Author Topic: what I have learned today.  (Read 847266 times)

Salvatore

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3850 on: 14 November, 2019, 12:03:57 pm »
That in the winter of 1836/37 my great-great-great grandfather's horses produced dung which was "pale, clay-like, and fetid".

ETA: he operated a coach service between Glasgow and Edinburgh (4 1/2 hours journey time, fare 5s outside, 10s inside), so kept horses. In that winter there was a shortage of hay, so he used wheat straw, with the resulting change in dung. For more details see Stable Economy: A treatise on the management of horses, in relation to stabling, grooming,feeding, watering, and grooming by Professor John Stewart, published 1845.
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3851 on: 14 November, 2019, 12:43:58 pm »
Another colleague had the job of listening to each new cassette as it was submitted to us, and make sure it wasn't too racy......

Presumably the rejects got edited into a Christmas tape?


Poor Brian who had that job was the meekest, shyest, most respectable chap you could imagine...  I think he must have been a very effective censor.  Certainly the few tapes I listened to in the line of duty would have had me asking for a refund..


I'm trying to remember the mechanics of how I did this job.  I remember I had to remove a big digital (?) master cassette / tape drive & replace it, and also remember having to blank this on regular occasions using a special mains powered magnetic gadget
Phwoar!!!
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3852 on: 15 November, 2019, 06:52:50 pm »
That a Dyson DC14 Animal has a post motor filter.
That wasn't mentioned in my instruction manual.
Ours has been in there for a verrrry long time.

<wonders if the suction will improve when I get a new filter>
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3853 on: 15 November, 2019, 10:05:19 pm »
That Henry Williamson, author of "Tarka The Otter" was a  fascist  >:(


Checks bookshelves, not there. Must have gone to Oxfam in the last cull.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Williamson


https://www.edp24.co.uk/business/farming/unseen-1930s-photos-illustrate-the-story-of-henry-williamson-the-norfolk-farmer-who-flirted-with-fascism-1-5026352



Not fast & rarely furious

tweeting occasional in(s)anities as andrewxclark

Mr Larrington

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3854 on: 16 November, 2019, 09:16:02 am »
IIRC the locals accused Williamson of ploughing his fields such that the furrows pointed to London's famous London, as a guide for the Luftwaffe.

NFN.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3855 on: 16 November, 2019, 07:40:32 pm »
That "mankind" is actually a gender neutral word as is "man" and all constructions thereof, or at least they were originally.
In the original Indo-European that English (and Latin, French, German etc) derive from "man" meant "person of unidentified gender" there was a separate word for male person and female person. This survived into Old English as "were" for male adult and and "wifa" for female adult. It was only later that "man" came to refer more and more to a male adult. Were only survives in words like "werewolf" and "were-geld". "Wifa" became wife though originally it didst mean married just adult female.

I'm currently listening to a very long podcast series on the origins and development of English.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3856 on: 17 November, 2019, 03:46:23 pm »
I've known these for some time, but they are relevant to pcolbeck's post;

"Midwife" originally meant "with the woman", a person asstisting with a birt.

and,

"Mistress" (Mrs) was the title applied to all adult women, not just those who were married.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3857 on: 17 November, 2019, 04:45:25 pm »
That the pope has a twitter account: https://twitter.com/pontifex
Amusingly, the "you may also like" bar suggests Donald Trump, Barack Obama, the New York Times, Hillary Clinton and Papa Francisco (the pope's tweets in Spanish), none of which I feel inclined to look at.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3858 on: 17 November, 2019, 05:09:14 pm »
The sidebar varies from punter to punter, thobut.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3859 on: 17 November, 2019, 05:17:57 pm »
I very rarely look at anything on twitter and don't have an account. If I refresh it, I get CNN, the White House, United Nations, Katy Perry and the Pope in Italian. So at least it's consistent. Mostly (isn't Katy Perry some sort of reality-type TV sleb?).
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3860 on: 17 November, 2019, 05:32:10 pm »
I've known these for some time, but they are relevant to pcolbeck's post;

"Midwife" originally meant "with the woman", a person asstisting with a birt.

