The Night Mail

[jamie92208]

9 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Isn't the best system of units to base 5 so you can work it out on your fingers? (Not base 10 because you need the other hand to point at the fingers you are working with).

 

Dave

I thought we were getting to the constipated mathematician who worked it out with axpencil.

 

Nos da.

Edited December 6, 2022 by jamie92208

[Happy Hippo]

38 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I thought we were getting to the constipsted mathematician who worked itbout with axpencil.

 

Nos da.

Better than being an algebra freak and needing to work it out in logs

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Yes indeed. But that has its root in the failure of the 18th century French savants to appreciate the utility of a coherent system of units; they defined the gram or gramme as the mass of a cubic centimetre of water, rather than as the mass of a cubic metre of water. By so doing they did, however, ensure that the base unit of mass was of a convenient magnitude for everyday use.

 

Prior to the 2019 redefinition of the kilogram in terms of the vales of fundamental constants of nature, the kilogram was defined as the mass of an artefact, a cylindrical lump of platinum-iridium alloy (made by the London firm Johnson Matthey in 1884, along with 40 copies), approximately 42 mm in diameter by 42 mm long. If the base unit of mass had been the gramme or the tonne, it would have been impossible with the technology of the time to construct a prototype and copies with sufficient precision.

 

To achieve a coherent system in which the base unit of mass does not have a prefix attached, one could take the tonne (a non-SI unit currently accepted for use with the SI, like the litre) as the base unit. 1 kg would become 1 mt.

 

The kilogram is a good practical unit for mass. But SI should have renamed it. Almost anything would have been better. I think I know who to blame but I don't want to upset Jamie and Oldudders 😃

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

Isn't the best system of units to base 5 so you can work it out on your fingers? (Not base 10 because you need the other hand to point at the fingers you are working with).

 

Dave

 

Twelve fingers would have been better. 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5 but 12 is divisible by 2, 3, 4 and 6.

 

Of course twelve would then be represented as 10 which would confuse the crepe out of everyone 😀

[jamie92208]

7 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

The kilogram is a good practical unit for mass. But SI should have renamed it. Almost anything would have been better. I think I know who to blame but I don't want to upset Jamie and Oldudders 😃

There will be no offence taken here. We will be putting our England flag out on Saturday.

7 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Twelve fingers would have been better. 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5 but 12 is divisible by 2, 3, 4 and 6.

 

Of course twelve would then be represented as 10 which would confuse the crepe out of everyone 😀

My father always used to argue that base 12 was better for that reason.

 

Jamie

[pH]

9 hours ago, AndyID said:

Of course twelve would then be represented as 10 which would confuse the crepe out of everyone 😀

But when, as Canal Digger says:

 

11 hours ago, Canal Digger said:

… working with base 8 or base 16 computing systems …

then 8 or 16 respectively is represented as 10.

[Happy Hippo]

10 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Twelve fingers would have been better. 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5 but 12 is divisible by 2, 3, 4 and 6.

 

Of course twelve would then be represented as 10 which would confuse the crepe out of everyone 😀

Twelve fingers!

 

I'd be more than happy  with eight and two thumbs🤣.

 

 

[Oldddudders]

10 hours ago, AndyID said:

Twelve fingers would have been better.

ISTR the painter Marc Chagall had a "Self-portrait with seven fingers". On the one hand, that was.

[pgcroc]

It happens.

Talking of fingers.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11506989/The-Brazilian-family-hopes-count-countrys-World-Cup-wins-one-hand.html

 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by pgcroc
Missed a line out.

[Happy Hippo]

3 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

There will be no offence taken here. We will be putting our England flag out on Saturday.

 

And all will be well, unless the result is not in favour of the 'home' team.

 

If that is the case, then I look forward watching on television, the localised riots and the circling of Chateau Guest with a squadron of french farmers, in their tractors towing rapidly emptying slurry tankers.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Happy Hippo

[Oldddudders]

Sherry's progress is slow but discernible. Last week we got up to Babbacombe Downs - sea views to distant Dorset, which is why the road leading to it is Portland Road, I imagine - and after a brief sit, walked back via Hanbury's to buy fish and chips. Rather than stand around awaiting the frier, Sherry opted to walk home alone. The very freshly-battered fish was probably the best either of us has ever tasted. Melt in your mouth hardly covers it. Sunday she walked alone to church and back, so confidence is growing nicely. 

 

Sadly Sunday evening she chipped a tooth, so straight on the phone to her dentist yesterday morning. Her chap Michael doesn't work Mondays - but would she accept treatment from Eduardo, instead? Would she? Yes! Eduardo was Captain Bertorelli - "the Italian captain with the dead chicken on his head" as he was described by German Helga, played by his real-world wife Colette - in 'Allo 'Allo with us in the Summer, so I shared a dressing room with him and others. [To put that in perspective he, Spanish, but I think born in South America, played an Italian, in cahoots with the German occupying army in France, for a British audience.] Anyway he was delighted to treat Sherry, was able to provide a long-term repair, and was magnificent in being painless and solicitous throughout.

