inside a Bolivian jail
This interesting photo journal, from the BBC, shows an interesting visual representation of a typical Bolivian jail.
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google maps improved
Well, there is no press release, but for the more far-flung regions of the map, you can actually see the area with out going “umm…. well…. that blob might be the stadium, so that bit might be the….”
I could now zoom in to “the mostest minus two” which is closer than what it had been before, and not blurred. Some blury bits of the map are still there, but the amount of blur (out of focus?) has reduced. (the satellite images were are bit dated though- at least 3 years old. At the very least.)
It was quite exciting to be able to see my old house, complete with white car parked out the front. I then proceeded to track down my current house, relatives’ houses and my church. And then I did some random exploring of Cochabamba, marvelling at the long runway at the airport. And checking out how funny overpasses look from an aerial view point.
The cursed application that distracted me from much meaningful work (ha ha- I was ready for a break) was StatCounter – that brilliant, free, invisible website statistics web-app. They have used the google maps API to have a nice visual representation of recent visitors. So, if you live at your ISP, I know where you live. 
If you had given up on finding your house on Google maps because you live in a non-USA place, try again, you might be pleasantly surprised. (unless you live under perpetual cloud)
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modern politics
I’ve got an essay to do on Che Guevarra (well, an important figure in recent-ish Latin American history, I picked Che) so I’m reading all sorts of books about him. Admittedly, it is all cut short in the 60′s, when Che was shot by the Bolivian military.
However, the difference between the Renaissance period battles (I am also doing Renaissance History), the guerilla wars of Che and today’s battles is amazing.
I suppose the most impacting thing so far has been that war actually involves real people. You see on the news the areas controlled by different groups, or images of tanks rolling in, choppers diving and swerving in the sky, or the flash of a missile launch in green night vision. What you don’t see, is that the most basic unit of war is a young man with a gun, against another young man with a gun.
The harsh reality is, that people die.
I intended this post to be a quick update, a “I’m still alive” post. But it has challenged my beliefs about war.
There are two conflicting ideas going around in my head- that of a country defending itself, and its people, and the fact that I think killing is wrong.
As I think of past wars, for example, World War One, which we studied in year 11. A chill runs through me as I think of the guys in my class, as we were ages with the troops sent at that time, 16-18. How many would have come back? How would they have coped?
It comes back to the young man with a gun. In my minds eye I look into his eyes- and I realize that war is wrong. I always knew it was bad, but thought, that maybe, maybe, it could be justified sometimes. Then I think of the Holocaust. Wasn’t that cause enough to go to war to prevent?
I could ramble on and on, but I think I will end it here. In the process of this post, I have become much more anti-war than I was at the beginning, though I have not converted to a complete anti-war activist.
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gmail and spam
Unfortunately, spam has become part of email, annoying as it is. The good thing is, with gmail, (google’s web mail system) you can ignore it.
If you get spam in your inbox, then you can tick the box next to the message and then click the “Report Spam” button (second from the left, at the top).
Separate from the inbox, there is a spam-folder, which means that you can rescue legitimate emails if they get caught, otherwise all emails in the spam folder will be deleted in 30 days. You can also go in and delete the messages if the folder seems to be very full. Keep in mind that Google has 2+ GB of storage, so you have lots of space to play with.
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firefox crop circle
Aliens are here, and they prefer firefox!!
Well, at least, if you take the firefox crop circle at face value.
In true open source fashion, luggers from Oregon State University have shared exactly how they made it.
via jeremy’s blog
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double inconvenience!
You may recall my router troubles earlier in the year, and how Westnet sent me a replacement router- well, I was also charged for the router, when I was under the impression that I would not be charged for the replacement. I was charged the best part of 200 dollars for the replacement.
So I rang up Westnet and spoke to them about it. Apparently, I was not charged for the original router (free router!) but, as I had had issues with the router and had to contact them again, they realized their mistake and charged me for it.
If only the original router had not broken down!
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too much information
In wake of the recent foiled UK aircraft bomb plan, there was of course, a story on the local news about it. During the story, the reporter showed the three elements needed to make such a bomb- a bottle of sports drink, a (disposable?) camera and two wires. they then showed how it should be connected up.
I was shocked- sure, it’s news, but is it appropriate?
Visual information is more “digestible” or “absorbable” by the general public- we know that if we see something we are more likely to remember it than if we hear it. Images make an impact, because they have a way of playing over and over in our heads- reminding us of them.
With that knowledge, was it right for the nightly news to show a “bombmaking 101″? I don’t think so. What is the border between informing the public and releasing sensitive information- with the possibility of it getting into the wrong hands?
The BBC has a
Q & A about the nature of the liquid explosives ,
no images are shown. It frankly talks about the chemistry and incredible danger of these explosives, and also warns people “not to try this at home”.
I think that the one story does a much better job of communicating important information without crossing the boundary of what is “safe”. The image of a camera, connected by wire to a bottle of sports drink will stick in my mind for a long time.
I don’t remember whether it was the Nine Nightly News or A Current Affair. If it was the latter, that explains a lot- dodgy sensationalist journalism.
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well done, security teams
A major terrorist plan was disrupted. What doesn’t seem to be said is a resounding “Well done!” for all the guys who worked hard to foil this, and those who continue to work hard to keep a chaotic situation under control.
From the BBC- pictures of stranded passengers and also about what is going on
It is a sad world we live in- but there is always a glimmer of hope. Well done, and thank you.
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plastic bag free
Not too long ago, I was on holiday at Airies Inlet, at the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. As a major tourist destination, they really value their beaches, and so, many of the towns have gone Plastic Bag Free.
When you go to the supermarket, you need to have your own bag, buy one, or go without. It’s great- you can focus on whether the right prices are being scanned in, whether you have the correct change, finding your wallet and other important stuff; rather than have to say “oh! I don’t need a bag, thanks.”
I don’t think that it would take much effort for the big cities (such as Melbourne, Geelong etc) to declare plastic retail bags illegal. At the moment there is a proposed 5% tax on bags, but this is more a discouraging law, rather than a forbidding law. Plastic bag free- just stop offering the bags, and people will soon adjust. Anyone who has to keep buying bags because they keep forgetting them at home will soon learn to bring them along.
Of course, if the plastic bags are gone from the shops, what are we going to use to line our bins* or pick up our dog’s unmentionables with? I believe that new biodegradable plastic-like materials are being developed, and I wouldn’t be averse to buying these bags to use around the home. You can already buy plastic bags, why not make them biodegradable?
Of course, there is the great hypocrisy of the “no bag thanks” movement- you bring home your shopping in your own enviro-friendly, reusable, bag- but as you are unpacking, you notice that each product is individually wrapped.
I’m interested in these bulk-food places. An interesting concept, to be researched further.
*trash can
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if you smoke, you smell.
I don’t really mind if you are hastening your own death by coating your lungs in tar (sad, but still, it’s your life), and since you aren’t allowed to smoke inside public buildings, you aren’t contributing to my ill health through second hand smoke, but smoking is still socially unacceptable.
The STINK of Tobacco is really really bad! It’s not just the breath, either. Most smokers I see have the common sense to use mints. (Thankyou.) But the stench of smoke stays- in the hair, in the fabric of the clothes- to put it simply, if you smoke, you smell.
In the close conditions of the lecture theatre, this smell can be really overpowering. Please pick up an equally addicting habit that doesn’t make me gag and breathe through my handkerchief- my hayfever is bad enough as it is.
Smoking smells! It’s not cool! It’s not grown up!
/end rant.