Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Oi Gramps! I posted above your last post!

I do enjoy your diary, especially these days the basketball stuff, inspirational stuff but yes, it is not a patch on Tom's diary ofc

Piss off to his Diary then.

xx

[tikay]

Oi Gramps! I posted above your last post!

I do enjoy your diary, especially these days the basketball stuff, inspirational stuff but yes, it is not a patch on Tom's diary ofc

I know.......

[Jon MW]

There is a thread ion "The Lounge" started by Guy, about 18 months ago, & it died, only to be resurrected by "leethefish" a few days ago.

Lee Posted a photo which really caught my eye big time, & so I have borrowed it, I hope he does not mind. I'll give it back once I'm done.

Anyway, just look at this simply amazing room - how wonderful is that, & what an interesting chap or chapess the owner must be?

Can you imagine the beautifully soft acoustics in that room, if you whisper, the sound will simply vanish, must be like being in a hospital linen cupboard. (You can get up to all sorts in a linen cupboard without fear of being heard).

But most of all, look at how he has stacked those books - half of them, indeed the entire right hand elevation - are laid "flat", one on top of each other. I've never seen books placed in a bookcase in that manner before, & it seems so impractical (as to ease of pulling them out to peruse). Is that a really odd thing, or have I just led (lead?) a sheltered life?

Click to see full-size image.

I can't see the argument for aesthetics.

The only reason I'd ever stack books like that is that you can fit more in that way - and I'd guess that's the reason why it was done here.

The only other way of fitting more in is if the shelves are deep enough you have 2 rows of books one in front of the other.

It's slightly easier to get to whichever book you want that way - but it does mean you have to remember where you put which books when they're in one of the back rows.

[TightEnd]

2,535 posts next door

Correct though, stunningly different. One is from Mars, the other Venus

[AndrewT]

Stacking books like that is the sign of someone who owns books but doesn't read them.

[Jon MW]

Stacking books like that is the sign of someone who owns books but doesn't read them.

I'd say it's a final resort if they are books that get read - given quite how many are stacked like that in the picture I'd say they're either not often consulted or there's an extreme lack of space available in the rest of the property.

[Big_D]

Quick “good luck” to our very own “DMorgan” in tonight’s £110 Bounty Hunter. A lot of poker players are a bit snobbish about these, but quite a few decent players have worked out the secret, & earn a good deal out of them.

Dan actually won last night’s Friday renewal, it is one of the nightly £110 Tourneys, which alternate between Bounty Hunters & “Rollers”.

Here’s the thing, though – the runner up last week to Dan Morgan was none other than our very own resident female (according to Tom) -  “Doobs”.

I know Doobs screen-name next door, so I ‘scoped him this morning, & how about this for running hot, & also getting it quietly?

In his last 12 Tourneys next door, mainly the 9pm £110’s, his record is…..

£110 Tourney, 2nd of 42, £1,250.

£110 Tourney, 3rd  of 60, £562.97 

£110 Tourney, 2nd of 53, £672.08

£50 Tourney, 2nd of 295, £2,281.25

About time he won one, imo. 

Went and had a look at some of the results and Thewy has had a good week, won the Roller on Tuesday and the 3k BH last night, mbn, does he ever run bad

I also saw that Mr Giblin made a FT this week, 4th I believe, I would love to see him win one, will never happen I know but it's nice to dream

Dylan!

I was just thinking, affectionately of course, of you. Job going OK?

Incred binkage by Thewy, won 2 of his last 5 Tourneys, spent £260, won £2,600.  Minting it. Not sure the Site Pro is supposed to pillage everyone, but it does not seem to bother him.

Job is going great thanks, day off today, I had no choice in the matter, I should spread my Annual Leave a bit better throughout the year but I have left it until the last minute to use them up, oops! Thought I would catch with your diary today as I am at a loose end. I haven't watched the new shows yet but I hope they are going well in the new format?

As for Thewy, he has no shame, all smiles at live events and comes across as a real gent but then his sinister side comes out online, how dare he crush the tables next door, he has no shame that man!

[tikay]

Stacking books like that is the sign of someone who owns books but doesn't read them.

I thought that, it must make them very awkward to peruse.

It just seems so wrong, to me, like stacking tins of Baked Beans upside down.

[AndrewT]

It just seems so wrong, to me, like stacking tins of Baked Beans upside down.

Tins of baked beans should always be stacked upside down.

[tikay]

Quick “good luck” to our very own “DMorgan” in tonight’s £110 Bounty Hunter. A lot of poker players are a bit snobbish about these, but quite a few decent players have worked out the secret, & earn a good deal out of them.

Dan actually won last night’s Friday renewal, it is one of the nightly £110 Tourneys, which alternate between Bounty Hunters & “Rollers”.

Here’s the thing, though – the runner up last week to Dan Morgan was none other than our very own resident female (according to Tom) -  “Doobs”.

I know Doobs screen-name next door, so I ‘scoped him this morning, & how about this for running hot, & also getting it quietly?

In his last 12 Tourneys next door, mainly the 9pm £110’s, his record is…..

£110 Tourney, 2nd of 42, £1,250.

£110 Tourney, 3rd  of 60, £562.97 

£110 Tourney, 2nd of 53, £672.08

£50 Tourney, 2nd of 295, £2,281.25

About time he won one, imo. 

Went and had a look at some of the results and Thewy has had a good week, won the Roller on Tuesday and the 3k BH last night, mbn, does he ever run bad

I also saw that Mr Giblin made a FT this week, 4th I believe, I would love to see him win one, will never happen I know but it's nice to dream

Dylan!

I was just thinking, affectionately of course, of you. Job going OK?

Incred binkage by Thewy, won 2 of his last 5 Tourneys, spent £260, won £2,600.  Minting it. Not sure the Site Pro is supposed to pillage everyone, but it does not seem to bother him.

Job is going great thanks, day off today, I had no choice in the matter, I should spread my Annual Leave a bit better throughout the year but I have left it until the last minute to use them up, oops! Thought I would catch with your diary today as I am at a loose end. I haven't watched the new shows yet but I hope they are going well in the new format?

As for Thewy, he has no shame, all smiles at live events and comes across as a real gent but then his sinister side comes out online, how dare he crush the tables next door, he has no shame that man!

"catch up with your diary as I am bored", marv.

The new Shows are glong wonderfully, thank you, audience ratings have gone off the scale, so we are getting a lot of new viewers, which was the whole idea, there is only limited scope in preaching to the converted.

As a result, we are getting a bit of heat from the regular viewers, but thus far, personally, I seem to have escaped their wrath. Guess it is "he's old, be nice to him" thing.

You coming to Brighton, Big Boy?

[Big_D]

Quick “good luck” to our very own “DMorgan” in tonight’s £110 Bounty Hunter. A lot of poker players are a bit snobbish about these, but quite a few decent players have worked out the secret, & earn a good deal out of them.

Dan actually won last night’s Friday renewal, it is one of the nightly £110 Tourneys, which alternate between Bounty Hunters & “Rollers”.

Here’s the thing, though – the runner up last week to Dan Morgan was none other than our very own resident female (according to Tom) -  “Doobs”.

I know Doobs screen-name next door, so I ‘scoped him this morning, & how about this for running hot, & also getting it quietly?

In his last 12 Tourneys next door, mainly the 9pm £110’s, his record is…..

£110 Tourney, 2nd of 42, £1,250.

£110 Tourney, 3rd  of 60, £562.97 

£110 Tourney, 2nd of 53, £672.08

£50 Tourney, 2nd of 295, £2,281.25

About time he won one, imo. 

Went and had a look at some of the results and Thewy has had a good week, won the Roller on Tuesday and the 3k BH last night, mbn, does he ever run bad

I also saw that Mr Giblin made a FT this week, 4th I believe, I would love to see him win one, will never happen I know but it's nice to dream

Dylan!

I was just thinking, affectionately of course, of you. Job going OK?

Incred binkage by Thewy, won 2 of his last 5 Tourneys, spent £260, won £2,600.  Minting it. Not sure the Site Pro is supposed to pillage everyone, but it does not seem to bother him.

Job is going great thanks, day off today, I had no choice in the matter, I should spread my Annual Leave a bit better throughout the year but I have left it until the last minute to use them up, oops! Thought I would catch with your diary today as I am at a loose end. I haven't watched the new shows yet but I hope they are going well in the new format?

As for Thewy, he has no shame, all smiles at live events and comes across as a real gent but then his sinister side comes out online, how dare he crush the tables next door, he has no shame that man!

"catch up with your diary as I am bored", marv.

The new Shows are glong wonderfully, thank you, audience ratings have gone off the scale, so we are getting a lot of new viewers, which was the whole idea, there is only limited scope in preaching to the converted.

As a result, we are getting a bit of heat from the regular viewers, but thus far, personally, I seem to have escaped their wrath. Guess it is "he's old, be nice to him" thing.

You coming to Brighton, Big Boy?

Was hoping you would bite more to that comment hehe

I will not be at Brighton unfortunately as I will be heading to Hong Kong the following weekend for two weeks so I have a load to do before then and can't justify another weekend away. I will 100% be at Cardiff, iirc it is on the 28th of April so all good for that one. Haven't seen your old self or any of the lads in an age now so will be good to catch up on some mutual abuse

[Rod Paradise]

Tikay, I know you like techy things, building materials etc - well these guys beat your concrete all ends up (posted on a bushcraft forum, reposted here with permission):

A few weeks ago Jim and I went for a walk in the Kendeng highlands of Java. Jim was getting a volcano and jungle fix before heading back to Canada and canoeing while I was getting material for yet another of my stories on the bushcraft of the hill tribes of Asia.

The Kaneke are a reclusive pre-Islamic group that some anthropologists believe are descendants of a Hindu-animist priesthood from the time when Hindu kingdoms spread across South East Asia (Angkor etc.) Locally they have a reputation as sorcerers and magicians that has helped keep the outer world away.

