Standup for your beliefs - Dunphy classic

Road Skating on a Saudi Highway

SketchUp

SketchUp is a simple but powerful tool for quickly and easily creating, viewing and modifying your 3D ideas.

		Click on a shape and push or pull it to create your desired 3D geometry.
		Experiment with color and texture directly on your model.
		Real-time shadow casting lets you see exactly where the sun falls as you model.
		Select from thousands of pre-drawn components to save time drawing.

Amazing Software From Google Team - video powered by Metacafe

Evolution of Dance

Ireland is the best place to live in the world?

Well, according to a "quality of life" assessment by Economist magazine ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4020523.stm

Outrun a roadblock - nah a problem...?

Gulf Stream halted for 10 days in 2004

The Guardian

Scientists have uncovered more evidence for a dramatic weakening in the
vast ocean current that gives Britain its relatively balmy climate by
dragging warm water northwards from the tropics. The slowdown, which
climate modellers have predicted will follow global warming, has been
confirmed by the most detailed study yet of ocean flow in the Atlantic.

Most alarmingly, the data reveal that a part of the current, which is
usually 60 times more powerful than the Amazon river, came to a
temporary halt during November 2004.

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Reuters UK: Soft landing for Ireland?

Dario Perkins, an economist at ABN Amro argues that Ireland and Spain, where house prices have also exploded, will not see their domestic property markets crash even if the ECB raises interest rates further than expected.

In a note after his Dublin trip he said the European Central Bank was expected to raise euro zone rates to perhaps 3.75 percent by mid-2007 from 3.25 now, but that even 4 percent was bearable for Irish and Spanish mortgage holders.

"I think this bearishness is overdone," he wrote. "It would be astounding if these economies saw anything more than a minor short-term wobble."

Bust unlikely to follow global housing boom

Is renewable energy a fad, or do the sums add up?

The Guardian

The most suitable (and cheapest) technology for many homes is probably
the solar water heater that will set you back around £2,000. Add in
photovoltaic cells, ground source heat pumps, and solid fuel boilers,
and you have a number of ways of making your home less reliant on the
National Grid.

To get an expert opinion on the costs involved and savings possible, we contacted Claire Bonham-Carter, director of sustainable development at London consultancy Faber Maunsell, who advises many of the UK's biggest house-building firms on how to use these technologies. She says home-owners should try not to review projects in pure financial payback
terms but should focus on the wider benefits.

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It's a mad, mad, mad autumn

The longest period of hot weather since records began in 1659 has Britain's wildlife totally confused. Click here for some examples

... PLUS ...

Scotland's snowfall is predicted to drop by up to 90 per cent, the future's a no-snow zone

Asleep in America

The project “Asleep in America” is a documentary that explores the topic of Peak Oil. Peak Oil happens when global demand for fossil fuels surpasses supply. Experts agree that Global Peak production will surely happen. They disagree only on when it will happen. Oil industry analysts predict the Global Peak could occur around 2020. Critics disagree and provide evidence suggesting the Peak will occur as early as 2010. Either way, the Peak is inevitable.



http://www.peakoil.net/Documentary.html

Irish Economy 2006 and Future of the Celtic Tiger: Putting a brass knocker on a barn door!

Davy Stockbrokers says in a July 2006 report that it is highly likely that that the pace of growth of the Irish economy will slow in the later years of this decade. After 2007, consumer spending growth will be impacted by the withdrawal of the SSIA stimulus and the long-anticipated peak in the housing market may finally have occurred. Davy says that it is difficult to see what sectors could replace this loss of momentum.

Excellent article by Michael Hennigan, Editor and Founder of Finfacts

The Truth About Food Expiration Dates

The dates, for one, mean quite different things. For instance, "sell by" is more a guide for the store to know how long it can display a product for sale. The "best before" or "best if used by" date refers to a quality or flavor of the food. "Use by" works more like an expiration date, similar to that on medicines, and taking them after the date is not recommended.

...more...

Air Hogs R/C Storm Launcher

See stormlauncher and ToysRUs for more info

Idiot? Mmm...??

Amnesty International is Wrong, America is Right

Well according to George anway...



It's all in the body language

Carole Coleman, Washington Correspondent, asks the US President whether he understands the opposing view of his policies

Stephen Wiltshire - A Beautiful Mind

Taken from www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk

As a child, Stephen was mute and did not relate to other human beings. Aged three, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language, uncontrolled tantrums and lived entirely in his own world.

At the age of five, Stephen was sent to Queensmill School in London, a school for children with special needs, where it was noticed that the only pastime he enjoyed was drawing. It soon became apparent he communicated with the world through the language of drawing; first animals, then London buses, and finally buildings. These drawings show a masterful perspective, a whimsical line and reveal a natural innate artistry.

Aged eight, Stephen started drawing cityscapes after the effects of an earthquake (all imaginary) as a result of being shown photographs of earthquakes in a book at school. He also became obsessed with cars and illustrations of cars at this time (his knowledge of them is encyclopaedic) and he drew most of the major London landmarks.

In 1987, the BBC QED programme, 'The Foolish Wise Ones', featured Stephen's astounding talent. The programme was devoted to three autistic savants: musical, mathematical and artistic. Stephen was introduced by Sir Hugh Casson (past president of the Royal Academy), who described him as "the best child artist in Britain". Stephen's work has since been the subject of numerous television programmes around the world, and the writer and psychologist, Oliver Sacks, has devoted an essay to Stephen in his book An Anthropologist On Mars (Picador 1995). Stephen is the only artistic autistic savant in the world whose work has been recorded and published since his childhood. His third book - Floating Cities (Michael Joseph, 1991) - was number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list.

http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant/wiltshire.cfm

NY Times: A history of home values

Borat Trailer

The DIY manual for the 21st century

A new website, Videojug ("Life Explained. On Film"), has a growing range of videos showing you how to do various everyday tasks.

1,500 days until the Peak

Oil powers 80-95% of all transport, 50-75% of all oil is used for transportation, 99% of all lubrication is done with oil products, 95% of all goods in the shops get there using oil, 99% of our food involves oil or gas for fertilisers, agrochemicals, tilling, cultivation and transport. Oil is the most important source of primary energy on the planet accounting for 36.4% of all energy. What do current high oil prices tell us? The market is saying ‘send more oil!’. Economics need a balance of supply and demand, they assume that high prices bring new demand, yet high prices have failed to bring any new supply to meet this demand. In the Third World, high oil prices are already having a huge impact.

Demand is now starting to come down to reach supply. So why are supplies peaking? We are not finding enough new oil. We are not developing new fields fast enough, our old fields are getting very tired. In 2005 we found 5 bn barrels, and we used 30 bn, a ratio of 6:1.

• Click here for more
• View the ASPO-5 Speakers' Presentations here
  

Published on 28 Aug 2006 by Transition Culture / Energy Bulletin

Oil crisis by 2010

STUART INNES
August 26, 2006

WORLD oil production will peak in just 1500 days. After that, oil shortages will force massive changes to our lifestyle and business, experts have predicted.

Higher petrol taxes to deter people buying as much, strict petrol rationing and Adelaide production of small fuel-frugal cars were urged yesterday by an Australian group concerned with "peak oil".

That is when world oil production peaks. After that, shortages will occur.

Visiting Adelaide, Chris Skrebowski, a trustee of the Oil Depletion Analysis Centre and editor of the Energy Institute's Petroleum Review in Britain, said "peak oil" was real and imminent.

"Peak oil is when flows can't meet the required demand," he said. "This will cause an economic tsunami." Mr Skrebowski, addressing a Committee for Economic Development of Australia gathering, said that of the world's 18 largest oil fields, 12 were in production decline.

Few large discoveries were being made, with the prediction of even less new oil in coming years.

"Oil supply will peak in 2010-11 at around 92 to 94 million barrels a day," he said. "We have just 1500 days to peak. Collectively, we are still in denial."

Bruce Robinson, convener of the Australian Association for the Study of Peak Oil, said petrol rationing would help make supplies last as long as possible.

Biofuels would mitigate the oil shortage problem but were not the main solution. Hydrogen fuel-cell cars also were not the answer.

"South Australia could lead the way," he said. "There's a golden opportunity for SA's car industry to make an AusCar, a modern version of the 'people's car' Volkswagen.

"Not something with a 3.8-litre V6 engine but something small, lightweight and fuel-efficient."

CARSguide liftout: New fuels up to pace

LOST TV Series: Hanso Foundation Exposed

YouTuber timdorr has been piecing together miniclips from the "Lost" website hansoexposed.com. So far, he's managed to find and stitch together 53 clips

Click on the play button below

What types of Weapons Did Israel Use in Lebanon?

Some doubts have been expressed regarding the use by Israel of Internationally Forbidden Weapons in its war on Lebanon.

The South Medical Complex in Saida is investigating this matter. It is examining 24 samples from corps that were hit in the area of South Lebanon in a trial to discover the nature of the substances that lead to death.

Click here for more

Computer Generated Remake of The Hiroshima Bomb

It was the first atomic bomb ever used as a weapon and was dropped three days before the "Fat Man" bomb was used against Nagasaki.



Approximately 70,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast, and a similar number were injured. A great number more would later die as a result of nuclear fallout and cancer.

Your Digital Wallet

With new technology called near-field communications, you could use a cell phone to make purchases, or even download a movie trailer from a poster.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17355&ch=infotech

read more | digg story

Diet Coke/Mentos Rockets

All you need is a 2 litre bottle of diet coke and some mentos!!

The Mother of All Windows XP Tweaking Guides

The TweakGuides Tweaking Companion Version 3.1 is the complete system optimization guide for Windows XP users. It contains an enormous amount of detailed descriptions and resources together in one free 175 page downloadable PDF file.

read more | digg story

Hirsch's PowerPoint slides

From the International Peak Oil and Gas Conference in Pisa, Italy available here. Plus a very handy poster

Irish firm claims 'free energy' invention

An Irish technology firm has issued a challenge to the world's scientific community.

It says its invention smashes one of the basic laws of physics by producing free energy. The company, called Steorn, has placed an advertisement in the Economist seeking 12 top scientists to examine its invention, based on magnetic fields, and publish their results. It says the energy eliminates the need to recharge mobile phones or refuel cars.

Sean McCarthy, Steorn's chief executive officer, said the company had issued the challenge for 12 physicists to rigorously test the technology so it could be developed.

'What we have developed is a way to construct magnetic fields so that when you travel round the magnetic fields, starting and stopping at the same position, you have gained energy,' Mr McCarthy said.

'The energy isn't being converted from any other source such as the energy within the magnet. It's literally created. Once the technology operates it provides a constant stream of clean energy,' he told RTE radio.

Mr McCarthy said Steorn had not set out to develop the technology, but 'it actually fell out of another project we were working on'.

One of the basic principles of physics is that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change form.

Watch here!!

Updated 27th August

A new way to test your bandwidth

This site allows you to select servers to ping from around the country on an interactive map and graphically displays connections as they travel with varying speeds along the way. It also lets you store results of tests for your computer and sort them by date, time, speed and distance.

read more | digg story

The Truth on what's really happening in the Middle East

George Galloway talks on the issue of Israel's assault on Lebanon and the Gaza. It's a pity there isn't more people like George!!

Chicago Tribune - A travelogue of addiction

Chicago Tribune correspondent Paul Salopek tracks oil from rig to pump

Energy Safari

Gulp!!

Australian TV special on Peak Oil


End of Oil is closer than you think


Forecasting Global Oil Supply 2000-2050 by Colin J. Campbell

RTE Drama 'Fallout' doesn't look so bogus after all

Fallout an RTÉ two-part fictional drama, made in the style of a documentary. It deals with the Nuclear fallout following a hypothetical disaster in the Sellafield Nuclear Power and Reprocessing Plant in Cumbria on the British coast of the Irish Sea. The show suggests how Ireland would bear the brunt of the United Kingdom's accident. Given the following article in the The Guardian today maybe it's not so fictitious after all?!?

Documents reveal hidden fears over Britain's nuclear plants

Unexplained cracks in reactor cores increase likelihood of accident, say government inspectors. Government nuclear inspectors have raised serious questions over the safety of Britain's ageing atomic power stations, some of which have developed major cracks in their reactor cores, documents reveal today.

The safety assessments, obtained under Freedom of Information legislation, show the Nuclear Safety Directorate (NSD) has issued warnings over the deterioration of reactor cores at Hinkley Point B in Somerset and other British nuclear plants. The directorate also criticises British Energy, which operates 13 advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactors including Hinkley.

Guardian Article Continues....

Marlboro Man - the new face of the American soldier

A photographer's lens caught James Blake Miller smeared with blood and dirt during the battle for Falluja. In his eyes, America saw the steely determination that would bring victory in Iraq; now stress and divorce have made him a casualty of the war.


Now, he is a reminder of how war can destroy even those it does not kill. How it leaves behind a trail of victims, whether they are Iraqi civilians or a kid from the Kentucky hills.

Power blackouts for Scotland by 2015

ELECTRICITY blackouts, not seen since the miners' strike, could be imposed on Scottish households within nine years unless new power stations are built soon, experts have warned.

