10A Dret a decidir

Èxit aclaparador el de la consulta del 10A a Barcelona. Més de 257,000 persones (21% sobre el cens) van anar a votar amb una clara majoria de ¨Sí¨ (91%).

Per fer-nos una idea del que han significat les diferents consultes a Catalunya només cal saber contar: 800.000 persones han anat a votar, juntes sumen tant com tots els vots que van obtenir el PSC i el PP als darrers comicis electorals al Parlament de Catalunya:

Vots a partits, El.leccions al Parlament Catalunya 2010. Font: Idescat.

Perquè PSC, PP, IC i C´s minimitzen el valor de les consultes …?

Kenneth Rogoof about Spain

Una paragraf de les declaracions de Kenneth Rogoff en un article sobre España al diari Expansion:

“España es un país con numerosas fortalezas y no se puede comparar con otros países. Tiene multinacionales que son excelentes, tiene regiones como Cataluña que, aislada, sería uno de los países más ricos del mundo… Pero, desde luego, sin crecimiento todos los planes de reestructuración de la deuda no serán sostenibles”, Kenneth Rogoff @ expansion

 

 

Photorealistic 3D face rendering

Google’s driverless car

El 10 d’Abril VOTA! Barcelona decideix

Gallina Pelada, 2327m

Aquesta galeria conté 6 fotografies.

Divendres 18 de Març, aprofitant que en David estava al Principat vam anar a estirar les cames tot pujat al Gallina Pelada, un cim molt proper al Pedraforca. Hi havia molta neu recent del cap de setmana anterior i ens … Continua llegint →

Luck

“Luck is the egocentric view of a low probability event”

Light efficacy and political controversy in Spain

Early this week, Spanish government announced the plan on energy saving which shall be approved today. Among the rashly announced measures, one about replacing city lights for more efficient ones raised economic controversy among local governments and town councils: the central government does not allow them to increase debt but instead forces to invest in more efficient technology!

Minister Blanco went further by setting the example of replacing lighting devices  in tunnels by LED lighting saving 40% energy cost. Based on his statement, it is difficult to say whether politicians base their decisions on facts. It might well be that they have data on the lighting sources across spanish towns and data indicates there is room for improvement, but could they cite it?! Let’s be more precise: when Blanco says “LED lighting reduces 40% energy cost,what is he comparing LED to? Do you know? Does he know?

Regarding lighting efficacy, I found out an interesting document from 2009 by EnergyLab which summarizes some data. First, let’s take a look at the relative source of electric expense in Spain, which in the public sector looks relatively low compared to heating/cooling:

% electricity devoted to lighting in Spain, source EnergyLab

Second, let’s look at some relevant indicators regarding light sources: Luminous efficacy measured in lumens (amount of light observed by the human eye) per watt (electrical power consumed by the device) and half-life (in hours, given a population of devices the time at which 50% of them stop functioning):

Luminous Efficacy of lighting technologies, source EnergyLab

Lighting technology indicators, source EnergyLab

Clearly the top performers seem to be LED and sodium low pressure. A closer look reveals that the two tables are contradictory or mix different data sources: The first table rates LED efficacy to 55 and up to 100 (considering prototypes, I understand not commercially available) but the second table reads 80-120 for LED efficacy. Also, the first table does not include low-pressure sodium lamps that (from second table) outperforms LED.

Anyway, assuming data consistency inside each table and focusing our attention to the second table (best case for LED), still sodium low pressure lamps seem to be the best option nowadays. Aren’t they mainly used in towns and roads, Mr. Blanco?

Elegant way to communicate

Watching a ted by Ken Robinson I stumble upon RSAnimate illustrative videos, a very elegant and entertaining way to communicate ideas. The work behind the illustration and video editing must be long and difficult, but seem to pay off  watching the outcome, which engages audience thru concept synthesis, aesthetics and entertainment. Don’t know what Tufte would say about it, but I find this technique terrific!
Do you know other powerful ways of presenting ideas? Share them, please!

Education needs a revolution