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?"

there's a whale-fish he cried

2004-05-12T11:23:00.000+01:00

A multitude of animals including cats, dogs, emus and fish have been found on the London Underground since the discovery by Paul Middlewick of an elephant.

Mind you, I have always had a thing for cetaceans, even when they are exploding.

new blogger

2004-05-10T13:19:00.000+01:00

Blogger have just redesigned themselves and now have new features (such as commenting) at last. With the upgrade have come some interesting new templates and since I don't have the ability or time to do my own, I am thinking of of transfering the-way-to-the-centre to something like this until I work out how to hack it around and make it into a 3 column layout.

notes to drivers

2004-05-07T09:51:00.000+01:00

HGV - Please learn how to use roundabouts. Turning right from the left hand lane is not it.
Transit van (i) - I know yours is a Ford. I do not need the badge pressed against the back window to see it clearly.
Transit van (ii) - People love to slow down to 20mph when you pull out in front of them. If you got that engine fixed you might be able to exceed 45mph and not choke those following you with burning oil.
Noble M12 - You have a 2.5 litre V6 engine with 300bhp, I have 1.1 litres and 63bhp. The only way I am going to go faster round the lanes is if you get 2 inches closer and actually push me along.

Understand this and you are one step closer to enlightenment.

leaving on a jet plane

2004-05-06T16:17:00.000+01:00

Rather surprisingly the royal mail actually managed to deliver my tickets to China reasonably quickly, and the current SARS outbreak appears to be under control, which is nice. Now I just have to worry about sending my passport for a visa and getting it back. And there is also the small matter of a postcard sent to me over 7 weeks ago which is nowhere to be seen.

UPDATE: Naturally, said postcard was on the doormat when I got in last night. It was only postmarked 03/04/04, but it still begs the question 'If it takes 12 hours to travel to the city where it was posted, then exactly what has it been doing for the rest of the time?'

eclipse

2004-05-05T11:14:00.000+01:00

I had hoped to post a picture or two of last nights lunar eclipse. However, I found out that the digital camera that I have at the moment has amazingly poor light sensitivity so I ended up with 10 frames of black. Maybe this would be better. I did take some with my SLR but I have no idea when I will get round to finishing and developing the film. The eclipse was excellent though, with the moon a deep red colour during totality.

20/20

2004-04-29T15:47:00.000+01:00

let me come with you, I can see. I can see perfectly.

From ChasingDaisy

half man, half machine

2004-04-28T10:47:00.000+01:00

A hip-hop song from a bunch of shell-suited people from Newport. Namechecking all the top brands - Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX81, BBC Micro and the mighty Speak & Spell*. And funny too. Most likely the only decent song they have but at the moment it is not being over played, which is a good thing.

* Personally I preferred the Speak & Maths though

first astrophotographs

2004-04-27T09:39:00.000+01:00

This weekend it was clear and I happened to have a crappy 2Mp digital camera from work to hand. So, hand-holding the camera to the eyepiece of my telescope I tried taking some pictures:

Jupiter

Stack of best 3 of 5 images taken, processed with Registax. North and south equatorial belts and southern polar region are (just) visible. Distance from earth = 400,000,000 miles (approx).

Venus

Single image. Distance from earth = 50,000,000 miles (approx).

I am moderately happy with the results considering the setup used and hope to try taking a .Avi clip next time for more data. Hopefully in the future I can get a webcam and PC connected to the telescope and see if I can get close to images like this.

curious

2004-04-22T13:13:00.000+01:00

Interesting article, but absolutely no use of the word 'braille' or any allusion to it, which would seem to be the most obivous and useful application.

plague island

2004-04-22T11:03:00.000+01:00

On the group of desks I share with three other people, we are all ill to some degree - two recovering, one slowly dying and the fourth just getting started.
People have taken to hurrying past with the greeting 'morning sick people'. Just goes to show how wonderful the easter break was at allowing the rapid spread of the illness of your choice.

page 23

2004-04-20T09:28:00.000+01:00

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 23.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

"The usefulness of the SPT for soils and weak rocks which are hard to sample and test, empasised by several conference papers, suggests the need for standardisation of testing and reporting proceedures"

From many places, but qB first.

illness

2004-04-15T13:27:00.000+01:00

Perfect timing - finished on site yesterday, only for a minging cold to manifest itself. So that will be a few days of block sinuses, sore throat and general roughness to look forward to.
On the plus side I am within a gnats crotchet of booking my flights for 3 week trip to Beijing in the summer. Which is nice.

