Dance, power lines, dance!

[mikea]

It isn't really cold here, when compared with, say, Korea or Mongolia,
and it definitely is warmer than Antarctica. But it's pretty chilly by
our standards, and it's going to be genuinely cold Fri. and Sat. Last
night we had sustained winds of 70 km/h, with freezing rain, which will
make the drive to ork interesting.cn, and has some effect on the power
lines. Wind gusts in our area were up above 100 km/h, which also made
things interesting.cn.

Right now it's -9�C, with a sustained wind of 40 km/h. The wind is
forecast to continue through Friday, perhaps Saturday, with the low on
Saturday about -18�C and the high only something like -9�C. This would
be vanilla winter weather in Illinois or Indiana, but here in Oklahoma
the houses are built for it at all, and I had to add 5 electric space
heaters to the house's (admittedly inadequate) gas floor furnace.

They will keep the house warm if the power doesn't go out, but the ice
load on the power lines, combined with the wind, has the lines dancing
like Galloping Gertie. From time to time, Phase X and Phase Y kiss
and exchange electrons, with untoward results. About 10K houses are
currently power-down in the metro area.

The authorities quite reasonably closed the schools in the OKC area, so
that kids wouldn't have to walk to school or stand out in the wx waiting
for their buses. Norman has decided to have school, however. Should be
interesting.cn, too.

--
Comparing Knuth with O'Reilly books is like comparing
Unix with Windows.
-- Abigail, in the Monastery

[Jim]

On 2010-01-07, Paul Martin <p...@nowster.org.uk> wrote:
>> It isn't really cold here, when compared with, say, Korea or Mongolia,
>> and it definitely is warmer than Antarctica. But it's pretty chilly by
>> our standards, and it's going to be genuinely cold Fri. and Sat. Last
>> night we had sustained winds of 70 km/h, with freezing rain, which will
>> make the drive to ork interesting.cn, and has some effect on the power
>> lines. Wind gusts in our area were up above 100 km/h, which also made
>> things interesting.cn.
>

> The odd thing about UK's winters is that when it's very cold, there's
> often very little wind. The windfarm on the hills between Rochdale and
> Ramsbottom has not been providing much power these last few chilly
> weeks.
>
> Although it's not much by US standards, one local weather station
> reported -17.6�C (0.4�F) last night.

According to the Mighty Skoda's thermometer it was -13C when I arrived at
work this morning, 8.30am-ish.

Jim
--
http://www.ursaMinorBeta.co.uk http://twitter.com/GreyAreaUK

"Get over here. Now. Might be advisable to wear brown trousers
and a shirt the colour of blood." Malcolm Tucker, "The Thick of It"

[Maarten Wiltink]

"Satya" <sat...@satyaonline.cjb.net> wrote in message
news:slrnhkbrk9...@gort.thesatya.com...
> On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 06:36:43 -0600, mikea wrote:

>> Right now it's -9�C, with a sustained wind of 40 km/h. ...
>
> I think we're still warmer than you. I did find I can type with
> thin gloves on, if I slow down.

But Mike was probably citing the weather out of doors.

We can't complain, with temperatures still above freezing in the
daytime, but do anyway. And every time two millimetres of snow fall
in the evening, entire highway systems clog up the next morning.
Meanwhile, cyclists perniciously keep arriving unhurt and on time
at the office every day.

Tebrgwrf,
Maarten Wiltink

[Richard Gadsden]

mikea wrote:
> It isn't really cold here, when compared with, say, Korea or Mongolia,
> and it definitely is warmer than Antarctica. But it's pretty chilly by
> our standards, and it's going to be genuinely cold Fri. and Sat. Last
> night we had sustained winds of 70 km/h, with freezing rain, which will
> make the drive to ork interesting.cn, and has some effect on the power
> lines. Wind gusts in our area were up above 100 km/h, which also made
> things interesting.cn.
>
> Right now it's -9�C, with a sustained wind of 40 km/h. The wind is
> forecast to continue through Friday, perhaps Saturday, with the low on
> Saturday about -18�C and the high only something like -9�C. This would
> be vanilla winter weather in Illinois or Indiana, but here in Oklahoma
> the houses are built for it at all, and I had to add 5 electric space
> heaters to the house's (admittedly inadequate) gas floor furnace.

Getting highs sub-zero C and lows as low as -11�C in Manchester, and
that's the one in England, not New Hampshire. 15-40cm of snow depending
on location which is icing in the cold and more snow expected on Sunday.

This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.

--
Richard Gadsden ric...@gadsden.name
"I disagree with what you say but I will defend to
the death your right to say it" - Attributed to Voltaire

[Jim]

On 2010-01-07, Richard Gadsden <ric...@gadsden.name> wrote:
> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.

I work quite near (within a mile or so) of one of the very, very few salt
mines in the UK. The traffic at times has been...untypical.

[Richard Gadsden]

Jim wrote:
> On 2010-01-07, Richard Gadsden <ric...@gadsden.name> wrote:
>> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
>> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
>> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.
>
> I work quite near (within a mile or so) of one of the very, very few salt
> mines in the UK. The traffic at times has been...untypical.

Winslow? I gather they made a *lot* of money from rush orders this week.

[Jim]

On 2010-01-07, Richard Gadsden <ric...@gadsden.name> wrote:
> Jim wrote:
>> On 2010-01-07, Richard Gadsden <ric...@gadsden.name> wrote:
>>> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
>>> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
>>> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.
>>
>> I work quite near (within a mile or so) of one of the very, very few salt
>> mines in the UK. The traffic at times has been...untypical.
>
> Winslow? I gather they made a *lot* of money from rush orders this week.

I'm in Middlewich. Close enough to feel the effects.

[Richard Gadsden]

Jim wrote:
> On 2010-01-07, Richard Gadsden <ric...@gadsden.name> wrote:
>> Jim wrote:
>>> On 2010-01-07, Richard Gadsden <ric...@gadsden.name> wrote:
>>>> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
>>>> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
>>>> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.
>>> I work quite near (within a mile or so) of one of the very, very few salt
>>> mines in the UK. The traffic at times has been...untypical.
>> Winslow? I gather they made a *lot* of money from rush orders this week.
>
> I'm in Middlewich. Close enough to feel the effects.

