HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mossop@pangea.Stanford.EDU (Antony Mossop)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Tell me about the crack
Date: 22 Dec 1992 00:43:18 GMT
Organization: Stanford Univ. Earth Sciences
NNTP-Posting-Host: pangea.stanford.edu

In article <91AH028A2fvK01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> czl30@DUTS.ccc.amdahl.com (Chris Lee) writes:
>In article <1992Dec18.203222.24020@ttinews.tti.com> jackson@soldev.tti.com (Dick Jackson) writes:
>>Evelyn S. Hlabse writes:
>>>	I have no idea how to put the crack in the cracker.
>>
>>Anyone know the chemistry of the cracking mechanism? Presumably there's
>>some explosive substance (what?) which is ignited by the heat of
>>friction when the two strips a ripped apart.
>>
>>Reminds me of making nitrogen tri-iodide at school. It went off like
>>a cracker but would be far too unstable to be used for that purpose.
>
>Ammonium tri-iodide?
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Now I'm not a chemist so I may be a bit off here but how would you
manage to make that, my vote's for NI3 though not in crackers. In
fact cracker cracks always smelt of burnt match heads to me and the
sound is similar to that which is made by twisting a swan vesta on
the sandy strike.


Tony Mossop, geophysics, Stanford
>
>>
>>I am NOT cross posting this to sci.chemistry, I would consider that
>>unsporting.
>>
>>Dick Jackson
>
>Chris


Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.models.scale,rec.collecting
From: arpepper@math.uwaterloo.ca (Adrian Pepper)
Subject: Matchbox 40th Anniversary Coronation Coach
Keywords: lesney
Organization: University of Waterloo Math Faculty Computing Facility, Ontario.
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 18:27:17 GMT

On the weekend I saw a special model Coronation Coach by Matchbox, to
commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth
II.

Does anyone know whether this was made to the same dimensions, from the
same mold effectively, as the very first die-cast toy produced by
Lesney, in 1953?  I have never seen one of the originals, but have the
impression that they are smaller than this current commemorative
model.

Even if these commemorative models are reproductions of the original, I
still feel they are far too expensive, at the $75CDN this particular
store was asking for them.  Half that price, and I would have quickly
snapped it up; even more money spent without shortening my Season's
Shopping List.

Adrian.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jac54@cas.org ()
Subject: Re: More Silly Songs-Colonel Bogey
Organization: Chemical Abstracts Service, Columbus, Ohio
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 11:21:28 GMT

In article <1gu9gdINNdg3@iskut.ucs.ubc.ca> banarji@unixg.ubc.ca (Ajai Banarji) writes:
>               More Silly Songs-Colonel Bogey
>
>  Remember the military march "Colonel Bogey"? In case you forgot, it
>appears in "Bridge on the River Kwai".
>  Does the British army still use it? I have heard Indian army bands playing
>it not too long ago.
>  Coming to the thread of "silly songs", old-timers might remember the
>W.W.2 version of this march with the words:
>
>Hitler, he had but one big ball
>Rommel, he had three but small
>Himmler, had something similar
>and Goebbels had NONE AT ALL!
>
>  Does anyone remember the other stanzas? There must have been something
>about Goering, Ribbentrop et al.
>
>
	The first verse of the British Army of the Rhine version was:

	Hitler, has only got one ball,
	the other is in the Free Trade Hall,
	Himmler, has got one sim'lar,
	And Goebbels, has no balls at all

	Alec
From: ian@sun.com (Ian Griffin - NCN Reseller SE)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Green cards
Date: 21 Dec 1992 23:38:56 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: ian@sun.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: marmite.west.sun.com

In article 11590@sun13.scri.fsu.edu, sandee@vs11.scri.fsu.edu (Daan Sandee) writes:
[]Not that I really want to defend the INS, but improving phone service is
[]just a matter of funding. Why should anybody in Washington care about the
[]service to aliens ? They don't vote. They just pay taxes. Don't blame the
[]INS from being permanently underpaid and overworked.

The notion that because the organization called the I&N *Service* implies
that it is here to serve is sadly mistaken.  Their main function is, of
course, to keep as many aliens as possible out of the country.  

Now, speaking as someone who for a good number of years lived in the 
United States *without* a Green Card, I found myself very thankful
that they *were* so underfunded and inefficient -- making it all
the easier for me to avoid detection!

The most ironic moment in my years as an illegal came when I was 
doing technical support for a PC database company and had to help
the San Francisco INS office debug their own computer programs!

