A NEW theory about hi-fi sound quality called 鈥渄irectionality鈥� decrees that the sound of music depends on which way the electrons are flowing through the wires. So, surprise, surprise, we are told it is worth paying more for direction-tested wires.
Theories like this are usually supported by sophisticated arguments along the lines of 鈥渋f you can鈥檛 hear the difference there must be something wrong with your ears鈥�. However, a recent issue of the respected Hi-Fi News magazine has an article that states as cold hard fact: 鈥淎ll cables 鈥� yes all cables 鈥� have signal directionality鈥� in one direction the sound is slightly louder, has lower distortion, is cleaner, smoother, sweeter, has deeper bass and overall wider dynamic range.鈥�
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Some of these parameters are scientifically measurable, so we tracked down the writer of the article, who also happens to be in the business of selling cables, and asked him if he could cite any statistically significant results of listening tests and electrical measurements.
鈥淵es, it is a statement of fact,鈥� the writer assured us. 鈥淒irectionality is observable by listening test and measurable with test equipment. Regrettably, I am not at liberty to quote the measurements or their origin.鈥�
That being the case, we feel at liberty to keep on enjoying music through direction-untested wires, and to give the writer no name check and sales publicity until he feels at liberty to quote some of the measurements his 鈥渇acts鈥� rely on.
鈥溾�滲e the first to be called to board your flight for just 拢7.50 per person鈥� announces . Robert Alcock wants to know what happens to the second person to pay the fee鈥�
IT GOES without saying that US citizens don鈥檛 usually apply for visas to visit the US 鈥� so few of them have the pleasure of learning about their government鈥檚 curious sense of political geography.
A colleague from the UK who recently applied for a visa online had to choose a country of residence from a drop-down menu. United Kingdom wasn鈥檛 one of the options (nor was UK) so he started scrolling through the menu. The experience was startling. Have you ever heard of Bessarabia? If not, you might like to know that it is the name the Russian Empire gave to the eastern part of what is now the Republic of Moldova in 1812. Bessarabia briefly held nation status in 1918 when it declared its independence from Russia, but promptly lost it again by deciding to join the Kingdom of Romania. Even so, in the eyes of the US government, you can still declare yourself to be a citizen of Bessarabia.
Likewise East Prussia 鈥� which has never been a nation state and ceased to exist altogether in 1945 鈥� and several uninhabited atolls in the Pacific including Malden Island and Baker Island. Perhaps most intriguing of all, you can choose as your 鈥渃ountry of residence鈥� the former free city of Gdansk, either under that Polish name or, if you wish, Danzig, the Germanised name the Nazis insisted on using when they occupied Poland during the second world war. Gdansk is now just a regular city in Poland, and has been that way since 1945.
ANOTHER company that owns a colour 鈥� like the UK Post Office (red) and Cadbury in New Zealand (purple) (Feedback, 11 March 2006). Dan Craggs saw this on an online shopping site: 鈥淯PS, UPS brandmark, and the Color Brown are trademarks of United Parcel Service of America, Inc. All Rights Reserved.鈥�
THAT people from different walks of life see the world and use language differently may be a truism, but the experience of engineer Oliver Armistead makes it all too clear. Hunting for a definition of the phrase 鈥渉igh-rise buildings鈥�, he came across one from the International Conference on Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings: 鈥淎ny structure where the height can have a serious impact on evacuation鈥�.
Armistead鈥檚 wife Penny is a doctor, not an engineer 鈥� so her interpretation of this statement was quite different to his: 鈥淪o it鈥檚 basically anything tall enough to give you the shits,鈥� she observed.
AFTER installing a new program on his laptop, Alex Dixie received this interesting error message: 鈥淪ystem Error: Operation completed successfully鈥�. The program refused to run after this. Alex speculates that the laptop鈥檚 operating system was so surprised that something actually worked it didn鈥檛 know what to do. Do we need to name the operating system? Or shall we save Bill Gates the embarrassment?
鈥淗OMES in Corby cost 154 per cent less than London鈥� declares a poster that Stephen Levrant spotted on the London Underground. Far be it from us to suggest that they have to pay people to live in this charming Northamptonshire town.
FINALLY, the packet of Doom mosquito destroyer mats that Jenny Narraway found in a supermarket in Malawi proclaimed: 鈥淜ills mosquitoes for up to 10 hours.鈥� Narraway wonders what happens when the 10 hours is up.