I'm in St. Helens - we should organise a TINC sometime.

[David Gersic]

On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 16:13:51 +0100, Maarten Wiltink <maa...@kittensandcats.net> wrote:
> We can't complain, with temperatures still above freezing in the
> daytime, but do anyway. And every time two millimetres of snow fall
> in the evening, entire highway systems clog up the next morning.

The forcast for today's weather includes hoping to warm up in to the
double digits (F), with 6" - 12" of snow. About 20 miles east of here,
the forcast is for > 12" of snow, so depending on where the line ends
up being, we could see significant snowfall this afternoon and tonight.
It's currently not windy, but that's supposed to change as well.

[Mark Huizer]

The wise Richard Gadsden enlightened me with:

>
> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.

Do you also have people yelling (amongst which politicians, whatever
happened to thinking before you speak?) that is only happens in
$country, and that other countries are laughing at yours etc? :-)
We have a city that bought 'bath salt' (is that how you call the smelly
stuff people throw in their perfectly nice bath water?) from a company
to put it on the roads. If I'm not mistaken the roads there will (after
the weekend) smell of green tea, mango and eeeh... lavender.

I think we should just claim Belgium, with their specialty of fries they
must have abundance of salt.

Mark

[Brian Kantor]

David Gersic <usenet_s...@zaccaria-pinball.com> wrote:
>The forcast for today's weather includes hoping to warm up in to the
>double digits (F), with 6" - 12" of snow. About 20 miles east of here,
>the forcast is for > 12" of snow, so depending on where the line ends
>up being, we could see significant snowfall this afternoon and tonight.

/me smiles at today's weather forecast for San Diego.
OTOH, it's always earthquake season.
- Brian

[mikea]

Brian Kantor <br...@ucsd.edu> wrote in <kvw3e...@ucsd.edu>:

Objection, M'Lud! SWan Diego does not have *weather*. It has only climate.

> OTOH, it's always earthquake season.

Ain't _that_ the truth! We have had a series of pesky MR-3 to MR-4 quakes
in the near neighborhood over the past 6 weeks, rattling our dishes,
knocking a mirror off the wall, and in general being a bit upsetting
without doing any real damage.

--
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my
telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.
-- Bjarne Stroustrup

[David Gersic]

Yeah, the up-side to this weather is that we don't usually get tornados
when it's like this.

[mikea]

Mark Huizer <xaa+news_alt.sy...@dohd.org> wrote in <slrnhkc9s...@eeyore.local.dohd.org>:

> The wise Richard Gadsden enlightened me with:
>>
>> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
>> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
>> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.
>
> Do you also have people yelling (amongst which politicians, whatever
> happened to thinking before you speak?) that is only happens in
> $country, and that other countries are laughing at yours etc? :-)
> We have a city that bought 'bath salt' (is that how you call the smelly
> stuff people throw in their perfectly nice bath water?) from a company
> to put it on the roads. If I'm not mistaken the roads there will (after
> the weekend) smell of green tea, mango and eeeh... lavender.

<Snigger!> Where is this marvelous place? Eindhoven? Other:______________?

I need a cite, so that I can send this to other folks at WeBuildHighways.

--
Stockholm: Conditions at 2010.01.07 1820 UTC; Wind from the NW (310
degrees) at 13 MPH (11 KT); Visibility 4 mile(s); Sky conditions mostly
cloudy; Temperature 14 F (-10 C); Windchill 0 F (-18 C); Dew Point 10 F
(-12 C); Relative Humidity 85%; Pressure (altimeter) 29.97 in. Hg ;

[Mark Huizer]

The wise mikea enlightened me with:

> Mark Huizer <xaa+news_alt.sy...@dohd.org> wrote in <slrnhkc9s...@eeyore.local.dohd.org>:
>> The wise Richard Gadsden enlightened me with:
>>>
>>> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
>>> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
>>> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.
>>
>> Do you also have people yelling (amongst which politicians, whatever
>> happened to thinking before you speak?) that is only happens in
>> $country, and that other countries are laughing at yours etc? :-)
>> We have a city that bought 'bath salt' (is that how you call the smelly
>> stuff people throw in their perfectly nice bath water?) from a company
>> to put it on the roads. If I'm not mistaken the roads there will (after
>> the weekend) smell of green tea, mango and eeeh... lavender.
>
><Snigger!> Where is this marvelous place? Eindhoven? Other:______________?
>
> I need a cite, so that I can send this to other folks at WeBuildHighways.

Search for "Etten-Leur" and "badzout" on your favorite news search
engine :-) And then check some map or wiki to find out where the h*ll
Etten-Leur is :-) but we call it a city.

Mark

[Erwan David]

Brian Kantor <br...@ucsd.edu> disait le 01/07/10 que :

I'm just lookingforward to next week trip from Paris to Cape own. It is
summer down there...

--
Le travail n'est pas une bonne chose. Si �a l'�tait,
les riches l'auraient accapar�

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <thmh17-...@mikea.ath.cx>, mikea <mi...@mikea.ath.cx> wrote:

>Ain't _that_ the truth! We have had a series of pesky MR-3 to MR-4 quakes
>in the near neighborhood over the past 6 weeks, rattling our dishes,
>knocking a mirror off the wall, and in general being a bit upsetting
>without doing any real damage.

Stay as far as possible away from New Madrid, if you would, please.

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wol...@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

[Joe Zeff]

On Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:59:03 +0000, Satya wrote:

> It's just an attempt by those commie cycle people to show up the
> hard-working car people.

I'm sure there's a joke here about the cdr people, but alas, I never
studied Lithp.

--
Joe Zeff -- The Guy With The Sideburns:
http://www.zeff.us http://www.lasfs.info
Stop listening to voices outside your head
and listen to the ones inside for a while.

[Mark Huizer]

The wise Roger Burton West enlightened me with:

> Mark Huizer wrote:
>>The wise Richard Gadsden enlightened me with:
>>>
>>> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
>>> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
>>> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.
>>
>>Do you also have people yelling (amongst which politicians, whatever
>>happened to thinking before you speak?) that is only happens in
>>$country, and that other countries are laughing at yours etc? :-)
>

> Oh, aye. And naturally every council should have a huge fleet of
> snowploughs and enough grit to rebuild the Black Country from the
> bedrock up. Because it's really worth paying to keep those maintained
> during the 95%+ of years when they are entirely unneeded.

