ramblings, science

29 February

Today, 29 February, is a unique day. So unique it happens, to a first approximation, only every four years.

But that, of course, depends upon what value unique has in your philosophy.

Scientifically today is indeed unique, in the formally correct sense. There is no other like it, for it will never occur again, at least as far as we currently understand the laws of physics which govern our universe.

Why? Because time, that ethereal quantity we measure in todays and years, is unidirectional and ever progressing. This time, this very instant, can never occur again. Hence it must be that this, and every other, today must be unique.

Enjoy your once in a lifetime experience!

current affairs

Not Even Wrong

Various newsfeeds (eg. here) this morning are reporting that the Archbishop of Canterbury has said he believes the law has no right to legalise same-sex marriage.

While the reverend Archbishop has every right to believe whatever the hell idiotic notions he likes — well he believes in God, Hell and the Resurrection, so why stop there — he is factually wrong about the law.

“The law” is a civil process, enacted by the government of the day on our behalf. It is not an adjunct of the Church. Therefore the government of the day has every right to legislate for whatever it likes — save only for the approval of parliament, international law and a major peoples’ revolution.

Who taught the reverend gentleman politics and constitutional history?

(By the way, look at the photo, he’s even already growing Devil’s horns from his eyebrows!)

links

In Case You Missed …

OK, so here are a few amusements I’ve come across recently which you may have missed.

First, one for all you book lovers: the 20 most beautiful bookshops in the world. And only two are in North America!

While on words, you can test your vocabulary online. It takes about 5 minutes and you’re on your honour not to cheat!

After that you’ll need your 8 hours sleep. Except that apparently needing 8 hours is a myth.

So guys, you lie awake at night. You’re not really worrying about the size of your dangly bits, are you?!

And as if that weren’t worrying enough it has now been found that there at least five kinds of fungus which farm animals — and we’re one of them!

Finally we return to books. Books with leather bindings are generally rather nice. But human leather? Yep! Here’s a short history behind anthropodermic bibliopegy. And there’s another here.

Sweet dreams!

amusements, ramblings

All Over the Garden

Oh God it’s going to be a day of giant rhubarb news stories.

Following on from Chancellor Osborne’s apparently sudden realisations, our beloved Metropolitan Police have issued a list of plants we should all have to deter burglars.

Yeah OK, so far.

The news report finishes with the Met’s advice that Hedges and shrubs in the front garden should be kept to a height of no more than three feet in order to avoid giving a burglar a screen behind which he can conceal himself.

Leaving aside, for a moment, the implication that female felons don’t try to hide, there’s a problem with this. The list of suggested plants includes Gunnera manicata (above; deciduous and grows to 2.5m), Golden Bamboo (grows to 3.5m) and several conifers, none of which are susceptible to being pruned or trimmed successfully to under 1 metre nor are really suitable for the average suburban garden.

Duh!

<Paging Alan Titchmarsh>

personal

Reasons to be Grateful: 15

2 Comments

Experiment, week 15. This week’s five things which have made me happy or for which I’m grateful.

  1. Coleslaw. I’ve always liked coleslaw; good commercially made coleslaw. Home-made somehow just doesn’t work as well for me.
  2. Bacon & Avocado. They’re nice individually but also make a great combination in salad. I wonder why we’ve eaten this twice in the last week?

  3. Confit of Duck. On Tuesday we had lunch with our friend Patric (see below) at Café Rouge near St Paul’s Cathedral. The confit of duck was most excellent, although I wasn’t struck on the plum sauce that came with it which was sweet rather than sharp.
  4. Solving Family History Problems. I’ve had a couple of breakthroughs this week on my family history. One was courtesy of …

