Engine Punk

Stranger than fiction My latest read was part of my research into parallel universes. These figure highly in my own anarchic sci-fi writing although most of my limited knowledge of the subject had been gleaned from Douglas Adams. I am also planning my Meet The Author video. Looking at the other contributors I met Marcus Chown talking about this book, liked what he said and now I've read his book. With Quantum Theory cannot hurt you, Marcus Chown has achieved almost the impossible. He doesn't need to resort to a single equation or diagram to explain E=MC squared since he makes the subject so accessible and easy to understand. That's even when hyper-intelligent mega-beings like Einstein say that the only thing anyone understands about quantum theory or relativity is that nobody understands it. So after reading this book do I understand more than Einstein? I doubt it although this book might have convinced me that I do. In fact, in a parallel universe, I do understa...

Just to the left of here, I went to school - 50 years too late to see this motorsport event but better late than never I found this wonderfully evocative picture the other day. It shows a speed trial taking place on a public road in Cornwall in the 1920s and I can’t help thinking that this is the way things should be today. Here's a close up of the start - smell the fumes, hear the snatches of conversation A group of people have got together to answer that eternal question posed by street urchins to motorists the world over, to wit “What’ll she do, mister?” In finding out, it looks like they’re having a lot of innocent fun. It appears organised but in a delightfully spontaneous way as if the above question has just been answered by a “Well, let’s find out shall we?” Back then there were no nimbies. In Cornwall at any rate they were all yombars – yes, on my back roads! Except that this isn’t actually a back road. It’s the A3075 from Newquay to Redruth. The start line is ...