Facebook launches ‘chat’ application

Most people reading this will already be well aware of the fact, and probably have been using it all morning, but Facebook have extended their social networking website to include an instant messaging ‘chat’ function, similar to Microsoft’s Windows live messenger.

In keeping with Facebook’s minimalist approach to their site, Facebook chat is a very simple, although very limited application too.

Perhaps an attempt to muscle in on Microsoft’s domination of the instant messaging (IM) market, I personally can’t see this being the death of Live Messenger just yet, as there are many features that users are used to that are not available to Facebook users. You can use the ‘pop-out chat’ feature to keep talking to friends whilst navigating away from the Facebook page.

But there are some downsides to Facebook’s latest addition. Whereas on Live Messenger, the ‘Appear Offline’ feature enabled you to see who is online and available to chat, without anyone seeing that you came online, in Facebook’s case, there is no such function (yet), if you set your chat to ‘offline’, you cannot see if any of your friends are online. Similarly, what of the people who have limited access to your profile, or even just don’t like very much? They have the same chat privileges as everyone else…

I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Facebook irons out the kinks and extends the functions of ‘chat’, but until then, I don’t think they’ll have Microsoft too worried, and Live Messenger still leads the way.

The Great Pacific rubbish dump

It’s been known about for some time, but many would still be startled to hear that a giant mass of floating rubbish has accumulated in the Pacific Ocean.

Comprised of floating pieces of rubbish, plastic and lost cargo, some of the more conservative estimates put it at twice the size of the state of Texas, whilst others say it could be twice as large as the United States itself.

Its nicknames include; the Plastic Soup, the Pacific Trash Vortex, and the Great Pacific Rubbish Dump.

Discovered by chance in 1997 by Charles Moore, a sailor and oceonographer who travelled for days through endless rubbish, oceanographers have found that the mass of debris in the Pacific Ocean is kept in place by the ‘North Pacific Gyre’, a vast area of the Pacific, that due to very little wind and high pressure, the ocean circulates at a slower rate, inevitably drawing in all the plastic rubbish. After discovering this remarkable phenomenom, Moore founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, a non-profit organisation, dedicated to protecting the marine environment.

It is believed that there are two ‘Plastic Soups’, one between California and Hawaii, the other between Japan and Hawaii – the Eastern and Western Garbage Patches.

Pictures of this phenomenon are hard to come by, as the only effective way to photograph it would be by satellite because of its enormity, but because the plastic is translucent and just below the water, it does not show on satellite images, therefore the best way to see it would be by boat. This Greenpeace animation shows the journey of the plastic from the shores of Japan and California, to the North Pacific Gyre.

Flanked by both the Eastern and Western rubbish, Hawaii has been plagued by plastic on its beaches for decades, as adverse weather conditions cause the plastic to wash up on the shores of the Hawaiian Islands.

The total amount of plastic found inside a dead Albatross

The swirling mass of debris also poses a major threat to marine wildlife as birds mistake small pieces of plastic for food, up to a million seabirds die every year from swallowing syringes, toothbrushes, lighters and other plastic waste. Plastic makes up 90 percent of all the rubbish in the oceans.

Independant Journalist, Steve Connor: Why plastic is the scourge of the sea.

Many believe there is a threat to humans from the waste plastic. The raw material of the plastic industry, small plastic pellets called ‘nurdles’, no more than a few millimetres in diameter, which are melted down and used to make plastic products. The nurdles absorb harmful chemicals such as pesticides, and are then swallowed by marine animals which are fished and the chemicals then enter our food chain.

Update: Missing wife of Police Officer

Police are still searching for Sarah Townsend, wife of Bernard Townsend, head of community relations for Glamorgan police force.

The 42 year old went missing after a domestic disturbance at their home which led their daughter calling the emergency services. The call was made at 23:25, but by the time the police arrived at 23:30, Mrs. Townsend had already fled her home, believed to be in a ‘vulnerable state of mind’ and possibly suicidal after consuming an unknown quantity of medication.

In a statement to the press, Inspector John Jones, said the search has so far included police dogs and helicopters, with the public press conferences in the hope that someone will come forward with information. He also gave a message to the missing Mrs. Townsend saying,

“Your daughter misses you, please report to the police.”

Mr. Townsend has not yet been interviewed by police, and they are regarding any information regarding the domestic disturbance as private. Inspector Jones said it was standard practice to handle incidents of missing persons this way, especially due to the vulnerability of Mrs. Townsend.

