Absolutely Anything Else

Gettting the bugger back again when it goes wrong is the tricky bit. It will either land in the mud in front of you or go out to sea and you have to drag it back in somehow.

I have a picture on my fridge of my blowing up an old russian tank with a missile I implemented the guidance equations for many many years ago. Stick pig in top of tank, aim missile at tank, see what happens, either everyone gets pork sandwiches for lunch or pig gets another turn at butchery until dinnertime.

I have been doing missile firing trials for nigh on thirty years. I do know what I am talking about sometimes.-

And now the Muppet Show brings you.... Pigs In Space-----

Why are there so many songs about rainbows? Surely we have enough now.

fluffy2560 wrote:

Anyway, Shania Twain was discussing Brad Pitt.

She wasn't. Brad Pitt is mentioned in the song. "So you think you're Brad Pitt?". You may be thinking of "You"re  so Vain"

SimonTrew wrote:

I have been doing missile firing trials for nigh on thirty years. I do know what I am talking about sometimes.-

"Rocket science" is not just about in atmosphere solid fuel missile flight. It is about the science and engineering behind making rockets actually work. Firing off missile tests is not even close to being the same as designing them, which takes a bit of engineering know-how.

And especially with liquid fuel rockets, which are devices filled with highly explosive fuels. With a flame at the end. Not a good combination. Designing them to work without disaster is not "easy".

I am not saying what happens in practice. The whole point of it is that the world is not in fact perfect and we have to make approximations.

For all practical intents and purposes 9.8 or so is good enough and that is built in as a constant,. for a short range missile. Different if you are flying something into space. The missile usually rifles like a bullet rifles (if shot from a rifle) for exactly this reason,  that it takes out any imbalance however finely machined it will be heavier on one side than the other.

I have made gyroscopes and you machine them to extremely fine tolerances then a man comes along with a hammer and punch and hits it JUST THERE and it is in balance. All GPS now of course but when it was all mechanical, they got a ship out of Plymouth dock, sailed it all the way around the world (on missions) and when it got back to dock it was four metres from where it thought it was.

Please do not lecture me on precision, I know what I am on about. I am probably the only rocket scientist you will ever meet or not meet. The fact someone else cocked it up has nothing to do with me. Dont post links of funny videos and then say this is what actually happens if you haven't the knowledge to know what you are on about,  I'm sorry but that is infuriating.

I did rocket science for nine years as a job. That is exactly why i get infuriated when people bandy the term around as if it means nothing.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Anyway, Shania Twain was discussing Brad Pitt.

She wasn't. Brad Pitt is mentioned in the song. "So you think you're Brad Pitt?". You may be thinking of "You"re  so Vain"

If she mentioned Brad, then she was discussing him and passing social commentary, even if it's one sentence.

As for Beckham, here he is with King Arfur (East London Style).

Looks OK but the rest of it sucks.  Just horrible!

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

Anyway, Shania Twain was discussing Brad Pitt.

She wasn't. Brad Pitt is mentioned in the song. "So you think you're Brad Pitt?". You may be thinking of "You"re  so Vain"

If she mentioned Brad, then she was discussing him and passing social commentary!

I prefer to pass antisocial commentary...

I have a litter (that is not the right word) of kittens well mum too in my loft. I kinda inherited the mum but now the kittens are ready to go. She brought in herself into the loft to have her kittens, she is not my cat. technically, legally, i have absolutely no responsibility for them but that makes no difference. If you can do something, and you don't, you're an arsehole. If you can you must. You can't always, but if you can, you must.

Because there is no equivalent of the Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals or People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, or Wood Green Animal Shelter or the Cat's Protection League, I am doing my best giving milk and so on. It is a pain in the bum with them scurrying around the place eating my cat's food, but I do not know how else to put them to a good home. I am at my wit's end to know how to home them. Any ideas? (Not the obvious like home them in the Duna in a weighted down sack)

I am quite a moral person I  hope but I cannot look after five or six cats/kittens. Cant afford it for one thing. They are very cute as all kittens are and they are scurrying around so Mum must have looked after them well but they are ready to go now. My old cat has his territory and he does not mind them at the moment, he doesn't give a toss lazy bastard that he is, but they will need to find their own territory.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

She wasn't. Brad Pitt is mentioned in the song. "So you think you're Brad Pitt?". You may be thinking of "You"re  so Vain"

If she mentioned Brad, then she was discussing him and passing social commentary!

I prefer to pass antisocial commentary...

It's suppose it's a bit like flatulence? 

Only the passer gets pleasure and relief where as the passees have to suffer.

SimonTrew wrote:

I have a litter (that is not the right word) of kittens well mum too in my loft. I kinda inherited the mum but now the kittens are ready to go. She brought in herself into the loft to have her kittens, she is not my cat. technically, legally, i have absolutely no responsibility for them but that makes no difference. If you can do something, and you don't, you're an arsehole. If you can you must. You can't always, but if you can, you must.

