Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate - the drink of the season, i think most of us will agree. Nowadays, there’s sooo much variation on this classic beverage. Have it plain, with whipped cream and marshmallows, milk chocolate, Belgium chocolate, white, or even Ruby (looking at you, Costa). In fact, this drink is so integrated in our culture, that it’s hard to imagine a time without it!

The original chocolate drink dates back to somewhere around 500 BC, with the Mayans. Although, this would probably not be recognised today as Hot Chocolate. For one, this drink was served cold.

The Mayans ground up the cocoa seeds into a paste and mixed it with water, cornmeal, chilis, and some other, currently unknown, ingredients. This mixture was then poured back and forth between two cups until a thick foam developed.

Croissants

The origin of the Croissant dates back to 13th century Austria, and it was originally called a Kipferl. The story goes that a city (possibly Vienna) was under siege from the Turks. A baker was up early, mixing his bread dough to bake when he heard a faint rumbling sound, which, upon investigation, was revealed to be a Turkish attempt to tunnel under the walls. After the tunnel was destroyed, the baker asked that he have exclusive rights to bake a crescent-shaped pastry to commemorate the incident, and thus the croissant was born!

Later, an Austrian officer, one August Zang, opened a Viennese bakery in Paris. The kipferl proved to be extremely popular, causing the bakery to experiment, adding things to the generic pastry, and the name was changed to Croissant due to the crescent shape.

Phoenician Puzzle Jugs

One of the oldest puzzles on record are the Phoenician Puzzle Jugs, from around 1700 BC. A form of mechanical puzzle, the challenge is to drink the enclosed liquid without spilling it. These games tended to be issued at Taverns / Pubs / Parties.

SSL Certificates

The SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption-based security protocol was developed in 1995 by Netscape. Then, in 1999, SSL was updated to TLS (Transport Layer Security). It works by encrypting the transmitted data, thereby preventing anyone intercepting the transfer from reading it, as all they’d see is a garbled mix of characters.

Sites protected by the SSL certificate will show a green padlock, and have ‘https://’ at the start of the url.

A while back, Google started penalizing sites that weren’t encrypted, you may have seen this, as when the user clicks on the link from a Google search, the unprotected site wouldn’t load, and instead a yellow screen would pop up, saying that the ‘site was unprotected’.

The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent was held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, northern Italy, and was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met for twenty-five sessions, and was overseen by Pope Paul III (1545 - 1547), Pope Julius III (1551 - 1552), and Pope Pius IV (1562 - 1563).

The purpose of the Council was to issue condemnations of heresies, key statements and clarifications of the Church’s doctrine, and the veneration of saints. It also made the Latin Vulgate the official biblical text of the Roman Church, and commissioned the creation of a revised and standardised Vulgate in light of textual criticism (although it wasn’t completed until the 1590s).

After the Council’s reign, it would be another three hundred years before the next ecumenical council, the First Vatican Council, in 1869.

Burn's Night

Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) - one of Scotland’s Heroes. He’s actually commonly known as the National Poet of Scotland, and wrote at least 650 poems and songs in old-scots.

Naturally, some are better-known than others, such as Auld Lang Syne (normally sung at New Years, and, of course, Last Night of the Proms), and who could forget the classic that is To a Mouse?

Regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic Movement, he went on to become a source of inspiration for both the Liberalism and Socialism movements, before, in more recent years, narrowly beating William Wallace to be voted as the Greatest Scot in 2009 on the Scottish television channel STV.

And so, it is this man, a Great Pioneer, that is celebrated today around the world. The traditional celebration begins with a general welcome and announcements, followed swiftly by the Selkirk Grace (said to have been delivered by Robert Burns to the Earl of Selkirk at St. Mary’s Isle Priory):

Some hae meat and canna eat,

And some wad eat that want it,

But we hae meat and we can eat,

Sae let the Lord be thankit.

