Here’s what my sons took to nursery to play with today.
#1
#2
Classic
Went to see the classic cars at Bearsted green earlier. Here’re a couple of shots that #1 son took. He can definitely frame a photo well.
Slow Worm – Summer 2013
Here’s our resident slow-worm showing off in the afternoon sun. It’s about 30cm long and was found near an ants’ nest. Is that what they eat? Don’t know.
Llamas, in Kent?
Not sure these are native (!) but nice to see anyway.
To Watch Over
If there existed a friendly cylon then I would hope it watches over me and my sons. Battlestar Galactica was a superb tv series.
Nothing but the rain.
My Time
I’ve been spending a little bit of time trying to complete various seasonal events in Gran Turismo. A by-product of this is my collection of cars. It has now surpassed one thousand by some way!
I might have also have been watching a little bit of Tales of the Golden Monkey. One of the stars is a Grumman Goose. Lovely.
Old Dog, New Tricks
Reviewing my iPhone music has certainly shown up some weaknesses with my brain. I was aware of the limitations of my memory but this has brought it into sharp perspective.
All the songs and albums I have been listening to for many years have been absorbed completely by my brain. I know what the songs are called, the good bits, the lyrics, the bad bits, the drumming, everything.
All the music I have listened to more recently, even though I have listened to it a lot just hasn’t really sunk in. I know the songs when I hear them but they aren’t “recorded” in my brain.
One of the reasons could be that my memory forming neurons worked better when I was “growing up”.
It could be that I’ve just been listening to the stuff for so long that it just had to sink in to my grey cells.
Another could be that I tend to listen to songs now when I am driving or running and I can’t see my iPhone to see the album cover, song title or lyrics.
Whatever the reason I don’t seem to remember new songs and lyrics although when I listen to them I remember [There’s a PhD in there somewhere].
Up
While on my trip to Washington DC I met someone who asked me for my opinion on a bracelet / wrist band thing they had bought. I was worried at first because these things tend to be utter rubbish, woo if you will. There are many performance bands that are supposed to interact with your body’s vibrations and improve your coordination and these are all fraud. They don’t work and they never will. If someone like Powerbalance can show that their bracelet works then we will have to re-write all of modern physics [similarly if ghosts exists then what are they made of? Get me the proof and we’ll develop new physics].
I had just been introduced to the Up by Jawbone wristband. A movement (not position) tracker. It has a gizmo inside that measures how much you move and then you can upload that data to your iPhone or android device. I was so excited by this that I went and bought one from the Apple shop in Georgetown [DC].
The device is easy to use. You wear it on your wrist and then upload the data to your phone app twice a day. You don’t have to upload the data that often but it seems about right.
I have to say I have been really impressed with the data I can collect. The Up band will time and measure the distance of a run, it’ll buzz me when I’ve been inactive. It can tell what sort of sleep I am having and when I got up to look after my boys.
The big question is how to use the data. It’s all very well collecting this stuff but it’s another knowing what to do with it. I have no idea how to use this data to inform what I should do in the future. The walking and running data is fair enough, I know I can aim to move around more but the sleep data? I can only sleep how I sleep. Perhaps I need to search the interweb thing to see if I can find out how to improve my sleep without having to give up alcohol! I love my wristband. I love the information it collects and the graphics it shows me. I’m just not sure what it tells me!
Iron Man 3
Went to see this film at the Showcase Cinema at Bluewater. I had to pick a seat at the front row because I was the last person in. There were a bunch of annoying teenagers just behind me and to the left but that’s what happens at the cinema. If I could watch these films at home I probably would but, then again, it’s nice to get out.
The best thing about this film is Stark’s character. He’s so quick witted and a completely self-obsessed and absorbed arse. It makes it worth seeing. Look, the story is ok. The effects are ok but I guess it’s the set-pieces people go to see. They were good and the crane at the end was massive, really impressive.
It’s amusing to think that every time IronMan landed Tony would be squashed to a pulp inside. I know the man is bright and able to make 42 different models of IronMan in his spare time and have them all working really well but I just don’t think he’s invented the inertia drive. I could spend all day moaning about science but I shan’t. Oh, apart from the acupuncture needles in Stark towards the end, what horse poo!
Anyway, look, it’s a superhero action film. Not up to the standards of Watchmen but a good one none the less.
Scrolling Direction
I think a new convention is needed. Being a somewhat literal interpreter of language and also because I like playing devil’s advocate I cause confusion when asked to “scroll up” my computer screen. As part of my job I regularly project my computer screen and write on the display using Microsoft OneNote. Sometimes it is requested of me to show more of my previous writing because those who should be following my work are a little slow.
Can you scroll up please
This is what I will be asked to do and although I understand the intention (to see what I wrote earlier) I irritate by moving the display on the screen so that the “paper” moves up. This is, of course, the opposite of what was being asked.
My argument to my followers is that in the days of paper scrolls being asked to scroll up would have moved the paper up and so would allow more of the bottom of the paper to be seen. I honestly do not know what should be the correct way to move the “paper”. If I was asked:
Can you move the scroll bar up please
I would say that is pretty unambiguous. Moving the scroll bar up has the desired effect. Or perhaps if I was asked:
Could you move the screen down so I can see the earlier work please
Again, it is quite clear what the intention of this statement is. I guess one of the lovely things about language is how vague and foggy it can be. It takes time and clarity of thought and interpretation to say exactly what you mean.
The offending item:
