Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[pokerfan]

Link for the memory card pls  

[tikay]

This is a White tailed eagle, & they seem to be prolific in Norway - how great would it be to see these things in real life?

Bit annoying really. I discovred only a few days ago that Iceland is a very good "whale-watching" destination, which came as a shock to me, & I was about to click the button & book a 2 or 3 day trip to go look for myself. (£400, all trips & hotel included). Now I have to decide between Eagles in Norway, or Whales in Iceland. WAL.

http://www.randburg.com/is/whales-around-iceland/index.asp

http://www.randburg.com/is/tourism/whale.html

You get them in Scotland as well Tikay - when you're up the West Coast again go to some of the islands and you've a fair chance of seeing them. They're known as 'Flying Barn Doors' so you won't mistake them if you do.

There was a plan to reintroduce them in East Anglia (a traditional home for the fish eagle) - but too much NIMBYism & scare stories blocked it

Really? Wow, which Islands, Rod?

I visited Skye at Christmas, & took the ferry to Raasay, but "only" spotted cormorants, gulls  & herons. Next trip up there is to the Applecross Peninsula, which looks incredible, & there are no ferries from there, but the ferry from Uig (Isle of Skye) goes across to the Hebrides - would that be the best bet? My next trip up will be between now & May, unsure of dates yet. Everywhere was deserted up there at Xmas, so there will be tourists galore when I return, but if I go in March/April/May, it should not be too bad, & I'm honestly not fussed about bad weather. It's like heaven on earth up there, but the places seem deserted. Very odd.

[tikay]

One I forgot, from the link that Mr Kimber sent me.

This kid guts those stinking fish for a living, in India, & he sits there doing that 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, & gets paid 200 rupees a week - about £3.

A bad beat can sometimes be where you are born, I think, we can but imagine his life.

OK, gotta go, am playing a £200 poker Tourney, & need to catch up on my Twitter Timeline bad beat tales.

[DaveShoelace]

Found a cracking dog photographer yesterday, specalises in funny water pictures and such

Click to see full-size image.

http://www.littlefriendsphoto.com/index2.php#/home/

[rex008]

This may not be is a genuine emerald. What is it worth, once cut, anyone know?

I'm channelling gatso...

In order:
fyp
It's already been cut.
Possibly very little. Or $1.15m.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/man-who-tried-to-sell-worlds-largest-emerald-accused-of-fraud/article2318761/

[tikay]

What do you think of these Tikay?

Well I'm grateful for the link, thank you, but in short, "not much"

They over-complicate these things, & forget simple logic, imo. A bus has a stop & start life, over many decades, & moving parts tend to wear, break, fail. It boasts "three doors" (all electronic/hydraulic/pneumatic presumably), but will these things really stand the wear & tear of 30 years use? Oddly, tube train doors are pneumatically operated, I believe, & are utterly reliable, but they do mainly operate in a micro climate.

I believe London bus design reached its peak with the RT, & later, the RTL (forerunner to the RM), 70 or so years ago. They had an open platform, no doors, & open platforms are 100% reliable. OK, in the current wet society, we worry about peeps falling off, but that's just daft - try riding a train in India.

Main Line passenger train design has gone the wrong way, too. Slam-door rolling stock was 100% reliable, now they have electronically operated sliding doors which fail at the first sign of minus temperatures.

Bleurgh @ the modern world.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

This may not be is a genuine emerald. What is it worth, once cut, anyone know?

I'm channelling gatso...

In order:
fyp
It's already been cut.
Possibly very little. Or $1.15m.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/man-who-tried-to-sell-worlds-largest-emerald-accused-of-fraud/article2318761/

Oh dear, fine spot, Rex.

What would you possibly use an emerald that size for? Be some ring, that.

[tikay]

Click to see full-size image.

Things you cannot make up.

Chili was telling me yesterday that she found this photo (quoted, above) amusing - who would have thought a girlie would enjoy a photo of a crane? She does not read Tom's Diary. Just saying.

Here, especially for the Grantham Girlie. Gotta pander to my readership.

Click to see full-size image.

[Jon MW]

...
Main Line passenger train design has gone the wrong way, too. Slam-door rolling stock was 100% reliable, now they have electronically operated sliding doors which fail at the first sign of minus temperatures.
...

They do fail in very cold weather - but so does the electronics in the rest of the train anyway.

In the moderate weather we normally have though they mean that trains depart on time and vastly improve the functioning of the network as a whole.

[tikay]

Incredible piece of kit, this, & inherently safe.

Don't see any boobs?

Nope, I'm leaving those to my Yoof Correspondent. He redeemed himself yesterday, with that turbine blade photo, which really got the more erudite readers revved up, with Rex, Dino & Keys getting involved, top marks to him, his yellow card is rescinded.

I was not Online yesterday, & never updated my Diary, but it had the highest "views" in a single day for over a month. I get the hint, don't worry.

Talking of LilD, he has posted another blog, mainly name-dropping, morale, & degeneracy, from Venice. He called it "An Idiot Abroad". Got to agree.

http://bit.ly/wX6m9J

[SuuPRlim]

Taking my job as Yoof correspondant very seriously, I thought whilst on all the wild-life stuff, i'd share some info on an animal I didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago!



Been googling video's of them non-stop for weeks! Incredible animals - Part of the weazel family called the "honey-badger"  

They have joke stamina, are absurbly strong, fiercely intelligent (seen carving tools out of wood) and completely insane



There skin is so thick it can withstand arrows, spears and "several" cuts with a machete, has incredibly sharp teeth and really powerful jaws. It's skin is loose and it's able to moves its neck around jso it's incrediby difficult to re-strain, suggestions on how to kill it are "repeated shots from a powerful riffle" or "A heavy blow to the skull" - not many living things can withstand either of them!

As a result of them being ridiculously hard, they are mentally aggressive and fearless, and will literally give anything a go, video's of individual Honeybadgers fighting groups of lions are not that rare, here a 30pound weazel gets into a scrap with a 9foot monitor lizard (one the most aggro creatures around)



Complete sicko's!

[tikay]

Another blog, a rather odd one, from Padraig Parkinson, who I am pleased to see has recovered from his recent ill-health.

http://bit.ly/AnxS6H

[SuuPRlim]

I also got alerted to this video recently, If you've never seen it is absolutely AMAZING, stu barnett showed it to me and like he said if it was scripted it would be deemed completely ridiculous - it goes on for a bit BUT DEFO stick with it, the ending is just absolutely EPIC!

[tikay]

Better get my spam quota in whilst linking Blogs - here's Thewy's latest missive. I actually love his laconic, laid back, style. Short, sweet, & to the point.

http://bit.ly/wbUInh

[SuuPRlim]

Tikay. I'm sure you'll agree that it's a shame how us younger generation of poker players are infamously lazy and unfit, not only is it bad for our health but it gives poker as a serious recreation or career a bad name. As Yoof Correspondent I feel it's partly my duty to try help the younger viewers who are struggling to get motivated to stay in good shape....

Yoga!

Believed to first have been used in the 2Century BC, built from a Buddhist practice of spiritual, physical and mental connection is one of the most popular fitness methods still.

Check it out kids.



Hope this helps. I'm off running.