This is followed by the piping and cutting of the Haggis, while Burns’ ‘Address to a Haggis’ is read. It is customary to begin eating just after the Haggis is presented.

After the meal come the toasts, including a ‘Toast to the Lassies’ and the replies. Finally, the toast to ‘The Immortal Memory’ is given - this is an overview of Burns’ life and work.

To conclude, the party would sing Auld Lang Syne.

Pie Day!

Pie, oh pie! So many variations on such a timeless classic! Savoury, Sweet, have it on it’s own, with veggies or possibly even custard!

However, Dad’s favourite words to live by, certainly seems to be ‘you can’t go wrong with Apple’.

Huh, wonder if he’s onto something?

Standard Pastry:

8oz flour

4oz butter

2oz (fluid) water (might not need all 2oz)

Combine flour and butter together until they take on a bread-crummy texture.

Slowly add the water until the mixture comes together - be careful not to add too much, or you’ll need to add in extra flour!

Leave to sit for ½ hour (can just be on the side with a tea towel over it, or give it 15 mins in the fridge)

While the pastry is sitting, turn on the oven to 200°C.

Take your selected ‘Pie Fruit’ (personally, I favour Apples and Cherries).

Carefully peel and core the apples and cut them into chunks in a microwavable dish.

Microwave for 5 mins, then stir in the cherries.

Divide your pastry into two pieces, and roll out.

Line your Pie Dish, add the filling, and, using a small amount of water to wet the edges of the pastry, place the top.

Using a fork, crimp the edges of the pastry, before cutting off the excess, and making a small hole in the middle (so your pie doesn’t explode!).

Place in the oven, for 40 mins, or until done (timings may vary oven to oven).

Enjoy!

For optional variations, you can glaze the top of your pie with egg white, sprinkle demerara sugar, or after cooking, you can add a little icing sugar for a powdery-white top!

Happy Chinese New Year!

Ahh, aren’t calendars a load of fun? What with their calculations, and odd number of days in a month, and almost always having a different counting system? Today being a prime example, as the Chinese New Year.

It’s always interesting to look at the history of calendars, like our current one, the Gregorian, named after Pope Gregory XIII who introduced it back in 1582, modifying the previously used Julian calendar. What’s interesting to note about the Julian calendar, was that it originally only held ten months (hence the names of the last five months). It was updated by Augustus Caesar, who inserted July (Julius’ month) and August (Augustus’ month), in his attempt to raise himself and his adopted father above the rest of the Roman Emperors.

And, then you have Chaos calendars, like the Mayan calendar, which ended in 2012, and caused all kinds of chaos worldwide!

But anyway, Happy Chinese New Year!

Did you know that there are over 1,000 different varieties of Tulip? I certainly didn’t before today…

Penguins...

Being a Penguin must be fairly easy, compared to humans, especially when it comes to gifts!

The most common gift given among Penguins is…rocks!

Just imagine, no more last-minute running round shops, trying to find something suitable, that won’t immediately be put away, never to be used (or seen) again! Simply step outside into the garden, and hey presto!

The rocks are useful, too, as the female Penguins use them to build their nests and protect their eggs…

Rivers Know This:

There is no hurry. We shall get there some day

- Winnie the Pooh

Captain James Cook

In 1773, Captain James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to cross the Antarctic Circle. One of Britain’s most accomplished explorers, Captain Cook led three major explorations throughout his life. He was also the first recorded European to make contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, along with circumnavigation of New Zealand and the making of several detailed maps.

Having joined the Merchant Navy as a teenager, and then the Royal Navy in 1755, Cook saw the Seven Years’ War, during which he surveyed and mapped the entrance of the St. Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec, gaining him a commission in 1768, and the command of HMS Endeavour.

Cook was eventually killed in 1779, while trying to kidnap the ruling chief of Kalani’opu’u, Hawaii, so he could trade the chief for a crew member who’d taken wood from a burial ground.

Syphon's Tails - Prologue

Deep in the Scottish Highlands there is a myth; a whisper of a rumour; of a village called Brigadoon. As is the way of most myths and legends, there are many different versions that have cropped up over the centuries, however, also in the way of these old tales, there remains traces of a Shared Truth, as all are originally based on memories of events that took place long ago.

In the case of the Village of Brigadoon, these Shared Truths place the Village among the picturesque Highlands of Scotland, and have the Village appearing for a span of twenty-four hours starting at Midnight, for the Summer Solstice. They also agree that Brigadoon is 'Lost in Time', and any visitors who fail to cross the boundary before the twenty-four hours are up, are forever trapped in the Village.

Of course, there are those sceptics who say that the Myth of Brigadoon simply came about as a way to explain various disappearances in the Highlands, but such is the way of most Myths and Legends. There are also those who claim to have found and visited the Village and escaped in time, before turning and watching as Brigadoon once more vanishes into the Mists.

And so it was on Monday the 21st of June, 2021, a group of hikers decided to celebrate the Summer Solstice atop Ben Macdui, when they stumbled upon a small village nested within a glen, which did not appear on their map. Concerned that they had got lost in the surrounding mists, as it didn't appear to be a new village, it was decided that they would enter to ask for directions, and possibly take a break from their hike.

Upon entering the village, it quickly became apparent that this was no ordinary village. For one thing, the locals seemed to be talking in an Old Scots dialect, and for another, the buildings and side paths, while well-maintained, did not shine like the road they were following.

Soon enough they arrived at what could only be the market place, bang in the centre of the peculiar village. A quick glance round revealed the inhabitants scurrying about their business while keeping watchful eyes on the group of strangers. After further inspection, it was discovered that a path off to their right was also glowing a soft gold.

Now extremely curious, it was quickly decided that they would continue on, remembering the story of the yellow brick road from Oz.

It soon became apparent that the path was taking them back out of the village, as the surrounding buildings thinned and started being replaced with shrubs and trees. Once they'd left the village behind, the path turned North, before joining what looked to be a dry river-bed, the emerald-green banks on either side gradually steepening. Along the way, strange flowers started appearing as the path began winding its' way up the mountainside.

Eventually the trees started thinning and rocky patches started making an appearance, before the path widened out into a clearing.

Not, it wasn't a very large clearing, bit it was practical. There was a small brook feeding into a decent-sized pond off to the left, and what looked like a den; made out of over-grown bushes, long grass, and a weeping willow tree; on the right. Scattered about the clearing were several strange flowers, some of which they had already seen on their journey, with various coloured butterflies flitting around. Perhaps the most ominous of the clearing, however, was the cliff face opposite them, and the large, dark cave.

No sooner had they stepped into the clearing, than an excited shriek filled the air, followed by a large, black creature, roughly the size of a horse, which flew overhead before landing in front of them.

“Hello! It's not often I get visitors here at my cave! I'm Syphon, who are you?” the excitable dragonling asked, cocking his head adorably.

The group of hikers exchanged nervous looks, before silently selecting a spokesperson.
“Umm, Greetings, err, Syphon?” he squeaked. “We didn't mean to disturb you...um, we were heading to Ben Macdui, for the Summer Solstice, and got lost in the mist?” he finished hesitantly.

Syphon blinked, before settling down, his tail swaying behind him, looking remarkably like a cat.
“That doesn't answer my question!” he...pouted? Needless to say, the hikers were taken aback.

“Err, we are the, um, Scottish Highlands Hiking Association?” another of the group explained.

Syphon sat up, eyeing them closely.
“Not a big Association, are you?” he asked.

“No, not yet,” the hiker smiled nervously.

Syphon huffed to himself.
“If I tell you some stories, will you trade?” he asked slowly.

The hikers exchanged another glance.
“What sort of trade?” the spokesperson asked suspiciously.

