A personal note from Mike Smithson – politicalbetting.com
PBers will notice that I have not been active recently. Just over a fortnight ago I had a fall which is not a very good thing for someone approaching their 78th birthday.
The thought occurs that there are quite a few of us on here who are retired with a bit of time to spare, and many with IT skills and experience. If there's ever a need for more support or input to keep the site going I am sure there would be willing and skilled volunteers (or semi-skilled in my case).
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
Sorry to hear about your fall and wishing you a speedy recovery. As you say, you certainly have a lot of political betting opportunities to incentivise your recovery!
Seems we have both been in the wars recently Mike, and best wishes to you and take care
I have had a couple of falls recently, but fortunately did not end up in hospital, and I am more aware and pleased I fitted handrails everywhere in the house and garden recently
It seems our family are going through a phase of emergency hospital visits with myself a month ago, our youngest granddaughter 10 days ago who is now OK, and last night another of our granddaughters admitted at 4.00am and is waiting for the surgeons to take out her appendix later today
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
Meanwhile in London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.
Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snow-flakes gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas in a general infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.
The thought occurs that there are quite a few of us on here who are retired with a bit of time to spare, and many with IT skills and experience. If there's ever a need for more support or input to keep the site going I am sure there would be willing and skilled volunteers (or semi-skilled in my case).
Just put the call out.
Appreciate it.
If anybody has ideas for guest threads message me.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
If anyone is interested, I think this is an investment opportunity
You find a really nice beach, like this one, with warm sun and soft surf and white sand. Then you build a hotel RIGHT BY THE BEACH!! Call it a “resort”
So it’s easy for people to go down to the sea and come out again and sit on towels or special long chairs
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
Meanwhile in London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.
Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snow-flakes gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas in a general infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
Meanwhile in London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.
Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snow-flakes gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas in a general infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
The thought occurs that there are quite a few of us on here who are retired with a bit of time to spare, and many with IT skills and experience. If there's ever a need for more support or input to keep the site going I am sure there would be willing and skilled volunteers (or semi-skilled in my case).
Just put the call out.
Appreciate it.
If anybody has ideas for guest threads message me.
I’m surprised they aren’t more popular. Beaches. There’s virtually no one here. Look
I reckon I’m the first person to realise this: beaches are nice. Lots of space and you can swim and stuff
Could be money in it
Plenty beaches las empty as that to be found on the west coast ofScotland
There's one aboiut 40km long along the west coast of South Uist - okay, interrupted by the odd rocky headland, but still. And with the machair behind the dunes with its flowers in season.
Seems we have both been in the wars recently Mike, and best wishes to you and take care
I have had a couple of falls recently, but fortunately did not end up in hospital, and I am more aware and pleased I fitted handrails everywhere in the house and garden recently
It seems our family are going through a phase of emergency hospital visits with myself a month ago, our youngest granddaughter 10 days ago who is now OK, and last night another of our granddaughters admitted at 4.00am and is waiting for the surgeons to take out her appendix later today
Oh dear, good luck to your granddaughter in surgery today.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
But isn’t it cheering to know that at least one pb-er is basking in glorious sunshine on a long, exquisite, white sand beach, knowing that in about an hour, as the sun sets over the Bay of Thailand, he will be having free cocktails? Doesn’t that - just a tiny bit - lift your spirits as you stare at the cold relentless drizzle?
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
Meanwhile in London. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth, and it would not be wonderful to meet a Megalosaurus, forty feet long or so, waddling like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.
Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snow-flakes gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas in a general infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.
The greatest opening chapter to a novel ever.
Interestingly, on checking, too early for the Crystal Palace (Sydenham) Megalosaurus - which was Richad Owen's mammal-based reconstruction. Not the older, Gideon Mantell, lizard-based reconstruction. Dickens's wording does point to the latter.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
Somethings are better on Instagram, particularly as I don't use it.
