I'm confused about current space launches. I watched one take off - then learned it had just gone into orbit and landed again in the Gulf of Mexico, and then the capsule could now be used again. The previous two attempts had failed. I now see two astronauts joining the International space station after a different launch. Seems one is fom Elon Musk (Starship) and the other from Boeing (Starliner).
That all got me thinking that it's a long time since man stepped on the moon. Seems it hasn't happened for fifty two years. (1972). I wonder why the long time gap. Developments in technology should surely have made it easier now?
Show me as 'puzzled' - again. . . .
Born to be mild Sapere Aude Ego Lego Preferred pronouns - Thou, Thee, Thy, Thine My non-working days are Monday - Sunday
China have recently successfully landed on the dark side of the moon. They say that it will be a precursor to a manned flight at a later date, probably on the sunny side though. The technology obviously has advanced as it must have been an automated landing as I seem to remember that there was always a LOS on the dark side while orbiting the moon during previous US missions.
Ian, what is LOS?
I almost stayed up to watch the 7 sided debate but then told myself not to be so foolish and went to bed.
See THIS for a BBC report on the debate. Conservative cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has said the prime minister's decision to leave the D-Day commemorations early was "completely wrong". In the BBC's seven-way TV election debate on Friday, Ms Mordaunt said it was right that Rishi Sunak apologised to veterans and to the public. In what has widely been seen as the biggest gaffe of the general election campaign so far, Mr Sunak was heavily criticised by senior political party figures for leaving the event on Thursday, which was held in France to honour the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. The PM left Foreign Secretary David Cameron to deputise for him and travelled back to the UK early.
Why do I imagine Cameron with a big grin on his face?
I agree about Wallace and Gromit Peter. I shall be watching out for them next Xmas.....
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
Stanley wrote: ↑08 Jun 2024, 01:55
Ian, what is LOS?
Peter is correct LOS is loss of signal, similar to the blackout when capsules are entering earth's atmosphere.
Mr Sunak was heavily criticised by senior political party figures for leaving the event on Thursday, which was held in France to honour the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. The PM left Foreign Secretary David Cameron to deputise for him and travelled back to the UK early.
His excuse for this was that the interview was arranged before the declaration of the General Election so could not be changed. This was denied by ITV who said there was no caveat for him to attend.
When he came into the office of PM, his diary for the 6th June and the 80th anniversary of D-Day should have been left clear. That event effectively has been in place since 1944. Absolutely no excuse for not attending the whole event.Zelenskyy managed it with huge risk to his person at such an open event and the King who is undergoing treatment for cancer. The man is a disgrace.
THIS is what caught my attention when I looked at the news. Sextortion is the fastest-growing scam affecting teenagers globally and has been linked to more than 27 suicides in the US alone. Many of the scammers appear to be from Nigeria - where authorities are defending their actions and are under pressure to do more. It has been two years since Jenn Buta’s son Jordan killed himself after being targeted by scammers who lured him into sending them explicit images of himself, and then tried to blackmail him.
She still can’t bring herself to change anything about his bedroom. The 17-year-old’s basketball jerseys, clothes, posters and bedsheets are just how he left them.
A good example of unforeseen problems with a ubiquitous technology that is so much part of modern life.
We really are getting too clever for our own good.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
`'Spy mania': Why is Russia accusing its own physicists of treason?' LINK
I've been following the earlier reports of this in The Times and now the BBC has caught up with the terrible story. It's been going on since the invasion of Ukraine. Russia's security services (FSB etc) are falsely accusing its scientists, especially physicists' of passing secrets to the West. The truth is that the evidence harks back to earlier years when Russian and Western scientists were working together on projects, not weapons or ammunition, just simply basic physics and the Russians were travelling abroad to international conferences. Even then each scientist had an FSB minder with them all the time and the information presented in lectures was all approved in advance by the FSB. Some of that basic physics could be considered as important to development of rockets, aeroplanes, ships etc so now the scientists are accused of treason and banged up in prison. It's diabolical. The only benefit that might come out of this (and it's for us in the West) is that no-one will want to work as a scientist in Russia in the future, so their claims about hypersonic weapons, new bombs and rockets etc may never come to fruition.
