The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

michaels

PasturesNew wrote: »

Ideally I'd like a small webcam in my upper window, that I could switch to and take a peek whenever I wanted... and another one stuck against the fence, looking through a hole drilled in the fence rather than mounted on a pole above it

You can put an ip camera ap on your phone, blue tack it to the window then call up the image on your laptop whenever you need/want.

chris_m wrote: »

The name ASDIC didn't really mean anything but was used to avoid giving anything away to an enemy;



It's similar to the one about carrots helping you see in the dark, also a counter-espionage story.
To avoid the Germans learning about our RADAR being better than theirs, the RAF put out the story that the top British night fighter ace ate a lot of carrots and that was why he was shooting down so many German planes at night.

Thanks for 2 brilliant facts.

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

You can put an ip camera ap on your phone, blue tack it to the window then call up the image on your laptop whenever you need/want.

Yeah?

Can I just check something ... er ... do what?

*whoosh*

Remember all the technology I possess is dated 2000-2006.... and that's my operational knowledge level too.

I take photos with my phone ... and then use a USB cable to my PC ...then I load the directory and manually drag the images over. Because that's how I know photos work... and I've never fiddled with the phone beyond that really

vivatifosi

That picture. Why would anyone draw a picture of a really big hat:D?

michaels

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yeah?

Can I just check something ... er ... do what?

*whoosh*

Remember all the technology I possess is dated 2000-2006.... and that's my operational knowledge level too.

I take photos with my phone ... and then use a USB cable to my PC ...then I load the directory and manually drag the images over. Because that's how I know photos work... and I've never fiddled with the phone beyond that really

I know your phone is 3 years newer than mine.

LydiaJ

chris_m wrote: »

The name ASDIC didn't really mean anything but was used to avoid giving anything away to an enemy;

It's similar to the one about carrots helping you see in the dark, also a counter-espionage story.
To avoid the Germans learning about our RADAR being better than theirs, the RAF put out the story that the top British night fighter ace ate a lot of carrots and that was why he was shooting down so many German planes at night.

Wasn't there also one about referring to experimental armoured vehicles as "tanks" so that the enemy wouldn't know they were anything important? Or is that apocryphal?

Pyxis

chris_m wrote: »

The name ASDIC didn't really mean anything but was used to avoid giving anything away to an enemy;



It's similar to the one about carrots helping you see in the dark, also a counter-espionage story.
To avoid the Germans learning about our RADAR being better than theirs, the RAF put out the story that the top British night fighter ace ate a lot of carrots and that was why he was shooting down so many German planes at night.

There is some truth to the carrots and seeing in the dark thing, though.

It wouldn't apply to pilots, who would have had good vision anyway, but if someone is vitamin A- (retinol) deficient, eating carrots, which is a source of vitamin A, will correct that deficiency.

(Retinol is required for your body to synthesise rhodopsin, which is the pigment in your eyes that operates in low-light conditions. If you have a vitamin A deficiency, you will develop nyctalopia or night blindness).

Vitamin A is also found in dairy products and liver, but as these things were heavily rationed in wartime, the carrot source would have been the easiest and cheapest way to ensure your Vitamin A levels were ok.


Did you also know that if you eat loadsa loadsa carrots, your skin will turn orangey? The beta-carotene pigment gets stored in the skin. If you then reduce your carrot intake again, your skin will go back to normal.

chris_m

LydiaJ wrote: »

Wasn't there also one about referring to experimental armoured vehicles as "tanks" so that the enemy wouldn't know they were anything important? Or is that apocryphal?

No, that is quite correct - whilst under development they were originally referred to as "water tanks" instead of "gun carriers" which would have been a bit of a giveaway.
Later, once the Germans knew we had them, the "water" bit was dropped.

PasturesNew

The tanks got a slight mention last night in Guy Martin's building a WW1 tank programme. Originally they were called tanks, with the people being told they were for carrying water to places where they couldn't get water any other way - and it was only when they arrived in France, for the front, that the tank drivers discovered they were weapons.

The information was provided with an audio clip from a soldier who was there, with the words written on the screen; they'd used old recordings taken in the 1960s or so, where the memories of old veterans had been documented and recorded.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

The tanks got a slight mention last night in Guy Martin's building a WW1 tank programme. Originally they were called tanks, with the people being told they were for carrying water to places where they couldn't get water any other way - and it was only when they arrived in France, for the front, that the tank drivers discovered they were weapons.

The information was provided with an audio clip from a soldier who was there, with the words written on the screen; they'd used old recordings taken in the 1960s or so, where the memories of old veterans had been documented and recorded.

Damn! I meant to record that!

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

Damn! I meant to record that!

It was good. Typical Guy style, but "more interesting" than the speed records he did in several vehicles.