1st ade

I quietly edited out an entry that Marconi, before he invented "wireless", ran a successful chain of ice cream parlours...

I've removed all the quotes I can find - if I've missed any, please re-report. On Behalf of the Moderation Team

Yes. And block suspect sites at the DNS level (Raspberry PiHole) - unfortunately, there are so many that actually pinning down which page caused which block is nigh on impossible. ^^^ This

I've seen (and now can't find...) a hypothetical argument against petrol cars had pure electric been first on the scene... "Are we to be expected that the advantage of swift refuelling for those who insist on long, unbroken, journeys is worth the risk of carrying many tens of litres of an extremely volatile and flammable hydrocarbon in a thin shelled metal tank worth it? And where is the distribution network to come from; will 'gas' stations spring up on every corner, to meet this need?"

I've sent you both a Message - The forum won't allow new members to start a private conversation but can join in one they are (explicitly) invited to.

That's a lot. Mine and @magpie patrick's father was in a care home (admittedly two years ago) which was about £5k a month. Even that sounded a lot until you worked out the daily cost compared to (say) a Premier Inn, then added on full board, guest speakers and entertainment, room service (including Tea or Coffee and biscuits) and on-call medical care. Oh, and lifting him out of bed and into his wheelchair several times a day...

I still remember my Mum's cry "Adrian, have you finished with the Pyrex dish, I need to put dinner on!?"

Could we possibly keep this thread on topic?

Being pedantic, we (The Mods) didn't block your first post. Every new member of the forum automatically has their first few posts placed in a queue requiring approval, once you've posted a few times the situation reverses - posts are posted and require hiding (if appropriate) if they have been reported to us. Usually, first posts are approved pretty quickly, but there are some instances where The Mods confer behind the scenes whether to approve or not. Your first post was one. There are not that many Mods, we are unpaid volunteers who squeeze moderating around Day Jobs, family, sleeping, eating etc. Sometimes it takes longer than we would like to reach a consensus decision. We do the best we can, honest! Best Wishes (on behalf of the Moderation Team)

I thought the deal was we would go metric if they (particularly the French) adopted Greenwich Mean Time... I'm surprised they didn't take the opportunity of Brexit to switch to Paris Mean Time (A La "The Gulf of America") Beer or Ale is one area where (to me) Imperial still rules - "a pint" is about right; "a litre" is way too much and 500ml leaves me feeling short-changed... But the over-precise conversion annoys even more - I remember as a kid building small radios and being told to buy "a ferrite rod approximately 152.4 mm in length by 6.35 mm diameter"

He might have been! It was before the age when I (or, probably, @magpie patrick) would have had a camera, but we're slowly digitising Dad's 50,000 slides - we may find something...

I (vaguely) remember that [ @magpie patrick is my brother, so we share the same parents... We'd both have been on the trip]

Looking at the examples given by others - I think the difference is it would break the bridge (wood) rather than sink the boat (and/or kill people) I believe in other situations (around Bow) there were concerns that a very large barge could break an equally large road... (personal feeling) H&S were right to be concerned but (as @magpie patrick explains) a valid solution was found

Much as it pains me to agree with Gybe Ho - I'd argue that going into a state where the system could Top Balance but doesn't, counts as Top Balancing?

Catastrophic "leak" at one end or the other? Water rises too quickly to get craft to safety?

I'm trying to work out which one to answer first but Magnetman has won! Visit Pompeii! The guides delight in showing you the carved Penis's (quick check with Ofcom, it's alright, in context) which lead from the harbour to the "houses of negotiable affection" to guide the newly arrived sailer on his way... This will merge! A very sensible suggestion from @Jen-in-Wellies - bit like we never used to have double yellow lines around a junction as "who'd be so stupid to park there?", and now we do; because the unthinkable is now thinkable...

I presume that's where the "less land take" came from - moving a large gas or water main to make space for the gradient won't be trivial or cheap...

I would (and zimneil may well have) alter a single digit in the story to give authenticity, whilst providing an attacker with 60 different numbers to try; each of which costs...

And also the (vertical) angle. I had a minor "spat" with a local garage who were persistent regarding not using your phone while's filling the car with fuel but had a mobile mast on top of the roof! The Mobile providers eventually sent me a (3D) polar diagram showing that the weakest signal was directly below the mast...

Another day or two I can ill afford to waste - but fascinating...