What did you learn today?

[forcebwithu]

1 hour ago, Jambo said:

I received a refund cheque for 53 pounds in the post.

Who gets cheque's these days?

My nearest Bank of Scotland branch is too far for me to walk to with my f***d knee and hip. 

Phoned daughter number one and asked her to remind me that when she visits next Friday to bring with me the cheque and you can kindly park close to a B of S branch.

"Have you the B of S App on your phone?" says daughter.

"Yes?" says I 

"Then you can scan the cheque into the App and don't have to visit.

So I open the App and low and behold one of the options is indeed scan in cheques. The App even provides an old farts visual demonstration.

Once I managed to stop my hand shaking whilst doing the scan it was dead simple.

I learned something new today. 😄

It's a very handy feature to keep in mind for the rare occasions you're issued a paper check.

I use my son's home as a US mailing address. On several of those rare occasions when a check has shown up at his house I have him endorse the back and then send me a picture of the front and back. I then use the bank mobile app to take a picture of the picture displayed on my computer monitor. Bank is fine with accepting the deposit using that method.

[Painter]

I've just paid in a cheque using the banks app ... didn't know you could do that!

🙂

 

[Stillearly]

25 minutes ago, Painter said:

I've just paid in a cheque using the banks app ... didn't know you could do that!

🙂

 

That's a new one on me as well ..I thought they would physically need the cheque ... which bank ? 

[Stillearly]

Just checked and I can do it with my Bank .... 🤷‍♂️ wow 

[boydeste]

I learned how fast the weather can change in Canada. 

I have fished all over the World and been in many storms, but usually it's already windy and wet, so expected. 

Yesterday afternoon we are enjoying the 30 degrees sunshine when our host came on the radio to say a storm was hitting us in 5 minutes.

No way, it's 30 degrees and bright sunshine. Two minutes later the wind changed direction and blew hard. We managed to wind one rod in each when the rain hit hard. Then the hail rocks hit us. Took two of us to hold the brolly down and at one point it turned inside out. 

Never seen weather change so fast from one extreme to another. 

 

 

[Painter]

1 hour ago, Stillearly said:

That's a new one on me as well ..I thought they would physically need the cheque ... which bank ? 

Lloyd's. I had a car tax refund cheque to pay in, but no local bank, and I always forgot to take it when I was going near a branch, 'cos I stoopid 

[forcebwithu]

53 minutes ago, boydeste said:

I learned how fast the weather can change in Canada. 

I have fished all over the World and been in many storms, but usually it's already windy and wet, so expected. 

Yesterday afternoon we are enjoying the 30 degrees sunshine when our host came on the radio to say a storm was hitting us in 5 minutes.

No way, it's 30 degrees and bright sunshine. Two minutes later the wind changed direction and blew hard. We managed to wind one rod in each when the rain hit hard. Then the hail rocks hit us. Took two of us to hold the brolly down and at one point it turned inside out. 

Never seen weather change so fast from one extreme to another. 

 

To paraphrase a Will Rogers quote; If you don't like the weather in Canada, wait a minute and it'll change.

Looks like the lake you were fishing suddenly got bigger too.

[boydeste]

Just now, forcebwithu said:

To paraphrase a Will Rogers quote; If you don't like the weather in Canada, wait a minute and it'll change.

Looks like the lake you were fishing suddenly got bigger too.

We were on the St Lawrence River fishing a bay.

The water level did come up.

[maipenrai]

9 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

To paraphrase a Will Rogers quote; If you don't like the weather in Canada, wait a minute and it'll change.

Looks like the lake you were fishing suddenly got bigger too.

Yes, this  can certainly be true - our northern lake areas can be especially dangerous when they blow up, as most in my area are glacially-fed and are bloody cold even on the warmest summer days; even if you can swim well you will be hypothermic within minutes if you go in the drink and many lives have been lost this way. 

[KWA]

On 6/3/2023 at 9:42 AM, john luke said:

Well done.  I think it is years since I received a cheque.

I've usually got one waiting on me every time I'm back in the UK as I SORN my car when I'm away and the refund is by cheque.

I used the Halifax app to scan the last one but was nervous for a day or two until it was confirmed OK.

Tried doing the image as described by FBWU just the other week but the app was having none of it so a mate that had been at my place is bringing it back with him later this week.

[Zambo]

I have learnt that SORN is Statutory Off Road Notification in order to stop taxing and insuring your UK vehicle for a period. I can't utilise that. If there was a similar arrangement in Thailand that would be an option.

[fygjam]

The bottom of a drink can has a slight lip.

When one can is placed on the top of another the lip will engage on the pull tab of the bottom can.

A slight lever action of the top can will open the bottom can.

No ripped out fingernails.

 

[lazarus]

Let's all chip in so @boydeste can spend less time at the lake(s) and more time on the beach!

