Science Friction

Merry Christmas

As I write this it is approaching midnight on Christmas Eve. So I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Polluter pays?

The government here is planning to introduce a pay by weight system for refuse collection. All well and good you might think. Those who generate more waste pay more and there's an incentive to reduce waste by recycling. Well, there's a fundamental flaw as my parent's found out recently. A few days ago my father put out the family wheelie bin for collection as normal. Unfortunately, he put a few pieces of wood on top of the bin and as a result, the refuse collectors didn't lift the bin. Since this was to have been the last collection before Christmas my mother was a tad concerned so my father rang the City Council. They said leave the bin out before 6.30am and it might be possible for a truck on its way to another route to pick it up. So my father put the bin out again. At this point, I should point out the bin was only half full so the situation wasn't completely dire. If the bin wasn't lifted, there would be at least some space to store the Christmas waste. Anyway, later that morning my father was on his way out and checked the bin. Not only had it not been lifted but someone had deposited their own waste, filling the bin.

Leaving aside the fact that my parents wheelie bin is now full and this weekend is Christmas, this begs the question, what would have happened if the pay by weight system had been in place. I'll tell you what would have happened: my parents would have been charged for a full load instead of a half one. Pay by weight is not an incentive to reduce waste. It's an incentive to dump your waste in someone else's wheelie bin.

We made it.

Today is the 21st of December, the shortest day of the year. From now on the days start getting longer and the nights start getting shorter. It won't be noticeable at first, but it means that spring is on the way.

Not Richard Pryor as well?

Yep. It's true. Richard Pryor, one of America's most influential stand-up comedians has passed away after a 20-year battle with MS. The man was foul mouthed, irreverent but oh, so funny. He will be missed.

Goodbye Robert Sheckley

Robert Sheckley, who was Guest of Honour at Interaction, the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention, held in Glasgow in August has passed away. He was 77. Sheckley was the author of such stories as Immortality Inc (filmed as Freejack) and The Seventh Victim (filmed as The Tenth Victim).