posted by admin on Jul 1

Could this pretty blue flower really be at the forefront of fighting crime?

Would you believe it if I said that a piece of pollen from a garden plant could be the key evidence in a murder trial – dating back from the 1950′s?

I wouldn’t have thought it possible myself a few years ago, yet with the growing science of forensics in general and now more specifically forensic ecology – it is all so very true!

photo credit: ChodHound

Pollen Power:
In exactly that same way that we can date particles from history to tell a Bronze Age barrow from an Iron Age settlement; or work out what the age of a pre-historic grain store is – we can find out what plants you have in your garden from their residue on your shoes.

Every habitat in the world has a unique botanical footprint – and sometimes they just need a few spores or pollen fibres to work it out.

For example forget-me-not pollen can last 1000′s of years before degrading – a perfect place to look to link a person to a place.

It’s just one step on from identifying clothing materials and other products really – however, pollen can be so small that even a change of clothes won’t quite get rid of them all!

They can travel on your hair, skin and shoes as well as pass into your nasal cavity or ears – places you least expect to look for more traditional fingerprints.

And whole plants can be used too. New shoots on trampled plants, or germinating seeds on dumped clothing can help to date the time of last disturbance – even if it was months or even years ago.

Hair Of The Dog:
And it’s not just plants that are getting in on the action – pets and furniture can also give away a criminal! Those few cat hairs on your coat or the fibres from your carpet could plant you firmly at the scene of a crime these days – with virtually no argument!

These mostly microscopic particles – things that we don’t even think about day to day – that can be found and used by forensic scientists in all aspects of our life.

They can trace virtually anything to virtually anywhere – usually just at the click of a button!

photo credit: Svadilfari

posted by admin on May 24

Nobody wants to be tracked while they are driving – but now young people are begging to!

The Co-Operative Society have come up with a great way to find out how safe their new drivers are – and charge them accordingly; by using what they are calling ‘Smartbox’.

Now normally we don’t want to give too much information away about ourselves if we can help it – but when we can be rewarded for our behaviour (and there is money to be saved) we don’t mind!

For example, many people changed to metered water in the UK recently so that they only paid for the water they used – showing that they were using less than the average person. However, water-wasters stil aren’t being penalised as they are only paying the ‘set rate’ still.

But with car insurance it is different! You pay more money for insurance if the insurance companies know that you are more likely to cause them trouble. The equivalent of charging people a huge amount for their water if they don’t commit to a meter to show their exact usage.

How It Works:
Well, young drivers are much more likely to have an accident in their car if they drive too fast, drive irresponsibly and drive in the dark – so their premiums are set high to cover the costs of repairing cars if they drive irresponsibly fast at night!

photo credit: thienzieyung

However, many young drivers don’t drive like that – but are statiscally within the same group – and you can’t take their word that they will behave behind the wheel. So in comes the Smartbox.

Basically, this device is fitted discretely in the vehicle and wired up to the cars electrics – like a black box of sorts – and records various details about driving speed, acceleration as well as having GPS facilities and a slock to record time of day.

Add all of this collected information together and they can tell when, where and how the car is being driven – and reward of penalise as necessary.

The machine can’t lie – so it can easily sort the wheat from the chaff so to speak!

Why Would You Do It?
If you have ever tried to get a car insurance quote when you are young and a new driver – you will know why you would be willing to be ‘recorded’ by the Smartbox: car insurance can be – and regularly is – over £1000 per annum. Way too expensive for most youngsters.

So, why not show that you can be a responsible driver in exchange for massive savings over the year?

All the data collected can be viewed online with the Co-Op, detailing which areas of driving you are very good at and letting you know the areas where you could improve your driving. It isn’t just about the money – it is about creating safer roads for the driver and all other road users.

Literally as you drive safely to and from work or college every day you are saving money – and it can be many hundreds of pounds over the year and into your next years premium too.

And, due to the tracking set up for the driving skills – your car is also tracked if it ever gets stolen!

If I was faced with the choice (and I know I am a good driver) – I would fit one!

posted by admin on May 7

Just a really quick post here to let you know that the world has gone mad!

