Want one...

This is a lamp! not just a lamp, but probably the coolest lamp I've seen in ages.... (it comes with a variety of different pilots and abductees....

Alien Abduction lamp

want one....

One of these would be cool.... I like the idea of making cars that look funky and retro (and secretly I want to be Dick Tracy of something). Ok, so its only a concept car, but still I'm sure it will be in my price range.....

Other random things....

Click To Play

I signed up to this on a whim a few months ago... It's basically a community funded movie. The whole process is funded by the people who sign up for it, who discuss then vote for all of the production decisions... Just thought it was quite a cool idea. I'll be even more impressed if it gets made in the end... Still I feel a little philanthropic at the moment....

Link [A Swarm of Angels]

Currently listening to...

Mumm-Ra: These things move in threes
Totally blind purchase at the airport. A bit like the Thrills+The Kooks
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black
Great album, half the tracks sound like a James Bond theme song. Like Alanis Morissette (In the 'getting dumped sucks', but with funk and attitude)
Ozomatli: Street Signs
Cool mix of latin music, ransom stuff and hip-hop.

Things I love about Germany

Here's another fantastic German thing... the packstation. A really cool subsitute/enhancement of a post office... You register, validate your ID (by signing for the letter), they send you an ID number and a card to work it and a PIN. Then, when you want to buy something/get something delivered (say on Amazon). You enter your Packstation ID and the number of the nearest/most convenient packstation. Your parcel gets delivered there and put into one of the little boxes.

When it arrives, they send you a text message and an email (both free!) to tell you its there. The you can drop by the thing (which is accessible 24/7) and stick your card in to get your package. How cool is that! You don't have to go to the damn post office when its open. You can also stamp and send packages there. They also let you pay for stuff that you buy on arrival (something the post office here lets you do), so you just stick your bank card in an pay.... I love it. Its a little (big) robot postman.... and its free!

(ok, have calmed down a bit now...)

Geeky thing I did today....

Wonderful girlfriend happened to be passing the English Shop today and picked my up a can of Dr Pepper (Adam's catnip). Saw this nice little post on Instructables and decided that what my desk really needed was more weird litter on it...

(would probably make a nice ashtray if I smoked....)

Italy

Just got back from a week at Kat's parent's place in Italy. You'll be pleased to know that Tuscany is still beautiful (even on a camera phone). Will post nicer photos eventually.
The first place is the view from the driveway of the house. The second is Anghiari which is just around the corner.

Cultural excelence through Guiness...

Went to the black forrest over Easter, passed through Freiberg on the way... Liked the irony of this place.

Misuse of Lab equipment (part 1)

I'm doing lots of late night microscopy at the moment, and for some reason there isn't a source of cold drinkable water here in the evenings (they seem worried we'd steal the water cooler from the canteen if we could). So I decided I'd misuse some lab equipment.

Adam's Mark I water cooler is as follows:
1 bottle of tap water (quite warm for some strange reason)
1 ice bucket full of lab ice (no one ever cleans the machine so I'm not putting it in my drink)
1 rotary shaker (kind of swirls in a horizontal circle)
1 chair (shaker is usually under the desk, so I had to stand it on my chair to make space).

Switch the thing on at about 100RPM, and wait 5-10 minutes for nice icy cool water. (which tastes just like the Evian I bought earlier today....)
... ok, so it isn't a hugely exciting post, but I was pretty bored....

Reasons I like Germany....

Was walking through Weststadt at the weekend, and I suddenly noticed how German this looked.... It isn't a trick photo or anything. Just kids playing in the street... that's all, just playing, not a parent in sight, no sinister paedophiles waiting to abduct them, no crazed junkies waiting to rob them... just kids playing in the street. Something I haven't seen in England for years...

(and three of them had unicycles which was pretty cool)