Batter and batter
SCOTLAND is well known for its experimental chip-shop cuisine, which has pushed the limits of which food items can be battered and dropped into hot oil, from haggis to Mars bars. Now Murdo Macdonal brings news that the network of Food Researchers in Edinburgh goes by the apposite acronym 鈥溾��.
鈥淚an Henderson is told that his trial period for AVG anti-virus software has been extended by 2147483647 days, 鈥渙r the best part of 6 million years鈥�. Time enough to make a decision?鈥�
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A good pastime?
DURING the festive season, Arthur Coker spotted a model kit for sale that offered the chance to 鈥渂uild your own skeleton, then add flesh and skin,鈥� which, it added, was 鈥淔our dimensional鈥�.
Arthur says he wants to buy one 鈥渁nd watch it age鈥�, though Feedback wonders if all hobby kits are four dimensional toys, unless you are an impossibly fast builder.
A small byte
FEEDBACK heard that the online IKEA repository containing all the assembly instruction booklets for their furniture is itself 鈥渦nder construction鈥� (19 November 2016).
Martin McGovern writes to say that a short while ago, he had reason to visit the website of United Biscuits 鈥� 鈥渇rom where one can visit another page containing their cookie policy,鈥� says Martin. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 normally click on those links, but I couldn鈥檛 help thinking that they ought to know better than most.鈥�
What doesn鈥檛 kill you鈥�
ON THE subject of last words (19 November 2016), Andrew Sanderson writes: 鈥淎s a GP, I spent much time telling my patients and my children to 鈥榣eave it alone, it will get better鈥�. My daughter has promised to engrave my tombstone with 鈥楬e left it alone and it didn鈥檛 get better鈥�.鈥�
Moving average
CROSSING the median when driving could be dicey in more ways than one, finds Alan Smithee. His membership with the AAA roadside assistance service warns him that 鈥渁 Member who requests or uses an excessive amount of Service; that is, uses Services over a sustained period that are greater than the average Member uses, may be subject to membership downgrades at renewal or the non-renewal of the membership.鈥�
Feedback thinks that this policy ought to gradually reduce the average number of call-outs over time. Certainly that鈥檚 one way to keep customers moving.
Power walk
ANDREW DOBLE finds the future isn鈥檛 all it turned out to be, pondering why 鈥渟elf-winding watches have been around for 240 years, yet my Fitbit has to be recharged regularly鈥�.
Feedback assumed it was a design feature 鈥� walking around the house plugging in all our health tracking gadgets is the only exercise we get.
Seasoned reporter
OUR inbox continues to be peppered by readers unpicking the mystery of whether 鈥淗imalayan sea salt鈥� deserves its name. Allen Reynolds notes that if it is named after the location of its source, the Khewra mine, the salt is produced 鈥�310 kilometres from the Himalayas, but only 260 km from Lahore. Doesn鈥檛 this make it Lahore sea salt?鈥�
But if it is based on where the salt was laid down 800 million years ago, in what was then an evaporating sea, says Allen, two thirds of its name are justified. 鈥淏ut there were no Himalayas back then, as the mountain range is only some 55 million years old.鈥�
Hemmed in
WITH a warming world on his mind, Don Wycherley is pleased to discover that department store Marks & Spencer sells what it calls 鈥渃limate control鈥� trousers. 鈥淥ne can only hope that these will achieve a significant reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases,鈥� says Don.
Coal order scuttled
SPARE a thought for Brits struggling to keep their homes warm this winter, thanks to puzzling restrictions on buying coal. Terry Jeffries discovers a UK government page listing regulations on solid fuel, which declare it can only be sold in quantities of 25 kilograms, 50 kg and .
鈥淪o, if I want to buy 125 kg of loose coal,鈥� says Terry, 鈥淚鈥檒l have to order 100 kg and 25 kg and ask for it to be put in the same bag鈥�.
Terry notes that the same page also tells him what units whisky can be sold in 鈥� which might be useful for keeping warm until the coal merchant arrives.
Fuels for fools?
MEANWHILE, Faith Anstey discovers her local coal merchant offering 鈥淗omefire Ovals鈥� for sale, which are described as 鈥渙val-shaped ovoids鈥�.
The alternative to these oval-shaped ovoids, says Faith, are described with the words 鈥渟uper鈥�, 鈥渘ew鈥� and 鈥減remium鈥�, and are 40 per cent cheaper. How do they manage to sell any Homefire Ovals at all? wonders Faith.
Illumination needed
REX WAYGOOD finds himself in the dark when it comes to changing his lightbulbs. He purchased a 鈥渟tar classic鈥� LED bulb that boasts an energy rating of 鈥�10 kWh/1000h鈥�.
鈥淚 quickly worked out that was 10 watts,鈥� says Rex, 鈥渂ut could they have used a more obtuse power rating?鈥� A closer look at the packaging revealed the bulb was identified as drawing 9.5 W. 鈥淲here is the extra 0.5 W coming from or going?鈥� asks Rex. Perhaps it鈥檚 the energy you expend trying to understand it.