circadianoesis

The "rule of thumb" is not about wife-beating

2006-03-31T17:12:00.000+10:00

Category: PhrasesDetails:According to urban legend, the "rule of thumb" originated from a law in the 1400's stating that a husband could beat his wife as long as the stick was no thicker than his thumb.The phrase dates back at least to 1692, when Sir W. Hope, Fencing-Master, wrote "What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art."[4]In the 19th century there were laws in England regarding

'Tom Sawyer' was NOT the first typewritten novel

2006-03-29T20:40:00.000+10:00

Category: LiteratureDetails:It is commonly held that 'Tom Sawyer', written by Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain), was the first novel to be written on a typewriter. Although it is hard to say definitely, it seems this is most likely incorrect. However, it is an understandable assumption to make, since Clemens himself made that claim in a letter written in 1904.Here is the timeline, as far as I

Interesting facts or fiction?

2006-03-29T19:53:00.000+10:00

Today I was forwarded an email entitled 'Interesting facts', listing off about thirty statements which are boldly claimed to be true. As a way to get myself posting on this darn blog again I'm going to examine each of the statements to see if they are actually true or not. Some may be hard to prove one way or the other, so we'll see how it goes. Stay tuned...

Danny Elfman was in Oingo Boingo

2005-09-13T06:55:00.000+10:00

Category: Music TriviaDetails:Danny Elfman, film director Tim Burton's favourite composer, was a member of "Oingo Boingo" (also known at different times as "The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo" and "Boingo") The band was best known for the song "Wierd Science", which was written for the John Hughes film of the same name.Where I learned it:While passing through the living room where Eddie McGuire,

provenance

2005-05-21T00:27:00.000+10:00

Category: VocabularyDetails:n. Place of origin; derivation. Proof of authenticity or of past ownership. Used of art works and antiques. Where I learned it:Used by two different people on two completely different mailing lists on the same day. I just had to look it up.References:"provenance", Dictionary.com"provenance", WordWeb

NURBS

2005-05-12T23:35:00.000+10:00

Category: Computer Generated ImagingDetails:NURBS is an abbreviation of 'Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline'. It is a technique used for generating curves in computer graphics.Where I learned it:When trying out the Alias Maya PLE in preparation for some classes.References:"Nonrational univoform B-spline", Wikipedia"N", Glossary, davidgould.com

Scoring off a goal kick

2005-05-10T01:17:00.000+10:00

Category: Sporting rulesDetails:Since goal kicks are considered a 'direct free kick', the goal kicker can score directly from one end to the other.Where I learned it:During a game between students from my school and another school, the other school scored in such a manner and were awarded the goal. At the time, we thought this was a mistake, however my reading of the rule today proved us

Sheep have four stomachs

2005-05-09T04:11:00.000+10:00

Category: BiologyDetails:Like cows, sheep have four chambers to their stomach, each helping in the digestive process.Where I learned it:It somehow came up in a discussion over dinner at "Kaldi's", Ethiopia's answer to Starbucks.References:"Comparison between the digestive tracts of a carnivore, a herbivore and man", Second Opinion"Ruminant", Wikipedia

Raising Cain

2005-05-06T06:41:00.000+10:00

Category: VocabularyDetails:To raise Cain: To become angry; to reprimand someone angrily. To behave in a boisterous manner; to create a commotion. [After Cain, a Biblical character, the first son of Adamand Eve, who killed his brother Abel out of jealousy.]Where I learned it:A.Word.A.Day email.References:A.Word.A.Day -- cain, Wordsmith.Org"raise Cain", Dictionary.com

Repetition and groups in Regular Expressions

2005-05-04T23:16:00.000+10:00

Category: Programming techniqueDetails:Regular Expressions are a powerful way to match parts of a section of text. Matching a section of text in a group with a repetition operator match expressions as expected, will only remember the last matched value.An example in Java:Matcher m = Pattern.matches("([a-z])+", "abc");if (m.matches()) for (int i = 1; i < m.groupCount(); i++)

