Musings and Thoughts

[Dartskipper]

Wasn't "Alba" the name of a range of very economically priced radios and stereo systems in the 1980's??

[Engine Serang]

No. Dansette was the brand.
I was all set for a Dansette record player then I went and failed my 11 Plus. Well Radio Luxemborg would have to do. (For all my Sparky friends that was 208 metres on the Medium Wave and very many kilocycles).

[Malcolm G]

Alba, the trading name of Alfred Balcombe - I always thought it was Bascombe but I just looked it up and I have been wrong all these years.
Without the inter web it would still have been Bascombe.
The company goes back to the 1920s

[BobClay]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

No. Dansette was the brand.
I was all set for a Dansette record player then I went and failed my 11 Plus. Well Radio Luxemborg would have to do. (For all my Sparky friends that was 208 metres on the Medium Wave and very many kilocycles).

No. It was switch position D on the Redifussion box.

[Engine Serang]

You're just running away from the Kilocycles. Treat them like a Hertz, only smaller. OK? Or perhaps bigger.

[Dave McGouldrick]

Originally Posted by Engine Serang

Is the Alba tuned into The White Heather Club? Alex and Nicola are the image of Andy Stewart and Moira Whatshername.
What a gay Gordons.

Spot On !!

[BobClay]

Watching the test flights of the Ingenuity, small helicopter currently on Mars, somebody mentioned to me it wasn't very exciting.
Well let's see, controlling the helicopter by hand is out, unless you're happy with a 30 odd minute delay between applying a control and then observing the response. So it has to be autonomous, a fully pre-programmed flight with inputs from sensors should it require modification in real time.
As if helicopters aren't weird enough without throwing in an atmosphere just a few percent of the density of Earths.

Then there's the usual helicopter rules to be considered, (especially one that's about 180,000,000 miles away):

"If you're wing is moving faster than you are, you're in a helicopter."

"If there's nothing broken on your helicopter, don't worry, there soon will be."

"That big fan over the pilot's head is there purely to keep him cool. You don't believe me ? Just watch how he breaks into a sweat if the fan stops."

Although rule three might be less of a problem. But remember, there's no ground crew or crash services, at least as far as we know. (You can't rule out Tripod Machines I suppose. But they tend to be hostile.)

[King Ratt]

This is a marvellous achievement. But beware of retreating blade stall.

[Varley]

Mechanical palmtrees on Mars! An odd sort of planet-forming with which to commence the process.

Perhaps the clear line between autonomy and remote control this demonstrates will spread to the marine industry where the topics are presently inter-confused.

[Malcolm G]

I think it uses similar technology....

[Dartskipper]

Is there a remote mechanic to tighten up the "Jesus Nut"?

(That's the nut that stops the rotor from parting company with the aircraft. So called because if it does, you start praying, according to an old acquaintance who served in Viet Nam.)

[BobClay]

At the risk of upsetting Dave ..... (well come on, the Uilleann Pipes are better anyway.)

[Varley]

Musicological heathen. They may be less forte than the proper sort but what price that in piping!

(E-S will be in on the act with a Hibernian Lambs-leg before you can say Tone).

[Dave McGouldrick]

I don't see how anything about the pipes can upset anyone - he said deliberately missing the joke.


Anyone remember seeing the piper on the dock at Key West playing just before sunset dressed in nothing but a kilt and boots?

[John Gowers]

#102 My mother passed away about 5 years ago (she was 98) and on clearing the house I came across my old Ferguson record player bought in 1969. Tried it yesterday still works fine.

[YM-Mundrabilla]

Here in Oz once you get to three score years and fifteen (ie beyond the red line) Medicare offers us oldies a review of one's health with a nurse who will test your mental as well as basic medical health more comprehensively than a normal GP consultation allows.

I had my test last Wednesday so for anyone here in Oz contemplating it here is a few of the questions:

• What city is this?
• What day is it?
• What month is it?
• What season is it?
• What is the date?

Then tests blood pressure and blood sugar.
Holds a piece of A4 paper towards you with words 'take this in your right hand'.
She then says 'fold it in half and throw it on the floor'.
A whole heap of questions on lifestyle questions follows:

• Who does the cooking?
• Who does the shopping?
• Who does the washing/housework etc?
• Who does the garden?
• Do you exercise?
• How much water do you drink?
• Do you drink alcohol?
• Do you have your own teeth?
• Do you walk with a stick?
• What is 7 x 2 followed by plus 7, plus 7 plus 7 (up to 35)

Might give a few clues to anyone contemplating such a test.

I got 30 out of 30 but made me even more grateful for my health and life at 77. There are a hell of a lot much worse off.

[Engine Serang]

Are you pulling my plonker?
You now think you have an Adelaide PhD.

[Varley]

How dare she suggest a gentleman would wear stolen teeth!

[Dartskipper]

These questions look very much like the ones that my late Mum was asked when she was slowly deteriorating with dementia, later confirmed as Alzheimer's. I used to take time off work to accompany her to the clinic every six months. What I found slightly worrying was that the person asking the questions seemed less sensible than Mum!

[YM-Mundrabilla]

One for the economists and cyclists here on SH.

General Director of Euro Exim Bank Ltd. got economists thinking when he said:

A cyclist is a disaster for the country's economy:

• He does not buy cars and does not borrow money to buy.
• He does not pay for insurance policies.
• He does not buy fuel, does not pay for the necessary maintenance and repairs.
• He does not use paid parking.
• He does not cause serious accidents.
• He does not require multi-lane highways.
• He does not get fat

.
Healthy people are neither needed nor useful for the economy:

• They don't buy medicine.
• They do not go to hospitals or doctors. Nothing is added to the country's GDP (gross domestic product).
• Every new McDonalds, on the other hand:
• Creates at least 30 jobs, 10 cardiologists, 10 dentists, 10 dietary experts and nutritionists plus the people who work at the restaurant itself.

Choose carefully: cycle or McDonald's? It is worth considering.

P.S. Walking is even worse. Pedestrians don't even buy bicycles.

[Engine Serang]

A strange post from a man who only recently told us:-

YM's rule for those who ride pushies (Sturmey Archer or not)!

Either look where you are going or go where you are looking.
I was doing neither along the path at Port Melbourne Beach one summer many years ago and broke two ribs. It must have been spectacular to watch.
All in the name of getting ship photos for you lot of course.

We Lot only wish two index fingers were broken instead of your ribs.

[BobClay]

I have a dark admission to make. I recently bought an electric bicycle. Ahhh I know, a huge drop from an 1100cc Suzuki. But given I'm on half a hundredweight of medication for the old prostate problem and the oncologist has told I must exercise I figured it would be a good way to comply.

I've cycled all my life but North Cornwall and Devon doesn't understand the concept of 'flat' bits of landscape, (Flat Earthers get stapled to the church door around here,) the old electric bike allows me to pedal up the hills like I used to many years ago, and it is far more enjoyable than one of those static exercise bikes that take up half your living space in a bungalow.

So far I haven't flattened the battery and maximum run has been 12 miles. (I only use the electric assist on hills.) Of course, the minute I assembled it out of the box, the bloody summer fell over !!

[Varley]

I am now in a quandary. I could walk to McDonald's. I do not drive but maintain two cars. We have only one stretch of multilane highway (if you don't count the prom sharing the horse trams). I have pushing type bicycles in the garage, but they are not mine. I buy medicines but only need one each of the specialities with which the muckmuckburgerist would provide. I am fat.

Does anyone know how I can apply these variables, alternate to those YM has declared, to a regression algorithm so that I can determine the risk to my prostate (when it was last looked at, from the inside, it was described by the nice Mr. Upsdell as 'beautiful' although that is some time ago).

[BobClay]

Happily I haven't had one of those examinations. They caught it with a blood test and a high PSA count. Last summer I weighed about 13½ stone and by January I was under 9 stone. As you had to contact the Quack by telephone during the lockdown they initially misdiagnosed me with a gastro problem but pulled me in for a blood test and which revealed a PSA count of 1743. After that I got CT scanned then nuke scanned and then put on hormones both tablets and injections until further notice.

Weight now back up to 11½ stone and PSA count to 2 so things are looking up. Apparently those 'Billy Connolly' type examinations are a bit old hat now or so I'm told.

These bloody hormones have side effects, ... hot flushes (at least it saves on the central heating. )

Also I've learned something about blood pressure (Oncologist told me to keep an eye on it, so bought a monitor, do it twice a day but no observable mis-behaviour so far) and Excel spreadsheets (which after much experimentation I managed to adapt a downloaded table with graphs and such to how I wanted it.)

Old farts disease, but you still keep on learning stuff.

[Varley]

Mine was for passing blood. After some years of trying to annoy a kidney cysts with ultrasound it was decided that I was 'one of them' (to clarify, in this regard anyway, "one of them that 'just do pass blood' ". It is the statement of one of the ultrasonarist that I have put up in lights - "almost normal". Wrong, of course, but worth the certificate).

(I am listening to IMarEST presentation on, this morning, equality in shipping. I employed a number of newly qualified E/Os (ETO, R/O, whatever) based on them having some adequate and tested learning and who wanted to thejob we had on offer. One of them happened to be a young lady (not, without some procrastination elsewhere). I also did not deny existing R/Os who wanted a go. In this group was an Indian man who was posted to a cross channel vessel.

I say this in order to establish my credentials as not prejudiced - not in deed, anyway. I observe that the industry seems to act as if establishing a seagoing enfranchisement for women necessarily means limiting the enfranchisement of men.

Anyway. Back to central heating. Having had two enormous bills for treework this year already (please Faraday no more for a bit) consequentially I have tons of wood for fuel and intend to warm myself with that without the aid of pharmacology. I do keep some of mother's wardrobe and such a chemical eventuality would at least give me the excuse to wear it other than in the privacy of my cellar.