Operation Taurus

This was my last ship before retiring. It certainly was a memorable trip. The Video below only gives the last half of the deployment, the first half where all the real hard work was done is not shown. You will notice in the video that an Arleigh Burke destroyer crops up from time to time. This was because there was no area defence destroyer from our Navy, available at the time. So we borrowed an American one for the duration.

The Wave Ruler was one of the newest additions to the RFA (Royal Fleet  Auxiliary), and was state of the art when it came to machinery. Even the accommodation was of a high standard, all cabins being single berth with en-suite.

Propulsion was Diesel electric with four 4.7 Mw diesel generators with an output voltage of 6.6kV driving two Motors attached to the shaft. Manoeuvrability was enhanced by bow and stern lateral thrusters all controlled by a semi dynamic positioning system. (Cool Eh).

State of the art reverse osmosis plants were fitted for the production of potable water (my babies), capable of producing nearly 200,000 litres per day.

Anyway enough of the nuts and bolts. Lets get down and personal.

My trip started with a flight to Crete to join the Ruler for the trip out to the Far east. We duly departed from there and commenced a Suez canal transit and headed into the Indian Ocean. A few days on Anti Piracy patrol was the ship’s first tasking, though nothing came of it. Next a little jaunt for the task group across the Indian ocean to rendezvous with the Indian navy and a few days of joint exercises ensued.

However we had more than the Indian Navy on our Menu. A dash round India to the other side ensued to meet up with the Bangladeshi Navy and more fun and games that navies’ love.

Where next? Ah yes Singapore.

Just a short, enjoyable stay there,  to pick up Mail, stores, spares, and top up with Fuel, and then we were of to exercise once more. This time with the Malaysian Navy. More of the same. Then back to Singapore and the journey home as portrayed in the Video.

I could go on, but won’t.

My time was up when the vessel reached Gibraltar, where I had my retirement bash in the Waterfront restaurant. I then flew into retirement and haven’t looked back since.

I don’t miss my time in the RFA (43 years) although in the early years, fun and work, were on equal par with one another. However in the final years the regime of Elf and Safetee, smoking regulations, alcohol restrictions and numerous other restrictions to the affable life of the past convinced me that it was time to go. So I did.

It’s Friday

One for the Angry Exile.

Still falling.

It would appear that there is absolutely no confidence in stocks at the moment

In four days the Footsie has fallen back to Aug 2010 levels.

Looks like the economy is tanking

A quick snapshot of the Footsie100 today.

 

That’s three straight days in a row.

As of last trade, FTSE 100 Index (FTSE:FSI) traded at 5,460, 7.68% above its 52-week low of 5,071, set on August 25, 2010.

An interesting Hobby.

A Swedish man has been arrested after attempting to split atoms in his kitchen, claiming that he was only doing it as a “hobby”.

I must say that I’ve never thought of taking up a hobby like that. Mmmmm.

Handl, 31, said he had tried for months to set up a nuclear reactor at home and kept a blog about his experiments, describing how he created a small meltdown on his stove.

The best bit about the article is the comments that follow.

“If he sold his story to the tabloids, he could make a bomb.”

And

“I think my wife split some atoms in our kitchen this evening.
She called it 'dinner', but I have my doubts.   If I glow later on, Let me know.”

And

“Didn't he know that the easiest way to split atoms is to put them in a box marked "Fragile" and send it through the post?”

And

“Blue Peter has much to answer for “

Finally another man who won’t be getting any how’s your father any time soon.

“Judging from my wife's attempts at cooking and the frequent 'meltdowns' which occur in our kitchen,  I think she has proven beyond all doubt that 'cold fusion' DOES exist.”

What am I getting at here?

Scroll through the pictures to the bottom

 

 

 

 

 

FOR SALE :
One Useless F****ing Cat

Will I Live to see 80?

Here's something to think about.

I recently picked a new primary care doctor.  After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing 'fairly well' for my age. (I am turning sixty three in  nine months time.)

A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, 'Do you think I'll live to be 80?'
He asked, 'Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer, wine, or spirits? 

'Oh no,' I replied (Lying naturally).  'I'm not doing drugs, either!'

Then he asked, 'Do you eat steaks and other red meat?