[lazarus]

7 hours ago, fygjam said:

The bottom of a drink can has a slight lip.

When one can is placed on the top of another the lip will engage on the pull tab of the bottom can.

A slight lever action of the top can will open the bottom can.

No ripped out fingernails.

 

Also, structurally supports a makeshift hash pipe. 😉

Edited July 20, 2023 by lazarus
ssssssssssssss,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Smiler]

I learned that my close mate has come through his heart bypass opp which he had yesterday at Bangkok Hospital in Udon. 
 

Result👍

[fygjam]

The earth is not flat. Neither is it an ellipsoid or geoid. It's a sphere, at least according to google maps and other web based map services. These services use a projection called web Mercator which is a sphere with a diameter of earth at the equator. This is why your GNSS lat/long coordinates may not match exactly google maps (and others). GNSS - global navigation satellite system of which GPS is an implementation, as are Glonass, BeiDou, Galileo etc.

The earth moves for everyone. Due to the movement of the various tectonic plates your lat/long coordinates are constantly changing. In times gone by some might say "so what". But with millimetre accurate GNSS receivers you can almost measure the daily change. It concerns me that where I went to sleep is not the same place as where I woke up. Australia, for example, is moving north-east at about 70mm per year.

Oh yes, in case you're wondering, I recently acquired a millimetre accurate GNSS receiver (10mm precision) at a very reasonable price (TOP608BT). How do they achieve such precision I hear you cry in your burning quest for knowledge. Multi-frequency, antenna, CORS, RTK and NTRIP.

Multi-frequency. The various GNSS satellite constellations transmit their information on multiple frequencies. The GNSS receiver in your mobile phone probably only receives one frequency band per constellation. High precision receivers receive multiple frequency bands.

Antenna. The GNSS antenna in your phone is probably about as big as a pin head. A high precision antenna.

What's inside.

Known as a choke ring antenna. Inside the centre dome is an array of patch antennas.

 

 

CORS, continually operating reference station. A network of GNSS receiving stations where the antenna is in a fixed position. Therefore any variation in position must be due to received signal error, usually due to ripples in the ionosphere. Correctional data can thus be calculated to account for the ripples. CORS sites, notice the firmly fixed antennas.

RTK, real time kinematic. Basically correction data. From its developers.

RTK is a positioning technique that solves accuracy, motion, and timing challenges, enabling satellite positioning systems to deliver highly precise location information.

Created roughly three decades ago, RTK has far surpassed the dreams of its pioneers – among them, the Trimble leaders integral to its development. By correcting common inaccuracies in real time, RTK unleashed new possibilities for the use of positioning technology to revolutionize the way we work across countless industries including construction, agriculture, transportation and utilities.

https://www.trimble.com/en/innovation/rtk-real-time-kinematic#:~:text=RTK is a positioning technique,leaders integral to its development.

NTRIP, network transmission of R over internet protocols where R is the correctional data. The CORS network sends correctional data to a central server, the NTRIP caster, which distributes the data to GNSS receiver clients over the internet.

How it all hangs together. I have my phone and the GNSS receiver. They are connected via a USB cable and OTG adapter but this is only to supply power to the receiver, communications will be via Bluetooth. The receiver and phone are paired and in the phone settings the phone is told it is connected to an external GNSS receiver. There is an app which connects to the receiver via Bluetooth and the NTRIP caster via the internet. The app is told the CORS correction stream which is from a CORS site about 10km away from me. Both the receiver and CORS should be looking at the same patch of sky. The app receives correction data from the NTRIP caster and passes it to the receiver. The receiver returns positional data to the phone along with the receiver status.

At startup, assuming a clear view of the sky, the receiver goes from no fix to GPS fix to DGPS fix to RTK-Float to an RTK fix. At the same time accuracy of the fix goes from over a metre to decimetre to centimetre and finally 10mm horizontal and vertical with the RTK fix. Positional data is to 8 decimal places. In my neck of the woods 0.00000001 of a degree represents about 1mm of lat or long so the fix is to a millimetre with 10mm accuracy.

I didn't learn that all today, maybe over the last couple of weeks. Now all I have to do is find my car keys. I had them a couple of days ago but the will have shifted position by now. Perhaps I should have just bought air tags instead.

 

 

[fygjam]

Continuing on with my info on cans. Today I learnt that one of these

can turn this

into this

Sorry about the distortion but I think you get the idea.

This was with an empty can for practice, normally you'd be turning a full can into a nice "glass" from which to consume the beverage of your choice.

 

[forcebwithu]

13 minutes ago, fygjam said:

Continuing on with my info on cans. Today I learnt that one of these

can turn this

into this

Sorry about the distortion but I think you get the idea.

This was with an empty can for practice, normally you'd be turning a full can into a nice "glass" from which to consume the beverage of your choice.

Just ordered one for myself. Can see it would be handy to have when there are no cups around.

