The story of Heinz 57 plus 57 stories to make you think
October 29th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
When I was growing up, Heinz was known as a company that produced 57 different types of soup. But it wasn’t true and the number was a mere invention for marketing purposes – see here.
In the section of my web site on “Stories To Make You Think”, I have just added the 57th item – see them all here.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
Celebrating Czech National Day
October 28th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
It’s probably escaped your attention but today is Czech National Day, the anniversary of the date in 1918 when the new state of Czechoslovakia was declared. My wife Vee is half Czech, so we follow these things.
Vee’s father was a famous World War Two pilot, so were were invited to attend the National Day celebration at the Czech Embassy in London. The Czech Ambassador made a short but skilful speech reminding us of the dramatic and different stages that the country has undergone since its formation.
From 1918 to 1938, it was a successful democracy with a thriving economy in spite of the challenges of a multi-ethnic population and hostile neighbours. From 1938 to 1945, it was subject to brutal Nazi occupation. From 1946 to 1989, it was under suffocating Communist control. In 1993, the Czech and Slovak Republics went their separate ways. This weekend, Czech national elections produced a very messy result with the largest party, the Social Democrats, only managing to win 20.5% of the votes.
Let us hope that the picture looks more promising when the Czechs celebrate 100 years of statehood in five years time in 2018.
Posted in History, World current affairs | Comments (0)
So, just how big is the UK’s tax gap?
October 28th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The tax gap is the difference between what the tax authority believes should be paid in tax and what is actually paid. It comprises tax evasion, tax avoidance, tax lost to the hidden economy, and companies and individuals falling to take reasonable care.
According to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the total figure is a staggering £35 billion.
As a comparison, the scale of benefit fraud – which is, of course, equally indefensible – is estimated at £1.9 billion.
More information on the tax gap here.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
A review of the new film “Captain Phillips”
October 27th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
This weekend, Vee and i went to see a film with our good friend Spence. Nothing unusual about that.
But we went to the brand new Cineworld (it only opened this week) at the almost equally new London Designer Outlet in nearby Wembley with its choice of 15 restaurants.
We could not have seen a better film: “Captain Phillips” [my review here].
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)
Coming soon to somebody near you – or even you: transient or biodegradable electronics
October 27th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“Imagine recovering from an operation without fear of a post-op infection from a drug-resistant super-bug. Imagine that this is because of a tiny electronic device left behind when they sewed you back up, which monitors the wound, picks up signs of infection, administers a specific amount of heat to the right area and then, job done, disappears into your bodily fluids.
Imagine, too, an oil spill clean-up being monitored by 100,000 sensors dropped from a plane that would dissolve into the water when it was all over. Or a no-longer-loved smartphone that could actually dissolve down the sink rather than clog up your desk drawer.
Then imagine what the military could do with these so-called born-to-die devices. How about electronic eyes and ears that couldbe deployed for black ops in a war zone and then be triggered to dissolve when their mission was over or when they were about to be discovered?
And finally, realise that this isn’t science fiction from Orson Scott Card, the writer of Ender’s Game, but rather current tech funded by Darpa, the Pentagon’s Defence Advanced Research Project Agency, who are the nice people working hard to make autonomous killer robots a living nightmare.”
This is the opening of a fascinating article in today’s “Observer” newspaper.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
How my darling granddaughter has already mastered the female art of multi-tasking
October 26th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“Thank you for buying me
this delicious pizza, granddad, but …
… can I play my games on your iPad
at the same time please?”
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (1)
Has the web grown too big for its bytes?
October 25th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
“Every year I return from a visit to California dazed at cyberia’s next expansion in reach. After machines that can track and record our every move will come sensors that can identify our faces and gather, catalogue and distribute such data worldwide.
After tools that can read messages come ones that can hear our talk and predict our needs, converse with us and deliver us products, services, cures, contentments. There is no escape from this. Everyone has a footprint, including those who think they do not.”
This is a very telling quote from a piece by Simon Jenkins in today’s “Guardian” newspaper.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
What the Americans think about the new British prince
October 24th, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just had this message from a good friend in the United States:
“I thought you would like to know that the christening of Prince George was a top news story on all three national tv network news programs. If you Republicans ever succeed in abolishing the monarchy, I do believe the American people will revolt to restore the royal family to their proper place in British society.”
Posted in American current affairs, British current affairs | Comments (1)
How so many managers are killing the English language with their annoying jargon
October 23rd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
I’ve spent a lot of my work life listening to managers sprouting the latest management jargon to sound clever and corporate. As I wait to enter yet another such meeting, I’m sipping a cappuccino in a “Costa” cafe and browsing the “Guardian” newspaper.
In the paper, there’s a delightful feature about the use of of office jargon. It gives a total of 26 example and I reckon that I’ve come across 20 of them (somehow I’ve missed the likes of “brain shower” and “zero cycles”). Currently the one that makes me maddest is “going forward” which is utterly meaningless. How can anyone stay in the present or move to the past? They can’t – so just use the future tense.
You can check out the feature here. What is your most annoying bit of jargon?
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
“The Furthest Distance In The World” – a poem by Rabindranath Tagore
October 22nd, 2013 by Roger Darlington
The furthest distance in the world
Is not between life and death
But when I stand in front of you
Yet you don’t know that I love you
The furthest distance in the world
Is not when I stand in front of you
Yet you can’t see my love
But when undoubtedly knowing the love from both
Yet cannot be together
The furthest distance in the world
Is not being apart while being in love
But when plainly cannot resist the yearning
Yet pretending you have never been in my heart
The furthest distance in the world
Is not but using one’s indifferent heart
To dig an uncrossible river
For the one who loves you
The writer of this poem was Rabindranath Tagore (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), a Bengali poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright who reshaped Bengali literature and music. He was the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1913). I confess that I had never heard of this poem – or even of Tagore – until I was introduced to it recently by a dear Chinese friend.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (1)