Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

RMweb is getting slow again.

[KeithMacdonald]

11 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

RMweb is getting slow again.

 

Have you plugged it into the charger yet?

[Two_sugars]

Je suis on ramipril  also . . . no noticeable  difference in my cough which I've had for about 70 years . . . I'm 72 . . .apparently it's to do with my heart . . . .I trust the Doc knows what he's doing . . . . 

 

Re the romans . . . .I had a "fascination with the leg end for a year or three a while back . . .I came to the conclusion  that he was probably a roman  . . . and then came that film mentioned in  an earlier post . . . . 

anyways . . . Hope Brian's  well after his "do".

 

Keep tooting Polly . . 

 

Sleep well every one . . 

 

John

[monkeysarefun]

30 degrees today, lovely!  Winter is definitely on the way out, though the traditional August winds have been pretty brutal over the last couple of days.

 

The warmer weather means its time to receive the annual base safety brief email.   @polybear WISHES he could work here:

 

ADVISE THE GLN ABCP FOR ANY DANGEROUS SIGHTINGS/ACTIVITIES

 

As we seem to be having a wonderfully warm lead up in to spring, one might even say that the season is notorious for causing certain and unique stirrings, none more than in the wildlife that is found up here on and around the Glenbrook base. This is something to be aware of if participating in PT that might involve bush-tracks, general walking about the place or even going for a swim at the base pool, also if you are living in the area.

 

Attached are a couple photos of what could present themselves around the area:

 

Eastern Brown Snake –        We usually get a couple of these visit us throughout spring and into summer. Make the ABCP aware of any sightings so that we can send a base-wide warning out on location and time seen. These things are both deadly and absolutely everywhere up here.

 

 

Red Belly Black Snake –      Haven’t seen many of these up here in the open over the years, but they are around and pop their heads up every now and then. These guys are also very poisonous.

 

 

Lace Monitor Lizard –         Though not always seen, I can definitely advise these things are everywhere in the bush up here, though not too many would come on the base. These things aren’t the friendly lizards you see wandering the picnic are at Bents Basin, the ones up here get cranky and I have personally seen what these things can do to pets (if they survive), some will stand their ground. Be good to keep your distance.

 

 

Funnel Web Spiders –          Most active in the warmer months. These things are not too much of an issue on the base, however, they can stay submerged on the bottom of a pool for over a day (24 hrs), and guess what, the base has a pool J. Just be vigilant.

 

 

Magpies –                               Magpies is probably the thing that will annoy base pers the most, mostly on the main road on the base, a couple will get in those gums and swoop during their spring offensive. This is not a maybe thing, it will happen. Be cautious.

 

 

 

Tiger Quolls –                        Never seen one on the base but if you live in the area they can have a go at chickens and eggs if you keep them (so will pythons). They are carnivorous. Also probably full of ticks which are bad for roaming pets.

 

 

Bandicoot –                            Come out at night. Cute and cuddly and make you go “aawwwwww” and “oooo aahhhh”. If you find a heap of little holes dotted all over your yard, probably a bandicoot (though we have birds up here do it as well) looking for worms. Yes they are cute and cuddly but absolutely riddled with ticks, something to keep in mind as pets such as cats and dogs muck about in the yard. If you have bandicoots, there will be ticks. These cute little critters have been the demise of plenty of pets up these parts.

 

 

Warm Regards

Michael (Blue) Simonka (res)

Flight Sergeant

ABCP | HQAC | RAAF Glenbrook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30 by monkeysarefun

[Hroth]

8 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

RMweb is getting slow again.

 

 

It needs winding up daily...

 

[rockershovel]

I remember reading a while ago that like most ancient societies, the Romans didn't really think in terms of accurately recording long periods of time (apart from anything else, their dating system didn't work that way) and so expressions like "25 years service" really meant "a man's active adult life". 

 

So a legionary wouldn't serve 25 years by the calendar, but until their health and powers were past their peak, or that soldier had ceased to be of use to the legion - possibly more like 16-18 years. 

 

A legion would periodically cull the aged, the lame, the lazy and in all probability, the "Emperors hard bargains". A legion which had been in one place for decades - as legions did, being a general resource for the local administration, a "department of works" as well as a military force - would tend to accrue large administrative "tails" to serve the sizeable "vici" that grew up around them, like barnacles on a ship. 

 

Probably half the local population were more-or-less related to the Castra. 

 

Recruitment of legionaries' sons into the army was commonplace (after all, a legionary didn't get Roman citizenship on discharge, he already had it; auxiliaries were the non-Roman elements who became citizens). There also seems to have been a general view that a lot of those notionally granted Roman citizenship in the late Empire were not "really Roman" and discharge documents continued to be highly valued - not least because the pension was paid on its production 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a cloudy Charente. An abortive trip to look for drawer handles yesterday, another outing is planned in the future.  Then fish and chips in Aulnay.  Today is about to start with an expedition to try and harvest some peaches from a roadside tree. 

 

Ttfn. 

 

Jamie

[rockershovel]

The Romans certainly originated the system practiced later by the British Army, of charging troops for equipment, bed and board out of deductions from pay; so a Roman soldier owned his armour and weapons. 

 

They could be sold to the armourer upon discharge, or retained; there was no concept of obsolescence in the ancient world, although recycling of items beyond further use was usual. So, a recruit might present himself with significant sections of his father's kit and be that far ahead in the game (although refurbishing old weapons might have been a lucrative sideline for the armourer). 

 

A Roman legion was probably a lot less uniform in appearance than we like to imagine. They probably didn't march in step. They certainly didn't know "square-bashing" as modern soldiers do, although they certainly did mass formation drills like forming shield walls; it was well known that such formations tend to drift to the left, for example. 

[iL Dottore]

47 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

30 degrees today, lovely!  Winter is definitely on the way out, though the traditional August winds have been pretty brutal over the last couple of days.

 

The warmer weather means its time to receive the annual base safety brief email.   @polybear WISHES he could work here:

 

ADVISE THE GLN ABCP FOR ANY DANGEROUS SIGHTINGS/ACTIVITIES

 

As we seem to be having a wonderfully warm lead up in to spring, one might even say that the season is notorious for causing certain and unique stirrings, none more than in the wildlife that is found up here on and around the Glenbrook base. This is something to be aware of if participating in PT that might involve bush-tracks, general walking about the place or even going for a swim at the base pool, also if you are living in the area.

 

Attached are a couple photos of what could present themselves around the area:

 

Eastern Brown Snake –        We usually get a couple of these visit us throughout spring and into summer. Make the ABCP aware of any sightings so that we can send a base-wide warning out on location and time seen. These things are both deadly and absolutely everywhere up here.

 

 

Red Belly Black Snake –      Haven’t seen many of these up here in the open over the years, but they are around and pop their heads up every now and then. These guys are also very poisonous.

 

 

Lace Monitor Lizard –         Though not always seen, I can definitely advise these things are everywhere in the bush up here, though not too many would come on the base. These things aren’t the friendly lizards you see wandering the picnic are at Bents Basin, the ones up here get cranky and I have personally seen what these things can do to pets (if they survive), some will stand their ground. Be good to keep your distance.

 

 

Funnel Web Spiders –          Most active in the warmer months. These things are not too much of an issue on the base, however, they can stay submerged on the bottom of a pool for over a day (24 hrs), and guess what, the base has a pool J. Just be vigilant.

 

 

Magpies –                               Magpies is probably the thing that will annoy base pers the most, mostly on the main road on the base, a couple will get in those gums and swoop during their spring offensive. This is not a maybe thing, it will happen. Be cautious.

 

 

 

Tiger Quolls –                        Never seen one on the base but if you live in the area they can have a go at chickens and eggs if you keep them (so will pythons). They are carnivorous. Also probably full of ticks which are bad for roaming pets.

 

 

Bandicoot –                            Come out at night. Cute and cuddly and make you go “aawwwwww” and “oooo aahhhh”. If you find a heap of little holes dotted all over your yard, probably a bandicoot (though we have birds up here do it as well) looking for worms. Yes they are cute and cuddly but absolutely riddled with ticks, something to keep in mind as pets such as cats and dogs muck about in the yard. If you have bandicoots, there will be ticks. These cute little critters have been the demise of plenty of pets up these parts.

