1 December: Watches

Today is the feast day of St Eligius, the patron of watchmakers. Here are 10 things you might not know about watches:

1. The word watch originates with the Old English word woecce, meaning “to keep an eye on” and “be awake”. It was used to refer to town watchmen and is also the root of the word watch in connection with watches on board ship. Watchmen and sailors would have found this technology useful in keeping track of their shifts.

2. The pocket watch was introduced around the 15th century but became popular during the Tudor era in the 16th century. Wristwatches eventually replaced them for the sheer convenience of being able to tell the time without having to reach into your pocket.

3. Early pocket watches only had one hand, the hour hand. It was only in the 17th century that the minute hand was introduced.

4. The first wristwatches were designed for women (because as we all know, women’s clothes are notorious for not having pockets!) They were worn as a fashion accessory, a piece of jewellery, rather than to keep track of time. Historical accounts suggest that one of the earliest of these ‘arm watches’ was made for Queen Elizabeth I. However, other sources credit Swiss watch manufacturer Patek Philippe with creating one of the first ‘wristwatches’ for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary around 1868.

5. Wristwatches gained popularity with men during the first world war as they allowed more freedom of movement for soldiers.

6. When watches are displayed for sale they will often be set to ten past ten or ten to two. This is a subliminal advertising thing, because watch hands in this position resemble a smiley face, so these times are called happy times. It’s said a customer is unconsciously affected by this and their mood is uplifted, making them more likely to buy a watch.

7. The Omega Speedmaster was a favourite brand of watch for astronauts going to the Moon. Seven of the men who went to the moon wore them, including the ones who made the first trip.

8. James Bond, meanwhile, famously sports a Rolex. Despite the obvious good publicity that a character like Bond would bring to the brand, Rolex will never give away any of their watches. If you see one in a film, it will have been paid for by someone. Nor do they give freebies to celebrities. It is said that the producer of the first James Bond movie put his personal Rolex Submariner on Sean Connery's wrist, because Rolex refused to provide a wristwatch for the filming. Staying with films, Rolex was the only watch company willing to be a sponsor for the movie American Psycho. Most companies had turned the gig down because of the negative associations. Rolex agreed, but with one condition: that Christian Bale didn’t wear the watch during the gruesome dismembering body scenes.

9. For her coronation in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II wore a wristwatch by Jaeger-LeCoultre which was the smallest wristwatch of the time. It was integrated into a slim diamond-studded bracelet.

10. The world’s first water-resistant watch is believed to be the Rolex Oyster, introduced in 1926.

Character birthday

Angelique Reynard, sister of Jean Paul, father of Basil Reynard (Fox). She was unable to have children of her own and hence resented her sister in law, who became pregnant before she married. Angelique appears in From a Jack to a King.

From A Jack To A King

A royal palace is burning. The King and Queen are dead. The only hopes for an ancient dynasty flee to England for their lives.

A boy runs from his mother and the people he believes want to mutilate him, and vanishes, seemingly forever.

Gary Winchcombe, the experimental "super-cop" pursues a notorious gang of bank robbers, and starts to discover that his friends and neighbours have secrets he never could have imagined.

Tod Reynard wants to turn his life around. When he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Jade, he knows she might just be the one to help him change his life for the better. He cannot possibly know just how much.

When Jade's twin sister Gloria is kidnapped, old rivalries must be put aside and new associations formed in order to save Gloria's life and restore the rightful order of things.

Available from: Amazon, Amazon Kindle

30 November: 334

30 November is the 334^th day of the year (if it’s not a leap year). Here are 10 fun facts about the number 334:

1. 334 is a 1972 dystopian science fiction novel by American writer Thomas M. Disch, set in New York City in the year 2025. The title alludes to the address of the housing project where most of the characters live, 334 East 11th Street.

2. 334 Chicago is a very large main-belt asteroid discovered by Max Wolf on August 23, 1892, in Heidelberg.

3. London bus route 334 runs from Clapham Junction Station to Liverpool Street Station.

4. In Binary it’s 101001110 and in Roman numerals, CCCXXXIV.

5. The British Rail Class 334 is a suburban electric multiple unit built by the train maker Alstom in Birmingham between 2000 and 2003.

