Ed Vogue's World

Great Scott... Today's post is going to be a short one. I am sick and tired of the photos I keep finding posted on social media sites telling me that today is the future. Apparently today is the day that Marty McFly travels into the future; April 30th 2013. http://cdnext.seomoz.org/1362775335_652496e2b8078ae9f38538857851f56e.jpg No it is not. Watch the film again. It is not today and it wasn't February 19th 2013 or indeed November 12th 2012. It is October 21st 2015. So stop posting those bloody pictures. It can't be that time yet anyway. The hover board hasn't been invented. Posted with Blogsy

There is this experiment that has been running continuously since 1927 when a Professor Parnell set up a funnel containing some pitch with a beaker in a container and then left it at the University of Queensland, Australia to see how it behaved. http://www.geekosystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/pitch-experiment.png Pitch, better known to most people as bitumen or tar is when wet a thick sticky viscous material. When heated during road building it provides one of my most favourite smells in the world, see here . When dry pitch looks and behaves like a brittle solid. If hit with something hard like a hammer it will smash. However pitch is a material that really blurs the line between a solid and a liquid. Under gravity the 'solid' pitch will very slowly flow and over the years the pitch has dripped a total of eight drops. Apparently Thomas Parnell lived long enough to see two of those eight drips. It took seventeen years!! The last drip happened on the 28th ...

Sometimes it is absolutely fascinating what things people collect. There are the regular types of collections like coins, stamps, comic books and butterflies. But scratch beneath the surface and you can find much stranger collections. The stories behind why people start these collections may well be even more interesting. How for instance do people start collecting things like tea towels or bricks or indeed bottle tops. Today I visited a museum/science gallery that had some very interesting pieces regarding genome sequencing, the human body, biometrics and whether insects could in fact solve the food crisis. But also present on a separate floor was a collection of medical things including various protheses (I think that is right), medical saws and erotic figures concealed inside porcelain fruit. How does one start a collection like that? Where do you go looking for antique medical instruments? Can you find hidden erotica fruit in the local antiques store? There was stranger ...

Trains. Perhaps the only real form of transport to have such a following. I realise that planes spark an interest in people, they certainly do for me and spotting Eddie Stobart lorries whilst driving down the motorway is for some more of an obsession than a game just to keep the kids interested but there is no other transport that has such an enthusiastic following. http://www.realhhg.com/graphics/spotter.gif Firstly there are the enthusiastic train spotters. The stereotypical train spotter stands in the rain at the end of platform 3 at Crewe station dressed in a Parka raincoat ticking off the train numbers as they pass in and out of the station. But train enthusiasts are much more than just spotters, there at a whole number of levels. Firstly we have the home train enthusiast. More typically male and over the age of 50 with an empty loft or a spare bedroom. These gentlemen frequent specialist toy shops to purchase scale models of trains old and new and then spend their ...

My life changed when I was about five. If my memory serves me correctly at the dinner table my Dad was casually holding his knife up in front of my face. Not to cut me or threaten me you must understand, no probably just waving it around. I thought I could see two knives and stated that. He was worried that I had double vision and after some waving of various pens in front of my eyes, an appointment was made at the local hospital. http://gallery.nen.gov.uk/assets/0907/0000/0118/img_5907_mid.jpg A few weeks later after a visit to the optician I was the lucky owner of a pair of 1970s brown NHS glasses. These were not a fashion accessory. These were not cool. These were not something to be proud of. That appointment started my 36 year relationship with correcting lenses. As a kid the worst thing you pull do was to bust your glasses, this caused expense to your parents, which meant being told off but much worse it meant quite possibility having to endure school whilst wearin...

The theory of spontaneous generation was quite a popular belief back in the day. It's quite easy to understand why people might have believed that animals could quite literally spontaneously come into being. Take a larder full of food. Close the door and leave it for a few weeks, open it again and the larder may house various animals such as mice and cockroaches. Where did they come from if not from the ether? Of course we now recognise that these animals have actually migrated from outside the larder, attracted by the smell of the food, through small spaces. But it took a clever scientist to debunk the theory of spontaneous generation. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fileadmin/historyLearningSite/pasteur3.gif The scientist was Louis Pasteur, of pasteurisation fame. He was interested in why food went off, due to the growth if mould. The popular belief was that the mould appeared spontaneously but he believed that the mould existed in the air and just grew when ...

