castanyes blaves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plurality_electoral_system#Where_plurality_voting_is_used

Where plurality voting is used:

Countries that use this system to elect the lower or only house of their legislature include:

* Antigua and Barbuda

* Bahamas

* Bangladesh

* Barbados

* Belize

* Bhutan

* Botswana

* Canada

* Dominica

* Ethiopia

* The Gambia

* Ghana

* Grenada

* India (Proportional representation in upper house)

* Jamaica

* Kenya

* Malawi

* Malaysia

* Federated States of Micronesia

* Morocco

* Nepal

* Nigeria

* Pakistan

* Palau

* Papua New Guinea

* Rwanda

* Saint Kitts and Nevis

* Saint Lucia

* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

* Samoa

* Singapore

* Solomon Islands

* South Korea

* Swaziland

* Tanzania

* Tonga

* Trinidad and Tobago

* Tuvalu

* Uganda

* United Kingdom (Parliamentary and local government elections in England and Wales only, PR in elections for EU)

* United States (except for Louisiana)

* Yemen

* Zambia

* Zimbabwe

Excepting the UK and the USA, plurality voting isn't quite common in most developed countries. Something to think about...

posted by avilella  # 4:44 PM 0 Comments

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/04/panic_pump.html

Since 1990, oil and gas interests have contributed $140.9 million to GOP federal candidates and $46.7 million to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. In the last election cycle, 84 percent of oil interest political contributions flowed to Republicans and 16 percent to Democrats, according to the public-interest group.

posted by avilella  # 11:34 AM 0 Comments

http://shelleytherepublican.com/2006/04/linux-european-threat-to-our-computers.html

I hope that this is what it looks like: someone trying to make a joke out of the republican puritanism of the neocons :p

posted by avilella  # 5:19 PM 0 Comments

sudo module-assistant

posted by avilella  # 12:34 PM 0 Comments

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060424/full/nm0506-483.html

posted by avilella  # 9:19 AM 0 Comments

Correspondents say Mr Snow, who was a speechwriter for the president's father, has sometimes criticised Mr Bush for not being conservative enough.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4945156.stm

posted by avilella  # 3:32 PM 0 Comments

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1759298,00.html

posted by avilella  # 12:59 PM 0 Comments

http://climateprediction.net/

there is a Linux version

posted by avilella  # 1:09 PM 0 Comments

Pub Golf is one of the many existing drinking games:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pub_golf

Another one using the Clockwork Orange in Glasgow:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Subway

posted by avilella  # 9:34 AM 0 Comments

They say they support Firefox v1.0, and I am using Firefox v1.5.

-----

Online banking demo

An alternative Browser is required

To use this demo, your system needs to use Microsoft Internet Explorer v5.5- v6.0 or Firefox current v1.0.

We have identified that your browser is a different version and is preventing this demo from being launched. In order to proceed, we recommend that you use one of the following browsers.

To install a new Browser

You can install Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox v1.0 for free by clicking on the link and following the instructions. You must be using a Windows system to install a new version of the browser.

Microsoft Internet Explorer v5.01 ? v6.0

Firefox V1.0

-----

So there may be a problem recognizing the browser, or using 1.5 at all.

posted by avilella  # 11:10 AM 0 Comments

The demo seems to work fine with Firefox under Linux.

posted by avilella  # 11:03 AM 0 Comments

When you try the interactive demo for the Lloyds Online Banking site, you get:

-----

Your browser version is not supported.

To run this demonstration you must have Internet Explorer 4.01 - 6 or Nescape 6.2 - 7 installed as the default browser on a Windows based PC.

-----

I was using Firefox under Linux.

posted by avilella  # 10:54 AM 0 Comments

Wikipedia is great even for things you would think google should be better for. For example, if you want a list of the bank in the UK:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Banks_of_the_United_Kingdom

posted by avilella  # 10:04 AM 0 Comments

I was reading the washer and dryer manual to see how better use it for small loads, and I found this in the "washing and drying" section:

Before loading the washer dryer, ensure that no foreign matter or pets are in the drum.

_That_ is being cautious...

posted by avilella  # 1:32 PM 0 Comments

So you can access Google's private calendar via Evolution by coyping the address (ical, for example) provided in you calendar "Details", under "Private Address", and creating a "New Calendar" in Evolution of the "Web" type.

Now the only thing remaining is to be able to merge the local calendar in Evolution with the Google calendar. Not that it is essential, because the combination of both calendars pretty much does the trick, but could be nice to auto-synchonize the local calendar to Google's.

posted by avilella  # 4:57 PM 0 Comments

This is also going to be a useful tool for a lot of people.

Right now, I have tried to stash an iCal calendar (ics) from Evolution to my Google's calendar, and it works like a charm.

What about the other way around?

posted by avilella  # 4:32 PM 0 Comments

http://web.mit.edu/xiphmont/Public/gPlanarity.html

It uses Cairo...

posted by avilella  # 9:24 AM 0 Comments

http://hardware.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=06/04/10/1559228&from=rss

"Within its research center, Nokia has ported the Linux kernel to all of its hardware for some time, "just for kicks," says [product manager Ari] Jaaksi. But the decision was made just under two years ago to stop toying around and finally make an actual product. Nokia settled on the Web pad form factor in order to have something complementary to the cell phone, but that didn't duplicate any of its functionality. Responding to an audience question on the matter, Jaaksi explained that the PDA -- similar in size to the 770 -- is a phenomenon almost solely limited to the United States. Instead, smart phones dominate the calendar and PIM landscape overseas."

posted by avilella  # 8:59 AM 0 Comments

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4897994.stm

Definitions of acrimony on the Web:

* bitterness: a rough and bitter manner

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

The campaign was marked by acrimony, with Mr Berlusconi mocking left-wing voters and Mr Prodi likening him to a drunkard. Mr Berlusconi's coalition has failed to revive the ailing economy.

Mr Prodi, a former Italian prime minister and president of the European Commission, was narrowly ahead in most opinion polls until they were suspended 10 days ago under electoral law.

Centre-left won 49.8% of the vote against 49.7% for the governing centre-right.

posted by avilella  # 9:27 AM 0 Comments

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060403/full/440725b.html

posted by avilella  # 6:20 PM 0 Comments

Caustic comment on the Slashdot website about Apple's Boot Camp:

You get the stability of Windows with the value-of-money of Apple hardware. Sign me up.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4883482.stm

posted by avilella  # 5:57 PM 0 Comments

According to the "Servei d'Estudis de La Caixa", there will be a "soft landing" of the house prices in the next few years in Spain.

http://www.elperiodico.com/default.asp?idpublicacio_PK=6&idioma=CAT&idnoticia_PK=293441&idseccio_PK=131&h=

(catalan)

The prices will be raising at about 10% this year, so that, subtracting the inflation, the real raise will be of about 6%.

The prevision reports that "there can be raises below the inflation in the next few years, so the real price will be dropping, as already happened during 1993-1996".

The main reason will be the raise of the price of the money by the European Central Bank.

The report doesn't consider that there has been a "bubble", but that the prices raised too much and are concentrating too much financing effort by the families".

posted by avilella  # 2:50 PM 0 Comments