Tragic Elevator Accident in Seville

A woman has died in a tragic accident shortly after giving birth by caesarean section.  It is unfortunate that, due to a new Spanish Law which requires media to invoice Google for even a small snippet of copyright material, Google no longer feeds Spanish news to its Google News pages.

The NCP Theory of Gravity

It seems that NCP (National Car Parks) has a theory that a thin concrete floor can support the weight of a van because, hey, gravity's only a theory, right?  Science, who needs it?

News reports show what happens when concrete isn't up to a task it was never intended for - like making airmail envelopes and such.

The Voynich Manuscript in Latin

[edit]  while I am unable to respond to comments here due to a bug, I am making use of Neven Curlin's Arctic Forum to exchange comments under the topic It is an ancient manuscript.

The entire Voynich Manuscript has been converted into a readable text document which clearly shows that the underlying language is Latin.  The VM in Latin is released as a beta version at the foot of this article.

The Keys to the Voynich Manuscript

[edit]  while I am unable to respond to comments here due to a bug, I am making use of Neven Curlin's Arctic Forum to exchange comments under the topic It is an ancient manuscript.

The keys to the Voynich Manuscript consist of Latin letters which replace the symbols in the manuscript.  I intend to publish a full chart of my findings very soon.  Meanwhile, here is a snippet of translation, using Takeshi Takahashi's transcription files.

The Voynich Manuscript Unzipped

[edit]  while I am unable to respond to comments here due to a bug, I am making use of Neven Curlin's Arctic Forum to exchange comments under the topic It is an ancient manuscript.


The Voynich Manuscript is written in Latin, using a medieval version of what we, today, call data compression.  Bear with me for a while as I demonstrate some of the oddball behaviour of language (and linguists!) by having some fun with language.  And do please follow the links for your further edification and amusement. 

Wonky Rockets? Wonky Theory!


The British tabloids Express, Metro, Daily Star, Sun and others seem to think that some or all of the rockets displayed in North Korea recently are bogus.  The "proof" is the wonky nosecones shown in a BBC video.

It's not the Rockets that were wonky.  Rather, the "news" reports demonstrate wonky thinking. Media reports about wonky rockets prove only that some reporters tend to write stories based on their own lack of knowledge.  Due diligence is obviously not a term with which these scribblers are familiar.