2011-11-08
post/12488762344
An Icelandic pangram, which translated means “If a new axe were here, thieves would feel increasing deterrence and punishment.” Seems apt, somehow.
(This would also make a reasonably good test phrase for Unicode storage.) (Edit: ssp notes that it wouldn’t, since most of that fits in Latin 1. Oops.)
2011-02-20
Bobby Fischer by Harry Benson
Bobby Fischer became world champion only to retreat from chess entirely, and the last years of his life were spent fleeing the US government and spouting anti-semitic nonsense.
Here he’s photographed by Harry Benson at a hot spring in Reykjavik, in 1972. Garry Kasparov reviews a biography of him.Let’s hope the chess prodigy of the moment, Magnus Carlsen, who became the #1 ranked player at 19, doesn’t suffer a similar fate.
(by simen at enthusiasms, reordered to stand alone)
2010-11-19
post/1614555142
![Another image from the Reuters best of the year.
“The natural phenomenon called the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) happened to show up on a clear night when I was taking photographs of the [Eyjafjallajokull] volcano the evening before I left to return to New York. During this assignment some of the more interesting images of the volcano had come at night when I had the ability to take long exposures and get the glow of the lava in the camera. Out of the week I was there, only about 3 or 4 evenings were clear enough to see the mountain at night. This was the last evening and as the ash plume was very high I was excited to take images of the glow of the lava against the ash cloud. The Northern Lights showed up around midnight and only stayed for maybe 30-40 minutes before disappearing. It was extremely exciting to see them and even more exciting to know I was in a position to photograph them. I knew the story had begun to die down but these images would renew a bit of interest in it for another day or so. It’s a rare time when preparation meets the occurrence of something as beautiful as this so it was easily a once in a lifetime experience that I enjoyed.” Canon 5D Mark II, lens 16-35mm (at 16mm), f2.8, 6 s. Photograph: Lucas Jackson.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lc4090mcTz1qz4vjro1_500.jpg)
Another image from the Reuters best of the year.
“The natural phenomenon called the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) happened to show up on a clear night when I was taking photographs of the [Eyjafjallajokull] volcano the evening before I left to return to New York. During this assignment some of the more interesting images of the volcano had come at night when I had the ability to take long exposures and get the glow of the lava in the camera. Out of the week I was there, only about 3 or 4 evenings were clear enough to see the mountain at night. This was the last evening and as the ash plume was very high I was excited to take images of the glow of the lava against the ash cloud. The Northern Lights showed up around midnight and only stayed for maybe 30-40 minutes before disappearing. It was extremely exciting to see them and even more exciting to know I was in a position to photograph them. I knew the story had begun to die down but these images would renew a bit of interest in it for another day or so. It’s a rare time when preparation meets the occurrence of something as beautiful as this so it was easily a once in a lifetime experience that I enjoyed.” Canon 5D Mark II, lens 16-35mm (at 16mm), f2.8, 6 s. Photograph: Lucas Jackson.
2010-04-25
post/547897317
“Iceland: The Northern Lights above the ash plume of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano” in the Guardian’s 24 hours in pictures. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters.
2010-04-19
post/533502503
2010-04-15
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“Scary close to Gosstöðvarnar”, a photo by Ólafur Eggertsson on Þorvaldseyri (with the translation thanks to Google).
2009-12-18
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The “uncommonly nice op–art inspired packaging” of Ópal pastilles, an Icelandic foodstuff. The blue variety has been banned because it contains chloroform.
2009-02-11
post/77520098
Iceland.A2009033.1255.250m.jpg
From the MODIS Rapid Response System gallery: a site that has near-real-time satellite imagery of the whole globe. via pyevolve via delicious.com/joshua.
2009-01-01
An Icelandic success | The Economist
From their 16-page special on the sea, here’s The Economist contrasting Icelandic and European Union fishing policies:
Iceland offers lessons for other countries. The essential elements of its policies are to give fishermen rights that offer a reasonable expectation of profitable long-term fishing by encouraging the conservation of stocks. The system is clear, open and fairly simple, and it is well policed. It thus enjoys the respect of fishermen. And it is based, crucially, upon scientists’ assessments of stocks, not politicians’ calculations of electoral advantage.
For years, the [European Union] has simultaneously discouraged and promoted fishing, even as stocks have declined. … Modernisation aid supposedly ended in 2005, but the union’s fisheries fund, which supports everything from aquaculture and sustainable development to the “adjustment” of the fleet, is set to spend €4.3 billion in 2007-13. Spain, the most voracious piscivore and the biggest recipient of aid, will get €1.13 billion.
In few EU countries is fishing economically crucial. Nowhere does it account for even 1% of GDP.
The cry for subsidised fuel arises largely because European boats must travel ever farther to find fish (as a general rule, it takes nearly half a tonne of fuel to catch one tonne of fish). [My emphasis.]
I’m not sure I agree with their conclusion that a derivatives market in fish would be a good idea, but I do like the excoriating tone of the review of the Common Fisheries Policy.
