Mundane News

[Andy in Germany]

No matter how many guises I hear this tale in, I love it. General Clark loves to tell it. I believe the actual earliest version was the story involving Canadian jet designers. Chicken ingestion tests are usually run on jet engine fans, and the FAA does them. I've been hearing this story since I was a young'un, and that was before the HST. So I'm guessing that one was used as a dig against Britain.

Well, it was told to my by a colonial*, so you could be right.

On the other hand, I can't help thinking it would be typically British to miss that sort of thing...

*Before someone jumps on me, she is a great friend who speaks fluent German with a very "British" humour: we regularly would roast each others homelands...

 

[Gravity Aided]

I seem to remember someone telling me this one on the British and the original jet engine. I mentioned that the British invented the jet engine, so why would we have testing apparatus for such a thing when we had no idea of anything other than piston engines at the time.

 

[Reynard]

I have spent the morning working on my new watercolour painting.

Still deciding on whether to go to the motorsport show in Peterborough tomorrow as I'm still very tired after Wednesday's trip to Alresford. Just gotta face the fact that two month's worth of sinusitis has taken more out of me than I'd care to admit...

 

[Reynard]

Reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) "chicken gun" story. Apparently when the new High Speed Trains were being built in the 1970's British Rail borrowed a gun from NASA that fired dead day-old chickens to test bird strikes on windscreens at certain speeds. Reportedly on the first tests the chicken went through the window, the cab bulkhead and into the engine compartment, causing severe damage and much consternation: If this was so serious the entire project was in jeopardy.
After some discussions with NASA where no cause was found, and checking the materials used for windscreen and bulkhead, it was agreed that they would video the entire procedure from procuring the chickens to firing and send this to NASA for evaluation. The VHS tapes were duly sent and analysed. The reply came from NASA:
"Next time, defrost the chickens."

I heard that one while doing my Mech Eng degree etc back in the mid '90s...

 

[Reynard]

The electric motors work . I connected it up to some jump leads from one of our cars .

Yay!

The thing probably just needs new batteries...

 

[Reynard]

That long! Blimey, I vaguely remember that race, and the helmet rolling across the track.

I remember it too - was one of those horrible moments where you just *know* the worst has happened.

 

[mybike]

Actually, getting pretty close to Lent. February 26.

You may not borrow my chocolate bear.

 

[raleighnut]

I seem to remember someone telling me this one on the British and the original jet engine. I mentioned that the British invented the jet engine, so why would we have testing apparatus for such a thing when we had no idea of anything other than piston engines at the time.

Thing is 30 odd years ago all you ever saw were frozen chickens in shops unless it was Christmas, the concept of farming chickens for food didn't seem to be around like nowadays.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

An oiled chain is so much quieter and smoother than a dry one.

 

[Reynard]

Thing is 30 odd years ago all you ever saw were frozen chickens in shops unless it was Christmas, the concept of farming chickens for food didn't seem to be around like nowadays.

Unless you went to a proper butcher... I always remember the boiling chickens hanging upside down in the window.

 

[Reynard]

Anyways, lunch had. Ham, cheese and chutney sandwich, two plus a pear and a tangerine.

Time to get back to my watercolour while there's still good daylight.

 

[Reynard]

Have had to stop painting as Poppy is doing a Greebo. Have five plus kilos of purry tortie draped around my neck.

 

[Reynard]

Right, time to pack everything away and toddle off for a spot of yellow stickering.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Right, time to pack everything away and toddle off for a spot of yellow stickering.

We have pink stickers here. They're round too.

Last week I got 30% off three packs of mozarella made from Bison milk.

 

[slowmotion]

The stray spray from my tropical-grade Jungle Formula mosquito repellent has removed some of the varnish from the arm of my chair. I failed to buff it out with my handkerchief and just left my thumb print in the sticky mess as incriminating evidence.