The wrong kind of leaves?

Railtrack, who are responsible for the tracks, stations and platforms, said leaves have been "bigger and juicier" this autumn, which has led to longer delays to services. The company said the problem had been particularly bad in the Midlands and they issued a joint apology with Central Trains. A Railtrack spokeswoman said, "There were 30% to 40% more leaves on trees this season and they were 20% bigger and juicier, which caused delays on tracks." The company is also trialling a new anti-leaf train and has promised to buy 25 of the vehicles if the tests are successful.

Some of the excuses that have been used include:

• Leaves on the line.
• The wrong type of snow.
• It rained hard for three months.
• A broken down Virgin ahead.
• The sun reflecting off the rails.
• An increase in vandalism.
• An increase in track and station repairs.
• There are too many people on trains.

Rail bosses have come up with a slick solution to their leaves on the line problem, hair gel. A special mix of gel and grit is being sprayed on tracks to keep trains running smoothly. Anglia Railways said after blasting leaves off lines with powerful water jets they were now using the gel coating to give extra traction. The only trouble is that rain washes the gel away. It seems that at every turn British Rail are thwarted by freaks of nature!

Copied from http://www.derbygripe.co.uk/trains.htm

UTC or ZULU time

Zulu Time is the world time. It is also known as UT or UTC (Universal Time (Co-ordinated)). All over the planet it is the same time. There are no timezones for UTC. UTC also has no Daylight Saving Time or Summer Time.

UTC is based on GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Greenwich mean time was based upon the time at the zero degree meridian that crossed through Greenwich, England. GMT was first used by the Royal Navy in the 19th century.

From http://navysite.de/what/zulu.htm

The Anti-Phonetic Alphabet

Long has the phonetic alphabet enjoyed dominance over the ‘can you spell that for me’ market! Well, no more! The following is my suggestion to make telephone operators lives complete hell…! If you’re not paying for the bill and you don’t fancy being nice to the operator on the phone for whatever reason, then consider making the conversation very complicated and interesting with the new Anti-Phonetic alphabet.

• Aubergine
• Bdellium
• Cygnet
• Djinn
• Ewe
• Fort
• Gnome
• Honour
• Igor
• Jalapeno
• Knot

See full list and article at http://amadiere.com/blog/2010/10/non-phonetic-alphabet/

The World’s Most Expensive Camera Lens

A Leica camera from 1923 became the world’s most expensive camera earlier this year when it was auctioned for a staggering $2.79 million.

The world’s most expensive lens has a similar price tag… and is also a Leica.

The Leica APO-Telyt-R 1:5.6/1600mm, is a massive telephoto lens that dwarfs any Leica camera that you attach to it. It’s the company’s longest, largest, and heaviest lens.

It was produced as a custom order by one of the world’s wealthiest photography-enthusiasts, Qatari prince Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani, who paid a whopping $2,064,500 for the hefty piece of glass.

See full article at http://www.petapixel.com/2012/08/27/the-worlds-most-expensive-camera-lens/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PetaPixel+%28PetaPixel%29

Two nuns

Two nuns are driving through Transylvania when Count Dracula suddenly jumps on their car.

"Quick, show him your cross!" says one of the nuns.

The other nun shouts "Hey Dracula! F*#k off.

Five Grammatical Errors that Make You Look Dumb

Here are five mistakes to avoid when blogging and writing web copy.

1. Your vs. You’re

2. It’s vs. Its

3. There vs. Their

4. Affect vs. Effect

5. The Dangling Participle

See full article at http://www.copyblogger.com/5-common-mistakes-that-make-you-look-dumb/

Hogg or Hog; Pig or Sheep?

Hog. A sheep up to the age of one year; one yet to be sheared

Hog. Domestic swine

 

Hogg. A sheep up to the age of one year; one yet to be sheared

 

from WordWeb.info