19th Jan 2012 The Historic Internet Strike

It is questionable that Obama has changed the world, but yes Google did.

Yesterday Wikipedia closed up their digital doors in English, together with 10,000 web sites that serve as gateways to the Internet, united to protest against the US anti-piracy law, considered by the united Net to be short-sighted politic. Imagine opening the computer but not able to connect to any friends, contacts, suppliers or clients, not able to get supplies or pay bills because Paypal was closed; not able to obtain information because Google, Yahoo and Firefox were on strike. They couldn't access the Net because service providers are disconnected.

Essentially this was a demonstration of muscles. An appetiser to what might happen if the Internet industry unit their forces to defend their interests. Wikipedia staged a total blackout for 24 hours. The announcement of the Strike had a very eloquent message: Advice to students: 'Finish your homework quickly. Wikipedia will close on Wednesday the 18th, against a malignant law.'

The first great scale net Strike will change the strong relationship between users and proprietors. The latter ought to learn to do business with the former, without them being the clients. Altogether a challenge. A historic challenge.

A sizeable part of the Spanish Internet users had joined the rejection of US project of for the law of anti-piracy, closing up also their web pages, debating in forums, and launching their claims through Twitter. The president of the Association of Internet users, Victor Domingo, declared to Efe that a hundred Spanish webs participated in the blackout.

Tags: internetstrike

Prev: 19th Jan 2012 Air Pure As Gold

19th Jan 2012 Air Pure As Gold

Instead of masking any kind of bad smell with the commercial products, the many variety of air freshener, a group of Catalan young men, chemists and physicists of the Polytechnic University of Catalunya, has dedicated themselves to eliminate completely bad odours, without simply camouflaging them, as what has been done till now, by highly 'perfumed' products in the form of a spray, just to cover up the unpleasant smell. This usually means that the foul odour still lingers on but 'overpowered' temporarily by the freshener for the period of it's effectiveness. Like people use cologne or perfume to cover up sweat or body odour. To me, that often just makes a sickening or weird and stale smell, no better than the original bad smell even occasionally worse. To do something about that has been too long overdue.

The team's effort is to first rid the bad smell by eliminating the molecule which produces the bad smell by means of a chemical process, involving the use of tiny particles of pure gold, the precious metal. I don't understand the process they described, all too technical for me, just think what a great idea and service it is.

 

They are also aiming at other sectors like automobile, like interior air conditioning, the sanitary cleaning services, and alimentation like increasing the possibility by delaying mellowing and maturation. The prize winning product is trade-marked Goldemar, patented, available in 2013.

 

Tags: airofgold

Prev: 19th Jan 2012 Amusing Or Depressing Place Names

19th Jan 2012 Amusing Or Depressing Place Names

The study of unusual place names is called Toponymy, amusing, depressing, strange or usual. What happens is that everyone who lives there becomes oblivious of the names amusing connotation. Another common occurrence is that people in the area refer to the place with a strange pronunciation. For example, a charming village in Cornwall called Mousehole. Do people pronounce it Mouse Hole? No, they refer to it as Mousle, the 'h' is silent.

 

You might find the following examples make you smile or wince; all are simply unusual:

Curious Name Places Located in the USA ~

Paradox, strange as it may seem, is in New York

Crapo, unfortunately for them is in Maryland

Boogertown, is happily in North Carolina

Hellhole, is depressingly to be found in Idaho

Purgatory, is sadly in Maine

Volcano, an explosive place in Hawaii

Needmore, is in the greedy state of Arkansas

Hardup, is in the poor (you must be joking) state of Utah

Rudeville, surprisingly perhaps is in New Jersey

Boring, can be found in Oregon (I wonder if it is?)

Hell, is in Michigan (Some other places too, I suspect)

Hooker, can be found in California (Surely other places too)

Virgin, is a place in Utah

Dulls Corner, is in Maryland ( Wonder if they wear pointy hats there?)

Bowlegs, is amusingly in Oklahoma

Beersville, is a fine town in Pennsylvania

Fleatown, is an itchy place in Ohio

Burnt Corn, in Alabama

Two Guns, famously in Arizona

Toad Suck, is in Arkansas

A Monkey's Eyebrow, is based in Arizona

 

Curious Name Places Located in the UK ~

Ugley in Essex (What a pity; is there an Ugley Women's Institute or Working men's Club, in the town?)

Pratts Bottom in Kent (Even more so)

Great Snoring in Norfolk (No doubt a very noisy town)

Little Snoring in Norfolk (Which would you prefer to live in?)

Beer in Devon (Possible retirement place for many)

Giggleswick in Yorkshire (Might be all right for me)

Maggots End in Hertfordshire (Ugh!)

Great Cockup in Cumbria (For muscle men with great ego)

World's End can be found in Berkshire and again near Birmingham (Lovely pub/restaurant in the place near Denmead, Hampshire)

Blubberhouses in Yorkshire

Catbrain near Bristol (Might be all right too for me)

Crank in Merseyside (Probably more than one)

Hole in the Wall near Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire (Thought it was for toads)

Idle near Bradford, Yorkshire (Fancy belonging to the Idle Men's Working Club)

Lilliput near Bournemouth, Dorset (Full of little people?)

Mumps in the Greater Manchester area (Sounds painful)

Piddlehinton in Dorset (There are several names like this based around The River Piddle - true)

There is also a Wyre Piddle in Worcestershire.

Pity Me in Durham (OK)

 

Tags: placenames, toponymy

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