What I Learnt Today

Morning mist.
Frosty fields.
Autumn leaves.
Bacon and eggs.
Chocolate and candles.
Laughs and songs —
All before rugby at 8am!

What I Learnt On 8th May in other years

8th May 2014 iAddiction : A Universal Problem and an Elegant Solution

“The future is already here, it is just poorly distributed” – William Gibson

Today, the first in the WILT trend hunting series-

The His N’ Hers Double iPad Stand – For that romantic dining occasion. Spotted at breakfast this morning.

You heard it here first.

In his blog post today, author Seth Godin asks ‘What’s high school for?’

Perhaps we could endeavor to teach our future the following:

• How to focus intently on a problem until it’s solved.
• The benefit of postponing short-term satisfaction in exchange for long-term success.
• How to read critically.
• The power of being able to lead groups of peers without receiving clear delegated authority.
• An understanding of the extraordinary power of the scientific method, in just about any situation or endeavor.
• How to persuasively present ideas in multiple forms, especially in writing and before a group.
• Project management.
• Self-management and the management of ideas, projects and people.
• Personal finance.
• Understanding the truth about money and debt and leverage.
• An insatiable desire (and the ability) to learn more. Forever.
• Most of all, the self-reliance that comes from understanding that relentless hard work can be applied to solve problems worth solving.

Would you add any other desirable outcomes to Seth’s list?

Our ancestors, the cavemen, had much larger jaws than we do. In those primitive times before McDonalds, they needed more teeth to grind up the foliage in their diet.

In response to our improved diet(?), we evolved smaller jaws. Ignorant of this change, our very back teeth will often still try and crowd their way in up the back, top and bottom. These ‘third molars’ normally appear between the ages of 17 and 25.

The Romans called the third molar dens sapientiae, (tooth of the wise), because they come at a later stage than the rest of our teeth – by which time we have become more mature (remember, the Romans did not have eposure to the behaviour at University colleges) They are known by as Wisdom Teeth in many languages, but there are some interesting exceptions. In Greek, they are called ‘the dicisplinarians’, in Turkish they are known as the ’20 year tooth’, in Korean as the love teeth, (ooh), and in Japanese as the ‘unknown to the parent teeth’, because you are meant to have left home before you get them.

35% people do not devlop wisdom teeth at all – I wonder if this is because they are at a higher stage of evolution, or because they never become wise.

Wisdom teeth are said to be impacted if for some reason they do not come out all the way. This may be because they are abutting other teeth, or sometimes they get stuck under the gums. Once upon a time, it was common practice to remove all wisdom teeth as a preventative measure in case they become impacted, or in case they crowded out the other teeth.

This practice is not supported by the evidence, and the current recommendation of the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is that teeth that are not causing problems should be left in place whether impacted or not.

However, wisdom teeth will often cause trouble. 

They may damage neighbouring teeth, and they are awkward to clean. This can lead to chronic infections of the tooth or of the neighbouring gums (periodontal infections). I have discovered that I am a slack wisdom-teeth-cleaner, and today I had the pleasure of having three of my four dens sapoentiae extracted by Dr Hoffmam, a periodontist.

From now on you will notice that I am only one quarter as wise as previously.

At least I can look forward to the tooth fairy coming tonight.

Richard Glover dreams about a ‘new’ technological breakthrough.

“The player costs a couple of dollars, and runs for months on a single penlight battery. It’s small enough to slip into your pocket. A wide variety of content is constantly streamed via a wireless connection, with users able to change content by twiddling a small dial on the side of the receiver. Most amazing of all, the content is always up to date, as it is broadcast “live” in “real time” without any need for the users to refresh the content held in their player. Best of all, people are able to experience the same programs simultaneously, building a sense of community and shared debate.

More phenomenal still, the technology is interactive, with users able to themselves appear live through a process known as “talkback” or “phone-in” radio.

Wow! What an advance on dreary old moribund podcasting……. We could call it radio”

From “They’ve reinvented the wheel – and now (gasp) it’s got corners“.

Do you sometimes pull up at your destination, but remain sitting in the car waiting for an interesting interview on the radio to finish? To find out the answer to the quiz question? To hear the end of the news? To see if the Waratahs will finally score that try? To check the weather forecast?

I love podcasting, but as Glover says, sometimes only the radio will cut it.

TuneIn Radio gives your iPhone or iPad the ability to play live radio. It does not have an FM receiver – rather it picks up (via 3G or wifi) the live internet stream that most stations provide. You can search for stations from all over the world – Local ABC and Radio National and Grandstand are as far as I have looked.

A 3G connection provides more than adequate bandwidth –  but be careful if you have a very limited download allowance. The application allows you to pause the program you are listening to, and even rewind and replay the broadcast.

And you’ll be able to get out of the car without missing any action.

TuneIn Radio – Synsion Radio Technologies

What I Learnt On 4th May in other years

4th May 2014 Intergalactic Star Wars Day – May 4th

4th May 2012 A Love of Learning