One for the designers and photographers out there, and perhaps requiring just that little bit too much time and concentration to be called ‘fun’, but still worth a go…

Test your colour perception with the FM 100 Hue Test

Is this the sort of wedding photography I aspire to?

‘Bride’ arrested on wedding day - Times Online

Well, according to the FT Magazine article, Defining Moment - Japanese knotweed invades Britain, he was the person responsible for introducing Japanese knotweed to the British Isles, way back on 9 August 1850.

Mind you, he also got up to some fairly dodgy dealings in its native Japan. Perhaps as some sort of atonement he then gave them the piano, but I think he was dead before the magnitude of introducing one of Britain’s most pernicious weeds was realised.

A short while ago I discovered that a former colleague, friend and fellow cyclist Sharon Laws is going to be riding for Great Britain in the women’s road race at the Beijing Olympics. Wow, bloody amazing! So, this is just to say….

GO SHARON!

More about Sharon at:
www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2525097/Sh…
www.britishcycling.org.uk/web/site/BC/gbr/News2008/200808…
www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/AthleteProfile.aspx?id=6813

Sharon also did the video feature for the BBC about the road race (during which she broke her leg!):
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/cycling/7550414.stm

I’ve had some strange replies to questions/complaints before, but this one really takes the biscuit. A nearly new print cartridge packed up, and it should be covered under warranty, so I tried to ask HP how I should return it.

At this point readers should either give up, or make themselves a cup of tea and settle down for a long read. And all that just to tell me that they couldn’t help and I needed to ring someone. And he has the audacity to tell me “I understand how you feel” and then claim “superior customer service”. Wrong on both counts!

*****************************
Dear James,

Welcome and thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

My name is Alexander from HP All-in-One E-mail Support Team. From the issue description of your e-mail, I gather that your HP Photosmart 2575 All-in-One is experiencing issues related to printing from your old HP 344 Tri-color cartridge. I note that while printing a color copy, your old HP 344 cartridge had suddenly stopped working. I also noted that you had replaced with a new one and the printer is working normally. I had noted that your primary concern is to know whether the old cartridge used be returned and can it be used for a replacement or refund.

James, I understand how you feel, and would like to help you and I will be with you until the issue is totally addressed. I regret for all the inconvenience that you had experienced and I appreciate for your efforts in resolving the issue at-hand. I am sure by working together we can resolve the issue. I seek your kind co-operation.

I believe that you had performed the steps given below :

a) Manually clean the cartridges :
=============================
1. Gather the following items to clean the contacts on the cartridge and in print carriage:
* Clean distilled water. Use bottled or filtered water if distilled water is not available. Tap water may contain contaminants which could damage the cartridge.
* Clean cotton swabs or any soft, lint-free material that will not stick to the cartridges (coffee filters work well).
* Sheets of paper or paper towel to rest the cartridges on during cleaning.
2. Open the printer lid and wait until the print cartridge carriage stops moving.
3. Remove the cartridge and place it on a piece of paper with the nozzle plate facing up.
NOTE : Try to clean the contacts quickly enough that the cartridge is not outside of the printer for more than 30 minutes. The ink can dry and clog the nozzles if the cartridge is outside of the printer for too long.
4. Unplug the printer.
5. Dip a swab in the clean water, then squeeze it to remove most of the moisture. The swab should be only slightly damp.
6. Clean the print cartridge contacts. Please do not touch the nozzles.
7. Clean the contacts in the print carriage, inside the printer. The print carriage contacts are copper, and are located in the carriage so that they align with the cartridge contacts when the cartridge is installed.
8. Wipe the cleaned area with a dry swab to remove any moisture, then reinstall the cartridge, plug the printer back in, and close the printer cover.

b) Power Cycle the All-in-One :
==============================
Power cycling the unit will remove any electrical surges from All-in-One.
1. Verify that the unit is switched on. Unplug the all-in-one from power and disconnect the connection port.
2. Wait 30 seconds.
3. Plug in the power only.
4. Repeat steps 2-4 two more times.
5. On the third time after plugging the unit into power, reconnect the connection port from the all-in-one to your computer.
6. Restart your computer and check the functionality.

