Coincidence of the year so far...

[Tim Hall]

This weekend I was holed up at a Scout leader training course held at
a residential centre in Hassocks, West Sussex. This is about 15 miles
from where I live, so I cycled down there.

Mid morning today I had a two hour gap in my schedule, so I mooched
around, read the paper then decided to go out for a short ride - maybe
up Ditchling Beacon, maybe along the foot of the downs.

I popped my jacket on over my uniform and wheeled the bike down the
drive. A look to the right to check everything was clear. It wasn't -
two bikes were a spit away, ridden by a family in the local tandem
club branch.

They live 25 miles from where I was, had no idea I was in Hassocks at
all and were just scoping out a ride for later in the year. 10 seconds
either way and I would have missed them. I joined them in the winter
sunshine for a quick tootle.

Next week we're choosing lottery numbers.



Tim

 

[David Martin]

Tim Hall wrote:
> Next week we're choosing lottery numbers.

SWMBO and I do this. Pick six numbers put the pound in the tin. We win
back our pound every week.. So far we haven't lost a million.

...d

 

[Nobody Here]

Tim Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
> They live 25 miles from where I was, had no idea I was in Hassocks at
> all and were just scoping out a ride for later in the year. 10 seconds
> either way and I would have missed them. I joined them in the winter
> sunshine for a quick tootle.

Hah. A staff member in our department went on holiday to the States
a few years ago, and amongst many other things visited the Grand Canyon
for the day. When he arrived at one of the many viewpoints there he
happened upon another member of the department. Not *that's* a
coincidence!

--
Nobby Anderson

 

[Simon Bennett]

David Martin wrote:
> Tim Hall wrote:
>> Next week we're choosing lottery numbers.
>
> SWMBO and I do this. Pick six numbers put the pound in the tin. We win
> back our pound every week.. So far we haven't lost a million.

My dad does the same thing -- he has a set of numbers which he hasn't
changed since the first lottery -- I think he's 'won' about £20, but he's
saved much, much more.

 

[vernon]

Simon Bennett wrote:
> David Martin wrote:
> > Tim Hall wrote:
> >> Next week we're choosing lottery numbers.
> >
> > SWMBO and I do this. Pick six numbers put the pound in the tin. We win
> > back our pound every week.. So far we haven't lost a million.
>
> My dad does the same thing -- he has a set of numbers which he hasn't
> changed since the first lottery -- I think he's 'won' about £20, but he's
> saved much, much more.

By not spending £10 per week on the lottery I bet I've saved even more


I'm mindful of the joke about the chap who claims to have saved money
by walking instead of catching the bus. His mate reckoned he'd have
saved more if he'd walked instead of talking a taxi.

 

[Dave]

"vernon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

SNIP
>By not spending £10 per week on the lottery I bet I've >saved even more

Reminds me of that that female comedienne (the one who died last week) had
said "By not doing the lottery, I am only just less likely to win than those
who do it".

I though it rather good.

SNIP
DaveB

 

[Nobody Here]

Dave <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> "vernon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> SNIP
>>By not spending £10 per week on the lottery I bet I've >saved even more
>
> Reminds me of that that female comedienne (the one who died last week) had
> said "By not doing the lottery, I am only just less likely to win than those
> who do it".
>
> I though it rather good.

Naa, that's mathematically incorrect. You're actucally infinitely more
likely to win the lottery if you buy a ticket compared with someone who
doesn't. That makes it a dead cert, then

--
Nobby Anderson

 

[Graham Harrison]

"Nobody Here" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Tim Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
>> They live 25 miles from where I was, had no idea I was in Hassocks at
>> all and were just scoping out a ride for later in the year. 10 seconds
>> either way and I would have missed them. I joined them in the winter
>> sunshine for a quick tootle.
>
> Hah. A staff member in our department went on holiday to the States
> a few years ago, and amongst many other things visited the Grand Canyon
> for the day. When he arrived at one of the many viewpoints there he
> happened upon another member of the department. Not *that's* a
> coincidence!
>
> --
> Nobby Anderson

I think my family is prone to it:

