Here’s an excellent guide to stargazing and skywatching for 2007. It’s available in hardcopy, but also as a free downloadable PDF.
(hat tip to Phil, the Bad Astronomer)
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Slob Evolution
You remember Evolution, the clever Ad by Dove about our perceptions of beauty? Well, now here’s a brilliant parody: Slob Evolution…(hat tip to Houtlust)Leave a comment
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Zudeo and the Beeb
The BBC plans to use the Internet to distribute much of its current and archive material. At the moment, if you live in the UK, it is possible to watch clips, and sometimes complete episodes of current TV shows via the Internet. Those of us who are outside the UK are usually prevented from accessing the material by Internet filtering.However, apparently Azureus, the makers of a BitTorrent software client, and the Beeb have inked an agreement that may open the way to use BitTorrent for worldwide distribution of BBC material. Worth keeping an eye on, I think.Leave a comment
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Pure Coincidence
I see that minutes after it was announced that Gazprom has taken over control from Shell as operator of the Sakhalin project, Putin pops up to announce that the environmental issues that were being used to threaten Shell have mysteriously vanished. Funny, that. Pure coincidence, I’m sure.2 responses to “Pure Coincidence”
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Of course Geoff, surely you didn’t think anything else? Shame on you for such cynicism. Pfft. Thanks for your blog over the past year, its always a pleasure and underservedly undiscovered gem!
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Gelert, thanks for the compliment on the blog. A poor thing, but mine own…
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Test Your General Knowledge
This year’s edition of the King William’s College General Knowledge paper is now available. For those of you who don’t know about the tradition, each Christmas, the school sets this paper as a test for its pupils. It is always fiendishly difficult – I count myself as doing well if I know a couple of answers of the top of my head. If you want a challenge, try it yourself. You probably won’t find Google to be much help either…2 responses to “Test Your General Knowledge”
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I do this quiz every New Year with some friends over some drinks and a meal. What’s your average?
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I don’t apply myself consistently enough to have an average… My cousin went to KWC, and when we were children, the whole extended family would sit around trying to do this damn quiz. These days I just glance and see if I know any answers straightaway, but I don’t sit down and try and crack it. Perhaps I should try this year’s paper more conscientiously. I know 6 answers off the top of my head, and I think I can get some of the others with a little research.
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North Pole, Alaska
Jon Ronson is an excellent writer who seems to specialise in describing the stranger shores of the human species. His The Men Who Stare At Goats, for example is a book both hilarious and chilling about some of the bizarre characters in the US military. Well worth checking out.If you’ve never read any of his stuff, then here’s an excellent introduction in today’s Guardian. It’s an article in which he describes his visit to North Pole, Alaska. Truth is stranger than fiction, and Ronson’s deadpan descriptions of the people and the place are terrific, in all senses of the word.One response to “North Pole, Alaska”
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[…] on May 28, 2011 by Geoff Coupe I see that Jon Ronson has got a new book out: The Psychopath Test. I like Jon Ronson’s writing, so I think I should add his new book to my wishlist. There’s also a very positive review of the […]
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December Mist
It’s only this week that the weather has become noticeably colder, and thus more in keeping with the season. Last Monday, the mist rolled in, so the daily walk in the woods took on an additional air of mystery.
We’re unlikely to have a White Christmas though, which is a pity…Leave a comment
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Natural Family Planning
As the old joke says, the majority of those who use natural family planning turn out to be parents… Never a truer word was spoken… And don’t even begin to ask about the appallingly stupid dandelions versus thornless roses that also figure in this vacuous nonsense.2 responses to “Natural Family Planning”
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Roses get aphids, but dandelions are forever.
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Yep, weeds have terrific survival characteristics…
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Die, Blitcon Zombie Meme, Die!
