Just tried the VARK (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic) learning style test online and came out as a multimodal learner strongest in read/write & auditory learning. For the record I scored:
Visual: 2
Aural: 8
Read/Write: 10
Kinesthetic: 5
Makes good sense to me based on how I seem to learn.
“Perl, in a Nutshell” sung by Pudge, thanks for the pointer Alec!
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 ?“
Apple are doing free computer recycling in areas of Sydney and Melbourne towards the end of July.
For a limited time, Apple will recycle any brand of personal computer, printer or computer related peripheral for free,* in an environmentally responsible manner. Apple continues its dedication to being an environmentally conscientious company, and we hope you will join us.
* A maximum of 20 systems per car load.
There is more information about precisely where and when on the Apple Recycling Program web page.
From the ABC news:
The International Energy Agency has warned of a shortage of oil in the next five years. It says world oil production may not be able to keep up with demand, leading to a supply crunch.
Hold on tight folks, it might be a bumpy ride..
It gets a bit weird when in the space of a month you’ve been loaned a rather good Sci-Fi book he’s written by a friend in Melbourne, find he has an article on the BBC News website and finally give up and Google him and find has a page on Wikipedia.
Especially when the last time you’d heard of him you were crashing on his and Feorag’s futon in their lounge in Edinburgh and all you knew was he wrote funny articles on alt.peeves and alt.lang.intercal!
If you do like the idea of dark Lovecraftian geek humour being applied to a the murky world of esoteric spying written by someone who knows about tech (not just pretending they do) then check out Atrocity Archives
The ABC is reporting:
A Sydney court has heard that a woman charged with stabbing her father and sister to death and seriously wounding her mother was denied psychiatric help because of her parents’ belief in Scientology.
The Australian reports:
“She had a history of being diagnosed with a psychotic illness in late 2006 at Bankstown Hospital, but follow-up from the mental health team was apparently declined by her parents because of their alleged Scientology beliefs,” Dr Cross said. […] The report said that instead of receiving follow-up treatment by Bankstown Hospital’s mental health team, the woman had instead seen a private psychiatrist as well as a psychologist. She also was prescribed an anti-depressant as well as an anti-psychotic treatment that she took until January this year. The report said after she stopped taking her medication she began to feel anxious, and depressed. She also experienced poor sleep and felt unsafe at home. “She stated that her parents did not want her to take the prescribed medication she had been on in 2006, and apparently started her on medication they got from America – which was not psychiatric in nature,” it said.
Our neighbour, artist and friend has passed away after a long illness. We will miss her. 🙁
Wonderful! (Via)