Nullius in verba: On the word of no one (Motto of the Royal Society)
See THIS BBC article for confirmation that Dr Michael Mosley is dead. The wife of TV and radio presenter Dr Michael Mosley has paid tribute to her "wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant" husband, whose body was found, four days after he went missing on the Greek island of Symi. Dr Clare Bailey Mosley said it was "devastating" in a statement confirming his death. The 67-year-old father-of-four went missing on Wednesday after setting off on a walk from Agios Nikolaos beach. His body was found on a hillside near Agia Marina beach bar on Sunday.
A sad end for a brilliant and trusted communicator.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
It is a shock, considering how healthy he seemed to be.
Was the umbrella for the 40C heat, did he have water with him? Apparently he didn’t have his phone with him, that might have helped to find his location earlier or for him to make a call.
I know I'm in my own little world, but it's OK... they know me here.
The thought struck me that people tell me that it's dangerous for crumblies like me to be operating machinery in the shed. Looking at Michael Mosley's end, the shed is safer than being sensible and taking exercise like that.
See THIS and ask yourself how long this obscenity can be tolerated. If diplomats have groundhog days, when they are condemned to reliving the same 24 hours, perhaps Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, felt a certain weariness as his jet approached the Middle East on his latest trip. It is his eighth diplomatic tour of the region in the eight months since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October last year. The politics of trying to negotiate an end to the war in Gaza and an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners were already complicated. They are more tangled than ever now that the Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz has resigned from the war cabinet of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his political ally Gadi Eisenkot. Both men are retired generals who led the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as chiefs of staff.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
And here's another obscenity from Netanyahu's lot - how can they now expect the rest of us to be anything but antisemitic like we're anti-Putin?...
`How Gaza hostage raid ended with Israel striking crowded streets' BBC Two days after Israel's operation to free four of its citizens from central Gaza, more details are emerging of how Saturday’s rescue mission unfolded and of the hostages' eight months in captivity. The Hamas run health ministry says at least 274 Palestinians were killed and almost 700 injured in the assault.
Nullius in verba: On the word of no one (Motto of the Royal Society)
Dead right Peter..... Looking at those comparative numbers (and nobody has ever found any fault with the HAMAS casualty figures.) It clearly demonstrates the Israeli attitude to the Palestinians, they do not value their lives and have made it quite clear that they oppose any two state solution. Is it any wonder that the UN describes their actions in Gaza as genocide?
What is not openly discussed is the fact that if Netanyahu doesn't act like this he loses the support of the Ultra-Orthodox Jews who are supporting his government. They threaten to withdraw support if he doesn't maintain this repressive stance or agrees that a two state solution is possible. As soon as he loses that support his government falls, there is an election, he loses power and almost certainly goes straight from High Office to trial on the charges hanging over him. How can this not be a factor in his conduct of the war against the Palestinians, for that is what it is.
If that view is Anti-Semitic so be it. It's the only logical view I can see that I can support.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
See THIS Every major English water company has reported data suggesting they’ve discharged raw sewage when the weather is dry – a practice which is potentially illegal. BBC News has analysed spills data from nine firms, which suggests sewage may have been discharged nearly 6,000 times when it had not been raining in 2022 - including during the country’s record heatwave. Water companies can release untreated sewage into rivers and seas when it rains to prevent it flooding homes, but such spills are illegal when it’s dry. The firms say they understand public concerns around dry spilling, but they disagree with the BBC’s findings. They have said the spill data shared with the Environment Agency was “preliminary” and “unverified”, and also disagree with how the BBC defined a dry spill, which they say differs from the Environment Agency’s approach.
Well done the BBC for continuing to investigate the water companies even in the heat of the GE. This is one of the really important environmental matters that needs to be addressed but gets no mention in the campaign.
Spills during dry weather like the ones described are an insult to the public and total dereliction of duty on the part of the water companies.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
Food manufacturers are recalling at least 60 types of pre-packed sandwiches, wraps and salads sold in major supermarkets because of possible contamination with E. coli. E. coli bacteria have not been detected in the products, but they are being recalled as a precaution. It is understood these are items containing salad leaves. Retailers involved include Aldi, Asda, Co-op and Morrisons. Some 211 people across the UK are known to be affected by E. coli currently - up from 113 last week. At least 67 people have been admitted to hospital, the UK Health Security Agency says.
I am happy to report that I have had no problems with Mandy's salad butties!
I have seen reports before expressing concern about pre=packed sandwiches which by their very nature hang about longer before being bought and consumed.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
See THIS BBC News report. Surrey Police said it will refer itself to the police complaints watchdog following an incident in which a cow was deliberately struck twice by a response vehicle. The force said in a statement that after attempts to safely capture the cow “over a period of a number of hours” failed, “the decision was made to stop it using a police car”. Home Secretary James Cleverly said he would be asking for an urgent explanation, describing the actions as "heavy handed".
Wouldn't it have been better to get hold of someone who knew about handling cattle? The beast was being punished for being a nuisance. Left to its own devices it would eventually have found grazing.......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
I have just heard a report that Netanyahu has talked about the staggering cost of the war after eight members of the IDF have been killed in a HAMAS ambush. They were returning after a raid in which dozens of Palestinians had been killed adding to the 37,000 total of Palestinians killed. This demonstrates how cheaply the IDF regards the lives of Palestinians. Eight Israeli troops is 'staggering'.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
See THIS BBC report of the incident. Police in Hamburg have shot and seriously injured a man who they say threatened officers with a pickaxe and an "incendiary device". Media reports say the incident took place near a fanzone for supporters of the Dutch football team playing in the Euros. Video footage shows a man wielding an axe in front of police before gunshots are heard and he falls to the ground.
I know I'm a bit slow these days David but I can't see any material difference between the Guardian report and the BBC.
See THIS report that the police driver who hit the 'cow' with his car yesterday has been removed from duty. The police driver of a response vehicle who hit an escaped cow on a suburban street has been removed from frontline duties. Surrey Police has started an internal investigation to the incident and has referred itself to the police complaints watchdog. Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp said: “At this time, the officer who was driving the police car has been removed from frontline duties pending the outcome of these investigations.” The owner of the 10-month-old calf said the social media footage of the incident on Friday “was painful viewing and it should have been handled in a different manner”, but that the animal was recovering. Surrey Police has faced criticism over its handling of the incident after the cow, called Beau Lucy, escaped from Staines Moor and was hit twice by a police car on Raleigh Road, Feltham. The force has said the decision to use a car to stop the animal was made because of concerns over public safety.
One wonders what threats a heifer stirk was posing to the public. This is an example of how far the general public is detached from the bedrock of all our lives, the land and food production.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
Stanley wrote: ↑17 Jun 2024, 02:19
I can't see any material difference between the Guardian report and the BBC.
"I know I'm a pedant but I hate to see standards slipping".
Had I been the sub editor, it would have been changed. I'd say it was ambiguous. You can't shoot someone with an axe. You can shoot someone carrying an axe. I expect it to be in next week's Eye.
Poor old coppers can't win. If the 'heifer stirk' had trampled a woman pushing a buggy and perhaps killed a baby - there would have been the suggestion - well you could always have crashed into it with your vehicle as a last resort and stopped it. It has a name now "Beau Lucy" .That might complicate matters - perhaps Belle for a heifer? or perhaps It's a "trans" calf.
Good grief. Next story please quickly . . . .
Born to be mild Sapere Aude Ego Lego Preferred pronouns - Thou, Thee, Thy, Thine My non-working days are Monday - Sunday
Ah, I see what you mean about shooting with an axe! My pedanticism wasn't functioning too well there. You are quite right, it is ambiguous.
I suppose you're right about the police and the Stirk but it still seems to be extreme behaviour and yet again we have the modern view that 100% safety is possible and anything that damages that concept must be opposed. What were the chances of such an event?
We make our lives too complicated, you're right, let's move on.
See THIS for something completely different! Sir Ian McKellen has been taken to hospital after falling off stage during a performance of Player Kings at the Noël Coward theatre in London. The actor, 85, was in a fight scene when he lost his footing and fell. A theatre spokesman said later that he was in "good spirits" and expected to "make a speedy and full recovery". He is expected to be back on stage next Wednesday for a matinee performance of the play. The audience was evacuated from the theatre and informed that the evening show had been cancelled. Player Kings is a production of Henry IV, Parts One and Two, and started its 12-week West End run in April.
Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net
"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!
Old age isn't for cissies!
