Category: Linkage

Bad Gear

Tuesday December 23rd 2008

It’s hardly shocking that Clarkson and the gang lied in their recent Top Gear test of the Tesla – the show is now more pantomime than an accurate portrayal of the facts. I pretty much gave up watching regularly it after the season following Hammond’s infamous crash, due to the heavy concentration of staged “blokes dicking around in cars” segments at the expense of any factual, car-related content. Still, it’s sad to see them stoop so low, as I find it hard to tune in to programmes when it’s a given they’re just taking liberties with the truth. Shame – it used to be excellent.

Same goes for The Gadget Show – I went through a phase where I never missed it, but as the staged “challenges” began to outweigh the substance my interest declined to the point where I don’t particularly care whether I see it or not. Not that I think they’ve actually lied or told any half truths about any of the stuff they’ve tested – save for that frickin’ kettle we bought after they failed to mention how noisy it was.

Where legends dare to jump

Monday November 24th 2008

37 years ago today, a man who came to be known as D B Cooper, pulled off one of the most audacious robberies in the history of aviation when he not only hijacked a 727, but parachuted from the plane with the $200,000 ransom money before vanishing without a trace.

Like many others since, I’ve long been fascinated by the story, and was delighted last year when the superb, but short-lived series Journeyman paid homage to the events in the episode The legend of Dylan McCleen. That episode puts a positive spin on the tale, supposing that the actions of the hijacker might have been for truly selfless ends, although I suspect that’s just wishful thinking.

Whatever the motives of Cooper, though, I cant help but be impressed by someone who could not only plan such a heist, but execute it to a level of perfection that it would leave the authorities scratching their collective heads. To this day, his true identity remains a mystery and the case is unsolved.

Dreaming of Sleep

Monday November 17th 2008

After another night of broken sleep, courtesy of my little daughter paying numerous visits, I found it quite apt to see Matt’s post of this NY Times article on the importance of sleep on my WordPress dashboard this morning.

Yes, the article contains the usual sleep related fodder, like how the brain doesn’t just shut down but actually processes stuff. That and the eye-opening (sorry) fact that you perform better after a good night’s sleep.

No kidding?

What is interesting is the mention of changing attitudes toward sleep in corporate circles. Fliss actually worked at a place with a relaxation room, back at the tail end of 2001 (Enjoy-Work.com), where you were encouraged to go and lie down on recliners in a dark room and listen to ambient sounds to soothe you. I’ve yet to learn of a company that encourages you to top up on your sleep whilst you’re at work, though – the chance would be a fine thing!

I can safely say that I haven’t had a really good night’s sleep in years. I’m just rubbish at it – I either wake up when there’s no reason to, or have it sabotaged in some way – like on Saturday night when the rail company were chopping down trackside trees along the nearby railway line at 2am. The trains are too infrequent to disturb me, but rasping chainsaws within earshot are not conducive to deep sleep.

Maybe I should see if there are any sleeping analysis places in Glasgow? You know, the places that monitor you and tell you what’s going wrong after your head hits the pillow. I’ve thought of doing that before, of course, but then the fear of waking up with morning glory usually deters me from taking it any further! 😉

sleep