Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[redsimon]

Eh?

I didn't even know that Wesley Snipes was in prison in the US. How the Hell does someone in his position manage to get thrown in jail ffs?



Blade star Wesley Snipes released from prison in the US



http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/22050473

Not paying his taxes?

[RED-DOG]

Eh?

I didn't even know that Wesley Snipes was in prison in the US. How the Hell does someone in his position manage to get thrown in jail ffs?



Blade star Wesley Snipes released from prison in the US



http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/22050473

Not paying his taxes?

Oh yes Simon. I understand that he went to prison for not paying his taxes, what I can't grasp is how someone who is so high profile and earns so much money can even contemplate not paying his taxes, let alone be allowed to get away with it for 10 years.

Surely there must have been a point where someone said to him, "Look, if you don't do xyz now, you will go to jail."

[RED-DOG]

BTW- I apologise to everyone for continually posting about or linking to news stories that interest me, I know it must be pretty boring for most of you, but I do love to read the news online, it's just the best medium. I prefer it to newspapers, TV broadcasts, or even my beloved Radio 4.

The thing is, most of the broadcast news doesn't interest me at all, but odd stories interest me greatly. Now, If I'm watching TV news or listening to the radio, I can't skip the stories I don't like, and, (more importantly) I can't delve deeper into the stories I do like.

Online news is just wonderful. I spend at least an hour, (and often several hours) browsing it every day.

[tikay]

BTW- I apologise to everyone for continually posting about or linking to news stories that interest me, I know it must be pretty boring for most of you, but I do love to read the news online, it's just the best medium. I prefer it to newspapers, TV broadcasts, or even my beloved Radio 4.

The thing is, most of the broadcast news doesn't interest me at all, but odd stories interest me greatly. Now, If I'm watching TV news or listening to the radio, I can't skip the stories I don't like, and, (more importantly) I can't delve deeper into the stories I do like.

Online news is just wonderful. I spend at least an hour, (and often several hours) browsing it every day.

Same here, love it to bits. Hence my repeatedly left-field, & seemingly to most, boring tales about pigeon welfare & whatnot.

If time permitted, I'd write about stuff all day, every day.

There was a great docu on TV on Saturday about the famous Vulcan bombing raid during the Falklands war. The whole thing was ridiculously hard to even comtemplate, but they did it somehow. I have read several books on the topic, including one Tighty kindly gave me.

But there are so many sub-stories.

Whilst watching it, I learned that they use an island in the Firth of Forth to do "bomb-testing". Intrigued, I went googling. It is called Garvie Island, & is almost undernerath the Forth Bridge, which I have had the pleasure of visiting many times, including quite recently. I had always wondered what the Island was used for. A satisfying box ticked.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchgarvie




The Vulcan Bomber raid thing included the staging post at Ascension Island, so that was another google visit - what a remarkable set of circumstances gave rise to Ascension as a Military Base.

Ascension is part of St Helena, & the group includes Tristan de Cunha, which you will remember from your youth, when Tristan, literally, exploded, & everyone had to be evacuated.

And I learned the weird fact about Ascension's biggest export, a real Triv Pursuits question - Postage Stamps!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_Island

Learning new things is the nuts.

[RED-DOG]

"I have read several books on the topic, including one Tighty kindly gave me"

I'm reading so many books now that I can buy them in the affordable and convenient Kindle format. I have several at my disposal at any one time.

BTW- It irks me so much that I can't persuade anyone to read any of the Holocaust stories that I recommend.

[RED-DOG]

This is the one I'm currently reading. Please click the link and try the free sample.




http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AVMoOmgrMMgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

[tikay]

"I have read several books on the topic, including one Tighty kindly gave me"

I'm reading so many books now that I can buy them in the affordable and convenient Kindle format. I have several at my disposal at any one time.

BTW- It irks me so much that I can't persuade anyone to read any of the Holocaust stories that I recommend.

Maybe I ought to get a Kindle thing. I'm reading 3 or 4 books concurrently at present. Can't get enough books, or enough time to read them all.

I have a weird fantasy that I want to re-read every book I possess. They read differently after the passage of time.

I'm currently re-visiting the Crick & Watson DNA story, which is outstanding, & wholly beyond comprehension as to how clever it all is, DNA, RNA, proteins, nucei, cells. How the hell did that all get started?

In 2 weeks time, it will be 60 years since the DNA Helix was first identified/discovered, from which stemmed the Human Genome Project & so much else. Now we know that ageing is simply the process of cell mutation. And that cell-mutation can be genetically enginneered & reversed. The implications are mind-blowing. More importantly, it is certain that cancer CAN be beaten by biotech engineering.

Holocaust books? I read most of them that I could find when I was in my early reading phase, that would be just over 50 years ago now. They were too horrible, & even though I am re-visiting my entire library, I cannot bring myself to read those ones again. It was all too horrible for me, & gave me nightmares, & makes me hate people. And I feel so uncomfortable with hate.

PS - What a dreadfully mis-used word hate is, these days. Everyone hates things, football players, poker opponents, software, bla bla. What a ridiculous use of the word. The only word more bastardised is "friend", as in "Facebook Friend". Everyone claims to be "friends" with everyone. What utter bollox. Acquaintance (at best) is the word they mean.    

[RED-DOG]

"I have read several books on the topic, including one Tighty kindly gave me"

I'm reading so many books now that I can buy them in the affordable and convenient Kindle format. I have several at my disposal at any one time.

BTW- It irks me so much that I can't persuade anyone to read any of the Holocaust stories that I recommend.

Maybe I ought to get a Kindle thing. I'm reading 3 or 4 books concurrently at present. Can't get enough books, or enough time to read them all.

I have a weird fantasy that I want to re-read every book I possess. They read differently after the passage of time.

I'm currently re-visiting the Crick & Watson DNA story, which is outstanding, & wholly beyond comprehension as to how clever it all is, DNA, RNA, proteins, nucei, cells. How the hell did that all get started?

In 2 weeks time, it will be 60 years since the DNA Helix was first identified/discovered, from which stemmed the Human Genome Project & so much else. Now we know that ageing is simply the process of cell mutation. And that cell-mutation can be genetically enginneered & reversed. The implications are mind-blowing. More importantly, it is certain that cancer CAN be beaten by biotech engineering.

Holocaust books? I read most of them that I could find when I was in my early reading phase, that would be just over 50 years ago now. They were too horribl;e, & even though I am re-visioting my entire library, I cannot bring myself to read those ones again. It was all too horrible for me, & gave me nightmares, & makes me hate people. And I feel so uncomfortable with hate.

PS - What a dreadfully mis-used word hate is, these days. Everyone hates things, football players, poker opponents, software, bla bla. What a ridiculous use of the word. The only word more bastardised is "friend", as in "Facebook Friend". Everyone claims to be "friends" with everyone. What utter bollox. Acquaintance (at best) is the word they mean.    

The facts you quoted re the DNA stuff, or for that matter, most of the facts you quote in your posts, (like the ones about the Vulcan bomber and Garvie Island) Do you look them up as you write or do you remember them?

Most of what went on during the Holocaust didn't come to light until many years later. much of it wasn't in the public domain 50 years ago, even the survivors didn't know the half of it.

For me at least, the Holocaust books are not only horror stories, but uplifting stories of hope and of courage. Stories of empathy and selfless bravery. Stories of the triumph of good over evil, and of survival against virtually insurmountable odds.

Friends / Hate? That's a whole nother post

[RED-DOG]

Speaking of being sensitive Tony, I finally won one hand (the last hand of the night) against an excellent player who had been crushing me for hours. I mucked and he asked me what I had, so I told him, truthfully.

He didn't believe me, so I said if you're not going to believe, why ask?

Obviously annoyed, he said, "Because I thought you would give me a credible answer."

It was a simple indecent, but for some reason, it really bothered me.

What a big girl's blouse I really am.

[tikay]

"I have read several books on the topic, including one Tighty kindly gave me"

I'm reading so many books now that I can buy them in the affordable and convenient Kindle format. I have several at my disposal at any one time.

BTW- It irks me so much that I can't persuade anyone to read any of the Holocaust stories that I recommend.

Maybe I ought to get a Kindle thing. I'm reading 3 or 4 books concurrently at present. Can't get enough books, or enough time to read them all.

I have a weird fantasy that I want to re-read every book I possess. They read differently after the passage of time.

I'm currently re-visiting the Crick & Watson DNA story, which is outstanding, & wholly beyond comprehension as to how clever it all is, DNA, RNA, proteins, nucei, cells. How the hell did that all get started?

In 2 weeks time, it will be 60 years since the DNA Helix was first identified/discovered, from which stemmed the Human Genome Project & so much else. Now we know that ageing is simply the process of cell mutation. And that cell-mutation can be genetically enginneered & reversed. The implications are mind-blowing. More importantly, it is certain that cancer CAN be beaten by biotech engineering.

Holocaust books? I read most of them that I could find when I was in my early reading phase, that would be just over 50 years ago now. They were too horribl;e, & even though I am re-visioting my entire library, I cannot bring myself to read those ones again. It was all too horrible for me, & gave me nightmares, & makes me hate people. And I feel so uncomfortable with hate.

PS - What a dreadfully mis-used word hate is, these days. Everyone hates things, football players, poker opponents, software, bla bla. What a ridiculous use of the word. The only word more bastardised is "friend", as in "Facebook Friend". Everyone claims to be "friends" with everyone. What utter bollox. Acquaintance (at best) is the word they mean.   

The facts you quoted re the DNA stuff, or for that matter, most of the facts you quote in your posts, (like the ones about the Vulcan bomber and Garvie Island) Do you look them up as you write or do you remember them?
Most of what went on during the Holocaust didn't come to light until many years later. much of it wasn't in the public domain 50 years ago, even the survivors didn't know the half of it.

