dgrblog

The days of the nagging beep of the alarm clock could soon be over thanks to a North Berwick student's revolutionary new design. . . which imitates the sound of a woodpecker. Natalie Duckett (pictured), 22, of Gilbert Avenue, is in her final year studying product design at Dundee University. She has come up with an extraordinary device, which has no face or hands, and works by tapping out a rhythm on the nearest surface at a set time. In the hope of encouraging more regular and healthy sleeping patterns, the woodpecker clock will also sound its call in the evening, precisely nine hours before the morning alarm is due, as a reminder that bedtime is approaching. Natalie, who starting designing the clock last year for a summer project for her course and completed it this May, said the sudden interest in her device had come as a great shock. more . . .

The drastic decline in puffins breeding on two islands in the Firth of Forth has been reversed. The results of the latest puffin count on Craigleith and Fidra, off North Berwick, will come as welcome news to the 600 volunteers who have, for the last three years, been clearing the islands of tree-mallow, the invasive species of plant which has prevented the puffins getting to their burrows. more . . .

Soldiers on the battlefield could soon be sending and receiving information from smart phones and the ipod touch. With built-in GPS, compass and camera, Web access, streaming video, a touch screen, multiple gigabytes of memory and a ton of applications, cell phones and other handheld computers may become some of the most useful pieces of battlefield equipment. Raytheon may be the newest supplier of handheld commercial communications equipment tailored for military operations, but there are others. Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone are being used in Iraq and Afghanistan for tasks that range from issuing recorded instructions in local languages to calling up intelligence reports on locations as specific as a street address. One application being developed for Apple devices would transmit photos, biometric data and written reports on suspects to a central database. Others would display video from UAVs on iPod screens or enable iPods to be used in teleconferences. ( read more ... ) Do you ...

Visited Bowling Basin, the west most point on the Forth & Clyde canal. Click on image to view photo gallery.

What a week of football, European Champions League final with two English Premier league teams competing for the trophy. A great game which ended in a penalty shoot out which Man Utd won. So a great double with winning the Premier League, again with Chelsea in the runners up spot. Of course we had a Man Utd party and even our young lab Fergie got involved. He really liked his Beckham top which is only one of many Man U tops my son has had over the years. There was also the Scottish Cup final between Glasgow Rangers and Queen of the South. Quite a good game with Rangers going 2-0 up before half time only to find that two goals in three minutes by QOS early in the second half put the game back in the melting pot. Rangers, courtesy of a second goal from Boyd held on for a 3-2 win. All this football has prompted my football mad son and his pal to build their own little pitch. With a set of old goals and a pot of white paint they marked out the lines and a penalty spot. Wonder what will ha...