6. The year 334 was a common year starting on Tuesday, it was known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Optatus and Caesonius. In this year, Emperor Constantine the Great reauthorised gladiatorial combat.

7. The A334 is a road in Hampshire, England, which connects Wickham and Southampton.

8. Area code 334 is a telephone code in the North American Numbering Plan for southeastern Alabama.

9. Kosmos 334 was a Soviet satellite which was launched in 1970.

10. The angel number 334 is a master number, associated with positive energy and good luck. If you keep seeing it, it’s a powerful message from the spiritual realm that you are on the right path.

Character birthday

Prince Percy Nobottle, a minor royal from Classica, Infinitus. He is a cowardly character but is wealthy and has a title, which is why the minor princess Cynthia Mann-Trappe pursues him in order to secure a marriage proposal. Percy, however, is afraid of her and does his best to avoid her.

29 November: World Anteater Day

Today is World Anteater Day. Here are ten things you might not know about anteaters:

1. The anteater is part of the suborder Vermilingua, which appropriately means "worm tongue."

2. They are related to Sloths and armadillos.

3. There are four species of anteater: the giant anteater, silky anteater, northern tamandua, and southern tamandua.

4. Their sense of smell is 40 times greater than that of a human. This means they can tell which kind of insect lives in a mound or nest before they rip it open.

5. Their tongues are up to 2 feet long and covered in spines. Their saliva is sticky. All adaptations to help them obtain their food.

6. The average giant anteater eats up to 30,000 Ants and Termites in a day. However, ants and termites aren’t necessarily the only things on their menu. They have been known to scavenge fruit, bird eggs, worms, other insects, and even Bees. They get most of their Water from their food and so don’t drink very much.

7. They are edentate, which means that like their cousins the sloths and armadillos, they don’t have any teeth.

8. They do have claws, though only on their front feet. Their claws are razor sharp and are used to rip open insect nests and to fight off predators. When they walk, anteaters curl their feet into balls to keep the claws protected and prevent them from dulling.

9. They have the lowest body temperature of any mammal: approximately 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 33 degrees Celsius. This means they have to conserve energy and so they sleep a lot and usually move very slowly. However, if something frightens them, they can run at up to 30mph.

10. The anteater can take a fertilized egg and store it for later use. The egg remains in the anteater’s uterus until conditions are favourable. Female anteaters deliver their babies standing up, using their tail for support. They have only one baby at a time, and the newborns are called pups.

Character birthday

Displacer, a member of Combat Team Gamma. He teleports by means of a bio integrated teleport gun. He was discovered by Swallow and Fixer, dishevelled and afraid, after he tried to steal Fixer's car. He was found to have clear memories of his life up to a few days after graduation but nothing over the intervening nine years. He had no idea who he was running from, why he was stealing the car, or how he came to be in possession of a fully functional teleport gun.

Doctors diagnosed severe post traumatic stress disorder and could do nothing but wait to see if his memory returned on its own.

When he attempted to make contact with his family and former girlfriend, he discovered they had all been brutally murdered and that he was the prime suspect. The nature of his weapon was discovered when, as a result of this, he attempted to commit suicide, but only succeeded in teleporting himself outside into the rain.

DNA evidence eventually cleared him of the crimes but they remain unsolved.

While he does not use genetic variant powers in combat, he does have a genetic variance which causes his eyes to change colour according to his mood: when happy or contented, blue; moments of intense bliss or joy, bright cornflower blue; when sad, brown, when unsure or puzzled, hazel, when angry, green, when afraid, grey.

28 November: William Blake Quotes

On his birthday, 10 quotes from William Blake:

1. To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.

2. In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.

3. We are not meant to resolve all contradictions but to live with them and rise above them.

4. To some people a tree is something so incredibly beautiful that it brings tears to the eyes. To others it is just a green thing that stands in the way.

5. Enlightenment means taking full responsibility for your life.

6. Every man who is not an artist is a traitor to his own nature.

7. When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to become your friend.

8. A good local pub has much in common with a church, except that a pub is warmer, and there's more conversation.

9. It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.

10. Every harlot was a virgin once.

Character birthday

Fixer, aka Raymond Reardon. He trained as a doctor, but had to give up the work due to an illness which meant he couldn't handle the long hours of a junior doctor post. He went back to university to study engineering and by the time he got that degree, he was fully recovered. The nature of the illness he had is unknown. He took a job at Hyperion Engineering and rose rapidly through the ranks, becoming the company's chief troubleshooter. His ability to fix just about anything brought him the respect of Madeleine Earnshaw, the CEO. She put aside the notion of an all female combat team when she realised she couldn't do much better than Ray for the healer role.

He started a relationship with Swallow, but she cannot choose between him and their team-mate, Displacer.

27 November: Bruce Lee Quotes

This date in 1940 saw the birth of Bruce Lee. Here are 10 quotes from him:

1. I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.

2. Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.

3. Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.

4. A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.

5. Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.

6. A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.

7. Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.

8. Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

9. Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.

10. I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times.

Character birthday

Drone, aka Martin Cherry, a self-styled super-villain who crafted wings for himself to enable him to fly and made a poison which he can inject into enemies by means of syringes attached to his wrists.

He is associated with the Swarm, although the association is an uneasy one. He alone is not a genetic variant who can take the form of an insect, and for that reason, Drone suspects he is not fully accepted – but at the same time, he is the only one who can take off his costume and move among humans undetected – so they need him.

26 November: The Curiosity Rover

The Curiosity Rover was launched on this date in 2011. Here are 10 things you might not know about it:

1. It’s about the size of a small SUV, or if you prefer, 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) long by 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) wide by 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) in height.

2. It weighs 899 kg (1,982 lbs in Earth gravity; 743 lbs in Mars gravity).

3. Its official name is The Mars Science Laboratory.

4. However, NASA held a contest for students to give it a nickname. The name Curiosity was put forward by Clara Ma, aged 12, from Kansas. Her entry was chosen after she wrote: “Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. Curiosity is such a powerful force. Without it, we wouldn't be who we are today. Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder.” Her prize was a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where she signed her name directly onto the rover as it was being assembled.

5. Curiosity landed on Aeolis Palus inside Gale crater on Mars on August 6, 2012, and as it did, it tested a completely new landing method. The spacecraft descended on a parachute, then during the final seconds before landing, the landing system fired rockets to allow it to hover while a tether lowered Curiosity to the surface. The rover landed on its wheels, the tether was cut, and the landing system flew off to crash-land a safe distance away. NASA doesn't know the location of the jetpack lander.

6. It carries an array of scientific instruments including 17 cameras, a laser which can vaporise rock, a drill, a wire brush for cleaning rocks. It also has on board a microchip containing the names of 1.2 million people who sent their names in to NASA from 2009 to 2011.

7. The iPhone 4S has four times the processing power of Curiosity.

8. Its mission is to seek out signs that life could have existed on Mars at some stage. It hunts for special rocks that formed in water and/or have signs of organics.

9. Curiosity’s power system has far exceeded its operational lifespan. It was meant to last for one Martian year or 687 Earth days. It has been going for more than eight Earth years.

10. On August 6, 2013, Curiosity audibly played "Happy Birthday to you" in honour of the first anniversary of its Martian landing. It was the first time a song was played on another planet and the first time music was transmitted between two planets.

Character birthday

Sylvia Brightman, political aide to Innovian president Jack Ward, with whom she is having a secret affair. She is recognisable by her platinum white hair, cut in a severe style. Power Blaster, Multi-Girl and Burdock have all worked for her. She appears in Secrets and Skies.

Secrets and Skies

Jack Ward, President of Innovia, owes his life twice over to the enigmatic superhero, dubbed Power Blaster by the press. No-one knows who Power Blaster is or where he comes from - and he wants it to stay that way.

