Uncertainity, Doubt and Theorem Proving

A nice quote by 'monochrom' from Haskell Weekly News:

Fear leads to uncertainty. Uncertainty leads to doubt. Doubt leads to theorem proving.

Alas,  I suspect that, for most people, blind panic comes before theorem proving.

Go For Grammar!

In the previous post I mentioned my middle sister Thomasin.  She now lives near Turin and makes a living teaching English to Italians and has just had a book published.  If you are Italian and are learning English then you might like to take a look at the publisher's web page for it.  Thomasin says it is suitable both as a classroom and a self-teaching text.

Rhinoceros Flag

My father brought this flag home in 1957 or 58 as a souvenir of his military service.  He was in the 22nd Field Engineer Regiment of the Royal Engineers and was stationed at Prinn Barracks in Tripoli in Libya.  He says the flag was that of the 10th Armoured Division  (of the British Army) which was being disbanded at the time.  A web search suggests he might be mistaken in this: the 10th Armoured Division was apparently disbanded in 1944 and their divisional sign was a fox's mask, not a rhinoceros.  The rhino was the sign of the 1st Armoured Division, but that was disbanded in 1945 (but reformed in 1976).  Anyhow, this flag was part of my home environment for as long as I can remember.  When my sister Thomasin was born at home my father hung it out of a window in celebration.  Several years later our first cat gave birth to kittens on it.  It has gathered a few holes and a bit of mildew over the years, but I it seems to have survived rather well.

Goldfinch

I am staying for a week and a half at my father's house in Guisborough in Cleveland.  This morning I saw this through the kitchen window as I was getting myself some breakfast.

A Rainy Morning

We had a fair bit of rain in the south of England this morning.  Crowthorne station resembled a canal lock: the gap between the platforms was filled with water and the rails were only just peeping above the surface.  Fortunately, I had thought it best to rely on the diesel-power of Great Western Link rather than risk the electrified third rail of  SouthWestern Trains.  I just couldn't see the latter working very well immersed in water.  When I got back to Reading the station was in chaos: all the alarms were going off, the staff were standing around looking bemused, and there was a fire tender standing on the forecourt.