 

 

Warm Regards

Michael (Blue) Simonka (res)

Flight Sergeant

ABCP | HQAC | RAAF Glenbrook

The only appropriate response to this is the quote from the great James Cameron action film “Aliens“

"I Say We Take Off. Nuke The Site From Orbit. It's The Only Way To Be Sure." 

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) 

 

[enz]

4 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

The only appropriate response to this is the quote from the great James Cameron action film “Aliens“

"I Say We Take Off. Nuke The Site From Orbit. It's The Only Way To Be Sure." 

Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) 

 

 

Hate to have to inform you, but the Brits tried that in the 50's - see Emu Field, Montebello Islands, Maralinga for their tests. Didn't work - Australia is still there.

Edited August 30 by enz
Found the third site

[TheQ]

Of course being a British, it gets a bit complicated.

Up until 1948, you weren't a citizen but a subject... After  that it became a bit woolly you were sort of in-between until 1st Jan 83.. then we became citizens.

Did  you notice any difference?

Though those of already in the military had sworn to be a loyal subject of HM the Queen.

 

Quite what the people's status was during the dictatorship of Cromwell I don't know.. Depressed maybe...

 

Mooring Awl,

2.5 hours sleep medium awake, 3 hours sleep and an unexpected 1/2 hours sleep. Which means I'm running late.

 

Time to get ready for the museum.

 

 

[iL Dottore]

In the various re-enactments, I’ve seen – both on YouTube and live (Augusta Rarica nearby has a yearly Römerfest featuring legionary re-enactments) what I have found particularly impressive is the Testudo (“tortoise”).

 

The photo above is of a relatively small Testudo, but I can well imagine how disquieting this would be for the enemies of Rome to see a huge formation of Roman soldiers advancing protected on all sides by shields. And one thing that is missing from the re-enactment above is that the Testudo isn’t bristling with spears (although sometimes the Testudo advanced, like above, with gladius ready, and sometimes with the pilum).

 

I am surprised that riot police equipped with long shields do not adopt the Testudo tactic. Advancing in one unbroken line protected in the front and from above with shields would seem to me to be incredibly intimidating. 

 

I reckon seeing a phalanx of riot police steadily advancing in a Testudo formation in total silence would be very disconcerting and probably a more effective way of discouraging the boozed up rentamob than running around seemingly at random and hitting anything that moves with a stick - which is what they seem to do lately.

 

Edited August 30 by iL Dottore

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Watched a bit of cricket, bought some tickets for cricket Internationals next year...OW MUCH!

 

Met with some cricket friends, then online meeting with some other friends.. fish and chips tea then out again to see an old umpire colleague and his wife. Walk back to the bus stop where I met the Middlesex CCC and his wife where the cricket World was put to rights again.

 

Today will include a bit more cricket watching and some muddling as a very nice 3D printed miniature copy of shed for trans-shipment of goods has arrived and needs to be painted.

 

So busy day yesterday.. another one today..

 

Have as good a day as you can..

 

Baz

Edited August 30 by Barry O

[monkeysarefun]

45 minutes ago, enz said:

 

Hate to have to inform you, but the Brits tried that in the 50's - see Emu Field, Montebello Islands, Maralinga for their tests. Didn't work - Australia is still there.

 

At least we dont talk funny!

 

Edited August 30 by monkeysarefun

[Erichill16]

10 hours ago, PupCam said:

 

 

 

Ramipril is well known for it and other side effects too, in my case a congested nose leading to snoring as well as the cough.    The association between cause and effect was only made when my medication was being juggled following my great inconvenience.   Alternative meds eliminated the problem completely.   Our resident pharmacist @Erichill16 maybe able to confirm my suspicion that Ramprill is the cheapest of that class of medication and the GoTo prescription.   Cynical moi?   I would recommend to those affected that they talk to their doctors to explore more suitable alternatives and don't put up with the cheap stuff.

 

 

 

 

Ramipril is a member of the group of drugs called ACE inhibitors which generally have the same side effects and uses. They are, I think all old enough to have come off patent and are available as generic medicines. This will mean they are all in the same ball park with regards to price, ie cheap as chips.

