tick-tock

For about a couple of years between my late teens and mid twenties I never carried a watch. I don't remember whether my old watch broke or was lost but I didn't have enough enthusiasm to shop for a replacement. Then I found I could get along fine without one. Generally, I'd work out the time to the nearest hour intuitively, and if on rarer occasions I needed more accurate time I'd simply seek out a clock or the kindness of strangers.

The reason I think of this now is because I've just read an article in response to old news that using technology makes you stupid. The article refutes the claim though I wasn't convinced, and I wonder how my life would be without media technology (gratuitous use thereof, obviously. I'm not suggesting that if ever I should face a life-threatening situation where safety required the assistance of technology, I should decline it on principle). It's safe to say, I think, that certain tasks seemed more meaningful before technology saved time and labour. And made us stupid because now any fool can do it, can't they?

These days I'm a watch wearing conformist, but every once in a while, I try to tell, not guess, the time of day intuitively. Rarely am I out by more than half an hour, more frequently correct within a quarter of an hour. I ask you, how accurate do we need to be?

piccadilly and the corned beef salad sandwich

Apologies for typing this with my mouth full but you know how it is when you come through the other side of a fever you have a ravenous appetite. I'm finishing off the last morsel of a corned beef, coleslaw and fresh salad sandwich made with home-baked bread, still warm; the dog, who disapproves of humans eating unaided, shows her objection by resting her drooling jowls on the closed lid of my laptop; in a short while she would ensure there's enough dog saliva to endanger life and laptop either by short-circuiting or fatal electric shock; I would have to put down my plate and remove my laptop from my lap thus giving her an opportunity to remove the sandwich. It doesn't work. I'm feeling right as ninepence after being far too unwell to eat a thing and now I'm far too hungry to play dogs' games.

Yesterday, I viewed the BFI playlist, The Big Smoke: London on Film. I've a soft spot for any old films showing ordinary goings on, especially up and down streets. London has a particular interest as it's where I'm from. The first clip, Old London Street Scene, 1903, I found truly incredible. Just how many horses were there in London at that time, and what did they do with all the shit? There's none to be seen in the film yet it only takes a couple of girls trotting by on ponies up our way and there's shit for miles! (I did a bit of reckless Googling and estimated over 100,000 public and privately registered nags by 1900 - and it was a much smaller place than now. When the oil finally runs out, and they find there's not enough minerals to make batteries for everyone to have a G-whizz, we'll be in the shit, again.

Moving on, I found this one interesting. It threw up some more questions. I liked the way the colour changes with the scenes, sepia for the interior of the Limehouse boozer, cyan for the street outside, but how would this have been done in 1920s; in the processing, post-process coating of the frames in each scene, or by coloured filters during projection? I don't know why I'm curious, I just am. I'll bet it's the middle one.

It's only an extract from a longer film, and I wouldn't mind watching the whole thing. It's a strong subject, racism, which with all isms isn't going away fast enough, and soon there'll be horseism and shittism to boot, mark my words.

the chair: an idea

In quiet moments I'll sometimes click on the next blog link on the blogger bar above. I don't do it from here. I do it from Ellis Nadler's blog because I've been doing it for a while and starting from his blog normally gives more interesting results than others, no doubt by content association. Often I thought I ought to post some of the interesting blogs I've found by this method but I'm lazy, and people should do their own lokking, and if anyone really wants to know, I hide them in the link mosaic at the end of the sidebar.

Anyway, I found Galen's Manspace and I'm intrigued by his vertical marble roller (I wish there was a video). I love machines, and I love art, so what's not to like with a vertical marble roller.

I wish I had the time to develop this idea along my own lines. Two things came to mind; there must be a visual and an audible element to this which can be separated. the idea I have is for a chair - credit to my blog mate Steve for this post - incorporating a marble roller. The first device, a helter-skelter, would wrap itself around the sitter's head thus, if the sitter closed their eyes, they would hear the sound passing around their head. The second device comprises a wall, not unlike the one in the contemplation chair, but constructed from marble rollers. There would need to be some random element in the way the marbles were released but I feel the effect will either be infuriating or relaxing, and I don't mind which.

getting smart

I was passed by an electric car this morning as I made my way up to ''the employment''. To most urbanites this might be utterly mundane but in ''the sticks'' we don't have them because the leads aren't long enough to get you between plug-sockets.

