Very True Things

MPs Meme

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:55:04 GMT

Via Miss SB comes the Can you list all your MPs? meme.

1973 - 1974 Geoffrey Howe (Con) Reigate
1974 - 1976 George Gardiner (Con) Reigate
1976 1979: Sir George Evelyn Sinclair (Con) Dorking
1979 1983: Keith Wickenden (Con) Dorking
1983 - 1992: Kenneth Baker (Con) Mole Valley
1992 - 1997: John Patten (Con) Oxford West and Abingdon
1997 - 1998: Paul Beresford (Con) Mole Valley
1998 - present: Tessa Jowell (Lab) Dulwich and West Norwood

Baker, Patten and Jowell are the ones I was aware of, which was depressing enough...

Very Naked Man

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:10:48 GMT

Quite a bit of nudity in that episode...

... but the prize goes to Jack, who technically was naked for very, very nearly the entire hour.

Not quite as good as yesterday. Just 8/10 instead of 9/10.

Oh, and did anyone else stop to wonder whether the out-of-the-way military base was the same place that Connie used to manage in Spooks?

XHTML 2 RIP

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:32:46 GMT

Via Zeldman I learn that the W3C's XHTML working group is shutting up shop at the end of the year.

What does this mean for XHTML? In terms of standards, XHTML 2.0 is dead, and the only games in town are now the XHTML 1.x family and the XHTML syntax of HTML 5.

Which in practical terms means almost nothing at all. XHTML 2 wasn't gaining any support form browsers, authors or advocates. It wasn't backwards compatible, progress was glacially slow and nobody was talking about it. It was already dead. This move is just the W3C accepting reality.

I rather like the cheeky way that Mark says it in song.

Boom Today!

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:22:30 GMT

Torchwood was a bit good, wasn't it?

Photos

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:19:38 GMT

Robot Zoo

Plasticine Garden

Something New

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:41:43 GMT

I spent this afternoon giving TanitaTikaram.net, one of my oldest websites, a makeover from this to this.

I decided to use WordPress and to lightly modify an existing theme rather than create my own. I still have a lot of content to migrate but so far the results are looking good. What do you think?

Robin Hood finale (Spoilers)

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:20:44 GMT

Nicholas Grace used to boast that he was the only Sheriff of Nottingham who ever killed Robin Hood. Keith Allen and Lara Pulver can now argue over whether they can join him in that claim.

Do you think the casting director told Clive Standen "basically, you're Jason Connery"? (Not, ahem, Jason Donovan as I accidentlly said to pink_weasel during tonight's episode.) Though as a 4th series looks unlikely, I guess he's dodged that fate.

Wasn't Tuck incredibly active for someone who had an arrow in his shoulder at the end of last week's episode?

They shouted "loose" rather than "fire". Possibly the first historically accurate thing in the entire series (to the best of my knowledge people didn't shout "fire" until after firearms were in use).

Celebratory day out in London

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:33:11 GMT

Today was the 10th anniversary of my first date with Lettice. Back in 1999 we went to see The Matrix in Streatham. Today we had an adventure to celebrate.

First up was the Robot Zoo at the Horniman Museum. Did you know that it took three people to drive a chameleon?

Then we did a bit of shopping. Lettice bought beads and I bought Doctor Who books.(About Time 3 2nd edition is 500 pages long and has an end note about the Chuckle Brothers, how can you not want it?)

If you missed James May's plasticine garden at Chelsea you can now see it at the Royal Festival Hall.

Then we went on the London Eye. Yes, we live in London. Yes, we work in London tourism. Yes, it's been open for nine years. No, we hadn't been on it before.

Then there was yarn shopping. Followed by Yo! Sushi (between you and me, the County Hall branch is always nice and quiet in the evenings and only a short walk from the heaving, 45 minute wait to be seated, restaurants along the Southbank).

Anyway, I'll do a proper image post either tomorrow or on Monday, in the meantime there are pictures on Flickr.

Brontosaurice

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:32:30 GMT

Via Tom comes this great video for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

I ♥ Libraries

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:20:17 GMT

I wonder if the staff in my local library think I have trashy tastes as all I ever take out is comics and tv/film tie-ins. Of course I do have some trashy tastes but I'm also a snob 'cos I buy the good quality books but borrow the trash for free.

Fantasy Author Meme

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:56:54 GMT

Via lonemagpie...

Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...
Ursula K Le Guin
3 High-Brow, -7 Violent, -3 Experimental and 3 Cynical!
Congratulations! You are High-Brow, Peaceful, Traditional and Cynical! These concepts are defined below.
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is definitely one of the most celebrated science fiction and fantasy writers of all times. Her most famousfantasy work to date is the Earthsea suite of novels and short stories, in which Le Guin created not only one of the most believable societies in fantasy fiction, but also managed to describe a school for wizards almost three decades before Harry Potter. Although often categorized as writtenfor young adults, these books have entertained and challenged readers of all ages since their publication.
Le Guinis no stranger to literary experiments (see for example Always Coming Home(1985)), butmuch of her story-telling is quite traditional. In fact, she makes a point of returning to older forms of story-telling,which, at her best, enables her to create something akin to myth.One shouldn't confuse myth with faerytale, though. Nothing is ever simplified in Le Guin's world, as she relentlessly explores ethical problems and the moral choices that her characters must make, as must we all. While being one of those writers who willallow you to escape to imaginary worlds, she is also one who will prompt you to return to your actual life, perhaps a little wiser than you used to be.
You are also a lot like Susan Cooper.
If you want some action, try Michael Moorcock.
If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, C S Lewis.
Your score
This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more ofeither (eg more romantic than cynical).Please note that eventhough High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.
High-Brow vs. Low-Brow
You received 3 points, making you more High-Brow than Low-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, rather than the best-selling kind. At their best, high-brows are cultured, able to appreciate thefiner nuances of literature and not content with simplifications. At their worst they are, well, snobs.
Violent vs. Peaceful
You received -7 points, making you more Peaceful than Violent. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you aren't, and you don't, then you are peaceful as defined here. At their best, peaceful people are the ones who encourage dialogue andunderstanding as a means of solving conflicts. At their worst, they arestanding passively by asthey or third parties are hurt by less scrupulous individuals.
Experimental vs. Traditional
You received -3 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhatnarrow-minded.
Cynical vs. Romantic
You received 3 points, making you more Cynical than Romantic. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skepticalto people around you and the world at large,or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes,happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, cynical people are able to see through lies and spot crucial flaws in plans and schemes. At their worst, they are overly negative, bringing everybody else down.
Author picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UrsulaLeGuin.01.jpg
Take Which fantasy writer are you? at HelloQuizzy

Pub Quiz Answers

Sat, 30 May 2009 08:44:06 GMT

Answers for the 1997 pub quiz I posted last week.

Catalogued Mozarts works, and hence they are known by K-numbers
Cornet
Don Maclean
Gillian Anderson
111 (Geri: 24, Victoria: 22, Mel C: 22, Mel B: 22, Emma: 21.)
Beekeeping
Father Brown
Martin Amis (Time's Arrow)
Longfellow
The Rivals (Sheridan)
The Prisoner (also accepted: Babylon 5 even though they only include it as a homage)
Ed Wood
The Color Purple
Darius Perkins and Jason Donovan
Jess
Weber
Paracetamol
Left lung
Alan Turing
Thorium
Spartans
Richard I coeur de lion
Thity Years War
19
Vietnam
Zimbabwe
Soloman Islands
Andora
Scilly Isles
Rhode Island
5
Swampy
Aneurin Bevan
40
On trial for murder in Saudi Arabia
Carl Lewis (Long Jump)
Argentina (1978)
Bodyline
Wimbledon, US, French and Australian Opens
The British Isles Rugby Union team
IBM
Be made a saint
Stanley Baldwin
Pelham Grenville
Monday
1974
Asquith
Nuffield
Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister
St Johns (in books) or Lonsdale (on TV)

Losing Interest?

