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Minor Strangeness (IHTM)

GPS is often weird in dreams. As is 4G...you can never get a decent bloody signal, no matter how hard you try. Perhaps 5G will work better (or maybe a cup of coffee before bed-time will do the trick)

Of course, the ultimate Long Term Evolution will be for biophones, with GPS, to be neonatally-integrated. This will assist aspiring oneironauts such as yourself to know where your head's at.

Anyway, goodnight, my SIM card is chafing me...
 
I have a minor strangeness to report. It’s probably got a perfectly innocent explanation but I have no idea what it is.

Do aliens sound like road sweepers? Last week at 01.45 there was what sounded like a static road sweeper (or noo noo as we tend to call them after the Telebubbies’ friend) in my road. I looked out of my window I didn’t have a clear view but I couldn’t see any lights no head lights/tail lights or one of those orange flashing lights. I went downstairs and looked out the windows, nothing. I wasn’t going outside at that time of night. At 02.00 the sound faded and stopped and I didn’t hear anything pull away. It was very strange. If I had heard it during the day I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid but that time of night, it was very odd. It’s hasn’t got cold yet so it wasn’t a gritter, which would have been moving anyway.
 

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Do aliens sound like road sweepers? Last week at 01.45 there was what sounded like a static road sweeper (or noo noo as we tend to call them after the Telebubbies’ friend) in my road. I looked out of my window I didn’t have a clear view but I couldn’t see any lights no head lights/tail lights or one of those orange flashing lights.

Do you live anywhere near a railway line? A strange loud noise in the middle of the night could be attributed to something going on as happened to us here.
 
A teaspoon appeared in our kitchen today. Neither of us know where it came from, it was just lying about. My OH says she thought it was one I had been using, so she ignored it.

It looks like it might be one from a previous set of cutlery but we've been using our current set for years now and thought all of the old set had been thrown out. I was going to upload a photo but hey, it's a spoon.
Questions I am asking myself are,
Where has it been?
How did it suddenly appear on the kitchen worktop?
Does it matter?
Can a mouse move a spoon?
 
A teaspoon appeared in our kitchen today. Neither of us know where it came from, it was just lying about. My OH says she thought it was one I had been using, so she ignored it.

It looks like it might be one from a previous set of cutlery but we've been using our current set for years now and thought all of the old set had been thrown out. I was going to upload a photo but hey, it's a spoon.
Questions I am asking myself are,
Where has it been?
How did it suddenly appear on the kitchen worktop?
Does it matter?
Can a mouse move a spoon?

Usually teaspoons just disappear, it’s unusual for them to come back again.
 
A teaspoon appeared in our kitchen today. Neither of us know where it came from, it was just lying about. My OH says she thought it was one I had been using, so she ignored it.

It looks like it might be one from a previous set of cutlery but we've been using our current set for years now and thought all of the old set had been thrown out. I was going to upload a photo but hey, it's a spoon.
Questions I am asking myself are,
Where has it been?
How did it suddenly appear on the kitchen worktop?
Does it matter?
Can a mouse move a spoon?
Argh, I told you! Didn't I tell you? Those teaspoons are up to something.. :headspinner:
 

Argh indeed. What does this all mean?

Teaspoons are completely different to eggcups, I know, but I had a vanishing eggcup and while I'm here I might as well mention it. The vanishing part isn't the strange bit though, it was the eggcup itself..

It was originally owned by my great grandparents and was in the shape of an elephant sitting on it's haunches, upright. The bowl for the egg was the top of it's head. It had a trunk (which wasn't sticking out, more in relief) and ears you would expect an elephant to have, but it was the way it was painted - with panda markings - which made it so odd.

Yes, it was cream and black with the eye-spots that pandas have. As I say, it vanished years ago but as a child it always perplexed me a great deal. And still does, if I'm honest.
 
Ah, yes, but you're on the wrong track if you think it's a meaningless tautology.

A battle tank (or Main Battle Tank) has high mobility and good weight compromise, when compared to either a heavy tank (all fire and limited movement) or a self-propelled gun (which is kind of an unarmoured under-armed nearlytank).

But anyway- apologies for all this AFV erotica. I am neither a wargamer nor a tank enthusiast....but I have had some experiences of tanking.

Oi! Don't you be slagging of the Dicker Max, Hetzer, or SU -100 Thank you very much! :incan:
 
Argh indeed. What does this all mean?

Teaspoons are completely different to eggcups, I know, but I had a vanishing eggcup and while I'm here I might as well mention it. The vanishing part isn't the strange bit though, it was the eggcup itself..

It was originally owned by my great grandparents and was in the shape of an elephant sitting on it's haunches, upright. The bowl for the egg was the top of it's head. It had a trunk (which wasn't sticking out, more in relief) and ears you would expect an elephant to have, but it was the way it was painted - with panda markings - which made it so odd.

