Archive for June, 2014
The growing polarisation of American politics
June 13th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
My American friends have long insisted to me that political opinion in the USA is more divided than at any time they can remember – and they are right. As part of a year-long study of polarisation, the Pew Research Center has conducted the largest political survey in its history – a poll of more […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (1)
Correlation does not equal causation
June 12th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
This is well illustratedf by these remarkable examples.
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (2)
How to be happy by Pharrell Williams
June 11th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
I’ve just bought the “GIRL” CD by Pharrell Williams and enjoy listening to it while working on the computer. The best track is “Happy” which you can watch here:
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (2)
Carl Sagan on the pale blue dot that is the planet Earth
June 10th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
“From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it’s different. Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of […]
Posted in Science & technology | Comments (0)
The remarkable story of the Czech wartime politician Ladislav Feierabend
June 9th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Vee and I enjoy having friends of different ages and backgrounds. Everyone has a story but some have very special stories to tell. We recently had lunch with a dear Czech friend of 84 whom we have know for around 30 years. Hana Ludikar is the widow of Marcel Ludikar (1920–2003) who flew with the […]
Posted in History | Comments (0)
Should Ed Miliband be replaced by Frances O’Grady as Leader of the Labour Party?
June 8th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
My good friend Eric Lee thinks so. I believe his case is fantasy politics – there is no chance and no need. You can see his case and my answer here. Feel free to comment on Eric’s blog or mine or both.
Posted in British current affairs | Comments (0)
Some interesting facts and figures about the world’s 7,000 languages – and how we’re losing languages fast
June 8th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Around 7,000 languages are spoken in the world, 90% of which are used by fewer than 100,000 people. Languages are grouped into families that share a common ancestry. English is related to German and Dutch, and they are all part of the Indo-European family of languages. Romance languages, which include French, Spanish and Italian, come […]
Posted in Cultural issues | Comments (0)
The seven digital deadly sins.
June 7th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Find out what pride, lust, greed, gluttony, envy, wrath and sloth mean in the digital world – and cast judgment on the guilty. Check it out here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
Eight lessons on the use of social media
June 7th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Do you use social media? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn … Well, Tom Phillips who is a senior writer at Buzzfeed, has some lessons for us social media types which you can check out here.
Posted in Internet | Comments (0)
My first experience of a webinar: talking about a water company’s prices and performance
June 6th, 2014 by Roger Darlington
Ever heard of a webinar? A webinar is an online event that is hosted by a company and broadcasts to individuals through their computers via the Internet. A webinar allows a presenter/speaker from the hosting company to share PowerPoint presentations (or other multimedia content) with audiences that can be located anywhere. A webinar also allows […]
Posted in Consumer matters, My life & thoughts | Comments (0)