Year: 2014

  • Meteorite Nearly Hit Skydiver Anders Helstrup In 2012

    Meteorite Nearly Hit Skydiver Anders Helstrup In 2012

    Introduction A meteorite nearly hit skydiver Anders Helstrup in 2012 as it passed him on its way to earth. after he opened his parachute whilst He was skydiving above Hedmark, Norway, and had opened his parachute when the incident happened. Anders was able to capture the near mis on his helmet cam. More About The…

  • ABCON® PostShip® Parcel Scales Review

    ABCON® PostShip® Parcel Scales Review

    Preface This post describes: The design, usage and benefits of ABCON® PostShip® parcel scales.

  • Flash Mob Opened New Forecourt at Derby Train Station

    Flash Mob Opened New Forecourt at Derby Train Station

    The Flash Mob Danced on The New Forecourt On 16th April 2013 Derby celebrated by way of dance to an appropriate tune “The Loco-Motion”. The dance was performed by a Flash Mob at the opening of the new Derby Train Station Forecourt. This happened after months of disruption and a lot of money spent. See the short portion…

  • We Have Another Dwarf Planet

    We Have Another Dwarf Planet

    Dwarf Planet 2012VP113 Astronomers have found another dwarf planet in the Solar System. This is a dwarf planet and it doesn’t have a real name yet. It just has a number ‘2012 VP113’ as do so many dwarf planets in the region of space occupied by Pluto. It doesn’t seem long ago that there was just…

  • Kuiper and Oort Objects

    Kuiper and Oort Objects

    Here is a poster of Kuiper and Oort Objects This poster/wall chart was produced by SPACE.COM as a quick guide to Kuiper and Oort Objects. Knowledge of the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud is sparse but it is known that some objects have very eccentric orbits. I think we can expect many more objects…

  • Dwarf Planets In The Solar System

    Dwarf Planets In The Solar System

    There is a new class of objects in the Solar System – Dwarf Planets – which now includes Pluto. See the poster below from SPACE.COM. Since this poster was produced there has been an addition – Sedna. Take a look at Kuiper and Oort Objects. Reference Source Space.com: All about our solar system, outer space…

  • CycloCable Gets Bikes Up That Hill

    CycloCable Gets Bikes Up That Hill

    CycloCable We all know it’s a bit of a pain cycling up steep hills especially on our journey to work, but CycloCable gets bikes up that hill in Trondheim, Norway. This latest version installed in 2013 replaced the prototype Trampe Bicycle Lift installed in 1993 by Jarl Wanwik. This is how the Norwegians do it.…

  • Fixing Shelf Battens To Old Walls

    Fixing Shelf Battens To Old Walls

    Preface This post describes: How I spent a day fixing shelf battens for two shelves in a house. The walls were old and not solid brick as expected. The walls crumbled when I drilled into them so I had to repair them and drill again.

  • Cosmic Inflation and Expansion of The Universe

    Cosmic Inflation and Expansion of The Universe

    This Poster Describes Cosmic Inflation and Expansion of The Universe I’m sure we’re a long way from hearing the last on Cosmic Inflation and Expansion of The Universe, but here is a SPACE.COM chart briefly explaining inflation of the universe from a pinpoint to its present day size. On 30th January 2015 Space.com announced: Inflation…

  • New One Pound Coin in 2017

    New One Pound Coin in 2017

    Why A New One Pound Coin? Due to excessive counterfeiting of the existing one pound coin The Royal Mint has decided to introduce a new one pound coin design, in 2017, with new security features: “It will be constructed from two different coloured metals and contain an iSIS security feature – a revolutionary new high security coinage currency…

  • Bank Machines Will Use Windows XP Beyond The MS Deadline

    Bank Machines Will Use Windows XP Beyond The MS Deadline

    Well, well, well, whose not keeping on top of things then. It looks like all the major banks. This article from ITPRO taken from Reuters points out that some major banks will not have updated their Automatic Telling Machines to Windows 7 by 8th April 2014. This is Microsoft’s published deadline after which there will…

  • Are Goldfinches Eating Nyjer Seed? Yes!

    Are Goldfinches Eating Nyjer Seed? Yes!

    Cleaning My Feeder Spring 2014 is on the way and I want to see goldfinches eating nyjer seed again. So after a wet winter I have cleaned my bird feeders. I’ve only had a Nyjer Seed feeder for two years and have kept it out during both winters. I might not do that next winter…

  • We Make Earwax? What’s That All About?

    We Make Earwax? What’s That All About?

