UNIVERSITY OF LIFE
LOGIC EXAMINATION BA9054

QUESTION 1:
Chris, Jenny and Graham need to travel between Scotland and London, but at different times. Chris and Jenny both want to travel to Scotland on the 11 August, but while Chris wants to go back to London on the 15th, Jenny won't be going back until the 20th, accompanied by Graham, who will be travelling down to London for a fortnight's work experience. He needs to travel back up to Scotland on 4 September.

Jenny wants to sit with either Chris or Graham on each leg of her journey. The tickets should be able to be bought over the internet, where no special instructions can be made.

How can this be achieved?



TEACHER'S KEY FOR Q1:



HISTORICAL NOTE: The solution to this problem was first discovered, coincidentally, by a Jenny. She was renowned for her knitting abilities, teaching prowess, and susceptibility to turning lobster-red after ten minutes in the sun.

I get really frustrated when I'm talking most of the time, for three reasons:

a) I can never articulate exactly what I want to say. I hear myself talking, and think "What a twat, why would somebody say that?"

b) My diction isn't particularly clear anyway, and my voice is pitched pretty low.

c) I have a Scottish accent, a tremendous handicap in London

All three things mean trying to communicate ideas end up with me making a prize tit of myself, and of people thinking they ought to tiptoe around me, as I appear to be so sensitive.

It really pisses me off, and is one of the chief causes of any frustration I feel at work.

Bloody hell! The pressure! As if Jenny's constant petulant, accusing looks weren't enough:

Thanks for using MindSay. We're sending this email because we noticed you haven't logged in or updated your blog in more than a week! One of the best things about blogs is the ability to keep friends and family up-to-date, but an inactive blog ruins the party!

So here I am blogging. Are you happy? I mean, really...

Anyway. Two items of interest at the moment. (There are others, but I can't be bothered, and need to hold back a few items for when Mindsay pressures me again...)



I learned about these quite beautiful cups today – they feature unglazed patterns on the base which print using the tea you slop over the side – and sent an email to the company asking where I could buy them. Turns out that the UK distributor is building a shop not far from our office, so I wandered round there tonight to pick up a couple. I will forever – or at least until I break them – remember that I was the first person in the UK to buy them...

The other thing is that, taking a different route from the office to the bus tonight, I turned a corner, and found myself in front of what must be one of the most elegant synagogues in London. It's on Great Portland Street, has very simple, clean lines, and features this quite stunning gold mosaic doorway. Utterly arresting.

Amongst other things, a Jiffy bag my mum sent me at the end of the week contained an audio tape of a very young me. One side of it featured a spectacularly shrill-voiced and Scottish-sounding Christopher Phin reading what I assume to be a saga of his own devising entitled "The Yellow Monkey"; click on that title to load it. At a little over 2MB, it will take a little time to load if you're not on broadband. I also imagine you need to have QuickTime installed, but I can't be at all sure.

I will only be insulted if you don't laugh.

There is another of similar vintage concerning the doings of Mr and Mrs Twiddle which I'll share with the world if the world wants it...

There are two reasons why I'm particularly delighted by this, my recent eBay purchase:

Reason 1
It's boxed, with all its manuals, disks, cables and training guides.

Reason 2
It cost less than £30.

OK, so it's not quite as swish as Mr Brennan's eMate, but I'm rubbing my hands with glee at the mere thought. I always fancied a Newton, and while I doubt it'll sway me from my beloved Palm OS, I'm delighted that I got one in such good condition for so little money.

Click on the picture to view the original auction and get some more details, or click here if you're a geek and want much more detail. The pic here is from the auction; I'll try to post a better one when it arrives.