I was drinking a cup of tea this afternoon, a cup of tea with a hint of peppermint, to soothe my poorly tummy and the cup that I was drinking from has the periodic table printed on it. This made me start thinking about which of the elements is my favourite. As I thought about it I have found it quite hard to choose. http://chemicool.com/elements/images/300-mercury.jpg I like mercury (Hg). It is only one of two elements, the other being bromine (Br) that are liquids at room temperature. Mercury is treated with kid gloves now because the vapour that is released can cause brain damage. The story goes that hatters, are they the people that make hats, or are they milliners? Anyway, whatever, the people who made the top hats used mercury to strengthen the brims and the continued exposure to the mercury vapour made them go mad. This supposably inspired Lewis Carolls character The Mad Hatter. When I was a kid, some of these hand held maze games contained mercury not ball bearings...

Today, 23rd April, is St George's Day. St George is the patron Saint of England and he is obviously famous for the story where he saved a fair maiden from the clutches of an evil dragon. Then using his mighty and trusty sword he supposably slew the dragon by removing its head with one swipe. It's a good story but it only stands up if in fact dragons used to exist and there appears to be little evidence to say they did. However, interestingly different cultures have identical descriptions of dragon like animals. Up to now no fossilised dragon remains have been found. Scientists have found a huge number of fossils of many different creatures and if dragons existed then surely fossilised evidence would exist. http://www.crystalinks.com/dragon.gif No animal currently alive breathes fire and this would appear to be a problem for living things, fire is hot, fire burns and denatures tissue, killing cells. Surely breathing fire would damage the dragon? Dragons were sup...

Every year in April the orbit of the Earth mean that it travels through a cluster of dust particles that results it what can be a truly epic meteor shower. This meteor shower is named the Lyrid meteors. http://theshootingstar.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/ss2.jpg The shooting stars can be found radiating from the constellation known as Lyra. These particular meteors can be pretty impressive, often bright and with pretty impressive tails. The shower first started 6 days ago and are currently at their peak. Last night and tonight would be a good time to have a look. http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2004/10/10_92430632dfc26ec0245770cbd79d1d092.jpg Unfortunately as is often the case on our fair island the weather is not conducive to sky watching. The cloud has moved up in to totally spoil the view. If the clouds break then here are a few tips to help you spot a shooting star; You need a dark sky, so keep away from city lights Make sure you are looking at the ri...

The nightmare scenario. You flush the toilet and the water in the bowl keeps on rising, up and up. You watch it, helpless, fingers crossed that it won't overflow and flood the bathroom with unmentionables. That happened today. The water rose but luckily didn't flood. It then slowly sank again dropping to a lower level than normal. In these situations a strange thing happens. For some reason you believe that maybe the toilet has fixed itself. Maybe it was blocked for a little bit but the fact the water level has receded means that all is now well. What else is there to do but to flush again. This of course is the WRONG thing to. For sure the problem is still there and the water will just rise a bit further the second time. http://bigtencountry.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/toilet.jpg Outside the real problem was apparent. A horrible smell and the bubbling of a dubious coloured liquid from the man hole cover. It was time for me to don my long rubber gloves an...

The sky was blue today totally blue. Not a single cloud in the sky to spoil the perfect picture. In the Sun it was warm, out of the wind it was quite toasty. Couple this with a Saturday and the country went on a outdoor offensive. For many the shorts were donned and the picnic gear was taken out of storage, dusted down and taken to the park. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1jMTZmXG4pE9OhLUlTtSo3D7Em0U69HPH9XaqW_RE7nnmbg5_f1TAWtn2pJ8GwIRDwqNrjDSvJlYH0KFiE1xebnpMBjd__eEjt3OeS8kficLQTskPwmGTK6vT1FgaSwVx6wv_Prl4Ipx/s1600/2007_05_mens+shorts2.JPG For others those outside jobs that had been ignored due to the cold and wet were tackled. For some adventurous few the first barbecue of the year was cooked and eaten. I saw a sense of optimism in the people out and about today. It was slightly too cold for the summer clothes but they were worn anyway. The chilly breeze providing a few goosebumps. Despite this you could see people enjoying the warmth of the...