However, I note that the issue had been resolved after replacing the HP 344 Tri-Color Cartridge. I am sorry to inform you that as an e-mail agent, I am not authorized to provide any transactions related to shippment of cartridges out of United States of America. As a result of geographical constraints, I cannot provide you any refund or replacement of the cartridge. However, there is another alternate in this regard. For your convenience, I am providing you the contact numbers of our Phone Support in United Kingdom and I request you to approach for the Phone Support, in order to resolve your concern.

Here are the contact numbers for the HP Phone Support in United Kingdom : All-in-One printer products :

In-Warranty : 0844 369 0369
Mon-Fri 08.30-18.00 (except Bank Holidays)

Out-of-Warranty: 0906 477 0 477
Mon-Fri / 08:30-18:00 (except for Bank Holidays)

James, I hope that the information provided helps you. I really appreciate you for giving me the opportunity to assist you with superior customer service. I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for being one of our most valuable customers. Please contact us again if you require any further assistance. We are available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week.

I look forward to assist you. Have a nice time.

Sincerely,

Alexander
HP Total Care.

*****Do Not Delete Service Ticket*****
[ticket Number { ############# }]
*****Do Not Delete Service Ticket*****

Our advice is strictly limited to the question(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us. HP does not assume any responsibility or liability for the advice given and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this information. Always back up your data. For more information, including technical information updates, please visit our Web site at http://www.hp.com/support.

Whilst I still work in an organisation with science at its core, I don’t often regret having left my first role as an actual, real, bona fide scientist. But when I read someone like Charlie Brooker standing up for scientists (Science is like a good friend: sometimes it tells you things you don’t want to hear) in an impassioned and forthright way I am tempted, just that little bit, to return to the folds of those people who he describes as “fellow human beings who’ve actually bothered getting off their arses to work this shit out”.

Great piece, worth a read.

It’s nice to see the baobab story getting so much coverage, and even nicer to see that the editorial and factual quality of the articles, such as the new one on the BBC site (First taste of a magical fruit) is improving in leaps and bounds!

It reminds me of a book I was asked to proof for botanical accuracy, Miriam Moss’s enchanting children’s title This is the Tree.

What could possibly be described using the following:
- retro touch
- aroma of wet corn
- some fruit and hint of cardboard
- proper nettley green hop aroma
- Mellow wine gum citrus
- buttery dunked Malted Milk
- a hint of sting
- Some cereal on the nose
- a deep, irn-bruey gold
- biscuit malts, citrus and yeast
- resinous lemon towards the finish

Well, it could only be Youngs Kew Gold, the new beer to replace the much missed Kew Brew.

I had my first bottle of it in the Coach & Horses on Kew Green last week, and I must say it was quite pleasant drinking - certainly a good beer for a warm summers’ evening (which unfortunately it wasn’t at the time!).

The BBC is reporting that a New exotic fruit [is] to hit UK shops. New? What’s new about the baobab? Africa’s ‘upside down tree’. Well it’s certainly not a new species. It’s certainly not a new use. What appears to define this as ‘new’ is that the EU has just approved it.

What a sad world it is that something that has been used in it’s native countries for centuries can only be sold when it has been approved by bureaucrats sitting in an office in Brussels (or wherever they are - I can only assume it’s not even Nairobi, let alone out in Kenya’s beautiful countryside where these majestic trees can be found).

This week sees a week off work building a summerhouse to replace the old shed. It’s a small garden (c. 10m x 5.5m) so the aim is to make it all rather more courtyard-like, with a small circular lawn in the middle.

To capture the ‘before, during, and after’ (and to prove to my wife that I’m busy!) I set up a webcam. Here’s the latest image (live c. 9am - 9pm):

I’ve been putting daily timelapse videos on Flickr. Here’s the latest:

You can see all previous days, plus some screen captures of the mock-up I did on Google Sketch-up - Shedcam - timelapse videos and static images on Flickr