An hour or so ago, the Guardian’s George Monbiot published a new article, with the following headline and tagline: If children lose contact with nature they won’t fight for it With half of their time spent at screens, the next generation will be poorly equipped to defend the natural world from harm I’ve given a […]
Technology
Hanging out with Vint Cerf
Ever thought it would be great to have the chance to hang out with a computer scientist who’s recognised as one of the “fathers of the internet”. Well, you can :) And the luminary in question is Vint Cerf himself. Let’s all just take a moment to think about the awesomeness of that… […]
Sky farms are HERE!
I’ve blogged before about sky farms, and how I think they’re a truly excellent idea. When last I wrote about it in 2009, it was a mad (yet extremely rational), science fictional solution to agriculture. Now, as with so much of its ilk, it’s HERE. I literally just threw my hands up in […]
QB50 - A New Zealand Nanosat Opportunity
I have absolutely no doubt that there are a number of people here, in fair GodZone, who are interested in Putting Things Into the Sky. I know we have an active rocketry scene, for example, and I count myself lucky to have a few friends who’re members of the KiwiSpace Foundation (as am I). Anyhoo, […]
Nikon’s Small World photo competition winners 2012 now out!
Some things help one to mark time. For my little science blog, Nikon’s small worlds competition is one of these. As previously mentioned, each year the competition takes in entries of the best microscopy on the web, and then hurls awards at the ones it likes the most. And so, without further ado, this year’s […]
Looking at New Zealand’s IT professionals
Are you one of the many denizens of the industry that is ‘IT’? How did you become one? What do your loved ones think of it? What sort of hours do you work? Etc etc etc The Institute of IT Professionals, IITP, has constructed a survey which, it says, is “the most comprehensive research project […]
Shiny sexy data centre pr0n
Yep, folks, you heard me right. Data centre pr0n. I’ve had a couple of friends* send me this link today, from Google. The page it directs one to will give you lots and lots of shiny data centre photos grouped around the tech, the people and the places. Of course, explanations of the photos are […]
Engaging early- and mid-career scientists
Those involved in New Zealand’s science scene may have heard of Stratus, ‘a network of emerging and early career University of Auckland researchers’, which was launched in 2008. Well, there’s a new kid on the block - allow me to introduce WEMCR, or Wellington Early- and Mid-career Researchers. WEMCR is currently led by 5 researchers […]
It’s Ada Lovelace Day!
Today, October 16th, is Ada Lovelace Day. Ada Lovelace, for those who didn’t already know (and you all do, right? * wink *), also called Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, is one of the shining stars in mathematics and computer history. Yep, you heard right - a _girl_ was incredibly good at maths :P […]
Adapting to Mars
The subject of Mars is a popular one. Not only in science fiction but, of course, in real life, too. Curiosity’s presence on the red planet at the moment - you can look at interactive panoramas of Mars! - has been generating a great deal of international media interest, and there has been talk of […]