tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25659374720951328842024-03-14T16:59:02.917+10:30Aaron Nielsen's personal blog<p>Peak oil. Climate change. Environmental sustainability. Global economic<br> collapse. Endless war. The end of human civilisation as we know it.</p>
<p><i>"Only the unknown frightens men. But, for whoever confronts it,<br> it is already no longer the unknown."</i> - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</p>Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-34266782005369212462015-02-22T17:08:00.004+10:302015-02-22T17:09:00.627+10:30Farewell, BlogSpotInsofar as I actually have a blog, I’ve decided to move it to WordPress and point my domain to it.
No disrespect to BlogSpot. Disrespect to Google Hosting Services - who don't seem to get this domain-pointing thing - but none to BlogSpot itself.
All I wanted to do was to point my domain name to my blog. Google’s unofficial response to that was “huh?” Officially, they actually give you several Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-20231950992037896642013-07-04T21:30:00.001+09:302013-07-04T21:32:09.946+09:30encoreReminded of this.Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-24455674484485149122012-05-27T23:53:00.000+09:302012-05-27T23:53:29.146+09:30DialoguePane.js: a modal dialogue box for a web pageI was looking around on the web for a simple way of displaying a modal dialogue box over a web page. There are lots of options, but none of them seemed to work the way I wanted, so I wrote my own.
Click here to download a demo of DialoguePane.js as a ZIP file. API documentation is included.
A DialoguePane object is mainly the state of the title, body, and buttons of a dialogue box. The title Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-72802546221114672402012-05-27T19:34:00.000+09:302012-05-27T19:35:33.986+09:30Uncooking cooked electronic gadgets using cookingWheat bags are useful things. They're a natural, drug-free way to soothe headaches and other throbbing pains, and they double as a dry alternative to a hot water bottle. They're also very easy to make.
As if that weren't enough, it turns out that you can use them to fix electronics as well.
I have an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid TV tuner, which allows me to watch live TV on my MacBook Pro. I've had it Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-61190730231499321222012-01-23T22:10:00.000+10:302012-01-23T22:10:13.057+10:30Adelaide Greenies Calendar has a new web siteAbout two years ago, as many people who know me are no doubt aware, I started an on-line calendar to collate the green-minded events that are happening in the greater Adelaide metropolitan area.
Well, the Adelaide Greenies Calendar has a new web site, with a new address:
adelaidegreeniescalendar.info
It's carefully disguised as a site not thrown together on BlogSpot, but it does the trick. I'veAaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-4335920622358553682011-09-11T21:33:00.000+09:302011-09-11T21:33:42.174+09:30Ten years laterThose who perished ten years ago remain America's greatest loss, and those who gave themselves to save them its greatest heroes; but the terror conducted in their names must be its greatest shame.
It is easy to forget that for the ruling classes to legitimise a war against another people, they must first wage war against their own, to the extent that no dishonesty or contempt lies beyond the Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-43481754853834330872011-06-26T21:04:00.001+09:302011-06-26T21:04:49.658+09:30HSA delay - Volume Thirteen: the grudgeOn 14 June 2011, I resigned from the ABSA Board, which I believe is still unable to fulfil its duties under either the ABSA Constitution or the Corporations Act. A week later, ABSA Chairman Michael Plunkett decided to send me an email, asking me to participate in an investigation against a trusted colleague who also doesn't work there any more. Here's my reply.
Dear Michael,
It's difficult to Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-22501469626882406342011-06-06T22:18:00.001+09:302011-06-13T19:10:47.237+09:30HSA delay - Volume Twelve: Sugar for PoloniusDear ABSA member,
Even if you haven't been paying attention to ABSA's antics over the past year and a half - and documenting it along the way as I have - it's hard not to see their most recent episodes as anything more than theatre.
Much of what members have heard over the past few months is predicated upon one specific, pervasive, fundamental lie. Let me dispel it right now: the ABSA Board Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-24835202511040305022011-05-09T21:41:00.009+09:302011-05-09T21:58:53.163+09:30HSA delay - Volume Eleven: your turnDear ABSA member,Clearly, ABSA is an organisation in search of a scapegoat. It's doing its best to pretend that it's not, but this is surely not the way you would act if there weren't blame to be cast for something going wrong.At least our members get a chance to think for themselves about who that scapegoat should be. Jay Myers, Ian Turnbull and I called the EGM on 14 May to put the issue of Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-53835320487463010022011-04-25T12:30:00.003+09:302011-04-25T13:38:23.630+09:30HSA delay - Volume Ten: the end is nigh for uncontracted assessors[On the morning of 23 April 2011, I sent the following email to all of the uncontracted Green Loans assessors I know, and a few other interested parties.]
Hi everyone,
I write to you today with heavy heart. I fear that the fight is over, not with a bang but with a whimper.
I write to advise you to take DCCEE up on its Financial Assistance Scheme.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving this Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-33223020863249905202010-11-16T23:33:00.000+10:302010-11-16T23:33:22.212+10:30Green Loans presentation to Mayo Greens - 10 November 2010On Wednesday last week, I gave a presentation to the Mayo Greens in the Adelaide Hills about the Green Loans Program.
A few people have asked for me to make the Powerpoint slides public, so here they are.Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-34699944487906126342010-10-28T22:46:00.002+10:302010-10-28T22:51:24.197+10:30MEDIA RELEASE: Senate report into Green Loans “worst of both worlds”The Senate's report into the Green Loans Program has offered weak recommendations that will disappoint virtually everyone working in the Program, according to an assessor spokesperson.
Last night, the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications released the findings of its inquiry into the Government's troubled Green Loans Program. The report recommended that the new Green Start Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-6419877087586073602010-10-28T12:00:00.009+10:302010-10-28T12:00:00.425+10:30Why I have nominated for the ABSA BoardWith the ABSA 2010 Annual General Meeting less than a month away, members will shortly be receiving information about who has been nominated to run for the all-new Board of Directors.
There has been some speculation that I would be among the candidates. I am hereby announcing that this is indeed the case.
If you've been reading my blog - which has been dominated for nearly a year by the (ahem) Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-76874361189914012752010-10-22T17:44:00.000+10:302010-10-22T17:44:04.017+10:30"An Urban Orchard" film trailerFriends of the Earth Adelaide have just published a trailer on YouTube for their short film, An Urban Orchard. It looks at the "growing" culture (if you'll excuse the pun) of producing and sharing food locally, and it was produced right here in South Australia. Although I wasn't involved in the production of the film, I am producing the DVD for it.
Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-74928421276710325592010-09-14T13:27:00.001+09:302010-09-14T13:27:59.677+09:30HSA delay - Volume Nine: Work, ChoicesI want to write this time about the Department of Climate Change and about ABSA. This was originally going to be two letters, and then two articles, with many of the key details duplicated. Bear with it being one long article now; it's been a long time since I've written publicly about what's happening, so there's a lot to cover.
* * * * * *
Formalities aside, Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-19475616331089487902010-07-26T14:31:00.003+09:302010-07-28T16:48:58.943+09:30The Great Debate: No Choice is the New Choice(This article was republished in On Line Opinion on Wednesday, 28 July 2010. Thanks to Susan Prior for her consideration.)
If you smear peanut butter on the roof of its mouth, a chimpanzee will rhythmically smack its lips together trying to get it off. It's apparently how they make those ads you see on TV with the talking monkeys.
It seems that Sunday night's Great Debate 2010 was made the Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-24363795920462464412010-07-06T01:59:00.008+09:302010-09-14T13:30:13.031+09:30HSA delay - Volume Eight: from the Senate InquiryI was in Sydney on Tuesday, 29 June 2010, to give evidence to the ongoing Senate Inquiry into the Green Loans Program. It was an interesting day, certainly, but it was exactly as much fun as it sounds.
A proof transcript is available online here.
