http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/417449
I personally use Facebook daily, for various reasons. From a simple status update to inform friends of something on my mind to writing on a contact's wall or sending personal messages rather than using email. If I travel I will most often post photos I take to Facebook and it's a great way to remember when people's birthdays are coming up (TakingITGlobal also does this!). The longer you use a website like Facebook, the more intertwined our personal lives get with this online social universe.

Tonight I was reading a tech blog only to realise when I came to the latest post that the author had actually died. This struck me somewhat and planted a thought in my head: What happens to our online identity when we die? Face it, we're all heading to the same destination (death), regardless of what you believe happens afterwards. When death strikes a regular Facebook (or other social networking site) user, how will our contacts know and what should happen to everything we have published online?

I guess to an extent, the answers to these questions are individual to each of us. Perhaps there should be a mechanism for close (and nominated) relatives/friends to inform all of the websites of which the deceased was a member. Or perhaps it's up to us to 'leave the keys' to all of our online spaces to a designated person for he/she to inform should we pass away.

This is something which will evolve with the development of the way we use the internet in our personal lives. For now though, maybe I should stop being so morbid...]]> Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:52:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/417449 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/400383
Time to find some (legal healthy of course) stimulants...]]> Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:40:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/400383 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/395655
Now! Isn't it just hypocritical to start tearing the candidate apart now, just because he's the official Democratic choice for president? Perhaps it's a problem with the media psyche; you build someone up and then you knock them down (if indeed the theory that he had special treatment is true).

Either way I think journalists like Jon Stewart, who have been staunchly anti-Bush should be careful - if they start to make the cracks in Obama's campaign seem wide it may hurt the Democrats when it comes to the general election. And then the US, and the world, will be stuck with another Republican president whose views are sometimes similar to the incumbent.]]> Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:59:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/395655 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/255227
Joining this site set me on a journey, which continues to this day. I've gotten a lot more out of life thanks to the knowledge that I'm not the only young person in the world who wants to make a difference. I've been inspired to keep trying to do my own thing. But as I said before, it's all too easy to get distracted from TIG by other social networks, such as Facebook and the like.

I think from now on I'll do all of my blog posts here, and integrate it into my Facebook account using RSS. Actually, I think it would be a great idea for the guys to consider creating a TIG Facebook app (if they haven't already) - Facebook has the raw power of a massive social network, and I think TIG can compete with that by allowing some level of integration between the two; users shouldn't have to choose between Facebook or TIG, and there are benefits to be had for using both.

So the last six months has been pretty crazy, as per usual. I started working for the British Prime Minister (Tony Blair) and the rulling party, Labour in January, and that assignment ended in July. Whilst there, I launched the first YouTube video channel for an acting head of government, which was very exciting. Since July I've been figuring out what it is I want to do, and now I'm putting a plan into action. The first step of which involves leaving London again (having been here for two straight years now) and returning to somewhere a bit more sunny.

I hope I keep up the TIGBlog, and I look forward to many entries over the coming months.]]> Sun, 23 Sep 2007 10:44:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/255227 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/165999
I was walking past a car showroom this afternoon, and I happened to have a closer look at this lovely Range Rover that was parked outside. You see, I love cars, I can't deny it, and I'm pretty sure that if I had the money I would probably own some pretty environmentally-unfriendly vehicles. The Range Rover itself is great: strong, powerful, comfortable, British etc. etc. One BIG problem however is how much carbon it dumps on the atmosphere.

Well thank you Range Rover for coming up with a solution. This car had a sticker on it's windshield saying that it's carbon neutral upto 45,000 miles of use. Literally, the Land Rover company that makes it will plant enough trees to offset the damage it does over that period. This is great news!

Environmental people always go on about how much damage 4X4s do to the environment. Well, now they no longer need to moan about the Range Rover.

Now I just need to find the 60,000 pounds to buy one. Hmmm...]]> Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:40:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/165999 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/86201
To be honest, I wasn't wholly surprised that Apple has made a move like this; it's one of the cardinal rules of business success not to diversify too far away from your core product market. Apple stuck two fingers up to the company's real core market three years ago-or-so when they decided instead to push big-bulk products like the iPod. They also offended a lot of people with their far-below-standard customer service for customers who had major problems with dying iBooks, exploding iPods and the like.

