Posts by David Haywood
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Raymond A Francis wrote:
He was rumoured to sell condoms...
My Scottish grandfather once astonished me by revealing that many blokes (perhaps including himself, he was a little non-specific on the topic) purchased condoms from the barber.
Does anyone have any intelligence on barber-supplied condoms in NZ? It seems to be an important part of history that has been otherwise overlooked.
I am sure the smell of bay rum would take me back to those inocent days of rugby, racing and beer...
Arthur offers me bay rum every time...
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Danielle wrote:
I really hate making stilted conversation for an hour with someone I don't know very well...
This raises a very interesting point. I also loathe having to make awkward conversation with strangers (it actually gave me hives on one occasion) so maybe I prefer a barber simply because of the strict conversational protocol. I also prefer the type of old-fashioned dancing where there is a set pattern rather than the modern style where you just jump up and down. Although when I say 'prefer' I would still rather have my teeth drilled than engage in any form of dancing.
On a related subject, I recently discovered a supermarket (New World, Stanmore Road, Richmond) where you can check out your own groceries -- and thus avoid having to make chit-chat with the checkout lady. It has hugely improved my quality of life.
Hamboy wrote:
Hmmm, must be a generation thing...
Yes... of course... you have to remember that when I had my first haircut, steam had only just been discovered, and barbers' shears were still powered by pit ponies. Every Christmas my parents would give me a bent twig to play with.
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The ingenious new two-stroke engine from a Christchurch company that manages to solve some very difficult design issues...
NOTE: A complete transcript of this episode is available here.
Further information:
-- View the Pivotal Engine photo gallery.
-- Read about two-stroke engines in Wikipedia.
-- Visit the Pivotal Engineering website.
This episode of Public Address Science was originally broadcast on Radio Live, 4th August 2007, 5 pm - 6 pm.
Public Address Science dedicated RSS feed
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Very nice article, Dr Creon. Loved the phrase "the essential Reuben-Thorne-icity of all things Christchurch". You should trademark that.
Any word on when the L.e.d.s forthcoming album will actually be available?
<smugness STATUS="ON">
Of course, I already have a copy of the album courtesy of the L.e.d.s scheme to give a free album to any blogger whose partner spends more than a month in a maternity hospital. Heh heh heh heh heh...And if Mr Grigg thinks that We are the L.e.d.s is "the first perfectly formed pop album I’ve heard from New Zealand this decade" then he's in for a real treat with We are Still the L.e.d.s...
</smugness>P.S. And, by the way, I'll have you know that my young nieces & nephew think my musical taste is very cool.
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Jason:
Many thanks for posting your summary of the paper (much better than my attempt), and the other nice summary by Paul Chefurka.
It's vaguely heartening to know that at least three other people in the world (you, David Strahan, and Paul Chefurka) also think this paper is a big deal.
I'll modify my original comments to say that everyone interested in economics and energy should read your and Chefurka's summary.
The only real surprise is that it has taken decades (Solow,1956) for Kummel and now Ayres to make a more sensible back story for the economic growth.
I hadn't got around to thinking that quite yet -- but you're dead right. What have economists been doing since 1956?
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Lyndon Hood wrote:
I love how the podcast adds depth to the original book.
Thanks, Lyndon. We did our best.
Of course, the next stage of development is to include further sensory data in the learning programme. Perhaps obviously, we intend to start with smell.
So from 2008, all copies of 'Learning English with the Browns' will not only ship with an audio CD, but also a scratch-and-sniff card. The student will then be able to savour the full experience of English life: the smell of roast beef, frying sausages, English teeth, and the three-day-old corpse of Mrs Brown.
After that we plan to add other sensory data -- such as touch, sense of balance, and thermoception.
The home learning programme already includes nociception at no extra cost.
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Craig:
Actually, I've had dozens of such enquiries. But I understood you were in a relationship -- so I declined on your behalf. Did I do wrong?
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Whenever I meet an attractive young Public Address reader of the female persuasion, the conversation seems to follow the same depressing pattern. She flutters her eyelashes coyly at me, rearranges her dress a little more tightly over her lithe teenage body, and murmurs softly: “Do you have Russell Brown’s phone number? I want to ask him if he has a girlfriend at the moment.”
Sometimes they also add: “Oh, and tell Damian Christie that my Nana thinks he’s __hot!__”
It's heartbreaking having to inform them that -- although he denies it -- Russell is originally from Timaru. At that point, the conversation usually dies a natural death. But, occasionally, they linger to ask me a few questions.
“Are you the one who wrote that Learning English with the Browns thing? What was with that? I just so didn’t get it. Neither did anyone I know. I mean, was it meant to be funny or serious? Can you explain what it was about?”
Such comments lead me to wonder if my linguistic genius is truly appreciated. Of course ‘Learning English with the Browns’ was serious! Literally millions of people around the world have written to tell me how it has totally changed their lives.
In fact, thanks to Fräulein Katie ‘Malibu’ Drager, there is now even an audio version (see above).
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As well as being available in audio form, ‘Learning English with the Browns’ can also come to you!
Dr Haywood will now make home visits to employ a revolutionary new language technique that makes ‘Learning English with the Browns’ even simpler.
Frequently asked questions:
Q: What is Dr Haywood’s revolutionary new learning technique? Does it involve hydrochloric acid?
A: Hydrochloric acid is a natural chemical that already exists within the body. It is an ‘organic acid’, which means that it’s 100% natural. No-one has ever been convicted of causing death using hydrochloric acid to teach a foreign language.
Read what literally millions of satisfied customers have said about Dr Haywood’s revolutionary new learning technique:
Seven major operations and two years of plastic surgery -- it's no understatement to say that 'Learning English with the Browns' has changed my life.
-- Carl Crowley, Sydney, Australia -
K J Aldous wrote:
... can any encouragement be offered for my persevering with the rest of it?
Er... admittedly they didn't put that very well. What they mean is that they test their mathematical model with various possible explanations for the Solow Residual.
I guess I've always been amazed that you could call something 'residual' that actually describes such a gargantuan gap between theory and reality. Perhaps the Solow 'hole in our theory that you could drive a bloody truck through' might have been a better term.
At any rate, Ayres and Warr come up with a nifty explanation that produces an astonishingly good match between theory and reality for the US economy (and, I have since discovered, also Japan's). And with no fudging as far as I can see.
It impressed me, at any rate...
P.S. You may be interested to know that my Ph.D thesis originally contained a similarly silly sentence in the introduction, which provoked a similarly frank reaction from one of the examiners.