via Latest news from our site on 01 January 09
A former lawyer is making a lot more money as an artist, making incredible fine art sculptures from Lego bricks. "I see the world in little squares."
Great Reform Act Plans for Scotland Now Online via ResearchBuzz 10 January
If you read that headline and thought, "I didn't even know Scotland HAD any great reform plans," they don't, not as related to this selection. You're about 175 years off. This collection is from 1831-1832 and includes plans of 75 Scottish towns.
Proposed Rules Would Ban Sleeping in Library The Washington Post via LibraryLink
I saw this and thought “what?” in a somewhat incredulous tone of voice. I must have uttered something because my husband responded with: “That rules you out then, you always fall asleep in the British Library.’ Near to the truth since I often have an after-lunch nap and if I happen to be in the BL then that's where the nap happens.
This story is, however, not about readers dozing off over their research but a serious attempt to prevent homeless people in Washington DC using the library as a sleeping place.
Acclaimed Colombian institution has 4,800 books and 10 legs
News of a mobile library with a difference – one man and two donkeys!
Rice-Powered Stove Ignites New Hope for Poor Farmers
via Latest news from our site on 13 December
More than a third of the world’s population can’t afford propane or other petroleum-based cooking fuels, relying instead on wood or charcoal that burns inefficiently in stoves that emit smoke and toxic fumes. One man succeeded in inventing the impossible: a safer, cleaner, and less-expensive way to cook using the waste from rice – turning it into a clean bright blue flame.
Bureaucracy defeats poetry A poetry group was banned from performing in a pub after the council said the landlord’s entertainment licence only covered singing and not speaking.
via Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate on 22 November
King Lear is one of the darkest plays ever, yet Edgar, Kent, and Cordelia show a miraculous, almost irrational fidelity: they repay brutal rejection with unwavering loyalty... more
Oliver Postgate 1925-2008 via Tom Roper’s Weblog on 9 December
Oliver’s autobiography, Seeing Things, is well worth reading, as is his website, which I hope will be preserved. See for example his essays Does Children’s Television Matter , Whose Country is it Anyway and So What is Trident For
Thanks for that, Tom. Of all the obituaries I think this is the best – short and to the point with links to the important bits!
Gerald Scarfe political caricatures online exhibition via Latest Internet resources added to Intute: Social Sciences Politics gateway
This site provides free access to a virtual exhibition of political cartoons, satire and caricature from leading British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe.
Oops! A full-blown abstract in the trivia? Well where else can I put a cricketing story (it’s actually about statistics)?
Rational Adversaries? Evidence from Randomised Trials in One Day Cricket
an article by V Bhaskar (University College London) in The Economic Journal Volume 119 Issue 534 (2009)
Abstract
In cricket, the right to make an important strategic decision (bat first or field first) is assigned via a coin toss. The author uses these “randomised trials” to examine the consistency of choices made by teams with strictly opposed preferences and the effects of these choices upon the outcomes in the game. He finds significant evidence of inconsistency, with teams often agreeing on who is to bat first. Estimated treatment effects show that choices are often poorly made and reduce the probability of the team winning, a particularly surprising finding given the intensely competitive environment and opportunities for learning.
No comments:
Post a Comment