Category: del.icio.us

All in German. But worth a look for holiday ideas.

I didn't realise that so much of the Maginot Line still exists. I'm constantly curious about WW2 and more recent concrete architecture – I think that more of it should be preserved before it is lost. Along with the Maginot Line, the Pill Boxes that scatter our region of the UK also deserve more preservation, IMHO.

Sequential Art is 5 years old. Goodness, how much of the last five years have I given to following this comic strip?

Nice. Except this SME will be on holiday that week. Bums.

Good news on several levels – firstly, a plant saved from extinction is always good news; secondly, it provides a potentially interesting plant for horticulture (and plants that are popular in horticulture are always safe from extinction, even when their natural habitat is threatened); and thirdly, it provides an excellent media opportunity, which I'm pleased to see RBG taking full advantage of.

Interesting. Of course, building tunnels in the Netherlands, particularly cut-and-cover structures, must be simpler when you are digging in polder rather than hard rock (although, of course, there is the problem of the high water table).

What's the big deal? We have sorted our waste into *fifteen* categories for ages (paper, card, glass, metals, plastics, compostables, tetrapaks, electricals [covers light bulbs, dead toys, dead appliances], monitors/TVs [don't get many of them], soil, rubble, batteries, fabrics/clothing, polythene films [carriers, shrink-wrap] and "non-recyclables" [this last still disappointingly large]). We then take it to the recycling centre ourselves, although we will finally get kerbside recycling of some of these (not all) later this year. Some stuff goes to charity or is FreeCycled/Freegled. To be serious about recycling the maximum amount that you can at a cost that the local authority (i.e. tax payers) can afford, it relies on the householder doing the donkey work. I think that, in time, there will be more consumer pressure on manufacturers and retailers to simplify packaging. That will help with reduction as well as recycling – it has started, but will take a while to really gather momentum.