I Holiday Myth exposed
Paxing All Over The World
Thread Starter
I Holiday Myth exposed
As it happens, there is a list of 20 but one or two are of interest to us (I dare to suggest!):
The whistle in this article is in reference to sailing but would be the same for anyone floating on water after the famous 'landing on water'.
Here's the rest, plus one other for pax, about sitting near the exit doors.
Twenty holiday myths exposed - This Britain, UK - The Independent
The whistle in this article is in reference to sailing but would be the same for anyone floating on water after the famous 'landing on water'.
Would that whistle on a lifejacket ever be heard by anyone?The desperate blow of a whistle in the pitch black may have looked convincing in Titanic. But it is unlikely to lead to a happy ending in real life. You're already in a bad place, and a shrill 1970s whistle doesn't offer any guarantee of being picked up and taken to safety. "Most search-and-rescue teams now have sophisticated technology, including infra-red and heat-seeking cameras, that are more likely to find you than the use of a whistle," says the International Aviation Bureau's Phil Seymour.
Twenty holiday myths exposed - This Britain, UK - The Independent
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The Recycling Bin that is higher than aicraft fly
Oh PAXboy you have been so unlucky._ The Independent have withdrawn this article._ I don't know why they withdrew it._ I cannot find a relic of it anywhere._ I did not therefore have the oportunity to read it.
A Google search proves that the link you gave us is correct, but the article has gone to that place where the Pprune Mod sends some of the things that I post.
A Google search proves that the link you gave us is correct, but the article has gone to that place where the Pprune Mod sends some of the things that I post.
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Melbourne on a home exchange, where unbelievably our exchangees have a pc connection which is intended for mobile phones._ All I can say is that it is faster than dialup (are you old enough to remember dialup?).
However the link that PAXboy gave does now work, so I think that the Independent were obliged to reword something in the article.
However the link that PAXboy gave does now work, so I think that the Independent were obliged to reword something in the article.
Last edited by notlangley; 21st Aug 2011 at 10:20. Reason: spelling - unbelivably/unbelievably
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Thread drift...forgive me PAXboy but you may also remember this..
Dialup? Remember it well. All those reassuring tones and warbles telling you something was going on, not like the lack of feedback when trying to get WiFi working on today's machines.
But I can go back further. We put our first computer into our office in 1978, which in line with all technology purchases was replaced a year later. The cost of support was horrendous, living on an island as we do. That one lasted 3 years and it's replacement came with a device consisting of a box with two rubber padded cups on top. Into this went the hearing and speaking bits of the telephone. (And that had no buttons just the circular thing with finger holes. The exchange in the basement was the size of two filing cupboards and that too had an impossibly expensive maintenance charge. And all this for some 20 people. But I digress.)
Basically this was a primitive modem which connected to the phone acoustically. The GPO wouldn't let you connect anything directly to their network in those days. Privatisation came a couple of years later. Transmission speed was IIRC an impressive 256 bps. Bit then computer memory was measured in low kb and disc space had only just reached the mb level. The idea was you dialled the support centre and then put the phone in the cups.
Needless to say the unique selling point of lower cost support translated into horrendously high phone charges. I remember well our senior partner glaring at the thing and muttering darkly that he hoped "they" were paying for the call. We of course kept our heads down and avoided answering him.
Haven't things moved on a bit?
Dialup? Remember it well. All those reassuring tones and warbles telling you something was going on, not like the lack of feedback when trying to get WiFi working on today's machines.
But I can go back further. We put our first computer into our office in 1978, which in line with all technology purchases was replaced a year later. The cost of support was horrendous, living on an island as we do. That one lasted 3 years and it's replacement came with a device consisting of a box with two rubber padded cups on top. Into this went the hearing and speaking bits of the telephone. (And that had no buttons just the circular thing with finger holes. The exchange in the basement was the size of two filing cupboards and that too had an impossibly expensive maintenance charge. And all this for some 20 people. But I digress.)
Basically this was a primitive modem which connected to the phone acoustically. The GPO wouldn't let you connect anything directly to their network in those days. Privatisation came a couple of years later. Transmission speed was IIRC an impressive 256 bps. Bit then computer memory was measured in low kb and disc space had only just reached the mb level. The idea was you dialled the support centre and then put the phone in the cups.
Needless to say the unique selling point of lower cost support translated into horrendously high phone charges. I remember well our senior partner glaring at the thing and muttering darkly that he hoped "they" were paying for the call. We of course kept our heads down and avoided answering him.
Haven't things moved on a bit?
Paxing All Over The World
Thread Starter
Haven't a clue, that is mega thread drift and well into the kind of thing to be said after several drinks!
I started in telecommunications in 1978 and well remember the 330 Baud acoustic couplers and used them many times. When I started telephone operators were still using cords to connect the calls - as I did myself, working as a telephonist for a while. So I'm glad that notlangley can enjoy this bit of nonsense from his holiday home at the speed of fibre optic across the globe (much faster than satellites but that thread drift will be just too far)!