That bizarre piece by Ziauddin Sardar that I mentioned recently has garnered support from (to me) an unexpected quarter: Sunny Hundal. Fortunately, J. Carter Wood from Obscene Desserts is at hand to unpick the arguments.Leave a comment
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Rosa Parks Lives…
Same old, same old… Meh, what can I say? It’s my species… But why is it usually the male that is the mishuggenah?(hat tip to Onegoodmove for the link)Leave a comment
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Another Bookish Wunderkamer
Oh dear, Not Saussure has brought Bibliodyssey to my attention. Like Giornale Nuovo and the Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society, Bibliodyssey seems set to prove to be another addictive timewaster. I just can’t help it.Leave a comment
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Stadhuis in the Fog
This is a very evocative photo of the Gouda Townhall (stadhuis). Wish I’d taken it.Leave a comment
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Another Quiz…
This time, I feel comfortable with the outcome, being as I was trained to be an engineer…
You scored as Engineer. Military Engineer. Your job is usually overlooked, but without you nothing gets done. While you sometimes annoyed at this, and you know the only time people come to you is when there’s something wrong. You understand that you are the heart and soul of any organization with honesty and nice work ethic to boot. "I need more Duct Tape!!!" Civilian
81% Engineer
81% Medic
69% Support Gunner
63% Artillery/Armor
56% Combat Infantry
56% Special Ops
44% Officer
31% Which soldier type are you?
created with QuizFarm.comLeave a comment
Meet Clint…
…The Christmas Cowboy Merman. Okaaay… What’s the backstory on that? Our tree doesn’t even have a fairy this year (more’s the pity, but then I’m not in charge of the tree decorations this time around).Leave a comment
For Carl
… That was the dedication on the film Contact, the best film of exploring the wonder of the universe by the scientific method I’ve ever seen. The stunning opening three and a half minutes that takes you travelling out across the universe and back in time to the Big Bang is worth the price of admission in itself, but the film goes on to frame the old religion versus science debate with a cracking good story. And since the Carl of the dedication is Carl Sagan, who wrote the original novel, then the film comes down on the side of science, and not superstition.I am reminded, by Obscene Desserts, that today marks the tenth anniversary of Sagan’s death. He is sorely missed. Time both to watch Contact and read The Demon Haunted World again, I think.Leave a comment
A Bunch of Bankers
Here’s a salutary tale from an overseas student at Cambridge. He received a letter from his bank (the HSBC Group) telling him that they no longer wished to provide him with banking services, and that he had 30 days to move to another bank before his HSBC account would be closed by them.After unsuccessfully trying a number of times to ring the contact number on the letter (his local HSBC branch could do nothing), let him take up the story:After two written complaints and a phone call to customer services, a member of the “Team” finally contacted me. She enquired about a single international deposit into my account, which I then explained to be my study grant for the coming year. Upon this explanation I was told that the bank would not close my account, and I was given a vague explanation of them not expecting students to get large deposits. I found this strange, since it had not been a problem in previous years, and even stranger since my deposit had cleared into my account two days after the letter was sent.I love that: the bank "doesn’t expect students to get large deposits". Dear lord, when I was at university forty years ago, I got my student grant paid to me in a single large deposit each year, hasn’t the penny dropped yet at the HSBC that this is what happens?I note that this student isn’t the only one to receive a similar letter from the HSBC. Clearly, some newly-introduced fraud or anti-terrorist checking system has been throwing up false positives. It all leaves a nasty taste, particularly after reading the similar experiences of others who have commented on the student’s Blog entry. Cockney rhyming slang doesn’t even begin to describe this bunch of bankers.(hat tip to Bruce Schneier for the link)Leave a comment
Hearing Voices
And another tip of the hat to Mind Hacks. This time for the entry illustrating schizoaffective disorder, with a link to an article describing the symptoms, written by someone who suffers from it. Hell on earth comes closest to what I think it must be like. I consider myself fortunate that, thus far, I have remained reasonably sane.Leave a comment
The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow
Mind Hacks has an entry on Professor Temple Grandin. It includes a link to the BBC Horizon programme made about her. Unlike many of recent Horizon programmes, this particular episode is well worth watching. Grandin is a fascinating individual, and her insights from her position of standing somewhat outside of the "normal" human perspective are valuable and revealing.Leave a comment
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