Barack Obama's mother was white, so that makes him white, yes?
Or not - what is so amazing about African blood that one drop of it makes you black?
Actually, his father was a Kenyan moslem, so maybe he has Asian blood. (Indian/Bengali clerical workers emigrated to Kenya in Empire days to help run the government and local businesses). Hey, Obama is Asian!
Wait - a lot of British colonials married local women so a proportion of Indian middle classes have mixed parentage. Maybe Obama is ENGLISH! Like the majority of White Americans!
Does it matter? He's a top US lawyer and one of the brightest of his generation - so maybe he'll make a good President - whatever his genetic history.
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Sailing
It was "Oh my god" windy today (severe weather warnings in force) and only a dozen teams turned up at the club and just half a dozen boats went out to race. I got a 1st and a 2nd and didn't capsize in either race. It would have been easy to wimp out but then I'd have had to conclude I was getting old. Instead I had a smile on my face all the way home.
Life is for living!
Life is for living!
Things to stump your teacher
A couple of times one of my daughter's teachers has challenged the class to come up with sensible questions they can't answer. Here are two good stumpers which rely on the fact that you can do the research beforehand, or don't have to provide an answer yourself:
Maths teachers
Take two three digit prime numbers, multiply them together, then ask the teacher to factorise the answer. Finding the primes could be tricky but I'll give you a few memorable ones:
127 (2^7-1), 257(2^8+1), 499, 599,601,911.
So, choose 127 * 911 = 115697. See how long it takes teach to factorise that...
History teachers
Ask "name the great grandparents of..." and insert your favourite King or Queen. This one relies on the fact that the female line can be very obscure. It took at least a day to get the great grandparents of Henry VIII. Choose Victoria and you might find the task impossible as the lines disappear into minor German Duchies.
Maths teachers
Take two three digit prime numbers, multiply them together, then ask the teacher to factorise the answer. Finding the primes could be tricky but I'll give you a few memorable ones:
127 (2^7-1), 257(2^8+1), 499, 599,601,911.
So, choose 127 * 911 = 115697. See how long it takes teach to factorise that...
History teachers
Ask "name the great grandparents of..." and insert your favourite King or Queen. This one relies on the fact that the female line can be very obscure. It took at least a day to get the great grandparents of Henry VIII. Choose Victoria and you might find the task impossible as the lines disappear into minor German Duchies.
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