Early Risers.

[PupCam]

Just now, polybear said:

 

I hope they don't hurt the tree....

The one thing I've noticed is that the trees always come off much better in such cases which reminds me of the sad case of a Lightning that crashed and skidded across the end of the airfield and gouged a lump out of a tree on the perimeter.     

 

Unfortunately through a cruel set of circumstances the pilot who survived after the ejector seat failed to operate prior to the crash was then killed when it finally did operate as the aircraft was arguing with the tree.    The gouge on the trunk is still visible on Streetview but other than that the tree is fit and healthy (or was when I looked).

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Nor much to report, more gardening including a couple of GDB moments, small amount of blood involved. (Hope GDB is still ok as we’ve not heard from him for a bit)

Couple of work related phone calls, not ‘heavy’, quite enjoyable but did make for a long day.

Watched England match but don’t like these matches where they are playing butchers, bakers and candlestick makers and it’s just a case of how many goals can be scored. Match commentator said population of San Marino was 33k, well most premiership football grounds hold that many people and some double that amount. 

Another early start as its mils birthday tomorrow but don’t know quite what SWMBOs got planned. (if anything).

Goodnight

Robert

 

[PupCam]

25 minutes ago, PupCam said:

which reminds me of the sad case of a Lightning that crashed and skidded across the end of the airfield and gouged a lump out of a tree on the perimeter.  

Sorry, slightly wrong it wasn't the airfield perimeter it was a field and a farm some miles further on from Wattisham  after a failed landing attempt.   There used to be a very good article on line about it but it seems to have disappeared so you'll have to make do with this.

 

https://twitter.com/exRAF_Al/status/1346547619955408900

 

But to prove my point, you will notice the tree is still in fine form all these years later.   Not certain you can discern the scar from the current Google imagery.

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.1655067,1.2143432,3a,90y,328.97h,94.2t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-f8-vdT5DkC3IptxCTw9-g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Edited March 25, 2021 by PupCam
Make the link work

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis has been a bit quieter today but his mate Si Attica has been around. Time for the heavy artillery, the co-codamol.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Miners protesting miners' license fees imposed by the colony of Victoria raised the Eureka flag* (to which they swore allegiance) at the Eureka stockade in 1854.

 

 

The Eureka rebellion was a protest against English   colonial authority and the fact that the miners licence fee was seen as a tax but gave them no representation.

 

It  culminated in the battle at the Eureka Stockade between miners and the colonial forces, mainly police and British Army garrisons based in Victoria, mainly  detachments from the 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot.

 

The flag raised over the Eureka Stockade later became a symbol of the more radical elements of the trade union movement who saw the values it represented reflected their own battles with government.

 

More recently it has been adopted by far right groups in a similar way that the US confederate flag has been adopted by right wing groups in the US and for the same reason - its perceived symbolism of  anti-authoritarianism against the government and its perceived restrictions on 'freedom'.

 

So we have the situation where the extreme left wing, and the extreme right see their values reflected in the same flag...

 

So why can't we all just get along?

 

 

 

[monkeysarefun]

10 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

 The federal parliament in Canberra now flies both Australian and Aboriginal flags at equal heights on adjacent poles but this is a recent development.  The two are seen side by side as equals on an increasing number of public buildings and at formal events.  Until perhaps 15 years ago only the Australian flag would normally have been seen.  

 

 

The military base I work at displays three flags at equal height - Australian flag, Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Island flag. 

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[Ozexpatriate]

13 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

More recently it has been adopted by far right groups in a similar way that the US confederate flag has been adopted by right wing groups in the US and for the same reason - its perceived symbolism of  anti-authoritarianism against the government and its perceived restrictions on 'freedom'.

An interesting development and new to me. In that context, I'd compare it perhaps more with the Gadsden Flag (Don't tread on me)* than Confederate flags. The Confederate battle flag (which is different to the three successive official flags of the CSA) has a lot of different and problematic overlays.

 

* There are several others from the revolution including but not limited to - the "Appeal to Heaven" / "Pine Tree" flag, and the "Continental" / New England flag, along with the "Come and take it" flag from the Texas revolution. All could be seen prominently quite recently.

[monkeysarefun]

7 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

An interesting development and new to me

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-12/anger-over-australia-first-partys-use-of-eureka-flag/7319484

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Adam88]

On 24/03/2021 at 21:58, Erichill16 said:

The skill sets that you need to do the job now aren’t the ones I learned at university. Such is progress. In all the years I’ve been qualified I’ve never been asked to mould my own suppositories, determine whether a particular sample of digitalis power conforms  to its BP monograph or extract opium from poppies. 

 

That reminded me of something.  I used to know an old boy who'd been in the army and he always said that when he retired that he'd become a Chelsea Pensioner.  I lost touch and thought little more of it for many years until I happened to be in London one day and decided to see if he had indeed become a CP.  He had and didn't demur when I suggested a beer and he brought his friend along.  I don't think Chelsea Pensioners ever buy their own beer.  Now these chaps could reminisce for England and my friend's friend had been in an NCO in the RAMC.  He said that they were trained to do exactly this, namely identify plants and roots, probably from the jungle, from which all sorts of medicines could be prepared - shades of Brother Cadfael - and calculate dosages, etc.  The way he told it never made me doubt a word. 

