The Random thought thread

[rgmwa]

38 minutes ago, onetrack said:

If the F.R. Simms Motor Scout had a 1.5HP petrol engine, why did it have pedals?

For a quick getaway I suspect.

[red750]

For sneaking up on the enemy.

[nomadpete]

7 hours ago, onetrack said:

If the F.R. Simms Motor Scout had a 1.5HP petrol engine, why did it have pedals?

Because it only had a 1.5hp engine?

[old man emu]

Because at the time it was built, engines attached to vehicles based on the bicycle were started by pedaling. I imagine that there must have been some way that the front sprocket could be disengaged once the engine started.

[red750]

Jerry laughed at my comment, but I had just watched a video on the History channel of the Japanese invasion of Malaya during WWII, and they said one of the reasons their advance was so fast was because the entire platoon travelled by pushbike, and the Allies didn't hear them coming.

[nomadpete]

What the F.R. Simms Motor Scout started way back then, has beenrediscovered. 

 

Ukrainians and Russians are presently using motorcycle brigades for fast attacks.

 

 

[facthunter]

To start the engine and help it up hills.  Nev

[red750]

I do 10 or 15 quizzes a day on Facebook. Some are difficult, and I've learned a few things. Some are easy, and I've had plenty of 10/10's. But some are ridiculous, like one today which said Making it to the end of this quiz without making 5 mistakes, then asks questions like this:

 

 

 

 

[red750]

Some of the quizzes you have to know your stuff. I haven't been to a movie in over 30 years, and don't stream them, so I had no idea about this question:

 

[pmccarthy]

Never heard of the actor or the movie. And I watch a lot of movies.

[red750]

26 minutes ago, pmccarthy said:

Never heard of the actor or the movie. And I watch a lot of movies.

The actor was Derek Jacobi.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Still never heard of him

[red750]

Sir Derek George Jacobi (/ˈdʒækəbi/; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He is known for his work at the Royal National Theatre and for his film and television roles. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. He was given a knighthood for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.

 

[pmccarthy]

More Australians die in Thailand than anywhere else outside Australia. DFAT said the majority of causes of death of Australians who die in Thailand are long term illness or medical episodes such as heart attacks and strokes. Of the deaths in 2023-24, 96 per cent were male and 84 per cent were aged 55 and over.

 

What were they doing?

[Jerry_Atrick]

The mind boggles

[Marty_d]

1 hour ago, pmccarthy said:

More Australians die in Thailand than anywhere else outside Australia. DFAT said the majority of causes of death of Australians who die in Thailand are long term illness or medical episodes such as heart attacks and strokes. Of the deaths in 2023-24, 96 per cent were male and 84 per cent were aged 55 and over.

 

What were they doing?

Well, if you're retired, single, and want to live like a king with a girlfriend or two half your age on your pension or super...

[red750]

We often comment on the abominable education of Americans. Tonight while eating dinner, I was watching Wheel of Fortune. The topic was Aminal, and the letters revealed were D U _ _ - _ I L L E D   P L A T Y P U S. The woman had the option of guessing the answer, or spinning the wheel to win more money. She spun up $1,000, and had to guess another letter to lock in that money.

 

She guessed F and naturally lost.

[Marty_d]

She could have been right if it was a carnivorous platypus...

[red750]

Another totally random thought.

 

I was watching a discussion on TV about the amount of tax that the goverment hopes to collect from cigarettes - $7 billion - but how that high tax is pushing people to the black market cigarettes that are flooding the market, and the illegal vapes that are selling everywhere. You go down the street and see boxes of them in shops and see people puffing smoke like the steam from a steam train.

 

What I can't understand is why people do it, and why they started.

 

I know I am pretty weird, unique even. I have never smoked a single cigarette and couldn't conceive of smoking a vape. It's the same with alcohol. I have probably had the equivalent of two cans of beer over my 80 years. I have probably had 5 or 6 glasses of wine over the course of my life.The only alcohol I have had in the past 10 years is the brandy my daughter cooks in the Christmas pudding or cake each year, maybe half a flask shared by all the family.

 

I don't drink soft drink either. I haven't had a Coke or Pepsi in a number of years, not even a paper cup. I have had the occasional bottle (less than one per month) of zero sugar lemonade, or sparkling spring water. I drink coffee without sugar, one or two cups a day, sometimes none, and water, with zero sugar cordial. Like I said, weird.

[facthunter]

Those practices would have to be beneficial and save a lot of money.  Nev

[red750]

Right Nev, one bottle of cordial from Aldi costs me $2.70 and lasts me a week. 

[old man emu]

Talking about intoxicants like nicotine and alcohol, did you know that there is a problem in Arnhem Land and other parts of the N.T. due to the smuggling in of kava from the Pacific Islands? Possession used to be restricted to about 2 kgs for personal use, but Scotty from Advertising removed the restriction. That led to increased usage with the adverse effects on the indigenous population. Kava is a sedative. Then the N.T. government banned it and a black-market sprang up. Now a kilo of kava costs $1000. More 'sit down' money being diverted away from families.

[onetrack]

I'd estimate about 95% of health problems are related to alcohol consumption. It shows up in your advanced years. One day, I'll wager the researchers will find a link between alcohol consumption and dementia.

I'm fortunate in that neither of my parents drank to excess, nor did they smoke. I think my father smoked a little during his younger years, as 90% of the population smoked in the 1920's to 1950's.

 

My fathers religious views rated pubs as "dens of iniquity" (which wasn't too far wrong) and we never went to pubs, nor did we have boozy gatherings. Mum and Dad drank a small amount of wine or aperitifs. I detest beer and always have, I like a scotch occasionally, but a bottle of scotch lasts me at least 12 or 18 months, and even longer today.

Even SWMBO ceased all alcohol consumption probably 20 years ago, which is something, given her (distant) Irish ancestry! She says she feels better for it, and regrets drinking as much as she did when she was younger.

[red750]

My paternal grandfather never sat down to a meal without a long neck bottle of Vic Bitter on the table, and rolled his own cigarettes, Havelock tobacco and Tally Ho papers. My father did not drink or smoke. If he went to a pub, he drank sarsaparilla. My two sons don't smoke, but have a drink occasionally. The elder of the two worked as a barman in a number of hotels and nightclubs years ago. The younger one has managed a couple of pubs over a period of 25 years, and has been manager and part owner of a pub in Ascot Vale for more than 15 years. See photo.

 

My late wife and I at dinner at the Union hotel.

 

 

[spacesailor]

I ' must ' look-up the ingredients for " zero sugar " drinks .

As I'm sure it's that poisonous sweetener plus another chemical is used  .

aspartame & acesulfame potassium. 

as aspartame when heated reverts back in chemical form 

Or so reported in the news ' long' ago .

spacesailor

Edited May 20 by spacesailor