  5. Clarenceux King of Arms. I’m lucky to know Patric Dickinson who is Clarenceux King of Arms, England’s second most senior Herald (and not to be confused with the deceased poet of the same name). Now that sounds grand and as a title and position it is. Although he spends a significant part of his time involved with royalty (as a herald he has various ceremonial roles in the Royal Household), Patric isn’t at all grand. Like me he’s a grammar school boy and a normal human being. And as a professional genealogist he is fascinated by families. Consequently some while ago he wrested from me a copy of my family tree and quite unexpectedly and unbidden went about solving a conundrum about one set of my very ordinary, working class great-great-grandparents. He explained all this to me on Tuesday, prior to lunch together. It is a tale of non-marriages, second families and unexpected connections from the 1840s and 1850s. A fascinating piece of detective work which had defeated me. Many thanks, Patric!

[Both pictures culled from the internet. The top one is Patric being his normal self, albeit at a formal function. The lower is of Patric, enrobed, in procession at Windsor in his role as Secretary to the Order of the Garter. Sadly I don’t have a picture of him in his herald’s tabard.]

photography, ramblings

Spring Rolls

Well, we’re rolling on towards Spring anyway. And just to prove it here are some photos from our garden today.

First the snowdrops. We have only a couple of small clusters under the apple tree but they’re still looking good …

Snowdrops

Most of the early mauve crocuses are now past their best, partly I think due to last week’s breezes knocking them over. But here are a couple that are still good.

Crocuses

I especially like this one …

Crocus

And finally a feral pigeon enjoying the Spring sunshine between bouts of feeding and rutting.

Feral Pigeon

The photo doesn’t show off the wonderful iridescent pink and green shades on their necks and breasts which are really stunning when they catch the light right. Well who wouldn’t want iridescent pink breasts?

quotes

Cynics Are Us

A handful of recently discovered, somewhat cynical quotes …

People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.
[Soren Kierkegaard]

Progress isn’t made by early risers. It’s made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something.
[Robert Heinlein]

If you can’t convince them … Confuse them!
[Harry S Truman]

What is the difference between unethical and ethical advertising? Unethical advertising uses falsehoods to deceive the public; ethical advertising uses truth to deceive the public.
[Vilhjalmur Stefansson]

thoughts

Lent On, or Off

OK, so it’s Lent. At least they tell me it is. Not being of a religious turn of mind I really wouldn’t know — or care.

But I keep being asked what I’ve given up.

Answer: Nothing.

I gave up giving things up years ago. Just as I don’t do New Year resolutions (see here and here).

Giving things up is a synonym for misery. For unnecessary guilt. For unnecessary mortification of the brain as well as (sometimes) the flesh. It isn’t good for you.

Doing things like giving up stuff because someone tells you to takes you a long way towards having your mind controlled for you. Change has to come from within otherwise it is pointless and destructive.

In fact thinking back, I never did do Lent. Even when I was purporting to be a Christian. The whole idea always did seem pointless and even dangerous.

As my friend Katy says (specifically of her children, but equally appropriate to anyone in my view):

I really am not sure what not eating chocolate does for a person’s soul and their general state of grace, frankly. Does their abstinence from spending every free hour glued to CBBC mean that they are a better person at the end of 40 days and nights?
No. I don’t think so.

I don’t think so either.

And in case anyone thinks I’m being specifically anti-Christian, I’m not.

I feel the same about the Islamic adherence to Ramadan, which in my view is positively dangerous medically as it specifically involves the absence of food and drink during daylight which must have a major effect on one’s ability to function safely.

And the totally a-religious New Year resolutions are no better; they mostly achieve nothing except increasing the adherent’s level of guilt when they (almost inevitably) fail.

Let’s keep things in perspective and balanced. Let’s just take things as they come, ride the storm waves and (if feeling philosophical) contemplate the meaning of life.

Surely, if you must follow a religious dogma, then some quiet contemplation of what it means, and why, and perhaps doing something practical (for someone else or the environment) to further those ends is a better way forward? Just giving up some random thing “because it says so in the book” doesn’t achieve any of that.

And if you’re not religious why are you even bothering with this religious stuff anyway?