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{March 16, 2010}   British Library’s Web Archival Waste of Time?


The British Library recently requested the United Kingdom government for permission to archive the country’s websites for the reference of future generations. The library has suggested that unless the websites are archived, they might be lost in what can best be called a ‘digital black hole’. This might seem like a good idea on the face of it but the feasibility and sense is already in question.

A website archival project that started in 2004 is already underway. However, only 6000 out of about 8 million websites have been archived because archivists must first take permission from website owners before the archiving. To quicken the pace, the group of libraries who started this project is now asking the government for permission to start the archival automatically. They have pointed out that a large number of informative websites that form the online heritage of the United Kingdom are at a risk of getting lost.

In the current lifestyle, the Internet and online social networking has become so entangled with modern life as we know it, that archiving the Internet sites seems to be a good idea. The Register, a news website, points out that large scale archiving is not only expensive, but it is not possible for the process to be selective. Therefore, the archiving might also include useless tweets, blogs and useless profiles, which are not required, along with useful information.

For an informative look at the internet, Broadband Genie provides a place on the web where consumers can learn about broadband and mobile broadband. Its up-to-date news and reviews are a useful resource for those searching for broadband prices and comparison data for all the leading broadband ISPs.




{November 04, 2009}   Problems in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

A constantly cited problem in Darwin’s observations is the idea that he established his theory, primarily, on his observations of variation in domestic animals and domestic plants. It has been my goal to find a sure basis for the theory in the variations of organisms in a state of nature. While the accurate amount and exact nature of these variations is of paramount importance in the various problems that arise when we utilize the theory to explain the facts of nature, it’s essential to show the actual variations as they are found to exist in a sufficient amount of species. In doing so, we not only gain a better and more precise estimate of variation, we obtain a groundwork of fact by which to examine the assertions and objections usually put forth on the issue of specific variability. I will make clear that, throughout the work, I refer to to the charts and the facts they illustrate, just as Darwin tended to appeal to the facts of variation among dogs and pigeons.

I have also made what seems to me a decisive change in my treatment of the matter. Rather than treat first the relatively and unfamiliar details of variation, I will begin with the Struggle for Existence, which is in truth the important process on which natural selection depends. Then I will detial with the particular facts that are relatively familiar and very intriguing. My analysis has the further advantage of looking widely at how natural selection plays in natural environments.

I do admit that my observation contains divergences from some of Darwin’s perspectives, but my work tends to exemplify the terrific importance of Natural Selection over all other agencies in the creation of new species. I therefore take up Darwin’s early position, which he changed in the later versions of his works. The fact of natural selection and its influence on the mutation and development of species is the Darwinian doctrine, and on that account, I am a devout advocate of pure Darwinism.

It’s interesting to note the outgrowth of scientists of the Christian faith who embrace intelligent design theory. Their theory lies somewhere between the purely Biblical opinion of creation theory on the one side and Darwin’s theory of evolution. There is a fascinating genre of evolution humor appearing in the last few years.




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