Category Archives: History

Unforgettable Moments: Revisiting the Biggest Sporting Upsets in History

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Sports have an incredible way of captivating our hearts, igniting our passions, and occasionally leaving us dumbfounded by the unexpected. Historically, there have been instances when the dark horses prevailed, the probabilities were contradicted, and the unfeasible transformed into the factual. Embark with us on a nostalgic odyssey as we revisit some of the most indelible athletic astonishments that left us exulting, weeping, and pondering the fundamental character of rivalry.

The Underdog Triumphs: Defying the Odds

In the world of sports, underdogs often find themselves faced with insurmountable odds. But sometimes, against all expectations, they manage to rise above and achieve the unimaginable. If you’d have bet on any of these with Hollywoodbets, well, you would have made a fortune!

1. The “Miracle on Ice” – 1980 Winter Olympics

Picture this: the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, USA. The ice hockey squad from the Soviet Union, universally regarded as invincible, competed against the novice and unseasoned US team. The Soviet team had secured the top prize in the past four Olympic Games, making it inconceivable for anyone to believe the American side could triumph. Incredibly, the underdog team succeeded in securing a phenomenal triumph, besting the Soviets with a 4-3 victory in a match that would later be known as the “Ice Miracle.” This victory signified more than just an athletic accomplishment; it embodied the triumph of determination and teamwork against seemingly overwhelming obstacles.

2. Leicester City’s Premier League Win – 2015-2016 Season

In the world of English football, the Premier League is known for its fierce competition and dominance by the established powerhouses. But in the 2015-2016 season, Leicester City, a team with 5000-to-1 odds of winning the league, proved that the beautiful game is full of surprises. Led by charismatic manager Claudio Ranieri and fueled by unwavering team spirit, Leicester City secured their first-ever Premier League title, leaving fans and pundits alike in awe of their remarkable journey from underdogs to champions.

Moments of Shock and Awe: Redefining Possibilities

Sometimes, a sporting upset isn’t just about the outcome of a game. It’s about rewriting history and showing the world that limitations are meant to be shattered.

1. Buster Douglas Knocks Out Mike Tyson – 1990

The boxing world was in shock when the seemingly invincible Mike Tyson faced off against James “Buster” Douglas in 1990. Tyson was an unstoppable force, known for his quick knockouts and imposing presence. However, Douglas entered the ring with a determination to prove himself. In a stunning turn of events, Douglas knocked out Tyson in the tenth round, defying all expectations and reminding us that no one is unbeatable.

2. Greece Wins UEFA Euro 2004

Football fans were left speechless during the 2004 UEFA European Championship when Greece, a team considered an underdog in every sense, lifted the coveted trophy. Against star-studded opponents and with a solid defense-first strategy, Greece showcased the power of teamwork, discipline, and strategic play. Their victory taught us that in sports, as in life, surprises await those who dare to dream big and work tirelessly.

A Roller Coaster of Emotions: From Despair to Triumph

Sporting upsets often take us on an emotional roller coaster, leaving us on the edge of our seats and making us believe that anything is possible.

1. The 2007 Cricket World Cup Final

In cricket-crazy India, the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was a roller coaster of emotions. The Indian team, a favorite to win, faced off against underdog newcomers Bangladesh in the group stage. In a shocking turn of events, India was defeated, leaving fans heartbroken and shocked. The upset was a reminder that the game of cricket is unpredictable and that complacency can lead to unexpected outcomes.

2. Rulon Gardner’s Olympic Wrestling Upset – Sydney 2000

Sydney 2000 Olympics witnessed one of the most inspiring upsets in wrestling history. Rulon Gardner, an American wrestler, faced Alexander Karelin, a Russian legend who hadn’t lost a match in 13 years. Against all odds, Gardner managed to defeat Karelin, ending the Russian’s incredible winning streak and showcasing the power of determination and resilience. Gardner’s triumph was a testament to the human spirit’s ability to overcome even the most daunting challenges.