Because there is no equivalent of the Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals or People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, or Wood Green Animal Shelter or the Cat's Protection League, I am doing my best giving milk and so on. It is a pain in the bum with them scurrying around the place eating my cat's food, but I do not know how else to put them to a good home. I am at my wit's end to know how to home them. Any ideas? (Not the obvious like home them in the Duna in a weighted down sack)

I am quite a moral person I  hope but I cannot look after five or six cats/kittens. Cant afford it for one thing. They are very cute as all kittens are and they are scurrying around so Mum must have looked after them well but they are ready to go now. My old cat has his territory and he does not mind them at the moment, he doesn't give a toss lazy bastard that he is, but they will need to find their own territory.

You should give them away asap.  We got nobbled the same way.

If you keep them, you'll have loads more of them unless you get to the vets.

Cats in Hungary are objects, not pets.

SimonTrew wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

Both are called "live" now under IET but people don't realise that, because it is not common parlance yet. The nulla (hungarian for zero), the blue one, will go the same way back and carries as much oomph as the brown one (or black one). You are going to get hurt either way. that will lead eventually to earth altouigh i have looked around a lot and cannot see an earthing conductor in my place. Theoretically nulla is grounded at the substation and in a perfectly balanced system they should have equal load, of course practically no amount of diversity is going perfectly to balance the load unless you stick your fridge in your attic or something, which is rather unhandy for when you want to get the milk out of it.

I agree with you, use a bit of common sense. But also check check and check again and when you do new wiring make it up to new standard. That is what standards are for, so that people can assume things. Never assume anything with old Hungarian wiring.

The problem with common sense is that it is not very common, Fluffy and I know what we are doing despite all appearances to the contrary, but that takes years of experience and training, you cannot just assume these things. I live in a house where I have traced all the circuits, as I go along, put on new lamps and switch panels, and so on. House wiring is not hard if you know what you are doing. If you do not, call out an expert, it will kill you.

i meant  0 is 0V (zero volts).   The null only has voltage if the phases are not balanced.  I think that's what you were saying.  And indeed they are rarely balanced. I don't call N live, that's a description for phases or L1/2/3.  So I call N Neutral or return.  Really we should call Earth, PE as in Protective Earth.   

You're better of re-wiring the entire house rather than fiddling with someone else's bodging.  Just do again and properly.

i am doing exactly that but going room by room. The missus knows nothing about sparks she knows how to shove in a bit of cable but does not know the theory behind it, never learned trig except how to tell a tree from a long way away. Thee and I can discuss it because despite all appearances we both know what we are talking about. I don't think she ever learned the basics of polar geometry and she is not a stupid woman by any means they just do not learn these things at school it is all Sandor Petofi and stuff so Hungarians do not get a practical education. YOu wouldnt use mains cable to plumb a set of speakers together but that is the kind of thing I find and go what the ü is that live and nulla doing in there. Oh to wire up speakers.

A good friend of mine worked as a sound technician at the Astoria in London, sadly now demolished, Basic little tricks of the trade like how to wind up a bit of cable like THAT so it stays flat, she doesn't know.

As I said the other day you would have loved to see cable manufacture. Start off with a bath of liquid copper, pull it out,, through the factory on an enormous loom at the end it is winding it all round. 1000m of the stuff was an offcut. I worked in a paper mill doing sticky labels and the end of the drum you have about 7mm left depending on how it is machined, but one or two thousand metres by 7mm. My mum and dad never ran out of sticky labels.

Used to do milk round as saturday job and can carry four bottles in each hand, any kind of bottle, I am no juggler just that is what you do, one between each finger. Hungarians look at me very strangely and say do you need a bag a taska because I am just carrying the bottles of water or whatever on my fingers instead of using a bag. They have got used to me now at the corner shop, which is not on the corner, that no I do not need a bag or a basket. Cardinal sin in hungary not to take a  basket on your way in but they  are used to me now this hulye angol (stupid englishman) that if I turn up in my blues or whatever it is quite acceptable and funny and they no doubt think I am eccentric but are always pleased to see me (and everyone else). Family business in hungary are the best, they work hard and they deserve my money. The big chains could not give a shit about my hard-earned.


I am turning into Marilyn now aren't I in my anecdotage

Sorry,there's only one Me! Don't think the world could handle two of us...
I used to always forget that the bathroom light switches in Hungary are often found outside the WC.
Sort of embarrassing to have to pop out the door and turn the switch on.

Went to the city zoo yesterday, wow long day but really nice.
They have done the zoo up at bit since our last trip over.
Really a peaceful sweet place.
Won't bother to mention or will I, I had to catch a couple of small children during the visit.
Parents always many feet away with no control of their offspring.
One little boy about 4 ran right into me, almost fell over into the glass ( plastic?) window in the elephant house. I reach out and pulled him from hitting the window.
Later a mom with her 2 kids were blocking the walkway eating pizza as we passed them. The kid walked right into me and almost fell over. Grabbed her also.
It was odd, I usually say I don't really enjoy being around kids much but suppose one on one they are safe with me.
Remember when I was their age, my mom wouldn't allow us to run into or even walk near anyone over 50 without holding on to us.
Would pull us out of the way and allow the "senior" to pass by safe and sound.
Guess these days we seniors have to stay in shape to move out of the way of out of control children.
Didn't see any flying monkeys at the zoo but plenty of flying children... Too much sugar maybe in their diets?
Was fun though, really a lovely zoo, will be sure to go back again soon.

Hmm no kittens this morning. perhaps Mum has killed them as cats sometimes do. I did the best I could, that is all I can say.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I used always to forget that the bathroom light switches in Hungary are often found outside the WC.
Sort of embarrassing to have to pop out the door and turn the switch on.

Oh if you are a man you just piss all over the floor and pretend that it was someone else.

In UK you are not allowed to have any electrics in a wet area so usually there will be a pull cord dangling to turn the light on (which gets very grubby from everyone's dirty fingerprints). So that foxes foreigners in the UK, that not only is there not a switch inside the bathroom/washroom/restroom but that even if you go outside there is not either, just this dangling pull cord inside.  In hotels they tend to have a sticker attached saying "pull to turn on light" or something like that, but of course that is no use because you can't see that in the dark to read it to turn it on....

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

....
Sorry,there's only one Me! Don't think the world could handle two of us...
I used to always forget that the bathroom light switches in Hungary are often found outside the WC.
Sort of embarrassing to have to pop out the door and turn the switch on.

Went to the city zoo yesterday, wow long day but really nice.
They have done the zoo up at bit since our last trip over.
Really a peaceful sweet place.
.....
Was fun though, really a lovely zoo, will be sure to go back again soon.

I find that zoo a bit weird.  It's very squashed into the area.  With the closure of the Vidampark and expansion of the zoo, maybe it's better now  but I still think there's not enough room for the animals.   I reckon they should build a new purpose build zoo further out and on one of the metro lines.  I don't know what they plan to do with the Vidampark.

In my neck of the woods, we have the Budakeszi Vadaspark which isn't bad and worth a look - they even have bears.   30 minutes walking distance from the No. 22 (from Moscow Square) - get off the bus at Gesztenyés Étterem or a bit earlier and walk through the woods.

The switches on the outside is supposed to be a safety feature - don't touch the electricity with wet hands (strange as they have sockets in bathrooms).   In the UK, they always have ceiling pull switches for it as an alternative safety system.

They have really improved the zoo. Seems allot more open.
Been to the big zoo's in the US, San Diego zoo, Los Angles zoo and NYC zoo.
Way too large to explore in one day plus the prices are sky high in the US for any sort of family day out.
We used to take our son to Disneyland several times a year when he was small.
Now one would have to get a home loan and then some to enter let alone go on any rides there.
When my older sister worked for Ma Bell... The Ca. phone co. in the late 60's, we got a free Disneyland night from the co. only those who worked for the phone co. could go.
No lines for rides, from 5 pm to midnight.
Went 2 times with the LA County Fire Dept. because my friend's dad was a fireman, same thing, only firefighters and their family and friends could enter and no lines for rides.
Those are the only times Disneyland is fun.
Not so great to stand in line for over one hour for a 3 min. ride.
My sister volunteers at the MInn. zoo, she gets to see free concerts allot.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

They have really improved the zoo. Seems allot more open.
Been to the big zoo's in the US, San Diego zoo, Los Angles zoo and NYC zoo.
Way too large to explore in one day plus the prices are sky high in the US for any sort of family day out.
We used to take our son to Disneyland several times a year when he was small.
Now one would have to get a home loan and then some to enter let alone go on any rides there.
When my older sister worked for Ma Bell... The Ca. phone co. in the late 60's, we got a free Disneyland night from the co. only those who worked for the phone co. could go.
No lines for rides, from 5 pm to midnight.
Went 2 times with the LA County Fire Dept. because my friend's dad was a fireman, same thing, only firefighters and their family and friends could enter and no lines for rides.
Those are the only times Disneyland is fun.
Not so great to stand in line for over one hour for a 3 min. ride.
My sister volunteers at the MInn. zoo, she gets to see free concerts allot.

Oh, any of those places like Disneyland are stupidly expensive.  Anything like that free has to be good. 

There's a theme park (Europapark) we've been planning to go to soon.  It's ridiculously priced so it has to be better than good, it has to be superb. It'll cost at least 200 EUR for 4 people and that's just for the tickets.  If you throw in the travel and overnights etc., well, you know the rest.   Ouch!

That's allot of "cabbage" for a day trip.
Just checked the current prices for Disney land S. Ca.
Value days for adults are, what for it, hold your breath and then relax and listen... $97. a person!
Regular days are $110 and high season days are $124.!!!
Not sure if that even includes parking!
Add the price for some mouse ears ( gotta have the ears!) for the kids, a few hot dogs and drinks and yes, could be well in the several hundreds of bucks without even spending the night.
My great-niece must really be "spoiled" after all. not her personality but her lifestyle.
Couple of her birthdays back, her mom took her another few adults and several kids to Disneyland , stayed in the Disneyland hotel and had a BD breakfast with Mickey and his friends!!!
They spent a few days there too!!
I know her grandfather and her deceased father came from a few bucks but wow!
My dad called us 4 kids around his knee when I was 7 years old. Sprung the big surprise to us, my dad was working class and hated to waste money on junk so his surprise was really something extra special.
We all were going to Disneyland the next Sat.
We all had a good time( mostly, my sisters tricked me to get a a ride I didn't like) got my old mouse ear hat and all the candy I could stuff in my face.
Next weekend reality hit, my parents were getting a divorce and dad just wanted to make one more memory before checking out.
I now dislike any "surprise" always waiting for the other shoe to fall so to speak.
Have fun at Europark, well worth taking a ton of photos for something like that.

There is a theme park near me called I think zebrapark or something like that, it is in XV district. The kiddies seem to love that, you know pester mum and dad to take them to it I assume. The tram and bus goes over it so I look at it and think well there is not much there, just some swings and roundabouts and stuff. Now fair play, it is a day out for the kids, no idea what it costs as I haven't children.

But then I think hang on, what the Hungarian government actually managed to do is provide a children's playground in pretty much every open space (and well done for doing it!) that have swings and seesaws/teeter-totters and safety mats and so on, the missus and I often play on the swings in the evening in one of those parks when we are out for a walk, they are everywhere  all over Budapest. So what is the point of this park that seems not to have a little fun ride or carnival or whatever? Just children pestering their parents until they give in, I suspect. I don't think the parents are allowed in, I dunno what they do, go off to IKEA or something. Maybe that is the point, that the parents can dump the kids while they do something.

It is a great shame that old wooden rollercoaster on, er, robert karoly I think it is, (where number 1 tram goes past)  is in such disrepair, that would make such a lovely old rollercoaster and children would love that as it is gentle. I remember riding one of those at Margate in England when it was Dreamland. Wheeee...... Ohhhhh......

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

That's allot of "cabbage" for a day trip.
Just checked the current prices for Disney land S. Ca.
Value days for adults are, what for it, hold your breath and then relax and listen... $97. a person!
Regular days are $110 and high season days are $124.!!!
Not sure if that even includes parking!...

Wow, $97?   So up to $500 for a 4-person high season day trip. I feel less ripped off at 200 EUR. 

No, not really, I still feel ripped off.   Still, it's a one off.  Not going again.  It's Fluffyette1 - wants to be "scared" and that means rollercoasters and stuff like that.  I don't like them myself.   Things we do for our kids.

The worse thing about that price is that a chunk of Europapark burnt down a couple of months ago but the prices weren't reduced for less access/less entertainment! Cheeky devils!

One of the nice things about Budapest is that there are parks and gardens everywhere in all parts of town, with kiddie swings and space for the dog, the missus and I take a lot of long walks then will get a fagy (home made icecream) while I get a fag (cigarette) and just sit in the park watching the world go by and maybe have a go on the swings etc. There is a lovely childrens park just by me, well end of the street, and the mums and dads put their children in there well push them on the swings or turn the roundabout etc. I have to be careful these days it is a pity, because it was a pleasure in life to watch children play but now they will think you area paedophile so we tend to go out at dusk when the children are safely in bed. It is OK with the missus but I think on my own what is this strange man doing here watching children play it is a bit suspicious. It shouldn't be, it never used to be, but one cannot be too careful these days. I am not sure if I would grab a child to stop him or her being run over as they dart over the street, I hope I would but then what are you doing with my child er saving it from being killed. Such is the state of life now as a man you double think before you do that kind of thing, and you should not have to. I would run out in the middle of the road to carry the child safely to the pavement when he or she has wandered out. At least I hope I would.

My ex-landlady's son had absolutely no fear of me he and I I showed him some basic carpentry we made something together I forget what but he wanted a box or a toy or something and I showed him how to make it, we did it together (he was about seven at the time this was not long ago). So I suppose I am his "uncle" in that very loose sense (we still get on well with the landlady etc just no names here)

But then my ex-landlady and landlord, we lived on the same property in separate houses, and saw each other every day so he knew not to be afraid of me. It is quite right to tell children "be aware of strangers" etc but it is very hard for a man on his own you end up avoiding children rather than looking out for them, and something is wrong in the world when that happens.

Roller coasters... no thanks, I'll pass!
At Disneyland my parents went off for a bit with my baby bro and put my 2 sisters in charge of me for about 2 hours.
This was around 1962 and not so very dangerous of a world.
My older sister was 14 and the other 12.
They were told directly to allow me a chance to pick a ride for all 3 of us to go on.
Well, dang them both I picked teacups and they stood in line with me.
After the longest time I realized the line split between teacups and Matterhorn.
Well you can guess what line they dragged me kicking a screaming into!
They both told me to calm the heck down or they would pound me later, not to make a big fuss.
I was shaking inside and out, didn't want to go on the Matterhorn.
Got strpped in a started crying, the teen age attendant didn't seem to notice my tears. We got up to the top of the Matterhorn before the long drop, I started to unstrap myself, I was about to jump off the ride, My sisters then realized how upset I really was, not being my normal bratty self but in panic mode.
Had to ride it out literally. I hated them for the longest time, well suppose I've never really forgiven them, had to wait until next trip for the teacups.
Told my mom but being number 3, one hardly gets their voice heard in a big family. My 2 sister lied and said I wanted to go on, BS.
The things one does for love though, when I was dating my husband my sister and her daughter went with us to Magic Mountain. Everyone wanted to go on the roller coaster that landed in the water.
I didn't want to go on but didn't want my husband to know what a real big baby I actually am so agreed to go on the ride. Somehow I was able to not scream or freak out but that was the one and only time I ever volunteered to ride one of those contraptions.Never again.
Kids now days have it easy, when we were small our swing sets were placed directly over hard dirt or rough gravel. I still have the scars to prove it.

Pushchairs what a stupid design that is that you put the child in front of them and then roll them along the street.

So when you cross on a crossing you are pushing out your child first before yourself. Brilliant. Don't care if my child gets run over as long as I am OK.

In Cambridge I held a boy's hand to wait for the green (I will jaywalk but that is not illegal but will not let a child do it) and I told the boy and his mother to wait for the green. She didn't care she walked across the crossing with the boy about five years old when it was just about to go red. I know that junction very well and it is one of the biggest accident spots in Cambridge, England. Now I might take my chances and so on. You are mother and child walking across a crossing do you not want to teach your child any road sense? THat is why I waited, because on my own I would have darted across but there is a child there and he is going to pick up bad habits. And one day, get killed.

Children I think have no perception of speed or distance until they are about seven years old, obviously that is a generalisation. That is why you drill into them look left, look right, look left again.

Which is not very handy in right-hand traffic I am always looking the wrong way so I kinda do it twice, left-right-left-right-left-right. i am perfectly aware that the traffic goes the "wrong" way round but it was drilled in to me so early in my youth it is a very hard habit to break. So I tend to look both ways twice, at least.

In many places in the UK they have at the crossings "LOOK LEFT" or "LOOK RIGHT". I think I have also seen them in London with them in German and French. It is not for the benefit of the locals who know which way the traffic is going. It is for the benefit of idiot continentals who will look the wrong way and not see the number 13 bus from the Aldgate to Harrow Weald. There is a reason these things are there. You get to learn the sequences of traffic signals and think hmmm I am safe to cross but every now and again they change them to suit the traffic patterns. The traffic signals often change from peak hours to daytime to night time to accommodate the flow of traffic. There is a whole branch of engineering called traffic management.

I have not been killed yet.

You know when people walk diagonally across a park, make a muddy path across it. Architects call that a "desire line". Just thought I would throw that in.

Yes rollercoasters give you an adrenalin rush while actually being quite safe (except  if you go to Alton Towers of course). I was talking more about the old fashioned gentle ones, I am not sure you would even call them a rollercoaster really, I think you would.

King George V and his missus Mary opened the one at Wembley Park in 1922 when the old Wembley was built, if you get John Betjeman's "Metro-land" there is footage of them having a go round on it, smiling to camera.

Guess it was in 1986 on holiday here at the city park.
A young male about 3 years old was just about to leap into traffic before his parents got on the stick and grabbed him.
My husband moved first but the child's father was standing closer.
Not sure what to say, some people are just too relaxed to live long.
Of course my own mother was hit by a car when she was 8 years old in Conn.
It would be the year of 1932.
Still had horses on the st. mixed in with cars.
It was her first car ride.
2 young wealthy men ( had to be wealthy back then to drive a car) hit her as she crossed the st. by herself.
She was knocked out cold, they picked her up, she came to and they asked where she lived.
They drove her home and told her family what happened, left some money for them to call a doc if needed.
That was it folks..
Not a big deal I suppose to get knocked out cold.
I was thrown off my friends horse when I was 15. Out cold, what a strange high feeling that was, going in and out of my mind and laughing while being a zombie.
Friends mom took me home in a panic, mom called up our family doc. All he said was to wake me up every hour and if I didn't wake up then call an ambulance and the hospital would drill a hole in my head to relieve any pressure in my skull.
Dang, guess I have a great excuse for not always being ,"there".
These days I am sure I would have a cat scan ect.
Guess I am hard headed after all.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Still had horses on the st. mixed in with cars..

Was quite used to that in my parents' day. My mother and her mother were walking somewhere once in London (they were by no means posh) but I guess the street was not so busy they had taken a shortcut. My mum must have been a very little child just with her mum on their own. I guess her dad my grandfather was working nightshifts for war work, he worked at Park Royal doing welding of some kind, don't know what for and probably he didn't know what for, that was the nature of war work. (He was disabled so could not serve on the front line.)

A man pulled up in a posh car to offer them a lift, which they accepted. It was Henry Hall, who sang "teddy-bear's picnic" very famous man in Britain. My mum has been taxied around by Henry Hall

My dad when he did a milk round as a youth, this would be around the  late 1940s, the milk carts were still mostly horse drawn.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Guess I am hard headed after all.

Should have worn a hard hat, obviously...

When i lived in texas, my friend in the UK (working for the same company) used to do the London Times cryptic crossword together or rather compete who could do it quicker (for fun you understand). He always wondered why I finished it before he did.

Perhaps because I had six hours' head start... I would do it when it was published at midnight GMT, six in the evening Texas time, leave it on the side and wait to the following morning (his time) for him to ask what is 19 down... I think I had a bit of an unfair advantage there

My wife is off this evening to see Derren Brown the illusionist at Southend in a nice old theatre there.  (I have been in it) Southend is a bit of a dump really but this particular theatre is very nice.

Apparently he can make audiences disappear even before the interval. Rushing to the exits.

They are down in the stalls in the three and nines so should get a good view I hope,

Tickets purchased, and this is why I write this, paid for not by the company but by her boss out of her own pocket, to take her team to see a show. i have done it myself I do not wish to brag but don't take your team out on company expenses, that is meaningless. Take them out with your own money, that is huge.

SimonTrew wrote:

My wife is off this evening to see Derren Brown the illusionist at Southend in a nice old theatre there. I think he has rave reviews, apparently he can make audiences disappear even before the interval.

They are down in the stalls in the three and nines so should get a good view I hope, Tickets purchased, and this is why I write this, paid for not by the company but by her boss out of her own pocket, to take her team to see a show. i have done it myself I do not wish to brag but don't take your team out on company expenses, that is meaningless. Take them out with your own money, that is huge. I already had a lot of respect for her on the Trew Patent Respectometer but now it has hit the limit.

Isn't that hypnotist bloke on Little Britain based on Derren Brown?

I think the company makes plenty of money so I'd have no issue with them paying.   

Take whatever you can get when it's offered.   

It's a bit like saving up points on your loyalty card.  Why save them? Take the discount or cash off immediately.  I always try and cash them in there and then - bird in the hand etc.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

My wife is off this evening to see Derren Brown the illusionist at Southend in a nice old theatre there. I think he has rave reviews, apparently he can make audiences disappear even before the interval.

They are down in the stalls in the three and nines so should get a good view I hope, Tickets purchased, and this is why I write this, paid for not by the company but by her boss out of her own pocket, to take her team to see a show. i have done it myself I do not wish to brag but don't take your team out on company expenses, that is meaningless. Take them out with your own money, that is huge. I already had a lot of respect for her on the Trew Patent Respectometer but now it has hit the limit.

Isn't that hypnotist bloke on Little Britain based on Derren Brown?

I think the company makes plenty of money so I'd have no issue with them paying.   

Take whatever you can get when it's offered.   

It's a bit like saving up points on your loyalty card.  Why save them? Take the discount or cash off immediately.  I always try and cash them in there and then - bird in the hand etc.

I dont think that is the point. Eventually going round the houses the company pays her and it is her salary and so on so eventually the company has paid for it, and so on.  But she has paid for it after taxes and national insurance and so on and paid the petrol or diesel to drive them down there and presumably drive them home or in the missus case to a hotel. that I think is a huge gesture to make, and it probably does not come across well written down. Signing off an expenses form is meaningless, making the effort and gesture to do that I think is very meaningful.

Maybe he can make my wife disappear, that would be the best trick.

I haven't really watched Litte Britain much even when first aired it was not really my cup of tea,  I just never really "got" it if you see what I mean, I could understand its surrealism or whatever but never quite got hold of it, so I don't know which character you mean. I should not be at all surprised though,.

SimonTrew wrote:

.....

I haven't really watched Litte Britain much even when first aired it was not really my cup of tea,  I just never really "got" it if you see what I mean, I could understand its surrealism or whatever but never quite got hold of it, so I don't know which character you mean. I should not be at all surprised though,.

I know what you mean.  Works sometimes.  Sometimes it's even really bordering on a kind of abuse - especially the hypnotist.  Anyway, the character can be sampled here.

The one which I thought was pretty good was Harry Enfield in "I saw you coming" -  part of the Harry and Paul series.  Antiques for idiots and those with too many pretences.

fluffy2560 wrote:

SimonTrew wrote:

.....

I haven't really watched Litte Britain much even when first aired it was not really my cup of tea,  I just never really "got" it if you see what I mean, I could understand its surrealism or whatever but never quite got hold of it, so I don't know which character you mean. I should not be at all surprised though,.

I know what you mean.  Works sometimes.  Sometimes it's even really bordering on a kind of abuse - especially the hypnotist.  Anyway, the character can be sampled here.

The one which I thought was pretty good was Harry Enfield in "I saw you coming" -  part of the Harry and Paul series.  Antiques for idiots and those with too many pretences.

Yeah that is quite funny, I like Harry Enfield a lot. Havent' seen him doing much nowadays but presumably he has Loadsamoney and doesn't need to work much. Harry and Paul made a great double act but also are excellent individual comedians.  one falls out of touch with these things when living "abroad"  for all I know Paul Whitehouse has a new series.

The first couple of episodes of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue are very funny well worth a listen.  I shall have to complain to BBC though because they played Stavanger's  electrical-only variant for Mornington Crescent and I could swear that Caroline Quentin got away with a false move going to Tooting Broadway, but perhaps that is permissible now. Jack Dee is not quite as much a stickler for the rules as Humph was,

fluffy2560 wrote:

It's a bit like saving up points on your loyalty card.  Why save them? Take the discount or cash off immediately.  I always try and cash them in there and then - bird in the hand etc.

Oh I am forever doing that i mean I take the empty tins back to Tesco because we can't recycle them in our bin collections, but you can recycle them there, get the 400ft or so, and pocket the receipt and then of course, empty out all the paper into the recycle bin that... er.... I should of course just walk into Tesco and buy something with it rather than keep the receipts.

That is one of these odd things in Hungary that they must give you a receipt. I can perfectly understand that on demand you should have a receipt but because it is the law your wallet is forever getting full up with pointless receipts for tiny amounts, a bottle of cola or whatever. In the döhanybolt, tobacconist, they tend to just chuck them away that everyone who goes in there doesn't need the receipt as it is fixed price, I want the tobacco not the piece of paper, but then why print the piece of paper only just to chuck it away?

It is this kind of save-the-planet nonsense that annoys me. We as consumers are endlessly told to recycle, etc, etc, and at the same time endlessly are given useless packaging, bits of paper and so on that we don't want or need in the first place. Yes, of course things must be securely packaged for shipping etc, but you don't need to put one box inside another box in a kinda Russian dolls fashion for what is at the end of the day just some piece of marketing rubbish I have been sent without asking for it. Now it is my responsibility to dispose of all this packaging that I didn't want in the first place. How about tackling the businesses who produce all this rubbish?

There is also often quite a disincentive to recycle. You get money back on recyclable glass bottles (which is itself a bit pointless because they don't recycle the bottles they smash them up and it usually ends up in road asphalt or whatever), yet often you get beer in both an aluminium can and a bottle and even taking the deposit on the uveg (glass) into account, the aluminium can is cheaper. I mean as a supplier of empties to the Trade I tend to have my wits about me with these things, but there is just no incentive to recycle.

And why not recycle, er, the bottles like we used to: It takes about ten goes round the loop before a glass bottle becomes unusable as a bottle, that is the average before it gets chipped or broken or whatever so that it would be unfit for refilling, but at least try to do it.

So there is all this lip service paid to recycling and guilt induced on the consumer but it's not us making all this complete crap. They stick a "please recycle" label on it and say oh it's recyclable, well how actually am I supposed to recycle it? And now I have to peel off this sodding label and somehow recycle that too.

Even if you have a crate for your beer or water the bottles are not actually recycled. If they were, on the outside they would often be scuffed and marked as they have gone back round the cycle: they never are.

Its like those soda siphon bottles which everyone uses. Well I have a proper soda siphon and the cartridges are very cheap, the szindioxid carbon dioxide cartridges, and I can reuse the same soda siphon over and over again, yes I have to get new cartridges once in a month of Sundays. But those ones people buy are not reusable in any meaningful sense, they have to go back to the factory where they no doubt just chuck them away somewhere. There was a crate of them sitting in my shed when we bought the place, just left here, and we got 3000Ft for a crate of twenty (I think), but I doubt very much they are actually recycled in any meaningful sense of the word.

Well I seem to have started ranting against the world pretty early this morning.

fluffy2560 wrote:

I think more baffling is the use (in the UK) of hot and cold taps.  Every tap I've seen in Europe are (very sensibly) mixer taps

Well obviously hot and cold taps are a perfectly sensible idea. It means you can burn your hands and freeze them at the same time, why would you not want that.

The stupidest thing is that even on new builds they put in separate hot and cold taps, so the first thing someone has to do is buy a mixer tap (at extortionate prices, much cheaper in Hungary) to change the sodding thing from a hot and cold tap arrangement to a mixer tap. That is just another stupid thing, mixer taps should be mandatory on new builds, I can understand it on old builds where you put the hot water in after cold water was there, it was the easy thing to do. It was something that really was missed with rebuilding after World War II, we got the electricity right but they missed that one on the plumbing, there was no committee to design a standard British mixer tap, it would have made life simpler.

