Netfoot

Ok, I was wondering if Ferns had been banned, because I can't remember anyone using a Fern for the longest while!

Reverse can be all over the place. Left or right, forward or rearward, sometimes simultaneously lifting the stick up or pushing it down. My embarrassing moment during my driving test was because I took the test in a Triumph 1300 (Left/Forward, near 1st), whereas my own car was an Austin Mini 850* (Right/Rear, near 4th). It's one of the things you have to familiarize yourself with when you drive a car you're not familiar with. * Modified! <More Tim Allen Grunting>

I'm tired. I've been working on a new model, trying to get it ready for the Fun-Fly on the 15th. And it's now been pushed to the 22nd due to continuing rain. (Here's hoping the long range forecast is somewhat accurate!) It's an ARF and it came all covered and pretty, but I stripped her back to bare wood, and replaced the puny wheels with wheels a man can be proud of! <Tim Allen Grunt Goes Here> Here is a picture of the wheel upgrade: And here she is all naked (except for her big, new boots): Made several other minor mods, then all I had to do was cover, followed by final assembly, Center-of-Gravity, and radio programming. I spent over 35 hours re-covering her, and when I thought I was done and powered off my covering irons, I discovered two small patches that still needed to be covered. But right now? I'm too tired. I'm thinking about something to eat and then joining Budweiser in bed. She is yellow, and maybe, if I can find someone with a camera, I can get a nice picture of her in flight to show you. Maybe even a video! (You obviously realize, that no pilot ever takes a photo of his own plane in the air, right? Because he's too busy shaking the sticks!) Oh. And I told Dr. K that Sunday was Pizza Day and that since she had preventing me from having any pizza last Pizza Day, I was having two pizzas this time. She replied "Eat ya pizza and enjoy" which clearly indicates that I'll be in deep doo-doo if I so much as look at a pizza... <sigh> You'd think a guy would be allowed one pizza a year, wouldn't you? I'm off to nuke some bangers and fry some eggs. Prolly blow up the kitchen, this being Friday 13th and all... ARF = Almost Ready to Fly

Yes... but if the clue says drive, walk or take a taxi, you had better drive, walk or take a taxi as instructed. People have been penalized for failing to do so. Also don't like them, but I can attest that I once went from neutral to first and ended up in reverse by accident. It happened when I was 17, being tested for my driving license. The cop in the back seat wasn't very impressed, and made a long note on his clipboard. But later in the test, circumstances allowed me to demonstrate my high level of ability in gear changing, and the cop then scratched out something on his clipboard. I passed with flying colours. The British environmental agency said the same. Next day the electricity generating board responded that if they started immediately, and built as fast as they possibly could, they would not be able to create enough new generating stations to provide the energy needed to recharge all the cars. And if they could, they would have to be coal or oil fired anyway. So the pollutants generated by the power stations needed to power recharge all the electric vehicles would be more that the pollution generated by the vehicles if they were powered conventionally, by petrol or diesel oil. The electric vehicle proponents never seem to realize that they are only moving the emission point of the pollutants from their tailpipe to a nearby smoke stack. If, in 20 years, Europe is all-electric, don't you suppose that they will still be driving beat-up Land Rovers in the back country of Bhutan? Where (I hope) TAR Season 52 will send them to demonstrate their driving skills? And that we might still be here to watch them do it on TV? Fortunately, in England, I was not travelling alone, and one did the driving while the other did the navigating. That made things easier.

Toured the UK a couple years ago, and covered 4,000 odd miles, navigating the entire way with my phone providing a hotspot for Google Maps on my tablet. Except for about 2 hours around the north end of Conniston Water, where there was no signal. After that, discovered that you can pre-load the map for the next days travel from the night before. (You don't get traffic updates, but you can find your way.) For the two hours, I used a paper map, which long ago, I was taught how to use by the same people who taught me how to shoot a Lee-Enfield Number 4 rifle. I'd recommend Google Maps over any other type of navigation I've ever tried (because you can ask it to point out coffee shops, etc, along your route) but map reading is a basic, essential skill, like telling time or boiling an egg.

