WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Cathy]

Re paper outliving us but not the medium used to write the message, a lot of people these days scan their receipts onto their computers because by the time the accountant wants to see them, or more importantly the tax man, the ink has faded.

[Pluggy]

Old school electrostatic Fax paper is the worst. The better/more modern ones use toner, which being a glorified mixture of soot and plastic powder, will probably outlive the paper. Cheap inkjet ink fades badly over time too.

[Marilyn]

Yeah...I am always telling Febby to do that Cazza, but I don't know if he listens to me. By the time I rescue the screwed up receipts from pants pockets when I am doing the washing, and un-scrunch them and make sure he gets them back...and the number of times he asks me to cast my mind back to what he bought last week/fortnight/month for a certain amount he can't account for...sheesh!...( he is much more relaxed about these things than I am).

That reminds me Pluggy, of a family tree sent by hubby's relatives in England...by fax. Febby rolled it up and put it in a drawer. Next time he looked at it, it was BLANK!!!!!
( I found that hilarious, but he was slightly annoyed of course)

[Stanley]

Wonderful how documents written with ink made from Oak Gall on parchment are as good as the day they were written....
I also looked at the longevity of magnetic recordings on tape and consulted BASF. They didn't know either but recommended their LM tape which so far has proved to be OK. That was why I insisted on transcription even though it was time consuming and expensive. More work went into that then any other aspect of the project. We've successfully digitised the text and pics and made them available on the site. What should be done now is to digitise the original tapes.... I occasionally think I ought to 'do something about it!' but then reflect that I have probably done my share.....
I see that VW have announced that the defeat software is down to 'two software engineers'. So that's all right then..... Isn't it amazing how crap always moves downhill.
It looks as though FIFA has finally hit the buffers. Observers who you would think know what they are talking about say two things, first that FIFA can't reform itself and the best way to approach the problem is start with a clean slate and a completely new organisation. They also point out that intervention by the International Olympic Committee is less than helpful because their hands aren't perfectly clean either.

[Marilyn]

Hubby and I were just discussing our suitcase sharing arrangements for a short holiday ( and I hate sharing a suitcase with him). He wanted to know why I was taking pyjamas!
( in case of a fire you twit...no way I am jumping out of a loft window on to one of those sheets held at the corners by hunky firemen without fully decent apparel, and in such a situation a nightie would end up under the armpits. You can swan down in your underpants if you want, but I want to do it with a bit of panache...)
Men! They understand nothing!

[Tizer]

We had a day out in Charmouth and Lyme Regis on the south coast yesterday in warm sunshine and blessed with beautiful clear views along the `Jurassic Coast'. We had our lunch sitting on a bench above Charmouth with those views and it made me think about all those crazy people fighting in places like the Middle East and Ukraine. I wish they'd all get a hobby to distract them from fighting and then spend their time and energy developing a better world for their children.

The highlight of the day for us was when we found someone we've been hoping to meet. It involved a visit to the Tourist Information office to get directions: find `Alice's Bear Shop' on Broad Street, enter the shop, turn right and go down the stairs into the cellar. We wouldn't have known it was there without these instructions. There we found Paddy Howe and his Fossil Workshop. Some of you might have seen the TV series about `Collectors' and one episode featured Paddy and his massive fossil collection. The TV presenters were trying to put a value on his collection and advising him on ways to set up shop and make money out of selling them. Unfortunately for them he's not very enthusiastic about making money and is passionate about fossils! We spent about an hour with him and it was marvellous - and yes, we did spend money there too and didn't just waste his time!

He was showing us some of the ammonites that had been featured in the TV programme and told us about his latest research with some museum people. He noticed that many of the ammonites in his collection had a small bit missing from the same position on the shell and they got together to study other specimens and found this was common. They've worked out that this spot is where the animal's cartilage is attached inside the shell and now believe that the marks are where the main predator, squid, have tried to bite the ammonite so that the meaty interior can be pulled out. They're publishing a paper on this in a scientific journal. Apparently squid and other cephalopods such as octopus are very intelligent. He told us about an aquarium where fish kept disappearing from one of the tanks and the only evidence was a small patch of water on the floor. They found that the octopus that lived in the tank next door to the fish climbed out during the night, into the fish tank, grabbed a fish and hightailed it back to it's own tank!

If ever you're in Lyme Regis don't miss visiting Paddy Howe's Fossil Workshop. He also runs fossil hunting trips on the beach and he's the Lyme Museum's geologist.

[PanBiker]

Hubby and I were just discussing our suitcase sharing arrangements for a short holiday ( and I hate sharing a suitcase with him). He wanted to know why I was taking pyjamas!
( in case of a fire you twit...no way I am jumping out of a loft window on to one of those sheets held at the corners by hunky firemen without fully decent apparel, and in such a situation a nightie would end up under the armpits. You can swan down in your underpants if you want, but I want to do it with a bit of panache...)
Men! They understand nothing!

I don't own any, I can't do with wearing clothes in bed does not seem right. I have always slept au naturel. We have a duvet to keep us warm and a partner what more do you need?

[Cathy]

Marilyn, pack some sexy PJ's just incase those he-men firies have to come and rescue you. They will see you as their top priority.
Don't be worried about David, they won't be interested in him.

[PanBiker]

Just found out on facebook that Allan Simpson has died, RIP Allan.

Following the post, I also found out that Doc and Carole set off on their big adventure in June, bon voyage to them and I hope they stay safe.

Doc - Facebook

[LizG]

Hubby and I were just discussing our suitcase sharing arrangements for a short holiday ( and I hate sharing a suitcase with him). He wanted to know why I was taking pyjamas!
( in case of a fire you twit...no way I am jumping out of a loft window on to one of those sheets held at the corners by hunky firemen without fully decent apparel, and in such a situation a nightie would end up under the armpits. You can swan down in your underpants if you want, but I want to do it with a bit of panache...)
Men! They understand nothing!

You take those PJ's Maz!!

We were evacuated following an explosion at our hotel in Ireland. Luckily we were up and dressed when it happened but a lot of women were on the street with their hair in curlers and in their flannelette PJ's; it was not a good look. Strangely I didn't see one man in his PJ's, they had obviously taken a bit of time and to get dressed. It was after 2pm when we were allowed back so they were stuck like that for a long time.

[Stanley]

Tiz, it sounds as though octopuses are the lurchers of the aquatic world! (I had a look on the Oxford site for the plural as I wasn't sure. 'Although it is often supposed that octopi is the ‘correct’ plural of octopus, and it has been in use for longer than the usual Anglicized plural octopuses, it in fact originates as an error. Octopus is not a simple Latin word of the second declension, but a Latinized form of the Greek word oktopous, and its ‘correct’ plural would logically be octopodes.')
Maz, you take your PJs if you want to!
Ian, so sorry to hear about Alan... And thanks for the update on Doc. He's forgotten to take Margaret's engine with him!



Alan and Alwin.

[Marilyn]

They look like a couple of characters...

Pyjamas have been packed!

[PanBiker]

... And thanks for the update on Doc. He's forgotten to take Margaret's engine with him!

A bit too far away now just to nip back, they are already in Gibraltar! If you look down Docs Facebook page you will see that they are very well provisioned, I think space may well have been at a premium.

[Tizer]

If you think you've heard it all about the Volkswagen scandal then download this BBC MP3 podcast and find out what's really going on:
`Crisis at VW: A Bottom Line Special' (an episode of `The Bottom Line'), 45 minutes LINK
Volkswagen is dealing with a corporate crisis following the emissions rigging scandal. Evan Davis and guests discuss.
Guests:
Sir John Egan, former CEO, Jaguar, former Chairman, Severn Trent
Lord Browne, former CEO, BP
Lucy Marcus, CEO, Marcus Venture Consulting
Arndt Ellinghorst, Senior MD, Evercore ISI

[Stanley]

The thing that strikes me is that the level of culpability in VW, though bad, is nowhere near as bad as that in the financial services and the banks and yet they get away with it.... Funny old world isn't it. VW vehicles and associated marques are running about performing very efficiently if slightly dirtier than we thought. You can't say that about the banks or the big accountancy firms. Can we get them on damaging the environment or causing damage to clients?
Half an hour spent on the flue for the stove has brought it back to full efficiency.....

[Tizer]

At least the Americans are more active. Two days ago Ben Bernanke was urging that in order to determine the cause of the 2008 financial crash investigators should examine individuals rather than companies. He's quoted by the BBC as saying: "I think it would have been better for the Department of Justice to focus more on individual decision making, rather than penalising firms as a whole."

Someone on the BH programme this morning, where they pick out notable news from the papers, saying that 20% of British children leave school with a reading age of 8 or 9. Also that an enormous number of teachers are planning to retire very soon. I was reminded of a report a couple of weeks ago of a primary school where the teachers have started taking the kids out for a run every day. The kids love it and they are charged up ready for the following lessons. But the teachers had to give special attention to some of the children when the project started because "they had never run before"!

Good news from primary schools in Redcar - where many jobs have been lost and now there's the closing of the steel plant. The teachers and head teachers at Redcar primaries have got together and are helping each other with advice and trying out new ideas. They've now got some of the best exam results in the country, beaten only by some small schools in `privileged' areas of London. One of the ideas is to help children with the change from one school year to the next. They now start children in their new class in July, before the summer holiday instead of after. The kids are better able to cope with the switch then compared with coming back from holiday and having to get used to lots of new things. It's amazing what can be done by leaving the `experts' to get on with it instead of having the likes of Gove poking his nose in.

[Tripps]

I watched some of the Rugby Union international between Wales and Australia yesterday. Despite my misgivings about the game, you couldn't help but be impressed by the Welsh attack, and the heroic Aussie defence in the second half. I have this hang up about scrums. My prejudices were reinforced, since in all cases he side putting the ball in, got it out. The guy putting in (scrum half?) warned his colleague, by tapping him on the back with the ball, then very kindly put the ball to his feet. I was musing that they should be renamed as R.P.O's - Ritualised Penalty Opportunities, when what do you know - Welsh put in and Aussies got the ball. Just the once.

[Stanley]

I heard that report as well Tiz. Our basic education in state schools is a disgrace and I have argued for years that resources should be prioritised for primary schools rather than higher levels of education. And yes, leave it to the professionals. Many years ago my mate David Moore was arguing at very high level that teaching should be given back to the teachers. It never happened, too much political interference. They would never force policies on the designers of nuclear plants, education is equally important.
I've often thought that as well David about set-piece scrums....
The fact that Nico Rosberg was put out of the grand prix yesterday by a simple failure of the throttle pedal on something as highly engineered as a modern F1 car.

[Tripps]

"by a simple failure of the throttle pedal on something as highly engineered as a modern F1 car."

Not so simple I think. I saw just the section where he was in trouble, and the commentator said all the controls were 'fly by wire' in that a computer controlled the car, and things like the throttle were inputs to the computer, so no direct mechanical input. Reminds me of my recent quote - 'man never lives with a level of technology below that which is available'.

I rest my case.

[Tizer]

It's a wonder the teams don't hack into each other's electronic messages or corrupt them!

[Big Kev]

Dark Horse

Barnoldswick based band giving it a bit of Led Zeppelin at Briercliffe Social Club. My little boy, Sam, is singing.

[PanBiker]

Been going some time now Alan and the guys in various line ups, we had them play at our Silver Wedding evening reception at Rolls 14 years ago now. Still as good as ever.

[Big Kev]

Been going some time now Alan and the guys in various line ups, we had them play at our Silver Wedding evening reception at Rolls 14 years ago now. Still as good as ever.

With the exception of Allan the line up does seem to change every few years, it's a bit like Trigger's broom in Only Fools and Horses.

[Stanley]

I've been meaning to post for a while.... The clock on the bus shelter opposite the Council offices is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. The clock in Town Square hasn't recovered from the power cut, still running about twenty minutes slow.

[LizG]

I spent a lot of time last weekend with my sisters going through Mum's study and throwing out a lot of paper. We didn't think we needed to keep receipts from the 1980's and we were getting a bit blase about throwing things out. After about 4 hours we'd had enough so I brought home the last few files to go through later.

I am so pleased I did. One of them was labelled with my Grandparents names and it contained their birth certificates, death certificates, their wills, emigration papers, a lot of other incidental things and a couple of stories my Grandmother had written about her life.

I wonder why Mum never told us she had it all? I'll scan it and put it on Ancestry so it doesn't get lost again.