The other year I stayed with my missus in a hotel (the missus is staying in it next week I think) which is very nice hotel in the middle of Manchester, England. They have a mixer shower thing and had put the bezel out by half a circle so that hot pointed to cold and cold pointed to hot. I did point this out to them at reception, I said  I am not that bothered about it but someone sooner or later is going to get scalded, you should get your maintenance department just to go in after we have left and swindle that bezel round so that it is the right way round, that hot points to hot and cold points to cold, won't take a couple of minutes. Bet they still haven't done it.

The girl at reception she was lovely, well there were several but she was the nicest, I imagine she has moved on and got something better.

We used to have chats about DIY (when it was quiet of course, the missus was working I had all day and a hotel like that tends to become quiet during the day), because her father and she were doing up a little house, she said to me how do I cover this radiator up?  I so so so struggled to find the English for it, I am hunting for the words, she is checking Argos (that is a British catalogue shopping that sells almost everything). I went out for a walk the next morning after breakfast and went into a hardware shop near there and said:

(ME) "what do you call those things you use to cover radiators?"
(HE) "Radiator covers".

But of course.

It gets you like that when you are used to thinking in a different language, you can't find the words in your "own" language.

SimonTrew wrote:

My wife is off this evening to see Derren Brown the illusionist at Southend in a nice old theatre there.  (I have been in it) Southend is a bit of a dump really but this particular theatre is very nice.

Apparently he can make audiences disappear even before the interval. Rushing to the exits.

They are down in the stalls in the three and nines so should get a good view I hope,

Tickets purchased, and this is why I write this, paid for not by the company but by her boss out of her own pocket, to take her team to see a show. i have done it myself I do not wish to brag but don't take your team out on company expenses, that is meaningless. Take them out with your own money, that is huge.

My now deceased sister seemed to know just about everyone or knew someone who knew someone in the entertainment industry.
She often went with a boyfriend, he worked at Disney in  the animation dept.Very talented artist, anyways he was into learning magic too. They always were going to the Magic Castle up in the Hollywood Hills. It was a private magic club. He knew some famous people in magic and was always welcome at the castle.

There are many real life"witches" in these industries. I know it sounds crazy but my sister told me about some very odd stuff 30 some years ago before it was even really talked about.
She knew a group of women who all went to make up artist school about the same time I was enrolled in a long hard course of cosmetology.
They landed jobs straight out of a short makeup course of like 3 months in the film industry.
I asked my sister how that could happen so fast for them without having to pay their dues.
She said they were all "witches" in a coven and that's how they got in so fast. She mentioned they were into some dark stuff so she wasn't hanging with them any longer. Makes you sort of believe all this witchy stuff about the recent  deaths people in entertainment.
Paying overdo dues and making packs...
The longer i live I realize nothing really surprises me any longer.
I do wish my sister was still alive, I'd love to get inside her head and find out what she knew.
In fact her last boyfriend( hate the B******, we in the fam all hate him) was actually handed a contract for some very lucrative contracts for office painting . He did painting after hours with his crew for office buildings, lawyer,doctors offices that sort of job where the price was no object really.
His mother had been ( hard to believe) the best friend of that NYC socialite ,Leona Helmsley, the cruel evil hag who was quoted to say something like. "Only the little people pay taxes".
She helped her BFF's son land those contracts and made connections for him before his mother passed away. I seriously doubt he even knew how to hold a paint brush.
So once you're in the "club" even your family no matter what real losers they are , are also in the "club".
He was a jerk who hired all his friends to paint for him while all he did was smoke you know what and party.
In fact he was the only person my Doberman wanted to eat alive when he first smelled a whiff of him... Dogs know, they can smell evil coming off of a person.

I have no idea why my sister chose to hang out with some very disturbing people, guess she enjoyed the rush of always having to watch your back.
I know sometimes we would go out shopping or lunch together and she would have to make a quick stop to see someone. I was never allowed in with her, she never wanted me to mix with that crowd  of freaks and monsters.
She had allot of boyfriends, kept herself a "little black book" with their names inside. Talk about being a women's libber! She was way ahead of her time.
I never pushed her for more info, now wish I had done so.
When she passed away young, 3 of her old boyfriends, 2 who were then married , all paid for all costs related to her death. Odd but they all were crazy about her or just crazy in general.
No, actually those 3 guys were nice enough, one reason my sister broke up with them, she never wanted to take anyone down with her.
The painting guy didn't pay for a thing, he was involved indirectly with her early passing too.
Like I said we in the fam dislike him allot, he knew enough to stay away from all of us for his own good, connections to power or not, he needed to be taken care of, too bad he stayed far away.
Had the nerve however to call my lovely niece up one year to the day that my sister passed away.
He told her that all my sisters friends missed her and they wanted her ashes for awhile!!!
He wanted to scatter them at a horse race track because my sister loved the horses.
Like I said crazy and evil in Hollywood.
Don't even have to mention what my niece told him, would be reported for foul language if I did so.
So long story short( ha, ha not so short) I stay far away from "magic".