Best wishes Mike, hope my colleagues are treating you well.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
But isn’t it cheering to know that at least one pb-er is basking in glorious sunshine on a long, exquisite, white sand beach, knowing that in about an hour, as the sun sets over the Bay of Thailand, he will be having free cocktails? Doesn’t that - just a tiny bit - lift your spirits as you stare at the cold relentless drizzle?
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
Bright sun here in SE Scotland, after a brief squall of rain.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
Bright sun here in SE Scotland, after a brief squall of rain.
Bright sun here in Dubai, after a brief squall of rain.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
Somethings are better on Instagram, particularly as I don't use it.
Best wishes Mike, hope my colleagues are treating you well.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
Bright sun here in SE Scotland, after a brief squall of rain.
You can stare at the Met Office's dynamic 15-min forecasts and prepare to dash outside when it shows an upcoming clear spell
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
Bright sun here in SE Scotland, after a brief squall of rain.
Not here. The sky is grey here. And all the leaves are brown.
BTW, SpaceX may well be launching their massive SH/SS rocket at around 13.00 today (UK time).
Note to Elon - spend more time on the rockets, and less on the open antisemitism and conspiracy theories. Wouldn't be the first to do that.
Whereas Tory Bruno, the head of rocket company ULA, is brilliant on social media.
As an aside, ULA is currently up for sale, and the rumours are that the buyer is going to be Bezos's Blue Origin. Which will be quite a shake-up of the market. I really hope Bruno stays on.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
Bright sun here in SE Scotland, after a brief squall of rain.
Not here. The sky is grey here. And all the leaves are brown.
I'm sorry to hear about your fall. I hope your hospital stay proved satisfactory.
An 87-year-old friend recently fell backwards on the stairs and hit his head. His wife drove him to the local hospital, which checked him out and said he was OK. The next day he had a headache and felt woozy. She returned him to the hospital, which this time carried out a scan. They found he had a fractured skull, a bleed to the brain and a fractured hip.
I do hope your hospital was more efficient. Best wishes for speedy recovery.
@Leon assume you've been keeping up with the rats leaving the sinking ship at OpenAI? Not seen a company throw talent away like that in a long time. Microsoft speed running the Nokia business plan IMO.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
Bright sun here in SE Scotland, after a brief squall of rain.
Not here. The sky is grey here. And all the leaves are brown.
You'd be safe and warm, if you were in LA.
Yes. Although when I went there the last time I took a walk where I shouldn't have and I felt only one of those two things.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
But isn’t it cheering to know that at least one pb-er is basking in glorious sunshine on a long, exquisite, white sand beach, knowing that in about an hour, as the sun sets over the Bay of Thailand, he will be having free cocktails? Doesn’t that - just a tiny bit - lift your spirits as you stare at the cold relentless drizzle?
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
Somethings are better on Instagram, particularly as I don't use it.
Best wishes Mike, hope my colleagues are treating you well.
BTW, SpaceX may well be launching their massive SH/SS rocket at around 13.00 today (UK time).
Note to Elon - spend more time on the rockets, and less on the open antisemitism and conspiracy theories. Wouldn't be the first to do that.
Whereas Tory Bruno, the head of rocket company ULA, is brilliant on social media.
As an aside, ULA is currently up for sale, and the rumours are that the buyer is going to be Bezos's Blue Origin. Which will be quite a shake-up of the market. I really hope Bruno stays on.
Sadly, there are few possibilities where Tory is actually given full decision making authority. The parents of ULA keep trying to turn off even the SMART project for Vulcan. As they see it, spending money on R&D is bad.
In additional insanity, they also believe that ULA shouldn’t do reusability, since that’s what they (the parents) think they can sell to the US Taxpayers. See the X38. Yes, this completely ignore the large, stainless steel, elephant in the room.
Blue buying ULA - not sure that will improve either. The management at Blue could do with wholesale replacement - but it would be unlikely to be Tory bringing in his guys.
The hedge fund buyout sounds horribly plausible - fly the Vulcan contracts out, gut the company.
Not much unearthing required by former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. He read about it in Nadine's book, or possibly the serialisation or coverage of the serialisation of Nadine's book.
Anyway, Nad got her way over the wily fixers and Boris appointed her nominee, Michael Grade, who luckily enough is a Tory anyway.
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
But isn’t it cheering to know that at least one pb-er is basking in glorious sunshine on a long, exquisite, white sand beach, knowing that in about an hour, as the sun sets over the Bay of Thailand, he will be having free cocktails? Doesn’t that - just a tiny bit - lift your spirits as you stare at the cold relentless drizzle?
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
I won't link to it, but this is the sort of Musk fanboism that would be laughable if it was not so darned dangerous:
"Today 𝕏 and Elon faced a lot of adversity. Apple, Comcast, Disney, IBM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Warner Brothers, NBC universal, and the European Commission all pulled advertisement funding on 𝕏 because Elon has taken a stand against every form of racism.
This will not stop Elon however.
Tomorrow at 8am EST Starship will once again rise as a testament to adversities inability to stop Elon.
Nothing will stop humanity, nothing will stop SpaceX, nothing will stop 𝕏, and nobody can stop Elon.
Elon, you’re a hero of mine. It’s incredible to watch the work you do!"
No, they pulled advertising because your hero is an @sshat.
(BTW, I really wish I'd chosen a PB username of sshat, just for when people @'ed me...)
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
But isn’t it cheering to know that at least one pb-er is basking in glorious sunshine on a long, exquisite, white sand beach, knowing that in about an hour, as the sun sets over the Bay of Thailand, he will be having free cocktails? Doesn’t that - just a tiny bit - lift your spirits as you stare at the cold relentless drizzle?
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
Bay of Thailand? I thought you were in Colombia.
Cambodia
He misread the departure board and got on the wrong plane?
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
Bright sun here in SE Scotland, after a brief squall of rain.
Not here. The sky is grey here. And all the leaves are brown.
You'd be safe and warm, if you were in LA.
Perhaps one could stop into a church. If worried about being ejected one could pretend to pray. Apparently the preacher likes the cold, because people entering the church are gonna stay because of it.
@Leon assume you've been keeping up with the rats leaving the sinking ship at OpenAI? Not seen a company throw talent away like that in a long time. Microsoft speed running the Nokia business plan IMO.
BTW, SpaceX may well be launching their massive SH/SS rocket at around 13.00 today (UK time).
Note to Elon - spend more time on the rockets, and less on the open antisemitism and conspiracy theories. Wouldn't be the first to do that.
Whereas Tory Bruno, the head of rocket company ULA, is brilliant on social media.
As an aside, ULA is currently up for sale, and the rumours are that the buyer is going to be Bezos's Blue Origin. Which will be quite a shake-up of the market. I really hope Bruno stays on.
Sadly, there are few possibilities where Tory is actually given full decision making authority. The parents of ULA keep trying to turn off even the SMART project for Vulcan. As they see it, spending money on R&D is bad.
In additional insanity, they also believe that ULA shouldn’t do reusability, since that’s what they (the parents) think they can sell to the US Taxpayers. See the X38. Yes, this completely ignore the large, stainless steel, elephant in the room.
Blue buying ULA - not sure that will improve either. The management at Blue could do with wholesale replacement - but it would be unlikely to be Tory bringing in his guys.
The hedge fund buyout sounds horribly plausible - fly the Vulcan contracts out, gut the company.
Blue buying it would be intriguing, especially give the recent change in BO's management.
As an aside, can you remember how people said that SpaceX's Artmeis lander would require 16 refuellings in orbit? And Musky Baby said, at the time NASA awarded them the contract, that it would just be three or four? Well, SpaceX has now admitted it will be "high teens", which will have to be done quickly to avoid boil-off in orbit.
It wasn't even a good lie; it was a stupid lie. Especially when Blu Origin made this infrographic. How the Musk Fanois laughed at the time...
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
But isn’t it cheering to know that at least one pb-er is basking in glorious sunshine on a long, exquisite, white sand beach, knowing that in about an hour, as the sun sets over the Bay of Thailand, he will be having free cocktails? Doesn’t that - just a tiny bit - lift your spirits as you stare at the cold relentless drizzle?
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
Bay of Thailand? I thought you were in Colombia.
Cambodia
Koh Rong island in the Bay of Thailand
I STRONGLY recommend Cambodia at the moment. It is still empty post Covid. So it’s cheap and the beaches - as you can see - are blissfully quiet
I met a French couple kayaking today and they said even Angkor Wat is quiet. They had Ta Prohm (the famous temple with the tree growing out of the wall) to themselves
That’s basically unheard of. And paradoxically travel WITHIN Cambodia has never been easier, thanks to gleaming new Chinese roads. And the food is vastly improved from 5-10 years ago
Not much unearthing required by former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. He read about it in Nadine's book, or possibly the serialisation or coverage of the serialisation of Nadine's book.
Anyway, Nad got her way over the wily fixers and Boris appointed her nominee, Michael Grade, who luckily enough is a Tory anyway.
Just catching up after the various activities connected with rising and breakfast. Every sympathy, Mike, wish you well. My troubles are not only the result of a fall, but the fall exacerbated them. People over 70 should avoid falling!
Okay, here's something that's really annoyed me: a new road is being built from Caxton Gibbett (west of Cambridge) to the A1 at the Black Cat. The road is needed; and sadly there was another fatality on it yesterday.
The scheme was planned over a number of years, and planning granted. Then, at the last moment, an 'environmental' group put in a legal challenge to stop it. Then when that lost, they appealed. This challenge delayed work six months, when they were just about to start work.
The builders, Skanska, got awarded £24 million to compensate them for the delays.
That's £24 million, on top of the legal and other costs to fight the challenge.
This fuckwittery is one of the reasons why our infrastructure costs so much.
@Leon assume you've been keeping up with the rats leaving the sinking ship at OpenAI? Not seen a company throw talent away like that in a long time. Microsoft speed running the Nokia business plan IMO.
I have. And I’ve heard rumours
You mean you've read someone sh*tposting on Twitter...
Maybe pool, sea, big pool, sea again, cocktail, pool, beer, pool, sea, tequila sunrise, sea, big pool, look at hummingbird, sea, pool, pool, pool, caiprinha, mojito, coma
The fifth consecutive "me, me, me" post from @Leon.
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
It was an existential riff on the quiddity of life
Also, beaches. = nice
Yeah, it really cheers the rest of us up here in wet, windswept chaotic old Blighty.
But isn’t it cheering to know that at least one pb-er is basking in glorious sunshine on a long, exquisite, white sand beach, knowing that in about an hour, as the sun sets over the Bay of Thailand, he will be having free cocktails? Doesn’t that - just a tiny bit - lift your spirits as you stare at the cold relentless drizzle?
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
Bay of Thailand? I thought you were in Colombia.
Cambodia
Koh Rong island in the Bay of Thailand
I STRONGLY recommend Cambodia at the moment. It is still empty post Covid. So it’s cheap and the beaches - as you can see - are blissfully quiet
I met a French couple kayaking today and they said even Angkor Wat is quiet. They had Ta Prohm (the famous temple with the tree growing out of the wall) to themselves
That’s basically unheard of. And paradoxically travel WITHIN Cambodia has never been easier, thanks to gleaming new Chinese roads. And the food is vastly improved from 5-10 years ago
The food wasn’t bad when we went, 10 or so years ago. The roads, though, were dreadful! And Angkor Wat was indeed busy.
The most prominent foreign nationality here on Koh Rong - at least in this fairly posh resort - is Brits
You have to admire the relentless British tourist. We’re everywhere. Either we still have the imperial spirit to conquer everywhere, and it is now sublimated into tourism, or we still have the perpetual and pathological need to escape our climate
@Leon assume you've been keeping up with the rats leaving the sinking ship at OpenAI? Not seen a company throw talent away like that in a long time. Microsoft speed running the Nokia business plan IMO.
I have. And I’ve heard rumours
You mean you've read someone sh*tposting on Twitter...
No. Bit more than that. But mum’s the word
I’m pretty sure the reality will be revealed quite soon
Comments
It is the only thing that will save us from Global Annihilation.
@TSE running PB!?!? Sell everything! To the bunkers!
The thought occurs that there are quite a few of us on here who are retired with a bit of time to spare, and many with IT skills and experience. If there's ever a need for more support or input to keep the site going I am sure there would be willing and skilled volunteers (or semi-skilled in my case).
Just put the call out.
It will be nuclear war by January. Or aliens, natch
Hope the recovery continues, OGH
Nuclear War with Aliens?
Looking forward to next year's frenzy of political betting.
Sorry- thought you were proposing a toast.
Beyond that, get well soon OGH, for all our sakes.
Pool or sea?
So my dilemma is private pool, big pool, or sea
How the fuck are you meant to know what to do? It’s ridiculous.
Seems we have both been in the wars recently Mike, and best wishes to you and take care
I have had a couple of falls recently, but fortunately did not end up in hospital, and I am more aware and pleased I fitted handrails everywhere in the house and garden recently
It seems our family are going through a phase of emergency hospital visits with myself a month ago, our youngest granddaughter 10 days ago who is now OK, and last night another of our granddaughters admitted at 4.00am and is waiting for the surgeons to take out her appendix later today
You can sit around and do stuff, especially if you have some kind of towel or rug. Sometimes have a drink
Then you can walk over and go in the sea and then come out again
Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle, with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snow-flakes gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun. Dogs, undistinguishable in mire. Horses, scarcely better; splashed to their very blinkers. Foot passengers, jostling one another’s umbrellas in a general infection of ill-temper, and losing their foot-hold at street-corners, where tens of thousands of other foot passengers have been slipping and sliding since the day broke (if the day ever broke), adding new deposits to the crust upon crust of mud, sticking at those points tenaciously to the pavement, and accumulating at compound interest.
We are all very luck to have @TheScreamingEagles running the site.
If anybody has ideas for guest threads message me.
I reckon I’m the first person to realise this: beaches are nice. Lots of space and you can swim and stuff
Could be money in it
It's not always about you. Where's the "off topic" button? Oh it's gone.
Best wishes OGH.
You find a really nice beach, like this one, with warm sun and soft surf and white sand. Then you build a hotel RIGHT BY THE BEACH!! Call it a “resort”
So it’s easy for people to go down to the sea and come out again and sit on towels or special long chairs
Message me on vanilla
Also, beaches. = nice
hope you have a speedy recovery
Take it easy for a bit
Why be such a sourpuss? In a very real sense you are with me, via my endless descriptions, pointless comments and annoying photos
I’m going for a swim IN THE SEA
https://www.mediastorehouse.co.uk/science-photo-library/1838-megalosaurus-iguanodon-martin-6346659.html
Best wishes Mike, hope my colleagues are treating you well.
I suppose TSE has done well. Still has terrible fashion sense, mind. 😂
As an aside, ULA is currently up for sale, and the rumours are that the buyer is going to be Bezos's Blue Origin. Which will be quite a shake-up of the market. I really hope Bruno stays on.
An 87-year-old friend recently fell backwards on the stairs and hit his head. His wife drove him to the local hospital, which checked him out and said he was OK. The next day he had a headache and felt woozy. She returned him to the hospital, which this time carried out a scan. They found he had a fractured skull, a bleed to the brain and a fractured hip.
I do hope your hospital was more efficient. Best wishes for speedy recovery.
And thanks to TSE too, who does and sterling job and takes my teasing well.
In additional insanity, they also believe that ULA shouldn’t do reusability, since that’s what they (the parents) think they can sell to the US Taxpayers. See the X38. Yes, this completely ignore the large, stainless steel, elephant in the room.
Blue buying ULA - not sure that will improve either. The management at Blue could do with wholesale replacement - but it would be unlikely to be Tory bringing in his guys.
The hedge fund buyout sounds horribly plausible - fly the Vulcan contracts out, gut the company.
A potential cover-up I unearthed in the weeds of Nadine Dorries’s book remains a mystery. It has damaged the BBC, the broadcast regulator, and the process of public appointments
https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/63982/boris-johnson-nadine-dorries-ofcom
Not much unearthing required by former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. He read about it in Nadine's book, or possibly the serialisation or coverage of the serialisation of Nadine's book.
Anyway, Nad got her way over the wily fixers and Boris appointed her nominee, Michael Grade, who luckily enough is a Tory anyway.
"Today 𝕏 and Elon faced a lot of adversity. Apple, Comcast, Disney, IBM, Lionsgate, Paramount, Warner Brothers, NBC universal, and the European Commission all pulled advertisement funding on 𝕏 because Elon has taken a stand against every form of racism.
This will not stop Elon however.
Tomorrow at 8am EST Starship will once again rise as a testament to adversities inability to stop Elon.
Nothing will stop humanity, nothing will stop SpaceX, nothing will stop 𝕏, and nobody can stop Elon.
Elon, you’re a hero of mine. It’s incredible to watch the work you do!"
No, they pulled advertising because your hero is an @sshat.
(BTW, I really wish I'd chosen a PB username of sshat, just for when people @'ed me...)
https://www.npr.org/2014/04/18/304552322/steely-dan-on-piano-jazz
Starts out a little slow, but picks up fast. Includes Josie and Black Friday performed live.
*basks in welcoming smiles*
*politely asks PB to stop cheering and sit down*
As an aside, can you remember how people said that SpaceX's Artmeis lander would require 16 refuellings in orbit? And Musky Baby said, at the time NASA awarded them the contract, that it would just be three or four? Well, SpaceX has now admitted it will be "high teens", which will have to be done quickly to avoid boil-off in orbit.
It wasn't even a good lie; it was a stupid lie. Especially when Blu Origin made this infrographic. How the Musk Fanois laughed at the time...
https://twitter.com/astrogrant/status/1725533704246939719
https://t.co/Twi4W2epdQ
No suggestion of anything too catastrophic though.
Koh Rong island in the Bay of Thailand
I STRONGLY recommend Cambodia at the moment. It is still empty post Covid. So it’s cheap and the beaches - as you can see - are blissfully quiet
I met a French couple kayaking today and they said even Angkor Wat is quiet. They had Ta Prohm (the famous temple with the tree growing out of the wall) to themselves
That’s basically unheard of. And paradoxically travel WITHIN Cambodia has never been easier, thanks to gleaming new Chinese roads. And the food is vastly improved from 5-10 years ago
So what is the definition of “fixing”?
Choosing a candidate the guardian doesn’t like?
Every sympathy, Mike, wish you well. My troubles are not only the result of a fall, but the fall exacerbated them.
People over 70 should avoid falling!
The scheme was planned over a number of years, and planning granted. Then, at the last moment, an 'environmental' group put in a legal challenge to stop it. Then when that lost, they appealed. This challenge delayed work six months, when they were just about to start work.
The builders, Skanska, got awarded £24 million to compensate them for the delays.
That's £24 million, on top of the legal and other costs to fight the challenge.
This fuckwittery is one of the reasons why our infrastructure costs so much.
https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/national-highways-pays-skanska-additional-24m-for-a428-black-cat-scheme-after-legal-delays-16-11-2023/
And Angkor Wat was indeed busy.
You have to admire the relentless British tourist. We’re everywhere. Either we still have the imperial spirit to conquer everywhere, and it is now sublimated into tourism, or we still have the perpetual and pathological need to escape our climate
Perhaps it is a mix of both
I’m pretty sure the reality will be revealed quite soon