By Our Locality on May 14, 2013
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages, especially advertising, indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media.
Spamming remains economically viable because advertisers have no operating costs beyond the management of their mailing lists, and it is difficult to hold senders accountable for their mass mailings. Because the barrier to entry is so low, spammers are numerous, and the volume of unsolicited mail has become very high. In the year 2011, the estimated figure for spam messages is around seven trillion. The costs, such as lost productivity and fraud, are borne by the public and by Internet service providers, which have been forced to add extra capacity to cope with the deluge.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kill SPAM or SPAM will kill us. Our servers quietly deal with a lot of the attacks targeted at weaknesses in the server, email, websites and individual blogs. But the sheer volume of attacks seems to be on the rise, so batting the stuff away keeps the system pretty active and affects performance. Also, there are increasingly many opportunities that can be exploited. Continue reading “Kill SPAM”
Posted in Blog
By Our Locality on March 14, 2013
Most of you are familiar with SPAM – unwanted communications that find their way into your inbox. If you use web based email services like gmail, maybe the SPAM has disappeared completely, or almost.
Continue reading “The problem with SPAM”
Posted in News
By esther on May 22, 2013
Friends of Winterfield are working with Sustaining Dunbar and East Lothian Council to create a Community Orchard near the vehicle entrance of Winterfield. As a first step, Judy Miller has donated some strawberry plants which will go alongside the disabled access to the tennis courts.
Please help by not letting your dog foul near or dig up the plants.
fow strawberries
Posted in News
By Colin Will on May 21, 2013
A downloadable entry form for the year’s competition is available here.
YWOTY EntryFormA4 2013 final
Posted in News
By audrey on May 21, 2013
Hi everyone!
This is an urgent plea for your help to volunteer at the school fair this Saturday. It’s at John Muir Campus and is on from 2-4pm.
The lack of volunteers is really concerning us and we are really not sure how we are going to manage on the day. Currently we have over 40 gaps with some stalls still unmanned. As you can imagine there has been a lot of work put in by the school and by us in getting this new look fair off the ground.
Remember to bring those unwanted items and leave them behind the John Muir stage – books, toys, uniform, tombola. Cakes and bikes can be brought in on the day.
Thank you to those who have already volunteered. Without parental support these events really wouldn’t go ahead. If you can help spread the word too and ask any family and friends to volunteer then this would be really appreciated.
Thanks everyone
Emma, Marie and Sarah
Posted in News
By lothianrenewables on May 21, 2013
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Far from setting, as one Sunday paper suggested this weekend, the sun is shining on the solar industry here in the UK and investing in solar Photovoltaics (PV) makes real financial sense.
Thanks to our Feed-in Tariff (FITs) scheme householders and businesses are paid for the green electricity they produce from solar PV and a range of other technologies. They are also paid for any excess power they export back to the grid.
The scheme has proved extremely popular, with solar power really taking off as an alternative source of energy over the past few years. Three years ago there were only a few thousand solar PV installations in the UK. Now there are over 420,000. As demand has risen and uptake has increased, the installation costs have fallen dramatically. Over the last two years the cost of solar panels has fallen by almost 50% – making this technology even more accessible to householders than ever before.
As the costs have dropped we have had to reassess how much we pay out under the scheme, to ensure we still encourage people to invest but don’t over-subsidise a scheme which is paid for by consumers on their electricity bills. That’s why we have reduced the tariffs on offer and have introduced a new system to keep them at the level which offers broadly constant returns.
In 2013, three years since the launch of the scheme, solar panels are still an attractive investment, offering a great rate of return. For example, the Green Deal Feed-in Tariff Quick Guide includes figures that demonstrate that a typical 4kW household PV system costing £7,000 would give an annual income/saving of around £860 and would pay for itself in 10 years – that’s a 10% rate of return, far higher than the best ISA on the market! It’s worth remembering too that both the generation tariff and the export tariff are linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) meaning that your investment is shielded from the negative effects of inflation.
When thinking about whether to invest in solar PV, it is important to remember that the level of sunlight does vary across the country. Some houses get more sun than others, so clearly, in these cases; it may take longer to recoup the cost of the panels. This also means that for some (myself included, as I live in a ground floor flat!) PV is not a practical option.
Householders interested in getting solar panels for their home can speak to the Energy Saving Advice Service on 0300 123 1234 to find out how they could benefit from the FITs scheme and the steps involved in getting solar PV or other techs installed. As well as money for the electricity generated, householders may also be able to get help with the upfront cost of the kit under the Green Deal, and pay this back through savings on their bills.
Individuals who are interested in solar PV should rest assured that there is a robust consumer protection regime in place. All companies selling to homeowners must sign the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), which protects consumers against mis-selling. In addition, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) also ensures that only reliable, proven technologies can be installed under the scheme.
More information on FITs can be found on the GOV.UK website also from The Scottish Energy Savings Trust, click here
Posted in News
By esther on May 21, 2013
The Big Kid Circus http://www.bigkidcircus.co.uk/?oo=0 finished erecting its tent this morning. Friends of Winterfield would like to welcome them and hope that they have a good visit to Dunbar.
The performances are:
Friday 24th. May 7 pm show only
Saturday 25th. May and Sunday 26th. May 2 pm and 5 pm
Bank Holiday Monday 27th. May 3 pm show only
Box office open on site from Thursday 23rd. May 10 am to 8 pm
Posted in News
By Colin Will on May 21, 2013
The annual Dr Gavin Wallace Fellowship has been created to enable a writer based in Scotland to develop their craft, and to produce a work of quality. The Fellowship carries a stipend of £20,000 for one year. The first Fellowship, in 2013-14, will be hosted by the Association for Scottish Literary Studies. In subsequent years the Fellowship will be hosted by an organisation which will be selected through an open application process.
2014 will be the 200th anniversary of the publication of Waverley: for this first year of the Fellowship the ASLS is seeking a writer who can respond creatively and imaginatively to the Scottish literary canon, and in particular to the works of Sir Walter Scott. There are no stipulations as to fiction or non-fiction; poetry, prose, or drama; form or genre. Chronological age is not a consideration, and nothing is required of the successful candidate beyond the production of a work of high literary merit, which ASLS will publish on its completion.
Please see the attached PDF for full details of how to apply; this information is also available on the ASLS website. I’d be very grateful if you could inform any colleagues too who might be interested. Feel free contact me if you have any queries.
Best regards,
Duncan Jones
ASLS
Posted in News | Tagged ASLS, Gavin Wallace Fellowship
By abbeylands on May 21, 2013
If you’ve ever visited Dunbar in the summer, you’ll know it is the resident gull population that is in control. Local Dunbar residents share their tight living spaces with a small but significant colony of nesting gulls, which in some previous years have bred rather too successfully.
Gulls are a nuisance, not so much because they call incessantly during the breeding season, but because they foul persistently. Gulls are smart too and have learnt how to persuade teenagers to part with the food, congregating at school times at the local Grammer school, on the High Street in the evenings, when fish and chips are shared. They will also tear open a bin liner and spread its contents liberally, enter shops and homes and increase your window washing bill from £0 to £100s.
Continue reading “Who Controls Dunbar?”
Posted in News
By Morag on May 20, 2013
Did you know that there are a wide range of ‘green’ books available at Dunbar Library, courtesy of Sustaining Dunbar?
Find our more
Posted in News
By lothianrenewables on May 20, 2013
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that payments for the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme have been significantly increased as of today.
Eligible technologies under the RHPP will receive the following revised payments with new ‘money-off vouchers’:
- Solar thermal: £600
- Ground source heat pumps: £2,300
- Air source heat pumps: £1,300
- Biomass boilers: £2,000
However, in order for householders to claim the increased money-off vouchers a Green Deal assessment must be undertaken on the property before the claim is submitted to the Energy Saving Trust. DECC hopes that the move will encourage homeowners to evaluate how energy efficiency improvements could bolster their renewable heat installation.
The revised money-off vouchers are intended to help with the cost of a Green Deal assessment as well as the cost of having the renewable heat measures installed.
Commenting on the introduction of the vouchers, energy minister Greg Barker said that he wanted to kickstart the renewable heat market, adding: “This time-limited, big increase in the value of vouchers for hardworking people who want to do something positive to install money saving green heating in their homes, should be a real boost for this growing green sector.”
The upfront RHIP payment will be recovered from any payments received from the RHI scheme during its duration, the mechanism for this will be detailed in the RHI scheme due to be published this summer.
Further information can be seen here.
Posted in News, News, Solar Thermal
By pencaitland on May 20, 2013
This afternoon will see heavy and isolated quite intense showers develop across East Lothian. These are expected to start after lunchtime and continue into the early evening.
These showers may lead to some minor surface water problems and could lead to travel disruption and ponding of lying water in known trouble spots.
Due to the intensity and local nature of the showers smaller watercourses may see some flooding issues.
According to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency people should, “remain vigilant and remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property. Advice and information is available through Floodline on 0845 9881188″.
Keep your community informed
If you have to travel and spot a dangerous section of road please tweet details to @pencaitlandcc or to the Pencaitland Facebook page. This way the information will automatically be passed on to others.
Example Twitter message:
@pencaitlandcc Bend of A6093 coming into Wester #Pencaitland water over both lanes on final bend. #flood #eastlothian
You can use the same text whether sending to Twitter or posting to Facebook or Google+… whichever you prefer.
the # symbol is often placed in front of keywords on Twitter in order to help people discover relevant updates. If you have room, by adding #eastlothian and #flood to your message it is more likely to be found by those looking for information on areas under water around in the county. Try to be specific, using, for example, #ormiston or #pencaitland hash tags to help geographically pinpoint where the problem is.
Posted in News | Tagged East Lothian, flooding, SEPA, warning, weather