job done

2004-04-14T15:33:00.000+01:00

The vital statistics:
Days on site - 23
Distance walked - 95 miles (approx.)
Photos taken - 1,137
Distance driven - 3,500 miles (approx.)
Pairs of overtrousers destroyed - 1
Number of unplanned trips down embankments - 7
Time spent on moblie phone - 3' 08" 27 seconds
Items lost or broken - 0

a normal bank holiday weekend

2004-04-13T09:15:00.000+01:00

Hedge trimming, lawn mowing, tree felling, log spiltting, brush clearing, floor laying, wall painting (and none of it was in my house).
It didn't rain either.

delays

2004-04-07T19:41:00.000+01:00

The posts arriving at the-way-to-the-centre are currently being delayed by engineering work being carried out on the tracks between Nuneaton and Kettering. Normal service is expected to resume on Tuesday 13th of April.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused. However, refunds are only available to season ticket holders.

366 days on

2004-03-28T20:59:00.000+01:00

I have just realised that the way to the centre is 1 one year old today. Doesn't seem like that long really.

physical graffiti

2004-03-28T16:38:00.000+01:00

As a result of my current work I regularly get to see the underside of bridges, where the majority of people don't go. Unsurprisingly, I get to see lots of graffiti, the majority of which is of the 'Ian woz ere' type. However, last week I encountered something slightly more unusual:

The answer to which is either 1.42 or 0.12, depending on how you interpret the use of the square root function.

More interesting to me was this:

Where someone has taken the time and effort to quote Pi to 22 decimal places, but after 3.14 has got it completely wrong. It seems strange to have gone to that effort and not do it properly. I have half a mind to go back with a spray can and correct it.

One line review

2004-03-25T15:38:00.000+01:00

Recently purchased on my last trip to Leamington Spa:
Global Underground 26 - James Lavelle in Romania.

To quote a currently running advert: It is dirty and you want it.

out in the cold

2004-03-19T10:05:00.000+01:00

Its lashing down with rain at the moment. I have to go out on site in an hour or three. Fridays are supposed to be a half day spent in the office, but one of the cameras broke down yesterday and no camera = no surveying.
On a TV note I would just like to draw attention to Black Books on Channel 4 (10pm Thursdays). If you don't watch it you should, it is true comic genius.

life on the line

2004-03-10T00:27:00.000+01:00

I have just started on the project for which we got given lots of nice toys. I was working next to the rail line classed as slow, but can now speak from experience that slow is not I term that is particularly appropriate when a train is going past at 90mph about 4 feet from your shoulder. All the indications are that the next 4 weeks are not going to be pleasant.
Owing to the lack of internet access lineside, blogging is likely to be late night and sporadic until normal service is resumed.

in transit

2004-03-07T20:55:00.000+01:00

Last night I set up my telescope for the first time in about 3 months (due to far too much cloud) and was lucky to happen across the sight of Ganymede (on of the four largest of Jupiters' moons) passing in front of the planet itself. The whole transit takes between 2 and 5 hours but unfortunately, due to a telescopes amazing power to create clouds, I only saw about 15 minutes worth before the clouds rolled in.
This was the first transit I have seen, and it was impressive, even though Jupiter was only 5 degrees or so from the full moon. I had been debating whether to go out (due to the full moon), I am glad I did.

car trouble

2004-03-05T12:37:00.000+01:00

This morning on the way to work the alternator belt on my car decided to part company with the rest of the engine, resulting in me sitting on the hard shoulder of the M42 watching the traffic jams caused by Crufts. 'No problem' I though, 'I'll call the breakdown people and they will send a person who will be able to fix it, anyone with the tools can do that'. Wrong. Winched onto the wagon, taken to a local(ish) garage and then left to travel for about on an hour on unknown public transport. I am sure I remember footage of when the AA and such were trained mechanics and carried tools and spares. No longer it seems.

not expired, just out of credit

2004-03-02T14:22:00.000+01:00

It would appear the key to the problem was that the mobile in question is pay-as-you-go and was out of credit. Quite why the recorded message couldn't tell me this fact I do not know.
This theory has not yet been tested, but theoretically it makes sense. Unfortunately I can't make international calls from work and when I get home it will be 2am in China.
A late night it is then.

