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Minor Strangeness (IHTM)

Are the blocks maybe there to stop people parking too close to the entrance to the driveway? I've got some big rocks outside my driveway gates - mostly to use to prop the gates open in windy weather, but they also serve as a visual marker for people parking (they don't want to drive over the rocks and risk damaging their cars, so they stay well clear of the entrance).

They could well be for that. But they're on a high, raised grass verge that would be harder to park on than the verge opposite. That said, he has a big driveway and no-one visiting him would need to park on the lane (it's one of those narrow country lanes with little pull ins at intervals, down it).
 
Any aviation experts like to help me out with this one?

Couldn't sleep, nipped out of the front of the house for a fag, in the distance I see a blue light in the sky. I watch it and see it morph into a winged object flying across the sky. It's flying from my left towards the city so I figure a plane is coming into Birmingham airport to land and wonder what exotic place the people have just come from.

Then the object changes direction and goes left! And I think, ok, a helicopter. As I watch it fly the lights change from blue to red, but not according to it's direction, just seemingly random. And the lights are all flashing, sometimes softly pulsating.

Then I get terribly excited because as it changes direction to come back the same way again, the red lights seem to my poor eyesight to be forming a triangular shape. Of course, I think UFO! Except sometimes I can hear a buzz that sounds very much like it might be a far off helicopter, so no. It's a helicopter.

I watch these lights going back and forth and back and forth, and I'm tracking it's movement between the trees on the park in front of my house, and I figure the chopper is circling, looking for something.

But the thing is, the lights change every, say, twenty seconds or so, first from blue to red (all along it), but then they turn green. As I watch it travelling at a consistent speed, sometimes it's flying wider, sometimes over a small area, sometimes climbing higher, sometimes a bit lower. And now the lights are sometimes green, sometimes red, but sometimes I think I can spot white or orange lights amongst the red or green lights.

The "triangle" is not there after a short while. Just looks like a winged object with maybe a light on top. I figure it's the lights long the bottom of the helicopter and one on the rotar. But I watch it puzzled because surely if the chopper is flying in circles, when it is flying away or towards me, I shouldn't be able to see the length of it?

I watched for three fags, but it doesn't do anything else other than I've stated. I got cold. Went up to first floor lounge (townhouse) to look out of balcony door, it's still doing its thing. I go to get this phone from my bedroom to take a video, but it's gone now.

Sadly, I don't think it was a UFO (desperate as I am to see strange lights in the sky), but I'm still curious about the changing light colours. Anyone? I'm guessing this was a police helicopter searching for someone (but no searchlight, so infrared?)
 
When you saw only the blue light (no red) was the object moving from (your) left to right?

When you saw only the red light (no blue) was the object moving from (your) right to left?
 
When you saw only the blue light (no red) was the object moving from (your) left to right?

When you saw only the red light (no blue) was the object moving from (your) right to left?
No lights changed randomly, not according to dirction.
 
No lights changed randomly, not according to dirction.

(Extrapolating based on American aviation regulations, which may or may not apply to the UK ... )

Your answer would probably rule out a fixed-wing aircraft certified for operation at altitudes subject to air traffic control (ATC) - i.e., commercial aircraft and general aviation / private planes. Red and green / blue colors are restricted to side (almost always wing-mounted) markers using the same protocol as for boats / ships (red = port; blue / green = starboard).

However ... I've seen rotorcraft (copters) with such side markers mounted on the fuselage, which would appear to change from one color to the other as the copter pivots in a way fixed-wing aircraft can't.
 
Red and Green lights in both sea & sky indicate port and starbord (respectively).

Blue flashing lights on ground vehicles & on ships are used to designate emergency services.

However, flashing blue lights in the skies have not (previously) been used on an official basis to indicate emergency services aircraft. Blue flashing lights have traditionally been used in aeronautical settings to warn of in-flight refuelling operations in progress.
 
Red and Green lights in both sea & sky indicate port and starbord (respectively).
...

A note about implementation / application ... Modern aviation starboard marker lights, like traffic lights, include a green indicator component that isn't really just green. The lens and / or lamp providing the color is deliberately implemented with a measure of blue color in addition to the green, so as to be discriminable by folks with red / green color blindness (the most common form of color blindness). In some cases this added blue component overrides the green. For some applications it's now acceptable to simply use blue instead of green (or 'pretend-green').
 
Interesting- I've never seen this done (green with blue, in Europe) but it sounds very logical.

Green flashing lights now appear to be fitted to many earth-movers/diggers in the UK (in addition to the traditional amber warning beacons) I believe this indicates the presence of trained & designated first-aiders plus site medical kit.

Green flashing lights are used also in the UK to designate Doctors' Cars. I'm unclear as to whether the original EU plan to fit them to ambulances ever took hold (it certainly didn't in the UK).

