Saturday, October 31, 2015

debenture

In sport, a debenture is defined as a certificate of agreement of loans which is given under the company's stamp and carries an undertaking that the debenture holder will get a fixed return (fixed on the basis of interest rates) and the principal amount whenever the debenture matures. The terms may also include ancillary benefits such as an option to buy tickets at a favourable price, as well as or instead of interest. The term stems from the financial concept of a debenture.
A large number of sporting organisations have issued debentures to raise money, to allow their fans to gain a financial stake in the club, to foster a sense of community, and in some cases to fund new construction.
File:Youth-soccer-indiana.jpg

Friday, October 30, 2015

debenture

A debenture is a document that either creates a debt or acknowledges it, and it is a debt without collateral. In corporate finance, the term is used for a medium- to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money. In some countries the term is used interchangeably with bond, loan stock or note. A debenture is thus like a certificate of loan or a loan bond evidencing the fact that the company is liable to pay a specified amount with interest and although the money raised by the debentures becomes a part of the company's capital structure, it does not become share capital. Senior debentures get paid before subordinate debentures, and there are varying rates of risk and payoff for these categories.
File:Vereinigte Ostindische Compagnie bond.jpg
Debentures are generally freely transferable by the debenture holder. Debenture holders have no rights to vote in the company's general meetings of shareholders, but they may have separate meetings or votes e.g. on changes to the rights attached to the debentures. The interest paid to them is a charge against profit in the company's financial statements.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

hook

A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, R&B, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often found in, or consists of, the chorus. A hook can be either melodic or rhythmic, and often incorporates the main motif for a piece of music.
File:The Ronettes.JPG

One definition of a hook is "a musical or lyrical phrase that stands out and is easily remembered".
File:The Beach Boys, May 29, 2012.jpg

While some melodic hooks include skips of a eighths or more to make the line more interesting, a hook can be equally catchy by employing rhythmic syncopation or other devices. A hook may also garner attention from listeners from other factors, such as the vocal timbre or instrumentation, as in the case of the Beach Boys' use of an unusual theremin-like instrument in "Good Vibrations". Some hooks become popular without using any unusual elements. For example, in the song "Be My Baby", performed by The Ronettes, the hook consists of the words "be my baby" over the conventional I-vi-IV-V chord progression of the chorus. Hooks in hip hop almost always refer to the chorus between verses.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

promise ring

A pre-engagement ring (also known as a promise ring) is a ring given to a romantic partner to signify a commitment to a monogamous relationship, often as a precursor to an engagement ring. Promise rings can be worn on any finger, but those symbolizing pre-engagement are generally worn on the left ring finger; sometimes, the left middle finger or right ring finger is used instead to prevent confusion with an actual engagement ring. This is typically done among teenagers who are too young to be legally married, and rarely seen among adults.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Editor's side note on the dangers of automated blogging

Dearest readers,

Yesterday's word of the day "zerbert" is a term coined by Bill Cosby, and a picture of Bill Cosby accompanied the post. This post was in no way a show of support for this man, and there was no intention on my part to make light of his actions. I categorically and whole-heartedly condemn the actions, career, and character of Mr. Cosby. When I made the post it was intended as a playful word of the day referencing the work of a beloved artist. To say his long career as a comedian and self-styled role model is thoroughly tainted would be an understatement. The man is abhorrent.

The post was scheduled many months ago before the actions of Mr. Cosby were very widely known. I acknowledge that I was ignorant about his past. Unless anyone objects, I plan to leave the post where it is as a cautionary tale against lazy scheduled blogging. I am very sorry if my actions hurt anyone. I did not mean to offend.

Thank you for your continued readership.

Ben

Claddagh ring

The Claddagh ring (Irish: fáinne Chladaigh) is a traditional Irish ring given which represents love, loyalty, and friendship (the hands represent friendship; the heart represents love; and the crown represents loyalty).
The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the old city walls of Galway, now part of Galway City. The ring, as currently known, was first produced in the 17th century.

File:Claddaghring.jpg

Monday, October 26, 2015

Airglow

Airglow (also called nightglow) is the very weak emission of light by a planetary atmosphere. In the case of Earth's atmosphere, this optical phenomenon causes the night sky never to be completely dark, even after the effects of starlight and diffused sunlight from the far side are removed.

File:Cupola above the darkened Earth.jpg

seeing

Astronomical seeing refers to the blurring and twinkling of astronomical objects such as stars caused by turbulent mixing in the Earth's atmosphere varying the optical refractive index. The astronomical seeing conditions on a given night at a given location describe how much the Earth's atmosphere perturbs the images of stars as seen through a telescope.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

zerbert

Noun

zerbert (plural zerberts)
  1. The sound that occurs where someone places the mouth against skin and blows, imitative of the sound of flatulence.

Etymology

Coined as part of an episode of The Cosby Show in 1986.