“Oh, just the usual. I'll tell you tales I heard from Mother, and other things I've either witnessed first-hand or been told by others like yourselves. In return, you tell me stories and/or what's happening around the world, the last visitors I had told me about these things call TeaLey and Radhio which can send stories across long distances?” Syphon explained eagerly.

The hikers blinked,
“Did you mean 'telly' and 'radio'?” one of them asked.

“Oh, is that how you pronounce them? The Telly shows grey images, right?” Syphon looked positively delighted with this new information.

“Yes, that's right, although the technology's progressed now, so the telly can show colourised images. So, just to clarify, we answer your questions and tell you what's happening in the world and stuff, and you'll tell us stories?” the spokesman asked.

“Correct! Otherwise it wouldn't be a trade!” Syphon grinned. “Do you want to start, or shall I?”

“I think we might need a little time to work out where to begin, so you can go first?” the spokesman offered.

“Very well.” Syphon spread his wings before tucking them in close. “Are you comfy? Then I'll begin!”

King Henry VIII - Head of the Church of England

In 1535, King Henry VIII of England declared himself the head of the Church of England, formalising the split from the Catholic church. As a king, Henry was desperate for a son, as his father, Henry VII had been involved in Civil War, and he didn’t wish to see his country fight again so soon.

However, his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, only gave him a daughter (Mary). When the Pope refused to grant a divorce, Henry proclaimed himself the head of the Church, thus allowing him to divorce and marry his second wife, Anne Boleyn, who also gave him a daughter (Elizabeth).

It wouldn’t be until after he’d executed Anne for treason and married his third wife, Jane Seymour, that he’d finally get a son (Edward).

The Knights Templar

The Knights Templar (also known as the Order of Solomon’s Temple, and the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon), were a Catholic military order, founded in 1119 which existed for nearly two centuries in the Middle Ages. They were created as a monastic religious order, charged with protecting pilgrims to the Holy Land after the First Crusade.

Due to this, they became a favoured charity throughout the Christian countries, and rapidly grew in power, membership and riches. Along with protecting pilgrims, they got involved in Finance, Land, and managed a large economic infrastructure throughout Christendom.

Eventually, they gained too much power, which, along with the rumours of a secret initiation ceremony, created distrust, allowing King Philip IV of France to remove them, so he didn’t have to pay back his debts to the order. In 1307, he persuaded the Pope to have many of the order’s members arrested, tortured and burned at the stake, before the order was disbanded in 1312.

Due to the, fairly abrupt, disbandment, many myths and legends about the order have appeared over the centuries.

The Act of Multipliers

The Act of Multipliers was passed by the English Government on January the 13th, 1404, to prevent English Alchemists using their knowledge to create precious metals. This was because they feared the Alchemists would succeed, and bring ruin upon the State, so the law declared the use of transmutation to multiply gold and silver to be a crime.

The Act declared ‘that none from hereafter should use to multiply gold or silver, or use the craft of multiplication; and if any the same do, they incur the pain of felony.’

‘Multiplication’ was a term used in Alchemy to mean ‘making more of a certain material’, and has since spread into Mathematics, where it is now commonly used. Originally from the Latin word multiplicare - to increase - the word moved into Old French as mouteplier ( increase, get bigger; flourish; extend, enrich) - before finally arriving in English.

The ban was repealed in 1689, however, which allowed Alchemy to be worked on by Isaac Newton and Robert Boyle, who transformed much of Alchemy into what we would nowadays call Chemistry.

Creativity - The use of imagination or original ideas to create something.

The word comes from the Latin ‘creare’, meaning to create, make, and first appeared in English in the 14th century, where it was used in Chaucer to indicate divine creation. There are several theories of creativity which have focussed on a variety of aspects.

