BBC NEWS | Health | Tumour diary: The time has come
Evan Noble, BBC News Science writer is no more. He has been sharing his experiences in a blog since Aug 2002 when he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour.
He will be remembered for his blog, for he has taken the concept of blogs to a new level.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Monday, January 31, 2005
The most popular Blogs | Bloogz
Similar to blogsnow.com, Bloogz Rank assesses how popular websites and the topics of Blogs are, according to the number of visitors and quotes that can be found.
Again, is this the future of press? Automatically crawling the cyberspace, and compiling a list most talked about news items and presenting it to average jeo? It will work in most of the cases, as its fairly reasonable to imagine that the most linked news would be of interest to 'average' Joe), and if one know what are the specific interestes of Joe Investor or Joe Holidaymaker, I suppose, these automated lists could make a lot of sense!
Sounds very exciting! :)
Similar to blogsnow.com, Bloogz Rank assesses how popular websites and the topics of Blogs are, according to the number of visitors and quotes that can be found.
Again, is this the future of press? Automatically crawling the cyberspace, and compiling a list most talked about news items and presenting it to average jeo? It will work in most of the cases, as its fairly reasonable to imagine that the most linked news would be of interest to 'average' Joe), and if one know what are the specific interestes of Joe Investor or Joe Holidaymaker, I suppose, these automated lists could make a lot of sense!
Sounds very exciting! :)
Friday, January 28, 2005
Plan9 - Google OS?
Google operating system
This strategy may account for some unusual hires by Google including Rob Pike from Bell labs, one of the development team members for an unusual distributed OS called Plan 9, named for the wacky Ed Wood cult film, "Plan 9 from Outer Space." While Pike may have been brought in to help the company deal with its internal software used to control tens of thousands of clusters, there is speculation that Google wants to push out onto the desktop. The company is already toying with distributed grid computing with its obscure Google Computer project: http://toolbar.google.com/dc/offerdc.html.
And what's to stop them at the operating system level? What about a Googlebox? An actual machine.
Since all the X86 computers are essentially generic machines made in China, why wouldn't Google leverage its brand name and roll out the Google X1 -- the "computer for the X-Generation!" It could probably get an Apple-like premium for such a machine and load it up with proprietary software too.
Meanwhile, I expect to see the gbrowser before year's end. We'll see where that goes.
Sounds a bit too much to speculate, but why not, of course there is room for a good OS here. And if Google is serious about this, and based on how they love moding established open source software to do new, better Googlewares (working on firefox for example), it is going to be a google flavour of some *nix, and of course, that sounds very exciting! :)
Google operating system
This strategy may account for some unusual hires by Google including Rob Pike from Bell labs, one of the development team members for an unusual distributed OS called Plan 9, named for the wacky Ed Wood cult film, "Plan 9 from Outer Space." While Pike may have been brought in to help the company deal with its internal software used to control tens of thousands of clusters, there is speculation that Google wants to push out onto the desktop. The company is already toying with distributed grid computing with its obscure Google Computer project: http://toolbar.google.com/dc/offerdc.html.
And what's to stop them at the operating system level? What about a Googlebox? An actual machine.
Since all the X86 computers are essentially generic machines made in China, why wouldn't Google leverage its brand name and roll out the Google X1 -- the "computer for the X-Generation!" It could probably get an Apple-like premium for such a machine and load it up with proprietary software too.
Meanwhile, I expect to see the gbrowser before year's end. We'll see where that goes.
Sounds a bit too much to speculate, but why not, of course there is room for a good OS here. And if Google is serious about this, and based on how they love moding established open source software to do new, better Googlewares (working on firefox for example), it is going to be a google flavour of some *nix, and of course, that sounds very exciting! :)
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Injured!
My partner hurt herself falling hard on not-so-soft-snow, and she was bound to a wheel-chair on her way back. This shot is her injured leg and the fast paced life around it that it can't help her to cope up with!
And the sun goes down...
.. marking end of our week long holidays!
Aaaah, it was a good one! ::dreaming::
Aaaah, it was a good one! ::dreaming::
Swiss Airspace!
A very busy one too! This aircraft was flying a bit too close for comfort, I swear I could see the Pilot from that one waving to my flights crew! ;)
Light at end of the tunnel!
Italian road seems to be very well kept, considering the altitude and remoteness of them, and there were many tunnels on the way, some short, most of the long - very long! And some times, there were end of the tunnel, and then another tonnel! Not this time though!
Livigno, Italy!
And it kept snowing, harder!
Only advanced skiiers could find their way down that Friday, others had to feel their way down on foot, or by cable cars, and anyone without a goggle were ignored or left behind! :p
Only advanced skiiers could find their way down that Friday, others had to feel their way down on foot, or by cable cars, and anyone without a goggle were ignored or left behind! :p
Livigno, Italy!
It started snowing again, by Thursday! A good fresh coat of powder and everything was fantasic!
Carasello, Livigno, Italy!
The edge of the peak, and beyond this, its a huge drop to the valley between Carosello and St. Mortiz (Swiss Alps)
Carasello, Livigno, Italy!
Nearly 3000 meters high, you need to be really wrapped up to be here. In about 3 minutes, my fingers were numb from cold, and my face looked as if I had a really bad case of bottox injection!
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Ask About Money - Irish Finance Discussion Forum
Ask About Money is an Irish financial discussion forum, and over the last couple of months I have found it an invaluable source of information on various sides of money management, including savings, investment, mortgage etc.
They are a very active bunch, and so far I have been given sound, educated advices on various issues. Highly recommended.
Ask About Money is an Irish financial discussion forum, and over the last couple of months I have found it an invaluable source of information on various sides of money management, including savings, investment, mortgage etc.
They are a very active bunch, and so far I have been given sound, educated advices on various issues. Highly recommended.
Monday, January 24, 2005
A Powder Virgin - No more!
Back from Livigno, in one piece!
Here’s my “just-back-from-week-long-holiday-and-here’s-what-I-think” report.
Livigno is a brilliant place. It’s a duty-free zone in the north of Italy, bordering Swiss Alps on three sides, it’s virtually the other side of Swiss Alps, and it is much bigger than the brochure would make you believe. The Livigno valley between the Motellini and Coresello peaks, where 5000 or so of its inhabitants live and around 15000 or so tourists stay, is about 14 kilometres long.
Getting there
We flew into Bergamo airport, which is 5 hours away by road from Livigno. I am not sure if there are any other airports nearby, but at least half the crowd in Bergamo are there to visit Bormio, which is only an hour and half away from Bergamo. However, skiing in Bormio is limited to a few perfect and technically challenging intermediate runs (where the 2005 skiing championship is to be held in a few weeks).
Accommodation
Livigno is rapidly growing and has 15000 or so beds to accommodate tourists in two of its seasons, winter and the summer, where hikers and mountain bikers move-in. There are many hotels, chalets, half-boards and self-catering apartments to go by, but booking in advance is desirable for busy season.
Snow
Livigno is so high up in the Alps, snow is guaranteed even when rest of the Italian resorts are closed. When we were there, it hadn’t snowed for two weeks, and half the Italian resorts where closed, and others planning to, there was plenty of powder in Livigno (albeit hard). Later in the week, snow blizzards swept the valley, depositing six inches of fresh snow every night!
Learning to Ski
Almost everyone I met in Livigno have been there before, loved it and back for more. Yet, there are a good few ski schools with very good instructors, with good language (English) skills (even if its with an accent, it was not difficult to understand). They are an extremely helpful bunch too, and the race at the end of the week was the highlight of the week-long-training.
However, we found booking learn-to-ski thru our travel agent about 60% more expensive than booking it while we are there. It was a bit sad to see the travel rep selling the same training for 100 quid less with in the coach to Livigno!
PS: Finished third in the beginners group. Not bad for someone from the tropics, well, thats my excuse anyway!
Eating out
Italians knows how to eat. One look at the menu will give you an idea - they expect you to order drinks, starter, a first main dish, a second main dish, extra side dishes and a dessert!!! Well, not quite, but you can if you wish to!
In general, if you like Italian cuisine, you are in for a treat. There are hundreds of places to eat out, and every one we tried is better than the other. Hotel Astoria's pizzeria for example, I couldn't finish the most delicious pizza they served, it was huge! The complimentary grappa shot was small, but it was the strongest I have ever tasted - in comparison, tequila is more lemonade!
A litre of house wine, comes in a jug and costs less than a tenner are better than most of the wine I have ever bought! A very filling eat out in a classy place would set you back only about 30 euros!
Night life
Plenty of places to party - Marco's, Homelywood, Gaffney’s etc to name a few, all packed with British and Irish crowd of all age group!
Keep in mind, hotels and restaurants are not designed keeping the beer drinkers in mind, but for the wine drinkers. They usually have two or three common toilets for both men and women, and with the British and Irish crowd and their taste for beer, long queues in front of the loo are more or less inevitable!
Shopping
Duty-free and excellent choices. Shops seems to stock all popular brands, after all, Italians does know their Armani’s from Joe's!
Cost of alcohol would make you want to move to Livigno for good! A litre of Smirnoff Premium Vodka is 6 euros, instead of the 29.99 that I used to pay here in Dublin. Litre of Baileys Irish cream is 8 euros, instead of 31.00 and a litre of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey is 9 euros - and I meant to buy that if I win lotto here in Dublin!
Clinics and other facilities
Folks at Trauma Clinic were very helpful when my partner fell down on the hard snow and injured herself. Well equipped, their ambulance team were quick to get her to the clinic, and they were more than helpful in arranging the insurance related paperwork, and new flight arrangements etc!
Conclusion
Overall, brilliant holiday and brilliant introduction to skiing. Slightly on the expensive side, but will do it again, back to Livigno next year, may arrange the trip on my own without a travel agency in between, but definitely back to Livigno! :)
Back from Livigno, in one piece!
