FrontPage Archive - October 2008
Created | Updated Nov 8, 2008
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1 October 2008
How to Survive a Plane Crash - If your aircraft's chosen to meet the ground in a less than amiable fashion, there's no need to panic.Hydrus, 'the Water Snake' - Two extrasolar planetary systems have been found in this constellation, which is of modern origin.
® Non-alcoholic Drinks - Some great ideas for refreshing beverages that are guaranteed not to lumber you with a hangover.
QOTD: So, our trivial plethora is only half a myriad, so far.
2 October 2008
Benrath Palace, Dusseldorf - This horticulturally significant German palace plays a part in the everyday life of local citizens.Puppis 'the Stern' - A constellation is seen at its highest in the Southern Hemisphere's summer months.
® How To Survive A Trade Show - Virtually every day of the year there's a trade show somewhere; here's advice on how to survive them.
QOTD: I've dreamt spreadsheets and SAS programmes... Usually means it's time for a holiday.
3 October 2008
English History for Tourists - A little more than what you'd glean from the back of your average tourist brochure or the top of a big red bus.The Cervical Traction Kit - When you learn that cervix is Latin for 'neck', you begin to understand the value of this medical device.
® London Black Cabs - Anything you want to know (or possibly would not) can be discovered during a journey in one of these vehicles.
QOTD: Well, Pasta and Sauerkraut are abominations anyway. As for Snails and Frog legs, it's easy and tasty to catch and prepare your own ones. And I make camembert in my cellar.
6 October 2008
ASCII Code Email Addresses - How to safely write email addresses on your pages and beat scanning 'robots'.'The Sculptor' Constellation - Sculptor is noteworthy because it contains a prototype variable star and the South Galactic Pole.
® Bletchley Park - Made world-famous by the film Enigma, Bletchley was home to British code-breakers during WW2.
QOTD: I've intented a time machine; Unfortunately it only works in one direction; forwards.... I sit on teh sofa after being at the pub, with a bottle of whisky... and sudenly its 8 hours later
7 October 2008
Smear and Slander in US Politics - It is difficult to imagine all the bad things people can do or be until a vote is at stake.Lyle's Golden Syrup - The ingredients of this kitchen cupboard stalwart have not altered since it was first produced in 1885.
® Boudicca - This Celtic Queen of the Iceni of East Anglia is particularly remembered for leading a rebellion against the Romans.
QOTD: Bachus. Now there was a god. Wine, grapes, flesh and frenzy.
8 October 2008
Ned Kelly: Bushranger - An iconic part of Australian folklore, depending on your view, Kelly was either a hero or a murderous thief.Constellations: Vela 'the Sail' - Its most prominent stars are of second magnitude, best seen in the Southern Hemisphere during summer.
® Fairy Tales - These are locally constructed stories of wonder passed down through the generations by oral tradition.
QOTD: Worst ice cream I ever had was made by friends of my cousin... They have a goat farm and make organic goat milk ice cream. It comes in two flavours: goat and chocolate-covered goat.
9 October 2008
Joanna Lumley: Actress - This well-loved television personality is also a keen campaigner for a wide variety of worthy issues.Colin Murphy: Football Manager/Bard - The one-time Derby County manager simply wasn't content to feel 'as sick as a parrot.'
® How to Hypnotise a Chicken - US politician Al Gore is just one practitioner who has mastered this noble art.
QOTD: My daughter watched me then said said 'Its ok Mum, you can have some, it doesnt matter if your tummys getting fat...it balances out your bottom..'
10 October 2008
Telling a 'Jump' Story - A 'jump' story is one that silences the rapt listener and then Bam! makes them jump out of their seats in shock.Constellations: Volans 'the Flying Fish' - Volans is located near the Southern Hemisphere's pole and is one of the smaller constellations.
® The Game of Ayo - The Mencala family of games are known to have been played in West Africa for at least 3,500 years.
QOTD: I just found out they're doing Chocolate Orange with hazelnuts in. … That's pretty big in my book.
13 October 2008
The Willow Foundation - This UK charity was set up by television presenter and former footballer Bob Wilson, following personal loss.Adenoids - These lumps of lymphoid tissue at the very back of the nose defend the body but can also cause it problems.
® Why People Lie - People tell fibs all the time. This Entry explores an age-old feature of human behaviour.
QOTD: Phew - glad that's cleared up, I shall make lots less fewerer mistakes now!
14 October 2008
Hofbraeukeller Beer Garden, Munich - A great place to relax where you can always find a table and get served with relative ease.Constellations: Octans 'the Octant' - Octans is so far south, it's in a region of sky never seen by the ancient Greeks and Babylonians.
® How to Conduct a UFO Skywatch - Though UFO sightings are rare, anyone attending a skywatch will learn much about traffic in the sky.
QOTD: I have seen bees staggering in sudden heavy showers.
15 October 2008
How To Appreciate Solitary Drinking - If done sensibly, this can be a relaxing and even enlightening pursuit.Constellations: Lynx 'the Wildcat' - The most vivid imagination would find it hard to visualise a leaping feline from joining these stars.
® How to Get an Egg into a Bottle - Confound your friends, delight your family and bemuse the er...easily bemused.
QOTD: I remember years ago Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall cooking woodlice in an omelette. I was about to say "before he was really a big name", but I think he was always that.
16 October 2008
How To... - Affirmative, positive action often starts with you just making a list, writing down your stated goals on paper.Christopher Walken - Having appeared in over a hundred film and television roles, Walken is now an icon, a wonderfully enigmatic actor.
