Daily Archives: Friday, November 30, 2012

  • A useful browser tip

    Steve WoodsLinux, Open Source, Tech

    If you browse the web like I do, this means you’ll frequently have several tabs open in your web browser. Having said that, it’s really easy to close the ‘wrong’ tab – one you haven’t quite finished with – by mistake.

    Now courtesy of the ITDonut’s tip of the week, comes a really useful little bit of knowledge: how to reopen a browser tab you’ve just closed.

    If you’re using Firefox. Chrome or Chromium, just use the following keystroke combination: CTRL + SHIFT + T*.

    This works on both Linux and Windows machines; and on the latter the same keystroke combination also works with IE.

    * = On a Mac the equivalent combination is COMMAND + SHIFT + T

  • It’s durian season

    Steve WoodsOddities

    Durian is perhaps the strangest thing I’ve eaten in nearly six decades on planet Earth. Many refer to it as the “king of fruits” as its taste and texture are wonderful, resembling an aromatic banana custard, but at the same time it has a distinctly off-putting smell somewhat akin to a mixture of rotting flesh and faeces. Indeed, durian is so smelly that it’s not allowed on public transport in Singapore and hotels, hospitals and other public buildings in other countries. In addition, as you can see from the image below, it looks like a weapon or munition designed by a botanist.

    Image of durian fruit
    Durian – image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

    My friend Mr Wong has let me know that it’s now the height of the durian season in his native Borneo and according to a Borneo Post report, “There are so many durians coming in daily that Sibu Central Market is being flooded with the king of the fruits”.

    This glut on durians means aficionados in Borneo can indulge their passion for as little as the equivalent of 10p per fruit, as opposed to the prices charged by oriental supermarkets in the UK, which often run to double figures in pounds sterling.