Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

It is now 2 weeks since the Malayasian aircarft went missing.

The current hot topic is debris in the Indian Ocean. Two large pieces of debris - one 24 metres long, & so probably too large to be flotsam or jetsam - have been spotted, & so the S&R (minus R, one assumes) is being concentrated there.

If that turns out to be fragments of the aircraft, that would mean it flew 7 hours in radio silence, & would be at the extremity of it's fuel load. Almost as if it de-pressurised, the occupants all passed out, & it just flew itself until fuel exhaustion caused it to fall into the Ocean.

Eventually, the truth will out. Civil Aircraft safety & governance is incredibly good, a credit to the industry. They will find the causes.

Meanwhile, over on PPRuNe, one of only very many Aircraft Geek forums, the thread has grown to.....

10.5 million views

346 pages

6,900 replies/posts.


The interest in this story is phenonomal, macabre as it may be. Far more interesting than 27 million slaves, it seems.

[tikay]

I've only just learned (because I wanted to check the spelling, for the previous post) that "flotsam & jetsam", which I thought was a generic phrase to embrace all sea-borne debris, is nothing of the sort.

"flotsam" & "jetsam" are different things.  


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flotsam_and_jetsam

There, today's lesson for the geeks, & a great Trivial Pursuit question.

[tikay]

There are forums for everything these days, & their activity fluctuates according to what's hot.

Somehow, yesterday, whilst trying to read up on the tragic tale of Miss L'Wren Scott (long time partner of Mick Jagger), I found myself on a Rolling Stones Forum. And it was heaving with posts & views. Almost On Fire, you might say, if you were hoping to see their 2015 Tour.

https://www.iorr.org/talk/list.php?1


Note, at the foot of the page.....


Record Number of Users: 59 on March 21, 2014 09:30

Record Number of Guests: 239 on March 21, 2014 09:36

Nothing like a human tragedy, in this case the collateral effects of a suicide -  to arouse interest.

For those not aware, the Rolling Stones are in the middle of a Tour, & were about to "do" Australia. The Tour is now cancelled, due to the death by suicide of fashion designer L'Wren Scott, which, unsurprisingly, has left Mr Jagger in no fit state to continue. 

The Tour was set to generate over $500 million apparently. Knock a few hundred mill off for hype, but still serious money. The insurance company won't be happy, but everyone else gets paid.

[tikay]

The Rolling Stones say the Tour will be re-scheduled, & there seems no lack of demand to see them, farewell tour after farewell tour.

There can be few "rock"  bands who have generated so much money from touring, they've been doing Tours for some 50 (FIFTY!) years now.

Their ages? Mick is 70, Keith is 70, Charlie 72, & Ronnie a mere 66.

How on earth does that work? A bunch of OAP's, dressed like adolescents, prancing about on stage, but still getting the job done.

I can & do spend hours on google images, viewing photos of Keith, both on & off stage.

Mesmerising.

[tikay]

Vera Lynn, meanwhile, has topped that.

She has just released a new album. 

Yesterday was her 97th birthday.

Many youngsters will not know of Dame Very Lynn, but she originally famous for being a "forces sweetheart", visiting, & holding concerts for British Serviceman overseas during WWII. She still does much for the Charities associated with retired British Service men & women.

I'd say she is a sort of mini Queen Mother, immensely popular.

Dame Vera Lynn. Might almost be a real legend. 

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Lynn

[DaveShoelace]

Their ages? Mick is 70, Keith is 70, Charlie 72, & Ronnie a mere 66.

How on earth does that work? A bunch of OAP's, dressed like adolescents, prancing about on stage, but still getting the job done.

Similar things happen in poker to be fair

[david3103]

Talking of slaves...

A TED talk about modern day slavery. Eye-opening in the extreme

http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_kristine_glimpses_of_modern_day_slavery?utm_medium=on.ted.com-facebook-share&utm_content=awesm-publisher&awesm=on.ted.com_d03Lc&utm_source=direct-on.ted.com&utm_campaign#

That was a painful watch, David.

