Tag Archives: trusty
Junk food for thought
Looking at my laptop keys I’ve noticed a sheen appearing on the most frequently used keys (all keys, actually), where the rough textured surface has worn off. A distinct smooth patch has appeared on the track pad, a bit like the beginnings of androgenic alopecia, or pattern baldness to you and me. My hair isn’t as thick as it used to be and I have recently opted for a short crop on top to avoid the comb-over look, having tried various styles over the years, including wax. The latter, I never really understood: you have a shower in the morning to wash your hair and then you proceed to put grease back in… [shrugs]
I have only had this laptop since August or so and I must have done a lot of typing since then. On reflection, I have written a fair number of reports and articles on here and this entire website was hand-coded on it. Wear and tear happens to everything and I noticed it on my washing up sponge in the kitchen and my trusty Casio pocket calculator, which I have had since 1999. The latter has seen me through a number of exams and served me well in my working life and continues to do so. The text has worn off all the number and function keys but I can still use it without any problems – but only efficiently with my left hand. I am right-handed but taught myself to use my calculator with my left hand so I could perform calculations without having to put my pen down. This was never a conscious decision but merely something that developed and it saved valuable seconds in exams and at work, where pressures can be even greater.
Looking at the mechanics of worn out surfaces, there is never any physical evidence or remnants of the part of the surface that has been removed. It is totally unlike breaking the handle off a tea cup where you are left with two distinct parts (largely – there will still be secondary particles scattered about). So where have the tops of my laptop and calculator keys gone? Where are the top fibres of my washing up sponge? Where does all this stuff end up? Clearly it ends up as millions upon millions of tiny particles of polymers, which are inert and take years to break down. Initially they stick to my finger tips and eventually get airborne and are ingested, inhaled or end up down the sewer. I find this interesting from a physical point of view but also in terms of the impact on the environment and health.
Every mechanical process involves surfaces rubbing against one another. The stress can be relieved by use of lubricants or bearings but only with limited success – it is a physical force that cannot be prevented entirely. In biology cells repair themselves and bits that have fallen off, like dead skin become other organisms’ food and are disassembled and reassembled into other things. In some natural physical processes small particles recombine to form larger solids, an example being the formation of silicious sandstone. But plastics and other inorganic particles linger and pollute the environment and end up in the food chain. Inevitably a lot of things end up in the sea and due to ocean currents there are higher concentrations of rubbish in certain parts of certain oceans than others. A couple of years ago I was watching QI with Stephen Fry and learnt about a huge gyre of marine litter called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which I find completely bonkers. Do a Google search if you want to find out more – but finish reading this article and others first! 😉
On Monday, as I was walking along the River Avon in Bristol, there was an unusually high tide and the water level came to about 30cm (11.8 inches – yuck, what an awful combination metric and imperial – thanks Google) below street level and the water was flowing “in reverse”, upstream. By the early evening the flow had returned to its natural flow (i.e. downhill, towards the sea) and the water level had dropped significantly to reveal all manner of junk stuck in the mud. I spotted no fewer than three supermarket trolleys, remnants of bicycles and what appeared to be the liner tray of the rear of a pickup truck, though it could have been anything (except a banana, a pound coin, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, an armchair and so the list goes on…). Whatever it was, it is still stuck in the mud and will remain there for a long time to come.
The object in the picture is a bin near The Shakespeare Tavern on Prince Street in Bristol. The handle forms a mouth and two screws the eyes. It is full of rubbish and it appears to be in deep thought. Thinking, perhaps, about a better tomorrow when it will be replaced with one of the new recycle bins that have been popping up across the city centre. Junk food for thought…
Introducing Victor Suckerbag
Drilling into MDF creates dust and I believe it’s not the most healthy of things to inhale. Fixing my mirror resulted in only minute quantities of dust but enough to warrant getting my vacuum cleaner out of hibernation. Well, he seemed delighted, if a little shocked! Good ol’ trusty Vic with his bug eyes, and gormless open mouth. I bought him from Argos several years ago and he’s still going strong. Also notice my slippers. I think they were given to me as a a birthday present a few years ago… Oh the joy. I don’t feel old enough to be getting slippers for my birthday. Saying that, I’m beginning to go thin on top. It happens to the best of us, I’m told. Hey-ho.