Go-ahead for new Heathrow runway

"BBC NEWS | Politics | Go-ahead for new Heathrow runway
The government has given the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow, saying it is the 'right' move for the country."

Sod the environment, eh? I'm absolutely disgusted by the Government's decision to build this runway. It shows complete contempt for the environment and destroys any remaining credibility they may have had when it comes to green issues. What hope do we now have in persuading other countries to kerb their greenhouse gas emissions having made this decision? We should be cutting flights, not allowing more - regardless of how "green" the aircraft may purport to be.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Go-ahead for new Heathrow runway

Non-DRM iTunes contain your email address

"iTunes Plus: Be warned: your account information is stored in every file
Although iTunes Plus files feature no copy protection, files downloaded still contain the email address you have registered with iTunes. So although files can physically be shared with, and played by, friends and family, any of your purchases that end up on file-sharing networks, for example, can be traced back to you."

Personally, I'm happy to continue to purchase DRM-protected files - in the unlikely event I want an MP3 version, I just burn a music CD from iTunes, then rip the tracks back in again. But the above is just damn sneaky - I certainly hope they've put that in the small print somewhere.

iTunes Plus: Everything you need to know - Crave at CNET UK

No.10 on Photography in Public Places

"Number10.gov.uk | Photographylaw - epetition response
There are no legal restrictions on photography in public places."

Well, that's a good start. However, it goes on to say that in each situation "it would be an operational matter for the police officer concerned". So I don't think this has really addressed the issue at all. They can quote pretty much any law they like and tell you to clear off - or worse - should they fee like it.

Number10.gov.uk | Photographylaw - epetition response

'Carbon cost' of Google revealed

"BBC NEWS | Technology | 'Carbon cost' of Google revealed
Two search requests on the internet website Google produce 'as much carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle', according to a Harvard University academic. US physicist Alex Wissner-Gross claims that a typical Google search on a desktop computer produces about 7g CO2. However, these figures were disputed by Google, who say a typical search produced only 0.2g of carbon dioxide."

That's staggering. It really is about time that a serious effort was made to make computers considerably more efficient.

BBC NEWS | Technology | 'Carbon cost' of Google revealed

Bush warns Obama of terror threat

"BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Bush warns Obama of terror threat
Outgoing US President George W Bush has warned his successor that a terrorist attack is still the "most urgent threat" to the US."

Bush has been using scare tactics on his public for the last 8 years, so he's applying it to the new President now. I think you'll find, George, that drugs and global warming are already killing a lot more of your citizens.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Bush warns Obama of terror threat

Blogging direct from iPod

Thought I'd try an application that would allow me to post direct from my iPod to my Blogger blog. Works too!

Home Office denies remote snooping plan

"Home Office denies remote snooping plan • The Register
The Home Office has denied it has made any change to rules governing how police can remotely snoop on people's computers. Any such remote hack is governed by Ripa - and the rules have not changed. But European discussions on giving police more access are underway..."

Surely no one can deny now that we - and that now seems to include the rest of Europe - are becoming a Police State?

Home Office denies remote snooping plan • The Register

UNIX_TIMESTAMP 'bug'

Not really a bug as such - its just an issue you have to consider and work around - in the UNIX_TIMESTAMP function in mySQL and is related to the twice-annual 'summer time'/'daylight savings time' clock change. My code was saving the right date into the database - it was just fetching it back again that introduced an error. I tried to store the date 31st March 2009 but when I recalled the data, it was displayed as 30th March. So I added some comments to my HTML to see what was happening:

<!-- my_date_field = 2009-03-31 -->
<!-- UNIX_TIMESTAMP(my_date_field) is 1238454000 = 30-03-2009 -->

If you use a 'date' field, the date ends up a day out, if you use a 'datetime' field, it ends up an hour out.

Fortunately there is a workaround:

UNIX_TIMESTAMP(your_date_field)

...has to be replaced with:

UNIX_TIMESTAMP(CONVERT_TZ(your_date_field, '+0:00', 'SYSTEM'))

Nanotech could mean sharper snaps

"BBC NEWS | Technology | Nanotech could mean sharper snaps
Researchers in Scotland have been given nearly half a million pounds to try to improve digital camera images."

So, its not the photographer at fault after all...?

BBC NEWS | Technology | Nanotech could mean sharper snaps