Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

World's largest aircraft Airlander 10 crashes during test flight http://dailym.ai/2bgJ3vs 

Click to see full-size image.

I expect the Daily Mail & most of the media are poking fun, but it's a shame really when innovators get mocked so. It was always so, sadly, but we in this Country pioneered so many wonderful things. 

To be fair, it does not inspire confidence, does it? I'm struggling to understand how a thing that big & that (relatively) light can be controlled in gusty winds.

They sunk a ton of money into the enterprise, but its not looking good, I guess. The team working on it must be devastated, deflated even. 

[tikay]

I have developed a "floater" in my left eye. It does not hurt or anything, & is no big deal, but it kinda irritates mentally, & I keep rubbing my eye to get rid of it, to no avail.

I went & got some Optrex stuff, but that made no odds either.

So I went to Mr google, & it seems to be a very common thing. It does not (or only very rarely) indicate anything amiss, just one of those things that develop with age, as body parts start to wear out.

It is a bit disconcerting though. It always moves in the same trajectory, left to right, right to left.   

[tikay]

I had a very sad text from Tracey Dell last night.

She had been contacted, via Facebook, by Rhianna Compton, who is Dave Compton's daughter. (He has a son, too).

Rhianna has, apparently, not seen or heard from Dave in 7 years. (Can't believe it is 7 years since he went AWOL).

All very sad. I've heard a few rumours suggesting Dave is alive & well & has been seen in Bishops Stortford, but nothing definite.

Anyway, Rhianna was hoping someone might have heard from Dave, or knew his whereabouts. I don't have a clue. Last I heard for sure he was in Vegas, but not heard a thing from him since. Hard to know what to think.  A life in ruins, all down to gambling. Ugh.

His Twitter feed (@ _compo_) sprung to life in 2014, but I'm certain it was hacked, Dave never spoke in those terms, or not the Dave I knew.

If anyone knows anything, please let Tracey or myself know.

[Longines]

*DON'T* rub your eyes - really, really bad for them. Increases the intraocular pressure and bad stuff can happen.

Ask me how I know.

[RED-DOG]

*DON'T* rub your eyes - really, really bad for them. Increases the intraocular pressure and bad stuff can happen.

Ask me how I know.

Bugger. I've got a terrible urge to do it now.

[Karabiner]

*DON'T* rub your eyes - really, really bad for them. Increases the intraocular pressure and bad stuff can happen.

Ask me how I know.

Bugger. I've got a terrible urge to do it now.

An urge to ask him or to rub Tony's eyes?

[RED-DOG]

*DON'T* rub your eyes - really, really bad for them. Increases the intraocular pressure and bad stuff can happen.

Ask me how I know.

Bugger. I've got a terrible urge to do it now.

An urge to ask him or to rub Tony's eyes?

Lol.

When I was a kid I used to lie in bed and press my knuckles into my eyes until I could see a big doughnut shaped circle, (Presumably a large blind spot caused by starving my eyeballs of blood) then, for the next 20 minutes, I'd watch it slowly change colour and eventually disappear.

We knew how to have fun in those days.

[tikay]

The tragedy at Camber Sands on Wednesday is unimaginable.

I mentioned elsewhere yesterday that in a 15 minute timeframe, THREE people drowned in the sea whilst out swimming.

It later emerged that it was not 3, it was FIVE.

Even more macabre, all 5 had travelled to Camber Sands together, in the same car, from London.

It simply defies belief.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-37182791

Most folks who grew up in London will have been to Camber Sands many a time, as it has a lovely beach.

I've been there countless times, but was never aware that there were any particular dangers there. As it happens, another swimmer died there just a few weeks ago.  The Camber Sands Wiki page makes no mention of any danger from swimming off the beach.

Gruesome & sad, but true.

 

[stumpythefish]

Im a train driver and love it unfortunately not long after I passed out we got new trains called 143s .If you can imagine a bus on train wheels no suspension,a gearbox that ofton got stuck in 1st max speed 20 but best of all cable breaks after about the 3rd break application on your journey the brakes became virtually  non existant

Do you live & work up North, then? Far as I knew, they only operated in the North, &, latterly, the South West.

They all have to be removed from service soon I think due to (lack of) accessibility.

Dreadful things, & certainly not suitable for southerners or posh folk, oh no.

I live near Newcastle and work trains out of Newcastle main routes are  over the lovely tyne valley line to carlise and the not so nice run to Middlesboro down the coast.We have no 143s left but have 142s which are basicly the same but with different gearbox and brakes.I think I will be retired before we get new trains .We do also have some 156s which are proper trains with suspension but also very basic

I think Maureen (The Nun) is a guard on these, for Arriva, or Northern Rail.