Friday, October 23, 2015

cow

cow (third-person singular simple present cows, present participle cowing, simple past and past participle cowed)
(transitive) To intimidate; to daunt the spirits or courage of. Found primarily in the passive voice.
Con artists are not cowed by the law.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Internetworking

Internetworking is the practice of connecting a computer network with other networks through the use of gateways that provide a common method of routing information packets between the networks. The resulting system of interconnected networks is called an internetwork, or simply an internet. Internetworking is a combination of the words inter ("between") and networking; not internet-working or international-network.
The most notable example of internetworking is the Internet, a network of networks based on many underlying hardware technologies, but unified by an internetworking protocol standard, the Internet Protocol Suite, often also referred to as TCP/IP.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

reticle

A reticle, or reticule (from Latin reticulum, meaning "net"), also known as a graticule (from Latin craticula, meaning "gridiron"), is a net of fine lines or fibers in the eyepiece of a sighting device, such as a telescope, a telescopic sight, a microscope, or the screen of an oscilloscope. Today, engraved lines or embedded fibers may be replaced by a computer-generated image superimposed on a screen or eyepiece. Both terms may be used to describe any set of lines used for optical measurement, but in modern use reticle is most commonly used for gunsights and such, while graticule is more widely used for the covers of oscilloscopes and similar roles.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

reticule

reticule (plural reticules)
  1. Alternative form of reticle.
  2. A small women's bag made of a woven net-like material.

Monday, October 19, 2015

hot and high

In aviation, hot and high is a condition of low air density due to high ambient temperature and high airport elevation. Air density decreases with increasing temperature and altitude. At any given true airspeed, lower air density reduces the amount of lift generated by the wings or the rotors of an aircraft, which may hamper an aircraft's performance and hence its ability to operate safely. The reduced density also reduces the performance of the aircraft's engine, compounding the effect. Aviators gauge air density by calculating the density altitude.
"Hot" and "high" do not have to be inclusive of one another, though this tends to be the exception. If an airport is especially hot or high, the other condition need not be present. Temperatures can change from one hour to the next, while the elevation of an airport always remains constant. The fact that temperatures decrease at higher elevations mitigates the "hot and high" effect to a certain extent.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Parbuckle salvage

Parbuckle salvage, or parbuckling, is the righting of a sunken vessel by applying leverage to rotate the vessel into an upright position from one where it is either on its side or fully inverted. A common operation with smaller watercraft, parbuckling has been used successfully to right large vessels. In 1943 USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was rotated nearly 180 degrees to upright after being sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor, TH, and the MS Costa Concordia was successfully parbuckled off the west coast of Italy in the largest salvage operation of that kind to date.
A major concern during salvage is to prevent the rotational torque from becoming a transverse force moving the ship sideways. USS Utah (BB-31), lost like the Oklahoma in the Pearl Harbor attack, was meant to be recovered by a similar rotation after the Oklahoma. As the Utah was rotated, however, its hull did not catch on the harbor bottom, and the vessel slid towards Ford Island. The Utah recovery effort was abandoned.

File:Oklahoma Righting 01.jpg

Shells for 16 inch guns on battleships were stored vertically in the lower part of the gun turret. They weighed about a ton apiece, and were parbuckled to move them sidewise, for both when loaded in port, as well as being moved to the hoist when firing.

Saturday, October 17, 2015

John Barleycorn

"John Barleycorn" is a British folksong. The character of John Barleycorn in the song is a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death and indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Yadu

Yadu is one of the five Indo-Aryan tribes (panchajana, panchakrishtya or panchamanusha) mentioned in the Rig Veda (I.54.6, I.108.7, X.62.10).

 File:Krishna Holding Mount Govardhan - Crop.jpg
The Hindu epic Mahabharata, the Harivamsha and the Puranas mention Yadu as the eldest son of king Yayati and his queen Devayani. The prince of King Yayati, Yadu was a self-respecting and a very established ruler. According to the Vishnu Purana, the Bhagavata Purana and the Garuda Purana, Yadu had four sons, while according to the rest of the Puranas he had five sons. The names of his sons are: Sahasrajit (or Sahasrada), Kroshtu (or Kroshta), Nila, Antika and Laghu. The kings between Budha and Yayati were known as Somavanshi. According to a narrative found in the Mahabharata, and the Vishnu Purana, Yadu refused to exchange his years of youth with his father Yayati. So he was cursed by Yayati that none of Yadu's progeny shall possess the dominion under his father's command. Thereby, he could not have carried on the same dynasty, called Somavamshi. Notably, the only remaining dynasty of King Puru was entitled to be known as Somavamshi. Thereby King Yadu ordered that the future generations of his would be known as Yadavas and the dynasty would be known as Yaduvanshi. The generations of Yadu had an unprecedented growth and got divided into two branches.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

numenism

numenism

1. The belief in the existence of individual spirits that inhabit natural objects and phenomena.
2. The belief in the existence of spiritual beings that are separable or separate from bodies.
3. The hypothesis holding that an immaterial force animates the universe.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Coulommiers

