Wishing everyone a good year;
may all your dreams come true!
Happy New Year
Wishing everyone a good year;
may all your dreams come true!
Wishing everyone a good year;
may all your dreams come true!
Monthly Links
So here we are for our last post of 2018, and this month’s links to items you may have missed before. As usual we’ll start with the scientific and get easier as we go along – so hang in there!
Science, Technology & Natural World
Forty-one years ago (that’s 1977) NASA launched the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes to investigate the outer planets. Voyager 1 left the solar system and entered interstellar space some six years ago. And it has now been confirmed that Voyager 2 passed the same landmark on 5 November 2018. Amazingly both probes are still alive and beaming information back to us using their tiny 20w transmitters, although their plutonium power sources will eventually run out and the probes will be dead on arrival at a nearby star in about 40,000 years time. What an incredible achievement! It is feats like this that make me proud to be a scientist.
We know earthquakes mostly happen along the boundaries of tectonic plates. But not all do; some happen far from plate boundaries. Seismologists are now beginning to think that (some of) these “remote” earthquakes may be caused by rivers moving huge amounts of material over the millennia.
Benjamin Franklin is well known for many things, one of them being his experiments with kites and lightning which led to his development of the lightning conductor. But he had another great electrical discovery to his credit: turkey tenderisation – in the process of which he nearly killed himself.
I wonder if anyone can tell us what glitter is, and how it’s made?
Apparently the Leaning Tower of Pisa is leaning a little less.
Wasps. And why we might miss them.
Where grows the mistletoe?
Health & Medicine
1918 saw the destructive Influenza Pandemic. What progress has been made since then?
Meanwhile we have few clues about Disease X, the next pandemic to hit London – as one surely will sooner or later.
Researchers reckon they’ve discovered a genetic cause that links erectile dysfunction and Type-2 diabetes.
Are you shitting comfortably? Actually, probably not. [LONG READ]
So why are more boys born than girls – especially when there are more adult women than men?
Sexuality
The Going Medieval blog dissects the very idea of No Nut November. [LONG READ]
Environment
The Guardian suggests 24 ways in which we can embrace an anti-capitalist life in a capitalist world.
And then here are four actions would help tackle the global plastic crisis.
History, Archaeology & Anthropology
Researchers reckon they’ve found stone tools which suggest that human ancestors spread into north Africa much earlier than previously thought.
Analysis of various records has highlighted London’s murder hotspots.
Meanwhile in the River Thames there is the mystery of the skeleton still wearing his thigh boots.
When and where were the first traffic lights? Answer: Parliament Square in 1868 – long before the motor car.
Lifestyle & Personal Development
Some thoughts on how to be a better spouse from Scientific American.
And finally for this year …
Since 1904, King William’s College on the Isle of Man has set an annual general knowledge test. In the past pupils sat the test twice: once unseen on the day before the Christmas holidays, and again when they returned to school in the New Year, after spending the holiday researching the answers. The test (now voluntary) is highly difficult, a common score being just two correct answers from the 180 questions, with best scores of 40 to 50 for the unseen test. The quiz has been published in the Guardian since 1951 – and you can find the 2018 test in the Guardian or on the King William’s College website. Good luck!
That’s all for this year, so here’s wishing everyone a peaceful and successful 2019. The Kindly Ones permitting we’ll be back after the fireworks.
2018 Amusements
2018 has not been a vintage year for amusements, unless you’re one of those people who find the whole current political shambles, both here and in the US, hilarious. Well it is hilarious in the sense that you have to laugh otherwise you’d go mad. Anyway here are this year’s sparce pickings.
Product of the Year
Leaving aside all Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop crap, there really is only one contender this year:
Headline of the Year
A lot of contenders in this category, here are some of the best:
-
It’s So Cold in Florida That Iguanas Are Falling Out of the Trees (Time magazine)
Woman’s asparagus tells her Theresa May’s going to quit this year
12 Camels Were Disqualified From A “Camel Beauty Contest” For Using Botox (BuzzFeed)
Paris zoo shut after 50 baboons escape
PSNI appeal over ‘stolen knockers and ding-dongs’
Bakewell pudding sent to the edge of space goes missing
Fisherman who exposed himself in Northern Ireland Tesco blames language mix-up during sausage theft interview
Plonker of the Year
There can be only one winner here: The Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Theresa May MP.
