ˈeɪndʒəl angel: One of an order of spiritual beings superior to man in power and intelligence, who, according to the Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and other theologies, are the attendants and messengers of the Deity And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.And, lo, the … Continue reading Angel
All posts by Oikofuge
Ralph Bagnold: Two Memoirs
In the following pages I shall try to trace the unpremeditated steps by which a few army officers, with no initial thirst for exploration, and no desire to do anything unusual except to see the country they were in came gradually to break away from this conventional city outlook towards things outside; and how, beginning … Continue reading Ralph Bagnold: Two Memoirs
Système International Prefixes: Part 4
Back in 2016, I wound up my third post on the topic of SI prefixes with the words “And that’s all we’ve got so far …” followed by a table summarizing the complete set of SI prefixes at that time. These prefixes are a shorthand way of indicating that some base unit of measurement should … Continue reading Système International Prefixes: Part 4
Moebius 1/144 Discovery Spacecraft: Part 2
Last time, I got all my wiring runs in place to illuminate this model. Now it’s time to add some lights, starting with the engine bells. There’s room for a couple of large LEDs inside the flare of the engine bells, which means I can get a light behind both engine nozzles on each of … Continue reading Moebius 1/144 Discovery Spacecraft: Part 2
Sassenach
I must have gone for years without hearing or reading this word until the advent of the improbable television series “Outlander” in 2014 (based on Diana Gabaldon’s novels), which brought the word to the attention of (apparently) the entire English-speaking world, if not beyond. The first season of the series introduced a time-travelling twentieth-century nurse to Gaelic-speaking eighteenth-century Highland Scots, who call her a “Sassenach”. At which point, people started talking nonsense about the word on the Internet. So no change there.
Pole Stars Of Other Planets?
When I wrote about Philip Latham’s juvenile science-fiction novel Missing Men Of Saturn (1953) recently, I pointed out that Latham had made an astronomically well-informed guess about a possible pole star for Saturn’s moon Titan. Latham (a professional astronomer) knew the orientation of Saturn’s rotation axis, which would have allowed him to deduce the location … Continue reading Pole Stars Of Other Planets?
Côte d’Azur (2022)
The Boon Companion and I finally got around to a bit of international travel recently. Airports and aeroplanes proved to be just as ghastly as we remembered them, but it was nice to get away from a very damp Scotland for a blink of October sun in the south of France. The Côte d’Azur has … Continue reading Côte d’Azur (2022)
Moebius 1/144 Discovery Spacecraft: Part 1
This is the large styrene model of the iconic Discovery spacecraft from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. And when I say large, I mean large—assembled, it’s going to be 42 inches long, which will necessitate the hanging of a whole new shelf chez Oikofuge. To get a sense of its weird proportions, take a … Continue reading Moebius 1/144 Discovery Spacecraft: Part 1
Omnishambles
ˈɒmnɪʃæmblz omnishambles: a chaotic situation, especially in politics, brought about by multiple serious mistakes and a lack of basic understanding Malcolm Tucker: Not only have you got a [redacted] bent husband and a [redacted] daughter that gets taken to school in a [redacted] sedan chair, you’re also [redacted] mental. Jesus Christ, see you, you are … Continue reading Omnishambles
Philip Latham: The Juvenile SF Novels
Although the hole made by the meteorite was too small to be readily seen, the hiss of escaping air was unmistakable. They were in dire peril, the worst that can befall a man in space. Philip Latham, Missing Men Of Saturn (1953) A while ago I wrote about two series of science-fiction-juvenile novels, written by … Continue reading Philip Latham: The Juvenile SF Novels