Coulommiers is a soft ripened cheese from Coulommiers in the Seine-et-Marne department of France. It is made from cow's milk, and is usually in the shape of a disc with white, bloomy, edible Penicillium candidum rind. When produced as an artisanal or "farmhouse" cheese from unpasteurised milk, it has some reddish blush in parts of the rind. The period of ripening when made of pasteurised whole milk is about four to six weeks. The fat content is 40 per cent.
Coulommiers is a lesser-known cousin of Brie, although it has been produced for longer. It is smaller and thicker than Brie and with a nuttier flavour, but otherwise has similar characteristics, with a similar buttery colour and supple texture. The cheese may be either farmer-made or industrially produced, however the industrial version lacks the depth of an unpasteurized cheese. Because, it is not not an AOC cheese, producers can make it with pasteurized milk and ship it to the United States.

File:Coulommiers lait cru.jpg

Friday, October 9, 2015

isonicotinylhydrazine

Isoniazid (Laniazid, Nydrazid), also known as isonicotinylhydrazine (INH), is an organic compound that is the first-line medication in prevention and treatment of tuberculosis. The compound was first synthesized in the early 20th century, but its activity against tuberculosis was first reported in the early 1950s, and three pharmaceutical companies attempted unsuccessfully to simultaneously patent the drug (the most prominent one being Roche, which launched its version, Rimifon, in 1952). The drug was first tested at Many Farms, a Navajo community, due to the Navajo reservation's dire tuberculosis problem and the fact that the population was naïve with respect to streptomycin, the main tuberculosis treatment at the time. With the introduction of isoniazid, a cure for tuberculosis was first considered reasonable.

File:Isoniazid 3d.png

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Pseudohermaphroditism

Pseudohermaphroditism, or pseudo-hermaphroditism, is the condition in which an organism is born with secondary sex characteristics or a phenotype that is different from what would be expected on the basis of the gonadal tissue (ovary or testis).
In some cases, the external sex organs look intermediate between the typical clitoris or penis. In other cases, the external sex organs have an appearance that does not look intermediate, but rather has the appearance that would be expected to be seen with the "opposite" gonadal tissue. Because of this, pseudohermaphroditism is sometimes not identified until puberty. It is possible for the condition to be undetected until adulthood.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Monday, October 5, 2015

Procrustean

In Greek mythology, Procrustes (Προκρούστης) or "the stretcher [who hammers out the metal]", also known as Prokoptas or Damastes (Δαμαστής) "subduer", was a rogue smith and bandit from Attica who physically attacked people by stretching them or cutting off their legs, so as to force them to fit the size of an iron bed. In general, when something is Procrustean, different lengths or sizes or properties are fitted to an arbitrary standard.

File:Theseus Prokroustes Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2325.jpg

Enforcing strict conformity through disregard of individual differences or special circumstances. [from 17th c.] 

Sunday, October 4, 2015

precariate


In recent years, there has been a growing use in Marxist and Anarchist theory of the concept of "the precariate," to describe a growing reliance on temporary, part-time workers with precarious status, who share aspects of the proletariat and the reserve army of labor.

Although non-employed people who are unable or uninterested in performing legal paid work are not considered among the "unemployed," the concept of conjunctural unemployment is used in economics today (now called "frictional unemployment"). Although Marx's work was earlier, there is no stated link between it and similar modern study.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

pompatus

pompatus
One who is pompous.

Etymology

First used in the lyrics of Steve Miller's 1973 rock song The Joker.

Some people call me the space cowboy.
Yeah! Some call me the gangster of love.
Some people call me Maurice,
'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love.
The phrases "space cowboy", "gangster of love" and "Maurice" are all references to previous Miller songs. The "pompatus" line is also a reference to an earlier song of his, "Enter Maurice", which was recorded the previous year:
My dearest darling, come closer to Maurice
so I can whisper sweet words of epismetology
in your ear and speak to you of the pompatus of love.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Polysemy

Polysemy (from Greek: πολυ-, poly-, "many" and σῆμα, sêma, "sign") is the capacity for a sign (e.g., a word, phrase, etc.) or signs to have multiple related meanings (sememes), i.e., a large semantic field. It is usually regarded as distinct from homonymy, in which the multiple meanings of a word may be unconnected or unrelated.
Charles Fillmore and Beryl Atkins’ definition stipulates three elements: (i) the various senses of a polysemous word have a central origin, (ii) the links between these senses form a network, and (iii) understanding the ‘inner’ one contributes to understanding of the ‘outer’ one.
Polysemy is a pivotal concept within disciplines such as media studies and linguistics.

lordosis

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