by ·0 Comments

So, this week there’s actually a siesta period after lunch and as an assistant Scoutmaster for a unit of provos, I stepped up to the plate and we began jumping rope.  After quickly exhausting a number of black tweener stereotypes we got more competative.  Someone challenged the three staff members and I went second after Andy who got 11 jumps.  Someone started singing “Miss Mary Mack” and was out after getting hit in the face while doubled over laughing.

Kevin Ott got up next and to secure my record of not being last I yelled “FAIL!” every time the rope came around.  My record of 9 was three times the three he got in before he also failed to jump while doubled over.

Victory through adversity.

by ·0 Comments

Over the summer Andy Clarke, OSR’s MI-5 liaison mentioned that the term ‘brainstorm ‘ wasn’t used in the UK as proper term was ‘thought shower’ as to not offend epileptics.  Anyway, in 2005 a survey of charities and mental health workers found that the vast majority (93%) found the term inoffensive, once again showing the legendary senses of humor of epileptics.  Thinking that the offensiveness of brainstorm had been manufactured I was delighted to find the following foot note in Oliver Sacks new book Musicophilia:

“Victorian physicians used the vivid term ‘brainstorms’ to apply not only to epilepsies but to migraines, hallucinations, tics, nightmares, manias, and excitements of all kinds.” (Sacks, 74)