sorry, that number has expired, please try again later

2004-03-01T13:41:00.000+01:00

My most hated recorded message of the moment. Recently I have spent large amounts of time trying to phone a certain mobile phone in Beijing. I know the international code (00 86), the city code (10), which I shouldn't need, and the mobile number (135XXXXXXXX).
It worked once though I can't remember exactly what I dialed. There are only a finite number of ways of dialing 00 86 10 13X leaving bits out.
Now every time I get that damned message. Technology that allows you to talk across 5,500km is great. Technology that almost allows you to talk across 5,500km is the creation of the devil.

ant art

2004-02-27T16:31:00.000+01:00

The Antquarium

Could there be a better way to spend £20? I would, if I had it. Very cool and invented by NASA.

breaking news....

2004-02-27T10:36:00.000+01:00

SNOW FALLS. FAILS TO BRING MIDLANDS TO A STANDSTILL
There must have been 5mm of snow last night but it only took me the normal amount of time to get into work. Maybe it was due to the presence of so much salt that roads were already white and my car looks like an (albeit green) salted peanut. I had though that the whole country had been snow-proofed, but the BBC reports otherwise.

what its like

2004-02-22T17:44:00.000+01:00

It’s like trying to find the end of a roll of sellotape, you know, you go round and round trying to feel the ridge where the end is, sometimes you get it first time, other times you can spend forever, going this way and that, your nail will catch the end eventually won’t it? So you hold the roll up to the sun, desperately wanting the light to catch that tiny lip. She glared at me across the senses and wiped the butterknife clean on the edge of her marmited toast. But they’ve got those spunky blue things gadgets so it’s dead easy to tear off strips now. I started a hole in my scrambled eggs, made plaits out of my fingers and frowned a cloud. I hate this, I never got the hang of those things. I mumbled, new fangled bits of plastic and waste. It’s like trying to find true and everlasting happiness through the lonely parts pages. It may be convenient, a handy way out of trying, but it doesn’t matter, never will take the place of finding the end of the sellotape with your fingernail, too much to go wrong. People want ease and convenience but it’s no substitute for hard work. Anyway, it just ends up in the bin when that blue spigot breaks off, like it always does. Cynic! Hey, don’t knock it girlie, I’ve had a roll of tape in my desk for years now, never got the hang of those blue things, that’s why I let the nail on my left hand thumb grow just to make finding the end easier. Like J.M.W Turner used to do so he could scrape paint off dead easy. Us artists always find good uses for body parts. You and your goddam artists. She wiped a bit of stray marmite from her mouth and sucked it off her finger, a move that gave to toast making and eating an instant X certificate. I find my legs crossing themselves involuntarily, big scary animal, your always going on about this L word thing, the big L, you are the only ones to get so hung up with it all. Can’t you just put the pastels away, lie back and enjoy it? You don’t understand that we do the best work we ever do when we are in the arms of the big mother L. It’s like having a constant concrete muse to work with. But your work’s ok at the moment, she picked the last crumbs off the plate, took at dainty sup of tea, leaving lipstick on the rim and you’re not emotionally tied down, so what gives. It may look ok but to me it has no soul. I can look at pieces done in the lap of love and it all comes flowing back, the feelings, the pain, the egg whisk. It’s just not the same without it. But she cupped the drink, cuddling its’ warmth, why must you tear at your heart so much, all the time. Because there’s no one at the moment to do it for me. And I need the angst, it gives me a reason to be miserable, anyway all part of being an artist. People expect the furrowed brows, the clenched fists, veins showing all that stuff. You only pretend it’s a pretence though don’t you. It’s convenient to do so you really mean it, feel it don’t you, erm, it’s true isn’t it, you really mean that sellotape stuff, you’re terrible she grinned again I knew to be dangerous, a nice haircut on legs, I’ll give you something to really feel. Come here..

Jo Burt (199?)

new toys

2004-02-20T17:50:00.000+01:00

In preparation for doing some really rather unpleasant work (walking along high-speed rail lines looking at the earthworks), we have been given some rather nice gadgets:

1. iPAQ h5500s, with wireless lan, Bluetooth, fingerprint scanner and body armour.
2. Bluetooth GPS receiver
3. Digital camera
4. Some nice GIS software
5. 1001 and 1 chargers, batteries and memory cards.