 

Nothing to do with pharmacology, but he also told me about electing to go on a parachute course in 1947.  It was his last chance, he'd missed the opportunity during the War and would have been too old the next year.  He regretted it immensely; 1947 was one of the coldest winters ever and he said he had never ever been so cold in his life.  Most others on the course had been recalled but he wasn't.

 

These two are both long gone but their stories, like so many from their generation, made a lasting impression.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Adam88

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

In the end, I didn’t get much reading or research done today at all. Whilst I was at the Trafford Centre this morning I bumped into one of our nieces who I’ve not seen for quite a while. She didn’t recognise me at first, so I had to remove my mask temporarily. She was surprised and commented on the amount of weight I’d lost, probably in the region of 2stone, since we last met. Anyway, we ended up chatting for what seemed like just a few minutes, but turned out to be nearer 20! so that put me back a bit. During our conversation, she did tell me that her younger sister, who has had breast cancer is now, thankfully in remission, which was nice to hear. Of course this meant that by the time I got home it was later than planet, close to 11:30 so my mid morning muggertea was late. I did manage a little reading before dinner. 

 

However, after dinner I made a large batch of spicy pumpkin soup. I’d had a pumpkin in storage since late last year and it seems to have stored very well. So by the time I’d finished there was 10 portions of soup, 8 in pots (2portions per pot) that now reside in the freezer and 2 in a pan, which were eaten for tonight’s tea. 

 

Vickie and Ian dropped by this evening, to borrow some of my woodwork clamps, as Ian has a DIY project that requires them. They also dropped off Mike’s birthday card and present, which we will hand over to Mike tomorrow, when he and sarah drop by. We stood by the front door and chatted for about 30 minutes or so, its always nice to see them. Whilst they were here, I asked if Ian would be able to take me to collect the plasterboard, no problem he said. So hopefully in a couple of weeks I can get started on the cellar ceiling. 

 

The evening was rounded off with a bottle of Hobgoblin Ruby, this was a first for me and was very nice indeed. 

Edited March 26, 2021 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[J. S. Bach]

3 hours ago, Adam88 said:

 ...snip... These two are both long gone but their stories, like so many from their generation, made a lasting impression.

My neighbor behind my house in Florida was one of the English soldiers evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk. Unfortunately, he would not say anything about it except that he was there. On the other hand, another friend was one of the US soldiers that survived the Bataan "Death March" and was very willing to talk about it and his experiences as a Japanese POW. In fact at one meeting of the model railroad club, we spent the whole evening talking about them. Never did run any trains that night! My biggest regret is not having a cassette recorder.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

In answer to JohnDMJ, my pessimism stems from bitter experience.  Here is a verse, of unknown authorship:

 

The optimist, who always was a fool, says: “Look, my mug of beer is still half full”.

The other gives the facts their proper twist.  “My mug’s half empty” sighs the pessimist.

 

The verse does not mention the realist, who knows that his mug of beer will become empty before anyone fills it up again.

 

The villain of yesterday’s antics was the telephone.  Someone with a Glasgow number rang my mobile and was not there when I answered it.  I would have enjoyed telling the caller what I thought of him/her but I could not get through.  Later the VW dealership called, rang off before I could reach the phone and did not think to leave a message.  That is some indication of how important it was.

 

In other news, I was very sorry to learn that Simon McCoy is leaving BBC News.  He has been one of the more human news presenters who is not afraid to take a story less than seriously.  At times his honesty has been refreshing and I’m not at all sure that any of his fellow presenters could have got away with saying “There is no news” when waiting for the Duchess of Cambridge to give birth.  Perhaps his finest hour was when he picked up a ream of paper instead of his tablet and just went with it.  It will not be the same without him.  

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Her indoors decided "we" need a mugatea.. so an early start to Friday has been made. Pah!

 

Not sure what is on her list of thingsforBaztodo yet... I believe I may be involved in some outdoor digging work...

 

Survivors from the Wars seem to be split between those that don't want to say anything and some that do. I would have loved to have got my Grandad to explain the wounds he received in the Somme. He did tell everyone that living in a hole with cabbage soup for food as a German POW was not fun but nothing about his wounds apparently.

 

 

Positive thoughts to all ERs todat must be a Carpe Diem Friday!

Baz

[JohnDMJ]

Good Morning,

 

27 minutes ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all

 

In answer to JohnDMJ, my pessimism stems from bitter experience.  Here is a verse, of unknown authorship:

 

The optimist, who always was a fool, says: “Look, my mug of beer is still half full”.

The other gives the facts their proper twist.  “My mug’s half empty” sighs the pessimist.

 

The verse does not mention the realist, who knows that his mug of beer will become empty before anyone fills it up again.

