Things you don't need to know…

The talk of vampire lore in the other thread made me think of this - evidence that many popular fairy tales and folklore far predate classical antiquity.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35358487

There is a new name you should keep in memory : Eduardo Martin.
Aka "the man who had never existed".

Cat waiting for traffic light. Green? Go!

pibbur who sometimes walks on red. Depending on traffic and the presence of children.

You don't really need to know this, but on the other hand …
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/psu-ma…iew-32046.html

You did not need to watch this video.

Here's another:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_butter

"Bog butter" refers to an ancient waxy substance found buried in peat bogs, particularly in Great Britain and in Ireland. Likely an old method of making and preserving butter, some tested lumps of bog butter were made of dairy products while others were meat-based.

Apparently, the stuff ranges in age from a few centuries to a few millennia, and the stuff is maybe still edible after all this time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/…=.4fd76e80ddc7

“Theoretically the stuff is still edible, but we wouldn’t say it’s advisable,” Halpin told the Irish Times.

These bogs preserve dead people too, though they don't get up and walk around after you dig them up.

Hundreds of “bog bodies” have been found during the past two centuries, according to the USA Today. The oldest one unearthed is a preserved skeleton called the Koelbjerg Woman, which dates to about 8000 B.C.

I'm not sure whether I should laugh or cry over this … http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answer…cycle-bin.html

We all know that "cave canem" means "beware of the dog". At the very least you should, being connected to this pleasant site run by Myrthos.

What you maybe did not now is that signs like that are found as early as in the 2nd century BC: One notable example is found at the House of the tragic poet in Pompeii:



Today said sign is typically(?) used to deter people with dubious attitudes from entering houses (independent of there actually being a dog there or not), but originally the purpose may have been to prevent people from stepping on resident small instances of the species.

pibbur who might want a cave felem sign

PS. Under English law, placing such a sign does not relieve the owner of responsibility for any harm which may come to people attacked by the dog. (quote Wikipedia).DS.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
I'm not sure whether I should laugh or cry over this … http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answer…cycle-bin.html

Maybe he should give up and… recycle the computer?

Slow and steady is better than fast and nervous

Excellent move!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo…n-s-teams.html

tl;dr: Tekle Giyorgis, Ethiopian emperor.

A couple of weeks ago we could celebrate the 238th anniversary of Tekle Giyorgis' rise to emperor in Ethiopia. Didn't remember that? No problem, there's another opportunity on the 24th of april 2026. And some time in January 2032.

Turns out, mr Giyorgis empered (surprisingly this is according to wiktionary not a word in English) in Ethiopia 6 times between 1779 and 1800.

1. 20.07.1779-08.02.1784
2. 24.04.1788-26.07.1789
3. …01.1794-15.04.1795
4. …12.1795-20.05.1796
5. 04.01.1798-20.05.1799
6. 24.03.1800-…06.1800

What's so special about this? One has to admire the intitative, but that's not what really impresses me. To understand what's really impressing, we'll go back to Rome and the year 238. This is the year of 6 emperors:

1. Maximus Thrax 20 March 235[1] – early May 238
2. Gordian I 22 March – 12 April
3. Gordian II 22 March – 12 April
4. Pupienus 22 April – 29 July 238
5. Balbinus 22 April – 29 July 238
6. Gordian III. 22 April – 11 February 244

Now, this isn't directly comparable, since these were 6 different emperors, but here's the important thing: Except for the last one, the third Gordian, none of these emperors survived 238. There is definitely a tendency, when an emperor is unwillingly dethroned, it results in the demise of said dethroned emperor.

I don't know how mr. Giyorgyi got away with it. Maybe he said something like "Ok, it was fun as long as it lasted. Now I'll go back to growing roses on Elba or St. Helena, and you won't see me again." That may have worked the first time. Maybe also the 2nd time, but the third time somebody really should have begun thinking. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

It's a bit like James Bond. Surely after all these years, ruler-of-the-world wannabes know that this man is trouble. So naturally, when mr Bond is captured some time during the first 30 minutes or so, they want to kill him. "No, mr Bond, I expect you to die". What these morons fails to realize is that hanging him by a rope from the ceiling and gradually lowering him into a tank filled with sharks from Australia, does not work. Despite the best intents. Especially if you, like they for some reason tend to do, leave the scene before it's over. The only sure thing is immediately putting a bullet through his brain. No doubt, there are oodles of suitable weapons present, still none of the NPC's think of that!!!! This is what really destroys my suspense of disbelief and no doubt is the main reason why I'm not particularly enthusiastic about these films.

Tekle Giyorgis left office for the last time in june 1800, and lived for unprecedently 17 more years, until 12th of December 1817.

pibbur who once again will remind the watch that he DOES NOT WANT TO BE AN EMPEROR.

Young hopefuls for this year's Darwin award.

https://www.theguardian.com/australi…of-the-century

Bloody drongos.

Originally Posted by Ripper
Young hopefuls for this year's Darwin award.

https://www.theguardian.com/australi…of-the-century

Bloody drongos.

I just want to point out they in Corwin country, always regarded as a bit strange them up there,

Soooo true:



pibbur who remembers Lotus 1-2-3 and that it was (also) used to create games

Anyone remember the Lotus bureau suite ? Or WordPeffdect ? Got bought by [partly incompetent in this field] companies and vanished then. Or Borland, anyone ?

Now One Office 360 To Rule Them All …

Well, I'm using the bureau suite by Softmaker for a decade now … I don't need these big suites.

I remember those. Wordperfect stil exists though. It is being developed by Corel as a suite of tools.

Originally Posted by Myrthos
I remember those. Wordperfect stil exists though. It is being developed by Corel as a suite of tools.

Ay, I remember WP, preferred it over Word, as long as it lasted.

pibbur who also remembers .wordstar, but not very fondly.