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Showing posts from September, 2013

15 global challenges that cannot be addressed by any government acting alone

  The 15 Global Challenges  from t he Millennium Project, a global participatory think tank. 1. How can sustainable development be achieved for all while addressing global climate change? 2. How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict? 3. How can population growth and resources be brought into balance? 4. How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes? 5. How can decisionmaking be enhanced by integrating improved global foresight during unprecedented accelerating change? 6. How can the global convergence of information and communications technologies work for everyone? 7. How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap between rich and poor? 8. How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and immune micro-organisms be reduced? 9. How can education make humanity more intelligent, knowledgeable, and wise enough to address its global challenges? 10. How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic conflicts,...

E-reading

I am writing this as a recent convert to the wonderful world of e readers. As an ex staunch supporter of the hardcopy brother. I would make many many arguments why the cold electronic glow of a screen can never replace the warmth of a nice paper book. The smell of the paper and the pleasure of turning the pages would never be recreated using electronics. Besides I hate reading using a computer screen, it irritates my eyes and I can never pay attention for more than a few minutes. This all changed when I got my first e-reader. I got a NOOK from Blackwells (http://bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/id/Nook_Simple_Touch/9781400699032) mostly in part because of the price! I was toying with the idea of getting the more expensive and supposedly better kindle. It boasted more features such as a reading light and browsing and so on… Since getting my NOOK I could not travel anywhere without it! It’s so handy not to have to lug a bag full of books and just pop this small and sleek read...

Learning to Drive

The age from which one is allowed to drive is 17 (I love to use one!). Some like to do it straight away and others like to wait a while, some never learn at all. I fall into the second category, I’m half way through university and have decided that its time. It’s not a huge process but here is what you need to do to acquire a licence in England and hopefully with some luck learn to drive. Apply for and get yourself a provisional, this allows you to take classes from trained instructors or to get your own insurance and practice with someone over 21 who has held their license for over 3 years. Start learning! Instructors can be quite expensive and charge around 20 pounds per hour. If this seems a lot then the cost of insurance on your own car will seem astronomical. Do remember that with a provisional you cannot drive on the motorway. Book and pass the theory test, this has two parts one multiple choice test where you need to get 43/50. And a hazard perception where...

Running Fit

Training for a half marathon is hard! I signed up for the Oxford half marathon in May. Thinking October was far away and I will have plenty of time to train, well I have less than a month to go and have only run twice in the last 3 months! So doing some quick research on Google, looking for some training programmes, here are a few of the best I found: http://my.asics.co.uk/my/plan/new One of the first hits, very versatile but you need a minimum time to event which means it’s not too useful for me right now! http://therunningbug.co.uk/training/plans-and-tips.aspx This site has some great plans it isn’t as personalized as the Asics but, has plenty of literature for every level of runner to improve. The articles on avoiding injury I found especially useful. If you are new to running then there are many “couch to 5k” programmes to get you started. If you are also thinking about doing some running for charity or just to get fitter then I suggest you take a...