michael lambe

I am, finally (if temporarily) on top of my scarily high mount-o-marking, and so I am sipping pink lemonade (the summer drink of choice!) and enjoying Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye.

Today, I met a new private student who seems like a good egg. She’s a beginner level student which I prefer because a) you know exactly where you are and what to do with beginners b) beginners don’t get weird or cocky with you, generally. Anyway, even though I don’t really want the bother of private teaching, I agreed to teach her on condition she/we find someone for her to share the lessons with and thus share the burden of my massive fee. Actually, I have someone in mind…

Here are some links:

Writer Charlie Stross has a good piece (meticulously calculated!) on exactly why unplugging domestic appliances that run on stand-by, is not only not an effective way to tackle climate change but may in fact be counter-productive:

Back during the second world war, there was a drive in the UK to strip out railings and send pots and pans to metal works to be melted down and turned into weapons. It was seen as a patriotic duty; if you had railings outside your home, you weren’t doing your bit for the war effort. Did this actually help the war effort? No it didn’t; the total weight of railings and pans melted down for scrap probably wouldn’t have built a single cruiser. But they kept urging people to do it anyway, because it made the public feel as if they were contributing and helping deal with the national emergency. It was, in other words, good for morale.

Trying to defeat global warming by unplugging phone chargers and gizmos with a standby mode is in the same league as sending your kitchenware to be melted down to make tanks; it’s silly. LINK

Over here is some wonderful information on the health benefits of napping, the science behind it, and even some nice napping techniques. This particular tip pleased me immensely: To boost alertness on waking, you can drink a cup of coffee before you nap. Caffiene requires 20 or 30 minutes to take effect, so it will kick in just as you are waking up. LINK

Here are some naked people dancing.

And here is some good news from a better world (and the story behind it).

Now back to Raymond.