Of course, times have changed, the law now requires employees to
check for evidence of legal residence, but, especially for those
of us from Northern Europe, life without a green card is still
possible.  Unless the political climate changes radically the chances
of being stopped at random and asked for your green card are probably 
on a par with winning the lottery.

BTW, I was granted amnesty along with thousands of others back in
1987, now have my green card (of whatever colour) with all those
complex looking numbers on the back.

Final note: anyone remember the poignancy of the sleeve notes on John Lennon's 
last album -- "Double Fantasy" -- where he thanked everyone who'd 
helped in his efforts to get a Green Card; this was just a short while
before he was killed on the streets of New York.

Ian.
---



Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: jdnicoll@prism.ccs.uwo.ca (James Davis Nicoll)
Subject: Re: Studying Meteorology in the UK
Organization: University of Western Ontario, London
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 20:49:00 GMT

In article <1992Dec31.183305.4734@pixel.kodak.com> dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones) writes:
>Robert Firth (firth@sei.cmu.edu) wrote:
>> In article <9T3kwB2w165w@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> waldo@cybernet.cse.fau.edu (Todd J. Dicker) writes:
>> 
>> >I thought the weather report was always the same in Canada-- cold and 
>> >snowy!
>> 
>> No, that's only in the winter.  In the summer, it's warm and snowy.
>
>Or, as they say: 8 months of snow and 4 months of bad sledding.
>
>(4-1/2 months in Newfoundland)

	I wish we had  8 months of snow! Right now, my piece  of
Ontario is  grey, miserable and  snowless.

							James Nicoll
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: ambidge@ecf.toronto.edu (Chris Ambidge)
Subject: Cold Comfort Farm (was:Re: yankee behind the wheel)
Organization: University of Toronto, Engineering Computing Facility
Distribution: soc
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 19:03:11 GMT

In article <1992Dec21.175403.16317@osf.org> dbrooks@osf.org (David Brooks) writes:
  [about the channel tunnel]
>
>Actually, the British end of the tunnel does a wide clockwise loop, and
>ends up in deepest Sussex.  When the drivers see the fake "Bienvenu a la
>Ferme Froid Confort" sign, they think better of it and go back.
>

Are there any other _Cold_Comfort_Farm_ enthusiasts out there?  This book
was my salvation (Reuben, Seth, Ticklepenny's Corner, scranleting, Elfine,
Sukebind and all) when forced to read Thomas Hardy for academic credit
(certainly not for either fun or profit).  It was such a relief to find
that someone ELSE found Hardy and his genre glutinous beyond measure.

Arrr, Watervoles...
Chris
-- 
Chris Ambidge / ambidge@ecf.toronto.edu / ambidge@ecf.utoronto.ca  
   chemical engineering / university of toronto
   200 college st / toronto ON / M5S 1A4 // 416 978 3106
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
From: walker@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Graham Walker, 227 West Old Main,268-3847,)
Subject: Re: British Flags and Chritmas Wishes
Organization: Clarkson University
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 22:59:25 GMT

From article <1992Dec25.031048.25839@nuscc.nus.sg>, by hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R Pennell):
> 
> 	AH now there you're partly wrong and partly right. To be sure the
> CNT-FAI used red and black (but they are probably better categorised as
> anarchosyndicalists. )BUT if you you to Spain NOW, Fuerza Nueva (Blas
> Pinar's mob, who've been around since the mid 70s, and are a. extremely
> unpleasant and b. as close to being fascist as to dfie any other
> definition) use red and black as their colours. WHat I meant to type was
> ANarchists and Fascists. Sorry. But isn't it interesting how they both use
> those colours. ANd have you ever felt the desire to  buy Fuerza Nueva's
> magazine, nad have you ever bought one regardless of your desire because
> one of their sellers wanted you to buy one . . . The colours are etched on
> my mind.
> 
> Richard
> 
> PS. Falange shirts were, of course blue. Such a fetching shade.

As I pointed out in another posting which may not have made it, the
Spanish Fascists (the Falange, there was also the JON) coopted the
anarcho-syndicalist colors because of the popularity of the
syndacalists. It is not clear from your posting, but are you trying to
imply that the Anarchists are equivalent to Fascists?

