Zero Gravitas

Allow me to summarise the Prime Minister’s statement today: ”That’s it - you’re on your own”... So it’s herd immunity from this point on, then.

This is exactly what the Drake equation was developed for: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_equation

Here at Gravitas Towers we never did. We took the view that we could wash everything in the entire world, or we could just wash our hands more often. That seemed a bit easier, so that’s what we did.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41901297 Overall, the U.K. is about 5.9% built on, so there’s a way to yet...

It’s just another application of the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” - regardless of any previously applicable status.

In Larkin's "BR Parcels and Passenger-Rated Stock" Volume 2, there's a undated picture of Sc3323W on page 25, postulating that it may have been condemned at the time the photograph was taken. And don't worry too much about the £900 - I understand that in order to avoid having to take down the listing and then re-create it when they get new stock, it's a common ruse to set the price at a level that nobody would pay in the meantime.

NI numbers are issued just before the sixteenth birthday - IIRC based on child benefit records. Not sure what happens if you’re new to the county or if you’ve not had child benefit - presumably then it’s when you start work.

Although there’s good evidence that American English is very close to the way that “English English” was spoken around the time of the Pilgrim Fathers - so it’s probably us who have diverged, not them...

That's not good. I can the situation developing where people are going to have a place a pre-order with two or three different retailers in order to have a chance of one of them being able to supply. This has consequences: If asked to pay a deposit, or upfront, it reduces the amount of available "hobby money" people will have at any time, which will reduce overall spend on the hobby (you'll get refund if an order is cancelled by the supplier - but you'll then have to use that for the next set of speculative pre-orders). People will start to order direct from the supplier to bypass any "retail rationing" - which my have some effect on the long term future for the retailers. It skews the actual demand for products - there being apparently more orders than are actually needed. Either way, it will probably not end well.

IIRC, the solebars were channel section, but the “wrong” way round - so the flat was on the outside... again, IIRC the 6-wheel fish van had the same arrangement And this is why quite a few of us are interested in getting five79 fish van underframes to rescue the Dapol/Hornby Stove R - although Dunsignalling of this parish is very much leading the way:

Had my first dose of AZ administered yesterday lunchtime. Came out of the vaccination centre and sat in my car for the mandated 15 minutes, and literally the first thing on the radio was how use of the AZ vaccine was being suspended in other countries... However, the data suggests that compared to the general population, the risk of getting a blood clot is not significantly different (in a statistical sense) than after having the vaccine: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56411561 So I've decided not to worry - other than today my arm feels like it's been kicked by a horse.

And this is how we know conclusively that the earth is not flat. If it was, cats would have pushed everything off the edge by now...

Thanks Andy - although it's coming to something when you can get better information from RMWeb than you can from your own Government... However - just to warn people the site has a fault. Went right through the process up to the point at which it asks you to select an arrival time for your second dose, but does not show any options from which to select, and won't let you continue.... Edited to add - now seems to be working. Suspect it may just have been very busy, given that the first available dates had moved by 3 days between my first attempt and my second...

Five minute bit on its way.... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/19/electric-car-batteries-race-ahead-with-five-minute-charging-times

I’d really like to order one, but all I get when I try and get to the kr models website is a “HTTP error 500”...

And after that incident where the smuggled marijuana was washed up on the beach, no tern was left unstoned... I’ll get my coat.

If we assume for a moment that about 50 million people need to be vaccinated (to make the maths easier), and each person needs two doses, then if I million does per week can be administered, then it will take two years to vaccinate that 50 million. 2 million a week, and it takes a year 4 million a week, 6 months - and so on... We are a very long way from being out of the woods.

Except if you start offering David Lloyd customers cut-price use of your exercise bike at home whilst demanding that you are still able to use all the David Lloyd facilities for free...

I’m more bothered that by the statement according to the photograph: “Injuries - our goal every day”....

A 737 pilot of my acquaintance once told me that the 737 needs a “firm put” in order to get the auto braking system to engage properly, particularly on damp runways.

My God... it’s full of stars! Sorry. Somebody had to.

I had forgotten this - although one of our “sayings” at home is “oh dearie dearie me”, which I’m sure came from “The High Life”. Wasn’t the excellent Siobhan Redmond in it as well?

Soon as “Bird of Prey” was mentioned I started to hum the theme tune in my head - which given I hadn’t heard it since 1982 is a measure of how catchy it was.... I had no idea it was by Dave Greenslade, whose other work I have listened to a lot! And another shout for the excellent “A Very Peculiar Practice” - essential viewing in 1986, when you had to wait a whole week for the next episode...

You’re absolutely right - mea culpa. However, as a gesture of atonement, here’s the flag of Wessex:

A Wyvern is a mythical bipedal dragon - having two legs and two wings (as opposed to a “traditional” dragon with 4 legs and two wings). It featured on the flag of Wessex, associated with the West Country counties that used to be part of Wessex - Somerset Cricket Club has a Wyvern as its emblem, and there are any number of Wyvern Theatres, Leisure Centres, schools, etc across Somerset and Wiltshire. I’d suspect that would be more of a reason for the County of Wyvern.