commonality

Aviation commonality describes the economic and logistic benefits of operating a standardized fleet of aircraft that share common parts, training requirements, or other characteristics. Commonality lowers the cost of operating a fleet of aircraft by reducing the quantity and variety of spare parts needed. Pilots and mechanics may also be very quickly "familiarized" to multiple types of aircraft that share common operating and maintenance procedures, reducing downtime.

aberration

An aberration is something that deviates from the normal way.

Cant

A Cant (or crypolect) is the jargon or argot of a group, often implying its use to exclude or mislead people outside the group.

berk

"berk", a mild pejorative widely used across the UK and not usually considered particularly offensive, although the origin lies in a contraction of "Berkeley Hunt", as the rhyme for the significantly more offensive "cunt".

Todd

(on your) Todd - short for Todd Sloane, Rhyming Slang for 'own'. After the famous jockey. e.g. "There's you lot having a wild time and I'm left here all on me' Todd".

read more here

tube steak

a nickname for a hotdog.

Tractarian

The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy and theology. They conceived of the Anglican Church as one of three branches of the Catholic Church.

It was also known as the Tractarian Movement after its series of publications Tracts for the Times, published between 1833 and 1841. The group was also disparagingly called Newmanites (pre-1845) and Puseyites (post-1845) after two prominent Tractarians, John Henry Newman and Edward Bouverie Pusey. Other well-known Tractarians included John Keble, Charles Marriott, Richard Hurrell Froude, Robert Wilberforce, Isaac Williams and William Palmer.

jockey wheel

A jockey wheel is a retractable adjustable-height wheel used on the front of trailers with either a single axle (two running wheels) or more close-coupled axles at or near the centre of gravity whereby without additional support, the trailer would not remain 'level'. The jockey wheel is situated close to the towing hitch and has a built-in screw jack to enable the trailer nose to be lifted over the tow ball of a car or other powered vehicle. The screw jack can then be used to gently lower the trailer nose onto the tow ball. Once securely attached to the towing vehicle, the jockey wheel's jacking action is fully retracted for stowage. The jockey wheel is also unclamped and lifted as far as possible to give the greatest ground clearance before reclamping prior to a journey being made.

Jockey wheels incorporate a castor action, permitting travel in any direction while manhandling a trailer while it is not attached to a vehicle.

fistula

In medicine, a fistula (pl. fistulas or fistulae) is an abnormal connection or passageway between two epithelium-lined organs or vessels that normally do not connect. It is generally a disease condition, but a fistula may be surgically created for therapeutic reasons.

microRNA

A microRNA (abbreviated miRNA) is a short ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule found in eukaryotic cells. A microRNA molecule has very few nucleotides (an average of 22) compared with other RNAs.

Mimesis

Mimesis (Ancient Greek: μίμησις (mīmēsis), from μιμεῖσθαι (mīmeisthai), "to imitate," from μῖμος (mimos), "imitator, actor") is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings, which include imitation, representation, mimicry, imitatio, receptivity, nonsensuous similarity, the act of resembling, the act of expression, and the presentation of the self.

In ancient Greece, mimesis was an idea that governed the creation of works of art, in particular, with correspondence to the physical world understood as a model for beauty, truth and the good. Plato contrasted mimesis, or imitation, with diegesis, or narrative. After Plato, the meaning of mimesis eventually shifted toward a specifically literary function in ancient Greek society, and its use has changed and been re-interpreted many times since then.

Diegesis

Diegesis is a style of representation in fiction and is:

1. the (fictional) world in which the situations and events narrated occur; and
2. telling, recounting, as opposed to showing, enacting.

In diegesis the narrator tells the story. The narrator presents to the audience or the implied readers the actions, and perhaps thoughts, of the characters.

diagenesis

In geology and oceanography, diagenesis is any chemical, physical, or biological change undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface alteration (weathering) and metamorphism. These changes happen at relatively low temperatures and pressures and result in changes to the rock's original mineralogy and texture. There is no sharp boundary between diagenesis and metamorphism, but the latter occurs at higher temperature and pressure than the former.

After deposition, sediments are compacted as they are buried beneath successive layers of sediment and cemented by minerals that precipitate from solution. Grains of sediment, rock fragments and fossils can be replaced by other minerals during diagenesis. Porosity usually decreases during diagenesis, except in rare cases such as dissolution of minerals and dolomitization.

The study of diagenesis in rocks is used to understand the tectonic history they have undergone; the nature and type of fluids that have circulated through them. From a commercial standpoint, such studies aid in assessing the likelihood of finding various economically viable mineral and hydrocarbon deposits.

Overpressure

The term Overpressure (Δp) is applied to a pressure difference, relative to a "normal" or "ambient" pressure, in various circumstances:

• In engineering: the pressure difference over the wall thickness of a pressure vessel. It is the overpressure, not the absolute pressure, which causes mechanical yield and, if the overpressure exceeds the vessel's capacity, ultimately the failure of the vessel.
• In geology: the pressure regime in a stratigraphic unit that exhibits higher-than-hydrostatic pressure in its pore structure. This phenomenon is the primary cause of "oil gushers". This is described below.
• In military terminology, the pressure caused by a shock wave over and above normal atmospheric pressure. The shock wave may be caused by sonic boom or by explosion, and the resulting overpressure receives particular attention when measuring the effects of nuclear weapons or thermobaric bombs.

mandrel

A mandrel (also mandril or arbor) is one of the following:

• an object used to shape machined work.
• a tool component that grips or clamps materials to be machined.
• a tool component that can be used to grip other moving tool components.

Contrails

Contrails or vapour trails are artificial clouds that are the visible trails of condensed water vapour made by the exhaust of aircraft engines. As the hot exhaust gases cool in the surrounding air they may precipitate a cloud of microscopic water droplets or, if the air is cold enough, tiny ice crystals.

