鈥淭HE next time someone asks me whether I鈥檓 unwell, I鈥檒l be sure to say that my cells are despondent,鈥� Su Chiang informs us, after receiving an email from E. A. Martinez of LinearDynamics-Energy.com.
The email, entitled 鈥淩adioactive Particulate Deflection Technology鈥�, is addressed to 鈥淧redominant Medical Community鈥�. In it, Martinez announces: 鈥淲e are the manufacturers of The XCL Power Producer. We provide energy at zero emissions and in doing that at zero emissions, we create a resonance field, at 5 over鈥�
Advertisement
鈥淓ssentially, what this means for your medical staff, university, and patients, is that we manufacture an apature [sic] that can heal the human body without surgery or medical inductors (medications). How this works, is in direct correlation to the molecular structure on the sub cellular level in the despondency of the cell membrane. As you may know, most cells in the human body turn clockwise in normal cell structure. Counterclockwise is the despondency鈥︹��
The email continues in this vein for several more paragraphs, without once making any kind of sense.
Mystery promotion of the week: a shop Daniel Smith passed in Upway, Victoria, Australia, displayed a sign outside offering 鈥淭raditional Chinese and Quantum Biofeedback Medicine鈥�
Heart failure 鈥渘ot very serious鈥�
THIS is quite puzzling. Liam Graham recently read the 鈥淚nformation for the user鈥� leaflet in a pack of Boots Ibuprofen caplets. Possible side effects of the drug are listed under two categories.
First, there are the 鈥渟erious side effects鈥�, such as blood in stools. If one of these side effects occurs, the user is advised to 鈥渟top taking the caplets. See a doctor at once.鈥�
鈥淔air enough,鈥� says Liam. It is the second category that confuses him. 鈥淭hese other effects are less serious,鈥� according to the leaflet. 鈥淚f they bother you talk to a pharmacist.鈥� This list includes 鈥渒idney problems, which may lead to kidney failure鈥� and 鈥渉igh blood pressure, heart failure鈥�.
Liam can鈥檛 quite understand why these effects are categorised as 鈥渓ess serious鈥� than the earlier ones. He also wonders whether one would be in a fit state to talk to a pharmacist after being 鈥渂othered鈥� by heart failure.
He has posted a copy of the leaflet at .
Tapping feet to move the earth
USERS of some hand-held devices have, in the past, been frustrated that they couldn鈥檛 display online content delivered by Adobe鈥檚 Flash software such as Google Maps. 鈥淜ind and clever Tom Strapps provided a website at to rectify this,鈥� says Richard Keyworth.
Sadly, the site has disappeared. Feedback is inquiring whether this has any connection with Google鈥檚 copyright policy people, who may well have regarded this reuse of their maps as unauthorised 鈥� even though their employer has argued that using bits of other people鈥檚 content 鈥� such as snippets of books 鈥� is 鈥渇air use鈥�.
Or is it something to do with Tom being cleverer than he is aware? When we checked his online map last year, it gave the elevation of our office as 35.98628234863281 metres above mean sea level. That could well be described as precise. But when we tapped our foot on the floor, the figure didn鈥檛 change, despite the flexibility of the underlying London clay. We are trying to contact Tom about an even cleverer real-time version of his map, displaying the earth moving as we tap.
WE RECENTLY asked for readers鈥� ideas on how to help Charles Croll lay slices of a biscuit mixture 鈥渃ut side up鈥� in a baking tray, when the pieces had been sliced from a roll and were therefore mostly cut on both sides (5 January). This challenge irritated some readers as an example of Feedback pedantry. Others responded with lateral thinking.
Neil Wickens saw two possible solutions. One of these was to 鈥渂ake them at the centre of the Earth, in which case both sides will be 鈥榰p'鈥�. The other was to 鈥渟end one set of sides, via quantum entanglement, to me here in Australia and I will bake them for Charles鈥�.
David Aldred had an equally original solution. This was to use a M枚bius strip baking pan. 鈥淏oth sides of each slice would be up 鈥� or down, or both,鈥� he claims.
鈥淚t is, I think, less messy if you use these pans in zero gravity,鈥� he adds.
FINALLY, those of us who live in the UK and other parts of northern Europe have experienced bitterly cold weather in recent weeks. Even so, Nic Plum was startled to read this sign at a petrol station forecourt in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: 鈥淒ue to weather the air is frozen.鈥�
Nic hadn鈥檛 realised it was quite so cold and wondered whether he needed another layer of clothing. Then he noticed that the sign was taped over the machine for inflating tyres.