"[Surplus capacity] is predicted by the National Grid to disappear within ten years, ie there will be electricity rationing by 2015 unless significant new generating capacity is installed" - RSE REPORT.

Full link is here

In 10 years House Prices jump up 270% while wages are up 70%

House prices in Ireland increased by 270% over the past ten years, according to the results of a survey published today.

The Permanent TSB/ESRI House Price Index said that the average annual increase in prices was almost 15% for each year since 1996.

Prices in Co Wicklow increased the most at 310% while the smallest increase was recorded in Co Roscommon where prices grew by 190%.

The average house price in 1996 was €75,000. In 2005, the average house price was €280,000.

According to the report, while ten years ago the difference between comparable houses in Dublin and the rest of the country was an average figure of €10,000, the gap now stands at an average figure of €130,000.

Special 10th Anniversary Edition of the permanent tsb/ ESRI House Price Index

Oil production could peak as early as 2020

Earlier this month the boss of French-owned Total, one of the world's major oil outfits, said global demand was so strong that production could peak as early as 2020.

See Telegrpah.co.uk for more

Scarpar - futuristic board

The Scarpar is a futuristic board that “apparently gives you the best of snowboarding, surfing, skating and motocross”. It’s slated for a 2007 release. See the video below...

Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary

Mmm?? Is it Fact or Hype?

About 50 million coastal residents are vulnerable

Researchers have assumed that tsunamis would make ocean impacts more deadly than those on land.

Waves radiating from the impact of a 300-metre-wide asteroid would carry 300 times more energy than the 2004 Asian tsunami. "There still are a lot of uncertainties," Chesley cautions. The solar system's population of 100 m to 400 m asteroids is poorly known".

In 2004, a newly discovered 320m asteroid, 99942 Apophis (previously called 2004 MN4), achieved the highest impact probability of any potentially dangerous object. The probability of collision on 13 April 2029 was estimated to be as high as 1 in 17 by Steve Chesley of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory though the worst published figure was 1 in 37 calculated in December 2004. Later observations showed that the asteroid will miss the earth by 25,600 km (within the orbits of communications satellites) in 2029, but its orbit will be altered unpredictably in a way which does not rule out a collision on 13 or 14 April 2035 or later in the century. These possible future dates have a cumulative probability of 1 in 6000 for an impact in the 21^stcentury.

If you would like to see previous impacts craters using Google Earth click here. Or how about seeing future impact events as detected by NASA

From July Iran will require oil payments in euros

TEHRAN, May 15 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Friday that in July Iran will abandon dollar payments for its oil and natural gas exports in favor of euros.

Click here for a previous post about this topic last January.

3C warmer

Three Degrees is the point when malarial mosquitoes will be able to breed permanently in Britain, cement-eating termites move into your cellars and the green police take over.

White House Correspondents Dinner

President George W. Bush with impersonator Steve Bridges

at the White House Correspondents Dinner, click on the QuickTime clip link

20 Years Ago

• 26 April, 1986

• How the World Nuclear Assoication view's the 'accident'

Words of Caution from Robert Kiyosaki

ALL BOOMS BUST!
Words of Caution from Robert Kiyosaki

Lately, I have been asked if we are in a real estate bubble. My answer is, "Duh!" In my opinion, this is the biggest real estate bubble I have ever lived through. Next, I am asked, "Will the bubble burst?" Again, my answer is, "Duh!" Click here from the article

He also published a follow up to the above 'all booms bust' article

Farmers to produce all the energy they need from what they grow

The device -- about the size of a credit card -- pumps vegetable oil and alcohol through tiny parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair, to convert the oil into biodiesel almost instantly

The microreactor under development by the university and the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute eliminates the mixing, the standing time and maybe even the need for a catalyst.

Farmers can turn some of their crops into homegrown fuel to operate agricultural equipment.

Excellent - Canadian comment on invading Iran

Hover Here & Click!!

More on Peak Oil...

