Early Risers.

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.

 

Bulbous bows aren't as straightforward as they may seem, Q & iD.  They only really work when they are at or just under the waterline, which is fairly constant on some vessels - and not in others.  It changes the waveform of the bow wave. That gas tanker is a '77 model, long after bulbous bows were common, and it does actually have a small not-so-bulbous one not visible in that photo (she was new in that) which really only was vertical, an odd design....French...  ;-).  She was scrapped in 2003 IIRC, having had issues all her life with poor generator engines, one poor lot (Crepelle - French) replaced by another lot (Japanese Yanmars) that became infamous for crankcase explosions - not nice.  She was almost new when I sailed on her so wasn't too much trouble, later she became a total nightmare but was a happy ship.  Nice accommodation though, maybe that's why folk were happy, oh and plenty of beer.....

 

It isn't an 'old' design though, very contemporary in 77, and her lines were quite fine for a 'tanker', the hull not becoming full form until about a third of her length. LPG being very high value meant they were designed to be quite fast to move cargo quickly, she had about 25,000 shp if I remember correctly, a lot for a 56,000 ton deadweight ship.  Oops, rabbiting....

[Coombe Barton]

... and the Westron Wynde...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/confluence-of-home-and-work/

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Because they can.

 

The only aircraft that was built as if it had come out of a Glasgow ship yard.

 

Imho the finest of the British built carrier borne aircraft.

 

 

Didn't one of them frighten the life out of a tinpot banana republic near to Belize after rather a long flight. Supersonic of this parish flew them on the Ark as well as Phantoms when he was doing his Test Pilot training.

1 hour ago, newbryford said:

 

Just found out that my new steed may have been manufactured in the same town that built some very dodgy diesels for British Rail! (56001-030 from Craiova, Romania.

We had  a Romanian couple join our church. John introduced himself and found out I was interested in trains.  Oh yes he said I did my apprenticeship at a factory that built trains, Electroputeri.  I had to be diplomatic in my reply. At one point he was looking for a job in East Leeds. I did not suggest that hevhand his CV in at Neville Hill.

 

The Tommy Wass achieved fame one day when someone rang in to say "There's a bl00dy great tank parked outside the Tommy Wass" . All sortsvof seniorvpeople were alerted and some lowly person went to investigate.  It was a Centurion that had been at some sort of display and the Officer had taken his crew for a drink.

 

Jamie

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by jamie92208

[newbryford]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Did you go for the diesel option? Though the engine could have been made in a completely different country to the place where the car was assembled. 

 

Petrol Ford Ecoboost.

They are made in Cologne, Craiova and Chongqing

 

[Happy Hippo]

4 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

Petrol Ford Ecoboost.

 

 

I'm sorry you suffer from that.

 

Is that permanently uncomfortable, or do you get used to it?

[pH]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I can think of only two post war 'slapstick' movies that were IMHO up to standard, Used Cars and Scavenger Hunt.

Another author who railed against social injustice was Jack London who sadly seems to be almost forgotten today.

Have you ever watched “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”? Basically a long series of slapstick skits stitched together, some of them, IMO, very funny.

 

I wouldn’t stretch things by calling it a prediction, but Jack London’s “The Iron Heel” 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Iron_Heel can call to mind certain things in the modern world.

 

[Happy Hippo]

30 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Evening.

 

Bulbous bows aren't as straightforward as they may seem, Q & iD.  They only really work when they are at or just under the waterline

 

A bit like a Hippo!

 

that became infamous for crankcase explosions

 

A bit like a Hippo!

 

 

 

[bbishop]

18 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

 

 

The Tommy Wass achieved fame one day when someone rang in to say "There's a bl00dy great tank parked outside the Tommy Wass" . All sortsvof seniorvpeople were alerted and some lowly person went to investigate.  It was a Centurion that had been at some sort of display and the Officer had taken his crew for a drink.

 

Jamie

 

 

Baz?  B

[AndyID]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

 

When the City decided that it would more money for them ---aided and abetted by a mad Belgian Asset stripper - they were sold on as part of the break up.

 

VW bought them for a rather a lot of money. Unfortunately they didn't get the RR trademark because it had already been sold the the boys in Bavaria. What a gigantic cork-up

 

A good example of "the large print giveth what the small print taketh away".

[brianusa]

16 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Apparently network television has officially run out of programmes to air and the Public Television station is in the middle of the viewer hell they call a "pledge break" - essentially a quarterly, week-long telethon where they interrupt every evening programme to beg for donations. In addition to the tedious begging, the programming choices are plain weird - they are currently broadcasting a Linda Ronstadt concert from 1980 which, apart from the 'collection plate' interruptions would be unobjectionable. For some reason she is singing a lot of Eagles songs.

 

 

Well said, Mike!  We support PBS with a cheque each year but no way are they going to get any more, especially with the aforementioned pledge breaks which sadly seem to extend for longer.  If they ever get out of using BBC shows which seem to be shown for ever, those like Father Brown and Midsomer Murders, then thats it.  Some of the Australian shows have been very good, others not so.  PBS seems to be geared for middle aged intellectuals, (those that can afford to send regular contributions) and their on screen hosts reflect that demographic.  Our intellectually challenged president prefers Fox news either for the biased news or the leggy blonde presenters; hard to tell which but in view of past history, probably the latter!

   Brian.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

13 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Some US documentaries are superb especially  anything by Ken Burns, think, Civil war, Vietnam and Country music. These tend to be broadcast on PBS which we can get. 

 

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

As far as American retelling of various events is concerned there have been some very good documentaries - I'm told by an expert on the subject that the Civil war series was very good. 

Ken Burns is pretty much the 'gold standard' of documentarians. His seven part, (14 hour) "The Roosevelts: An Intimate History" is outstanding. I will admit to finding his  "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" a bit tedious. I found his "Prohibition" film offered great insight.

 

PBS broadcasts many excellent documentary series. Most of these are, unsurprisingly, focused on American subjects like those under the banners of "American Experience" (history) and "American Masters" (arts). Current affairs and social issues are shown under the "FrontLine" banner. Every four years FrontLine covers a spliced biography of the Presidential candidates called "The Choice". The 2016 version of this film series was fascinating.

 

Quote

... and don't mention the armoured flight decks of British aircraft carriers v kamikaze attacks

Which is apropos of very little unless the subject is innovations in aircraft carrier design. Like the angled flight deck, the armoured flight deck was a very useful British innovation, ultimately recognized by the US in the Midway class. The USS Midway (CV-41) missed the war, being commissioned in September of 1945.

 

Armoured flight decks were effective, but weren't magical. While the Illustrious class certainly weathered Kamikaze attacks far better than the Essex class (the May 4 attack on HMS Indomitable is a good example), HMS Illustrious was forced to retire after a Kamikaze (having had a wing shot off and missing the deck) exploded over the side and caused hull damage (that was not immediately obvious after the attack), and HMS Formidable was damaged on May 4 with deaths or injuries to at least 63 of the crew and armour shrapnel severed steam lines in the boiler room reducing power and speed. Sufficient repairs were made for the ship to recover full speed by the following day. On May 9 a Kamikaze caused deck fire destroyed 18 aircraft on Formidable's flight deck.

 

A more aggressive May 11, bomb + dual Kamikaze attack on the Essex class, USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) killed or injured 657 crew and caused the ship to retire for repairs.

 

Interestingly HMS Indefatigable was the only British Pacific Fleet carrier to carry British aircraft  (40 Seafires and 5 Fireflies) in the Okinawa campaign. In April, 25 of the Seafires were lost or damaged beyond repair - primarily due to deck "landings". Only five were replaced.

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[JohnDMJ]

 

43 minutes ago, pH said:

Have you ever watched “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”? Basically a long series of slapstick skits stitched together, some of them, IMO, very funny.

 

 

Part of a trilogy, IIRC. Wasn't it all under the W?

[Ozexpatriate]

6 minutes ago, JohnDMJ said:

Part of a trilogy, IIRC.

Not that I'm aware. It was an enormous ensemble cast and a who's who of comics and comic actors of the day. 

 

6 minutes ago, JohnDMJ said:

Wasn't it all under the W?

The Big W. Not to be confused with an Aussie retailer under the Woolworths corporate entity.

 

[Barry O]

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

 

VW bought them for a rather a lot of money. Unfortunately they didn't get the RR trademark because it had already been sold the the boys in Bavaria. What a gigantic cork-up

 

A good example of "the large print giveth what the small print taketh away".

Rolls Royce as a trademark is owned by.... Rolls Royce. Vickers had to give it back to Rolls Royce (Engines).

 

Baz

[newbryford]

Promised pics of the domes at Stonyhurst (dodgy phone pics)

 

This is the view from my garden. Longridge Fell is the main hump.

 

Spotted one of ours trespassing!

 

 

The domes of Stonyhurst College are highlighted) They are the three dots at the same level

 

Note: Stonyhurst is (in)famous for more than it's links with Tolkein........