Scientist Desi Troyes has developed a nuclear bomb to counter the ever present threat of an asteroid hitting the planet. When Ward signs the order giving the go ahead for a nuclear test on the remote Bird Island, he has no inkling of Troyes' real agenda, and that he has signed the death warrants of millions of people.

Although the island should have been evacuated, there are people still there: some from the distant continent of Classica; protesters opposed to the bomb test; and Innovians who will not, or cannot, use their communication devices.

Power Blaster knows he must stop the bomb from hitting the island. He also knows it may be the last thing he ever does.

Meanwhile in Innovia, Ward and his staff gather to watch the broadcast of the test. Nobody, not even Troyes himself, has any idea what is about to happen.

Available from Amazon or Amazon Kindle

25 November: Joe DiMaggio

Joe DiMaggio, the New York Yankees Baseball player, was born on this date in 1914. 10 things you might not know about him:

1. His parents were Sicilian immigrants Giuseppe and Rosalia DiMaggio. Joe was the eighth of nine children and was named Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, "Giuseppe" after his father and "Paolo" after Giuseppe's favourite saint, Paul of Tarsus.

2. The DiMaggio family had been fishermen for generations, and Guiseppe hoped his sons would become fishermen, too. Joe, however, hated having to clean the boat because the smell of fish made him feel sick. Giuseppe called him "lazy" and "good-for-nothing".

3. Two of his brothers, Vince and Dominic, became baseball players, too. In fact, it was Vince who gave Joe his big break by persuading the manager of his team, the San Francisco Seals, to let DiMaggio fill in at shortstop. He made his professional debut on October 1, 1932.

4. DiMaggio is known for his 56-game hitting streak, which he achieved in 1941, a record that still stands to this day in Major League Baseball.

5. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on February 17, 1943, rising to the rank of sergeant. He requested a combat posting but was turned down. His superiors treated him better than most because of his fame, and he spent the war teaching physical education and playing exhibition baseball games to entertain the troops.

6. His career almost ended when he tore ligaments of his right knee while stepping out of a jitney, a type of taxi. Luckily, he recovered.

7. Marilyn Monroe wasn’t his only wife. His first wife was called Dorothy Arnold, and he met her on the set of Manhattan Merry-Go-Round, in which he had a minor role, and she was an extra. They married in 1939 and had one son. They divorced in 1944.

8. He met Marilyn in 1954 and though he was devoted to her, he was jealous and controlling and Marilyn divorced him after just nine months. DiMaggio turned his life around; underwent therapy and stopped drinking alcohol. By 1962, he had decided to ask Marilyn to re-marry him. Sadly, she died before that could happen.

9. He was nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D."

10. He died in 1999 at the age of 84, after surgery for lung cancer. His lawyer reported that his last words were "I'll finally get to see Marilyn," although this has been disputed by his family.

Character birthday

Hole in the Head. Aka Ogden Pozzi, a member of a gangster family in New York. Ogden Pozzi suffered brain damage after a severe gunshot wound to the head. Miraculously, he survived but has a noticeable hole in his head, low intelligence and dexterity. He is strong and biddable, however, and hence a useful bodyguard for R Vendetta.

24 November: 328

Today is the 328^th day of the year. Here are ten fun facts about the number 328:

1. 328 Gudrun is a main-belt Asteroid discovered by Max Wolf on March 18, 1892, in Heidelberg.

2. The Dornier 328 is a turboprop-powered commuter airliner.

3. Club 328 was a British air charter operator based at Southampton Airport. It operated business jets and charters. Re-branded as PlaneChartering in October 2007, the Club 328 name ceased to exist in 2008.

4. The Ferrari 328 GTB and GTS are mid-engine V8, two-seat sports cars created by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari.

5. The BMW 328 was a sports car offered by BMW from 1936 to 1940, with the body design credited to Peter Szymanowski.

6. The Roman numeral for 328 is CCCXXVIII.

7. The A328 is a road in England which runs between Old Windsor, Berkshire and Englefield Green, Surrey.

8. London Bus route 328 runs between Golders Green Station and Chelsea Worlds End.

9. The year 328 was a leap year starting on Monday known at the time as the Year of the Consulship of Ianuarinus and Iustus. In this year, Constantine's Bridge, built over the Danube was officially opened by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius, and Athanasius was elected pope of Alexandria following the death of Alexander I.

