I’d love to feel pure, happy and lighter. Okay, I’m not sure what that would feel like, but it sounds better than I usually feel. Who wouldn’t want to feel like that? Given the warm and friendly vibe on the Goop website—it was, after all, to quote the website, “created to celebrate all life’s positives”—I … Continue reading Timothy Caulfield: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?
It’s been a while since I made any progress on this kit. Last time, I described building the Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter and Instrument Unit assembly. Moving down the launch vehicle, this time I’m building the S-IVB stage, which was the third stage of the Saturn V—the “small” one that pushed the Apollo stack into Earth orbit … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IVB Stage
Tinkletop Hill (NO 260304, 184m) Gallows Knowe (NO 272311, 162m) Rossie Hill (NO 277310, 173m) Kirkton Hill (NO 260318, 253m) Forehill (NO 243320, 250m) 16 kilometres 520 metres of ascent Well, a look at the map suggests that “circuit” isn’t quite the right word, but I’m hard pressed to come up with anything better. This … Continue reading Braes Of The Carse: Abernyte Circuit
The Date or Calendar Line is a modification of the line of the 180th meridian, and is drawn so as to include islands of any one group, etc, on the same side of the line. When crossing this line on a westerly (true) course, the date must be advance one day; when crossing it … Continue reading Territories That Crossed The Date Line: Part 2 – 1900 To Present
Constrained by extreme necessity, we decided on touching at the Cape Verde Islands, and on Wednesday the 9th of July, we touched at one of those islands named St. James’s. […] In order to see whether we had kept an exact account of the days, we charged those who went ashore to ask what day … Continue reading Territories That Crossed The Date Line: Part 1 – Up To 1900
I’ve always been fascinated by the way languages other than English use letters other than our familiar 26—not so much completely different alphabets, like Greek, Arabic or Cyrillic, but those little tweaks to the Latin alphabet, ranging from unusual diacritical marks to additional letters, that other languages use to communicate particular sounds to their readers. … Continue reading Letters From Abroad: Eng
There does not seem to be any reason why it should not be possible, by the use of a suitably designed multi-stage rocket, to send a projectile into space beyond the Earth’s gravitation. From the scientific and engineering points of view, interplanetary travel may be considered to be a practical possibility. It is the great … Continue reading Spaceflight Before Spaceflight: Two Books
In the evening, after supper, they entertained us with an Otaheitian dance, which consisted of various writhings and distortions of the body, by no means obscene, yet in no respect pleasant. Edinburgh Philosophical Journal (1820) Vol.III No.VI Art.XXII.—Extract from the Journal of Captain HENRY KING of the Elizabeth From the Pitcairns, which I’ve described … Continue reading South Pacific: Part 4 – French Polynesia
In [Bounty Bay], which is bounded by lofty cliffs almost inaccessible, it was proposed to land. Thickly branched evergreens skirt the base of these hills, and in summer afford a welcome retreat from the rays of an almost vertical sun. In the distance are seen several high pointed rocks which the pious highlanders have named … Continue reading South Pacific: Part 3 – Pitcairn Island
The essence was timing. You had to hover outside the reef until a roller approached, throw on the engine, and ride through the passage on the crest of the wave. Dea Birkett, Serpent In Paradise (1997) (Landing on Henderson Island) From our starting point on Easter Island, which I described in my previous post, … Continue reading South Pacific: Part 2 – The Pitcairns