They are usually used to treat high blood pressure but Ramipril is slightly different -

quote from Wikipedia (comprehensive entry)

 

In a large clinical study, one of the agents in the ACE inhibitor class, ramipril (Altace), demonstrated an ability to reduce the mortality rates of patients with a myocardial infarction and to slow the subsequent development of heart failure. This finding was made after it was discovered that regular use of ramipril reduced mortality rates even in test subjects who did not have hypertension.[63]

Some believe ramipril's additional benefits may be shared by some or all drugs in the ACE-inhibitor class. However, ramipril currently remains the only ACE inhibitor for which such effects are actually evidence-based.[64]

There are other drugs available to treat high blood pressure and heart failure but like everything in life there are ‘string’ attached. (Side effects, contra-indications etc). If a particular drug is causing issues a chat with the GP may prove useful. 
Ramipril is the most commonly prescribed ACE inhibitor in my neck of the woods and probably in the top 50 drugs we dispense.

Very interesting topic but better get a move on.

 

[Tony_S]

48 minutes ago, enz said:

see Emu

I thought we weren’t supposed to remind Australians about the emus…

[jjb1970]

10 hours ago, enz said:

 

Believe something of this style is in use in Russia - volunteer for the Special Military Action and get out of prison.  Life (or death) reflecting Art?

 

It's one of the oldest devices in military recruitment, attract (or compel) people for which the alternatives may be worse (poverty, penal servitude). Penal units have quite a history. The Ukrainian army is also recruiting prisoners.

 

From a strictly utilitarian balance sheet perspective it's perfectly logical. Use the dregs as canon fodder and if they get killed in droves that's better than having the cream of a nations youth acting as canon fodder. And if they survive then they can make a new start with a warning not to be naughty again.

 

In some ways I'd argue it's not that far removed from offering opportunities for professional training and higher education to get young kids from poor backgrounds to sign up. I have friends who are quite open that they did military service as it was the only way they could see themselves ever being able to get into higher education. 

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

It needs winding up daily...

Like @polybear😊

[jamie92208]

47 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

In the various re-enactments, I’ve seen – both on YouTube and live (Augusta Rarica nearby has a yearly Römerfest featuring legionary re-enactments) what I have found particularly impressive is the Testudo (“tortoise”).

 

The photo above is of a relatively small Testudo, but I can well imagine how disquieting this would be for the enemies of Rome to see a huge formation of Roman soldiers advancing protected on all sides by shields. And one thing that is missing from the re-enactment above is that the Testudo isn’t bristling with spears (although sometimes the Testudo advanced, like above, with gladius ready, and sometimes with the pilum).

 

I am surprised that riot police equipped with long shields do not adopt the Testudo tactic. Advancing in one unbroken line protected in the front and from above with shields would seem to me to be incredibly intimidating. 

 

I reckon seeing a phalanx of riot police steadily advancing in a Testudo formation in total silence would be very disconcerting and probably a more effective way of discouraging the boozed up rentamob than running around seemingly at random and hitting anything that moves with a stick - which is what they seem to do lately.

 

UK police forces did adopt the testudo with long shields.  Front row vertical, the edges were curved and interlocked with your neighbour.  Second row had theirs above their heads to protect the front three rows.  Very effective.  However static lines of defence were not very good and went out of favour. One factor was that the height limit was abolished and the shorter officers couldn't handle the long shields which were at least 6' long.  You couldn't mix the short and long shields.   

 

I never actually used that tactic in a riot. In 81 the shields were not in general issue, only task force had them and some bosses were afraid to deploy the units. Our unit, in Leeds picked up dustbin lids when we were bei g bricked by looters. We started banging our truncheons on the metal lids and walked purposefullytowards the mob. As the first bricks reached us the pace picked up.  The beggars couldn't throw bricks when they were running away.  Street cleared very quickly. 

 

Long shields do still have a very good use.  Three officers with them, acting as a unit can pin someone armed with a knife against a wall.  They can then be safely disarmed. I used that one against a mentally ill man with a samurai sword. No injuries and two minutes later the  same officers were sat with the guy calming him down. Good work by them. 

 

Jamie

[Hroth]

44 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I thought we weren’t supposed to remind Australians about the emus…

 

Its Rod Hull we're not supposed to remind them about...

