Grilled Corn by Bittman

I like this how-to video of Mark Bittman cooking corn on a grill.

Ubuntu Smiley

One of the developers in the Novell Cambridge office decided to have some fun with obsolete disks.

Biodegradable Poop Bags

• Non-biodegradable plastic bags – $$ – These will sit in a landfill forever. Well, not forever, but a very, very long time (500-1,000 years)
• Transport to toilet – $ – The greenest and best way to dispose of doggie waste. It ends up being processed the same as human waste.
• Transport to compost pile – $$ – Very green, but more expensive than toilet-disposal since you have to have a composting system
• Transport to garbage/other – $ – Inexpensive, but not as green as you think, since pet waste is one of the top pollutants in our waterways
• Biodegradable bags (non-ASTM D-6400) – $$$ – These bags bio-degrade over time, given the right conditions (light, heat, moisture, etc.) There is some suspicion that non-conforming bags are actually the same as the non-biodegradable plastic bags, but misleadingly labeled biodegradable. However, most landfills are designed to prevent decomposition, so it is likely that these will just sit in the landfill for a very long time. On the bright side, these will not release methane or CO2 until they decompose.
• Biodegradable bags (ASTM D-6400 conforming) – $$$$ – In order to conform to the standard, the bags should decompose at the rate of an apple. They release methane and other gases that can be harvested, but very few landfills are equipped for methane recapture.

I thought about flaming poop in a bag as a disposal methodology, but it did not make the cut.

Since we live in a 3rd floor apartment, we’ve decided on the non-ASTM D-6400 conforming bags to the garbage for now. It makes us feel good about ourselves, and we hope that our landfill allows for degradation and is equipped for methane recapture. We plan on a composting system when we purchase a home.

Oil Soaked Wave

I saw a picture of a wave saturated with oil that you have to see to believe.

Maddow Oil Spill Video

I found this to be an interesting video highlighting the “deja vu” aspects of the oil spill.

BP Live Video

BP is offering live video feeds from it’s remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) on their website. You can watch the disaster unfold. Hopefully you can watch the disaster ended in the next few days.

Update: The direct link to the video page is here.

This Is Why I’m Scared Of Facebook

This image, from People Magazine, is why I am scared of Facebook.

On one hand, I am really excited that they found a way for me to post my thoughts without having to log into their site. On the other hand, they have my picture, my name, and know that I’m interested Lindsay Lohan’s accidental nudity. On top of that, it allows Facebook to better target their ads based on my browsing preferences.

Also, I thought I had turned this functionality off?

Andy Hampsten’s 1988 Huffy Giro d’Italia

I love this look at Andy Hampsten’s bicycle from 1988. That’s it.

How Big Is The Spill?

There seems to be a lot of debate on how big the oil spill is. The original estimate, which was used by the news organizations, suggested that the spill was about 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day. The NY Times is now reporting that the BP maximum estimate is up to 60,000 barrels (2,520,000 gallons) a day. Slashdot has a story from the Examiner that estimates it up to 350,000 barrels (14,700,000 gallons) per day.

“BP officials have repeatedly said there is no way to measure the rate of flow from the broken pipe. – link“

Given the fact that NOAA underreported the numbers in the first place and BP has no incentive to report actual numbers, I am inclined to believe the numbers carried on the Examiner. This is really scary:

If this thing blew, it could be like the Yellowstone Caldera, except from below a mile of sea, with a 1/4-mile opening, with up to 150,000 psi of oil and natural gas behind it.

That would be an extinction event.

It is not likely to happen, but it is within the realm of possibilities.

How do you estimate this?

Although the real number will never be known, scientists and others will create more specific estimates over time. I am pretty certain that the chain of events that lead to this catastrophe will also be dissected. However, I am not so certain that the punishment and/or deterrents needed to prevent a future accident similar to this one will be implemented.

Larry Ellison and Sun

There is a special report available via ABC which is really an in-depth post-mortem of the Sun deal.

In recent years, Sun outsourced much of its sales, counting on resellers to promote its products. That’s anathema at Oracle, which employs 22,000 salespeople and 11,000 software consultants who work directly with its largest customers. … “Astonishingly they laid off all the sales people and they laid off all the field service people. They just got rid of them all,” he said. “Guess what? Sales dropped. It’s breathtaking!”

I am not going to mention what company this reminds me of. I will mention that the quote is from Larry Ellison. I think this article is required reading for anyone in the enterprise IT market.