Louis Braille, the inventor of the reading and writing system for the blind, was born exactly 200 years ago. I listened to an inspiring BBC podcast about him this morning. His genius was such that the system is used today unchanged, and allows the blind to read at some 120 words per minute. Braille invented his system at the age of 15, and died by the age of 43 of tuberculosis. Continue reading ‘Mathematics for the blind’
Archive for the 'Life' Category
A recent resolution at the United Nations was passed almost unanimously:
By a vote of 180 in favour to 1 against (United States) and no abstentions, the Committee also approved a resolution on the right to food, by which the Assembly would “consider it intolerable” that more than 6 million children still died every year from hunger-related illness before their fifth birthday, and that the number of undernourished people had grown to about 923 million worldwide, at the same time that the planet could produce enough food to feed 12 billion people, or twice the world’s present population. (See Annex III.)
So the USA representative alone thought it is indeed tolerable that these children die from hunger before they are five.
Is it any wonder that the Iraqi “shoe bomber” has become a hero throughout the third world?
If you keep an eye on the BBC News web page, then you probably look at the main headlines on the top right of the page. Now to save space, these are written in a very condensed form, using short words where possible. When I read this post, I realised it could have two opposing meanings on the two sides of the Atlantic. Does it mean the White House gave the bail-out plan a cool, or unenthusiastic reception (British meaning), or were they easy going about it going ahead (US meaning)? Of course it is the former, but a cute example of ambiguity in language I thought…
I read that companies are looking at free, open software, with the current financial problems. Perhaps this is a silver lining of the economic cloud. I hope they will realise that for a fraction of the money they have been spending on proprietary software, they can get better software and better support. On top of that they will learn that “free” refers to freedom too. Learn more here.
When we were kids, our parents told us not to spend more money than we need to, to save for a rainy day, etc. In particular, borrowing money was always a bad thing. Being in debt was frowned on. But in the last few years, those in the know, government, banks, and economists, have been encouraging the opposite: spend more and if you don’t have the money, then borrow so you can spend. Continue reading ‘Let’s borrow again?’
I work and watch TV at the same time. I have no trouble with that, unless I am reading or writing something I have to concentrate on. I don’t like films or soaps, etc, but documentaries and news mostly. I like to feel I am learning something.
Continue reading ‘A lesson in philosophy’
On the day before thanksgiving Obama and family gave out food to the needy, and make an impromptu appearance at an elementary school. The amateur videos are here. (Audio is very poor.) Continue reading ‘Obama’s thanksgiving’
I do like my smoked salmon. One package that caught my eye was this “responsibly sourced” variety. Continue reading ‘Responsible fishing’
If you haven’t seen this interview with Sarah Palin on a turkey farm, it’s worth seeing.
The computer systems in 3 hospitals were shut down for 24 hours because of a virus attack. I am not sure whether to laugh or to cry — laugh, at the half-wits who have decided to use Windows for sensitive data of our National Health Service; cry, for the poor patients who no doubt suffered.
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