Father McKenzie, Writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear, No one comes near, Look at him working.. Music fans will recognize these lyrics from the threnody “Eleanor Rigby”, one of The Beatles’ most haunting tunes. An oblique elegy to the mysterious namesake, the song is a poignant paean to loneliness, anonymity…
Category: personal heroes
X=X+1 The Master Algorithm of Procrastination, and Hope!
Artificial Intelligence seems to be taking over the world. From #FakeNews to Machine Learning, it seems like the day is nigh when algorithms and robots will do most of the thinking and working for us, leaving us to do…exactly what ? X=X+1 is a very simple yet powerful logic construct in the field of computer…
W for Write Me a Letter
In some ways I can relate to those born almost a hundred years ago. That generation found themselves traveling by horse-and-buggy (or bullock/camel cart, depending on the continent!), watched in amazement as the automobile , and then the airplane were invented – and finally as both went mainstream. Even better, most of them experienced the…
D for Doggie Tales
I have never owned a pet. Not even an imaginary one, though in my younger days I admit I thoroughly enjoyed the exploits of Tintin’s fearless partner Snowy, or admired the fiercely protective demeanor of Buster in End Blyton’s Five Find Outers series. Over the last few months however, I have had the pleasure of…
A for Alma Mater
Honestly, this post should really have been titled “A for Action”. For after quite blithely asserting that I would simply pick my next blog post topics in simple alphabetical order, action is what was found lacking; it has taken me ten full weeks to decide on a topic and share these thoughts. It did take…
Long Live The King
Mention “The King”, and chances are that you have a vision of Elvis Presley crooning to an over-sized microphone (though recently, Michael Jackson is increasingly picking up the grandiose sobriquet as well). Unlike the monarchs of yesteryears, however, these kings are truly crowned by the overwhelming vote of the vox populi – they are the…
the thinking man 