Switch on. Switch off.

Hello again.

I found this quick video while browsing on the internet today, and thought I’d show you all. The video is a quick and fun one advertising the importance of turning off devices and not just leaving them in standby mode.

Before I show you the video, I’d just like to share a few facts on standby mode with you.

- Britons waste the equivalent of around two power stations’ worth of electricity each year by leaving TV sets and other gadgets on standby.

- Electrical equipment in sleep mode used roughly 7TWh of energy and emits around 800,000 tonnes of carbon.

- Standby modes on electronic devices account for 8% of all British domestic power consumption.

-Estimated annual CO2 emissions from devices left on standby:
Stereos – 1,600,000 tonnes
Videos – 960,000 tonnes
TVs – 480,000 tonnes
Consoles – 390,000 tonnes
DVD players – 100,000 tonnes
Set-top boxes – 60,000 tonnes

(Source: Energy Saving Trust)

Shocking isn’t it?

Yaharr!!!!!! It be Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Today, Wednesday 19th September be TLAPD 2007! I hope ye all spent your days wearin’ eyepatches, finding parrots, sailing ships, wavin’ flags and swords, singin’, drinkin’ rum, walkin’ people off the good ol’ plank, talkin’ like a pirate and lootin’ people aroun’ you. If ye be interested in a little bit of the history of talk like a pirate day on wikipedia, click here. For the proper website, click here. Arrr!

And now, for some nice ol’ piratey things/sayings.

“Yaharr!!!” “Shiver me timbers!!!” “Arr!” “Bring me one noggin of rum, now, won’t you, matey.” “Avast, there!” “Dead men don’t bite.” “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest — Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!” “There! That’s what I think of ye. Before an hour’s out, I’ll stove in your old block house like a rum puncheon. Laugh, by thunder, laugh! Before an hour’s out, ye’ll laugh upon the other side. Them that die’ll be the lucky ones.”

“We’re going this way, that way, forwards and backwards over the Irish sea, a bottle or run to fill my tum and that’s the life for me!” ARRRRR!!!

Google Earth Secret

A hidden flight simulator!

Google has always done its best to make programs that compare with Microsoft’s dominating software- office programs for example. And to be honest, the software has always been quite stable and perfectly usable. As it happens, Google has also just launched its own Powerpoint rival. But, we never thought Google’s rivalry would extend to gaming.

Now, in the new Google Earth, you will find a secret Flight Simulator with which you can fly around Google Earth’s excellent satellite imagery as if you were really in a plane. At the moment, there is only a choice of two planes, but this will surely be expanded with time. The HUD is simple but easy to work with.

To access the simulator, open Google Earth and hit (in Windows) Ctrl+Alt+A or Command+Option+A in Mac OS. You can start anywhere in the world- from a list of pre-determined airports you can choose from or from the point you are at at the moment you push the command for the flight sim. The F16 Viper is a quick fighter jet, but the SR22 is easier to fly. A list of controls can be found here, but joysticks can also be configured.

The actual game is very simple, but what really makes it interesting is being able to fly over and past real pictures of real locations, and not just CGI. I personally think it’s a great idea, and has lots of potential, especially if Google continue to include nice little additions to their software.

[Source: Techcrunch, Images: Nice Ventures, WebWare, MrBelShaw.com]

Post #50-Well, how was your summer?

Unfortunately, for some of us, summer is over now. School starts again tomorrow, and homework, coursework, work and more work is on its way.

On a more positive note, this blog has now reached 5000 hits, so thanks to everybody who has made that possible. Tell your friends about it please!

Thanks to everybody at the Northbourne Music Course, this year was great as always!

Have you ever wondered what a hard drive is really doing inside, what all that clicking is? Watch this:

Sorry about the short post, but I have had almost no time on my hands, but I’ll be back posting soon.