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  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 82,044

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    Multilingual kids: lucky bastards.
    I know, I grew up speaking English, Urdu, and Punjabi.

    By the time I left school I could also speak French, German, Latin, and Greek.

    It's the reason I am a polymath.
    So you can do lots of maths as well? Impressive!
    Maths and Further Maths A Levels baby.
    Baby ?
    You were precocious.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 56,222

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    Multilingual kids: lucky bastards.
    I know, I grew up speaking English, Urdu, and Punjabi.

    By the time I left school I could also speak French, German, Latin, and Greek.

    It's the reason I am a polymath.
    [Cut to TSE in a Middle-Eastern bazaar] "Uhhh, does anyone here speak English? Or even ancient Greek?".
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 26,143

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    Multilingual kids: lucky bastards.
    I know, I grew up speaking English, Urdu, and Punjabi.

    By the time I left school I could also speak French, German, Latin, and Greek.

    It's the reason I am a polymath.
    So you can do lots of maths as well? Impressive!
    Maths and Further Maths A Levels baby.
    Just the two Maths A levels, then... :)
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 99,492

    Carnyx said:

    Just imagine...the US Navy recommissioning battleships!

    Just the sort of thing to appeal to a part of the PB demographic?

    Anyways, here's a learned article on how likely this is:

    https://www.twz.com/sea/is-trumps-call-for-new-battleships-even-feasible

    Interesting.

    Two issues not addressed in there come to my mind -

    1. Armour doesn't stop mission kill if the delicate radars and optronics are destroyed by blast, leaving the ship as a partly blinded hulk.
    2. What about under-keel torpedo (and diving missile) defence? Torpedo defence took a huge amount of battleshipo volume in WW2 and didn't work very well even then.
    1 was an issue even in the heyday of battleships. You can't harden everything, it was common for sighting systems, electrics and hydraulics to get hit and be knocked out. The armour is really there to prevent serious damage to the machinery spaces, magazines and main guns.

    You counter 2 by having dedicated ASW ships as escorts, which is what major navies do with their carriers.

    WWII type battleships have marginal usefulness today. Their main role would be bombardment - a salvo of 9 x 16" shells every 30 seconds is an incredible amount of firepower. You can't jam, spoof or shoot down a wave of huge steel projectiles travelling at twice the speed of sound. But there's not much call for that now, particularly given even an upgraded battleship would have a firing range of something around 25 miles.
    And they only hit something a few percent of the time.

    Modern SAM system can easily shoot down 16" shells. A shoot down has been demonstrated on a 4.5" shell...
    A modern SAM system a) may be able to hit *a* shell, but it's very much not going to be more than minimally effective when there are 18 shells per minute incoming, and b) it will run out of ammunition in minutes. Even an AA destroyer like the Type 45 could attempt intercepts on 5 salvos - less than 3 minutes of a Battleship firing - before shooting itself dry.

    This scenario is based on a WWII era 30-second reload time for the battleship. Given the performance of modern automated naval guns, it's highly probable a modern auto-loading 16" gun could halve that time.
    The physics of high speed autoloaders breaks down around the 8" size. At 250Kg shells it is difficult to rapidly accelerate and then stop them. With 1000Kg the breakages in the mechanism become inevitable.

    No battleship ever managed 30 seconds in action. Some tried to claim that. But noticeably, when actually in service, they were much much slower. This was because of the fun that moving multiple tons around at high speed, in the confined space of a turret produces.

    See the design reports from the US designers of the 8" Mark 16 turrets - who were asked about heavier calibers.

    A Type 45 would being rude to the battleship from over the visible horizon. Out of range of the guns. That's the problem with battleship guns. 20 miles is fist fighting range.

    You seem to be assuming that even 1% of the battleships shells *need* intercepting. Look up the historic hit rates. Against lines of ships that didn't manoeuvre (because they wanted steady bearings to shoot back).
    "Under Siege" (the best Steven Seagal film ever made!)
    One of the, what, three good ones?

  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 16,514

    Stop writing ‘Dear Sirs’ in letters, lawyers told
    Greeting excludes women and other gender identities, according to Law Society

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/13/dear-sirs-lawyers-law-society-guidance-letters-greeting/ (£££)

    I presume the Law Society or anyone else only sends out these statements in order to give the Telegraph something to moan about.
  • AnneJGPAnneJGP Posts: 4,116
    viewcode said:

    rcs1000 said:

    viewcode said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Stop writing ‘Dear Sirs’ in letters, lawyers told
    Greeting excludes women and other gender identities, according to Law Society

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/13/dear-sirs-lawyers-law-society-guidance-letters-greeting/ (£££)

    Interesting point. Even when people put their pronouns in their email signature, I don't think I've ever seen anyone offer their equivalent title.

    Dear XXXX, .....

    ETA but if you're writing to a known person the issue doesn't arise. What is the suggested new generic form?
    I tend to use "Good morning all" if plural, "Good morning Forename" if job title unknown, or "Good morning Professor Surname", if entitled. I've had to look up people on LinkedIn/Facebook to see how they entitle themselves, and just wait until you get to people with multiple titles, like "Professor Dame". If you deal with people in India it can be really complicated, since the names aren't obviously gendered and can be androgynous. I've never had to deal with people in Russia, which is a pity because I've always wanted to use "gospodin".

    Now ask me about Spanish, Russian, or Icelandic naming conventions... :)
    I usually go with:

    "Hey guys," (which my wife thinks is terribly unprofessional).

    "People of Earth, please attend carefully..."
    Maybe I'd go with To whom it may concern.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 40,916
    Lol it's already started, an idiot lefty school friend has been spouting off on social media that the clashes in Gaza aren't Hamas attempting to purge the opposition but it's actually Mosad and IDF staging it to destabilise the peace process so the occupation can resume. I'm certain that there's plenty of other activists out there with similar views too. Social media has addled the brains of millions of people.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 99,492
    viewcode said:

    rcs1000 said:

    viewcode said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Stop writing ‘Dear Sirs’ in letters, lawyers told
    Greeting excludes women and other gender identities, according to Law Society

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/13/dear-sirs-lawyers-law-society-guidance-letters-greeting/ (£££)

    Interesting point. Even when people put their pronouns in their email signature, I don't think I've ever seen anyone offer their equivalent title.

    Dear XXXX, .....

    ETA but if you're writing to a known person the issue doesn't arise. What is the suggested new generic form?
    I tend to use "Good morning all" if plural, "Good morning Forename" if job title unknown, or "Good morning Professor Surname", if entitled. I've had to look up people on LinkedIn/Facebook to see how they entitle themselves, and just wait until you get to people with multiple titles, like "Professor Dame". If you deal with people in India it can be really complicated, since the names aren't obviously gendered and can be androgynous. I've never had to deal with people in Russia, which is a pity because I've always wanted to use "gospodin".

    Now ask me about Spanish, Russian, or Icelandic naming conventions... :)
    I usually go with:

    "Hey guys," (which my wife thinks is terribly unprofessional).

    "People of Earth, please attend carefully..."
    I'd start biblical .

    Be ye not afraid, for I am with you.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 20,666

    rcs1000 said:

    viewcode said:

    AnneJGP said:

    Stop writing ‘Dear Sirs’ in letters, lawyers told
    Greeting excludes women and other gender identities, according to Law Society

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/13/dear-sirs-lawyers-law-society-guidance-letters-greeting/ (£££)

    Interesting point. Even when people put their pronouns in their email signature, I don't think I've ever seen anyone offer their equivalent title.

    Dear XXXX, .....

    ETA but if you're writing to a known person the issue doesn't arise. What is the suggested new generic form?
    I tend to use "Good morning all" if plural, "Good morning Forename" if job title unknown, or "Good morning Professor Surname", if entitled. I've had to look up people on LinkedIn/Facebook to see how they entitle themselves, and just wait until you get to people with multiple titles, like "Professor Dame". If you deal with people in India it can be really complicated, since the names aren't obviously gendered and can be androgynous. I've never had to deal with people in Russia, which is a pity because I've always wanted to use "gospodin".

    Now ask me about Spanish, Russian, or Icelandic naming conventions... :)
    I usually go with:

    "Hey guys," (which my wife thinks is terribly unprofessional).

    A friend of mine goes utterly apeshit at the use of "guys"!
    I used to use ‘guys’ all the time leading my running group, which was typically 100% female.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 56,222
    kle4 said:

    Carnyx said:

    Just imagine...the US Navy recommissioning battleships!

    Just the sort of thing to appeal to a part of the PB demographic?

    Anyways, here's a learned article on how likely this is:

    https://www.twz.com/sea/is-trumps-call-for-new-battleships-even-feasible

    Interesting.

    Two issues not addressed in there come to my mind -

    1. Armour doesn't stop mission kill if the delicate radars and optronics are destroyed by blast, leaving the ship as a partly blinded hulk.
    2. What about under-keel torpedo (and diving missile) defence? Torpedo defence took a huge amount of battleshipo volume in WW2 and didn't work very well even then.
    1 was an issue even in the heyday of battleships. You can't harden everything, it was common for sighting systems, electrics and hydraulics to get hit and be knocked out. The armour is really there to prevent serious damage to the machinery spaces, magazines and main guns.

    You counter 2 by having dedicated ASW ships as escorts, which is what major navies do with their carriers.

    WWII type battleships have marginal usefulness today. Their main role would be bombardment - a salvo of 9 x 16" shells every 30 seconds is an incredible amount of firepower. You can't jam, spoof or shoot down a wave of huge steel projectiles travelling at twice the speed of sound. But there's not much call for that now, particularly given even an upgraded battleship would have a firing range of something around 25 miles.
    And they only hit something a few percent of the time.

    Modern SAM system can easily shoot down 16" shells. A shoot down has been demonstrated on a 4.5" shell...
    A modern SAM system a) may be able to hit *a* shell, but it's very much not going to be more than minimally effective when there are 18 shells per minute incoming, and b) it will run out of ammunition in minutes. Even an AA destroyer like the Type 45 could attempt intercepts on 5 salvos - less than 3 minutes of a Battleship firing - before shooting itself dry.

    This scenario is based on a WWII era 30-second reload time for the battleship. Given the performance of modern automated naval guns, it's highly probable a modern auto-loading 16" gun could halve that time.
    The physics of high speed autoloaders breaks down around the 8" size. At 250Kg shells it is difficult to rapidly accelerate and then stop them. With 1000Kg the breakages in the mechanism become inevitable.

    No battleship ever managed 30 seconds in action. Some tried to claim that. But noticeably, when actually in service, they were much much slower. This was because of the fun that moving multiple tons around at high speed, in the confined space of a turret produces.

    See the design reports from the US designers of the 8" Mark 16 turrets - who were asked about heavier calibers.

    A Type 45 would being rude to the battleship from over the visible horizon. Out of range of the guns. That's the problem with battleship guns. 20 miles is fist fighting range.

    You seem to be assuming that even 1% of the battleships shells *need* intercepting. Look up the historic hit rates. Against lines of ships that didn't manoeuvre (because they wanted steady bearings to shoot back).
    "Under Siege" (the best Steven Seagal film ever made!)
    One of the, what, three good ones?

    You catch on well, my friend :lol:
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 16,514
    I’m just back from a preview showing of “Mr Nobody Against Putin”, a fantastic documentary about the descent of Russia ever deeper into fascism and militarism. It was made by someone working at a school in a small and relatively remote Russian town, and he captured how all these instructions came from Moscow that the children must sing patriotic songs and be taught from a script about the evils of Ukraine and the West. Meanwhile, the school kids’ brothers are being conscripted, the school leavers face conscription. It’s a very personal film, a very touching film. They had to spirit the filmmaker out of Russia before they could release the film and he’s now been given asylum in Europe.

    I say a preview, but we weren’t watching it very early, as the film will be up on iPlayer in seven and a half hours, as I write. Watch it on Tuesday evening!
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 13
    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 11,272
    Seems that they were chanting “Gaza Gaza make us proud, put the Zios in the ground” at the Palestinian protest in London on Saturday.

    I guess they aren’t fans of the peace deal then?
  • rottenboroughrottenborough Posts: 68,426

    I’m just back from a preview showing of “Mr Nobody Against Putin”, a fantastic documentary about the descent of Russia ever deeper into fascism and militarism. It was made by someone working at a school in a small and relatively remote Russian town, and he captured how all these instructions came from Moscow that the children must sing patriotic songs and be taught from a script about the evils of Ukraine and the West. Meanwhile, the school kids’ brothers are being conscripted, the school leavers face conscription. It’s a very personal film, a very touching film. They had to spirit the filmmaker out of Russia before they could release the film and he’s now been given asylum in Europe.

