The-way-to-the-centre

2004-09-20T20:09:00.000+01:00

.org.uk

2004-06-22T19:19:00.000+01:00

I have finally jumped ship and taken the-way-to-the-centre here.
Hope you like the new one.

spaceshipone

2004-06-21T14:46:00.000+01:00

Any time now, SpaceShipOne is going to atempt to be the first non-government funded vehicle to reach 100km altitude. While not capable of orbit (which would require 200km or higher) it will still be a major acheivement for what is a small company. Oh, and the design of SpaceShipOne and its carrier WhiteKnight are seriously cool. I really hope it works.
More at the BBC.

countdown

2004-06-17T14:40:00.000+01:00

Its only 2.5 hours until England play somebody at football. This is a good thing because:

Most people in the office will go to watch it (we have an auditorium) so I can sneak off early.

All the flag weilding bad drivers will be off the road so I can have an easy drive home.

music for telemarketers

2004-06-15T11:29:00.000+01:00

Learn to play a song using the number keys on the telephone. When a telephone solicitor calls, play it for them.

TENbyTEN has a number of other ideas to make your day more interesting.

precision engineering

2004-06-14T23:07:00.000+01:00

On April 20th this year NASA launched Gravity Probe B (GP-B) to test Einstein's general theory of relativity. The probe will use gyroscopes to attempt to measure the distortion of space caused by the mass of the earth.
The June issue of Sky and Telescope has some further detail on the construction of the gyroscopes:
[...]These are the most perfect spheres within lightyears, deviating from perfection by no more than the thickness of 40 atoms; only neutron stars rival them [...] The [gyroscope] chamber is fused to a 5.6 inch telescope trained on a specially selected guide star to provide an orientation standard good to 0.1 milliarcseconds [...]
So, that's four atom perfect spheres aligned to one tenth of one thousandth of one sixtieth of one sixtieth of one degree.
I am not sure which I am more impressed with; the precision of the engineering or the fact that Einstein got it right in 1916 without the aid of even a pocket calculator.

robo-spidey

2004-06-11T15:29:00.000+01:00

An incredibly cool wall climbing robot. I like the way its motion is very fluid, similar to that of a skilled rock climber. Admittedly it does have some advantages such as super-articulated joints and not having defined arms and legs (if you watch the clips, one of the legs becomes an arm and it keeps climbing).

the secret life of plants

2004-06-10T10:15:00.000+01:00

Even plants have their own blogs now.

hot and hotter

2004-06-10T09:31:00.000+01:00

Recent weather has reconfirmed what I knew already - I don't do hot weather. I much prefer a nice sunny day at 0 degrees C than one at 30 degrees. It should be an interesting trip to China in a months time when the mean July temperature is 25C an its monsoon season.

lookee lookee

2004-06-06T22:47:00.000+01:00

Have spent some of my weekend trying to learn how to design a half decent new template. As I am planning to migrate to Wordpress fully, the template is over here. Surprisingly I seem to be able to understand CSS and whats going on. Apologies for the any really annoying adverts that appear, it would probably be under its own domain and hosting except for the fact that I found a six month overdue bill to a fossilised institution.

prefabs sprout

2004-06-02T15:49:00.000+01:00

Interesting developments in prefabricated housing (if, like me you are into that sort of thing).

dwell home
[...] the Dwell Home Design Invitational, a competition for a modern prefab prototype home designed for mass production. [...]

m-house
[...] (pronounced 'mouse') arrives in two pieces, each 3m (10' approx) wide, which are then joined together on site, which takes about a day. It comes completely fitted-out and ready for you to move in immediately, and delivery is 12 weeks after order.

There was also a bit in the Telegraph magaizine about living pods on the roof of the White Cube gallery, but I can't find it again.

flappy flags

2004-06-02T11:01:00.000+01:00

They are springing up like weeds on what seems like every other car I see. Instant community? Strange to think people spend money on something to stick to their cars, solely so other people can see you are a football supporter. Something tells me in a few weeks a goodly number of them will be slowly going grey in motorway verges of the country.

hoojum

2004-05-29T23:59:00.000+01:00

Small, perfectly formed and I really really want one, or i'll take any of these instead.

round the world by bike

2004-05-27T13:29:00.000+01:00

"50,000 miles, 5 continents, 50 countries. Alone and on a bicycle. No buses, no hitching, no support vehicles."
A recently found and fascinating solo expedition by Alastair Humphreys.

transit of venus

2004-05-25T09:56:00.000+01:00

Still got those eclipse glasses from 1999? If so you might want them handy on June the 8th when Venus transits the face of the sun for the first time in 122 years. Clear skies permitting I shall be enjoying the sight of something that no person alive today will have seen. More information is here.