• 52 of the 99 countries that produce oil have passed their peak production
• Taken from 'Be warned: the end of cheap oil will kill suburban dreams' 29/03/2006
  Irish Independent - David McWilliams
• We find 1 barrel of oil for every 3 barrels consumed
  
• Taken from 'What the experts are saying'
  
• Ireland holds the 2nd largest wind resource in Europe
• Taken from 'The Story of Oil'
  
• Oil is a magnet for war
• Taken from oilcrashmovie.com
• The Hirsch Report
• Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation and Crisis Management. Commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy, February 2005

Forfás - Assessment of Ireland's Oil Dependence

Forfás is Ireland's national policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation

10 to 15 years from now, conventional oil supply will no longer be capable of satisfying world demand

Ireland consumed nine million tonnes of oil in 2004, an amount that has doubled since 1990

Ireland is ranked 3rd highest among the EU-25 countries in terms of oil consumed per capita

Ireland relies considerably more on oil for electricity generation than most other EU countries and as of 2002 was the 6th most dependent country of the EU-25 countries.

The amount of oil consumed for transportation in Ireland tripled between 1972 and 2002

Ireland is particularly vulnerable to an oil shock whether in the form of high prices or oil shortages. Ireland is among the most sensitive to rising oil prices and therefore among the most vulnerable to a peak oil scenario.

The full report is available here

How are we fixed for energy in Ireland?

• 5 years ago energy costs in Ireland were 25% below the EU average
• Today they are over 30% above the EU average
• 86% of Ireland's power is generated from fossil fuels
• 3% of Ireland's energy is renewable
  
• 90% of our energy is imported

What's our answer? A interconnector to Britain!! Can you picture it? Europe is the middle of an energy crisis and Britain is going to bail us out. As Annie Lennox would say "sweet dreams are made of these"

Wanna watch more click here

Tunnel Dummies

A video collage of car crashes recorded on a tunnel cam

Bush back on wagon (again)

Watch out The Nolan Sisters!!

Here Come the Kingston Sisters ;-)

Climate change, is it reaching the tipping point?

Greenland ice cap is breaking up at twice the rate it was five years ago, says the scientist Bush tried to gag. Read the On the edge article followed by...

Sea levels likely to rise much faster than was predicted


Global warming '30 times quicker than it used to be'

Who wants an iPOD phone?

Works for Sony Ericsson, Nokia Series 60, Samsung and Palm devices. Go here

The beautiful game

Boycott Yale University!!

Artifacts removed from Machu Picchu by a Yale professor in 1911 are the focus of a growing furor. The simple -- and just -- solution: Send them home!!

'God's' Prayer

Our Fowler
Thou art is scoring
Robbie be they name
Thy transfer has been done
On a free as it is in January
Give us this day our favourite red
Alonso will give you the best passes
As Carra stops those who pass against us
Deliver us the title
And lead us not into relegation
For eleven is your number

Forever and ever
Our man

Yikes!! The 4 biggest oil fields in the world are in decline

Check out this excellent 12 minute documentary on peak oil after which have a read of this.
Still think I'm a doomsayer? What if two of the world's most successful investors at the World Economic Forum in Davos said that we could be paying $262 for a barrel of oil

Flicks & Video from St. Anton Austria

Click here for pictures (includes sound)

For the "Liam Dive" click here








Ever wondered how they flatten the runs at night? Click here

Damo d ark'la snowboarding county champion press here






Does 4 inches constitute catching air?
Click here and see for your self





Maybe snowboaring has had it's day and 'airboarding' will be the new rage

I'm on a crusade, wanna join me?

Click here for details

Get ready for Petrodollar Warfare

How far will the U.S. go in preventing further OPEC momentum towards the euro as an oil transaction currency standard?

Remember in 2000 Saddam sealed his fate when he announced that Iraq was no longer going to accept dollars for oil being sold under the UN’s Oil-for-Food program, and decided to switch to the euro as Iraq’s oil export currency. In 2003 the U.S switched the transaction back to dollars (the international currency of oil sales) despite the fact the the euro was valued approx. 13% higher than the dollar, and thus significantly impacted the ability of future oil proceeds to rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure.

Come July 2006 the Tehran government has plans to begin competing with New York's NYMEX and London's IPE with respect to international oil trades – using a euro-based international oil-trading mechanism. This will introduce petrodollar versus petroeuro currency hedging, and fundamentally new dynamics to the biggest market in the world - global oil and gas trades.

In essence, the U.S. will no longer be able to effortlessly expand its debt-financing via issuance of U.S. Treasury bills, and the dollar’s international demand/liquidity value will fall.

Could this prompt overt or covert U.S. interventions – thereby signaling the second phase of petrodollar warfare in the Middle East?!? Read on here

Using Your Gmail Account as a Virtual Drive

GMail Drive is a nifty piece of software that lets you use the voluminous space Google offers through its email service as a virtual file system.


Click here for the article