I am quite sure that this is just a diversionary tactic so we forget about being in mortal danger everyday, but at least it is better than writing in soggy notebooks. Rather unfairly though, we have to give them back.

the unconnected project

2004-02-17T13:57:00.000+01:00

Via QuantumTea (I think).

[...] Going Offline: Steve Cisler has been online since 1985. As of Sunday, and for at least the next several months, he'll be cutting his direct links to cyberspace [...]
[...] To better understand how they deal with an offline existence, Cisler says he needs to share their experience, albeit temporarily - "to see how someone who's been online a third of his life - how well he can function offline,'' says the 61-year-old San Jose resident [...]

The ongoing project is being documented here by Steve Crandall, who also has an interesting blog.

i'm loving it...

2004-02-13T14:54:00.000+01:00

Apparently the Corporate Killing law may never be implemented. However, I would like to propose a new law: Coporate Shilling.

"Shill, n.
One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle."

The guilty are the musicians, actors, z-list celebs and has-beens who are usually not short of cash, endorsing junk food etc..
The most heinous of these coporations is McDonalds. Currently they have Justin Timberlake shilling his soul and song writing, Chris Eubank and Lawrence Delallio. As if any of these people aren't already multi-millionaires. And everyone knows the food is vile.

I'm loving it? Pass the bucket. Or the gun.

ancient chinese proverb

2004-02-10T10:26:00.000+01:00

"He who attempts to replace the CD-rom drive in his PC will save many hours of frustration by ensuring the IDE cable is connected at both ends."

Where London is...

2004-02-06T15:19:00.000+01:00

Last night I put BBC2 on to watch Horizon as it was supposedly about the development of organic computers and the work of Jan Hendrik Schön. However, what was shown was 45 minutes of 'Now the organic tranistor has been invented then x, y and z might happen' [Cue doomsday scenarios etc]. With the final 5 minutes saying in fact Schön (probably) made up his results and the organic transistor doesn't exist yet, so everything covered previously might not ever happen.
However, what really annoyed me about the program was the opening scene - a view of St. Pauls, with the text 'London, England'. It is really necessary for a British made science program to tell it's viewers that St. Pauls is not only in London, but London, England?
That is unless someone shipped it to Pope County (Arkansas), Madison County (Ohio), or maybe Freeborn County (Minnesota) while I wasn't looking.

comment conundrums

2004-02-05T14:36:00.000+01:00

My PC shows the number of comments for the Movable Type post as (5) when there are six comments. Does anyone else see this?, is or is it just my rubbish work computer causing trouble?

movable type

2004-02-04T15:47:00.000+01:00

I am thinking about changing over to Movable Type. Mainly for the extra stuff - comments that work properly, recent comment listing etc, and partly 'just because'.
From the look of things I have three options:

Use weblogs or similar, who will set up and host it. I assume that there is little control over the installation, but it would be free.
Get some hosting and try installing it myself. I assume its not that tricky & the instructions seem pretty straight forward.
Get some hosting and pay MT $40 to install it for me

filthy little thieves

2004-02-04T10:25:00.000+01:00

Only a score of 494 last night. Mitigating circumstances however as two little weasels tried to rob my coat out the archery hall while I was shooting. Presumably the were after mobiles etc. to pay for their crack/glue habit and ditched my fleece in the doorway when they found it contained only a Guinness hat and pair of gloves. Unsurprisingly my concentration was a bit off afterwards.

toxic art

2004-02-03T12:02:00.000+01:00

From BBC news

gonna get myself...

2004-02-02T12:05:00.000+01:00

Arrived at work, fired up the PC, caught up with the blogs I read, checked out what is going on in the real world via the BBC and the electronic one from Wired, Slashdot and Smartmobs, found out what's new in astronomy courtesy of ArkSky and S&T, and browsed the CoffeeGeek forum. For the first time in 10+ days I feel connected.

two days

2004-01-27T23:53:00.000+01:00

"just two days" they said, and believed them.
After four and a half days in the data room so far, and it looks like another two. 7.5 hours in a room, with 25 more reports, on my own. Oh joy...
At least I shot 509 tonight, (and shot a hole in one fletching and the nock off another arrow).

stick boy and match girl in love

2004-01-25T23:08:00.000+01:00

Stick Boy liked Match Girl,
he liked her a lot.
He liked her cute figure,
he though she was hot.

