Grant Hutchison's Blog, page 48

Antilles

ænˈtɪliːz Antilles: an extensive archipelago of Caribbean islands, making up most of the West Indies Still on a Caribbean kick, you’ll see. I confess I’m embarrassed that I’d spent a week in the Antilles before I thought: 1) Where does that word come from? 2) Does it have a singular? Its origins are to some … Continue reading Antilles →

Shape Of The Low Sun

Most people know why the sun looks orange-yellow when it’s rising or setting. Air preferentially scatters shorter (bluer) wavelengths of light—so the more air there is between your eye and the sun, the more short wavelengths are scattered out of the line of sight, leaving yellow/orange/red as the predominant colours reaching your eye. There’s about … Continue reading Shape Of The Low Sun →

Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End

“I’ve only one more question,” he said. “What shall we do about our children?” “Enjoy them while you may,” answered Rashaverak gently. “They will not be yours for long.” It was advice that might have been given to any parent in any age; but now it contained a threat and a terror it had never … Continue reading Arthur C. Clarke: Childhood’s End →

Sidlaws: Two Glacks

One of the interesting things about having your own website is that you get to see some of the search terms people have used to find their way here.  (Some of you have been talking to Siri while drunk, I see.) Someone pitched up recently having searched for “one long walk” along the Sidlaws, which … Continue reading Sidlaws: Two Glacks →

George J. Marrett: Contrails Over The Mojave

Some pilots, though probably due to the luck of the draw, always seemed to get the plane that comes apart in the air. George J. Marrett was a United States Air Force (USAF) test pilot in the Fighter Test Branch of Flight Test Operations at Edwards Air Force Base during the 1960s, and Contrails Over … Continue reading George J. Marrett: Contrails Over The Mojave →

Caribbean

  There is little Man has made that approaches anything in Nature, but a sailing ship does. Alan Villiers The Caribbean, in February, on a ship. We’re neither of us beach people. (We had a beach holiday in the Maldives once, in 1982, and were homicidal with boredom by the third day). And we’d never … Continue reading Caribbean →

Why Do Veins Look Blue?

The blue appearance of veins under unpigmented skin is a commonplace observation, to the extent that it has become standard coding in anatomy diagrams to colour arteries red and veins blue: But that pale blue colour is actually a bit of a puzzle. Blood gets its colour from the haemoglobin contained in the red blood … Continue reading Why Do Veins Look Blue? →

Waterspouts

Last week, the Boon Companion and I were sipping sundowner cocktails in the British Virgin Islands, leaning back in our chairs, and cloud-watching. Long streets of fair-weather cumulus had been strung out over the Caribbean since midday. Now, half an hour before sunset, the cumulus was growing—boiling upwards to form towering cumulus congestus, which were … Continue reading Waterspouts →

Carrie Gibson: Empire’s Crossroads

Empire’s Crossroads is subtitled A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day. Which is what it is. It’s historian Carrie Gibson‘s first book, built around her long-standing interest in the Caribbean. It was always going to be a challenge to put together a coherent narrative, given how many islands there are in … Continue reading Carrie Gibson: Empire’s Crossroads →

February 30th

Here’s the problem: the tropical year, the time it takes the Earth to go through a complete cycle of seasons, is 365.2422 days long (to four-decimal accuracy). If every calendar year were 365 days long, then the missing 0.2422 days would add up from year to year, each year starting a little earlier relative to … Continue reading February 30th →