My mom went back to Spore and this song has to play

'm sittin' in the railway station
Got a ticket for my destination
On a tour of one night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one man band

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Everyday's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see
Reminds me that I long to be

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me

Tonight I'll sing my songs again
I'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptyness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me

Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Silently for me
Silently for me

We...i mean I interupt this broadcast for Carys

Name: Platinum
Group Number: 10
Symbol: Pt
Group name: Precious metal or platinum group metals
Atomic Number: 78
Period number: 6
Atomic wt: 195.078
Block: d-block
CAS reistry no: 7440-06-4

Standard state: solid at 298K
Colour: greyish white
Classification: Metallic
Availability: platinum is available in many forms including foil, sheet, wire, insulated wire, "evaporation slugs", gauze, powder, sponge, and mesh. Small and large samples of platinum foil, sheet, wire, insulated wire and mesh (and platinum alloys in wire and insulated wire form) can be purchased from Advent Research Materials via their web catalogue.

Ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum together make up a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGM).

Discovered by Antonio de Ulloa in South America in 1735
From the Spanish word "platina" meaning "silver"

Uses

• jewellry
• wire and vessels for laboratory use
• thermocouple elements
• electrical contacts
• corrosion-resistant apparatus
• in dentistry
• platinum-cobalt alloys have magnetic properties
• coating missile nose cones, jet engine fuel nozzles
• the metal, like palladium, absorbs large volumes of hydrogen, giving it up at red heat
• in the finely divided state platinum is an excellent catalyst (such as the contact process for producing sulphuric acid). Also as a catalyst for cracking oil and as a catalyst in fuel cells and in catalytic converters for cars
• platinum anodes are extensively used in cathodic protection systems for large ships and ocean-going vessels, pipelines, steel piers
• platinum wire glows red hot when placed in the vapor of methanol - acting as a catalyst to convert the alcohol into formaldehyde. This phenomenon has been used commercially to produce cigarette lighters and hand warmers
• sealed electrodes in glass systems
• laboratory vessels, corrosion-resistant equipment
• dentistry
• currently fashionable use in antipollution devices in cars
• cis-platin, [PtCl₂(NH₃)₂], is an effective drug for certain types of cancer such as leukaemia or testicular cancer
• platinum/osmium 90/10 alloy is used in implants such as pacemakers and replacement valves

Platinum is found as the free element, usually mixed with other metals including gold, nickel, copper, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, and osmium in Columbia, the USA, Ontario (Canada) and the Urals (USSR). Platiniridium is a naturally occurring platinum/iridium alloy. Platinum is also found in ores such as sperrylite (platinum arsenide, PtAs₂) and cooperite (platinum sulphide, PtS).

Platinum has no biological role.

We interupt this broadcast for Carys

Platinum	78 Pt 195.078(2)

The essentials

Name: platinum Symbol: Pt Atomic number: 78 Atomic weight: 195.078 (2) CAS Registry ID: 7440-06-4

Group number: 10 Group name: Precious metal or platinum group metal Period number: 6 Block: d-block

Description

Here is a brief description of platinum.

• Standard state: solid at 298 K
• Colour: greyish white
• Classification: Metallic
• Availability: platinum is available in many forms including foil, sheet, wire, insulated wire, "evaporation slugs", gauze, powder, sponge, and mesh. Small and large samples of platinum foil, sheet, wire, insulated wire and mesh (and platinum alloys in wire and insulated wire form) can be purchased from Advent Research Materials
  
  via their web catalogue.

Ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum together make up a group of elements referred to as the platinum group metals (PGM).

Platina	platine	Platin	platino	Platina	platino	Platina

St.Geroge's Day and Roast beef

23 April = St. Georges Day

St. Andrew's Day (30 November) - Scotland

This has now largely been overshadowed by Bums' Night. St. Andrew, one of Christ's twelve apostles, is the patron saint of Scotland. Some of his bones are said to have been brought to what is now St. Andrews in Fife during the 4th century. Since medieval times the X-shaped saltire cross upon which St. Andrew was supposedly crucified has been the Scottish national symbol.

St. David's Day (1 March) - Wales

This is the National Day of Wales. St. David (c.520-588), the patron saint of Wales, was the founder and first abbot-bishop of Menevia, now St. David's in Dyfed, South Wales. The day is commemorated by the wearing of daffodils or leeks by patriotic Welsh people. Both plants are traditionally regarded as the national emblems of Wales.