But could a flame ever burn
for a match and a stick?
It did quite literally;
he burned up pretty quick.

isolation

2004-01-22T22:18:00.000+01:00

I spent the day experiencing sensory deprivation - 7.5 hours in a data room, mostly on my own. No noise, phone, PC, internet, nothing to do other than read report after report after report. At least it is only 2 days a week and some have it worse than me.

its a turn up for the books

2004-01-21T12:03:00.000+01:00

In the words of whoever it was: "I came, I saw, I kicked its ass!"
515 scored at archery last night.

thought for the day

2004-01-20T12:28:00.000+01:00

Actually last night, in the shower:
'You could encode information on a Go board in binary form. Up to 361 bits anyway, I wonder if it would have any uses?'

windows schmindows

2004-01-20T10:39:00.000+01:00

9:00 switch on PC
9:15 PC finishes booting, dial up internet and check mail
9:25 Try to go to KGS Go server to try an online game
9:28 Receive message 'you require Java applet to continue'
9:29 Try to download said applet
9:31 Receive message 'Windows95 is not supported'
9:45 Stop swearing. Decide to try and download Mozilla
10:45 Install Mozilla, discover its Netscape and is really, really slow
10:50 Try downloading java for mozilla. PC tries to download 130Mb file
10:55 Try KGS again
10:56 Fail. Start swearing again
10:58 Turn off PC. Promises self an iBook

unconscious mutterings (v)

2004-01-19T14:24:00.000+01:00

It's Monday, I feel uninspired. Weekly word association from LunaNina

Berry :: red
Fiendish :: plan
Bar :: stool
Frank :: honest
Bend :: corner
Fanatic :: goblin
Belch :: burp
Flagrant :: dictionary
Burden :: donkey
Flimsy :: glass

internet 1650's style

2004-01-15T13:19:00.000+01:00

For a while (well, since buying an espresso machine) I have wondered why drinking coffee appears intrinsically linked with computers, technology and 'geekdom' more than tea.
My original theory was:

Coffee keeps you awake. Long hours are often 'de rigeur' for programmers and the like.
Computers etc. developed in the US. Americans drink a lot of coffee

Not the best theory but a start.
Further thinking (and an a article I found & lost) resulted in theory 2:

Said people are often perfectionists, the making of coffee [in particular Espresso based] is something that can be perfected. Starting from scratch you can control the roasting, grind, quantity, tamping, water temperature & pressure and shot duration.

Theory 3:
Today from Smartmobs, I found this interesting article on the development of the European coffee house from 1650 onwards.

"[...]Rumours, news and gossip were also carried between coffee-houses by their patrons, and sometimes runners would flit from one coffee-house to another within a particular city to report major events such as the outbreak of a war or the death of a head of state. Coffee-houses were centres of scientific education, literary and philosophical speculation, commercial innovation and, sometimes, political fermentation. Collectively, Europe's interconnected web of coffee-houses formed the internet of the Enlightenment era[...]"
(This was also mentioned in a program about Robert Hooke (of Hooke's law fame, also architect, astronomer, biologist, engineer etc...) that was on BBC2 a few days ago).

Perhaps it is just that coffee has historically been the drink consumed to sharpen the mind, whereas as tea is associated with more relaxed times.

so near...

2004-01-14T14:15:00.000+01:00

Last night was Postal league shooting. In an improvement to last months 492, I scored 498, an annoying gnats crotchet below 500. If only that 6 had been an 8..... There is always next week.

unconscious mutterings (iv)

2004-01-12T14:11:00.000+01:00

Weekly word association from LunaNina

Mitchell :: fishing
Mercury :: Hg
Cycle :: racer
Engagement :: ring
Alternative :: dance
Gang :: mafia
Emotional :: moving
Skinny :: ill
Hypochondriac :: sickness
Insecure :: padlock

name that quote(r)

2004-01-09T12:51:00.000+01:00

[...] it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. [...]

Gratuitous googling for the answer is probably cheating.

big mac & wi-fries?