    What Is Earwax? I’ve often wondered what is earwax (otherwise known as cerumen) all about but never specifically investigated it. Well today I just happened across this article on the BBC News website in the Health section and now I am the wiser. It’s entitled: ‘Secretion secrets: things you didn’t know about earwax’. It discusses…

  • Airlander Airship v Goodyear Airship

    Airlander Airship v Goodyear Airship

    Airlander Airship or Goodyear Airship? The Airlander airship gets competition from another airship making its move, the Goodyear Dirigible airship making its move. It’s 246 feet long, 50 feet longer than previous models, and is dirigible (it has a frame and is not just a balloon). See my other Airlander post Airship Airlander – Made in England.…

  • Make Google The Home Page In Windows 7

    Make Google The Home Page In Windows 7

    Introduction A friend found they had got MSN as their Home page and asked me how they could make Google the Home page in Windows 7. What They Saw I haven’t seen their screen but I would expect it to look like the screen shot above, when they select their Home page, with MSN showing. Here I…

  • Airship Airlander – Made in England

    Airship Airlander – Made in England

    Introduction This airship Airlander, the longest aircraft in the world at roughly 91m (300ft), from the US military airship Airlander project, has been brought to Cardington, Bedfordshire, England (home of the R101) for further development by a British company who built it in the first place. In fact the development is taking place in the same…

  • Dry Ice In Water

    Dry Ice In Water

    Observing The Reaction Of Dry Ice In Water I always wanted to try this (put dry ice in water) and last year I got the opportunity. When I bought some meat from Donald Russell it was delivered packed in dry ice. Dry Ice is frozen CO2 i.e. solid carbon dioxide. This dry ice was used to…

  • Teapot Cleaning Methods

    Teapot Cleaning Methods

    Should you practice teapot cleaning or not? Some people think teapot cleaning is unnecessary and that it spoils the flavour of the tea. If they have traditional brown earthenware teapots they probably don’t see all the tannin stains on the inside. With a stainless steel teapot you see them all and they start to form very…

  • Fieldfares Visited Alvaston Derby In January 2013

    Fieldfares Visited Alvaston Derby In January 2013

    Fieldfare – Turdus pilaris – a member of the thrush family. When Fieldfares visited Alvaston Derby I was ready with my camera. On 22nd January 2013 Fieldfares visited Alvaston Derby where I saw them. First I saw them in my garden and later in a tree overhanging my friend’s garden across the road in the same street. Of course I…

  • Internet Explorer Suggested Sites – Not My Favourites

    Internet Explorer Suggested Sites – Not My Favourites

    I don’t necessarily want Internet Explorer Suggested Sites on my Favourites Bar in Internet Explorer. I just want My Favourites. Yes, I’m talking about the Suggested Sites shortcut which appears on the Favourites Bar and defies all attempts to remove it permanently. Deleting the shortcut from the Favourites Bar does not prevent it from returning.

  • Opening Dual-Flush Toilet Cisterns

    Opening Dual-Flush Toilet Cisterns

    Preface This post describes: Opening Dual-Flush Toilet Cisterns to maintain the inlet valve and flushing mechanism.

  • How To Open A Wine Bottle Without A Corkscrew

    How To Open A Wine Bottle Without A Corkscrew

    This Is How To Open A Wine Bottle Without A Corkscrew It would appear to be a very simple process to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew. Just look at this video to learn how: Well, if you watched the video you could see that a shoe is used to cushion the blows as…

  • Opening Food Cans By Unusual Means

    Opening Food Cans By Unusual Means

    Introduction The videos here demonstrate some methods of opening food cans without a traditional can opener. If you try any of these methods then be aware that cans have sharp edges where the metal is cut. You could get cut yourself before the can is open. 1st Method of Opening Food Cans This is another method…

  • Heating May Make Us Fat!

    Heating May Make Us Fat!

    The title ‘Heating May Make Us Fat’ has no spelling mistake. Check out this article at the BBC where Dutch researchers at the Maastricht University Medical Centre recommend heating homes to no more than 19°C (66°F) because: Heating May Make Us Fat. Below that temperature (19°C) they say our bodies continue to burn calories to keep…

  • Zipper Slider Repairs

    Zipper Slider Repairs

    Introduction Here are two zipper slider repairs that can be done when the pull tab has come off and either: the crown (or lug) is lost, you still have the crown (or lug). This post is an edited compilation of two posts I wrote on this blog in the past describing the repair of Zipper Sliders. I have updated the references and…