Auction Item of the Year
As I remarked the other day, it hasn’t been a vintage year for items at our local auction house, but this year’s two winners are:
-
A carved wood rocking pig ride-on toy
A Husky fridge in the shape of a football
Personal Name of the Year
This year’s best names are squarely in the realm of “nominative determinism”; we have two winners:
- Dr Gerard Clover, Head of Plant Health, RHS (Guardian; 2 March 2018)
Tanya Ferry, Port of London Authority (BBC News, 15 March 2018)
Organisation Name of the Year
An easy winner here:
Animal of the Year
Two winners here:
-
Red Handfish (below), which propels itself by walking along the sea floor.
Roraima Bush Toad, a small amphibian that, in the face of danger, curls itself into a ball and rolls away.
Colour of the Year
There was really only one contender in this category:
-
Goose Turd Green
Marketing Bollocks of the Year
We love marketing bollocks! You do have to wonder what some people are on. But then isn’t everything marketing bollocks? This year we spotted:
which was the advertising slogan on an office block not far from us which is being rebuilt into flats.
And finally we come to …
Do what?
Follow the link and just try to make sense of this blog post, because it beats me …
And that’s all for this 2018 edition. We’ll be on the lookout for brilliance again next year; contributions are always welcome.
Happy Christmas
and a
Prosperous New Year
to all our family, friends and followers
Bramble the Kestrel (Coda Falconry, June 2018)
© Keith Marshall; 2018
Advent Calendar 24
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Auction Me!
It’s a long time since we’ve had a selection of the weird and wonderful things which appear at the sales in our local auction house. This is mainly because recent sales have been relatively uninteresting, although the most recent sale contains 200 or more lots of alcohol, mostly whiskey. Nevertheless here is a selection of the “best” lots from the last few months – it’s the variety and odd combinations which are always so interesting. I mean what has a cuckoo clock got to say to a set of assay weights? Yeah, right: cuck-oo!
A collection of jugs including milk and gravy.
[One assumes the milk and gravy were dried on.]
A selection of wooden items including an 18th century ‘character marker’, a pair of oak bookends, a hardwood book shelf, two small picture frames, a round-head wooden mallet, a small wooden chess box, 6 wood carver’s chisels, a printer’s block to print ‘This Lease’, plus slate roofing tile measures and an extending metal toasting fork.
A vintage Society of Arts Blowpipe Apparatus in original pine case, a cased set of draughtsmen’s instruments, two cased sets of precision weights including one by Oertling, a circular box of assay weights also by Oertling, and a cuckoo clock.
A cased and glazed taxidermy fox with a rabbit and another of a barn owl.
A Husky fridge in the shape of a football.
A large interesting lot mainly of stools from the 19th and 20th century including milking, tall stools, long stools and round stools, also a pine clothes airer, a 19th century mahogany commode, a 19th century Pembroke table on turned legs, and three chairs.
A pair of leather and metal driving goggles, old stamped envelopes, and a collection of minutes and menus for the Theodore White Temperance Lodge.
Two letters from Reg Kray, brother of Ronald, one on lined A4 white pad paper with punched holes, the other on two pieces of pink writing paper and a Christmas card along with a Broadmoor Hospital Form 134-1A that relates to opening mail and a Teen and Twenty Disc Club fan letter signed Jimmy Savile, undated.
A large quantity of used golf balls – a dustbin full.
A carved wood rocking pig ride-on toy.
A mounted and glazed taxidermy heron.
[Well you’d look glazed if you’d been stuffed!]
Traditional Scottish gent’s dress including a green tweed jacket, three black jackets with Lynton, Kinloch Anderson and Hector Russell labels, a kilt, two pairs of tartan trousers, waistcoat, ties, belts, two sporrans, skean dhu, pins, etc., also two fur coats and a green satin robe.
A full set of Spice Girls on Tour dolls, boxed and unopened – Baby, Ginger, Sporty, Scary and Posh.
An interesting collection of original military cap badges, a collection of military buttons and an old Lyons coffee tin.
A silver-plated reproduction punch bowl, a decorative metal tea set on tray, a modern model copper and brass diver’s helmet, and a Viner’s canteen containing steel cutlery in two differing patterns.
