I don't know, call me a freak or what not, but I am not happy in blackbox useage. I always want to understand more of the systems and items we use to get through the day. Well if you are like me, besides being "special", you are hungry for knowledge of top quality. When I get the hunger I check out the website below.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/

You know, I basically understand how a lot of electrical equipment works: TVs, CD players, PCs etcetera... But what I don't really understand is electricity itself.

Do you know why half the world uses PAL/Secam encoding and the other half uses NTSC encoding for their television systems? It's because of their electricity supply! Things like that, I don't really understand. Different types of electricity supply - bonkers. Why would your electricity affect what you view on your telly? It boggles my mind!!!

http://nickyguides.digita...erlace.htm

Justin1972UK said:

Actually, you are mistaken. Those two things have nothing to do with eachother.

NTSC standard is 29.97 frames per second, while Pal is 15 frames per second. It is common belief that we need 28 frames per second to mimmic "true movement" meanwhile another happy standard is 16 fps for quality movement illusion.

I have so much to say on the subject, because this is one of those things I love and study.

For Example: Why is it the NTSC standard is 29.97 fps? Back in the days of black and white television singnals, the fps was 30, but when color televison signals came on the market they found the color signal at 30fps was threading on the B&W signal and visaversa. So they moved color signals to the next notch fps that matched with the frequency.

MickG said:

Are you sure about that? I am going to Google...

MickG said:

I didn't know about the difference of frame rate between NTSC and PAL, but doesn't PAL have more horizontal 'lines' for each frame? (or something like that... don't know the technical name)

Great site btw

man made things generally have books of explanation behind them ...easy to learn about

i spend more time wondering how things in the natural world work

i care more about how things are made. i think if you understand materials that go into it then you can understand the rest.

I tend to wonder why things were built the way they were and how. Buildings I mean, really old ones. For instance in the garden of the house I lived in when I was little, there was a staircase that led down into the ground, to nowhere Now that just bugs the hell outta me! Whys it there? who built it? what the hell is under the garden?! That was a wierd house in a lot of ways...

Im a total geek when it comes to architectural history

susannah said:

Stairs are very often the last thing to go in and last if ever to come out. Mostlikely, at one time there was a room or space under there where the stairs lead to, it might even be there still, but it is walled off or sealled because it isn't a safe place to be. It may have caved in at one time.

susannah said:

I wonder what's down there? Under the floor, what is hiding there?

MickG said:

ZombieKitten said:

The garden in question was a pretty flat area of land, with a piece cut out of the ground, and steps in it. Relatively far from the house and no structures around it at all, just...ground. The steps are stone, they dont form part of any building. They just lead down into the earth. So I dont see how it could have been walled off...if it was some sort of basement - which again seems unlikely as there was no building above it - Surely when they filled it in they would have filled in the steps as well?

Also, its a very well documented building, 300+ years old in a very old villiage. No record of any other buildings on the plot...

Although...at the back of the garden is a cliff face. I suppose some rocks from it may have fallen so long ago that they've just become "one" witth the garden...blocking off a lower level of the garden maybe?



I do know that one day Im going to find out! The same people lived in it since we sold it 15 years ago, until earlier this year, when it was sold. I wanted to view it!!