One of the good things about spring is the increase in the chance of washing being put out on the line actually drying. One of the problems of winter is the drying of the loads of washing that hangs about on an airer somewhere in the house. Alternatively the washing can be dried in the tumble dryer. However this seems to take ages and the washing always has that slightly burnt smell to it. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3HexBYA3hK4ywaGqnQShNp0OErSge1nFKI2WwRptoKqqmaaNm9TWL33qotZNPx50vqgZLtbXOwKKat6XOTKVxy7ZO9NTAixg5Qs4d0fdDBcDSJSCbIfNH9_rCOeUSmMzf-2pKaXwnMg/s1600/Washing+line-felted+jumpers+004.jpg A way round this to visit one of the towns laundrettes. I love visiting the laundrette. It's a very interesting establishment. Some are not staffed and are purely self service. These places are often full in the winter. The machines shove out loads of heat and this encourages a number of people who seek the warmth. Laundrettes that offer a service ...

When I studied History at school I remember that it seemed very important to review evidence that was available to examine what happened and why it happened. My history teacher was very keen to explain the difference between primary and secondary evidence. The reliability of the evidence was something that always had to be evaluated. When the historians of the future study the past, our present, they are going to find a huge amount of primary evidence. With the advent of the mobile phone and its ability to capture video it would appear that every potentially notable historical event has been documented by a digital device of some kind. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/EyewitnessBBC.JPG/220px-EyewitnessBBC.JPG Over the last week the Boston bombings, a plane crash and the explosion of the fertiliser factory in West, Texas have all been documented by members of the general public on a mobile phone. It always amazes me how quickly a news channel gets fo...

I heard it today. I heard someone say that they were too warm. Too warm!!! Just last week the whole country it seemed was bemoaning the fact that winter was going on and on, the Sun had not 'put its hat on' and people were genuinely worried that maybe we had slipped into a new ice age without the usual scientific warnings. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOal4dPWluJ7xOKOIeXau5mK4TFqlD67vwl7L6h0D-MAwGcNZUvoV8T1Qws-zBds3jQg-a4U1kBKdhmTQqbjxgK6azdnsmFIgHjpBy7S-if3z_H4awQqyH3bz7cUDVty3wVI509CJh-g/s1600/TooHotTooCold_300.jpg It just goes to show that people are never satisfied. It won't be long until people will be complaining that it hasn't rained for weeks and the grass needs water etc. etc. This is just the nature of people. If everything was just perfect what would we talk about? I for one are enjoying the current weather. The wind was blowing earlier. A nice breeze with a lovely temperature to it. Not too hot and not too cold. J...

When Twitter was first introduced it was used by just a few people. These tended to be adults and a particular group of adults. It was liked because the youngsters of society had not found it. In its infancy Twitter only allowed 140 characters and the made links and pictures difficult. People who used were good at communicating their thoughts and opinions in a limited fashion. http://netrightdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Twitter.png Then the add ons arrived which enabled photos, links, videos and sounds to be attached and with these came the more mainstream Twitter user. It now seems that to be anyone a Twitter account is needed. Politicians use Twitter to comment on world events. Individuals say sorry to the nation, others write tweets that they quickly regret. Twitter is now a real force to be reckoned with. It was reported today that a border officer with four years service at Stansted Airport has recently resigned by writing his resignation letter in icing on...

As I write this news is coming in of a possible terrorist attack that according to current news reports has claimed the lives of two people and injured another twenty two. This event has has affected the Boston marathon. It is probably too early for the authorities to claim a terrorist attack but the speculation suggests that it could be. If it is the attack was planned to occur at the finish at around the four hour mark. That time is the time when ordinary amateur marathon runners are just crossing the line. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Boston_Marathon_2009_-_Leading_Women.jpg These acts are unspeakable. Terrorist acts like this harm innocent people. People like you and me. They strike fear into ordinary people. They are indiscriminate. Obviously this is why they are terrorist acts. They strike without warning and are designed to make people fearful and to disrupt normal life. What terrorists don't get is that countries like the USA and Brit...

