In todays news...

[irie]

Every time you think you've seen it all something comes along to disabuse you of that notion ...

[Cousin Jack]

Once upon a time I was poor. In fact for much of my childhood, and most of my early married life I was poor. I couldnt afford stuff, so I didnt buy stuff. That stuff often included food, home made sandwiches every day in place of canteen meals.

I am now comfortable, not rich but not poor either. I try to contribute to those less well off, but I do really object to the sense of entitlement of many of the poor.

[Mussels]

Some years back I was happy to be on a prepayment meter, it made it clear to everyone that energy wasn't an unlimited free resource.

[JackyJoll]

Every time you think you've seen it all something comes along to disabuse you of that notion ...

The guy Willoughby, with the frock and the melting face, appears to be a screeching moron.

The SNP woman appears not to be allowed to say anything that isn’t Nicola’s bizarre party line.

[wheelnut]

But if the interest rates weren't so stupid, then the poor would be able to pay it off quicker. So if they're a poor credit risk, then why with high rates do the lenders want them to take longer to pay it off?

Because the repayment amounts are lower, there’s more chance of them getting the money back plus an increased margin. The interest rates are high because the likelihood of them being repaid is low.

There’s definitely a place for more community based credit unions, but again, there’s a reason they are thin on the ground.

[Yorick]

Some years back I was happy to be on a prepayment meter, it made it clear to everyone that energy wasn't an unlimited free resource.

Yup. Pub or money in the meter?

Some folk are weak and need a bit of help.

[ZRX61]

Chinese balloon shot down into the oggin off Myrtle Beach. Ground stop at several airports & boats told to stay the fuck away etc until it's recovered.

[Felix]

Chinese balloon shot down into the oggin off Myrtle Beach. Ground stop at several airports & boats told to stay the fuck away etc until it's recovered.

Been all over the news here also. Surly any info was beamed back to China instantly and the thing should have been zapped days ago.

[Felix]

The biggest issue I have with prepayment meters is that they are (or always used to be) more expensive. Even when not paying off a debt. So, the people with least money pay more for their energy/water because they have to be on a prepayment meter. That's the bit I think sucks

I have a pre payment meter and ill never part with it. Think i work out around £50 for gas and electricity a week on a two bed house. I like the fact i am in control of my cash payments. I can see what i use in pounds and pence and top up online and not surprising bills.

[Yorick]

China must be amazing to send a hot air balloon thousands of miles with no way of steering it.

[Pirahna]

China must be amazing to send a hot air balloon thousands of miles with no way of steering it.

The Japanese did it in WW2.

[Pirahna]

There's another baloon over South America.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 75624.html

[Horse]

China must be amazing to send a hot air balloon thousands of miles with no way of steering it.

Not really.

General directions of wind is known eg the 'trade winds' for shipping in merchant sailing days.

Weather forecasting gives day to day variations, eg flow around high and low pressure areas.

Wind direction can vary by height, so that can be adjusted.

[ZRX61]

I have a pre payment meter and ill never part with it. Think i work out around £50 for gas and electricity a week on a two bed house. I like the fact i am in control of my cash payments. I can see what i use in pounds and pence and top up online and not surprising bills.

I lived in a flat with a (landlord installed) prepay meter that took 50p's. Landlord never found out I had a key to the cash box & just used the same 50p every time. I knew when he would be coming to empty it so would leave 3 or 4 50p's in it. Ended up paying about $7 over a course of a year. He wasn't exactly what you would call smart...

[Mr. Dazzle]

China must be amazing to send a hot air balloon thousands of miles with no way of steering it.

Not really.

General directions of wind is known eg the 'trade winds' for shipping in merchant sailing days.

Weather forecasting gives day to day variations, eg flow around high and low pressure areas.

Wind direction can vary by height, so that can be adjusted.

They shot it down today. News says they used an air-to-air missile, quite impressive that it can actually pick up a balloon (presumably quite warm due to sunlight?).

There's no explosion on the vid though, so maybe they took the warhead out, or maybe a canvas bag wasn't substantial enough to set it off! I would guess the former though, they probably want to minimise damage so they can inspect the debris.

[Count Steer]

China must be amazing to send a hot air balloon thousands of miles with no way of steering it.

Not really.

General directions of wind is known eg the 'trade winds' for shipping in merchant sailing days.

Weather forecasting gives day to day variations, eg flow around high and low pressure areas.

Wind direction can vary by height, so that can be adjusted.

Didn't the 'Loon' project try to get them to loiter around particular areas ie avoid getting moved around? Probably harder than trying to get them to move on a chosen path I suspect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loon_LLC

[Mr. Dazzle]

The allies sent loads of balloons to the continent in WW2. Apparently they were quite successful. One particularly good one flew quite low and trailed long wires behind it, it was designed to get tangled up in power lines and substations and cause havoc.

Didn't someone also try a balloon which was just a giant metallised sphere you can bounce radio waves off? Poor man's communication satellite.

[Mussels]

China must be amazing to send a hot air balloon thousands of miles with no way of steering it.

Not really.

General directions of wind is known eg the 'trade winds' for shipping in merchant sailing days.

Weather forecasting gives day to day variations, eg flow around high and low pressure areas.

Wind direction can vary by height, so that can be adjusted.

They shot it down today. News says they used an air-to-air missile, quite impressive that it can actually pick up a balloon (presumably quite warm due to sunlight?).

There's no explosion on the vid though, so maybe they took the warhead out, or maybe a canvas bag wasn't substantial enough to set it off! I would guess the former though, they probably want to minimise damage so they can inspect the debris.

It would have picked up all the metalwork hanging underneath, a bit of metal tied to a weather balloon is a common way to test radars.
And anti-air missiles are more about shredding the target with shrapnel than blowing it up so I wouldn't expect to see a big explosion.
They might have offset the missile to fly so many feet above the target but I'd expect that to be a bit risky as the balloons can bounce around a lot.

[JackyJoll]

They shot it down today.

“Never, in the field of human conflict…”

[Horse]

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