ł˘°ż±·¶Ů°ż±·â€™S Millennium Bridge is not the only structure in the world with a
tendency to wobble (Â鶹´«Ă˝, 31 March, p 38). Reader Chris Knibbs
encountered the same problem when he built a perch for his chickens.
He wanted it to be “realistic”, like a tree branch, so he suspended a short
pole on wires that could sway slightly. Unfortunately, even a minor swing would
set the birds leaning forwards and back in unison to counter the sway of the
perch. This made the perch sway more. So the chickens rocked further and
faster.
“I would be woken by the sound of loud creaking noises from the chicken shed.
In the dead of night—by torchlight— there they would be, swaying
back and forth on their Millennial chicken swing,” says Knibbs.
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After about a fortnight, however, the chickens seemed to adapt. Any
swinging—usually caused by a new bird jumping up onto the pole—would
subside fairly quickly until all was still in the hen shed once more.
What can the Millennium Bridge engineers learn from this?
A COUPLE of weeks ago we reported on Microsoft’s “NT technology”, which we
wrongly assumed meant “New Technology technology”. Our thanks to reader Iain
Broadfoot, who points out that it actually means “Northern Telecom technology”,
after the people who originally developed it.
But that hasn’t stopped reader Ernest Ager sending a string of examples of
what must henceforth be known as RAS syndrome—where “RAS” stands for
“redundant acronym…”—yes, you’ve guessed the rest.
For example, we advise readers against making clever-clever responses to
police who demand to see their ID document. Otherwise they may find themselves
looking down the wrong end of an SLR rifle (self-loading, that is).
Less dangerously, many of you have to deal daily with LIMS systems
(laboratory information management. . .) and some may have been prescribed HRT
therapy (hormone replacement. . .).
In the air, Agar notices HUD displays (head-up…) and under water, scraping
the bottom of what looks like being a large barrel, SCUBA apparatus
(self-contained underwater breathing…).
Is this the last we will be hearing of RAS syndrome? We suspect not.
OUR PLEA about the letter from the Post Office addressed to a person who’d
moved, with instructions that under no circumstances should it be forwarded (24
March), elicited three suggestions from Debbie Moorhouse.
One: take the letter to your local post office, explain the situation and let
them sort it out. “There is,” she notes, “the danger with this method that it
will nonetheless mysteriously reappear in your letter box.”
Two: put the letter in another envelope and address it exactly as the first
envelope, but omit the injunction not to redirect it.
The third solution is probably illegal and involves the round filing cabinet
next to Feedback’s desk.
But as several other readers have also pointed out, such letters are
necessitated by humans’ bad behaviour. The “not to be redirected” letter is sent
to the person who has requested redirection to give them an opportunity to deny
they did so—in case a fraudster has made the request on their behalf in
order to get sent all their mail. Moorhouse explains: “Obviously, therefore, it
mustn’t be redirected, as, if a fraudster is involved, that would defeat the
object of sending it in the first place.”
Simple, really.
READER Rachel Cave was thrilled to receive the programme for the British
Association’s Science Week last month. She was more thrilled to find that it
bore an introduction from the science minister, Lord Sainsbury. And yet more
thrilled to read that: “More scientific discoveries have been made in the past
ten years than in the whole of human history.”
But she’s also puzzled. On what planet, she wonders, has the noble lord been
studying the history of science? On this one, however you measure a discovery,
the statement seems extremely unlikely.
Some quick surfing, though, may give an insight into the ministerial
misunderstanding. Of 2,784,014 US patents listed in the online Delphion
database, for example, 1,348,489 were granted since January 1991. Could it just
be that Lord Sainsbury is confusing a patent with a scientific discovery?
AND when we visited the BA Science Week website to search for references to
“Sainsbury”, we were rewarded with a very elegant page declaring “Success”. And
absolutely nothing else. Is there a hidden message in this non-message?
IF the tabloid press is to be believed, the foot and mouth crisis may be even
more serious than we thought. The Sun reported on 15 March that: “Any
country around the world might be contaminated. This virus is strong and very
ľ±˛ÔłŮ±đ±ô±ôľ±˛µ±đ˛ÔłŮ.”
Horrifying stuff. But rethinking the entire biological basis of intelligence
might be premature. The quote was attributed to “UN food expert Yves Cheneau”
who is in fact head of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Animal Health
Service, based in Paris. Perhaps his statement gained something in the
translation from the French.
THE BOTTLE of Walden Farms Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette proudly announces:
“Made with real ingredients.” This, presumably, is so that we don’t confuse it
with other brands that use imaginary ingredients
FINALLY, here’s one of those research paper titles that you find yourself
rereading just to make sure your attention hasn’t wandered off halfway through.
A recent issue of Micron included this: “Scanning electron microscopy
and X-ray diffraction studies in the analysis of medical materials: Gore-tex
versus braided polyester tape for repair of the incompetent cervix.” Got
that?