Gadget Review: Topdon TC004 Infrared Camera


Liz is rendered in warm colours. The freezer is dark. The temperature range goes from mid 30C to -17C.

A few years ago, I tried out that Seek Thermal Compact Infrared Camera which is a USB addon for phones. It was a good gadget, but had a number of compromises to get it into such a small form-factor. I've just been sent the TopDon TC004 handheld thermal camera to review. It's a chunky beast of a device. About the same size as a large barcode scanner - and pretty weighty. It promises superb thermal imaging, video recording, and a host of useful features. But how does it do? And, more…

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The Mobile Phones of Doctor Who - Bonus Pyramid at the End of the World. And a sneak peek...


General talking on a sat phone.

If you're a Doctor Who fan, this post contains a lovely little surprise at the end. I promise you it'll be worth it. For a few years now, I've been running a blog series about the Mobile Phones of Doctor Who. I'm only human, so I occasionally miss some of the devices. A reader contacted me to say I'd missed three phones from the Series 10 episode Pyramid at the End of the World. Firstly, a boring one. Erica's husband/boyfriend/housemate smashes her glasses because he's busy on his phone. …

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Why don't we just eat grass?


Photo of a glass of milk and some cheese in a field of grass.

I read an interesting discussion the other day about why humans (mostly) don't eat carnivorous mammals. It boiled down to a few main points: Carnivores often don't taste good due to their relative lack of fat and stringy muscles. Aggressive animals are hard to domesticate. What do you feed them? 1 and 2 are manageable. A few centuries of selective breeding and I'm sure you'll have a sedentary and tasty apex predator. But you can't avoid point 3. If you're keeping lions, you'll need to…

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Can this new probiotic reduce lactose intolerance?


A small pharmaceutical bottle. It easily fits in my hand.

I ordered some pills off the Internet and swallowed them! What could possibly go wrong? Let's get one thing out of the way first. I am not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV. This blog post is not medical advice. (more…) …

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