According to Mel Rhodes, the dominant factors of creativity are usually identified as ‘the four P’s’:

1. Process - The thoughts, mechanisms and techniques for creative thinking.

2. Product - How to measure creativity

3. Person - This is pretty much self-explanatory, as it is to do with the Creative Individual

4. Place - Where does the creativity flourish? Is there access to the required resources?

Crossing the Rubicon

Today’s the Day! Or, well, the 10th of January, 49 BC was, anyway. For this is the day that Julius Caesar uttered the words ‘Alea Iacta Est’ while he crossed the Rubicon, starting a civil war which would end with his appointment as Roman Emperor.

Crossing the Rubicon was a big deal, as once it was done, they couldn’t go back! Since then, ‘crossing the Rubicon’ has come to mean ‘the point of no return’.

Plough Monday

Traditionally the first Monday after Epiphany. Back in the 15th Century, this was typically the day people returned to work after Christmas.

From what I understand, a plough would be taken through the village, stopping at each house, where the workers would then join in the procession, ending up in the fields. Although the custom varies from region to region, the procession would normally be accompanied by musicians and dancers.

Nowadays, this festival seems to mostly be celebrated in the villages, but is probably the best day to begin preparing the soil for the Spring planting, whether it be visiting a Garden Centre to obtain compost, or breaking soil on an allotment.

Mobile Visitor Study

According to a study undertaken by Google back in 2017, over half of the mobile visitors will leave a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load. And, furthermore, one in two visitors expect the page to load in less than two seconds.

So, there are several, reasonably quick, ways to improve your website’s speed.

1. Use a free online service to test how fast your site is (for example, web.dev)

2. Optimise your images. There are several services available for this, but the easiest way I’ve found is to open the image in Photoshop, and ‘save for web’. It can also help to ensure that your images aren’t overly large, a width of 1200px is normally considered the max.

3. Less is More. Yes, moving images and animations may make your web page look good, but they can lead to a longer loading time.

Branding

The actual word ‘brand’ can be traced back to Old Norse, where it referred to a burning piece of wood, however, it didn’t become a verb until the late Middle English, when it changed to mean ‘to mark something permanently with a hot iron’, something most people would probably think of on hearing the word (especially helped by Westerns and cowboy stories). This definition directly involves marking something with a view of displaying ownership.

Despite the word arriving, somewhat, late on the scene, however, the practice of marking ownership itself dates back to the Stone Age. There are several cave paintings that clearly display cattle marked with symbols. It’s thought they first used tar and pigments, before switching to burning the marks somewhere around 2000 BC.

Meanwhile, over in the East, potters used engravings as a way to identify who had made the ceramic, and also what types of materials were used and where they were produced. Over time, these progressed from single artisans to a mark of the business, as artisans started banding together into one place.

Fast forward through history to the Industrial Revolution, and modern-day branding for businesses was born, as a way to persuade customers to buy from the businesses, instead of the local merchants, with businesses starting to specialise in products, instead of simply being a ‘catch-all’, for example, potters, instead of simply creating anything and everything pottery, would instead start to focus on, say, a bowl.

In 1875 the Trade Marks Registration act was passed, as a way to protect the company’s investment, and modern-day branding was born (although, it continued to be refined and certain styles would come into fashion, or fade away).

Epiphany

Ahh, Epiphany. That weird day in January, where it’s socially unacceptable to keep up your Christmas Decorations anymore (although, let’s face it, most of us are already fed up with them through Advent, and they’re lucky to still be up for Christmas).

And, let’s not forget all the weird pictures of three Kings with a baby.

If you read the accounts carefully, it’s much more likely that Jesus was a young child. Assuming the Star appeared when He was born, which is ultimately what started the Kings’ journey. All we really know about these Kings, are that they came from the East, and there isn’t actually an exact number specified, just the three named Gifts.

There is further evidence that Jesus was older, later in the Chapter (Verse 16), as Herod orders ‘all the boys two years old and younger’ to be put to death.

But, then again, they may not have even been kings, as traditionally, the term ‘Wise Men’ was used. It is possible that a lot of the text has been lost in translation, or, then again, maybe we were never meant to know who the Kings were, or how old the Child was?