But there were only a few people who matched. If you picked someone at random there was a 90% chance that there was no painting for that person. I drove a manual from the day I got my license (actually for 4-5 years before that) for about 30 years. Then I got an automatic. I have not driven a manual shift in the last 17ish years, and if I tried I'd stall the engine, rake the gears and jerk forward, But only for the minute or so it would take me to get accustomed to the clutch again. Me too. I swallowed the fake-out... and was sure they were gone. The two who were eliminated were not my favourites, but they must have screwed their navigation up bigtime! How else could they slip so far behind that the blondes caught up and passed them? And the DBBCF girls were surprisingly calm about what they must have been sure was their Philimination... Me too. I was saying out loud: "Now get out of their car and lock the door with the keys inside!" Because I'm a mean guy.

Yep! They sure do think very highly of themselves!

Can't agree. She was stopping random people in the street and asking "Orquesta de reciclados?" Wait. So, the DBCF are now the DBBCF?!?? I can't spot natural hair colour from fake, so I operate on the presumption that all female hair has been 'adjusted'.

W&WLS: "We thought that of the four people cooking..." L&A: "We thought that STFU!" Essentially. To the person who mentioned last week about the blondes white trousers? You made me look. And only a brief flash in the Previouslies was more than enough. Please, don't hurt me again! Speaking of the blondes: I always give the "Dumb Blonde Cannon Fodder" teams extra leeway. I feel I need to atone for wrongfully assessing Dustin & Kandice in the past. This season's particular DBCF team is not starting to shine much so far. Still, I was impressed that the cello-maker went to work and didn't melt down no matter how hard or long the task got. She just stuck to it until she succeeded. I also see some comments like "They were horrified to find themselves in a poor area and feared for their lives!" I didn't see that at all. I saw them horrified to discover that the taxi driver who, when asked "Do you know where that is?" nodded her head vigorously and gave a giant thumbs-up. Then actually didn't have the faintest idea where to go, and drove them way away from the active part of town where the challenges were likely to be. Then got out of the vehicle and walked away. I didn't see "OMG! The locals are going to kill us!" I saw, "OMG! We'll be hours late to the first challenge, and probably get eliminated!" Which they would have been, had it not been a NEL, entirely because of that taxi driver! Most churlish behaviour of the episode: W&WLS printing maps for everyone "except the Blondies". And DeAngelo being all 100% with that plan was not pretty either.

North American P-51 Mustang approaches for a gear-up, high-speed pass, as the sunlight drains out of the day.

Speaking of noxious, annoying mud, Holy Geebus! the trip in to the club this afternoon was quite "interesting", with the van nearly getting stuck within the first 20 feet of the 1,200 foot track. Then slewing from side to side as I made it down, leaping sideways so violently at the end I thought I was going to swipe the gatepost! And that was before six other vehicles traversed said track! Coming back out was a wild ride, and I thought it was all over several times along the way. Steering full lock-to-lock and the vehicle going the other direction at all times. Woah! I had a buddy standing by with a 4WD truck just in case. I told him to give me room, because I didn't want to have to stop (fatal) and would probably need to run at certain sections with some speed. So, I asked him to wait right at the exit on to the paved road and watch out for me flashing my lights in distress. (Did I mention this happened after dark?) But I told him that when I approached him at the end, to get out onto the road so I could come right out without stopping. Main road traffic willing, of course... And so it went. He waited and I came slithering up like a wheel in a waterway, and just as I reached him he shot out into the road and I popped out behind him like a cork out of a bottle! The TownAce of Awesomeness continues to reign supreme! (But could use a washdown, right now.) Edit for clarification: In Trinidad, there is a snake that spends a lot of it's time in the water, and it's sinuous behaviour is said to resemble the rippling colours of oil on water. Hence the nickname "huile" (French for "oil") or in the local patois, "wheel". The correct name for this creature is the Green Anaconda, known to be the largest snake in the world, with examples up to 30 feet in length, over 500 pounds in weight, and a girth of well over one yard. So When I said "slithering up like a wheel in a waterway".... You get my point.

I'll agree that given how far back Frank and Jerry were, the U-Turning of them was probably not necessary. Probably. But did H/K know how far back they were? Did we know for sure that Leo and Alana would not melt down completely on task #2, requiring even more time to complete it? I think Hayley & Kaylyn came along, saw that Leo and Alana had been U-Turned, remembered that L&A had helped them in the previous leg, and chose to return the favour by using the U-Turn. Their choice of Frank and Jerry was absolutely correct, in that how ever late they were, U-Turning them made them later, and increased the size of Leo and Alana's breathing space. Which was the whole point. In the long run, it seems that F&J were doomed even without being U-Turned, and L&A would have been safe in any case. But Hayley & Kaylyn could not have known that for sure, at the time they had to make the decision about using the U-Turn. They legitimately U-Turned to return a favour, they U-Turned the right team, and their objective was achieved. If in hindsight it appears that it may not have been necessary, (and we will never know for sure) then no harm was done.

Didn't really take to this show, so maybe I'll just not rejoin.

Will & Grace?? I laughed when I saw that. He means Will & Whiney Little Shit.

Ah, but the list of items may have included things needed for the other task. For instance, I doubt you needed the cutlass to make cassava soup, whereas it might have been deemed necessary for roofing. So perhaps you would have been denied entry to either side of the Detour, if you failed to arrive with the bag of goods.

I'm old-school when it comes to the use of time-wasters (like U-Turns and Yields). The only legitimate use is to ensure that you don't get to the mat last. The best guarantee of this is to make the last team even laster! This guarantees you maximum time to foul up and still recover in time to make the mat and avoid elimination. More recently, it's been used in an attempt to "eliminate a threat", so leading teams now routinely use these slow-down tactics in an effort to strategically oust potential rivals. And when they find themselves 2nd last and they've already used their Yield, they probably regret it.

It is a naturally occurring source of a fluid that turns good, wholesome dirt into noxious, annoying mud.

It's pissing down, and has been for a couple of days. I was awakened this morning before sunup, by heavy rain blowing through the window and landing on my face. And it hasn't stopped since. I'm off to bed in a minute, and won't be able to open the window. And I really don't like sleeping with the window shut. Buddy sees this as a wonderful opportunity to get rub-downs. He goes out to get rained on, and then comes to me and expects to be toweled dry. He then goes out to get wet again, in order to keep getting the towel treatment. He doesn't really like getting wet - I observed him at it. He runs out into the rain and runs immediately back. Just long enough to get a sprinkle on his fur, so he can get the towel treatment. He spices up the deal by jumping up to claw at my chest with his muddy paws, with their long, never-cut talons. Ouch! There is a Tropical Wave coming through and we have a Small Craft Warning and a High Surf Advisory, as well as a Flood Warning due to the levels of rainfall. We're getting between 1 and 3 inches an hour, depending on the intensity of the rain, which varies from heavier to lighter and back again. In the morning I'll hear all about the houses that got washed away, and I won't feel the least bit sorry for those people. Because it will be all the folks who repeatedly build illegally in designated watercourses, despite being told not to. (It happens all the time.) So obviously their houses get washed away, and then they moan and groan and expect the taxpayer to foot the bill for them to rebuild. Tomorrow (Thursday) is supposed to be the worst day with highest rainfall and highest windspeeds. After tomorrow, it is forecast to taper off, but it won't be anything like normal (a wet, windy normal) until maybe Monday, when the rain should abate significantly and windspeeds drop below 20MPH.

