I've started a new photo gallery, called Geek London. It all started way back when I spotted Ralph's Corner, and then the Unix Hair Salon. I could swear I also saw a place called "Root Access" in North London, but couldn't find it when I went there again. Sadly also, "Touching Cloth" seems to have disappeared from the bottom of Brick Lane, so we're kicking off with just three pictures...

Open Letter to the Kansas School Board. In the letter, the writer points out that of course global warming is inversely proportional to the number of pirates in the world. Think on...

Via The Ferret, have fun with Desktop Tower Defense (that link didn't work for me, so used this instead).

Coofer Cat Warning: May be addictive!

Update: It seems popularity causes hosting problems. Try here instead of the two above. I've also got a local copy.

Following one of those dodgy ads on TV that proclaims that you, hapless loser that you are, could one day have a high flying IT career, I tried this little test. It's a 40 question test, with a maximum time of 15 minutes (first challenge: use a browser that's compatible with it's bizarre and unnecessary UI).

As you might imagine, I did pretty well with 90% (meaning I got four wrong!). Still, when faced with a question that says "which of these will lose data? [format], [defragmenter], [scandisk], [explorer]", I spent a while looking for "all of the above".

However, the point of all this was to say this is actually quite a good example of a 'point in time' test of recollection. As with just about every IT test I've ever heard of or taken (ahem, ahem), it doesn't test understanding or approach, and a passing grade gives the false impression that the candidate is qualified for something. Ho hum, IT qualifications... (sigh)

Red Ferret points us at two very different sites today. Firstly, an online, Web 2.0 stylee image manipulator called Wiredness. It's along the same lines as the desktop application, Picassa. It looks like it could be really useful because they've thoughtfully included an API so their genius can be integrated with other web applications. Nice.

On a very different note, English Russia is a fun site for a bit of Internet-idling. There's some weird stuff on there, well worth a look.

And one more via Digg: Weird doormats.

I'm back home now, and on the prowl for a new job. I'm also battling with the usual procrastintion, jetlag and general malaise.

However, courtesy of GCB, enjoy The Brick Testament (all things biblical in Lego). That seems sort of relevant since I've just come back from the supposedly secular USA (yes, that one with "in god we trust" on all the horrible paper money, and countless biblical TV and radio stations).