												GW

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,rec.travel
From: bvaughan@sheps.Princeton.EDU (Barbara Vaughan)
Subject: Re: British Rail Schedules
Originator: news@nimaster
Organization: Princeton University
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 18:06:32 GMT

In article <1992Dec29.005659.9188@nuscc.nus.sg> hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R
Pennell) writes: 
>rhaller@ns.uoregon.edu (Rich Haller) writes: 
>: If there is someway for me to access British Rail schedules via guest 
>: telnet, gopher, et cetera, I would appreciate being told how. Likewise for
>: British Air. 
>:  
> What you want is not so much schedules as estimates.  .  . 
> 
>Re yr question. ASk your local travel agent for Thomas Cook's European 
>timetable/ British ABC Rail guide, For airlines, even the crummiest travel 
>agent MUST have the ABC World Airways guide. 
> 

There used to be a book called Eurail Travel Guide that had condensed
railway schedules for nearly every country in the world (not just Europe).
It was great for estimating the feasibility of your travel plans.  For hub
cities, it had lots of "day trip" schedules: a selection of trains out in
the morning and back at night.  Thus you could see how much time you would
have to see the sights in Bath, let's say, if you took the earliest train
from London in the morning and returned to London on the last train at
night.  For intercity routes, it published a selection of trains departing
and arriving thoughout the day, as well as suggested overnight trains.  It
also had suggested scenic routes. 

I bought this book in 1985; I would like to get a newer version if it's
available, just to feed my daydreams.

Barbara Vaughan
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones)
Subject: Re: Granary bread
Organization: Vonnegut Tent Rentals, Inc.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 92 19:34:57 GMT

Jackson Hill (jhill@bucknell.edu) wrote:
> I am looking for recipes for granary-type breads, preferably oaty or wheaty
> in character, with a lot of body and texture.  I remember while living in
> Oxford in the 1970s being able to buy a wonderful commercially-made bread
> called Nutty Cob.  This is the kind of bread I have in mind.  If anyone is
> willing to share their recipes with me, please post here at
> soc.culture.british or e-mail to me at jhill@bucknell.edu      Thanks.   
> Jack Hill.

I dunno about the commercial stuff, but in my time Les Anglais who baked
for themselves swore by the Tassajara Bread Book - which happens to be
American.  Copies available everywhere......

--
||------------------------------------------------------------------------
||Dave Jones (dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com)|Eastman Kodak Co. Rochester, NY  |
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:17948 soc.culture.celtic:8381
From: Geraint.Jones@comlab.oxford.ac.uk (Geraint Jones)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: British Flags (was Re: The Welsh Flag)
Date: 22 Dec 92 12:27:43 GMT
Organization: Christine Keiler's Matured-in-the-Cask Dundee Keg Marmalade
Originator: geraint@clts1.comlab

frankm@microsoft.com (Frank R.A.J. Maloney) wrote:
(  The Red Dragon of Wales, a red dragon displayed on a field of white and
 ) green, is said to commemorate the legend that Merlin had a vision in
(  which a white dragon killed a red dragon which rose again (symbolizing
 ) the failure of the Saxons to conquer Wales). 

Almost:  this `Merlin' is Myrddin Emrys, the one involved in the story of 
Gwrtheyrn, the `Vortigern' who was driven from the south coast (or what is 
now England) by the Danes.  The story involves two dragons who were fighting
in another story which was one of the four branches of the Mabinogi.  The red
dragon was not killed, but both dragons had been drugged (caught in a pit of 
mead dug in Oxford and covered with silk) and buried in a stone chest in 
Snowdonia.  It was these dragons rising in the night and fighting underground 
that kept demolishing the new castle that Gwrtheyrn was building, and Emrys's 
contribution was to tell them where to dig to release the dragons.  The red 
dragon was last seen driving the white dragon out to sea, and Emrys' prophecy
is that the Welsh will drive the Saxon out.

(  It consists a shield at
 ) the center displaying a prince's coronet on a field of green -- a Welsh
(  national color -- placed on the Principality's standard -- the
 ) traditional arms -- quartering four lions, two red on gold, two gold on
(  red.

This `principality' is the Principality of Gwynedd.  These are the arms of 
the last Prince of Wales, who died with an English spear through his back  /
the night before a battle, in 1282.  Not that I would want anyone to      /
think we have long memories.                                             / g
From: jmb@ukc.ac.uk (J.M.Bremner)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Yankee behind the wheel.. {HELP!}
Date: 22 Dec 92 20:17:08 GMT
Reply-To: jmb@ukc.ac.uk (Mike Bremner)
Organization: Computing Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK.

In article <1992Dec19.033643.28011@news.ysu.edu> ae498@yfn.ysu.edu (Dawn Bott) writes:

>i am really nervous about driving about on the left hand
>side of the road, using roundabouts....general stuff like
>that...