It's not that often that my mobile rings. Most of the time my friends and family communicate by text, and fairly infrequently does my phone actually ring. However, recently I have received some phone calls. The number displayed on the phones screen is one that my phone doesn't recognised; not being assigned to anyone in my address book. http://www.sligotoday.ie/images/1359444738.jpg I answer the call, say hello and then there is a long noticeable pause. Then the message starts, "this is an automated message concerning a PPI that you have been missold." This happens at least twice a week. The initial excitement of getting a phone call quickly melts away as the recorded voice speaks. I hate this kind of crass marketing and opportunistic rubbish. I've never had a PPI sold to me so how can I make a claim? Obviously my number has made it to a computer list and the computer just keeps dialling hoping that I will bite. Yesterday I received a phone call from...

I have always found DIY shops quite interesting. They are full of bits and pieces that a few people know quite a lot about and quite a lot of people know very little about. I am obviously in the second group of people; the majority. If I enter the DIY shop to buy a replacement anything I have to ensure that I have the old/broken object with me, allowing me to match up the part. Most of the aisles are full of products I would never even consider buying because those things require some pretty substantial DIY skills. This includes anything to do with electrical wiring or plumbing. For me these things require a professional touch. http://imgoneagain.com/images/2007/DSC00033.JPG I will mainly venture to a DIY shop to buy paint and items treating to simple decorating like paint brushes, rollers and masking tape. I will also buy gardening stuff: grass seed, compost and young plants. Like many men there is one aisle I like to visit, just to browse mind you. That aisle contain...

Do you remember the old game of top trumps. When I was a kid I remember playing top trumps. I can't remember exactly which set of cards I had but I expect it was a set of racing cars or something equally aimed at young boys. Top Trumps was always a good card game it combines chance, the cards you hold in your hand and order you hold them and skill, knowledge of the cards and which card trumps which. Well I am pleased to report that Top Trumps is alive and kicking. We have quite a few packs of the game and it is useful our family as a distraction in a restaurant whilst waiting for the food to arrive. http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100209070921/tardis/images/6/68/TopTrumpsLogo.jpg The issue is that I actually quite to win much to my children's disappointment. Recently we have played the Roald Dahl pack and bizarrely a new pack all about the residents of Sealife Centres. My advice if you are trying to win is to study the cards. Know which card trumps another,...

My car is a pretty important thing. Without it I couldn't get to work or pick up my children from school on time etc. I could of course use public transport but unfortunately that would add about 75 minutes to my journey time. Today I had to take my car in for a service. This is one of those jobs which an expert does but you don't really know what they have actually done. They could have put my car in the workshop for 90 minutes and had a cup of tea, charging me £169 for the privilege. http://blogs.stealingshare.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/car-service-car-repairs_1.jpg I do get a little sheet back which tells me that key things like tyres, oil and battery are fine but who's to say that it wasn't made up. Anyway I can check my oil level and my windscreen washer level and my tyre tread, why does my car need a service to check these things? I want to be able to pick up my car and it to drive better than when I took it in, otherwise I feels like I have w...

Pardon Madames et Monsieurs. A trip to Paris is obviously an exciting and romantic thing to do. However a trip to Paris would not be complete without a visit to The Louvre, perhaps the most famous museum in the world.   http://www.residence-pelican.com/communities/1/004/006/970/301/images/4525259333.jpg Famous for the Mona Lisa, and some would say the final resting place of The Holy Grail, the Louvre is a must see attraction upon visiting the French capital. It is of course extremely busy and I am always amazed at the numbers that follow the cheap laminated signs to see the disappointedly small portrait of the woman with a enigmatic smile to be faced by a group of tourists snapping away with their digital cameras or appreciating the Da Vinci's masterpiece through the screen of their smart phone. However, anyone visiting Paris today would have been sadly disappointed that the museum with the big glass pointy pyramid was closed. The staff of the museum were on strike. ...

I realise that Margaret Thatcher splits the public opinion of this country but is it really right to celebrate her death with parties? I was born in 1972 and I guess a Thatcher child being seven when she was elected the first time. Many people remember her from the days before she reached the premier post, when she was education secretary and snatched the milk from the innocent school children. I was one of those children. I remember the milk that we used to get at school. It was invariably warm because it had sat out all morning. I hate warm milk so for me the loss of the milk was no bad thing. Of course there are many in the country who have genuine reason to dislike some of her policies and because of them loathe her with a passion. Those that lived in the coal mining areas of the country had their livelihoods, homes and communities irrevocably destroyed by the closing of be coal mines and the subsequent strikes and protests. These communities have never really recovered ...