Diary
A View From The Greenhouse; Hooptedoodle And Other Matters
I return from a bit of a hiatus where, due to several factors, not the least of them a little bit of self pity, I allowed what passes for my creative flow to dry up. [more…]
Science
Geology
Carlisle-Settle-Preston
It’s Wednesday morning around 9:00 and I’m at Carlisle station. AWS didn’t manage to make his proposed rail journey down to Preston because of cancellations. Hongkonger has done rather better. The train at platform 3 [more…]
Cooking
A Short Guide to Coffee (noun) Café Kaw-fee
At various stages of its journey from Arabia through Turkey and into Europe, coffee has been known as the Devil’s Brew and the forerunner of Viagra. The fact that it made it to England is [more…]
Communism
Will AI benefit humanity?
Elon Musk has said that AI and robotics can lead to a future of universal high income and eliminate poverty by creating an abundance of goods and services making human work optional. Elimination of poverty [more…]
Engineering
New Year Transport Update
The big day arrives! Puffins will recall a previous unread article, Christmas Transport Catastrophe. This detailed the railway and motorway closures and diversions required as a West Coast Mainline bridge is being replaced over the [more…]
Communism
Venezuela’s Wasted Potential
Flash, bang stuff Last week, we visited British Guiana for our Railway Review and, as is sometimes the case, found ourselves in the wrong place but at the right time. We tootled along some 15 [more…]
19th Century
Railway Review
Following the outpouring of joy over the street cars of Paramaribo – complete with a trip to Kabelstation (where a rope-worked gondola spanned the Suriname River), and a railcar ride with the Queen of Holland, [more…]
Computing
AI Think Therefore AI Am?
The ancient Greeks, guardians of philosophy and medicine, wrestled with a timeless tension: *Could we?* versus *Should we?* The Hippocratic oath embodied this restraint—harnessing knowledge and technique while pledging “first, do no harm.” Aristotle warned [more…]
Education
Sternely Mullan My Phic Spelling
At Going-Postal in general and QT Review in particular, we pride ourselves that nobody reads the comments, nobody reads the articles, and at least one proofreader (me) can barely read and write. I’m often pulled [more…]