- What is the origin of the word news?
- Why do watches have jewels
- Why is it called Gympie Arterial Road when no where near Gympie?
- What is the Internet? Who owns it? Who runs it? Where did it come from?
- How can I make my towels more absorbent?
Help needed – Edison Lane Gates?
The week before last Jim asked about some iron gates on the Lane way running alongside the Brisbane GPO. He seemed to recall that once each year the gates were closed and people could not use this lane way. He wanted to know why the gates were closed for only one day. I haven’t been able to find any reference whatsoever to the gates at the end of this lane. If anyone has any stories, photos or knowledge of these gates, please write to me. The name of the lane is the GPO Lane and was previously known as Edison Lane. Thank you 
Ginny wanted to know the origin of the word “NEWS“? She had heard that it had something to do with North, East, West and South.
News is one of those words that has a very simple origin. People have always wanted to “sexy” it up, which is where the reference to all directions on the Compass has come into it. Essentially the word news comes from the French word “Nouvelle” which means new, recent events etc. Whilst the word “New” in English is an adjective and adjectives aren’t usually plural, in other languages such as French this is not the rule. Therefore the word Nouvelles, meaning News is perfectly acceptable and has come over to the English language.
Shelly asked why watches (the older style wind up ones) have Jewels in them? She had heard that they had nothing to do with the workings of the watch.
Watch Jewels are essential to these types of watches. They are usually Rubies or Sapphires and sometimes Garnets and Diamonds are used. They are usually small or flawed stones that won’t be used in conventional jewellery. They are cut into different shapes for different uses. They can be doughnut shaped, cap shaped or circles or rectangles. They are used to fit over gear axles to keep the oil where it should be, rather than have it spread over the watch. The Jewels act as friction reducers. A good watch will have up to 19 working jewels. An average watch will have about 7. There are some watches on the market which claim to have 100 Jewels. This is definitely the case, however 81 of the Jewels actually serve no purpose whatsoever, other than to allude that the watch might be better because it has so many Jewels.
Russell asked why the section of road along the Bruce Highway changes its name to the Gympie Arterial Road after the Gateway turnoff? It is nowhere near Gympie?
The section of road from Beams Road Carseldine to the Pine River is known as the Gympie Arterial Road. Once this road hits the Pine River it becomes the Bruce Highway. An arterial road is one that is directly before a major highway. Gympie Road extends from Kedron right through to Carseldine. It then becomes the Arterial Road before the highway. You will still find sections of Old Gympie Road all the way to Gympie. This was the road that linked Brisbane to Gympie, hence the name Gympie Road.
Greg asked what is the Internet? Who owns the internet? Who runs it? Where did it come from?
The simple answer is the internet is millions of computer connected to one another via fibre optic line, satellites, copper lines and other forms of data moving equipment. No one person, company or service provider owns the internet. The internet actually started off in the 1960′s with the US Military wanting to share information within the US Government. As much of the internet we have access to, there is just as much, if not more that we can’t see.
An interesting aside – I found this explanation from Dave about how an email might get from your computer to mine.
The Internet works a lot like a postal or parcel delivery system, except it is much, much faster. Say, for example, you are in California and want to send an e-mail to a friend in London. After you press the send button, your e-mail goes to your mail server. (Your mail server isn’t usually part of your computer, but rather part of your internet service provider’s computer network, so you can disconnect as soon as you press the send button and it won’t interrupt delivery.) The mail server will attempt to contact your friend’s mail server in London. But chances are your mail server doesn’t have a direct line connecting it to your friend’s mail server in London. Your mail server may have to “talk” to a computer in Chicago, which then takes to a computer in Washington, D.C., which contacts the London server via satellite. Or the Washington, D.C. computer might contact London via an undersea cable.
If the satellite or undersea cable appeared to be busy with other Internet data, your mail server may try sending west through Australia or Japan. In theory, the e-mail, although probably just a few paragraphs may possibly be broken into two or more parts and half of it would be sent east and half west. All the pieces would be reconstructed in London in one piece for your friend to read next time they log on.
Thelma has a problem with some new towels she has purchased. her towels aren’t absorbent and don’t soak up the water when drying. Is there anything she can do to fix this? It seems like there is a coating on the towels.
Yes this is quite common. Fabric Softener can also do this to towels as it leaves a non absorbent coating on the fabric. To remove this you need to put the towels through a hot wash and use a cup of white vinegar in the rinse water. You can put this in the Fabric Conditioner dispenser. I actually do this for all washes. It is better for the washing machine and ultimately better for your clothing. It might take a couple of washes for the towels to come good. Here is my recipe for simple and environmentally friendly fabric softener.
