by Fern Shaw | Aug 4, 2014 | Water, water cooler, Water Coolers
What I know about maths could fit on one hand, both hands, at a stretch.
The first one that boggles my mind is the Fibonacci numbers that are Nature’s numbering system.
Another example is from The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. In it, there’s mention made of Fermat’s Last Theorem, which Lisbeth Salander attacks with relish. It’s round about here that my grey matter literally freezes and I’m not joking – I can almost feel my brain kick into neutral. There’s actually little wonder that I spend so much time at the water cooler, my brain grinds to a halt so often that I need to drink lots of water to lubricate it to start functioning again!
Having said this, I do believe that the Fibonacci numbers do kind of, sort of, make sense. There’s symmetry in there that appeals to my rather particular warped logic. All of these equations point to connections that are just there or have been there all along if we just choose to open ourselves up to this magic.
Here’s why I think this:
I’m history mad. When it comes to my forefathers, colour me fascinated. Racial memory, call it what you will, whenever I hear about certain ancient tribes, something resonates within me. One particular example of this is the Vikings. I watch a series called Vikings. I see how fierce they were but also discover that they were also interested in farming and fertile earth and all good things. I see some of their rituals which are, to put it politely, rather brutal.
Not one week later, I start watching another series, Shetland and in the second episode, it shows a centuries old Scottish festival called, wait for it, Up Helly Aa. Part of the festival involves the dragging of a galley through the streets of various towns, culminating in lit torches being thrown into the galley, setting it alight and the galley being consumed in fire. (Early galleys were made from a light timber frame covered with canvas or alternatively old boats, whose useful life afloat was over, were converted and subsequently sent to Valhalla). The festival seems to have derived from the Norse culture, some of whom invaded the Shetlands in the 12th century. We all know by now my wish to have a Viking burial, see Tornados are water, who knew? Sometime in all of this, I watched another program and there was mention made of Freya, the Norse goddess of love and fertility, who I only learnt about while watching Vikings.
So now it seems that there is this symmetry and connectivity in choices that I’ve made – okay, watching Vikings was very much a conscious decision, but I had no clue that Shetland would have all the ancient Viking elements in it nor that they would be burning galleys at festivals or that Freya is mentioned on more than one occasion all of a sardine.
I’m going to leave this with you to ponder over. My brain hurts and I need to drink water.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 8, 2014 | Water, water cooler, Water Coolers
Image ~ Darrin Gatewood
I thought my parrot had finally fallen off its perch when I read the headline.
Water cooling your PC? Mais oui, according to various articles.
Whether you’re using a desktop or laptop computer, there’s a good chance that if you stop what you’re doing and listen carefully, you’ll hear the whirring of a small fan. If your computer has a high-end video card and lots of processing power, you might even hear more than one.
In most computers, fans do a pretty good job of keeping electronic components cool. But for people who want to use high-end hardware or coax their PCs into running faster, a fan might not have enough power for the job. If a computer generates too much heat, liquid cooling, also known as water cooling, can be a better solution. It might seem a little counter-intuitive to put liquids near delicate electronic equipment, but cooling with water is far more efficient than cooling with air.
A liquid-cooling system for a PC works a lot like the cooling system of a car. Both take advantage of a basic principle of thermodynamics – that heat moves from warmer objects to cooler objects. As the cooler object gets warmer, the warmer object gets cooler. You can experience this principle first hand by putting your hand flat on a cool spot on your desk for several seconds. When you lift your hand, your palm will be a little cooler, and the spot where your hand was will be a little warmer.
Well, colour me watercated.
What’s even more impressive is apparently you can fit your own pc water cooler system in your own home. I’d suggest trying it at the office too, but fearless guinea pig that I am, I tried and well, let’s just say that my fans were working overtime once I received the response that I did.
Before any of you get into hot (harf harf harf) water in your work place, I’ll save you the trouble and tell you that asking if you can experiment and replenish your water cooling system using water from the office water cooler is most likely to get you a big, fat ‘No!’ in reply.
by Fern Shaw | Jul 8, 2014 | Health and Hydration
The thickest, the oldest, the tallest, etcetera, etcetera …
Sadly, this will be my swan song blog to do with trees. The ‘trees for the office’ protest at the water cooler is being disbanded. Suffice to say it involved some choice language, some sawed through hemp rope, a water soaked carpet and a few bruised egos. Both Mrs Fitzsimmons and I are required to avoid the area around the water cooler and are to have nominated representatives to refill our water bottles for the next week.
