food. Some sources suggest that a third of the vegetables and fruits humans consume are pollinated by these tiny creatures. As they decline in numbers, so does plant health, with uncertain knock-on effects.

Things are not what they appear

At face value, everything seems rosy. The European honey bee dutifully carries out important work on our behalf through the careful siting of hives close to outdoor crops by the many beekeepers across the UK (around 44,000 of them maintaining close to 274,000 colonies). Honey bees increasingly pollinate wild plants as wild bee numbers fluctuate. At the same time, various species of bumblebee are commercially reared to pollinate greenhouse crops like tomatoes. Defra estimates that the economic value of commercial, bee pollinated UK crops is £120m-£200m per year, whilst the value of honey production is as much as £30m per year.

The threats to bees

Increasingly however, the hard working honey bee is threatened by disease and a lack of funding. The British Bee Keepers Association (BBKA) indicates that the Government has threatened to deregulate European Foul Brood (EFB) by reducing the number of inspections. EFB is a disease of the honey bee larvae which can spread rapidly. It causes considerable damage and is difficult to eradicate without regular inspections. The BBKA have campaigned hard to avoid cuts in bee health initiatives. They appear to have won some battles but the war against cutting suitable governance measures to control the disease continues.

To make matters worse, many of the reared bumblebees are in fact imported and could decimate natural populations if their use is not strictly governed and controlled. There are examples from across the World. New Scientist recently reported that non-native bumblebees have escaped and bred in Chile and Japan. Quoting a source at Queen Mary, University of London, they confirmed that escaped commercial bees could survive in the UK countryside and were larger and more aggressive foragers than native bees. The invaders also produce more queens capable of creating new hives. Japan has already imposed harsh restrictions on bee importation, the UK has not.

Upsetting nature

When it comes to pollination, one might suppose that imported bees were just as capable as native species. But as is often the case, nature doesn’t offer quite so convenient a solution. In a huge new study recently published by the journal Science, the diversity of bees and wild flowers are inextricably linked. Researchers noted that numerous plants need particular bees for pollination. The authors suspect that intensive farming and pesticides, and the loss of wild habitats, are reducing the numbers of bees and flowers. They studied more than a million records collected over the last century in the UK and Netherlands and found that the diversity of bees had fallen in an astonishing 80% of wildflower sites over the last 25 years.

If our native bee species decline the implications on food production could ultimately be drastic. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust reports that fewer queens are foraging in spring and native plants are setting less seed. This could result in sweeping changes to the countryside and there are indications that food crops will ultimately be affected. And of course, a significant variety of wildlife that is equally dependent on these plants might also share our hunger.

Sources

• University of Southampton Press Release dated 23rd May 2006, about the creation of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, visited on 4th August 2006
• The Bumblebee Conservation Trust, visited on 4th August 2006
• New Scientist Online, article titled “The Plight of the Native Bumblebee“, visted on 4th August 2006
• New Scientist Short Sharp Science Blog, visited on 4th August 2006
• The British Beekeepers Association, visited on 4th August 2006
• Natural History Museum, visited on 4th August 2006
• English Nature, visited on 4th August 2006
• Defra website, section on Bee Health, visited on 4th August 2006

My journey to Vancouver from London was on Air Canada. I am not these days a frequent traveller but nevertheless compared to the previous long haul flight I took on Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada was woeful. In particular:

• No standard lap top plug (in business class); you need some crappy converter which costs CAN$120
• Very uncomfortable seats made worse by skinny pillows
• Really bad temperature control – I was too hot for most of the flight
• Rubbish under the seats in front of me which had not been cleared out since the last flight

I don’t recommend Air Canada.

A big thank you to VANOC for hosting the meetings, esepcially to Ward Chapin and his technology team.

This image was reduced by Picassa I think – Jill?

For Alison and Susan!