Wulf's Web-Den

According to Clifford Nass, a professor at Stanford University, multitasking is a way of getting less done. Despite the image of efficiency, it steals concentration from each task and so they take longer and are done less well. Therefore, I'm going to turn off the computer and concentrate solely on cycling safely to work.

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multitasking

Today it is my turn to be the host for the lunchtime seminar series at work (see NDORMS Seminars). Normally these sessions are on particular areas of scientific research, such as design factors in metal on metal hip-resurfacing. Often the science goes completely over my head but I gain at least an idea of the kind of things my research colleagues are thinking about.

This lunchtime I am introducing Paul Davey of the British Library, who will be talking about UK PubMed Central, an online system with information about scientific publications. Fascinating stuff from a web point of view but I hope I have persuaded colleagues that it is important for them, too.

So, today, I get to be the host with most...

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ndorms

seminar

ukpmc

I've found a UFO or at least a picture of one on Google Street View. I was giving someone directions and refreshing my memory of the sights along the way when I spotted the saucer in the sky near the Crown and Thistle pub. You can see it here.

And, of course, we implicitly trust first impressions of everything captured on camera...

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ufo

google maps

That is the amount of snow we had overnight! Looking at the roads at the front of the house, I may be able to get into work but I think I'll do some work from home first and go in late. Before that, though, I've got to go and remove some snow from the chicken's area!

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oxford

snow

That's it, really. Have a wonderful one!

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happy new year

We are almost out of the first decade of the millennium, commonly called the noughties. Not, in my opinion, a great name but I suppose it makes a certain amount of sense. It won't be long before we reach the teens but what do we call the next three years? Will it be the tweens or are we more likely to talk about the tens?

Doubtless the media will be happy to tell us if nothing more interesting occurs over the next few weeks (and despite the continued presence of many things that might be construed as rather more important, such as justice, peace and the like!).

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decade

millennium

One of the gifts we received for Christmas this year was a new Cluedo set. In fact, new is the operative word; strictly speaking, it is a copy of Cluedo: Discover the Secrets which is a recent reworking of the game.

I have to admit that, at first, I groaned inwardly to see locations like the Billiard Room replaced with the Spa and the Pool. However, it became apparent that more had been altered than just a few name changes to make it seem contemporary. For example, a new feature are the intrigue cards, which either grant temporary special abilities (like an extra move or forcing a player to reveal one of their cards to you) or show a clock face (at the appearance of the eighth and subsequent clock faces, the person who drew the card is murdered!). The number of weapons has also increased from six to nine, giving more permutations to puzzle through.

All in all, I think these are worthwhile twists, adding a few extra challenges and opportunities without undermining the essential nature of the game. I enjoyed it even though, as so often, I was pipped to the post in making a correct accusation when I seemed to be but a move or two away from declaring the solution myself.

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cluedo

games