Blue flashing lights (for emergency services priority privilege on the roads) is fairly-universal. Unlike the US, I don't believe there are many countries that use red flashing lights to indicate this emergency vehicle status (UK traffic cops use them, but mainly to indicate STOP). Again the Europlan (to put red flashing lights on fire-fighting vehicles) certainly never happened in UK / RoI

And I've never seen white rotating beacons on cars anywhere outwith North America (where I think they mean volunteer fire-fighters, but I'm unsure about that)
 
Any aviation experts like to help me out with this one?

Couldn't sleep, nipped out of the front of the house for a fag, in the distance I see a blue light in the sky. I watch it and see it morph into a winged object flying across the sky. It's flying from my left towards the city so I figure a plane is coming into Birmingham airport to land and wonder what exotic place the people have just come from.

Then the object changes direction and goes left! And I think, ok, a helicopter. As I watch it fly the lights change from blue to red, but not according to it's direction, just seemingly random. And the lights are all flashing, sometimes softly pulsating.

Then I get terribly excited because as it changes direction to come back the same way again, the red lights seem to my poor eyesight to be forming a triangular shape. Of course, I think UFO! Except sometimes I can hear a buzz that sounds very much like it might be a far off helicopter, so no. It's a helicopter.

I watch these lights going back and forth and back and forth, and I'm tracking it's movement between the trees on the park in front of my house, and I figure the chopper is circling, looking for something.

But the thing is, the lights change every, say, twenty seconds or so, first from blue to red (all along it), but then they turn green. As I watch it travelling at a consistent speed, sometimes it's flying wider, sometimes over a small area, sometimes climbing higher, sometimes a bit lower. And now the lights are sometimes green, sometimes red, but sometimes I think I can spot white or orange lights amongst the red or green lights.

The "triangle" is not there after a short while. Just looks like a winged object with maybe a light on top. I figure it's the lights long the bottom of the helicopter and one on the rotar. But I watch it puzzled because surely if the chopper is flying in circles, when it is flying away or towards me, I shouldn't be able to see the length of it?

I watched for three fags, but it doesn't do anything else other than I've stated. I got cold. Went up to first floor lounge (townhouse) to look out of balcony door, it's still doing its thing. I go to get this phone from my bedroom to take a video, but it's gone now.

Sadly, I don't think it was a UFO (desperate as I am to see strange lights in the sky), but I'm still curious about the changing light colours. Anyone? I'm guessing this was a police helicopter searching for someone (but no searchlight, so infrared?)
Would not the most likely explanation be a large drone? I've seen several where the lights change/fade at the flick of a switch and despite their size shoot about the sky at high speed or hover and fly slowly depending on control by the operator. IR cameras on them mean that they can easily be flown at night.
 
This is a bit stupid for a case of minor strangeness but yesterday, I was walking along, nothing unusual in the least, when I suddenly pitched forward and (with surprising force) hit the ground. I didn't stumble, or slip, there was no obstacle in the way or uneven ground, and no one near enough to have tripped me. It just happened. Got some nasty scrapes and bruises to show for it, too.

Weird.
This has happened to Ms petes several times with no logical explanation. If it happens again U, I'd be tempted to go to the docs just to be checked. Hope you're ok now.
 
In the USA certain standards for general vehicle lighting and flashing / rotating alert lamps were introduced (as I recall) in the very early 1970's.

Blue alert lighting is reserved for designated law enforcement authorities.
Red alert lighting is reserved for emergency response authorities (e.g., ambulances; firefighters) other than law enforcement.
These are commonly mixed with white and sometimes amber lamps for more dramatic effect.

Amber and white alert lighting are available to anyone.

Blue and red lamps - especially flashing ones - are forbidden on the front of vehicles not associated with designated authorities.
 
Would not the most likely explanation be a large drone? I've seen several where the lights change/fade at the flick of a switch and despite their size shoot about the sky at high speed or hover and fly slowly depending on control by the operator. IR cameras on them mean that they can easily be flown at night.
IT WAS A DRONE!

Of course it was! Thank you! That would explain everything, especially the buzzing. Never seen anything like it before. I reckon it was quite a big beast.

Thanks everyone who contributed. Mystery solved!
 
I should add that I have never actually seen a drone flying, day or night, so that might be why I didn't recognise it's movements. Thanks again.
 
This has happened to Ms petes several times with no logical explanation. If it happens again U, I'd be tempted to go to the docs just to be checked. Hope you're ok now.

Getting medical advice about this can be tricky as there could be legal implications, in Britain anyway. This is because sudden falling may be a sign of epilepsy, when people can briefly lose consciousness because of a minor seizure. A doctor who hears about unexplained falls from a patient will certainly suspect epilepsy.

There are strict rules about driving if you're at risk of seizures. Here's the UKGOV [url=www.gov.uk/epilepsy-and-driving]webpageabout it.