Earthquake 10.5

2004-05-24T15:29:00.000+01:00

In the 2 minutes before my intelligence was insulted so much that I couldn't watch anymore:
1. Faults splitting appart like a zip following a railway line.
2. Q: "Are you sure they are aftershocks?" A: "Yes, they have no epicentre".
3. The worst acting I have seen since accidentally leaving Eastenders on.

UPDATE: It got much, much worse...

protophotoblog

2004-05-21T17:27:00.000+01:00

An install of a Wordpress powered photoblog (pictorialis) is here. I didn't take the photos and yes, they are copyrighted, but since I was one of the people dodging the explosions to let the fireworks off, I think the owner wouldn't mind too much.

should I stay or should I go?

2004-05-21T12:54:00.000+01:00

With the successful creation of the protoblog and protophotoblog, getting some £15 hosting at 34sp is looking pretty attractive. Should I?
1. www.the-way-to-the-centre.34sp.com
2. www.thewaytothecentre.34sp.com
3. www.icd26.34sp.com
4. Something else?

what's in your burger?

2004-05-21T12:32:00.000+01:00

Two new articles on vCJD from the BBC which will no doubt have the multitudes giving their big macs a slightly concerned look. The first extrapolates that up to 3,800 people in the UK might be habouring vCJD based on a sample of 12,694 people in which 3 were identified. I am not much of a statistical expert but to have 0.0237% of your sample test positive does not seem a stable basis for any hypothesis. If they had tested only 12,691 people they could have shown that nobody was a carrier.
The second states "The disease, which affects the brain, is believed to have passed from cattle to humans through infected meat." However, given this uncertainty I find it strange that this is the only avenue that main stream research is looking into.
The main issues I have with the CJD from beef theory are:
1. No one has proved it
2. If cattle got if from eating infected sheep derived feed, then why can't people get it from sheep?
3. One cow can produce a lot of beef, why aren't there more cases?
4. Why are there no multiple cases in the same family? Sunday roasts anyone?

If you have the inclination I suggest a good read of the work done by Mark Purdey which is pretty science heavy but enlightening and to my view, more credible.

even monkeys could do it

2004-05-20T14:29:00.000+01:00

For anyone who is interested, the installation of Wordpress really does take about 5 minutes. I was always put off from trying MT because their installation looks pretty terrifying.
In fact I installed v1.0.2 and upgraded to v1.2 without trouble (and I must point out that I have no idea how mySQL, php or any of the other stuff work). If I can do it, anybody can.
This evening I might have a crack at importing all my Blogger posts.

prospective concepts AG

2004-05-19T12:54:00.000+01:00

The Swiss R&D company prospective concepts have some very cool projects:
[...] spectrum of activities ranges from 3-D textiles, pneumatic structures, acceleration and antigravity suits to modular signal recorders, independent containers, and various projects in the vehicle and aircraft field [...]
Most impressive is the inflatable Flying Stingray.
[...] through 2000, the STINGRAY, packed with sensor electronics, has completed over 300 test flights in Hradcany, Czech Republic, and St. Stephan, Bernese alps [...]
Originally only in German, the site also has an English version.

Who's the Daddy???

2004-05-18T13:38:00.000+01:00

Well im pretty amazed that I succeeded, in my lunch hour, on a work PC.
I have as yet no Idea how the thing works though.

dictionary corner

2004-05-18T09:56:00.000+01:00

che·lo·ni·an
adj.
Of, relating to, or belonging to the order Chelonia, which includes the turtles and tortoises.

ce·ta·cean
n.
Any of various aquatic, chiefly marine mammals of the order Cetacea, including the whales, dolphins, and porpoises, characterized by a nearly hairless body, anterior limbs modified into broad flippers, vestigial posterior limbs, and a flat notched tail.

This mistake was realised while solving an entertaining diversion from Alan.
The offending post has been corrected.
Mea Culpa.

shutterbug

2004-05-17T23:51:00.000+01:00

If you haven't yet, then I suggest you go here. Tracey's photographs are good enough to:
a. Inspire you to do more photography or
b. Make you burn all your camera gear because there is no way you will ever take photos like that.

eamon/ frankee

2004-05-17T10:51:00.000+01:00

With this bilge taking up numbers 1 & 2 in the charts meaning twice as much wasted airtime, I ask the question:
"Am I the only person who wants to skin them alive and roll them in salt?"