A random thread for small things that don't really warrant a thread of their own

[Torslanda]

It was the only way I was able to afford the Council Tax.

"A police spokesman said 'he would have got clean away if he hadn't chosen to make his escape along a canal tow path. We just followed the splashes.it hadn't been for those meddling kids!'"

[hellymedic]

A 'Featured Ad' on Facebook advertised a rather pricy eatery.

Included was a picture of chef with a Hebrew tattoo on his forearm.

Thought I'd enlarge and decipher it.

Looks like a Hebrew date, consistent possibly with a date of birth for the bearer.

Asking for identity theft IMHO...

[T42]

"If found, please return to... "?

[hellymedic]

Peru...

Point is, this is trivially easy to decode.

I suppose Beckham's Hebrew tattoo is just a simple quote (but might backfire if he splits from Victoria).

I don't do Chinese but understand some tattoos have not meant what the bearer might choose... 

[Cudzoziemiec]

In the late 80s, when I was into motorbikes, it was trendy to have Japanese stickers on mudguards etc. The rider almost certainly didn't know what they said and I expect some of them were not even proper characters. At the same time, there was a fashion in Japan to put English stickers on m/bikes, and some of those certainly didn't make sense.

[citoyen]

I don't do Chinese but understand some tattoos have not meant what the bearer might choose...

My sister has a kanji on her shoulder and if anyone asks her, she tells them it's Chinese for 'tattoo'.

I don't know if she knows its real meaning.

[hellymedic]

In the late 80s, when I was into motorbikes, it was trendy to have Japanese stickers on mudguards etc. The rider almost certainly didn't know what they said and I expect some of them were not even proper characters. At the same time, there was a fashion in Japan to put English stickers on m/bikes, and some of those certainly didn't make sense.

Tattoos are rather more permanent than stickers and T-shirts...

[JennyB]

In the late 80s, when I was into motorbikes, it was trendy to have Japanese stickers on mudguards etc. The rider almost certainly didn't know what they said and I expect some of them were not even proper characters. At the same time, there was a fashion in Japan to put English stickers on m/bikes, and some of those certainly didn't make sense.

That reminds me; when I ran away with the circus back in the '70s, they had a troupe of young acrobats who were always introduced as  "The Los Chicos". Later I discovered there was a similar  troupe in Argentina known as "Los Wee Gets."

[Cudzoziemiec]

In the late 80s, when I was into motorbikes, it was trendy to have Japanese stickers on mudguards etc. The rider almost certainly didn't know what they said and I expect some of them were not even proper characters. At the same time, there was a fashion in Japan to put English stickers on m/bikes, and some of those certainly didn't make sense.

That reminds me; when I ran away with the circus back in the '70s, they had a troupe of young acrobats who were always introduced as  "The Los Chicos". Later I discovered there was a similar  troupe in Argentina known as "Los Wee Gets."

I vaguely remember reading of a Polish-American performer who was known (in America) as Idzi Kutas. Not only does this sound like "Itchy Cute Ass" but actually means "Here comes the prick".

[Andrij]

In the late 80s, when I was into motorbikes, it was trendy to have Japanese stickers on mudguards etc. The rider almost certainly didn't know what they said and I expect some of them were not even proper characters. At the same time, there was a fashion in Japan to put English stickers on m/bikes, and some of those certainly didn't make sense.

That reminds me; when I ran away with the circus back in the '70s, they had a troupe of young acrobats who were always introduced as  "The Los Chicos". Later I discovered there was a similar  troupe in Argentina known as "Los Wee Gets."

I vaguely remember reading of a Polish-American performer who was known (in America) as Idzi Kutas. Not only does this sound like "Itchy Cute Ass" but actually means "Here comes the prick".

Did he quit performing and become the optometrist Dr. Czekaj?  Took ages to get an appointment with him...

[Cudzoziemiec]

In the late 80s, when I was into motorbikes, it was trendy to have Japanese stickers on mudguards etc. The rider almost certainly didn't know what they said and I expect some of them were not even proper characters. At the same time, there was a fashion in Japan to put English stickers on m/bikes, and some of those certainly didn't make sense.

That reminds me; when I ran away with the circus back in the '70s, they had a troupe of young acrobats who were always introduced as  "The Los Chicos". Later I discovered there was a similar  troupe in Argentina known as "Los Wee Gets."