In my all-too-brief few minutes in front of the Committee, I mainly spoke about the plight of those accredited Home Sustainability Assessors who never Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-69628418318650579322010-06-24T14:00:00.005+09:302010-09-14T13:30:21.973+09:30Media releases from yesterday's Green Loans ralliesWhat follows after the jump is a speech that I wrote for yesterday's United Programs of Australia rally in Adelaide. I didn't actually make the speech on the day: it would be an understatement to say that we didn't get the turnout in Adelaide that we hoped for. However, I did get ten minutes on ABC Radio in Canberra, and I got most of my points across in that. I understand that they found me via Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-651101272316666242010-06-24T11:33:00.003+09:302010-06-24T11:44:30.838+09:30BREAKING NEWS: Abbott eyes off Gillard's "precious gift"Ms Gillard says that Australia's first female Prime Minister is a "precious gift" that the country "should not give away lightly".
Opposition leader Tony Abbott was unashamedly optimistic about the news that the Australian Labor Party was to replace Kevin Rudd as leader with his deputy, Julia Gillard.
"It is a clear sign of weakness that the Labor Party should chop and change its leader so Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-64791729469045222592010-06-19T00:05:00.009+09:302010-09-14T13:30:26.469+09:30United Programs of Australia - Adelaide protest rally on Wednesday, 23 JuneGreen Loans Assessors Action Group is proud to announce the United Programs of Australia protest rally, taking place simultaneously around the country on Wednesday, 23 June.
The Adelaide rally will be held in Victoria Square from 8am to 9am.
Printable flier here. More details after the jump.
If you've been disaffected by the Green Loans Program, the Home Insulation Program, or Building an Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-89534371793074720312010-06-13T21:13:00.002+09:302010-09-14T13:30:31.686+09:30Green Loans: my appearances on ABC Radio Adelaide last weekAs some of you may be aware, I was on ABC Radio Adelaide last Wednesday, posing a question to Senator Penny Wong about what will become of the 5000 of us accredited Home Sustainability Assessors waiting for 600 remaining contracts in the Green Loans Program.
I got a few questions on the ABSA Forums about who it was that was calling in. You know it's been a long week when it takes you this long toAaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-25704352551794458742010-05-15T13:20:00.003+09:302010-09-14T13:31:25.476+09:30GLACG: Canberra Green Loans Rally, 24 May[Press release from the GLA Compensation Group. For a PDF version, click here. Full disclosure: I am a member of this group. - A.N.]
Canberra Green Loans Rally
WHEN: Monday May 24th 2010, 10am for 1100am media call. Conclusion 12pm
WHERE: Parliament House Lawns, Canberra.
‘A FAIR GO - for Green Loans Assessors and their families’
This is a call to join fellow assessors on Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-23948110893322702982010-05-12T21:29:00.007+09:302010-09-14T13:32:54.399+09:30GLACG: Rewards Cards Cancelled, Uncontracted Assessors In The Cold[Press release from the GLA Compensation Group. Full disclosure, I am a member of this group. - A.N.]
For immediate release: Wednesday 12th May 2010
Green Loans $50 Rewards Card Axed Before Any Issued
Uncontracted Assessors Left Out in the Cold
Budget 10/11 papers suggest the Rudd Government has axed the $50 reward card for home energy assessments sent to householders after May 11th Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-79806502837248340012010-05-07T23:56:00.003+09:302010-09-14T13:33:00.153+09:30HSA delay - Volume Seven: the oncoming trainOn Thursday, 6 May 2010 - nearly 11 weeks after the fact - DCCEE awarded a contract to work in the Green Loans Program.
Some other uncontracted Home Sustainability Assessors received news of theirs the next day, and were kind enough to share the news on the ABSA Forums. Good luck to them. But what's really going on here?
There have been no formal announcements made about the GLP since that of Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2565937472095132884.post-82167967298205519872010-05-07T23:50:00.003+09:302010-09-14T13:33:05.807+09:30Three media releases about Green Loans and the GLA Compensation Group[These three media releases were passed on to me by Patrick Moroney, the media consultant for the GLA Compensation Group. They are available for immediate release. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of this group. - A.N.]
Green Loans Assessors Compensation Group (GLACG)Media Release
For immediate release:
GLACG to Submit Claim Against Rudd Government Failed Green Loans Aaron Nielsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13463906422426366341noreply@blogger.com0