To add to the advice already given:

1.  At junctions, keep an eye on the road.  By that I mean the road
    surface: the markings can be quite informative.  You will come
    across junctions, particularly minor ones, where there are no "Give
    Way" signs, just double dashed white lines across the road.  You may
    even come across minor cross-roads in towns where there are no
    indications of priority (a "four-way go" rather than a "four-way
    stop"): you realise this when you see no lines across the road
    you're on or on the intersecting road.  You treat these junctions
    rather like four-way stops, except that you don't have to stop if
    your route is clear.  In the event of two motorists arriving
    simultaneously at one of these junctions, it is conventional, unless
    the matter of priority can easily be settled on the basis of social
    class, to exchange gestures along the lines "After you, old chap." 
    "Oh, no: after _you_": this can go on for some time.

2.  Buy a copy of The Highway Code (does anyone know if you can get this
    at an airport bookstall?), and read it at your first port of call.
    (If eastbound jet-lag affects you as it does me you won't want to go
    far the first day.)  In particular, study the section on road signs
    and markings.  In a fit of Euro-fervour Britain took most of the
    words off road signs about 30 years ago--they actually went round
    painting out the words on, for example, signs reading "NO ENTRY", so
    you'll have to recognise the designs.  On motorways, don't expect to
    see useful signs like "THIS LANE EXITS": learn, instead, that this
    is indicated by a downward-pointing arrow (as opposed to a
    diagonally-pointing-off-to-the-left arrow), and that this is also
    indicated on the road surface by short, fat, white dashes
    separating the exiting lane from the others.  Other esoteric points
    include the fact that, in general, signs surrounded by a red ring
    have to be obeyed, while those on a blue rectangle are merely
    informative.  This can be useful if, for example, you are confused,
    when approaching a narrow bridge and confronted by a sign (arrows
    up and down, one red) which tells you who has priority: if it's a
    blue rectangle, you have; if it's in a red ring, the other driver
    has.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth)
Subject: Re: Gerry prayer corner and Berlin brick walls
Organization: Software Engineering Institute
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 09:13:38 EST

In article <1992Dec22.025007.1@vxdesy.desy.de> godfrey@vxdesy.desy.de writes:

>> Why thanking you kindly, Sir. But aren't you forgetting? Peace on earth and
>> goodwill to *all* people? 
>> -- 
>A misquote I suspect, or the exclusion of Germans was assumed to be implicit

A mistranslation, not a misquote:

	Gloria in excelsis deo,
	et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis

In the original, the exclusion was explicit.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
From: hiscrp@nuscc.nus.sg (C R Pennell)
Subject: Re: British Flags and Chritmas Wishes
Organization: National University of Singapore
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 23:56:49 GMT

jac54@cas.org () writes:
: In article <1992Dec22.211517.11169@e2big.mko.dec.com> holohan@mark.enet.dec.com (Mark Holohan) writes:
: >
: >   The Union Flag should more appropriately be called, the Jolly-Roger.
: 
: 	The response will probably be gone from our system by the time I
: 	return, so I'll just pause to observe that the term "Jolly Roger"
: 	is a corruption of the French "jolie rouge" (pretty red, or "pretty
: 	in pink" for those used to rum, bum, and concertina).  Pirates
: 	typically flew a red flag, probably because they subscribed to the
: 	theory that all property is theft.

WEll no: pirates had a choice of flag: red ones and black ones (the design
varied) red meant "no quarter" black meant "if you surrender we won;t kill
you" [BTW Libyan sea raiders aka "corsairs" of the 17 century used a green
flag: Col Q. redesigned the Libyan flag so it's green]


  So, to the tune of that ever-
: 	popular Christmas carol:
: 
: 		The people's flag is deepest red,
: 		It's shrouded oft their martyr dead,
: 		etc...
:

	What does this tell you about Spanish fascists (red and black?)
 
: 	At this point, I pause to offer the compliments of the season to
: 	all.  Especially to those who have educated, corrected and entertained
: 	me so much over the past months.
: 
: 	Alec
AH Thanks

Richard
From: rhaller@ns.uoregon.edu (Rich Haller)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: British Rail Schedules
Date: 28 Dec 92 22:02:37 GMT
Article-I.D.: rhaller.rhaller-281292140109
Followup-To: soc.culture.british,rec.travel
Distribution: world
Organization: University of Oregon
NNTP-Posting-Host: rhaller.cc.uoregon.edu

If there is someway for me to access British Rail schedules via guest
telnet, gopher, et cetera, I would appreciate being told how.  Likewise for
British Air.

