Sam Redlark

image generated by Starryai Back in 2015, Graham Rattan sent me a draft copy of his letter of resignation. For years he had worked as a senior engineer for the Chipling racing team. His grasp of engine mechanics had been an instrumental and inspirational force in the design of many of their bikes. He is the man who is ultimately responsible for those parkway engines that, for better or worse, have come to dominate the sport. They remain illegal on the roads and have to be assembled from their component parts at the racing circuits – a task that requires herculean levels of focus, and that can take upwards of 12 hours. He asked me whether he had struck the right tone. In hindsight, I believe that his true intention in showing me the letter, was less concerned with ensuring a diplomatic exit, and was more about letting me know that our personal relationship was likely to change in the future. He was correct in that regard – our relationship has changed - but not in the way that he though...

This is my response to a question that appeared on the Notes & Queries page of The Guardian website on 12th February, 2023. The Guardian is apparently no longer happy to host my comments on their site, so it is appearing here instead. This blog is obviously not affiliated with The Guardian. Its reference to a question that appeared in Notes & Queries is presented here under the terms of fair use. ~ If the brain uses the most calories of any organ, can you think yourself thin? image generated by Craiyon “You will never transform yourself into the hero of the beach by attempting to prove the Riemann Hypothesis,” declared William Goaman. “Trust me when I say, from hard won experience, that it doesn't build upper body strength. Any gains you make remain in the brain. In an outdoor environment, especially one where volleyball is played, some bruiser with a vaguely self-deterministic moniker (Biff, for example) who has an intuitive understanding of the way that sand particles beh...