A View With Some Room: July 2015

Sunday, 26 July 2015

Alton station flower box

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/piTu2LHgzBZTHJv

Unclear sign

Is this an instruction to cyclists or motorists, as it is most unclear to me

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/K7MiJH0O46HWFVl

The Royal Nautical school on Stamford St.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/hkk8l8ZZ19pIFo5

Neighbour's beautiful front garden

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/Lc0yQfefgZCexas

Optical illusion

Crane is some distance from St Pauls cathedral, but looks like it might be about to do some work at the top.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/XUAd7rOJuSJHsxc

Caught my attention due to the slowly moving head. Quite spooky. "Don't applaud, just throw money" is the translation of the Latin inscription on this statue to the unknown artist, to be found behind the Tate modern on the Southbank.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/PcktAcoEbIJEHRZ

Minion or cyberman?

Amazing what you get to see if you pay attention to what's around you on a sunny.day.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/vaojzRFLwi0c5Yx

Made me laugh

Read the list of things that you can get and guess the one that made me laugh.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/7F95ZZmEqImZCf6

Poetry on the pavement on the Southbank

The photo below is of some poetry set in stone on the Southbank this is 1 of 4 put there in the early 80's. This particular one is from Richard Brinsley Sheridan (I have photo'd the 2nd of 4 but waiting for Carousel on the phone to upload it.) The Sheridan quote is from "A Woman of Fashion". It is sad that it is so warn when it has not been there very long in the great scheme of things. Guess the footfall is pretty heavy. I wonder how many people actually spot them...

Rather than waiting for me to find all four they can be found here

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/TKDZsJ5bCxbXjJM

Friday, 17 July 2015

Excellently named building...

I wonder what they did there?

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/gDPYJTxf2xWK3aX

Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Saw this in Alton on Saturday. Made me laugh

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/sU0PHeTBaMcmw16

Saturday, 11 July 2015

Coasters from Bristol

Went to Bristol the other week to see bro' and sis. Bought some coasters from a stall just outside the front of the wonderful St. Nicholas market. Mentioned this to B in a text on the way back in the train.

This elicited the unspoken response, "Coasters, you've bought me coasters...."

However, when I displayed the wares on finally arriving home, the response was much more positive as they are rather pretty.

See for yourself, though the photo doesn't quite capture their sparkling magnificence.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/TU6hPoWAEdJG0rh

Cresting waves in the sky

Carparks are always great places to get photos of the sky and clouds. Been a while since I spotted a decent set of clouds, this is a photo of some from the Sainsbury carpark, ground level out the front of the store if you must know.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/lrZXlZIf0oxFTX9

Meerkats spotted near King Spond in Alton

Ok, it is actually Kings Pond, but I like the other spelling a little more.

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/ZovK1G1kA42DMEa

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Spotted in Bristol on Saturday

https://carousel.dropbox.com/photos/cc/HZrQQQnXrdGgskz

Monday, 6 July 2015

David's filtered list of TED talks worth watching (IMHO)

I have been watching quite a few TED talks over the past 6 months or so, and there are a few that stand out - and even bear watching multiple times. Anything to do with string theory in particular requires at least a couple of watches (how many dimensions did you say - physics ed).

Some of them are so good that I have been recommending them to friends, neighbours. people I meet in Flood Meadows who are taking their dogs for a walk, shop staff who's eyes I catch and who fail to scuttle out the back of the shop quickly enough and even the Household Cavalry in London (as they just have to stand there and take it ;-)

So, rather than proselytize on a one to one basis (very inefficient - efficiency ed), thought it might be worth bringing my list to the world (or rather the guy from Alaska who reads the blog according to the statistics - guess it might be those long winter nights).

The first batch are simply essential watching, the rest are worth at least one watch and I have attempted to categorize them as best I could.

Simply turn you brain to on, and enjoy [please note that using heavy machinery whilst watching these videos is not recommended]

These are just simply essential

https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight

https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_hoffman_do_we_see_reality_as_it_is

https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_greene_why_is_our_universe_fine_tuned_for_life

https://www.ted.com/talks/aubrey_de_grey_says_we_can_avoid_aging

https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen

https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity

https://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_why_it_s_time_to_forget_the_pecking_order_at_work

Not a TED talk but should be - worth waiting for the detective's rebuttal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc -- Don’t talk to the police

Privacy, freedom and drugs

https://www.ted.com/talks/glenn_greenwald_why_privacy_matters

https://www.ted.com/talks/ethan_nadelmann_why_we_need_to_end_the_war_on_drugs

https://www.ted.com/talks/will_potter_the_shocking_move_to_criminalize_non_violent_protest

https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_levitt_analyzes_crack_economics

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_birch_identity_without_a_name

Universe and Space

https://www.ted.com/talks/sean_carroll_distant_time_and_the_hint_of_a_multiverse

https://www.ted.com/talks/carter_emmart_demos_a_3d_atlas_of_the_universe

https://www.ted.com/talks/seth_shostak_et_is_probably_out_there_get_ready

https://www.ted.com/talks/brian_greene_on_string_theory

https://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_kasdin_the_flower_shaped_starshade_that_might_help_us_detect_earth_like_planets

Education and personal wellbeing

https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve

https://www.ted.com/talks/guy_winch_the_case_for_emotional_hygiene

https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution

https://www.ted.com/talks/ben_ambridge_10_myths_about_psychology_debunked

Energy

https://www.ted.com/talks/amory_lovins_a_50_year_plan_for_energy

https://www.ted.com/talks/amory_lovins_on_winning_the_oil_endgame

https://www.ted.com/talks/david_mackay_a_reality_check_on_renewables

Health

https://www.ted.com/talks/rob_knight_how_our_microbes_make_us_who_we_are

https://www.ted.com/talks/rose_george_let_s_talk_crap_seriously

Demographics and statistics

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_green_what_the_social_progress_index_can_reveal_about_your_country

https://www.ted.com/talks/rainer_strack_the_surprising_workforce_crisis_of_2030_and_how_to_start_solving_it_now

Everything by Hans Rosling - this guy knows how to present statistics and make them interesting - are you smarter than a chimpanzee? It helps that he has a great sense of humour.

Bleeding edge science

https://www.ted.com/talks/miguel_nicolelis_brain_to_brain_communication_has_arrived_how_we_did_it

https://www.ted.com/talks/abe_davis_new_video_technology_that_reveals_an_object_s_hidden_properties

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_on_believing_strange_things

https://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_howard_the_wonderful_and_terrifying_implications_of_computers_that_can_learn

https://www.ted.com/talks/joe_landolina_this_gel_can_make_you_stop_bleeding_instantly

https://www.ted.com/talks/fei_fei_li_how_we_re_teaching_computers_to_understand_pictures
http://www.ted.com/talks/mary_lou_jepsen_could_future_devices_read_images_from_our_brains

Dinosaurs

https://www.ted.com/talks/jack_horner_shape_shifting_dinosaurs

Architecture and design

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_pawlyn_using_nature_s_genius_in_architecture

https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_hansmeyer_building_unimaginable_shapes