-Rich Haller <rhaller@ns.uoregon.edu>   University of Oregon, Eugene, OR,
USA
Xref: sparky soc.culture.british:18017 soc.culture.celtic:8417
From: smaill@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Alan Smaill)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british,soc.culture.celtic
Subject: Re: British Flags (was Re: The Welsh Flag)
Date: 23 Dec 92 21:27:02 GMT
Reply-To: smaill@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Alan Smaill)
Organization: Laboratory for the Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh U

In article <1992Dec21.170903.8887@microsoft.com> frankm@microsoft.com (Frank R.A.J. Maloney) writes:

>As for the Lion Rampant of Scotland, appears to have been used on a
>seal of Alexander II in the 13th century. The Tressure, a double
>framework enriched at each side and corner with lilies, was apparently
>added by James VI and I; the lilies probably mark the traditional
>friendship between Scotland and France. 

I thought the presence of fleurs de lys was a good deal older than that -
you certainly see this tressure associated with the earlier Jameses, there's
a contemporary portrait of James II (and not VII) that shows his standard
in this form.  The story I heard was that the lilies went back to the
alliance between William the Lion of Scotland and Louis nth of France.
(I think William the Lion comes before Alex II, but I stand to be corrected
there.)

-- 
Alan Smaill                       JANET: smaill@uk.ac.ed.lfcs
LFCS, Dept. of Computer Science   UUCP: ..!mcvax!ukc!lfcs!smaill
University of Edinburgh           ARPA: smaill%lfcs.ed.ac.uk@nfsnet-relay.ac.uk
Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, UK.            Tel: 031-650-5189
From: yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Dave Shariff Yadallee)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Solution to the Candidates of the Republic of Great Britiain
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 92 05:32:56 MST
Organization: Edmonton Remote Systems #1, Edmonton, AB, Canada

sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller) writes:

- In article <N59BwB2w165w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca> yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca
- >wilcox@vax.oxford.ac.uk writes:
- >
- >- In article <Xuk9VB4w165w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca>, yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab
- >- > Sorry, that should be Britain.
- >- >
- >- > Put anyone who wants to be GB President in front of a firing squad and i
- >- > person survives without medical attention, let them stand.
- >- >
- >-
- >- Oh goody goody goody. Can we do the same with the Royal Family? Pleeeeeze?
- >
- >Mr Wilcox, would you please step up as a candidate for the British Presidenc
- >
-
- Whoa, kids.  Democracy is not for amateurs - and the above exchange
- shows why it shouldn't be attempted at home without proper parental
- supervision.
-
-
  Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Sue darling. what's your next trick?

Dave Shariff Yadallee (B. Sc. (Econ/Math) (U of Alberta 1990) )
 (yadallee@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca, userLIBE@mts.ucs.ualberta.ca)
God Save the Queen, God Bless us All! Remember! Jesus Saves!!
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year to One and All - John Lennon
From: pt@curie.lif.icnet.uk (Paul Taylor <pt@acl.icnet.uk>)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: yankee behind the wheel
Date: 22 Dec 1992 15:07:52 -0000
Organization: Imperial Cancer Research Fund
Distribution: soc
NNTP-Posting-Host: curie.lif.icnet.uk

In article <1992Dec21.230630.19645@netcom.com> sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller) writes:
>In article <199221.4296.21536@dosgate> "barry ross" <barry.ross@canrem.com> writes:

>>With  the solid link with the continent(Euro Tunnel),  I  thought
>>you British would have to become civilized and drive on the RIGHT
>>side  of  the road.

>But seriously, I don't see any reason why the UK needs to alter its road 
>habits just because of the Chunnel.  It's not like there aren't easy
>workarounds to the problem.

Swedes used to drive on the left and they had land borders with Norway where
people drove on the right. Its perfectly possible. Although there were perhpas
complications because Sweden did actually change.

How much effort would it be to change over? Presumably motorway junctions would
have to be largely rebuilt. All kinds of traffic schemes would have to be
rethought out. And we would all have to get new cars.

I guess you all know the joke about the proposal to phase it in: first bikes
then motorbikes, next cars and finally lorries.


Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
From: igb@fulcrum.co.uk (Ian G Batten)
Subject: Re: Banned: ``Happy Holidays'' [sic]
Organization: Fulcrum Communications
Distribution: soc
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 13:45:19 GMT

In article <1992Dec23.110526.20510@its.bt.co.uk> tjo@its.bt.co.uk (Tim Oldham) writes:
> My wife and I have received Christmas cards from people of all races and religions,
> of course. 

Including myself, who comes from several generations of atheist.
Christmas has become a cultural artifact, distinct from any religious
symbolism: perhaps a return to its pagan roots.  I simply ensure that
the cards I send have no religious content.

Mind you, I did receive one card that said ``Are heathens allowed to
celebrate Christmas?''  I took it in the joking spirit that was
intended.

ian