 

Sherry is at this moment in conversation with a cardiac rehabilitation nurse who phones periodically. It helps to talk about progress and dos and don'ts. She is lunching today with the theatre Props Team to celebrate Christmas. 

[newbryford]

12 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

Isn't the best system of units to base 5 so you can work it out on your fingers? (Not base 10 because you need the other hand to point at the fingers you are working with).

 

Dave

 

Unless you live in Cumbria or certain parts of the deep Lancashire valleys towards Bacup - where it's base 6......

[iL Dottore]

Of course, before you fork over a million quid for a flat, you better make sure there's a decent boozer nearby.

 

Fortunately, the inhabitants of Brunel Terrace have The Brunel Pub nearby (a gastropub with real ales, over 500 whiskys and a Michelin star):

 

 

 

But not too far away is the Earl of Devon - very basic and definitely a chicken in a basket, scampi and chips, pork scratchings and Australian lager sort of place

 

[Happy Hippo]

Chicken in a basket is better than soup.

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Unless you live in Cumbria or certain parts of the deep Lancashire valleys towards Bacup - where it's base 6......

 

Ah, Foxdale.

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Unless you live in Cumbria or certain parts of the deep Lancashire valleys towards Bacup - where it's base 6......

Do they only have 3 digits on each hand?

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Chicken in a basket is better than soup.

and certainly better than soup in a basket....

[PupCam]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Of course, before you fork over a million quid for a flat, you better make sure there's a decent boozer nearby.

 

Fortunately, the inhabitants of Brunel Terrace have The Brunel Pub nearby (a gastropub with real ales, over 500 whiskys and a Michelin star):

 

 

 

But not too far away is the Earl of Devon - very basic and definitely a chicken in a basket, scampi and chips, pork scratchings and Australian lager sort of place

 

Now they are rather tasty!  I think the Earl looks rather welcoming.   I’ll get my darts!

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Ah, Foxdale.

Is that near the Spen Valley by any chance.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

Anyway to get away from communities here they play games for all the family it's time for some images of my activities at the weekend.   There was a model railway show at Angouleme put on by their MRC.  As it was after lunch I set off in the morning and made a day of it.   First off was a visit to a railway museum at Gourville which is en route to Angouleme. The old goods shed on a metre gauge line has been rebuilt into a museum with local authority support.    Sadly it wasn't open and a fresh oyster stall was set up in the entrance.  Outside was a metre gauge wagon of a type that I have just acquired a kit for.

This shows the oyster van and the old station.

There is an 0-4-0 plinthed inside but as the wall is of glass I couldn't get a decent photo.

This muriel is on one end wall.

One day I hope to make a small layout based on our village station the building of which still exists.

Then is was off the Angouleme for some trainspotting whilst I ate my picnic lunch.  The onto the MRC where they had a few layouts set up in the school opposite the clubrooms and their own club layouts operating in the clubrooms.  One thing that caught my eye was a modelling competition for models built on cheese boxes. There was some very nice modelling on display.

 

Jamie

1

 

1

 

1

 

1

 

1

 

[J. S. Bach]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

Now they are rather tasty!  I think the Earl looks rather welcoming.   I’ll get my darts!

True, I'll join you.

[Happy Hippo]

I've just finished a rather successful evening with Gordon where we have been putting down some of the ballast on Pantmawr North.

 

The boxes around the point operating rods have worked well and they certainly keep the ballast away from the moving bits.

 

We would have been a lot further along if the postal dispute had not snarled up my delivery of point rodding stools and the required cranks from Wizard models.  I have been informed today by Royal Mail that the parcel is in 'The South West Delivery Centre' and I presume from that, it will arrive in due course.

 

Earlier in the evening I had a very nice call from BT telling me my internet had been hacked.  I was most surprised when the lady rang off after I told her I had only divulged the security passwords to my pet hippo.

[zarniwhoop]

16 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Earlier in the evening I had a very nice call from BT telling me my internet had been hacked.  I was most surprised when the lady rang off after I told her I had only divulged the security passwords to my pet hippo.

Yeah, BT, sure. The best I get are purportedly virginmedia or ntlworld telling me my payment failed, click on link, or email password needs to be validated for some change. Strangely, they all claim to come from gmail (or occasionally, japanese) addresses 🤣

[Dave Hunt]

21 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Earlier in the evening I had a very nice call from BT telling me my internet had been hacked.  I was most surprised when the lady rang off after I told her I had only divulged the security passwords to my pet hippo.

 

Possibly the same 'lady' who wanted me to confirm my BT password so that she could refund me a month's charges as they had made a mistake. I agreed that a mistake had been made and she'd made it by thinking I was that stupid. She also rang off at that point.

 

Dave

[Dave Hunt]

I am currently awarding myself a substantial measure of Highland Park as I have just finished twenty feet of scratchbuilt post and rail fencing on my layout. It's only taken me about six months - the fencing that is, not the whisky which I expect to take about 30 minutes.

 

Dave