h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ta PE. Considering that at the moment. I'm so firmly in the bracket that I have now started planning hard for leaving. PAT electrical course on Monday and looking at the Electrical Installation assessment course for later on. There is now a Kinloss Skills Partnership set up with the local community and businesses. Starting useful links in the area.

In the meantime iPad 2 is here. Want, want, want, want, want........

Ti, AIS was a toy on the Nimrod. Handy tool. We use it at home to spot the ocean-liners passing through the Moray Firth.

Hope all goes well for you Eats.

Well done BB.

It's incredible seeing the shipping on that system.

Ti ref the AIS, not all of those statics are stuck ships. Most oil/gas platforms have AIS built into to the VHF DSC units with Channel 16/70 as distress

My biological grandfather on my mom's side passed away a couple of nights ago. I didn't know the man so no condolences are necessary. I went to the viewing tonight anyway, to meet family that I had never met before. Only, I apparently have met them before. In fact, it would seem, from my very brief discussions with them, that I saw them quite regularly before my parents divorced. My grandfather's wife (not my grandma) in fact remembered my brothers names as soon as I introduced myself to her and offered my condolences. She even mentioned having made quilts for me and my brothers. Some of the faces tug at something in my memory particularly a couple of my step-aunts and my step-grandmother but I have nothing to base these memories of memories on. It is kind of disconcerting. Who are these people who were apparently involved in my life 30+ years ago?

Re: stuck ships. To my knowledge, there are no platforms in the Gulf of Bothnia - no gas, no oil. There are several routes for trade and transport ships though, running along the east coast of Sweden as well as across the Gulf to the west coast of Finland.

I listened to an interview this morning with the captain of one of the icebreakers; Attle (most Swedish icebreakers appear to be named after various Norse deities). It always amuses me to hear how very enthusiastic these people are when it comes to their job.

When asked if he wasn't wishing for spring to arrive soon he replied 'ah, but the sunrises are really beautiful now, especially when viewed over an unbreaken, smooth and endless expanse of ice'.

'Aren't you worried you'll get stuck in the ice yourself?'

'Oh, we get stuck too, but we are well equipped to deal with it.'

He described the process of breaking free as 'wriggling' the ship in various directions.

'Has it ever happened that you haven't managed to break another ship free?'

'Well, sometimes when the winds are strong, pushing the ice tighter together, we may have to wait nearby until it calms down. But we always get them in the end.'

Morning everyone

So I've done something a bit silly. I remembered seeing something about a local running race on good friday - read it in someone else's local paper. I went to the athletics club website and found the Easter 10 and thought it would be fun so signed myself and J up for it.

Great.

When the confirmation emil came through I discovered that the 10 is 10 MILES not, as I had assumed, 10 kilometers! I've never run that far before so this is going to be rather tricky, and I think I'm unlikely to finish in the hour I put on the form!

What a pillock.

*is happy she lives in a country that only uses the metric system, except maybe in very special areas*

[z]

Hello again Y'All

Congrats Marv, hope you're both happy together

The weather is springlike here, blue skies and sunshine but last night we did have a sharp frost which made everything white this morning.

Sounds like you're making the most of the opportunities available to you Eats, keep doing that while they're on offer.

Another four miles, Kelli. I did run a marathon in just under 4 1/2 hours many, many years ago. I wouldn't even contemplate 10K now, though.

Morning all.

Ti - I do believe many a Dane has been confused a bit about Swedish miles...

Santra, that's one I wasn't aware of. So, tell me - what does 'mil' mean in Danish?

They haven't been used for ages, actually - which is probably most of the confusion. Most Danes would likely have something like a UK or US mile in mind - so 10 km is quite a bit longer than you'd expect on that basis.

In actual fact, a Danish mile was 7.5ish km (7532 m = 12.000 'alen'; an old Danish measure).

Talking about stuck ships - my great-grandfather served aboard H.M.S. Cochrane throughout the Great War. When H.M.S. Cochrane was sent to Archangel to bring back British nationals caught by the Russian Revolution, the ship became trapped in ice. The crew were forced to remain aboard until the following thaw, within sight of Murmansk, but unable to get there.

Makes you want a cup of to warm up with.

<BB<

Mmmmm,tea.

From Garius Lupus, a cenesthetic hallucination.

Click on the link below which provides a place to click in order to launch the strobe. Stare at it for 30 seconds, then look at your mouse hand.

http://www.neave.com/strobe/

Awesome! And no drugs involved.

Wild - reminds me of the time I had nystagmus, but less scary!

When I said, "From Garius Lupus, a cenesthetic hallucination.", I did not mean to imply that he himself is one, although he may feel that way some mornings.

Good night all.