Ball lightning

2005-05-04T05:48:00.000+10:00

Category: Scientific PhenomenaDetails:Ball lightning is a phenomena which was once thought to be a myth, but has gained credence in recent times. It usually manifests itself as a smallish (although some Australians have apparently seen one over 100m in diameter) ball of energy moving slowly near ground level. It either disappates or explodes when making its exit.Some New Zealand scientists may

Black moves first

2005-05-03T05:18:00.000+10:00

Category: Game rulesDetails:In checkers, the person playing with black pieces moves first. Who plays with black is chosen at random.Where I learned it:During a game, when double-checking the rules as to whether a regular piece can jump diagonally backwards after the first jump (it can't).References:Rule - Checkers, Darkfish gamesThe Standard Laws of Checkers [with comments by Jim Loy], Jim Loy's

Sex in 'The Lion King'?

2005-05-02T03:15:00.000+10:00

Category: TriviaDetails:Apparently in one or two scenes in Disney's 'The Lion King' the letters S-E-X are spelled out. This is disputed to be either figments of paranoid parents' imaginations or actually S-F-X (Special FX).Where I learned it:A discussion during lunch where one participant accidentally ordered 'chocolate donuts' instead of 'chocolate croissants', leading to malapropisms,

Apostasy

2005-05-01T02:54:00.000+10:00

Category: VocabularyDetails:"Abandonment of one's religious faith, a political party, one's principles, or a cause."Where I learned it:I was asked what I thought it meant by an English teacher (not the one who told me about velarization). I had an idea of what it meant that turned out to be incorrect when I looked it up.References:apostasy, Dictionary.comApostasy, Wikipedia

Palter

2005-04-30T06:42:00.000+10:00

Category: VocabularyDetails:palter (PAWL-tuhr) verb intr. To talk or act in an insincere or deceitful manner. To haggle. Where I learned it:A.Word.A.Day email.References:A.Word.A.Day -- palter, Wordsmith.orgpalter, Dictionary.com

Dribbling in Netball

2005-04-29T06:49:00.000+10:00

Category: Sport RulesDetails:You cannot dribble in netball, however there are allowances for bouncing the ball once to gain control. Several variations seem to exist on this rule, however, mostly regarding whether you are allowed to bounce when already in controlled possession of the ball. The 'official rules' are unavailable online without purchase, but variations seem to imply that, officially,

Velarization

2005-04-28T06:22:00.001+10:00

Category: LinguisticsDetails:velarization: tr. verb"To articulate (a sound) by retracting the back of the tongue toward the soft palate."Examples: The l sound in bell or milk.Non-Examples: The l sound in lip or please.Where I learned it:A conversation with an English teacher/linguist friend during a game of squash.References:"velarization", Dictionary.com"Velarized alveolar lateral approximant",

The three great virtues of a programmer

2005-04-26T17:23:00.000+10:00

Category: QuoteDetails:"...the three great virtues of a programmer: laziness, impatience, and hubris." - Larry Wall, Programming Perl (1st Edition), O'Rielly & AssociatesWhere I learned it:Used by a programmer in self-defence on a product mailing list.Sources:LazinessImpatienceHubris - c2.com wikiLarry Wall, the Guru of Perl - LinuxJournalperl.com - the 2nd State of the Onion

The Doctor gets 13 lives

2005-04-25T22:39:00.000+10:00

Category: TV TriviaDetails:I was aware that "The Doctor" of the "Dr Who" TV series gets to 'regenerate', thus extending his lifespan and allowing the producers to cast a new Doctor when necessary. I didn't know that he only gets to do it 12 times (thus, 13 incarnations). The current Doctor (played by Christopher Eccleston) is number 9, meaning he only has 4 lives left. And there will be a new one

And So It Begins...

2005-04-25T19:02:00.000+10:00

This blog is as much personal challenge as anything else. It has been said that you learn something new every day. My goal is to record that new piece of knowledge that I acquire here for posterity. One new thing every day.In aid of this, I have created a new word - circadianoesis - the title of this blog. Its definition is above, so I won't repeat it, but for the etymologically curious, it is a