Archive for the ‘Miscellaneous’ Category
Why is Easter so early this year?
March 23rd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Most of our Western festivals are simple to predict. They either occur on the same date each year or at a fixed position such as “the first Sunday”. Easter on the other hand is what is called a moveable feast. As such the date changes every year and Easter Sunday can fall on any date […]
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Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
March 2nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Since it’s Sunday, let’s have a posting with a religious them. Check out the site of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
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Why a leap day?
February 29th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
You’ll find an explanation here.
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Will they ever find the original Amber Room?
February 22nd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Five years ago, I visited the Catherine Palace at Pushkin – until 1937 called Tsarskoe Selo (Tsar’s Village) – 25 km south of St Petersburg [my account here]. A major historic feature of the palace was the Amber Room which originated from a gift of amber from the Prussians. It was taken to Germany and […]
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How to start each day …
February 14th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
… with a positive outlook: 1. Open a new file in your computer. 2. Name it “Robert Mugabe”. 3. Send it to the Recycle Bin. 4. Empty the Recycle Bin. 5. Your PC will ask you. “Are you sure you want to delete “Robert Mugabe?” 6. Firmly click “Yes.” 7. Feel better? Feel free to […]
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Euphemisms and Obfuscations
February 10th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
This web page is fun – and insightful.
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What have the unions ever done for us?
January 30th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
As someone who was a national trade union official for 24 years and is a fan of the film “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” [my review here], I really enjoyed this Ozzie video:
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Your place in the scheme of things
January 21st, 2008 by Roger Darlington
Put your speakers on and click here.
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Can you figure out how this works?
January 15th, 2008 by Roger Darlington
When you’re ready, go to the link here. After reading and carrying out instructions in each window, click on the boy in the lower right corner of the picture. In the last window type in your answer in the white box using the keyboard (there is NO cursor). Watch the paper in the boy’s hand. […]
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What does 2008 have in common with 1945?
January 3rd, 2008 by Roger Darlington
A mathematician friend of mine with too much time on his hands has pointed out to me that 2008 is the first year since 1945 that is representable as the sum of three positive cubes in exactly two ways: 2008 = 10^3 + 10^3 + 2^3 = 1000 + 1000 + 8 2008 = 12^3 […]
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