2004-01-08T16:15:00.000+01:00

Apparently you will soon be able to have wireless access while in McDonalds (and I presume dribble relish on your keyboard). I wouldn't have thought it really has the atmosphere of somewhere to relax and surf - unlike coffee shops etc. With any luck you will be able to sit in the nice cafe next door and still get access.
I also see you can get wi-fi on planes, trains and automobiles.
An Airport card has been added to the specs for the future computer.

comments

2004-01-07T22:20:00.000+01:00

I have just realised that some of my posts have been commented on. Not entirely my fault I haven't noticed before - my blog takes ages to load up at work (5 minutes), which I think is some issue with the Allconsuming and Blogrolling feeds (hence I tend only to post at work and read at home). I will try to pay more attention in the future (and reply).

the naming of things

2004-01-06T15:57:00.000+01:00

Do www. and http:// have real names as well as being the acronyms they are? What are they? Why are there no keys on my keyboard for them?

care and feeding of your book collection

2004-01-05T17:48:00.000+01:00

After retrieving a number of my books which had been loaned (without permission, by my brother) to friends, I was pleased to find them still in good condition, considering the amount of reading they have had. [Other loans of my books have resulted in them returning twice as thick, with creased covers/ spines, covered in fingerprints, sun bleached, and worse]. This, and the purchasing of four books for myself in the last two weeks got me thinking about what a 'Well Read Book' would be like.
Personally I think that after reading, said book will be in almost identical condition, save for a slight opening of the cover if placed face up. The reader will have teased the contents from the pages, not pillaging the contents to leave the book worn, violated and tatty. It should be held tenderly, opened sufficiently to read comfortably but never, heaven forbid, folded to break the spine, leaving the book flapping injured and helpless while you go off to make tea.
Has a book been truly read unless it has given something of its self in the act of reading? Which would if prefer? Does a book like to be read - is its purpose to deliver knowledge or contain it? Is an unread book a book, or something else - a protobook?
Look at your bookshelf - how many worlds are there?, places?, times?, people?, ideas? So much contained in a pigments and processed tree. Yes, you can get more on a CD or DVD, but those do not have the aura (or smell) of books - I have difficulty picturing tiny shops in back streets packed full of second hand CD books.
Two other considerations with books are:
1. Transportation. The book goes a bag or pocket - is there any way to stop the corners getting damaged? maybe adjustable stainless steel book armor?
2. Labels/ price labels. To remove or not remove? Taking them off invariably leaves a rectangle or circle (or whatever shape the sticker is) of glue that collects dust ends up grey and horrible.

unconscious mutterings (iii)

2004-01-05T13:22:00.000+01:00

As good a way to get back into blogging as any:
From LunaNina

Vintage :: Port
Longing :: Distance
Specimen :: Jar
Mock :: Humour
Shit :: mess
Friday :: Weekend
Cruel :: Dogs
Insufficient :: Computer
Pessimistic :: Small
Grin :: Cat

christmas lunch

2003-12-19T16:45:00.000+01:00

3 hours, orange juice, bread, a mussel, smoked salmon, duck, vegetables, red wine, cheeses, coffee, mince pie, conversation.
Now I have to work again?

more coincidence

2003-12-18T14:33:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went to a very interesting talk given by Chris Luebkeman who is the current Director of Global Foresight and Innovation at Arup.
At first, Chris outlined what the group did, including the Rumsfeldian 'knowing we don't know that we don't know things' before going on to the optimistic audience participation with 14 offices from Poland to Botswana.
Starting out, we identified principle drivers for the previous decades (1920's onwards) and then looked forward to future at likely influences and how best to respond to them. Of particular note was the mention of the Hydrogen economy as a replacement for oil, and discussion of the impacts of a 'connected' future society. Focusing on Smart Mobs, SMartieS (parties organised by SMS messaging), the ability to mobilise large numbers of people through sites such as MoveOn.org and the use of the internet to combat threats (e.g. SARS the virus).
I would add more but I can't recall the details and the presentation isn't on our intranet yet.
Following my previous comments, after Christmas I am going to see if there is any way that I can get involved.

five (or more) in one night

2003-12-17T17:57:00.000+01:00

In a few minutes I will leave work. Looking up I will see Mars fading from its summer brilliance. To my left Venus will be bright enough to be mistaken for a landing aircraft. Mercury might be visible on the horizon (but I doubt it). By the time I get home, Saturn will be rising in the east, followed after midnight by Jupiter. With a small telescope Neptune and Uranus could be found. Only Pluto will not be visible. I wonder how many people know that they could see five of the planets before bedtime - Mars, Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and you are standing on number five.

dream job

2003-12-17T12:46:00.000+01:00

In no particular order, the criteria:

Research/development based
Located where I can walk/cycle/mass transit to work
Which probably means in a city, so:
Probably not in the UK
Challenging - I like to use my brain
Enough salary to give reasonable expendable income