Yes, it was cream and black with the eye-spots that pandas have. As I say, it vanished years ago but as a child it always perplexed me a great deal. And still does, if I'm honest.
Could it have been hand made? If another child had made it then what would be more natural than painting your elephant black and white? Or maybe it was a tapir and not an elephant?
 
Dicker Max was an SP gun. Hetzer and SU-100 were tank destroyers...

:evil:

maximus otter

I was fucking waiting for someone to say that!

Many TD's are AFV's with a fixed gun mounted on a tracks or wheels, basically and mechanically an SPG. Particularly WW2 era, many SPG's started out as one thing and ended up another. the StuG springs to mind which is the most famous German TD.

Hetzer (Jagdpanzer 38) - From the Wiki page :

The Jagdpanzer 38 fit into the lighter category of German tank destroyers that began with the Panzerjäger I, continued with the Marder series and ended with the Jagdpanzer 38. The 75 mm Pak 39 L/48 gun of the Jagdpanzer 38was a modified version of the 75 mm StuK 40 L/48 used in the StuG III and StuG IV assault guns. With this gun the Jagdpanzer 38 was able to destroy nearly all Allied or Soviet tank types in service at long ranges (except heavy tanks) and its fully enclosed armor protection made it a safer vehicle to crew than the open-topped Marder II or Marder III series.

The Jagdpanzer 38 was one of the most common late-war German tank destroyers. It was available in relatively large numbers and was generally mechanically reliable.[10] Like some other late-war German SPGs, the Jagdpanzer 38 mounted a remote-control machine gun mount, which could be fired from within the vehicle. This proved popular with crews, though to reload the gun a crewmember needed to expose himself to enemy fire.

Also, its small size made it easier to conceal than larger vehicles. A self-propelled gun such as this was not intended for a mobile, meeting engagement or the typical Wehrmacht blitzkrieg style of warfare. Instead, a light self-propelled gun like the Jagdpanzer 38 excelled when emplaced along pre-determined lines of sight where the enemy was expected to approach and when used in defensive positions to support a prepared ambush. The Jagdpanzer 38 is similar in its dimensions and vertical profile to the minuscule and undergunned Panzer II, a prewar tank. However, by 1944, the majority of tanks were dramatically larger and heavier, making a Jagdpanzer 38 waiting motionless in ambush a very small target to detect, much less hit. Its main failings were comparatively thin side armor, limited ammunition storage, poor gun traverse, poor internal layout that made operating the vehicle difficult, as well as leaf springs and drive wheels that were prone to failure due to the increased weight.[11] Using the Jagdpanzer 38 and similar vehicles according to a defensive doctrine would offset some of the disadvantages of poor side armor and limited gun traverse.


SU 100

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/70000349

Object description
Russian WW2 and post-war self-propelled gun/tank destroyer, crew of 4, powered by 12-cylinder diesel engine, armed with 100mm gun and two machine guns.
 
but it was the way it was painted - with panda markings - which made it so odd.
Piebald pachyderms: is it phenotypically possible? Not sure I've ever herd of it, but, it feels possible...old-school elephantal harlequinery? Concentrate on imagining one, and you can squeeze-out a whole stampede of 'em.

Those teaspoons are up to something
The teaspoons are frequently stirrers. They should have a taste of their own medicine, for a change.

Soup-spoons often get themselves into hot water. They're often missing from the official line-up upon the tablecloth, and are then spirited into the room on a plate. They are the Special Forces of spoons, often being dropped behind enemy lines, so as to cause maximum confusion (hiding under serviettes and xmas cracker).

It's not commonly realised, but if you put a soup-spoon beside a napkin ring (almost eradicated now, thanks to the good efforts of the World Health Organisation & the Bristol Assey Office) the weak covalent bonds at an atomic level within the EPNS nickel plating become magnified so much that they are increased....perhaps.

(If napkin rings aren't used as neckerchief woggles by robot members of the Scouting movement, then a great opportunity is being lost)

Oi! Don't you be slagging of the Dicker Max, Hetzer, or SU -100 Thank you very much! :incan:
Umm, no, I certainly wasn't going along those tracks, perhaps I was thinking more of the Abbot. Anyway, back to robots & cutlery....the best self-propelled gun is a Dalek. And if a Dalek had to have any spoon attached to it's non-gun arm, it would be a large scooping dessert serving spoon. But I blame Brussels for that....

(apologies, I've been asleep during writing this. Any opinions expressed, PIN numbers written down or scurrilous accusations opined are not necessarily consciously mine. Please set your phones to stun, and set your phasers to vibrate mode)
 
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Could it have been hand made? If another child had made it then what would be more natural than painting your elephant black and white? Or maybe it was a tapir and not an elephant?
It was a professional job, factory made I'm sure. The tapir is something I hadn't thought of but the trunk was long enough to reach the floor from it's sitting upright position and it had large ears. Also, definite eye-patches. The creature had a base colour of a yellowy-cream, the trunk and ears were black as were the marks around the eyes. There might have been more black markings elsewhere but I can't remember.