Sarah Townsend was wearing black leggings, a red jumper with a long black coat and had a black handbag but no money or mobile phone. She is 5ft 7, medium build with collar length black hair and was last seen heading towards St. David’s walk.

Again, Glamorgan Police force are urging anyone with information on the missing Sarah Townsend to report to the police, phone 01443 456128, or visit their website.

Or alternatively, contact the charity for missing people in the UK:

http://www.missingpeople.org.uk/

Daughter makes emergency call after mother goes missing

South Wales Police have appealed for help in finding the missing Sarah Townsend, 42 year old wife of Glamorgan Police Officer, Bernard Townsend.

It is believed that The 12 year old daughter of the couple phoned the emergency services at 23:25, after a domestic incident in the couple’s home, which led to Mrs. Townsend fleeing after a large dose of medication.

Mrs. Townsend is 5ft 7 tall, has collar length black hair and believed to have left the family home wearing a red sweater, black leggings, black knee length coat and a black handbag and was seen heading towards St. David’s Walk.

Police urge anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or have any information about the disappearance, to come forward as soon as possible or contact Glamorgan Police on 01443 546128.

BREAKING NEWS: POLICE SEARCH FOR MOTHER MISSING AFTER DOMESTIC INCIDENT

News of the World visits University

Paul Nicholas, Deputy Managing Editor of the News of the World, paid a visit to the University of Glamorgan on Monday.

Nicholas, a former reporter in the South Wales area, gave the talk to journalism students of the university, about what working in one of the world’s biggest and most controversial newspapers really entails.

Between insights into what journalists can expect to be paid at most levels of the paper, and quirky musings about the paper’s Fleet Street days, Nicholas gave an informing and entertaining talk to students and staff.

The mood was not all jovial however, and one of the first things mentioned, one of the paper’s more controversial ‘campaigns’, the naming and shaming of sex offenders, gave the audience a stark reminder of the very clear stance the News of the World takes on such matters.

Nicholas talked about the inevitability of legal issues working for such a controversial publication, how this affects the ever-slim timeline between printing and the paper arriving at our local newsagents.

The paper has bucked the trend of the shrinking print industry by a healthily increasing circulation year on year where other sunday papers have fallen in readership, and a website which boasts up to 1.9 million users a week, with the help of such clips as the disgraced formula one boss Max Mosley’s meeting with prostitutes. The paper is the biggest Sunday in the world, and in the top three biggest papers globally. Trends which only seem to continue as the News of the World, along with other titles belonging to Rupert Murdoch’s News International, will move to the world’s largest printing plant in Broxbourne, just off the M25.

The new £187 million plant is capable of printing 86,000 papers an hour, compared the 30,000 of their old presses in Wapping.

Media Guardian’s take on the new printing plant

Faster printing presses means the paper can wait on later news and sports results and still be able to get enough papers printed to meet demand, ensuring the News of the World remains one of the leaders in exclusive and controversial stories every week.

Update: Gloucestershire floods

Gloucestershire emergency services have urged residents to be cautious during the continuing flood crisis facing the county as thousands of homes could be without water for up to 14 days.

In a press conference Chief Constable Tim Brain said that the, “Ongoing emergency is not over” and asked residents to conserve water where they can, be considerate by showing goodwill and assisting others, and be aware that the full law will be enforced regarding any crime associated with the crisis.

Dr. Brain said he would like to thank all organisations involved, including the emergency services, the military and the Environment Agency. He also said that the Government were very keen to help and would provide contingencies to ensure ‘normal life’ continues in Gloucestershire.

Alan Payne of Severn Trent Water said 140,000 homes are currently without water and 2 to 3 million bottles of water have been distributed with the help of the military, and it is their priority to ensure that people have clean drinking water.

“We have 490 bowsers here and another 270 are on their way. We will have 900 by 6am tomorrow. We are also prioritising the organisation of tankers to replenish them. We currently have 80 tankers doing so on a 24-7 basis.”

 
Bowsers dispensing water to residents.

He also said that the sewerage system is satisfactory but there was ‘no improvement’ on the 14 days before water is restored to homes.

The military are assisting the Environment Agency and the Fire Service in securing power stations after 40,000 people were left without power after the Castlemeads substation was forced to switch off due to risk posed from high water levels.

