From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V13 #176 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Thursday, June 17 2004 Volume 13 : Number 176 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Useless fact no 327: Coins of the realm, addendum ["Brian Hoare" ] Re: UK gig prices, 1969-2003, correction [Michael R Godwin ] Re: Useless fact no 327: Coins of the realm [James Dignan ] Steamboy, bloodtype unknown [steve ] Re: What's your incisor length? [] Re: What's your incisor length? ["Fortissimo" ] long song titles ["Natalie Jane" ] Re: long song titles ["Fortissimo" ] Heh heh heh... you said, "Shatnerfuck"... ["Rex Broome" ] Re: UK gig prices / thoths unleashed ["Michael Wells" ] Re: Borgputer ["Stewart C. Russell" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 07:51:42 +0000 From: "Brian Hoare" Subject: Useless fact no 327: Coins of the realm, addendum >From: James Dignan >21 shillings = a guinea (this term was becoming obsolete before >decimalisation) Guineas are still used for horse racing prizes and in race horse autions. One abbreviation of Pounds, Shillings and Pence was LSD (librae, solidi, and denarii). So when the Bonzo sing "out for what we all want, lots of LSD" in Ali Baba's Camel, they merely mean that we'd all like a bit more cash. Brian, still shaken from the sight of TronMan and resolving to start running again. _________________________________________________________________ Want to block unwanted pop-ups? Download the free MSN Toolbar now! http://toolbar.msn.co.uk/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:54:07 +0200 From: Sebastian Hagedorn Subject: Re: Useless fact no 327: Coins of the realm Hi, thanks for the explanation. I have only one more question ... - --On Mittwoch, 16. Juni 2004 12:58 Uhr +1200 James Dignan wrote: > 12 pennies (12d) Why were pennies abbreviated as 'd'? - -- Sebastian Hagedorn PGP key ID: 0x4D105B45 http://www.spinfo.uni-koeln.de/~hgd/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:34:18 +0100 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: UK gig prices, 1969-2003 > On Jun 14, 2004, at 5:10 AM, Michael R Godwin wrote: > > I just found this flier from 1969 which appears to confirm that > > Thunderclap Newman did tour. I see it was 6/6 (32.5p) for both bands, > > but only 5/6 (27.5p) for the Bonzos. I remember the outrage which > > greeted the announcement later that year that Fleetwood Mac was going > > to cost 7/6 (37.5p) because 'Albatross' had topped the charts. > From: Tom Clark > Could you explain this pricing model? Is it still used? You'd have to ask Fred Bannister, but speaking as an economist, I'd say it was based on supply and demand, i.e. a popular attraction reckons that they can pull in more customers, so they whack up the fee as soon as they have a hit record. Accordingly, the promoter raises the price to recoup costs. Or have I misunderstood what you're asking? I've just delved into the RPI to calculate the modern-day price equivalents, and if I have done my sums correctly, prices have risen nearly nineteen-fold since 1969. Since there were 20 shillings in the pound, you can loosely convert from 1969 shillings to 2004 pounds, which means that the current equivalent of 6/6 is about 6 quid. But in fact local gigs like the Fleece now charge more like 12, so I reckon that the real cost of gigs has increased. This historical article claims that prices have only risen about ten and a half-fold since 1969, which I don't believe, but, if true, means that the current equivalent would be only 3 or 4 pounds. However you look at it, the whopping 24 quid I paid on Monday to see the Blue Oyster Cult is more than anyone would've charged then*. > Now we have 100 pence to a pound, then we had 20 shillings to a pound and > 10 pence to a shilling. It starts getting a bit tricky from there... a > guinea - what's that? A pound and a shilling? And a crown was 5 > shillings... a farthing was half a ha'penny... or was it..? Yes, but farthings were withdrawn ages ago! 1956 according to this site: , which also includes such forgotten coins as the double leopard, the antoninianus, and the half george noble (thinks: where's the rest of me?). > Anyway, old money was shown as pounds/shillings/pence or #/s/d. So 5/6 > is 5 shillings and sixpence - that is, 5x5p plus 6x.5p... I make that > 28p in new money... erm... Godders? Craigie has posted all the details. - - Mike Godwin * But they did play 'Astronomy' - whee! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:48:52 +0100 (BST) From: Michael R Godwin Subject: Re: UK gig prices, 1969-2003, correction I've just delved into the RPI to calculate the modern-day price equivalents, and if I have done my sums correctly, prices have risen nearly nineteen-fold since 1969. * I hadn't done my sums correctly: I referenced column E instead of column C. That 10.4-fold figure is correct, with the index rising from 68.7 to 715.2:: * So, uprating in line with inflation, live gigs ought only to cost 3 or 4 pounds now. What's gone wrong? - - MRG ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:51:15 +0100 From: "Matt Sewell" Subject: Tales of brave Ulysses Even as we speak I'm burning a kidney for breakfast! And... I have an admission to make: some years ago I made an attempt on the North face of Ulysses. 500 pages in and I just sort of petered out... Doh! Cheers Matt, only 200 pages to go! >From: James Dignan >Thought I'd wish you all (especially our resident Joyce Expert, Mr. >Quail), a happy Bloomsday centenary! > >James >-- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sign up to the MSN Premium service in June and receive a FREE webcam worth #39.99! More details here. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 00:52:36 +1200 From: James Dignan Subject: Re: Useless fact no 327: Coins of the realm >Hi, > >thanks for the explanation. I have only one more question ... > >--On Mittwoch, 16. Juni 2004 12:58 Uhr +1200 James Dignan > wrote: > >>12 pennies (12d) > >Why were pennies abbreviated as 'd'? dates back a looong time - back to Roman coins. The d for penny and s for shilling are actually abbreviations of denarius and solidus. Similarly the stylised "L" of the pound sign is short for libra (as is the "lb" meaning one pound in weight). James - -- James Dignan, Dunedin, New Zealand -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.-=-.- =-.-=-.-=-.- You talk to me as if from a distance .-=-.-=-.-=-. -=-. And I reply with impressions chosen from another time .-=- .-=-.-=-.-=-.-=- (Brian Eno - "By this River") -.-=-.-=-.-=-.-= ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 08:18:41 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Useless fact no 327: Coins of the realm, addendum Brian Hoare wrote: > > Guineas are still used for horse racing prizes and in race horse autions. And country estates, etc. I think that the extra shilling was an early luxury tax. The solidus mark for shillings still lives on as the directory separator in Unix. Oh yeah, and in Scottish beer; mine's an 80/-, if yer buying. Don't get me started on old Scots coins: bodles, nonsunts, bawbees ... Stewart ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 08:46:16 -0500 From: Subject: Re: I love the way her triangle's dispayed [demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 15:38 , Rex Broome sent: >gSs >>That is an insult to the Japs. But then, have you ever seen any of their porn? >>Magazines full of very sheer panty shots of prepubescent girls in compromising >>positions is common and perfectly legal. I won't detail anymore, but it gets even >>weirder. > >Isn't this attitude even legislated? I seem to recall that Japanese regulations on porn allow pretty much everything except for the display of pubic hair? It's something like, they can't show vaginal penetration or the clitoris but they can show anal penetration. That's in the magazines at least, and that was all I saw. >Of course there seems to be a similar de facto ban in American porn, too... >what's up with all the hatin' on pubic hair? I just don't get it. I believe it has become a near standard worldwide for all secular females born after 1978, exluding those from Wisconsin and Minnesota. Each has it's advantages but I miss pulling hairs from between my teeth. I'm not being facetious. I don't mind the occasional trim down for a change, but I enjoy watching it grow back. It's probably just me, but a hairless vagina just doesn't seem right. gSs - ---- Msg sent via WebMail ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 08:59:27 -0500 From: steve