Author Archives: odeboyz

Book Review: John Crace ~ A Farewell To Calm: The new normal survival guide (2021)

Posted on January 17, 2022 by odeboyz

John Crace is the Guardian newspapers parliamentary sketch writer and satirist. He’s very witty and this book is a collection of his articles which cover the pandemic and, especially, Boris Johnson. It’s fair to say that Crace despises Johnson. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour, Literature, Politics | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Herd Immunity

Posted on January 13, 2022 by odeboyz
Posted in Health, Humour | Tagged | Leave a comment

Climate Emergency: A Temporary Quick Fix

Posted on January 13, 2022 by odeboyz

During the 1970s the Saudis led the OPEC group of nations as they massively increased oil prices in retaliation for European and American support for the Israelis. The USA responded by introducing a speed limit of 55 mph to reduce … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, environment, Politics, Technology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

For he that hath….

Posted on January 10, 2022 by odeboyz

And they had a wonderful pandemic

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

John von Neumann:* aversion to exercise

Posted on January 10, 2022 by odeboyz

Equally, von Neumann had no interest in sport and, barring long walks (always in a business suit), he would avoid any form of vigorous physical exercise for the rest of his life.  When his second wife, Klari, tried to persuade … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, History, Mathematics, Technology | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The power of lobbying in US policy making

Posted on January 6, 2022 by odeboyz

 I [John Boehner]* was on the Agricultural Committee and were getting ready to put together the 1996 farm bill. I walked into my office while this was going on and found a sugar lobbyist hanging around, trying to stay close … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Film Review: Scarface (Al Pacino) (1983) (Netflix)

Posted on January 6, 2022 by odeboyz

This is one of the few pre-1990 films on NetFlix, which guarantees it’s brilliance. Tony Montano (Pacino) is a Cuban gangster and assassin. He’s a beneficiary of Fidel Castro’s cynical ploy to empty Cuban jails and send them to the … Continue reading →

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

Why not?

Posted on December 23, 2021 by odeboyz
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

An Equal Opportunities Santa

Posted on December 20, 2021 by odeboyz
Posted in Humour, Literature, quips | Tagged | Leave a comment

When Does an Election Become an Undemocratic Lottery?

Posted on December 20, 2021 by odeboyz

The basic premise of British democracy is that if anyone at all votes, an election is deemed to be democratic. Therefore if only three people vote and one candidate receives two votes, that’s enough. Even if the electorate is 64,831. … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments