Stupid Things I've Been Told

Throughout my life I've had moments where people simply nay-say what I've told them... This became a very real trope (until I took up a marshal art and became very good at it) in my life and lead to a loss of confidence on my part, today lets take a look at some of them which I still remember:

English (1991)    AMBULATE

I used the work "ambulate" in a sentence, I was 12 or 13.  My mother immediately said "There's no such word", and I said "there is, it means to walk, and it's where the word Ambulance comes from"... She flat refused to accept this and really made me unsure; she was wrong, she has been wrong about many things, but this was one of the earliest times I actively recall her being dead wrong.  Her response also made me second guess myself, so much so that I sat and read the dictionary, other kids at school ribbed me about this for years after, but I read the dictionary.  I was right, ambulate is a word, it does mean to walk.

Engineering (1985)    METAL SPARKS

My Dad was in the door way of my Grandfathers garage, angle grinding part of the front of the family car, and there were metal sparks flying all over the place, to the left of the closed wooden door was a fabric cover over some garden furniture.  The sparks were flying and landing on this dry fabric.  And I said "that's going to catch fire".... I was 7 years old and I could see this cascade of burning sparks would set light to the fabric if it carried on.  My Dad turned to me and said "don't be stupid, there's nothing in a spark".  As though it was a zero weight particle an ethereal nothing, of course, we all know that a spark is a red hot but admittedly tiny fragment of metal, not only could it have set light to the fabric, but it could also have gotten into someones eye... But, I was seven, I was clearly wrong... No, no I wasn't.

Electronics (1992)    CD PLAYER

I was sat in the library with a selection of the annoying, ignorant, bully children who were my class mates, when one of the boys Richard ventured something about CD's, about their spinning... of course CD's spin, we all know this, that's why they're round and the lazer is set to slide back and forth.  Richard wasn't known as a braniac, but he was right.  Immediately a boy called Zahid took the utter and total michael out of Richard, really horrible child this Zahid was and he was one of a bunch of morons in my class... Martin, Martin, Paul and Zahid were a group of utter moronic and bullies; each with their own insecurities; and they took it out most days on me, but this day they dragged this poor Richard lad into it, who looked quite abashed, I decided to stick up for him... Well, never had I been so quickly and thoroughly insulted by a moron who knew nothing but how to ride his mouth.  Zahid, I hope your now very bald head knows just how wrong you were, and what a moron you looked flat arguing that CD's don't spin, because they do.

Computing (1984)    TYPING

Sat before the first BBC Micro that the school had bought and the teacher was trying to explain LOGO to us, he was leaning over the computer typing one handed upside down, and I could tell what he was trying to type... For I had had a computer at home for the last year, and I'd been typing in simple BASIC programs, so this LOGO thing looked very rudimentary even to my six or seven year old mind.  So I offered to do the typing for him, he was copying off of a sheet, he'd have been able to tell the class the command and then see me type it in and the turtle robot (or just the screen) complete the command.  And better yet, I'd have been so much quicker making the class feel far more interactive.  This teacher, Mr Allison, turned his eyes down on me like I was a dirty stinking urchin (which I likely was) who not only couldn't understand what he was doing, but it was far far beyond anything I could ever do with a computer; see we were a school intended to produce manual workers, no-one expected a kid from that school to end up being a programmer... I'd hazard a guess that a fair few are now, and I look back on that day thinking... Why did he say I couldn't possibly type?  When I could and can....

Computing (1993)    FLOPPY DISK FORMATS

I was always curious about computers and when my senior school created a "lab" with twenty Acorn A3000 computers I was eager to give these 2megabyte machines a whirl.  My machine at home was an Atari ST and it's floppy format was compatible with the Acorn machine (they both being nearly perfect compatible matches with MS DOS's format on the IBM PC).  But this lab was always closed, not always locked, but closed... But I started to let myself in; and one day I was caught in there, learning, programming and typing notes, by one of the teachers; I don't remember this guys name, he was never my actual teacher, but his lab was his coveted land and I think he was a little put out that I was there with two of his machines going doing different things at the same time, not just that, but I was doing things so much more quickly because I'd learned that the Acorn OS came with a RAM disk, and with 2MB of RAM I could assign 500-720K and basically copy the Floppy disk straight into RAM, work on it incredibly quickly, and then sync the data back to the disk... So I could do the work I was doing incredibly quickly.  He didn't like this, he didn't want to learn, he just wanted to make me look a fool.  So he asked me what the disks I was using were.  So I showed him, "You have an Acorn at home?"  No, I have an ST... Silence, he just stared at me, and he paced off to his desk and pulled a disk out his desk... "Go home and make me 10 copies of this".. and he handed me a box of blank disks... The disk was Lemmings... This teacher was literally giving me homework to commit copyright fraud... I didn't take that disk home, but I did return to his lab... turn on all the machines, and copy the disk once.. then with the two copies copied it on two more, then on the four machines I made the next four copies, and then I had the last two machines running the write of the disk as he walked back in... A mere ten minutes later.  "That should have taken you all night!".... Why... it's binary maths... 1 becomes 2... 2 becomes 4... 4 become 8.. here's your last two... "Aren't you the IT teacher?".... he just stared as I handed him his contraband and left the room.  I didn't like the man, but I was a black-belt in karate and knew who I was by then...

Brain Dead Boring Boomber Bastards Next Door

Its been over a month, so I've come to terms with something... Some people are just horrid.

We'll just dial back the clock, 1945.... VE Day... All four of my grandparents were serving in the war effort, Solider, Sailor, Nurse & Land Army Girl respectively.  It was their war, their life, and I respect that immensely.

I made a video to that effect a head of VE Day.

However, with the lockdown, my wife and I, being in at risk groups didn't plan on anything for a street party out front, not least as our neighbours, as already mentioned in these pages, are quite abhorrent people breaking the rules and putting themselves and others at risk, but we also had no idea there were any such plans a foot... After all, why risk it when we and all of them are in at risk categories?!?!....

So, we sat it out, rightfully and with respect, I do spend a lot of time with my mind cast back to the world wars and I don't think any of my neighbours, unless there's some secret military historian in their ranks, can touch my knowledge of the struggle and suffering inflicted.

It was therefore with some surprise that I've heard on the grape vine how "disgusted" our direct neighbours were of our "ignoring VE Day" and "disrespecting the spirit of the day".

These fools haven't dared say this to our face, these brain dead boring boomer bastards won't face me and say a word, and you know what... that makes them pretty horrid in my book.

My Anti-Lockdown Neighbours

My f**king neighbours, all of them as I do not intend to be specific nor name them, but some shame they should feel as they, daily, continue to be utter and total liabilities in these times of crisis.

We have all sides both aged over 75, one side has both going to different houses around the street as well as accepting visitors and their grand child to stay over, both going out and stopping to stand - without socially distancing - with multiple people.

The other side, similarly aged (if not older) and similarly accepting visitors, sneakier they invite visitors in via their side gate directly off of the curbside.  In an ineffectual attempt to hide their reception.

Another, a lone old woman again in at least her mid 70's accepting visits from different neighbours.

None of these households are actually self isolating, they believe they are but simply aren't.  All are visiting shops, all are going to locations where they could and surely at some might will pick up the virus and mixing with people who could carry it.

It beggars belief.

Not least as both our direct neighbours can be overheard extolling their efforts in the virus lockdown, extolling the death toll... When they flagrantly disregard the rules in their axis of bullshit.

No gloves, no masks, they come and go, visiting houses with kids.  Indeed kids on this street are out playing, mixing and swapping sweat and spit... I'm put in mind of kids being made to mix when chicken pox was about.

Except unlike chicken pox, taken early, corvid is a mortal threat to all and any age.

The fools.

BBC Top Gear - To Argentina - DO NOT APOLOGISE!

If they apologise I'll have a fit... I will seriously throw my rattle out my pram... Fuck Argentina, they conducted an illegal war against a British protected territory, whom has repeatedly stated its people wish to remain British... I am so suck of Argentina and this topic...

Just go on YouTube find a documentary about the Falklands war and read the Argentine comments...

One guy was trying to claim the Brooklyn class CRUISER the General Belgrano was a transport ship... Are you fucking retarded?... It was a CRUISER when it was laid down in the '30's and it was still a cruiser when we sunk the bastard!

It just seems whenever there's something to distract the Argentine people about they wheel out the Falklands... And the people follow like kittens being shown a ball of yarn.... Wake up people your politicians are hiding shit from you.

Like the Military Junta of 82 was hiding it was disappearing thousands of people... Remember them, not some trifling war they used to try and swing your opinion, and grow up you lost, grow a set of balls over it!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29706449

WarThunder - Ramming and sucking A20G Pilots Suck

Playing WarThunder last night I was intent on getting rank 8 in the German airforces, and I did so, but not after dealing with some of the most stupid shit.

Above Rank 6 it seems I always got matched into ground attack missions, with the A20G's going around like invincible clouds and Yak9T's hovering about like monkey on his cloud...

However, I held my own and even got kills in my 109 E-1 and Folgore before the frustration set in... I was in a good mission with my 109E-4, and equipped with 4 bombs I even got some medium tank kills to help my score... Now, the rank of heavy tanks I could not take, so seeing a friendly A20 coming in - from spawn - I assumed he'd have bombs and go for the heavies, whilst I shot up the Beaufort he was on... Nooo...

I've checked the replay since, and you can see the friendly A20, whom we'll call G is on the 6 of the Beaufort, spewing out tracers he obviously has no stealth ammo, and then the Enemy E and friendly G turn and roll turn to port, meanwhile finishing my strafing and bombing run I've got 4 guns (including 2 x 20mm cannon) itching to go, so crossing his T I send a hail of shots into E.  And turn in pursuit.

Now at the time, I had no idea about this, but G also started to turn after E too... So there's me, in a light nimble fighter, fully loaded lining up a shot, but unwittingly cutting in on G's line of fire... Does G spot this?... yes, because I see his shells flipping past me as I'm lining up to hit E... Indeed as I'm hitting the canopy and sending defending gunners unconscious G is shooting through me at E.. So I break up and right, seeing more of his tracer going by, but missing, I then swivel back down for one last cutting swathes through the starboard enemy engine and I'm firing... When suddenly my camera in the game jumps, its being depressed by G coming right up behind me...

In a shallow dive G manages to push through my camera, and as I try to slide port and away he comes down and cuts my starboard wing off...

AND THEN HE BLAMES ME!

Now, folks, if you're a driver and you're driving along, and you run into the back of another car YOU get done for driving without due care and attention, and I have to say, G in this situation was flying without due care and attention.

I'm not going to bother defending my own cutting in earlier, I did it, and I got hits on the enemy and G was not firing, so either his guns were dry or he was manoeuvring, but the moment he got back on the enemy he saw me, but pressed his approach and was shooting through me...

This kind of shit is what WarThunder needs to address... 

I don't know how, the data should perhaps tell them that my plane was at X y Z positions, and he was at X1 and y1 and Z1 at T and t1 then wherever at t2... And the tolerance between the two before "Aircraft Collision" should tell the game, "hey the guy came up behind him and chopped him in half".

I found this collision more annoying than even the head on's, which are ludicrously common, more annoying because the guy could see me, and just flew right on into my space and then expected me to know where he was... Its a fucking 109, and I was at 100 feet flying 200 miles an hour on spattering a target with gun fire... Why would I possibly NOT turn my camera to check for YOU?... Morons, the lot of them.

The fact he welcomed me to post him on YouTube is even more gratifying, and I've got the video on edit to post before this goes live.