How does homeopathy work?
April 17th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The short answer here.
A longer answer here.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
Could you be the first Ambassador to Meerkovo?
April 16th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Full details here.
Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments (0)
My heart is still in Syria
April 16th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
When my wife and I set off for a trip to Syria & Lebanon early last month, some friends thought that we were crazy. But we’d booked the holiday long before the successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, the civil war in Libya, and the turmoil in Yemen and Bahrain. Also Syria was quiet with the regime in tight control.
Throughout our time in Syria, we saw constant evidence of the regime’s cult around Assad, but there was no political activity and, such is the repressive nature of the dictatorship, nobody would discuss politics with me. You can read my account of our trip here.
Almost as soon as we returned to London, the demonstrations and the killings commenced and the situation in Syria has become worse and worse. I am devouring the news from the country and my heart is with those brave protesters who are risking everything to seek more freedoms and more opportunity for themselves and their families. You can check out the latest news here.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
18,000 days of diary
April 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
After several failed attempts, I managed to start keeping a diary when I was 12 and my first entry was on Sunday 31 December 1961. Since then, I’ve never missed a single day. This means that now I’m in the 50th year of diary writing and that today marks my 18,000th entry.
For eight years, I’ve been running this blog and I post something almost every day. But, of course, the diary is very private while the blog is very public.
Posted in My life & thoughts | Comments (2)
Forgotten World (240): Saudi Arabia
April 15th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
While revolutionary fervour sweeps the Arab world, one country so far hardly affected – except for its intervention to support the ruler of Bahrain – is Saudi Arabia. It sits on more than 25% of the world’s known oil reserves and it is capable of producing more than 10 million barrels per day and rising which gives it enormous geo-political importance.
Named after the ruling Al Saud family, which came to power in the 18th century, the country of 26 million includes the Hijaz region – the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the cradle of Islam. This fact, combined with the Al Sauds’ espousal of a strict interpretation of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, has led it to develop a strongly religious self-identity.
Municipal elections in 2005 were a first, limited exercise in democracy. But political parties are banned – the opposition is organised from outside the country – and activists who publicly broach the subject of reform risk being jailed.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
How much radiation is harmful?
April 14th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
The problems with the Fukushima plant in Japan are causing worry around the world about the risk of increased levels of radiation locally but, of itself, radiation is not necessarily harmful.
Radiation is a fact of life and present even in the human body. The level of harm is related to both the dose and the dose rate (the length of time exposed to the dose).
Check out this radiation dosage chart.
Posted in Environment, Science & technology | Comments (0)
Forgotten World (239): Sao Tome & Principe
April 14th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Previously a Portuguese colony and now one of Africa’s smallest countries, with a population of a mere 165,000, Sao Tome and Principe consists of two islands of volcanic origin and a number of smaller islets. It is trying to shake off its dependence on the cocoa crop, since falls in production and prices left the island state heavily reliant on foreign aid.
The government has been encouraging economic diversification and is set to exploit the billions of barrels of oil which are thought to lie off the country’s coast. Drilling is under way and commercial production is expected to begin within a few years. Already though, arguments have arisen over how to spend the expected windfall, leading to political tension.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)
Word of the day: futz
April 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
As a noun, the word means fool or simpleton. As a verb, it means to pass time in idleness.
I was introduced to the word by young kids in our crescent who apparently use it as a substitute for another four-letter word with the same two first letters – and it seems that this is indeed the origin of the term.
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
A new record: over 7,000 visits in one day
April 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Three months ago, I did a posting explaining that, whereas previously, the number of visits to my web site only exceeded 6,000 a day on odd days, that week it had exceeded 6,000 every working day. Yesterday a new record was achieved: the site had more than 7,000 visits.
Thank you so much for visiting and for your interest and support. Please recommend the site to friends. And comments on this blog are always welcome.
Posted in Internet | Comments (1)
Forgotten World (238): Howland, Jarvis & Baker
April 13th, 2011 by Roger Darlington
Howland Island, Jarvis Island, and Baker Island neighbour one another in the Pacific Ocean. They were claimed by the United States under the Guano Act of 1856. Guano, composed of phosphates, was used as fertilizer in the 19th century, and its collection was highly lucrative. Through the Guano Act, the U.S. gained 79 tiny territories around the world; it still controls eight of them.
Baker Island is an atoll with an area of approximately 1 square mile about 1,650 miles from Hawaii. Howland Island, 36 miles to the northwest, is 1 mile long and half a mile wide. On their round-the-world flight in 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred J. Noonan were heading for Howland when they disappeared. Jarvis Island is several hundred miles to the east.
Posted in World current affairs | Comments (0)