Peter Gilliver
Read the complete collection of posts by Peter Gilliver
June 04, 2004
e-news = green news
from nature:
"Tune in and go green: that's the message of a new study that evaluates the benefits of wireless technology over conventional media and business communication systems. Reading a newspaper on a personal digital assistant (PDA) rather than as traditional newsprint reduces the amount of CO2 pumped into the atmosphere by a factor of between 32 and 140, and cuts emissions of oxides of nitrogen and sulphur by several orders of magnitude. And business delegates can reduce all three emissions by up to a thousandfold if they teleconference instead of travelling to overseas meetings."
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 05:30 PM
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June 03, 2004
revitalise the royal academy
i found this article/speech interesting. it's by the art critic robert hughes. here's a quote:
"What we need more of is slow art: art that holds time as a vase holds water: art that grows out of modes of perception and whose skill and doggedness make you think and feel; art that isn't merely sensational, that doesn't get its message across in 10 seconds, that isn't falsely iconic, that hooks onto something deep-running in our natures."
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 10:17 AM
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June 02, 2004
hp
i've got tickets to see the new harry potter movie tonight. i'm more than a little bit excited. is that bad?
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 02:11 PM
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May 25, 2004
up, up, and away
this guy builds airships. i'd like to have a go in one. it seems such a peaceful way of getting around, although it's a shame that one of the key uses for them would be for communication and surveillance.
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 11:07 AM
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May 19, 2004
oryx & crake
i just read "oryx and crake" by margret atwood. and today i read this in nature:
"The European Patent Office yesterday revoked a controversial patent on a breast cancer gene, which it issued to the US company Myriad Genetics in January 2001. The patent gave Myriad exclusive rights to any exploitation of the BRCA1 gene sequence, including diagnostics in breast and ovarian cancer. Twenty health institutions throughout Europe opposed the patent, arguing that rights to a human gene should not be owned by a private company. However the office revoked the patent only after opponents convinced it that Myriad was not the first to register the correct gene sequence."
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 04:00 PM
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May 11, 2004
red earth centre
a friend has just set up the red earth centre. the red earth centre is "a small studio in paris dedicated to bodymind, revolving around a core of yoga, shiatsu, [and] dance."
the centre's first event is this sunday (may 16); there will be a course in "dynamic yoga and zen" given by louisa radzyk and yusan. i take yoga classes with louisa, and have been served sencha tea whisked up by yusan. they're both lovely folks, and this course promises to be an excellent start to the centre.
send an email to redearthcentre@yahoo.com for more information.
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 08:24 PM
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whitelamp
an old friend in cambridge has set up a consultancy with some of his friends to deliver "joined up internet". the company's called whitelamp.
from the website:
"Whitelamp is a consultancy providing both technical and creative services and development/intranet hardware. We specialise in database and website development using proven open source technology."
they also have nifty development product called lampsystems.
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 03:21 PM
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May 06, 2004
speed search
i thought this article in the guardian was kind of interesting. in it three contestants are asked to find answers to six questions using the internet (google), a library, and a phone. the first person to come up with the correct answer wins.
their times, however, indicate that the contestants had their search tools to hand when they were asked the questions. i think it would've been a little more interesting to put them in the middle of hampstead heath or oxford street (assuming they were in london) and then ask them the question. to make it more interesting you could add a cost effectiveness element too; google and phone might be quicker, but if you have to find an internet cafe and pay for a minimum 15 minutes of e-time it might be cheaper to go to the library--but then where's the nearest library? is it open? it might've also been interesting to disallow mobile phones; would phone be so quick if you had to use a public phone box? for a start you'd have to find one that works.
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 10:18 AM
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April 30, 2004
tears for google
something about the photo of google's founders at the top of this bbc article made me think of tears for fears...
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 01:54 PM
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April 28, 2004
anzac day
"anzac" is an acronym for australia new zealand army corps. and the day, 25 april, is the aniversary of the day the anzac troops landed on the beaches of gallipoli in the first world war to begin a long and wildly unsuccessful battle against the turks.
on anzac day in australia war vetrans gather and march to one of the many war memorials around the country where there is a remembrance ceremony. when i was eleven or so i went to the march wearing my uncle's medals (he'd died a few months beforehand). my mother handed me over to a few old soldiers and i marched with them. when i was returned to my mum, one of them said in a thick australian accent "he done good, lady. he done good."
this year i made anzac biscuits. my dad used to make them every year, and gave me the recipe that he got from his mum. i'm not sure if that recipe was ever served at gallipoli, but i shared them with my friends and they seemed to go down okay.
Posted by Peter Gilliver at 12:28 PM
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