Did the person in the factory who painted the elephant cups fall ill and have to be replaced by someone from the panda department?
 
I was fucking waiting for someone to say
that!

Just because it’s a gun that’s self-propelled doesn’t mean that it’s a Self-Propelled Gun!

A proper SP gun’s raison d'être is indirect firing high explosive rounds at distant targets.

A tank destroyer’s purpose is - the name’s the giveaway - engaging AFVs with armour-piercing rounds at relatively short range over optical sights.

Just because one can, at a pinch, be used in the other’s role doesn’t make the designations interchangeable.

:reyes:

maximus otter
 
Just because it’s a gun that’s self-propelled doesn’t mean that it’s a Self-Propelled Gun!

A proper SP gun’s raison d'être is indirect firing high explosive rounds at distant targets.

A tank destroyer’s purpose is - the name’s the giveaway - engaging AFVs with armour-piercing rounds at relatively short range over optical sights.

Just because one can, at a pinch, be used in the other’s role doesn’t make the designations interchangeable.

:reyes:

maximus otter

A "proper" SP gun? Well that's scientific.
 
:sleep: Boring. If I wanted stuff like SPGs I'd go to either of the WW2 threads in Chat.
 
It was a professional job, factory made I'm sure. The tapir is something I hadn't thought of but the trunk was long enough to reach the floor from it's sitting upright position and it had large ears. Also, definite eye-patches. The creature had a base colour of a yellowy-cream, the trunk and ears were black as were the marks around the eyes. There might have been more black markings elsewhere but I can't remember.

Did the person in the factory who painted the elephant cups fall ill and have to be replaced by someone from the panda department?

This made me proper laugh.
 
Well, you're in for a treat because sometime over the weekend I'm going to draw a picture of it for you all (from what I remember) and I'll upload it here.

After reading that I was going to post the question 'Why draw it when you can put a photo up?' but then realised it was lost years ago. So DURRR.
 
Not a big fan of spoons here, either. In my case, it's probably some infantile trauma related to the taste of pureed apricots. :p

I'm also no fan of spoons ,probably for similar reasons. But they get their revenge on me by dematerialising from the drawer when needed , only to rematerialise when Ms PeteS comes to find one for me.
 
I'm also no fan of spoons ,probably for similar reasons. But they get their revenge on me by dematerialising from the drawer when needed , only to rematerialise when Ms PeteS comes to find one for me.
She keeps them in a secret storage area. Spoon containment sub-basement.
 
She keeps them in a secret storage area. Spoon containment sub-basement.

I'm sure the secret storage area must be gigantic judging by the vast amount of stuff I can never find but is suddenly produced by Ms PeteS apparently out of thin air from the very place I have searched thoroughly. Is there any significance to the roll of the eyes that accompanies this apparent feat of miracle working?
 
I'm sure the secret storage area must be gigantic judging by the vast amount of stuff I can never find but is suddenly produced by Ms PeteS apparently out of thin air from the very place I have searched thoroughly. Is there any significance to the roll of the eyes that accompanies this apparent feat of miracle working?
Congratulations! You are married to a superior being. She might be an alien...careful now.
 
Drawing of missing eggcup as promised in post no.5020 above.

It was really very difficult for me to draw this from memory, especially as I can't remember if there were any other markings on it. The actual eggcup was more top-heavy in that the head was larger than this pic.
I remember that the pupils of it's eyes were a bright green.
I've added some vestigial tusks. I think it had some.
Another feature I remembered when doing this was that round the back it had a tail which was bobbed like a rabbit - and painted black.

Eggcup.jpeg
 
Drawing of missing eggcup as promised in post no.5020 above.

It was really very difficult for me to draw this from memory, especially as I can't remember if there were any other markings on it. The actual eggcup was more top-heavy in that the head was larger than this pic.
I remember that the pupils of it's eyes were a bright green.
I've added some vestigial tusks. I think it had some.
Another feature I remembered when doing this was that round the back it had a tail which was bobbed like a rabbit - and painted black.

View attachment 6515

Haha that sketch! Mate you are so DavidPlankton that sketch is brilliant, sad, funny and so moving!

There is only one DavidPlankton and he rules.

I'm completely sincere I think the ol' Eggcup Elephant eyes looks into the soul, he's sort of smiling he knows...

It's very Bagpuss - which is brilliant.
 
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Drawing of missing eggcup as promised in post no.5020 above.

It was really very difficult for me to draw this from memory, especially as I can't remember if there were any other markings on it. The actual eggcup was more top-heavy in that the head was larger than this pic.
I remember that the pupils of it's eyes were a bright green.
I've added some vestigial tusks. I think it had some.
Another feature I remembered when doing this was that round the back it had a tail which was bobbed like a rabbit - and painted black.

View attachment 6515
I had too much time on my hand, so I did some googling.

https://picclick.co.uk/Vintage-egg-cup-elephant-222285865653.html

Vintage-egg-cup-elephant-_1.jpg


Inserting obvious music video:
 
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