Subject: Steamboy, bloodtype unknown - - Steve __________ A twice-born man who commits an unnatural offence with a male, or has intercourse with a female in a cart drawn by oxen, in water, or in the day-time, shall bathe, dressed in his clothes. - Laws of Manu (in Sanskrit, the Manusmrti) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 10:02:29 -0500 From: Subject: Re: What's your incisor length? [demime could not interpret encoding binary - treating as plain text] On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 22:42 , steve sent: >> On Jun 14, 2004, at 7:08 PM, steve wrote: >>> The Japanese believe some interesting things about a person's blood >>> type, mainly that it determines much of their personality. >> >> That is an insult to the Japs. But then, have you ever seen any of >> their porn? > >Leave it to Greg to be the first to reach for Occam's razor. Or not. The fewer assumptions the better, no? But I don't see how that applies here. >But can it be an insult if it's true? "The Japanese", part is not true. "Some Japanese", is true and would have been more appropriate and less insulting. That was my point. The blood type personality model uses about as many or more assumptions than astrology, for instance. Both are generally embraced by the same types of people, worldwide. That was an insult and it's true. The apparent general acceptance of the sexual exploitation of prepubescent girls in Japan is to me an insult to their society. But then I think we are all wild on top and weird at heart or something like that. gSs - ---- Msg sent via WebMail ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 10:31:55 -0500 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: What's your incisor length? On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 10:02:29 -0500, gshell@americangroupisp.com said: > "The Japanese", part is not true. "Some Japanese", is true and would have > been > more appropriate and less insulting. That was my point. Hey, I'm agreeing with Greg on something. The Apocalypse must be impending... - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: Some days, you just can't get rid of a bomb :: --Batman ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 11:11:15 -0700 From: "Natalie Jane" Subject: long song titles There was an Ann Arbor band called Mol Triffid (please place an umlaut over the "o") which had a song called "William Shatner Sleeps on the Eve of the Harmonic Convergence; He Dreams. . . " The semi-colon and ellipsis were very important. n. p.s. I haven't been posting as much as usual because for some reason every time I post, my paragraph breaks get eliminated, which really irritates me. My Decemberists review came out as one enormous paragraph, which was not my intent. Probably this post will, too. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stop worrying about overloading your inbox - get MSN Hotmail Extra Storage! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 17:01:02 -0500 From: "Fortissimo" Subject: Re: long song titles On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 11:11:15 -0700, "Natalie Jane" said: > TherefuckyoutomclarkwasfuckyoutomclarkanfuckyoutomclarkAnnfuckyoutomclarkArborfuckyoutomclarkbandfuckyoutomclarkcalled fuckyoutomclarkMolfuckyoutomclarkTriffidfuckyoutomclark(pleasefuckyoutomclarkplacefuckyoutomclarkanfuckyoutomclarkumlautfuckyoutomclarkfuckyoutomclarkoverfuckyoutomclarkthefuckyoutomclark"o")fuckyoutomclarkwhichfuckyoutomclarkhadfuckyoutomclarkafuckyoutomclarksongfuckyoutomclarkcalledfuckyoutomclark"WilliamfuckyoutomclarkShatnerfuckyoutomclarkSleepsfuckyoutomclarkonfuckyoutomclarkthefuckyoutomclarkEvefuckyoutomclarkoffuckyoutomclarkthefuckyoutomclarkHarmonicfuckyoutomclarkConvergence;fuckyoutomclarkHe fuckyoutomclarkDreams..."fuckyoutomclarkThefuckyoutomclarksemi-colonfuckyoutomclarkandfuckyoutomclarkfuckyoutomclarkellipsisfuckyoutomclarkwerefuckyoutomclarkveryfuckyoutomclarkimportant.p.s.fuckyoutomclarkIfuckyoutomclarkhaven'tfuckyoutomclarkbeenfuckyoutomclarkpostingfuckyoutomclarkasfuckyoutomclarkmuchfuckyoutomclarkas fuckyoutomclarkusualfuckyoutomclarkbec