Conclusion: Celebrating the Unpredictable Beauty of Sports

In a world that often thrives on predictability, the realm of sports continues to remind us that the unpredictable is what makes competitions so thrilling. The instances when the underdog triumphs over the mighty, when what seemed unattainable materializes, and when sorrow transforms into exhilaration, encapsulate the very soul of sports. These athletic surprises serve as a reminder that the potential of the human spirit is limitless, and that, regardless of the odds, there is always an opportunity for the dark horse to dazzle.

So, the next time you find yourself engrossed in a match and it appears that the odds are overwhelmingly against a team or player, recall these memorable episodes from the annals of sports. They stand as a testimony to the strength of will, cooperation, and the capacity to redefine the boundaries of the achievable. Sports will always be a stage where dreams come true, and where the unexpected will forever reign supreme.

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Cars: The Greatest Freedom Tool Ever Invented

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When you think about human freedom, you usually think about ancient Greek philosophy, the invention of democracy, and libertarianism. But being free is actually a lot more practical than many people in their ivory towers imagine. 

Cars, for instance, are arguably the greatest tool for freedom ever invented. For the first time in history, people can hop into a vehicle and travel wherever they want on the public roads, without having to pay a fortune for the privilege. Practically everyone in work can afford these objects. 

How We View Our Cars

It wasn’t always this way, of course. The 1960s, for instance, was an era before universal car ownership. The vast majority of working people couldn’t afford to run a private motor vehicle, so they had to rely on walking, trains, or bicycles instead. 

When cars began coming down in price to the point where the average person could afford them, they were hailed as freedom-giving objects. All of a sudden, a family living in the middle of a big city could pack their bags and go to the beach whenever they liked, without having to hop on the train first. Plus, they could travel back whenever they liked, instead of having to keep an eye on the clock. 

Young people experienced a similar level of freedom for the first time too. They were able to go out late, drive where they liked, and meet up with their friends, so long as they had access to a car. It was seen as the greatest tool for freedom in the history of mankind, giving anyone who owned one unprecedented level of independence. 

The view of cars, however, began to change. And by the turn of the millennium, very few people saw them as a tool for freedom. In fact, most began viewing them as objects that polluted and damaged the natural world – a far cry from fifty years beforehand. 

The rise of the car wreck lawyer also began to change things. For the first time, we saw that cars were also extremely dangerous and that safety was a real concern on the roads. 

Because of these major narratives, we’ve forgotten about the freedom that cars offer us. But it’s still there, and we should celebrate it. 

Reclaiming The Car Freedom Narrative

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Major social forces are changing the way that we view our motor vehicles. The global elite actually wants to put an end to private vehicle consumption because of the impact that they believe it is having on the climate. 

But with the advent of electric motor vehicles, that could all be about to change. In the future, the problem won’t be the cars themselves at all – it’ll be the coal and gas power plants providing them with energy. 

Cars will once again become a kind of guilt-free pleasure that anyone can enjoy. And it’s going to happen sooner than many think. Already EVs are economically compelling. And by the time we get to the middle of the next decade, the price of making them will have fallen below regular ICE vehicles, ushering in a new era.

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Steampunk Books To Add To Your Reading List

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If you are looking for a new set of books to add to your reading list this year, we want to share a genre with you that you may not have thought about before. Today, we are going to share with you some of the top steampunk books you should read this year to take you away to another world and show you some incredible adventures. 

But, what is steampunk? Well, steampunk is a literary genre that is similar to sci-fi in tone. It is a genre that brings together science fiction alongside 19th century industrial themes. If you have ever seen any steampunk artwork you will notice an emphasis on cogs and machinery, and this is where the industrial inspiration can really be seen. But today we are sharing with you some of the steampunk books you should definitely read. 

Boneshaker –  Cherie Priest 

If you love the zombie genre and you are looking for a new take on it, this is the right book for you. It combines what we know about zombies and pulls it into an alternate version of Seattle. During the Civil War, there are rumours of gold in the frozen Klondike that attracts many towards it. Russians endevour to create a large drill to drill through the ice and find this treasure, anf the titular Boneshaker drill is born. However when using this drill for the first time, gold is not discovered, and instead a torrent of gas is released that turns the population into zombies. 

Against the Day – Thomas Pynchon 

For an introduction to the steampunk genre there is nothing better than Against the Day. This is a book filled with complex themes and beautiful literature that gives you a wonderful entry into this world. It is set at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and follows a team of balloonists who go on all manner of adventures. It is a unique read and one you should consider this year. 

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

What? You may be wondering. Although the steampunk genre didn’t exist back in the early 1800s, this is a great example of an early work in this world. As we all know, Dr Frankenstein tried to build life from deceased body parts and machinery, and what comes of this is the iconic character we know today. 

Agatha H and the Airship City –  Phil & Kaja Foglio

This couple have created a story that is filled with wonder and awe, and it has a very cyberpunk inspiration throughout. During the industrial revolution there is a lot of conflict, and this story follows 18 years after a group of adventurers called the Heterodyne Boys went missing. We follow a young student called Agatha as she struggles to build anything that works. Over time she adapts and we follow her adventures through a world overrun with mad scientists. 

Lady of Devices – Shelley Adina

Our main character Claire finds herself out on the streets of London after her father gambles his entire estate and loses. Claire however is a nifty woman and soon she uses her knowledge of machbinery and devices to succeed in this underworld life. A new leader emerges known as the Lady of Devices, and soon she realises her talents could be put to amazing use for the greater good… if only she lives that long.

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Tesla Motors Is Going To Dominate In The 2020s. Get Ready

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Just a couple of years ago, short-sellers like Jim Chanos were announcing that it was the end of Tesla. There hadn’t been a new, successful car company in the US for nearly one hundred years. And there certainly wasn’t going to be one based on the laughable concept of electric vehicles. 

Now though, it is Tesla founder Elon Musk who is rubbing his hands together with glee, with the short-sellers running from their positions with their tails between their legs. The enigmatic entrepreneur seems to have pulled off the impossible: create a profitable car company that people love. 

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The story of Tesla, however, doesn’t end with the company’s current $500-plus share price. Many analysts, including those who focus on disruptive change, think it could go to $5000 by the end of the 2020s, maybe more. 

Why is this? How can a “car company” increase in value so much over a decade? 

Elon Musk Holds All The Cards

The critical thing to understand about Tesla is that the company holds all the cards that it needs to create the most compelling automotive product that the world has ever seen. 

Consider first, the fact that Tesla makes all its own batteries. It’s not going to some third-party vendor who also sells cells to the rest of the automotive world. Instead, it makes them all itself, using proprietary technology that nobody else can access. It’s why the California-based firm can build cars that will drive more than 350 miles on a single charge while its competitors are struggling to get about 150. When it comes to batteries, it’s miles ahead of the game. 

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Now consider the company’s over-the-air updates. Teslas are the only cars in the world that get BETTER the longer you own them. All Tesla needs to do is create a new software package that adds features and drivers can immediately feel the benefits.

These updates can be practically anything. Most of the time, they’re improved driving assist features, but nothing is stopping Tesla from adding entertainment options, voice control, and other stuff that adds to drivers’ quality of life. 

Tesla is also a monopoly. It sounds strange to say given how many car companies that there are in the world, but bear with me. The company is the only firm in the world, producing luxury electric vehicles for the western market at scale. Traditional automakers aren’t there yet. More importantly, Tesla is a transportation solutions firm, not a car company in the old-fashioned sense. It’s more akin to Uber or Lyft, but with manufacturing facilities to make its own vehicles. 

If you find that hard to swallow, your perceptions will change over the coming decades. The best Tesla trip planner app won’t be the traditional rideshare companies; it’ll be for the company’s electric vehicles. And these won’t have human pilots. Tesla will create software that allows its cars to drive themselves, collect passengers, and form part of a massive fleet of vehicles, providing low-cost rides across the world. 

This feature of Tesla’s business model is the real genius of their entire operation. If they can perfect autonomous taxi technology, they don’t need customers willing to put $60,000 down on a vehicle. Instead, they just need people willing to pay $5 for a ride across town. Tesla will then be in a race to get cars on the road. If customers want to rent out their Teslas to the public and to share an income with Tesla, they can do that. If they’re not willing to use their cars while they’re idle, then Tesla will sell cars to itself and create an in-house fleet. This group of vehicles will then serve the general public, just as Uber and Lyft do today, but at a much lower cost. 

Autonomy Is The Real Game-Changer

Autonomous technology is the real game-changer for Tesla. Forget the engineering, battery tech, and electric drivetrain – the thing that is really going to make the difference to the company’s business model over the next ten years is the rise of cars that drive themselves. Tesla will be able to use this technology to produce vehicles that have intrinsic value before it even sells them to customers. Each car, the company estimates, will be able to generate a lifetime revenue of $300,000 in today’s terms. For the first time in history, a company will sell a vehicle that adds to its customers’ wealth. 

Think for a second, too, about how this will change the lending side of the equation. In typical situations, a person has to work to recoup the money that they borrow when they purchase a vehicle. Firms providing loans take on substantial risk. They need to ensure that the borrower pays back the loan faster than their car is depreciating to make sure that they don’t lose money if they have to repossess. 

The same is not true of a Tesla of the future. A lender knows that the car will continue to generate money as it goes forward. Even if the borrower can’t pay, the lender can take back ownership of the vehicle and use it to make money. 

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When you think about this fact, the economics of buying a Tesla starts to look a bit crazy. We could see a situation where people who hold capital buy as many Teslas as they can so they can benefit from the returns. Lenders could pay people to own Teslas, so long as they rent them out to the public. The possibilities are truly bizarre!

The Space Factor

The final part of the equation is Elon Musk’s other pet project: Spacex. SpaceX is going to become the biggest private company in the world over the next couple of decades, thanks to its Starlink effort. Global internet satellites will change communications across the globe. 

Tesla, however, will benefit from Spacex because vehicles will be able to get internet wherever they go on the planet, including rural locations. 

The electric car maker, therefore, is positioned to become the most valuable firm in the world — what a turnaround from a couple of years ago. 

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Days to Hours: How Has Surgery Gotten Faster In Recent Times

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doctor having operation

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Surgery is a relatively new form of science, compared to a lot of the work which goes on in labs. Before the advent of electronics capable of measuring vital signs, chemicals which can render someone unable to feel pain, and widespread information sharing, a huge portion of those going under the knife wouldn’t have come out from the otherside. Even as this field developed, though, many procedures would have taken an extremely long time. This has changed in the modern world, with routine operations often taking mere minutes, and some of the hardest of them only taking a few hours. Of course, though, how exactly has this field managed to get so fast?

Preparation

In the past, a lot of surgeons would have to make an educated guess at where they should start with certain procedures. With x-rays and other types of imaging only giving a broad picture, it was incredibly difficult for people to make an accurate guess as to where an operation should start, and it would take a lot of time to figure out where the problem was. Nowadays, though, a planned operation is far smoother. With the technology to see inside people in great detail, doctors, surgeons, and other medical professionals can just about do perform their procedures with their eyes closed.

Non-Invasive Tools

There are a lot of medical procedures which used to involve opening someone up and getting past organs, fat, and other tissues, just to solve something relatively simple. With the way that the human body is built, different parts will often get in the way of what the surgeon needs to access. Companies like Medtronic have been changing this, though, creating tools which enable many operations to be performed without cutting someone open at all. Options like this are great, as they not only improve the time in which someone is being operated on, but will also speed up their recovery, too.

John Myungjune Kim discusses, on his UCLA focused blog, the benefits of technology in the medical field, including robotics technology that can handle the pressure of many procedures. Enhanced tooling and innovative technologies are in the process of transforming the healthcare system. In the long term, the medical field is constantly evolving to the point where a future inexpensive, effective, and fast healthcare could be a possible outcome.

Improved Knowledge

The medical field is always expanding, with new minds being put to tasks which have been explored for decades. With this ever-increasing well of knowledge, modern surgeons have an edge over their traditional counterparts, and this can make their job move a lot faster. Many of the procedures they are performing will have been done thousands of times. There will be resources available to them which make it easier, and advancements in the procedures being used can be spread between hospitals like never before. A new world of medical science is being opened up, and this makes the job of a surgeon all the easier.

Reading this should leave you feeling a sense of calm about your next visit to the hospital. While many people go through their whole lives without an operation, you can never predict what might happen in the future, and this makes it worth learning about the field now. As time goes on, this will only improve, though you should never put off a surgery when you need it, and should feel confident that the people working on your body know exactly what they’re doing.