Whiney Little Shit continues to irritate my soul. Alliances. Bah! How stupid are these people? They get sent to buy a long shopping list of items, and then they just leave them? I didn't have a clue to read and I still knew they were to take the stuff. And particularly food? You're gonna have to cook that stuff! And it wasn't one or two, it was most teams! You are in the Bush and going even further into the Bush, and you are told to bring a cutlass. So what sort of idiot do you have to be to get a wooden one? And some idiot saying "Don't run with a knife!" It's a cutlass, dude, not an UXB! Why didn't the teams have to use the blowpipe themselves? That little extra challenge is what TAR used to include and now doesn't. Shaddup, WLS! Manioc. Stuff can be poisonous if not prepared properly. Jerry and Frank are making too many mistakes. Easily avoidable mistakes... "We're making big moves!" Yeah, I'm sure the members of the jury will be impressed. Oh, wait..... I kind of liked Jerry and Frank so I was sorry to see them go, but they were not good racers at all, and they earned their dismissal. Bye, guys! I think the takeaway this week is: READ THE CLUE!

Commando !!! Just sayin'...

Let us say might have. At the time they were given the tip, all the remaining teams were at about the same place. Without the tip, there is no way to know who would have worked it out first on their own. The DBCF team might have twigged to it themselves first... or not. We just can't know. Never the less, they should count themselves very lucky to have received the tip. I don't know why racers insist on helping other teams. How will A&L feel at the end of the next episode, if they get eliminated because DBCF beat them to the mat in a footrace?

Actually, I quite like them. They aren't (so far at least) the very best of racers, and really they don't come off to me as father/son for some reason. But they look like the regular salt-of-the-earth people that are my preferred type of racer. As opposed to mactors, athletes, athlete's spouses, influencers, or any of the other 'special' people TAR so frequently tries to push down our throats.

Well, all the remaining teams have one, some for 10 minutes and some for 20. Dunno what the rules are, but they have to play it at a Yield Sign. How many will there be in the upcoming race episodes? Can a team be Yielded more than once at the same sign? Can multiple teams be Yielded simultaneously? We'll have to see. Who knows? Might be fun!

Absolutely! While the Dumb Blonde Cannon Fodder (DBCF) team didn't do much better than last episode, I'm pleased (or at least not offended) to see them make it through to next week. I didn't really like the Olympians so much - largely because they wouldn't stop telling us about it. "We're Olympians, so we know about Phone Chargers..." Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much! Besides, they were obviously poor competitors, one-before-last to the mat in the previous episode, and last to the mat this episode. They seemed to run into trouble at every task, and... "I'm sorry to tell you that you have been eliminated from The Race." One is a Whiny Little Shit and I can't tell you which one that is, because I don't know which one is which. I completely agree, but the curse of "alliance forming" and generally helping others has been a part of TAR for many seasons now, so I just take it as a (regrettable) part of the race. Disagree. The Yield as originally deployed was a sort of randomizer. And it was far less destructive to a team's chances than a U-Turn. It was a hard and fast 30 minute delay, whereas the U-Turn can keep a team back for a very long time, depending upon the difficulty of the other/second task. For a while, the U-Turn was an automatic eliminator! And originally, the Yield was deployed at a time when every leg also had a Fast Forward. This new Yield with a delay of only 20 minutes, and possibly only 10 minutes, is not a major game changer! If they eliminate the Detour, they also eliminate the U-Turn, which (see above) I don't particularly like. I agree she seems genuine, but the hugging might get her into trouble in some countries. Might be better if she offers, and waits to see the reaction. (I don't find it offensive, but others might.) Or incompetence. None of them appear to be very good racers. I don't think of TAR as an athletic event. Sometimes strenuous activity is required, but sometimes something other than muscle is needed. So for me? Being a 'physically fit Olympian' is not a bonus. In fact I am always annoyed when they pack the court with athletes. Ordinary people is what my TAR is about. Because possibly, as has been suggested elsewhere, honking was thought to be a sign that they have won, and not a test they must pass to win?

Can't take credit for the photo. My cheap phone can't take a decent photo to save it's life! That was taken by one of the other guys and posted on our WhatsApp group. ETA: I forgot to mention, that in response to Austin dunking the Gorrion last week, Tony brought him a present. A pair of Wellington boots! Heh!