Homeproject - we have 10 years to change the way we live

The most incredible movie about our Earth. Really fantastic !!! Duration: 1.33 hours



We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate. The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being. For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film. HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand, GoodPlanet Fundation President

TO DEBATE AND TAKE ACTION TOGETHER ON THE GOODPLANET FOUNDATION FORUM : http://www.goodplanet.org/en

Free Hugs

Had to include Free Hugs Campaign on my blog.. a real life story of Juan Mann, whos mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.

Carolyn Porco: Saturn moon Enceladus

Icy geysers hint that an ocean on Enceladus could harbor life


Below is a really excellent but older (March 2007) video talk by Carolyn Porco on TED about the Cassini voyage to Saturn, standing ovation much deserved.

I was asked to summarise where my skills are best suited

--- Typical Project Start:

Client brief and requirements gathering - I enjoy client interaction and being social; this is me on youtube

Brainstorming and ideas generation - I’ve written a book on inventions, I blog about cutting edge services and products (viewmyblog.com). I definitely have a passion for innovation. I also Project Managed an online platform that automatically creates and runs hundreds of sites with zero day-to-day management.

Delivery – Project planning and documentation skills to cover Accessibility, Agendas, Budgets, Contact reports, Design briefs, Functional Specifications, Information architecture, Issue / Risk logs, Meeting notes, Pitch Proposal writing, Project resource management, Task assignment, Task tracking, Project timelines, Search engine optimisation, Social media trends / capabilities and direction, Social networks widget gadget and defining app interaction, Testing / UAT, Web Analytics and Insight measurability evaluation, Workshops and Client meetings.

--- Typical Project End:

In that process I’m normally version controlling all files, sticking to a naming convention, making sure everything is trackable and within the scope, budget, ensuring quality, providing highlight reports to stakeholders and account teams, looking to mitigate risks, assigning ownership... updating project briefs and plans.

image matching service

Now i'm slightly annoyed... another of my ideas released live before me :(
tineye image search engine (similar solution to what i had in mind, oh well, good for them... i think it's a great idea).
Here's a concept sketch I did last year but even a few years back I had created a prototype process of matching image retrieval.. contacted potential developers, tested tons of apps.
1. Search
1.1. Image upload (file text field)
1.2. Image upload (button)
1.2.1. * Process of matching image retrieval
1.2.1.1. Search results
1.2.1.2. Web URLs and image thumbnails (user clicks on thumbnails or links to see where the similar image can be found)
...
p.s. With a little funding I could make that work still.... tineye need some competition, perhaps later in the year if I'm free.

Good Energy - 100% Renewable Energy

I've switched to 100% pure renewable electricity!

• Yes it costs more
• Yes I'm broke
• Yes I feel better
• Yes I want to use electricity when I want
• Yes I think many of the ...'get this cause you'll be saving the planet'... marketing campaigns are a load of bull
  

Good Energy’s commitment to its ethical values as well as to promoting and developing renewable energy in the UK has been independently accredited by the Ethical Company Organisation over the past three years. We have once again been awarded Ethical Company Status for 2009, scoring the maximum 100 points. www.goodenergy.co.uk

I know I blowing my own trumpet a little but it'd be good if more people switched. I remember meeting the Chairman of a big Energy company last year who astounded me by trying to convice me that it was impossible to get energy from waves! I mean, it's not like I'm some hippee eco warrior or something but that chap was really a little arroagant and stupid. (FYI: I'm working on a new wave power patent... anyone care to invest :)

Scam letter from Community Trade Mark Filing Service

Scam letter from Community Trade Mark Filing Service, 17 - 19 Fenwick Street, Liverpool, L2 7LS If you've also got a letter from Community Trade Mark Filing Service then ignore it or report it. It's not from the Patent Office and you don't need to pay them. (I did call the Patent Office and they have hundreds of complaints already but are not yet taking any action.)
They basically get all the Patent Office customer details and send letters to them trying to make it look like you need to pay them. If like me you want to move things on, you can report them to trading standards.

Wolfram - Alpha Is Coming!

What google doesn't want you to know.
There's a new type of knowledge based search engine.
Alpha is Due to be released sometime in May '09. (Not live yet)

Other super geek research I was looking at: (Evolutionary Neurocontrol, Genetic algorithm, How the Genetic Algorithm Works). My aim in this space is to try to create some software that can understand meaning in Language (I need lots of dev help). There are other areas which I think if combined would produce advanced results like metamorphic code ... is code that can reprogram itself (certainly gets the imagination going).
Why is GA of interest, well, for example, a genetic algorithm developed jointly by engineers from General Electric and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute produced a high-performance jet engine turbine design that was three times better than a human-designed configuration and 50% better than a configuration designed by an expert system by successfully navigating a solution space containing more than 10³⁸⁷ possibilities. Conventional methods for designing such turbines are a central part of engineering projects that can take up to five years and cost over $2 billion; the genetic algorithm discovered this solution after two days on a typical engineering desktop workstation (Holland 1992, p.72). Source extract from talkorigins