Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 4]
Discussion
Ayahuasca said:
Why will airport security remove say a pair of tweezers from your hand luggage, yet airside restaurants allow diners to use metal cutlery including knives?
Not to mention metal cutlery being provided on aircraft.
I was arrested in Portugal for having a small credit card utility tool in my wallet. Because it had a tiny blade, and a small sheath, it was classed as a concealed weapon, which is automatically a class A, same as a gun. Not to mention metal cutlery being provided on aircraft.
I'd carried that tool everywhere, India, USA, Europe, on and off military bases, and never so much as a second look. Portugal? Cops with machine guns and a room with no windows.
I think I was tried in my absence, I got a letter a month or two later but in Portuguese so about as much use as a fart in a bag. I may have been found guilty, I may have been acquitted. Who knows.
Guess who hasn't been back to Portugal since?
Roofless Toothless said:
There's a fair bit of titanium inside my surgically reconstructed face. This has been known to set off walk through metal detectors at airports. Explaining this to the security staff is always entertaining.
I have a 40cm bar inside my left leg and never had an issue with UK systems which are detecting ferrous metal mostly. US systems do something different and quite often ding in the right area.V8mate said:
Roofless Toothless said:
There's a fair bit of titanium inside my surgically reconstructed face. This has been known to set off walk through metal detectors at airports. Explaining this to the security staff is always entertaining.
Roofless, recently, caught on airport CCTV...
What does Amazon or DPD's distribution network actually look like? I assume they have depots fed by larger hubs, but how big an area do they cover and do smaller depots cross national boundaries or does it have to go to a hub in country first?
I'm currently tracking a parcel with DPD that started in Dormagen, near Cologne, which is 263 km by road from me in The Hague, and in the neighbouring country. Last night they moved it 340km to Lauwin-Planque in France, 288km and 2 countries away from me. I assume there's some logic in there somewhere but it got me wondering what their network actually looks like
I'm currently tracking a parcel with DPD that started in Dormagen, near Cologne, which is 263 km by road from me in The Hague, and in the neighbouring country. Last night they moved it 340km to Lauwin-Planque in France, 288km and 2 countries away from me. I assume there's some logic in there somewhere but it got me wondering what their network actually looks like
OpulentBob said:
I was arrested in Portugal for having a small credit card utility tool in my wallet. Because it had a tiny blade, and a small sheath, it was classed as a concealed weapon, which is automatically a class A, same as a gun.
I'd carried that tool everywhere, India, USA, Europe, on and off military bases, and never so much as a second look. Portugal? Cops with machine guns and a room with no windows.
I think I was tried in my absence, I got a letter a month or two later but in Portuguese so about as much use as a fart in a bag. I may have been found guilty, I may have been acquitted. Who knows.
Guess who hasn't been back to Portugal since?
Years ago, early eighties maybe, I was staying in Tavira, Portugal, with an American girlfriend, who was an exchange student at Brunel University.I'd carried that tool everywhere, India, USA, Europe, on and off military bases, and never so much as a second look. Portugal? Cops with machine guns and a room with no windows.
I think I was tried in my absence, I got a letter a month or two later but in Portuguese so about as much use as a fart in a bag. I may have been found guilty, I may have been acquitted. Who knows.
Guess who hasn't been back to Portugal since?
One morning we were driving to a local supermarket, and we came to a roadside check by the GNR, a bit like the Spanish Guardia Civil.
Three young guys, in military fatigues, that I thought may be army, until I saw the GNR Land Rover, with a senior man lounging against it, by the egg salad on his kepi.
I pulled in when they waved me down, two with long guns, one with what I took to be a sub machine gun, and I smiled, “Não falo Português.” (Don’t speak Portuguese).
One grunted, “Passport”, which I gave him, and he called something to the officer, which I think included “inglês“ and the officer nonchalantly waved his hand.
As I put the Renault in gear, my girlfriend said, “Why did they stop us?”
I said, “They probably wanted a closer look at you!”