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History of Hemp: A Comprehensive Look at the Past and Future

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history of hemp cbd

It’s hard not to browse a feed, turn on the television, or read a magazine without coming across news about CBD. CBD is a powerful compound found in hemp. While hemp-based products are soaring with popularity, using them was taboo just a couple of years ago. For over a century, hemp was outlawed throughout the United States. Yet, this crop was a source of food, clothing, and medicine for our ancestors who settled in this country. So, what led to the prohibition on hemp and inevitably, the lifting of the ban? Here is a comprehensive look at the complicated history of hemp.

History of Hemp Origins

The hemp and human connection dates back as far as 8000 BCE. Archeologists recovered hemp cloths in regions associated with ancient Mesopotamia (present-day Iran and Iraq). Indigenous people used the durable hemp fibers to create textiles. Meanwhile, those who lived in present-day China and Taiwan used hemp seeds and oil for food sources and to make pottery.

While hemp flourished in the areas that we know today as Asia, the hardy plant can be grown in a variety of climates. As our ancestors migrated west, they brought hemp along with them. The plant was used by our ancestors to make shelter, sails, food, and eventually, medicine.

Hemp was held in such high regard that ancient texts, The Vedas, dubbed it one the five essential plants. Records indicate the herb was christened with the name, “sacred grass.”

Early civilians grew dependent on hemp. In fact, King Henry VIII of England fined farmers who didn’t cultivate the crop. It was imperative that our ancestors brought hemp along with them on their journey overseas. It was in the New World that the value of hemp would hit an all-time high and a near-fatal low.

History of Hemp in the New World

Hemp made its way to the New World in 1606. By 1616, the first settlement of Jamestown was established. The first line of action was to transform the fertile soils of modern Virginia into robust hemp farms. In 1632, the Virginia Assembly mandated that farmers grow hemp on the farms–a practice that would continue as our ancestors colonized New England throughout the 1700s.

The plant was of such importance that hemp was considered a legal form of tender in early settlements. Even the Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper!

Throughout the 19th century, America continued to rely on this durable plant. Congress was as far as enacting a law in 1841 that required the Navy to purchase hemp from domestic farmers.

The hemp industry was booming, requiring innovations in technology such as the hemp decorticator. This machine would strip the fibers and stalks off the hemp plant, making manufacturing more efficient. It also revolutionized the way we handle agriculture to this day.

By 1850, hemp was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia. In this important historical text, they recorded the uses of hemp for everything from hysteria to gout to tetanus. It wasn’t long before hemp was included in many over-the-counter products. All of these practices would continue until 1937. That was when a century-long prohibition went into effect, almost erasing the history of hemp forever.

History of Hemp: The Path to Prohibition

At the beginning of the 20th century, the New World experienced a cultural shift. Settlers leaned toward more conservative values. In the early 1900s, the use of mind-altering substances was frowned upon. These outlooks led to the prohibition of alcohol. Simultaneously, these actions helped foster the growth of a stigma that would bleed over into the cannabis industry.

Our ancestors didn’t have the technology or the primary cannabis extraction methods in the 1930s that we have today. They couldn’t distinguish that hemp was a plant species in the cannabis genus. No one had a way of differentiating between hemp and marijuana. People figured out that smoking a cannabis plant will sometimes create psychoactive effects. Early civilians didn’t know they were smoking marijuana, not hemp.

Around the time of a national cultural shift, California was undergoing a local one as well. During this era, there was political unrest in Mexico. Many Mexicans were migrating to the border, and they were smoking cannabis recreationally.

Playing on the nation’s fear of immoral behavior, and in an attempt to thwart the colonization of immigrants, California became the first state to lay a hefty tax on hemp items. They signed into law the Marihuana Act of 1937.

marihuana tax act

With cotton being sewn for textiles, twine being used for rope, and the rise of pharmaceuticals, growing hemp wasn’t worth the tax. Eventually, hemp production started to slow down. By 1957, the last commercial hemp field was planted in Wisconsin. In 1970, growing hemp became illegal.