I have a MEng in Civil & Environmental Engineering but would not limit myself to this field.
I have no idea how to find this job; but I know I don't
have it at the moment.

culture 101

2003-12-15T15:35:00.000+01:00

A long weekend well spent:

Wednesday
As mentioned previously, Tom McRae was playing at the Junction on Wednesday night. I managed to get there with plenty of time to spare and even get back from the bar before the start. Beth & I managed to secure a spot stage right that gave us a fantastic unobstructed view of Tom and Olli (the cellist), unfortunately the other Olly (on keyboards) was hidden behind the PA. Starting with the wonderful 'Hidden Camera show' we enjoyed over an hour of fantastically emotive music and between-songs chat:
Tom's introduction for the song 'walking to Hawaii' - This started out as a love song. For the first 2/3 it was going really well, but by the time it was finished it was about the Third World War. Sorry.'

Thursday
We went to the Prince Regent to watch Harvey playing his regular slot. As good as ever although it was pretty quiet, and my brother was there too which was good. I found out that Harvey does 'No one knows' by Queens of the Stone Age, which I will have to get him to do next time.

Friday
Beth and I saw Touching the Void at Cambridge Picturehouse. A very good film, though unable to capture the terror found in the book. It was also good to see not an 'artistic license' Hollywood version but a true account with the three involved (Simpson, Yates and Hawking) describing events as they happened. I was especially amused to look round the cinema during Joes description of his injury [lower leg driven up and through the knee], to see 100+ expressions of horror.

Saturday
Took my girlfriend out for a huge meal at Cambridge's Slug & lettuce in honour of her getting a Teaching English as a Foreign Language job. In Beijing.

Sunday
I found out that fresh ground Monsoon Malabar coffee makes excellent Espressos (with lots of Crema). Trying the first one at midnight was a bad idea though.

I also managed to do most of my Christmas shopping, which is unusual, I am normally a Christmas Eve last minute shopper.

unconscious mutterings (ii)

2003-12-15T13:28:00.000+01:00

Word association from LunaNina

Warning :: danger
Aspirations :: tomorrow
Starvation :: flies
Lid :: tuppeware
Sketch :: charcoal
Interrogate :: light
Credit :: card
Scotch :: broth
Confused :: mornings
Paris :: le tour

cult of mac

2003-12-10T13:35:00.000+01:00

according to the Telegraph, this years must-have christmas is the iPod. Considering that the cheap? 10Gb model is £250, and I would probably go for the 20Gb or (ideally) 40Gb model (£300 or £400) all I can conclude is that some people have a lot of money to throw around at this time of year. I would be interested to find out somehow how many people need an iPod just because it is this years must-have gift, rather than as a result of an informed choice, based on thier requirements and the capability of said device.
That said, I want one - I would love to have access to all my music on one device, and they are a design classic. Unfortunately I neither have the cash nor the computer so will be happy with my 1st Generation Sony MiniDisc (a format that sadly never seems to have taken off) player. Currently my (rather long term) technology-development-plan is: 800MHz iBook, then IXUS400 digital camera, then iPod (by which time they should be bluetoothed, wi-fied, video-playing, 1000Gb monsters).

tom mcrae

2003-12-10T10:25:00.000+01:00

If all goes well I will be in Cambridge tonight watching him play. I am optimistic of getting from Birmingham in time, but as it is cold and foggy at the moment it could all go horribly wrong. It seems that a lot of people loose the ability to drive as soon as the temperature drops below 0.
Last nights archery was a scored Portsmouth (5 dozen arrows at 20 yards) as part of the West Midlands Archery Society postal league. I managed a respectable 492. However, I am not sure if the improvement was due to pie and chips I had for tea, or the fact that my toes were sticking out of holes in my socks.

new toy

2003-12-09T14:22:00.000+01:00

On Saturday, the girlfriend and I took a trip over to Leamington to spend my hard earned profit-share on a Shiny Thing from the nice people of Whittards. Early experiments are promising though I think I will have to build up to drinking espressos (being a serious tea drinker I am not quite used to cup-of-coffee-in-a-thimble, and I can't make it well either at the moment), Cappuchinos seem pretty foolproof though.