® Surviving a First Date - You've finally taken that first step and asked someone out for a date; here are some tips to help you enjoy yourself.
QOTD: Teddy Boy Daleks? Now there's a concept. … So who then'd be the mods? Sontarans?
17 October 2008
'ToyVoyagers': Travelling Toys - The members of this organisation have been sending stuffed toys on global adventures since 2005.Barnard's Star - This old red dwarf star sits slightly east of the second brightest star in Ophiuchus.
® The Annual Liars' Contest, Daltry - Liars are international, but a special place in the annals of untruths is held by a Scottish village.
QOTD: The codpiece is back
20 October 2008
Hanny's 'Voorwerp' - Amateur astronomer Hanny van Arkel discovered what looked like a galaxy; however, it was the 'wrong colour'.Portlaoise, County Laois, Ireland - The Irish midlands town of Portlaoise owes its existence to the suppression of an Irish rebellion.
® Carl Gustav Jung: His Life - Jung was one of the greatest explorers of the human mind; his work is greatly influential.
QOTD: how many years of abstinence would requalify me for virgin status and a white wedding day? … inquiring minds want to know....
21 October 2008
'The Cat, the Rat, the Dog and the Hog' - The dark tale of a simple two-lined poem which led to five men being executed for treason.Stoved Chicken - A great, warming meal which even novice cooks should be able to prepare without too much blood, sweat and tears.
® Metaphysical Isms - An Entry all about what John Lennon once described as 'This-ism, That-ism, ism, ism, ism.'
QOTD: I won a bottle of Hai Karate aftershave in a tombola in 1979. I've had a pathological fear of tombolas and aftershave ever since.
22 October 2008
The Ham in the Hamburger - Excellent Entry that considers the philosophical question: 'why is there no ham in a hamburger?'Diseases of the Tonsils - Situated on the side walls of the mouth behind the tongue, the tonsils act as an immune barrier.
® Streakers and Streaking - Streaking dates back to the 1970s when American students bared all for maximum publicity during protests.
QOTD: I may be bored in a crummy hotel by the side of the M6, accessing hootoo through a pda, nothing on the telly, a pile of uni notes by my side and an asssessment careening towards me in a few days, but I'm not *that* bored.
23 October 2008
Isaac Asimov - An unabashed egoist, he gained massive popularity at a young age for his science-fiction stories and novels.Constellations: Equuleus 'the Foal' - It occupies a relatively barren area of the sky, divorced from the mainstream of the Milky Way.
® The Jebel Amman One-way System - Amman may be a modern city but a glance at a map of the city shows that the streets twist crazily.
QOTD: Mediation by a professional? How much more professional than the h2g2 community can they get?
24 October 2008
The London Beer Flood of 1814 - Never did that glorious expression 'free beer' mean so much as it did on Monday 17 October, 1814.Constellations: Triangulum Australe - Known as 'the Southern Triangle', it's an easily-found constellation near the Southern Cross.
® The Discovery of Pulsars - What would you do if you found a pulsing radio source from outer space? And what if those pulses were constant?
QOTD: In recent years I've become rather bad at napping, so if I try to start up again, I'll need a preparatory nap before the real nap, and then maybe a wind-down nap so as to ease back into a wakeful state.
27 October 2008
Friday the 13th - Unlucky for Some? - An examination of the source of that popular superstition, paraskevidekatriaphobia.'Les Sylphides' - a Ballet - This ballet blanc is often considered one of the first 'romantic reveries' performed.
® The Loch Ness Monster - The earliest sighting of a creature in the loch was reported by St Columba in 565 AD.
QOTD: Is it just me, or aren't Hobbit's Irish?? They have to stop a lot for food, and they love going down to the pub for a pint. … And I'm not trying to be racist. I like Hobbit's and I'm from Ireland.
28 October 2008
Frank Patrick Herbert Jr - Author - According to the Library Journal, 'Dune is to science fiction what The Lord of the Rings is to fantasy'.Roman Roads In Britain Today - An Entry celebrating our good fortune in having so much of the Roman road network still left in Britain.
® The Women's Land Army in Britain - Initially scorned when it was set up during the Second World War, the WLA more than proved its worth.
QOTD: A few weeks ago I saw John Barrowman struggling with a map on a programme about what makes people gay. I wanted to yell, "Come on, man! It's not difficult!" It turns out that his brain is 'female-wired'.
29 October 2008
Tree-sitting - A non-violent environmental protest which involves human beings living in trees in order to protect them from destruction.Constellations: Chamaeleon - Part of a 'stellar nursery', its most notable feature is the rather gorgeous cosmic tornado HH49/50.
® Opening Bottles and Jars - According to the Entry, this skill can hold marriages together in times of adversity.
QOTD: Revolution is a myth. All that ever happens is a change in service provider - you end up with just as much mismanagement, and they never answer the phones.
30 October 2008
'Riders' - A music business by-word for some of the most outrageous demands made by performing artists on tour.Ginger Rogers: Silver Screen Dancer - When we think of Fred Astaire, we think of his most famous, glamorous partner too.
® Evariste Galois: Mathematical Genius - Mention Galois to any maths undergraduate and they will either wince or be completely jealous.
QOTD: You would have thought 'succinct' should really be spelt with a single 'c'...
31 October 2008
Drainspotting - A relatively new hobby that has become popular with many people the world over, particularly in Japan.Pumpkin-Potato-Polenta Dumplings - A variation on an Old World recipe which uses New World ingredients.
® British Pigeons - These familiar creatures can be quite comical to watch, their heads bobbing back and forth with each step.
QOTD: how about Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen. He could bring his own costumes.
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