MY SUNDAY PAPER ROUTINE is starting to conflict with beautiful weekend weather in Ireland so I'm trimming back to a few terms of reference while also trying to keep my Qik video clips below 10 minutes. This week, there's sex, eco, Facebook, Google, digital life, and sharing tucked between the pages of the Sunday papers. My opening shot features boytoy Jesus Luz, the 22-year-old boyfriend of Madonna. On a photo shoot and beyond, Madonna showed the world she's still got it. [1] But since I'm mostly interested in tech stuff, I spotted the Wattson Energy Meter. [2] It has a sensor chip that can be attached to either of the two cables running from the electricity meter to the fuse box. It then connects to a transmitter, which sends the data wirelessly to the portable Wattson display, which can be put anywhere in your home. Wattson changes to blue with low power usage, then purple with medium usage and red when in a high consumption mode.
Facebook on the front page. The family of an Irishman shot dead by Bolivian police have removed the dead man's Facebook profile. Michael Dwyer had been working with a Galway security firm and was sent to Bolivia for training in November. It is believed he was gunned down in his underwear while working as a security man for crew of people targeted by the Bolivian police. [3]
Facebook also figures into a story of how middle-aged men bond. Scientists have found that, after shedding friends like follicles for much of their adult life, many men enjoy a golden age of friendship in their late forties. [4] Facebook can spark some of those friendships.
Google in the News. In Irish and British papers, several journalists are documenting how Google avails of Ireland's lower tax structure. [5] Googling for a durg dealer who has changed his name could be fruitless. [6] The thought arises in the case of Ciaran Boylan. He was permitted to change his driving license to the Irish spelling of Ciaran O'Baoighallan, earning a clean sheet in the process. Googling for embarrassing details also becomes more difficult in an era when Eurocrats are producing a smaller paper trail. [7] An internal memo has been sent to EU officials warning them to be careful what they put on paper.
Digital Lifestyle. New gizmos are being launched every day, but which will make it big? [8] The Sunday TImes article makes no mention of research by Jyri Engestrom, one of the most insightful planners at Google. One of the most popular gizmos, the iPhone, consumes about 60% more energy than regular handsets. [9] If you used your iPhone to stay abreast YouTube events, you would have spotted Susan Boyle's tremendous rendition at Britain Has Talent. [10] First the short, plump, 47-year-old singing spinster floored cynical judges, now she's a global sensation.
There are digital collections that grandparents could use to pass along their skills and stories. [11] Extended nuclear families can exist and thrive with online social networking. It's not a theme of the Think Tank piece by Darina Allen, but it's a viable connection nonetheless.
One digital thing that never took off in Ireland is the electronic voting machine. Throughout Ireland, people are storing the machines at a significant cost to the Irish government. An agricultural shed is holding 288 of the machines in County Monaghan, at a cost of €542,000 over 25 years. The machines are supposed to last for 20 years. [12]
Sharing. Lots of press clippings deal with the Pirate Bay decision whereby a Swedish court found the Pirate Bay administrators guilty of copyright infringement. The best article in the Irish Sunday papers was written by Ciara O'Brien. The Sunday Times offers a balanced opinion summary about sharing of digital files. It's a concept that needs to be played out in academic situations because there's got to be room for building on the work of others without facing a lawsuit.
1. India Knight -- "Who's that Boy?" is the cover story of The Sunday Times Style Magazine, 19 April 2009.
2. Ecostore sells the Wattson Energy Meter for €133 in Ireland.
3. Mark Tighe -- "Shot Irishman accused of plot on Bolivian President" on the front page of the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
4. John Harlow -- "Men find their best buddies in middle age" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009. See also "Buddy System" by Geoffrey Greif.
5. Robert Watts -- "Google Uses Irish base to avoid tax" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
6. John Mooney -- "The drug dealer licensed to trade" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
7. Sarah McInerney -- "Be careful what you write, Eurocrats told" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
8. Danny Fortson -- "Searching for the new Google" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
9. Dominic O'Connell -- "Environment pays for laptop and mobile boom" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
10. Mark Macaskill -- "Talent show star was no novice, says singing coach" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
11. Darina Allen -- "Keep a vital source of knowledge" in the Opinion section of the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
12. Richard Oakley -- "Council investigates legality of shed in voting machine fiasco" in the Sunday Times, 19 April 2009.