Presumably originally something like "Mitt Wifa" which would be Germanic for "with a woman".
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3861 on: 17 November, 2019, 06:15:25 pm »
I very rarely look at anything on twitter and don't have an account. If I refresh it, I get CNN, the White House, United Nations, Katy Perry and the Pope in Italian. So at least it's consistent. Mostly (isn't Katy Perry some sort of reality-type TV sleb?).
Okay, it seems Katy Perry is a pop star and I was probably melding her into one with Katie Price. At least I didn't confuse either of them with Katy Hopkins. And I predict that in 30 years time, Katy will the Gen Z equivalent of Karen for whatever the by-then gen will be.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3862 on: 17 November, 2019, 09:35:12 pm »
I've known these for some time, but they are relevant to pcolbeck's post;

"Midwife" originally meant "with the woman", a person asstisting with a birt.

Presumably originally something like "Mitt Wifa" which would be Germanic for "with a woman".

Exactly.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3863 on: 18 November, 2019, 07:57:52 pm »
That Sooty was / is yellow.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3864 on: 19 November, 2019, 05:17:03 pm »
That there is such a thing as a metric British Thermal Unit. With the complication that MBTU can be either Metric BTU or Million BTUs. It's the gas industry...
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Kim

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3865 on: 19 November, 2019, 05:53:41 pm »
That there is such a thing as a metric British Thermal Unit. With the complication that MBTU can be either Metric BTU or Million BTUs. It's the gas industry...

"Oh for fuck's sake" said Kim, the words coming easily through force of habit.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3866 on: 19 November, 2019, 06:14:22 pm »
In my line of work M can interchangeably mean either thousand or million (in which case thousand is k or million MM).
Which can be problematic.
Confused? You will be.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3867 on: 19 November, 2019, 06:23:39 pm »
In the absence of other visible targets, I'll blame the Americans. Even when used in a Dutch firm.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

ElyDave

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3868 on: 19 November, 2019, 06:24:59 pm »
I spend half my life asking "can you please confirm that unit for me"

Then you get into scf, mmscf etc.  Which version of standard do you mean?  Oil industry metric, oil industry USAnian, IUPAC?

FFS, just give me everything in tonnes (metric, not USAnian 2000lb tons)
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Mrs Pingu

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3869 on: 19 November, 2019, 06:27:16 pm »
Yes, Mscf, mmscf, kscf are my pet hates.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3870 on: 19 November, 2019, 06:43:01 pm »
That whilst making 1,000 of his UK staff redundant, Jamie Oliver paid himself £5.2 million in dividends last year.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3871 on: 19 November, 2019, 07:37:30 pm »
That whilst making 1,000 of his UK staff redundant, Jamie Oliver paid himself £5.2 million in dividends last year.

Having already invested some £4 million of his money earlier in the year trying to save the restaurants.
We are making a New World (Paul Nash, 1918)

TheLurker

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3872 on: 19 November, 2019, 07:59:07 pm »
That Sooty was / is yellow.
One wonders how young rafletcher is.
Τα πιο όμορφα ταξίδια γίνονται με τις δικές μας δυνάμεις - Φίλοι του Ποδήλατου

Kim

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Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3873 on: 19 November, 2019, 08:00:32 pm »
That Sooty was / is yellow.
One wonders how young rafletcher is.

I had a similar revelation regarding Big Bird.  In about 1986.

Re: what I have learned today.
« Reply #3874 on: 19 November, 2019, 08:26:19 pm »
That whilst making 1,000 of his UK staff redundant, Jamie Oliver paid himself £5.2 million in dividends last year.

Having already invested some £4 million of his money earlier in the year trying to save the restaurants.
I would be much more impressed if it was less than £4m.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain