Have you met my hot friend the coke bottle? She has a less attractive American cousin.

For the record, I hate the word beverage.
Have you met my hot friend the coke bottle? She has a less attractive American cousin.

For the record, I hate the word beverage.

Miksi Otto tykkää japanilaisista koulutytöistä? Koska Otto on lonkero!
English speakers: nevermind. Anyway, I, too, saw this yesterday. Didn’t have my camera along though.
So, a few people have been contacting their local friendly chiropractors regarding the recent ASA ruling. I think Martin was the first; jdc325 and Tristan have also done their bit, the latter with remarkable success!
The ASA ruling states that the chiropractor could not “refer to the treatment of IBS, colic and learning difficulties” in his advertising. Now, it should be noted that the ASA do not regulate advertising on websites (but, randomly, they do on leaflets!) However, the General Chiropractic Council’s own Code of Practice states that chiropractors may “publicise their practices or permit another person to do so consistent with the law and the guidance issued by the Advertising Standards Authority.” My interpretation of the GCC guidelines is that they extend the ASA’s recommendations from advertising to all information published by GCC members.
I tried to find a Linux solution to automatically record scanner traffic, something like Scanner Recorder for Windows. It looks like I am not alone. Anyway, I figured it out.
This is how I did it under Ubuntu:
#include "forms.h" to #include <X11/forms.h>).xpvox -ios | speexenc -V --rate 44100 - out.spx.After you quit xpvox, you’ll find a file called out.spx which contains all recorded traffic, with silent bits cut out.
Apparently, British Airways wants to assure its customers that its routes will not change after the polar ice caps have melted. Take a look at this scan from the February 2008 edition of their in-flight High Life magazine, pages 96-97.
This is what BA thinks Europe looks like:

Cropped around Finland:

Google Earth’s view on the same area:

The map is proudly produced by Oxford Cartographers.
Kieran Healy of Crooked Timber has unearthed some interesting statistics on Conservapedia, that beacon of piety in the secular world. As of right now, Conservapedia’s most viewed pages are as follows:
- Main Page [1,907,392]
- Homosexuality [1,575,873]
- Homosexuality and Hepatitis [517,112]
- Homosexuality and Promiscuity [420,721]
- Gay Bowel Syndrome [391,120]
- Homosexuality and Parasites [388,155]
- Homosexuality and Domestic Violence [367,707]
- Homosexuality and Gonorrhea [331,558]
- Homosexuality and Mental Health [292,100]
- Homosexuality and Syphilis [265,330]
These guys are amazing:
Béla Fleck
Hat tip to CC.
DIY PID controller for sous-vide
Here are a few pictures of my sous-vide PID controller project. Inspiration came from the Seattle Food Geek. Being an engineer, I wanted to create a standalone system so I added sockets for the heater elements, pump and thermometer probe. I also didn’t see the benefit of hanging the mains-powered system above the bath, so I made the controller a separate tabletop unit.
This is the bath. I use two plastic boxes from Wilkinsons, one inside the other, to give a degree of insulation. The immersion heaters and the Pt100 thermometer probe are clamped between two pieces of plexiglass. I keep the lid on when the heater is on. This is a temporary arrangement until I get better heater elements. I will probably attach these directly to the lid.
My first pump got a bit hot and gave up the ghost, so it doesn’t feature in these photos. A replacement has been ordered.
Front view. The PID controller has just been switched on. It’s a Chinese REX-C700, apparently a non-pin-compatible fake of a Japanese controller of the same model number. The enclosure happens to be such a good fit that the controller doesn’t move at all between the box top/bottom and the enclosure’s screw posts. The power switch is at the top.
Rear panel. On the bottom left is the fused input. On the bottom-right is pump output, always on when the switch (on top of the controller) is on. Top-right is the heater output, controlled by the PID driving a 25A solid-state relay. Top-left is the thermometer input.
Building Instructions
These instructions are work in progress. I intend to amend and improve them soon, including adding pictures and circuit diagrams. Meanwhile, comments and questions are welcome.
This project should not be attempted by inexperienced DIYers. In fact, it should probably not be attempted by anyone. Done incorrectly, there is a very real risk of electrocution. These instructions give a very broad overview of the building process; do not expect to see every step described in detail (or correctly).
Right. With that out of the way, let’s crack on.
Bill of Materials
Instructions
Done! (Kind of.)
Issues