Early Risers.

[TheQ]

8 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I saw this sign in the toilet today, it's lucky that I did because it's changed the way I use the bog. Why was nobody told this in blighty?

 

 

Actually quite common in Saudi when European toilets are fitted, not holes in the floor. I've seen those signs in the UK too where large quantities of non British born people live.

[jjb1970]

Just now, TheQ said:

Actually quite common in Saudi when European toilets are fitted, not holes in the floor. I've seen those signs in the UK too where large quantities of non British born people live.

 

When I first visited Asia most countries still used the traditional Asian squat down toilets and you had to look for western style toilets (which isn't that long ago, 1990). That included the much more 'western' countries like Singapore and Hong Kong (OK, HK isn't really a country, colony or SAR). I remember trains in Japan had a mix. Now the situation has flipped and the default seems to be western sit down toilets, even in China in urban areas at least seems to have adopted sit down bogs.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

A'noon, got sidetracked this morning, 3c earlier, 7 now, nice and sunny so went for a walk.

 

Local drivers up to usual standards....impressive distance from road.

 

 

You can nearly see our house from there, just off screen at the top left.

 

More concerned about damage to the environment. Hope he missed the wall. Very difficult to find artisans who can repair dry stone walls.

[Winslow Boy]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

And if they do get killed then Russia don't have to provide them with free bed n' board in a Prison.  Win-Win.

 

On face of it yes but my worry is about what is expected in return. I have a feeling that a good number of people in the corridors of power are also concerned by that.  If Putin goes who replaces him? Someone worse.

[45156]

22 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear's Buddy (see below) has problems with ear wax building up; it seems that the Quack no longer carries out or arranges for a dose of the suction pump on the NHS - so he has to pay (forty quid?) to a clinic to have it done privately.

Our GP practice used a special patient welfare fund to buy their machine, and to train two nurses in its use - as a result, the treatment is free to all registered patients - who do take advantage of this extra facility.  Patients of other practices don't AFAIK even get syryinging on the NHS and have to go private.

[New Haven Neil]

27 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

More concerned about damage to the environment. Hope he missed the wall. Very difficult to find artisans who can repair dry stone walls.

 

Wall = mullered.  Mercedes not much better.

 

 

 

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

And who or what comprises 'the state'? It is a number of 'citizens' with power, obtained by various means - 'fair' or 'foul' - though I'd better avoid discussing how these may be defined. If they take decisions with the intention of doing 'the right thing' and trying to benefit the country (state) as a whole, then personally I wouldn't be too worried and would be inclined to 'do my bit' for the community/society. But if the ruling class - in any type of political administration - just use state resources to act in their own self-interest, then to my way of thinking, that's just a protection racket run at state level.

Well quite.

 

As George Orwell succinctly observed "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others".

 

The only political observation I'd like to add is an observation by Sir Winston Churchill: "democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried"

 

For most of history and for most people life has been - in the words of Thomas Hobbs "Solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short" Overall, we are lucky to be living in this day and age, imperfections notwithstanding.

[jjb1970]

6 hours ago, Barry O said:

Nope the latest tank is T14 Armata. They seem to be worried about losing these so are using T90, T80 and T72. While the same ish designers are involved they are not really T62 developments. They have used Gas Turbines in some types, have a very useful gun launched missile in some vehicles and much improved armour.

 

Both standard as well as explosive reactive armour and, on T14, an active protection system

 

Baz

 

The evolution of Soviet tanks is quite slippery. I think many quite naturally assume it was a linear progression, T64 to T72 to T80 to T90. 

 

As I understand it the T64 was a very advanced and capable tank but expensive. So they developed the T72 as a cheap 'good enough' tank to bulk up numbers.

 

For many years in the cold war it seems to have been assumed by many that the T72 replaced the T64, with the T64 being seen as a failure. However the T64 and T72 were manufactured in parallel with the 64s going to elite armoured units and the 72 serving with mechanised units.

 

This parallel evolution made things confusing as it carried forward. As I understand it the T80 evolved from the T64 and although the T90 owes more to the T72 than the 64-80 line it adopted a lot of the higher end technology to produce a more affordable high spec tank.

 

Things get still more complicated by lower spec export T72 tanks and stuff like locally built Iraqi T72s which used plain mild steel instead of proper armour.

