Jim Webster's Blog, page 39

Simple Economics

  The price of food is inelastic. This means that if the output of food increases, you won’t eat more. Even if the price drops you’re not going to eat an extra meal a day. If the output falls, then you’re not going to say, ‘fair enough, food’s too dear, I’ll only eat every other …

Summat fer Nowt?

  IF…. If you can live without caffeine,   If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,   If you can resist complaining,   If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,   If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,   If you can …

No smoke without fire

A friend of mine sent me an article about a farm fire and asked if such experiences are common. This set me to thinking about such things. I remember a fire at a neighbour’s when I was still at school, but in the livestock areas now, with more silage than hay being made, fires are …

So what are we going to do about it?

There’s a campaign in Barrow, we had two ‘rough sleepers’ die overnight and people felt that enough was enough. Given our facilities, we’ve got to the stage that if the council decide you’re not a priority they’ll give you a tent to sleep in. Funnily enough people are still moaning that the council hasn’t spent …

The wisdom of crowds

In 1906 Francis Galton visited a livestock fair. The organisers had an ox on display, and the peasantry attending were invited to guess what the animal would weigh after it had been slaughtered and dressed out. Apparently nearly 800 participated, and Galton as a statistician was allowed after the event to study the entry forms. …

Poets, beauty and truth

  It has to be said that poets seem to regard spending time in the company of an editor with the same enthusiasm as a tom cat looks forward to a trip to the vets. Listen to the fuss they make about it and you’d begin to suspect it was for the same reason. Still …

A load of Bull

Originally posted on Tallis Steelyard:
People don’t realise what gifts they have, or what skills they possess. Sometimes they have the ability to do all sorts of things yet they never do them. Obviously I am a person with many capabilities, able to turn my hand to a wide variety of work, a sonnet here,…

Not so Sloe Gin

Now then I confess that my reading might not be as wide as it should be. There are whole swathes of literature where I’ve barely skimmed the surface. So when my daughter appeared, waving a glossy Sunday Supplement at me, I confess I was about to venture into deep waters. Previously I had barely paddled …

“If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”

The immortal words of W. C. Fields, who also said, “Whilst travelling through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew. Had to live on food and water for several days.” But when you look around the weight of bullshit has increased almost exponentially over recent years. What’s the purpose? Some of it is professional. The last thing …

Do bordellos even have pianists any more?

  Ever had that feeling that you were somehow getting out of touch with modern developments, and that contemporary culture was passing you by? I’m not  merely talking about the endless plethora of sub-musical boy-bands which manage to fade seamlessly into each other as one after another they disappear back into the dark. There are …