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December 29, 2003
BEAGLE 2 So after spending
BEAGLE 2 So after spending between £35 and £40 million, they think that Beagle 2 has fallen into a bloody great big hole! Shame 'cos I was looking forward to seeing the information brought back from Mars. At least we know there are big holes up there now. Not quite worth £40 million though.Beagle 2 : the British led exploration of Mars
Posted by Markiss at 3:38 PM | Comments (0)
Back to Work at last!
Well I survived the Christmas celebrations.... Don't know how but I did.I'm actually pleased to be back at work, only to give my kidneys a rest.
But now we have got New Year to look forward to! Should be a good night though. No doubt there will be a party at my place after the pub closes. Will let you know how it goes later. Maybe even take some photo's and put them up on my "Photo's" page.
But for now, I had better get on with some work. Hope you all had a good Christmas.
Markiss....
Posted by Markiss at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
December 24, 2003
Christmas Fact 7
Last Christmas Fact The fact is that as from a ½ hour from this blog. I will be officially on my Christmas Hols. Unfortunately I will be back at work on the 29th though. Hope everyone has a great time. All the best, MARKISS.
Posted by Markiss at 1:42 PM | Comments (0)
December 23, 2003
Fancy becoming rich ?
Well this could be your chance."Lisa Marie Presley a.k.a. Lisa Johansen is offering a reward of up to half or more of the Elvis Presley estate, excluding Graceland, for information that leads to a legal verdict and/or settlement of her identity as being Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley and sole heir of the Elvis Presley estate."
What confuses me is why she doesn't want to take a DNA test.
I rest my case :-)
Lisa Marie Presley's official www-site
This is her case Excellent Conspiracy: Lisa Marie
Posted by Markiss at 2:22 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2003
Early Christmas Present?
If you’re using Internet Explorer Click here! Hmmm...... It must be an early Christmas present. A coffee mug holder perhaps? Or can we all say “security violation”? Let’s see how long it takes Microsoft to fix this bug without an “MS Bugzilla”. On the other hand, with the IE6 freeze, it may never get fixed…Posted by Markiss at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2003
A HANDFUL OF DOLLARS
Three cowboys stop at a hotel for the night. There's only one room available, and it costs 30 dollars a night. Each of the cowboys pays 10 dollars, and they proceed to the room. But the manager later decides that under the circumstances 30 dollars is a bit steep, and decides to reduce the price by 5 dollars, and sends the maid with that amount to refund to the cowboys. The maid, who does not enjoy a reputation for honesty, realises that 5 dollars cannot be divided by three, and decides to keep 2 dollars for herself and return only three dollars to the cowboys. The cowboys therefore ended up paying 9 dollars each for the room, or 27 dollars in all. If we add to this sum the two dollars pinched by the maid, we have a total sum of 29 dollars. What became of the missing dollar?Posted by Markiss at 2:09 PM | Comments (0)
Google Deskbar 2
Just as I thought. I have only had the Taskbar for a couple of hours and haven't stopped using it since :-) Nice one Google.Posted by Markiss at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
Google Deskbar
This is pretty good. It's like the Google Toolbar that you can have as an addon to your browser, but it's on your taskbar instead. It also uses the calculator function of Google as well as the definition function. Get (& see more info about) the Google Deskbar. I have only just installed it, so haven't used it much yet but it's got to be worth a try out. The Google Toolbar was a god send which I use all the time so fingers crossed for the Deskbar.Posted by Markiss at 12:18 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2003
O.K
So I might not be the happiest guy in the world at the moment but my worst nightmare has just come true! The better half has asked me to go "LATE NIGHT SHOPPING" tonight! Aaarrgghh..... I can't stand shopping. Even worse when it is Christmas shopping and even worse when it is between 5:30 and 9pm. Worst thing is, I have already done all mine on the Internet just so I didn't have to go into town. C'est la vie!Posted by Markiss at 4:45 PM | Comments (0)
Ass Hunter
Don't ask me how I found this............... Reminds me of the film "Deliverance" Squeal like a pig!!!!!!!!!!!!!Posted by Markiss at 2:06 PM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2003
Advertising campaign
"Advertising campaign to target younger tourists" This seems to be a real blogging day for me, don't know why?What the hell for? What are the younger generation going to do over here in Jersey. O.k they mention cycling and walking! Big deal! What age group are you going for? I can't quite get my head round this.
Tourism is going to spend in excess of £1,400,000.00 on advertising our Island to these people! You would have thought that they would have realised that Tourism is dead over here, wouldn't you?
Jersey used to be a cheap place to come for a Holiday. Now it is more expensive than the mainland for the majority of things, ie : Food and Beer. Now, when I go on Holiday, that's the main thing I spend my money on. Eating out and having a drink or 20! I would imagine that is what alot of people do.