 

 

[TightEnd]

Would you prefer this posted on the big vegas information thread?

[Machka]

Would you prefer this posted on the big vegas information thread?

Hi Rich, Yes please, I don't know my way around the rest of these boards but if you can move it I'll find it.  Thanks.

[TightEnd]

Moved, the relevant thread is near the top of the rail. The guys are very helpful

[tikay]

*DON'T* rub your eyes - really, really bad for them. Increases the intraocular pressure and bad stuff can happen.

Ask me how I know.

Err, how do you know?

The problem has neither improved or worsened. There is no pain at all, apart from a little soreness caused by rubbing it, & it sort of comes & goes. It really is quite distracting. 

[tikay]

Im a train driver and love it unfortunately not long after I passed out we got new trains called 143s .If you can imagine a bus on train wheels no suspension,a gearbox that ofton got stuck in 1st max speed 20 but best of all cable breaks after about the 3rd break application on your journey the brakes became virtually  non existant

Do you live & work up North, then? Far as I knew, they only operated in the North, &, latterly, the South West.

They all have to be removed from service soon I think due to (lack of) accessibility.

Dreadful things, & certainly not suitable for southerners or posh folk, oh no.

I live near Newcastle and work trains out of Newcastle main routes are  over the lovely tyne valley line to carlise and the not so nice run to Middlesboro down the coast.We have no 143s left but have 142s which are basicly the same but with different gearbox and brakes.I think I will be retired before we get new trains .We do also have some 156s which are proper trains with suspension but also very basic

I think Maureen (The Nun) is a guard on these, for Arriva, or Northern Rail.

 

 

I have a fascination with all things to do with railways, & had a wonderful trip to Bristol Temple Meads last week from Paddington.

Took about a hundred photos of stations, locos & rolling stock, which I plan to bore everyone to death with when time permits. But before that, I'd best do a Trip Report for last weekend.  

Here's a taster from the Bristol trip. Bet you can't wait.

[tikay]

Gill has a bucket list, which includes going on a cruise. I've been on one, 12 years ago, with Ladbrokes & umpteen poker players. It was both good & bad. Not sure I enjoy the lack of freedom, or inability to escape people, but in some ways it was great.

So when Gill came up with the idea of a mini-cruise on a luxury liner, it seemed to fit the bill.

To be fair, it was a cross between a cruise & a cross channel ferry. A great big posh cruise liner all the way to.......Guernsey. Sort of halfway between Harrods & Aldi, part very posh, part TOWIE.  

In reality, it was get on  - sorry, embark - on Saturday afternoon in Southampton, sail - oh so slowly, to eat up the hours - to Guernsey, & get off - disembark - early on Sunday morning. Spend the day in Guernsey, then embark late afternoon & sail back to Southampton overnight, arriving 0700 on Monday morning.

So, 2 nights on a boat, & a day in Guernsey. Hardly round the world stuff, but it ticked Gill's box, & so it ticked mine. Gill is so wonderfully uncool. When she is happy, she beams from ear to ear, & making that happen ticks my boxes. She was like a kid on Christmas Day, she loved every moment. And so I did, too.

Cost? Not cheap, but not that dear either. The basic cost was £350 per person, but we wanted an outside cabin with a balcony & everything, so that made it around £400 a head. Add in hiring a car in Guernsey for the day, parking the car at Southampton for 2 nights, da de da, & it came I at around £900.  

Gill could not have enjoyed it more, so worth every penny.

The whole thing was weird. There is no sensation of being on water, or even moving. Our room - cabin - was in the middle - midships - & when we wanted to go to the front or back of the boat - fore & aft - we had to go onto deck first, to enable us to tell which way the boat was travelling.  

Other peoples holiday tales & snaps are the most dreadfully boring things ever, but too bad, you'd best look away now. Doubt I can make it as compelling as Tom's tale of whizzing around Europe on a Tupperware Hairdryer, but we did some well exciting things along the way & he'll be well jel.

Most of the photos are mine, as you will no doubt gather, but not these two, as no matter how hard I tried, I could not get a clear shot of the whole boat, it was so chuffing big. Hardly classic lines, as Big Boats go, sort of reminds me of a block of flats in Leeds. The back - stern - of MS Azura might just be the ugliest thing ever, actually. Nice inside though, very nice. Proper posh in fact.