Saturday, July 31, 2010

chainstays


The chainstays run parallel to the chain, connecting the bottom bracket shell to the rear dropouts of a bicycle. When the rear derailleur cable is routed partially along the down tube, it is also routed along the chain stay. Occasionally (principally on frames made since the late 1990s) mountings for disc brakes will be attached to the chain stays. There may be a small brace that connects the chain stays in front of the rear wheel and behind the bottom bracket shell.

Chain stays can be straight or tapered tubes. Sometimes, on higher-end bikes, they are sculpted to allow clearance for the rear wheel and cranks.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Nerdcore


Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to nerds, though it can appeal to others as well. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot coined the term in 2000 in the song "Nerdcore Hiphop". Frontalot, like most nerdcore artists, self-publishes his work and has released much of it for free online. As a niche genre, nerdcore generally holds to the DIY ethic, has a history of self-publishing and self-production.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Psychogeography

Psychogeography was defined in 1955 by Guy Debord as the "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals." Another definition is "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive strategies for exploring cities...just about anything that takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into a new awareness of the urban landscape." The most important of these strategies is the dérive.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

parhelion


A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, for "beside the sun") is a common bright circular spot on a solar halo. It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection or refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals making up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. Often, two sun dogs can be seen (one on each side of the sun) simultaneously.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Hobbesian


Hobbesian is a term used to describe State of nature is a term in political philosophy used in social contract theories to describe the hypothetical condition of humanity before the state's foundation and its monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force. In a broader sense, the state of nature is the condition before the rule of positive law comes into being, thus being a synonym of anarchy. The idea of the state of nature was a part of a classical republicanism theory as a hypothetical reason of entering a state of society by establishing a government.

The concept of state of nature was posited by the 17th century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan. Hobbes wrote that "during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in awe, they are in that condition which is called war; and such a war as is of every man against every man". In this state any person has a natural right to do anything to preserve his own liberty or safety, and life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.". He believed that in the international arena, states behave as individuals do in a state of nature.

Within the state of nature there is no injustice, since there is no law, excepting certain natural precepts, the first of which is "that every man ought to endeavour peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it"; and the second is "that a man be willing, when others are so too, as far forth as for peace and defence of himself he shall think it necessary, to lay down this right to all things; and be contented with so much liberty against other men as he would allow other men against himself". From this, Hobbes develops the way out of the state of nature into civil government by mutual contracts.

Friday, July 23, 2010

SHOPDROP

SHOPDROP: To covertly place merchandise on display in a store. A form of "culture jamming"

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Synthpop


Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave and pop music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It is most closely associated with the era between the late 1970s and early to middle 1980s, although it has continued to exist and develop ever since. Jean Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk were pioneers of the style.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

murder-hole

A murder-hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders can fire, throw or pour dangerous or noxious substances at attackers. As a result, the defenders would be able to rain rocks, arrows, heated sand, boiling oil, water and incendiary devices, and other substances down on the attackers' heads. Similar holes, called machicolations, were often located in the curtain walls of castles, fortified manor houses and city walls. The parapet would project over corbels so that holes would be located over the exterior face of the wall, and arrows could be shot at, rocks dropped on, or boiling water poured over, any attackers near the wall.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

unconformity


An unconformity is a buried erosion surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval of time before deposition of the younger, but the term is used to describe any break in the sedimentary geologic record. The phenomenon of angular unconformities was discovered by James Hutton, who found examples at Jedburgh in 1787 and at Siccar Point in 1788.

The rocks above an unconformity are younger than the rocks beneath (unless the sequence has been overturned). An unconformity represents time during which no sediments were preserved in a region. The local record for that time interval is missing and geologists must use other clues to discover that part of the geologic history of that area. The interval of geologic time not represented is called a hiatus.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Equivocation

Equivocation is classified as both a formal and informal fallacy. It is the misleading use of a term with more than one meaning or sense (by glossing over which meaning is intended at a particular time).

It is often confused with amphiboly; however, equivocation is ambiguity arising from the misleading use of a word and amphiboly is ambiguity arising from misleading use of punctuation or syntax.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

vizier


The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the king, or pharaoh during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc, among Egyptologists. The Instruction of Rekhmire, a New Kingdom text, defines many of the duties of the tjaty, and lays down codes of behavior. The viziers are often appointed by the pharaoh, most from loyalty or talent.

The viziers were appointed by the pharaoh, but often belonged to a vizierial family. The vizier's paramount duty was to supervise running the country, such as a prime minister, at times even small details of it. All other lesser supervisors and officials, such as tax collectors and scribes, would report to the vizier. The judiciary was part of the civil administration and the vizier also sat in the High Court. However at any time, the king could exert his own control over any aspect of government, overriding the vizier's decisions. The vizier also supervised the security of the pharaoh and the palace. The viziers often acted as the pharaoh's seal bearer as well, and the vizier would record trade. In the New Kingdom, there were two viziers, the vizier of Upper Egypt as well as the vizier of Lower Egypt.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Ciclovía

Ciclovía (also ciclovia or cyclovia) is a Spanish term, meaning "bike path," used in Latin America to mean either a permanent designated bicycle route or a temporary event closing of the street to automobiles to allow dominance by other users. Permanent designated bicycle lanes are also known as ciclo-rutas, while streets temporarily closed for that purpose are always called ciclovías.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

bathyscaphe


A bathyscaphe is a free-diving self-propelled deep-sea diving submersible, consisting of a crew cabin similar to a bathysphere, but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable, as in the classic bathysphere design.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

facebuster

A facebuster, also known as a faceplant, is generally a takedown move in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler forces his/her opponent down to the mat face-first without involving a headlock or facelock.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Skeleton


Skeleton originated as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While Skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to Cresta "riders", the two sports are different and should not be confused.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Spall

Spall are flakes of a material that are broken off a larger solid body and can be produced by a variety of mechanisms, including as a result of projectile impact, corrosion, weathering, cavitation, or excessive rolling pressure (as in a ball bearing). Spalling and spallation both describe the process of surface failure in which spall is shed.

The terms spall and spalling have been adopted by particle physicists; in neutron scattering instruments, neutrons are generated by bombarding a uranium target with a stream of atoms. The neutrons that are ejected from the target are known as spall.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

staccato


In musical notation, the Italian word staccato (literally detached, plural staccati or the anglicised form staccatos) indicates that notes are separated in a detached and distinctly separate manner or short and separated, with silence making up the latter part of the time allocated to each note. The rhythm is not affected. Notes identified as staccato are often played or sung abruptly and short. They are usually denoted by a dot over the head of the note when the stem is downward, or by a dot below the head of the note when the stem is upward.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Varietal


"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot. Wines that display the name of two or more varieties on their label, such as a Chardonnay-Viognier, are blends and not varietal wines. The term is frequently misused in place of vine variety; the term variety refers to the vine or grape while varietal refers to the wine produced by a variety.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Endogamy

Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a social group, rejecting others based solely on culture as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. Cultures that practice endogamy require marriage between specified social groups, classes, or ethnicities. A Danish endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another Dane.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

winglet


A winglet is a near-vertical extension of the wing tips. The upward angle (or cant) of the winglet, its inward or outward angle (or toe), as well as its size and shape are critical for correct performance and are unique in each application. The wingtip vortex, which rotates around from below the wing, strikes the cambered surface of the winglet, generating a force that angles inward and slightly forward, analogous to a sailboat sailing close hauled. The winglet converts some of the otherwise-wasted energy in the wingtip vortex to an apparent thrust.

This small contribution can be worthwhile over the aircraft's lifetime, provided the benefit offsets the cost of installing and maintaining the winglets. Another potential benefit of winglets is that they reduce the strength of wingtip vortices, which trail behind the plane. When other aircraft pass through these vortices, the turbulent air can cause loss of control, possibly resulting in an accident. This possibility is greatest near airports, where slow approach and departure speeds create the strongest vortices, and the minimum spacing requirements between aircraft operations at airports is largely due to these vortices.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Alarmism

Alarmism is the production of needless warnings. The term is usually used to downplay the warnings.

Monday, July 5, 2010

yobbo

Yobbo or yob is a slang term for an uncouth or thuggish blue collar person. The word derives from a back slang reading of the word "boy" (boy or boyo reversed becomes yob or — slightly modified — yobbo).

Sunday, July 4, 2010

pandy


A pandy is another name for a fulling mill, and is used primarily in Wales.

Fulling is one of the processes in woollen clothmaking which involves the cleansing of cloth (particularly wool) to get rid of oils, dirt, and other impurities, and thickening it.

Fulling mills, from medieval times onwards, were often water powered. In these, the cloth was beaten with wooden hammers, known as fulling stocks. There were two kinds of fulling stocks, but in both cases the machinery was operated by cams on the shaft of a waterwheel or on a tappet wheel, which lifted the hammer.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Amphibology

Amphibology (from the Greek amphibolia) is an ambiguous grammatical structure in a sentence. Humorous ones are often called "howlers."

Friday, July 2, 2010

Reification

Reification (also known as hypostatisation, concretism or The fallacy of misplaced concreteness) is a fallacy of ambiguity, when an abstraction (abstract belief or hypothetical construct) is treated as if it were a concrete, real event or physical entity. In other words, it is the error of treating as a "real thing" something which is not a real thing, but merely an idea. For example: when one person "holds another's affection", affection is being reified.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Silurian


The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago), to the beginning of the Devonian period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Ma (ICS, 2004) As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the exact dates are uncertain by several million years. The base of the Silurian is set at a major extinction event when 60% of marine species were wiped out. See Ordovician-Silurian extinction events.

lordosis

  Lordosis is historically defined as an abnormal inward curvature of the lumbar spine.