Miscellanea

  • Lights Out London

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    In honor of the Summer solstice (and Gaia herself) we Londoners are being encouraged to shut off our lights for an hour at 9pm tonight. Even Picadilly Circus will be dark, for the first time since World War II. Even if it’s just a PR campaign, take advantage: go outside and look at the stars.

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  • All the News That’s Fit to Pay, and Pay, and Pay For

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    I was travelling through Schiphol airport in Amsterdam today (more later on the various reasons why) when I was delighted to see the Sunday New York Times on sale at the airport news-stand… until they tried to charge me €14.50 (about $20 or £10). It’s still the best paper in the world (especially on Sunday),…

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  • Whole Foods

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    I spent over an hour this afternoon in full green consumerist frenzy, celebrating the opening (i.e., shopping at) the new London branch of the Whole Foods supermarket chain. Three floors of good food, eco-friendly (more or less; see below), tasty, not at all cheap, luckily located en route from work to home. And noticeably more…

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  • LA’s Burning

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    A beautiful but frightening picture of the fire burning near the Griffith Park Observatory in Los Angeles. Evidence that we were probably never meant to live in that part of the world? (Photo courtesy Monica Almeida/New York Times)

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    I realize that I haven’t posted in nearly two weeks. Between marking exams, gardening, attempting to solve differential equations and calculate integrals with several hundred terms, inspiration has been lacking. Here are some things I may yet get to: The book launch for Universe or Multiverse, edited by QMW Cosmologist Bernard Carr. Entertaining, for sure,…

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  • March madness

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    OK, a little bragging: I am proud to be able to say that I came in at the top of this year’s CITA NCAA Basketball Tournament pool with my pick of Florida to emerge as the ultimate winner. (I also beat most of the New York Times staff!) Sadly, no money will change hands.

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  • Earning the description “hapless”

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    Normally I don’t talk about myself too much here, but I managed a very difficult feat today: I locked myself in my own house. I got up this morning, tried to leave for work, only to discover that the key turned, but the deadbolt didn’t budge — somehow, bolting the door last night, the inner…

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  • Neofelis diardi (Bornean)

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    Because you can never go wrong with a cat picture, especially of a new species: Borneo’s Clouded Leopard: © WWF-Canon / Alain COMPOST The world remains full of wonders…

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  • Gung hei fat choi

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    恭喜发财 — Happy (Chinese) New Year! Congratulations and be prosperous in this coming year of the Golden Pig…

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  • Real Winter

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    The view out my back window: Now let’s see if I can get into work.

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