I think this may be the start of a long, major downturn in Apple's fortunes. And that friends, will be justice.]]> Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:44:00 EST http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/86201 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/76549 Thu, 07 Dec 2006 10:42:00 EST http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/76549 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/70585
This story is absolutely bizarre, and disturbing too. How is it that a Russian dissident, a guy famous for speaking out against the Russian State President, can be poisoned with radioactive material on the streets of London? The UK news are taking this story very seriously (as are the international ones, CNN International etc.) and the Government has held three meetings of it's emergency handling committee, COBRA. Investigating officers have found radiation in three places where Litvinenko had been on the day he was poisoned, a sushi bar in central London, a high-class London hotel and his home in North London.

This is going to be a strange story, and interesting to watch it unfold.]]> Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:17:00 EST http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/70585 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/69371 ]]> Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:53:00 EST http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/69371 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/44577
Perhaps obviously, the most controversial of Blair's policies, both nationally and globally, is the unfaltering support for George W. Bush's Middle-East foreign policy. I can't help but think that the region is closer to chaos now than it was before the war in Iraq, and that reverberates in many places around the world, including rather acutely here in the UK, with an often strong sense of tension between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Tony Blair has suffered, and the country world has suffered as a result of his close relationship with George Bush; he said in his speech that 'it isn't easy being America's closest ally'.

If you look beyond the difficult parts, Tony Blair has been a good Prime Minster. Domestically, things are a lot better than they were before Labour came to power in 1997. Spending on public services has risen a great deal, and although they are still not perfect they are better - waiting times for operations on the National Health Service, for example, have gone down from years to weeks in a lot of cases. There are real, tangible improvements to life quality, we now have a fair minimum wage, the Government has introduced tax credits for working families, inflation interest rates have been kept low and the British economy has been strong throughout a global recession. The violent conflict in Northern Ireland has been resolved, it is easier and more attractive to emigrate to and live in the UK, to study or work and the country has a more co-operative and productive relationship with the European Union.

The above are a few examples that come to mind, but I know there are a lot more. The UK (as frustrating as it always can be) is a better place to live, more competitive and globally aware ready and is more comfortably multi-cultural and integrated than most comparable nations. Britain is a country where no matter what social level you are at or were born into, you can realistically aspire to achieve anything. This has all happened under a government led by Tony Blair, one of the great politicians of our time, who I think this country will miss.
]]> Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:44:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/44577 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/44285 Sat, 23 Sep 2006 22:25:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/44285 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/42989
So far they are only in the qualifiers, but since when is Israel in Europe? And if non-European teams are allowed to play, why isn't Lebanon or Syria (which are closer to Europe than Israel, geographically anyway) allowed? And why can't Iraq or the UAE join in too?

Of course we know the answer to these questions, but I really find it difficult to understand why a little country in the Middle East, which isn't part of the European Council or European Economic Community can join a tournament which by name is a European one. Same goes for the European Song Contest (a waste of time anyway). Particularly when (according to various research pieces (even from organisations which couldn't be classified as anti-Zionistic)) majorities of public opinion in most European countries are against the way Israel behaves in regards to foreign policy, and particularly Palestine.

I'd really like to know the logic behind that decision.]]> Thu, 07 Sep 2006 19:54:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/42989 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/42448
First impressions on getting to the airport (at rush-hour time) were that the security lines were surprisingly short compared to what I'm used to; stark contrast to the 'chaos' that the media is still (even now) portraying. What was new was that we had to take our shoes off (which we did), laptops had to be removed from cases (which we did) and there were signs everywhere saying that we would have to taste any baby food (or other necessary liquid) we were taking on-board with us.

