I spent ages fighting WP to get the 2.8 upgrade in. And now find my flickr plugin doesn’t work with it (yet).

Bet you can’t roll back the upgrade.

And I’ve got so much to give.

One.  A comment on the recent combi-drier picture (see previous post) on flickr (”Ah, the old screamin’ robot face, haven’t had one of these in a while…”) was cool – I should have noticed the resemblance.

Two.  That comment led me to look at the flickr pool (group) that I was invited to join a year or two ago and to which I regularly contribute hand drier pictures to.  And doing that alerted me to the fact that I’m the top contributor to the group! Not entirely sure how that happened.  Sort of point to some sort of obsession.

JOOI, what would you think (really think) if you saw someone taking pictures in a toilet?

Sad, plastic but (probably) reliable.  The Techniflow Force 8 Automatic Hand Drier. Why is the voltage / frequency and power consumption on the front panel (”240v~50Hz 1900w”)?

Good to see though the “drip proof” USP on the front for us all to marvel at.  I wonder what that actually means (or how it works in practice).

Just so you know, it seems that the “exciting and new” and “vandal proof” Force 10 is out now and available at an “amazing introductory price” of £140 + VAT.  Doesn’t appear to be drip proof anymore though.

From the blurb: “The powerful new force 10 hand dryer offers everything you need from a hand dryer and at an amazingly economical price.. The Force 10 gives a 10-12 second drying time from the most effective sensors available.

These dryers are tougher than most and have a fantastic 3 YEAR GUARANTEE. Even better they come at a price which makes them unbeatable value for money.”

[Incidentally, it took less than ten minutes for this page to become the second highest hit for "techniflow force 8" on Google.]

These ‘combis’, conversely, are a pain.  Especially when one of the three ‘elements’ (water; soap; air) malfunctions. Especially the water.

I’ve now been offered places on all three astronomy / cosmology courses that I’ve applied for.  That’s what the “60 points” is all about… That’s 60 points towards a degree, should I decided to do that… for which you need 360.

Life the Universe & SETI I’ve already mentioned…  Not I have a place on Exploring The Radio Universe, and on Introduction to Astronomy.  This latter one is the only compulsory one in the degree course, so I’m getting it done now, just in case.  Oh and for the fact that it’s an introduction – better do it at the start.

On a related note, I’ve now categorized 172 galaxies. In so doing, I’ve seen (that is categorized) merging galaxies which I thought was particularly exciting (on my first day so to speak). So exciting, I’ve copied the image below.

It is quite obviously now my galaxy and it’s known as SDSS J130336.87+650026.4

View from my hotel window, La Defense, Paris.

Phone outside the lift, 11th floor. La Defense, Paris.

Hand drier, toilets. Bicester Village.

Sandals in a shop. Bicester Village.