Today was the first time I had my new boat on the water. Inside one of its hulls was a GPS device and a Linux based computer recording its position. Also running was the sensor board which enables monitoring of current coming from the solar cells and current consumed by the boat. It didn't exactly do very much however.

One year ago I posted an article about my new autonomous boat. Well it is now almost complete. The construction of the hulls is now mostly complete and I have finally got the new ARM based single board computer working. Over the holidays I plan to complete the prototype and have it in the water.

In Copenhagen the leaders of the world are discussing targets for reducing carbon emissions. The actual trend in temperatures seems decisive evidence of actual warming. The issue is how to address the issue. Politicians obviously want to be seen to be "doing something", but is this "something" the right thing?

In New Zealand we are proud of our Forth Estate - the professionals who deliver the news. On Saturday I went on the March on Queen Street. At 2pm about five thousand people marched up Queen Street to the Aotea Centre were we heard several people speak about why they had committed so much time and resources into making the march happen. They were speeches that should have been reported.