1) Got off a bus from Oakland to San Francisco at the Transbay Terminal and
ran into a friend; he'd walked down to Phantom Ranch (bottom of the Grand
Canyon two days after me).
2) My son, currently at Bath Uni has recently had his round the world gap
year, went into a coffee shop at the weekend and found himself sitting near
a girl he recognised. When he realised where from it was New Zealand 6
months ago.
3) Got on a BA flight to Belfast and ran into a first officer who I'd been
on a scout camp with about 6 weeks before
4) Got on another BA flight and ran into my brother in law (a BA Captain)
when he wasn't supposed to be flying 757s any more
5) Walking across Victoria Station concourse towards the barrier line and
found myself walking next to someone (and his family) I hadn't seen for
several years
6) My dad, in the 60's, stopped in Singapore on his way home from Australia
and as he walked into Raffles a neighbour who was a BOAC Captain walked out.
Even more amazing was that our neighbour was operating the flight my dad was
travelling on the following day
7) My mum, coming home from Amsterdam, met my Sister in Law (BA Cabin Crew)
on the plane
8) At a National Trust Property in Sussex met a woman I'd worked with in my
first job (she now in Hertfordshire, me in Berkshire).
9) Someone I worked with in about my 3rd job kept turning up one particular
trade show for about 3 years running - not on a particular stand, just ran
into him.
10) Going to another trade show about a month ago met an ex colleague on
Clapham Junction
11) My son made friends with a boy when he went to secondary school.
Turned out this boys mother was the sister of someone we'd known about 15
years before in a different part of the country.
12) The mother of a girl in anothers sons' 6th form turned up as a dep in a
band I work with.

And, we're also fairly good a celeb spotting. Two weeks ago, waiting to
pick up a Danish colleague off a flight from Seattle in Denver spotted Prof
Sir Robert Winston.

 

[Mark Thompson]

> And, we're also fairly good a celeb spotting. Two weeks ago, waiting
> to pick up a Danish colleague off a flight from Seattle in Denver
> spotted Prof Sir Robert Winston.

Well, if we're name dropping people with titles...

My unbeatable KG-PC-Life Peer combo beats your Life Peer-Professor:

I once had a fist fight with Sir Robin Leigh-Pemberton.

 

[David Martin]

Mark Thompson wrote:
> > And, we're also fairly good a celeb spotting. Two weeks ago, waiting
> > to pick up a Danish colleague off a flight from Seattle in Denver
> > spotted Prof Sir Robert Winston.
>
> Well, if we're name dropping people with titles...
>
> My unbeatable KG-PC-Life Peer combo beats your Life Peer-Professor:
>
> I once had a fist fight with Sir Robin Leigh-Pemberton.

I once had a chat with Phil the Greek (KG KT and many other things
too). I also work with a coupl eof Professor Sir wotsits.

...d

 

[Dave Larrington]

In article <[email protected]>, Graham
Harrison ([email protected]) wrote:

[Series of Odd Events]

One upon a time, when Lt. Col. Larrington (retd.) was still a lieutenant
and helping to stem the Evil Tide of Communism in Germany in the 50's,
he had a German grilf. For a while. She ended it after he managed to
roll his Mercedes convertible into a ditch with the pair of them inside
it.

Cut to October 1996. TWFKAML and Yours Truly have just got married.
Among those present at the wedding is TWFKAML's best mate from uni, one
Axel Plass. Axel hails from the town of Lemgo. "Oh yes", says Lt. Col.
Larrington (retd.) "I know it well. Used to go out with a girl from
Lemgo." Further discussion reveals that the ex-grilf is Axel's mother's
best friend...

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
I thought I saw his name on a jar of marmalade the other day, but when I
looked more closely, I saw it read 'thick cut'.

 

[dkahn400]

Mark Thompson wrote:

> Well, if we're name dropping people with titles...
>
> My unbeatable KG-PC-Life Peer combo beats your Life Peer-Professor:
>
> I once had a fist fight with Sir Robin Leigh-Pemberton.

I once dead-legged New Labour MP Chris Pond. Mind you, he wasn't an MP
then as we were both only 9 at the time.

--
Dave...

 

[Alan Braggins]

Nobody Here wrote:
>Dave <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> Reminds me of that that female comedienne (the one who died last week) had
>> said "By not doing the lottery, I am only just less likely to win than those
>> who do it".
>>
>> I though it rather good.
>
>Naa, that's mathematically incorrect. You're actucally infinitely more
>likely to win the lottery if you buy a ticket compared with someone who
>doesn't.

Naa, that's mathematically incorrect. You could not buy a ticket and
happen to find the winning one lying in the road, so buying one only
makes it many times more likely, not infinitely.

Besides which "hardly any chance at all" is both infinitely more times
likely than "no chance at all" _and_ only just a tiny bit more likely than
"no chance at all".

 

[Ambrose Nankivell]

Dave wrote:
> "vernon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> SNIP
>> By not spending 10 per week on the lottery I bet I've >saved even
>> more
>
> Reminds me of that that female comedienne (the one who died last
> week) had said "By not doing the lottery, I am only just less likely
> to win than those who do it".

The figure I heard was that you had the same chance of winning the recent
Euro millions draw as of choosing the right number on a roulette wheel with
a diameter 10 miles greater than the M25.

