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Monthly Archives: November 2012
Dissolving Society
For once, I was actually sitting in front of a TV set when Fiona Bruce announced on BBC1 6 o’clock news last night that the government were intending to introduce minimum alcohol pricing. A raddled ex-alcoholic was then interviewed saying how it … Continue reading
The Strange Death of Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy is best known as the author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina. This is how Wikipedia describes his death: Tolstoy died in 1910, at the age of 82. He died of pneumonia at Astapovo train station, after … Continue reading
House-sitting
I’m going to be house-sitting for my brother for the next week or so, while he’s on holiday with his wife. It’ll be a sort of holiday for me too, or at least a change of environment. I moved in today, … Continue reading
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The Half-Life of Facts
Here’s a book I’ll be wanting to buy when it comes out as a paperback: The Half-Life of Facts. In 1870, German chemist Erich von Wolf analyzed the iron content of green vegetables and accidentally misplaced a decimal point when … Continue reading
The Unbalance Sheet
H/T An Englishman’s Castle for a link to John Brignell’s The Unbalance Sheet, from which I’ve learned two new words: Obreption is seeking to gain advantage by misstatement, i.e. lying. Subreption is trying to do it by concealing part of … Continue reading
Re-defining Paedophilia, Salami-Style
H/T DP. It seems that St Cuthbert’s Rugby Club has been a bit too light-hearted about the Jimmy Savile affair: The St Cuthbert’s Society Men’s Rugby Club at Durham University reportedly asked first year students to come as young girls, second … Continue reading
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Tobacco Query
I still haven’t harvested my tobacco, and more and more of the lower leaves are drooping and turning gold/yellow. I’ve been too busy, one way and another. A few weeks back, when a couple of the plants reached the top … Continue reading