 

The T14 has caused a lot of froth but it seems to be plagued by a hopelessly unreliable engine and high cost, the latest T90 versions seem preferred by the Russian army.

 

On T90, how it compares to Challenger 2, M1 and Leopard 2 we might soon see, but it seems a pretty capable tank. The latest versions seem to have active protection.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Getting ready to go out for the SEERS meeting tonight, a talk on one members garden layout, when it was built and construction. The feet are still a bit sore but Saturday morning will be too late to make a decision on the Longfield exhibition so its almost certain that I won't attend.

47 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

The T14 has caused a lot of froth but it seems to be plagued by a hopelessly unreliable engine and high cost, the latest T90 versions seem preferred by the Russian army.

 

On T90, how it compares to Challenger 2, M1 and Leopard 2 we might soon see, but it seems a pretty capable tank. The latest versions seem to have active protection.

Many Russian tanks have active protection but this has been negated by the latest NATO anti-tank weapons. In some of the newsreels you can see many of the Ukrainian Soviet era tanks now sport bar armour. The Ukrainians also acquired a tank factory upon independence that was producing the T72 and T80 and they have produced their own versions (different engine and turret) using western technology.  

[Coombe Barton]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

I saw this sign in the toilet today, it's lucky that I did because it's changed the way I use the bog. Why was nobody told this in blighty?

 

 

Qe have to have something similar - International students

[TheQ]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Wall = mullered.  Mercedes not much better.

 

 

 

A useful picture to me. Where I'm Modelling, is a Hebridean island, wire and post fencing installed in or behind ancient failing stone walling.. my posts need to be grey green no brown.

The bog bit is interesting too.

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

The T14 has caused a lot of froth but it seems to be plagued by a hopelessly unreliable engine and high cost, 

 

 But it does have an inside toilet.

[monkeysarefun]

6 hours ago, polybear said:

 

 

There's more chance of Knitting Fog.....

 

 

 

 

The main contention is that  Australia Day is  held on the day that it is, given  all that  that means for the original inhabitants and their subsequent treatment, it does seem a bit like rubbing their faces in it to many and alienates them from any idea of celebrating the nation.

 

 Changing the day to a less contentious date would promote inclusiveness and make a lot of the controversy go away, the question is which date to choose? We became a federation (ie all the states joined as one  nation ) on January 1st 1901 but thats new years day anyway so we'd be ripping ourselves off of one public holiday. There is ANZAC Day but thats a  day of solemn reflection of sacrifice in war, which is a different vibe to happily  celebrating our nation (although in the afternoon it does it becomes a festival of gambling and drinking!) ,and again,  we already have that as a public holiday.

 

Other than that, no one can really  think of any other suitable things that have happened here at a national level to pin it on. Perhaps Melbourne Cup Day, but that has become a shadow of what it was even 10 years ago, given the increasing disdain for treating horses cruelly for gambling purposes. Grand Final Day? The country is split  decidedly along Australian Rules/Rugby League lines - so that would be even more contentious than the current day! 

 

Least contentious  and most obvious one would be the day we become a republic should that occur, but again, we would lose the Kings/Queens birthday holiday so we'll still be down one day off -   its a minefield!

 

4 hours ago, polybear said:

 

And if they do get killed then Russia don't have to provide them with free bed n' board in a Prison.  Win-Win.

 

 

But if they dont get killed they get to return fully trained in death rape pillage and carnage!

Edited January 26, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 But it does have an inside toilet.

Sherman tanks had a hatch in the floor. 

[Tony_S]

3 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

More concerned about damage to the environment. Hope he missed the wall. Very difficult to find artisans who can repair dry stone walls.

Although Aditi’s brother has had a long medical career, just before he started as a GP he was invited to apply for a job as a wall warden in a national park. He had spent many a holiday working restoring them all over the country. 

[BoD]

3 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Wall = mullered.  Mercedes not much better.

Ah, but was it just ‘careless and not deliberate’.  

[monkeysarefun]

4 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Sherman tanks had a hatch in the floor. 

Seems more an "ens-suite".

[pH]

14 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

… no one can really  think of any other suitable things that have happened here at a national level to pin it on. 

