Elizabeth Cross

Seeing this on the British Monarchy website today, I was hoping for a recording of HMQ in a strop.

That would have been a hit on teh internets, I'm sure.

However, it's actually a broadcast made on the introduction of a new medal to be named in her honour.

That said, if you've ever seen the face of Queen Victoria on her memorial in The Mall, you'll know that looks like Victoria cross...

Overzealous Steet View

After Google launched their new Street View service for several UK cities yesterday, it has been all over the press today that some compromising images have slipped through.

Google had assured the Information Commissioner that they could apply a complex imaging algorithm to their millions of captured images to recognise and blur-out faces and number plates. It seems that this algorithm can be over-active as well as missing the odd face. Take this image which I grabbed from a Street View scene in Edinburgh earlier today. It a view of the Queen's Gallery, outside the Palace of Holyrood House, opposite the Scottish Parliament building. You can see that Google have helpfully blurred the face of who I assume is Mary Queen of Scots (although, of course, it's hard to tell) on the poster hanging from the wall.

I have to say that I am impressed with Street View, and I'm sure I will be using it but I do find it ironic that they can immediately protect the privacy of poster subjects, pub signs and statuary all over the country but not people vomiting in the street or walking out of sex shops. Go fig.

Platform Announcements

Heard this morning at London Bridge Rail Station - two immediately sequential loudspeaker announcements made by the same person:

"This is a passenger announcement. Due to overcrowding, London Bridge Underground station is inaccessible. We advice passengers to seek alternative routes"

"This is a passenger announcement. Due to signalling failure in the Blackfriars area, trains to London Blackfriars are suspended. London Underground are accepting rail tickets from this station"

We all know that problems occur, but a little joined up thinking is a good idea.

Piracy Up, Global Warming Down

From the school of thought that says you can prove anything with statistics - here is our best hope of defeating Global Warming. Everyone get torrenting.

From The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster via Digg