Status-Q

I love this cartoon! It's a great illustration of why Quentin's Second Law can prove so challenging.

I had to explain this to a friend recently.

Computers work on binary, which means the only states they really understand are 'on' and 'off'.

And that, my friends, is why so many computer problems can be solved with 'Try turning it off and on again'.

There was a miraculous event at my brother Simon's house in Winchester this week, as the new plaster in their sitting room started to dry...

I told him not to paint over it, and he could then retire in comfort, as long as he didn't mind having a lot of visitors.

Actually, the miraculous event was that -- being, he freely admits, somewhat unfamiliar with Photoshop or anything similar -- he created this image in Powerpoint.

Anyway, I thought it was great.

All that is gold does not glisten Not all those who wander are lost. Renewed shall be blade that was broken? I dread to think what that'll cost.

I'm used to labels on bottles of wine telling me that I should expect a 'hint of blackcurrant' or 'subtle aromas'.

But in Portugal recently I had a (very drinkable) wine from a vineyard whose marketing department had, perhaps, become a little over-excited.

It's nice to know there are still jobs out there for people with Literature degrees, isn't it?

Hope your browser can display this...

There are some tunes that are so catchy, they stick with you for ages.

I think I heard 'Everything stops for tea' about three or four decades ago, and probably only once. But the wonder of modern search engines is that they allow you to go back and renew your acquaintance with the things that formed those neural pathways all that time ago...

Here's a thoroughly enjoyable piece in the New Yorker, providing guidance for concerned Palaeolithic parents. Extract:

You don't want to be the bad guy, but you also want to make sure that your child engages in other activities, like mammoth hunting and the gathering of rocks and bones with which to make tools. So, how do you set appropriate boundaries for your child on fire usage without jeopardizing the family unit so crucial to the survival of the species? Here are some tips...

I came across a thread on Twitter with geeky poems on the 'Roses are red...' model. So here's mine:

Roses are #ff0000
Violets are #0000ff?
I think violets should be
More like #ee82ee
Don't you?

Mmm.

Spend 10 minutes with the brilliant Victor Borge.