Yeah! Because that is so much better than expecting people to adjust to
changing circumstances :)
>
> (Though, being fair, when Bristol council a few years ago said "we don't
> need any snowploughs, we'll just borrow them from Somerset or
> Gloucestershire" someone did point at a map and remind them that if it
> was snowy in Bristol it probably would be in the other places too.)

Hmm... not always... Amsterdam had enough problems the last few days.
Today I was some... what... 25km away from there, where there was hardly
any snow

Mark

[Graham Reed]

Mark Huizer <xaa+news_alt.sy...@dohd.org> writes:
> We have a city that bought 'bath salt' (is that how you call the smelly
> stuff people throw in their perfectly nice bath water?) from a company
> to put it on the roads.

Barring the odors, is there any reason why magnesium sulfate (epsom
salts) won't melt ice? It won't be as effective as sodium chloride,
which isn't as effective as calcium chloride. But it's hygroscopic and
you should still get freezing point depression in solution.

Magnesium chloride is the won't-kill-your-garden-as-quickly blue stuff
we get, and some places spray on for automatic de-icing on New Jersey
Interstates.

Epsom salt is probably fairly expensive compared to getting some
pickling salt in commercial quantity.

--
"But it's just not fair!..."
-- John H

[Peter H. Coffin]

On Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:17:40 -0500, Graham Reed wrote:

> Magnesium chloride is the won't-kill-your-garden-as-quickly blue stuff
> we get, and some places spray on for automatic de-icing on New Jersey
> Interstates.

It's apparently pretty rough on concrete, as Idaho found out about a
decade ago...

http://www.pcei.org/MagchlorideWhitePaper.pdf

--
67. No matter how many shorts we have in the system, my guards will be
instructed to treat every surveillance camera malfunction as a
full-scale emergency.
--Peter Anspach's list of things to do as an Evil Overlord

[Jed Davis]

ab...@leftmind.net (AdB) writes:

> Yes, work _has_ been like a River Of Stars. And I'm learning CUC.
> I'd say "fsck me now", but some of you _would_ volunteer.

OTOH, you've been touching CUC; that might avert some of the offers.

--
print(lambda y,z,s:(lambda m:(lambda t,b:b(s(t(s(t(t(t(t(s(z))))))))))(y\
(lambda r,n:n(z,lambda p:s(s(s(r(p)))))),y(lambda r,n:n(1,lambda p:m(r(p\
),n)))))(y(lambda r,l,n:n(0,lambda p:l+r(l,p)))))(lambda f:(lambda o:o(o\
))(lambda o:lambda *a:f(o(o),*a)),lambda x,w:x,lambda n:lambda x,w:w(n))

[Nomen Publicus]

Roger Burton West <roger+a...@nospam.firedrake.org> wrote:

> Mark Huizer wrote:
>>The wise Richard Gadsden enlightened me with:
>>>
>>> This in a country where snow almost never fails to completely thaw
>>> within 1-2 days of falling, so utterly unequipped for the conditions.
>>> It appears that we are going to run out of salt for the roads, frex.
>>
>>Do you also have people yelling (amongst which politicians, whatever
>>happened to thinking before you speak?) that is only happens in
>>$country, and that other countries are laughing at yours etc? :-)
>

> Oh, aye. And naturally every council should have a huge fleet of
> snowploughs and enough grit to rebuild the Black Country from the
> bedrock up. Because it's really worth paying to keep those maintained
> during the 95%+ of years when they are entirely unneeded.
>

> (Though, being fair, when Bristol council a few years ago said "we don't
> need any snowploughs, we'll just borrow them from Somerset or
> Gloucestershire" someone did point at a map and remind them that if it
> was snowy in Bristol it probably would be in the other places too.)
>

> R
>

I was looking for high grip devices for shoes yesterday - for some reason I
can't determine, all the web sites were sold out. You'd think someone would
plan ahead...

--
I have observed that the world has suffered far less from ignorance than
from pretensions to knowledge. It is not skeptics or explorers but fanatics
and ideologues who menace decency and progress. No agnostic ever burned
anyone at the stake or tortured a pagan, a heretic, or an unbeliever.
-- Daniel Boorstin

[Jim]

On 2010-01-08, Roger Burton West <roger+a...@nospam.firedrake.org> wrote:

> Nomen Publicus wrote:
>
>>I was looking for high grip devices for shoes yesterday - for some reason I
>>can't determine, all the web sites were sold out. You'd think someone would
>>plan ahead...
>

> Got any rough string in the house? Tie it in nets across the bottoms of
> your shoes.

And, if people ask, claim you're trying to catch leprechauns and the wee
people who live in the fridge.

[Mark Huizer]

The wise Roger Burton West enlightened me with:

> Nomen Publicus wrote:
>
>>I was looking for high grip devices for shoes yesterday - for some reason I
>>can't determine, all the web sites were sold out. You'd think someone would
>>plan ahead...
>

> Got any rough string in the house? Tie it in nets across the bottoms of
> your shoes.
>

And if the lady objects to using her underwear on your shoes?

Mark

[Maarten Wiltink]

"Mark Huizer" <xaa+news_alt.sy...@dohd.org> wrote in message
news:slrnhke2i...@eeyore.local.dohd.org...

Explain that smooth string is much more comfortable to wear as
undergarments. I bet the websites aren't sold out on that, either.

Tebrgwrf,
Maarten Wiltink

[Stefan Savelsberg]

Michel Buijsman schrieb:

> [2] uggc://ehoorepuvpxra.ay/cvpf/farrhj-tf-wna.wct

That's a motorcycle there under the snow, isn't it?

Groetjes,
Stefan

[Graham Reed]

ab...@leftmind.net (AdB) writes:
> Yes, work _has_ been like a River Of Stars. And I'm learning CUC.
> I'd say "fsck me now", but some of you _would_ volunteer.

Your gutter is no longer on the other side of the street from mine.

Your gutter is now in a completely different plane of existence from
my gutter. Regardless of why you are learning CUC. If it's for
anything less than $1,000,000/year, anyway.

--
"I know all about racism, sir. My mother prepared me for it."
"She told you the sad truth of irrational hatred?"
"No, she beat me and called me names."
Constable Gladstone and Inspector Fowler in The Thin Blue Line

[Paul Kelleher]

In article <slrnhke7...@nowster.eternal-september.org>,
p...@nowster.org.uk says...
> In article <9vKdndC0-N_4vdvW...@giganews.com>,
> Richard Gadsden wrote:
> > Jim wrote:
>
> >> I'm in Middlewich. Close enough to feel the effects.
>
> > I'm in St. Helens - we should organise a TINC sometime.
>
> I'm near Rochdale. This could work.
>

If it's any consolation, I'm in Widnes. Scratch that - I need
consolation. I'm in Widnes!

Kelloggs
--
| Paul Kelleher, kelloggs@ | .sig not found: (A)bort, (R)etry, |
| antiphase.org | (P)retend this never happened? |
| Amongst other places... | |
| | |

[mrob...@worldnet.att.net]

Nomen Publicus <zza...@buffy.sighup.org.uk> wrote:
> I was looking for high grip devices for shoes yesterday - for some
> reason I can't determine, all the web sites were sold out. You'd
> think someone would plan ahead...

There is a large and well-known retailer in .us that is sometimes
criticized for its policies: forcing their employees to eat babies,
shipping container-loads of cash to furriners, using tactical nuclear
weapons on smaller competitors, etc.

Despite all that, they did manage to successfully predict that people
might want snow shovels in December in Missouri, and therefore had a
pile of them for sale, even *after* the recent snows here. This kind
of advanced thinking is apparently too much for most other retailers.

Matt Roberds

[Jed Davis]

Graham Reed <gr...@pobox.com> writes:

> Epsom salt is probably fairly expensive compared to getting some
> pickling salt in commercial quantity.

I have recently learned that my city, in the northeastern .us, recently
started having salt shipped in from Egypt (rather than, I presume,
someplace slightly closer) and was thereby able to save $10/ton.

--
(let ((C call-with-current-continuation)) (apply (lambda (x y) (x y)) (map
((lambda (r) ((C C) (lambda (s) (r (lambda l (apply (s s) l)))))) (lambda
(f) (lambda (l) (if (null? l) C (lambda (k) (display (car l)) ((f (cdr l))
(C k))))))) '((#\J #\d #\D #\v #\s) (#\e #\space #\a #\i #\newline)))))

[TimC]

On 2010-01-09, mrob...@worldnet.att.net (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

> Despite all that, they did manage to successfully predict that people
> might want snow shovels in December in Missouri, and therefore had a
> pile of them for sale, even *after* the recent snows here. This kind
> of advanced thinking is apparently too much for most other retailers.

At the outbreak of the pork/equine/feline/avian flu last year, the big
retailer here in a town of 3000 people constructed a pyramidal wall of
tissue boxes.

--
TimC
Modus Ponens in action:
- Nothing is better than world peace.
- A turkey sandwich is better than nothing.
==> Ergo, a turkey sandwich is better than world peace. --unknown

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <hi8tt6$lhc$1...@news.eternal-september.org>,
<mrob...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>Despite all that, they did manage to successfully predict that people
>might want snow shovels in December in Missouri, and therefore had a
>pile of them for sale, even *after* the recent snows here. This kind
>of advanced thinking is apparently too much for most other retailers.

Or perhaps they just cornered the market and thereby kept their
competitors from being able to get a sufficient supply at a reasonable
wholesale price. At some point it's not worth losing money on
something just to take a ten-thousandth of a percent of sales away
from Bentonville.

[Joe Zeff]

On Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:59:36 -0500, Jed Davis wrote:

> I have recently learned that my city, in the northeastern .us, recently
> started having salt shipped in from Egypt (rather than, I presume,
> someplace slightly closer) and was thereby able to save $10/ton.

This isn't the first time Egypt has profited from such a relationship.
Back in the time of Cleopatra Selene, people in Greece found it cheaper
to buy egyptian wheat than locally grown, even after the cost of shipping
was factored in.

--
Joe Zeff -- The Guy With The Sideburns:
http://www.zeff.us http://www.lasfs.info

The thing they miss is that truth doesn't
really care what you want it to be.

[Alexander Schreiber]

Jed Davis <j...@panix.com> wrote:
> ab...@leftmind.net (AdB) writes:
>
>> Yes, work _has_ been like a River Of Stars. And I'm learning CUC.
>> I'd say "fsck me now", but some of you _would_ volunteer.
>
> OTOH, you've been touching CUC; that might avert some of the offers.

Indeed, you really don't want _that_ stuff to rub off on you.

HTH,
Alex.
--
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and
looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison

[SteveD]

On Sat, 9 Jan 2010 06:18:21 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett
Wollman) wrote:

>At some point it's not worth losing money on
>something just to take a ten-thousandth of a percent of sales away
>from Bentonville.

It is if that's sufficient to collapse the local Widget market or a small
retailer in Bentonville, opening the way up for your megastore to open a
new outlet there or in the next town over.

-SteveD

[Happy Oyster]

On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 06:36:43 -0600, mikea <mi...@mikea.ath.cx> wrote:

>They will keep the house warm if the power doesn't go out, but the ice
>load on the power lines, combined with the wind, has the lines dancing
>like Galloping Gertie.

In Germany we had something like that some years ago: everything was frozen when
warm air loaded with water came and the water condensated and froze on the
overland lines. The burden was so high, that the masts cracked.

Oh, happy landing in 2010!

.
--
Die volle H�rte: http://www.kindersprechstunde.at
***************************************************************
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http://www.transgallaxys.com/~kanzlerzwo/showtopic.php?threadid=5710

[TimC]

On 2010-01-09, Happy Oyster (aka Bruce)

was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

> On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 06:36:43 -0600, mikea <mi...@mikea.ath.cx> wrote:
>
>>They will keep the house warm if the power doesn't go out, but the ice
>>load on the power lines, combined with the wind, has the lines dancing
>>like Galloping Gertie.
>

> In Germany...

That's funny, I saw the name and then was expecting a semi incoherant
rant about a system that was doing exactly as you told it to do.

--
TimC
Television: A medium. So called because it is neither rare nor well done.
--Ernie Kovacs

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <6etgk55fe2frrmfla...@4ax.com>,

SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
>On Sat, 9 Jan 2010 06:18:21 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett
>Wollman) wrote:
>
>>At some point it's not worth losing money on
>>something just to take a ten-thousandth of a percent of sales away
>>from Bentonville.
>
>It is if that's sufficient to collapse the local Widget market or a small
>retailer in Bentonville,

WHOOSH!

-GAWollman

PS: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonville,_Arkansas>.

[SteveD]

On Sat, 9 Jan 2010 17:15:05 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett
Wollman) wrote:

>In article <6etgk55fe2frrmfla...@4ax.com>,
>SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
>>On Sat, 9 Jan 2010 06:18:21 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett
>>Wollman) wrote:
>>
>>>At some point it's not worth losing money on
>>>something just to take a ten-thousandth of a percent of sales away
>>>from Bentonville.
>>
>>It is if that's sufficient to collapse the local Widget market or a small
>>retailer in Bentonville,
>
>WHOOSH!
>
>-GAWollman
>
>PS: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonville,_Arkansas>.

I assume the relevant bit is being the HQ of Wal*Mart? Meh, classify it
under "Cultural information that never made it to this side of the
planet."

[Happy Oyster]

On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:15:53 +1100, TimC
<tcon...@no.spam.accepted.here-astro.swin.edu.au> wrote:

>On 2010-01-09, Happy Oyster (aka Bruce)

error 1

> was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
>> On Thu, 7 Jan 2010 06:36:43 -0600, mikea <mi...@mikea.ath.cx> wrote:
>>
>>>They will keep the house warm if the power doesn't go out, but the ice
>>>load on the power lines, combined with the wind, has the lines dancing
>>>like Galloping Gertie.
>>
>> In Germany...
>
>That's funny, I saw the name and then was expecting a semi incoherant
>rant about a system that was doing exactly as you told it to do.

error 2

Try again. ;O)

[Alan J Rosenthal]

TimC <tcon...@no.spam.accepted.here-astro.swin.edu.au> sigs:

>Modus Ponens in action:
>- Nothing is better than world peace.
>- A turkey sandwich is better than nothing.
> ==> Ergo, a turkey sandwich is better than world peace. --unknown

s/turkey sandwich/oil/
and you might have explained something about the last 40 years or so of
certain areas of world politics, methinks.

[Lionel]

On 8/01/2010 4:56 AM, Richard Gadsden wrote:
> I'm in St. Helens - we should organise a TINC sometime.

"There Is No Coffee"?

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

[Lionel]

On 10/01/2010 2:42 AM, Happy Oyster wrote:
> warm air loaded with water came and the water condensated and froze on the

"Condensed" is the word you're looking for. I won't blam you, on the
assumption that English is not your first language.

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article <MPG.25b1e0df9...@news.demon.co.uk>, Paul Kelleher
<kellog...@antiphase.demon.co.uk> writes

>
>If it's any consolation, I'm in Widnes. Scratch that - I need
>consolation. I'm in Widnes!

You sure do. I used to work for a dealer and had many, many keyboards
in for repair in the days when you did repair them instead of chucking
'em out and replacing. The vast majority came from Widnes/Runcorn,
which made me wonder just what was in the air there.

I'm in Liverpool, a norfern m33t sounds a plan.

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) Bunny says Windows 7 is Vi$ta reloaded.
(")_(") http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/windows_7.png

[Happy Oyster]

On Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:44:36 +1100, Lionel <imag...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 10/01/2010 2:42 AM, Happy Oyster wrote:
>> warm air loaded with water came and the water condensated and froze on the
>
>"Condensed" is the word you're looking for. I won't blam you, on the
>assumption that English is not your first language.

Oops, I even can't blame this on the keyboard. ;O)

Happy New Year!

[Paul Kelleher]

In article <p0S55rDp...@jasper.org.uk>, mi...@jasper.org.uk says...

> In article <MPG.25b1e0df9...@news.demon.co.uk>, Paul Kelleher
> <kellog...@antiphase.demon.co.uk> writes
> >
> >If it's any consolation, I'm in Widnes. Scratch that - I need
> >consolation. I'm in Widnes!
>
> You sure do. I used to work for a dealer and had many, many keyboards
> in for repair in the days when you did repair them instead of chucking
> 'em out and replacing. The vast majority came from Widnes/Runcorn,
> which made me wonder just what was in the air there.
>
> I'm in Liverpool, a norfern m33t sounds a plan.
>

Bear in mind that, once Runcorn and Widnes discovered industry, they
picked chemicals for their thang. It took the best part of a century,
but the air here is almost breathable again now... when it's not so
f'n cold...

Kelloggs
--
| Paul Kelleher, kelloggs@ | I could have sworn someone had fitted a |
| antiphase.org | switch under my chair this morning, |
| Amongst other places... | because for the first hour, every time my |
| | arse hit the seat, the phone rang... |

[David Skinner]

In article <284j17-...@buffy.sighup.org.uk>,
zza...@buffy.sighup.org.uk says...

> I was looking for high grip devices for shoes yesterday - for some reason I
> can't determine, all the web sites were sold out. You'd think someone would
> plan ahead...

I was doing the same recently. The general wisdom on various outdoorsy
review sites is that Kahtoola Microspikes are pretty damned good for
general walking on flattish snow/ice, and their KTS Steel lightweight
crampons are equally good for more challenging walking. Both are
suitable for use with ordinary shoes/trainers/boots.

Microspikes are out of stock basically everywhere, and the crampons are
a little more expensive than I want to pay.

I suppose I should plan ahead and buy something /before/ it freezes
badly again.

[Maarten Wiltink]

"David Skinner" <drsk...@ntlworldERASETHIS.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.25b524441...@news.individual.net...
[...]

> I was doing the same recently. The general wisdom on various outdoorsy
> review sites is that Kahtoola Microspikes are pretty damned good for
> general walking on flattish snow/ice, and their KTS Steel lightweight
> crampons are equally good for more challenging walking. Both are
> suitable for use with ordinary shoes/trainers/boots.
>
> Microspikes are out of stock basically everywhere, and the crampons are
> a little more expensive than I want to pay.
>
> I suppose I should plan ahead and buy something /before/ it freezes
> badly again.

But when it's not freezing, nobody stocks them because there's no demand?

In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.

Tebrgwrf,
Maarten Wiltink

[mikea]

Maarten Wiltink <maa...@kittensandcats.net> wrote in <4b4b4a6b$0$22913$e4fe...@news.xs4all.nl>:

> In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
> planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
> a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.

Maybe they should buy some bath salt from the town of Etten-Leur. IMHO,
this is one of those cases where a Google will lead to a giggle. But,
then, I do ork for WeBuildHighways, where we deal in road salt literally
in kiloton(ne) quantities. A _lot_ of people here have been giggling
over Etten-Leur's purchase.

--
What happens if you give a lawyer Viagra?

He becomes taller.

[Brian Kantor]

>>PS: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentonville,_Arkansas>.
>I assume the relevant bit is being the HQ of Wal*Mart? Meh, classify it
>under "Cultural information that never made it to this side of the
>planet."

In certain cultural circles (?!!), Bentonville AK is pronounced with
the same grimacing and spitting as Redmond WA.
- Brian

[Brian Kantor]

Maarten Wiltink <usene...@mfw.dds.nl> wrote:
>
>In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
>planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
>a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.
>

A hovercraft filled with electric eels?

Or maybe a helicopter with a gigantic flamethrower on the
underside.

Ahah! A hot air balloon. You land next to the frozeness
and redirect the propane burner.
- Brian

I am *NOT* a pyro.

[Bernard Peek]

On 11/01/10 15:57, Maarten Wiltink wrote:
> In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
> planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
> a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.
>

Of course. Send them by train.

--
Bernard Peek

[mikea]

Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote in <4b4b5984$0$2484$db0f...@news.zen.co.uk>:

That might be perfectly feasible if the railways use one snowblower I
heard of recently: a fairly sizeable jet engine pointing forward, on a
locomotive chassis. With suitable deflection, the blast not only would
serve to move snow elsewhere and to melt ice, but also would heat the
rails appropriately -- or perhaps even inappropriately.

--
Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal
faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

[JDB]

Maarten Wiltink <maa...@kittensandcats.net> wrote:
> We can't complain, with temperatures still above freezing in the
> daytime, but do anyway. And every time two millimetres of snow fall
> in the evening, entire highway systems clog up the next morning.
> Meanwhile, cyclists perniciously keep arriving unhurt and on time
> at the office every day.

Assuming the cagers don't get us.

This kind of weather tends to bring out the total luser in the local
drivers. Yes, Mr. SUV, I'm looking at you. I'm cycling on the road
because the bike lane is covered in slippery sludge with patches of
ice. This might *not* be the best time to pass me with only inches
to spare. If you must do so, please have the decency to take that
cellphone from your ear so you can at least *pretend* to focus on the
road.

Furrfu.

JD "where's Spike when you need him?" B.
--
-ENOSIG

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <kw3cs...@ucsd.edu>, Brian Kantor <br...@ucsd.edu> wrote:
>In certain cultural circles (?!!), Bentonville AK is pronounced with
>the same grimacing and spitting as Redmond WA.

I didn't know there was a Bentonville in Alaska, too. Or is that the
old name for Wasilla?

-GAWollman

[mikea]

Roger Burton West <roger+a...@nospam.firedrake.org> wrote in <20100111182015....@firedrake.org>:

> Maarten Wiltink wrote:
>
>>In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
>>planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
>>a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.
>

> GR3 Harrier. (Or anything with a Pegasus engine in it, really.)
>
> Which reminds me, apparently the exhaust from the V-22 is too much for
> the decks of the US Marines' helicopter-carriers - they weren't built to
> have gas turbine blast thrown directly at them.

I was ... is "privileged" the word? .. to see a V-22 Osprey in flight
t'other day. It was making a landing approach to Tinker AFB in OKC. I
didn't get to see it with things rotated to the vertical position, only in
horizontal, but it was very distinctive and _quite_ odd in appearance.

I'd never seen one IRL before, and will be very happy never to see another.

--
Mike Andrews / Michael Fenwick Barony of Namron, Ansteorra
mi...@mikea.ath.cx / Amateur Extra radio operator W5EGO
Tired old music Laurel; Chirurgeon; SCAdian since AS XI

[Richard Bos]

Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote:

Erm... yes? Seems the best way, to me. Remember, to unthaw a railway
switch, you don't have to drive over it, only next to it.

Richard

[Alan J. Wylie]

On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:21:46 +0000 (UTC), Roger Burton West <roger+a...@nospam.firedrake.org> said:

> Maarten Wiltink wrote:
>> In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
>> planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
>> a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.

> GR3 Harrier. (Or anything with a Pegasus engine in it, really.)

I see your Harrier, and raise you one Tornado.

No - not *that* Tornado, the Peppercorn one.

And in related local news: http://east-lancs-rly.co.uk/?p=G-Y-H

--
Alan J. Wylie http://www.wylie.me.uk/

[Brian Kantor]

Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
>I didn't know there was a Bentonville in Alaska, too. Or is that the
>old name for Wasilla?

Sir is undoubtedly correct.
The irresponsible typist shall be sacked immediately.
With full benefits, I might add.
- Humphrey

[Peter Corlett]

JDB <jd-...@lartmaker.nl> wrote:
[...]

> This kind of weather tends to bring out the total luser in the local
> drivers. Yes, Mr. SUV, I'm looking at you. I'm cycling on the road because
> the bike lane is covered in slippery sludge with patches of ice.

Given my experience of Amsterdam, the cycle lane is the *last* place I'd
expect a cyclist in the Netherlands, unless they were going the wrong way
down it. So you shouldn't be that much of a surprise to the cagers...

London recently made cycling much more Interesting by running a pilot scheme
which allows motor bikes to use cycle lanes. Hopefully this bright idea
doesn't escape the confines of the M25.

[mikea]

Peter Corlett <ab...@mooli.org.uk> wrote in <hig3v9$fci$1...@mooli.org.uk>:

Pretty soon, in exchange for letting bikes use car lanes, they'll let
cars use bike lanes. That, if they do it, will be ... interesting.

--
Just because I'm not doing anything, doesn't mean I have nothing to do!
-- Ellen Winnie (SCA: Ellen L. Fraser), in rec.org.sca

[Peter H. Coffin]

On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:24:54 -0600, mikea wrote:
> Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote in <4b4b5984$0$2484$db0f...@news.zen.co.uk>:
>> On 11/01/10 15:57, Maarten Wiltink wrote:
>>> In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
>>> planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
>>> a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.
>>>
>>
>> Of course. Send them by train.
>
> That might be perfectly feasible if the railways use one snowblower I
> heard of recently: a fairly sizeable jet engine pointing forward, on a
> locomotive chassis. With suitable deflection, the blast not only would
> serve to move snow elsewhere and to melt ice, but also would heat the
> rails appropriately -- or perhaps even inappropriately.

uggc://jjj.tnf-gheovarf.pbz/fabjwrg/vaqrk.ugzy

--
66. My security keypad will actually be a fingerprint scanner. Anyone
who watches someone press a sequence of buttons or dusts the pad
for fingerprints then subsequently tries to enter by repeating that
sequence will trigger the alarm system. --Evil Overlord List

[Jed Davis]

mikea <mi...@mikea.ath.cx> writes:

> Pretty soon, in exchange for letting bikes use car lanes, they'll let
> cars use bike lanes. That, if they do it, will be ... interesting.

If the motorists would like to propel their vehicles by shoving them in
the desired direction of travel, I'll gladly let them use the bike lane
to try it.

--
(let ((C call-with-current-continuation)) (apply (lambda (x y) (x y)) (map
((lambda (r) ((C C) (lambda (s) (r (lambda l (apply (s s) l)))))) (lambda
(f) (lambda (l) (if (null? l) C (lambda (k) (display (car l)) ((f (cdr l))
(C k))))))) '((#\J #\d #\D #\v #\s) (#\e #\space #\a #\i #\newline)))))

[E.P. Sporgersi]

On 2010-01-11, Brian Kantor <br...@ucsd.edu> wrote:
>
> Or maybe a helicopter with a gigantic flamethrower on the
> underside.

Oh yeah! Are they hiring? I mean I don't know how to fly a helicopter, but
I'm sure I can dig up the redbook somewhere.

[Maarten Wiltink]

"Peter Corlett" <ab...@mooli.org.uk> wrote in message
news:hig3v9$fci$1...@mooli.org.uk...
[...]

> London recently made cycling much more Interesting by running a pilot
> scheme which allows motor bikes to use cycle lanes. Hopefully this
> bright idea doesn't escape the confines of the M25.

There is a cycle lane on the M25? Even _we_ are not that crazy.
We moved mopeds off the cycle paths onto the main roads instead...
well, some main roads. This makes sense when considering top speed,
but there is a loss in predictability.

Tebrgwrf,
Maarten Wiltink

[Maarten Wiltink]

"Michel Buijsman" <ab...@rubberchicken.nl> wrote in message
news:peeu17-...@rubberchicken.nocrap...

> On Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:56:45 +0100, Maarten Wiltink wrote:

>> There is a cycle lane on the M25? Even _we_ are not that crazy.
>> We moved mopeds off the cycle paths onto the main roads instead...
>> well, some main roads. This makes sense when considering top speed,
>

> From the bicyclist's point of view, I'm sure it does.
>
> From the car driver's (or motorcyclist's) point of view it
> doesn't, for exactly the same reason.

I wasn't saying it's a good idea, either. Top speed is not the only
consideration. There are obvious problems with acceleration, size
differences, and merging.

Top speed will be 50kph wherever they do this, and they should let
the mopeds go that fast there. If it can't, go on the cycle path;
your place is not on the road. On a road with a cycle path next to
it and a sidewalk next to that, cars may reasonably expect traffic
to fit in. That includes driving in the middle of the lane.

Tebrgwrf,
Maarten Wiltink

[Peter Corlett]

mikea <mi...@mikea.ath.cx> wrote:
[...]

> Pretty soon, in exchange for letting bikes use car lanes, they'll let cars
> use bike lanes. That, if they do it, will be ... interesting.

The UK doesn't have "car lanes" as such.

All public roads are an "all-purpose road" unless they are designated a
"special road". Most roads are the former, and the usual example of the
latter is a motorway. All-purpose roads are allow-all by default whereas
special roads are deny-all by default. Specific exemptions/inclusions are
then applied on roads or lanes to produce the desired result.

Notably, this means that bicyles are generally permitted on all roads except
motorways, despite what car drivers may think. Most cycle lanes around me
are also advisory, and cars may travel in them where necessary. That is, if
they can squeeze their Chelsea Tractor down a three foot wide strip that the
council couldn't find any other use for.

[Peter Corlett]

Maarten Wiltink <usene...@mfw.dds.nl> wrote:
[...]

> There is a cycle lane on the M25?

No, but there are plenty of cycle lanes *inside* the M25, i.e. in London.

[Richard Bos]

"Maarten Wiltink" <maa...@kittensandcats.net> wrote:

> "Peter Corlett" <ab...@mooli.org.uk> wrote in message

> [...]
> > London recently made cycling much more Interesting by running a pilot
> > scheme which allows motor bikes to use cycle lanes. Hopefully this
> > bright idea doesn't escape the confines of the M25.
>
> There is a cycle lane on the M25? Even _we_ are not that crazy.
> We moved mopeds off the cycle paths onto the main roads instead...
> well, some main roads. This makes sense when considering top speed,
> but there is a loss in predictability.

Alas, it almost but not quite makes sense considering top speed. If only
they'd up the max speed of mopeds to the 50 kph that the rest of us are
driving, they'd be rather less irritating. The way it is now, there are
two groups of them: the ones who keep to their legal speed of 45 (which,
at that speed, is just enough difference to be irritating), and the ones
driven by brainless teenagers, which have been fiddled with and go 60
without looking left or right.

Richard

[Richard Bos]

Lionel <imag...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 8/01/2010 4:56 AM, Richard Gadsden wrote:
> > I'm in St. Helens - we should organise a TINC sometime.
>
> "There Is No Coffee"?

Well, of course there isn't. It's oop north - there is Yorkshire[0] tea,
innit?

Richard

[Ben A L Jemmett]

Peter Corlett wrote:
> [...] and cars may travel in [advisory cycle lanes] where

> necessary. That is, if they can squeeze their Chelsea Tractor down a
> three foot wide strip that the council couldn't find any other use
> for.

Three whole feet?! They'll never make Cycle Facility of the Month like
that!

--
Regards,
Ben A L Jemmett.
http://flatpack.microwavepizza.co.uk/

[Jed Davis]

ab...@mooli.org.uk (Peter Corlett) writes:

> mikea <mi...@mikea.ath.cx> wrote:
>> Pretty soon, in exchange for letting bikes use car lanes, they'll let cars
>> use bike lanes. That, if they do it, will be ... interesting.
>
> The UK doesn't have "car lanes" as such.

[...]

> Notably, this means that bicyles are generally permitted on all roads except
> motorways, despite what car drivers may think

This is also the case in the US, up to the names of the various sizes of
road-like object. For example, AFAIK I could legally ride my bike on
the $IRISH_SURNAME Highway, but not I-93.

I imagine there were invisible sarcasm brackets in the original post,
however.

[John F. Eldredge]

On Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:21:46 +0000, Roger Burton West wrote:

> Maarten Wiltink wrote:
>
>>In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
>>planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in a
>>van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.
>

> GR3 Harrier. (Or anything with a Pegasus engine in it, really.)
>

> Which reminds me, apparently the exhaust from the V-22 is too much for
> the decks of the US Marines' helicopter-carriers - they weren't built to
> have gas turbine blast thrown directly at them.

I saw a Harrier land at the local (Nashville, Tennessee, USA) airport a
few years ago. I was driving down a highway near the airport, and a
fighter plane approaching the airport caught my attention because it was
moving so slowly. It came to a complete stop in mid-air, then landed
slowly, straight down. I wasn't close enough to see details, but assumed
it must have been a Harrier. This is the only time that I have ever seen
one, as Nashville is about 500 miles from the seacoast, and thus doesn't
have any Marine bases nearby.

--
John F. Eldredge -- jo...@jfeldredge.com
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

[Robert Sneddon]

In message <7r6ps3...@mid.individual.net>, John F. Eldredge
<jo...@jfeldredge.com> writes

>I saw a Harrier land at the local (Nashville, Tennessee, USA) airport a
>few years ago. I was driving down a highway near the airport, and a
>fighter plane approaching the airport caught my attention because it was
>moving so slowly. It came to a complete stop in mid-air, then landed
>slowly, straight down. I wasn't close enough to see details, but assumed
>it must have been a Harrier.

It might have been an F-35 if it was only a few years back -- there's a
vertical-landing variant. Aren't they being built at the Marietta plant
on the outskirts of Atlanta? I recall seeing an F-22 on a test flight
around there once a few years back, flying low and slow and being
escorted by a couple of chase planes.
--
To reply, my gmail address is nojay1 Robert Sneddon

[Lawns 'R' Us]

On 2010-01-11, Richard Bos <ral...@xs4all.nl> wrote:
> Bernard Peek <b...@shrdlu.com> wrote:
>
>> On 11/01/10 15:57, Maarten Wiltink wrote:
>> > In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
>> > planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
>> > a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.
>>
>> Of course. Send them by train.
>
> Erm... yes? Seems the best way, to me. Remember, to unthaw a railway

^^^^^^

> switch, you don't have to drive over it, only next to it.

There's a particular reason why you're trying to freeze up the switch?

[Lionel]

On 12/01/2010 2:57 AM, Maarten Wiltink wrote:
> In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
> planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
> a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.

Meanwhile, on the other hemisphere, our railways have been struggling
with the opposite problem, which is that railway tracks go wonky at 40C+
temperatures.

--
W
. | ,. w , "Some people are alive only because
\|/ \|/ it is illegal to kill them." Perna condita delenda est
---^----^---------------------------------------------------------------

[Richard Bos]

Lionel <imag...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 12/01/2010 2:57 AM, Maarten Wiltink wrote:
> > In related news, the Dutch railways recently found out that if your
> > planned response to frozen switches is to dispatch a thawing team in
> > a van, you may need a backup plan in some circumstances.
>
> Meanwhile, on the other hemisphere, our railways have been struggling
> with the opposite problem, which is that railway tracks go wonky at 40C+
> temperatures.

Um... Shirley, Stephenson himself solved that problem?

Richard

[Richard Bos]

Michel Buijsman <ab...@rubberchicken.nl> wrote:

> Heh. That would be the Dutch word "ontdooien" shining through.

I suspect your suppository is correct, and my face is appropriately red.

Richard

[Lawns 'R' Us]

On 2010-01-14, Richard Bos <ral...@xs4all.nl> wrote:

> Lionel <imag...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Meanwhile, on the other hemisphere, our railways have been struggling
>> with the opposite problem, which is that railway tracks go wonky at 40C+
>> temperatures.
>
> Um... Shirley, Stephenson himself solved that problem?

Let me amend Lionel's statement.

Railway tracks go wonky at 40C+ temperatures, especially when they
have been maintained on a shoestring budget for the past ten years.

[Scott]

On 14 Jan 2010 19:50:51 GMT, in alt.sysadmin.recovery, Lawns 'R' Us
<nob...@nowhere.example.com> wrote:

>Let me amend Lionel's statement.
>
>Railway tracks go wonky at 40C+ temperatures, especially when they
>have been maintained on a shoestring budget for the past ten years.

One wonders, then, at the awe-inspiring robustness and reliability of the
shoestrings which have been maintained on a railway budget for the past
decade.

[Aquarion]

Beware the Peter Corlett who stalks alt.sysadmin.recovery thus:

> London recently made cycling much more Interesting by running a pilot scheme
> which allows motor bikes to use cycle lanes. Hopefully this bright idea
> doesn't escape the confines of the M25.
>

The new pilot scheme that makes some one-way streets now two way for bicycles
is also going to make life interesting. They're currently installing the
required lanes and islands outside our office (This lot have yet to backhoe
though the network connection). I predict a higher volume of "squeak, thunk"
in the long term, but a shorter term upgrade in levels of "'GET THE F'*crash*"
as the local pedestrian population aclimitises itself to looking both ways.

Yours in total sincerity

Aquarion
--
Aquarion - http://www.aquarionics.com - http://www.factionfiction.net
Famous Last Words #57: "We really didn't need a Cleric anyway."