Posts by linger

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  • Hard News: The Mood,

    National [...] stand for not much other than the suspicion that we might as well bend over now

    ...As I head in to the office each week, I ask myself just how badly things will go at work. My route takes me past a JOMO service station offering as if in answer the sign Lube Now...

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Southerly: South by North,

    "hills humped in cosy catenaries"

    A catenary is, by etymology, the shape of a suspended chain, so it's hard to think of a better word to describe the shape of a series of little mountains (by contrast, "range" doesn't suggest any specific shape, so much as extent of variation).
    But what's the recommended escape procedure when hills are humping?

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Readers' Tips,

    Last year I commented on my disappointment with Tui beer.
    Well, I finally got around to the last remaining bottle last week -- about 5 months after its "best before" date -- and was quite pleasantly surprised to find it had actually become drinkable, having picked up a very slight honey flavour and a certain smoothness that it had entirely lacked back in November. Something you may wish to try at home. Or you could just buy a better beer...

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Speaker: Play by Discretion,

    W G Grace "They came to see me bat, not to see you umpire"

    I heard a rather different version of that story, with the following elements:
    A Yorkshire charity match, at which Grace had attracted a record crowd;
    Grace caught out of his crease and stumped in his first over;
    and a local umpire who, responding to the resulting appeal, shouted "Not out!" -- and then added, to the keeper, in tones of low menace: "Thaa great blithering blockhead, thinkst thaa them's all come to see thee stump?"

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Island Life: Hunting Squirrels,

    John Key does not fuck goats, eat babies and worship Satan.

    aw, shucks, so he's even less interesting than he appears? :-)

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Medical Matters,

    I had to search back through much more of the thread than I would have liked, but here is the single most fundamental flaw in Grant's position, in his own words:

    1: [...] There will never be a lab experiment that can detect self awareness or weigh the value of a human life. We have moved beyond what science can tell us explicitly into an arena where we have to decide based on good judgment.

    2: Because we cannot rely on data to determine the value of a human life we are rationally and morally bound to err on the side of caution. We are rationally bound because all the data sets we might apply can be applied to a baby at conception.

    This is, of course, a Leap Of Faith:
    "We have no conclusive evidence, therefore we must --"
    No. The correct answer is not "we must", nor "we must not".
    The correct answer is "what we decide is up to our own faith and beliefs".
    Hence, I can say, with quiet conviction: Grant is wrong.
    Further, if Grant thinks he has won, in the sense of "proving" himself "right", then he has lost an even bigger battle, because he can only get there by denying the importance of his own faith.
    Grant clearly is troubled and frustrated by this issue. He has my sympathy. But in this, at least, not my agreement.
    Take care, Grant.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Travelling Gravely,

    Ah, thanks Emma, that clears it up. Surely most customers wouldn't have that much difficulty bringing their heads with them on the bus :-)

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Medical Matters,

    ...and both may be less convincing that an account from personal experience. For an example of what I mean, one need only turn to David Slack's most recent post; or indeed to the comment 20-odd pages upthread by "anonymous for obvious reasons". I have nothing as valuable to offer; and so I shall end here.

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Medical Matters,

    ...in which case, can you see how an opinion informed by scientific evidence or by the reported real-life experiences of others may be more convincing than an opinion informed by one person's own interpretation of some abstract principles?

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

  • Hard News: Medical Matters,

    I think also we may be getting misled by the word "judge".
    I understand that you are actually (rightly, in my ...judgement) making an important distinction between "judging" and "sentencing". But then is a "judgement" merely an "opinion"? Or is it something more -- such as an "informed opinion"?

    Tokyo • Since Apr 2007 • 1944 posts Report

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