Information of use to a terrorist (by alaric)

Ok, in the UK, I've heard of "posessing information of use to a terrorist" as being a crime.

Google can't find me much more detailled information about this, which is nagging at me.

Now, as somebody with a broad interest in the fundamental forces that bind the Universe together (y'know, electromagnetism, nuclear forces, and that sort of thing), and their manipulation to enhance the human frame's limited powers in order to make us godlike beings able to shape planets in our own image, and just because huge glowing balls of plasma are fun to play with, I know lots of stuff that may be of use to terrorists. I suspect, for variosu reasons, that I'm probably on some kinds of watch lists somewhere.

Therefore, I try to be SQUEAKY CLEAN. I don't partake in the minor petty crimes many people do; software piracy, breaking speed limits, and so on. I suspect that I'm probably being watched, and such things logged. If the UK takes a paranoid turn, then somebody in power might ask the intelligence services to start taking down "potentially dangerous" people on whatever minor charges can be found, "just in case". In which case, I'd probably be in for it.

However, yesterday I was browsing the welding section in Foyles, when I wondered accross (in the adjacent metallurgy section) a translaction of "The Pyrotechnia of Vannoccio Biringuccio: The Classic Sixteenth-Century Treatise on Metals and Metallurgy". It contained lots of practical instructions on metal melting and casting without access to super-high-tech equipment - perfect for my casting experiments, and historically interesting.

So I bought it. However, when reading it on the train, I saw in the contents that it has chapters on "The manner of making metal balls (that burst)", "The methods of making tongues of fire", "The methods of making fire tubes", and "Concerning the fire that consumes without leaving ashes, that is more powerful than any other fire, and whose smith is the great son of Venus" (wow).

First thought: "Cool! That sounds like crazy alchemical summoning-and-harnessing-the-great-element-of-Fire stuff. What fun!" Second thought: "Bugger, if the thought police break down my door and rifle my bookshelves, they're gonna look dimly on all that. For at the time, that was the height of military technology (it includes detailled instructions on the construction of cannon, for example)."

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The association between flourescent green materials and radioactivity isn’t just the domain of comics and movies (by alaric)

Uranium can be added to give glass a fluorescent yellow or green color

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass#Overview

...it's official! Glass containing uranium is actually coloured flourescent green/yellow!

After all my irritation at radioactive wastes always being portrayed as a glowing yellow/green liquid, that little point has made my day. Thankyou.

Driving theory test – passed! (by alaric)

Woo hoo! I've passed my driving theory test.

I scored 35 out of 35 on the easy multiple choice questions ("A burning child staggers into the road in front of you. Do you (a) accelerate and run into the child so the flames are put out as it flies through the air, (b) pretend not to notice and drive past, (c) stop and help, (d) sit and watch"), and 46 out of 75 on the dreaded Hazard Perception - when the pass mark is 44!

Phew. Close. TOO close.

But anyway, onto the next step: the practical test. If I am lucky, I will get one booked before Christmas. The waiting lists around here are a bit mad.

Snell Systems (by alaric)

As one small step along the road towards my dream of becoming a Victorian gentleman scientist, I've gone part time with my employer Frontwire Ltd and am now freelancing for the other half of it under the auspices of Snell Systems.

As well as selling my services as a software engineer and technical author, I'm also doing network installations.

Wish me luck - and if you need a network installed in the London area, drop us a line!