Reverse engineer

Thursday. After counting down the days, Dan and I finally went to the cinema to see Iron Man III on the day of its release. It was, as Dan commented afterwards, "truly fantastic".

If you're of a similar age to me, you'll remember the tagline for the first Superman film: 'You'll Believe A Man Can Fly!' Thirty five years on and, frankly, it's hard to believe we were satisfied with such lame special effects back then. No wonder Dan and Abi weren't impressed by Star Wars.

On the way out, we passed this old projector in the foyer. This is from the days - not so very long ago - when you could actually see how things worked. There at the top is the spool for the film with a receiving spool just down the bottom of the picture. You can see where the film would pass down in front of a lamp and, of course, the lens that the light was projected through.

Technologies not like that anymore, is it? Given the right kit and a bit of time, you could reverse engineer a projector but where would you start with an iPad?

Incidentally, not having a TV, I've recently started watching the TV series of 'Robin Hood' on my iPad using Netflix. I love the story of Robin Hood and I'm enjoying this take on the story but what makes it really special is Keith Allen's acting. Whilst completely different, his Sheriff is every bit as good as Alan Rickman's. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.