Completion of the standard-gauging of the Sydney-Perth railway? 😉

[monkeysarefun]

10 minutes ago, pH said:

Completion of the standard-gauging of the Sydney-Perth railway? 😉

That would create a whinge-fest of Victorians, Queenslanders AND the trucking industry.

 

Oh and Tasmania.

[The White Rabbit]

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

I saw this sign in the toilet today, it's lucky that I did because it's changed the way I use the bog. Why was nobody told this in blighty?

 

 

Time to 'fess up. I was once found in the ladies cloakroom, standing on the toilet. 

 

In the interests of balance, may I add I was holding a snooker cue? 

 

And to copy a certain phrase, this was a deliberate act (though not concealed) rather than careless. Though, I at least, can claim to have a reasonable excuse. 

 

Why? A certain young lad had followed his mother into the toilets, copied her in going into a cubicle and locking the door. Unfortunately, the bolt was stiff/sticking and his little fingers couldn't move it the other way. Cue tears and howls. Rabbit to the rescue, borrowed a snooker cue from the table and did a balancing act leaning over the partition. After some jiggling and a few bashes with the thick end, bolt released. Shame about the lass who came in half-way... had to 'explain' the 'F' part of WTF to a young pair of ears later ... turdycurses... 

[New Haven Neil]

50 minutes ago, TheQ said:

A useful picture to me. Where I'm Modelling, is a Hebridean island, wire and post fencing installed in or behind ancient failing stone walling.. my posts need to be grey green no brown.

The bog bit is interesting too.

 

That terrain is the same all over the high land here, boggy, grazed not arable.  The accident is at the 26th milestone on the TT course, also known as 'Joey's', after the late Joey Dunlop, the racer who has won the most TT races (and no he wasn't killed here) if you want to look it up on Google maps or something.  About 360m ASL.

[Ozexpatriate]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

However, my observations about how the Soviets just threw men and material against German targets is hardly contentious.

The eastern front in the second world war was truly existential for the Soviets. Even when the tide turned the big Red meat grinder had the same determination.

 

It is a different world today.

[Ozexpatriate]

11 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

This asteroid, reputedly the size of a truck, should be named Evri - they pass by without calling

What I found remarkable about this asteroid (in addition to just how close it will pass) were the following bolded items:

Quote

This one was only picked up last weekend by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov, who operates from Nauchnyi in Crimea

EDIT:

 

The CNN article on the same asteroid (below) adds a little bit more:

CNN: Asteroid discovered days ago will make one of the closest passes of planet Earth ever recorded tonight

Quote

Amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov spotted the asteroid from the MARGO observatory in Nauchnyi, Crimea, on Saturday. Borisov previously discovered the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov in 2019.

It seems Gennadiy is very good at finding things in the sky.

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

A lot of people are criticising Russia for using criminals, but at the risk of sounding callous it strikes me as a smart move.

A traditional approach to staffing the armed forces. Plenty of Englishmen on the wrong side of the law took the King's Shilling to serve in the (almost) endless wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Failing that they were impressed (particularly in the RN).

[The White Rabbit]

7 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The eastern front in the second world war was truly existential for the Soviets. Even when the tide turned the big Red meat grinder had the same determination.

 

It is a different world today.

 

It is very different and I suspect many Russian soldiers do not hate the Ukrainians as much as their predecessors hated the Nazi forces two-three generations ago. But Soviet/Russian views - some would say paranoia - haven't changed that much. Though if my country had been invaded as many times as Russia had, I'd probably be worried about actual and potential threats too. Add in the political dimension and a lot of self-interest/hypocrisy/corruption (as il D mentioned earlier, that Orwellian quote about some animals being more equal than others) and I'm not surprised we're in the current situation. I still hope we can get out of it before Putin's bodycount gets anywhere close to Stalin's though. 

 

12 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

A traditional approach to staffing the armed forces. Plenty of Englishmen on the wrong side of the law took the King's Shilling to serve in the (almost) endless wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Failing that they were impressed (particularly in the RN).

 

Probably the best known fictional British soldier of the time (Sharpe) was supposed to have fled into the army after committing a murder. The Duke of Wellington is notorious for his quote about his men being 'the scum of the earth', though the second part of the comment ('but it is wonderful what fine fellows we have made of them') is less well known.