ThePickards
standards, accessibility, and ranting and general stuff by the web chemist

If you’ve ever wanted proof of the innate duality of mind and body; that each of us are two intertwined things, body and soul, then you might be interested in this photo of my son, taken at Pizza Hut, by my camera which is obviously psychically aware. As you can see, part of him, his [...]

Read: Souls or Shutter Speeds »

“Laptops are very hot now, so hot that they are not ‘lap’ tops anymore,” said Avik Ghosh, associate prof at the University of Virginia.
“If we continue at our current pace … these devices will be as hot as the sun in 10 to 20 years.”
The Register
Hmm. May I suggest that this trend won’t continue? Indeed, [...]

Read: Nonsense Trends »

It’s not new, exactly, having originally been made in 2005 (but obviously added to since, as some of the clips were filmed after that), it’s just a little homage to how often the phrase “what are you doing here?” crops up in Doctor Who.

For an added bonus, true Dr. Who geeks can play ’spot the [...]

Read: What’s that doing here? »

This is a list of reasons why people have spoken to the police after dialling 999 (that’s like 911, only with more 9s and less 1s). Surprisingly enough, the police weren’t best pleased about this, as 999 is for the emergency services.
Similarly, if you’re filling in a computer system that requires you to supply [...]

Read: This Is Not An Emergency… »

I’m not a geography expert, but I do like looking at maps. So imagine my surprise when I suddenly discover a large European island that I’ve never seen before.
Huh? Where did that come from?
It doesn’t generally appear on maps of Europe: it’s not on this one…

So what is it, and where is it?

Well, it’s [...]

Read: Svalbard: an island hiding in the snow »

Aar! It be international Talk Like A Pirate Day 2008, so it be. And if ye doesn’t talk like I pirate, I’ll run me cutlass through yer innards, ye stinking yellow-bellied scurvy dogs, and ye’ll feel the lash o’ me cat on yer back afore I keel-haul ye.

As Quartermistress Cate pointed out, there’s a London [...]

Read: Pirat-i-tude »

Oxford University’s head of admissions has said there is a “finite pool” of state school sixth-formers it can draw on to widen its intake.BBC News: Oxford laments finite talent pool
All I can say is thank the Lord for that. Unlike Oxford University’s Head of Admissions (who really must be applauded for recognising that there isn’t [...]

Read: Oxford Demands Infinite Number Of Teenagers »

Okay, as superpowers go, it’s not the best. Being able to fly, being able to make money appear from nowhere or being incredibly attractive to members of the opposite sex* would all be better.
*although obviously I already have this one as well.
But it is starting to seem that I have some sort of ability to [...]

Read: My Superpower: Changing the Newcastle United Regime »

Your past life diagnosis:
I don’t know how you feel about it, but you were female in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Portugal around the year 1575. Your profession was that of a sailor or shoemaker.
Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
Inquisitive, inventive, you liked to get to [...]

Read: Come again? »

Reading Meyerweb the other day, I caught sight of one of his ‘distractions’, titled ‘Summarized Cinema: Science Movies explained in a sentence’.
This sounded intruiging, so I headed over to the site to find out what it was about.
I became intrigued by the short description of Curse of the Fly that appeared on the screen [...]

Read: TV Shorts »