Category Archives: Random

Teatime

Posted on October 25, 2023 by WorldWideWeber

Many pages into Daniel Dennett’s latest opus, I’ve Been Thinking—by turns informative, entertaining, and maddening (“an engaging, vexing memoir with a humility bypass,” as the Guardian headline writer puts it)—one encounters a passage answering to the first two adjectives above, … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Mathemagic

Posted on October 23, 2023 by WorldWideWeber

The following puzzle appeared in the October/November 2023 issue of the AARP member magazine. What’s next? Each number after the first is derived in the same way from the previous number. What is the number that logically follows 66? 1, … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Beastie

Posted on July 4, 2023 by WorldWideWeber

As part of our continuing series on the Wonderful World of Bugs, I invite you to take a look at this scary-looking thing that I felt crawling on my neck on May 10: I had no idea what it was. But, once again: … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged | 4 Comments

Fireflummoxed

Posted on June 24, 2021 by WorldWideWeber

As I was having a beer on our front steps after my daily bike ride, a lightning bug landed on a leaf in a pot of mint on one of the steps. It stayed there for some time (it may … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Dreamwork

Posted on April 1, 2021 by WorldWideWeber

Last night, in the midst of typically inchoate and unrememberable dreams, I came up with two crossword clues that I somehow did remember: 1. _ _ _ _ Tsar did not place this atop Kremlin tower 2. _ _ _ … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Conway

Posted on April 16, 2020 by WorldWideWeber

I am not a mathematician, but I played one on TV in a magazine—Quantum: The Magazine of Math and Science. That is how I learned about John Horton Conway, who passed away this week from complications of COVID-19. Conway wrote … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Subsolar

Posted on May 15, 2019 by WorldWideWeber

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 ) In an autobiographical fragment, Mark Twain … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Leftness

Posted on May 28, 2018 by WorldWideWeber

Have I ever mounted a bicycle from the right? No, and I do not recall seeing anyone else do it. “Why do you ask?” I ask myself. Blame it on The Third Policemen—specifically, the fecund imagination (or is it boundless … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Eclipsed

Posted on August 21, 2017 by WorldWideWeber

In Washington, DC, the solar eclipse of 2017 was not total, but it was awesome nonetheless. Equipped with safety glasses, we saw the moon obstruct about 90% of the sun, the mostly sunny day became noticeably dimmer as the eclipse … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Phew!

Posted on July 25, 2017 by WorldWideWeber

“There are less people here today than yesterday.” It’s fewer, people! Fewer people!* It’s an easy rule. I think you can handle it, my friends. If you’re talking about a bunch of things (multiple objects), you use fewer, fewest. Example: … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged , , | 3 Comments