Comments on: Guardian nº25415, by Chifonie

By: Howard

Howard — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:42:43 +0000

As one of those ‘improving solvers’ I really appreciated this. Good fun and I actually got most of it for once! Only had to cheat on 18, 22 and 23. Got ordinal but had no idea why! Do keep sprinkling in a few of these ‘easier’ ones, we’re not all at advanced level.

By: Disco

Disco — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 08:53:03 +0000

Stella – there are a few address-shortening tools around. I’d recommend using TinyURL for the sole reason that it’s an easy one to remember (providing you’re familiar with URL meaning an internet address, of course).

You just open up that address and paste the address into the box marked “Enter a URL to make tiny”. One click of the “Make TinyURL!” later and you’ll be provided with something a little more concise, like so: http://tinyurl.com/43xmowu

There’s also an option to add a button to your bookmarks/favourites toolbar. Clicking that button will make a TinyURL of the site you’re currently visiting. It’s a little more work to set up (with easy-to-follow instructions) but the result is ridiculously easy to use and you won’t need to remember a thing – except that it’s there.

By: Stella

Stella — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 22:07:11 +0000

Thanks for that, Dave, of course it was a Google search – I only ever search there or in Wiki. It would be nice to know how to shorten the resulting address, but it would have to be a very simple process, as ME makes it hard for me to concentrate for long, or learn too many new words, processses or whatever at a time.

MalP@29, I believe it is fairly accepted that the Bible and Greek myths are loosely based on fact, distorted by centuries of oral story-telling before being written down, and I presume the same applies to the sagas and most other folk lore.

By: Dave Ellison

Dave Ellison — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:47:29 +0000

I don’t know if there is a limit, but you wouldn’t want to type the link in! It seems to be the result of a google search; here is a shorter one to the same page:

http://valdeorrasrepublicana.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/explorar0028.jpg

By: cholycist

cholycist — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:31:19 +0000

Thanks, Stella @26, for possibly the longest link on this site. Is there any limit, anyone?

By: Robi

Robi — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:18:28 +0000

Mal P @29; I think ‘urban myth’ has a different meaning for myth; see:

‘urban myth
n
a story, esp one with a shocking or amusing ending, related as having actually happened, usu. to someone vaguely connected with the teller’

By: Mal P

Mal P — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:52:21 +0000

Pedant’s corner. Thought a saga was a story, often historical, and always in verse. Is that the same as a myth?

By: JH

JH — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:22:04 +0000

Thanks Chifonie and Stella.

Once again, pleased with myself, only to discover I’d got one wrong. This time ‘SPORT’ instead of ‘STOUT’ — ‘bearing’ could be a *very* tenuous definition of ‘sport’.

I also had LA-DE-DA, but I’m having that one. It’s a valid spelling, and Eda is a name.

By: liz

liz — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:54:55 +0000

Thanks for the blog, Stella. Easy, as others have said, but a couple made me smile. SAGACITY in particular.

By: Stella

Stella — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:49:24 +0000

Hi Robi, thanks for clearing that up – that’s the trouble with copying and pasting, you sometimes get more than you bargained for

Hi Eileen, yes, it did at least ring a bell this time, though I had to look it up.

Just for good measure, here’s another link for the Lago de Sanabria, where it at least appears to qualify as a Tarn:
http://www.google.es/imgres?q=Lago+de+Sanabria&hl=es&client=firefox-a&sa=G&rls=org.mozilla:es-ES:official&biw=939&bih=426&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=GCTVLE4C3tRc3M:&imgrefurl=http://valdeorrasrepublicana.wordpress.com/2008/06/07/trevinca-teixadal-parque-natural/&docid=C-XOZyUGSFKp1M&w=2369&h=1699&ei=XFZeTsOLL-Ha4QTC7fEG&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=301&vpy=85&dur=7450&hovh=190&hovw=265&tx=129&ty=89&page=18&tbnh=120&tbnw=160&start=137&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:137