Today’s post on incentivising people to use bottled water is generating quite a bit of discussion in Vancouver.

Now, where did I put my maple syrup, eh?

(Oh, and don’t worry – I’m not actually up at 2am posting this, I scheduled it so it would go out during daylight Irish time)

Today's XKCD

For some reason the mathematician in me is trying to work out how to correct the formula to take into account the time of day.

In the meantime, here’s an amusing piece from today’s Irish Times, inspired, no doubt, by the brilliant scene from Yes, Prime Minister.  It’s part of Anne Marie Hourihane’s welcome letter to the new US Ambassador to Ireland:

The Media. The Irish media is based in Dublin and never leaves it. The Irish media prefers the darker side of the street in all matters, except, until very recently, in the reporting of economic news. Aren’t we gas?

Roughly speaking, the newspapers agree on everything, and are kind of hard to tell apart. You can break them down like this:

• The Irish Times contains what people think they should be thinking.
• The Irish Independent contains what people would be thinking, if they thought about it.
• The Irish Examiner contains what people in the south of the country are thinking – but those people are rather confused.
• The Irish Daily Mail contains what people are ashamed to be thinking.
• And the Evening Herald has never had a thought in its life; although it does sometimes argue that the whole population should be interned without trial.

Well, Christ on a bike!  Some silly person decided to nominate me in the Irish Blog Awards!

I’m very grateful, though I don’t think it’s deserved.  Still, I hope the very nomination will spur me on to be a better blogger.

Happy Christmas

Have a good one, wherever you are.

No idea where to give the hat tip – the image has been in my files since Christmas 2003 in Afghanistan.

The System - 91

Click for a full size version.