Andy Cunningham

With a bang, apparently:

There are worse ways to go. Thanks to Physics Geek for the link.

• Some bizarre predictions from the Past
• Tricks of the Trade by Matthew Baldwin has some great tips from 30 different professionals. My favourite (I’ve done it myself) is from the IT Helpdesk recommendation to use the abbreviation “PEBKAC” in the resolution notes of a problem. Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.
• It turns out that despite your eye having a 576 megapixels resolution, most people cannot distinguish the difference in quality between a 300dpi and a 150dpi photo when printed at 6×4″, when viewed at normal viewing distances.
• Site administrators use CAPTCHAs to prevent automated scripts from performing certain functions, such as creating an account, sending email to a distribution list, or participating in a discussion thread. This proposal suggests they’re needed for accessing the Internet.

I thought this article on the history of road safety was a  fascinating read.

Yesterday we visited “A Country Affair”, also known as the Hampton Court Show. This annual event is a great place to wander around and chill out.  A few of the traders deserved a mention:

• Herbal Haven have a wonderful collection of culinary and medicinal herbs (legal ones!), including varietes of mint I’d never even heard of.  Raspberry mint, anyone?
• Hide Bound Tankards make wonderful replicas of medieval style leather tankards.  I bought a great one with a Welsh Dragon on it!
• Chilli Pepper Pete, where I got some dried chilli peppers and made the mistake of tasting “Dragon’s Blood”.  Made from naga chilies – the hottest in the world – spiced up with 5.5 million SHU capsaicin extract, this stuff is incredible.  I had a tiny drop on a cracker, and the heat was just incredible: it just kept getting hotter and hotter for about a minute after I swallowed it – it seemed like a lot longer.  It was something like 20 minutes before the effect wore off.  Wow!

Despite being nearly chillied to death, it was a wonderful day out.

We also found out about the Emsworth Food Festival coming up in a few weeks….  That looks like a fun day out, too.

From TubeJP, this London Tube Journey Planner will save me a lot of time peering at the map in Waterloo on my next trip into the city.  If I remember to look before I go.