Daily Archives: August 10, 2005
NASA Blows Another One
The coldest instrument ever to fly into space has unexpectedly lost its liquid helium coolant – rendering it useless. The mishap occurred just a month after it was launched on a Japanese X-ray satellite on 10 July 2005. The instrument, … Continue reading
Last Call for World’s Best Beer
For more than 160 years the Trappist monks at Saint Sixtus monastery in Flanders have been producing a rich, dark-brown, beer renowned for its exceptional flavour and strength. But an unexpected misfortune has befallen this reclusive community of 26 Cistercians: … Continue reading
Spoiling the Spoils of Empire
The Dowbrigade loves using the daily newspaper (usually the Boston Globe) with his foreign students, be they lawyers or business students or reprobate party animals. What a wonderful repository of language and cultural information! What a great guide to a … Continue reading
Smoke Gets in Our Eyes
Rest in Peace Peter Jennings Jennings smoked for about 30 years beginning in the 1950s at age 13. He quit for 20 years, then resumed smoking after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Jennings noted that he resumed smoking because ”I … Continue reading
Mysterious Lines
This afternoon, on our way to the Deluxe Town Diner (a bit overpriced for dinner, but a great place to ahve lunch) in H20town, we came upon the strangest marking in front of the Watertown Savings Bank. They were yellowish … Continue reading