No geek
is an island

Oh my word. My jaw has dropped. Just take a listen (with RealPlayer) to a clip of Bush Was Right. (Via Tim, who’s all over G2 today.)

Bothered by leaves on the line? They can really mess up your train journey, can’t they? But why do they cause problems? Surely they’re only leaves? Soft, floaty leaves - how can they harm a big, butch, intercity train?

If only we knew, then we wouldn’t feel so frustrated. We wouldn’t mind late trains because we’d understand.

Fortunately, help is at hand in the form of a leaflet, produced by Network Rail and a couple of train operating companies, called The Challenge of Falling Leave. This brings to life such concepts as “carbonisation”, “Sandite” and “Low Adhesion Training” in a simple, pocket-sized guide that every commuter will cherish.

The back page even features a helpful rundown of some of the most common leaves, so never again will you have to wonder “Is that a sycamore I see before me?” as you stare impotently out of the window of a stationary carriage.

…from Lord Mackenzie, on ID cards:

He told BBC News: “Let’s look at the Soham murders. If Ian Huntley had had an identity card, would he have got the job at Soham school which allowed him to commit the murders? I think not.”

Erm, I think so, your lordship. Huntley didn’t disguise his identity to get the job so where would an ID card confirming that help? (Ignoring the too-often-forgotten fact that he didn’t work at the school attended by his victims.) The problems highlighted by the Bichard Inquiry related failures in the way Humberside and Cambridgeshire police forces recorded intelligence information, and how that weakened criminal records checking, an entirely separate issue from ID cards. A shameful attempt to use an emotive crime to distort a controversial issue.

Via Make Blog comes PocketMod. It’s a DIY paper-based PDA. Customise which pages you want, print it out, some folds and a snip, and voilà!

I chose a 2005 calendar, a week planner, a shopping list, a sudoku puzzle, a blank sudoku grid, and some note space.
Yes, I’m having a slow lunch hour.

Apparently there aren’t enough nice pictures on blogs. So here’s the Moon from where I work as it was late yesterday afternoon. Although my camera phone and the Eldoradoesque framing do make it look like the Sun.

These were so much fun last time, I think they may be regular feature. These come from this week’s Dewey Decimal subject mappings.

• Longest number: Race films - 791.43652996073
• Sexiest number: Erotic stories, Korean - 895.7300803538
• Grossest number: Sick in motion pictures - 791.436561
• Most out of this world: Lunar volcanoes - 551.2109991
• Most down to Earth: Interactive whiteboards - 004.75
• Down with the kids number: Video wrestling games - 794.86812
• D’oh: Simpson, Homer (Fictitious character) - 741.5973