It didn't sound like a milk float, as I remember them. It sounded not too unlike our wind-up torch being frantically wound up before entering the attic. I suppose it was going uphill. It was a Smart car in case anyone's interested, black, and it looked okay. If I lived in a city I would consider one myself. Or maybe I'd only use public transport. I can't really say, and I'm probably relieved I don't have to choose.

On the news yesterday, it said that part of the London to South West train line would be electrified by 2015. Currently they run diesel locomotives. The advantage of electric locos is lightness, better acceleration, power, and speed, not to mention fewer emissions (providing the electricity is cleanly made). Presumably, the advantage of diesels, and the reason we've had them, is low capital (infrastructure) costs and those who own the diesels don't own the tracks which wear out faster with the heavier, punishing diesel locos, I don't know. But I do think electricity is the future secondary energy source. Hats off to that.

cubism kills the turbine

The last post on wind energy - for now.

I was still stuck with the thought that something is better than nothing and if you could use a turbine to power a few light bulbs or a laptop then at least that's something. And, I thought, it's not the technology that's crooked, it's the economics - they cost too damn much! Around £10,000 even after an improvement grant. Then the cost analyser in me wondered where this money was going - surely, a competent DIY person could make one from parts? Maybe there are blueprints!

Googling around a bit I found there are. However, then I stumbled upon this. And this. And, eventually, this.

Of course, the engineer in me knew there'd be an equation for it, even if it's merely rule-of-thumb. Apparently, it is,

Power in watts = (collection area in square feet) x (wind speed)3 x (0.0054)

or simply, Power is proportional to wind speed cubed. As it explains, turbines are sold on their ability to generate a nominal amount in windy conditions. But on less windy days - in other words, average conditions - the power drops disproportionally. Hence, half the rated speed results in just one-eighth of the rated power.

nerve centre

My continued falling out of love with the WWW is recently exacerbated by a bout of sciatica. I find sitting upright the least comfortable activity at the moment. This appears to be a green ailment as cycling seems to offer relief whereas driving is agony, compounded by the sense of feeling hopelessly trapped and helplessly confined. And as far as walking goes, the poison is in the dose.

Looking it up on the WWW, as you do, I find I need the services of a physiotherapist/osteopath/chiropractor for a bit of leg pulling. What the difference is I don't know but I fear one of them might be a quack. However, my main concern is if they have somewhere safe to chain the bike.

The causes of sciatica are varied, the most likely being sitting awkwardly in the same position for too long - the old WWW again, probably. It's a relief that I'm not in regular employment right now or I'd have to take time off as most of modern office life in the knowledge sectors requires the worker to sit all but motionless in front of a keyboard and screen. I recall earlier times as a trainee/apprentice engineer working pretty much exclusively on a drawing board and being able to vary the height and inclination which enabled me to spend some time sitting and some time standing, at will. Not to mention the stretching and twisting which occurred unconsciously as I moved around the large board, and between board and desk to pick up and replace instruments. Okay, I was younger then but I never suffered a work-related illness in all those days.

What have we done to ourselves in the interest of progress and efficiency? The whole thing's a cock-up from beginning to end. Not to mention the fact that when the computer system fails, either by system crash or power failure, productive work stops immediately and we all look to each other like lost little children in a shopping mall.

Computer dependence will spell the death of civilization. Ouch! - now really I must go stretch my sciatica...

a case for time travel (part three)

Technologists should avoid making predictions about life. Sure, they can speculate on what will be possible technologically, but not about what our future selves will value. We all remember predictions of everyone owning jet-packs and flying cars. And more leisure time - I remember that one well - due to a plethora of labour-saving gadgetry. Besides, this civilization is, probably, coming to its natural end.

Tim Berners-Lee - fine fellow: invented the world-wide-web (not to be confused with the internet) and gave it away, free - is here predicting pixels will become so cheap we'll have entire rooms walled with the things. Information will then be so widespread and available, some bod might discover a way to stop climate change, or even cure male pattern baldness, perhaps. Maybe. Anything's possible, even a technological prediction.

My personal WWW has been shrinking over the last year. I no longer find it exciting or, dare I say it, worthwhile. My bookmark page is as big as it was purely because I can't be bothered to par it down to the six or seven sites I want to visit. There was a time I used to surf with incredible ease; now more often I sigh and get on with something more real.