As for the fact that it is cheaper to fly to America or Spain than it is to Fly to Jersey, I really can't see it working.
CUT DOWN THE BLOODY PRICES OF AIR FARES.
I thought we were meant to be V.A.T free over here. Like f*ck we are! What a joke this place is.
Right, I feel a bit better now I have had a moan.
This is Jersey - News from the Jersey Evening Post
Right. I decided to pretend I was wanting to come over here for a 2 week holiday from London, next Summer. This is what I got quoted just for the flight for 1 adult return from Gatwick:
Fare plus taxes:
fees, 1 Adult £276.00
charges and surcharges £24.80
Total £300.80
Now for a Hotel. I mean I do need to stay somewhere too!
I searched for a 3 star Hotel for 14 nights. This Hotel is nothing out of the ordinary but the kind of place I wouldn't mind staying in just to save money! As we do when we go abroad!
Are you ready for this?
1 night per person is £41
£8 extra for Saturday and Sundays
Total 14 nights stay £606!
The total of the Holiday so far is £906.80!
That's without spending a penny yet....... So they are targetting the younger generation are they? I think I have sussed it out now then.
They are targetting Younger people who are Millionaires, who don't like to do anything when they go away. Fair enough, good luck Tourism.
I personally think I will be going to Cancun in the Carribean for 14 night "All Inclusive" for £659.
NUFF SAID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Markiss at 2:54 PM | Comments (0)
Huntley gets life
Huntley gets life for Soham murders Surprise Surprise! Good riddance : Reuters | Huntley gets life for Soham murdersPosted by Markiss at 2:00 PM | Comments (0)
Flight
Twelve seconds that changed the worldIn the Greek myth, Icarus proved the dangers of sticking feathers to himself with wax and flying like a bird. (He fell into the ocean.) But 100 years ago, to this day, Wilbur and Orville Wright ushered in modern aviation with not much more: They stretched a little white muslin cloth over a spruce wood skeleton, cranked up a homemade 12 h.p. gasoline engine, and took off for the sky. Just barely.
How things have progressed. In the news today:
Two Americans have won the go-ahead to become the next tourists in space, leaving only two more vacant spots for trips to the International Space Station aboard Russian rockets.
Two tickets to space go for $40m
Posted by Markiss at 1:44 PM | Comments (0)
Christmas Facts 6
Christmas Facts
The largest functional christmas cracker ever constructed was 55.45m (181 ft 11in) long and 3.6 m (11ft 9in) in diameter. It was built by ex international rugby league footballer Ray Price (Australia) For Australian company Markson Sparks! and pulled in the car park at Westfield Shopping town, Chatswood, Sydney, NSW, Australia, on 16th Dec 1998.
and
The heaviest turkey ever raised weighed in at 86 pounds -- about the size of a large German Shepherd -- and was grown in England, according to Dr. Sarah Birkhold, poultry specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
(God! could you imagine that bird on your Christmas table!)
Posted by Markiss at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2003
Is Adolf Hitler Still alive?
Well technically he could be. He would be 114 years old this year! Born on April 20th 1889.Don't ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonder what he would be up to now if he was?
Posted by Markiss at 3:35 PM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2003
Saddam
Since old Saddam is the flavour of the week! Have a go at this. You will be bored after 3 goes though, just to warn you. Find The Weapons!Posted by Markiss at 1:21 PM
December 12, 2003
Haloscan
Ok........ Hopefully this is all sorted nowThis is a new comments system, which I must say, was very easy to install. Let's see if this lasts more than one month!
Thanks to :
Posted by Markiss at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)
Problem comments
Having loads of problems with my comments today. Their server is down at the moment so I have decided to get rid of the system. If anyone who can recommend a different system, I would love to hear from them. You will have to email me ofcourse :-)Posted by Markiss at 12:12 PM | Comments (0)
December 11, 2003
Magic Cone
Well I've have definitely seen it all nowWomen can now stand up and pee like men! With the use of the Magic Cone
See it in action here
What the hell is going on? I need a beer! Oh and a Magic Cone.
Posted by Markiss at 5:26 PM | Comments (0)
Adland faces up to self-control
This Xbox ad was banned. It was judged to have caused "considerable distress" to many viewers. I can see what they mean but I just love it :-) Take a look for yourself Xbox Banned advert Have a look at 3 others here. The Carling one is quite kule aswell. Adland faces up to self-controlPosted by Markiss at 5:14 PM | Comments (0)
Screw up your brain
Just to screw up your brain even more. Here is another bastard of a teaser! I've got a headache now:
Posted by Markiss at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)
Triangles explained
Robert had the right idea. It was to do with the hypotenuse!The reason it works is because in neither arrangement is the resulting shape a triangle. The shape is nearly a triangle, but the 'hypotenuse' is not a straight line, so it is actually a quadrilateral.
