Level crossing stupidity...

[Mark Saunders]

6 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

And it's got worse by a factor of about 10 since sat-nav became popular.

 

 

I insisted that my wife had an atlas in her car but that proved futile as I later discovered she could not read it!

[boxbrownie]

10 hours ago, Mark Saunders said:

 

I insisted that my wife had an atlas in her car but that proved futile as I later discovered she could not read it!

Probably could read the Atlas fine, it’s driving the car which was challenging 

 

 

Please, please tell her I am joking 

[kevinlms]

14 hours ago, Mark Saunders said:

 

I insisted that my wife had an atlas in her car but that proved futile as I later discovered she could not read it!

Quite a large percentage of people cannot read a map, if their life depended on it. Why I don't understand, presumably as soon as they turn a corner, their sense of direction in relation to a map is ruined.

[Hobby]

Different brain set up. Women's and men's brains work differently for some things as well.

[boxbrownie]

1 hour ago, Hobby said:

Different brain set up. Women's and men's brains work differently for some things as well.

Mrs BB’s brain must be changing over the years because 40 years ago she didn’t even know which way up a map went (no seriously, she didn’t!), but now she can actually read a map in the car without a problem, good enough to divert us around anything that comes up on a journey, of course I would never admit this to her 

[Hobby]

My wife and youngest daughter can't read a map to save their lives but eldest daughter once guided me around Paris!  Go figure!!

[johnofwessex]

Domestic Facilities is fine with a map but I am less sure about my oldest who just uses his phone - although he is excellent with directions

 

Neither of them have any idear how to use Decca Navigator however......................

[lmsforever]

Students?  nowadays are not taught geography at school most have no idea where anywhere is  letalone what a map looks like.

[RJS1977]

27 minutes ago, lmsforever said:

Students?  nowadays are not taught geography at school most have no idea where anywhere is  letalone what a map looks like.

 

As far as I know "Geography" is still taught in schools, but the content has changed.

 

We were taught plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, weather, and intensive subsistence farming in the Amazon every year from Junior School to 6th form, but never actually taught where anywhere is!

 

I learnt more 'proper' geography from reading Railway Modeller! 

[jcredfer]

2 hours ago, johnofwessex said:

Domestic Facilities is fine with a map but I am less sure about my oldest who just uses his phone - although he is excellent with directions

 

Neither of them have any idear how to use Decca Navigator however......................

 

I have.....   anyone is welcome to try it as we did.  It was a system designed for maritime use - at maritime speeds.  We had the charts fitted in the same receivers as the maritime, except - in aircraft moving at rather more than 5 - 6 knots.  My recollection is of spending more time changing the chart rolls than actually reading them.  Perhaps I should add that the "circular" [repeat "circular'] distance readings from the 3 nearest Decca stations were each printed as relative to the others - except - one vertical, one horizontal and the other diagonal across the other two.  Such few land features which were related to those  three relative circular Decca transmitter distances were distorted in accordance with the false straightening of two of the transmitter outputs, and the distorted curve of the third.  Try that at 200 Knots, rather than maritime speeds!

 

Regards

Julian

 

[TheQ]

Decca no, Tacan yes,  well. I was qualified to service the ground stations. SWMBO can read a map,  and she can read a radar map as well,  just as well as she was an ASOP. 

[jcredfer]

5 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Decca no, Tacan yes,  well. I was qualified to service the ground stations. SWMBO can read a map,  and she can read a radar map as well,  just as well as she was an ASOP. 

 

A perfect match - you keeping the equipment well in order, and she making the best use of the responses to the transmitted pulses.....   

 

Regards and best wishes for your servicing abilities...

Julian

 

P.S.  I always thought that the RAF had the best support systems for Secondary Superior Sensory Reception [SSR] and Individual Friendly Females [IFF]

[TheQ]

I

7 hours ago, jcredfer said:

 

A perfect match - you keeping the equipment well in order, and she making the best use of the responses to the transmitted pulses.....   

 

Regards and best wishes for your servicing abilities...

Julian

 

P.S.  I always thought that the RAF had the best support systems for Secondary Superior Sensory Reception [SSR] and Individual Friendly Females [IFF]

I'm also qualified on IFF......

 

 

 

Cossor Secondary Surveillance Radar 750

 

[Hobby]

12 hours ago, RJS1977 said:

I learnt more 'proper' geography from reading Railway Modeller! 

 

And Continental Modeller when you wanted to find somewhere outside the UK!!  

[jcredfer]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

I

I'm also qualified on IFF......

 

 

 

Cossor Secondary Surveillance Radar 750

 

Control box was located on the far right of the cockpit, just below knee height and you had to lean far across the right-hand seat to operate it - great when the most frequent use was under IFR, in cloud on the dials!!  

 

Regards

Julian

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by jcredfer

[boxbrownie]

14 hours ago, lmsforever said:

Students?  nowadays are not taught geography at school most have no idea where anywhere is  letalone what a map looks like.

I know it’s sounds “grump old git” territory but this was brought home recently upon watching an episode of Eggheads, the visiting team were a team of young TV presenters primarily (no pun intended) from Children’s TV programmes......all of course seemingly well educated and bright, until one of the first questions came up in the “geography” segment, the question was as I recall “where is Dartmoor National Park” there were three options, Devon......Sussex......and somewhere else I cannot remember, let’s say Norfolk.....whatever.....after several tense lip biting minutes the female contestant came up with SUSSEX.......hells bells.....it’s Dartmoor, you were even given an obvious (I thought) choice.......Dartmoor in Sussex? JEEZ......as far as see it these kind of knowledge is really the very basics of living in a country, just knowing where you are and the major areas and cities/towns should be known.

 

What happens when her flatmate in London says I moving Bangor, and she thinks “oh I’ll pop in to see you most evenings”! 

 

Ranting over....and calm.....

[johnofwessex]

19 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

I know it’s sounds “grump old git” territory but this was brought home recently upon watching an episode of Eggheads, the visiting team were a team of young TV presenters primarily (no pun intended) from Children’s TV programmes......all of course seemingly well educated and bright, until one of the first questions came up in the “geography” segment, the question was as I recall “where is Dartmoor National Park” there were three options, Devon......Sussex......and somewhere else I cannot remember, let’s say Norfolk.....whatever.....after several tense lip biting minutes the female contestant came up with SUSSEX.......hells bells.....it’s Dartmoor, you were even given an obvious (I thought) choice.......Dartmoor in Sussex? JEEZ......as far as see it these kind of knowledge is really the very basics of living in a country, just knowing where you are and the major areas and cities/towns should be known.

 

What happens when her flatmate in London says I moving Bangor, and she thinks “oh I’ll pop in to see you most evenings”! 

 

Ranting over....and calm.....

 

I suppose though that if you are a puff puff buff, geography comes with the territory in a way it doesnt if your interest is - say woodwork..............

[lmsforever]

Knowing the basics such as where the main cities in the UK are should be a requirement of basic education but sadly its not considered of importance ,but I am of the older generation and received a far more rounded education than today.

[boxbrownie]

32 minutes ago, johnofwessex said:

 

I suppose though that if you are a puff puff buff, geography comes with the territory in a way it doesnt if your interest is - say woodwork..............

Well oddly I am a dirty diesel buff, brought up cabbing with my Uncle at the + since a dot......DP2 scared the life out of this tiny tot back then!

 

But I did Woodwork at school, also Metalwork......and learnt where Wales and Scotland were, we had no time to learn Sociology and Media Studies though 

[Fat Controller]

Before saying that it's just the young..

A colleague had no idea where some large British cities are, and has never been north of Norfolk, or west of Peterborough. He was also ignorant of the UK ever having had any colonies in Africa. Said person is in his late 50s, and has a reasonable degree in a Foreign Language.

[boxbrownie]

16 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

Before saying that it's just the young..

A colleague had no idea where some large British cities are, and has never been north of Norfolk, or west of Peterborough. He was also ignorant of the UK ever having had any colonies in Africa. Said person is in his late 50s, and has a reasonable degree in a Foreign Language.

Some people you just cannot teach 

[The Stationmaster]

52 minutes ago, johnofwessex said:

 

I suppose though that if you are a puff puff buff, geography comes with the territory in a way it doesn't if your interest is - say woodwork..............

Although in fact it doesn't (or rather once upon a time didn't) work at all like that.  I can remember very early in my railway career being asked by an 'old hand' if I knew my geography - to which i replied 'yes' (absolutely true then as now).  But he then followed up with a second question ' But do you know your railway geography?'   That of course was a slightly different matter although in fact I was pretty good on most of Britain and very good on the Western (of course).   But to be honest I still didn't know where some of the lesser routing stations were - such as Peakirk (which had already closed but still remained in the Book of Routes, and it wasn't alone in that).

[corneliuslundie]

Back on navigation, the first time I ever went by car and the driver was using what we would now call satnav he was a qualified pilot and used the satnav he used when flying. So as we approached Skegness, the altitude got rather worryingly low. That information seems to be sadly lacking on modern designs!

Maps: I couldn't do without them. We have a shelf full, plus all the railway maps of various kinds. I think I know where Peakirk is/was, though I do get a bit lost in Lancashire as there is so much railway to remember. And the NLS swebsite gets frequent visits for old map info.

BTW have we taken a wrong turning somewhere or did I pass over the level crossing without noticing?

Jonathan

[boxbrownie]

Just as a reminder, and as we have strayed into Mapping and now Railway Mapping, here is a resource I found through this forum a while ago, but worth pinning up again just in case it’s useful to somebody here.

http://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php

[RJS1977]

1 hour ago, boxbrownie said:

I know it’s sounds “grump old git” territory but this was brought home recently upon watching an episode of Eggheads, the visiting team were a team of young TV presenters primarily (no pun intended) from Children’s TV programmes......all of course seemingly well educated and bright, until one of the first questions came up in the “geography” segment, the question was as I recall “where is Dartmoor National Park” there were three options, Devon......Sussex......and somewhere else I cannot remember, let’s say Norfolk.....whatever.....after several tense lip biting minutes the female contestant came up with SUSSEX.......hells bells.....it’s Dartmoor, you were even given an obvious (I thought) choice.......Dartmoor in Sussex? JEEZ......as far as see it these kind of knowledge is really the very basics of living in a country, just knowing where you are and the major areas and cities/towns should be known.

 

What happens when her flatmate in London says I moving Bangor, and she thinks “oh I’ll pop in to see you most evenings”! 

 

Ranting over....and calm.....

 

When I was on Eggheads (broadcast earlier this year but recorded in January 2018 with a condition that I couldn't record anything else before it aired - which meant I had to turn down two invitations to do GMRC!), my friend Das (a lorry driver) got the geography round.

 

What viewers didn't see (as it was edited down for television) was that not only did he take the round to a tie break, the tie break ran to about 12 questions each, and at one point recording had to be suspended while the production team wrote some more questions!