Rebooting civilisation
Between escalating geopolitical tensions and the spectre of climate catastrophe, the world often feels like it is going to hell in a handbasket. Good news for those selling handbaskets, less so for the rest of us trying to block it all out with a round of Candy Crush.
But how to keep your streaks going after the fall of civilisation? That is where Collapse OS comes in: an operating system created specifically for use in a post-apocalyptic world. Software engineer Virgil Dupras has designed the system to run on Z80 8-bit microprocessors, which can be easily scavenged from Old World items such as cash registers, calculators, musical instruments and more.
Dupras has said that Collapse OS could also run on a slightly more advanced piece of obsolete hardware, a Sega Mega Drive. He is currently seeking out 鈥渃ollapsniks鈥� to help develop the code. Like-minded preppers can visit the project at collapseos.org. We wish them all the best, and will sleep easier knowing we will still be competing to beat the Jelly Queen even as irradiated wolves gnaw at the door of our bunker.
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Eggcrobatics
The packaging on the quiche that Roger Pither bought for his supper informs him it is made with 100 per cent 鈥淔ree run Eggs鈥�. 鈥淪hould I feel bad about those free running eggs being killed for the quiche I have just enjoyed?鈥� he asks. The answer, presumably, depends on how hard-boiled you are. We find ourselves posing a different question: however do they catch them in the first place? Don鈥檛 all scramble to answer.
Heavy metal
The no-doubt artistic Hue White spots a new unit for measuring the carbon footprint of buildings in the of The RIBA Journal.
Engineer Steve Webb castigates the architectural profession for its love affair with the environmentally unsound materials steel and concrete, writing: 鈥淚f I drive a Range Rover to the supermarket I produce about 400g of CO. Should we measure environmental morality in Range Rover Shopping Trips 鈥� RSTs? An RST is an ugly spectacle: me a paunchy middle aged guy, my wrap-around shades, in a 鈥榗ommanding鈥� driving position, nonchalantly palming my giant car between trolley-pushing pedestrians in the Sainsbury鈥檚 car park.鈥�
鈥淨uite the visual, isn鈥檛 it?鈥� says Hue. If you think that鈥檚 bad, it is nothing compared with the half a billion RSTs Webb says were committed for the steel-vaulted new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow Airport in west London. What better impetus for change than imagining millions of paunchy men in Range Rovers navigating a Sainsbury鈥檚 car park?
Warm words
A Japanese student of ninja history has aced her homework assignment by handing in a blank essay. The AFP Tokyo bureau reports that 19-year-old Eimi Haga, who is a member of a club at Mie University that is devoted to studying the tactics of stealth and espionage embraced by the ninja warriors of Japan鈥檚 feudal period, concocted her own invisible ink made from soybean paste. The essay included instructions on how to reveal the message by heating the paper.
As well as creating the ink, Haga experimented with three different types of paper to find one that could absorb the ink but resist heating long enough for the message to be revealed. In retrospect, Feedback reflects, a message that bursts into flames after reading would be great for secret communications.
Haga鈥檚 instructor, Yuji Yamada, commended her work, telling reporters that 鈥渂y learning about ninja鈥� we can apply their knowledge and ways to modern society鈥�. Quite so: next time your boss asks if you have typed up the latest sales figures, simply hand them a blank sheet of paper with a knowing nod.
Much better than one
Feedback previously noted a marked increase in the number of heads per animal body, particularly among snakes (21 September). This trend appears to be escalating, as reports slither in of a seven-headed snake on the move in Kanakapura in southern India. The snake itself is still in hiding, but residents say a cast-off skin found near Marigowdana Doddi village shows seven papery bonnets.
Snake expert Ramu P. has scaled back expectations, though, telling The Times of India that 鈥渘owhere in the world is there any record of a seven-headed snake鈥�. Strange: Feedback distinctly recalls being read a tale about something similar before bed, once upon a time. This was, however, a very long time ago.
Heat treatment
Nominative determinism forsworn, at least for one week. Oh, go on then, a small one won鈥檛 do any harm. A colleague writes: 鈥淚 just discovered a consultant urologist whose surname is Burns-Cox, and this made me laugh more than it reasonably should.鈥� Shame on them 鈥� mind you, long-time Feedback readers will remember that our fascination with nominative determinism originally sprang from a pair of urologists named Splatt and Weedon.
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