"Limits to Growth"; If the running out of resources doesn't get you, the pollution will. How do you like the look of them unlimited exponential models (and human nature), now, eh?

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-water-pollution-2013-3?op=1

At what point does enlightened self-interest lead to society introducing pollution limiting controls that deal with the worst excesses of unfettered capitalism. And will China get there before nature does it for them?

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Multiple exponential and interconnected systems with lags lead to models with plenty of chaos.

If you live in a mature western democracy, I'm sure we'll all muddle through. We'll gradually give up high speed personal transport and somehow cope with the random food and energy shortages and strange weather. Life will become uncertain rather than impossible which is not necessarily a recipe for revolution.

In search (and memories) of the UK free festivals

I've been trying to find free or cheap festivals for this summer and early autumn in and around the UK. E-Festivals used to work well for this but the search isn't being very helpful. Can you recommend anything for less than say £75 for 3 days camping?

Here's what I've found so far. (I know a couple break my £75 limit)
- Willow Festival, Peterborough, 12-14 July, Free, http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/willow/2013
- Kelvedon, 13 July, Free, http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/kelvedon/2013
- Folk by the Oak, Hatfield, July 21, £30 http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/folkbyoak/2013
- T-Fest, Gray Essex,  27-28 July, Free,  http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/tfest/2013
- Brightlingsea, 2-4 Aug, Free http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/brightlingsea/2013
- Standon Calling, 2-4 Aug, ~£75 if you buy the ticket over the counter locally, I've done this a few times now and don't really need to do it again. http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/standoncalling/2013
- Beacons Festival 2013, 16-17 Aug, no longer cheap but a good selection of UK Bass in beautiful country, http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?447280
- Priddy Sheep Fair, 21 Aug, a fiver for parking, http://priddyparish.org/Sheep-Fair-Committee.php
- Wilkestock nr Stevenage, 30 Aug - 1 Sept, £35 http://www.wilkestock.com/tickets.html
- WoodyFest, Hatfield Forest, Takeley, 6-8 Sept, Free, http://www.lemonrock.com/woodfest2013
- Alchemy - Lincolnshire, 20-22 Sept, £70, http://www.alchemyfestival.co.uk/
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What a cool kid (and Dad!). Finds a discarded small boat on the Roding. Fixes it up. And then takes it from Hertford to the Thames as; "possibly the first boat to navigate the whole of the navigable Lea by an electric motor powered by solar energy alone." to get sponsorship for the Cody Dock project.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kingfisher/292925227506893
http://spacehive.com/codydock

I've done that trip by bicycle but I'd love to do it by small boat.

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Does the Windows Google Music Manager update automatically?

I'm currently on 1.0.71.8015 and wondering if this is the latest release and if its not if I have to do anything to get it.
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My Glastonbury tickets are finally in my hot sweaty hand, which means it's real! I guess I'd better get organised then and put together the pack of stuff, that is just enough, has nothing missing, but no more.
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Makes you think, eh? Peak oil makes a bit more sense when the graph scales mean there's a recognisable peak.

And obviously, the 6000BC -> 10000 AD timescale gives some perspective on the "Long Now". That's a mere 650 generations!

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On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook closing RSS feeds and the imminent death of Google Reader.

The official line from Twitter is that RSS is “infrequently used today.” That’s the same justification that Google has given for shutting down Google Reader. It reminds of the joke about the shopkeeper responding to a request for something with “Oh, we don’t stock that—there’s no call for it. It’s funny though, you’re the fifth person to ask today.”

RSS is plumbing. It’s used all over the place but you don’t notice it.

It might be that RSS is the canary in the coal mine for my data on the web. I think that the presence or absence of an RSS feed (whether I actually use it or not) is a good litmus test for how a service treats my data. If those services don’t trust me enough to give me an RSS feed, why should I trust them with my data?

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Long term weather forecast from the Norwegians.
http://www.yr.no/place/United_Kingdom/England/Glastonbury~2648559/long.html

Looking good?!?

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Some times for your alarm clock.

Friday 21 June 2013
Solstice 05:04UTC 06:04BST
London sunrise/set 04:43BST 21:21BST
Stonehenge sunrise/set 4:51BST 21:26BST

Next Full Moon Sunday 23 June 2013 13:32UTC 14:32BST

So what are you doing for the Solstice; setting fire to a Wicker Man? Or just walking up the nearest hill or tall building with a clear view of the eastern horizon. That 04:00 alarm[1] can be a challenge but it's worth it even when it's pouring with rain like it did last year in most of the UK.