A quantity of walking sticks, hockey sticks, etc., a leather horse saddle, turned wood handled copper and brass warming pan, a cased singer sewing machine, rolls of wallpaper, a leather belt, etc.
A carton of glamour magazines including Mayfair, Whitehouse, Penthouse, Playboy, etc.
A vintage bagatelle board and a boxed vintage chest expander.
An Olympia cased typewriter plus another, a collection of walking sticks, a vintage tennis racket, a quantity of pots and pans etc. and a prayer rug.
An early 20th century rhinoceros foot tobacco jar with hinged lid, in conserved condition. (Note: this lot is accompanied by a letter from the owner confirming that it originated from his great-great-grandfather, who was posted to Africa.)
An interesting Chinese bronze large lid, possibly Ming dynasty, dodecagonal, cast with characters and the eight trigrams, 38 cm.
A wooden box containing an old collection of large beetles, old military photographs, etc.
Approximately 100 miniature teapots from The Miniature Teapot Collection, with magazines, still as new in cellophane packets.
Motorbike parts, including high quality stainless steel twin exhaust pipes, number plate, sides by Ogg, LC8 engine-part cover, and a quantity of power parts.
A large pair of heavy brass Eastern table lamps, a large pair of carved wooden African busts, two copper and brass kettles, a pair of wall mounted antlers, a pierced copper wall tray, a silver plate and blue glass cruet set and a carved African hardwood stool.
A mid century 8 1/2 ft wooden model of the Queen Mary ship with four red funnels.
Two framed and glazed taxidermy owls, a pair of mounted horns etc.
Maybe 2019 will bring greater amusement.
Advent Calendar 23
Otto Schoff; Siesta (1920)
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Advent Calendar 22
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Advent Calendar 21
Servando Cabrera Moreno; Justo Luis (1974)
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Monthly Quotes
So here is this month’s un-Christmas-y selection of recently encountered quotes.
I put friend coins in the woman and sex didn’t come out – I think she may be broken.
[unknown]
(Sadly still an all too common belief.)
I’m not an atheist because I’m ignorant of the reality of scripture. I am an atheist because religious scripture is ignorant of reality.
[unknown]
Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.
[Alan Watts]
A contempt for expertise is inevitably expressed by those who, without experts contributing to society as they do, would be lucky to have a voice to speak with, let alone a platform on which to use it. Expertise, like democracy, is far from infallible; each, however, is always preferable to the alternative.
[David Bennum; Guardian; 31/11/2018; https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/30/brexit-britain-crisis-uk]
Don’t think about what can happen in a month. Don’t think about what can happen in a year. Just focus on the 24 hours in front of you and do what you can to get closer to where you want to be.
[unknown]
First you forget names; then you forget faces; then you forget to zip up your fly; and then you forget to unzip your fly.
[unknown]
The person we’re … working for is so cool, laid back and unconcerned, I seriously wonder if he moonlights as a jazz correspondent.
[Andrew J Baker]
Asking Maradona what he thinks about Mexican second division football is like asking Beethoven what he thinks about Girls Aloud.
[Adrian Chiles]
My friends, as I have discovered myself, there are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters.
[Boris Johnson]
The idea that winter could actually be enjoyable would never have occurred to Ramtop people, who had 18 different words for snow. (All of them, unfortunately, unprintable.)
[Terry Pratchett, The Wyrd Sisters. H/T June Laurenson]
Science is the most beautiful and elegant tool that humanity has yet developed with which to actually investigate the physical universe, to measure it, to test it. Science evolved out of magic.
[Alan Moore, author of Watchmen, in New Scientist, 8 December 2018]
If you think that every second is eternal, don’t do anything that you can’t live with forever.
[Alan Moore, author of Watchmen, in New Scientist, 8 December 2018]
What if there were creatures, entities, that were made up purely of ideas, purely of language or something – wouldn’t that explain everything from Smurfs to gods, to demons, to angels, to leprechauns, to all of this nonsense that we have been obsessed with throughout our development as a species?
[Alan Moore, author of Watchmen, in New Scientist, 8 December 2018]
The Fates permitting, we’ll see you on the other side of the festivities.