Health : Burnt Toast

Catching this one in the news this morning...

And I already know this... I already know Burnt Toast is a health risk, I remember being told by an Oncologist when I was about 15 that burnt toast was, in his professional opinion, responsible for the spontaneous occurrence of stomach cancer in some of his patients.

I remembered this, I remember when I worked for Boots mentioning this to some folks and their laughing.

I remember telling a house mate at uni and his sceptical look; but then I was rather odd, especially in the final year of uni... I used to cool my toast in the fridge for example (I like cold toast, okay.. nothing too strange about that!).

So, as far as I can remember this isn't news, it was news about twenty three years ago, but since then I've known this, about coffee too... I still drink it, as the oncologist I knew said, it either gets you or it doesn't, don't worry about a slice of toast; worry more about first and second hand smoke, diesel fumes and UV light.

New Pi Code and Toast

So, you may guess I've got a Raspberry Pi, and I've been building code for it... In actual fact I've been porting a few of my support classes from other projects so I can start to build things of some use.  I've ported my XML parser of choice, I've ported a bunch of network code and I'm tonight going to be setting up to bring in some of my Linux console manipulation code, so I can colour and highlight areas of interest in apps.

Though, strangely, I've already come across some strange differences between code which has does and will compile on gcc v4.6.2 on ubuntu 12.04 and which won't compile under gcc v4.6.2 under Raspbian... I'll post more about that when I understand it, for now just understand this... All I have to do is move a "typename" definition about... Its really obscure... And maybe just be doing something wrong...

So, more Pi code from me in the near to mid future, the reason none of it is going to come out now is because until this week I've only been tinkering with the Pi... Now I actually have remit at work to officially perform a project with one... and its all quite exciting, there's nothing like having a project in work which overlaps your leisure time.

The only problem is, my boss (well my bosses boss) is such a tight wad he's not sprung for a Pi himself, no I've had to take my own in!... Bit cheeky, but once the Pi was mentioned I jumped at the chance to take mine in and get on with something.

However, it did cause some friction, another member of staff whom shall remain nameless was eyeing it up for days.  They didn't seem to want to engage through the old blue eyed devil with me, so they let themselves, and others cool off, before they came drooling all over it... However, they came in such a way as  to insinuate there'd be no work/code actually working on the Pi... Of course I have 50% of the project done... the proof of concept at the very least, proving I could produce and hence need to be left alone... And this flabbergasted them, so much so they were very nasty not an hour later.  So nasty in fact I send an email to my immediate boss complaining.  I don't get paid to deal with other people having a tantrum because they're stuck on the same project they've been on for two years... a project they should have delivered a year ago... So, I don;t want to hear it when they're complaining, and proclaiming, they could do it better...

"Really, you can do it better?... Well you bring in your Pi, oh you've not bought one"... was the thought which ran through my mind as I engaged stare mode and ignored them.

Anyway, toast... Why is Toast in my post header?  You may recall I have one post about sweets to help code.. well, I never got around to buying any more sweets to try... I've not had a hard boiled or mint sweet since that post.  I have however had toast...

When I was a kid my favourite toast was really insanely fresh white sliced bread, lathered in salted butter... This is still a favourite today, but I don't go into for the lathering  nor the heat... Strangely, my taste has taken to letting the toast cool.  I do remember once at Uni placing nearly 8 slices of toast into the fridge to cool before buttering them... and I seem now, a decade later, to be going through that phase again, I stack up a good number of slices, let them cool whilst there's tea brewing and I then butter them and just glance them with lemon marmalade.... It is heaven.

And because its cold already, its perfect to take to the office and get some code done with.