Charles Babbage

Did you know that the parts used in modern computers were invented by Charles Babbage in 1833 - 120 years before computers?

Charles Babbage (1791 - 1871) was an English polymath (Mathematician, Philosopher, Inventor and Mechanical Engineer), who is considered by some to be the ‘Father of the Computer’. Sadly, despite coming up with many designs for his Difference Engine, it would have to wait until 1991 for a functional prototype to be constructed, due to the tolerances required of the materials. However, the fact that a working prototype was created, indicates that Babbage’s plans worked.

As it is, he joins the ranks of many Inventors and Innovators who were ahead of their times, Da Vinci possibly being the most well-known.

Human Psychology in Web Design

One of the things I’ve been interested in for a while now (but haven’t studied academically) is Human Psychology, and the various ways it can be applied throughout the Walk of Life. I think, if I had to pin-point when I first started noticing Human Psychology being applied, it was most probably when reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’, by J.R.R Tolkien (definitely recommend reading, by the way).

And, from then on, I would find myself partaking in the activity of People-Watching. It was really interesting, for a home-educated eight-year-old, when taken on the dreaded-but-essential shopping trips.

However, it wasn’t until my first job (Web Design), that I really had the chance to implement what I’d learned through the years.

In 1943, the American psychologist Abraham Maslow created a theoretical model, which he called ‘A theory of Human Motivation’. In this, he defined levels of importance that reflect how and what humans prioritize, as well as what they require to appreciate their surroundings and achieve personal growth. He called this a ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. It is possible to use his initial concept to create a new one, directly related to web development and the user, putting them into six fundamental points:

1. Accessibility - The website needs to be easy to find on Google (SEO, for example)

2. Stability - How consistent is the website’s content, does it contradict itself? Does the information come from good, trusted sources? Are there References for the source material?

3. Usability - How friendly is the website? Can it be used by all ages? Can those with eye-related issues still use the site?

4. Reliability - Is the website always available? How often does it crash? Will the SSL stop working?

5. Functionality - Are the website’s contents of value to the users?

6. Flexibility - Can the website adapt? Can the user change the colour of the background, so they can read the text easier? Does it have a ‘light’ and ‘dark’ mode, for reading at different times of the day?

Each of these six points are fundamental to a good website. If the user can’t read or understand the contents, then there’s pretty much no point in having it. If the website can’t be found, it is of no use.

Happy New Year!

And so, it’s that time again. We look forward to it, and possibly spend months planning - The New Year’s Resolution. We all know the saying: New Year, New You. But, how true is it?

New Year Resolutions can come in many different types. You have the Common, or Popular, ones, such as weight-loss, going to the Gym more often, or even to simply eat less cake. And then, there’s the less common, such as spending more time with Family, or reading more.

Maybe, for those determined few, the chosen Resolution will keep going for a week (or possibly longer), but for the rest of us, we will quickly return to old habits. After all, it’s easier to start a completely new habit, than to break an old one. Not to mention, human beings are, as a general rule, lazy. We like to take the easy option, whether it be to take the car, instead of walking the block or two.

A story I heard a while back follows somewhat along these lines:

A lady decided to start the year by attending the local gym.

To do this, she went in the car, to use the treadmill. Then, as the gym was on multiple levels, she went up the escalator to use the step-machine.

After this, she weighed herself, and pleased with the weight-loss, treated herself to cake in the gym’s café.

Sometimes, simplicity is the best answer, and taking things one step at a time. Work out what your Year End Goal is, no need to make it complicated, and remember that there are twelve months in a year for a reason.

Once you have your end goal, break it down into smaller steps (they don’t have to be twelve, you could set your plan to achieve multiple points each month, or even extend your Ultimate Goal through several years). Keeping a Goal Diary can be a lot of help with this. And, above all - Keep It Real. There’s absolutely no point in setting unachievable goals, it only makes you and others depressed and/or disheartened.