OU blog

Personal Blogs

Richard Walker

Auctioning a Scone or Scone

Visible to anyone in the world

Scone. Scone... Scone!


Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Our alfalfa

Visible to anyone in the world

Our alfalfa is alpha

Nothing can beta it

Or even gamma close.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

A Robin in the House

Visible to anyone in the world

I nearly always have a resident robin, or a pair, in my garden. If I leave the kitchen door open for any extended period one may fly in. Imagine: a very small Dinosaur (for that is what it is) perched on the back of my dining chair. Its legs are thinner than matchsticks, such a small frail organism, but also so clever. It toured the house, upstairs and downstairs, for quite a while, and I just waited for it to find its way back. When it did, and came back to where it entered, l let it out, moving slowly and gently so as not to frighten it.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Samurai Puzzle - A Square in a Triangle

Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Richard Walker, Friday, 2 Oct 2020, 09:23

This is a Sangaku-like puzzle (see https://learn1.open.ac.uk/mod/oublog/viewpost.php?post=230691)

We have a square inscribed in a triangle of known base b and height h, as shown. What is the length s of the square's side?


I called this a Samurai puzzle because many of the original sangaku were the work of Samurai.

(Solution in Comments.)

Permalink 2 comments (latest comment by Richard Walker, Thursday, 1 Oct 2020, 23:34)
Share post
Richard Walker

Brontosaurus Joke 🦕

Visible to anyone in the world

Why did the brontosaurus cross the road?

Road, what road?

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Why did the liner cross the ocean?

Visible to anyone in the world

Errm...

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Heard Down The Pub

Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Richard Walker, Tuesday, 29 Sept 2020, 22:47

A saying for our times

May your mask go with you!

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Surviving Change, A Quote

Visible to anyone in the world

Please always remember, the secret of survival is to embrace change, and to adapt.

Rohinton Mistry, in A fine balance

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Groaner

Visible to anyone in the world

Q. What do you call two banjos that slobber a lot?

A. Drooling banjos.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

But also this, from Marvell

Visible to anyone in the world

But at my back I always hear 

Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near.


This and the previous quote are earwigs; persistent phrases that keep running through my head - like those songs you can’t get out of your mind.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Classical quote

Visible to anyone in the world

Often I think of this -

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.

- which is the first line of Virgil’s poem the Aeneid.


Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

New blog post

Visible to anyone in the world

Q. Why is PR inexpensive?

A. Because it's less than half price!

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Philosophical One Liner

Visible to anyone in the world

I like to think I'm imaginative, but maybe I'm making it up.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Dissatisfaction

Visible to anyone in the world
Edited by Richard Walker, Friday, 25 Sept 2020, 23:01

The new doctor asked me if I had a chronic complaint. I was like yes, the decor in the waiting room is awful and nobody ever does anything about it.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

The Evening Fen

Visible to anyone in the world

I love the evening fen

The birds flying home to roost

And the smell of water mint.

Permalink 1 comment (latest comment by Gill Burrell, Friday, 25 Sept 2020, 17:42)
Share post
Richard Walker

To an unknown administrator

Visible to anyone in the world
Permit me to say, that in your email I detected the rustle of backs being covered.
Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Mondegreen

Visible to anyone in the world

I saw this recently as a blog post title

Marshall Law

If we can have Marshall Law (and they did in Dodge City) then Marshall Arts must follow close behind.

To complete the confusion senior soldiers might be Field Martials.



Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Liberty

Visible to anyone in the world

I was told to be freedom-loving. I was like, whoa! Don't tell me what I should do.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Supper

Visible to anyone in the world


Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Getting from Hay to Bee

Visible to anyone in the world

HAY

HAT

BAT

BET

BEE

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Proof And Refutation

Visible to anyone in the world


Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Groaner

Visible to anyone in the world

Apparently someone has set up a floating cannabis farm, in the ocean far from territorial waters. They call themselves Sea Weed.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

My Blotted Shopping List

Visible to anyone in the world

 

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Made up Names in Literature

Visible to anyone in the world

I have a friend called Pamela, and we collaborate on crosswords quite often. At one time this would be down the pub, with a bit of catch-up online, but now everything is the other way round.

When I got a signed message, 18a noodle, I suddenly remembered that Pamela is a concocted name, invented by Sidney for a work called Arcadia. And this reminded me that Miranda (The Tempest) is also an invented name, and (I thought) Wendy (Peter Pan). But there is doubt about Wendy, and also about Lorna, which I understood originated with Lorna Doone, but may have not done.

After searching I found this article 

https://interestingliterature.com/2015/10/10-first-names-that-have-their-origins-in-literature/

and it was interesting.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post
Richard Walker

Food Hygiene101

Visible to anyone in the world

In the Middle Ages they didn’t have any fridges.

So the rate of food poisoning must have been prodigiese.

Permalink Add your comment
Share post

This blog might contain posts that are only visible to logged-in users, or where only logged-in users can comment. If you have an account on the system, please log in for full access.

Total visits to this blog: 2970573