British Wildlife Photographer of the year

The winner! :)

Tower Bridge

I found myself back at Tower Bridge yesterday. It really is a fantastic construction. And right next door to that other fantastic construction - The Tower of London.

Seen in London - Sherlock Holmes still lives in Baker Street

I've got to know the tube system of London well over the past 7 months or so. But I have not been to Baker Street tube before.

I passed through tonight and was very pleased to see the most famous resident of Baker Street, the great detective Sherlock Holmes (who lived at 221B Baker Street) is still remembered.

Another day older and deeper in debt

St Peter don't you call me coz I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store!*

Its that damn time of the year when I am reminded of the passage of time. Its my bloody birthday again! lol All my friends in London are working today, so will be spending it probably alone (although that doesn't really bother me as not a big birthday fan). But I also may have a date, so that could be nice. We shall see :)

Lipstikka is now in full swing so I am busy busy at the moment. We spent yesterday visiting Epsom racecourse and a pleasure boat that was moored right next to Tower Bridge, which I'm beginning to think might just be the second most beautiful building in the world (after the Pantheon in Rome).

* There's a small prize for naming that tune lol

Is there anybody out there?

If Earth received this message from deep space, could we decode it? The people from the Cosmic Call project sent the above image as the first page of a longer message. The message was broadcast toward local stars by radio telescope during the summer of 1999. Another message was sent in 2003. The single-dish, 70-meter diameter telescope that send the messages is located in Ukraine on the Crimean peninsula near the town of Yevpatoria. This first page of the Cosmic Call 1999 message, shown above, involves only numbers and so is easier for puzzle solvers to decode than a more famous message broadcast toward distant star cluster M13 in 1974.
Answer is here: http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/pdf/interview01.pdf

What are these Earthlings trying to tell us? The above message was broadcast from Earth towards the globular star cluster M13 in 1974. During the dedication of the Arecibo Observatory - still the largest radio telescope in the world - a string of 1's and 0's representing the above diagram was sent. This attempt at extraterrestrial communication was mostly ceremonial - humanity regularly broadcasts radio and television signals out into space accidentally. Even were this message received, M13 is so far away we would have to wait almost 50,000 years to hear an answer. The above message gives a few simple facts about humanity and its knowledge: from left to right are numbers from one to ten, atoms including hydrogen and carbon, some interesting molecules, DNA, a human with description, basics of our Solar System, and basics of the sending telescope.

Moon crash

This is the last footage from the Japanese probe Kaguya before it was purposefully crashed into the Moons surface.

Cool!

Seen in London

A new category, I think. Living in the big city brings up all sorts of strange and interesting things. I think I'll try and get some snaps, and post them here when I do :)

As for this one I can't offer an explanation other than saying either French, or student, or possibly both! lol

William John Frederick Kean

Congratulations to my dear friends Lois and Simon on the birth of their gorgeous son, William John Frederick.

Mother and son are doing well, and things will never be the same in the Kean household!

xx

The Toaster toaster

Seen this! Want this! lol *

*note: The humans in Battlestar Galactica (greatest TV show ever made (TM)) call the Cylons "Toasters" for slang.


The Battlestar Galactica LED Chrome Toaster, made exclusively for Comic-Con 2009, lights up while cleverly toasting your favorite snacks with a Cylon on one side, and the phrase “Frak Off” on the other. But, with a special edition limited run of only 2,000 units, this is going to be one hot item. Highlights of this Comic-Con items include:

* Each toaster is individually numbered (1 of 2,000) next to the toast slots
* A plate which burns the phrase “Frak Off” on a piece of toast
* A plate which burns an image of a Cylon on a piece of toast
* The red cylon eye lights up on the front of the toaster and moves across the helmet