Blog

  • Legal Tender

    The Bank of England first issued the paper £20 note in 2007. It features the economist Adam Smith. On 20 February 2020, the bank issued a new polymer £20 note with the intention of phasing out the paper notes. 30 September 2022 is the last day you can use the paper £20 and £50 notes.

    This is the page on the Bank Of England web site with the information.

  • Straw Men and Stalking Horses

    straw man (sometimes written as strawman) is a form of argument that tries to create the impression of having the impression of refuting an argument, whereas the real subject of the argument was not addressed or refuted, but instead replaced with a false one. One who engages in this fallacy is said to be attacking a straw man.

    The typical straw man argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent’s proposition through the covert, hidden, undeclared, replacement of it with a different proposition instead of the actual proposition.

    And why would one do that? It’s because the original argument is valid and the person does not have the means to refute it. So he or she hopes to blind observers or the opponent by coming up with a straw man argument that thereby seeks to hide the truth that he or she cannot counter the original argument. That is the only purpose of a straw man argument.

    stalking horse is a figure used to test a concept or mount a challenge on behalf of an anonymous third party. If the idea proves viable or popular, the anonymous figure can then declare its interest and advance the concept with little risk of failure. If the concept fails, the anonymous party will not be tainted by association with the failed concept and can either drop the idea completely or bide its time and wait until a better moment for launching an attack.

  • Piloerection

    Piloerction is the erection or bristling of hairs due to the involuntary contraction of small muscles at the base of hair follicles that occurs as a reflexive response of the sympathetic nervous system especially to cold, shock, fright, or awe.

    It can be on the nape of the neck or on the forearms and it is a holdover from animal behaviour such as a cat suddenly frightened by a dog or a cucumber.

    The Beatle’s debut single Love Me Do from 1962 or thereabouts – the bent notes they sang were enough to raise the hairs on your neck if you were raised on what came before. In my case, the universe expanded in an instant. Recorded from the radio on a reel-to-reel Telefunken tape recorder.

  • Planting Trees Along England’s River

    More than 7,500 acres of woodland are to be planted along England’s rivers, in a government scheme intended to improve water quality and reduce flooding by slowing down rivers.

    England is among the least forested countries in Europe, with just 10% of its land covered in woodland, versus 31% in France and 33% in Germany. The tree-planting scheme will be carried out by a partnership involving various groups, including the Beaver Trust and the National Trust.

    From: THE WEEK 2 October 2021 , page 4

  • Mushroom Allergies

    It is a thing: The immune system releases IgE antibodies to combat mushroom protein and release of chemical called histamine, the allergy causes immediate reactions. In case, you are suffering from mushroom allergy it is recommended that you avoid white or button mushrooms, Chanterelle, Portobello, shiitake, black truffle and morels.

  • The Revenge Of Galileo

    Reported in The Week, issue 25 September 2021, page 31, this letter on the Letters page under the title ‘France can’t complain’

    To The Times
    One suspects the origins of this rift over submarine contracts lie in the EU decision to exclude the UK from the Galileo GPS system as part of the Brexit deal. Not only was an investment of more than £1bn lost, but the UK will need to find another GPS system for military use. France should not be surprised if the UK becomes a competitor to the EU in military matters.
    Roger Downing, Whitchurch, Devon

    Is there substance to what Mr Downing says? It seems there is from what I read about the Galileo project in Wikipedia. This is a extract of the relevant parts from the Wikipedia entry for Galileo

    “Galileo is a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that went live in 2016, created by the European Union through the European Space Agency (ESA), operated by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, with two ground operations centres in Fucino, Italy, and Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.

    In March 2018, the European Commission announced that the United Kingdom may be excluded from parts of the project (especially relating to the secured service PRS) following its exit from the European Union. As a result, Airbus will relocate work on the Ground Control Segment (GCS) from its Portsmouth premises to an EU state. British officials sought legal advice on whether they could reclaim the €1.4 billion invested by the United Kingdom, of the €10 billion spent on the project.

    In a speech at the EU Institute for Security Studies conference, the EU Chief Negotiator in charge of the Brexit negotiations, Michel Barnier, stressed the EU position that the UK had decided to leave the EU and thus all EU programmes, including Galileo. In August 2018, it was reported the UK would look to create a competing satellite navigation system to Galileo post-Brexit. In December 2018, the then British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the UK would no longer seek to reclaim the investment, and Science Minister Sam Gyimah resigned over the matter.