All posts by Keith

I’m a controversialist and catalyst, quietly enabling others to develop by providing different ideas and views of the world. Born in London in the early 1950s and initially trained as a research chemist I retired as a senior project manager after 35 years in the IT industry. Retirement is about community give-back and finding some equilibrium. Founder and Honorary Secretary of the Anthony Powell Society. Chairman of my GP's patient group.
amusements, photography

Buggerred Britain #20

Another instalment in my occasional series documenting some of the underbelly of Britain. Britain which we wouldn’t like visitors to see and which we wish wasn’t there. The trash, abused, decaying, destitute and otherwise buggered parts of our environment. Those parts which symbolise the current economic malaise; parts which, were the country flourishing, wouldn’t be there, would be better cared for, or made less inconvenient.
I could not resist this! The care home where my mother lives is having some building work done. This notice is posted outside their front door. Absolutely brilliant builder’s English!

Buggered Britain #20

food+drink

Beaujolais Nouveau #2

Just a quick update on this evening’s tasting of our second Beaujolais Nouveau from Nick Dobson Wines.
This one is a true Beaujolais Nouveau from Philippe Deschamps (Vincent Lacondemine makes a Beaujolais Villages Nouveau — like the French care about these things!).
The Deschamps Nouveau is definitely the better of the two I have. Much more body, much more fruit and decidedly smoother, with red berry fruits, especially blackberry, coming though quite strongly. Exceedingly drinkable. Still clearly a young wine but this might well keep whereas I have my doubts about the Lacondemine. (Yes, I know you’re not supposed to keep Nouveau, but last year’s has kept brilliantly.)

quotes

Quotes

Another small selection of amusing or enlightening quotes encountered recently.
Why do we spend billions of pounds searching for life on other planets, yet we cannot preserve the life on the one we live?
[Seen on Facebook]
If you don’t like gay marriage, blame straight people: they’re the ones who keep having gay babies.
The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men.
[Leonardo da Vinci]
It’s a shame to waste [the uniqueness that is you], by doing what someone else has done.
[Joseph Campbell]
There is a goal but no way; what we call the way is mere wavering.
[Frank Kafka]
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures.
[Daniel Webster]
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
[Lao Tzu]
You can’t have a light without a dark to stick it in.
[Arlo Guthrie]
Recently, someone asked me if I believed in astrology. He seemed somewhat puzzled when I explained that the reason I don’t is because I’m a Gemini.
[Raymond M Smullyan, Five Thousand BC and Other Philosophical Fantasies]
At all costs, the Christian must convince the heathen and the atheist that God exists, in order to save his soul. At all costs, the atheist must convince the Christian that the belief in God is but a childish and primitive superstition, doing enormous harm to the cause of true social progress. And so they battle and storm and bang away at each other. Meanwhile, the Taoist Sage sits quietly by the stream, perhaps with a book of poems, a cup of wine, and some painting materials, enjoying the Tao to his heart’s content, without ever worrying whether or not Tao exists. The Sage has no need to affirm the Tao; he is far too busy enjoying it!
[Raymond M Smullyan, The Tao Is Silent]
Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.
[Mahatma Gandhi]

food+drink

Beaujolais

We have Beaujolais Nouveau. As every year for the last few we have bought a couple of dozen bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau from Nick Dobson Wines. And today is release day, so our consignment arrived in the middle of the morning. I had to resist cracking open a bottle until this evening.
In fact what we have is a dozen bottles from each of two houses:

  • Domaine Philippe Deschamps, Beaujolais Nouveau
  • Vincent Lacondemine, Beaujolais Villages Nouveau

Over the years these two have produced some absolutely stunning Nouveau — in fact last year’s has matured brilliantly and we are lucky to still have some; it really is rather wonderful a year on, although I think it may not keep another year. Vincent Lacondemine also produces some gorgeous, regular Beaujolais Villages vintages.