I started in telecommunications in 1978 and well remember the 330 Baud acoustic couplers and used them many times. When I started telephone operators were still using cords to connect the calls - as I did myself, working as a telephonist for a while. So I'm glad that notlangley can enjoy this bit of nonsense from his holiday home at the speed of fibre optic across the globe (much faster than satellites but that thread drift will be just too far)!
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The whistle probably won't get you saved, but it may enable those in a raft nearby to find you in the dark and pull you on-board, or if they blow, for you to find them
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Emergency whistle
I suspect also, although I have no evidence, that blowing the whistle would also be a morale-booster - you would feel that you were doing at least something to get saved. ("I whistle a happy tune - and no-one ever knows - I'm afraid" from The King and I)
Paxing All Over The World
Thread Starter
Good point TS, since I get terribly sea-sick and that would make the time even more miserable, I might give my whistle to someone else, try and lock myself in the loo with a bottle of brandy and go down with the ship ... I know that the CC would do their best to make sure I got out, so I shall have to look for other hiding places.
Paxing All Over The World
Thread Starter
Hi notlangley, I have read about this crash before but not about the bridge being renamed - so thanks for that. Just not sure what the reason for the link is in this lighthearted thread?
I did manage to read the article, and one of the "myths" it purports to de-bunk is that the quinine in tonic water prevents malaria.
I have to say I have lived in the tropics for 14 years, and drunk lots of gin and tonic and vodka and tonic during that time, and I have never had malaria.
Coincidence? Perhaps, but I am not prepared to risk it and will continue drinking G&Ts and VATs.
I have to say I have lived in the tropics for 14 years, and drunk lots of gin and tonic and vodka and tonic during that time, and I have never had malaria.
Coincidence? Perhaps, but I am not prepared to risk it and will continue drinking G&Ts and VATs.
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When you are chewing on life's gristle, just give a little whistle and remember that the last laugh is on you....... all together now.......Always look on the bright side of life phwww phwww, phwww phwww phwww phwww phwww..
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TS: The whistle probably won't get you saved, but it may enable those in a raft nearby to find you in the dark and pull you on-board, or if they blow, for you to find them
Indeed,
That's exactly the reason we suggest them for diving.
You may have a Dive boat searching, or, just unable to see
you in a swell.
Could be the difference between 5 min and waiting for a full
rescue op!
Sea diving anywhere I carry:
A whistle.
Torch.
Marker Bouy.
And I know a few who also carry a steel mirror.
Although I do think an EPIRB is potentially overkill for
the Red Sea / Med!
Regards
DaveA
Indeed,
That's exactly the reason we suggest them for diving.
You may have a Dive boat searching, or, just unable to see
you in a swell.
Could be the difference between 5 min and waiting for a full
rescue op!
Sea diving anywhere I carry:
A whistle.
Torch.
Marker Bouy.
And I know a few who also carry a steel mirror.
Although I do think an EPIRB is potentially overkill for
the Red Sea / Med!
Regards
DaveA
Last edited by Diver_Dave; 23rd Aug 2011 at 13:52. Reason: Typo!
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Thankyou Diver Dave, your area of expertise is highly relevant.
By contrast the area of expertise of the International Aviation Bureau is ground handling (in its widest sense)._ Their area of expertise does not include air safety._ The International Aviation Bureau (IAB) is an aviation service company operating in Egypt since 1985 accredited by the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority.
By contrast the area of expertise of the International Aviation Bureau is ground handling (in its widest sense)._ Their area of expertise does not include air safety._ The International Aviation Bureau (IAB) is an aviation service company operating in Egypt since 1985 accredited by the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority.
Diving & whistles. The one time I really wanted to use mine, the sea state was such that I was either in a trough for half the time, or the whistle was full of water for most of the time, & I could barely get a sound out of it. My poor dive leadership had meant we'd surfaced 100 yards down tide of the boat, with a tide running, & 3-foot waves. I started carrying diving flares & a mirror after that.
In those circumstances a whistle was of no use whatsoever, although of course those circumstances were certainly not typical.
In those circumstances a whistle was of no use whatsoever, although of course those circumstances were certainly not typical.
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Well one 'myth' in the Independent article is at least partially true:
Can you get on a plane without a passport? - whilst the article ackowledges that 'some' airlines will permit access to domestic flights with photographic ID that isn't a passport, they can't have flown domestically with BA or BMI. Both allow airport check-in and boarding without any photographic ID - provided you check-in with your FF card. That's certainly been my experience for years now anyay.
Can you get on a plane without a passport? - whilst the article ackowledges that 'some' airlines will permit access to domestic flights with photographic ID that isn't a passport, they can't have flown domestically with BA or BMI. Both allow airport check-in and boarding without any photographic ID - provided you check-in with your FF card. That's certainly been my experience for years now anyay.
Are brown paper bags stuffed in your shoes a cure for jet lag?Say what ? Did the paper have to be brown: what did the browness contribute. Very strange, never heard that one before.