Archive for April, 2008


10p or not 10p? – that is the question

April 23rd, 2008 by Roger Darlington

After weeks of controversy, the Government has today announced that there will be a compensation package to deal with the effects of the abolition of the 10p tax rate on certain low income groups.The compensation deal will be unveiled in the autumn and backdated to April. As a result, Labour MP Frank Field has withdrawn […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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The American presidential election (28)

April 21st, 2008 by Roger Darlington

On the eve of the Pennsylvania Democratic primary when we might see the Democratic field reduced to one, spare a thought for one-time contender John Edwards. In a normal set of primaries – that is, when there was not the chance to choose the first woman President or the first black President – Edwards might […]

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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 […]

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The American presidential election (27)

April 19th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

As I blogged in this posting two weeks ago, the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania on Tuesday could be the knock-out blow for Hillary Clinton – and I hope that it is because I want the Democrats to get behind Barack Obama for a victory over John McCain in the general election. The general view – […]

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A tip on tipping

April 18th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

Increasingly, in restaurants I try to tip the waiter or waitress in cash even though i usually pay the bill by credit card. Why? Because of practices like these.

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Five years blogging

April 18th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

Today is the fifth anniversary of my life as a blogger. This was my first posting. Since then, there have been almost 2,000 more on this personal blog – and lots more on my professional blog. NightHawk has changed my life – but has my blog changed yours?

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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 […]

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The gas men cometh … and cometh again … and again … and again

April 16th, 2008 by Roger Darlington

The two holes were filled today.

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