This is a neat little spoof of the Federal Governments climate change propaganda by GetUp! in Australia. They’ve been raising money to try and get it aired during the AFL Grand Final tomorrow (Saturday 29th).
You can watch it on YouTube as well..
For those who may be puzzled by the issues raised by the ABC showing of “The Great Climate Change Swindle” you might like to read this BBC News Report detailing research published in one of the Royal Society’s journals (you can read a PDF copy of the paper free of charge).
A new scientific study concludes that changes in the Sun’s output cannot be causing modern-day climate change. It shows that for the last 20 years, the Sun’s output has declined, yet temperatures on Earth have risen. It also shows that modern temperatures are not determined by the Sun’s effect on cosmic rays, as has been claimed.
You may also like to read New Scientist’s “Climate change: A guide for the perplexed” and “The 7 biggest myths about climate change” to get an idea of the facts behind the issues.
Update: John Dalton has a nice writeup from his point of view called “Who’s Being Swindled ?“
The BBC Trust is currently carrying out a consultation exercise into their new “On Demand” TV services over the Internet in which they ask “How important is it that the proposed seven-day catchup service be available to consumers who are not using Microsoft software ?” (see question 5).
The accompanying PDF says:
In respect of the seven-day catch-up over the internet service, the files would require DRM to ensure that they were appropriately restricted in terms of time and geographic consumption. The only system that currently provides this security is Windows Media 10 and above. Further, the only comprehensively deployed operating system that currently supports Windows Media Player 10 and above is the Windows XP operating system. As a result of these DRM requirements the proposed BBC iPlayer download manager element therefore requires Windows Media Player 10 and Windows XP. This means the service would be unavailable to a minority of consumers who either do not use Microsoft or do not have an up-to-date Microsoft operating system. However, over time, technology improvements are likely to enable even more efficient methods of delivery. Further, it is our understanding the BBC Executive are working towards the iPlayer download manager being able to function on other operating systems.
and go on to say:
We also note that the Microsoft-based strategy for rights management will limit usage. Normally, we would expect BBC services to be universally available, as universal access to BBC services is in the public interest. However, as set out above, other mainstream technology platforms do not currently provide the appropriate security.
So the BBC Trust do want greater usage, but don’t seem to understand that DRM will stop that even if people do have access to Windows.
People may want to make their feelings known on this..
(Via Alec)
This is sad. Magnus Magnusson, the founding presenter of Mastermind from the BBC, has died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 77 according to the BBC. They have an obituary for him.
Worth keeping for future use - Garry Parker has an installation guide for MythTV on Ubuntu Edgy that looks pretty good. Don’t forget to read part two and his tips.
He’s also got a good sense of humour. 
Note to self - remember to check for responses to my comment on his ATI driver problems.
Andrew’s done a neat trick and now has caller ID appearing on his television courtesy of combining Asterisk and MythTV. He’s got interesting plans..
Next I need to see if I can pause the TV, and resume it when the call ends.
Be nice if you could mark a program as “do not disturb” and get Asterisk to silently divert them to its voicemail system until it’s over, or phone up and tell it to record something you forgot (when you’ve not got Internet access).
When I was a lad I always used to watch Tomorrows World and remember listening to Raymond Baxter presenting, he had such a recognisable and listenable voice. In many ways TW drove my interest in science and technology so it was very sad to read of his death on the BBC.
RIP Raymond Baxter, 1922-2006, broadcaster, WWII Spitfire pilot and part time Mornington Crescent commentator.
Yay! Donna now has her own IMDB page as both screenwriter and appearing as herself in documentaries!
ABC news is reporting:
The naturalist and television star Steve Irwin has died in a diving accident in far north Queensland. He was 44. Police say he was stung through the heart by a stingray while diving off Port Douglas.
Update: Donna, my lovely wife, has written a nice piece about Steve Irwin.
This is interesting, the BBC is going to replace two episodes of missing Doctor Who video footage from the series The Invasion with animation by the award winning Cosgrove Hall company. They’ve got a 30 second teaser up at the moment.
Sounds great, but I’ve been conditioned into thinking of Cosgrove Hall doing Dangermouse and so I can’t help but think that perhaps they might introduce a new character..
Penfold: Oh crumbs Doctor, there’s them nasty Cyberwotsits again! Help! Ahhhhhhh!
Via: Sandra
