LOOKING for computer-aided design software, Quentin Macdonald was pleased at the greatly enhanced performance promised by AutoCAD 2010, which according to online vendor Studica āhas never been easierā to use, thanks to āthe invaluable addition of 3D printingā (see ).
Could you use that to print something shaped like an egg, say? Or the Eiffel tower? Or Michelangeloās David? It turns out that you can print anything in 3D ā so long as itās smallish and made of plastic or some metals (11 July, p 20). Weāre sold, though weād still like to print a pint.
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āSeen by Alan Hickman in BBC East Midlands news: āGovernment minister John Healey announced 2000 new homes will be built in England on Wednesday.ā Prefabricated homes, presumablyā
TALKING of extra dimensions, Richard Hudson tells us that his family has replaced the gutters on their house with a system from Lindab. How could they not, given that, according to , āLindab Rainline is a truly complete system. With gutters in four dimensions, down pipes in five dimensions and an extensive range of components, the system offers solutions for any type of buildingā¦ā
Shampoo intensifies space-time
MEANWHILE, it seems Clairol is not the only company under the impression that its hair product can affect the topology of space-time (3 October). Holidaying in Australia, Tjasa Boh bought a , which declares on the front that it āintensifies multi-dimensional shineā.
Are they perhaps talking about intensity in boring old four-dimensional space-time ā for example by suggesting that it makes your hair shine earlier, or for longer?
SO IMPORTANT do a group called the Kabalarians consider the influence of your first name on your life that they offer a free analysis of its effect at .
Hugh Grady tried the name āJesusā and found, among other things, that people with this name appreciate the finer things in life but lack confidence, have a tendency to procrastinate and a fixation on money and appearances.
On the other hand, Hugh discovered, the name āFeedbackā indicates that āall too often, you express yourself in a matter-of-fact or awkward wayā, which seems a bit of a drawback in our line of work. Whatās more, Hugh says he wasnāt surprised to learn that we āprefer positions thatā¦ are not too demanding in work-load or responsibilityā since āthis section of your excellent magazine has always struck me as being a tad frivolous and a definite time-wasterā.
Ouch! Perhaps we had better get down to something serious that makes good use of our time ā like looking up analyses of names on the Kabalarian website. It offers us a new, ābalancedā name for a mere $195.
EMAILS sent by the Metropolitan Police Service in London (known to most Londoners as the āMetā, but as the āMPSā in its private language) have a long addendum. āMPS personnel (or agents working on behalf of the MPS) must not,ā it proclaims, āuse MPS systems to author, transmit or store documents such as electronic mail (e-mail) messages or attachments containing racist, homophobic, sexist, defamatory, offensive, illegal or otherwise inappropriate material.ā
Excellent ā and a great way to avoid court cases. But Feedback fears it might hinder all prosecutions, including those that police are paid to encourage. Had an officer written colleagues an email saying āit looks like that chap Bernie Madoff has committed fraud, letās investigateā, that would ā before either his confession or his conviction ā have been defamatory, and could not be sent, and he could not have been investigated, unless officers communicated exclusively orally.
It goes on, in the opaque jargon which the Plain English Campaign . The Metās operatives must not send emails ācontaining personal data for use other than in accordance with the notification(s) under the Data Protection Act, 1998ā. Feedback , the āCommissioner for the Metropolisā, under the UKās Data Protection Act and, yes, the Met has given notification that it will use computers and documents to apprehend offenders ā as well for such purposes as āadvertising or marketing the businessā. So their emails arenāt self-forbidding on that ground.
But then things get muddier. The policy concludes: āThis Email message has been scanned for viruses and contents.ā Feedback isnāt quite sure whether both viruses and contents are forbidden.
VISITING Atlanta, state capital of Georgia, Hannah Adams was impressed by a billboard reading āReal time travel anywhere in Georgiaā. But why can you only visit Georgiaās past and future, she wonders: why not, say, Arizonaās?
Trial postponed until last April
MEANWHILE, London free paper Metro had this to say in its 4 November issue: āLawyers have delayed a High Court case after claiming they will be too busy stacking supermarket shelves to prepareā¦ The trial was put back until April 13, 2009.ā
That, says John Barker, āis really putting things back.ā
