Author Archives: admin

Off I go

I’m away for the weekend, so consequently Tiny Planet shall go quiet for a few days. To keep things ticking over, here’s some disco, Turisas style.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y150Lm4kZ_M[/youtube]

Stem cells at Cork university

It looks like University College Cork will be the first institution in Ireland to allow the use of embryonic stem cells for research.  According to a report in the Evening Echo, a local paper in Cork, the university president is in favour of it.

“The advantage to hunmanity offered by the use of embryonic cells in research over-rides any argument against it. This research is taking place in universities the world over. If we are to remain cutting-edge scientists in Ierland, to compete with other international universities in being successful, this research is essential.”

The governing body votes on the plan on Tuesday.

Blogs are dead, apparently

Well nobody told me, and, seeing as Tiny Planet has grumbled back to life after some weeks of semi-hibernation, they can feck off. The death of the blog was proclaimed by Wired:

Writing a weblog today isn’t the bright idea it was four years ago. The blogosphere, once a freshwater oasis of folksy self-expression and clever thought, has been flooded by a tsunami of paid bilge. Cut-rate journalists and underground marketing campaigns now drown out the authentic voices of amateur wordsmiths. It’s almost impossible to get noticed, except by hecklers. And why bother? The time it takes to craft sharp, witty blog prose is better spent expressing yourself on Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter.

There is a fair point there. It’s not exactly a level playing field when the likes of The Huffington Post and Engadget have professional teams cranking out dozens of posts a day. But you might as well proclaim soccer to be dead because only four teams in the English premier league stand a realistic chance of winning it; that doesn’t suddenly mean that people won’t play the game (or in this case blog) simply for the sake of enjoying it. You think I do this for money? Like hell I do.

Dubai says no to soccer club

Zabeel Investments has seen sense and is no longer pursuiing Charlton Athletic. It had made an indicative cash offer for the Championship club but it has all come to nought. Zabeel has been linked with Liverpool, Newcastle and Everton but

today went as far as saying it has “no current intention” to acquire “any English club for the foreseeable future” therefore killing off any future rumours it could purchase a financially distressed English club.

Zabeel could probably have picked the club up for peanuts but, as Charlton are hardly setting the league alight this season and are far from marketable on a global scale, I’m not at all surprised that the deal is dead. It blamed the financial crisis and the debate over foreign ownership of English teams for the buy’s demise, and I am sure this played a factor, but at the end of the day, and with all due respect, it’s Charlton Athletic. Even if it had the money to compete at the highest level, there’s no guarantee it would attract players of the right calibre.

Links o' the day, 23/10/2008

The journey so far… in numbers (Kathy Foley)

My Saks spree: How to spend $150,000 like Palin (Slate, chosen more for its oddness than me having an interesting in such shopping :P)

Is this the most eco-friendly car innovation since the hybrid? (Treehugger)

Leukemia drug halts, reverses MS (AFP)

New car targets 1,000mph record (Sky)

In Jordan, prayers for the persecuted (The National)

Fake cop busted after stopping real one (AP)

The return of micro-states? (Catholicgauze)

Dolls and toys that creep us out (Dark Roasted Blend)

X-rays made from Scotch tape (Boing Boing)