CSI lies

I’m hugely busy and I note that James still has’t published anything beyond his salad, so I’m just going to share this article I read in the Grauniad last night on “CSI Oxford” – or rather LGC Forensics, the private company who deal with the science side of many of the high profile criminal cases in the UK.

It was part of this paragraph that I particularly enjoyed:

We’re in a long – a very long – corridor. The overriding theme, colour-wise, is blue. Clean enough to be a hospital, except nothing is worn or in need of repair; all is pristine. Either side, set after set of swing doors. Security keypads.
On the doors, bright red and yellow notices: No Entry for Unauthorised Personnel. Danger, Hazardous Materials. Approved Clothing Must Be Worn. And the one that gives you instant pause: Stop – DNA Sensitive Area. Do Not Enter Unless You Have Given An Elimination Sample.

I’m no crime fiction reader, but even I imagined feature writer Jon Henley as some sort of serial killer, whose DNA would be found all over crime scenes across the country and sent to LGC. How very convenient that through that elimination sample, he now has the perfect alibi for all those murders and remains free to kill again. Possibly anyway. We’ll have to watch for the follow up artcile as he clears his name again.

Also interesting was the effect that the CSI programmes have had on their customers and the juries they present their findings to. It might be wise of me to point out that the technical stuff in other science/medical dramas is often also rather overblown and often just wrong – which comes at a cost:

TV’s worst inaccuracies may compromise what trust remains between doctors and patients.

And Mrs 6000’s favourite show is right at the top of the naughty list.

London, empty

On Flickr blog:

On Christmas morning IanVisits got up early and took pictures of an almost empty London.

And then he wrote about it on his blog:

London is never silent, not even at 3am, but on Xmas morning, it is almost silent. The background drone of aircraft approaching Heathrow has gone, and away from main roads, the streets lack the sound of car tyres rolling over tarmac.

My favourite image is this one of a deserted Waterloo Bridge:

You can see the full set here. And you should note that this isn’t the first time IanVisits has visited London on Christmas morning. He did it in 2010 and 2008 as well.

Photo © IanVisits on Flickr.

#Fails

This year, I have been mostly entertaining myself during quiet moments through the medium of TNL‘s “Fail of the Month” compilations. Unsurprisingly, there is a 2011 compilation version of the 2011 compilations, and it’s pretty funny.

Even those readers who don’t usually enjoy the videos and music that I occasionally put on here (their prerogative, of course) should give this one a watch.

Be warned: There may be some few expletives on the video.

Aaron Hobson – The Best of Google Street View

Aaron Hobson has taken some of the best of Google Street View images from around the world and converted them into cinemascapes:

…in search of enchanted and remote lands typically only reserved for the eyes of it’s inhabitants, but now are captured on camera by the automated and aesthetically-neutered google street view cars that linger.
void of the main character (self-portrait) and an internal view, these images represent the closing chapter of 4 years of cinemascapes with an external view of the world.

The full range is well worth a look, but here’s one he did in Cape Town:

Wonderfully edited.

Meanwhile, for more amazing photography, be sure to check out this page of National Geographic photo competition entries (via @kelltrill on twitter).

Mental!

Yesterday’s cricket at Newlands was a bit mental and broke all sort of records. And even those records that it didn’t break, it threatened with physical violence and actual bodily harm.
Cricinfo’s chief statistician S Rajesh was watching it all from the safety of Bangalore and produced this wonderful summary of what happened, what didn’t happen and what nearly happened.

It’s worth a read.

And even today, it’s been a bit odd:

Lots of silly hype about 11/11/11 and especially about 11:11 on 11/11/11.

In the cricket at Newlands, SA messed up by being 111/1 11 minutes early at 11:00 on 11/11/11.
However, they made up for it 11 minutes later by needing 111 to win at 11:11 on 11/11/11.

*cue twilight zone music*