From the builders of this unique offering: As timber engineers, we do get asked to build a lot of unusual things – things which other framing companies couldn’t even attempt. This was, perhaps, one of the more unusual. The ballista was successfully built and managed to fire a very heavy stone ball some 127 yards. (Remember, these things used to successfully lay siege to entire cities.) read more | digg story Also a...
Continue reading...October 1, 2008
YouTube Video: Our Debt-based Money System, and its Consequences
In light of the discussions of the current bailout plans going through Congress, I found this YouTube video enlightening. Here is the summary from digg: If the three and a half hour documentary on fractional reserve banking left you overwhelmed, this series of animations explaining how our debt based money system works should clarify the confusing aspects —and leave you indignant at a system that lets banks make money out of nothing to...
Continue reading...Foiled again! Pranks at work
I love where I work. Great people with a sense of humour and love for what they do. One of the guys at work was out on vacation at the same time I was. Some of my coworkers plotted to cover his desk with aluminum foil. These are programmers we’re talking about: detail oriented to an extreme. And boy does it show. (And of course, they took pictures and made a video.) Awesome....
Continue reading...Back from vacation; Research update
Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve written a real post (that wasn’t an article snippet or a copy of a joke). My coauthor was in town for a week, so I wasn’t on here much. We spent a lot of time at UNC’s Davis Library Epigraphy Room. What a wonderful resource! The Epigraphy Room has complete sets of two of the sources we rely on for inscriptions: L’Année épigraphique and Corpus Inscriptionum...
Continue reading...Humour: How to read horse ads
From a friend of mine in Horsemasters. You’ll snicker if you’ve ever read through horse sale ads. BIG TROT: Can’t canter within a 2 mile stretch NICELY STARTED: Lunges, but we don’t have enough insurance to ride him yet TOP SHOW HORSE: Won a reserve championship 5 years ago at a show with unusually low entries due to a hurricane HOME BRED: Knows nothing despite being home-grown BOLD: Runaway GOOD MOVER: Runaway ATHLETIC:...
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