An attempt to set a new world speed record from Ward Hunt Island to the Geographic North Pole by Ben Saunders. The current record was set in 2005 by a guided team using dog sleds and numerous re-supplies in a time of 36 days 22 hours. Ben ’s expedition will be solo and unsupported and on foot. Currently he’s only a few days in to a 30 day journey.
Archive for March, 2008
The awesome blog of someone walking to the North Pole
Sunday, March 30th, 2008Movie Recommendation Algorithms
Sunday, March 30th, 2008Check out www.movielens.org
Its the best movie rating and recommendation site I’ve found.
Dog playing with Robotic Ball thrower
Sunday, March 30th, 2008This is both funny and clever. Aside from the how cute the whole thing is, I love the fact that the guy has designed a device so fool proof that even a dog can use it -safely
Money as Debt – How money is created
Friday, March 28th, 200810 of the luckiest people *still* alive
Thursday, March 27th, 2008Handy Unix / Linux Command Reference
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008When I saw the link for this page on Digg.com, I though it would be really handy for my girlfriend who has recently switched from Microsoft Windows to Ubuntu Linux.
It turns out it’s an excellent reference for both unix beginners and (relative) experts.
Check out the Unix ToolBox. It’s useful, informative and easy-to-use.
6 Principles for Creating New Things
Thursday, March 20th, 2008I agree with Paul Grahams 6 principles for making new things.
I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that actually need to be solved, and (d) deliver them as informally as possible, (e) starting with a very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly.
I particularly agree with (a) creating simple solutions but even more so with (c) solving problems that actually need to be solved.
It’s amazing how often complex solutions create more problems than they solve and / or completely miss the underlying problem.
Top 5 reasons why the customer is always right – is wrong
Thursday, March 20th, 2008I really enjoyed the following article from Alexander Kjerulf.
Top 5 reasons why “The customer is always right” is wrong.
I’m all for absolutely first class customer service, but this doesn’t mean allowing customers to be abusive or unreasonable.
Not only do Alexanders points make good business sense, but I think they also address a fundamental and increasing problem in society – a lack of basic manners.
Zen and the Art of Parking
Thursday, March 20th, 2008When driving in your car, have you ever noticed that “funny texture” that appears to move towards and then under the bonnet of your car as you travel forward ? This is known in automotive circles as “the ground”.
“The ground” is one of the fundamentals of driving, it enables your car to accelerate, provides crucial grip when you break and most significantly prevents you and your car from being hurtled towards the centre of the earth by the force of gravity.
“The ground” is also useful in more subtle ways. You may have noticed that “the ground” is not uniform. It is possible to perceive patterns and markings on the ground that provide information that enable you to drive more effectively. For example the dark grey strips provide for a smoother ride than the green bits.
Here’s where it starts to get a little more complicated, but stay with me.
Some of the patterns in that “funny texture” have been put there deliberately in order convey specific information.
The next time you are parking your car, pay particular attention to the ground. With practice you will begin to identify lines or patches of colour on the ground. These lines identify what are known as “parking spaces”, the idea being that you stop your car aligned as closely as possible within the marks.
These “parking spaces” are then arranged so as to maximise the number of cars that can be parked safely and conveniently in a limited space.
If we all parked sensibly and considerately within the marked parking spaces then the world would be a slightly better place !
Second Life for Business
Thursday, March 20th, 2008I’ve been doing some investigation into Second Life from a business perspective. I’ve written an article about what I’ve found and published it on the Immediacy website.
http://www.immediacy.net/company/blog/second_life_for_business.aspx