Diversions

I had to go to a meeting in the Statistics department today, so I took the opportunity presented of being in the city centre during business hours to do two things I've been meaning to do for a while:

1. Photocopy a 1956 article from the Lancet, called "Physique of London Busmen: Epidemiology of Uniforms". In the days of double-decker London buses, there used to be drivers (who sat all day) and conductors (who ran up and down stairs collecting fares). Drivers were much more prone to early heart attack, and J.N. Morris wondered if the difference were confounded by how fat the two professions were on average. He tested his hypothesis by getting a catalogue of all the uniform measurements from the central company, enabling a cheap and accurate study.

   Turns out the drivers had quite a bit larger girth than conductors, but it wasn't just because they sat around all day, they were fatter on average on their first day on the job than conductors. A nice little study written up in a page and a half. Ahh, the good old days.




2. Purchase a quality cigar. My choice this time was a Montecristo No. 4 from Habana. I picked up two (a bit pricey) and thoroughly enjoyed the first this evening while on a break from work.