Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Oh dear.

It was all going so well, until......

Going back to this, maybe I read the wrong newspapers or websites, but it is astonishing to me how "viral" these ice-bucket challenges have become in such a short period.

I'm not even sure I get why, but something has definitely piqued folks interest.

I can understand why Kate Perry in a bikini might appeal to some, or the elegantly couiffered Claire Balding, but some old bloke, not so much.

Yesterday alone, I was "challenged" 5 times. Guess I'll be OK, but I have a rider that insists on water that is tepid, if not luke. Ice cold, I think not. Not sure the ticker would cope, tbh.

All very odd. We live in strange times.

[the sicilian]

Its good they raise awareness and money..but as much as they have become popular they have also become annoying... it just shows you the sheep mentality of the human race...

with one sentence that little girl managed to sum up a level of parenting that's become commom place... brought up in an environment where swearing etc is commonplace.. i swear as much as the next person but was hugely aware around my children as they were growing up... the first time I heard my eldest say the F word was when she was 13 and under wasp attack... I gave her a look between Deathray and astonishment..she apologised profusely knowing even at that age i didn't find it acceptable..sadly i know of several ( women ) who scream insanely at their toddlers routinely using the C word in a barrage of effing.... everytime time i cringe and curl up inside with a mixture of horror and embarrassment

[tikay]

One thing leads to another.......

I was reading up on these Ice Bucket Challenges, & many of them are called "ALS Ice Bucket Challenges".

ALS?

What that?

Some googling took me to the Wiki page, & "ALS" is what most of us know as motor neurone disease, a truly dreadful thing. Felt quite ashamed I never knew that.

Reading on, I find that in the USA, it is commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's disease". 

Who he?

More googling......

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

A stunning story.

Perhaps the best baseball player of his generation, & as it happened, a team-mate in the New York Yankees of the greatest ever, Babe Ruth.

Lou had great stats, & won the World Series 6 times.

His greatest stat, though, was that he played 2,130 consecutive games for the Yankees over a 16 year period. 2,130!

It gets better - or worse - though.

He developed ALS in 1939, & initially continued playing. But his performances were terrible. He could still hit the ball out of the middle of the bat, (he had been one of the games biggest & most powerful sluggers) but it went nowhere, & he kept getting caught in the outfield. He could not run properly, either.

After a few games, he did the unthinkable - he dropped himself. People were aghast. Drop himself after 2,130 straight appearances? What gives?

Soon his illness became more apparent.

He died 2 years later.

Amazing the things we can learn, & so quickly, from the internet. It shows us our ignorance, too.

Here's Lou in action.....




....seen here with Babe Ruth.....





...and I now have to go get this book. His trademark was, even near death, he insisted he was the luckiest person alive, hence the book title.....

[Tal]

Saw an advert at a train station today. The rail company has an app for smartphones, so you can find out all the essentials about your journey. The advert was too tell you it's available on Android and iPhone networks.

The headline?

Now on both platforms

 

[hector62]

Morning Mr T.

I know you like your photo galleries so here is an ecology one. My favourite is the Emperor penguin creche.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28983548

[doubleup]

Art!

Was watching http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04fmg8j/bright-lights-brilliant-minds-a-tale-of-three-cities-2-paris-1928

and this character featured http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka.  She's driving a bugatti wearing haute couture in her self portrait.

 

[Rubbish2407]

Your mate.

[DMorgan]

Very interesting gallery from the NATO summit in Wales

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/nato-summit-2014-best-pictures-7725289

[tikay]

Very interesting gallery from the NATO summit in Wales

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/nato-summit-2014-best-pictures-7725289

Thanks Dan.

Some of those images are nothing short of surreal. 

Tanks on Celtic Manor golf course, a Warship moored in someone's front garden?

No idea how a Nation gets selected to host a NATO summit, but that's some poison chalice, & I shudder to think what it cost. Hard to see a penny of payback, either.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Your mate.

Marv.

I still don't quite "get" these Ice Bucket Challenges, but I've been nominated to do FIVE now.

Amazing how, in the digital age, these things go "viral" so quickly.

[tikay]

Art!

Was watching http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04fmg8j/bright-lights-brilliant-minds-a-tale-of-three-cities-2-paris-1928

and this character featured http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka.  She's driving a bugatti wearing haute couture in her self portrait.

 

I almost like that. Don't tell Tom, ffs. 

[tikay]

Morning Mr T.

I know you like your photo galleries so here is an ecology one. My favourite is the Emperor penguin creche.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28983548

Thanks hector.

Love those, my favourite is below, I've become quite fascinated by the strange ways of hippos. Big buggers, BIG,  but very gentle in many ways, & the young ones are as cute as cute can be. Don't mess with hippos though. They are not even scared of crocs & will harass crocs if they feel so inclined.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

At last, I've managed to find a new photo-sharing site, as PhotoBucket was playing up for me. I'm using imgur now, looks just the job.

When posting stuff, I think a photo or two adds so much, so it's been a bit of a bugger.

[tikay]

Very interesting gallery from the NATO summit in Wales

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/nato-summit-2014-best-pictures-7725289

I was not familiar with these things, so I looked them up - Osprey Helicopters.

They cost $69 million EACH, & the US Miliitary has 200 so far, with another 208 on order.

Those numbers beggar belief. 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Boeing_V-22_Osprey

Click to see full-size image.

[Tal]

Was talking to someone the other day who works for Airbus. From what I gather, they're making a new 'plane, which is like their biggest one but with only one deck (if that makes sense?). They have orders for 1,000 a month.

I appreciate it's a huge operation, but 33 rolling off the forecourt every day is an impressive number.

How do you deliver a 'plane? Is that the world's stupidest question? Do they fly them from France?