neurorehabilitationFromTheTrenches

T he Selfish Gene 30th Anniversary Edition is on its way to the winner of our Sylly-Train competition, which is now closed, James Treanor. The winning syllytrain: The surgeons recommend undergoing obligatory neurobiological neovascularization [sic]. Apologies James, I was unable to find a hardback 40th Anniversary edition on amazon. I hope you enjoy reading The Selfish Gene a s much as I did. Today I'd like to talk about the gradualness of my healing process . Sometimes I think "this must be a bit like what getting old is like". As is common, I'm sure, following The Selfish Gene I have started The Extended Phenotype, by the same author. It's difficult to explain why, but I know it will take me several weeks to get to the end of it. I have found myself re-reading entire chapters of The Selfish Gene , for example, quite, at first, by accident. I might start reading and, suddenly , suspect myself of having skipped a chunk. By the time I realise I was mistaken, I&

I first had an experience of playing chess, aged 14, at my alma mater of Saint Macartans College,  boys' secondary school, in Co. Monaghan. Mr McEneaney's room was home to the chess club at lunch time. I took time out of my smoking to investigate the club once. After the layout of the board and abstract 'how to' was outlined to me I was roundly trounced by some upstart and was sent on my way. The second time was more recent. Joe Coll visited me (guest article?), here, at Bad Segerberg, with, among other things, a chess board (with pieces, and thanks again). His thinking was, that I might take up the game, now that I have sooooo much time. I didn't disappoint you Joseph. My colleague, Dirk Laube , then suggested the crucial, for any beginner, Chess.com.  My chess career, i'm proud to report, is well and truly up and running. I have Claire for physical games and chess.com to sharpen my sword. I am only, for now, playing against the computer (one can play online

The Selfish Gene - 40th anniversary edition I'm afraid I do not know, or wish to spend time learning, how to write a classic book review. Rather, I will provide what I would expect, and hope for, in such an endeavour. Basically, is it worth your time? Yes, in this case. And, What's it all about? Here's a brief synopsis: It's incredibly well written, especially, for an academic-type book. It's crammed full of factoids and de facto anecdotes relating to non-human animals, bacteria and parasites. Don't get me started on the cuckoo, that nuisance. The Selfish Gene (1976) is the book that has provided the most joy, to me, in 2018, at least. I was reminded of those great sir David Attenborough fronted wildlife documentary films. E.g. the 'Planet Earth.' series. The Selfish Gene is a Gene's eye view of survival. Your survival, in this context, relates to ensuring that an exact copy of yourself makes it into the next generation. The extras found in

This article has two goals. The first is to mention my buddy Cathal McCoy, which I intend to do, in more detail, later, to make him eligible for a guest post. He visited last weekend along with Claire's Uncle Wim and his (Wim's) wife, Bettina. I've just mentioned all three now, that ought to keep us well stocked with guest bloggers. The second goal for today, is to follow through on an earlier promise, I had made, to introduce some cultural differences between krauts and Micks. Specifically, I would like to outline a very specific scenario that occurs, only in Deutschland, and get some of your feedback. Picture it: You're sitting in your (wheel)chair, minding your own business, enjoying the midday heat, you have, for convenience, very deliberately, placed your bag at your feet. You're reading your Kindle, approaching a paragraph crescendo, when, from behind you, you become aware of a presence "Entschuldigen Sie, haben Sie Ihren Beutel verloren?" This is