[forcebwithu]

1 hour ago, fygjam said:

The earth moves for everyone. Due to the movement of the various tectonic plates your lat/long coordinates are constantly changing. In times gone by some might say "so what". But with millimetre accurate GNSS receivers you can almost measure the daily change. It concerns me that where I went to sleep is not the same place as where I woke up. Australia, for example, is moving north-east at about 70mm per year.

Not just the Earth, but our position in the universe is changing by about 375 miles per second.

How fast is Earth moving through space?

To begin with, Earth is rotating on its axis at the familiar rate of one revolution per day. For those of us living at Earth's midlatitudes -- including the United States, Europe, and Japan -- the rate is almost a thousand miles an hour. The rate is higher at the equator and lower at the poles. In addition to this daily rotation, Earth orbits the Sun at an average speed of 67,000 mph, or 18.5 miles a second.

Perhaps that seems a bit sluggish -- after all, Mars Pathfinder journeyed to Mars at nearly 75,000 miles per hour. Buckle your seat belts, friends. The Sun, Earth, and the entire solar system also are in motion, orbiting the center of the Milky Way at a blazing 140 miles a second. Even at this great speed, though, our planetary neighborhood still takes about 200 million years to make one complete orbit -- a testament to the vast size of our home galaxy.

Dizzy yet? Well hold on. The Milky Way itself is moving through the vastness of intergalactic space. Our galaxy belongs to a cluster of nearby galaxies, the Local Group, and together we are easing toward the center of our cluster at a leisurely 25 miles a second.

If all this isn't enough to make you feel you deserve an intergalactic speeding ticket, consider that we, along with our cousins in the Local Group, are hurtling at a truly astonishing 375 miles a second toward the Virgo Cluster, an enormous collection of galaxies some 45 million light-years away.

[fygjam]

1 hour ago, forcebwithu said:

Not just the Earth, but our position in the universe is changing by about 375 miles per second.

How fast is Earth moving through space?

To begin with, Earth is rotating on its axis at the familiar rate of one revolution per day. For those of us living at Earth's midlatitudes -- including the United States, Europe, and Japan -- the rate is almost a thousand miles an hour. The rate is higher at the equator and lower at the poles. In addition to this daily rotation, Earth orbits the Sun at an average speed of 67,000 mph, or 18.5 miles a second.

Perhaps that seems a bit sluggish -- after all, Mars Pathfinder journeyed to Mars at nearly 75,000 miles per hour. Buckle your seat belts, friends. The Sun, Earth, and the entire solar system also are in motion, orbiting the center of the Milky Way at a blazing 140 miles a second. Even at this great speed, though, our planetary neighborhood still takes about 200 million years to make one complete orbit -- a testament to the vast size of our home galaxy.

Dizzy yet? Well hold on. The Milky Way itself is moving through the vastness of intergalactic space. Our galaxy belongs to a cluster of nearby galaxies, the Local Group, and together we are easing toward the center of our cluster at a leisurely 25 miles a second.

If all this isn't enough to make you feel you deserve an intergalactic speeding ticket, consider that we, along with our cousins in the Local Group, are hurtling at a truly astonishing 375 miles a second toward the Virgo Cluster, an enormous collection of galaxies some 45 million light-years away.

We don't know where we're going but we're making damn good time.

I just want to know if I'm going to see Betelgeuse supernova.

 

[forcebwithu]

13 hours ago, fygjam said:

We don't know where we're going but we're making damn good time.

I just want to know if I'm going to see Betelgeuse supernova.

The Betelgeuse reference reminded me of this scene...

[boydeste]

When it has rained fairly constantly all week and the forecast says its dry in the morning.  Don't trust it as today it pissed it down again in July in France whilst we had to pack down and move our gear 70 yards to the van.

Fucking drowned rats we were.

[fygjam]

12 seconds on high in the microwave was too long to deactivate my old ATM card. There was a metalized loop embedded within the card, probably the contactless antenna, which must have got red hot and set the plastic on fire. The fire only lasted a few seconds but the microwave was full of those bits of black soot and that burnt plastic smell.

Why 12 seconds I hear you ask. That's how long it takes for the table to make one full revolution. I do all my microwaving in 12 second increments.

 

[boydeste]

15 minutes ago, fygjam said:

12 seconds on high in the microwave was too long to deactivate my old ATM card. There was a metalized loop embedded within the card, probably the contactless antenna, which must have got red hot and set the plastic on fire. The fire only lasted a few seconds but the microwave was full of those bits of black soot and that burnt plastic smell.

Why 12 seconds I hear you ask. That's how long it takes for the table to make one full revolution. I do all my microwaving in 12 second increments.

 

What is wrong with cutting it up? LOL

[fygjam]

10 minutes ago, boydeste said:

What is wrong with cutting it up? LOL

It went into the paper/CD shredder afterwards. One cannot be too careful nowadays.