Some topical themes this week . . .
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It will shortly be the 4th of July, or as the Americans write it, July 4th, thereby causing a lot of confusion with international communications when most other countries go by day/month/year . . . 04/07/2015 rather than the American 07/04/2015. Still that's minor, the Seppos also eat with the wrong hand, drive on the wrong side of the road and still use the imperial system of weights and measures.
Btw, that difference caused the loss of a $125m NASA Mars Orbiter back in 1999 when it crashed after seeking to enter Mars' orbit. It had reached mars after a 285 day journey and was being guided into Mars' orbit but ended up 100km closer than planned and about 25km (15 miles) below proper functioning level. The propulsion system overheated and it crashed and burned. Later investigation showed the cause: the Lockheed & Martin engineering team had used metric units of measurement (consistent with a NASA directive years before that all units of measurement be metric) whilst NASA worked in imperial units.
Happy 239th Birthday, America . . .
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By way of explanation, John Hancock was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. His signature is so large and bold that it has given rise to the use of his name as a colloquial expression for a signature, as in "Put your John Hancock there." According to legend, Hancock signed his name largely and clearly so that King George could read it without his spectacles, but the story is apocryphal and originated years after the original signing.
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. . . and some comments on the situation in Greece:
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Greece:
The only place in the world where Monopoly money is worth more than real money.
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I felt really privileged to meet the richest man in Greece yesterday.
And I must say he did a wonderful job of polishing my shoes.
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What does the Big Bang Theory have that Greece doesn't?
A Penny.
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An Italian fisherman's boat capsized off the coast of Greece today. He managed to swim ashore with nothing but the clothes on his back and one Euro in his pocket.
He is now the richest man in Greece.
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I've just written a Musical.
The story is this:
We are in a financial mess, and we give our money to another country.
It's called 'Greece'.
Corn Corner:
What is the difference between the substance inside a fire hydrant and the substance on the outside of it?
H20 is on the inside, and K9P is on the outside.
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