The Trickster
Created | Updated Mar 13, 2002
What was that I was saying about the Feds? Oh well, it looks like I've escaped now, and it seems that I'm in an ideal position to write for The Post again. Things have happened since I was away, but after waving goodbye to MaW's regular feature, and welcoming Demon Drawer's, we're still going strong. Well, most of us.
OFSTED INSPECTION!
Yes, over the past couple of weeks, our school has been inspected by OFSTED. Woohoo. Really, what this means is that everyone has had to be on their best behaviour: no fighting, throwing things, missing lessons or saying anything 'detrimental to the reputation of the college.' This last one is concerning me somewhat, as it means that we're being censored. For example, when a friend of mine mentioned, within earshot of an inspector, that he didn't enjoy maths lessons, he got into serious trouble1.
At least it's all over now. We have survived with a relatively good report (at least for us Sixth-formers).
Incidently, 'OFSTED Inspection' is an anagram of 'Spoon-fed IT Insect'. Which would be better if it meant something that was
obviously relevant2.
Actually, 'OFSTED Inspection' is an anagram of many things, such as:
- Scientist Food Pen
- Do Pen Sections Fit
- DT: If Not Pie, Scones
- Done Pot, Sifts Nice
- Cod Spent, So Finite3
- Not So Deft Ice Spin
- Indent Of Scion Pets
- Contest: Spin Of Die
- Soft Dope, Nice Tins
- Note If Spiced Snot4
A few of them even mean something that's significant...
Update on The Website of Doom!
Remember that website I had to code in three hours? I was astonished to learn a few days ago that it was one of the winners of a competition it was entered for! The prize was not for web design, but for site content, so it was definitely the research and writing team's achievement. However, I had thought I might have destroyed their chances with my dodgy code. Funny how things seem to work out! Congratulations to the team on a successful effort.
On the coding front, in addition to schoolwork, I've been writing an HTML tutorial ready for supply with any website code I distribute. The first website to use my code will be that of SPAN, the Sixthformers' Political Awareness Network. The site is not finished yet5, but when it is I'll post a link. Also, when the site is finished I'll be writing an article about the Network and its aims. Suffice to say, it's a very charitable, exciting and worthwhile project that I'm proud to be a part of.
The Owl Sorter™
I've had a magnificent idea for making an owl-sorting machine. I will divulge information on this as I work on the design. This project was conceived in a brief moment of madness during a Chemistry lesson, and has a solid basis. The task is to sort a random selection of owls by type, and arrange them in order of size. This is a difficult problem, but can be solved using several pieces of equipment, such as the Compact Owl Packaging System and a method of transporting and orientating the sorted owls in the final packaging stage6.
I assure you that no owls will be harmed in the making of this device. Well, not many.
Listening Matter
I've been listening - in all the time since my last article, really - to what is in my opinion the best debut album of the year so far: The Electric Soft Parade's Holes in the Wall. I love this album. It even eclipses my favourite debut of last year, My Vitriol's FineLines. This is new music at its finest. I doubt we'll see a better debut this year (if we do, it'll be even better, though).
Reading Matter
I have been lent an English translation of the most famous Chinese novel... probably ever. Outlaws of the Marsh, which has a ludicrously short title to pronounce in Mandarin, is a very long and relatively complex novel that is a classic piece of Chinese literature. I'm really enjoying it, and it's proving very interesting discussing it with one of my Chinese friends.
Viewing Matter
At last, Black Books is back on our screens. This is a brilliant surreal comedy, though whether it will live up to the outstanding standard set by the last series - especially now that writer Graham Lineham is gone - remains to be seen. It looks promising, though...
New Doodle!
And finally, here's what happens when I get really, really bored in my lessons: I draw weird and freaky doodles. This one was at the expense of a physics lesson and a brand new pen... White noise in dark places.
If I were you, I'd be very concerned.
