Jono Bacon, of LugRadio fame, did his bit for Comic Relief by promising to record an album within a 24 hour timespan if at least £1000 was pledged. Well that amount was exceeded and he has done the deed. The results are available for free download from his music site. It's a mix of acoustic pop and some thrash metal with a little cello accompaniment. I think he's done a nice job and raised some money to boot. Download and donate.

A totally different achievement was a new rail speed record by our friends the French. Whilst we have been complaining about our trains they have gone and built something that can travel at nearly half the speed of sound. I know that real passenger trains will not be going that fast for a while, but their's still manage 300km/h. If they can get more people to travel around Europe by train rather than plane then it's a very good thing. I know which I'd prefer, as long as the price premium was not too excessive.

Another amazing bit of engineering that is still underway is the 57km rail tunnel under the Alps. That may also encourage people onto the rails for that route as it cuts the journey from Zurich to Milan by 90 minutes. The Swiss have been trying for years to cut the number of trucks travelling through the country.