The security official searched our bags after X-ray and found two medium-size pots of liquid, which we said were baby food. He didn't open them or ask us to taste them to prove that they were babyfood, which surprised me somewhat as it was apparently liquid-explosives that the 'terrorists' were planning to use to blow-up the planes. It has been all over the media in the UK the fact that only necessary liquids, that you can prove are what you say they are will be allowed on-board an aircraft leaving a UK airport.

None of this matters of course, because if someone wants to blow up an aircraft they could just go and get on a plane in any airport outside of the UK that has lower security procedures.

P.S. The security staff were damn rude!]]> Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:36:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/42448 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/42319
I've seen in several different places over the last few days, analysis that concluded that Iran would bomb Jerusalem to celebrate the 22nd of August, which is apparently an important day for Iranians. Such immaturity from professors and journalists leads to nonsensical statements and ultimately creates unnecessary tension where there is already enough real tension to suffice.

I consistently struggle to find adequate analysis on current world affairs. The Economist is not half as good as it used to be - even if you get past the spelling mistakes and bad grammar (from the Economist of all places!) - the analysis is short-sighted and at-times ignorant, e.g. the conclusion that the trans-Atlantic gap is 'widening' because European countries are less supportive of Israel than the US, as if countries can't have multi-dimensional foreign policies.

We need worthy places of thought analysis that can continue 'a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress'. And learn how to spell.

I'm so fed-up and p'd off at the current state of affairs; it's about time we had a refreshing look at how our world is governed, and how it's reported on by so-called 'analysts'.]]> Tue, 22 Aug 2006 12:16:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/42319 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41752 CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS BLOGCAST POST


I'm not sure how original or novel this idea is, but I wanted to give it a try anyway. I was with a friend in a cafe today and we kinda stumbled upon the idea of 'blogcasting', the merging of blogs and podcasts together. The idea is that anyone making a new post to his/her blog could also record an audio/podcast version of their entry for people to listen to instead of read.

It could also work by having audio-only updates to a blog, kind of like a mixed blog of text-only posts, text audio posts and audio-only posts. I've just thrown this together with a few different pieces of technology - the audio was recorded on my Sony Ericsson P900 smartphone and compressed to MP3 using Blaze Media Pro.

I'm thinking about developing some software that does it all in one go and integrates with blogging systems.

Watch this space.]]> Thu, 10 Aug 2006 13:32:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41752 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41730
It would be interesting to see how this is judged, and if it can be improved. Anyone help?]]> Wed, 09 Aug 2006 17:42:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41730 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41606
Careful if you have one.

More pics available at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41783769@N00/]]> Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:55:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41606 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41552
You choose an area and then you can hear quotes that people have overheard from other people's conversations. Try it out:

http://persistent.info/overplot/

This was heard on 42nd 5th:

'Guy: Yo, how you gonna charge tax on flowers? They come from the Earth! From the Earth, man!']]> Thu, 03 Aug 2006 21:51:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41552 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41317
Please read as much as you can.

I recently discovered Coke Zero; great I thought: no sugar in my favourite (I mean addicted to, can't get enough of) drink, Coca Cola. I've probably drunk 1 litre + of this stuff every day for the last two weeks; it's summer here, and Coke is just about the only thing that can quench my insatiable thirst.

I was sharing this news with someone this evening, when she asked if it contains Aspartame, an artificial sweetener that replaces the need for sugar. I checked and it does contain this (along with a whole bunch of low-sugar drinks, Diet Coke etc. etc.). She told me that there could be related health risks, so I checked it out online...

Aspartame overdose can kill.

It seems there is a movement around trying to get higher public awareness about this stuff. I read a few different articles, and take my word for it that I'm usually very pragmatic when it comes to health scares like this - I don't like corporation-bashing.

Both Liliana I have a history of Sudden Death Syndrome in young people in our families, so continuing our Coke-overdose could have been disastrous; both of us have had more arrhythmia of late.

This is an extract from http://www.dorway.com, I suggest you read it and do your own research to draw your own conclusions. I think this is just about one of the most evil, shady things that a drink producer can do - and there's NO HEALTH WARNING!!!

