You may already be aware that Google’s search interface can be used as a calculator. Google Calculator, as this feature is known, offers access to the kinds of functions (addition, multiplication, and more) offered by conventional electronic calculators. Unlike conventional electronic calculators, however, Google Calculator is able to utilise information about the external world, such as exchange rate data or measurement unit ratios. This allows you ask Google what 1lb is in kg, or what $250 (US) is in pounds sterling. You can combine the traditional calculator functions with these information look-up functions, too, which means you can do things like calculate what a $250 (US) item would cost in pounds sterling if you paid import duty of 17.5% on it. There’s a bit of a learning curve but it’s fairly gentle despite Google’s documentation of the syntax of these functions being a bit patchy.
Cognitive Conga: a blog
Dancing the conceptual kerfuffle shuffle
Ratiocination, n. An instance of [reasoning]. Also: a conclusion arrived at by reasoning. Doubt the applicability of this at your peril leisure.
Archive for the ‘Life is language’ Category
Unit conversion in Google Docs spreadsheets
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010Gun safety adage debunk #1
Thursday, May 13th, 2010Guns kill people the same way spoons make you fat.
Let’s dissect that assertion, shall we? It’s designed to transfer responsibility away from the metal and on to the user. But is it fair? Are guns really no more dangerous than spoons? (more…)
What’s wrong with the voter power index?
Friday, April 9th, 2010voterpower.org.uk suggests I have a choice of exercising 0.067 of a vote or 0.123 of a vote depending on where I decide to cast my ballot. Try it out. Ask your friends to try it too. Isn’t it interesting how many of us appear, according to that website, to have significantly less voter power than average
? I smell a rat…
(more…)
bphoque?
Monday, January 11th, 2010Is it this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearded_Seal :’(
You must never…
Sunday, September 20th, 2009Brought to you by the magic of Google Suggest, and - it would seem - millions of slightly crazy people:
(more...)Creation and the multiplicity of history
Sunday, September 20th, 2009Seeing Creation last night reinforced for me the fact that there are many Darwins. Not only in the trivial sense that the Darwin clan was (and still is) a large one, but also in the more interesting sense that a great many Charles Robert Darwins were born on 12 February 1809.
(more...)Darling Dear
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009DARLING DEAR
YOU ARE MY LOVING LUST: MY BEAUTIFUL HUNGER. MY AFFECTION LUSTS FOR YOUR WINNING HEART. YOU ARE MY DEVOTED FERVOUR: MY SYMPATHETIC LONGING.
YOURS AFFECTIONATELY
M. U. C.
... and people say the British are not romantic.
(more...)The Pirate Bay is not illegal (or else the law is an ass)
Friday, March 6th, 2009The Pirate Bay is on trial. Not just a media trial, though: that has been a given for many years. No, a real trial in the district court of Stockholm, where the furniture is from Ikea and the justice system is built like a Volvo. Or something.
(more...)Human(e) Meat
Monday, February 23rd, 2009I just bought, via a small donation, the first two tracks released from the latest Propagandhi album, Supporting Caste. They're both great songs, but one of them, Human(e) Meat, is particularly excellent: an absurdist yet serious argument for vegetarianism.
(more...)Rainstorms in cloud computing
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009Losing your data isn't considered good practice or fun. Losing all your data, when it includes lots of other people's data, is surely much worse. When your business is in saving data for other people, losing it is dire indeed. The popular social bookmarking site Ma.gnolia was recently in just this predicament.
(more...)