However, as with all good swansongs, I’ve saved the best ‘til last.
These are Britain’s most spectacular trees, identified in a new study of prime specimens across the country.
Tallest: A 211ft grand fir planted in the 1870s beside Loch Fyne, Argyll. It is thought to be the UK’s tallest tree since before the last ice age. The fir, in Ardkinglas Woodland Gardens, has “died back” twice in the last 20 years – meaning the top has died, as a result of drought or a lightning strike, before growing back.
Thickest: “Majesty”, a pedunculate oak, in Fredville Park, a privately-owned estate, near Dover, Kent, has a trunk 13ft across, when measured at chest height, with a circumference of 40ft. It keeps this girth up to a height of about 20ft, but is completely hollow.
Biggest (in terms of volume of timber): A sessile oak growing in the grounds of Croft Castle, a National Trust property in Herefordshire. It is 115ft tall with a trunk 9ft thick at its base, with a volume calculated at 3,800 cubic feet, making it Britain’s biggest living thing.
Oldest: There are three in this category, all yews, all in churchyards and all up to 5,000 years old, making them what are thought to be the oldest living organisms in Europe. They are at Fortingall, in Perthshire, Discoed, in Powys, and Llangernyw, in Conwy. Many churchyards boast yew trees, which often predate the church and may have marked pagan burial grounds.
Rarest: There are several tree species of which only specimen exists, including the Audley End oak, (Quercus audleyensis). It was planted in 1772, at Audley End, Essex – now an English Heritage site. Attempts have been made to plant grafts, but all have died.
Most spreading: An Oriental plane at Corsham Court – a privately-owned historic house in Wiltshire – covers an area almost the size of a football pitch, with an average spread of more than 210ft. Planted in 1757, it is so vast that its lowest branches rest on the ground and some have taken root. The largest “unsupported” crown is thought to belong to a Turkey oak, near Shute House, in Devon, which is up to 177ft across – 70 per cent wider than the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.
Fastest growing: A silvertop – a species of eucalypt – which grew to the height of a seventh floor window (66ft), in the space of six years. The tree, at Harcourt Arboretum – which is run by the University of Oxford – died last winter. Other swift growers include a hybrid poplar, in Kingscliff Wood, Somerset, which reached 98ft in 17 years.
So, there you have it, trees of Britain, in all their glory. Long may they reign, or shade, or give sustenance to.
*Extracts from an article in The Telegraph by Jasper Copping
by Fern Shaw | Jul 1, 2014 | Health and Hydration
or
Where will you travel to on your summer hols?
I’ve always thought that I’m pretty knowledgeable when it comes to general knowledge. Especially travel knowledge. I already have what I call my water cooler list (‘bucket list’ is so 7 years ago).
I do have a ferpectly good reason for calling it my water cooler list. Here’s why – when I’m hanging about said water cooler, I always get to hear snippets about who’s been where; what it was like – you know, the usual gathering of the masses type confab. So, we got to talking about the destination.
HOD Mrs Furthingstoke’s dream (achieved) was the coast of Cornwall.
Bike messenger Mr Oogle stated that anywhere along the Tour de France route would be his idyll.
Mrs Tibbins said spelunking in Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico, in the States, whereupon I choked on my hot drink and Mr Oogle almost swallowed his tongue.
Meeker than the proverbial mouse IT person, Tad, just glared at us, so I’d imagine his water cooler to travel to list is more in line with the worlds of something like the Child of Light PS3 game.
So inspired was I about all this info, I went and tripped the Google fantastic, seeking those – perhaps lesser known? – but still magical destinations and immediately decided that my knowledge is sorely lacking.
Meteora Rock (pictured above) – These massive sandstone fingers seem to emerge as much from a dream as from the plains of Thessaly. Towering as high as 2,044 feet above the lush landscape below, the steep peaks of Meteora are a perfect setting for a secluded monastery.
Monks and nuns have called Meteora’s peaks and caverns home for centuries. Hermits scaled the daunting peaks as early as the 10th century and, according to legend, St. Athanasios Meteorites rode an eagle to the top in the 1300’s to found Great Meteoron, the largest of the region’s six secluded monasteries.