[1]For bonus Gaia points, keep vigil for the whole of the previous night.
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One of the stories we were being told during and after the Tottenham riots was that Blackberry BBM was secure and controlling the riots was harder because this was the comms tool of choice for the gangs and rioters. How does that square with this story; So GCHQ can intercept BBM, but the Police can't?

Meanwhile, Apple claim that iMessage and FaceTime services are encrypted from end-to-end. (http://thenextweb.com/apple/2013/06/17/apple-says-it-received-4000-5000-data-requests-from-us-officials-in-last-6-months/) Yes. Well. That's what Skype said. Originally we believed them. Now I'm not so sure. Perhaps the NSA revelations will make end to end security a major feature requirement again in chat and voice message systems. So how about it, Google Hangouts/Messanger/Chat and Facebook? Unfortunately that requirement works against cross platform and web based chat systems which we also want for convenience.

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Slightly off topic. Does anyone know a good place for listings of free or very cheap festivals? I'm sure in previous years http://www.efestivals.co.uk/ had something like this, but a search for "free" isn't very effective. A Google search for free festival turns up http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/ but that's about the 60s, 70s and 80s. Fascinating but not very useful for 2013.

ps. We probably did this already, but this is where it started. http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/glasmenu.html

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Eagerly awaiting Young Echo - Nexus now due June 30.

Also looks like several of the Young Echo collective will be at Glastonbury. Ishan Sound, Dubkasm, Kahn, Gorgon Sound, Peng Sound Mashup
https://soundcloud.com/factmag/fact-mix-386-young-echo-jun-13
http://www.factmag.com/2013/06/10/fact-mix-386-young-echo/

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Today's public service announcement:
- Love the Farm
- Use the loos
- Use the bins
- Take your stuff home
- Leave no trace.
http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/information/green-glastonbury/love-the-farm-leave-no-trace

That's just reminded me how crunchy the ground is as you cross the Other or Pyramid fields at 5am on the way back to the tent. See how many working lighters you can find!

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Some Green Fields Tibet - India fun.

Tibetan Monks blowing the horn while wearing some proper festival headgear.
http://www.factmag.com/2013/06/13/dalai-lamas-tibetan-monks-to-perform-at-glastonbury/

A friend of mine is also performing with Shakti Sings - she says: we are the 'green' choir! It is amazing, if somewhat cheesy and a bit mother earthy, but it is a lot of fun 
WEDNESDAY 26TH JUNE
9-11pm SHAKTI SINGS FOR GLASTONBURY
Opening Ceremony in Stone Circle Field (35 min performance at 10pm)

THURSDAY 27TH JUNE
Including 4pm Bandstand at Croissant Neuf & public singing at 5pm 9-10pm SHAKTI SINGS
Live performance at the Inter stage/Backstage Party, 3 songs
( performance at 9.30pm)

FRIDAY 28TH JUNE
All afternoon – small choirs communicating our message to the public across the site including 2pm Greenpeace Field

SATURDAY 29TH JUNE
All afternoon – small choirs communicating our message to the public across the site including 2pm Greenpeace Field

SUNDAY 30TH JUNE
All afternoon – small choirs communicating our message to the public across the site including 5pm TOAD HALL LIVE, Green Futures Field

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For a short while there, years ago, I quite liked Tweetdeck.

So I'm afraid for me, Twitter remains and becomes even more a fairly irrelevant Write-Only-Network.

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Stealth competitor from the UK. ~2Kw, full-sus, downhill bike.

The Voltz is kind of like the Stealth. Curious to know the tech specs, like battery details and motor source. All those wires really need hiding away. And of course, there'll be people up in arms because it doesn't fit anywhere in the legal framework except as a true off-road MX competitor so there's limited places where you can use it.

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2 guys riding electric motorcycles across America in opposite directions. One solo in 5 days, the other as a team in 3.

Terry Hershner used his new Vetter streamlining to make it from California to Florida in 5 days single-handed, (despite having to stop en route for 40 hours), while Team Moto Electra rode an electrified Peter Williams replica JPN Norton to go the other way in only 3 days, with a back up team and two riders.

http://www.plugincars.com/electric-motorcycle-pioneers-blazing-electric-trails-127426
http://craigvetter.com/pages/2013%20Streamliner/2013-vetter-streamliner-Hershner-p65.html
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moto-Electra-Racing/110022072362813
https://www.facebook.com/lifeoffthegrid?directed_target_id=0

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