Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

Managed this morning to catch one of those absolutely stunning programmes that Radio 4 occasionally transmit.

The Big Ditch, how the Panama Canal changed the world.

http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/wb5qf/the-big-ditch---how-the-panama-canal-changed-the-world--episode-2

It will be on i-player or whatever it is called, presumably.

They had a Panamanian chap on, a Government Minister or somesuch, & he said something like......

Panama earns more revenue from the Canal than they would from oilfields

Obviously, that could be a flawed statement, as it would depend how much oil they could tap, but quite a thing anyway.

Anyone know what they charge for a Tanker, or big ship thing, to pass through the Canal? Must be a tidy few bob.

Quite diffent to the Suez Canal, which is just a ditch dug between two seas. The Panama utilises a series of open water areas, lakes etc, & the lock system is a marvel of Victorian engineering.

I never knew that, until quite recently, that the USA owned the whole thing. They built it, & estabilished a "Canal Zone" in perpuitity (now voided, lol), which was, effectively, USA territory, which caused a bit of angst amongst Panamanians.

Anyway, tonight's bedtime reading is here, a good a place as any to start.


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

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[tikay]

Ahh, Tolls.....

The most expensive regular toll for canal passage to date was charged on April 14, 2010 to the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl, which paid US$375,600.[47][48] The average toll is around US$54,000. The highest fee for priority passage charged through the Transit Slot Auction System was US$220,300, paid on August 24, 2006, by the Panamax tanker Erikoussa,[49] bypassing a 90-ship queue waiting for the end of maintenance works on the Gatun locks, thus avoiding a seven-day delay. The normal fee would have been just US$13,430

The full Toll Tariff is on that Wiki Page, under "Tolls".

[Tal]

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.

[Tonji]

Hi Tikay, I think you may enjoy this Radio 4 series, Thames Crossings, by Piers Plowright. In 5 parts, 1 & 2 already on the iplayer.

I caught the end of the first part in the car the other day, & really just wanted to drive to the places talked about in the programme. A small gem of broadcasting that only Radio 4 would commision.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01s4740/Thames_Crossings_Beginnings/

[Tal]

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.

I hope Tikay either knows what I'm on about or he's spending the time railing the cash game working it out.

He's like a male, more experienced Jen Mason

[redarmi]

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.

I hope Tikay either knows what I'm on about or he's spending the time railing the cash game working it out.

He's like a male, more experienced Jen Mason

I was incredibly pleased with myself for knowing what you were on about here.  I will be even more pleased if I am alone in this knowledge......#upwiththeoxbridgeset

[Tal]

(Couldn't find a mischievous emoticon!)

[tikay]

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.

I hope Tikay either knows what I'm on about or he's spending the time railing the cash game working it out.

He's like a male, more experienced Jen Mason

Sheer guess, but I got there eventually. Very clever. The clue, not me. ......

- - - - - -   - - - - -

Took me a while, I confess.

NextClueHerePlease.

I'm still reeling from seeing Miss Mason described by the resident intelligencia in a place where 2 & 2 rarely equals 4 as a dumb tart.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

A man, a plan, a canal: Panama.

I hope Tikay either knows what I'm on about or he's spending the time railing the cash game working it out.

He's like a male, more experienced Jen Mason

I was incredibly pleased with myself for knowing what you were on about here.  I will be even more pleased if I am alone in this knowledge......#upwiththeoxbridgeset

Take all the pleasure Stu, it took me about 4 hours to fathom.

I KNEW it was Panama Canal, but I could not figure why. Eventually I decided it was an anagram. Until I checked carefully. Whoops.

Eventually, the backwards thing occurred to me.

[Tal]

It is indeed a palindrome.

[tikay]

It is indeed a palindrome.

Damnit, I was trying to think of that word.

I used to call those an oxo

Stock words are better.

[Tal]

Your next one is

gegs (9,4)

[tikay]

Your next one is

gegs (9,4)

Oh come on, try a little harder. One of THE best crossword clues ever, but also one of the most-used.

[Tal]

Suit yourself. I forget which ones we've done...sorry!

A novel by a Scottish writer.

Which novel by which Scottish writer?



What is the first number when written in words to have the letters in alphabetical order?



Will do some proper ones when I'm back home tonight.

[tikay]

Too hard, you had to spoil it.