Early Risers.

[polybear]

Just finished watching "Honest Thief" on Prime - worth a look....

[polybear]

Ch.4 tonight @21:10 :  "Top Gun - Maverick" is on the telly.  Bring the Hot Dogs n' Candy Floss.

Edited March 23 by polybear

[TheQ]

I shall be watching Top Guns "Not too Maverick", that is, the end of season prize giving at the Sailing club. 

Din dins starts at 18:30, prize giving for afters.

 

Departure time 3/4 an hour...

[DaveF]

I spent part of the morning looking at some photos I've taken recently.  My little old Canon Ixus is showing signs of wearing out so I am taking more pictures with my phone, a Samsung A34 which is better than adequate.  I still use the Nikon dslr most of the time, the phone is handy if I have just gone out ofr a quick walk or shopping.  I also looked at photos from 2010, surprisingly I can remember a lot about the days I took some of them.

 

Then I spent a while in the garden cutting bits off shrubs which are sticking out and getting in the wasy along with a few dead bits.  I am still very slow and careful and have to make sure I don't so too much at once.

 

After lunch I read a magazine about things in Europe which move on strips of steel.  I also listened to some music.

 

All in all a very peaceful relaxing day, hopefully more is to follow until bedtime.

 

David

[Erichill16]

20 minutes ago, polybear said:

Ch.4 tonight @21:10 :  "Top Gun - Maverick" is on the telly.  Bring the Hot Dogs n' Candy Floss.

U S A, U S A

[Dave Hunt]

18 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

 The staffed tills they push the stuff through too fast for you to pack properly.

 

I always ignore the attempts to force you to pack in a hurry and take my time - even to the extent of asking the check out operator to hold back if they are pushing too much stuff through.

 

Dave

[Coombe Barton]

... I really am turning into them (my grandparents). Sort of. However they’d probably disown me for my politics. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/03/23/covid-people-in-hospital-not-going-down-elevenses-camp-coffee-and-images-of-repression-there-is-more-floor/

[jjb1970]

Back off to Asia, good to see the Air China clone works is still working.

 

[Hroth]

48 minutes ago, polybear said:

Ch.4 tonight @21:10 :  "Top Gun - Maverick" is on the telly.  Bring the Hot Dogs n' Candy Floss.

 

Plus engage major suspension of belief....  🤪

 

[jjb1970]

I loved Top Gun Maverick, it's over the top and very rah rah rah but the flight sequences are stunning and it's pure entertainment. I know Tom Cruise takes flack over some of his ideas but he's a good actor and knows a good story, he's an old fashioned movie star in many ways, a throw back to the era of A list stars. A dying breed.

[polybear]

6 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I loved Top Gun Maverick, it's over the top and very rah rah rah but the flight sequences are stunning and it's pure entertainment. I know Tom Cruise takes flack over some of his ideas but he's a good actor and knows a good story, he's an old fashioned movie star in many ways, a throw back to the era of A list stars. A dying breed.

 

And not afraid to be his own Stuntman either

[Ozexpatriate]

10 hours ago, polybear said:

The UK has a fine history of teaching what I'd consider (even then) to be "iffy nationalities"; as for flogging Military Hardware to them as well

Arms trading (and instruction of foreign nationals to use them) is a big part of foreign policy for most weapons-producing nations. There will always be unintended consequences.

 

FBI: Shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola Called ‘Act of Terrorism’

 

[Ozexpatriate]

8 hours ago, southern42 said:

I kinda fancy these

Wouldn't you rather have your legs consumed by sharks or crocodiles etc? There are many options.

 

Of course I'm not serious, but there are many, many novelty socks out there.

[Dave Hunt]

On the subjects of cash and cheques, there are two takeaways hereabouts (one Chinese, one Indian) that only take cash as well as a chippy that will take cards but prefers cash and like some other ERs I always try to carry cash with me. Although I don't use cash regularly I will do so quite often where practical, which means where it will not hold up a queue. I also use cheques from time to time, such as for MRJ subscriptions . The main reason for using cards, as far as I am concerned, is that if a transaction goes t*ts up because of a vendor not honouring a guarantee etc. I may well have a claim against the credit card issuer.

 

Dave

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Erichill16 said:

U S A, U S A

Yes, but not nearly as much so as he first one. Very careful not to identify the adversary, and certainly not an east Asian adversary.

 

44 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I loved Top Gun Maverick, it's over the top and very rah rah rah but the flight sequences are stunning and it's pure entertainment.

Yes, it was fun.

 

One of my favourite element of "Hot Shots!" (Top Gun parody from 1991) were the livery references to "THE NAVY". Use of the definite article was ubiquitous in Top Gun.

 

Like so:

[Dave Hunt]

4 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Yes, but not nearly as much so as he first one. Very careful not to identify the adversary, and certainly not an east Asian adversary.

 

Yes, it was fun.

 

One of my favourite element of "Hot Shots!" (Top Gun parody from 1991) were the livery references to "THE NAVY". Use of the definite article was ubiquitous in Top Gun.

 

Like so:

 

Those are actually Folland Gnats, which were the RAF's advanced fast jet trainers in the late 60s and which I flew. They were great little machines, little being the operative word as can be seen in the photograph.

 

Dave 

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

Those are actually Folland Gnats, which were the RAF's advanced fast jet trainers in the late 60s and which I flew. They were great little machines, little being the operative word as can be seen in the photograph.

Nice.