unconscious mutterings

2003-12-08T15:24:00.000+01:00

Word association from LunaNina

Blizzard :: cold
J :: K
Control :: freak
Blood :: red
Mysterious :: shadow
Annoying :: work
Throat :: cough
Condom :: sex
Search :: find
Heartfelt :: love

no good

2003-12-03T12:59:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately after I got in from Archery, I was up until 1am reinstalling IE5.0. It decided to die, but I got it back eventually.

good

2003-12-03T12:36:00.000+01:00

Last night I got in from work to find an envelope on the mat. Opening it I found 2 wristbands to go and see Tom Mcrae at the Junction in Cambridge next Wednesday. Unfortunately this will mean I will have to take Thursday and Friday off (no point in driving from Coventry and back, only to do it again on Friday, shame).
Since I will be in Cambridge on the Thursday night too (that being where my girlfriend lives) I will be able to see friend Harvey of the band Nermal playing in the Prince Regent. Probaby should do some Christmas shopping too...
At archery I knocked up a reasonable 451, made all the better by a pretty bad first 30 arrows for 207 followed by the second 30 for 244 which was a pretty good save.

correction

2003-12-01T18:08:00.000+01:00

Writing the last entry I found out that Bloggers' spell check offers to replace 'Stansted' with 'Satanists'. Almost as good as MS Words' offer to replace 'boreholes' with 'brothels'.
Any others?

Renault Clio Vs. Boeing 737

2003-12-01T17:00:00.000+01:00

On Saturday night I was supposed to meet my girlfriend after her flight from Prague landed at 10:45pm. Reckoning it would take 45 minutes to get to Stansted I intended to leave at 10:00. After a shower & shave etc.. I thought it prudent to check to see if her flight was going to land on time (after all, it was only a 2 hour flight which took off on time, so it would land on time, give or take 5 minutes). So 9:50pm, check the online arrivials board: flight EZY3628 - expected 10:19pm. Oh Cr@p.
There followed possibly the first duel between my 1.2 litre internal combustion engine, and the 16,000lb-thrust turbofans of a passenger jet in an attempt to get to arrivals before my girlfriend did (and not get booked for speeding). Luckily I made it with a few minutes to spare and was at the airport just long enough to incur the £2.50 parking charge.

coincidence

2003-11-28T17:48:00.000+01:00

I have just found out that Touching the Void is soon to released as a film, released on the 12th of December. I started the book (again) a couple of days ago.

todays statistics

2003-11-28T12:09:00.000+01:00

Will to work: 10%
Day dreaming: 30%
Indolence: 25%
Clock watching: 35%

land of the midnight sun

2003-11-27T14:29:00.000+01:00

Last night I discovered that yet another of my neighbours has installed ridiculously bright (about 500W) security lighting. From an astronomy point of view it means that fainter stars are lost and I have to set my telescope in the corner between my house and the fence so that I can see anything. Also, from a security point of view I cannot see how setting up a blinding light source directly over your back door is going to help anyone.

last night

2003-11-26T16:23:00.000+01:00

I shot 454 last night, which is a lot better than last week. It was a bit surprising - managing half decent grouping and consistency. There was also a game of archery darts going on, which seemed to have teams of about 8 and very complicated rules. Looks like it will be good fun though, I will have to have a go next time theres a game.

killer/ coder?

2003-11-26T11:19:00.000+01:00

Programmer or serial killer?. I managed 8/10:
"Pretty good, it seems you know your JavaBeans from your Fava beans, your slashers from your slashdotters."

wwmx

2003-11-25T14:39:00.000+01:00

The World Wide Media eXchange allows users to create a photographic database which not only shows what the pictures are, but where they were taken. An example of what can be done is shown here. This could produce some very interesting travelogues, provided you took the time to note the locations, our use GPS. What this really needs is a camera that knows where you are.

seeking something

2003-11-25T12:40:00.000+01:00

At the moment something is missing. I feel like I am drifting without any clear direction or purpose. Thoughts and feelings slip away without fully forming, leaving just a recollection of their being.
I worry about my job too. Not that I am going to lose it or anything, more that I sometimes think that I am not really doing anything that benefits anyone else, & I would like to make a difference to something. I am hoping to do some form of research, though the thought of jumping it to do a PhD is somewhat daunting.

temporary sky

2003-11-21T16:50:00.000+01:00

Have just looked up from my screen to see that fog has appeared out of nowhere. Darkness, sub-100m visibility and a rush-hour motorway. Fantastic.