POSTERS IN THE GARAGE
SORTING ONE thing and another in the garage in preparation for our expected El Nino this winter, I uncovered a forgotten stash of posters. It’s a pity wall space inside … Continue reading
HOLMES’ COLLEGE DAYS—BUT WHERE??
THE MATTER of Sherlock Holmes’ education has encouraged a lot of scholarly research generating lively differences of opinion: King’s College, London? Queen’s College, Birmingham? Owen’s College, Manchester? Cambridge? Oxford? Or … Continue reading
ANDREW DEWAR’S FLYING ORIGAMI
TO CALL Andrew Dewar’s designs merely paper airplanes is a disservice to the planes and to this Canadian-born librarian residing in Japan. The airplanes are flying examples of origami art. … Continue reading
NEAT STUFF
THERE’S NEITHER reason nor rhyme in today’s offering. It’s just stuff that caught my eye and got squirreled away for a later date. Today’s the day. The Personals, London Review … Continue reading
GEORGE PHILLIPS AND HIS MG RACE CARS
READERS WHO are into old sports cars may recall the MGA, this British roadster built from 1955 to 1962. Perhaps less familiar is an earlier MG, the 1951 Phillips MG … Continue reading
READ EM’ MATH AT BEDTIME
HEARING MATH stories is beneficial for kids, just as hearing bedtime tales promotes kids acquiring reading skills. The payoff is especially dramatic in families with math-anxious parents. Proof positive of … Continue reading
AUTONOMOUS KILLS
SELF-DRIVING CARS programmed to kill? This is an ethical question inherent in autonomous vehicle design. And it’s a practical problem, not just a philosophical one. MIT Technology Review, October 22, … Continue reading
CAN YOU SEE ME NOW?
SCIENCE IS moving forward to match fiction. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling’s hero receives an invisibility cloak, a silky garment that makes him disappear. Now, Science … Continue reading
CURRYING FLAVOR, 1912
WE JUST enjoyed curried fish for dinner and this reminded me that India is not among the places I’ve visited. It’s easy to do some armchair travel, though, so I … Continue reading
AN EXCESS OF RESOURCE
THE WATER MAINS of Paris burst in August. This sounds like the title of a Hemingway pastiche, but actually it’s a truism of infrastructure. What’s more, it has implications in … Continue reading
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