tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post6522862284144223464..comments2024-03-07T11:39:09.758+11:00Comments on Will Type For Food: Encounters With The Square Root of TwoTimThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10333303180015967125noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-35650666637873750722007-05-01T23:13:00.000+10:002007-05-01T23:13:00.000+10:00The speed with which you can produce these Spenser...The speed with which you can produce these Spenser parodies is awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time!<BR/><BR/>Tristram Shandy is concerned more with the size of one's (ahem) nose than it is with the probing of noses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-3371205604722714462007-05-01T22:52:00.000+10:002007-05-01T22:52:00.000+10:00I always think people make certain assumptions abo...<I>I always think people make certain assumptions about we bleeders!</I><BR/><BR/>Well, in my case... <BR/><BR/>No, I did not know about the proboscis probing, etc, in Tristam Shandy. Evidently another one to add to my list to read. <BR/><BR/>Great poem, Charles!<BR/><BR/>Imagine Spenser on nose-picking...<BR/><BR/><I>Then didde he poke a finger up his nose,<BR/>And probe and pick and roll and flick it outte,<BR/>And when his finger was all dirty, then he chewse<BR/>To poke instead his middle one for to digge groutte;<BR/>For he was one NOSE-PICCKER fulle devoute;<BR/>And some dayes would lie on bedde and pick for yeares, <BR/>Which caused those in compayne to shoutte<BR/>And beratte himme with chiddes and scowles and leares,<BR/>But he woulde sticke his pinky up his nose, and block up his eares...</I>TimThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333303180015967125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-45063045784197325652007-05-01T22:22:00.000+10:002007-05-01T22:22:00.000+10:00The square root of twoIs an Ancient Greek national...The square root of two<BR/>Is an Ancient Greek national <BR/>Which explains why this number<BR/>Has <I>never</I> been rational!<BR/><BR/>It's a curious beast<BR/>It has no exact value<BR/>But it has a shrewd side<BR/>And it might try to sell you<BR/><BR/>Some ionical columns<BR/>Or perhaps a pet bird<BR/>Or a ticket or two<BR/>To the theatre ab<BR/><BR/>surd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-47956734377088608172007-05-01T22:21:00.000+10:002007-05-01T22:21:00.000+10:00That's OK. I also don't have a life, so I won't j...That's OK. I also don't have a life, so I won't judge you!<BR/><BR/>I do like the bit about the "medical risks", although the lack of literary references is indeed disappointing. I've always been very self-conscious about this issue, as I'm prone to nose bleeds (although not so much in recent years) and I always think people make certain assumptions about we bleeders! It used to be very bad with sharp changes in weather or if it was very dry. I lived in Montreal for a little while and that place just didn't suit my nose at all!<BR/><BR/>Please tell me you are aware of all the wonderful stuff about noses in Tristram Shandy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-11901585182079075932007-05-01T22:02:00.000+10:002007-05-01T22:02:00.000+10:00Out of curiosity I just looked for the Wikipedia e...Out of curiosity I just looked for the Wikipedia entry on nosepicking. It's entertaining, but I was rather hoping for more literary references. It's worth it for the picture and the caption that go with it, though! <BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nose_picking" REL="nofollow">Link!</A><BR/><BR/>Yes, in case you were wondering - I have no life!TimThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333303180015967125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-4873308591475166742007-05-01T21:51:00.000+10:002007-05-01T21:51:00.000+10:00It's really strange, because I was trying to find ...It's really strange, because I was trying to find this Plath passage earlier today in a little burst of procrastination- and then you start talking about nose-picking and the square root of two! It's uncanny- unless, of course, there is some logical but not immediately apparent connection between numbers and nose picking!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-85573045237655867292007-05-01T21:30:00.000+10:002007-05-01T21:30:00.000+10:00I'm all for gratuitous extracts about nose picking...I'm all for gratuitous extracts about nose picking. <BR/><BR/>I originally stumbled across wikipedia entries about 86 and 88 and 7744 when googling for the square root of two. At work. Ah, procrastination!TimThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10333303180015967125noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7529903.post-85874486239051071742007-05-01T21:01:00.000+10:002007-05-01T21:01:00.000+10:00The mathematical humour really seems to work quite...The mathematical humour really seems to work quite well for you!<BR/><BR/>Related but really quite gratuitous extract from Sylvia Plath's journals about the "illict sensuous delight" of picking one's nose:<BR/><BR/>"I always have, ever since I was a child. There are so many subtle variations of sensation. A delicate, pointed-nailed fifth finger can catch under dry scabs and flakes of mucous in the nostril and draw them out to be looked at, crumbled between fingers, and flicked to the floor in minute crusts. Or a heavier, determined forefinger can reach up and smear down-and-out the soft, resilient, elastic greenish-yellow smallish blobs of mucous, roll them round and jellylike between thumb and forefinger, and spread them on the undersurface of a desk or chair where they will harden into organic crusts. How many desks and chairs have I thus secretively befouled since childhood? Or sometimes there will be blood mingled with the mucous: in dry brown scabs, or bright sudden wet red on the finger that scraped too rudely the nasal membranes. God, what sexual satisfaction!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com