Grey Disco Fungus

From last spring: a grey disco fungus, probably Mollisia cinerea.

Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-04-05.

Automatic Type Coercion

When I write PHP code to read in a user name or email address, I do not expect the run-time system to attempt to convert it into a denormalized double-length floating-point number.

Update on Sun 2011-01-09 by Tristram Brelstaff

Last night I had a dream in which a user chose the name "NaN"....

Update on Wed 2011-01-12 by Tristram Brelstaff

This problem has been fixed by the latest PHP updates (5.3.2-1ubuntu4.6) that I installed this morning.

Mould

A mould fungus, possibly of the genus Mucor, growing on the inside of a sweet pepper in our fridge.

Photo taken in Reading, UK, on 2010-05-23.

Jelly Ear Fungus

From back in late autumn, just before the first cold spell of the winter: jelly ear fungus, Auricularia auricula-judae.

Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-11-23.

Hoverfly

Another hoverfly from our summer holiday up north: a female Syritta pipiens (Diptera: Syrphidae).  I seem to remember that these were particularly common on the heather on the moors above Guisborough.

Photos taken in Bousdale, near Guisborough, North Yorkshire, UK, on 2010-08-08.