It can take a long time for the kettle to boil. While you’re waiting, why not test your skill and dexterity with a game of teabag quoits? It’s a simple game. Place the teacup, or target on the bench, ready for the hot water. Take a few steps back, take aim and try and throw … Continue reading The flight of the teabag
The man in the silver Volkswagen
There is a man in Durham. He drives a silver Volkswagen. He parks it in a lane near to County Hall, near to the museum. I see him when I park there in the morning and I see him when I leave again in the evening. I see him when I drive past and I … Continue reading The man in the silver Volkswagen
Conduits
Disaster has struck my home town. Not an earthquake or a fire. Not even a flood, though we’ve had our fair share of these. No, something completely different. They’ve installed a one way system! The whole town has been thrown into chaos and confusion. Streets you could drive down both ways are restricted to one … Continue reading Conduits
Coffee or tea?
A couple of beverage related tales. Tale number 1 A colleague of mine created an alphanumeric method to note which drinks people wanted in a meeting. It was a form of abbreviations that made the recording of requirements, neat, efficient and effective. It’s quite simple really. You start with the type of drink you want, … Continue reading Coffee or tea?
The Age of Maps
There are some changes in the way that you work that you really notice and there are others that just seem to creep up on you. When I started my first job, computers were very rare, with just the odd green screen on a counter to handle transactional processing. Eventually they became much more common, … Continue reading The Age of Maps
Anyone for tennis?
Ah, the tennis season has started again with the first major of the year. At one time, the prospect of the Australian Open would leave me cold. Tennis was a game which held no interest for me, with its strange terminology, illogical scoring and whiff of elitism. The last thing that you would see me … Continue reading Anyone for tennis?
It takes an hour
Why is the day split into 24 hours? Why not ten or fifteen or any other number? Clearly there must be some link between the duodecimal system that we see in imperial measures but then why not just twelve hours in the day? A quick investigation sheds some light on the subject and suggests that … Continue reading It takes an hour
Chicken and Egg
How many times have you heard the expression ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ Look, the egg came before the chicken! Basically you’ve got two choices. If you’re a Creationist then the chicken came first. If you are an Evolutionist then the egg wins. So where did the first chicken come from? It … Continue reading Chicken and Egg
State of the Union
There has been a lot of fuss this week about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the proposed referendum in Scotland. Apparently this will be held in the autumn of 2014 and will be to decide if Scotland will remain part of the union.Many questions have been posed, such as which … Continue reading State of the Union
Being average
If you're average at something I'm sorry but it means that you’re not very good. You're certainly closer to being the worst than being the best. How so? This is because ability is not linear. In any activity there are many more people who have a lower level of skills than those with a higher … Continue reading Being average
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 