Hedy Lamarr a well known actress who appeared in over 30 films from 1930 to 1958 invented Spread Spectrum telecommunications
according to Wikipedia:
This early version of frequency hopping used a piano roll to change between 88 frequencies and was intended to make radio-guided torpedoes harder for enemies to detect or jam
Not something I expected to find when researching spread spectrum clocking.
Now there are much more important topics that I’d like to talk about (Nuclear Power and satifying our future energy requirements, how much of a mess the Lib Dems are making at the moment, etc.) but quite frankly this irritates me much more……
Most Sundays I buy The Sunday Times and each time, for some unknown reason, I look at the book charts (much like the pop charts but without Fearne Cotton). I really should stop doing this as it irritates me. Why does everyone like Dan Brown? It upsets me that so many people must rush out and buy only his books. How else do you explain the fact that this week in the paperback fiction chart three of his books are in the top ten. His books have been in the charts for 94, 70 and 48 weeks, the longest non-Dan Brown-penned book has only been in for six.
Before people start accussing me of rubbishing something I know nothing about I’d like to point out that I have actually read The Da Vinci Code. It wasn’t bad, in fact the story line was good. What I didn’t like was the very first word: ‘Fact’. The Da Vinci code has factual descriptions of buildings, paintings and organizations. The issue I have with this is that be stating that the descriptions are real it adds more weight to the garbage that comes from dubious interpretations. The line between fact and fiction it too blurred. I object to this because when you purposefully do that people go round believing some of it. An example of a work of fiction set in a historic period that respects fact and where the fictional parts are believable but obviously fiction could be…..well most books by Robert Harris to be honest. [1], [2]. My point is that, the story is good so why try and pass it off as anything more than a story?
Also, whilst I’m on about over-rated books; any book that has won a prize, in my experience, if probably not worth reading. The fact that Ian McEwan wins every single booker prize that has ever taken place is probably testament to that. I’m half way through Brick Lane by Monica Ali and it’s quite hard going, mainly because nothing happens (yes I do get the point of it and the reason why it’s written the way it’s written but I did get that point 150 pages ago and I’m now bored of it and want something to happen). Some of the runners up are sometimes ok (England, England by Julian Barnes is readable but very strange)
So, why won’t I read any Harry Potter books. It’s quite simple. It’s a reaction against the hype surrounding them. They are bound not to live up to how amazing everyone says they are. There will always be th thought that much like prize-winning books and the Da Vinci Code, there are better books out there, and that I shouldn’t be reading this trash.
Well I had a good Christmas. I spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day in Portsmouth with Andrea, then drove up to Preston to visit my Grandmother. I then continued up to Cumbria to with my parents and sister. I also managed to get out for a drink with Andrea’s sister. The drive home was quite good too – six hours isn’t bad for Cumbria (over a ice fell) to Portsmouth; the roads were practically empty.
Anyhow the highlights of my Christmas were:
I’m currently enjoying a quiet evening on the sofa (internet access thanks to the wireless router I’ve got) watching a Bond file (Die Another Day; the one with Hale Berry and the Ice Palace)
Hope everyone else’s Christmas and New Year was as good as mine and that the return to work isn’t too painful
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