JAUNTICLES

 Hello again, Blogonauts! The QED Conference in Manchester has wrapped up! But before flying back to Boston, I had granted myself an extra day to toddle around this part of the planet. So on Monday the better-than-ours British train system carted me an hour afield where I disembarked in the city of Liverpool. (Most of you probably have scant interest in QED. But if you're among the few who want to read a summary of the workshops I attended, there is a special, long-winded Jaunticles entry just for you. You can reach it by clicking here .) Saint George's Hall, and Nelson's Column (to the right) This is the first view stepping out of the train station. Lord Nelson atop his column Liverpool is a surprisingly beautiful city! Historic buildings abound, there are enormous pedestrian-only areas, and every stinking public museum in the city is closed on Mondays. I would have enjoyed visiting the art museum, the maritime museum, and the museum devoted to telling of the slave trade, ...

 Hello again, Blogonauts. This is a special interest post for those who want to know which workshops I attended October 18-20 at the QED (Question Explore Discover) Conference, a weekend celebration of science, reason, and critical thinking. We started the weekend with Friday's "QED-Fringe" event, Skepticamp , an all-day rapid-fire set of mini-lectures. Each presentation took only 10 minutes, and topics ranged widely. They included the science of pee & of poop, misconceptions of both Scandinavian vikings & Turkish dogs, handwriting, computer code writing, prison overcrowding, punishment in schools, and too many further topics to include here. (See the link for details.) In the evening after Skepticamp, we had a pub quiz, which was a delight. My team didn't do badly, but we could have won if we hadn't flubbed one answer. (Ask me about it later.) Then on Saturday & Sunday, QED's proper schedule began. It was impossible to attend every presentati...

Hello again, Blogonauts! You find me now sitting in Glasgow's Central Station, ready to embark on my 3-hour rail journey to Manchester. Some loose threads still need knotting, so let me scribble a summary while I post a few photos. "Let Glasgow Flourish", with St. Mungo's 4 symbols: a fish, a bell, a tree, & a bird In addition to a vibrant cityscape, Glasgow has a lot of parkland. On a day that threatened a downpour (that never materialized), I took a turn through the Botanical Garden. The entrance way was emblazoned with the "Let Glasgow Flourish" insignia. Once in the park, I found some well-tended greenhouses. Botanical Garden Two of 30,000 species of orchid (not all in the greenhouse). I had no idea orchids have more species than any other plant variety. A nearby pub posted an intriguing but mostly indecipherable menu. "No room inn?" Now let's ricochet back to the Kelvingrove Museum. They've devoted a large exhibit to Charles Rennie...

Hello again, Blogonauts! Earlier I noted that Glasgow is studded with Neo-gothic architecture, dating mostly from the 19th century. And while this is true, a few remnants of genuine medieval-ness have survived. Let's start with the Glasgow Cathedral, which dates from the 12th century. The Glasgow Cathedral (currently getting a facelift) The cathedral contains the remains of St. Mungo , a 6th-century priest who is Glasgow's patron saint. Even after the reformation Glaswegians continued to revere his memory. The city's seal contains a bird, a fish, a bell, and a tree, each representing a miracle that St. Mungo is credited with performing during his lifetime. The Nave, leading into the Choir. Before the Reformation, the stone screen kept the common folk from mingling with the clergy and well-to-do. The Lectern and the Altar The altar atop the tomb of St. Mungo, in the crypt The Protestant Reformation saw a host of Catholic churches & cathedrals laid to ruin. But in Glasgow...

Hello again, Blogonauts! Today, rather than focusing on a bigger picture, let's take a narrower perspective on life in Glasgow...in fact, one particular woman's life as she lived it while dwelling in a "tenement house" during the first half of the 20th century. First, we must meet Miss Agnes Toward (1886-1975). A native Glaswegian, her father died when she was only 3 years old, and her two sisters died in infancy. In 1911, she and her mother (a dressmaker) moved into a 4-room flat (apartment). Her mother died in 1939, and Agnes continued to live in the flat until 1965, when ill health forced her to enter a hospital for the last decade of her life. The apartment sat shut and undisturbed until Agnes died in 1975. So far, unremarkable. However, Agnes had a pair of marvelous afflictions. She was highly reluctant to adopt new technologies, and she exhibited many traits characteristic of being a hoarder. The lucky, complicated, and astonishing result is that the parapherna...