Blog Comments

I think there's a mystique about maths that is hard to break. I think when you say:

Originally Posted by Paulclem

I see Maths as essentially a problem of language.

that's a really insightful comment, because I think maths relies a lot on precision of language - all those xs and ys stand for something and you have to kind of figure out what. Something about it feels counter-intuitive, but with focus and effort it can be broken. I would like to study maths more now that I'm an adult than when I was a child, as I think I'd appreciate it much more now. I feel the same about physics too - when I was a kid I just didn't get it, now I prefer it to any of the sciences, though perhaps that's more because it feels like a bit of a mystery. Who knows.

You'll have to let us know how you got on.

My cousin teaches math as well, she has a degree in music education and a bachelor of fine arts in jazz performance. Music teacher jobs are apparently very hard to fine, but she tells me that she really does enjoy teaching math even though she never enjoyed learning math.

I'm sure you'll do fine on the exam. I think you're right that anyone can learn math with enough effort. It's not as difficult as people make it out to be. Then again, I always got better grades in math than I did in English and French. I'm astounded by people who can master multiple languages without much effort.

Thanks Jersea.

Qimi - the ones I've been in feel the same too. I miss the BIG DESK. It was somewhere to lean.

Mick - I know what you mean. I used to find the sight of power mad Librarians funny. Now they hang around looking a bit sad.

As you might have seen on the "Do You Like Libraries" thread, we're getting a library and health centre built very close to where we live. I don't know if the idea is to deal with the mind and body in one, but perhaps.

All very true paul, Our librarian's station was like the redoubt at Rorkes Drift.

You captured the ambiance of the library quite well, Paul, a sort of universal feel they all have, I think.

Interestingly, ours, too, offers self-service now, and although our librarians still have their BIG DESK, we are encouraged to use it. I don't quite know what they do behind their desk anymore, but I'm glad their still there.

Nice reads, like good eats. Quite engaging, accompanied by a light sense of humor. I always love an entry about the library.

Thanks Vonny. I'm glad it helped, and I'm glad your Mum was ok.

We did get sonic, but it was on the computer. My son liked it, but I preferred FFVII.

I agree about the reading. My lad was playing a game called Lands of Lore on the computer in 1998, and learning all kinds of stuff about armour and shields. It wasn't "Life in a Medieval Village", but it had enough elements to it to make it an education to play. And that wasn't the main point. It was fun.

Too right.

I remember in the punk times all the punks gathering together in certain pubs where they could feel part of a tribe - though if you had suggested that, they would have all exclaimed that they were individuals. In a room full of punks, they all looked conventional.

"Drinking bear is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy. But being a Christian, that's a tough call. That's rebellion."
Alice Cooper

I love that quote. It shows that all that teenage attempt to be rebellious is just another form of conventionality. The punk rocker with the spiked hair do is being just as conventional as anyone else.

Haha, I remember Acorn computers from my elementary school. They DID suck.

The thing with the Super Nintendo is that it was the foil to Sega, like how X-Box 360 is the foil to the PS3 nowadays. Few people had both. I was a Nintendo person, I played a lot of Super Mario and Zelda (and I swear that it's to these games that I owe my reading comprehension and puzzle solving abilities). Paul was into sega, so he probably got to play Sonic.

I was a playstation kid in my teens, talk about the best rpgs ever. FFVII was great, so was Legends of Dragoon and FFX.

Thanks Jersea. I thought it would be good because everyone has an opinion on gadgets, and so there's mileage for all.

I think this is a great idea for an assignment in a writing class. I'd even do this just as a fun writing exercise.

I like this idea. I'll write my own technology autobiography here tomorrow, or Sunday. Kinda tired now, and I actually have plans tomorrow.

Well done.
1970's - CB radios and the Popeil's Pocket Fisherman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fh_YwAnv7w

I didn't. i don't even know when they were about. In the 80s I missed all the developments and only dropped back in in the 90's when my brother re-introduced me to games.

I can't help but notice you never owned a Super Nintendo, the greatest video game console to have ever existed.

My wife reckons that women just have more clothes - so perhaps that's part of it. I think the blokes wearing out their gear stuff does apply in a lot of cases, as your husband shows.

They are funny places charity shops. You see all sorts of characters in them.

Thanks all.

Alice Cooper hosts a planet Rock slot now Gilliett. I think he's much changed from his touring days.

I'm afraid it wasn't a pretty sight Fifth. Luckily no-one was around - though the allotment site where I am is overlooked by a few houses...

A follow-up comment. My mother had to be rushed back to the hospital this past weekend, in the middle of the night, once again with atrial fibrillation. As soon as I was in the emergency room with her, this blog and "Frankenstein's monster" came into my mind. It helped me to go through the experience in a more positive, more peaceful way. I guess that reading this blog and commenting here had helped me to process my reality of "hospital as my second home," so that I was able to accept it better this time. So I want to say thank you. The care she got there was exemplary, and within a few hours they converted her to a normal heart rhythm, so she could go home the next day, rather than being there for days this time. I must say that when she's there, I'm thinking, "Let this be over so I can get out of this place!" (And the food is atrocious.) But, I'm certainly glad they are there when we need them! We're lucky too.