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Richard Roman's Blog – September 2013 Archive (3)

Online university opens free courses

More than 20 institutions will provide degree-level short courses in subject areas including science, maths and technology, accessed online through FutureLearn, owned by the Open University.

Students in any country will be able to sign up for a course through the FutureLearn site and study for free.

It is understood to be the first time that a UK-based organisation has been set up to offer what are known as "massive open online courses" (MOOCs).…

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Added by Richard Roman on September 19, 2013 at 18:52 — 2 Comments

The first snowfall of the winter? - A free beer or equivalent for the winner!

I am posting this early so we can all have a go at putting up a date - the winner will get a free beer from an establishment of your choice (or a drink of your choosing)

I mean a real fall of snow - not just a few flakes which do not settle. A carpeting of snow is required

Last years Mr Choonie won with a freak heavy fall on oct 23rd and the real snow of winter started on Nov 12th

So place your bets here!

The judges decision is final

I am… Continue

Added by Richard Roman on September 7, 2013 at 10:00 — 20 Comments

The woman from Plymouth who woke up with a Chinese accent

How would you feel if one day you awoke to find your Glaswegian, Home Counties or West Country tones inexplicably gone, with a French, Danish or even Indonesian accent in its place?

38-year-old Sarah Colwill doesn't have to wonder. On March 7, 2010, she woke up to discover that her customary Plymouth pronunciation had gone - replaced by Chinese enunciation.

Sarah is one of the handful of people to be diagnosed with Foreign Accent Syndrome, a condition so rare there were just 61… Continue

Added by Richard Roman on September 4, 2013 at 11:30 — 2 Comments