April Saimaa Challenge - Blue

Day 11 of tvkosone's April Saimaa daily challenge - Blue

Some years ago, when digital television was just starting up on satellite, I was given a copy of the Digital Video Broadcasting standards document on a CD, while at my annual conference in Amsterdam. In common with many technical standards this had a nickname, based on the colour of the cover of the book (and later the label of the CD). This one was the Blue Book.

On my way back into the UK, passing through the green, nothing to declare, customs channel, I was pulled over for a random check. Having answered the questions of where I had been and why, the customs officer then X-Rayed my suitcase. It was full of printed catalogues, data sheets etc, and X-Rays don't pass through paper very well. So it was down to a physical search of the case.

He came across a number of different CDs and DVDs with catalogues, demo versions of software etc on. Was I glad that he stopped his search and decided that I was clean before he found the Blue Book that I was bringing back from Amsterdam. Not that there was anything wrong with it, it is so boring that it would send the geekiest person off to sleep, it was the thought of their revenge for having had to look at such a CD, when they were hoping for something a little juicier and more interesting, as any other Blue Book from Amsterdam would have been.

So, my blue is black and white (though a full colour image), but part of a blue book with not a hint of sexual content.