The future was so bright (Salon)
Wired's techno-idealism jolted America before it flamed out. Gary Wolf's new book vividly recalls the magazine's wild and woolly saga, but leaves the big question hanging: Was it right?
Premium Content - Requires watching an advert to access.
Reminded me of this history of Wired UK.

Family Picnic Photos Online (via my Dad)

Accessible Odeon website
Interesting and funny... Have you ever tried fighting with the Odeon's website ... a really good example of really bad design !
This guy has (Accessible Odeon website) taken it upon himself to deobfuscate/redesign/re-front-end the Odeon's "unusable" site... (about time).

What Are the Odds of Dying?
and if that stresses you out...anxietyandstress.com

Geektools site includes a number of useful resources, including this guide to London Hotels Offering Hi-Speed Net Access

A number of articles discussing "pay for" online content following the Guardian's decision to roll out "premium online services"
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/31634.html
http://www.paidcontent.org/pc/arch/2003_07_09.shtml#002401
http://www.cyberjournalist.net/news/000528.php

Came across this after my Dad forwarded an email regarding the dangers of heating water in a Microwave Oven...
Unwise Microwave Oven Experiments

This interview with Cory Doctorow, main man behind the widely read blog BoingBoing mentioned these great London resouces...:
http://www.hotspotted.com/
Hotspotted helps people connect to the internet in the places they want to.
http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/
London's favourite streets. Entire streetscapes showing over 2,750 shops, bars and restaurants in the liveliest areas of London.

23, is a Magic Number (Apperently)...
Why did Becks choose 23?
Why 23 is so sought after in sport
mystical number has affected the course of history
A brief history of No. 23

Oooops !
Chelski update!
Looks like it may well have been The Sun who came up with the "Chelski" name... see: Russian tycoon swoops for Chelsea FC.
Interesting that a Google news search didn't pick up the Sun article [I guess it only searches news sites !].

First Spotting: new name for chelsea FC, "Chelski"
Hats off to the Gauardian's article for comming up with the (seems obvious now!) new name in this article: Chelski is born as Russian tycoon buys football club

Error and information messages from software we love (#6,032)
MS Internet Explorer, on startup:
"The Windows Update site has been updated. To update your version of the software and begin using Windows Update, click Update Now."
Er...so, that would be an update then....

As a long term follower of David Sylvian's music, it was interesting to see coverage in a UK daily paper David Sylvian: Songs from the fringe. The piece gives a brief retrospective and some recent quotes around his new (BRILIANT) release "Blemish".
"David Sylvian was a pop pin-up when he led Japan. Now, after years on the frontiers of the avant-garde, he has produced his most personal songs yet."

SCARY ! Covered in several places... however many of my techy and untechy friends have no knowledge of this stuff... This article (I link to the syndicated piece at the register - where I read it first) from Security Focus is a MUST READ, and serves as a good primer on a technology which will be with us very soon, and will (potentially) allow a disturbing level of monitoring of individuals.
RFID Chips Are Here

Cringley's most recent article Sucking Through a Straw - A Bandwidth Drought Is Coming is interesting as always, but I particularly enjoyed his reference to an old story about a Xerox PARC hero... "John Ellenby, who was in charge of building the Altos [prototype networked computer], named his machine Gzunda "because it gzunda the desk."

Ran across this interesting little application/tool IndyJunior - a fully customizable map which you can use to easily display your geographic location. It's apparently named after those nice retro-style animated maps used in the Indiana Jones films which show a transatlantic flight route.

Toilet roll art - sits nicely alongside the post it gallery (see earlier).

We (in our house) were gripped by the recent BBC Drama State of Play which concluded last Sunday. This review sums it all up very nicely...
"Gutted: that Stephen Collins wasn't the man he could have been, that Cal and Anne won't have the happy ever after they deserve, that State of Play (BBC1) has reached its heart-clamping, audaciously honest conclusion. The final episode of Paul Abbott's exemplary drama left you gasping for air, and hoping hopelessly for more."

This was doing the rounds a week or two ago.. absolute genius !
Do (do do) take a look at this is you have ever received one of those Nigerian emails...
The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference

West ham's Fixtures for the new season (Going Up, Going Up, going Up !)