* Aspartame is NOT a natural substance!
* Aspartame is NOT a Diet Enhancement product!
* Aspartame is NOT safe - for ANYONE!
* Aspartame is NOT a food "additive"
* Aspartame is an UNREGULATED and UNSAFE DRUG! (It was originally slated to be a peptic ulcer drug!)
* Aspartame in liquids turns to FORMALDEHYDE above freezing!
* Aspartame is even worse for DIABETICS!
* Aspartame poisoning is cumulative (it adds up!)
* Aspartame byproducts get stored in your FAT!
* Aspartame has 92 "Official" Side Effects (the worst is DEATH!)
* Aspartame MIMICS a wide range of problems
* Aspartame side effects are USUALLY MISDIAGNOSED! (By 21 doctors, in My Case!)
* Aspartame is unfit for human consumption!
* Aspartame's approval by the FDA is a SHAMELESS tragedy!
* Aspartame's approval for use in EVERYTHING is far worse!
* Who are the culprits? FDA, Searle, Monsanto, NutraSweet and more!
* The ONLY "CURE" is total exclusion from the diet!
* TOTAL recovery may not be possible!
* Only an irate and active PUBLIC can rid the world of this POISON!
* If YOU have been affected, REPORT IT! GET INVOLVED!
]]> Fri, 28 Jul 2006 20:49:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/41317 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/40993
From the heart of Beirut…with the sounds of missiles, explosions and people screaming, being the only background music for the past week…I am writing to you.

Within less than 24 hours…a country that carried the secrets of a wonderful sea, strength of standing mountains, whispers of wide green trees… was turned upside down… leaving its appealing nature hiding below a dreadful artificial disaster zone.

The same airport where we used to land in after every trip abroad..is now closed, bombarded, and on fire. The same bridges we used cross everyday around the country...the same streets we used to walk on everyday are now void, empty, risky..or a bunch of rubble.

This is my Lebanon. It will always be my Lebanon: A flourishing country with strong, kind-hearted people that strive to make their dreams come true. Now, they're only seeing their dreams vanishing infront of their eyes in a matter of days.

I am writing to you…with a tear in my eye so much wanting to drop...as I see my own country getting slowly demolished..bit..by bit...day after day..minute after minute. I only wish, that none of you...really none of you would ever experience this feeling. We've been expriencing it for the past week and until this moment..though it isn't new,it is still overwhelming. Eveyrday in Lebanon..is 9/11.

Who started the conflict? Who's fault is it? This isn't the case. Civilians are dying on both sides. And no matter who's fault it was, no matter what happened...nothing justifies the gradual destruction of a whole country and paralyzing it from helping its own self. Nothing justifies the mass murder of citizens fleeing, using forbidden weapons. Nothing justifies butchering tens of families, new-borns, fathers, and elderlies per day (or is hour more precise),hitting ambulances transporting wounded citizens, massacring a whole nation ruthlessly, basically destroying my Lebanon, my one and only nation.

As I see the thousands of foreigners fleeing,I call upon whoever is in Lebanon and reading this e-mail: Please be safe. The Israeli war machine is so evil, it does not make a difference between a civilian, a militant, an animal or a child, a church or a mosque. But we Lebanese are used to being resistant, strong and solid...never surrendering even in the most devastating moments. This is exactly what makes us proud.

They can destroy our bridges, level our homes, massacare our people..but they can never crush our strong will to survive, florish and strive. They tried doing that in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996 and 2000...they failed in each an every attempt. July 2006 is yet another date for them to fail once again. A date we will make sure they shall never forget.

Proud to be Lebanese;
Nader Houella
Still Suriviving]]> Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:58:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/40993 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/40422
So they use the tiniest tidbits of scandal in an attempt to remove Secretaries Ministers of State from office. Constant, unrelenting scandal by the same media outlets recently brought down the former Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, was widely accepted as fostering an environment in which the Labour Party suffered severe losses in local elections, and triggered a major reshuffle in Tony Blair’s Cabinet.

My question is: WHY DOES THE MEDIA IN THIS COUNTRY FEEL THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO HAVE AND ENFORCE AN AGENDA IN BRITISH POLITICS?

