6 March: 65

Today is the 65^th day of the year. 10 fun facts about the number 65.

1. A 65th anniversary is sometimes referred to as a sapphire jubilee.

2. It is the traditional age for retirement in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Canada, and several other countries.

3. 65daysofstatic is a post-rock band from Sheffield, UK, commonly abbreviated to “65”.

4. 65 Cybele is one of the largest asteroids in the Solar System, thought to be a remnant primordial body. It was discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1861, and named after Cybele, the earth goddess.

5. It’s the atomic number of Terbium, a chemical element with the symbol Tb. It is a silvery-white, rare earth metal that is malleable and ductile.

6. 65 is a 2023 American science fiction film written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and starring Adam Driver. Driver plays an astronaut who crashes on an unknown planet with a challenging environment and attempts to help a young girl, played by Ariana Greenblatt, survive.

7. +65 is the code for international direct dial telephone calls to Singapore.

8. The number is mentioned in Heroes and Villains by the Beach Boys: "At 60 and 5 / I'm very much alive / I've still got the jive / to survive with the Heroes and Villains".

9. 65 Roses Day is an annual fundraising event for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. The name originates from a small boy whose mother was talking on the phone about working for cystic fibrosis, and misheard it as “working for 65 roses”. Participants are encouraged to take part in challenges with a 65 theme, such as completing 65,000 steps.

10. In numerology, a person influenced by 65 is likely to be known as a responsible family person, likely to be part of several social groups or teams. They will be diplomatic and deal with people in a sensitive and effective way. They probably enjoy teaching.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

5 March: Adrian Name Day

In Poland, today is the name day for people called Adrian.

Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria.

1. There have been six Popes called Adrian, including Adrian IV (pictured), who was head of the Catholic Church from 4 December 1154 to his death in 1159. He is the only Englishman to have been pope.

2. Adrian Mole: protagonist of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.

3. Adrian Edmondson: better known as Ade Edmondson, English actor, comedian, director, writer and musician.

4. Adrian Moorhouse: English swimmer who dominated British swimming in the late 1980s. He won the gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea.

5. Adrian Veidt: alias Ozymandias, character in the Watchmen graphic novel series.

6. Adrian Chiles: British writer and television and radio presenter. He has co-presented both The One Show and Daybreak with Christine Lampard. He was also the chief presenter for football coverage on ITV Sport from 2010 until 2015.

7. Adrian Fisher: English guitarist and member of the bands Toby, Sparks and Boxer.

8. Sir Adrian Boult: British conductor who worked for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company.

9. Adrian Conan Doyle: youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife Jean. English race-car driver, big-game hunter, explorer, and writer.

10. Adrian Woodhouse: spawn of Satan in the film Rosemary's Baby. Incidentally, the film Little Nicky (2000, starring Adam Sandler) also includes a son of Satan named Adrian.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

4 March: 63

On the 63^rd day of the year, 10 fun facts about the number 63.

1. In London, the 63 Bus runs from Therapia Road to King's Cross Station/York Way.

2. Sixty-three is a card game popular in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, and on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and is named after the number of points which can be taken in a hand.

3. 63 Ausonia is an Asteroid from the inner region of the asteroid belt, approximately 100 kilometers (60 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on 10 February 1861, in Naples, Italy. The initial choice of name for the asteroid was "Italia", after Italy, but this was modified to Ausonia, an ancient classical name for the Italian region.

4. The code for international direct dial calls to the Philippines is +63.

5. The flight on which Richard Reid tried and failed to detonate a Shoe bomb in 2001 was American Airlines flight 63.

6. In British pre-decimal currency, there were 63 groats in a guinea.

7. Tree63 is a South African Contemporary Christian music band from Durban. The band was formed in 1996 and was unnamed until the following year when they needed a name in order to perform at North Beach, Durban, and came up with "Tree". They added the "63" in 2000 due to a naming conflict with an American band. 63 had been the name of their second album, which was named in reference to Psalm 63.

8. 63 is the atomic number of Europium, a silvery-white metal of the lanthanide series that reacts readily with air to form a dark oxide coating. It is the most chemically reactive, least dense, and softest of the lanthanide elements. Its symbol is Eu.

9. The offspring of a Donkey and a Horse, a Mule, has 63 chromosomes.

10. In numerology the energy of the number 63 is concerned with the welfare of humanity. It promotes just treatment and opportunities for all individuals and doesn’t judge anyone’s religious beliefs or lifestyle as long as they are just. The person influenced by the energy is likely to be compassionate, tolerant, see humanity as one big family, and have a clear vision of an ideal earth.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

3 March: Coins

On this date in 1791, US Congress passed a resolution ordering the US Mint to be established. In 1849 the US Gold Coinage Act passed, allowing Gold coins to be minted. In 1851 Congress authorised the smallest US Silver coin, the three-cent piece. With all these coin related historical events, today is the perfect day to present ten fascinating facts about coins.

1. The oldest coin factory, or mint, was excavated in the ancient city Guanzhuang in Henan province in China. The factory produced shovel-shaped bronze coins between 640 B.C. and 550 B.C.

