Minimalism

Why does minimalism have such a long name? And as for abbreviation, I mean, couldn't they have abbreviated it? Lisp as a word is just plain cruel.

In the beginning...

In the beginning there was nothing.
Then God proclaimed: Let there be light!
And there was still nothing.
But he could see there was nothing.

CO2 is NOT the cause of global warming...

Indeed, a documentary aired on Channel 4 tonight shows that while the graphs of temperature and CO2 do indeed correlate (as shown by Al Gore in his recent film), CO2 levels FOLLOW global temperatures, trailing them by about 800 years on average. This means that global temperatures cause CO2 levels to change, not the other way around, and are linked to the level of solar radiation affecting the release and/or absorbtion of CO2 by the oceans. The long delay is due to the great latency caused by the size of the oceans.

Scientists in the programme also raise another discrepancy with the official line, showing that most of the recent global warming occurred before 1940, when global temperatures then fell for four decades. It was only in the late 1970s that the current trend of rising temperatures began. This, claim the sceptics, is a flaw in the CO2 theory, because the post-war economic boom produced more CO2 and should, according to the consensus, have meant a rise in global temperatures. Indeed, a programme shown on the BBC in the early 1970s, after global temperaures had dropped for 4 decades, raised concerns about the earth going into an ice age, causing possible catastrophic weather changes! Sound familiar?

What was fascinating was the reference to how the global warming research drive began when Margaret Thatcher gave money to scientists to 'prove' burning coal and oil was harmful, as part of her drive for nuclear power to make her less vulnerable to the power of the striking miners. Perhaps political will is in action again as Al Gore discovers A Convenient Story?

Read all about it:
http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/G/great_global_warming_swindle/index.html

Tesco Self-Service Tills a disaster!

The local Tesco Express has recently installed automated barcode scanners/tills. They, however, have big issues for the most commonly bought item in this type of shop, namely, booze! Worst case scenario is 6 cans of beer held together by those handy plastic rings...

1. Go up to self-service till with handy 6-pack dangling elegantly from one finger.
2. Press Start button.
3. Scan edge of first can while holding the 6 can unit, intending to do so 6 times (well, 6 identical items...?).
4. Item is alcohol, you need staff approval. Where are the staff? You are left standing there with fingers quickly freezing against cans from chilled section...
5. Staff member arrives, types in code, goes away again.
6. Attempt to scan first can second time. Annoying voice tells you that you have not put item 1 down yet (some weighing scale in the unit, I presume). You tell annoying voice that you can't as all 6 cans are attached to each other. You realise you are talking to a machine that can't hear you.
7. Try to go through the on-screen menu to enter multiple items like they can do in "real" tills.
8. Realise you can't. Machine reminds you you haven't put item 1 on the till yet. You tell machine where to stick its suggestion.
9. Try putting all 6 cans on till so it thinks you've added an item, then lift them up again to scan second can.
10. Machine tells you not to remove 1st item. You tell machine to *&^% off. Machine refuses to be drawn into an argument.
11. Staff member notices (after 2 minutes) that you are becoming more and more irate.
12. You ask staff member if you can enter multiple identical items. You are told "No. You have to take the cans apart and scan each one, before putting it on the pressure pad".
13. You mention that the plastic connecting yoke was really handy and saved you having to carry 6 loose cans out the door while trying to locate your car keys, but now you would have to try to reconnect the 6 cans, and not on the till, as it was giving out to you about not removing all the items.
14. The staff member gives you a plastic bag, but insists you scan it also and pay 15c for it. You try to explain that the whole idea was to avoid using a bag in the first place.
15. You go to the cashier next time, and have a good bitch with them about the machines. They agree whole-heartedly with you. You feel better.