 

[The Lurker]

11 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

There's a hell of a lot of long-distance traveling to work there. This is just one diplomata, and it mentions thousands of Roman army veterans settling in Britain. How many more diplomata were there, with how many more thousands of veterans? Frere et al., stated that

 

 

In short, most stayed. This includes the famous Thracian cavalry units, who stayed and became Native Brits. All well before 410AD when Britain ceased to be an official part of the Roman Empire and was left to its own devices. These Thracian cavalry units have a large part to play in the genesis of Arthurian legends as well, right up to the modern day. e.g. the 2004 film "King Arthur".

 

 

These people settled and provided continuity and stability to the communities they formed or joined, in many parts of Britain, such as Essex.

 

 

The implication is that there was no Dark Age as such. See Mind The Gap! Or, the Great Myth of the Dark Ages. Just much-less written communication being sent back to Rome to provide a continuous written history

 

 

As a counter to this, the Anglo-Saxon poem "The Ruin" gives a clear indication that there was a fall from the heights of Roman life, in some parts of the country.

 

Translation:

"

The Ruin

These wall-stones are wondrous —
calamities crumpled them, these city-sites crashed, the work of giants
corrupted. The roofs have rushed to earth, towers in ruins.
Ice at the joints has unroofed the barred-gates, sheared
the scarred storm-walls have disappeared—
the years have gnawed them from beneath. A grave-grip holds
the master-crafters, decrepit and departed, in the ground’s harsh
grasp, until one hundred generations of human-nations have
trod past. Subsequently this wall, lichen-grey and rust-stained,
often experiencing one kingdom after another,
standing still under storms, high and wide—
it failed—

    The wine-halls moulder still, hewn as if by weapons,
    penetrated [XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX]     savagely pulverized [XXXXXXXXXXXXXX]     [XXXX] shined [XXXXXXXXXX]     [XXXX] adroit ancient edifice [XXXXX]     [XXXXXXX] bowed with crusted-mud —

The strong-purposed mind was urged to a keen-minded desire
in concentric circles; the stout-hearted bound
wall-roots wondrously together with wire. The halls of the city
once were bright: there were many bath-houses,
a lofty treasury of peaked roofs, many troop-roads, many mead-halls
filled with human-joys until that terrible chance changed all that.

Days of misfortune arrived—blows fell broadly—
death seized all those sword-stout men—their idol-fanes were laid waste —
the city-steads perished. Their maintaining multitudes fell to the earth.
For that the houses of red vaulting have drearied and shed their tiles,
these roofs of ringed wood. This place has sunk into ruin, been broken
into heaps,

There once many men, glad-minded and gold-bright,
adorned in gleaming, proud and wine-flushed, shone in war-tackle;
There one could look upon treasure, upon silver, upon ornate jewelry,
upon prosperity, upon possession, upon precious stones,
upon the illustrious city of the broad realm.

Stone houses standing here, where a hot stream was cast
in a wide welling; a wall enfolding everything in its bright ,
where there were baths, heated at its heart. That was convenient,
when they let pour forth [XXXXXXXXX] over the hoary stones
countless heated streams [XXXXXXXXXXX] until the ringed pool
hot [XXXXXXXXXXXXXX] where there were baths
Then is [XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX]. That is a kingly thing—
a house [XXXXX],

                               a city"

 

Link: https://oldenglishpoetry.camden.rutgers.edu/the-ruin/

 

Paul Cooper used it as the inspiration for the first of his Fall of Civilisations podcasts, which I have enjoyed over the years.

 

I think what made the ages "Dark" is the general lack of written sources that come down to us, as well as very apparent declines in many centres of the UK. 

[polybear]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

 

 

Shoot 'em in the legs with arrows.

[Hroth]

7 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Shoot 'em in the legs with arrows.

 

Shoot 'em with arrows, and the tortoise becomed a porcupine!

 

Bowling them out with big round stones would be more entertaining...

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. BIN day today but only the recycling and food waste. When I took it out I noticed that the brambles from next door were sending out runners again so it was out with the weedkiller. Unfortunately the new weedkiller is not as effective as glyphosphate and the weeds keep coming back.

[iL Dottore]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Shoot 'em in the legs with arrows.

Wouldn't work. The lower legs are protected by greaves.

2 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Shoot 'em with arrows, and the tortoise becomed a porcupine!

 

Bowling them out with big round stones would be more entertaining...

 

Again, wouldn't work. They'd simply kneel and rest their interlocked shields on the ground