This on my list.
The Crack of Silfra – Travel to Iceland and you’ll find a most curious occurrence on the boundaries of the North American and European plates.
Adjacent to Lake Thingvalla, you’ll find Silfra Crack. Filled with crystal-clear, glacial meltwater, this narrow slit plunges 66 feet into the Earth. It makes for a rather chilly descent, but sight-seeking divers make the pilgrimage each year to dive between the continents. Experienced cave divers can explore depths of more than 148 feet by swimming into the Silfra cave system.
Visitors frequently describe the Silfra diving experience as one of floating weightlessly through space. The glacial waters filter through miles of volcanic rock before emptying into the crack.
This not on my list. All very beautiful and amazing and stuff – but a tad claustrophobic for me.
The Reflecting Desert (pictured above right) – Just consider the Bolivian Uyuni Salt Flats, or Salar de Uyuni, a 4,000-square-mile plane of what appear to be hexagonal tiles. This extraordinary high-altitude landscape stretches among the snow-peaked Andean mountains, and if you happen to visit during the rainy season, you’re in for quite a sight.
When the rains sweep down onto the Uyuni Salt Flats, the entire expanse becomes an immense reflecting pool. The water on the salt flats never reaches a depth of more than 15 centimetres, so it offers visitors the unique sensation of walking on the surface of a mirror — all amid a desolate silence.
The unique landmark is actually the remnant of a prehistoric lake and currently ranks as the largest salt flat in the world.
This on my list.
When I returned to the water cooler to share my finds, It seemed like I’d fallen into an episode of Dr. Who: –
… ‘We’ve no water in the water coolers’, says Tad, ‘so everybody’s most likely dehydrated’.
‘What?’ splutters HOD Mrs Furthingstoke, ‘what does that have to do with everyone not performing at their peak? Pure poppycock, I’m sure!’…
*sigh* Guess my water cooler list is my water cooler list.
by Fern Shaw | Jun 30, 2014 | Health and Hydration
In Part III (Part II of Part II) here’s a further 5 trees indigenous to Britain.
This first tree, is very dear to my heart as I have a cousin named Rowan. Funnily enough, the sub-heading of the tree and his personality are not that far apart – he’s a complete maverick (to the point where our nickname for him is Banana Man – a story I won’t be detailing in here – sorry Cuz).
Rowan, Sorbus aucuparia
- A tough tree that dares to grow where others cannot
This used to be planted outside houses to ward off witches, which makes me wonder if it would be bad form to plant it near a willow tree (see below). That aside, you might like to plant one simply because it’s a lovely tree with bright red berries. It can even survive on high and exposed ground.
Silver birch, Betula pendula
- This quicksilver tree grows fast and has amazing shiny bark
If you want to make a quick impression on your garden, try this fast-growing pioneer species with its slightly shiny silvery-white trunk. Its timber is used to smoke haddocks, among other things, and its trunk can be tapped for sap that can be made
into wine. Knew there was a reason I liked birch trees.
Small-leaved lime, Tilia cordata
- No, not that the crucial ingredient of a good margarita type of lime
Although you won’t get green lime fruits from this tree, it is one of our most beautiful native species. You can eat the leaves in salads, and brew a pleasant, uplifting tea from the flowers.
Willow, Salix sp.
- Fast-growing and so many to choose from – weeping, goat, twisted, even cricket bat
These graceful trees survive in the dampest of places, so will suit a water-logged or riverside garden. They also have their fair share of folklore – the words ‘witch’ and ‘wicked’ come from the same word as ‘willow’.
And last, but not least, the other Christmas tree, the:
Holly, Ilex aquifolium
- A festive treat to cheer up your winter
You’ll love harvesting holly from your own garden at Christmas, and the birds will love you for providing shelter and a plentiful source of food in the berries. There’s nothing like seeing the red berries and the shiny, spiky leaves of holly to brighten a dark, cold winter’s day.
Anyhow, that’s my update on all things British and tree-like for now.
In case you were wondering, the stand-off at the office water cooler continues. Things are turning nasty. Mrs Fitzsimmons has taken to instructing an underling to replenish her water, so as not to have to engage with me + the ropes are made from hemp, so one of the IT guys is becoming far too fresh.
*Excerpts from 10 British trees to grow in your garden.