Here's a relevant section -

You must tell DVLA if you’ve had any epileptic attacks, seizures, fits or blackouts.

You must stop driving straight away.

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t tell DVLA about a medical condition that affects your driving. You may be prosecuted if you’re involved in an accident as a result.

It's heavy stuff. I've known people who've gone to the doctor about a blackout, a single one, and lost their driving licence on the spot, including a mobile hairdresser and a home care supervisor. Both had to change jobs while medication was sorted out. Someone with epilepsy would also lose a job if they were in a safety-critical post like a train driver or heavy machinery operator.

The person can re-apply for the licence once they've been seizure-free for a certain time so it's not the end of the world. But I'd be prepared for a lot of hassle after seeing a doctor about it.

Dunno what the law is in other countries but I imagine it's similar.

Mods - please fix the link.[/URL]
 
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Getting medical advice about this can be tricky as there could be legal implications, in Britain anyway. This is because sudden falling may be a sign of epilepsy, when people can briefly lose consciousness because of a minor seizure. A doctor who hears about unexplained falls from a patient will certainly suspect epilepsy.

There are strict rules about driving if you're at risk of seizures. Here's the UKGOV [url-https://www.gov.uk/epilepsy-and-driving]webpage[/url] about it.

Here's a relevant section -



It's heavy stuff. I've known people who've gone to the doctor about a blackout, a single one, and lost their driving licence on the spot, including a mobile hairdresser and a home care supervisor. Both had to change jobs while medication was sorted out. Someone with epilepsy would also lose a job if they were in a safety-critical post like a train driver or heavy machinery operator.

The person can re-apply for the licence once they've been seizure-free for a certain time so it's not the end of the world. But I'd be prepared for a lot of hassle after seeing a doctor about it.

Dunno what the law is in other countries but I imagine it's similar.
An important point obviously. In bh's case they were trip type falls (even on smooth surfaces) rather than collapses and were checked out by consultant. Conclusion was that due to a weak back she was occasionally dragging one foot which was catching on surfaces causing her to fall forward, even in the absence of an obstacle.
 
Sometimes it's the eyesight too misjudging distances.
Our craft group went out for lunch at a nearby hotel yesterday and one of the leaders, who is 93, fell heavily coming up the two steps to the dining area.
When the ambulance eventually came they took a long time checking her and she had cuts and bruising and a suspected broken collarbone, so they took her to hospital.
She's really lovely but has been having trouble with her eyes so it was fortunate she came with one of the other ladies and had left her car back at the retirement village.
 
Getting medical advice about this can be tricky as there could be legal implications, in Britain anyway. This is because sudden falling may be a sign of epilepsy, when people can briefly lose consciousness because of a minor seizure. A doctor who hears about unexplained falls from a patient will certainly suspect epilepsy.

There are strict rules about driving if you're at risk of seizures. Here's the UKGOV webpageabout it.

I had a full private medical checkup a few years ago and told the Dr. that I recently had what I thought to be a slipped disk while digging the garden over and then I momentarily blacked out because of the pain.
She told me not to tell any other medical professional about it as it may have been that I passed out first and could end up losing my driving license until I could prove it wasn't a neurological problem.
 
I think Iris is correct, I have done this as well, gone to take a step and realised it is not quite there and nearly gone arse over tit. Easily done
 
Minor time slip.

Checked time before leaving for work, saw that I had 12 mins to get train, (it usually takes me 6 mins to get there). Picked up a branch that had fallen on the path. Moved branch near the bins to deal with later, (I estimated max about 4 mins), wife leaves after me and says you've got less than 5 minutes to get the train.

No idea where the lost 4 minutes went
 
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Minor time slip.

Checked time before leaving for work, saw that I had 12 mins to get train, (it usually takes me 6 mins to get there). Picked up a branch that had fallen on the path. Moved branch near the bins to deal with later, (I estimated max about 4 mins), wife leaves after me and says you've got less than 5 minutes to get the train.

No idea where the lost 4 minutes went
Short inexplicable time loss like this frequently occurs to me. Four minutes before I need to leave the house? Time to put on earrings then. Put on earrings. I am now late leaving the house late by three minutes. :actw:
 
Can I bore you with yet another lost object post?

Just skip if this is getting too much!

Happened last week. I'm taking daughter to an appointment. Cannot find my keys. My keys are always in my handbag. They're not in my handbag. I search upstairs. Daughter searches downstairs. Literally no idea where my keys can be because THEY ARE ALWAYS PUT IN MY HANDBAG!

Search handbag several times. They are not in my handbag.

Nothing for it but to appeal to the gods and goddesses for help again. So I do.

Ten seconds later daughter shouts up the stairs that she's found my keys.

She'd had a sudden inspiration that I'd left them in the dog bag I take with me on dog walks to keep dog paraphernalia in - and there they were!

Why didn't I think of that myself?
 
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