I vaguely remember reading of a Polish-American performer who was known (in America) as Idzi Kutas. Not only does this sound like "Itchy Cute Ass" but actually means "Here comes the prick".

Did he quit performing and become the optometrist Dr. Czekaj?  Took ages to get an appointment with him...

That was his partner, Prof Zwlekaj. 

[Basil]

Couldn't think of the correct place to put this, so I've dumped it here.


20190317_183753 by Basil W, on Flickr

[Cudzoziemiec]

Are they loos that you get locked in?
"Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to"...

[T42]

There's a bit in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert about Abba and loos.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'm a bit puzzled about one aspect of the decision to end the twice-yearly clock change. It seems each country will make its own decision whether to stay on summer or winter time. Isn't this going to lead to some oddities? For instance, if France and the Netherlands opt for summer time but Belgium chooses winter time, then when it's 1 o'clock in Belgium it will be 2 o'clock in its neighbours. Not only will this mean less time harmonisation than at present, it will give the curious experience of putting your watch forward when travelling west.

[Kim]

I can only assume that with the copyright stuff, the EU were on a roll with making bad decisions.  Even mandating permanent summer time (which is daft) would be less silly than allowing everyone to do their own thing.

[hellymedic]

I'm a bit puzzled about one aspect of the decision to end the twice-yearly clock change. It seems each country will make its own decision whether to stay on summer or winter time. Isn't this going to lead to some oddities? For instance, if France and the Netherlands opt for summer time but Belgium chooses winter time, then when it's 1 o'clock in Belgium it will be 2 o'clock in its neighbours. Not only will this mean less time harmonisation than at present, it will give the curious experience of putting your watch forward when travelling west.

This could result in a harder border 'twixt NI and Eire.

Eire might choose GMT, given its location west of the meridian. UK may well choose GMT +1 and screw the Scots & Welsh...

[rafletcher]

UK may well choose GMT +1 and screw the Scots & Welsh...

It's not going to have a great effect on Wales, and as for Scotland, in the winter there's only 6 hours of daylight anyway, so winter mornings are always dark, they'll just be darker until later in the year, with the benefit of lighter evenings arriving sooner. Can't see the problem myself, although I no longer live there.

[Kim]

The way I see it, if you're going to pick an arbitrary time zone that doesn't reflect your astronomical time, you might as well use UTC.  If astronomical time is important for something (I dunno, farming electrons or milking cows or whatever), then you're going to do it at that time regardless of what the clock says.  There's a strong argument for clocks being reasonably in sync with the sun.

Obviously I lack the politicians' ability to prioritise business convenience over physical reality.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I'm not greatly fussed about choosing summer or winter. I do think it will be beneficial to stop changing the time twice a year. But it seems something that's worth coordinating. We might end up with 2-hour jumps at time zone borders, if eg Portugal choose UTC winter and Spain choose UTC+1 summer. Or you return to the pre-war situation where every country chooses its own time zone.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Larger countries may have internal time zones e.g. Australia or the USA. Only some of those internal time zones follow daylight saving time changes. Life isn't too badly inconvenienced and at times benefited, if living near the borders.

[Mr Larrington]

Larger countries may have internal time zones e.g. Australia or the USA. Sometimes, only some of those internal time zones follow daylight saving time changes. Life isn't too badly inconvenienced and at times benefit, if living near the borders.

It can get horribly confusing sometimes, though.  Arizona doesn't do DST, Utah does, so if you travel straight north from the former to the latter in the summer...  Add to that the portion of the Navajo Nation that's in Arizona, which does do DST

And the time zone boundaries aren't always state lines; in the western part of South Dakota it's the Missouri and in one place I stayed in Idaho it just ran through the middle of town, putting dinner and bed in different zones.

[chrisbainbridge]

I am always amazed that Tenerife is the same time as the UK

[hellymedic]

My body functions best when astronomical noon is close to noon o'clock.

Spain and France in the summer have clocks 2 hours ahead of the sun, which I DON'T like.

[ian]

Indiana is another state that just can't decide what time it is. That said, if you're in Indiana, it's probably because you were confused in the first place. Indianapolis is mostly famous for cars going in circles, possibly also a result of confusion. No, I said turn RIGHT.

I don't have an issue with an hour here or there. I made the mistake of travelling from Singapore to Vancouver via London the other year. That's a classic temporal brainfuck that I wouldn't recommend.

DST is not something I can get too het up about, though as a full-time Brompton pilot now, I confess I'm looking forward to riding home in daylight.