E-Ink

This new(ish) technology looks fab - E-Ink.

What makes me smile though, is the way that, on Channel 4 news, a spokesman for one of the technology companies promoting this new was of making books more prone to crashes, demonstrated how robust the screen was by hitting it with his shoe.

Two things.
1 - I nearly never hit any electronic display device with my shoes, and I’m fairly sure I’m not alone in my tendency not to do this.
2 - Does anyone remember when CD were first shown on Tomorrow’s World - They demonstrated how utterly indestructible compact disks were by variously freezing, heating and (my personal favorite test of indestructibility) smearing raspberry jam on them. Brilliant.

In a bizarre twist of fate, I lost my entire CD collection in an unlikely, but highly destructive, burning frozen jam accident.

Written by exmonkey on May 19th, 2006 with 1 comment.
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Update on the harvest

In addition to radishes that only a small minority actually like, we have now harvested mixed salad.

The main reason I picked the small leaves is because they were interfering with the potatoes. Allow me to explain.

When I planted the seed potatoes, I though I’d try and be clever and plant what some of the magazines call a ‘catch crop’ - ie a crop of fast growing stuff that can harvested before the main crop already planted in that bit of allotment starts to take over. That’s the idea anyway.

So I planted a couple of rows of ‘italian mix’ salad leaves either side of where I thought the spuds would appear. Unfortunatley, I must have put the potatoes in at a funny angle, because they decided to break through right along one of the lines of salad leaves. Hence the early harvest.

Why did I leave it as long as I did? I kept on expecting a nitrogen gas filled plastic bag to appear over the leaves. This never happened - I can only assume that you only get nitrogen gas filled bags in Spain and Israel.

So what does this stuff taste like? Plants. Stephen assures me that it tastes like salad, but I think it tastes like a handfull of grass. Maybe I don’t like salad either. Hopefully, the next crop will be more to my seemingly choosey palate.

Written by exmonkey on May 19th, 2006 with 3 comments.
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Albinos make the best villains

This from the Guardian NewsBlog:

According to campaigners, The Da Vinci code will be the 68th film since 1960 to feature an evil albino. It is an incredible statistic - when you consider how few albinos actually make it to the silver screen, the proportion of them shown as intent on murder and destruction must be remarkably high. How did this happen?

More to the point, who’s been counting them?

The problem is, Albinos (especially those with big facial scarring) make excellent villains. Back in the days of career advisors in schools (do they still have them?) I imagine being a teenage albino would provoke only one response.

“You should look for a career in arch villainy. If at all possible, find a hero and become his nemesis - otherwise just go for general henchman type jobs.”

At least there is a career path for the melatonin challenged. Us ‘tannies’ have to fight our way to the top of a very crowded career heap in such jobs as policeman, dentist and bear baiter.

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Da Vinci Code

Written by exmonkey on May 19th, 2006 with 2 comments.
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