WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Stanley]

The unusual colour of the sky yesterday morning. I've see it before in threatening weather and noted it but didn't really question it. I saw later that it was dust that Ophelia had picked up and smoke from wildfires. It was never more than a gusty wind, perhaps we were lucky.

[Stanley]

Grand daughter Jess has said she'll clear a space on the sideboard for my latest engine.... It will be safe there and looked after!

[PanBiker]

The price of parachutes, £7,000 - £9,000! That is for standard models of ram air chutes. I don't think they were that much when I fancied taking up the sport. I looked into it a number of years ago, slightly too late as it turns out. A couple of the sports teachers at my last school were into the sport and spent weekends in summer on camping and jumping out of aircraft combination deals. When I looked into it I found that the maximum age that you can do a first solo jump is 55 years of age, at the time I was 54 with my 55th birthday at the end of the month. A year before and I would have been OK, oh well

While I was looking at the Slink issue reported in my last post, to get the full picture I ended up looking at all things parachute related. It's the cost of the container which in essence is a specialised rucksack on a harness that bumps the price up. A main canopy cost around £2,000, a reserve about £1,500 the rest is in the container and other bits and bobs, main and reserve lines, steering lines, pilot chute and slider. It's actually quite fascinating how the systems have developed into the modern single pack sports parachute. There are loads of excellent videos on YouTube showing all aspects of the sport, a slow motion of the deployment from pilot chute release to full canopy deployment is fascinating as is watching a rigger or sports jumper repacking a main chute. It takes about 20 minutes but there are competitions for speed packing. Whether they go on to jump with a chute repacked in about 3mins is another question. I don't think I would fancy it.

[chinatyke]

...when I fancied taking up the sport. I looked into it a number of years ago, slightly too late as it turns out.

Been there, done that! In my early twenties when I was stupid and had money to spare. Spent days hanging around airfields for the weather to improve etc. We packed our own chutes under supervision until we got a "packing" certificate for that type. Emergency chutes were regularly repacked without being used. The saying was "all chute malfunctions are packed" and that was correct with very few exceptions.

[Tripps]

I'm a bit more 'risk averse' then you lot.

I like the reported quote in answer to the question - why do you only fly in four engine planes?
'Because there are no six engine planes.'

That said - I saw one with eight jet engines at Duxford recently but that was a bomber - not for passengers. Standing next to this thing Boeing B52was awesome - not a word I often use.

[PanBiker]

The saying was "all chute malfunctions are packed" and that was correct with very few exceptions.

I don't know whether you are following the court case over here in the U.K. that I referred to in my earlier post China. That was a double failure, the lines on the main chute were twisted and the canopy didn't deploy correctly requiring the reserve to be used. Two out of four Slinks were unfastened there. With evidence presented to date I can't see how the bloke can get away with this no matter how much he wriggles.

[Stanley]

There are certain things in life that have never attracted me.... Like throwing yourself out of a plane or strapping two planks on your feet and jumping off a mountain. They talk about 'white knuckle'. I've had enough of that in my life for free, I don't need to spend good money on any more.
Cracking my little turning problem.....

[Tizer]

An interesting bit of history - another example of how the Germans weren't the only ones to use concentration camps...

'Death Island': Britain's concentration camp in Russia LINK
`When British soldiers were sent to Russia after the Russian Revolution their main enemies were the Germans and their allies - their opponents in World War One - but they also found themselves fighting and imprisoning Bolsheviks. In the process they opened the first concentration camp on Russian soil - a place that became known as "Death Island".'

[PanBiker]

I thought the term was originally coined in the Boer War for the internment camps we had there.

[Stanley]

Quite right Ian. It's an inconvenient fact that we 'concentrated' the troublesome Boers from an area in enclosures (Often with their families) and kept them there for extended periods in bad conditions. Remember also that they were mainly farmers and during their detention their holdings, crops and stock deteriorated or were looted.

[Marilyn]

An amazing seasonal occurrence tonight as we were quietly watching TV.
A sudden loud screeching came from outside and I opened the back door to find clouds of Cockatoos arriving. We haven't seen them since last Summer. It was like watching a David Attenborough special.
An amazing sight. Hundreds of Cockatoos. We were in awe.
( there will be Cockatoo Poo all over our balcony and outdoor seating.)

[Wendyf]

Oooh lovely....but messy!

[chinatyke]

Why did the female cockatoo screech? Because it saw a male cock or two! Sorry, couldn't resist it!

[Stanley]

Are they galahs?
On matters Australian, read THIS piece about the closure of the last car factory in Oz...... The last car rolled off the Holden production line yesterday.

[Tizer]

An exhibition in New York highlights the child labour photos of Lewis Hine that shocked the country and paved the way for new laws to protect children...
`Lewis Hine and the photos that changed America' America

And on a lighter note...
Photos submitted on the subject of `toast' Photos
The one titled `Jackie Sclater: "Working lunch: with a little help from my friends" ' was my favourite!

[Big Kev]

Doc has had a bit of an incident at sea

[PanBiker]

Just checked Doc's Facebook page and the bloke that rammed him has got clean away. Doc has vowed to track him down.

[Stanley]

Doc..... So there are idiots even at sea! I hope he finds him.



I finished giving Mrs Harrison another chuck yesterday, today I'll do a few tests on it....

[PanBiker]

I received a pamphlet today from Berkeley DeVeer for their new (green belt land) housing development "Kensington Forest" This is the patch built alongside the goods entrance for Silentnight, (I hope the expanse of trees from the forest shields them from the 24 hour industrial operation next door). These are affordable developments ranging for £175,000 to £235,000, the pamphlet is also offering £500 to anyone who con's, sorry, recommends a friend to buy one. Apparently they are selling fast (according to the leaflet). Don't miss out, buy one of these affordable houses now, (I'll have the £500 please)

[Tizer]

This is a good read and has useful information it...
`Old banger v diesel: Which is more toxic?' LINK
Reporter Tom de Castella and his dad each bet that the other's car was more harmful to the environment. It was a petrol-fuelled old banger up against a 2009 diesel. But when Tom found someone to do the test, he also discovered that some brand new cars were dirtier than either, in one crucial respect.

The bit about the Nissan Qashqai diesel at the end of the article is shocking. One of the most popular cars in Britain but 18 times over the limit.

[Stanley]

Tiz, that blew away 15 minutes of valuable early morning time but well worth it. A good example of the best type of investigative reporting.
I wasn't surprised. Experience teaches me that these matters are always over-simplified and skewed towards the aims of the people financing the tests. This shows that when that in-built bias is removed we have a chance of getting the truth. In this case it verges on fraudulent.
I was struck that no mention was made of the saving in emissions and pollution from manufacture. I would have liked to see what, if any, effect this has.
My conclusion, taking note of the particulates emanating from electric cars via tyres and brakes (but not the emissions from electricity generation) is that there is only one form of transport that is reasonably clean, walking!

[Big Kev]

I received a pamphlet today from Berkeley DeVeer for their new (green belt land) housing development "Kensington Forest" This is the patch built alongside the goods entrance for Silentnight, (I hope the expanse of trees from the forest shields them from the 24 hour industrial operation next door). These are affordable developments ranging for £175,000 to £235,000, the pamphlet is also offering £500 to anyone who con's, sorry, recommends a friend to buy one. Apparently they are selling fast (according to the leaflet). Don't miss out, buy one of these affordable houses now, (I'll have the £500 please)

They're obviously struggling to sell them, be interesting to see how it goes when the rainwater gulley backs up again...

[Tizer]

This man must get a lot of satisfaction from his work!
`The man keeping the world's lighthouses shining' LINK

[PanBiker]

They're obviously struggling to sell them, be interesting to see how it goes when the rainwater gulley backs up again...

According to the pamphlet, "selling fast" equates to 12 out of over 30 developments reserved, not sold, reserved. Maybe living in the forest is not such a good idea after all.

[Tripps]

The name of the company leaves a lot to be desired - makes me think immediately of Terry Thomas, or 'To the Manor Born'. , but why the mirth at a company's difficulties? I've looked at the website, and the houses look like a nice development built with stone, to fit in with look of the local area, and the price doesn't seem too much out of line.

You say green belt - I don't know the area as well as you - in fact not at all, but if it's right next to the Silent Night factory (I'm very happy with the new mattress I got from them this Summer by the way), can it be so rural? What exactly is the problem with these houses?

In our village, there was an application to build 149 houses on a brownfield site in the grounds of a factory on the outskirts. It was turned down, and there was almost a cheer at the Parish Meeting. The Parish then paid (I'm told ) over £300 for a banner at the entrance to the village to celebrate the rejection. The only voice of sanity was from the County Councillor who quietly said that local young people needed more 'affordable' homes, and this decision would not help. Meanwhile my dentist tells me she cannot afford to live in the village where she was born, and commutes 50 miles each way every day.

Everyone agrees we need more housing but nobody wants any to be built near to them.