10. Angel number 328 is a message that you have to maximize the skills and talents you have been blessed with to experience growth and change in your life.

Character birthday

Bladesman, a royal bodyguard in Classica, charged with protecting the Princess Swallow from her jealous sister during a pilgrimage to Bird Island. He was one of many pulled through a wormhole on that island, caused by a nuclear test. The wormhole led to Earth, where he teamed up with the group which became known as The Raiders.

Over the Rainbow

'We're not in Trinity anymore,' says Leonard Marx, quoting a line from an old Innovian  movie. The moon is different; the planes flying overhead are different. Nobody has any idea where they are or if it's possible to get home. 

In this strange new world, people from the highly technical Innovia and the less advanced Classica must co-operate in order to survive. In addition, travel through the inter-dimensional wormhole has given some people unusual and unexpected powers.

Innovia mourns the loss of its superhero, Power Blaster, last seen carrying a nuclear bomb to the upper atmosphere away from the inhabited Bird Island. They don't believe he could possibly have survived.  Power Blaster has survived, but is close to death and stranded in the new dimension. He is nursed back to health by a Classican woman, Elena. She has no idea who he is, only that she is falling in love with the handsome stranger.  

Shanna sets out to discover what happened to Nathan Tate, who didn't return from his hiking holiday, not knowing her life is about to be turned inside out and upside down. 

Meanwhile, Desi Troyes, the man responsible for the catastrophe, is at large on the new world, plotting how he can transfer his plans for world domination to the planet he now finds himself on - Earth. 

Available from Amazon and Amazon Kindle

23 November: Juke boxes

The very first Jukebox was officially introduced at San Francisco’s Palais Royal Saloon on November 23rd, 1889. Here are 10 things you might not know about juke boxes:

1. Sources differ on the origin of the word “juke”. Some say it’s an African word meaning “to make wicked mischief”; others say it was a slang word for dancing, or even sex; or that it meant “bawdy”. A “juke joint” was a dodgy bar or a brothel.

2. Hence the manufacturers of juke boxes at first avoided the term like the plague and referred to them as Automatic Coin-Operated Phonographs.

3. It wasn’t possible to choose the track in the earliest models. They held about 12-16 records and played them in order.

4. And only one side. Technology which allowed both sides of a record to be played didn’t appear until the 1930s.

5. A 1930s juke box would be inside a beautifully carved walnut and Glass cabinet. These were heavy and expensive. In the 1940s they started using plastic instead of glass.

6. The Great Depression of the 1930s contributed a great deal to the popularity of juke boxes. Bars couldn’t afford to employ a band, but being able to provide Music out of a box proved to be a massive attraction for the young people of the time.

7. They are often associated with American diners of the 1950s. Diners would place miniature juke boxes on the tables so customers could pop in a coin and choose a song to listen to while they ate.

8. Juke boxes on the wall became a thing in the 1960s when stereo sound became popular. These models could incorporate speakers to make the most of this new technology.

9. Perhaps the most iconic jukebox of all time was produced by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company—the 1015 model (aka, the Bubbler). This model appeared after the hiatus of juke box production during the second world war, in 1946.

10. There’s a National Juke Box Day which is observed every year on the day before Thanksgiving, around the time of the anniversary of the appearance of the first juke box.

Character birthday

Alpha Wave, a member of Combat Team Alpha. He was previously the lead singer of a boy band known as the Alpha Waves, but left over a disagreement about modernising their sound. He is gay but had to remain in the closet in order to maintain a wholesome image as a teen idol. His power to temporarily paralyse people using psionics first manifested when his secret affair with record producer Llew Powell was discovered by a gossip magazine photographer. Alpha Wave paralysed the photographer so that Powell could destroy the photographic film. Powell ended the affair and married in order to quell the rumours. Later, however, when setting up his combat team, he remembered Alpha Wave’s strange ability and recruited him.