Vernon Coleman

[The Old Man]

Checking the news this morning I see that scientists at MIT and the University of California have completed their study on eggs. They determined that dropped eggs were less likely to crack if they landed on their side. I mention this as it reminds me of Vernon Coleman’s 7 book Disgruntled Man series.

Dr. Coleman has written many books, both fiction and non-fiction. He is English, a medical doctor, author, publisher, bibliophile, vegetarian and opinionated. The first book of his Mrs. Caldicot series was made into a movie and the Young Country Doctor series has, I believe, 16 volumes. Coleman has opinions on the medical profession, the European Union, politicians, Americans, vivisection, publishers, real estate agents, oil depletion, global warming and a dozen or so other topics.

Many comments on books, ebooks and publishing in the Disgruntled Man series and you will find his My Favorite Books worth a read.

[Dr. Drib]

It's patently obvious that this is the reason eggs are packaged on their ends, since they are more likely to break, thus necessitating the purchase of additional eggs which results in more money for those companies who supply eggs to the populace. This is not some wild conspiracy theory: This is unadulterated fact. I encourage ANYONE on Mobileread to ship 40 or 50 cartons of eggs to me and I will be happy to do a test in my neighbor's kitchen.

I would like to comment on another issue: As a person who chooses to wear socks with shoes, I found one company here in Peru that puts an "L" on the top of one sock and an "R" on the other sock which, needless to point out, signifies LEFT and RIGHT. Other than this one distinction, there is absolutely NO cosmetic difference between each sock. I tried reversing the left for the right and the right for the left. I then put on a pair of shoes and walked around Miraflores, saying Hello to people I both knew and didn't know. Each and every one of my greetings were returned in the friendliest of manner. I can tell you, with all assurance, that I saw NO DIFFERENCE between this specific pair of socks: They performed perfectly, as if they had been made for each other. I will go so far as to state that they complimented each other. However, when I switched shoes - that is, changing the left shoe for my right foot and the right shoe for my left foot, I immediately discovered a distinct disadvantage when walking. It was difficult to keep my balance. Additionally, no one I greeted would return my friendly Hello; in fact, I will go further and state that individuals actively AVOIDED ME! This leads me to the conclusion that putting an "L" and "R" on a pair of socks is not necessary at all, while making this distinction on a pair of shoes is mandatory. My next test is to wear my underwear backwards, but only after drinking three glasses of water.

[The Old Man]

Those dastardly companies forcing me to buy eggs in containers in which they are more easily broken. Here, all the time, I thought they were packaged vertically to save space in my refrigerator.

Your shoe, socks and underwear experiments were fabulous. Are you a professor at MIT?

I think you would like Dr. Coleman. He detests the British medical establishment, pharmaceutical companies, real estate agents, Americans and London, and doubts global warming is humanity created, doubts the efficiency of many vaccines, believes eating meat causes cancer, etc. etc. etc. He likes Paris but not so much Frenchman except for waiters, provided you call them monsieur and not garçon.

In his earlier books he hated ebooks and vowed never to publish in that format. Now I am reading his books using Kindle Unlimited and have bought a few. It takes a great man to change his mind.

[Dr. Drib]

Actually, because of you I purchased the first Diary of a Disgruntled Man title. I see there are actually seven in the series.

Thank you!

[The Old Man]

Hope you like it. I’ve read the first three - working on the fourth. I think the first is where he mentions that the British invented the light bulb, the washing machine, the Internet and the airplane. Oh yes, won WWI and II almost single handedly.