I said, 'Not much... my  former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!' (Steak tonight)

'Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, boating, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?'

'No, I don't,' I said. (Two week holiday in the sun coming up).

He asked, 'Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have lots of sex?'        

'No,'  I said...

He looked at me and said,..  'Then, why do you even give a shit?

Bloody thieves

Just been to pick up my Daughter and her  Husband from the airport. My, how they rip you off just to park in their car parks, which you have to use. They proudly boast that it’ll only cost you a pound for the first 15 minutes. Would you pay that anywhere else? No you wouldn’t is the answer. The trouble is they have a monopoly.

Because my Daughter’s flight was delayed (Not flagged up on the website till after I was on the way to the airport), and due to the vagaries of the baggage handling personnel, it cost me a fucking fortune. One hour and ten minutes cost me £9. I think my local town centre car parks rip me off at 80p hour, but this is just usury. This works out at approx 13p/min.

North and South Terminal short stay prices

Up to 15 Minutes                               £1.00

15 Minutes - 30 Minutes                 £2.80

30 Minutes - 1 Hour                          £5.60

1 - 2 hours                                             £9.00

2 - 3 hours                                             £11.50

3 - 4 hours                                             £14.70

4 - 5 hours                                             £18.00

5 - 6 hours                                             £21.00

6 - 9 hours                                             £25.00

9 - 12 hours                                           £30.00

12 - 24 hours                                         £32.50

Each 24 hour period thereafter    £32.50

The long stay car parks are not much better, and that’s why going on holiday in a couple of weeks time it makes sense to use a taxi service.

Bastards

I feel another letter to my MP is needed. (I’m still waiting for an answer to the last one I wrote to him). He’s probably labelled me as an Anarchist. so if this blogger stops posting just google “Pentonville Inmates”. You’re sure to find me.

Computers.

A while ago I decided to drag out my reserve computer. The laptop.

I noticed that there was 84 security updated from Microsoft pending, and being a gullible, but trusting fool, decided to download them. Now that was a mistake too far. As any of you who have windows know, once they’re downloaded you are asked to shut down the computer in order for them to take effect.

So I did and the machine shut down and then restarted. Followed shortly with the message “Windows is installing new updates” Great.

Well, not really. That same message was still being displayed after 42 hours. Didn’t matter how I rebooted the laptop the same still happened. Nothing I tried would persuade this piece of devil’s spawn from doing anything else.

Solution. Reload the operating system, in this case Windows 7.

Now you have two options when installing windows 7. Clean install, or Upgrade. Clean install is more efficient but you lose all your data. Upgrade will keep your data but not as efficient at operating.

Upgrade was the chosen option in this case and after several hours of hard drive working, the classical message of “Installation complete, windows needs to shut down and restart for completion”. (Or some such).

So be it. That’s how you carry out an upgrade install.

Wrong.

What did I see on my desktop? Nothing but a recycle bin!

Everything gone.

Now I do have a back up of important documents, so that wasn’t a problem, but the lack of word processor and other useful programmes is a bit of a handicap.

So I thought I would just download Open Office, Anti Virus software, and anything else I would need.

Wrong again.

No WiFi. Bastards.

After a lot of asking around I managed to download by using the desktop computer, a programme that might, or might not, be able to get the wiFi operating on the laptop.

Now of course you’re expecting a tale of woe in that it didn’t work. Much to my amazement it did work.

However I have another dilemma. At the moment I’m at my son’s place having just helped him break out of his prison cell Isolation ward. I installed Ubuntu as a second operating system some while ago and want to get rid of it as this laptop is running out of available space. Having looked at all the online articles about ,removing said  programme I think I’ll play safe and wait till I’m within striking distance of my Windows seven disk. As they say. Once bitten twice shy.

Tomorrow I go home.

The recession has hit everybody really hard...

My neighbour got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

Wives are having s*x with their husbands because they can't afford batteries.

CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with coins while she danced.

I saw a Mormon with only one wife.

If the bank returns your cheque marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.

McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.

Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.

Parents in Kensington fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

My cousin had an exorcism but couldn't afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her!

A truckload of British were caught sneaking into Ethiopia.

A picture is now only worth 200 words.

The Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates.