Re: CG members photo album
Hi all,
I had a flight to the San Diego area a week ago and made arrangements to meet and have lunch with VladimirF, I forgot to take picture for this thread, oh well.
We had a very nice lunch and chatted about programming, MS and all the strange folk here on CG. :D
I found Vlad to be a very nice and intelligent person and well deserving of his new MVP status, looking forward to the next trip back to the area and maybe spending more time talking about programming and other worthless topics.
If anyone here gets into the Reno area I'll expect a PM before you arrive so we can meet and share a meal.
Re: CG members photo album
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Originally Posted by cilu
Mice Pictures Vanaj, Ejaz, Petter and the others.
Mice pictures? You mean - they're too small, or what? ;) :D
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Originally Posted by cilu
As for you Hannes, I'm glad that you had a chance to see snow falling. Though this isn't probably a good news. Climate changes are affecting the entire planet.
Hm... What's bad news about that? Climate changes have ever taken place, in cycles, since our planet exists. :)
Re: CG members photo album
Last week me and my brother visited 9th International Rally of Historic Military Vehicles in Darlowo, Poland. It was really great fun, here you can see some photos:
1. Replica of russian BTR vehicle we were riding most of time
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...7/S6009375.jpg
2. Street parade. Yes, this helmet is too big :)
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...7/S6009408.jpg
3. Gunhob
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...7/S6009442.jpg
More pictures can be seen here: http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s...%2027-06-2007/
Cheers,
Hob
Re: CG members photo album
Quote:
Originally Posted by gstercken
Hm... What's bad news about that? Climate changes have ever taken place, in cycles, since our planet exists. :)
Yes, but what were the effects? When the oceans will rise with 1 meter hundreds of millions will be affected.
In Romania we are now experience something similar to tropical storms. It's extremly hot during the day, and over the night very strong and unprecedently violent thunderstorms are ravaging. They don't haven every night, but we had a lot since the beginning of the summer. They made a lot of destructions and deaths. And in the past several years we had experieced tornados. No records or tornados ever existed in Romania. Now we have that too. I don't want to think about what will happen 50 years from now.
Re: CG members photo album
Quote:
Originally Posted by cilu
Yes, but what were the effects? When the oceans will rise with 1 meter hundreds of millions will be affected.
Hm... So if I get you correctly, you're not saying that humans are responsible for those climate changes, or that these climate changes are a new phenomenon of our times? But only that, due to the degree of population, the effects of those climate changes (or actually, the part of the micro-cyle that we seem to be experiencing right now) will affect more people, right? In that case, I fully agree. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by cilu
No records or tornados ever existed in Romania. Now we have that too. I don't want to think about what will happen 50 years from now.
Well... Like always in history so far, humans will adapt to their environment. :) In the case of tornados, I simply guess that people in Romania will start building in a more tornado-safe way, like it's been the case before in other parts of the world where tornados were a common phenomenon already in earlier times. Likewise, as the ocean levels rise, people will gradually move away from what are today's coastlines... And as the current period of global warming progresses, populations will gradually start abandoning regions that are now hot and dry, but still habitable, and move towards regions which are now rather cold and hostile, but will become more fertile and livable in the future. :) In short - in the same way that humans (and other forms of life) have always adapted to their environment so far. I really see nothing dramatic or preoccupying about that.
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Re: CG members photo album
Me (left) passing clubs with Joel (right). He is one of my juggling partners. It was getting dark but we forgot the torches or else we would have passed those. Torches are more fun in the dark.
Re: CG members photo album
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So if I get you correctly, you're not saying that humans are responsible for those climate changes
I have no doubt that huma were the catalyst of the climate changes we are starting to see. I highlight, only starting to see. They will increase in the near future.
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In short - in the same way that humans (and other forms of life) have always adapted to their environment so far. I really see nothing dramatic or preoccupying about that.
At macroscale (human kind level), yes, we will adapt. At microscale (small or medium groups of people), consequences will be dramatic.
Re: CG members photo album
Quote:
Originally Posted by cilu
I have no doubt that huma were the catalyst of the climate changes we are starting to see. I highlight, only starting to see. They will increase in the near future.
That is right... I have no doubt that man who is taking billions of tons of oil that's under the earth and putting its contents into the athmosphere is guilty of global warming. On a universal level, it can be said that the earth is a tiny spec. The universe really doesn't care if the mass of oil was in liquid form under the earth's crust or in gaseous form in the athmosphere, but life on this planet definitely does!
I love travelling and the more I travel, the more I think of my contribution, carbon footprint, etc. :eek: One can do a lot of things - personally - to reduce his / her carbon footprint, especially while driving.
I decided to note some points in my blog derived from personal experience. I think most car drivers can make a big difference by adjusting their style of driving, so - if you are driving a car, please read it!
Additionally, if I missed a point or two - let me know!
Re: CG members photo album
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Originally Posted by Siddhartha
I decided to note some points in my blog derived from personal experience. I think most car drivers can make a big difference by adjusting their style of driving, so - if you are driving a car,
please read it!
Additionally, if I missed a point or two - let me know!
Considering all the major sources of it (such as industries) the footprint left by others is very tiny, right ?
