Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Leathered?!?

Football version Bladdered.

Babminton version Feathered.

"Leathered?!?!" Disqualified, we don't allow multiple exclamation or question marks on this thread.*  

"Bladdered" is not acceptable, you can't "bladder" a cricket ball.

"Feathered" is completely acceptable.

You score 1 out of 3. Well done Top Golf bloke.  



* I saw a 5 sentence spam e-mail from a poker site this morning - there was an exclamation mark after each of the 5 sentences, including a double exclamation mark after one of the sentences. What IS the matter with these people?

[UgotNuts]

Love the updates Tikay.

You seem to travel around a fair bit and always seem to find something interesting and unique.

Always makes me realize how little I know about the world and what it has to offer.

[Tal]

Bangorrhea

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23781044

[tikay]

Love the updates Tikay.

You seem to travel around a fair bit and always seem to find something interesting and unique.

Always makes me realize how little I know about the world and what it has to offer.

Thanks Mr Nuts.

I don't travel so much these days, but even a short trip, up to London or down to the coast, and I never fail to see stuff which fascinates me.

Think it's an I'm at that age thing.  

Earlier in life, I took everything for granted, but now, even basic things - the utter reliability of clean water supplies, the London sewer system, grass (what a thing grass is), even trees. Every tree species is different, & fit for purpose, with root system, bark, trunk, branches & leaves purpose-designed for their environment.  

The problem is, most folks - wisely perhaps - have little interest in my witterings on such matters.

Anyway, here's a weird tree, goes by the name of a Cook Pine.

See that lean angle? 8% apparently. They exist in both hemispheres, but here's the thing. Whatever hemisphere they are in, they lean towards the equator. (Feel free to gasp). Bet you never knew that. Now your life is forever changed for the better.  

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Bangorrhea

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23781044

Ugh.

Only with the great self-discipline am I able to resist have a full scale rant about improper use of exclamation & question marks. I'd likely get in trouble, too, as Next Door do love their exclamation marks. I mean, my internal rage knows no boundaries when some doughnut head starts a thread....

"is sky poker rigged???!!!"

I actually have no idea what combo "!?" means, and even less idea why people used them in groups of 3 or 4. Pretty sure my O Level English exam never included "????" or "!!!!!". Mind you, I did fail it, & spectacularly so.  

I'm fine when they are used properly, but it's one of those "more is less" things. Over-use them & they lose their power.

Once every 100,000 words feels about right to me.

My resistance & obsession to their improper use bothers me far more than it should, I'm almost obsessed with it, which is of course daft. And, for fear of some bright spark saying "look, he used one", I doubt I've used an exclamation mark for the last 10 years. (Cue Smart Alec finding one somewhere....).  

Uh-oh, you got me, I'm ranting.

Now I'll be seething all day.  

[tikay]

Today is the Prudential Ride.

The what?

It's a sort of cycle version of the London Marathon.

So, with the local roads all closed, I'm imprisoned, unable to even get out of my turning, as the Ride passes very close by.

The ribbon of cyclists have been swishing past since around 0630, and, as you can see, we are having a good bit of rain to keep them cool.

How many cyclists are taking part?

80,000. Eighty thousand. (Almost used a ! there, surely it is worth one?)

I stood & watched them for an hour or more. God bless them all, there are surely far worse habits in life than cycling.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

The growth of recreational cycling is extraordinary.

Back in the day, bicycles were purely for getting to work, now, they are (it seems to me) mostly used recreationally.

There are exceptions though, where the wheel(s) has turned full circle. All policeman used to have a bicycle, then they went out of fashion, now they are back.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

My first bicycle was one of these things, I was a grocery delivery boy for F Hawkins & Co, & these bikes were known as "trade bikes". Big metal basket at the front, with a special stand for parking them. Weighed just under a ton.  

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Beware, though, recreational cycling is dangerous.

One well-known blonde broke his arm just 3 days ago, when he fell off when cycling though a ford, of all things.

He's keeping very quiet about it though, for fear of ridicule. Quite right too. Imagining him on a bike is pretty hard, to be honest, he's late middle-aged & carries a fair bit of timber.

Anyone care to guess who it is?

[tikay]

Actually, that's a little unfair, as now you are all thinking it was Red Dog. Nope, not he.

[tikay]

When did the word "wellness" enter regular use? I'm sure it is a proper word or term, but I'm pretty sure it was not in general use until quite recently.

Now it is everywhere, shops & all sorts. SB&G, up in Leeds, have "wellness classes", & I'm sure many others do, too.

Seems a very odd term to me, does not feel right somehow, though I'm sure it is. Quite a hard word to weave seamlessly into a sentence, too.




 

Click to see full-size image.

[Rod Paradise]

Love the updates Tikay.

You seem to travel around a fair bit and always seem to find something interesting and unique.

Always makes me realize how little I know about the world and what it has to offer.

Thanks Mr Nuts.

