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Air India Crash: Update #3

Air India Crash: Update #3This is another update to my article Air India Crash: When 2 + 2 Does...

Air India Crash: Update #1

Air India Crash: Update #1This is an update with fresh evidence and arguments to my article Air...

Fun With A Pun

Fun With A PunIf you love puns ...Nobody was injured in an unusual dockside accident today.The...

Why I've been away and why I'm back.

Why I've been away and why I'm back.I'm 79yo now.  I receive a state pension which falls short...

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Patrick LockerbyRSS Feed of this column.

Retired engineer, 79 years young. Computer builder and programmer. Linguist specialising in technical translation. Interested in every human endeavour except the scrooge theory of accountancy. Interested... Read More »

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The Importance Of The Literature

The Importance Of The Literature

May 24 2013 | comment(s)

The Importance Of The Literature

The public at large, and unfortunately too many writers, do not know how vital a properly conducted survey of the scientific literature can be.  We must remember the motto of the Royal Society - nullius in verba - do not rely on anybody's word.  If the mythical "everybody" is stating the same "fact" or citing exactly the same source: question it.  Reappraise it.  Investigate.

This article was inspired by Hontas Farmer's newest blog.  It occurred to me that I spend many a happy hour doing literature research but I do not write about it as such.
A Green Step For Humanity

A Green Step For Humanity

May 22 2013 | comment(s)

A Green Step For Humanity


Under the headline: "Absolute emissions cap proposed for China",  Australia's Business Spectator reports that "According to local Chinese media, the government’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has proposed that China adopt an absolute cap on its greenhouse gas emissions by 2016."

RT (TV-Novosti) asks "Is China Going Green?" and notes that the initiative "must now be approved by the Cabinet before it is enacted."
Compassion in Adversity

Compassion in Adversity

May 21 2013 | comment(s)

Compassion in Adversity

It is not our petty squabbles that define what it is to be human: it is our compassion in the hour of adversity.  The Oklahoma tornado demonstrates this.

"There are empty spaces where there used to be living rooms, and bedrooms, and classrooms. In time we'll have to refill those spaces with love, support and community."
President Obama.

I wish to express my sympathy to all those affected by the tornado, and my admiration for all who are engaged in rescue and assistance.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Chemtrails Or Acid Rain ?

Chemtrails Or Acid Rain ?

May 20 2013 | comment(s)

Chemtrails or Acid Rain ? - The Birth Of Two Myths

The idea that acid rain is some sort of hoax or scam is ludicrous. Sulfuric acid and its environmental effects have been known since ancient historical times. If acid rain is a hoax, then the ancient Sumerians and Greeks were certainly in on it. Modern science has been accumulating facts about environmental damage caused by sulfuric acid since at least 1736, when sulfuric acid was first produced industrially in Britain. When deniers of anthropogenic global warming claim that acid rain is a hoax they demonstrate, not their knowledge of science, but their political preferences, as here for example.

Wilhelm Sinsteden - Inventor Of The Lead-Acid Battery

Wilhelm Sinsteden - Inventor Of The Lead-Acid Battery

May 16 2013 | comment(s)

Most people, including many scientists and electrical engineers, have never heard of Wilhelm Josef Sinsteden.  He invented the lead-acid battery and published his findings in 1854.  In 1860 an improved construction by Gaston Raimond Planté was the first commercially viable version.  It is probably the wide marketing and adoption of the Planté cell which has led to so many books and articles - even a majority of scientific papers - stating that Planté invented the first of these batteries, usually giving 1859 as the date. 
Giant Leap Surplus To Requirements Say Evolution Scientists

Giant Leap Surplus To Requirements Say Evolution Scientists

May 15 2013 | comment(s)

Giant Leap Surplus To Requirements Say Evolution Scientists


I must confess that to the best of my knowledge, no scientist used those precise words.  However, the research does indicate that what was previously thought to be a large change is the result of a few small steps.

It appears that, in evolution, small steps can lead to giant leaps.

In a newly published paper, scientists show that the human hip could have evolved from the equivalent bone structure of an ancestral fish in a few steps.