ausefuckyoutomclarkforfuckyoutomclarksomefuckyoutomclarkreasonfuckyoutomclarkeveryfuckyoutomclarktimefuckyoutomclarkIfuckyoutomclarkfuckyoutomclarkpost,fuckyoutomclarkmyfuckyoutomclarkparagraphfuckyoutomclarkbreaksfuckyoutomclarkgetfuckyoutomclarkeliminated,fuckyoutomclarkwhichfuckyoutomclarkfuckyoutomclarkreallyfuckyoutomclarkirritatesfuckyoutomclarkme. MyfuckyoutomclarkDecemberistsfuckyoutomclarkreviewfuckyoutomclarkcamefuckyoutomclarkoutfuckyoutomclarkasfuckyoutomclarkonefuckyoutomclarkenormousfuckyoutomclarkparagraph,fuckyoutomclarkwhichfuckyoutomclarkwasfuckyoutomclarknotfuckyoutomclarkmyfuckyoutomclarkintent. fuckyoutomclarkProbablyfuckyoutomclarkthisfuckyoutomclarkpostfuckyoutomclarkwill,fuckyoutomclarktoo. Looks normal to me... - ------------------------------- ...Jeff J e f f r e y N o r m a n The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com/ :: Miracles are like meatballs, because nobody can exactly agree :: what they are made of, where they come from, or how often :: they should appear. :: --Lemony Snicket ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 15:24:54 -0700 From: "Rex Broome" Subject: Heh heh heh... you said, "Shatnerfuck"... Heh... worth it for this alone: "WilliamfuckyoutomclarkShatnerfuckyoutomclarkSleepsfuckyoutomclark" - -Rex Need a new email address that people can remember Check out the new EudoraMail at http://www.eudoramail.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:40:14 -0500 From: steve Subject: Re: What's your incisor length? > On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 10:02:29 -0500, gshell@americangroupisp.com said: > >> "The Japanese", part is not true. "Some Japanese", is true and would >> have >> been more appropriate and less insulting. That was my point. On Jun 16, 2004, at 10:31 AM, Fortissimo wrote: > Hey, I'm agreeing with Greg on something. > > The Apocalypse must be impending... For the lack of a modifier, the teapot was exploded. We're not doing sociology here. What I forwarded is the observation of an American who has lived in Japan for a number of years, first as a teacher of English and now as the owner of a company that sells Japanese pop culture stuff to overseas buyers. I hardly think anything in that piece is racist or even insulting. And we have had corroboration of the belief in "Affective Blood Type" (I coin a phrase) by one Feg. I don't know the absolute degree of belief, but I have often seen blood type listed in the bios of Japanese pop culture celebrities. It was just a passing notice, as I'm not really interested in anything other than anime and movies, but I never knew exactly what meaning it was supposed to have. Unfortunately, I didn't keep the piece on why "the Japanese" take their shoes off in the house. But that's a cultural practice, rather than a belief. Just saiyan. - - Steve __________ Steepen, devil knows what's, combustion, as the door, protein, thing was that, vernal, least believe that, autumn, but suddenly spring. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:52:39 -0500 From: "Michael Wells" Subject: Re: UK gig prices / thoths unleashed Mr. Godwin ruminates: > * So, uprating in line with inflation, live gigs ought only to cost 3 or 4 > pounds now. What's gone wrong? Um, Roger Waters? Anyway, what will Delayed Suburban Departures* be charging for their big soiree? Has a setlist been fleshed out yet, perhaps on a bar napkin? What's on draft? Has anyone been contacted about playing spoons? Will it be recorded and torrented for all to enjoy? Will "Carrier Pigeon" become the new "Freebird?" So many questions... I'm not a jealous person, but damn that sounds like a fun trip. Have fun, Dolph...we couldn't be sending a better man for the job. Michael "no, really...what's on draft?" Wells * you just knew that with MRG involved, trains would end up in there somehow ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 01:57:04 -0400 From: Steve Talkowski Subject: Borgputer Ya gotta admit, this is a pretty damn cool mod... http://bit-tech.net/article/135/ Courtesy of the daily, "smarmy" (yup, there's another one besides Fegmaniax) read, www.gizmodo.com - -Steve ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2004 06:54:55 -0400 From: "Stewart C. Russell" Subject: Re: Borgputer Steve Talkowski wrote: > > http://bit-tech.net/article/135/ C'mon, ORAC was no borg. Don't diss the 7. Stewart ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V13 #176 ********************************