 

I understand that the production of "Hot Shots!" did not enjoy the same level of cooperation from the US DoD that "Top Gun" did.

 

IMDB lists this as the first trivia item:

Quote

The aircraft carrier on which the movie takes place is actually a wooden deck built on the edge of a cliff at a deserted Marineland facility. The film was shot at an angle that made the deck look like a ship at sea.

You can tell.

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

I do not see that refusing to use the technology when offered is helping anyone.

The problem is that a lot of people don’t want this technology - myself included (and I’m no luddite - being very much an “Early Adopter” of technology since the early 80s).

 

Too often such changes are pushed and they are presented as being for our “convenience” or will “improve our customer experience”.*
 

BULLS*T!!!
 

It’s only about them. Specifically:

• Shedding low paid jobs**
• Whacking up prices (to “pay for the technology”)
• Making even more money by squeezing staff, customers and suppliers “until the pips squeak”

Perhaps the current epidemic of shoplifting (which the Police aren’t interested in stopping) for which you are paying for with higher prices is somehow linked to the spread of the self-service till.

 

Who would have thought.

 * I like my cashier-at-the-till “shopping experience” as it is.

** it’s never those in the “executive suite” that get the pink slips

[jamie92208]

When Leeds City Libraries tried to make us all use a machine to take books back and get new ones.  I was always the awkward one that went to the counter to get mine stamped.   When asked why I replied that I liked to interact with a human being.

 

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Arms trading (and instruction of foreign nationals to use them) is a big part of foreign policy for most weapons-producing nations. There will always be unintended consequences.

 

FBI: Shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola Called ‘Act of Terrorism’

 

I believe that Vickers sold arms to both sides in the Boer War and certainly made money by selling battleships to opposing nations in South America.

 

Jamie

[New Haven Neil]

Odd day.  Off out early doors for Mrs NHN to be Pilated, NHN for a walk around Royal Ramsey while that was ongoing, but it was blowing an absolute hoolie, and most unpleasant due to wind chill Ian A would be proud of so hid in a cafe after a mile walk.

 

The rush off Way out West to Peel to meet up with Trackshack John and his Mrs for brunch, our diaries seldom allow so that was a nice treat.  They only arrived back On-Rock late last night after a trip away, and a rather unpleasant ride in a force 7 aboard the fast craft cater-meringue, which usually doesn't sail over a force 6.  I think they were still dizzy.

 

Then some torture by shopping followed by a reward a nice coffee down Laxey prom (on the sheltered side of the rock), knackered by the time we got home.  

 

As for cheques, I usually write one for MRJ too, but, err, it would appear (by the slip being next to me) that I have, err, forgotten to do so. Poop.

[Ozexpatriate]

5 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I believe that Vickers sold arms to both sides in the Boer War and certainly made money by selling battleships to opposing nations in South America.

Famously the Falklands campaign. Argentina had purchased much of their arsenal from NATO countries - warships, aircraft, missiles, etc.

 

Hardly different in Ukraine with ex-Soviet materiel used by both sides.

[Ozexpatriate]

32 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

It’s only about them. Specifically:

1. Shedding low paid jobs**
2. Whacking up prices (to “pay for the technology”)
3. Making even more money by squeezing staff, customers and suppliers

Re:

1. Certainly. Capitalism for commodity retailers is (frequently) a race to the bottom - be the cheapest or perish.
2. No. See item 1.
3. Yes to squeezing staff and customers. Makes utterly no difference to suppliers what a retailer's point of sale looks like.

The prospects for department stores in the US are dire. It is down to pretty much a monopoly now (Macy's) and even they are closing stores and malls are struggling with closed or closing department store "anchors".

 

People like to blame Amazon, and while they do play a part, it's not all Amazon-driven. I see a massive proliferation in direct-to-consumer (no middle-man like a department store) internet commerce. 

 

We even see this in British model railways where large retailers don't get an allocation to sell driving consumers to the supplier's website to pay non-discounted retail prices - greatly increasing margins for the supplier.

 

[Coombe Barton]

45 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

The problem is that a lot of people don’t want this technology

And the data for this assertion?

[Dave Hunt]

21 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

And the data for this assertion?

 

I think that the number of ERs who have gone on record as being opposed to, or at least not great fans of, the technology would represent a significant proportion of this forum. Although I have no hard evidence to suggest that this could be carried over to the general population, if it were it would lend weight to the assertion that a lot of people generally feel that way.

 

Dave

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

Those are actually Folland Gnats, which were the RAF's advanced fast jet trainers in the late 60s and which I flew. They were great little machines, little being the operative word as can be seen in the photograph.

 

Dave 

And they are single seaters which IIRC were only supplied to Finland.

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

When Leeds City Libraries tried to make us all use a machine to take books back and get new ones.  I was always the awkward one that went to the counter to get mine stamped.   When asked why I replied that I liked to interact with a human being.

 

I believe that Vickers sold arms to both sides in the Boer War and certainly made money by selling battleships to opposing nations in South America.

 

Jamie

And Britain sold battleships to both sides in the Russian-Japanese war 1904-1905.

53 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Famously the Falklands campaign. Argentina had purchased much of their arsenal from NATO countries - warships, aircraft, missiles, etc.

 

Hardly different in Ukraine with ex-Soviet materiel used by both sides.

The Belgrano was once the USS Phoenix, a Pearl Harbor survivor and their aircraft carrier,  Veinticinco de Mayo was once HMS Venerable.

Edited March 23 by PhilJ W