www.paulnixon.org

RVs

I did grow a grudging respect for RVs (is this an RV?) whilst we were in Yosemite on our honeymoon.

This looks like the cherry on the icing on the RV cake.

B3ta Genius

Yes, it's weird to navigate. But it still comes up with the occasional gem.

Blur

Some great long exposure photography.

Automatic Updates

Sometimes you just wanna get hold of Microsoft and shove something large up their collective arse.

I'm sure everybody has had this one. Microsoft does an update but needs to restart. But you're busy... no problem, I'll just 'Restart Later'. How long is later? Half a day? A couple of hours? No. 'Later' is in 10 minutes time. And after that. Another 10 minutes. In fact, it will prompt you every 10 minutes for pissing eternity!

Here's how to stop it (now I've calmed down)

Nepalling

Errr... they're not doing it right.

"Nepal's state-run airline has confirmed that it sacrificed two goats to appease a Hindu god, following technical problems with one of its aircraft.

Nepal Airlines said the animals were slaughtered in front of the plane - a Boeing 757 - at Kathmandu airport.

The offering was made to Akash Bhairab, the Hindu god of sky protection, whose symbol is seen on the company's planes. "

Stephen Hawking

Surprisingly realistic.

New New Labour - new faith school commitment

Few things get my goat more than the despicable promotion of faith schools in this country.

What's is most sickening is that this educational apartheid is sold as somehow increasing social cohesion - the clearest case of Orwellian double-think I've ever heard in the sphere of public policy.

Would it also increase social cohesion if we allow employers to have a 'no blacks' policy? Or no jews? How about public libraries that do not allow women? Can it really be true that by deliberately separating people it somehow brings them closer together?

It's a quite unimaginable situation where faith groups can use taxpayers money to indoctrinate children with their own brand of bronze age superstition whilst simultaneously excluding children from their local schools because their parent's have a rather more realistic view of the world.

Cook a Cat

22 years in a Travelodge.

I thought it was only fictional regional djs that lived in travel taverns. Apparently not.

What is most remarkable thing about this story is, not that they have survived 22 years of depressing budget accommodation but that they are still alive in their seventies having eaten "often" at the Little Chef.

Oddly, they have a flat in Sheffield yet chose to spend the rest of their lives in a service area just off the A1 near Newark.

In fairness though, their loyalty has not gone unrewarded - they are to be immortalised in some style - room 1 is now "The Davidson Suite".

I'm not sure this may prove a little misleading - the word "suite" used in the context of hotel rooms implies a certain margin of luxury over lesser rooms. I suspect this may not be the case.

Paul Anstey, Travelodge director of operations for the North, "they've literally made a Travelodge into their home".

Yes, literally :o)

Concert ticket generator

Bought someone a ticket for their birthday but it hasn't arrived yet?

Use this bad boy to make up pretend tickets to put in their card.

Can Not or Cannot

The new version of Word pisses me off as it underlines, and therefore accuses and sneers, every instance of 'can not' in my documents - recommending instead 'cannot'.

It seems that right is just about on their side as I'm not sure that the extra emphasis is really need in sentences such as

'The Agent Use Only box will be ???collapsed??? by default so that the details can not be viewed'

On the other hand...

Braintrainer

Broken for ages. Back up and running.

Female Gamers

OK, agreed, a little sexist.

Homerisms

Some olden... all golden. Not all homerisms though, despite the billing.

Marge: Homer, I don't want you driving around in a car you built yourself.

Homer: You can sit there complaining, or you can knit me some seat belts.

Wah bah.

Colin McRae RIP

Seems like a lot of top boys have died this year.

Respect to a rally legend.

Optical Illusions

I'm oddly drawn to optical illusions.

Especially this one, where square A is the same colour/shade as square B.

How to buy a car

Great video. For the US.. and for new cars only. But very interesting and amusing. Via pootergeek.

50ft skateboard bail

How he walked away I don't know

Acupuncture is best way to treat back pain, study

A study that shows the true benefits of acupuncture.

Bad Science on Acupuncture

After the somewhat disingenuous reporting in the media of the acupuncture results, Ben Goldacre comes to the rescue with a bit of common sense.

Here's a nice summary of the placebo effect.

"There's nothing inherently wrong with the idea of giving out sugar pills. The placebo effect can be very powerful, because it's not just about the pill, it's about the cultural meaning of the treatment: so we know from research that four placebo sugar pills a day are more effective than two for eradicating gastric ulcers (and that???s not subjective, you measure ulcers by putting a camera into your stomach); we know that salt water injections are a more effective treatment for pain than sugar pills, not because salt water injections are medically active, but because injections are a more dramatic intervention; we know that green sugar pills are a more effective anxiety treatment than red ones, not because of any biomechanical effect of the dyes, but because of the cultural meanings of the colours green and red. We even know that packaging can be beneficial."

Prince Phillip Gaffes

I was just thinking the other day how good it would be to have did a google maps mashup containing all the Prince's best quotes.

You'll have to zoom in a bit to get all the UK ones - they are well worth the trouble though

Acupuncture II

Apologies for harping on...

"... 47% of the acupuncture group improved, but the sting is this: 44% of the fake acupuncture group improved too. There was no statistically significant difference between proper, genuine acupuncture and fake, "bung a needle in, anywhere you fancy, with a bit of theatrical ceremony" acupuncture."

Dan Harris

All round good egg, and awesome cuber, Dan get's a decent article in the Telegraph.

Most impressive.