A bright idea to show the hidden dangers.

This is a great collaboration between an installation artist called Richard Box and Bristol University’s physics department.
He collected 1,301 fluorescent tubes, the sort you see in municipal buildings every day. He then planted them 6 inches into the ground under an overhead power line beside the M4 in Bristol and showed the otherwise unnoticed electrical field that engulfs us every day. You can see the effect in the image below.

Beautiful, but pretty scary

There is no power supplied directly to the tubes. They light up due to the electromagnetic field that surrounds the pylons (or, more accurately, the cables that they support). Which I reckon is pretty worrying.

He first experimented with the phenomenon (as far as I can determine) in about 2000. Here’s a snippet from a Bristol University press release:

Making light of physics
Nick Riddle
“On certain nights in the past couple of years, at the top of a hill near Skenfrith in Wales, unwary walkers close to the pylons have been confronted with an unsettling sight: a solitary, quiet glowing brain, complete with spine, suspended just above the ground.
This apparition is the work of Richard Box, Artist in Residence in the Department of Physics, and has its origins in a rumour about overhead power lines. ‘So I jumped into a van with some bulbs, found some pylons, and tried it. And they lit up.’”

But what’s really odd is that I remember driving down to Birmingham to watch Scotland play against Switzerland in 1996 at the Euro Championships. I’ll always remember it as that game was the only game we scored a goal in at the Championships (Ally McCoist, in the 36th minute and it was a beauty), and then England managed to let the Dutch score right at the death, so that England won 4-1, to put us out and the Dutch through. Thanks lads.
Anyway, I remember driving along the motorway out of Birmingham after the game and seeing a cross made out of fluorescent tubes under one of the main pylon lines at the side of road. I’m not sure if it was by the same artist, but it’s something I’ve found fascinating since.
There’s a great article on the pureenergysystems website, which explains what’s going on as the tubes light up. Here’s a little of what they know:
“Wireless transmission (intentional) and fluorescent bulbs were both invented by Nikola Tesla.
The fluorescent bulbs of Richard Box’s display, “planted” in the ground to pick up “waste emissions from the overhead power lines”, are in effect acting as wireless transformers as well, providing a graphic depiction of a phenomenon that could actually shed additional light on the mode of action of these other energy devices.”

Nikola Tesla was himself a hugely interesting man, who seemed to have a bit of an obsession with electricity. Here you can see the effects of a Tesla coil, which generates millions of volts.

Don't try this at home

If you’ve got a bit of time, visit YouTube and watch (and hear) the phenomenon.

The folk at pure energy systems also noticed when they went to see ‘Field’ that:
“As you walk up to the tubes, which are buried in the ground by about 6 inches, the tubes go out. When you move away they light up again. This is because your body is a better conductor of the electromagnetic radiation than the air is, so your body shorts out this potential to the ground.”

Beautiful and mesmeric.
I’m not sure if it’s still there, but I visit Bristol every November, so I’ll do some hunting and let you know.

The PC brigade should leave now.

Those of an overly-political correct persuasion should not go any further. Pick up your coat and move quietly towards the exit.
The rest of us have a couple of great Fox Sports ads to enjoy.
Are they politically incorrect? Oh yes.
Are they offensive? Probably not (unless you need to get out more).
Are they funny? You bet your ass.
They’re for the Fox Sports network in the US of A.
And Fox Sports knows its audience. They’ve been making ads for them for many, many years. They’re males. Males who tend to like football (the US version), beer, bowling, pizza, and that sort of thing.
Fox Sports ads have featured on this blog a couple of times before. Their hugely funny campaign ’snooker would be better if it was hockey’ and also the genius campaign showing products badly malfunctioning because their makers were too engrossed in the play-offs.
These two ads follow on in the same manner. They just take it that little bit further.
First up, the injury compensation claim specialist lawyer.

And then the storm update weather report.

And there you have it.
Just remember: he won’t football, sex, bowling until you pizza.
Marvellous.

A clever little film about coping with mental illness

Not really a topic that many people find an engaging way to discuss. But this short film, Skhizein, by Jérémy Clapin, is a thing of real beauty. I first saw it in 2008 at the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol. I’ve now managed to find a link where you can watch the whole film, rather than just the clip I’ve previously linked to.

It tells the tale of a man who, when struck by a meteorite, finds himself exactly 91cm from where he should be. Which makes even the simplest of tasks very tricky. To open a door, sit down, answer the phone and even use the lavatory he has to be 91cm from where you think he should be.

Even sitting down is tricky

Hello? Speak up please.

He then gets hit by another meteorite, and finds himself still 91 cm to the side of where he should be. But he’s now also 75cm below where he should be.
Our narrator then tells us:
“They never tell you how crazy you are. Just that you’ve lost it, that you’re beside yourself…Out of your mind.”
And with these simple words you get the idea. You understand what the director is trying to communicate.

