That’s the title of a 2012 BBC article that I came across while researching information for a book I’m writing. John Priest was either the unluckiest stoker afloat, or the luckiest – I’m not sure which! Here’s an excerpt. Priest was one of the lucky few to find a job on Titanic as it… Continue reading “Titanic’s unsinkable stoker”
Tag: Amazing
I had no idea tree stump houses even existed
Courtesy of a link at Free North Carolina, I came across this article. As the first waves of loggers swept over great portions of the Pacific Northwest’s old-growth forests in the second half of the nineteenth century, those men opened up the dark dense woodlands to settlement. And they surely left their mark on… Continue reading I had no idea tree stump houses even existed
What a magnificent photograph!
Found on Gab yesterday (clickit to biggit): What a magnificent shot! Talk about being in the right place at the right time – and having the skill and talent to translate location into opportunity. I don’t know who took it, but I’ll gladly provide credit if the photographer contacts me. Peter
Examining Stone Age art using Stone Age lighting
I was intrigued to read how Stone Age art – paintings on the walls of caves – took on an entirely new perspective when viewed using the sources of light that would have been available to the artists, rather than modern lighting. In the wide chambers and narrow passageways of Isuntza I Cave in… Continue reading Examining Stone Age art using Stone Age lighting
Go on, Mr. Wilder – tell us how you really feel!
Fellow blogger and highly respected and extremely amusing disgustingly bad rival punster John Wilder has unleashed a truly epic tirade against President Biden’s ill-advised and (very) ill-considered remarks this week about US citizens, resistance, F-15’s and nuclear weapons. A sample: Mr. Biden, your butt-sniffing and shoe-licking parents and your degenerate sons and personal weaknesses… Continue reading Go on, Mr. Wilder – tell us how you really feel!
Saturday Snippet: “An elephant is better than a tractor”
We’ve met the late explorer and adventurer Tim Severin in these pages several times before. Today, I’d like to bring you an excerpt from my favorite among all his books, “The Sindbad Voyage“. The blurb reads: Sindbad. Perhaps the greatest fictional sailor of them all. But could his amazing voyages, recounted in the The… Continue reading Saturday Snippet: “An elephant is better than a tractor”
When light itself becomes a weapon
A few months ago, I ran across an article about “tactical” flashlights and weaponlights. Since I have more than a few of each, I read it with interest. I was intrigued by its description of a very powerful Streamlight Protac HL5-X unit, offering up to a claimed 3,500 lumens output. I didn’t trust the… Continue reading When light itself becomes a weapon
Well, well, well – the answer really was 42 all along! Take a bow, Douglas Adams!
It seems a huge fossilized tree in New Zealand has got the scientific world all abuzz. A perfectly preserved ancient tree fossil has offered scientists a unique peek into a moment 42,000 years ago when the Earth’s magnetic field went haywire. The impressive study paints a picture of temporary environmental chaos, potentially influencing everything… Continue reading Well, well, well – the answer really was 42 all along! Take a bow, Douglas Adams!
A remarkable man who lived life to the full
I hadn’t heard of Peter Florjancic until I read his obituary at the BBC. I’m sorry I never had the opportunity to meet him. He sounds like a fascinating man. Peter Florjancic, the Slovenian inventor who died last week aged 101, once remarked that even Alfred Hitchcock would struggle to make a film about… Continue reading A remarkable man who lived life to the full
Blue and purple memories…
This photograph on Gab brought back many memories. It shows blue jacaranda trees in Pretoria, South Africa. They flower in October and November, which is spring in that part of the world. The jacarandas were imported to South Africa from South America at around the turn of the twentieth century. Today they’re regarded as… Continue reading Blue and purple memories…