Wednesday, August 25, 2010

BBC Micros used in retro programming class

From the BBC (article includes video)

"Computer history is cruel. It is a story of the old constantly being pushed aside for the newer, the faster, the smaller, the shinier.

Those old machines are rarely allowed a graceful retirement. Cast aside, they end their days in the dark ,fit only to be homes for spiders in lofts and cupboards.

But one lucky flock of BBC Micros is getting another lease of life by helping to educate students in the art of rigorous programming."

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tanks dumped in Gulf of Thailand

From the Telegraph

"The unusual move is designed to boost the ecosystem in the Gulf of Thailand.

The rusting collection of trucks and 25 disused Army tanks are intended to form an artificial underwater structure to provide shelter for marine life and boost local fish stocks..."

Monday, August 9, 2010

Aston Manor Road Transport Museum

The museum, which is opposite the Villa ground, has been under threat of closure for some time though its still there at the moment! I haven't been for awhile so i went along this morning to take some photos and sign their petition. Intriguingly there was a canal boat outside... on dry land of course (though the Tame Valley Canal isn't that far away actually). More interesting even than that was the presence of a Metrobus in Tracline 65 livery, that being the failed experiment in guided bus ways they tried in Erdington in the 1980s. I hope the museum can survive.