For me at least, the Holocaust books are not only horror stories, but uplifting stories of hope and of courage. Stories of empathy and selfless bravery. Stories of the triumph of good over evil, and of survival against virtually insurmountable odds.

Friends / Hate? That's a whole nother post

I remembered all the DNA stuff. The book is absolutely staggering. "The DNA, The Secret of Life"" I think it is called.

There you go, available via Kindle. It will change your whole perspective on life if you read it.

The amount of DNA we have, or the amount of genes or cells in our body, in some cases does not differ much from what we perceive to be primitive animals.

I did not need to refresh my mind on the Garvie or Ascension stuff, as I only read up on it yesteday. Even I can retain stuff for 24 hours if it is interesting enough.

If I'm asked about things I'm really interested in - racehorse breeding, transport infrastructure, transport generally, some areas of science, civil aviation etc, it is all ingrained in my mind, & I don't need google.

[tikay]

Speaking of being sensitive Tony, I finally won one hand (the last hand of the night) against an excellent player who had been crushing me for hours. I mucked and he asked me what I had, so I told him, truthfully.

He didn't believe me, so I said if you're not going to believe, why ask?

Obviously annoyed, he said, "Because I thought you would give me a credible answer."

It was a simple indecent, but for some reason, it really bothered me.

What a big girl's blouse I really am.

That sort of thing really pisses me off. Why ask if he ain't gonna believe? Is he a bit short upstairs?

Some people take defeat in poker SO badly. They've never lived, don't know what it is to take real beats in real life, & yet they get arsey over a hand of poker.

Last week, in the course of my job, which I do to the best of my ability, I got called an incompetent & inane retarded moron.

Same guy says the same things repeatedly. When he meets me in real life he is all cooey-wooey & addresses me - genuinely, not J Black-style - as "Sir".

Go figure.

[tikay]

This is NOT from that book, but is typical of what I learned. (copied from the internet, obv).

Baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisie) is a single celled organism used in the bread-making industry. It would appear initially to have little in common with human beings. However, an important feature of yeast cells is that they are eukaryotic - they have a nucleus containing chromosomes just like our cells. Furthermore, S. cerevisiae cells divide in a similar manner to our own cells, and there are many other basic biological properties that are shared.

The yeast genome is just over 12 million base pairs in length and contains about 6000 genes. Perhaps surprisingly, about 20 per cent of human disease genes have counterparts in yeast

So, it is a SINGLE CELL ORGANISM. Part of yeast.

And yeast - which is actually a fungi - contains TWELVE MILLION base pairs of DNA & 6,000 Genes. (The Human body contains, I think, around 30,000 genes).

So humans only have 5 times the gene count of a single-cell fungi.

Can you imagine how small the world of DNA is? 12 million base pairs in a single cell fungi......

[hector62]

Morning Mr Red.

I just started to read that Holocaust thing and I had to stop. Thinking about what it was that I didn't like was that it was written in the present tense and I hated the style of it. Still at least I have found out that I don't like books written in the present tense. Do you have any past tense Holocaust things?

[RED-DOG]

Speaking of being sensitive Tony, I finally won one hand (the last hand of the night) against an excellent player who had been crushing me for hours. I mucked and he asked me what I had, so I told him, truthfully.

He didn't believe me, so I said if you're not going to believe, why ask?

Obviously annoyed, he said, "Because I thought you would give me a credible answer."

It was a simple indecent, but for some reason, it really bothered me.

What a big girl's blouse I really am.

That sort of thing really pisses me off. Why ask if he ain't gonna believe? Is he a bit short upstairs?

Some people take defeat in poker SO badly. They've never lived, don't know what it is to take real beats in real life, & yet they get arsey over a hand of poker.

Let me just make this clear. This guy certainly isn't short upstairs, and I'm sure he doesn't take his beats badly.

I wasn't having a pop at him, I was just pointing out how some things bother me more than they should.

[kinboshi]

This is NOT from that book, but is typical of what I learned. (copied from the internet, obv).

Baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisie) is a single celled organism used in the bread-making industry. It would appear initially to have little in common with human beings. However, an important feature of yeast cells is that they are eukaryotic - they have a nucleus containing chromosomes just like our cells. Furthermore, S. cerevisiae cells divide in a similar manner to our own cells, and there are many other basic biological properties that are shared.

The yeast genome is just over 12 million base pairs in length and contains about 6000 genes. Perhaps surprisingly, about 20 per cent of human disease genes have counterparts in yeast

So, it is a SINGLE CELL ORGANISM. Part of yeast.

And yeast - which is actually a fungi - contains TWELVE MILLION base pairs of DNA & 6,000 Genes. (The Human body contains, I think, around 30,000 genes).

So humans only have 5 times the gene count of a single-cell fungi.

Can you imagine how small the world of DNA is? 12 million base pairs in a single cell fungi......

I'd highly recommend you read "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins.  Arguably the best/most important book on evolutionary biology since that fella Darwin.