Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Intellectual Properties

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  • Dave Patrick,

    Is it too nerdy of me to recognise quite a few of those cassette inlay cards, and also to notice that the TEAC C90s that I used to live off (bought by the box of ten for about $20 as I recall) aren't there?

    Rangiora, Te Wai Pounamu • Since Nov 2006 • 261 posts Report

  • Stafford Lumsden,

    If it weren't for my Student Loan, never being able to afford a house and the possibility of a National-led government, this is the kind of news that makes me want to come home.

    South Korea • Since Nov 2006 • 17 posts Report

  • Peter Darlington,

    Bloody good tune that, Bomber. Lemmy would definitely be a McCain man tho fo sho.

    Nelson • Since Nov 2006 • 949 posts Report

  • Steve Curtis,

    Funny that Al Gore is never rubbished by warm- mongers as NOT being an expert.
    And being the inventor of the internet isnt quite what I meant.
    Lets hope he got his graphs on his slides all worked out this time.

    Seems like he has turned out like George Bush who was influenced by the neo cons to institute a pre emptive war.
    AL and a few of his scientific mates whom he is the mouth peice for think a bit of pre emption on climate change is in order.

    Notice too that we have gone from Global Warming to Climate Change and the latest version is Climate Variability.
    The phrase is moving away from any sort of warming at all

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 314 posts Report

  • Julian Melville,

    Ouch, I'm not sure the Other News folks are quite ready just yet. Proof read anyone?

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 200 posts Report

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Is that finally a comprehensive gig guide? All the others have tended not to be (anything that charges for listings or expects advertising as collateral won't be).

    Maybe they'll do one for Wellington, although reading flyers gives you a good sense of what's on down here..

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Is that finally a comprehensive gig guide? All the others have tended not to be (anything that charges for listings or expects advertising as collateral won't be).

    I think one of Mukuna's strengths is that they're music-only, and they've spent a lot of time establishing credibility within the music scene. They power the bFM gig guide now, for example.

    Maybe they'll do one for Wellington, although reading flyers gives you a good sense of what's on down here.

    I think Wellington is their next project.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Stephen,

    I don't think Al Gore is presented as an expert, it's more that he is presented as someone who has collated the information *experts* into a very accessible format.

    Auckland • Since Apr 2008 • 47 posts Report

  • BenWilson,

    Notice too that we have gone from Global Warming to Climate Change and the latest version is Climate Variability.
    The phrase is moving away from any sort of warming at all

    Well I guess that warming isn't going to seem that bad to people from cold places. Whereas 'variability', and it's even more scary synonym 'volatility' both contain that 'actually the problem is we DON'T know what will happen' which more neatly encapsulates the human fear of change. If we knew what the change was going to be it wouldn't be so bad. A warmer climate with more CO2 in the air might actually be more conducive to life on the planet. But 'it could go really, really hot, or really cold' seems much more scary.

    I'm not rubbishing climate change in saying this. I'm merely saying that we fear the unknown. I remember when I worked at a stockbroker that any time they massively cocked up a client's orders and failed to execute a trade, about half the time the client actually benefited because the market went up when they were selling, or down if they were buying. But they were not actually happy half the time, because the feeling of your money being out of your control is not at all pleasant. I think this is coming to be humanity's position on climate variability - we can't actually be sure we won't end up in a more fertile world. But to even have the chance that it will get worse way outranks the possible benefits. Our plans and infrastructure are all set up around the current climate.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • linger,

    we can't actually be sure we won't end up in a more fertile world.

    But we can be sure that the climate change will be more rapid than evolution can cope with (given the limitations on mobility imposed by geography and by human land use). "Potential fertility" means very little if half the species of plants and animals have been killed off in the process.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    A warmer climate with more CO2 in the air might actually be more conducive to life on the planet.

    Except for life within a few metres of the sea level. Which will start to find increasing levels of moisture and salt in its diet.

    AL and a few of his scientific mates whom he is the mouth peice for think a bit of pre emption on climate change is in order.

    Yup. War in Iraq and climate change clearly need similarly timed responses. Now if only we could match their budgets.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • Paul Litterick,

    Who can forget the Stranglers' wistful "Gordon Brown?"

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • 81stcolumn,

    that the TEAC C90s that I used to live off (bought by the box of ten for about $20 as I recall) aren't there?

    Don't think the old Sony ones were there either.

    D'you remember the C46 and 66 tapes they made with that little bit of extra tape for the slightly longer LP ?

    Now I'm going to have to look in the roof space for tapes.....

    Nawthshaw • Since Nov 2006 • 790 posts Report

  • Lyndon Hood,

    I was rather struck by a description of the change in climate in Terry Jones' Medieval Lives. Years of flooding and crop failures. As bad for England, my impression was, as anything else that happened.

    I assume that's as much due to the fact it was changing as to what the 'climate' was at any point on the curve.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1115 posts Report

  • Andrew Smith,

    "I'm not rubbishing climate change in saying this. I'm merely saying that we fear the unknown."

