Wrapped in the Tundra!
The massive snowstorm that’s gripping the mid-Atlantic region of America is very serious. Just ask Tundra Boy.
Lyrics, below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »
Everybody Look at the Moon
The many faces (not phases) of the moon as we journey through time and space, to the world of The Mighty Boosh!
Microcar Moment: Smart Car vs. Goggomobil
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Shep supports self on 2-tone T-700 Goggomobil
We floo back in time to revisit Jean Shepherd’s WOR radio broadcasts on the Goggomobil, one of the earliest line of microcars of which the present day Smart Car is a descendant.
The wikipedia entry about Shep lists some of his favorite modes of transport: “At the time of the WOR radio show, Shepherd rode a Vespa motor scooter and parked it in the lobby of the WOR building, while at other periods during his WOR years, he drove a Morgan, a Rover, a Goggomobil*, a motorcycle, and a variety of other vehicles.” The picture above is from an advert in a 1959 issue of the literary magazine, Evergreen Review. Audio of his Goggomania phase will be available here, soon. Meanwhile take a look at how one 1957 model leaves the Smart Car in the dust.
More Goggomobils, in a family way.
* According to Shep’s audio commentary, his car was a TS-400 coupe. The model featured in the magazine advert was a T-700 coupe.
Update: Audio of Shep’s May 1959 Goggo pitches have been added to the caption above.
Further Update 10/01/11: Daimler’s Smart Car Sputters in Size-Obsessed U.S.
Bagged Milk in Canada
The problems with the type of containers used for packaging gallons of milk in the U.S. was a subject of discussion, recently. The main one being the disposal of emptied containers. Another was the best way to decant milk from a gallon container. The foremost problem for those who recycle is temporary storage space.
If you’ve ever saved recyclable plastics for delivery to recycling drop points you’ve probably experienced the problem of accumulating plastic gallon milk containers in a limited space. They have this annoying tendency to take up quite a lot of space in a short space of time.
Go north!
It turns out that, in Canada, people get their milk in plastic bags rather than in the containers made of plastic suitable for guitar picks that Americans find in their local High St moo juice shoppes. It’s very counter-intuitive, to be sure, if you consider the implications for shipping and handling, not to mention, end-use. Well, people in Canada have managed quite well with this type of milk packaging for years, thank you very much.
Bagged milk comes in a 3 litre size as opposed to the 1 gallon size Americans are accustomed to. You see, Canada is a more advanced society than America. They use the metric system, for one thing. People in America, albeit less anglophilic, prefer the barbaric, English units of measurement (length, weight, volume). So, straightaway, they are going to need a way to understand how much 3 litres yield in terms of English units. A litre is about a quart. So, a bag of milk is about 3/4 of a gallon at sea level.
Now if you’re going to measure the milk at sea level to verify that my estimate is indeed correct, be careful not to allow the bag to take on marine salt water and other possibly equally unsavory things, as that would undoubtedly have a qualitatively negative effect on the taste and bouquet of the milk. Instead of going to so much trouble, you might just take my word for it, unless you happen to live in a seaside villa, in which case, knock yourself out!
Read the rest of this entry »
Inventor of Floo Powder
This blog and its domain are dedicated to Ignatia Wildsmith, a character from the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling’s remarkable series of Harry Potter books. According to the HP-Lexicon, she invented floo powder in the 1200s:
This silvery powder…when thrown in the fire, allows magical travel and magical communication between fireplaces connected to the Floo Network. The powder is thrown into the flames, which burst up emerald green. To travel, a witch or wizard steps into the flames and states her or his destination (another fireplace on the network). To communicate, the witch or wizard throws the powder into the flames and inserts only her or his head, again stating ther fireplace to which a connection is desired.
It is managed by the Dept. of Magical Transportation in the Ministry of Magic.
Floo networking is a rather hair-raising method of travel and communication, not to mention the possibilities it holds for getting singed, but it is a proven system that has been adopted here for purposes of travel on the Internetsâ„¢.
Although there is little known about the inventor and she only figures as one of the wizard cards that comes with each chocolate frog, her singular contribution to modes of travel has been enormous. We raise our glasses of Madam Rosmerta’s butterbeer in her honor: To Ignatia Wildsmith, who gave us an alternative way to travel great distances in the shortest amount of time without risk of falling from a great height or being splinched. Cheers!
Incidentally, the likeness of Ignatia was lifted from Jo Rowling’s own website and modified without permission.
