* Posts by Dave Errington

9 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Oct 2007

Whining serial commentard bemoans Reg bullying

Dave Errington
FAIL

Re: Looks like a angry fellow...

according to the linked page...

Aaron Kempf’s Education

SqlSoft

MCITP , Database Administrator SQL 2005 , 2001 — 2009

as far as i can tell from this, he was studying SQL 2005 in... 2001.

the man's a genius!

I'm a sceptic now, says ex-NASA climate boss

Dave Errington
Stop

@ Wonderkid

"(As someone who has lived through over 40 seasons, I can vouch for the fact it is getting warmer here in the UK. I have photos of deep snow at our home in the 1970s. Where is it today almost 25 years later? We get a sprinkling, some sleet, and that's winter! And what about the effect on the natural world, with animals, plants, fish, birds and more showing signs of distress or confusion.)"

One of the problems with global warming/MMCC/ACC is that the earths climate is naturally variable and so 'readings' taken over 30 years should not be used to infer trends on their own.

If anyone can put a definitive scientific paper, properly peer reviewed, with transparent data sets in front of the scientific community then I believe you would achieve a concensus within weeks. but as we stand, the models are regularly updated with past results and yet still fail to predict 6 months into the future never mind 100's of years.

Also, there is little doubt that using fossil fuels is a bad idea and the oil could be more beneficially used to make all manner of shiney plastic products which we are told will never degrade, making them a form of obtuse carbon capture. However, the current renewables systems are far from perfect and heavily subsidised by UK.gov. making FF power generation a necessity at least for the next few decades.

World's first Blu-ray record pressing

Dave Errington
Boffin

First CD...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6950933.stm

apparently it was abba, these Scandinavian types seem to be the trend setters when it comes to this type of thing!

Shell pulls out of Thames Estuary mega-windfarm

Dave Errington

@ dervheid

NO NEED TO SHOUT!

I think the discussions around renewable power generation have moved significantly away from the issue of global warming in this country.

The simple fact is that there is a finite amount of oil in the world and it would be better used making nice shiney plastic rather than heating your water. If we are to prepare for the future then it will be necessary to use an alternative energy source for everyday household and business activities.

Fair enough, this may not be the case for the next 50 years or so, but a bit of forward planning is surely a good thing. Also, wind farms are pretty.

The turbines on the farm go round and round, round and round, round and round all day long. Much like the wheels on the bus in fact.

thanks, it's the one with the inbuilt air con

Nine Inch Nails cracks net distribution (maybe)

Dave Errington
Happy

@ Jason Edmunds

"...who's gonna find the Next Big Thing and work to bring their work to our attention? Who's going to figure out which bands are good enough for people to want to buy their stuff?"

Zane Lowe

Steve Lamaq

Mark Radcliffe

Pete Tong

Rob da Bank

The welsh fella

BBC Radio 6

Xfm

it's called a wireless and it's a brilliant invention.

the one next to the whippet with the flat cap sticking from the pocket, thanks.

Redmond puts key Vista update on ice

Dave Errington
Thumb Up

MicrosoftWorld

I was reading the article on the RROD for the xbox 360 yesterday and another inspired Microsoft spokesperson made a comment that a 16% failure rate was insignificant (ok, that not a verbatum quote but the general gist is correct).

On this basis, it's fair to assume that microsoft have developed a system which i propose we call "happy statting" whereby major problems are instantly resolved by simply playing down their seriousness in statements to the public, who they obviously believe can't make an informed decison of their own.

This being the case, i think we should force all new environmental reports on the state of the planet / greenhouse effect / melting of ice caps / *insert other doomsday prediction here* to be reported by those lovely people at Microsoft.

I look forward to hearing in the next few weeks of the newest release by Friends of the Earth telling us that "The world is doomed, but not to worry as it will only affect a small number of users"

mine's the one with the Microsoftbrand permanent rose tinted glasses attached

Scientists warn on climatic 'tipping points'

Dave Errington
Linux

Has anybody ever considered

I also am a scientist, with a proper science degree and everything. I get really annoyed by the use of the term "scientist" in any media report which apparently means that whatever is quoted must be true because the scientist says so.

For the record, I have a degree in Chemistry, however i'm sure that if i really wanted to I could get some work making quotes for journalists on all kind of non-chemistry related topics and all would be believed if they called me scientist or boffin (Reg!).

On a completely different note, surely there must be some positives from this whole global warming lark? If the ice sheets melt and the world heats up will there not be an increase in evaporation, resulting in beneficial increases in rainfall over vast swathes of the globe? Will the massive ice covered area of the old USSR suddenly become huge greem fields large enough to solve world hunger? Is it just a case of the people who currently "have" getting worried that the global balance of power will shift to the "have-nots"?

/science

Facebook CEO capitulates (again) on Beacon

Dave Errington
Boffin

MySpace/Facebook

There seems to be a bit of confusion amongst the chattering classes about the differences between Facebook and MySpace so i thought as it's friday and i don't feel like doing any real work I'd try and clear it up for y'all.

MySpace... an account you set up on myspace can be freely viewed by anyone who has enough fingers to type in the address and do a search for you. if you are idiotic enough to put all of your personal information on there (and from my limited experience of this there are many, many people who are more than willing to give everything including the size of their virtual manhood) then everyone from George W to prospective employers can have a look at it. This is not a good idea!

Facebook... when you go to the facebook website and type in someone's name all you will see is a box with a thumbnail of their current profile picture, their name and the school they attended.

to actually obtain any personal information about someone you need to sign up, ask them to be your friend and await their reply. In this time they have the chance to have a look at YOUR profile to see if they know you (and want to let them get in contact with you).

Personally, i'm far too old and cynical to be bothered about letting the world know what my favourite bands are or which celebrities i think are fit so don't really have a need for myspace. However, i've found that Facebook is brilliant for contacting old friends who i've lost contact with or sending a quick message to a number of people about where we are meeting for beers on a friday.

In summary... Myspace = web2.0bollox, Facebook = virtual pub (but not in a second life kind of way)

Catholic dating sites exchange rings

Dave Errington
Coat

but...

where's the IT angel?

Coat is on, exit stage right