Proof:
The angle at the bottom left of each coloured triangle, theta can be worked out by taking the inverse tan of the (height of the triangle / base).
The small triangle has a base length of five and a height of two => theta = inv tan (0.4) = 21.8deg
The larger triangle has a base of eight and a height of three =>
theta = inv tan (0.375) = 20.6deg
So, when the little triangle is top right of the large 'triangle', its 'hypotenuse' is concave. When the big triangle is on top, the 'hypotenuse' is actually convex. The difference in the shape of the top surface causes a difference in the area of the 'triangle', allowing exactly one square to be left over.
Hope this explains it well enough. Now back to doing some important work!
Posted by Markiss at 1:17 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2003
Triangle Trick
Firstly, what's all this about?
All the coloured triangles are the same size. So where does the space come from?
Tell you the truth, I know the answer but it got me confused for a bit. Maybe you can sus it out.
Then there is this:
Tree Gismo
Is there really anyone in the world that would actually buy one of these?
Posted by Markiss at 4:20 PM | Comments (0)
December 9, 2003
Markiss Merchandise
Oh Dear! What am I up to now? Well now I have my own shop online. You never know, someone might buy something on it :-) Go on, spend all your cash and let me retire early. Now wouldn't that be nice. All I have to do is sell 100,000,000 items then I will be sorted! Markiss MerchandisePosted by Markiss at 6:09 PM | Comments (0)
December 8, 2003
World Cup Rugby 2003
World Cup Rugby 2003 Today the England World Cup Rugby team are driving through London, showing the fans the World Cup etc. Looking at the "Trafalgar Square Cam" it looks as though there are going to be alot of people there. This is what it looked like at 11am and it's getting busier by the second.
Thought today was a good time to put a joke here for all you Rugby fans:
What does your father do for a living?
Little Brucie was in his junior school class when the teacher asked the children what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up; fireman, policeman, salesman, politician, etc. Brucie was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father.
"My father's an exotic dancer in a gay club and takes off all his clothes infront of other men. Sometimes, if the offer's really good, he'll go out with a man, rent a cheap room and let them sleep with him."
The teacher hurriedly set the other children to work on some colouring and then took Little Brucie aside to ask him, "Is that really true about your father?"
" No," said Brucie, "My father plays rugby for Australia, but I was just too embarrassed to say".
Posted by Markiss at 1:43 PM | Comments (0)
December 5, 2003
425 million year old Prick
I don't half find the strangest subjects! Well apparently someone has found a Fossil with a penis. They have called it Colymbosathon ecplecticos, which means "amazing swimmer with a large penis". BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Ancient fossil penis discoveredPosted by Markiss at 3:03 PM | Comments (0)
Sorry about this one Gazza
Just found this on my computer! Thought some of you might fancy a laugh today. This was Gary back in 1993. Love the hair mate :-)
Posted by Markiss at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)
Christmas Facts 5
Christmas Facts
Drink Every Christmas I spend far too much money and always end up twatted. Now there's a fact for you! Oh and I normally end up cooking the Turkey upside down for some reason.
Posted by Markiss at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
December 4, 2003
Christmas Facts 4
Christmas Facts 26th December was traditionally known as St Stephen's Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was collected in alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then distributed to the poor and needy after Christmas.
Posted by Markiss at 12:21 PM | Comments (0)
94% of women admit to lying
"94% of women admit to lying" (The other 6% were fibbing) Nah really! Tell me something I didn't already know :-) And to think they actually interviewed 5000 women to find that out. The Sun Newspaper OnlinePosted by Markiss at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)
December 3, 2003
German cannibal
Well here's a new one for me. I must admit, I am one of those people who use the Internet a fair bit. I have brought films, c.d's, software, camera's, computer's, flower's (romantic me), booked holiday's and the list goes on....... But get a load of this! A German guy, advertised on the Internet, for someone who he could eat and then murder. Guess what? He got a reply to his ad and did exactly that. Not only did he cut off this guys prick and flambe it. They both ate it together then he killed him. He also got the lot on video tape too! I know this is a bit morbid but what the hell. This is the world we live in and I thought I would share it with you. Have a look at the link below. What do you reckon on this? German 'cannibal' goes on trialPosted by Markiss at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
Christmas Facts 3
< Oliver Cromwell In 1647, the English parliament passed a law made Christmas illegal. The Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral, banned the Christmas festivities. The ban was lifted only when Cromwell lost power in 1660.
Posted by Markiss at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)
December 2, 2003
Kill for a bargain
How sad is this? Ok, so $30 is a really good price for a DVD/VCR combination player, but is it worth nearly crushing another human being to death just to get one? Apparently so:WFTV.com - News - Stampede Of Early Morning Shoppers Seriously Injures Woman
Posted by Markiss at 2:34 PM | Comments (0)
Christmas Facts 2
Christmas Facts
The first Christmas trees The first reference of a fir tree decorated for Christmas is at Riga in Latvia in 1510. In 1521, the Princess Hélène de Mecklembourg introduced the Christmas tree to Paris after marrying the Duke of Orleans. There also is a printed reference to Christmas trees in Germany, dated 1531. Another famous reference, to 1601, is about a visitor to Strasbourg, Germany (now part of France) who noticed a family decorating a tree with "wafers and golden sugar-twists (barley sugar) and paper flowers of all colours."
The Christmas tree was introduced to the United States by German settlers and by Hessian mercenaries paid to fight in the Revolutionary War. In 1804, US soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn (Chicago) hauled trees from surrounding woods to their barracks.
Britain was introduced to the Christmas tree in 1841, when Queen Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert brought a Christmas tree to Windsor Castle for the Royal family. The custom of of the Christmas tree spread quickly to the middle class, to working people, and throughout the colonies (where the Empire's flag would sometimes top the tree).
So there, now you know!
Posted by Markiss at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
December 1, 2003
Christmas Facts 1
Christmas Facts
Well since it's now December, I thought I would put up a few facts about Christmas. Boring! I know but what the hell.......... You don't have to read it. But I will be testing you later!
In ancient pagan times, the last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere was celebrated as the night that the Great Mother Goddess gives birth to the baby Sun God. It is also called Yule, the day a huge log is added to a bonfire, around which everyone would dance and sing to awaken the sun from its long winter sleep.
In Roman times, it became the celebrations honouring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship that had come to Rome from Syria a century before with the cult of Sol Invictus. It announced that winter is not forever, that life continues, and an invitation to stay in good spirit.
The last day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere occurs between the 20th and 22 December. The Roman celebrated Saturnalia between 17 and 24 December.
The early Christians
To avoid persecution during the Roman pagan festival, early Christians decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, the celebrations took on a Christian observance. But the early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, who was the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate "The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour." However, since no-one was quite sure in which month Christ was born, Nativity was often held in September, which was during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (modern-day Rosh Hashanah). In fact, for more than 300 years, people observed the birth of Jesus on various dates.
In the year 274AD, solstice fell on 25th December. Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as "Natalis Solis Invicti," the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christmas official, but not generally observed
In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced movable feasts (Easter). In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December.
However, even though Constantine officiated 25 December as the birthday of Christ, Christians, recognising the date as a pagan festival, did not share in the emperor's good meaning. Christmas failed to gain universal recognition among Christians until quite recently. In England, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas festivities between 1649 and 1660 through the so-called Blue Laws, believing that Christmas should be a solemn day.
When many Protestants escaped persecution by fleeing to the colonies all over the world, interest in joyous Christmas celebrations was rekindled there. Still, Christmas was not even a legal holiday until the 1800s. And, keep in mind, there was no Father Christmas (Santa Claus) figure at that time.
Christmas becomes popular
The popularity of Christmas was spurred on in 1820 by Washington Irving's book The Keeping of Christmas at Bracebridge Hall. In 1834, Britain's Queen Victoria brought her German husband, Prince Albert, into Windsor Castle, introducing the tradition of the Christmas tree and carols that were held in Europe to the British Empire. A week before Christmas in 1834, Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol (in which he wrote that Scrooge required Cratchit to work, and that the US Congress met on Christmas Day). It was so popular that neither the churches nor the governments could not ignore the importance of Christmas celebrations. In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1837, T.H. Hervey's The Book of Christmas also became a best seller. In 1860, American illustrator Thomas Nast borrowed from the European stories about Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, to create Father Christmas (Santa Claus). In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Year by year, countries all over the world started to recognise Christmas as the day for celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Have a merry Christmas
Today, many of the pagan uses are reflected in Christmas. Jesus was born in March, yet his birth is celebrated on 25 December, the time of solstice. The Christmas celebrations end the 12th day of Christmas (6 January), the same amount of days that the return of the sun was celebrated by ancient and Roman pagans. It thus is no surprise that Christian puritans - or even conservative Christians - often are upset that Christmas "is not as religious as it was meant to be," forgetting that Christmas was not celebrated at all until fairly recently.
Posted by Markiss at 3:43 PM | Comments (0)
