What lies beyond quarks, leptons and bosons?
April 6th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
You’ve heard of electrons, protons and neutrons, Haven’t you? But these well-known sub-atomic particles are only a few of what makes up what is called the Standard Model of the sub-atomic world.
Many of the other sub-atomic particles that we know about are grouped into families called quarks, leptons and bosons. You might have heard of the Higgs particle – that’s a boson which was discovered by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN on the French-Swiss border.
Now the Large Hadron Collider has been doubled in power and just re-opened for a new set of experiments that might take us beyond the Standard Model. You’ll find a simple explanation of what’s going on here.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
The world’s water is now a political issue
April 5th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
You could view the history of the world through the prism of water. As I explained in an earlier posting,the first civilisations arose in the alluvial basins of four major rivers. Today, almost wherever you look (think California, Ireland, Pakistan, China, Australia …), water is becoming a more and more serious environmental and political issue.
In the last three years, my interest in water has intensified as I have been chairing the Customer Challenge Group (CCG) of South East Water here in Britain where, in this water-stressed corner of England, householders consume an average of 160 litres of water a day for just 55p a day. I have agreed to chair the Customer Panel – a successor body to the CCG – for the next two years.
So I was pleased to see the “Observer” newspaper devote it lead editorial today to the growing crisis around the world in the supply and cost of water. The piece points out:
“Whichever part of the world you care to look at, water is becoming a source of hardship, violence and, perhaps most worryingly, political tension.
Last month, Unesco’s world water development report warned that the planet could suffer a 40% shortfall in 15 years unless countries dramatically change their use of resources. It will be a cause of war and major migration on an even greater scale than witnessed so far.
The report says that global water demand will increase by 55% by 2050, while reserves dwindle as climate change takes its toll.”
You can read the full editorial here.
Posted in Consumer matters, Environment | Comments (2)
A review of the film “While We’re Young”
April 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This Good Friday, I saw three new films in one day, finishing with “While We’re Young” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
A review of the film “The Water Diviner”
April 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This Good Friday, I saw three new films in one day, the second being “The Water Diviner” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A review of the film “Fast & Furious 7”
April 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This Good Friday, I saw three new films in one day, starting with “Fast & Furious 7” which I have reviewed here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
What can you expect at a Passover seder?
April 4th, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This evening, I shall be attending a Passover seder at the invitation of dear Jewish friends, although I am not myself religious in any way. I have been to a seder before but it’s a struggle for a non-Jew to remember all the stages of the festival and what they symbolise.
So what can I expect at the Passover seder? There’s a helpful guide here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
My 4th short story: “The Hostage”
April 3rd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
This week, we have seen a very important presidential election in Africa’s most populous state Nigeria.
Six years ago, I set one of my short stories in an earlier time in Nigeria. It is called “The Hostage” and you scan read it here.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (0)
How long can a person live?
April 2nd, 2015 by Roger Darlington
The world’s oldest living person, Japan’s Misao Okawa, has just died from heart failure at the age of 117.
The oldest person who has ever lived was Jeanne Calment of France, who lived 122 years and 164 days. She died in August 1997.
More information here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
British general election (8): the first leaflet of the campaign
March 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
I have just had an exchange on Facebook with Luke Parker, my Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Brent North.
I wrote:
“Thanks for your election leaflet received today – the first from any party in this election. Twice you refer to “compassionate reform of the benefit system”. I am wondering if this is an oxymoron or a euphemism. Can you explain which of the retiring Government’s welfare reforms you regard as compassionate and what future compassionate reforms you advocate?”
He responded:
“Thanks for getting in touch. As a quick overview, I feel strongly that we need to help people move from benefits to work. To achieve this we need to fix both sides of the equation: ensure that we make benefits unattractive by actions such as lowering the cap, whilst simultaneously making work more attractive by supporting policies like the London Living Wage. I believe that the process of freeing people from the benefits trap is inherently compassionate and I’m delighted that thanks to this government’s reforms, 1166 fewer people are now on Job Seekers Allowance in Brent North than in 2010 (a 43% reduction).”
My own view is that benefits should be paid on the basis of genuine need and that recent reforms have been far from compassionate. But at least my Tory candidate uses social media and responded immediately to my query.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (2)
Why we need a DOT EVERYONE (4)
March 31st, 2015 by Roger Darlington
In my three previous postings, I have highlighted the Richard Dimbleby Lecture delivered this week by Martha Lane Fox which called for the creation of a new body to promote digital inclusion and debate Internet issues.
Somebody who heard the speech live is Lord (Jim) Knight who chairs the Tinder Foundation on whose Board I sit (we are meeting this afternoon). He has blogged his reactions here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)