Crime in the countryside

Honour is due to Mr P. Kirsop for this quote:

"The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside"

"Adventure of the Copper Beeches" in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I am afraid, my dear Watson

"I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were erroneous. When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth. Not that you are entirely wrong in this instance."

-Sherlock Holmes on the value of reading liberal theologians.

Who'll hear you when you scream?

Both Scott and Lee believe violence of the kind recently seen in South Australia is more common in the bush than the city. In the early 2000s, Lee and his colleagues analysed Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research data on crimes across NSW geographically and in terms of population density. "What we found was that, perhaps contrary to popular belief, levels of recorded violence per 100,000 people actually increased as population decreased."

From today's SMH.

Well exactly. Sherlock Holmes knew this; witness his increasing nervousness as he moved from the centre of London into the English countryside (probably not The Adventure of the Dancing Men, but something like it).

And any serious student of human nature could have told you this without recourse to statistics.

UPDATE: Mr Kirsop, I would not have found it without assistance.

facebook chess

It's the first time I've played chess in years. I used to play all the time in primary school.

I remember that Sherlock Holmes used to play chess by post in the Conan Doyle stories. [edit: no I don't. see comments]

Anyone want a game, feel free to challenge on facebook. I have a lot of writing to do and I need the brain working. I promise to make at least two unforced blunders per game.