Anti-Depressant
This is a photo I took of a Lacondemine bottle a few years ago;
it could just as easily be the one I opened a short while ago

So this evening we have tried the Lacondemine Nouveau. OK, you know immediately it is a very young wine. And maybe this year’s is a bit thinner and less fruity than the last couple of years — hardly surprising considering the appalling start to the summer; it has been a difficult year for wine growers. But it is definitely very, very drinkable.
We’ve just downed a bottle with some smoked duck, bean and pasta salad. But it would go well with something like a spaghetti bolognese, a hearty risotto, cheese, or just on it’s own!
I shall report back when we’ve tried the Philippe Deschamps, probably tomorrow — I wasn’t allowed to open a second bottle this evening. Humph!

words

Word: Glabrous

Glabrous
Free from hair, down, projections or pubescence; having a smooth skin or surface.
And hence used jocularly for anything smooth.
Now used only as a scientific term.
The origin in the Latin glaber, without hair, smooth, bald.
The OED records the first usage by Wilkins in 1640 who applied it to the orb of the Moon.

amusements, photography

Weekly Photograph

More pussy porn this week. Tilly had an interview with the vet on Wednesday and came away without her nuts. It doesn’t seem to have slowed her down any! On Friday I did a major reorganisation of my desk area, installed lots of new filing trays and a couple of plastic crates for holding the build up of filing. Small madam has decided the top crate, which is tucked under a shelf, is a good place to snooze., despite (because of?) the fact that she can only just squeeze in there one leg at a time and that via another stack of filing trays.
The first photo is of her bedding down; in the second she is on ther way out and looking for something to pounce on and destroy.

Click the images for larger views on Flickr
Pussy in a Box
Pussy in a Box
16 November 2013
Pestle Pussy
Pestle Pussy
16 November 2013

environment

National Road Safety Week

18-24 November is National Road Safety Week.
We’re all human: we daydream, get side-tracked, run late and make mistakes. But on roads, distractions can be fatal. National Road Safety Week 2013 focuses on the theme of tuning in to road safety and avoiding distractions.
When using roads, we all need to tune in to road safety and give it our full attention — particularly if we’re at the wheel, but also when we’re walking, cycling, skating, running, you name it — to keep ourselves and each other safe.


And that means not just instilling the awareness into our children — and I remember endless amounts of this when I was a kid — but also remaining alert ourselves and doing the sensible things like not using our mobile phones when on the move.
As always there is much more about National Road Safety Week over on their website at www.roadsafetyweek.org.uk.

links, science

Did you miss … ?

Another collection of links to pieces you may have missed. Again this time with rather more of a scientific bent, although most a actually readable and interesting.
OMG! Deja vu! This piece on Jabłoński diagrams takes me back to my post-grad days ‘cos these processes were central to what I was working on. How’s this for a scientific demonstration …


Meanwhile physicists have been exploring the hydrodynamics of urination “splashback”. Should be an IgNobel nominee.
Apparently men stroked in their underpants may illuminate the chemistry that bonds relationships. Don’t get too excited: they were stroked on non-sexual parts of their bodies while wearing only underpants. Another IgNobel nominee?
A little over 100 years since Captain Scott sailed off on his vessel Discovery, there’s a new RSS Discovery about to start oceanographic research.
What happens in the brain when we’re asleep? Looks like it flushes the “neuro trash” out of the system.
And there are several more articles from Nautilus on actual waste …
First up it seems there are so many pharmaceutics leaking into our waterways that some fish are now blissed out on Prozac.
Every part of every one of us is made from something else’s waste. Yes, really! Without waste we wouldn’t be here.
While we bemoan the amount of plastic debris in the oceans, it seems it is providing useful homes for some critters.
So where does all that plastic come from. Indeed, where does your stuff come from? Yeah, OK, the supermarket. And where do they get it? Brandon Keim on Nautilus tries following the backward chain ad infinitum. And fails. Which I find rather worrying.
Moving away from the vaguely scientific to things in my backyard …
Here’s one of those curiosities about London that cab drivers are actually brilliant at: London’s narrowest alley. Should be good for a pub quiz or two!
What were they thinking of? Once upon not very long ago US Ivy League colleges took nude photos of all their first year students.
What is mankind’s greatest invention? String? New Scientist makes the case.

Finally two pieces on what makes Autumn so gloriously colourful. The first from Grrlscientist in the Guardian, the second from Malcom Campbell at SciLogs. Just think, I did my research on analogues of some of those chemicals, hence the Jabłoński diagrams.