[Barry O]

My next door neighbour was in the Far East as a mate lot on a destroyer. He watched a Kamikaze mince a US carrier deck. He then watched one bounce of a RNZN flat top. But the USA preferred more plane storage than armoured flight deck....and paid the price. The Spitfire was not an ideal carrier plane.  The RN flew Corsairs before the USN/Marines did as our pilots could handle it's characteristics better.

 

But very little mention of Things which the US used which were invented in the UK. They even think they invented the computer..choose from Babbage or ENIAC at Bletchley Park. 

Baz

[Gwiwer]

13 minutes ago, newbryford said:

Spotted one of ours trespassing!

Trespussing surely?

 

And with that thought it's goodnight from me.  And it's goodnight from him.  

[Ozexpatriate]

55 minutes ago, Barry O said:

They even think they invented the computer..choose from Babbage or ENIAC at Bletchley Park. 

You will find a 3/4 scale model of Babbage's difference engine at the Computing History Museum in Mountain View, (Silicon Valley) California.

 

You might find this video assessment by the Computing History Museum interesting. Konrad Zuse anyone?

 

The Manchester Baby might lay claim to the first electronic computer with memory.

 

By the way, Colossus was the machine at Bletchley Park. ENIAC was built for the United States Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory. Colossus was not used to decrypt Enigma. That was the Bombe. Colossus was built to decrypt Lorenz and did not run a stored program.

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Simon G]

Duplicate post!

Edited June 7, 2020 by Simon G

[BSW01]

17 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

 

they are currently broadcasting a Linda Ronstadt concert from 1980 which, apart from the 'collection plate' interruptions would be unobjectionable. For some reason she is singing a lot of Eagles songs.

 

Some of the band members of the Eagles used to be in Linda Ronstadt backing band before the Eagles formed. When the Eagles second album 'Desperado' was first released, it didn't do so well. It was only after Linda had a hit with her version the title track that the public took notice of it. The rest as they say is history. 

[JohnDMJ]

 

54 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Not that I'm aware. It was an enormous ensemble cast and a who's who of comics and comic actors of the day. 

 

The Big W. Not to be confused with an Aussie retailer under the Woolworths corporate entity.

 

 

I was perhaps thinking 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines' and 'Monte Carlo or Bust' being of similar era, ilk and casting. The casts of all 3 pretty much read like the who's who of comic actors!

[Simon G]

6 hours ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

Hmm.

 

So this isn't great.

 

Next door (rented) smokes weed most weekends.

New baby + the good weather means we've been spending a lot more time outside = not great as it honks the whole area.

 

Reported to the police and they went round to advise. I'm quite against drugs but if he wants to smoke on his way home from work or in the house, down the bottom of the garden, crack on!

 

Yesterday, music on quite loud, nearly all day, which is very unlike them.

 

Today, music from 10am until about 12, now it's started again from about 3pm (it's 4pm now). Yet the guy is outside (doors to the house closed) pressure washing the patio 

 

Petty pay back (not that the police would've said who reported it and a kids play park is at the end of our gardens).

 

It pleases me to know that my speaker system can be much, much louder but we're gonna ride it out for the week.

 

6 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Join me for my Monastic experiment.

Matins at 02:00

 

Prime at 05:00

 

Lauds at 06:00

Reminds me of some petty pay back I handed out many years ago.  We were woken in the early hours about 3 nights in a row by someone who was having a prolonged party of some description.  I worked shifts at the time, and so called them back about 4 times a night for 3 successive nights.  I had no further calls!

[Simon G]

Just received from my brother on WhatsApp:

 

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, JohnDMJ said:

I was perhaps thinking 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines' and 'Monte Carlo or Bust' being of similar era, ilk and casting. The casts of all 3 pretty much read like the who's who of comic actors!

In fact "Monte Carlo or Bust" was released in the US as "Those Daring Young Men in Their Jaunty Jalopies" (1969), Paramount.

 

"Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" (1965), Twentieth Century Fox had the same director (Ken Annakin).

 

Terry Thomas was in all of them.

 

In a similar vein is "The Great Race" (1965) directed by Blake Edwards who would later also be famous for "The Pink Panther" movies but this is not the same cast. Arguably, "Around the World In 80 Days" (1956) is in a similar style with a big ensemble cast and lots of gags.

[tetsudofan]

8 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

In 1968 I was posted to Tengah in Singapore to my first Squadron. If you thought the miniskirts in UK were short, the ones most Brit girls wore out there were more like wide belts. Quite disturbing for a young lad, especially as tights weren't in evidence.

 

Dave

 

Reminds me of my time in Saigon in 1968/69 when a couple of the girls working in the British Embassy were competing as to which of them would have the shortest skirt, they even when as far as having their knickers made of the same material as the skirts.

 

Keith