Hemp Becomes Illegal

The Controlled Substance Act was drafted in 1970 as a replacement to the 1956 Narcotics Control Act that cracked down on drug arrests. Most notably, the Controlled Substance Act put drugs in tiers based on how dangerous they were to the community. Cannabis was declared a schedule 1 drug, making punishment comparable to those who possess heroin, LSD, and cocaine. This is perhaps one of the worst things to happen in the history of hemp.

Since cannabis landed on the list, that meant hemp was treated the same as marijuana. This ban would take place just as science and technology would hit an evolutionary boom. While scientists discovered CBD and THC in 1946, they didn’t realize how these chemical compounds potentially interacted with the body.

In 1964, scientists defined the molecular structures of both THC and CBD. It was in those moments that the differences between hemp and marijuana started to become clear. Dr. Raphael Mechoulam concluded that cannabis plants with high concentrations of THC caused psychoactive reactions.

Whereas, plants with low levels of THC seemed to have elevated amounts of CBD. Dr. Mechoulam noted CBD didn’t exhibit euphoric side effects but may have other benefits.

With advances in technology covering all of our ancestors’ uses of hemp, the plant wasn’t missed. Coupled with the War on Drugs and propaganda against cannabis, hemp was merely an afterthought until the end of the 20th century.

Industrial Hemp Movement Begins

In 1998, the very state that closed the door on hemp was the first to reopen it. California enacted a medical marijuana program. This gesture would open the door for hemp legalization a crack and therefore one of the best things to happen in the history of hemp. However, it would take almost 20 years to bust it down.

By 2012, several states enacted medical marijuana laws. With each passing state, education about cannabis became more available. People started to see firsthand that those using hemp-based products didn’t act high.

Simultaneously, the opioid crisis grew to epic proportions. The very products that were created to save people from cannabis were killing them. Desperate for an alternative, millions got behind the hemp movement. President Obama couldn’t ignore the demand and signed a 2014 Farm Bill that called for a pilot farming program.

Following the 2016 election, many perceptions of hemp changed. With medical marijuana becoming legal in over half of the nation, it became time to readdress how we categorize the two separate cannabis plants.

At the end of the 2018 calendar, a new Farm Bill entered Congress. With a hemp pen, Mitch McConnell lifted the federal ban on hemp cultivation. Thanks to the new Farm Bill, hemp was downgraded from a schedule 1 controlled substance to a schedule 5 under the Controlled Substances Act. Now, hemp-derived products are legal in all 50 states.

The Future of Hemp

Many companies are taking advantage of the ban lift on hemp and growing interest in CBD products from consumers. CBD products are popping up in everything from supplements to cosmetics to pet treats. Suffice to say; the sky is the limit for hemp.

While hemp is no longer criminalized, it is still under a watchful eye. The Justice Department no longer holds jurisdiction over hemp cultivation. It is now regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). All hemp products must contain 0.3% THC or less. Otherwise, it will be classified as marijuana and you run the risk of breaking local laws.

Currently, CBD products are not regulated. However, the demand for hemp-based products continues to grow. That means stricter guidelines and transparency will be required of anyone attempting to sell hemp products in the near future. Until that day comes, you should buy products from reputable brands you can trust.

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Turn Your Home Into A Castle – Literally

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Castles were bulwarks of the medieval era, dominating the landscape wherever they were erected. In the middle ages, they were primarily designed to be battlements and to defend vast tracts of land, but they still doubled up as homes.

Pixabay

 

With the invention of the cannon, castles ceased being defensive installations, but they didn’t end there. In the eighteenth century, people looked back on the castles of the medieval period with a kind of romantic fondness. They loved the chivalry, the tales of Arthur and the majesty that battlements evoked. As a result, they began building their own mock castles – homes that included elements of castles like rounded towers but were still luxury living accommodation nonetheless.

 

Golden Fort

 

One example of a castle that was built for living was Golden Hill Fort. This fort was built on the Isle of Wight back in the 19th century to defend against a French invasion. The fort itself was never actually used in battle. More than a hundred years later, after the Second World War, Golden Hill was converted into a series of beautiful apartments. These apartments became holiday homes where people could enjoy all that the Isle had to offer.

