Monday 29 January 2007

The Renewability Exhibition


Action Men
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.


Spent all day yesterday at the Renewability Exhibit. Tim did a fine impersonation of Action Man. The exhibit continues until Sunday February 11th 2007.


The Renewability Exhibition Art Pavilion at Mile End Park, Ashcroft Rd off Grove Road, near Mile End Tube. Buses that pass the door 277, D6,339 with 323 25, D7 nearby) from 24th January to 11th February 2007. The Art Pavillion is a similar to
the ecology pavillion in Mile End Park, both being set back from the road towards the canal. The Art Pavillion is just South of the railway lines.



Free entry



Map




Renewability Haiku Hike


Sunday 21 January 2007

Vin de table


Vin de table
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
Sainsbury's sell 150 cl of red wine in a plastic bottle.

The price in £4.99, which is 5 quid in real money.... this has changed my life.

Storms sweep all of the UK

Stormy weather hit all of the UK on Thursday 18th January, 2007. A weather warning was issued on the day before for all parts of the UK. There were fatalities, a school in Hertfordshire had the roof blown off and transport was chaotic.

More at NowPublic.com

Saturday 20 January 2007

News on Twitter

Twitter is way too slow.... I said it would not scale.

Sunday 14 January 2007

Time stamp

Just changed to UTC...

Work Space


Work Space
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
The spring cleaning continues today. Since we are having Spring weather in January, Spring cleaning makes obvious sense! And what will we do in the months of March, April and May?

Friday 12 January 2007

BBC News on twitter


BBC News on twitter
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
BBC News on twitter.

Monday 8 January 2007

Bartlett Park


Bartlett Park
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
Cut and altered with the GIMP. My local park....

Sunday 7 January 2007

Carnage


Carnage
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
There is a penalty if you do not validate your Carnet ticket.

But you cannot use your Carnet ticket on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway).

This is Bank Station, one of the interchanges between the Tube system and the DLR system.

G5


G5
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
My other Mac is a MacBook (Intel).

Work Space


Work Space
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
Specially tidy for the start of 2007!

Friday 5 January 2007

The Networking Club and the Pembury Tavern


The Networking Club
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
The Networking Club grew from one meeting a year up to 2004, to about one meeting every two months or so. The Pembury Tavern is the spiritual home of the Networking Club. It is a non smoking pub with excellent beer, food and all the bar and board games you can handle.

The Pembury Tavern opened on 6th January 2006, so we wish them a happy birthday! The opening party was on February 18th 2006, and in 2007 this coincides with Chinese New Year.

Auspicous!

Fried food


Fried food
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
It is that time again....

Tuesday 2 January 2007

DLR Fodder


DLR Fodder
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
Phase 2

DLR Fodder


DLR Fodder
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
Phase 1

Pyster


Pyster
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
Touch the Reader!!

Touch the Reader!!

Touch the Reader!!

Bank Station


Bank Station
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.
There is another one behind!!

Pyster card usage


Pyster card usage
Originally uploaded by LoopZilla.

The Automatic Traveller

The Docklands Light Railway in East London is a modern marvel. Trains stop at the same place, to an inch, on the platforms. Hence, passengers have learnt where to stand to gain access to the trains. Hence, when the doors open, passengers trying to get off are met with a plug of people, blocking the exit. Then, as you try to get on, some of the wedge of people don't move. Why? Well they are waiting for a later train, to a different destination. But they want to maintain their position in the "queue".

Fritz Laing's Metropolis (1927) has been realised in 2007. Man and machine, man becomes machine, and we all line up!

DLR is driven by machines. Computers on the train and computers in the central control. The doors are shut by "Train Captains", who have little regard for late running passengers. At Bank station, where trains start their journey, there are often heated words when the doors at shut in people's faces. The staff say "we have to maintain the timetable". Odd that. I have often seen DLR staff hold doors open when it suits them...

DLR is part of Transport for London. As such, it can accept Oystercards as a means of payment for travel. "Oystercard Pre pay" (also know as "pay as you go") and Travelcards can both exist an an Oystercard's ARPHID to be read by men and machines. But the DLR is an open platform system, so you have to remember to "touch in and touch out". Great. Just don't forget!

And aren't all tickets "pre pay"?

But if you go to a DLR start a journey, travel to a destination, and come back within two hours you may find yourself with a penalty fare, since the "touch out" at the destination is a registered as a "touch in", and hence you outward journey is not complete. Hence incomplete. Hence a fine, or a "full cash fare" deduction from your card.