So, this morning I learn about this new film, 2012, from my Physics tutee. “What a daft idea”, I think. Then I read reviews from critics and a few people who’ve actually seen it. “An audience of Physicists would have been laughing out loud in the first five minutes” was one of the quotes.
But it wouldn’t be the first film to take a snippet of science and turn it into a good piece of entertainment.
In fact this evening I find myself watching “The Core” on Film4 which seems to involve using ultra-powerful ultrasonics to bore a hole to the Earth’s core to restart the magnetic core’s spin which, for no apparent reason, had stopped spinning.
Almost every scientific aspect is laughable but I am being entertained.

Do you remember when the The Sun (or was it The People?) printed a front page picture of a WW2 bomber in a crater on the Moon? Well, if people were stupid enough to believe that – and some were, then I just know I’m going to get plagued by bizarre questions as soon as some of my less well educated colleagues see this film or read about it.

I shall prepare some suitable answers in advance.

If two things go wrong people will say they always happen in threes. How about six or even more?
What is it with electrical appliances? Or have I just been unlucky recently?
In chronological order in 2009:
1. Push button door switch and unlock fails on microwave. Fixed mechanically.
2. Push button mains switch on dishwasher fails. Fixed with a new one but not the same as the original as it was so old.
3. Micro-switch on oven fails -again. Sick of replacing it every few months, so a new oven.
4. Freezer suddenly stops cooling anything, though motor is still, noisily running. After farming out its contents to neighbours and ordering a replacement, I test it one last time. It works perfectly. Still working.
5. Flat battery in car; very embarrassing. Use jump start, take it for a drive. Still flat. Price up new one while putting it on charge. Ever since: no problems.
6. Wall clock stops. Take it down, check battery – seems OK. Try new one anyway; still no good. Put it to one side, check it later; nothing. Check it even later; it’s working!
7. Oscar is trapped outside in today’s awful weather. The electromagnetic cat-flap has stopped working; try a new battery. No good. Logic suggests rain might have been the problem, though it doesn’t look wet inside. Ten minutes with a hair dryer and it works again.
About six weeks of 2009 left. What else can go wrong? Or am I tempting fate?

“A FLASHER on board a Hamilton bus in New Zealand has led the driver to crash into a police station.

A 14-year-old male passenger allegedly exposed himself to a female passenger on the bus on Friday morning, causing her to scream.

The bus driver called his company office, who advised him to take the bus to the nearest police station.

When the bus arrived at the Hamilton North Community Policing Centre, the driver activated the emergency door lock, thinking the bus was in neutral.”

But, guess what .. ?

Read the full story: here

More of a scientific query than a rant but have you noticed how there’s one thing that actually does stick to these surfaces, and better than it does to any other kitchen utensil?

Water.

However well our dishwasher cleans and dries every glass, plate and all-metal saucepan, any pans with a non-stick surface are still dripping wet inside and have to be wiped dry.

Why is that?

So, at the car auction, the announcements were clear. At eleven o’clock staff stopped what they were doing and so did most of the customers; but far from all. I had expected this so I had locked my car to stand at its side.

Through the whole two minutes there were still many punters wandering around, getting in to cars, even re-starting the engines we’d switched off, making and taking phone calls and joking and talking. In the canteen some tried to insist on being served during this time.

They should be ashamed of themselves, but I don’t suppose they will be.

It’s a tie today for the weirdest search engine terms which have led people to this blog.

The contenders are:

“reception area penis chandelier”

and

“vitage elephant chewin gum”

Feel free to vote.

If you have your own blog I’d love to know of any examples you’ve seen for it.

Unfortunately, this is the biggest news in the UK for the moment.

For non-UK readers, Gordon Brown has taken an unprecedented step of hand-writing individual letters of condolence to the  close relatives of soldiers killed in the middle-East this year.

This is no mean task for someone running a country, when such letters would have normally been cranked out from a computer or by a typist and just signed. Not made easier because the PM does not have perfect vision in his one remaining eye and his handwriting is far from neat. He said “Every time I write a letter to mothers and fathers and partners who have suffered bereavement to express my sincere condolences, it is a moment of personal sadness to me. And I am in awe of the bravery and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces.”

Who in this situation might not have made mistakes? Unfortunately he did in one letter to the mother of Jamie Janes – several – and the letter clearly was not proof-read before being posted.

She complained. The PM phoned personally to apologise for the errors and was, apparently,  harangued by her for 15 minutes. She recorded the tirade and subsequently passed it for publication to The Sun. In a video distributed by the Sun newspaper, his mother Jacqui called the letter a “hastily scrawled insult”. What, if anything, she is being paid for this has not been revealed but The Sun is known to have its own anti-government agenda.

She has every right to be upset and her desire, or even ‘need’, to  blame someone for her loss is not unexpected. What she is not showing is the dignity shown by the relatives of every other UK soldier killed in this conflict. She shows no respect for the effort Gordon Brown has made nor for his disability. I’m sure her son would not have wanted it this way. Like every man and woman in the conflict, he signed up for the armed forces, knowing full well that he might give his life for his country. Like many others, I believe he wrote a letter to be opened in the event of his death.

The sooner this ‘news’ item fades from the airwaves and headlines the better. I hope that Mrs Janes can soon accept the facts, understand and accept the motives of others and find peace of mind in her grief.

This is the big news of the day. Viewed from the UK it may seem strange that a rich country is only now considering a state-funded health care system which looks after the poor, funded by those who can afford it. We’ve had the NHS for nearly 60 years. It’s not perfect and some people still prefer to buy their own private care but I’ve never met anyone who would prefer the current American version.

Mr Obama said: “Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable healthcare for the American people.

“The United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.”

Read the full story: here on the BBC website, along with background to the bill, US citizens’ stories and a growing debate.

It’s not over yet.

Today’s prize goes to “climbing out of an ash tray”.

I can’t think of a suitable comment. To use the vernacular, WTF?

Have you ever seen a book whose title makes you think “What on earth is that about?”

I did this week, in a charity shop.

“Salmon fishing in Yemen”  All I know about (the) Yemen is it’s in the middle-east, mostly desert and extremely lawless and dangerous.  So, I wonder what the book is really about.

Any more examples, dear readers?

Edited today when I caught the end of a review of this book on Radio 4 this morning. a quick Google search revealed it was published nearly 3 years ago and is an extremely funny and readable novel. “Yes minister meets The Monarch of the Glen” or “a cross between Yes Minister and The Office” ran the reviews.

I should have bought it.