    Oh, dear...global warming/change/volatility...here we go.

    This wouldn't be the first time in history where using fear as a weapon for mass change has been tried. I also dislike the retoric from Global Warming subscribers that attempt to demomise any science and scientist that provide facts differring from their point of view. To me there is an obvious movement out there, highjacked by neo-marxists to use this fear as a control mechanism. I mean, the carbon credit system has to be the worst joke played on humanity. Al Gore is simply losing the debate and needs to up the anti in this film.

    Since Jan 2007 • 150 posts Report

  • Rob Hosking,

    Is it too nerdy of me to recognise quite a few of those cassette inlay cards, and also to notice that the TEAC C90s that I used to live off (bought by the box of ten for about $20 as I recall) aren't there?

    The cheapest I recall buying were from Farmers - $1.99 each (this was about 1982) but without any inlay cards at all. Had to make your own.

    BTW - you're not the same Dave Patrick who lived in Waiuku, mid 70s onwards? If so, gidday...

    South Roseneath • Since Nov 2006 • 830 posts Report

  • ed hayes,

    And Boing Boing has an interesting post on the copyright law...

    "Yesterday, I blogged about New Zealand's new DMCA-style copyright legislation, saying that it mirrored the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Copyfighting law prof Michael Geist sets me straight -- the Kiwis put one over on old Uncle Sam, crafting an anti-circumvention rule that's "probably the best anti-circumvention implementation anywhere in the world with a complete exclusion of access controls (ie. region coding), a positive right to circumvent for permitted acts, and even a system to allow 'qualified persons' to circumvent on behalf of those less technologically adept. "

    http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/10/new-zealands-dmca-is.html

    auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 8 posts Report

  • Stephen,

    It was 'global warming' because that's as far as anyone thought about it. When you DO think a bit further then one realises that in various areas there will be more rain/less rain, more snow/less snow, more intense hurricanes etcetera.

    Methinks putting a market price on carbon is hardly conducive to Marxism, but there is probably *some* sort of appeal.

    Auckland • Since Apr 2008 • 47 posts Report

  • Mark Thomas,

    dirty old apple are bundling safari with their quicktime/itunes updates...
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10503579

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 317 posts Report

  • Idiot Savant,

    Yup. War in Iraq and climate change clearly need similarly timed responses. Now if only we could match their budgets.

    I saw an estimate a while ago that the entire US power system could be replaced with renewables for ~US$300 billion. George W Bush has already spent US$500 billion on his little war, and the overall cost is estimated at US$3 Trillion.

    Says something about the man's priorities.

    Palmerston North • Since Nov 2006 • 1717 posts Report

  • BenWilson,

    But we can be sure that the climate change will be more rapid than evolution can cope with (given the limitations on mobility imposed by geography and by human land use).

    I don't see how you can possibly be sure of that. Not in any quantifiable way. Yeah if the sea rose 40m in 1 hour there would be mass extinctions. But a gradual process over decades? Erosion has the same effect on shorelines. It's not hard for most species to move 40m over that time period.

    "Potential fertility" means very little if half the species of plants and animals have been killed off in the process.

    Maybe. Mass extinction just creates holes in the ecology that are rapidly filled by other species.

    Again, I'm not advocating we push it, I'm just saying we can't actually be sure that things will get worse from climate change, except in so far as we can be sure our very long term plans will get mucked up.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • Idiot Savant,

    Ben: check out Tim Flannery's The Weather Makers. The real danger is to plants, from shifting climate zones rather than sea-level rise. Plants aren't particularly mobile, and can't do much when the area around them dries up and their range effectively shifts 100km south. And being at the base of the ecosystem, this is expected to have a severe effect on the animals which eat those plants, or call them home, or eat things which do either.

    To give a concrete example: most of Australia's eucalyptus species occupy discret areas and very narrow temperature ranges. If Australia's temperature increases by 3 degrees (an average prediction for this century), half of them are going to find themselves outside their prefeerd temperature range and go extinct. This is already happening in Tasmania.

    Forests can "migrate" in geological time. But they can't cope with change this rapid. Animals find it easier, but there are usually significant barriers to migration, both from topography and from people. Basically, we're looking at a significant mass extinction event.

    Palmerston North • Since Nov 2006 • 1717 posts Report

  • Craig Young,

    Incidentally, has anyone noticed that Doctor Moo (aka Muriel Newman) is currently hosting a climate change sceptic on her website...?

    Craig Y

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 573 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Incidentally, has anyone noticed that Doctor Moo (aka Muriel Newman) is currently hosting a climate change sceptic on her website...?

    Any particular reason why that factoid shouldn't be immediately re-filed in the 'Don't Give A Shit' drawer?

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • Dave Patrick,

    BTW - you're not the same Dave Patrick who lived in Waiuku, mid 70s onwards? If so, gidday...

    Yes I am - you must be the same Rob Hosking who was 1-2 years behind me at school? If so, gidday back - small world...

    Rangiora, Te Wai Pounamu • Since Nov 2006 • 261 posts Report

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