Mon, 25 May 2009 19:45:08 GMT

The interest I'm getting paid on my savings account (Yes, I'm f***ing lucky to still have any savings):

14 Oct 2008	£38.32
14 Nov 2008	£37.20
14 Dec 2008	£25.15
14 Jan 2009	£17.86
14 Feb 2009	£13.04
14 Mar 2009	£9.82
14 Apr 2009	£10.55
14 May 2009	£10.32

Not quite sure what happened in April. Did the Bank of England forget to cut the base rate or something?

The good news is that the government is getting £2 instead of £8 each month. Which means they have less money to give back to banks to pay me less interest. Hang on, surely this can't be the way out of the crisis?

What makes a good pub quiz question?

Mon, 25 May 2009 16:57:53 GMT

From tha questions in the old quiz I posted the other day, many are straightforward and a few are devious, I'm afraid that some are a little obscure or badly worded. But some I'm quite proud of, and these tend to have something in common.

Which 1985 film was directed by Steven Spielberg and featured Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey?

Easy for anyone with IMDB or Wikipedia access. But when I set this question it was aimed at undergraduates, most of whom would have been about ten when the film came out. It had been shown on telly (I remembering watching it) but all the same it wasn't likely to spring to mind for most of the participants.

Who were the last nation to win footballs world cup in their own country?

Remember that this quiz is from 1997 so France were still a year away from winning. I'm sure lots of people would get this straight away as there's a fair overlap between pub quizzers and football stat geeks. But for the rest of you, how many tournaments would you go back through before jumping to the 'obvious' wrong answer of England?

These questions are on topics - film, football - that people lots of people are interested in. They're not even about obscure niches within those topics - Steve Spielberg and the World Cup can't be called niche. But they are on the edge of, or just outside of, most people's "comfort zone". And that's what I think makes a good pub quiz question.

Star Trek

Sun, 24 May 2009 16:37:29 GMT

The new Star Trek film rocks.

Everything that mattered was right, and many of the things that didn't matter as well (they even did the sideburns).

However, I have a problem with Scotty, it's quite simply that Simon Pegg + scottish accent = Wee Hughie from The Boys and that brings to mind all sorts of very strange crossovers.

'cos all time travel shows are the same

Sat, 23 May 2009 19:32:04 GMT

Ah, got it now. ARC team = the Doctor and Helen Cutter = Sabbath.

Bring on the ~~Daleks~~, bugger can't use them, make something up quick, um, how about crystal men?

Which will make sense to the handful of other people in world who read the EDAs and watch Primeval.

Quiz like it's 1997

Fri, 22 May 2009 18:37:51 GMT

So I found this file, last modified 10 June 1997, on a set of back ups and it's a pub quiz that I ran in Balliol bar. In fact considering the date I suspect that this is the night that pink_weasel first clapped eyes on me and thought "nice guy, shame about the jumper".

People on facebook and twitter said that they wanted to see the quiz, so here goes.

Remember that this was set in June 1997 - Tony Blair has just won a landslide victory, Katrina and the Waves had just won the Eurovision song contest, Deep Blue had just beaten Gary Kasparov, Princess Diana and Mother Teresa were still alive, Google was being born and Wikipedia didn't exist.

Music

What is Ludwig von Kchels claim to fame?
Which instrument did jazz musician Bix Biederbecke play?
"Killing Me Softly", covered by The Fugees, was written about whom?
Which actress has recently released a single entitled "Extremis"?
What is the combined age of The Spice Girls?

