Oddly compulsive

The Buddha Machine's out of stock again. Brian Eno's had more than his share. The reviews say it's fab, though.

All the same

Here's a site I heard about on Radio 4's excellent iPM programme:

6 billion Others is a website project bringing "direct testimony" from people across the world, talking about their lives, hopes, fears and feelings. It proves (I think) just how similar we all are.

It launches officially next year, but a few films are already live, and they're compelling.

Our world keeps turning

The lead singer of Midnight Oil is now in the Australian Cabinet.

Opti-quick

Now, I'm very happy with my kettle, which means (unless I'm very inventive) that I have no possible excuse to buy one of these.

It can only be called amazing - having seen it actually doing its stuff on the Gadget Show, I can confirm, it boils water in three seconds.

Is it Christmas?

www.isitchristmas.com

Pink with flappy wings

The most expensive Russian thing ever.

Classy mic

Apparently one of the most sophisticated dicatphone or portable recording units you can get - the Edirol R-09R. Which is no less than you'd expect for £300.

Aesthetics and ideas

Here's a bit of midweek class, from Arts & Letters Daily.

4000 texts a month

Thanks to the New Zealand Herald for this key report. It's the story of the teenager who's smashed (and I do mean smashed) the world record for blindfold texting. How long did it take him to write 160 characters on his trusty mobile? 45 seconds, that's how many.

Hot from Korea

Here's Viewty. What a name. It's the new baby from LG. Looking at the spec, that's one special camera.

Veggie box

That's the picture of a carrot on a van. A very large carrot, clearly, or perhaps a very small van.

You've heard of the idea, though. Organic vegetables, in a box. Diligently working on your behalf, John's blog has now tried it out, from these people at Riverford. They're great.

Searching and rescuing mushrooms

Here's the story of the investigation launched by the Thai air force, concerned that one of their pilots might have been using a search and rescue helicopter for the wrong reasons.

Mushroom picking.

For his mum.

Losing them

House of Marbles - endless hours of fun, delivered to your door.

Tubed

Amongst the fun which John's blog has missed during its little break is the new London Underground map, now including more sections of overground network to the north. You can download it in quality here. Bottom right, at last, is a credit for the map's original designer:

"This diagram is an evolution of the original design conceived in 1931 by Harry Beck."

There's more about that evolution here, and at the excellent, newly re-opened London Transport Museum.

So much nicer than this, which shows the Underground the way it really is. Who needs reality?

One more map for luck? I can't find the Harry Beck design for the Paris metro map, which was rejected (although promised to be on display at the Transport Museum), so here's a funky Moscow map. I'm liking the red line.

Look away

Now, not wanting to worry you or anything, but watching the cosmos may be destroying it. At least, I think that's what the story's saying.

Not forgotten

Hello.

I'm still here.

John's blog is on a break. Back Sunday.

Sparkle

It's hard to know why you would want these, but great to be assured that they will keep their brilliance.

Choose your favourite

Opening titles from every Doctor Who.

Together again

Remember that scene on the left? From the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge last year? The guy who fell over his shoelaces and smashed the expensive vases?

They're mended.

Spied

iPhone shmyphone. Here's a camcorder that's only the size of your finger.

Top tips

Lifehacker - making things easier. In fact, making pretty much everything easier.

Sing it with me

Here's the story of the 31-year old woman from Syracuse who's suing her dentist. She claims that she was injured during surgery because the dentist was dancing to Car Wash on the radio whilst drilling her tooth.

Book bloggery

And now, John's blog sends you to a book about blogs about books.

Way way back

The Guardian's digital archive has launched - with newspapers from over 150 years, fully searchable. It's going to cost a hefty thwack to subscribe, but for November, you can get on there for free. Just so that you're hooked.

Stuffed down the back of the sofa

Baroque in my couch

Pubs

Two pubs recently recommended with passion (although not by me): The Bell at Sapperton, whose website is here and whose Cotswolds location round about here...



And in Winchester (you know where that is), the Wykeham Arms.

28 miles off Land's End

The world's smallest radio station. Total population in the area served? 2,100.

I bet you think this song is about you

Women in Liverpool check their appearance 71 times a day - topping the league for female vanity. That's a lorra lorra looking.

In Bristol, it's only 8 times a day.



As a general rule, your average lady looks at themselves twice as often as your average chap.



(Survey from Transformulas.)

Easy

This would be your special chair, and you'd end up feeling a bit like Frasier's dad. But special it would be.

Straight from California

Feel like the West Coast, with the Los Angeles Times.

To the rescue

You can't see the pictures online, sadly, but Dan Dare's back. Which has to be good news. Daring, but in a clever sort of way.

Punch with style

The El Casco range of desk accessories from the Conran Shop.

Gadgety

Now this is what I call a TV show - just returned to Channel 5, and now twice as long.

Mother nature on the run

Neil Young converts his '59 Lincoln to a hybrid and drives it across America.

WWTC

And now, some proper literary commentary. Click on any of the items down the right-hand side, read 'em, and weep.

The world needs apostrophes

Now this is what we want. A book to teach children proper punctuation. Go, Lynne.

A snip

A lock of Che Guevara's hair - just £50k. Bargain.

Wallet lightening

This page from CNN may explain the idea better than I can, but iCache saves you carrying around a great wodge of credit cards. You upload the details of your cards onto a secure website, and then when you want to use one, you select it on the device (which is biometrically protected), and out pops a little magnetic strip which temporarily holds the data you need to swipe.

Mr

You need a website for a quick anti-boredom fix? Here are the Mr Men. The website? It's official, for the new series coming out of America. I'm especially loving Mr Bump, poor fellow.

But for the classic Mr Men, you'll be wanting this one.

Skills for life

There's now a City & Guilds course teaching you how to be a butler. If you're hired, you can expect to start on around £30k in Britain, or upwards of £100k in New York or Dubai.

Let there be light

I love the idea of this from Philips. The Wake-up Light is an alarm clock which will raise you from your slumbers not with noise (although it does make natural sounds too) but by filling your room with light.

Go moon

In The Shadow Of The Moon, the new moon-landings movie. Great reviews.

But what's it FOR?

Beside the A4 between Calne and Marlborough - here, in fact - there's a hill. You can tell from its perfect shape that it was made by man. But why?

It gave rise to a BBC4 documentary this month, tracking the archaeological work to preserve it after recent dangerous cave-ins. But there's more to be told here, where the latest verdict on its purpose is revealed. Although physically it contains nothing but chalk, spiritually it is the home of souls.