Source
A report from a few years back describes a joint University of Hertfordshire and British Council study that measured the average rate of speed for pedestrians in 32 cities around the world.
Here are the Top 10 results of this Pedestrian Olympiad, which measured how long on average it took people to cover 60 feet:
(1) Singapore; 10.55s
(2) Copenhagen (Denmark); 10.82s
(3) Madrid (Spain); 10.89s
(4) Guangzhou (China): 10.94s
(5) Dublin (Ireland); 11.03s
(6) Curitiba (Brazil); 11.13s
(7) Berlin (Germany); 11.16s
(8) New York (USA); 12.00s
(9) Utrecht (Holland); 12.04s
(10) Vienna (Austria); 12.06s
Who would have thought that Dubliners would outpace New Yorkers? The Middle East tended to have the slowest pace of life.
The line of the article that got a chuckle from me was, "Researchers who secretly studied pedestrians in 32 cities..." (italics mine).
How would you like that job: get paid to travel the world to sit around and discreetly use a stop-watch to facilitate people-watching?
I'm reminded of research I did in college for a linguistic neologist. One of my tasks was cataloging thousands of hand-written 3x5 index cards with notes on them like "From the New York Times" and "Overheard in a bar." It turns out that there were quite a few of the latter; apparently eaves-dropping on bar-room banter is standard fare for the compilers of dictionaries. Who knew?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
UK's Brown: End Ban on Royal Catholics
Source
Today the British government endorsed the idea of lifting the ban on Catholic royals.
The Act of Settlement bars any non-Protestant from succeeding to the throne.
The bill introducing the measure to repeal the Act of Settlement won't be voted on at least for another year, however.
Today the British government endorsed the idea of lifting the ban on Catholic royals.
The Act of Settlement bars any non-Protestant from succeeding to the throne.
The bill introducing the measure to repeal the Act of Settlement won't be voted on at least for another year, however.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
This Date in History
Feast of the Annunciation
On this date in T.A. 3019, Frodo Baggins cast the One Ring into the Cracks of Mount Doom. This act precipitated the ruin of Barad-dûr and the fall of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the world was made brighter thereby.
On this date in T.A. 3019, Frodo Baggins cast the One Ring into the Cracks of Mount Doom. This act precipitated the ruin of Barad-dûr and the fall of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the world was made brighter thereby.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Quem Quaeritis?
"Why are men so reluctant to marry?" the question was coyly posed.
"Why are women so reluctant to stay married?" I answered teasingly.
"Huh?" was the startled reply.
In the U.S. 70% of divorces are initiated by the wife. Certainly middle-aged men still trade in the mother of their children for trophy wives; definitely there are cases of infidelity and abuse and criminal activity that warrant a permanent split. But at the end of the day the overwhelming majority of breakups are not because of these factors -- rather, selfishness and boredom are the major culprits.
I recognize full well that societal norms are far different today than they were even a generation ago, when the phrase "irreconcilable differences" started to catch on in a big way.
This in my view makes it abundantly clear that societal norms need to subjected to serious overhaul. With that thought in mind, here's a checklist to help correct the worst marital excesses stemming from today's societal norms.
* Marriage is for life. This is not merely sentiment -- that is, when the words "For as long as we both shall live" are uttered, it is a binding obligation. The spouses can separate (even permanently) when the physical or moral well-being of one or both is gravely jeopardized, but the man and woman remain bound in matrimony as husband and wife until one of them dies. And if your spouse leaves, you do not remarry.
* Marriage is for family. I will never, under any circumstance, no matter who is involved, attend the wedding of a couple who has declared that they refuse to have children. When done properly raising children is a great remedy to selfishness -- you have to be generous and selfless until it hurts to be a good parent. And "family planning" is a misnomer; "family prevention for selfish reasons" is the correct phrasing. I will never show support for someone else formally committing themselves to a selfish lifestyle.
* Marriage is a religious act. Humans did not create marriage, God did. Governments can add some conditions like obliging couples to complete paperwork, but they do not have final say in the matter. For that reason, governments are entirely incompetent to declare marriages ended; the state can oversee division of property and assets, but they cannot declare a married couple to no longer be wedded.
Quem Quaeritis?
"Why are women so reluctant to stay married?" I answered teasingly.
"Huh?" was the startled reply.
In the U.S. 70% of divorces are initiated by the wife. Certainly middle-aged men still trade in the mother of their children for trophy wives; definitely there are cases of infidelity and abuse and criminal activity that warrant a permanent split. But at the end of the day the overwhelming majority of breakups are not because of these factors -- rather, selfishness and boredom are the major culprits.
I recognize full well that societal norms are far different today than they were even a generation ago, when the phrase "irreconcilable differences" started to catch on in a big way.
This in my view makes it abundantly clear that societal norms need to subjected to serious overhaul. With that thought in mind, here's a checklist to help correct the worst marital excesses stemming from today's societal norms.
* Marriage is for life. This is not merely sentiment -- that is, when the words "For as long as we both shall live" are uttered, it is a binding obligation. The spouses can separate (even permanently) when the physical or moral well-being of one or both is gravely jeopardized, but the man and woman remain bound in matrimony as husband and wife until one of them dies. And if your spouse leaves, you do not remarry.
* Marriage is for family. I will never, under any circumstance, no matter who is involved, attend the wedding of a couple who has declared that they refuse to have children. When done properly raising children is a great remedy to selfishness -- you have to be generous and selfless until it hurts to be a good parent. And "family planning" is a misnomer; "family prevention for selfish reasons" is the correct phrasing. I will never show support for someone else formally committing themselves to a selfish lifestyle.
* Marriage is a religious act. Humans did not create marriage, God did. Governments can add some conditions like obliging couples to complete paperwork, but they do not have final say in the matter. For that reason, governments are entirely incompetent to declare marriages ended; the state can oversee division of property and assets, but they cannot declare a married couple to no longer be wedded.
Quem Quaeritis?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad
Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad =
A light heart lives longest (in Gaelic)
Erin go bragh
A light heart lives longest (in Gaelic)
Erin go bragh
Monday, March 16, 2009
Coming to Your Grocery Store Soon
Source
A German frozen food company tried to cash in on the American obsession with trendy fads and introduced into the market a new line of frozen chicken packaged with a curry dip.
The product is called "Obama Fingers."
See a photo of the new product here
The choice of name has produced plenty of squawking around the globe.
A German frozen food company tried to cash in on the American obsession with trendy fads and introduced into the market a new line of frozen chicken packaged with a curry dip.
The product is called "Obama Fingers."
See a photo of the new product here
The choice of name has produced plenty of squawking around the globe.
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