Which seems a rather wasteful thing to do to Greater London, to me.

--
Ambrose

 

[Tim Hall]

On Tue, 7 Mar 2006 17:58:45 -0000, "Ambrose Nankivell"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Dave wrote:
>> "vernon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> SNIP
>>> By not spending 10 per week on the lottery I bet I've >saved even
>>> more
>>
>> Reminds me of that that female comedienne (the one who died last
>> week) had said "By not doing the lottery, I am only just less likely
>> to win than those who do it".
>
>The figure I heard was that you had the same chance of winning the recent
>Euro millions draw as of choosing the right number on a roulette wheel with
>a diameter 10 miles greater than the M25.

Yebbut, in my mind's eye there's now a bloody great roulette wheel
with a ball the size of, say, St Paul's Cathederal, bouncing round the
normal number of slots, so the odds remain the same.



Tim

 

[vernon]

"David Martin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Mark Thompson wrote:
> > > And, we're also fairly good a celeb spotting. Two weeks ago, waiting
> > > to pick up a Danish colleague off a flight from Seattle in Denver
> > > spotted Prof Sir Robert Winston.
> >
> > Well, if we're name dropping people with titles...
> >
> > My unbeatable KG-PC-Life Peer combo beats your Life Peer-Professor:
> >
> > I once had a fist fight with Sir Robin Leigh-Pemberton.
>
> I once had a chat with Phil the Greek (KG KT and many other things
> too). I also work with a coupl eof Professor Sir wotsits.
>
I've had my work with kids in science commended by Lord Sainsbury and
Baroness Susan Greenfield
I've collected a £10,000 prize from Bill Gates.....

 

[Graeme Dods]

On 06 Mar 2006 08:46:28 GMT, Nobody Here wrote:

> Hah. A staff member in our department went on holiday to the States
> a few years ago, and amongst many other things visited the Grand Canyon
> for the day. When he arrived at one of the many viewpoints there he
> happened upon another member of the department. Not *that's* a
> coincidence!

I remember reading an article several years ago (probably New Scientist)
about "coincidences". It explained why such occurences are much more common
than you might think due to things such as shared social background,
values, interests etc.

What I've found uncanny since then is that almost NO coincidences happen to
me! Not once have I met someone, somewhere unexpectantly. Perhaps that
article means when I meet someone I now think more about the reasons for
their presence there (like meeting some guys from the UK at trade show in
Sydney, no real surprise there, same section of the industry and they'd
also chosen to emigrate to Australia).

Meeting anyone I know from more than 3 years ago would be a massive
(hopefully pleasant) surprise now that I'm round the other side of the
world. Perhaps they see me coming down the street and hide?

Graeme

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, vernon
('[email protected]') wrote:

> I've collected a £10,000 prize from Bill Gates.....

Blowing the fluff out of his wallet, was he?

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Generally Not Used
;; Except by Middle Aged Computer Scientists

 

[Ambrose Nankivell]

Tim Hall wrote:
> On Tue, 7 Mar 2006 17:58:45 -0000, "Ambrose Nankivell"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Dave wrote:
>>> "vernon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>>
>>> SNIP
>>>> By not spending 10 per week on the lottery I bet I've >saved even
>>>> more
>>>
>>> Reminds me of that that female comedienne (the one who died last
>>> week) had said "By not doing the lottery, I am only just less likely
>>> to win than those who do it".
>>
>> The figure I heard was that you had the same chance of winning the
>> recent Euro millions draw as of choosing the right number on a
>> roulette wheel with a diameter 10 miles greater than the M25.
>
> Yebbut, in my mind's eye there's now a bloody great roulette wheel
> with a ball the size of, say, St Paul's Cathederal, bouncing round the
> normal number of slots, so the odds remain the same.
>
Well correct your mind's eye, then. Do I have to do everything for you?

(It's a normal size ball. I have no idea what that size is, and no interest
in finding out, of course.)
--
Ambrose

 

[daren]

Nobody Here wrote:
> Tim Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
> > They live 25 miles from where I was, had no idea I was in Hassocks at
> > all and were just scoping out a ride for later in the year. 10 seconds
> > either way and I would have missed them. I joined them in the winter
> > sunshine for a quick tootle.
>
> Hah. A staff member in our department went on holiday to the States
> a few years ago, and amongst many other things visited the Grand Canyon
> for the day. When he arrived at one of the many viewpoints there he
> happened upon another member of the department. Not *that's* a
> coincidence!
>
> --
> Nobby Anderson

Conference in Colorado?

Coincidences should be contrasted with the enormous number of
non-coincidences, all those people you meet but don't know. Remember
six associations gets you to anyone. sometimes five, sometimes fewer.
In this case it was one

d.