Smiffy2

Really?

And me too.

We also used to tell this story to encourage lateral thinking. When Nils Bohr was a student at the University of Copenhagen he was rather terse in his answers in his written finals. Didn't really show his working. His answer to one question was a little unconventional. "Describe how to determine the height of a skyscraper using a barometer." Bohr wrote "Tie a long piece of string to the barometer, lower it from the roof of the skyscraper to the ground. The length of the string plus the length of the barometer will equal the height of the building." This answer so incensed the examiner that Bohr was failed immediately. However, he appealed on the grounds that the answer was indisputably correct, and the university appointed an independent arbiter to decide. The arbiter judged that the answer was indeed correct, but that it did not display any noticeable knowledge of physics. To resolve the problem, it was decided to call the student and allow six minutes for him to provide an oral answer. For five minutes the student sat in silence, his forehead creased in thought. When the arbiter pointed out that time was running out, the student replied that he had several extremely relevant answers but could not decide which to use. "Firstly, you could take a barometer up to the roof of the skyscraper, drop it over the edge and measure the time it takes to reach the ground, but too bad for the barometer. "If the sun is shining you could measure the height of the barometer, then set it on end and measure the length of its shadow. Then you measure the length of the skyscraper's shadow, and thereafter it is a simple matter of proportional arithmetic. "If you wanted to be highly scientific, you could tie a short piece of string to the barometer and swing it as a pendulum, first at ground level, then on the roof of the skyscraper. The height of the building can be calculated from the difference in the pendulum's period. "If the skyscraper has an outside emergency staircase, it would be easy to walk up it and mark off the height in barometer lengths. "If you wanted to be boring and orthodox, of course, you could use the barometer to measure the air pressure on the roof of the skyscraper and on the ground, and convert the difference into a height of air. "But since we are continually being urged to seek new ways of doing things, probably the best way would be to knock on the janitor's door and say: "If you would like a nice new barometer, I will give you this one if you tell me the height of this building." That's probably apocryphal, but a true Bohr story is that, when the Germans invaded, his fellow Nobel prize winners James Franck and Max von Laue feared (rightly) that their gold medals would be confiscated. Bohr collected the medals and dissolved them in separate jars of aqua regia (mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acid). These were kept until after the Nazis left, when the gold was recovered and the Nobel institute used it to strike new medals for the scientists in 1950. Bohr didn't dissolve his own medal. He auctioned it, the proceeds going to Finnish relief in 1940. The anonymous purchaser later donated it to the Danish Historical Museum.

This was something we used in thought experiments when working with Gifted and Talented kids. Eventually there was a competition for improving the idea and a team from Imperial came up with the idea of spreading Chicken Tikka Masala on the cat's back and attempting to drop it onto a white ###### pile carpet. They had explanatory calculations and everything... Hmm. That should, of course, be s.h.a.g. pile carpet...

Just to add a happy note - the Peco 0-16.5 coach kit is a (simple) joy!

My deepest sympathies, Simon. I've had to do that, you just have to screw up your courage and do it. My thoughts with you. Gordon - perhaps you can redeem yourself by revealing that the document is a hoax: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Wife%27s_Guide

Some nice news today. Dan (#1 son, recently separated) has for the last few years made it a traditional Christmas treat to take Daisy (his Young Padawan) to the opening of the new Star Wars movie. It looked as though this year the trip was going to be blocked (Daisy was apparently 'anxious') which would have been dreadful for him and for her, but he made it happen, and they had a great time, ending up with a burger at 5 Guys in Wimbledon - which Daisy proclaimed to be the best she had ever eaten! So a nice glow here at Smiffy Towers. Scalpels and incisions - so many times now (including casualty on Christmas Day when I was 12) that I just get on with it...

Wotcha. Got up early to do some modelling, and then did a GDB. I had bought some Peco 0-16.5 coch sides and roofs - no ends, dead cheap. So I made the ends, no problem. (I had a spare to use as a template). Got to the just-about last job, the compartment dividers and managed to stab myself with a scalpel. Blood everywhere, I've had to wipe it up off the floor! Now plastered (the finger) and just a little throbbing... So the rest of the day will probably be an improvement.

