[antikythera mechanism] was it the first calculator

Is this the discredited von Daniken all over again? Was there an amazingly sophisticated body of knowledge in ancient times which was then somehow lost? [Including the secret of king making?]

An ancient astronomical calculator made at the end of the 2nd century B.C. was amazingly accurate and more complex than any instrument for the next 1,000 years, scientists said Wednesday. The Antikythera Mechanism is the earliest known device to contain an intricate set of gear wheels. It was retrieved in 1901 from a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera but until now what it was used for has been a mystery.

Although the remains are fragmented in 82 brass pieces, scientists from Britain, Greece and the United States have reconstructed a model of it using high-resolution X-ray tomography. They believe their findings could force a rethink of the technological potential of the ancient Greeks. "It could be described as the first known calculator," said Mike Edmunds, a professor of astrophysics at Cardiff University in Wales.

The calculator could add, multiply, divide and subtract. It was also able to align the number of lunar months with years and display where the sun and the moon were in the zodiac. Francois Charette, of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, said the findings, reported in the journal Nature, provide a wealth of data for future research.

Edmunds described the instrument as unique, saying there is nothing like it in the history of astronomy. "What was not quite so apparent before was quite how beautifully designed this was," he said. "That beauty of design in this mechanical thing forces you to say 'Well gosh, if they can do that, what else could they do?'"

[currency] dollar falls to 14 year low v pound

Forbes reports that the U.S. dollar fell Thursday to its lowest level against the British pound in 14 years and lost value against the euro and Japanese yen.

The dollar's decline came on mixed economic news from Washington and positive developments in Germany, Europe's largest economy. The pound rose as high as $1.9575 from its level of $1.9462 late Wednesday in New York, marking its strongest showing against the dollar since September 1992, before Britain crashed out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

The euro rose to $1.3200 in afternoon European trading, up from $1.3156 late Wednesday. The euro has risen from below the $1.30 mark over the past week amid expectations that the European Central Bank will continue to raise interest rates, while the U.S. Federal Reserve holds, or eventually cuts, rates. The dollar fell to 116.12 Japanese yen from 116.31 yen.

[ayer’s rock] always a dangerous climb

An Irish tourist and his 13-year-old daughter were flown off Uluru by helicopter after they became stranded on the landmark rock under a burning desert sun. The 38-year-old tourist's young son yesterday thanked those who helped his family, including a ranger injured during the rescue.

Soaring temperatures forced rangers to close the climb on Uluru about 8am on Wednesday, when the Irish family, who live in London, were already about 100m up the rock. The Irishman, who had taken off his plastic sandals to walk on the rock, was suffering extreme blistering and dehydration while his daughter was having difficulty breathing.

About 200,000 visitors climb the rock each year, ignoring aboriginals who ask them not to. For safety the Uluru climb is also closed when there are strong winds, when it is raining or the climb is slippery and when lightning, storms or other potentially dangerous conditions are imminent.

There’s also a warning: Do not attempt to climb Uluru if you suffer from:

# Heart Condition
# Breathing Difficulties
# Fear of Heights

All of this is very true. Firstly, you can’t get any conception of how vast the rock is from photos. Basically, one climbs up one rock face with the aid of a rope ladder but it’s best in the early morning before the sun comes up. Once it comes up, it’s like that moment in Mummy 2 – it scoots across the land and hits the rock full blast. The other great danger was the rogue wind gust which just bodily picks you up and tries to sweep you over the curved edge.

Then you’re in trouble, with temperatures at the surface around the mid 40s and you’re advised to drink a litre an hour. I didn’t when we visited – I took two pints, not two litres and so I made it up and then, halfway down again my legs buckled under me and I had to go the rest of the way hand over hand on the rail and then baby crawled across to our car, where water and rest restored the balance.

[russia-chechnya] that little matter some were waiting on

I had three longish discussions today about Chechnya, Politkovskaya, Litvinenko, the former PM and radiation but mainly about Chechnya. It’s oh so complicated, essentially because various parties have ancient feuds with other parties, who have feuds with yet others. Here’s how I understood what was said to me today by Muslim and non-Muslim Russian alike.

Chechnya – the history behind the conflict really starts with intense resentment of the Russians who prevented the caliphate from Persia to Kazakhstan centuries ago. In other words, Chechnya was the stalling point and the Russians prevented further incursion. Vienna was another stalling point in Europe proper. The population in the mountainous Chechyan region remained predominantly Muslim and therein lay the problem.

With disaffected Checnyans forever sniping at Russia and resenting the lost opportunity, the USSR just moved the whole population to Kazakhstan and Siberia in the 40s to prevent them aiding the Germans but they were allowed back by Kruschev later. This did not help Russia but gave the Chechnyans a base and an identity. When the USSR fell, the Chechnyans saw the chance for independence as a nation and unilaterally declared this. Unfortunately, the area became both gangsterland and the breeding ground for more terrorism.

Two brutal wars followed and the Russians acted with the type of brutality which Cromwell showed in Ireland and that which followed the ’45 in Scotland, whilst the Chechnyans went in for both ethnic cleansing [mass murder] through these sort of people: Akhmed Zakayev, Dzhokhar Dudaev and Shamil Basayev and attacks on neighbours e.g. Dagestan, which in turn led the Russians to see them as terrorists, not freedom fighters.

One lady today said the problem was one of totally unreasonable forces on both sides killing and maiming each other whilst the general populace wanted to just live their lives. But the others I spoke to today didn’t agree. Deep down, this whole thing is about simple antipathy. The two sides absolutely detest one another – almost an ancient blood feud. Hence the atrocities and the frenzy with which one attacks the other.

Who’s right?

If you support a non-Muslim west and the stonewalling of sharia law, then you’ll support the Russians. If you prefer to see sharia law across Europe and Britain, then you’ll support the Chechyans. From all the comment in the UK blogosphere, it seems most Britons want the sharia law.

When Politkovskaya butted in, she was initially even-handedly scathing about both sides and not a lot was done about her. But as she showed she was clearly aligned with Chechyan independence, which means dismantling the Russian bulwark against militant Islam and allowing it to spread once again across Europe, she and the warlords had to find sanctuary somewhere.

Enter Britain, who happily threw open its doors to them, aided and abetted by the FCO and BBC. The Russians concluded from this that Londonistan was just another haven for terrorism and fugitives from justice, e.g. Berezovsky - and their little club was a natural gravitating point for the likes of Litvinenko and anyone else getting the rough end of the stick in Russia.

Now comes the bone of contention. Even if Politkovskaya was a traitor to her country [which one side says and the other hotly denies], almost no one I spoke to today would favour the systematic bumping off of various parties. The Kremlin denies it, the Brits pretty well think the FSB is behind this and my friend this morning simply said: ‘It’s stupidity to speculate when we simply don’t know, on current evidence. Let British justice take its course and see where it goes.’

And that’s where I leave the topic for now until something new comes up.

[rude health] french, italian wines still the best

As it was featured in the Times, you know doubt saw it:

They might be losing out to the New World competition on taste tests, but traditional red wines from the vineyards of France and Italy are the best there are for protecting your health. The artery-clogging effects of a fatty Christmas dinner can best be counteracted by washing it down with a red from south west France or Sardinia, new research has suggested.

British scientists have discovered that red wines from the two regions boast the highest concentrations of a chemical that underlies the drink’s well-publicised benefits for cardiovascular health. Wines from Nuoro province in Sardinia, and the Gers departement in the foothills of the Pyrenees, are particularly rich, containing up to 10 times more of the beneficial compounds than alternatives from Australia, South Africa and the United States.

So there it is. I'm off to the wine shop to check it out.

[briefly] two pieces of non-news news

I’ll be accused of being a ‘glamourist’ by running Nicolas Sarkozy’s pic and not Peter Jackson’s but truly – I felt the latter was too much to inflict on the reader on a Thursday morning. Some may see it the other way round.

Two disparate pieces of news, not unsubstantial and yet not warranting more than a few lines. Plus you’ve no doubt already heard:

1] Peter Jackson will now direct The Hobbit movie, according to a producer whose company will soon own rights to the book.

2] Confirming the worst-kept secret in France, Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, le Ministre d'Etat, ministre de l'Intérieur et de l'Aménagement du Territoire, has announced he is running for president next spring and will quit the government if his ruling centre-right backs his candidacy.

Perhaps neither were real surprises although I had thought Jackson might not.