Monthly Archives: June 2006

Piffle

Posted on June 19, 2006 by

Madeline Bunting has penned her last column as a journalist on the Guardian today. And forgive me, but I think it’s a load of old piffle. I think it reached its fevered peak in the passage: Many areas of science are legitimising … Continue reading →

Posted in Folklore | Leave a comment

The Man Who Knew Too Much

Posted on June 18, 2006 by

That’s the title of a new biography of Alan Turing written by David Leavitt. The combination of those two names in itself is enough to send me dashing off to Amazon’s web page. The definitive biography of Turing for me … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 1 Comment

Pause for Reflection

Posted on June 17, 2006 by

Thank you Nicholas for this, hitherto unknown to me, fact.

Posted in Language and Reference | Leave a comment

The Mark of Cain

Posted on June 16, 2006 by

A sobering tale from the Examining Room of Dr. Charles… Read it and ponder.

Posted in Health and wellness | Leave a comment

The Colour of Bile?

Posted on June 16, 2006 by

Quick – what is the colour of bilious vomit? Apparently 23 out of 41 mothers questioned in a recent study did not know that bilious vomit has a greenish colour. Even more disturbingly, neither did 12 out of 47 general … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Leave a comment

The Smell of Kylie’s Breath?

Posted on June 16, 2006 by

What? Um, just what I said: "the smell of Kylie’s breath". Just one of the many fragrances (others include the stench of dragon, football changing room and grannie’s kitchen) offered by Dale Air.   I know it sounds unreal, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Science | Leave a comment

Photo Response

Posted on June 16, 2006 by

I have a few thousand photos up on Flickr at the moment. Occasionally one of them gets commented on. This was the comment that one of them received today:   Dear Ms/Sir:How are you!Having had your name and address from … Continue reading →

Posted in Organizations | Leave a comment

the Hive Mind

Posted on June 16, 2006 by

Wikipedia is a fascinating phenomenon that seems to polarise people: either they love it or they hate it. Robert McHenry, former editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia Britannica, famously likened Wikipedia to a public restroom – a vistor never knows who has been there … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers and Internet | Leave a comment

I’m Sorry, What Was That Again?

Posted on June 15, 2006 by

Condoleezza Rice addressing the Southern Baptist’s annual meeting this week: “The weight of international leadership is not borne easily,” Rice said, “but we as Americans are more than equal to this challenge, and we must be, for if we imagine … Continue reading →

Posted in News and politics | Leave a comment

Jaundiced in Vegas

Posted on June 15, 2006 by

Brian Sack is in Las Vegas. Right up there with his despatches from China in the morbid fascination stakes. It certainly brings back memories to me, shudder.

Posted in Travel | Leave a comment

Taps

Posted on June 15, 2006 by

Wearing taps can change your perception of normailty. Nicely done.

Posted in Humour | 1 Comment

Good Neighbours

Posted on June 15, 2006 by

A story from Tom Reynolds, who sees a lot of life as it is lived in London. The bottom line: When the patient’s real son turned up he appeared more concerned about the inconvenience that his mothers fall was causing … Continue reading →

Posted in Society | Leave a comment

MSN Space Oddities

Posted on June 15, 2006 by

As you may be aware, I use MSN Spaces as my vehicle for blogging – along with about 100 million other users a month. For the most part, I have no complaints, the system works as expected. Within the last few … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers and Internet | Leave a comment

The Effeminate Sheep

Posted on June 15, 2006 by

This month’s Seed Magazine has an interesting article on Joan Roughgarden and her theories on sexual selection. While she makes some valid observations, some think that her conclusions are a step too far ahead of the data. PZ Myers, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature | Leave a comment

Genpets

Posted on June 15, 2006 by

Don’t believe everything you see on the Internet… A case in point: Genpets.

Posted in Art | Leave a comment

Oh Dear…

Posted on June 14, 2006 by

I assume that we are not to take this fashion outfit seriously, are we? I’d sooner suffer myxomatosis that walk down the street in that… More designs (owing a heavy debt to Edward Scissorhands, I feel) from Gareth Pugh here.

Posted in Art | Leave a comment

The Cherry Tree

Posted on June 13, 2006 by

We have a cherry tree in the front garden.     I was quite looking forward to harvesting some cherries, but I hadn’t reckoned on the local starling population. Now that the cherries are ripe, they have descended en masse … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature | 2 Comments

Wow…

Posted on June 13, 2006 by

The Cantilevered house is such an arresting image. Does the attic creak when you walk across the floor? I know that here in our house it does, and it scares me. Somehow I think that I would not be able … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Leave a comment

Eight Years and Counting

Posted on June 12, 2006 by

Today Martin and I celebrate the eighth anniversary of our official tying of the knot. On the 12th June 1998 we said "Yes" in the Gouda Townhall. At the time, the law was opened only to civil partnerships, but we … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

“Diplomacy”

Posted on June 11, 2006 by

My dictionary defines the word "diplomacy" thus: The art of conductiong negotiations between nations; the art of negotiating with foreign nations; skill in conducting negotiations of any kind; adroitness, tact. Funny, that’s what I thought it was; particularly the skill, … Continue reading →

Posted in News and politics | 3 Comments