Here’s my “just-back-from-week-long-holiday-and-here’s-what-I-think” report.
Livigno is a brilliant place. It’s a duty-free zone in the north of Italy, bordering Swiss Alps on three sides, it’s virtually the other side of Swiss Alps, and it is much bigger than the brochure would make you believe. The Livigno valley between the Motellini and Coresello peaks, where 5000 or so of its inhabitants live and around 15000 or so tourists stay, is about 14 kilometres long.
Getting there
We flew into Bergamo airport, which is 5 hours away by road from Livigno. I am not sure if there are any other airports nearby, but at least half the crowd in Bergamo are there to visit Bormio, which is only an hour and half away from Bergamo. However, skiing in Bormio is limited to a few perfect and technically challenging intermediate runs (where the 2005 skiing championship is to be held in a few weeks).
Accommodation
Livigno is rapidly growing and has 15000 or so beds to accommodate tourists in two of its seasons, winter and the summer, where hikers and mountain bikers move-in. There are many hotels, chalets, half-boards and self-catering apartments to go by, but booking in advance is desirable for busy season.
Snow
Livigno is so high up in the Alps, snow is guaranteed even when rest of the Italian resorts are closed. When we were there, it hadn’t snowed for two weeks, and half the Italian resorts where closed, and others planning to, there was plenty of powder in Livigno (albeit hard). Later in the week, snow blizzards swept the valley, depositing six inches of fresh snow every night!
Learning to Ski
Almost everyone I met in Livigno have been there before, loved it and back for more. Yet, there are a good few ski schools with very good instructors, with good language (English) skills (even if its with an accent, it was not difficult to understand). They are an extremely helpful bunch too, and the race at the end of the week was the highlight of the week-long-training.
However, we found booking learn-to-ski thru our travel agent about 60% more expensive than booking it while we are there. It was a bit sad to see the travel rep selling the same training for 100 quid less with in the coach to Livigno!
PS: Finished third in the beginners group. Not bad for someone from the tropics, well, thats my excuse anyway!
Eating out
Italians knows how to eat. One look at the menu will give you an idea - they expect you to order drinks, starter, a first main dish, a second main dish, extra side dishes and a dessert!!! Well, not quite, but you can if you wish to!
In general, if you like Italian cuisine, you are in for a treat. There are hundreds of places to eat out, and every one we tried is better than the other. Hotel Astoria's pizzeria for example, I couldn't finish the most delicious pizza they served, it was huge! The complimentary grappa shot was small, but it was the strongest I have ever tasted - in comparison, tequila is more lemonade!
A litre of house wine, comes in a jug and costs less than a tenner are better than most of the wine I have ever bought! A very filling eat out in a classy place would set you back only about 30 euros!
Night life
Plenty of places to party - Marco's, Homelywood, Gaffney’s etc to name a few, all packed with British and Irish crowd of all age group!
Keep in mind, hotels and restaurants are not designed keeping the beer drinkers in mind, but for the wine drinkers. They usually have two or three common toilets for both men and women, and with the British and Irish crowd and their taste for beer, long queues in front of the loo are more or less inevitable!
Shopping
Duty-free and excellent choices. Shops seems to stock all popular brands, after all, Italians does know their Armani’s from Joe's!
Cost of alcohol would make you want to move to Livigno for good! A litre of Smirnoff Premium Vodka is 6 euros, instead of the 29.99 that I used to pay here in Dublin. Litre of Baileys Irish cream is 8 euros, instead of 31.00 and a litre of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey is 9 euros - and I meant to buy that if I win lotto here in Dublin!
Clinics and other facilities
Folks at Trauma Clinic were very helpful when my partner fell down on the hard snow and injured herself. Well equipped, their ambulance team were quick to get her to the clinic, and they were more than helpful in arranging the insurance related paperwork, and new flight arrangements etc!
Conclusion
Overall, brilliant holiday and brilliant introduction to skiing. Slightly on the expensive side, but will do it again, back to Livigno next year, may arrange the trip on my own without a travel agency in between, but definitely back to Livigno! :)
Friday, January 14, 2005
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Slashdotted!
Well, looks like Slashdot just slashdot'd itself! Its not very often you see slashdot down, especially since every other story posted in slashdot brings down a few servers somewhere in planet!
In geekspeek, /. /.'ed itself!
In geekspeek, /. /.'ed itself!
Michelin's new TWeel
Michelin | Press Release: MICHELIN LETS THE AIR OUT OF FUTURE TIRE INNOVATION
Sounds impressive! Can't wait to see some reviews on how this is not suitable for everyday situations. If it is, well, I think I will have to buy a pair or two!!
Michelin | Press Release: MICHELIN LETS THE AIR OUT OF FUTURE TIRE INNOVATION
Sounds impressive! Can't wait to see some reviews on how this is not suitable for everyday situations. If it is, well, I think I will have to buy a pair or two!!
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