Image thanks to Wired Four months or so have passed since I last gave blood. I have kept going through the pandemic even though there is some element of risk mixing with people and medical staff. Hopefully the outcome outweighs the very small risk to me. The staff certainly work hard to keep us as … Continue reading Young men’s blood
Our thinking about PR is wrong
Image thanks to Electoral Reform Society I’ve written about the ails of our first past the post system many a time and explored the possibility of proportional representation as an alternative. I have even suggested my own ideas how PR may work in a way that gives the best of FPTP yet allows parliament to … Continue reading Our thinking about PR is wrong
Robin Hoodie
We’re in the middle of a war, a global conflict. Not the type of war that we are perhaps used to seeing, with tanks and soldiers shooting at each other or drones trying to take out the enemy with surgical precision. No, this is a different war, fought through networks of fibre and computers, that … Continue reading Robin Hoodie
Flappy birds
Image thanks to Nature Spot Watching the birds in the back garden gives a fascinating insight into the way that seemingly similar creatures can occupy different niche positions in nature. Each species has something slightly different in its physiology or behavior that allows it to carve out a living. There are birds that hang off … Continue reading Flappy birds
Local Election Results – May 6
Image thanks to Northumberland Gazette Ah well, the people have spoken. In Stobhill, they were only local elections but already they have been analysed inside out, backwards and forwards and projected onto the national picture. This has been a really exciting election, in my opinion, leading to very diverse political colours across the nations of … Continue reading Local Election Results – May 6
Anachronistic buttons
Image thanks to SBS Zipper I put on a new top today that had been hanging around in my cupboard ever since it was bought for me. It could have been for Christmas, or my birthday or even Father’s Day, I can’t remember yet it has been hanging there for well over a year. I … Continue reading Anachronistic buttons
Let’s talk about ethics
I’ve been asked to speak in front of students and school children, who I must admit I find terrifying, but never to that in-between age group, covered by the colleges. That all changed last week, when I was approached by Newcastle College to talk to a group of students about business ethics, and in particular … Continue reading Let’s talk about ethics
What I want on election day
Image thanks to Represent Today, 40 million of us across the UK are able to cast our vote. In my neck of the woods there are three separate competitions, the County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Town Council elections. Each may seem insignificant, just as my vote may seem, yet added together … Continue reading What I want on election day
Oh rowan tree
There is a tree that stands outside our house, a Rowan tree, otherwise known as a Mountain Ash or Sorbus aucuparia. When we moved into the house, nearly thirty years ago, each property had a tree in its front garden and the rowan tree is the one we were blessed with. It hasn’t had the … Continue reading Oh rowan tree
Ten dimensional space
I’ve been struggling to get my head around multi-dimensional space. Why, you may ask? Because I picked up a rather old book by Michio Kaku called ‘Hyperspace - A scientific odyssey Through the 10th Dimension'. I think one of my daughters was throwing it out. I say old even though it is only about twenty … Continue reading Ten dimensional space