tort urodzinowy

Urodziny to zwyczaj świątecznego obchodzenia (czasami hucznego) rocznicy dnia, w którym ktoś się urodził. Zwykle wiąże się ze składaniem życzeń i wręczaniem prezentów jubilatowi.

Obchodzenie urodzin wywodzi się z religii starożytnego Rzymu, jest to święto ku czci Geniusza. Z tego powodu było pierwotnie tępione przez chrześcijan, którzy zamiast tego woleli obchodzić imieniny i rocznicę śmierci.

Tradycyjnym elementem obchodów urodzin w kulturze europejskiej jest tort urodzinowy, który ozdobiony jest specjalnymi świeczkami w liczbie odpowiadającej wiekowi jubilata. Jubilat ma za zadanie zdmuchnąć świeczki, najlepiej wszystkie za jednym razem. Innym zwyczajem jest śpiewanie jubilatowi specjalnej piosenki - w Polsce jest to "Sto lat".

Urodziny niektórych postaci historycznych są obchodzone jako święta.

rising ashes

I woke up this morning to the smell of burnt wood. It can't be a BBQ I thought. There isn't the smell of delicious burnt fat. As I look out of the kitchen window, I suddenly saw that my neighbour shed is charcoal. What happened?!?! The thought of it burning last night while I was sleeping and I didn't realise a damn thing was worrying. I blame my new over-efficient noise reduction triple glazing windows. Damn you Germans, why do you have to be so good?!

Sheds vary considerably in the complexity of their construction and size, from small open-sided tin-roofed structures to large wood-framed sheds with shingled roofs, windows, and electrical outlets. The simplest and least expensive sheds are available in kit form. Both shed kits and DIY plans are available for wooden and plastic models. Usually used to store home and garden tools, you could also have larger, more expensive sheds constructed of wood and include features typically found in house constructions. There is a variety of sheds; garden shed, bike shed, boat shed, agricultural shed, railway shed and more.

The word is recorded in English since 1481, as shadde, possibly a variant of shade. The word shade comes from the Old English word "sceadu", which means "shade, shadow and darkness." The term's P.Gmc. cognate, "skadwo" also means "shady place, protection from glare or heat.

what did you say?!

I've been on the phone non-stop since the early morning. The Structural Engineers are late, the contractors are waiting, my juniors are stuck in traffic, the Quantity Surveyors are due to arrive in 2 hours, the clients are fluttering and I am annoyed. I can't remember how many profanity I've shouted in the office. And later, I've lunch in Soho with an old friend. Fuck! Why can't anything work today?!

Since I'm waiting here for what feels like oblivion, I wondered why the English language is obsessed with 4-letter words. Ok, I'm not just talking about sexual slang here, although most does consists of it. There is a four-letter word that makes women go weak at their knees when it is whispered into their ears - Sale. It drives them insane! They reach an absolute high close to hysteria in the shortest amount of time. What about another word - Love? Another word that has strong meaning without the innuendo also makes them go weak at their knees. Unfortunately, golf isn't one of them.

During my years in the industry, I've managed to converse these profanity in various languages to exert extra effect. Some languages use 3-letter, 5-letter or 6-letter words to the same effect.

English: we all know what the words are, so I'm not going to even bother!
Spanish: puta, culo, hostia, joder, mamon, zorra
Dutch: cut (C-word), pik, lul
Czech: hovno, vole, sakra, prdel
German: arsch Norwegian: j'vel, fitte, kukhue
Arabic: muti, koos, neik, teezak
Russian: хуй
Chilean Spanish: pico, palo, mazo, pito, walo, ñaño, copi, nepe, niño, falo
French: merde, truie
Polish: dupa, kurwa, debil, chuj, suka, dupek

There are also colourful phrases which I refuse to divulge at the moment - not yet, at least. Why all these words? Isn't this supposed to be an Architectural blog? A-ha! Yes you're right but, in construction, these words communicate better than polite pleasantries. Building and construction is a messy business after all.