Nick Jordan

When you miss your exit on a roundabout, what do you do? That’s right, you continue on around it until you come back to where you want to be. That’s not what I saw someone doing last night on my way home from work, no sir. In the middle of rush hour traffic this particular fuckwit had stopped on a roundabout and was reversing back around it. What is the matter with some people?

Ivan Noble’s final Tumour Diary. I’m not going to comment except to say that I’ve been following Ivan’s struggle for a long time and I wish him well.

Five weeks in a cave eating wood and clay. Nice.

I have a big problem with the Kingsmill Toastie, a sliced loaf of bread designed specifically, apparently, to be toasted. The problem? It doesn’t fit in my toaster. There’s a bit at one end of the slice that sticks out and therefore remains pristine and unbrowned. Turning the wretched thing over halfway through the process just seems to result in something that’s fine at the ends but burnt to a crisp in the middle. Yes, I know I could use the grill but I’m lazy, OK?

I know it’s old news, but I just had to post this. A guy in Alaska is building a giant robot that will shoot flames twenty feet and fire nine inch nails from its shoulders. I so want one of these! I’d add a seat and ride it to work.

The Huygens probe has been a great success! I’m stunned, amazed and very happy. Congratulations are in order for all those who had a hand in this spectacular achievement. Now comes the slow process of analysing all the data and figuring out exactly what it tells us about Titan. I shall be keeping a close eye on it all.

The Huygens probe begins its descent to the surface of Titan today. I really hope that everything goes well; I’m just dying to see the pictures it’s going to take and to find out more about Titan. I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time indeed.

A British person has been sacked for writing a weblog. This kind of hysterical overreaction is exactly why I don’t mention work these days. Officially, I’ve been told that it’s OK as long as I don’t mention the name of the company or of any individual who works there and don’t update during working hours, which seems fair enough to me. The problem is that there’s nothing in writing to that effect so it’d be all to easy for them to change their minds. Safer all round if I just say nothing.

I’ve been going into work way too early for the past few years, sitting around for an hour or so messing around online. I’ve finally decided that it’s ridiculous to do that, so I’m going in at a more sensible hour today. This means that I have some time to sit and have a second cup of tea while listening to some music and reading my book. Definitely a much better start to the day if you ask me.

I had a very nice wander around the Museum of London yesterday. It was good to get out and do something interesting, although the wind whistling through the Barbican was sodding cold. It really is the ugliest building, a concrete jungle with ramps, staircases and elevated walkways everywhere. If you don’t live in London and you come here on holiday, take my advice and avoid the Barbican, except for the Museum, of course. That’s the only thing that makes it’s existence worthwhile.

A very happy New Year to one and all, and may 2005 be a year of peace and prosperity for everyone. Except spammers.