    I say a preview, but we weren’t watching it very early, as the film will be up on iPlayer in seven and a half hours, as I write. Watch it on Tuesday evening!

    Sounds like a warning from history.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 56,222
    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
  • LeonLeon Posts: 65,940
    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    rcs1000 said:

    Leon said:

    Jiminy Cricket, the meth towns of southern Oregon are something else. They make West Virginia look opulent and dainty

    You in Medford?
    Heading towards Grants Pass
    Pass through and go to Medford. That truly is the capital of Meth in Southern Oregon. (Klamuth Falls used to have that title, but apparently it's been cleaned up.)
    I dunno. Cave Junction must be up there

    Yesterday I went through Eureka, Ca. I cannot imagine a more inapposite name

    They should rename it Urinal, Ca
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 40,916

    Seems that they were chanting “Gaza Gaza make us proud, put the Zios in the ground” at the Palestinian protest in London on Saturday.

    I guess they aren’t fans of the peace deal then?

    They celebrated the murder of innocent Jews by a terrorist. None of these people want a peace deal as it takes away their cover for their hatred.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 99,492
    MaxPB said:

    Seems that they were chanting “Gaza Gaza make us proud, put the Zios in the ground” at the Palestinian protest in London on Saturday.

    I guess they aren’t fans of the peace deal then?

    They celebrated the murder of innocent Jews by a terrorist. None of these people want a peace deal as it takes away their cover for their hatred.
    Some don't have much of a cover to speak of.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 17,069

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Good morning. From the redwoods


    How did the cycling in amongst them work out?
    It turned out “the cycling” was a kind of pedalled individual mini e-train thingummy along the old Skunkrail timber train tracks. Cheesy and touristy but fun - and it delivered me right into the heart of a lovely redwood grove (hence the pics)

    But honestly these redwood forests just get more and more spectacular - every time you’ve seen the ultimate they outdo themselves. Laced with mist, exploding with light, cedar-scented visions of the sublime, with some nice coffee stops

    I’m off to another now. Jedediah Smith on the Cali Oregon border. Said to be maybe the best. I can’t see how it can be better than stuff I’ve already gasped at. It let’s have a go….
    I see. I've been pondering doing some cycling in the US. I'm no great cyclist but I do enjoy it. The Erie canal looks a strong possibility, but was interested by your reference.
    PS you can easily hire bikes in any of these redwood forests. I can’t imagine there is much more spectacular cycling anywhere in the world. Aim for this time of year. September/early October

    You can also cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. That’s a blast
    A few years ago my good lady and I went walking through some redwoods, on the back of coming out of Yosemite on the way down to Carmel by the sea. It was just so incredibly peaceful, and was an unexpected highlight of our trip.
    There are far more redwoods in the UK than in the USA.

    It's just that as they're relatively young, they haven't grown as tall yet. I'll never live to see if they do.
    Hmm, I'm not sure that passes the sniff test, particularly the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) that Leon is visiting (as opposed to the giant redwoods, Sequoiadendron giganteum). The coastal ones don't do so well in the UK as they get blown down. They have a different growth habit, tending to just go straight up rather than having most of the weight at the bottom.

    There are also a lot of secondary growth woodlands in coastal California, even if they haven't yet reached 110m tall.
    It's the giant redwoods AIUI. And there's a lot more: half a million in the UK compared to 80,000 in the USA. Though the numbers are estimates. Blame Victorian collectors.

    Incidentally, given the size they can grow to, we do seem to plant them in rather silly places:
    https://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/hoxton.htm
    Yes, that seems more likely, at least counting the planted UK population vs native US populations.

    I planted a giant redwood in my front garden about 20 years ago, just for the lolz, but sadly it is looking very dead this year having just overtaken all the street trees. Drought, possibly made worse by some fungal infection or other. Bit gutted.

    There are several collections that are worth visiting in the UK.

    My favourites are at Scone Palace, which also had the first Douglas Fir brought back from the US along with some Sitka Spruce. They all all a decent size now.
    Don't Redwood trees have rather shallow root systems and rely on interlinking with the roots of neighbouring Redwoods for support, so they tend not to thrive as single trees? I've seen this adopted as a kind of woke internet meme recently. And now of course the Redwood tree also serves as a metaphor for Travis Kelce's penis. A very on trend tree.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 56,222

    Nigelb said:

    viewcode said:

    Nigelb said:

    Just imagine...the US Navy recommissioning battleships!

    Just the sort of thing to appeal to a part of the PB demographic?

    Anyways, here's a learned article on how likely this is:

    https://www.twz.com/sea/is-trumps-call-for-new-battleships-even-feasible

    TLDR, it's deeply stupid, would be extremely expensive, and serves little or no military purpose.

    None of that matters if Trump really wants to do it.
    Arsenal ship! Its time has come!
    We can't even afford a decent stock of missiles for the platforms we already have..
    It was once estimated that you could get a Tomahawk type missile down to the $100K a piece level with mass production. we are talking 10,000+ units.

    These days probably less. The main fun bit is the terrain following - the guidance computer is trivial.

    ["Under Siege": Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey are looking at the Tomahawks]

    Tommy: These things are gonna sell like hotcakes!
    Gary: Absolutely.
    Tommy: What are you gonna do when you get two hundred million dollars in the bank?
    Gary: Buy the presidency!
  • moonshinemoonshine Posts: 6,287

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
  • StillWatersStillWaters Posts: 11,272
    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    I love meloni pissing herself
  • LeonLeon Posts: 65,940
    edited October 13
    I don’t see any way around that demographic data for any political party in the UK. It is dynamite. Even if Starmer stopped all the boats tomorrow and brought net migration down to 3 people and a trained poodle - which he won’t - the demographic trend is now firmly towards native Brits becoming a minority with startling speed

    This has never happened before in a peaceful way, as far as I know. I do not believe it will happen in Britain. The locals will vote for parties that deport

    This is not a partisan point. It is a factual observation of human nature
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 57,531

    Carnyx said:

    Just imagine...the US Navy recommissioning battleships!

    Just the sort of thing to appeal to a part of the PB demographic?

    Anyways, here's a learned article on how likely this is:

    https://www.twz.com/sea/is-trumps-call-for-new-battleships-even-feasible

    Interesting.