2. The most valuable coin in the world is the 1794 Flowing Hair Silver Dollar, worth $10 million. It’s said to be the first silver coin to have been minted and issued by the US Federal Government. The most expensive coin ever sold in Britain was an Edward VIII gold sovereign from 1937 which was bought by a private collector for £1 million.

3. At the other end of the scale, the least valuable coin in the world is Uzbekistan’s tiyin coin. Two thousand of them are worth one American cent.

4. The oldest coins in circulation in the UK are the 1p and 2p piece which only date back to 1971, when decimal currency was introduced.

5. Since the time of Charles II, the image of a new monarch faces in the opposite direction on coins than their immediate predecessor. The only exception was Edward VIII, as he preferred his left portrait to his right.

6. Flipping a coin to decide the outcome of something (you could describe a coins as two sided dice) has been around since Roman times. They called it navia aut caput ("ship or head"), as some coins had a ship on one side and the head of the emperor on the other. There is something like a 1 in 6000 that a coin could land on its side (stuck in the ground, or leaning against something, like a shoe). Sigmund Freud recommended a coin toss as a way to make a difficult decision – not necessarily abiding by the result, but analysing how the result made the decision maker feel, so they’d know which result they actually wanted. The technical terms for the two sides of a coin, heads or tails, are obverse and reverse, respectively.

7. A coin or two is often placed under the keel block of a new ship to bring good luck. This superstition dates back to Roman times.

8. Convicts being transported to Australia used coins to leave messages for their loved ones. They would smooth and/or engrave the coins with loving messages. These coins were called "convict love tokens" or "leaden hearts".

9. There are about 1 trillion coins in circulation worldwide. It’s estimated that about 28,850,000,000 of them are UK coins. That’s almost 4 billion pounds worth of coins. However, there are limits on how many 1p coins you can spend at once. Legally, a recipient can refuse to be paid in 1p coins for amounts over 20p.

10. Ever wondered why some coins have ridges around the edge? You have Isaac Newton to thank for that. In his time it was common for people to shave the edges of coins and keep the metal. As warden of the Royal Mint, it was Isaac’s job to come up with a way to put a stop to that. His solution was to put ridges round the edges.

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book

2 March: The Sound of Music

On this date in 1965 The Sound of Music starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer premièred in New York.

1. The movie is based on Maria Von Trapp's 1949 memoir, The Story of the Von Trapp Family Singers.

2. Christopher Plummer hated the film while he was working on it. He would refer to it as "The Sound of Mucus" or "S&M" and likened working with Dame Julie Andrews to "being hit over the head with a big Valentine's Day card”. He also hated the song Eidelweiss as he thought it was trite and schmaltzy. That said, he and Andrews remained close friends until his death.

3. Dame Julie Andrews was always Robert Wise's first choice to play Maria, even though she was primarily a stage actress at the time. Some of his colleagues would have preferred Audrey Hepburn, but they were convinced once they’d seen the rushes for Mary Poppins. Andrews herself wasn’t so sure at first, and almost turned the role down, fearing typecasting as the role seemed similar to that of Mary Poppins.

4. Other roles were not so cut and dried. Bing Crosby, Yul Brynner, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton were all considered for the role of the Captain. Grace Kelly was considered for the Baroness, but she had retired by then. A number of famous faces auditioned to play the children, including Mia Farrow, Teri Garr, Richard Dreyfuss, Kurt Russell, and the four oldest performing Osmond Brothers.

5. The gazebo saw plenty of action that never made the cut. During the shooting of Sixteen Going On Seventeen Charmian Carr (Liesl) slipped while leaping across a bench, and injured her ankle. The rest of the scene was shot with her leg wrapped and make-up covering the bandages. When Maria and Captain von Trapp declared their love in the gazebo, and sing the song Something Good, the lights above them would make rude noises, making Julie Andrews giggle. That’s why the scene is in silhouette as the director eventually turned the lights off. Incidentally, the gazebo could be likened to a tardis as it was bigger on the inside. The gazebo at the house where filming took place was too small to stage dance scenes, so a larger interior was built at a studio.

6. The film isn’t anything like as famous in Austria as elsewhere in the world. It was released there, under the title Meine Lieder – Meine Träume (My Songs – My Dreams) and the ending was cut. The song Edelweiss was written for the film, so people in Austria don’t really know that, either. However, international visitors can take a tour of the filming locations.

7. The opening scenes were shot from a helicopter. Dame Julie Andrews was knocked over by the powerful Helicopter downdraft several times.

8. Although Christopher Plummer's own vocals were recorded, it was decided that he should be dubbed by Bill Lee of the singing group The Mellomen. Peggy Wood (Mother Abbess) was dubbed as well, because she declared that she was too old to handle the vocals.

9. Both Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer learned to play the Guitar especially for the film.

10. According to The Sun, this movie was selected by BBC executives as one to be broadcast after a nuclear strike, to improve the morale of survivors. The BBC did not confirm or deny the story, saying, "This is a security issue so we cannot comment."

Beta

(Combat Team Series #2)

Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?

Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.

Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream. 

Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.

Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.

Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.

Paperback

E book