Author Topic: The health and fitness thread about random things  (Read 463605 times)

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1125 on: 02 July, 2016, 09:27:33 am »
Oh shit, getting cross-eyed now. Well at least she's a prime number.

Thanks.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Kim

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    • Fediverse
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1126 on: 02 July, 2016, 01:31:07 pm »
Didn't the coins appear before the switch?  I was a lowly programmer at the time and my progs were all written for £sd.

Wow.  I'm showing my youth, but I tend to think of pre-decimal currency as being one of those things that happened "after Jesus died and before computers were invented".  It hadn't really occurred to me that it coexisted with financial software for ages, even though it's obvious with a moment's thought.

I'm sure there are systems out there somewhere still working in £sd internally...

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1127 on: 02 July, 2016, 01:45:03 pm »
Historical things like that are often a bit weird. I find it strange that £sd was still in use after I was born; because it was all decimal by the time I was old enough to use money, I always assumed it was ancient. Though of course the coins were still in circulation for decades after. Same with degrees fahrenheit; never learned to understand them, never really had to – till a doctor in, of all places, India, started using them to me! (I expect he had trained in USA).
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Kim

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Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1128 on: 02 July, 2016, 01:53:07 pm »
In primary school, our SPMG maths books talked about "New Pence".  I, logically, concluded that new pence were the plastic ones used in maths lessons (they had 'new pence' written on them, after all), while old pence were the metal ones you pay for things with in shops.

My parents used Fahrenheit for body temperature well into the 1990s.  I expect they were reasonably bilingual in a professional setting, and just defaulted to whatever the thermometer they were using was calibrated in (at home we had a Ye Olde mercury one, until it broke (which was worth it for the blobs of mercury) and was replaced with a newfangled alcohol one).

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1129 on: 02 July, 2016, 02:15:55 pm »
Yebbut the metal ones in the shops had "NEW PENCE" written on the as well, though I suppose at that age you never got to pay attention to them.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1130 on: 02 July, 2016, 04:41:34 pm »
Didn't the coins appear before the switch?  I was a lowly programmer at the time and my progs were all written for £sd.

Wow.  I'm showing my youth, but I tend to think of pre-decimal currency as being one of those things that happened "after Jesus died and before computers were invented".  It hadn't really occurred to me that it coexisted with financial software for ages, even though it's obvious with a moment's thought.

I'm sure there are systems out there somewhere still working in £sd internally...

I wouldn't be surprised. We used to store everything in d and convert out on printing.  A few years before my time it was even ha'pennies, and the progs back then had to carry over odd ha'pennies from week to week so as not to cause strikes.

These are the beasties I worked on at the time: http://tinyurl.com/gozo7qw  The "high-speed printer" managed 22 characters/sec.

I even wrote a production control suite for a weaving company up in Peterhead - with 1k of 64-bit words and magnetic ledger cards.

I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1131 on: 02 July, 2016, 06:59:38 pm »
Faint memories have been returning. Ind Coope pale ale. Seven pint party can. Handing round can for swigs on canal towpath under Castle Lane bridge.

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1132 on: 02 July, 2016, 10:56:00 pm »
Hoping that you all feel better soon. I seem to be improving. I can get around the house OK today but I have to stand up and sit down very slowly and carefully. I know my problems are trivial compared many on this thread and I do appreciate the supportive posts I receive  :)
the slower you go the more you see

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1133 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:45:40 am »
Take it easy and don't worry.  One of the TdF bods lost 3 months after having a finger chopped off earlier this year, and he's in the pack.  Mind you, he's not sitting on his finger.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1134 on: 03 July, 2016, 11:55:15 am »
As I type this my trice adventure is in a trailer travelling up to mid Wales for a week of pottering with Jonathan notp. I should be in the van also. The plan is as soon as possible I will rejoin this expedition by train as there is a station in the village of Llanwrtyd Wells. I am hoping that I can go tomorrow or Tuesday. Hurry up and settle back, I want to go to Wales  :)
the slower you go the more you see

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1135 on: 03 July, 2016, 01:12:45 pm »
Good luck.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1136 on: 03 July, 2016, 07:11:07 pm »
Thanks  :), I am in a warm bath which is encouraging. It is odd though I have had improvements an stiffening up feeling at odd times all day  ::-)
the slower you go the more you see

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1137 on: 03 July, 2016, 07:41:28 pm »
I can! '11+', first decimal coins, Paris riots, parents moved to London...

I don't know what day it was but I clearly remember my form teacher bringing in new decimal coins after dinner one day in school.   We had the new coins next to old coins and even notes (ten bob!) and we did a huge conversion chart on the blackboard.

I also remember the launch of the £1 coin as my mother gave me a bag of £200 of them.   

   

Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
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Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1138 on: 03 July, 2016, 07:46:19 pm »
I can! '11+', first decimal coins, Paris riots, parents moved to London...

I don't know what day it was but I clearly remember my form teacher bringing in new decimal coins after dinner one day in school.   We had the new coins next to old coins and even notes (ten bob!) and we did a huge conversion chart on the blackboard.

I also remember the launch of the £1 coin as my mother gave me a bag of £200 of them.   

 

I seem to remember that the ten bob note was taken out off circulation before decimal day.  Although that would mean we had a ten bob coin for a while .  That can't be right.
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1139 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:00:00 pm »
I remember spending a lesson in school learning addition and subtraction of pounds, shillings and pence. I'm not sure why they felt the need to teach us this, given that none of my class were born until well after decimalisation...

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1140 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:05:00 pm »
I seem to remember that the ten bob note was taken out off circulation before decimal day.  Although that would mean we had a ten bob coin for a while .  That can't be right.
The 50 (new) p coin was legal tender before decimalisation.
And one was used for the toss in the FA cup final before they were issued to the public.
"No matter how slow you go, you're still lapping everybody on the couch."

Kim

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Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1141 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:08:34 pm »
I remember spending a lesson in school learning addition and subtraction of pounds, shillings and pence. I'm not sure why they felt the need to teach us this, given that none of my class were born until well after decimalisation...

Probably a way to introduce the concept of different number bases?

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1142 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:15:50 pm »
I seem to remember that the ten bob note was taken out off circulation before decimal day.  Although that would mean we had a ten bob coin for a while .  That can't be right.
The 50 (new) p coin was legal tender before decimalisation.
And one was used for the toss in the FA cup final before they were issued to the public.

This was autumn 1969. I was Kosher school dinner monitor. Meals were 1/9 so a week's dinners were 8/9, needing ⅓ change from a ten-bob note.

Basil

  • Um....err......oh bugger!
  • Help me!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1143 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:17:12 pm »
I remember spending a lesson in school learning addition and subtraction of pounds, shillings and pence. I'm not sure why they felt the need to teach us this, given that none of my class were born until well after decimalisation...

Probably a way to introduce the concept of different number bases?

That makes sense.  I'm sure we were better at mental arithmetic as kids when we had to think in 12s  and 20s.
Admission.  I'm actually not that fussed about cake.

Kim

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    • Fediverse
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1144 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:25:18 pm »
I remember spending a lesson in school learning addition and subtraction of pounds, shillings and pence. I'm not sure why they felt the need to teach us this, given that none of my class were born until well after decimalisation...

Probably a way to introduce the concept of different number bases?

That makes sense.  I'm sure we were better at mental arithmetic as kids when we had to think in 12s  and 20s.

Undoubtedly.  The counter-argument is that there's no point in being really good at mental arithmetic if it's not something you ever actually need to use.  I see little point in memorising multiplication tables above 10, and no point at all in those higher than 12, as in the real (metric) world there's very little that isn't base 10 or base 6.  You'd be better off spending the time learning some more relevant skill, like spotting overflow / rounding errors or something.

(And I say that as someone who uses base 2 and 16 fairly regularly.)

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1145 on: 03 July, 2016, 08:35:58 pm »
I can! '11+', first decimal coins, Paris riots, parents moved to London...

I don't know what day it was but I clearly remember my form teacher bringing in new decimal coins after dinner one day in school.   We had the new coins next to old coins and even notes (ten bob!) and we did a huge conversion chart on the blackboard.

I also remember the launch of the £1 coin as my mother gave me a bag of £200 of them.   

I think the first decimal coins were issued on 23 April 1968, which was a Tuesday. (I would have been a few weeks short of 10 at that point.)

The £1 coins came out much later ??1983 - when we were proper grown-ups - and were nicknamed 'Thatcher' ( 'thick, brassy and thinks it's a sovereign') by some.

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1146 on: 04 July, 2016, 07:11:31 am »
More memories of being ten years old are recalled.

The man next door put a ten bob note in Christmas and birthday cards for my sister and I. This was in the days when a Matchbox cars were 2/6- and 10/- could buy a Subuteo team.

In 1968, my 10/- note bought Corgi Toys GS13. Still got it, although in many pieces. I managed to buy another mint example in the box recently for £249.

Then we found out our next door neighbour was a millionaire.
When the 10/- note was taken out of circulation, he put a green £1 note in the cards.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1147 on: 04 July, 2016, 08:14:15 am »
In 1968, my 10/- note bought Corgi Toys GS13. Still got it, although in many pieces. I managed to buy another mint example in the box recently for £249.

Mine bought four pints of McEwan's Export.  Tuppence-ha'penny a pint and 2/3½d in tax.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1148 on: 04 July, 2016, 10:19:25 am »
I was in my first year at Grammar School, and I recall that the Mars Bars in the tuck shop went from 9d to 4p - an immediate price increase of 6%!
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: The health and fitness thread about random things
« Reply #1149 on: 04 July, 2016, 11:23:31 am »
In 1968, my 10/- note bought Corgi Toys GS13. Still got it, although in many pieces. I managed to buy another mint example in the box recently for £249.

Mine bought four pints of McEwan's Export.  Tuppence-ha'penny a pint and 2/3½d in tax.

... or 5 pints of Younger's IPA.  The only thing cheaper was the beer at the Old Chain Peer at 1/9d, but it was piss.  Even Betty Moss said so.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight