Davels's New Writeups

petrified wood (place)

2000-05-14T21:15:51Z

The petrified forest in Arizona, near Holbrook, is the world's largest collection of petrified wood and has some damned strange landscapes to boot.

Everything Versus The Web (idea)

2000-04-14T15:26:30Z

This is a short article comparing 'Everything 2' with the World Wide Web.

It's very likely that you are familiar with both of the above. They both allow information to be stored in what are known either as nodes or web sites. These nodes/sites are then linked together with hyperlinks.

The main differences are thus:
Everything is based on a central server and has a single controlling entity who is free to change Everything's working paradigm at any time. This means that Everything is open to the possibility of censorship and sudden change in its operation and functions. It also means that there is the possibility of inaccessibility due to high load and other scalability problems. The scalability issue means that Everything's content is limited to textual write-ups. If all of it's Noders were up-loading images, audio and binary data then the amount of storage space required would quickly surpass what could be offered by a single site.

The Web, however,…

Avocado Dessert (thing)

2000-04-13T14:59:05Z

A delicious, simple and slightly strange dessert

Ingredients:
Ripe Avocado,
Sugar,
Lemon.

Cut the avocado in half, length-ways. Remove the stone. Fill the hole left by the stone with lemon juice. Add a teaspoonful of sugar. Eat out of the skin with the teaspoon in a kind of mixing it up as you go along way. It's good!

Morrocan recipe suggested by FK, ENST, Paris.

Churcher's College (place)

2000-04-12T12:47:31Z

Churcher's College, Petersfield, Hampshire, UK Private school for 12 to 18 year olds. It provides secondary (up to GCSE level) and tertiary (A-levels) education. They achieve good results through firm authority. They don't like mavericks. Rugby the CCF play an important role in the student's lives.

I went there for 5 years and they made me wear a tie and blazer every day. I don't know whether this helped me to pass my GCSEs or not. As soon as I had finished my GCSEs I moved to Havant 6th Form College to complete my A-levels.

Petersfield (place)

2000-04-12T12:33:58Z

Petersfield, Hampshire, UK Market town found at the junction of the A3 from Portsmouth to London and the main road from Winchester to the south coast. Approximately 20,000 inhabitants but has grown rapidly in recent years due to its location (London commuter belt) and general good reputation as a 'nice place to live'. Main industries include an Estee Lauder factory and a fizzy drink (soda) bottling plant.
It also has a new shopping centre called Ramswalk which has a Waitrose about which there was a lot of controversy. In the summer the slightly aging population likes to go to Petersfield Heath where there is a lake and a golf course.

Petersfield has a full range of educational facilities for all ages. Briefly, they are:
Petersfield Infant School
Herne Junior School
Churcher's College
Bohunt School
Petersfield Comprehensive

I'm sure there are a couple more but I forget their names.

Portsmouth (place)

2000-04-12T12:13:42Z

Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK Formally the UK's largest naval town but with the decline of the British Empire the need for a mighty fleet has decreased. The navy still plays a large role in the city's way of life. Alongside the military docks are several historical boats including HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. The town itself has a university (Portsmouth University) and makes a healthy living from tourists. The combination of students, sailors and visitors making for a perculiar mix with none of them really trusting any of the others. The nightclubs along the seafront are pretty dire but the beaches are worth a visit in the summer when it's lovely and warm.