 

May I offer an alternative definition for the realist?

 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 minute ago, JohnDMJ said:

May I offer an alternative definition for the realist?

Or the pedant.

 

But I concur. That is more precise.

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare,

2.5 hours sleep, short awake, 2 hours sleep, Long awake, 1.5 hours sleep, so 6 hours in all , not to bad for me.

 

Ben the Alarm clock Collie was back on Duty this morning. It's noticeable over the last few days he's much more reluctant to get out of bed, and his morning patrol is getting slower... Only about 50% of our Daffs are out yet. Lilies are looking like they will come out shortly, still plenty of primroses out.

 

Observations on the way in..

Most daffs are now out.

Many Cafes, Pubs, and similar premises are busy redecorating.

The car park by the bridge, that floods across the road, has been resurfaced raising it by about a foot, whether that will stop the flooding or turns the now lower than its surroundings road, into a pond we wait to see.

 The Cockwomble was not seen this Morning, But I was a couple of minutes later, as I had to wait for Ben's slow patrol.

 

Vectored thrust definitely would be cheating on a sailing boat, it is noticeable more motor boats are being fitted with a rudder either side of the prop wake, giving a better vectored thrust.

 

As for copying another boats rudder, I seriously looked at that , but  scaling down a modern sailing boats rudder, means I would run aground  due to it's depth. or if I scale it down further it would be so small as to be ineffective..

 

I spent some time tidying up my calculations spreadsheet yesterday , mostly adding information so if I come back to it, It would tell me what I was doing.. I found a couple errors, which were corrected, but made little difference to the result.

 

I then decided to add in any useful calculation, that might be useful in the future.. First keel bolts.. a new formula was found from an eminent Yacht designers site. 

Could I get a sensible answer? No, I spent hours trying to work it out.. to use the colloquial " it were doin' me  'ed in"

 

The New formula also uses the displacement from the edge of the keel to the bolt positions in it, I'd under estimated them too, they were measured last night and entered into the formula.

 

Eventually I decided to try adding the imperial formula along side ... In doing that I spotted the error. The Imperial formula asks for the yield strength of the material in PSI, the metric asks for Newtons per mm^2.

 

What I had entered was the yield strength of the bolts I had used, the results were many times larger than they should be.. over 30mm per bolt (6 off) just to carry 180KG.

 

Corrected the Metric formula comes out at 8mm, the imperial at the metric equivalent to 6.5mm

Which is good, I used 10mm Bolts.

 

Oh how did I estimate it the bolt size in the first place? 1 bolt will support the lead lump on it's own, just, the recommended safety factor is 6..  So 6 bolts.

 

Anyway Back to spreadsheets, I have to manipulate yesterdays results to produce two correction files.

 

Time for more typing..

 

[polybear]

9 hours ago, PupCam said:

The one thing I've noticed is that the trees always come off much better in such cases which reminds me of the sad case of a Lightning that crashed and skidded across the end of the airfield and gouged a lump out of a tree on the perimeter.     

 

Unfortunately through a cruel set of circumstances the pilot who survived after the ejector seat failed to operate prior to the crash was then killed when it finally did operate as the aircraft was arguing with the tree.    The gouge on the trunk is still visible on Streetview but other than that the tree is fit and healthy (or was when I looked).

 

Bear worked with an ex-RAF Armourer who was part of a small team who were responsible for going to crash sites to ensure the seat was safe and all pyros removed - often the unfortunate aircrew were still strapped in the seat, which made it a less than pleasant experience.  ISTR such a situation was involved when the Hawker Hunter crashed during the Shoreham Airshow (the pilot survived that one - many on the ground didn't....) - the Paramedics could do very little/nothing until the seat was made safe.

I was doing some work in the mid-90's at the Tornado OEU at Boscombe when one of the seats went off whilst being disarmed in the hangar (I wasn't there that day) - the techie was standing on the seat at the time....

Amazingly he survived, though I think he busted his arm up quite badly - it's quite a fall from a Tornado cockpit to the Hangar floor; luckily the Canopy knocked him off the seat and stopped him progressing thru' the roof and into the M.T. yard, as the seat did.  I did hear that "the Guys" wrote to Martin-Baker, requesting a Tie for him.  They declined....

[New Haven Neil]

MOrning, wet out, windy, not nice.

 

A bit of banking to do this morning as outgoings have exceeded NHN's miserable NHS/Civil Service pension.  It is no longer half full.....

 

A load of firewood was dropped off again last night, friend that is clearing some fallen trees at a large house has more than he can cope with, that's 3 loads this week which is likely about next winter's fuel.  There's more to come too.  My hip disagrees strongly with moving it though, not good this morning.  It has been down a year but is very wet, having laid in a pile but in large lengths until this week, so will be sheeted up for now and sliced smaller and split when the weather improves, then into the store to dry.

 

I think some Martin-Baker seat parts are made here, or were - not sure if they are still.  There are some surprising smaller industries on the rock, a lot of satellite techy stuff as a forinstance.  And kippers. Lots of kippers.