RizzoTheRat said:
What does Amazon or DPD's distribution network actually look like? I assume they have depots fed by larger hubs, but how big an area do they cover and do smaller depots cross national boundaries or does it have to go to a hub in country first?
I'm currently tracking a parcel with DPD that started in Dormagen, near Cologne, which is 263 km by road from me in The Hague, and in the neighbouring country. Last night they moved it 340km to Lauwin-Planque in France, 288km and 2 countries away from me. I assume there's some logic in there somewhere but it got me wondering what their network actually looks like
As I’ve worked for Amazon and now know a bit about DPD’s network because of my current job,I'm currently tracking a parcel with DPD that started in Dormagen, near Cologne, which is 263 km by road from me in The Hague, and in the neighbouring country. Last night they moved it 340km to Lauwin-Planque in France, 288km and 2 countries away from me. I assume there's some logic in there somewhere but it got me wondering what their network actually looks like
Amazon has at least one centre in each major city, I think there’s now 20 centres in the UK, so you’re not “that” far away from one wherever you are placed. Although if your local centre doesn’t have what you’ve ordered in stock it will be sent from another centre. A lot of different carriers ship Amazon orders, from Amazon’s own courier service to Royal Mail etc.
Anyways, it’s the same for DPD, a hub in or around every major city, lorries pick up DPD orders by the thousands (for the bigger customers), transport them to the hub, and then they get distributed out, either by the drivers in the vans or more lorries taking the items to your local hub.
Hope that makes sense.
RizzoTheRat said:
What does Amazon or DPD's distribution network actually look like? I assume they have depots fed by larger hubs, but how big an area do they cover and do smaller depots cross national boundaries or does it have to go to a hub in country first?
I worked next door to an Amazon site. It was a large warehouse on an industrial estate.Every morning the access road would be rammed with vans that were either un-liveried or, in some cases, hire vans. They would queue up to load up with parcels, presumably for final delivery to customers. We seldom if ever saw any lorries, so presumably the stock arrived overnight, when we weren't in the office.
The queuing vans were an absolute nightmare and would completely jam up the shared access road, preventing people from getting on-site. It particularly affected the shuttle bus, which would experience long delays trying to get past all the vans.
Edited by Clockwork Cupcake on Friday 30th November 10:01
moneymakestheworldgoaround said:
As I’ve worked for Amazon and now know a bit about DPD’s network because of my current job,
Amazon has at least one centre in each major city, I think there’s now 20 centres in the UK, so you’re not “that” far away from one wherever you are placed. Although if your local centre doesn’t have what you’ve ordered in stock it will be sent from another centre. A lot of different carriers ship Amazon orders, from Amazon’s own courier service to Royal Mail etc.
Anyways, it’s the same for DPD, a hub in or around every major city, lorries pick up DPD orders by the thousands (for the bigger customers), transport them to the hub, and then they get distributed out, either by the drivers in the vans or more lorries taking the items to your local hub.
Hope that makes sense.
That's kind of what I assumed, but I can't make sense of the network. The manufacturer is near Frankfurt so if Amazon didn't have it in stock it's first appearance on the system 175km away in Dormagen makes sense, but from there I would have expected it to either go to a bigger German hub (although it looks like Dormagen has a huge amazon warehouse so presumable a big hub), or to a Dutch one in Amsterdam/Rotterdam/TheHague, and then on to the DPD pickup point I've specified for delivery.Amazon has at least one centre in each major city, I think there’s now 20 centres in the UK, so you’re not “that” far away from one wherever you are placed. Although if your local centre doesn’t have what you’ve ordered in stock it will be sent from another centre. A lot of different carriers ship Amazon orders, from Amazon’s own courier service to Royal Mail etc.
Anyways, it’s the same for DPD, a hub in or around every major city, lorries pick up DPD orders by the thousands (for the bigger customers), transport them to the hub, and then they get distributed out, either by the drivers in the vans or more lorries taking the items to your local hub.
Hope that makes sense.
It left Lauwin-Planque this morning so I'm intrigued to see where it goes next, hopefully it's heading up through Belgium by now, but I doubt I'll be getting it before the weekend.