Most of us feel so bad when we see that sort of thing, but mostly, we look away. 

A weird analogy for you.

That video has been watched 1.6 million times. The PPRuNe thread about the missing 'plane has been viewed 10.5 million times.

To be fair I would suggest that the video has a lot of unique views (hard to watch once, let alone twice), whilst the PPRuNe thread, like TfT is viewed by many people many many times.

[david3103]

apropos The Stones, it works because they still show every sign of enjoying what they do.
I was lucky enough to be in the front section of the crowd at Glastonbury last year. They may not have all the dexterity they once had, they may be old and wrinkled, they may run out of breath faster now, but they still put on a show.

Their encore alone was worth the hours of standing in a crush to get a good viewing spot.

[tikay]

Talking of slaves...

A TED talk about modern day slavery. Eye-opening in the extreme

http://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_kristine_glimpses_of_modern_day_slavery?utm_medium=on.ted.com-facebook-share&utm_content=awesm-publisher&awesm=on.ted.com_d03Lc&utm_source=direct-on.ted.com&utm_campaign#

That was a painful watch, David.

Most of us feel so bad when we see that sort of thing, but mostly, we look away. 

A weird analogy for you.

That video has been watched 1.6 million times. The PPRuNe thread about the missing 'plane has been viewed 10.5 million times.

To be fair I would suggest that the video has a lot of unique views (hard to watch once, let alone twice), whilst the PPRuNe thread, like TfT is viewed by many people many many times.

Well yes. I was just musing, as I tend to.

But we, the public, DO get fixated by these sort of things, more so than "slavery" & the like.

The Chilean Miners, Watergate, a missing aeroplane, Madeleine McCann. These tales attracted enormous media interest. Public interest in slavery never will approach those levels.

The McCann story was a tragedy for the family, but the acres of media noise it made, &, I suppose interest, was all out of proportion to the gravity of the story in relative terms. 

Our minds work in strange ways.

[RED-DOG]

Diary doesn't blow chunks.

[tikay]

Their ages? Mick is 70, Keith is 70, Charlie 72, & Ronnie a mere 66.

How on earth does that work? A bunch of OAP's, dressed like adolescents, prancing about on stage, but still getting the job done.

Similar things happen in poker to be fair

Groan. How do these things happen?

I'm (supposed to be) having lunch with Claire, who filmed that, & who used to be the Ch 861 "Head of Channel", on Monday. Her assistant on that trip, who filmed that piece, was Dan Bulmer, who is now a Producer on Ch 861. 

Great memories, actually. Not sure I'll ever do a Vegas gig for Next Door again, but I've enjoyed them so much, my annual "work" highlight.

[tikay]

Diary doesn't blow chunks.

Can someone - not Tom, he'll enjoy my discomfort that I don't understand - explain that to me, please?

Diary doesn't blow chunks

[Redsgirl]

Diary doesn't blow chunks.

Can someone - not Tom, he'll enjoy my discomfort that I don't understand - explain that to me, please?

Diary doesn't blow chunks

Loosely translated as 'Diary isn't vomit'.

Which still isn't a compliment cos everyone knows diary is sick, innit?

[tikay]

Diary doesn't blow chunks.

Can someone - not Tom, he'll enjoy my discomfort that I don't understand - explain that to me, please?

Diary doesn't blow chunks

Loosely translated as 'Diary isn't vomit'.

Which still isn't a compliment cos everyone knows diary is sick, innit?

Oh, I see.

He wanted to be nice to me, but could not bring himself to actually say it. Yes yes, that fits.

[tikay]

I saw this on PPRuNe today.


The "source" of this is 2nd hand information from a known liar. I would not take anything Saxby Chambliss says an accurate reflection on facts without independent verification. A more histrionic dissimulator is hard to find this side of Caracas

Gotta love that.  

histrionic dissimulator


PS - I'd never heard of Saxby (in fact I asumed by the name it was a woman), but it turns out he is a Politician.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxby_Chambliss

A Politician dissimulating, who'd have thought.