    Two issues not addressed in there come to my mind -

    1. Armour doesn't stop mission kill if the delicate radars and optronics are destroyed by blast, leaving the ship as a partly blinded hulk.
    2. What about under-keel torpedo (and diving missile) defence? Torpedo defence took a huge amount of battleshipo volume in WW2 and didn't work very well even then.
    1 was an issue even in the heyday of battleships. You can't harden everything, it was common for sighting systems, electrics and hydraulics to get hit and be knocked out. The armour is really there to prevent serious damage to the machinery spaces, magazines and main guns.

    You counter 2 by having dedicated ASW ships as escorts, which is what major navies do with their carriers.

    WWII type battleships have marginal usefulness today. Their main role would be bombardment - a salvo of 9 x 16" shells every 30 seconds is an incredible amount of firepower. You can't jam, spoof or shoot down a wave of huge steel projectiles travelling at twice the speed of sound. But there's not much call for that now, particularly given even an upgraded battleship would have a firing range of something around 25 miles.
    And they only hit something a few percent of the time.

    Modern SAM system can easily shoot down 16" shells. A shoot down has been demonstrated on a 4.5" shell...
    A modern SAM system a) may be able to hit *a* shell, but it's very much not going to be more than minimally effective when there are 18 shells per minute incoming, and b) it will run out of ammunition in minutes. Even an AA destroyer like the Type 45 could attempt intercepts on 5 salvos - less than 3 minutes of a Battleship firing - before shooting itself dry.

    This scenario is based on a WWII era 30-second reload time for the battleship. Given the performance of modern automated naval guns, it's highly probable a modern auto-loading 16" gun could halve that time.
    The physics of high speed autoloaders breaks down around the 8" size. At 250Kg shells it is difficult to rapidly accelerate and then stop them. With 1000Kg the breakages in the mechanism become inevitable.

    No battleship ever managed 30 seconds in action. Some tried to claim that. But noticeably, when actually in service, they were much much slower. This was because of the fun that moving multiple tons around at high speed, in the confined space of a turret produces.

    See the design reports from the US designers of the 8" Mark 16 turrets - who were asked about heavier calibers.

    A Type 45 would being rude to the battleship from over the visible horizon. Out of range of the guns. That's the problem with battleship guns. 20 miles is fist fighting range.

    You seem to be assuming that even 1% of the battleships shells *need* intercepting. Look up the historic hit rates. Against lines of ships that didn't manoeuvre (because they wanted steady bearings to shoot back).
    You and your Type 45!

    "Under Siege" (the best Steven Seagal film ever made!) simply wouldn't have worked if they'd substituted a Type 45 (or equivalent) for USS Missouri.
    I don’t know.

    Could see this in the RN - https://youtu.be/UCId3kjWPs8?si=MX3BToc8cC_bXKuS
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 17,069

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 26,143
    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    "Did you have a good day at school? Did you play with your friends? Good, good. Now go was your hands before tea"
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 45,506
    MaxPB said:

    Lol it's already started, an idiot lefty school friend has been spouting off on social media that the clashes in Gaza aren't Hamas attempting to purge the opposition but it's actually Mosad and IDF staging it to destabilise the peace process so the occupation can resume. I'm certain that there's plenty of other activists out there with similar views too. Social media has addled the brains of millions of people.

    Yeah, people that suck up conspiracy theories from the internet about who killed who are mental.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 65,940

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
  • TheuniondivvieTheuniondivvie Posts: 45,506

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    I love meloni pissing herself
    A niche perversion.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 82,044

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Good morning. From the redwoods


    How did the cycling in amongst them work out?
    It turned out “the cycling” was a kind of pedalled individual mini e-train thingummy along the old Skunkrail timber train tracks. Cheesy and touristy but fun - and it delivered me right into the heart of a lovely redwood grove (hence the pics)

    But honestly these redwood forests just get more and more spectacular - every time you’ve seen the ultimate they outdo themselves. Laced with mist, exploding with light, cedar-scented visions of the sublime, with some nice coffee stops

    I’m off to another now. Jedediah Smith on the Cali Oregon border. Said to be maybe the best. I can’t see how it can be better than stuff I’ve already gasped at. It let’s have a go….
    I see. I've been pondering doing some cycling in the US. I'm no great cyclist but I do enjoy it. The Erie canal looks a strong possibility, but was interested by your reference.
    PS you can easily hire bikes in any of these redwood forests. I can’t imagine there is much more spectacular cycling anywhere in the world. Aim for this time of year. September/early October

    You can also cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. That’s a blast
    A few years ago my good lady and I went walking through some redwoods, on the back of coming out of Yosemite on the way down to Carmel by the sea. It was just so incredibly peaceful, and was an unexpected highlight of our trip.
    There are far more redwoods in the UK than in the USA.

    It's just that as they're relatively young, they haven't grown as tall yet. I'll never live to see if they do.
    Hmm, I'm not sure that passes the sniff test, particularly the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) that Leon is visiting (as opposed to the giant redwoods, Sequoiadendron giganteum). The coastal ones don't do so well in the UK as they get blown down. They have a different growth habit, tending to just go straight up rather than having most of the weight at the bottom.

    There are also a lot of secondary growth woodlands in coastal California, even if they haven't yet reached 110m tall.
    It's the giant redwoods AIUI. And there's a lot more: half a million in the UK compared to 80,000 in the USA. Though the numbers are estimates. Blame Victorian collectors.

    Incidentally, given the size they can grow to, we do seem to plant them in rather silly places:
    https://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/hoxton.htm
    Yes, that seems more likely, at least counting the planted UK population vs native US populations.

    I planted a giant redwood in my front garden about 20 years ago, just for the lolz, but sadly it is looking very dead this year having just overtaken all the street trees. Drought, possibly made worse by some fungal infection or other. Bit gutted.

    There are several collections that are worth visiting in the UK.

    My favourites are at Scone Palace, which also had the first Douglas Fir brought back from the US along with some Sitka Spruce. They all all a decent size now.
    Don't Redwood trees have rather shallow root systems and rely on interlinking with the roots of neighbouring Redwoods for support, so they tend not to thrive as single trees? I've seen this adopted as a kind of woke internet meme recently. And now of course the Redwood tree also serves as a metaphor for Travis Kelce's penis. A very on trend tree.
    "Of course" ?
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 26,143

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    I love meloni pissing herself
    A niche perversion.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_34
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 32,926
    edited October 13
    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    Still not watching.

    Also, when he arrives on one of his international jollies and is filmed disembarking from the plane, why does he insist on wearing that horrible open-necked dark grey shirt like he's having a pint after work with the rest of the accountancy team?
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 35,061
    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    Strangely enough the anti-Trump Dem and ex-Republican YouTube channels I watch noted Trump's insane ramblings, particularly his anti -Biden and "Abraham " confusion monologue, as opposed to the anti-Starmer PBers who see Starmer as the offender. Interesting.

    It's Trump's day. He has his win but blimey you guys can't see the wood for the trees.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 82,044

    MaxPB said:

    Lol it's already started, an idiot lefty school friend has been spouting off on social media that the clashes in Gaza aren't Hamas attempting to purge the opposition but it's actually Mosad and IDF staging it to destabilise the peace process so the occupation can resume. I'm certain that there's plenty of other activists out there with similar views too. Social media has addled the brains of millions of people.

    Yeah, people that suck up conspiracy theories from the internet about who killed who are mental.
    Yes, just awful.
    It's 'whom'.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 17,069
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
    They're more likely to become doctors than white British people are, statistically speaking. And our demographics would be even worse if you were to cut our birthrate by 30%.
    You're a dinosaur, living in some dead, imaginary, world of "native Britons" that hasn't existed for my lifetime or longer, living in fear of the other when in fact it is race purists with their fantasy of deportations and their dreams of "white babies" who are the threat. If anybody comes for my family or my friends they'd better come armed to the teeth.
  • numbertwelvenumbertwelve Posts: 8,236
    edited October 13
    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 16,514

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    I have a friend whose first language wasn’t English. He speaks English fluently, but he’s very proud of his first language, loves going on about how special a language it is. We tease him about it. But that’s what Welsh speakers can be like!
  • LeonLeon Posts: 65,940

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
    They're more likely to become doctors than white British people are, statistically speaking. And our demographics would be even worse if you were to cut our birthrate by 30%.
    You're a dinosaur, living in some dead, imaginary, world of "native Britons" that hasn't existed for my lifetime or longer, living in fear of the other when in fact it is race purists with their fantasy of deportations and their dreams of "white babies" who are the threat. If anybody comes for my family or my friends they'd better come armed to the teeth.
    Tell that to British Jews newly menaced by imported anti Semitism. We had an account of that yesterday, on here

    Either way this will be decided democratically - I hope. And I firmly believe the British will democratically vote Reform because of data like this. It’s almost inevitable
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 17,069
    Nigelb said:

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Good morning. From the redwoods


    How did the cycling in amongst them work out?
    It turned out “the cycling” was a kind of pedalled individual mini e-train thingummy along the old Skunkrail timber train tracks. Cheesy and touristy but fun - and it delivered me right into the heart of a lovely redwood grove (hence the pics)

    But honestly these redwood forests just get more and more spectacular - every time you’ve seen the ultimate they outdo themselves. Laced with mist, exploding with light, cedar-scented visions of the sublime, with some nice coffee stops

    I’m off to another now. Jedediah Smith on the Cali Oregon border. Said to be maybe the best. I can’t see how it can be better than stuff I’ve already gasped at. It let’s have a go….
    I see. I've been pondering doing some cycling in the US. I'm no great cyclist but I do enjoy it. The Erie canal looks a strong possibility, but was interested by your reference.
    PS you can easily hire bikes in any of these redwood forests. I can’t imagine there is much more spectacular cycling anywhere in the world. Aim for this time of year. September/early October

    You can also cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. That’s a blast
    A few years ago my good lady and I went walking through some redwoods, on the back of coming out of Yosemite on the way down to Carmel by the sea. It was just so incredibly peaceful, and was an unexpected highlight of our trip.
    There are far more redwoods in the UK than in the USA.

    It's just that as they're relatively young, they haven't grown as tall yet. I'll never live to see if they do.
    Hmm, I'm not sure that passes the sniff test, particularly the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) that Leon is visiting (as opposed to the giant redwoods, Sequoiadendron giganteum). The coastal ones don't do so well in the UK as they get blown down. They have a different growth habit, tending to just go straight up rather than having most of the weight at the bottom.

    There are also a lot of secondary growth woodlands in coastal California, even if they haven't yet reached 110m tall.
    It's the giant redwoods AIUI. And there's a lot more: half a million in the UK compared to 80,000 in the USA. Though the numbers are estimates. Blame Victorian collectors.

    Incidentally, given the size they can grow to, we do seem to plant them in rather silly places:
    https://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/hoxton.htm
    Yes, that seems more likely, at least counting the planted UK population vs native US populations.

    I planted a giant redwood in my front garden about 20 years ago, just for the lolz, but sadly it is looking very dead this year having just overtaken all the street trees. Drought, possibly made worse by some fungal infection or other. Bit gutted.

    There are several collections that are worth visiting in the UK.

    My favourites are at Scone Palace, which also had the first Douglas Fir brought back from the US along with some Sitka Spruce. They all all a decent size now.
    Don't Redwood trees have rather shallow root systems and rely on interlinking with the roots of neighbouring Redwoods for support, so they tend not to thrive as single trees? I've seen this adopted as a kind of woke internet meme recently. And now of course the Redwood tree also serves as a metaphor for Travis Kelce's penis. A very on trend tree.
    "Of course" ?
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_(song)
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 17,069
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
    They're more likely to become doctors than white British people are, statistically speaking. And our demographics would be even worse if you were to cut our birthrate by 30%.
    You're a dinosaur, living in some dead, imaginary, world of "native Britons" that hasn't existed for my lifetime or longer, living in fear of the other when in fact it is race purists with their fantasy of deportations and their dreams of "white babies" who are the threat. If anybody comes for my family or my friends they'd better come armed to the teeth.
    Tell that to British Jews newly menaced by imported anti Semitism. We had an account of that yesterday, on here

    Either way this will be decided democratically - I hope. And I firmly believe the British will democratically vote Reform because of data like this. It’s almost inevitable
    By your logic the jews wouldn't have been welcomed here either. They were the sinister foreign influence once. People like you lobbied to limit their numbers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 47,646
    MaxPB said:

    Lol it's already started, an idiot lefty school friend has been spouting off on social media that the clashes in Gaza aren't Hamas attempting to purge the opposition but it's actually Mosad and IDF staging it to destabilise the peace process so the occupation can resume. I'm certain that there's plenty of other activists out there with similar views too. Social media has addled the brains of millions of people.

    It has. It's a big driver of nutcase conspiracy theories (like that one), extremist identity politics and dumbo populism. Elon Musk has turbocharged this since acquiring X. The whole thing needs a clip but how you'd do that god only knows.
  • StereodogStereodog Posts: 1,184
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
    They're more likely to become doctors than white British people are, statistically speaking. And our demographics would be even worse if you were to cut our birthrate by 30%.
    You're a dinosaur, living in some dead, imaginary, world of "native Britons" that hasn't existed for my lifetime or longer, living in fear of the other when in fact it is race purists with their fantasy of deportations and their dreams of "white babies" who are the threat. If anybody comes for my family or my friends they'd better come armed to the teeth.
    Tell that to British Jews newly menaced by imported anti Semitism. We had an account of that yesterday, on here

    Either way this will be decided democratically - I hope. And I firmly believe the British will democratically vote Reform because of data like this. It’s almost inevitable
    They're not being menaced by primary or nursery school children though are they? I have no concerns about what the first language of primary school children is because children learn their new language incredibly fast. It's the number of adults who don't have a strong command of English that is a cause for concern.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 16,514

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
    They're more likely to become doctors than white British people are, statistically speaking. And our demographics would be even worse if you were to cut our birthrate by 30%.
    You're a dinosaur, living in some dead, imaginary, world of "native Britons" that hasn't existed for my lifetime or longer, living in fear of the other when in fact it is race purists with their fantasy of deportations and their dreams of "white babies" who are the threat. If anybody comes for my family or my friends they'd better come armed to the teeth.
    Tell that to British Jews newly menaced by imported anti Semitism. We had an account of that yesterday, on here

    Either way this will be decided democratically - I hope. And I firmly believe the British will democratically vote Reform because of data like this. It’s almost inevitable
    By your logic the jews wouldn't have been welcomed here either. They were the sinister foreign influence once. People like you lobbied to limit their numbers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
    And their first language was Yiddish or German or Russian. They even published a daily newspaper in Yiddish in the UK called Die Zeit.
  • carnforthcarnforth Posts: 7,425
    edited October 13
    Stereodog said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
    They're more likely to become doctors than white British people are, statistically speaking. And our demographics would be even worse if you were to cut our birthrate by 30%.
    You're a dinosaur, living in some dead, imaginary, world of "native Britons" that hasn't existed for my lifetime or longer, living in fear of the other when in fact it is race purists with their fantasy of deportations and their dreams of "white babies" who are the threat. If anybody comes for my family or my friends they'd better come armed to the teeth.
    Tell that to British Jews newly menaced by imported anti Semitism. We had an account of that yesterday, on here

    Either way this will be decided democratically - I hope. And I firmly believe the British will democratically vote Reform because of data like this. It’s almost inevitable
    They're not being menaced by primary or nursery school children though are they? I have no concerns about what the first language of primary school children is because children learn their new language incredibly fast. It's the number of adults who don't have a strong command of English that is a cause for concern.
    Indeed it's adults. A Sri Lankan friend at university had a doctor father with perfect English. Her mother could barely string a sentence together after 30 years in England. All her friends were Sri Lankan, the TV at home set to a Sri Lankan cable channel, and so on.
  • FlatlanderFlatlander Posts: 5,389

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Good morning. From the redwoods


    How did the cycling in amongst them work out?
    It turned out “the cycling” was a kind of pedalled individual mini e-train thingummy along the old Skunkrail timber train tracks. Cheesy and touristy but fun - and it delivered me right into the heart of a lovely redwood grove (hence the pics)

    But honestly these redwood forests just get more and more spectacular - every time you’ve seen the ultimate they outdo themselves. Laced with mist, exploding with light, cedar-scented visions of the sublime, with some nice coffee stops

    I’m off to another now. Jedediah Smith on the Cali Oregon border. Said to be maybe the best. I can’t see how it can be better than stuff I’ve already gasped at. It let’s have a go….
    I see. I've been pondering doing some cycling in the US. I'm no great cyclist but I do enjoy it. The Erie canal looks a strong possibility, but was interested by your reference.
    PS you can easily hire bikes in any of these redwood forests. I can’t imagine there is much more spectacular cycling anywhere in the world. Aim for this time of year. September/early October

    You can also cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. That’s a blast
    A few years ago my good lady and I went walking through some redwoods, on the back of coming out of Yosemite on the way down to Carmel by the sea. It was just so incredibly peaceful, and was an unexpected highlight of our trip.
    There are far more redwoods in the UK than in the USA.

    It's just that as they're relatively young, they haven't grown as tall yet. I'll never live to see if they do.
    Hmm, I'm not sure that passes the sniff test, particularly the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) that Leon is visiting (as opposed to the giant redwoods, Sequoiadendron giganteum). The coastal ones don't do so well in the UK as they get blown down. They have a different growth habit, tending to just go straight up rather than having most of the weight at the bottom.

    There are also a lot of secondary growth woodlands in coastal California, even if they haven't yet reached 110m tall.
    It's the giant redwoods AIUI. And there's a lot more: half a million in the UK compared to 80,000 in the USA. Though the numbers are estimates. Blame Victorian collectors.

    Incidentally, given the size they can grow to, we do seem to plant them in rather silly places:
    https://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/hoxton.htm
    Yes, that seems more likely, at least counting the planted UK population vs native US populations.

    I planted a giant redwood in my front garden about 20 years ago, just for the lolz, but sadly it is looking very dead this year having just overtaken all the street trees. Drought, possibly made worse by some fungal infection or other. Bit gutted.

    There are several collections that are worth visiting in the UK.

    My favourites are at Scone Palace, which also had the first Douglas Fir brought back from the US along with some Sitka Spruce. They all all a decent size now.
    Don't Redwood trees have rather shallow root systems and rely on interlinking with the roots of neighbouring Redwoods for support, so they tend not to thrive as single trees? I've seen this adopted as a kind of woke internet meme recently. And now of course the Redwood tree also serves as a metaphor for Travis Kelce's penis. A very on trend tree.
    Yes, that's true of quite a few tall conifers in the western US - they really don't do well as single or scattered trees. The coastal redwoods also dry out when standing alone - tall ones often lose their top if the summer fog fails to materialise.

    I'm not going anywhere near the Travis Kelce question.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 47,646
    MaxPB said:

    Seems that they were chanting “Gaza Gaza make us proud, put the Zios in the ground” at the Palestinian protest in London on Saturday.

    I guess they aren’t fans of the peace deal then?

    They celebrated the murder of innocent Jews by a terrorist. None of these people want a peace deal as it takes away their cover for their hatred.
    You're not swallowing the line that most of the Gaza protestors are raging antisemites, I hope.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 35,061
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    As someone who couldn't speak a word of English upon arrival in the UK back in 1976*, I think English is the best language in the world!

    * probably because I was only 4 months old :lol:
    My brothers in law arrived in the UK as young children speaking no English and now it's the only language they understand. They're both doctors and are probably rather more useful and productive citizens than Goodwin.
    If only they were all doctors. But they’re not, are they? So your point is irrelevant and fatuous
    They're more likely to become doctors than white British people are, statistically speaking. And our demographics would be even worse if you were to cut our birthrate by 30%.
    You're a dinosaur, living in some dead, imaginary, world of "native Britons" that hasn't existed for my lifetime or longer, living in fear of the other when in fact it is race purists with their fantasy of deportations and their dreams of "white babies" who are the threat. If anybody comes for my family or my friends they'd better come armed to the teeth.
    Tell that to British Jews newly menaced by imported anti Semitism. We had an account of that yesterday, on here

    Either way this will be decided democratically - I hope. And I firmly believe the British will democratically vote Reform because of data like this. It’s almost inevitable
    Oh dear, dear, dear.

    Whereas I don't disagree that law abiding Jewish people in Britain going about their business who have been scared for their lives by bullying tactics from Gaza supporting white British people, there is also a symmetry for law abiding Muslim people in Britain going about their business who have been scared for their lives by bullying tactics from Gaza opposing white British people.

    And your second paragraph makes no sense whatsoever. I assume you were about to compare and contrast a democratic coup with a violent one but you got tied up in your own hyperbole.
  • OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 17,069

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Omnium said:

    Leon said:

    Good morning. From the redwoods


    How did the cycling in amongst them work out?
    It turned out “the cycling” was a kind of pedalled individual mini e-train thingummy along the old Skunkrail timber train tracks. Cheesy and touristy but fun - and it delivered me right into the heart of a lovely redwood grove (hence the pics)

    But honestly these redwood forests just get more and more spectacular - every time you’ve seen the ultimate they outdo themselves. Laced with mist, exploding with light, cedar-scented visions of the sublime, with some nice coffee stops

    I’m off to another now. Jedediah Smith on the Cali Oregon border. Said to be maybe the best. I can’t see how it can be better than stuff I’ve already gasped at. It let’s have a go….
    I see. I've been pondering doing some cycling in the US. I'm no great cyclist but I do enjoy it. The Erie canal looks a strong possibility, but was interested by your reference.
    PS you can easily hire bikes in any of these redwood forests. I can’t imagine there is much more spectacular cycling anywhere in the world. Aim for this time of year. September/early October

    You can also cycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. That’s a blast
    A few years ago my good lady and I went walking through some redwoods, on the back of coming out of Yosemite on the way down to Carmel by the sea. It was just so incredibly peaceful, and was an unexpected highlight of our trip.
    There are far more redwoods in the UK than in the USA.

    It's just that as they're relatively young, they haven't grown as tall yet. I'll never live to see if they do.
    Hmm, I'm not sure that passes the sniff test, particularly the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) that Leon is visiting (as opposed to the giant redwoods, Sequoiadendron giganteum). The coastal ones don't do so well in the UK as they get blown down. They have a different growth habit, tending to just go straight up rather than having most of the weight at the bottom.

    There are also a lot of secondary growth woodlands in coastal California, even if they haven't yet reached 110m tall.
    It's the giant redwoods AIUI. And there's a lot more: half a million in the UK compared to 80,000 in the USA. Though the numbers are estimates. Blame Victorian collectors.

    Incidentally, given the size they can grow to, we do seem to plant them in rather silly places:
    https://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/hoxton.htm
    Yes, that seems more likely, at least counting the planted UK population vs native US populations.

    I planted a giant redwood in my front garden about 20 years ago, just for the lolz, but sadly it is looking very dead this year having just overtaken all the street trees. Drought, possibly made worse by some fungal infection or other. Bit gutted.

    There are several collections that are worth visiting in the UK.

    My favourites are at Scone Palace, which also had the first Douglas Fir brought back from the US along with some Sitka Spruce. They all all a decent size now.
    Don't Redwood trees have rather shallow root systems and rely on interlinking with the roots of neighbouring Redwoods for support, so they tend not to thrive as single trees? I've seen this adopted as a kind of woke internet meme recently. And now of course the Redwood tree also serves as a metaphor for Travis Kelce's penis. A very on trend tree.
    Yes, that's true of quite a few tall conifers in the western US - they really don't do well as single or scattered trees. The coastal redwoods also dry out when standing alone - tall ones often lose their top if the summer fog fails to materialise.

    I'm not going anywhere near the Travis Kelce question.
    By the sounds of things you wouldn't be able to get that near anyway.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 47,646

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
  • bondegezoubondegezou Posts: 16,514
    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
    Yeah, the only big deal is that the doddery old guy is President of a country.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 47,646

    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
    Yeah, the only big deal is that the doddery old guy is President of a country.
    Yes. And if only it were just *a* country.
  • LeonLeon Posts: 65,940
    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
    lol. Starmer is utterly crushed. You can see it in his sad little face, as Meloni laughs, mockingly

    It’s so bad it almost makes me feel sorry for him. But, nah

  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 35,061
    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands rambling, senile and dangerous leader of the Free World. Can't see the big deal.
    FTFY
  • Daveyboy1961Daveyboy1961 Posts: 4,927
    Leon said:

    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
    lol. Starmer is utterly crushed. You can see it in his sad little face, as Meloni laughs, mockingly

    It’s so bad it almost makes me feel sorry for him. But, nah

    Drinking again Leon? I've just watched it and it's nothing like you said.

  • DoctorGDoctorG Posts: 218

    It is quite amazing to me how out of touch John Swinney has been in the last few weeks. Firstly the shambles of the Jewish mourning and now the conference which has done nothing new but rehashed the old play book.

    All the projections seem to say that the SNP will run away with Holyrood elections. I am not so sure. Recent byelection results for the SNP have been poor and the buzz about them just seems to have gone flat. The byelections have also shown that outside the core base of the SNP they have little other support except from some of the Green voters. This Thursday North Ayr byelection is a must win for the SNP or time to short the SNP at next May's election.

    I don't think they will win it, by elections are free hits on the government, particularly low turnout. This one has a feel of plague on all your houses
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 38,004
    edited October 13
    AI continues to be rubbish.

    I asked: "Are Australian traffic lights like British ones?"

    Reply: "No, Australian and British traffic lights are not the same because they have different sequences and meanings for the amber light. Australian lights go directly from red to green, and the amber light means "prepare to stop," whereas in the UK, the sequence includes a red-and-amber combination before green to signal "prepare to go". "

    I'm pretty sure this is completely wrong, and Australian traffic lights do have the red+amber sequence that British ones do.
  • ohnotnowohnotnow Posts: 5,477
    Andy_JS said:

    AI continues to be rubbish.

    I asked: "Are Australian traffic lights like British ones?"

    Reply: "No, Australian and British traffic lights are not the same because they have different sequences and meanings for the amber light. Australian lights go directly from red to green, and the amber light means "prepare to stop," whereas in the UK, the sequence includes a red-and-amber combination before green to signal "prepare to go". "

    I'm pretty sure this is completely wrong, and Australian traffic lights do have the red+amber sequence that British ones do.

    I was reminding myself how bad Googles best-of-the-best coding agent was last night (they are due to release an even better "it's all over for coders" model in the next week or two).

    I've updated the main.py file. However, I missed a few things.

    - The main function in main.py is not defined.
    - The on_ready event in main.py is using datetime without importing it.
    - The main.py is missing the import datetime.
    - The main.py is missing the from datetime import datetime.

  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 47,646
    Leon said:

    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
    lol. Starmer is utterly crushed. You can see it in his sad little face, as Meloni laughs, mockingly

    It’s so bad it almost makes me feel sorry for him. But, nah
    Truly ridiculous comment. Have you forgotten your SDS tablets again?
  • rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 61,907
    Leon said:

    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
    lol. Starmer is utterly crushed. You can see it in his sad little face, as Meloni laughs, mockingly

    It’s so bad it almost makes me feel sorry for him. But, nah

    Meloni is laughing even before Starmer makes his move.
  • isamisam Posts: 42,788
    Leon said:

    kinabalu said:

    moonshine said:

    Youtube is telling me that Trump told Starmer to go away during his speech.

    I can't watch it because I can't stand socially embarrassing situations - which means I watch very few of Sir Cringe's public interventions. Someone will have to tell me if it's as bad as the breathless social media commentary suggests.

    https://x.com/archrose90/status/1977801802210017708?s=46

    This clip of Starmer is brutal and is getting a lot of online circulation.
    It is brutal. I have to admit it did leave me feeling rather sorry for Starmer, a feeling I don’t get very often, but as much as I’m not a fan the cringe is off the charts. he probably thought he was going to get singled out for some extra praise.
    Just watched it. Bloke misunderstands doddery old uncle. Can't see the big deal.
    lol. Starmer is utterly crushed. You can see it in his sad little face, as Meloni laughs, mockingly

    It’s so bad it almost makes me feel sorry for him. But, nah

    It does make me feel a bit sorry for him. Never has a grin been wiped off someone’s face so quickly.

    Let’s imagine it were Boris or Farage and wonder what Starmer’s defence team would be saying
  • LeonLeon Posts: 65,940
    I’m at Grave Creek Blockhouse off interstate 5 in the middle of mellow nowhere, Oregon

    And yet it marks one of the saddest episodes of the Indian-white wars of the 19th century

    When the first settlers came here on the Oregon trail they found an empty yet fertile land, hence the Oregon trail. Thousands of pioneers followed. No natives. No rouble!

    But the reason it was empty was because of earlier diseases brought by European sailors and trappers. Measles, smallpox etc. The latter - Englishmen from the Hudson Bay company - brought a form of malaria so virulent it wiped out NINETY SEVEN PERCENT of some tribes. Surely the worst plagues in history, per capita?

    So the settlers filled the empty meadows and forests and eventually the remaining tribes fought back - but then they were all massacred by the US army

    Pretty dark noom. A poetically inclined soul might see meth and fentanyl as some kind of belated karmic revenge by the old tribal gods
  • Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 38,004
    People are reading a lot into that interaction between Trump and Starmer. I couldn't see much of interest myself.
  • viewcodeviewcode Posts: 26,143
    For all those of you who want an explanation of Blade Runner 2049 in Jungian terms - and I'm sure you are queuing up for this :) - you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5fbQ4hf068
  • DecrepiterJohnLDecrepiterJohnL Posts: 33,309
    Older PBers might remember the Rory Campbell betting syndicate case – apparently an arrest has been made. No details.
  • tpfkartpfkar Posts: 1,586
    Leon said:

    Astonishing and terrifying stats

    “19.2% of children in UK secondary schools, 23.4% in UK primary schools, and 30.2% of children in nursery do not speak English as their first language.

    --2024/25 data”

    https://x.com/goodwinmj/status/1977833829118455847?s=46&t=bulOICNH15U6kB0MwE6Lfw

    Yeah, our kids probably in those stats.
    Fluent English, fluent German. I'm jealous and wish I'd had their advantages.

    All your stirring about everyone voting for mass deporting. Just look at a primary school sometime. Kids who haven't yet learnt to hate based on differences, just playing together, making friends, without all the hangups that come later. It's a refreshing antidote for too much time online.
  • rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 8,833
    kinabalu said:

    MaxPB said:

    Lol it's already started, an idiot lefty school friend has been spouting off on social media that the clashes in Gaza aren't Hamas attempting to purge the opposition but it's actually Mosad and IDF staging it to destabilise the peace process so the occupation can resume. I'm certain that there's plenty of other activists out there with similar views too. Social media has addled the brains of millions of people.

    It has. It's a big driver of nutcase conspiracy theories (like that one), extremist identity politics and dumbo populism. Elon Musk has turbocharged this since acquiring X. The whole thing needs a clip but how you'd do that god only knows.
    I take the optimistic view that we are, as a society, still adjusting to social media, and the relentless decline in informational value.

    Over time, we will see it in much the same way one views the people who stand near bus stops yelling about salvation and the second coming at the top of their lungs.
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