364 days! What a relief! Though the last 10 minutes were a bit nerve wracking...

I need to share this. Today I bought an LED desklight, USB, cordless, for modelmaking ease and convenience. It's Chinese, of course, and the instructions are a computer translation delight: Main Function Advanced luminous technology, no glare, no stroboscopic, light softly. High technology light conductor, long life and minimal droop. Touch the switch, the brightness is adjustable, operation more convenient. Three dimensional all-round illumination angle satisfies. Portable constructure, small volume. Attention: Please do not over-adjusting the joint activity parts. Operation Light on: press power switch c3 strengths) to increase the brightness of lamp, with brightness memory function when light on again) I know, it's better than my Chinese, but this tickled me. And it's a very good lamp!

That crash in France looks dreadful. I am appalled by the loss of young lives so tragically cut short, but amazed, given the state of the wreckage of the coach, that so few were killed. I had expected to hear that the toll was rising as they combed through the wreckage. Thoughts are with the bereaved and injured, many of whom will have suffered life-changing injuries.

Morning all. Woke early, feeling like a new man, Unfortunately the shops are closed so I'm having to settle for the old one. Have cleaned and polished the dining room, sorted the domestic filing, cleaned and polished the hall, sorted the recycling, cleaned the kitchen and I'm only on my second cup of coffee. Andy - I remember so well that sense of relief. Now, of course, you'll get flu if you're anything like me! Have a great end of the week, peeps.

Urgh. Still got the lurgi. Getting colder here after a mild start. Whelkmen planning a trip to the Azores, I believe. Up early for a governors meeting. Many things which used to be rubber-stamped at full govs now have to be rubber stamped by committees and then sent to full govs to be - err - rubber stamped. This apparently makes sense. Today we approved the admissions policy, which is the same as last year, but got in a monitoring visit as well, looking at attendance and the assorted procedures (SIMMS initiated). Julie spitting teeth because one of her co-operative partners is refusing to answer his phone so she has a 40 minute round trip to give him a message... He doesn't have many teeth and may end the day with less. At 8am this morning I got a message from our next-door neighbour to go and wake her husband up so that he gets the child to nursery on time... working at home, eh? I used to do that but never told them which home. Or bar. Have a good day, one and all. No, seriously...

Morning all, wet, and as GDB says, mild. Happy Birthday, John! No sleep at all, really, been scanning negatives, watching CNN and coughing. I'm bored. Later - Carshalton High Street and the Post Office for stamps, especially for foreign cards, for which we're near the last posting date. Julie has mentioned Sutton, but she's on her own with that one. Apart from that, last minute pressies, the tree and decorations and the nice man from Ocado, not much. Good news is that Dan has 'access' to the girls on Boxing Day, so they're coming here for the trad cold meat & bubble. Looking forward to that. Have a good day, chums.

Whelks, you say? Well, today is a double-whelk whammy. Would you want to go out whelking in a coracle (albeit gaily painted) in this weather? Of course not, and for that reason alone the whelkmen may feel justified in staying abed. Possibly until the spring, or when their duvets really need washing, whichever is the sooner. But as well, also and to boot, today is the feast day of Saint Lionel the Squishy. He was martyred, in the year 386, by being pressed between two classical buildings, and thus reduced to a mushy and lifeless state. He was thusly punished because he refused to give the Roman Empress Calciona Carbonata the keys to the gladiators' locker room at the Ludorum in what would later become the short-lived city state of Croydonium. Lionel subsequently pulled himself together and called down the wrath of the Angles upon Calciona who obtused her equilaterally. For performing this miracle he was sainted, and his story was spread around. Lionel then passed beyond the mortal coil and was buried (location not known) in a collection of Kilner jars. As a result on his day the whelkmen do no outdoor work, but instead dedicate themselves to the fabrication of a form of Gentlemen's Relish in memory of the saint. Perhaps they'll put out to sea tomorrow. Perhaps. On another note (asking for a friend, obvz) - why did locomotives get so dirty? I ask because I just saw a video of the new AGV making 500+ kph and the could of dust coming up, presumably from the ballast, was prodigious. Oil, of course, soot and smoke, oily steam - was that all there was to it? 'Cos they really did get mucky.

That's good to know.

Ugh. Insomnia. Dumb, boring insomnia. Can't go over it, can't go under it, have to go through it. We've the Girls here overnight, just about to start breakfast, get them to school or nursery and then get a bit of kip. I really enjoy having them stay, and Daisy really appreciates some calm and being treated like an intelligent person. They sleep well here, too. It's a bit chilly, mind. I may have to set fire to the settee.

Not strictly true, if you take into consideration the development of the heavy draft horse. I suspect that C19 horses were quite a lot bigger than C1 horses. Whether that altered the distance between the wheels is another matter.

I'm absolutely with you on this. I have family who are, or were, in the management structures of the NHS - perhaps critics would like to have a go at finding beds in an overstressed system at 2am - knowing that lives (rather than money) are at stake.

Morning all, from the dark and inexplicably noisy Carshalton-sur-Mer. Didn't sleep at all last night, due to the coughing and the Carruthers. So I've cleaned the kitchen, done washing up etc. It's dark outside (it keeps doing that) so I've little idea of the weather. I suspect there is some. The day looks absolutely ideal for a bit of whelking, so it's a great shame that today is the feast of Saint Pendula, who was martyred by being locked in a grandfather clock and bonged to death. In observance all clocks, including alarm clocks, have been turned off for the day, so no chance of parting the whelkmen from their gaily patterned duvets and floral pillowcases. Today's agenda involves a visit from the nice man from Ocado (we've run out of milk, I've had to have my morning coffee with cream) who will bring emergency supplies of tissues as well. Then our Peripatetic Hairdresser (our niece) will come for haircuts, gossip and scandal. Apart from that, not much. Making a Port Wynnstay coach, if I can straighten the sides. Any advice? Hot water didn't do it. I'm thinking of a brass section. Watching the French news and the national mourning on the death of Johnny Hallyday. Striking that a singer who was just about unknown in the Anglosphere is so loved and feted in the Francosphere. Or perhaps that isn't a surprise at all. Sad for him, though. Lung cancer isn't merciful. There may be some sleeping, if I can stop coughing for a few minutes. But I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, oh no, not that. Well, perhaps a bit. If I ever find out how we ended up with an extra wheelie bin after the collections yesterday I'll let you know...

Pals, a question. Julie wants a Kindle for Christmas. I have a Kindle (which she has nicked to read the very worthwhile ouevre of Robert Galbraith) with about 500 books. She would like to access many of these. So, is it possible to buy her a Kindle and register it as another device to me? Then we could share books as we buy them. Or I do. Has anyone else done this? My memory seems to tell me that when I bought my current Kindle my old ones stayed 'attached'. Now gone, though, as I gave it away.

Just done a GDB... Trimming a bit of plastikard - new scalpel blade - whoops - thumb stabbed... I knew I shouldn't have cleared up my workbench.

A good morning to you all. I've been up since 5:30, having fallen asleep on Sofa A at 9pm, shifted to the more comfortable Sofa B about midnight, and then up to bed when the bladder called at 3am. I'm exhausted! Cold/flu is still with me - where does it all come from? My sinuses appear to have the characteristics of a Tardis. Julie is in the shop - again - today, so I'm left to my own devices. I've already cleaned the kitchen and done the dishwasher, so it's the workshop next. Also awaiting the arrival of a new Nikon battery, as the cheapo ones I bought aren't holding a charge any more. £6.99 plays £70, there may be a quality difference. No social life, but apart from my flu no problems, either. Except reading all the papers for a governors' meeting tomorrow and printing the payout-sheets for the craft gallery for Julie. Neither of which is onerous. So, best wishes to all, especially Rick and Beth.

4' 9" Something to do with the width of a big horse? And were the ruts worn or carved? Theories for both, but of course once the ruts existed there was pressure to build new carts to roughly the same gauge, approximately 5'.

Whoosh...