There are some great visual metaphors with the meteorites closing in on him and the whole room taking on an ominous and imposing darkness. It’s beautifully animated and very deftly handled. It makes you want to watch to see how he copes with everyday things, as you’ve seen from the images above. And this one, where he’s just looking out the window.

A unique view

Watch the full film here. And marvel at a spectacular 13 minutes.

A really interesting man who shoots whales. But in a good way.

Duncan Murrell is an amazing wildlife photographer. He takes pictures of Humpback whales that are just incredible. Like this one.

Humpback whales feeding

He understands more than most the behaviour of these magnificent whales, as you’ll discover.
Humpback whales are incredible. They’re pretty enormous, at anything up to 52 feet (16 metres) long. And they’re amazingly agile for something so huge. They breach the water with great regularity, lifting up to two-thirds of their bodies out of the water. No mean feat for a mammal that weighs up to 36,000 kilograms.

The males also perform complex whale songs, each lasting for 10 to 20 minutes. And they can repeat the songs for hours. The reason they sing is not fully understood, but it’s believed to be part of their mating ritual.
Click here to learn more about these amazing animals.

A Humpback 'lobtailing'

Synchronised blowholing

I saw the images that are shown here on the Guardian website. And they blew me away. I’m in awe of just how close he gets to the whales. I believe he’s spent many, many summers off the coast of southeast Alaska in his kayak photographing them. That’s right, in his kayak. Which, in itself, is pretty brave.

Close enough for you?

But what a buzz he must get as he captures his images. And the results are truly amazing. View the Guardian’s picture galleries here. They’ve always got some incredible shots.

Amazing detail

All the whale images shown here are copyright of Duncan Murrell and Steve Bloom Images.

RBS board in quit threat? Good, let them go.

The RBS board have threatened to quit if the government stops them paying bonuses of £1.5bn to their investment arm.
So what? Let the board quit. No, encourage it even. Where else will these deluded muppets get paid shed-loads for doing the thin end of hee haw?
So let them quit and we won’t even have to give them a pay off.
Investment banking is the closest you can get to gambling, without actually visiting your local turf accountants.
We could just pop down to the local bookies and get anyone in there to come and run the bank. They’ll do as good as job as the white collared gamblers. And they’ll not expect £1.5bn in bonuses.
Alistair Darling went on to say that ‘there had to be “sufficient incentives” to ensure RBS got back onto a “proper footing”.’

Probably just sitting on his elbow somewhere

How about if you don’t do the job you’re well-paid to do we’ll get rid of you. That’s the world the rest of us live in. Imagine going into your work and telling your boss that you’ve managed to achieve the worst set of results in your company’s history. And then expecting a bonus for fixing the mess that’s already been made.
“Taking” and “the piss” are the words that spring to mind.

People will buy almost anything you tell them. And here’s the proof.

It is (honestly) a rope-less skipping rope. Brilliant. What’s next? The racket-less tennis match? Actually, I might patent that one.
Alternatively, you could just try using a piece of rope, at a fraction of the cost, and learn the massively complex task of jumping over the rope. Although the product came about because apparently some people have trouble jumping over a rope.
Here are what I’d describe as ‘handles’ rather than a skipping rope (or ‘jumping rope’ in US parlance).

Two handles (not fork handles)

In fact, that mention of two handles has reminded me of a piece of genius from the Two Ronnies. Watch one of their all-time great sketches here.

It’s the quotes on the site I love: “I went from a size 12 to a size 8.” OK then, Mr. Smarty Pants website, produce this person. Oh, what’s that? You can’t? I’m not surprised, as they’re clearly a figment of your imagination.
Some people reckon the whole thing is a spoof, but sadly it’s not. I’ve been to their website and gone as far as ordering a set (obviously I stopped short of paying for them, I’m not mental). I had a nosey around and found this sensational section aimed at fitness instructors. It begins with these words:
“I’m so excited and proud to be your peer liaison to one of the most effective new calorie burning fitness products on the market.” As if you needed any further proof, the phrase “peer liaison” confirms that it’s an American site.
I love the quote on the home page: “I feel like a kid again.” Why’s that? Gullible and in need of a grown-up to help you make decisions?
The Real Stories section is brilliant. Every target market segment is laid out before you (unintentionally), and some of the puns in the headlines are special. Very special. Get ready to chortle. I also love the naturalistic language used in them all. Many of the ‘different’ writers seem to like using exclamation marks and leader dots. Curious.
Still, if people are stupid enough to believe it, then they deserve to be ripped off.
Watch their whole superb video here.
Check out the room full of people all jumping without ropes at about 1 min 10 secs in.
It’s so surreal it’s like a sketch from Big Train. Kind of like this one.

My ‘Invisible Hurdle Track (Olympic Deluxe Edition)’ is available now for only £149.99. As is my ‘Imaginary High Jump’ – now with free ‘Imaginary Triple Jump’ as a special bonus, just for Christmas.
Weak-minded fools are especially welcome.

Don’t try this at home. Times two.

Here’s a great advert for cycle safety in the Netherlands. It shows a couple of dudes on their BMXs pulling stunts.
Then night falls and you see them switch on some mad fluorescent lights on their bikes.

Lighting up time

Then they pull some more stunts, looking pretty cool with the bikes lit up (with more than a passing nod to Tron.). They then decide to ride down the angled, sloping roof of a building that’s about 20-storeys high.

Sizing up the monster downhill challenge

And then they just go for it. At the bottom one of them lands it, the other wipes out, pretty spectacularly.

A downhill ride with a difference

He gets up straight away, so he’s fine. And then the caption appears. It’s in Dutch, but it basically says: “If you want to stand out, just put your lights on.”
Which is lovely. Watch the whole advert here.

It reminds me a bit of the Inspired Bicycles video that features a mad rider called Danny MacAskill. He lives in Edinburgh and, quite clearly, has no fear and is pretty good at his chosen sport. Which is riding a bike in a hugely unusual and massively skillful way. Prepare to be blown away by watching the film below.

And then go dig out your bike and see how you measure up.

How do they get away with it?

Here’s an example of treating your customers like fools and thinking they won’t notice. Foot Locker are purveyors of sports attire in the UK. They sell clothes and trainers, but they’re probably best known for having lots of limited edition versions of fashionable sneakers.
Which leads me to the advert shown below. I’ve shown it in two forms, just to see how cheated you feel when you see the second version.

Seems like a great prize...

...until you read the small print

‘Win sneakers for life’ the headline screams.
“Great” you think.
But then you see the small print and see that they’re offering 65 pairs of trainers, over a period of five years. Which seems a bit of a con to me. Why not wrap the competition up under a different thought, or strategy? Something that doesn’t leave the audience feeling cheated when they discover what the real deal is.
Anyway, like I said, I’ve no idea how they get away with it. I can only assume that people are too busy/apathetic to bother contacting the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). But why don’t their competitors contact them and make a complaint about an ad that clearly misleads?
The idea that “life” can be five years reminds me of a joke by a great stand-up comedian called Stewart Francis. As he says: “I’m set for life financially…as long as I die next Tuesday.” He’s fantastic at delivering one-liners in a way that has almost disappeared with the dominance of alternative comedy. See more of his great one-liners here: on health
and on family.
Genius. Unlike the thinking behind the ad above. Your customers aren’t stupid (well, not all of them) so don’t treat them as if they are. Or you might find that your shops have a life span that’s similar to the five-year one you’re promoting in your competition.

This rather tops the continental breakfast.

What a fantastic idea.
In Sydney they recently had a day where they closed the historic Harbour Bridge and covered it with a rich and luscious carpeting of grass.
It gave 6,000 lucky people the chance to see the bay from an angle you can normally only see from the window of your car.
Look at what they managed to transform the bridge into.

The turf being laid the night before

Let the picnic commence

Some view to enjoy with your breakfast

It happened at the end of October, and they’re talking about making it an annual event. They had a farmers’ market, local produce, live music and even a herd of cows to keep the grass trimmed.
Read more about the inaugural event here.
And think how great it is that people go to all the trouble involved in organising something this huge, inclusive and unusual.
Because you can bet if we tried it here the health and safety police would ruin it. “No grass on the ground, we’re afraid – it’s a trip hazard.”

I’m a Mac and Windows 7 was my idea.

Anyone who uses a Mac and has had the misfortune of being forced to use a PC at work already knows just how much PCs want to be Macs (and also just how terrible most PCs are).
And now Simon Aldous, partner group manager at Microsoft (nice title, by the way), has come out and admitted that what they’ve done with Windows 7 is “create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics”.
Or, if you prefer, copy OS10.
Microsoft have denied this (obviously) and called his comments “uninformed” and “inaccurate”. They also pointed out that he hadn’t worked directly on the Windows 7 project. But come on. We’ve all got eyes, and we can see what we can see. Read the whole story here.
And whilst I’m on about it, what’s with the adverts to promote it? I’m a PC and Windows 7 was my idea. Except the bits we copied from Apple. Like most of them.
Look at the new iMacs that Apple have just released and you’ll see just how stunning they are.

Simple, clean, efficient and easy

Cinemascope-tastic

Big, wide screens (16:9). LED backlighting to give a brighter, better picture. Higher resolution. And tons of other technical stuff that makes them even better. Plus an ergonomic, slimline wireless keyboard and the new ‘magic’ mouse.
And they’re simple to use, powerful, clever, well-designed and beautiful. Just like things should be. And just like PCs are starting to become.
P.S. If you’re a PC/Microsoft supporter, please don’t bother me with why you think they’re better. They’re not (unless you’re gaming, then I’ll give you that). You’ve got more chance of persuading a god-botherer to believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
P.P.S. If you’ve got time, check the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It’s a thing of genius and beauty that keeps growing legs (or noodly appendages). Read up and open your mind to the world of the Pastafarian.