Literature

What hobby did Sherlock Holmes take up when he retired?
What is the name of G.K. Chestertons clerical sleuth?
Whose 1991 novel tells the story of a man who lives his life backwards?
Which poets works include "The Wreck of the Hesperus" and "The Courtship of Miles Standish"?
Captain Absolute, Sir Lucius O'Trigger and Bob Acres are the title characters in which play?

Television and Cinema

In which cult TV series would you encounter the saying "Be seeing you" complete with accompanying salute?
Whats the name of the man who in 1980 was voted worst director of all time and was played by Johnny Depp in a 1995 film?
Which 1985 film was directed by Steven Spielberg and featured Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey?
Name the two actors who played Scott Robinson in "Neighbours"?
What is the name of Postman Pat's cat?

Science

Which of the following is not a measure of radiation: Gray, Weber, Sievert, Curie, Bequerel?
How is the drug in everyday use Acetaminophen better known?
Which internal organ do most snakes lack?
Which computing pioneer was tried and convicted because of his hmosexuality?
Which chemical element is named after a Norse god?

History

Leonidas led which side at the battle of Thermopylae
Which English king was imprisoned in Durenstein castle by Leopold of Austria?
The "Defenestration of Prague" started which war?
How old was Queen Victoria at the time of her ascension to the throne?
Where in 1946 would you have found British, French and Japanese troops fighting on the same side?

Geography

Which African country takes its name from some ancient ruins?
What is the biblically inspired name of the islands in the South Pacific discovered in 1568 by the Alvaro de Mendana de Neyra?
Which country is jointly ruled by the President of France and the Bishop of Urgel?
St Marys, St Martins and Tresco are members of which island group?
Which is the smallest of the United States?

Current Affairs - Remember, it's 1997

How many women are there in the new cabinet?
How is Daniel Hooper better known?
A great-nephew of which socialist hero was revealed as a "Tory Boy" during the election campaign?
What is the quorum for the House of Commons?
Why are Deborah Parry and Lucille McLauchlan in big trouble?

Sport

Who, last year, won a fourth consecutive Olympic gold in a track and field event?
Who were the last nation to win football's world cup in their own country?
Harold Larwood and Douglas Jardine were involved in which cricketing controversy?
Which four tournaments make up tennis's Grand Slam?
What is the official name of rugby's British Lions?

Trivia

Thomas Watson who in 1943 said, "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" was chairman of which company?
In 1975, Elizabeth Seton, became the first American to do what?
Who said of the press barons, "Power without responsibility, the privilege of the harlot throughout the ages"?
What were P.G. Wodehouse's first names?
Which day of the week will the next century begin on?

Oxford

In which year was OUSU formed?
Who first said that Balliol students had "the tranquil air of the effortlessly superior"?
Which is the tallest college?
Baillie College occasionally featured in which BBC TV series?
Inspector Morse attended which college as an undergraduate? (Two possible answers as books and TV differ.)

ERANU

Thu, 21 May 2009 17:51:52 GMT

I don't normally do the celeb spotting thing, but I'll just point out that today I passed Vic Reeves in Forbidden Planet. And it was only two or three years ago that I sat next to him in Yo! Sushi at Victoria.

Two people who live in London cross paths twice in busy public places. Shock.

Saw that coming, unlike...

Tue, 19 May 2009 21:10:29 GMT

Early on during this evening's episode of CSI -
"If he turns our to have been killed by a tortoise dropped by a bird of prey I'll scream."

After this evening's episode of CSI -
"You didn't scream, you laughed."
"I hooted."

But kudos to the scriptwriter for getting the line at the end about probability right.

And someone needs to find Charisma Carpenter a decent part.

Deadpool update

Mon, 04 May 2009 21:44:19 GMT

The death of trade unionist Jack Jones a couple of weeks back means that a third of the way through the year Paul has two-nil lead over everyone else in our Deadpool game.

A hop, a skip and a jump to broken accessibility

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:17:56 GMT

From the web site of a major high street retailer:

<ul>
    <li><a accesskey="c" href="#maincontent">
        Jump to main content [Access key 'C']
    </a></li>
    <li><a accesskey="n" href="#primarynav">
        Jump to primary navigation [Access key 'N']
    </a></li>
    <li><a accesskey="s" href="#maincontent">
        Skip navigation [Access key 'S']
    </a></li>
</ul>

What is the difference between "Jump to main content" and "Skip navigation"? Clearly nothing in this case as they both go to #maincontent. But for added points, there's no id=maincontent or name=maincontent anywhere in the page, so they both do nothing.

And trying to find a contact form to inform them of this error I instead find a "Generic System Error" page which contains this very user friendly message:

CMN3101E The system is unavailable due to "CMN0420E".

Some days I actually feel quite okay about the work I produce.

Out with the old...

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:47:43 GMT

So at the risk of turning into an old NewsBiscuit story I've been sorting out the box, and the carrier bag next to the box, full of "computer bits". I think there may be some more elsewhere in the flat as well.

(Some are things I haven't seen in a long time so I've been dragging names of some of these cables and connectors from the depths of my memory/Wikipedia)

1 AC adaptor for a scanner I threw out five years ago
1 unidentified AC adaptor (Canon, I don't recall owning anything made by Canon that would need an adaptor)
2 kettle leads
1 keyboard with USB cable (would be okay if I hadn't spilt olive oil on it this one time...)
1 keyboard with PS/2 cable
1 AT-PS/2 adaptor
1 AT cable
2 mice with PS/2 connectors
1 mouse with 9 pin connector
1 PS/2 to USB connector
1 USB to mini-USB cable
1 9 pin serial cable
1 parallel switchbox cable
1 parallel printer cable
1 5m Cat 5 cable
2 RJ11-phone cables
1 RJ11-RJ11 cable
1 RJ11 to phone connector
3 micro filters
2 sets of rubbish mini-speakers
1 mini-TRS to RCA cable
1 mini-TRS to mini-TRS cable
3 chargers for mobile phones we no longer own

Oh, and a 14" Philips CRT monitor, hardly used. I suppose one of the kettle leads belongs to this.

I think I'll be keeping 1 spare mouse, 1 emergency Internet connection kit, anything with a USB connector and the kettle leads, and ditching the rest. Now, which types of things am I not supposed to just chuck in the rubbish?

Super

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:22:54 GMT

1999: Iceland, Kwik Save, Co-Op, [pub], [Woolworths]

2009: Iceland, Somerfield, [pound store], Tesco, Sainsbury's

Today pink_weasel and I rushed home from work because (a) it was the start of the long weekend and (b) we could shop in West Norwood Sainsbury's on its opening day.

K-9

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:03:43 GMT

I've just watched The Invisible Enemy for the first time. This is the story that added K-9 to Doctor Who and the tin dog comes across really well in his debut. The plot is as nonsensical as every review I've ever read says it is. There are some good ideas in there, Leela is great, the design and effects work - with the exception of the infamous prawn - are excellent. But the plot is all over the place and the technobabble is unconvincing not so much because a lack of basic science as a lack of basic common sense.

So next DVD to watch will be K-9 and Company for the first time since 1981...

Meanwhile. This is a teaser for the forthcoming K-9 series:

Oh dear.

Planet of the Dead trailer

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:17:08 GMT

"So, " thinks Russell T Davies, "my episode Midnight got rather a good response. I wonder what people liked about it? I know, it was set on a bus!¹ Let's set the next special on a bus, that will work."

"And," he continues, "'cos the special is a bit longer than a regular episode we'll splice in a chunk of Pitch Black. No one will ever notice. Especially if we stick some BSG style music and flashbacks all over the trailer."

1 This isn't as daft as it seems. After all what else explains the popularity of Iris Wildthyme? Apart from the gin of course.

Just 10 days to go!