Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category
A story about leadership
May 16th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just returned from working as a Support Trainer with a training consultancy called Lamont Associates on a course near Oxford. One of the tools we teach is the use of stories and I thought that I would share with you one which we used this week: “By good fortune, I was able to raft […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
How many continents are there?
May 6th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
It really depends on the categorisation one uses Seven areas are commonly regarded as continents. They are (from largest in size to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. On this basis, I’ve visited five – not having been to Antarctica or Australia. As you’ll see from this analysis, however, there […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
How not to choose a new logo
April 28th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I’ll be spending all day tomorrow at this month’s meeting of the Board of the New National Consumer Council. One of the issues we will be discussing is a new name and logo for the organisation. Today we had a wonderful example of how not to choose a new logo.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Is religion a threat to rationality?
April 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
There’s a debate tonight at the British Council on this theme between Professor Daniel Dennett and Lord Robert Winston. Dennett writes: “This imperviousness to reason is, I think, the property that we should most fear in religion. Other institutions or traditions may encourage a certain amount of irrationality – think of the wild abandon that […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Would you borrow a ‘book’ from a Living Library?
April 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
I would – and I’d happily be a ‘book’. I know – you have no idea what I’m on about. You can read about the idea here. The truth is that everyone has a story to tell. I often ask people about their story without them knowing I’m doing so. I do this with cab […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
An evening with James Randi
April 20th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Last night, together with friends Eric, Andy, Nick and Toni, I was at a fascinating and fun event at the Conway Hall in London organised by “The Skeptic magazine” and Skeptics in the Pub. There were six interesting speakers: Professor Richard Wiseman of the University of Hertford [biog here] Incredibly funny and witty, he hosted […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Randy Pausch’s last lecture
April 17th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Randy Pausch is a Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. In September 2006, Pausch was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer. He pursued a very aggressive cancer treatment that included major surgery and experimental chemotherapy; however, in August 2007, he was told the cancer […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)
Happy birthday Big Ben
April 10th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
The iconic figure of Big Ben – actually the name refers to the bell not the tower – is 150 years old today. It is one of the most famous sights in the world and I pass it virtually every week. But have you ever heard of Little Ben? I kid you not – you’ll […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Ever heard of PMR or GCA?
March 31st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
No – neither had I until a friend of mine became a sufferer. Polymyalgia Rheumatica or PMR is a rheumatic condition which attacks twice as many females as males aged 55 and over. The average age of onset is round about 70 years. It affects 1 in 2000 people. It can start slowly with flu […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
Too young to die
March 29th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
There is an interesting think piece here about how we determine the appropriateness of a particular life span. My wife lost her brother when he was 21, her father when he was 42, and her mother when she was 63. When people complain about growing older, she rightly points out that those who reach maturer […]
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (1)