I was in a local book store today, and happened to be standing next to a Gift Card display rack – and noticed that 1 of the cards was for Farmville.

I looked again – and yes, it was a £10 Gift Card for a make believe game on the Internet! A whole actual real £10 to be used buying pretend farm machinery and silver ponies.

Now I know that we spend far too much money on unnecessary clothes, electronics, music and apps – but to spend money on virtual ‘farm’ shopping seems a step to far!

A book gift card can educate, a clothing gift card can make the perfect night – but a Farmville gift card can only buy imaginary equipment to farm your imaginary crops to feed to your imaginary animals……

That is all I have to say on the matter!

posted by admin on Apr 29

When was the last time that you took a First Aid Course?

If it was more than a year ago – you could well be out of date! There have been changes to the way of thinking when dealing with an emergency situation, and you should keep up.

By changes, I don’t mean that everything is totally different and that the ‘old’ way won’t save a life anymore – what I mean is that through experience and advances – the way to do things has been improved; both for the casualty or for the First Aider.

For The Casualty:
Firstly – we are only trying to save your life – we aren’t fixing things or making things better: we are just keeping you alive.

Whether that means dragging you out of a car or pulling you off the road – as long as it means that we can get you breathing normally, we dont mind.

What if your legs are broken? Well firstly – they are already broken anyway; and secondly – if you aren’t breathing then what does it matter what we do with your legs? It’s a choice: broken legs or not breathing?

I know which I would choose!

For The First Aider:
It is so simple now that you can’t go wrong. Rather than having to remember how many fingers up the breast bone for CPR, what to do for a young person instead of an adult, etc – it’s all the same.

People used to get so so worried that they were doing CPR in the wrong place, or using too many fingers – that people weren’t being given immediate First Aid. People were delaying emergency actions due to the worry of minor details; and lives were lost, so it’s all the same now.

Only children under 1 get anything different these days – and it makes for very fast first aid!

You only get a few minutes to really save a life – so make sure they count. Don’t waste time planning what you are going to do or waiting to ask someone else – just do it, and do it fast!

If you are worried about what to do – then book yourself onto a refresher course to make sure you are up to date – and don’t wait for work to put you on a course! Don’t you want to know first aid to save your family and friends rather than a customer in your store or office?

I’ll be taking a course every 6 months to make sure that I make a difference!

posted by admin on Apr 20

Would you like to own a pocketful of notes that were worth nothing?

Well, there are plenty of people around the world who are happy to do just that! The idea isn’t to not pay for goods and services – it is to not pay for something they are already paying for.

Still none the wiser?

Well, if you were collecting your drivers licence – would you want to pay the clerk extra for just giving it to you? Would you want to pay a passport agent to simply ‘check’ you through customs?

But they want a note from you for the privilege – so what are you going to do?

They know that what they are asking for is illegal – but they are making an easy buck. So now do you see why people are carrying zero currency notes?

photo credit: marksdk

Zero Gain:
Imagine the embarrassment of that official when you wave a giant Zero note in front of them for everyone to see – rather than folding it neatly in half and sliding it across the counter. Officials can go to jail for requesting ‘tips’ like this.

The organisation behind the most notable of these notes (the Zero Rupee) are 5th Pillar – an organisation against corruption in a democratic society. But India is not alone in the fight against corrupt officials; Argentina, Belize and even the United States are using similar notes to try to win support – and make accepting bribes totally unacceptable.

The notes are designed to look just like an existing note from whichever country – but with the Zero wording and figure as well as comments which refer to the fact that they are against ‘bribes’.

Obviously – these notes will not always be appropriate to use – particularly if you are a lone traveller and in a particularly remote area – but for everyday residents, these can make a huge difference.

You are more than welcome to make a donation to the organisation – even if you are not using the notes yourself – as they are distributing them free of charge to ordinary people!

They might be worth nothing to use – but they cost money to design, create and distibute. See the 5th Pillar website for more details.

And if you get your hands on one while travelling – don’t stick it in a box as a souvenir – keep them in circulation, doing what they were designed to do!