h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

~jwf~, When ITIWBS and I take the link from post 16585, we both see the photograph of the wooden(?) boat that overlays the long article.

"a decanter on a ship would've flown all over the table if it had wheels on it."

Agreed. But a wooden boat, without wheels, laden with decanters of madeira and claret would likely have held its place on the table - helped, perhaps, by many a willing hand.

Please note that there is a smiley attached to post 16585. I'm really not talking the idea too seriously.

Found it in post 16591... ...not made entirely of silver, but does appear to have silver cladding on the top.

Artifact a strongly worthy artifact for reverse electrolysis restoration as pioneered by Rupert Gould.

On post 16588, another in the genre, much less famous is the album (LP) by The Youngbloods, "Elephant Mountain", based on an outdoor rock and roll concert in Provo Park, San Francisco, CA, early summer, 1971.

Besides The Youngbloods, there were also performances by Country Joe MacDonald, The Jefferson Starship, Joe Banana and the Bunch.

Of the rock n' roll bands of the period, The last mentioned was one of the best, less famous than the others not least on the point of X-rated lyrics that their material unsuitable for TV and radio.

Comparing their early (and extremely intense) 'heavy metal' style with Country Joe and the Fish, where Country Joe and the Fish might be likened to a field piece, Joe Banana and the Bunch might have been better likened to rolling thunder carpet bombing.




On post 16594, besides the Vikings and the Inuit, there was a third people, the 'Dorset People', so called, established in the north of Greenland, before the arrival of the Vikings.

Since the Dorset People lived in the area where the Vikings later made their annual walrus hunt, walrus ivory being their main export to Europe over the term the Viking colony in Greenland lasted, there were incidents between the Vikings and the Dorset People.

According to one of the Viking accounts, the Dorset People, "..when pricked in the Breast with a knife, did not bleed, but instead the wound puckered and turned white..."

The casual attitude of the Vikings on mayhem probably contributed to frictions between them and the Inuit, who did not arrive in Greenland till near the end of the Viking era there.




The Dorset people disappear about the time of the arrival of the Inuit, probably assimilated into the Inuit community.

Some of the survivors of the Viking community assimilated into the Inuit.

Some of the Greenland Vikings may simply have returned to Iceland or Europe when the walrus ivory trade collapsed, the absence of a viable trading commodity making their presence unsupportable.




The high water mark of the eastward expansion of the Inuit came with a single man who journeyed from Greenland to the Scottish Hebrides in a kayak and then assimilated into the Scottish community, supporting himself by means of making ivory sculptures.

Happy Canada Day.

Google.ca has one of their crappiest doodles ever.


On a happier note, the area known as Grand Pre, NS,
the home of Evangeline whose statue and church I linked
in Post 16596:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Grand_Pr%C3%A9.JPG/350px-Grand_Pr%C3%A9.JPG

has just been declared a UNESCO Whirled Heritage Site.


~jwf~

As promised, my Canada Day entry in today's h2g2 Post:
A87763233


~jwf~

On the packing of one of yesterday's purchases is the injunction: "please remove barb with scissors".
What did I buy?

Something with a battery in it?

A Barb-ie doll?

lol. nope.

A rose ?

~jwf~

A razor? (Barb meaning beard)

Would the 'barb' be one of those plastic tags they use to attach labels to fabric items? If so, it could be anything - gloves, a soft toy, underwear / lingerie. Or the barb could be a cable-tie / zip-tie. In that case, the options are pretty much endless.

Well done. It was a pack of three pairs of socks. I assume the barbs were the litle stitches that held each pair together, but it seems a bit aggressive for little bits of white cotton.

Please,

what should I use:

this oil is perfect to cook something...

or

this oil is perfect for cooking sth.....?

Canadian English would use either.
One being an infinitive verbal form (ie: to cook)
the other a prepositional form (ie: for cooking).

But, that said, I am constantly amazed by the way
British English differs in its use of prepositions.

'At' the weekend for example sounds wrong to ears
that only hear 'on' the weekend. Though the logic
of 'on' is questionable compared to 'at' in any
chronological reference. Because we all would say
I am going AT noon or AT 5 o'clock. Or the play
begins AT 8pm.

The use of 'ON' has possibly snuck in from
nautical usages such as sailing 'on' the tide.

Also possibly from references to clockworks such as
ON the stroke of noon, midnight or the hour. Clocks
strike on the hour and on the quarter and on half hours.
We do things ON Thursdays and weekdays. Not at them.
So why the hell do Brits say AT the weekend?

But wait, you were talking of cooking oils not
clockworks and I have gone off on a tangent.
(Note use of double preposition 'off on'.)

~jwf~

*Posted ON Friday AT 12:12pm ADST

Hi Maria.

"what should I use: this oil is perfect to cook something...or this oil is perfect for cooking sth.....?"

'This oil is perfect for cooking something' is recommended - removing the word 'perfect' from each sentence should make it clear:

a) This oil is to cook something.
b) This oil is for cooking something.


jwf appears to be rather confused about prepositions of time - as are most Spanish learners of English I've met.

If I remember correctly, you have a copy of Michael Swan's 'Practical English Usage'. You may not have the same edition as I do, so just look up 'at, on and in (time)' {section 81 in my book) if you're interested. Swan includes sections on the use of infinitive with 'to', and infinitive without 'to', etc.



Ps Por or para

Thank you gentle men.

Paul, your answer sounds perfect!

I think I have not much problem with time prepositions, I´ve learned by heart:

in the morning, afternoon, evening ( por la mañana....)

at night, at weekends ( por la noche, el fin de semana...)

ON days of the week ( el viernes...)
in months, years... ( en septiembre, en 1900...)

::

jwf, thanks for that "on the weekend", It´s good to know it.

se me olvidaba...

the oil is perfect para cocinar.

I would have said 'por cocinar'.

I've lived here for some 16 years and I still haven't learned which to use for purpose... and I probably never will.

I don't think you have any problems with prepositions of time, either, Maria*.

So, let me recommend Michael Swan's 'Practical English Usage' to jwf - it's a great read.

*In Spain, almost every female (and some men) are called Maria, Maria. Do you have another Christian name, or would revealing it be too personal?