Whatever their origin they are known now for their rejection of the modern world. They refuse to leave the forests for towns, reject schooling and modern medicine.

To the majority and most Western expats this is a foolish thing but I think they are wise. Most tribes that move to towns find themselves in slums soon to be an underclass of day labourers or farm workers, the women domestic servants, factory workers or prostitutes. A school curriculum designed by a dominant culture is almost always ethnocide. Their culture and animist religion will be ridiculed by teachers from the dominant culture. In this context that means they will have to conform to Muslim norms and Indonesian culture. Modern medicine as administered in the developing world falls short of its promise and you can be sure that tribes people are not going to be the ones who get kidney transplants to replace their diabetes riddled ones once they switch to a "modern diet" of cheap carbohydrate.

Instead they are staying put and looking after their forest refugia, an ark of plants and trees which they have been stewards of for at least 500 years. Entry to this refugia is forbidden to outsiders and only very limited access is given to their domain.

What really interested me was their use of plants in making living structures. Like fire pistons, living bridge construction is a technology found in the past among the hill tribes of Asia from the Eastern Himalayas to the Island archipelagos. Like the fire piston most peoples have lost the art.

Here is a living bridge. The red shirt is me. The bridge is about twenty-five to thirty meters across.

Click to see full-size image.

A Kaneke youth. His backpack is a home made ‘cotton’ sack.

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Nice whitewater below. It made Jim wish he had a canoe.

Jim from the living bridge

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In a tropical environment this is better than steel.

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Building a bridge like this takes decades and can only be done by people who have a strong sense of continuity and cooperation. It’s truly a case of building the future since you may never walk the bridge but your children and children’s children will.

They live in villages on hill slopes or hill tops and construct stone walls and streets with river stones. No cement is used. Each stone is placed individually. The labour necessary to bring these stones up from the rivers points to a highly organized and cooperative culture unlike the majority Sundanese living in the lowlands whose villages have slick muddy lanes. They have as good access to such stones but hardly use them apart form chucking a few into muddy potholes in an attempt to even out the road.

Click to see full-size image.

This keeps everyone fit and their simple living means that they are remarkably healthy looking with clear eyes and skin. No fat people except me.

They are short as the picture of a door way shows.

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They do not have electricity though the government has offered it. It’s strange to be in a place where it is quiet in the evening and almost completely black.

While the trees are growing into living bridges they use bamboo bridges.
If the tree bridges uses suspension bridge technology, the bamboo ones use arch technology.

Click to see full-size image.

There are no pillars in the river, the weight is taken by the arch.

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There are no nails or screws in the bridges just fibre lashings made from the Arenga palm.

Click to see full-size image.

This type of cordage is rough but very durable. It is said that the cordage can last for a hundred years, but probably not when taking such a load.

In any case bamboo will not last that long and the villages turn out about 4 times a year to rebuild the bamboo bridges. They dismantle and rebuild with new bamboo in one day. Amazing organisation and cooperation.

Apart from being stewards of the forest they have some interesting beliefs, most of which can be attributed to a culture attuned to its environment. I haven’t worked out their belief system yet so I am guessing but it is clear that Bhumi (Sanskrit for Earth) is important. They do not wear sandals so their feet are on the ground. They do not use or ride in any form of transport; they walk. If they visit cities they walk all the way. No iron implement is used to till the soil (erosion?). They do not grow the more productive wet rice but plant hill rice (to avoid terraced fields and erosion; to intercrop with forest cover?) No nails are used in their buildings only lashing , dove tailed joints or similar friction fits.

They hunt deer, squirrels, mouse deer with nets which again requires a lot of cooperation and small prey are euthanized by suffocation. Spears are very seldom used and only for dangerous game.

Fire wise it is percussion fire-lighting.

I need to return a few times to get a better understanding of these people.

A bit worrying reading about the push to attend 'modern' schools - what skills are we losing by that elitist attitude? Of course we can sit in the west making those comments because we did the same before the internet and people complaining about such things.

[kinboshi]

How do you stack my books?

I hear you!

When will I next see you - will you be at DTD next weekend? If so, I'll bring them along. There were 4, as I recall, yes?

Only four, he got off lightly.

Oh God. Remind me, Ralph.....

The Paul Raymond book springs to mind immediately, as does an Omaha strategy book.

If I went home & studied the bookshelves, I'm sure I could recall the rest, but a nudge would be helpful. Sorry!

I can't actually remember Tony although there is a Damon Runyan book too.

I'm really not that bothered about them just couldn't help myself poking a little fun...

Me neither, can't actually remember which ones they were either.

Will be at DTD this weekend, and probably next Mr Kendall.

[tikay]

True, or false?

"If you buy an advance train ticket and get off at any point before your destination, the train companies have the right to fine you."

[TightEnd]

True, or false?

"If you buy an advance train ticket and get off at any point before your destination, the train companies have the right to fine you."

It's true

and woe betide you if you buy in advance, miss the train and have to explain it....