Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[Karabiner]

Tom - a question for you in your capacity as chief Gypsy liaison officer:

Goose Fair this weekend - yay. Pretty much everybody in Nottingham automatically calls the people who own and run the rides "gypoes" (I've no idea how that's supposed to be spelled, sorry). I know better now, of course, having read your pennage, but I'm wondering if the fairground travellers tend to be Romany, Irish Traveller, or just random non-denominational people who happen to own a portable roller coaster and move around a lot. Any idea? You have many dealings with fairground peeps (now or in the past)?

Gypo is a derogatory term, much like nigger, coon, wog, spick etc.

The people you are referring to are showmen. Not a distinct ethnic group, but still a well respected traditional travelling people with a long history and strong cultural identity.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. I do (these days at least) realise the pejorative nature of the word. Unfortunately it's still in common use, I was quoting the average Nottinghamian, and the spelling pedant inside me was getting angry.

Personally, I'd associate "showman" with the hook-a-duck/throw-darts type stall. I don't know if you've done Goose Fair recently (ever?), but the scale of the rides these days is staggering, considering they're set up in only a few days. Makes me wonder if the traditional stallholder is being forced out by more commercial businesses. Or maybe the traditional showmen have just moved up in scale, but I can't imagine it's particularly easy to finance one of those things.

Many Gypsies attend the goose fair, I use to go every year when I was young. There was, (and still is) A great high roller pitch and toss game, but be careful, you have to know who the flammers are.

What's a flammer?

[RED-DOG]

Tom - a question for you in your capacity as chief Gypsy liaison officer:

Goose Fair this weekend - yay. Pretty much everybody in Nottingham automatically calls the people who own and run the rides "gypoes" (I've no idea how that's supposed to be spelled, sorry). I know better now, of course, having read your pennage, but I'm wondering if the fairground travellers tend to be Romany, Irish Traveller, or just random non-denominational people who happen to own a portable roller coaster and move around a lot. Any idea? You have many dealings with fairground peeps (now or in the past)?

Gypo is a derogatory term, much like nigger, coon, wog, spick etc.

The people you are referring to are showmen. Not a distinct ethnic group, but still a well respected traditional travelling people with a long history and strong cultural identity.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. I do (these days at least) realise the pejorative nature of the word. Unfortunately it's still in common use, I was quoting the average Nottinghamian, and the spelling pedant inside me was getting angry.

Personally, I'd associate "showman" with the hook-a-duck/throw-darts type stall. I don't know if you've done Goose Fair recently (ever?), but the scale of the rides these days is staggering, considering they're set up in only a few days. Makes me wonder if the traditional stallholder is being forced out by more commercial businesses. Or maybe the traditional showmen have just moved up in scale, but I can't imagine it's particularly easy to finance one of those things.

Many Gypsies attend the goose fair, I use to go every year when I was young. There was, (and still is) A great high roller pitch and toss game, but be careful, you have to know who the flammers are.

What's a flammer?

A flammer is someone who can toss a coin (Well actually two coins) in such a way as to make them appear to be spinning end over end when in fact they are only wobbling without actually turning over. I promise you, it's impossible to spot.

Look out for where the coins are landing. On concrete, tarmac, grass etc, the coins have a tenancy to bounce when they land, so negating the flammers skill.

That's why you will often see coin tossing taking place on sand, or on a spread tarpaulin, where the coins land flat without bouncing.

I wrote a little about it here. Read forward from this link.

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=8637.msg194702#msg194702

[Karabiner]

Tom - a question for you in your capacity as chief Gypsy liaison officer:

Goose Fair this weekend - yay. Pretty much everybody in Nottingham automatically calls the people who own and run the rides "gypoes" (I've no idea how that's supposed to be spelled, sorry). I know better now, of course, having read your pennage, but I'm wondering if the fairground travellers tend to be Romany, Irish Traveller, or just random non-denominational people who happen to own a portable roller coaster and move around a lot. Any idea? You have many dealings with fairground peeps (now or in the past)?

Gypo is a derogatory term, much like nigger, coon, wog, spick etc.

The people you are referring to are showmen. Not a distinct ethnic group, but still a well respected traditional travelling people with a long history and strong cultural identity.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. I do (these days at least) realise the pejorative nature of the word. Unfortunately it's still in common use, I was quoting the average Nottinghamian, and the spelling pedant inside me was getting angry.

Personally, I'd associate "showman" with the hook-a-duck/throw-darts type stall. I don't know if you've done Goose Fair recently (ever?), but the scale of the rides these days is staggering, considering they're set up in only a few days. Makes me wonder if the traditional stallholder is being forced out by more commercial businesses. Or maybe the traditional showmen have just moved up in scale, but I can't imagine it's particularly easy to finance one of those things.

Many Gypsies attend the goose fair, I use to go every year when I was young. There was, (and still is) A great high roller pitch and toss game, but be careful, you have to know who the flammers are.

What's a flammer?

A flammer is someone who can toss a coin (Well actually two coins) in such a way as to make them appear to be spinning end over end when in fact they are only wobbling without actually turning over. I promise you, it's impossible to spot.

Look out for where the coins are landing. On concrete, tarmac, grass etc, the coins have a tenancy to bounce when they land, so negating the flammers skill.

That's why you will often see coin tossing taking place on sand, or on a spread tarpaulin, where the coins land flat without bouncing.

I wrote a little about it here. Read forward from this link.

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=8637.msg194702#msg194702

Ahh yes I knew it rang a bell somewhere in the murky depths of my memory.

Coppie Price and his double hat-trick.

[RED-DOG]

Tom - a question for you in your capacity as chief Gypsy liaison officer:

Goose Fair this weekend - yay. Pretty much everybody in Nottingham automatically calls the people who own and run the rides "gypoes" (I've no idea how that's supposed to be spelled, sorry). I know better now, of course, having read your pennage, but I'm wondering if the fairground travellers tend to be Romany, Irish Traveller, or just random non-denominational people who happen to own a portable roller coaster and move around a lot. Any idea? You have many dealings with fairground peeps (now or in the past)?

Gypo is a derogatory term, much like nigger, coon, wog, spick etc.

The people you are referring to are showmen. Not a distinct ethnic group, but still a well respected traditional travelling people with a long history and strong cultural identity.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend. I do (these days at least) realise the pejorative nature of the word. Unfortunately it's still in common use, I was quoting the average Nottinghamian, and the spelling pedant inside me was getting angry.

Personally, I'd associate "showman" with the hook-a-duck/throw-darts type stall. I don't know if you've done Goose Fair recently (ever?), but the scale of the rides these days is staggering, considering they're set up in only a few days. Makes me wonder if the traditional stallholder is being forced out by more commercial businesses. Or maybe the traditional showmen have just moved up in scale, but I can't imagine it's particularly easy to finance one of those things.

Many Gypsies attend the goose fair, I use to go every year when I was young. There was, (and still is) A great high roller pitch and toss game, but be careful, you have to know who the flammers are.

What's a flammer?

A flammer is someone who can toss a coin (Well actually two coins) in such a way as to make them appear to be spinning end over end when in fact they are only wobbling without actually turning over. I promise you, it's impossible to spot.

Look out for where the coins are landing. On concrete, tarmac, grass etc, the coins have a tenancy to bounce when they land, so negating the flammers skill.

That's why you will often see coin tossing taking place on sand, or on a spread tarpaulin, where the coins land flat without bouncing.

I wrote a little about it here. Read forward from this link.

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=8637.msg194702#msg194702

Ahh yes I knew it rang a bell somewhere in the murky depths of my memory.

Coppie Price and his double hat-trick.

Not many peeps with a deeper murkier memory than you Ralphy boy.

[rex008]

Not seen this story elsewhere:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/09/alleged_la_gendarmerie_roma_database/

[RED-DOG]

Not seen this story elsewhere:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/09/alleged_la_gendarmerie_roma_database/

Well spotted rex, this is a real hot potato. (Almost on par with Gamu's exclusion from The X Factor)

Isn't it amazing that it hasn't made international headline news?

[RED-DOG]

Q: How does Thunderbird 1 see where he's going?

[pokefast]

Q: How does Thunderbird 1 see where he's going?

Sat nav

[RED-DOG]

What are the odds of dealing 13 cards without a pair?

[technolog]

I would think it's:

48/51 x 45/50 x 42/49 x 39/48 x 36/47 x 33/46 x 30/45 x 27/44 x 24/43 x 21/42 x 18/41 x 15/40 x 12/39 x 9/38 x 6/37 x 3/36

=0.000005999

=0.0005999%

Unless I've pressed some buttons wrong.







Or I'm stoopid.

[AndrewT]

You've got 16 terms in that equation - you only need 12.

Think it would start 48/51 x 44/50 x 40/49 etc, with the numerator decreasing by 4 and the numerator decreasing by one.

Which makes it 0.0106%, or 9462/1.

[RED-DOG]

I would think it's:

48/51 x 45/50 x 42/49 x 39/48 x 36/47 x 33/46 x 30/45 x 27/44 x 24/43 x 21/42 x 18/41 x 15/40 x 12/39 x 9/38 x 6/37 x 3/36

=0.000005999

=0.0005999%

Unless I've pressed some buttons wrong.









Or I'm stoopid.

I don't even understand the answer.

On average how often would it happen?

Once every (__________) times.

[technolog]

Right - attempt 2

48/51 x 44/50 x 40/49 x 36/48 x 32/47 x 28/46 x 24/45 x 20/44 x 16/43 x 12/42 x 8/41 x 4/40

=0.00010568

=0.010568%

Usual caveats apply

[technolog]

Damn AndrewT and his ample cranium 






 

[RED-DOG]

Ahem...


I don't even understand the answer.

On average how often would it happen?

Once every (__________) times.