I don't travel so much these days, but even a short trip, up to London or down to the coast, and I never fail to see stuff which fascinates me.

Think it's an I'm at that age thing.  

Earlier in life, I took everything for granted, but now, even basic things - the utter reliability of clean water supplies, the London sewer system, grass (what a thing grass is), even trees. Every tree species is different, & fit for purpose, with root system, bark, trunk, branches & leaves purpose-designed for their environment.  

The problem is, most folks - wisely perhaps - have little interest in my witterings on such matters.

Anyway, here's a weird tree, goes by the name of a Cook Pine.

See that lean angle? 8% apparently. They exist in both hemispheres, but here's the thing. Whatever hemisphere they are in, they lean towards the equator. (Feel free to gasp). Bet you never knew that. Now your life is forever changed for the better.  

Click to see full-size image.

Wow!!!!

You got me kicked off reading studies on Cook Pines and all sorts. The 8 degree lean is an average btw, one far south hits 40, the lean grows as they are further from the equator. Apparently lots of plants have a tendency to lean towards the sun - so lean equatorwards, and it's seen a  lot in young plants. But as they get older there's another driver to grow straight up to minimise the risk of overbalance due to gravity which takes over - but not in the Cook Pine.

[tikay]

Love the updates Tikay.

You seem to travel around a fair bit and always seem to find something interesting and unique.

Always makes me realize how little I know about the world and what it has to offer.

Thanks Mr Nuts.

I don't travel so much these days, but even a short trip, up to London or down to the coast, and I never fail to see stuff which fascinates me.

Think it's an I'm at that age thing.  

Earlier in life, I took everything for granted, but now, even basic things - the utter reliability of clean water supplies, the London sewer system, grass (what a thing grass is), even trees. Every tree species is different, & fit for purpose, with root system, bark, trunk, branches & leaves purpose-designed for their environment.  

The problem is, most folks - wisely perhaps - have little interest in my witterings on such matters.

Anyway, here's a weird tree, goes by the name of a Cook Pine.

See that lean angle? 8% apparently. They exist in both hemispheres, but here's the thing. Whatever hemisphere they are in, they lean towards the equator. (Feel free to gasp). Bet you never knew that. Now your life is forever changed for the better.  

Click to see full-size image.

Wow!!!!

You got me kicked off reading studies on Cook Pines and all sorts. The 8 degree lean is an average btw, one far south hits 40, the lean grows as they are further from the equator. Apparently lots of plants have a tendency to lean towards the sun - so lean equatorwards, and it's seen a  lot in young plants. But as they get older there's another driver to grow straight up to minimise the risk of overbalance due to gravity which takes over - but not in the Cook Pine.

Ahh yes, 8% average makes more sense, clearly, in the photo I uploaded, the lean is much more, maybe 15% or 20%.

Here's an article on them;

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-strange-case-of-the-pine-trees-that-always-lean-towards-the-equator

The quirks of nature never cease to amaze.

I heard you had some very sad news Rod, I do hope you are bearing up, thoughts are with you. 

[Rod Paradise]

My first bicycle was one of these things, I was a grocery delivery boy for F Hawkins & Co, & these bikes were known as "trade bikes". Big metal basket at the front, with a special stand for parking them. Weighed just under a ton.  

Click to see full-size image.

You should take a trip to Amsterdam, the variety of bikes is great. We sat at a cafe and a family pulled up Dad & eldest kids on their bikes, Mum on a bike with a big box at the front with the toddler asleep in it - they sat & had breakfast with the kid asleep in his box.

They're also taking delivery bikes to a new level - and adding an electric assist motor:

Click to see full-size image.

[Rod Paradise]

Ahh yes, 8% average makes more sense, clearly, in the photo I uploaded, the lean is much more, maybe 15% or 20%.

Here's an article on them;

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-strange-case-of-the-pine-trees-that-always-lean-towards-the-equator

The quirks of nature never cease to amaze.

I heard you had some very sad news Rod, I do hope you are bearing up, thoughts are with you.  

Aye, I'm managing by keeping busy, only struggle when getting sympathy, keeping busy and changing subjects allow me to fire on. Dad went at home, not hospital, no tubes sticking out of him, and up till the last couple of days when he was on the morphine driver, with a good grip on his faculties, that's what he wanted and we're happy he got his wish to leave his house in a box.

Because life likes to throw lots at you all at once, I was made redundant recently too. I was happy enough as I had my plan, but Dad's decline put delays in that - the family made me go on my drone licence course in his last week, with my sister coming home to help Mum. So I've just my flying test to do and then I can start the business. Ralph has kind enough to put me in touch with someone who might be able to help & I'll be calling him soon.

I'm finding the drone stuff fascinating, and the course involved a fair bit on aeronautical maps/law etc. Also it's fun claiming to be a trainee pilot . One nuisance is being in the middle of an MOD low fly zone - lots of checks before serious practice - think I'd be unpopular if I took a fighter down....