Literally, this part of the media, which is a large part and it is also the part which is most widely read by the middle group of British people, has visibly and obviously taken it upon itself to make decisions on the way this country is run. This is a serious threat to democracy.]]> Thu, 06 Jul 2006 19:57:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/40422 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/39357
Google seems to keep coming out with semi-aloof, not very useful products, taking timid steps toward building a web empire. I personally think they should stick to, and improve, their core offering: web search.

Check out the TechCrunch entry today (which has 142 comments thus far):

'Google-love is getting out of hand. In fact, Google is getting out of hand.

After I wrote about the launch of Google Spreadsheets this morning, one commenter said “Its very nice and sleak. Will be very useful for keeping track of money etc”, as if this was the first spreadsheet he’d ever seen. Some of the other comments were also overly effusive. Thankfully, another commenter noted that, in fact, the product isn’t exactly new: “spreadsheets have been around about as long as computers”. I agree - while Google released a very nice Ajax spreadsheet today, they didn’t exactly change the world.'...

Click here to view the rest of this post...]]> Wed, 07 Jun 2006 21:12:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/39357 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/39022
I struggled for hours trying to figure out how to parse OPML files (the popular way for storing lists of RSS feeds in one place) using Active Server Pages (ASP), classic not .NET. I finally found a mixture between a solution to something similar to OPML and a bit of adaptation on my part.

If you need it, I hope this helps:



dim xmlDom, oNode, nodeCol
set xmlDom = Server.CreateObject("MSXML2.DOMDocument.4.0")
xmlDom.load(FILENAME) ' Point this to the relevant OPML file

if(xmlDom.parseError <> 0) then
Response.Write("Invalid XML loaded. " xmlDom.parseError.reason)
Response.End
end if

if xmlDom.documentElement is nothing then
Response.Write("Invalid XML loaded. No root tag exists")
Response.End
end if

set oNode = xmlDom.documentElement.selectSingleNode("opml")
if not oNode is nothing then
Response.Write("Description: " oNode.text "
")
end if

set nodeCol = xmlDom.documentElement.selectNodes("body/outline")
for each oNode in nodeCol
FeedTitle = oNode.getAttribute("title")
FeedURL = oNode.getAttribute("xmlUrl")

' DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH THESE VARIABLES HERE

next

Set nodeCol = Nothing
Set xmlDom = Nothing

]]> Tue, 30 May 2006 04:34:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/39022 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/37566
It seems to me that Google has lost it's way. Yes, it is hands down the best search engine on the net (although I miss AltaVista nearly as much as I miss the dotcom days), but almost everything else it has produced (apart from maybe GMail Google Earth (which is useless I add)) has failed to attract massive numbers of users - remember Google Talk (the laughable rival to Skype)? Froogle? or MySpace-rival Orkut?

The company is kept alive because blind investors are purchasing their stock at a huge pace; creating a falsely rich company that has yet to prove itself as a real long-term player. Stranger still, Google's founders who claim to be environmentally-friendly recently bought a Boeing 767 airliner (with space for 300 people) to convert for their private use, not that I have any problem whatsoever with people owning private planes, but they should practice what they preach.
]]> Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:03:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/37566 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667 http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/37354 quero viajar, meu amor
Na cor do teu olhar, quero me perder, quero te encontrar
No fim de tarde tingido de vermelho o mar
Enquanto a lua se arruma toda pra chegar
Eu quero celebrar sem nenhum motivo,simples fato de estarmos vivos
Eu quero te beijar e sentir o sal nos teus lábios
Sentir a noite chegando feito pássaro
Que vem fazer seu ninho em nossos abraços
E nada,nada vai nos dividir

Nada vai nos impedir de viver nosso grande amor
Nada pode substituir
Nada vai nos impedir de viver o nosso grande amor

Eu quero te levar pra qualquer lugar,onde eu possa te namorar
Eu quero ter você 24 horas
Eu te quero agora....]]> Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:27:00 EDT http://lukecholerton.tigblog.org/post/37354 51.5 -0.116666751.5-0.1166667