FEEDBACK is keeping Saturday 27 October free. That鈥檚 when American artist
James Downey intends to paint the Moon red. His idea鈥攈e describes it as 鈥渁
collaborative work of celestial art鈥濃�攊s to ask millions of people to aim
their laser pointers at the Moon at the same time (11 pm if you live on the East
Coast of the US).
鈥淔or five minutes we can all touch the Moon, if only with our laser
pointers,鈥� he says on www.paintthemoon.org.
But one thing stands in Downey鈥檚 way. The online magazine Space.com asked
Donald Umstadter, a laser expert at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to
calculate how many people with pointers would be needed. 鈥淭he number required is
not millions of people, but millions of millions of millions of people,鈥� says
Umstadter.
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Downey is unfazed, however, and is even planning a second attempt on 24
November in case of cloud cover first time round. Feedback admires his resolve.
Never let the laws of physics get in the way of a good idea, we say.
NO THANKS to Kate Winslet for her contribution to the public image of science
and its practitioners. Commenting on her role as a code-breaker in the film
Enigma, she told the BBC Ceefax Entertainment/Showbiz pages last week how
her pregnancy helped her look authentic.
鈥淚 did look quite podgy, which kind of worked with a boffin,鈥� she said. She
went on to call her character 鈥渃ompletely unglamorous鈥� and 鈥渜uite boring鈥�.
That鈥檚 scientists鈥攁pparently.
TIRED CAT owners will be thrilled to know they can now buy a device that will
keep their pets from endlessly pestering them to play. It鈥檚 a kitty video game
鈥渓ovingly crafted by game software experts鈥� who claim that the computer can
entertain a cat far longer than a silly human dangling a string can.
The designers say that in creating this 鈥渟uper-cute product鈥� they have drawn
on years of animal behaviour research to create movement patterns, sounds,
shapes and colours that 鈥渁ttract kitties and humans alike鈥�. So if you鈥檙e fed up
with chasing your own tail, go to www.cyberpounce.com to find out more.
READER Graham Salman recently purchased a rotary washing line from a Homebase
store and planned to concrete the base spike into his lawn. But he was floored
when he read in the instructions that he would need 鈥渁 minimum of 0.017 cubic
metres of concrete鈥�.
His local builders鈥� merchant wasn鈥檛 much help either. The man鈥檚 response to
Salman鈥檚 request for 0.017 cubic metres of concrete mix unfortunately can鈥檛 be
printed in a family magazine like this one.
COMPUTER VIRUS experts believe that on 16 October, the Sircam virus signs off
with a bang, deleting files from the hard disc of every twentieth computer it
has been infecting over recent weeks.
Sircam arrives as an e-mail attachment, with a reasonable-seeming name, from
someone you know鈥攐ften with the words 鈥淚 send you this file in order to
have your advice鈥� in the covering note. The attachment turns out to be a big
bundle of document or data files which Sircam has picked at random from someone
else鈥檚 computer, along with any e-mail addresses it can find. Opening the
attachment infects your computer and triggers more mailings.
Antivirus software traps Sircam, but only if the software has been updated
over the past weeks or so. If you are worried, there is a simple test. Use the
Windows Find or Search command under Start, to hunt for any file beginning that
matches 鈥淪irc*.*鈥�. On a normal PC there should be none. If the search finds
several, you are infected.
Most of the antivirus companies, such as Panda, Norton and Sophos, are making
Sircam-cure programs available on their websites sites for free download. To
find out more about Sircam and get a free fix, see
www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sircam.worm@mm.html.
For more general information on viruses, see
www.symantec.com/avcenter and http://vil.nai.com/vil
PAUL DERBY, the celebrity Feng Shui consultant, took part in a radio
discussion on the Lisa I鈥橝nsonshow on BBC London Live recently. He described the
invisible energy behind the ancient Chinese practice thus: 鈥淚 like to think of
it as nature鈥檚 electricity鈥�.
Excuse us, but isn鈥檛 electricity nature鈥檚 electricity?
SCIENTISTS WHO devote their careers to developing an 鈥渆lixir of life鈥� are
often regarded with suspicion by their more mainstream colleagues. In this
sceptical climate, you鈥檇 think gerontologists would do everything possible to
bolster their scientific credentials.
So the choice of title of one of the journals that publishes anti-ageing
research is surprising. It鈥檚 called Mechanisms of Ageing and
Development鈥攐r MAD for short.
THE FRONT of a packet of a Safeway Vegetarian Indian Takeaway Meal for One
describes it as 鈥渁 medium hot bengali vegetable curry, aromatic pilau rice,
bombay potato and naan bread鈥�. Puzzlingly, on the back of the packet, purchasers
are warned: 鈥淎lthough every care has been taken to remove bones, some may
谤别尘补颈苍.鈥�
THE NUTRITION information on the apple pie yoghurt sold in Publix
supermarkets in the South-Eastern US states: 鈥淔at content: 0 grams. Percentage
of daily requirement: 1 per cent鈥�
THE instructions for the Panasonic bread maker thoughtfully include a section
on how to cut the bread once you have made it. Here is what they have to say:
鈥淗omemade bread can be cut with a bread knife. Place the loaf on its side and
cut with a sawing motion.鈥�
So now you know.
FINALLY, Dixons, the electrical-goods store, is currently advertising a Nikon
camera it describes as a 鈥渢win lens SLR鈥�.
SLR stands for 鈥渟ingle-lens reflex鈥�.