Early Risers.

[Barry O]

14 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

If your diabetic banana's area no-no. They contain more sugar than a (pre-shrinkflation) Mars bar.

Not necessarily the case.. its carbs which do most to your blood sugar levels. A claim that a banana equates to 6 teaspoons of sugar has been discredited for lack of proof.. its using a basic view of all things ... and GI matters more than said doctor has suggested.

 

Things you do need to eat only small portions of include grapes.  

 

Baz

Edited July 13 by Barry O
Spullung

[monkeysarefun]

I realised this morning that I'd not taken the ute out since early May.  Oops, better charge the battery via a Long Drive.

 

Would it even start on a Winters morning ? Yes it did -  first go, though I've obviously undone at least 3 Tesla drivers good work for the day!

 

 

 

 

 

I went down south where the roads are empty and when I got to Albion Park and saw the 747  parked outside the Historical Aircraft Restoration Societies museum I  realised I'd driven past there lots without ever going in. 

 

 

 

So I did.   Unfortunately it seems that the trend  of Museums re-imagining themselves as interpretive dance displays and child-minding "Experience" centres hasn't arrived down under because I was just met with  sheds full of old planes and bunches of old fellas in Hi-Viz who when they weren't tinkering with tiny pieces on workbenches were happy to wander around with us visitors and explain it all. It'll never catch on!

 

The Constellation (only flyable one in the world apparently) was half in and half out the hanger rather than out on the tarmac like usual when the museum is open. This was  due to an engine replacement going on so it was hard to get a pic of it, but it was obviously using the @polybear naming convention.

 

 

 

 

A PBY  Catalina branded as one of the "Black Cats" operated by the RAAF during the war on mine-laying and recon patrols. Catalinas also flew a regular mail and passenger run right through the war, from Perth to Sri Lanka, flying for up to 30 hours to avoid the Japanese.  (This actual one has no RAAF heritage, but the thought is there)

 

 

 

Inside the DC3  that took Her Madge on her Royal Tour  around Australia back in the 50's, She Sat Here, and now I have too!

 

 

 

Sea Fury getting the HARS treatment by the old fellas in Hi Viz

 

 

 

 Interesting fact about 747's. Apparently they got this extra engine mounting.  Qantas used it to ship spare engines around the place if necessary. If a Qantas plane did an engine in some part of the world that wasn't UK  or Sydney, another one would fly there with a spare motor slung on this mount. That way local maintenance crews only had to do an engine swap rather than a rebuild. The sick motor was slung under the same plane that brought the spare and it was returned to Qantas in UK or Sydney for repair in its own maintenance facilities rather than rely on local facilities of an unknown quality. . That was one of the reasons that Qantas  was  regarded as the safest airline   in the world back in the day.( Dustin Hoffman says it in Rainman so it MUST be true)

 

 

This particular 747 is "Longreach", it/she (got to get those pronouns right!)  holds the record for longest commercial flight, London to Sydney non-stop.

 

 

A business that sub-lets the hanger next door has a license from the PNG and Solomon Islands governments to scavenge for downed WW2 aircraft in those nations.  They use the parts for pattern making and produce replicas from them. It was closed being a Saturday so their work was locked away but they've apparently just completed a P-38 Lightning. Here were some of the parts they've collected from around the Pacific. How they figure out what is what I have NO idea!

 

 

All up a Good Day.  Attendant kiddies were well behaved and looked interested, though I've got to say I've never seen examples of any being otherwise in my travels here.

 

Hats off to the old-fellas in Hi Viz who keep it all going, especially to the one called Ken (or was it Keith) who wandered around with me and another family for almost 2 hours telling us the fun facts.

 

HARS Museum, lacked any kind of interpretive dancing, laser display or computer - generated  anything, but still - 5 stars!

 

 

Edited July 13 by monkeysarefun

[DaveF]

As forecast it is raining and colder, 11°C this morning.  The heating turned itself on for a while and I have gone back to a long sleeve shirt and woollen pullover.  The neck is still sore but yesterday evening I found exactly where the source of pain is situated.  When I preesed on the right spot it was like having an electric shock.  I slept quite well last night having got comfortable so my neck was pain free.

 

It is raining enough that I have decided to stay at home, I can't be bothered even to go and buy a Saturday newspaper.

 

Today I will look at some of my old photos as usual on a Saturday, watch the Tour de France and perhaps do something on a model.  I must also take advantage of 3 hours of half price electricity so the washing will go on at 11 o'clock.

 

David

[polybear]

Negative Wooflu Test #3 (over 3 days) - I reckon that's my "Get out of Jail Free Card" :

 

 

Incidentally, and whilst researching Wooflu Tests over the last few days it seems that (a) the quicker the red "T" line appears, and (b) the darker/bolder the red line are all indications of just how lurgified you are (i.e. "Superspreader" status).

 

ION.....

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0857z0v5no

 

Quote:  .........but stressed the government had other "priorities for the first year or so".

 

Try telling that to those that are terminally ill.....

FFS.  And yes, that is most definitely a HUGE Beary Rant.

 

BG

Edited July 13 by polybear

[big jim]

Spoke to my dad last night and he said he’s got Covid, I didn’t even know it was still a thing but he said it’s rife in his town in Shropshire 

 

 

[polybear]

21 minutes ago, big jim said:

Spoke to my dad last night and he said he’s got Covid, I didn’t even know it was still a thing but he said it’s rife in his town in Shropshire 

 

 

 

Very much so - it's still claiming 100 -150 a week...

[BSW01]

Good morning afternoon everyone 

 

Late on parade today due to having a bit of a lie in and breakfast in bed. AVa should have been coming over today, but there's a bug going round at their house, so it's been decided that the best thing would be to let her stay home. So, I've decided to chance cutting some wood for the helix, as it looked quite nice. I've managed to get some done, but I keep getting rained off. I'll chance it again shortly, as the rains stopped again. 

 

I have a shed, 7ft x 5ct, which is full of gardening equipment, tools, wood screws etc. I have a workshop 10ft x 10ft, which has a lathe, bench drill, grinder and work benches etc. Finally I've the cellar, 15ft x 11ft, which I've just finished refurbishing and which is to become my railway room. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian. 

Edited July 13 by BSW01

[TheQ]

Spent the morning doing things unmentionable, pleased with progress I is.

Just ordered hinges and screws for above.

Very light drizzle most of the morning.

Just had a cheese sarni, 

Now back to things unmentionable.

[Coombe Barton]

... Domestically getting on - bits of floor have appeared and the rubbish bin is in operation ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/07/13/public-covid-awareness-excel-domestics-and-caravan-readiness/

[jamie92208]

@monkeysarefun it's nice to see that 747 spare engine mount.  My brother flew 747's for BA at one point in his career and told me about that.  Apparently New Delhi was a regular destination for them.

 

Here much G work has been done and 7lbs of spuds have been harvested along with a courgette.  Our cherry trees were a waste of time this year but the four plum trees are doing very well. One has fruit the size of smallish apples, but not ready for picking.  However the weight of fruit meant that my head collided with a branch whilst mowing. 

 

Jamie

[jjb1970]

I used to love seeing five engined 747's when they were used to ferry an engine out to somewhere. I can't remember the last time I saw it, must have been back in the 80's and it was never a particularly common sight. 

 

I still love seeing 747's, though passenger 747's seem to be an endangered species. One of the redeeming features of Frankfurt airport is it still gets a lot of passenger 747 flights thanks to Lufthansa still using the 747-400 and 747-8I. Beijing Capital and Seoul Incheon are quite good too. Singapore gets a lot of 747 freighter movements and a single Lufthansa 747-8I flight each day, and Korean Air use the 747-8I some days. 20 years ago Changi was full of 747's and Singapore Airlines had a huge fleet of the things, their famous Big Top and Mega Top fleet.

[jjb1970]

A few months ago this made my week, my flight from Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon. The flight was supposed to be an A380, when I saw a 747-400 taxi in I almost had a sensory overload, made even better by being on the upper deck, marvellous!!! I can't remember the last time before this I flew in a 747, many years.

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I found amongst my many books a book on unusual facts. An interesting one is that the country that produces the most bibles is China. It also claims that if you were able to drill a hole through the Earth and jump in it would take you 42 minutes and 6 seconds before you emerged on the other side. I dispute that as gravity would leave you hovering in the centre. Either that or gravity would take over when you emerged and send you back.

 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I found amongst my many books a book on unusual facts. An interesting one is that the country that produces the most bibles is China. It also claims that if you were able to drill a hole through the Earth and jump in it would take you 42 minutes and 6 seconds before you emerged on the other side. I dispute that as gravity would leave you hovering in the centre. Either that or gravity would take over when you emerged and send you back.

 

It might get a tad warm on the way through. 

 

Jamie

[Andy Hayter]

I think that were it possible to have that hole, unless you were absolutely dead centre in the hole, part way down, the gravitational pull towards the wall would overcome the direct pull towards the centre.  Given the speed you would be travelling, I think the gravel rash would be extreme.  

[DaveF]

It has rained gently for most of the day with a few short lived drier bits.  I've stayed at home doing a lot of small jobs.  It is still cold and the rain is just starting to get heavier.  The forecast for tomorrow has changed, the rain should now stop at about 3pm which is a slight improvement.  It should start to get warmer during Monday.

 

The house is now tidier, some food has been moved in the kitchen cupboards, some books have been put back on the shelves and so on.  A bit of modelling has also been done after I had managed to find the bits I needed - it is about 6 years since I last used them so they were well hidden.

 

The neck is still there, drier weather might help and surprisingly my hay fever is being annoying - as it often is on days like this.  I think it is simply the pollen on my clothes and in the house, with not going outside it just hangs in the air -and it is too cold and wet to have windows open.

 

Nothing is really planned for the rest of the day, perhaps an old Dxon of Dock Green or something streamed and more reading.  The neck makes sitting still a bit painful at times, it is OK until you move the head slightly as in scanning across a page or turning to look at the clock.

 

David

[Tony_S]

7 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

If your diabetic banana's area no-no. They contain more sugar than a (pre-shrinkflation) Mars bar.

Not what I was told. Perhaps you should discuss it at your diabetic review?

[New Haven Neil]

No early call as we had to make haste to the Big City, Mrs NHN had to be at the Manx Museum early doors to copy a drawing they hold, for her work.  As it was for a coach bogie, (Hurst, Nelson type for the steam railway coaches) I had to go along to assist.  Interesting as it is the only copy left known to exist, it does belong to the 'railway' but is at the museum for safe keeping, and they won't let it out of their hands!  Job done anyway, the Rolling Stock Manager will be pleased with the quality we managed to produce, the one they currently have of it is appalling.

 

Then a ride on the bikes - it threw it down.  Pah.

 

Out for a curry with Jayne later, may treat myself to a beer.

[Ozexpatriate]

9 hours ago, TheQ said:

There is never enough room, stuff has an amazing ability to expand.

The late George Carlin had a routine on 'stuff'.

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

This particular 747 is "Longreach", it/she (got to get those pronouns right!)  holds the record for longest commercial flight, London to Sydney non-stop.

QANTAS branded all the 747-400 (and later) series "Longreach". It was able to cross the Pacific without stopping in Hawaii and is a tribute to their early days having moved from Winton to Longreach in 1921.

 

The first one so branded was: "Qantas’ Boeing 747-438 Longreach VH-OJA, City of Canberra".

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Andy Hayter said:

I think that were it possible to have that hole, unless you were absolutely dead centre in the hole, part way down, the gravitational pull towards the wall would overcome the direct pull towards the centre. 

It would be a good physics exam question - stipulating a hole with a frictionless inner surface and an 'infinitesimal' 100kg sphere dropped from the surface, stipulating uniform density and ignoring the fluidic processes in the outer core, etc.

 

Without doing the maths, I believe the sphere would drop past the centre and then be drawn backwards - oscillating through the centre and back with decaying sinusoidal oscillations until approaching an equilibrium at the centre.

 

The question might have to be phrased as calculate how long it would take for the velocity to be less than 1 mm/sec at the centre.

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, Barry O said:

Things you do need to eat only small portions of include grapes.  

Empirically and anecdotally dried fruits are a problem for me - sultanas, prunes, dried apricots etc. They are sugar bombs compared with fresh fruit where the fibre helps delay metabolism of the sugars.

[zarniwhoop]

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

If your diabetic banana's area no-no. They contain more sugar than a (pre-shrinkflation) Mars bar.

For Type 2 diabetics not on certain medications which can cause hypoglycaemia.

 

The sugar in a banana varies - n almost green banana will be mostly starch, a nice ripe brown and ready to mash banana will be sugar. Me, I'm Type 1 (i.e. on insulin) and have to carry sugars (usually dextrose tablets) for when my blood sugar dips.  And unfortunately, mars bars do not do the job because the amount of fat makes them slow to digest.

[pH]

22 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

QANTAS branded all the 747-400 (and later) series "Longreach". It was able to cross the Pacific without stopping in Hawaii …

Missing out on a visit to Hawaii - and you say that as if it was a good  thing?

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

The Constellation (only flyable one in the world apparently) was half in and half out the hanger rather than out on the tarmac like usual when the museum is open. This was  due to an engine replacement going on so it was hard to get a pic of it, but it was obviously using the @polybear naming convention.

 

 

@J. S. Bach of this parish would be pleased to see CONNIE the Constellation.

 

There are a bunch of non-flightworthy ones about. There's a Super Connie parked outside at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.  The USAF has one in Dayton and the Smithsonian has one at Udvar-Hazy near DC.