That's pretty cool...

[TreeVillan]

This lad drops riffs Dimebag could have only dreamed of!

 

 

[mjmooney]

Mural painted upside-down to reflect in the water. 

[mjmooney]

Consider the following statement: 

'Nothing rhymes with anything'.  

There are four possible grammatically valid interpretations: 

(1) There is no word which rhymes with any other word (clearly untrue) 

(2) The word 'nothing' rhymes with the word 'anything' (untrue - although it is a half rhyme) 

(3) There is no word that rhymes with the word 'anything' (true, at least as a full rhyme) 

(4) The word 'nothing' will rhyme with any other word (untrue) 

Isn't the English language marvellous?  

Edited May 15, 2023 by mjmooney

[BOF]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

Consider the following statement: 

'Nothing rhymes with anything'.  

There are four possible grammatically valid interpretations: 

(1) There is no word which rhymes with any other word (clearly untrue) 

(2) The word 'nothing' rhymes with the word 'anything' (untrue - although it is a half rhyme) 

(3) There is no word that rhymes with the word 'anything' (true, at least as a full rhyme) 

(4) The word 'nothing' will rhyme with any other word (untrue) 

Isn't the English language marvellous?  

Also, as Nothing is capitalised, it could be a person's name. A person so good at lyrics they can create rhyming ones out of anything.

[mjmooney]

Quote

Earlier this month, a maintenance spacewalk on the International Space Station had an accident. One of the NASA astronauts’ tool bags was lost overboard and is now orbiting the earth just in front of the space station. As space debris can be a serious hazard, it’s being tracked and given a tracking ID of 58229 / 1998-067WC.

And that means you can tell when it’s flying over London – which will happen a few times next week.

It’s small enough that it can’t be seen with the naked eye — unlike the space station, which is very noticeable — but if you have some binoculars or even a small telescope, then you should be able to spot it. It’ll just be a very small fast-moving bright dot in the sky, but how often do you get a chance to see a workman’s bag flying over your head some 260 miles up into space? 

Link

 

[mjmooney]

On 31 December 1899, the passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was in mid-Pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia. The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought Captain John DS. Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo's position was LAT 0º 31' N and LONG 179 30' W.

They were only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line. The captain deliberately changed course, so that at midnight the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line.

The consequences of this bizarre position were many:
The bow of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere & in the middle of summer.
The stern was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of winter.
The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.
In the forward part it was 1 January 1900.

This ship was therefore not only in:
Two different days,
Two different months,
Two different years,
Two different seasons
And two different centuries - all at the same time. 

[tonyh29]

8 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

On 31 December 1899, the passenger steamer SS Warrimoo was in mid-Pacific on its way from Vancouver to Australia. The navigator had just finished working out a star fix and brought Captain John DS. Phillips, the result. The Warrimoo's position was LAT 0º 31' N and LONG 179 30' W.

They were only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line. The captain deliberately changed course, so that at midnight the SS Warrimoo lay on the Equator at exactly the point where it crossed the International Date Line.

The consequences of this bizarre position were many:
The bow of the ship was in the Southern Hemisphere & in the middle of summer.
The stern was in the Northern Hemisphere & in the middle of winter.
The date in the aft part of the ship was 31 December 1899.
In the forward part it was 1 January 1900.

This ship was therefore not only in:
Two different days,
Two different months,
Two different years,
Two different seasons
And two different centuries - all at the same time. 

Snopes doesn't' seem to be able to prove or disprove it  , though it suggest its doubtful , but not impossible 

 

but the 20th century started  1 Jan 1901 surely ? 

 

[mjmooney]

12 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

 the 20th century started  1 Jan 1901 surely ? 

Strictly speaking, yes. But, let's face it, all the parties happened on NYE 1999/2000 - just as they did in 1899/1900. 

[BOF]

39 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

Strictly speaking, yes. But, let's face it, all the parties happened on NYE 1999/2000 - just as they did in 1899/1900. 

A pedant arguing against pedantry. Hmm. You've changed.

[Seat68]

4 minutes ago, BOF said:

A pedant arguing against pedantry. Hmm. You've changed.

He isn't even trying anymore, its difficult to see a once great man lose his spark

[blandy]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

The navigator had just finished working out a star fix

Which is not a very accurate method (in modern terms) so in all likelihood they weren’t at exactly that position anyway. 

[mjmooney]

1 hour ago, blandy said:

Which is not a very accurate method (in modern terms) so in all likelihood they weren’t at exactly that position anyway. 

Yeah, but they could tell the passengers they were, and they could then dine out on the story for years afterwards. 

[mjmooney]

2 hours ago, BOF said:

A pedant arguing against pedantry. Hmm. You've changed.

I also consider that Monday, and not Sunday, is the first day of the week. 

[BOF]

48 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

I also consider that Monday, and not Sunday, is the first day of the week. 

But that's opinion/personal preference. The beginning of a century is not.

[mjmooney]

25 minutes ago, BOF said:

But that's opinion/personal preference. The beginning of a century is not.

You haven't met my wife. She insists that the week starts on Sunday. Not opinion. Fact. And that certain colours don't 'go' together. Again, not a matter of taste. Incontrovertible rule. You can imagine the arguments that rumble on with two disputing pedants in the same house. 

And if there's any truth in the ship story, the captain made the right call to satisfy his passengers. But I concede your point that it wasn't actually a century change. 

[Xela]

Week starts on a Monday for me. Sat and Sun are are the weekend 

 

[mjmooney]

49 minutes ago, Xela said:

Week starts on a Monday for me. Sat and Sun are are the weekend 

My argument exactly. But calendars traditionally show SMTWTFS, presumably a religious tradition - but it must be Jewish, rather than Christian, given that God rested on the seventh day (the sabbath). 

[tonyh29]

1 hour ago, mjmooney said:

And if there's any truth in the ship story, the captain made the right call to satisfy his passengers. But I concede your point that it wasn't actually a century change. 

Pedant , but wasn’t it my point and not BOF’s  

[Mark Albrighton]

In the week starts with Monday corner it’s The Cure.

And in the week starts with Sunday corner, it’s the theme tune to Happy Days.

Both compelling arguments.

[Mr_Dogg]

2 hours ago, mjmooney said:

You haven't met my wife. She insists that the week starts on Sunday. Not opinion. Fact. And that certain colours don't 'go' together. Again, not a matter of taste. Incontrovertible rule. You can imagine the arguments that rumble on with two disputing pedants in the same house. 

And if there's any truth in the ship story, the captain made the right call to satisfy his passengers. But I concede your point that it wasn't actually a century change. 

She is so wrong, I feel angry. She needs to respect ISO 8601.