St. Patrick's Day (17th March) - Ireland

It is an official Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland. The work of St. Patrick: 389-c.461) was a vital factor in the spread of Christianity in Ireland. Born in Britain, he was carried off by pirates, and spent six years in slavery before escaping and training as a missionary. The day is marked by the wearing of shamrocks (a clover-like plant), the national badge of both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

St. George's Day (23 April) - England

St. George is the patron saint of England. A story that first appeared in the 6th century tells that St. George rescued a hapless maid by slaying a fearsome fire-breathing dragon! The saint's name was shouted as a battle cry by English knights who fought beneath the red-cross banner of St. George during the Hundred Years War (1338-1453). This is immortalised in Shakespeare's play Henry V in the lines:

"I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,

Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:

Follow your spirit; and, upon this charge

Cry ‘God for Harry! England and Saint George!’ "

The English love affair with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

"Them that eat most pudding, gets most meat." So goes the saying recalling the Yorkshire custom of serving a batter pudding with gravy as a first course to blunt hearty appetites ahead of the main meat dish.

An interesting piece of trivia - Shakespeare was born on St. George’s Day. 1564, and if the story is to be believed, died on St. George’s Day, 1616.

An appropriate end perhaps for the man who helped to immortalise the Saint in English tradition.

Who was St George? What is myth and what is fact? Did he really slay the Dragon? Why is he such a popular Saint, celebrated in so many Countries, Races, Religions and Organisations?

The celebration of St George's Day is currently fairly low key in England and much more celebrated elsewhere. However, the Society and its members are clearly succeeding in their constant efforts to revive St. George's Day as the day on which to celebrate being English.

There are many legends in many cultures about St. George, but they all have a common theme; he must have been an outstanding character in his lifetime, for his reputation to have survived for almost 1,700 years!

Most authorities on the subject seem to agree that he was born in Cappadocia in what is now Turkey, in about the year 280 AD. It is probable that from his physical description, he was of Darian origin, because of his tall stature and fair hair. He enlisted into the Cavalry of the Roman Army at the age of 17, during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian and very quickly established a reputation amongst his peers, for his virtuous behaviour and physical strength; his military bearing, valour and handsome good looks.

He quickly achieved the rank of Millenary or Tribunus Militum, an officer's rank roughly equivalent to a full Colonel, in charge of a regiment of 1,000 men and became a particular favourite of his Emperor. Diocletian was a skilled military tactician and strict disciplinarian, who set himself the task of rejuvenating the morale of the citizens of Rome by reviving the prevailing traditions and paganism of Rome. It may be recalled that this was a time of high inflation and civil unrest and one outcome of this was the increasing influence of Christianity.

Diocletian's second in Command was Galerius, the conqueror of Persia and an avid supporter of the Pagan religion. As a result of a rumour that the Christians were plotting the death of Galerius, an edict was issued that all Christian Churches were to be destroyed and all scriptures to be burnt. Anyone admitting to being a Christian, would lose his rights as a citizen, if not his life.

As a consequence, Diocletian took strict action against any alternative forms of religion in general and the Christian faith in particular. He achieved the reputation of being perhaps the cruellest persecutor of Christians at that time.

Many Christians feared to be loyal to their God; but, having become a convert to Christianity, St. George acted to limit the excesses of Diocletian's actions against the Christians. He went to the city of Nicomedia where, upon entering, he tore down the notice of the Emperor's edict. St. George gained great respect for his compassion towards Diocletian's victims.

As news spread of his rebellion against the persecutions St. George realised that, as both Diocletian and Galerius were in the city, it would not be long before he was arrested.He prepared for the event by disposing of his property to the poor and he freed his slaves.

When he appeared before Diocietian, it is said that St. George bravely denounced him for his unnecessary cruelty and injustice and that he made an eloquent and courageous speech. He stirred the populace with his powerful and convincing rhetoric against the Imperial Decree to persecute Christians. Diocietian refused to acknowledge or accede to St. George's reasoned, reproachful condemnation of his actions. The Emperor consigned St George to prison with instructions that he be tortured until he denied his faith in Christ.

St George, having defended his faith was beheaded at Nicomedia near Lyddia in Palestine on the 23rd of April in the year 303 AD.

Stories of St. George's courage soon spread and his reputation grew very quickly. He soon became known in Russia and the Ukraine as the Trophy Bearer and his remains are said to have been buried in the church that bears his name in Lydda. However, his head was carried to Rome, where it was preserved in the Church that is also dedicated to him.

St George was beatified by the Roman Catholic Church and is recognised in the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Churches as well as the Roman Catholic Church. He has been revered in the Ukraine since Christianity was established in 988 AD by Volodymyr the Great the Prince of the Kyivan empire. The Romanesque Monastic order in Prague established St. George's Church in the Castle in the year 920AD and in the year 1119 AD the Cathedral of St George was founded in Novgorod. His reputation for virtue and chivalrous conduct became the spiritual inspiration of the Crusaders and by this time the pennant or flag with a red cross on a white or silver background became prominent as a means of recognition by English Knights. It was also worn on breast plates.

In the year 1348 King Edward Ill established the Knights of the Garter, which is the oldest order of Chivalry in Europe. The Order of the Garter was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Edward the Confessor and St George. The Insignia of the order consists of a collar and badge appendant known as the George, the Star, the Garter and the Sash with the Investment Badge called the lesser George. This is a gold and richly enamelled representation of St George on horseback slaying the dragon.

A similar representation of St George can be seen in our Armorial Bearings and in the collar and appendant that officers of The Royal Society wear.

In 1352 the College of St George was established in Windsor, with 6 Chorister boys and since then, St George's school has played an important role in the daily worship and on State Occasions in the Queen's Free Chapel of St George in Windsor Castle. By providing free education and sustenance for the boys, a priceless musical inheritance in choral worship has been established and their numbers increased until the Plague struck in 1479 when the numbers were reduced from thirteen to six again but recovered to thirteen by Michaelmas in 1482.

It was in the year 1415 AD that St. George became the Patron Saint of England when English Soldiers under Henry V won the battle of Agincourt.

In 1497 in the reign of Henry VIII, the pennant of the Cross of St. George was flown by John Cabot when he sailed to Newfoundland and it was also flown by Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1620 it was the flag that was flown by the Mayflower when the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in Plymouth Massachusetts. It is also the flag of the Church of England and as such is known throughout Christendom.

In the year 1728 AD Maximilian II Emanuel, the Elector of Bavaria, established by Papal Bull The Royal Military Order of St George, as a means of honouring distinguished military service for it was clear that by this time, his name had become associated with the purity of spirit, selfless devotion to duty and boundless courage and valour in the face of adversity. In more recent times, St George was chosen as the patron saint of Scouting, because of the ideals that he represents and it is interesting to note that he is also the Patron Saint of Barcelona in Catalonia, Aragon, Russia, Bavaria, Beirut, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Lithuania and Hungary, to name but a few. Virtually every country in Europe and the Commonwealth has a church dedicated to St. George.

During World War 2 King George V1 established the George Cross for outstanding acts of Civilian Valour and one of the earliest recipients was the Island of Malta, for its outstanding courage in~ the face of the constant bombardment by the Italian and German Airforce. It is, coincidentally, the Island that was so closely associated and governed by the Crusaders who arrived from the Island of Rhodes in the 14" Century, following their 200 year war with the Turks.

The legends about St George spread far and wide and it was claimed that near the town of Silene in Palestine, a dragon dwelt, keeping the population in terror. To satiate him the population tethered an animal, until they had no more. They then provided human sacrifices and in ultimate desperation, a young princess was selected, the king's daughter named Cleolinda. The story then relates how St. George rode up on his white charger, dismounted and fought the monster on foot; until it eventually succumbed. He then dragged the dying monster into the city, using the girdle of the Princess and slew the dragon in front of the people. St. George was greeted as their saviour and the King offered him a bag of gold as a reward for saving his daughter. This he refused and asked that it be given to the poor.

The story is a powerful allegory, emblematic of the triumph of good over evil; but it also teaches of enduring Christian faith in the extreme and the trust that at all times should be placed in the Almighty by the invocation of the name of St. George, Soldier, Saint and Martyr.

In the 13" Century, there was a Guild of St. George to which the Honourable Company of Pikemen were related before evolving into the Honourable Artillery Company. Many regiments of the Army still celebrate St. George's Day with great ceremony.

In Barcelona, it is traditional to give a book as a token of St. George's Day, whilst in Russia and the Ukraine the day is celebrated by Spring Festivals and Picnics to celebrate the end of winter. In the world of Scouting, it is the first day for camping.

THe song in my head = THe whole of the moon by the waterboys!!!

Road to perdition....WTF?!

I have a confession to make.....

growing up, i've taken key figures in my life to be the elements of my periodic table of life.

After a while, i stop seeing people as elements but molecules of my periodic table.

Do you get my confession?

I can't see and celebrate the diversity in people, maybe because my elements were molecules to begin with, and/or I dismiss, too quickly, something new for something old.

What goes on in the mind of a collector? be it a stamp collector or coin or anything? why do people do it? Do they increase their self-worth in their existence by taking on the civic duty archiving an interest so that generations to come can marvel, admire, appreciate the efforts taken. Is it cultural history at its best, dating every fab and item that has enslaved willing servants to a life of servitude, that they in their entrancement call passion.

is there a difference between an art collector and barbie or coke bottle collector? or is it a play of numbers on the human psyche? having amassed a great load of treasure, devoting one's time and resources, to look back and see a mind-boggling, unimagibale number of items can really take one's breath away.

maybe it's a way of dealing with their mortality. i -ollect-stupid-amounts-of-something,-chances-are-that-stupid-amount-of-something-will-last-longer-than-I-and-people-will-remember-me-for-my-stupid-amounts-of-something.....which by the way is nothing

note to self: remember to talk abt nobody and love