 

When Golden Hill was first bought by Kevin Clarke and Sean Cousins, it was a shell of a building. They worked tirelessly with local planning officials to return the building to its original state. That meant extending the building and getting a roofer to extend the roof, and making sure all 22 chimneys were of uniform height. According to Kevin, the roof was made waterproof for the first time in over a hundred years.

 

Features

 

Now that the roof and the foundations are secure, Golden Hill Fort has been transformed with all manner of luxury conveniences. Guests enter the compound through a trick tunnel with electric gates at either end. When they’ve been through both gates, they enter the refurbished central courtyard, originally designed as a parade ground to muster the troops.

Wikimedia Commons

 

There’s also other mod-cons like CCTV, allowing all entrances to the castle to be monitored remotely. On the roof, guests can enjoy communal gardens and stunning views of the island and the sea all around.

 

Prices

 

Having your own castle is by no means cheap. The average unit, which is just 1,386 to 3,250 square feet will set you back more than $600,000 to $1,500,000. When you consider the types of properties you could get for a similar cost, that’s a lot. But it’s not often that you get to live in a gated community from the middle ages, complete with battlements that’ll keep the riffraff and the French at bay.

 

According to David Brock from the heritage foundation, converting industrial forts into modern homes is relatively easy. Thanks to their modern designs, they share a similar design language with modern homes. But converting castles with stone towers is a lot more difficult. If you want to do this type of thing, you’re better off doing it yourself.

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Leapin’ Lizards, It’s Leap Day!

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So, its February 29th, that special day that comes every 4 years. A year with a February 29th is, as we all know, a “leap” year.

So, where did this come from? Well, there is a lot of history behind it, but, basically, in earlier times, they found that calendars, growing and planting seasons, and so on, were getting further and further off until it was realized that our planet’s year is not exactly 365 days. It really is closer to 365 ¼ days.

So, to insure that Christmas doesn’t eventually drift into what would now be July, an extra day was added to February every 4 years to catch up, or “leap” back to the correct time. Hence, the leap year, and leap day, February 29th.

Now, to be sure, the Earth doesn’t complete an orbit exactly in 365 ¼ days, and, the planet’s orbital speed and daily rotation changes imperceptibly over time, so, every so often the correct time is adjusted by a few seconds here and there. This so our days and years continue to match the seasons and our calendars.

So, Happy Leap Day, everyone!

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State of the Art is Always Moving

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Here in the Portland area, antiques are a big business, and you can find lots of antique shops and you can also find antiques at flea markets as well. I like looking at antiques to see the things people used, as well as the precursors to many things we have and use today.

One of the things I’m struck by as I get older is, when I’m in an antique shop, I see more and more things that were once “state of the art”.

Last week, I was in an antique shop and saw this orange phone, pictured below, with a clear plastic dial. It was from about the early 1970’s. And I remember when these phones came out, as an upgrade from the phones which had a dial the same color as the phone and looked more antiquated when compared to the “clear plastic” dial phones. They, the clear plastic dial phones, were state of the art of that time and I remember thinking they were forward-looking.

Phone at Portland antique shop. Circa 1971

Phone at Portland antique shop. Circa 1971

Ah, but how time has really marched on. Push button phones came soon after, followed by hand-held phones with a central base. Then the first useable cell phones, like the large black Motorola phones of the early and mid-1990’s, arrived. Then smaller cell phones came out, each new version able to do more and be less bulky, followed by the blackberry and smart phones after that we now have.

(Yes, I know smart phones have gotten larger, but, they have stayed thin and light, and no doubt, one day, maybe sooner than anyone thinks, a smart phone that can have changeable size will be invented!)

And now, the smart watch has come out, though it may be too small to make a big splash just yet, however, with improvements, and technology that we haven’t thought of yet, it still can make a splash later on, even if it doesn’t now.

And the thing is, one day, even these, along with smart flat screen TV’s, tablets, kindles, dual purpose laptops, and the top of the line home theater systems now available,  will all find their way into antique shops, replaced with something we possibly can’t even imagine yet!

Today’s “state of the art” is tomorrow’s antique.

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