Delicious LiveJournal Links for 10-18-2010

[andrewducker]

• Government confirms £230m broadband investment
  (tags: uk broadband government)
• IPv4 Space Shrinks To 5% – Final Addresses To Be Issued In Early 2011
  (tags: ipv6 tcp internet technology)
• Things I Am Lucky Enough To Not Have to Think About Today
  (tags: privilege society)
• Government scraps Severn barrage tidal energy scheme, proposes 8 sites for nuclear power stations
  (tags: power electricity renewables uk nuclear)
• A guide to designing your moral system, depending on the kind of universe you live in.
  (tags: morality funny philosophy religion)
• Hospital robots cut hospital pharmacy bill
  (tags: scotland robots healthcare)
• Shoes are bad for you.
  (tags: health walking science clothing fitness barefoot feet shoes)
• Guardian sends star-struck reporter to interview Jon Hamm about Don Draper. She drools on him. A lot.
  (tags: madmen interview guardian acting)

Comments

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

Shame they've scrapped the Severn scheme. But I suppose the initial costings were just way too high.

Seemed like the sort of grand social project that could have been good for the country, in a Hoover Dam sort of way though.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Government scraps Severn barrage tidal energy scheme, proposes 8 sites for nuclear power stations

Yay, why piss off only half the country's environmentalists when you can piss them all off?

[andrewducker]

Well, I suspect that the same environmentalists who didn't see the Severn Barrage as being useful will be the ones who support nuclear as an alternative to coal.

Not sure how you'd get a 100% total. I suspect it'd be tricky...

[marrog.livejournal.com]

*Grin* Well, I don't know about that - most of the opposition to the Barrage that I saw stemmed from the worry about the resulting destruction of the habitat of some pretty rare wading birds...

[andrewducker]

Aaaah, I didn't know that! Thanks.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they could probably have got away with it because there are other areas of the country where the same environment could have been recreated, and that's what you have to be able to provide if you're going to destroy a habitat, but there was a feeling that it was messing with some pretty delicate balances in the general area.

Then again, there's a balance to be found here. If we really cared more about the planet than we do about ourselves then the best thing we could do is just drop down dead, every one of us.

[andrewducker]

I can't think of anyone I know that cares _that_ much. Pretty much as a tautology :->

[marrog.livejournal.com]

Well, exactly, so our choices are embrace nuclear power, destroy the natural habitat of increasingly rare species, or ruin our air with the last of our dwindling fossil fuels. Not much choice at all, really.

[andrewducker]

I'm going to go with "d" - Aliens will save us.

*hides under his duvet*

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Not sure how you'd get a 100% total. I suspect it'd be tricky...

Probably best is to attribute the opinions of one group to another, thus pissing off as many as possible, even if they have contradictory agendas... :)

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty happy with my Soft Star shoes-- custom moccasins, available online, for $87 dollars if your feet aren't extremely unusual. They have 2mm vibram soles and no internal structure, and I don't have to waste valuable mental cycles fitting my toes into little pockets.

[andrewducker]

Cheers. At the moment I'm having problems finding a stockist for any of these things in Edinburgh (or even Glasgow). And I'm not happy spending money on shoes without trying them on.

[channelpenguin.livejournal.com]

tis a bit chilly to go barefoot :-). I have always hated shoes - and got into numerous discussions when people don't like me not wearing them. I have heard of the Vivobarefoots before - maybe I should take the plunge.

[andrewducker]

Yeah, the Barefoot looks like something I could wear in the office (if I got them in black), and not have to worry about people complaining. I go barefoot at home all the time, and I'd do it outside if the pavement wasn't chilly and people wouldn't stare at me :->

[sigmonster.livejournal.com]

I like mine (Aqua in blue, a colour they don't seem to offer any more), and after about 3 years they show no sign of wearing out at all. However the sole is not that much like going barefoot, as the kevlar is really quite tough. It's certainly lots more flexible than yer regular shoe, of course!

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Soft Star (and Vivo, too, I think) have good return policies if the shoes don't fit. I don't know if that's enough to make up for the slow turnaround of doing things by mail.

[andrewducker]

Hmm. Decent returns policies might just do it. I'll take a look at what I can find online in the UK.

[neferet.livejournal.com]

ahha, thanks, I had been looking for that article to point Dragal at it...

[andrewducker]

I'm curious - which one?

[neferet.livejournal.com]

About barefoot walking

[andrewducker]

Aaah, it was a toss-up between that one and the Mad Men one.

[octopoid-horror.livejournal.com]

Very few of the various "barefoot" type shoes are actually suitable for extended urban use unless you're aware of what you're putting your feet on all the time. The soles of most are not as resistant to things like glass and random spiky bits of metal/stone as your current shoes are. So if you're often, say, walking around with your eyes on a phone or book, I'd suggest the ones with the sturdiest soles if you want them for outdoor use.

It makes me a little sad how the writer has bought into snake oil and electric brain liniment patent remedies when they say "North Americans have the most advanced shoes in the world." The bit in adverts where they talk about the science of your shoes, that shave gel, that razor, that shampoo? That's the bit where the huckster throws the sheet off the table and explains that his remedy has been endorsed by the kings of queens of europe and cures even scrofula and women's complaints.