ETA:
Now arrived in Belgium, not the most obvious route
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Dormagen,+German...
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Friday 30th November 15:50
RizzoTheRat said:
That's kind of what I assumed, but I can't make sense of the network. The manufacturer is near Frankfurt so if Amazon didn't have it in stock it's first appearance on the system 175km away in Dormagen makes sense, but from there I would have expected it to either go to a bigger German hub (although it looks like Dormagen has a huge amazon warehouse so presumable a big hub), or to a Dutch one in Amsterdam/Rotterdam/TheHague, and then on to the DPD pickup point I've specified for delivery.
It left Lauwin-Planque this morning so I'm intrigued to see where it goes next, hopefully it's heading up through Belgium by now, but I doubt I'll be getting it before the weekend.
ETA:
Now arrived in Belgium, not the most obvious route
Brussels is the Regoinal hub for DHL and TNT. It left Lauwin-Planque this morning so I'm intrigued to see where it goes next, hopefully it's heading up through Belgium by now, but I doubt I'll be getting it before the weekend.
ETA:
Now arrived in Belgium, not the most obvious route
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Friday 30th November 15:50
Stuff on next day from our Amsterdam warehouse goes from Amsterdam to Brussels then on to the regional airport in the England. for DHL it’s East Midlands or Heathrow.
Frank7 said:
OpulentBob said:
I was arrested in Portugal for having a small credit card utility tool in my wallet. Because it had a tiny blade, and a small sheath, it was classed as a concealed weapon, which is automatically a class A, same as a gun.
I'd carried that tool everywhere, India, USA, Europe, on and off military bases, and never so much as a second look. Portugal? Cops with machine guns and a room with no windows.
I think I was tried in my absence, I got a letter a month or two later but in Portuguese so about as much use as a fart in a bag. I may have been found guilty, I may have been acquitted. Who knows.
Guess who hasn't been back to Portugal since?
Years ago, early eighties maybe, I was staying in Tavira, Portugal, with an American girlfriend, who was an exchange student at Brunel University.I'd carried that tool everywhere, India, USA, Europe, on and off military bases, and never so much as a second look. Portugal? Cops with machine guns and a room with no windows.
I think I was tried in my absence, I got a letter a month or two later but in Portuguese so about as much use as a fart in a bag. I may have been found guilty, I may have been acquitted. Who knows.
Guess who hasn't been back to Portugal since?
One morning we were driving to a local supermarket, and we came to a roadside check by the GNR, a bit like the Spanish Guardia Civil.
Three young guys, in military fatigues, that I thought may be army, until I saw the GNR Land Rover, with a senior man lounging against it, by the egg salad on his kepi.
I pulled in when they waved me down, two with long guns, one with what I took to be a sub machine gun, and I smiled, “Não falo Português.” (Don’t speak Portuguese).
One grunted, “Passport”, which I gave him, and he called something to the officer, which I think included “inglês“ and the officer nonchalantly waved his hand.
As I put the Renault in gear, my girlfriend said, “Why did they stop us?”
I said, “They probably wanted a closer look at you!”
Prompted by this:
Who decided what letters to give which generation is probably down to social meeja and the press, but more importantly, why have we (seemingly at least) started so close to the end of the alphabet and what do we call the next gens now? Are we going back to A?
How far back did we start giving letters to generations?
Pericoloso said:
silent ninja said:
I had to google generation Z. You mean millenials 
Gen Z started in 1995 ,so I think the OP is right as he described his applicants as early 20s.How far back did we start giving letters to generations?
227bhp said:
How far back did we start giving letters to generations?
It all started with Generation X didn't it?Clockwork Cupcake said:
227bhp said:
How far back did we start giving letters to generations?
It all started with Generation X didn't it?SpeckledJim said:
Johnspex said:
Great story, well told. 'As I put the Renault in gear...' You're wasted on here Frank. Jesus Christ.
I went back to the top to check it wasn’t Derek. Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff