Tuesday Open Thread

by afew Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 11:45:03 AM EST

Ready Thready Go

Tuesday Open Thread | 25 comments (25 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Today's Olympic theme.

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 11:45:33 AM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

Surely it was an undertaking of Olympic proportions to move all those comments to my Hobet Mine story. Thank you.

by Mentatmark (mentatmark at gmail dot com) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 12:18:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 01:09:50 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Waiting for the Euromillions cheque in the mail. Somehow, it never arrives...

by stevesim on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 02:08:56 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

QE for the people! Let us have some. Any time now.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 02:17:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 8)

A day spent walking around Cologne. I was impressed by how much of the old city survives, a testament to the crapness of RAF bomb aiming systems. It really looks like any normal city with a load of 60s concrete development rather than something supposedly crushed under 1000 bomber raids.

Anyway, I climbed up one of the towers, probably going up to 140 metres, (c420 feet). It's a long way up a spiral staircase and then an open conventional stair. I was pretty knackered by that. Later coming down I saw some older woman plodding her way up and she was already very slow and she was at a low level. I don't know if she made it.

I can honestly say that I was varying between uncomfortable and terrified all the way up as I suffer from vertigo. The spiral staircase that is the main bulk of the climb is two way and so, at points, I had to go into the centre, which raised the fear factor no end. Nevertheless, the views at the top were breathtaking.

So far, I have been disappointed with the kolsch beers. I guess they are similar to bavarian helles, being deliberately bland. So far, they've all been much of a muchness, but the pubs have been nice.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 03:45:27 PM EST

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

I climbed the Kölner Dom circular stairs in a storm, feeling the claustrophobic vertigo as you. But when i reached the top, nearly alone as who would climb in a storm, i couldn't believe what i experienced.

the storm wind were so strong, that the stones were moving. i already knew that the iron pipes used to stay the stones had long since rusted away. the floor was dancing as i stuck my head out to feel the wind.

what? the floor is great big stones, how can they dance?

conference call, can't finish the post now. well ok, hundreds year old shaking stones?

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 04:46:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

Last time I was there, I was there to sing, but that was 30 years ago 8-0

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 05:21:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Bet you can still sing.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 05:30:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

not to a standard that I would find acceptable, without at least six months of diet and practice.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 06:30:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

What does diet have to do with singing?

by asdf on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 09:06:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

engineers are truly geeks when they ask questions like that. you'd think they had some understanding of the world.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 02:24:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

The majority of singing comes down to breath control, the throat and mouth are the instrument, but all the work is done by the diaphragm, that muscle at the bottom of the chest cavity. When brething in properly the ribs should pull slightly upwards and outwards, then the diaphragm pulls downwards to fill the lungs.People who don't breath properly are obvious, you can see their shoulders rising, which stops the ribs from expanding, and so the diaphragm doesn't fill in the same way. Overeating makes it harder to pull the diaphragm down so makes the exercise much less efective

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 06:48:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Ha ha. Yes, your'e right.

I was actually thinking of the physique of many opera singers...not wanting to make any specific allegations in this particular case, but in general, pre-performance dieting doesn't seem to be part of the process...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/23/the_odd_body_opera_singers/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-rivera/shouldnt-you-be-fatter_b_1474908.html

by asdf on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 01:48:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 1)

I was impressed by how much of the old city survives, a testament to the crapness of RAF bomb aiming systems.

No, more of the reconstruction effort.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 10:26:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

In some more detail:

Aim didn't count for most of the bombs dropped on the old city: the old city was target for fire-bombing, the pinnacle of terror-bombing tactics originally developed as a means of colonial repression (where civilians aren't "collateral damage" but explicite targets and the aim is to break enemy morale), which involved dropping lots of bombs on a wider area (first bombs to splinter windows and crack walls for good air circulation, then incendiary bombs).
One could say that the crapness of RAF bomb aiming systems inspired the wide us of fire-bombing, though (find an ideology for hitting the targets you can hit with the weapons available).
Also, the old city was hit by targeted bombs that missed their targets (the rail facilities nearby).
During WWII, Cologne was the mot-bombed and most-destroyed major German city; about 95% of the buildings in the old city were destroyed. The reconstruction after WWII (in general and in particular in Cologne) didn't include modern concrete monsters only: a lot of buildings were recreated in the original appearance. This was later subject to debates about originality and fakeness. (According to the German Wikipedia, the recreation of historical buildings lasted until 1995.)

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Aug 9th, 2012 at 04:10:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Also, the old city was hit by targeted bombs that missed their targets (the rail facilities nearby

Source? The main train station is right next to the cathedral, so you don't need to assume poor targeting. I once saw in Salzburg a map showing where all the bombs hit. The vast majority were around the station or the northern suburbs (where the train lines go), with only occasional stray bombs hitting the city (cathedral, Mozart's house, for example). The local conditions may be different, but this at least suggests that they could be accurate when they wanted to.

According to the German Wikipedia, the recreation of historical buildings lasted until 1995.

Cologne or Germany? The Dresden Frauenkirche is 10 years later. Then there's the Berlin Schloss....

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2012 at 04:44:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

I once saw in Salzburg a map showing where all the bombs hit. The vast majority were around the station or the northern suburbs (where the train lines go), with only occasional stray bombs hitting the city

Cologne's main station is right next to the old city, so "around the station" is involved. Wikipedia suggests that the targeting precision of daytime RAF precision bombing improved from 100 yards in 1943 to 25 yards in 1945, but cloudy weather in the early years must have meant much worse precision (where I note that Cologne was bombed practically from the start of the war on the Western front in 1940 while Salzburg only from October 1944).

Cologne or Germany?

Cologne.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Aug 9th, 2012 at 06:07:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Will you be making it down this way? We're gone for the weekend but will be back Sunday evening.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 02:20:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

Oh yes, but not for at least a week, probably 10 days.

I'm looking forward to seeing you both again

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 02:58:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

That'll be perfect, as some friends will be here 13th to 15th and the other "Brit" friend of mine comes on the 30th. August is quickly becoming my favorite month.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Thu Aug 9th, 2012 at 10:32:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

don't know if this has been on here (none / 1)

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 06:11:42 PM EST

Re: don't know if this has been on here (none / 0)

smart kid

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 01:44:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Tuesday Open Thread (none / 0)

In defence of benefit take-up statistics | Inequalities

It's well-known that some people are entitled to benefits but don't take them up - three-quarters of British people agree that `large numbers of people who are eligible for benefits these days fail to claim them' (BSA2010). The Government estimates that all these unclaimed benefits and tax credits add up to £11-18bn, which puts the £4.5bn overpaid due to fraud and customer error into some kind of perspective.
But these figures are at risk. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are consulting on a proposal to abolish these estimates to save money. This therefore seemed a good time to take a closer look at the figures, and why they're important.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Tue Aug 7th, 2012 at 06:28:08 PM EST

Keeping elderly Republicans alive for election (4.00 / 3)

GOP Trying To Keep Elderly Voting Base Alive Until November
Republicans are reminding seniors to take their blood pressure medication, hoping they won't die before voting on Election Day.

Video here.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Wed Aug 8th, 2012 at 03:39:15 AM EST

Tuesday Open Thread | 25 comments (25 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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