The wingtip vortices which trail from the wingtips and wing flaps of aircraft are sometimes partly visible due to condensation in the cores of the vortices. Each vortex is a mass of spinning air and the air pressure at the centre of the vortex is very low. These wingtip vortices are not the same as contrails.

Depending on atmospheric conditions, contrails may be visible for only a few seconds or minutes, or may persist for many hours which may affect climate.

Contrails tend to last longer if there is higher moisture in the atmosphere and associated higher level clouds such as cirrus, cirrostratus and cirrocumulus already present before the plane flies through.

impute

impute (third-person singular simple present imputes, present participle imputing, simple past and past participle imputed)

1. (transitive) To reckon as pertaining or attributable; to charge; to ascribe; to attribute; to set to the account of; to charge to one as the author, responsible originator, or possessor; -- generally in a bad sense.
2. (transitive, theology) To ascribe (sin or righteousness) to someone by substitution.
3. (transitive) To take account of; to consider; to regard.
4. (transitive) To attribute or credit to.

   We imputed this quotation to Shakespeare.

   People impute great cleverness to cats.

5. (transitive) To attribute (responsibility or fault) to a cause or source.

   The teacher imputed the student's failure to his nervousness.

Interkosmos

Interkosmos (Russian: ИнтерКосмос) was a space program of the Soviet Union designed to include members of military forces of allied Warsaw Pact countries in manned and unmanned missions. The participation of countries which were not Soviet allies, such as India, Syria and France was a reflection of non-aligned politics during the Cold War.

Begun in April 1967 with unmanned research satellite missions, the first manned mission occurred in February 1978. Interkosmos missions enabled 14 non-Soviet cosmonauts to participate in Soyuz space flights between 1978 and 1988. The program was responsible for sending into space the first citizen of a country other than the USA or USSR; Vladimír Remek of Czechoslovakia. Interkosmos also resulted in the first black and Hispanic person in space, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez of Cuba, and the first Asian person in space, Phạm Tuân of Vietnam. Of the countries involved, only Bulgaria sent two cosmonauts in space.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a stilbenoid, a type of natural phenol, and a phytoalexin produced naturally by several plants when under attack by pathogens such as bacteria or fungi.

The effects of resveratrol are currently a topic of numerous animal and human studies. Its effects on the lifespan of many model organisms remain controversial, with uncertain effects in fruit flies, nematode worms, and short-lived fish. In mouse and rat experiments, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, blood sugar-lowering and other beneficial cardiovascular effects of resveratrol have been reported. These results have yet to be replicated in humans.

Nixtamalization

Nixtamalization typically refers to a process for the preparation of maize (corn), or other grain, in which the grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, and hulled. The term can also refer to the removal via an alkali process of the pericarp from other grains such as sorghum. Maize subjected to the nixtamalization process has several benefits over unprocessed grain for food preparation: it is more easily ground; its nutritional value is increased; flavor and aroma are improved; and mycotoxins are reduced. These benefits make nixtamalization a crucial preliminary step for further processing of maize into food products, and the process is employed using both traditional and industrial methods, in the production of tortillas, tamales, corn chips, hominy and many other items.

Kumbaya

"Kumbaya" or "Kumbayah" (Gullah, "Come By Here" — "Kum ba yah") — is an African-American spiritual song from the 1930s. It enjoyed newfound popularity during the folk revival of the 1960s and became a standard campfire song in Scouting and nature-oriented organizations.

The song was originally associated with human and spiritual unity, closeness and compassion, and it still is in many places around the world, though in recent decades it has also been popularly used as a symbol for naïve expectations of said outcomes.

fly system

A fly system, flying system or theatrical rigging system, is a system of lines (e.g. ropes), blocks (pulleys), counterweights and related devices within a theatre that enable a stage crew to quickly, quietly and safely fly (hoist) components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people (e.g. Peter Pan). Systems are typically designed to fly components between clear view of the audience and out of view, into the large opening, fly loft, above the stage.

Fly systems are often used in conjunction with other theatre systems, such as scenery wagons, stage lifts and stage turntables, to physically manipulate the mise-en-scène.

cue

A theatrical cue is the trigger for an action to be carried out at a specific time. It is generally associated with theatre and the film industry. They can be necessary for a lighting change or effect, a sound effect, or some sort of stage or set movement/change.

nurdle

nurdle

• A wavy dab of toothpaste applied to a toothbrush

Ilmenite

Ilmenite is a weakly magnetic titanium-iron oxide mineral which is iron-black or steel-gray. It is a crystalline iron titanium oxide (FeTiO₃). It crystallizes in the trigonal system, and it has the same crystal structure as corundum and hematite.

Gneiss

Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.

Dunite

Dunite is an igneous, plutonic rock, of ultramafic composition, with coarse-grained or phaneritic texture. The mineral assemblage is greater than 90% olivine, with minor amounts of other minerals such as pyroxene, chromite and pyrope. Dunite is the olivine-rich end-member of the peridotite group of mantle-derived rocks. Dunite and other peridotite rocks are considered the major constituents of the Earth's mantle above a depth of about 400 kilometers. Dunite is rarely found within continental rocks, but where it is found, it typically occurs at the base of ophiolite sequences where slabs of mantle rock from a subduction zone have been thrust onto continental crust by obduction during continental or island arc collisions (orogeny). It is also found in alpine peridotite massifs that represent slivers of sub-continental mantle exposed during collisional orogeny. Dunite typically undergoes retrograde metamorphism in near-surface environments and is altered to serpentinite and soapstone.

goomh

goomh: Get out of my Head!