The Happy Birthday Thread

[Necron99]

Happy 40'th Birthday to Rocky Horror.

Creator of the Rocky Horror Show Richard O'Brien says he never expected the popular Rock N' Roll musical to be a hit, rather it was just a lot of fun to write




Forty years on since its first stage appearance at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1973, Richard says he still gets a thrill from hearing the audience laugh.
"To hear the audience laughing at a line that you thought was mildly funny forty years ago and they still laugh at it, is a great joy."
Richard, now 72 years old, says the show was never intended to be a huge success.
"It wasn't formulaic, it wasn't people sitting around a table and saying if we do this we'll have a hit, what it was people sitting around a room and saying let's have a lot of fun."
Richard says there is a childish joy attached to the Rocky Horror Show, which is one of the reasons for its longevity.
"It rocks on because it is a childish kind of journey.
I've always loved populist themes and Rocky is choc-full of populist themes."
The Rocky Horror Show will be at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre from April 24, 2014.

[Mr Lick]

Sixty years of BBC Weather presenting




"Earlier on today, apparently a woman rang the BBC and said she'd heard that there was a hurricane on the way…"
- Michael Fish, BBC Broadcast Meteorologist, 15 October 1987


And so came to pass one of UK TV weather forecasts most talked about moments. That was nearly 30 years ago but it's still a favourite quote at bus stops when discussing that "weather forecasters always get it wrong".

To be fair, in that instance, technically it was correct that there was no hurricane (they are unable to exist outside the tropics). However, there was an exceptionally deep area of low pressure packing hurricane-force winds that caused extensive damage and disruption

Flags and telegraphs

The 1987 storm wasn't the first time the importance of an accurate forecast was made apparent.



George Cowling. Charcoal pencil not pictured


Over a century earlier, on 26 October 1859, the steam clipper Royal Charter was wrecked off the coast of Anglesey, with 459 lives lost.

Due to this loss, Vice Admiral Fitzroy (running at that stage a much smaller version of the Met Office providing information for mariners) sought to prevent a repeat by introducing a warning service, which began in 1861.

Warnings were telegraphed to harbourmasters who would go outside, rain, shine or howling gale, and hoist flags up a mast

To this day, the most important job of the forecast is to prevent loss of life - the biggest difference being that now it is much easier and faster to get those warnings out there.
QUICK FACTS

• On 7.55pm January 11th 1954, the first presenter led broadcast was made by George Cowling
• The BBC Weather Centre operates a 24 hour, 365 days a year service
• There are currently 18 weather presenters in the London Broadcasting House Weather Centre
• More than 100 broadcasts are made from the Weather Centre every day
• More than 300 broadcasts are made a day by BBC Weather across the UK

Technology spreads the word round the globe in tenths of seconds now - but how did we get by before smart phones and satellites?

The first presenter-led broadcast

At 7.55pm on 11 January 1954, the first presenter-led broadcast was made by George Cowling, an RAF forecaster from the Met Office.

No bright screens and computers - George's graphics were two hand-drawn weather charts tacked to an easel with drawing pins. And to add some flourish to the chart? A squeaky charcoal pencil.

With these tools and no experience as a broadcaster, George had the considerable stretch of four and half minutes to fill without the aid of a script.

To this day, weather is still presented without a script - the only regular broadcast on TV news without an Autocue safety net, so spare a thought if your presenter stumbles

The 1970s didn't just bring us flares and glam rock - it also saw the latest fashion in weather graphics. Yes - the famous magnetic symbols.



Jack Scott and Philip Avery. Two presenters, two very different studios


They may have looked fancy but they weren't foolproof by any means. If the polarities were reversed, and no matter if millions were watching, there was no getting them to stay in place



Computer age


The computer age took over the forecast graphics in 1985. The style of the graphics has had a few major revamps since then - always with the aim to get the clearest forecast on the screen.

Change was not always welcomed, though. It would seem the viewing public become very attached to the look of their forecast and the move away from weather symbols was particularly mourned.

By 1991, the forecast had become so popular the BBC opened its own dedicated Weather Centre at BBC Television Centre.



The mid-1990s saw a huge expansion in the Weather Centre's output, with half-hourly forecasts on BBC News 24 (now the BBC News Channel) and hourly forecasts on BBC World.

In 2013 it moved to its current home overlooking the Newsroom in BBC Broadcasting House

With high definition television output, giant plasma screens and "Madonna"-style wireless microphones it now sends out scores of broadcasts a day across dozens of channels.

It's a massive leap from George Cowling's single daily broadcast on one TV channel.

In short, forecasting will always be a challenge and we will never be able to control what the atmosphere throws at us but thanks to the forecast we should be better prepared than ever

[Necron99]

Sixty years of BBC Weather presenting

60 years to go from Boffins to Boobs....

[Necron99]

Happy 50th Birthday SR-71 Blackbird!!

Sign in the Blackbird hangar'

"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death I Shall Fear No Evil--For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."




I'm surprised how few people outside of aviation circles have heard of the SR-71 or know more than that it was "a spy plane"--which is like saying the Taj Mahal is "a big building." Unofficially known (but still not well-known) as the Blackbird, the SR-71 flew at record altitude--90,000 feet--and speed--2,193.2 miles per hour. And it could sustain such speed: In 1990, one flew from L.A. to D.C. in 64 minutes. That's 2,144.83 miles per hour, or six-tenths of a mile per second--think ten football fields every second!



The need for such a swift strategic reconnaissance aircraft became apparent in 1960, when the Blackbird's subsonic predecessor, the U-2, was rendered a sitting duck by Russian radar. The Skunk Works, Lockheed's secretive advanced development division, succeeded in getting a test version--the A-12--off the ground at Groom Lake (a.k.a. Area 51) in April, 1962--development as head-spinningly fast as the aircraft itself.

Even more astonishing was the tech, frequently summed up at the time as "black magic." Topping a long list of revolutionary components were monstrous Pratt & Whitney J58 jet engines and a design that drastically reduced radar signature, pioneering "stealth" technology. If Russian missiles ever did manage to lock on to a Blackbird, it could simply outrun them. Said a sign over the entrance to an SR-71 base, "Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death I Shall Fear No Evil--For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."

The first flight of the the SR-71 took place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, on December 22, 1964. The first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base in January, 1966. A total of thirty-two Blackbirds served until 1998, never succumbing to enemy action in 3,551 mission sorties whose contribution to national security can't be understated.

[pseudolus]

Happy 40'th Birthday to Rocky Horror

That's Poof that is.

[Necron99]

Happy 40'th Birthday to Rocky Horror

That's Poof that is.

Balanced out by SR-71 pics.

[Latindancer]

"Though I Fly Through the Valley of Death I Shall Fear No Evil--For I am at 80,000 Feet and Climbing."

Great quote !

A total of thirty-two Blackbirds served until 1998, never succumbing to enemy action in 3,551 mission sorties

Wow !


Green owed, Necron !

[Necron99]

Happy Birthday Hubble!






Thanks for 25 years of......





and




And 5 shuttle missions with spacewalks to repair and maintain it!

[Bettyboo]

Happy Birthday to Page 3, here's to many more...






Oh dear, how the fuk did she sneak in here, it's not her birthday!!!

[BaitongBoy]

Give her a present anyway, Boo...Leave it unwrapped if you must...

[helge]

A total of thirty-two Blackbirds served until 1998, never succumbing to enemy action in 3,551 mission sorties

Wow !

They lost quite a few, and they never really flew in dangerous neighborhoods, did they ?

But you are right about none shot down.......they say

Beautiful plane, a childhood favourite

[Necron99]

Happy 80th Birthday Beer Can, you old bastard!

American Can Co. had been working to get beer in cans since the early 1900s but found it difficult to can the carbonated beverage without exploding.

After two decades, these stalwart drink engineers figured out that lining steel cans with a lacquer-like material used to line kegs would keep the 80 lbs. per sq. in. of pressure at bay.

The first beers ever sold in a can were Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale, hitting shelves in Richmond, Va. On Jan 24th 1935. The cans were popular and quickly sold out.

[Necron99]

Happy 70th Birthday Man!





RIP

[thaimeme]

Damn peacenik revolutionaries...

[patsycat]

Come on, bet even you could wiggle your wee hips to a bit of Bob in your day....

[palexxxx]

The wine cask turns 50.

Good Food - Wine in a box: the cask turns 50

[stroller]

Happy 50th Birthday to The Scorpions and The Grateful Dead!

[November Rain]

Happy 30th birthday to The Breakfast Club - one of my favourite movies, even to this day


The Breakfast Club to return to cinemas for 30th anniversary in the US - Movies News - Digital Spy

[BaitongBoy]

^"Don't you...Forget about me...No no..."

[Necron99]

75 Turns Chuck Norris Today!!
Happy Chuck, 75!

[Sumocakewalk]

Chuck Norris has already been to Mars. That's why there are no signs of life.

Happy b-day Chuck.

[Necron99]

Happy 80th birthday Monopoly!
Launched by Parker Bros on this day...
Played by an estimated 1 billion people.