In my opinion, global warming and the environment on earth getting poisonous for humans (and the other species) is inevitable, one can only slow it down by a fraction of a bit but can not avoid it.... The only way would be to do something major, at the planet level.
And my foresight shows me humans finding ways to run away from earth in near future to avoid the problems that are coming.... It is also highly possible, that someday humans establish the adjustment needed to digest the poison in atmosphere.
Re: CG members photo album
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krishnaa
Considering all the major sources of it (such as industries) the footprint left by others is very tiny, right ?
Do you mean that the footprint left by cars, trucks, airplanes, and ships is tiny when compared to the damage done to the environment by the industries?
I don't think so - everytime I visit Bombay, I can really smell the noxious fumes in the air caused by civilian transport. Industries end up getting heavily regulated and to an extent do their bit if not for sake of the environment then for sake of their own efficiencies and profits - though, I still dont imply that they are not guilty.
Individual car owners on the other hand are a huge number (hundreds of millions of them out there), are a relatively unregulated lot that are often unaware and apathetic too. So, there exists a huge scope to improve efficiencies. I dare say, most drivers would not even think of the fuel consumption of their cars had gasoline not got expensive!
A lot of people can still accept it when their car gives them only around 20 miles to the gallon. I really do think that this needs to change...
Re: CG members photo album
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siddhartha
Do you mean that the footprint left by cars, trucks, airplanes, and ships is tiny when compared to the damage done to the environment by the industries?
I don't think so - everytime I visit Bombay, I can really smell the noxious fumes in the air caused by civilian transport. Industries end up getting heavily regulated and to an extent do their bit if not for sake of the environment then for sake of their own efficiencies and profits - though, I still dont imply that they are not guilty.
Individual car owners on the other hand are a huge number (hundreds of millions of them out there), are a relatively unregulated lot that are often unaware and apathetic too. So, there exists a huge scope to improve efficiencies. I dare say, most drivers would not even think of the fuel consumption of their cars had gasoline not got expensive!
A lot of people can still accept it when their car gives them only around 20 miles to the gallon. I really do think that this needs to change...
Well... yeah, thats true in india's case, the problem is even though govt. makes rule about it and forces it then also I dont see this solving the problem, not all of them are going to help, thats how people in majorty work, they ignore it. We need a solution which is not dependant on people. :) Like some kind of machine which will be installed near the sources and will take care of correcting the air pollution.
Re: CG members photo album
Hmm... But, there are so many things people can do - if not for the sake of the environment then for the sake of their own gas bills. :D
I have seen the problem not only in Bombay - caused by the volume of cars on the streets, but also in the US - caused by the volume of the average car. :D :D
It is quite a global problem...
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Originally Posted by Krishnaa
Like some kind of machine which will be installed near the sources and will take care of correcting the air pollution.
Yes, modern cars do come fitted with catalytic converters and / or diesel particle filters... I used to think these were great till I saw a TV report on how a town (Norilsk) in Russia that produces most of these devices sold in the world market was a cause of terrible pollution in its own surroundings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norilsk#Pollution_problems
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Originally Posted by Wiki on Norilsk
By some estimates, 1 percent of the entire global emission of
sulfur dioxide originates here.
Heavy metal pollution in the area is so severe that the soil itself has platinum and palladium content which is feasible to mine.
So, did we just shift the problem from our cars to Siberia? :mad:
Re: CG members photo album
I remember reading somewhere that the gases released from industries were much more than the vehicles, if thats true we will need some huge air fitering machines, installed in polluted areas.
Anyway... it would be interesting to see whether humans can stop this or not...
Re: CG members photo album
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Originally Posted by Krishnaa
I... it would be interesting to see whether humans can stop this or not...
Um, I don't think it has anything to do with IF we can do anything...
Re: CG members photo album
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siddhartha
That is right... I have no doubt that man who is taking billions of tons of oil that's under the earth and putting its contents into the athmosphere is guilty of global warming. On a universal level, it can be said that the earth is a tiny spec. The universe really doesn't care if the mass of oil was in liquid form under the earth's crust or in gaseous form in the athmosphere, but life on this planet definitely does!
It does affect the universe as a whole as well. If that is considerable to cause a universal effect, that is another issue. The conversion of the oil from liquid crude state to gaseous state after undergoing combustion is a chemical reaction (including the oil processing to make it usable as a fuel). It generates heat/enthalpy. The entropy, on the other hand, always increases - whatever you do. Any thing happening in this universe causes a positive entropy change (an increase in the randomliness). Remember the Gibbs Free Energy equation involving enthalpy and entropy change? That is how it affects us. On the smaller scale (our planet) - it has will have massive effects. We cannot keep the entropy constant in any way but we can try to keep it to changing very slow. All that photosynthesis stuff - recycling CO2 to O2 is not enough in the overall sense. That still does affect us. The key is to produce less - as less as possible.
One interesting fact about emissions is that it is being commercialized. I am not sure if it is picking up quick but the idea of Carbon trading exists. There is a concept of Carbon/Emission Quota. Derivatives industry is already try to exploit it calling it an emission or carbon derivative. There are weather derivatives as well in a broader sense. :) Quite interesting how traders find oppurtunities in anything.
I find it really funny when people talk about No-pollution certificates for vehicles. The idea is totally meaningless. There can never be no-pollution, there can always be a lower limit to it though, but not zero.
