Website reviews

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogmanay

This is as good a time as any to introduce you to Wikipedia, which is a free online encyclopaedia. Wikipedia aims (eventually) to be the largest encyclopaedia anywhere in the history of the world, and is on its way to achieving its goal by allowing anyone at all to write or edit any entry at all. If this sounds like a recipe for chaos, it’s not. It is a thing of beauty. One of those phenomena which would not be possible without the Internet, I love the idea, and I love the end product even more. The range of the site is simply huge, it is extensively cross-referenced, genuinely fascinating and constantly changing (usually for the better).

Anyway, the URI above is the Hogmanay page, which has a brief but interesting stab at describing the history and customs of Hogmanay and lists a number of possible etymologies for the word, from Gaelic to Greek, my favourite being the Flemish hoog min dag or “day of great love”, which sums things up quite nicely.

All in all, a fair effort from a glorious website – and if you don’t agree, you can always change it!

Resolutions Reminders

www.hiaspire.com/newyear

An interesting one this. Once the festivities have ended and 2006 has begun, it is time for some New Year’s resolutions. HiAspire are so keen to help you succeed in (for once) actually keeping your resolutions that they have come up with this (I believe) unique service: the resolutions reminder. It all seems very simple. First, select your resolution from a list of the most common. Popular choices include: eat healthier; exercise more; travel more; save money; advance career and the usefully inspecific “be a better person”.

Then, in addition to a page of useful links on that subject, sign up for a monthly reminder email. Even if everyone else has forgotten your pledge to quit smoking by 7 January, HiAspire haven’t! And they won’t stop until you have. Fortunately, this facility comes with the ability to put an end to the periodic emails after they have become annoying (I’d guess no later than the beginning of February).

The Home of Hogmanay

www.hogmanay.net

The site bills itself as the home of Hogmanay, and comes with some near-obligatory porcine illustrations. Its primary use is as a portal for a number of New Year celebrations taking place across Scotland. At the time I visited, it was still mainly linked to 2004/05 events, but the message boards were hotting up with ’06 news and events, and so I’m fairly confident that it will be worth checking out by the time this is published – ideal for revellers from the Up Helly Aa and Ba’s of the Northern Isles to the Bonfire at Biggar and several events in between.

However, if I’m being critical, there are not as many links as there might be. I’m certain that there are 13 public Hogmanay events across Scotland and, even if they don’t all have websites, the site suffers from a lack of ambition in this regard.

Also of interest may be the Hogmanay FAQs, the words to Auld Lang Syne and tips for both designated drivers and hangover cures (depending on whether you are drinking or driving).

If you’re still not sure where to go, here are some ideas which may interest you. The eyes of the world are invariably focused on the capital for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay (www.edinburghshogmanay.org) which is nowadays attracting some friendly rivalry from Glasgow’s Hogmanay (www.glasgowshogmanay.org.uk) – although musically, Edinburgh has the edge this year. Or, you may wish to try the Loch Ness Hogmanay Festival (www.lochnesshogmanay.co.uk), which lasts a gruelling six days!

Or, to be pedantic, six days and one second. According to an article I found in the Times website (www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1695625,00.html) the Earth’s rotation is slowing. Disturbingly, our planet’s rotation fluctuates frequently due to the effects of gravity and so on. The tsunami which hit south-east Asia around this time last year also affected the Earth’s spin. The upshot of all of this is that the world is running around 13 seconds fast, so it has been decided by somebody in authority (very likely the Astronomer Royal!) that an extra second will be added to 31 December 2005 in an effort to catch up. So remember to add the extra second onto your countdown to 2006 to avoid the social embarrassment of premature osculation.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!