If your topic doesn't fit neatly into another forum, post it here!
I came across an interesting analysis of how environmentally friendly the current solar cell technology really is if you take into account the energy it takes to produce them. The bottom line seems to be that currently there is only a small reduction in carbon emission for photovoltaics used in the Northern US. Here is a calculation I made based on the article and original publication.
Just a little FYI. Last Thursday I used my Amex to shop at 2 stores. When I got home less then an hour later my husband got an email from Amex saying that my account had been compromised. Apparently, a one dollar purchase had been made at Apple I tunes. I guess this is a common practice. A person, program or robot randomly selects the last four digits of your credit card then places a small order to see if it goes through and unless you have a credit card company that alerts you to this it may go unnoticed. Amex has an alert program which you can sign up for.
Google admitted today that they have been collecting data from unencrypted private WiFi networks using their StreetView cars, thereby violating privacy laws in Germany (and I would assume also in other countries). Although Google says that this was a mistake it suggests that not even Google is on top of all the data they are collecting. Furthermore, Google's obsession to collect data is likely to continue to test privacy laws.
Brandeis University is planning to transfer their email service to Google (http://blogs.brandeis.edu/googleapps/). Many faculty are uncomfortable with this move, for good reasons. Yale University recently considered a similar move but decided to delay due to serious concerns over privacy (http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/university-news/2010/03/30/its-delays…). A comprehensive article about the deeper issues regarding Gmail was posted by Brad Templeton (http://www.templetons.com/brad/gmail.html). Some of the concerns are:
Oh well, I guess you did not follow the title but decided to read this. In this case you will find the following little assay about procrastination interesting: Procrastination and Your Tax Bill.
I have just found a note on Apple's policy for Apps developers who made Apple's iPhone the huge success it has become. Looks like Apple is another "19th-century gamekeeper":
Dany found a wonderful letter from the frustrated author of a journal paper sent to R. L. Glass, an editor of the Journal of Systems and Software (you need to have a subscription to download the paper). This is well worth a read and may ease your own pain after several rounds of manuscript revisions to satisfy reviewers. I wish all editors had as much humor as Glass who decided to share the letter with the rest of us.
Alexis pointed me to an interesting article in the magazine "Intelligent Life", a publication of The Economist. An ex cricket player (the game that only people from the British Commonwealth understand) writes about the importance of remaining true to the "game" and not focusing too much on the "winning". If winning and efficiency is all we care about (the goal of being "professional") this may actually dampen our inspiration and motivation to play, not enhance it.
An interesting piece by George Monbiot published in the Guardian, concerning public mistrust of science. The following passage seems especially important:
