Today is ...

… a day for geeky stuff:

29/7=4.14 (approximately). Question 4.14 on the comp.lang.c FAQ is "How are integers converted to and from pointers?". So I declare this day as integer-conversion day.

Other things:

- 1947: ENIAC (the first general purpos electronic digitall computer) was turned on after having been moved to a new location in Aberdeen@Maryland. With 100KHz Clock frequency (divider=20) and afaik <1K RAM, don't know about the GPU, you probably would need to upgrade a bit before running Dragon Age. Another issue for gamers is that it took a couple of days to terminate the running program and load a new one. Obviously it had no boss-key.

- 1958: NASA is established.

- 1987: Thatcher and Mitterand signed the agreement to build a tunnel under the English channel. Yay! Trains!! Eurostar!!!

One final (non geeky) thing:
- 1901: The Socialist Party of America was founded. And after that America was never the same again.

I'm sorry that I didn't find any Aussie stuff worth mentioning.
 
- 1958: NASA is established.
A funny thing is 1960 which is just two years after that a man went to one of the renown betting firms in London and bet a sizable sum on that a man would be on the moon before the end of the decade...... to much delight of the betting firm, they considered him a complete lunatic and gave the odds of a 1000 times the money.

I guess they should have consider him a genius instead?

:D
 
Joined
Oct 25, 2006
Messages
6,292
... the day in 2003 when the last old style VW Beetle was produced, at the factory in Mexico.

Say no more!
 
… a day when several important things happened

1774: Joseph Priestly invented oxygen.

1907: Lord Baden-Powell invented the first scout camp. Naturally, we will celebrate the event by a song: Be Prepared (Tom Lehrer)

1981: MTV invented the music video tv show. The first entry was Video killed the radio star. What's really strange is that the two guys responsible (Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes) some time after joined the prog. rock group "Yes", resulting in the album "Drama".

30BC:Roman emperor Octavian (better known as Augustus?) invented roman rule over Egypt. AFAIK lady C wasn't too happy about that.

1498: Christopher Columbus invented Venezuela
 
Anyone who links to the incredible Tom Lehrer must have some redeeming qualities!! :D
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
12,806
Location
Australia
Yeah, and Fred Astair was a decent hoofer!! :)
 
Joined
Aug 31, 2006
Messages
12,806
Location
Australia
... yet another day.

216 BC: Carthaginian forces lead by Hannibal defeated a few Romans soldiers in southern Italy. Don't know for sure, but I seem to remember that he afterwards ate their liveres with some fava beans and a good Chianti.

1932: The positron is inv... eh discovered, leading to breakthroughs in PET scanning (which has nothing to do with cats and dogs) and robotics.

It turns out that the macedonians have been particularly active on this day.
338 BC: M. defeated a few greeks, ensuring M. supremacy in said country.
1903: Unsuccessful uprising against the Ottoman Empire
1944: Birth of the Socialist Republic of M.

BTW:
1. Regarding Tom Lehrer and his piano playing. Strictly for those who didn't know, he used to cite reviews on the cover of his records. One of them, from the Oakland Tribune read: "Plays the piano acceptably".

2. He has been to Australia, if we are to believe his discography, which includes "Tom Lehrer discovers Australia" (only released in Australia)
 
... 7th of August and only 2 days until I go back to work after 4 weeks of summer vacation.

1606: The first performance of "Macbeth" by whoever-impersonated-william-shakespeare. If there are any actors reading this, and you've seen Black Adder season 3, you know that you're now supposed to start a silly looking ritual.

1944: IBM officially presented it's "Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator", installed at Harward. It was a bit larger than the calculator you use today. Probably something like the size of the first IBM portable computer

1964: The worlds' oldest living tree (at least 4862 years old, and for some reason named "Promethevs") was cut down. Nobody knows exactly why (or perhaps somebody knows, but won't tell us). The night elves, the bosmer, the Sindar and the Silvans were not pleased.

1868: Ladislaus Bortkiewics was born, exactly 8 years before Mata Hari.
 
… yet another day.

1220: Sweden was defeated by Estonian tribes. Ya…. eh … sorry.

1709: Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the King of Portugal. To quote ThreeDog@Fallout3: "Somebody fart?"

1963: Great Train Robbery in England. It was a birthday present to Ronald Biggs who on that very day turned 34.

Best wishes to "The Edge" who is 49 years today. A mere child, of course, but a great guitar player. Additionally, rumour (Wikipedia) has it Dustin Hoffman is 73 years today (tomorrow also, of course, but today is his first day as a 73-years-person)
 
1981: MTV invented the music video tv show. The first entry was Video killed the radio star. What's really strange is that the two guys responsible (Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes) some time after joined the prog. rock group "Yes", resulting in the album "Drama".

If you research a little bit, the story behind the Buggles-Yes connection is even more bizarre.
Yes had more or less ceased to exist after "Drama"; the album following "Drama" (I just can't remember its title) was originally meant to be a kind of Buggles album, called "Cinema", with Chris Squire as a kind of supporter or how his role was.
Anderson much later joined in, originally just for inging, I think.

On the "Yes Years" box set there are two additional songs from that era. Wikipedia says these have been published on the remaster, too.

Regarding "video killed the radio star" there seems to be an additional version on this album as well (found on www.mazon.de ) :
http://www.amazon.de/Bruce-Woolley-...TF8&coliid=I2VUX6KQL3H18A&colid=28RRXAMGNMJJS
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,908
Location
Old Europe
Yepp. But it gets weirder. The album following Drama was "90125", with Trevor Rabin on guitar and and previous keyboardist Tony Kay handling tangets. This lineup also released "Big Generator". After that vocalist Jon Anderson left, and then came along "Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford and Howe", all former Yes members, who didn't have the right to the name. But in reality there were now two "Yes" bands, who both struggled a bit recording their next albums. So what do we do? Bring them all together, join their recording projects and release "Union"! This couldn't last very long and it didn't last very long.

After that, there have been several LOTS of personnel changes (someone suggested searching the Thames for bodies), with especially Rick Wakeman joining and leaving the band like a yo-yo, and healthy dose of nepotism in the form of Oliver, son of Rick on keyboards. I stopped following them after "Union", but I noticed that last autumn there was a Yes gig in Oslo, in a 2000-seat concert hall. Quite a setback for a stadium rock band.

That lineup (which doesn't include Jon Anderson) is supposed to record a new album this autumn. I don't know what to say… perhaps it's time to call it a day now.
 
They've had so many changes that they'll probably survive regardless.
And perhaps they should change the band's name from "Yes" into "Change" as well.
 
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
21,908
Location
Old Europe
They've had so many changes that they'll probably survive regardless.
And perhaps they should change the band's name from "Yes" into "Change" as well.

Unfortunately the band name "Change" is already taken. Although that band isn't very active these days, so maybe they could get away with it.

Another option is of course "the band formerly known as yes".
 
There's a song from 90125 called "Changes" - appropriately.

More strangeness - Buggles' Geoff Downes left Yes to form Asia with Yes guitarist Steve Howe while 90125 was produced by Trevor Horn (no longer singing) - who later went on to produce Fankie Goes to Hollywood, Grace Jones, and the Pet Shop Boys (among others)....
 
Joined
Aug 18, 2008
Messages
15,679
Location
Studio City, CA
Back
Top Bottom