Alan Raymant of Central Networks said 25,000 people were switched to alternative power feeds and power was restored to most customers by 2am, leaving only 250 off supply, mainly in the Tewkesbury area. Mr. Raymant said however,

“There are a small number of properties where we won’t be able to do this, because the properties are under water or we can’t access the assets we need to do the work required.” Walham substation is still functioning.

With regard to any health queries, Director of Public Health Dr. Shona Arora said,

“Please boil bowser water as a precautionary measure. It is drinking quality but boiling ensures you kill off any bugs.

“For babies, boiled bowser water is preferable, but bottled water can be used if this is not available. Ready made infant formula can be bought as a safe alternative.

“Bowser water or bottled water should be used for tooth-brushing or cooking or anything else where you might ingest it.

“Sanitation is an important issue we’re looking at. Please avoid flushing where possible and remember you can use ‘grey water’ such as from streams or rain, or you can recycle water you have used for tooth-brushing or cooking to flush. Flood water can also be used but we suggest washing your hands with clean water and soap if you do come into contact with it.

“Please avoid putting human waste into bins. We’re looking at alternative toilets such as portaloos.

“If sewerage flows into flood water it gets very diluted so the risk to human health is minimal and so far there have been no reports of infection but people are advised to keep away from flood water and anything that looks like raw sewage.

“If you have to go near flood water, wear protective clothing such as wellies and waterproof gloves.”

Speaking on behalf of the Environment Agency, Anthony Perry said,

“Levels have peaked but rivers will remain very full for a while ahead.

“In Tewkesbury the level is receding at a rate of about 300 to 400mm per day.

“We’re not expecting rain to have much impact later in the week, what we will see probably is the receding rate slowing up.

“Our advice is to look out for flood warnings. We have flood plain maps and we want people to check them to see if they are in a flood plain and listen to those warnings.

“A lot of people have put in a lot of hours to deal with this situation and our thanks go to them all.”

Download Flood Relief Fund application form

Hundreds of thousands left without water in Gloucestershire Floods

Up to 140,000 homes were left without water after floods devasted Gloucester and the surrounding areas.

A Gloucester Constabulary press release said the ‘emergency is not over’ and homes could be witout water for anything between 7 and 14 days.

Efforts are being made by emergency services to get water to the people affected. Between 2 and 3 million bottles of water are being distributed by the military along with hundreds of bowsers to ensure residents have clean drinking water.

Power stations are being secured by the Environment Agency with assistance from the military after 40,000 were left cut off when the Castlemeads substation was forced to shut down from high water level risks.

Residents are also being asked to boil bowser water before use to kill off any bugs and to try and use waste water from cooking and tooth-brushing when clean water is not necessary, such as flushing. People are also advised to wear protective clothing such as gloves and wellies when coming into contact with flood water.

BREAKING NEWS: OFFICIALS SAY GLOUCESTERSHIRE FLOOD CRISIS NOT OVER

Wales’ tallest building

Cardiff Bay looks set to become the home of Wales’ tallest building soon, with the planned development of ‘Bay Pointe’, an ultra modern, 33 storey apartment block, standing at an impressive 403ft.

The ten buildings of Bay Pointe will between them add 1,800 new flats to the City’s waterfront, which has seen unprecedented development from its former days as Tiger Bay, to a very modern looking area of Cardiff, housing restaurants, hotels, shopping and since devolution, the Welsh Assembly Government building, the ‘senedd’ too.

Whilst being big for Cardiff, Bay Pointe doesn’t measure up to skyscraper competition nationally, with the UK’s tallest building, Canary Wharf in London, standing at 771ft tall.

Some have been very critical of the colossal development, and claim that there is simply not enough demand for so many new flats in Cardiff Bay. By taking a walk around the area, it soon becomes very clear that there are hundreds of flats and apartments, but no-one around. People bought in Cardiff Bay with the hope of letting, but have been let down by low demand.

Some claim prices are down by as much as 10% over the last year. Planners need to exercise extreme caution when granting permission for such developments,

because without doing so, they are in danger of undoing all the work put into turning around a tired and dilapidated part of Cardiff. Houses empty for too long are going to create a knock-on effect and eventually lead to decline again.

The Bay Pointe development:

BBC News – Wales’ tallest building

Too many flats?

BBC News – Cities building too many flats

On a lighter, and more University of Glamorgan related note, students who live in Ty Pont Haern can sleep sound in the knowledge that they live in the 5th tallest bulding in Cardiff. The kind people at skyscrapercity.com have ranked the top ten for us, along with a lot of planned developments:

10 Tallest buildings in Cardiff