Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 5]

[omniflow]

Penny Whistle said:

48k said:

omniflow said:

Straw / Hay - the stuff in bales. How much does it cost and what's the profit margin in it?

What would be the total cost / profit on a full load on an articulated lorry? I presume there must be enough money in it to make it worthwhile transporting it using a lorry on the Motorway.

Straw and hay are two different things. Straw is used for bedding. Hay is food. Currently in our area (Milton Keynes) hay is about 4.50-5.00 per bale, straw is around £3. Depending on supplier, bale size and if its last years or the year befores. There is also haylage which is like fermented grass in bales. Prices for that are all over the place.

Those prices will be for small bales, each one manageable by a single person. Bigger bales need machinery for handling. There is also silage, which is grass which is baled and wrapped immediately after cutting. Silage tends to be used only for cattle feed whereas haylage (which is also wrapped but usually the day after cutting and baling) tends to be used more for horses.

Ok - so maybe I should re-phrase my question.

What's the stuff that looks like hay or straw on the back of articulated lorries being regularly transported on the motorway network?

Why is it being transported in such large quantities, presumably fairly long distances. Is there a surplus of the stuff in certain locations and a demand for it in others that makes it financially worthwhile - I presume that there must be, otherwise people wouldn't be doing it. I've always thought of it as a very low value commodity that is consumed within a few miles of where it is produced - but it would appear that it isn't. Are there people out there that produce multiple lorry loads (articulated lorry loads), or is each articulated lorry that we see carrying product from multiple producers.

[RATATTAK]

omniflow said:

Ok - so maybe I should re-phrase my question.

What's the stuff that looks like hay or straw on the back of articulated lorries being regularly transported on the motorway network?

Why is it being transported in such large quantities, presumably fairly long distances. Is there a surplus of the stuff in certain locations and a demand for it in others that makes it financially worthwhile - I presume that there must be, otherwise people wouldn't be doing it. I've always thought of it as a very low value commodity that is consumed within a few miles of where it is produced - but it would appear that it isn't. Are there people out there that produce multiple lorry loads (articulated lorry loads), or is each articulated lorry that we see carrying product from multiple producers.

Biomass fuel for power stations, Brigg for example.

[Penny Whistle]

omniflow said:

Ok - so maybe I should re-phrase my question.

What's the stuff that looks like hay or straw on the back of articulated lorries being regularly transported on the motorway network?

Why is it being transported in such large quantities, presumably fairly long distances. Is there a surplus of the stuff in certain locations and a demand for it in others that makes it financially worthwhile - I presume that there must be, otherwise people wouldn't be doing it. I've always thought of it as a very low value commodity that is consumed within a few miles of where it is produced - but it would appear that it isn't. Are there people out there that produce multiple lorry loads (articulated lorry loads), or is each articulated lorry that we see carrying product from multiple producers.

Straw was always a bit of a by-product of the cereal harvest, grown in the arable land which was mostly in the east of England. It is useful for cattle bedding (and feed) and most dairy farms are traditionally in the more westerly parts of the country. Large loads are down to economies of scale. Hay/haylage/silage tends to be more local markets; plenty of exceptions though. And the biomass market has changed it all.

[Gary C]

chemistry said:

How do steel pans (steel drums) work?

I don’t understand how hitting different parts of the same thing produces different notes.

Each flat section resonates as its own 'drum skin' as the bends form a hard edge supporting the flexible bit (just like a crease in a car wing)

As the other sections have different resonant frequencies, they don't sympathetically resonate (too much) so you get the tone of the bit you hit.

[Jordie Barretts sock]

Why was there no extradition treaty with Spain back in the 60s and 70s because all the crims seemed to head there after major crimes? When was the extradition treaty introduced?

[Gary C]

"In 1978, a century-old extradition treaty between the UK and Spain expired, and there was suddenly little or no chance of fleeing British criminals being sent home to face trial."

New one signed in 1985

[Gary C]

"In 1978, a century-old extradition treaty between the UK and Spain expired, and there was suddenly little or no chance of fleeing British criminals being sent home to face trial."

New one signed in 1985

Though I think there are a few still there.

Was invited to a birthday party by an Irish bar owner. A rowdy night that towards the end, included looking at old photographs of the bar owner and his homeland machine gun and balaclava collection

[Doofus]

How does somebody who has been blind since birth understand the concept of vision?

[Sway]

Doofus said:

How does somebody who has been blind since birth understand the concept of vision?

Pretty certain they just can't. Not really.

I'm colourblind, and whilst I can see colour not properly - I thought I had a pretty good idea what I was missing.

Then I got glasses that correct my colour sight enough I can pass the 'see the number in the coloured dots' standard test.

And instantly realised I hadn't a scooby about how much of the world I was missing out on.

Taking that to it's fullest extent, someone with zero experience of a specific sense simply cannot comprehend it as it's so far removed from their reference points.

[audi321]

Doofus said:

How does somebody who has been blind since birth understand the concept of vision?

I’m sure there are some exceptions but most registered blind people have *some sight. I think completely total blindness is unusual. However for those exceptions I wouldn’t begin to imagine how they would have any concept.

[StevieBee]

Sway said:

Doofus said:

How does somebody who has been blind since birth understand the concept of vision?

Pretty certain they just can't. Not really.

I used to run a Community Radio Station and we had a blind lad who did the Breakfast Show; only 20 and a truly remarkable young man. He described to me how he visualises his environment as a sort of 3D grid and how he was able to visualise where things were in that grid based on experience, expectation and an acute sense of the space he's in. The latter of this I found intriguing. He said that if he was walking along a pavement, he could sense if there was a wall or fence to the side which would give him a good approximation of the direction and angle of travel required. Quite remarkable.

[SteveStrange]

Sway said:

I'm colourblind, and whilst I can see colour not properly - I thought I had a pretty good idea what I was missing.

Then I got glasses that correct my colour sight enough I can pass the 'see the number in the coloured dots' standard test.

And instantly realised I hadn't a scooby about how much of the world I was missing out on.

I've seen youtube videos of people getting those glasses, and getting extremely emotional when they realise what they can now see. They're brilliant, and a guilty pleasure if I ever need a bit of a happy emotional moment.

for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9B8PaQ3jsg

[Sway]

SteveStrange said:

Sway said:

I'm colourblind, and whilst I can see colour not properly - I thought I had a pretty good idea what I was missing.

Then I got glasses that correct my colour sight enough I can pass the 'see the number in the coloured dots' standard test.

And instantly realised I hadn't a scooby about how much of the world I was missing out on.

I've seen youtube videos of people getting those glasses, and getting extremely emotional when they realise what they can now see. They're brilliant, and a guilty pleasure if I ever need a bit of a happy emotional moment.

for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9B8PaQ3jsg

There's a thread from a couple of years back when I got mine - didn't post the vid, but yes, pretty much exactly that.

They made my eyes leak...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Clockwork Cupcake]

Sway said:

I'm colourblind, and whilst I can see colour not properly - I thought I had a pretty good idea what I was missing.

Same. Although I prefer to think of it as having 'reduced colour perception' as I am not blind to colour. If you see what I mean.

Sway said:

Then I got glasses that correct my colour sight enough I can pass the 'see the number in the coloured dots' standard test.

Intriguing. How does one go about getting such things? I can't do those tests for toffee. I can do the first one, which is the control one that shows you what you are expected to see, but after that nowt.

[Sway]

Clockwork Cupcake said:

Sway said:

I'm colourblind, and whilst I can see colour not properly - I thought I had a pretty good idea what I was missing.

Same. Although I prefer to think of it as having 'reduced colour perception' as I am not blind to colour. If you see what I mean.

Sway said:

Then I got glasses that correct my colour sight enough I can pass the 'see the number in the coloured dots' standard test.

Intriguing. How does one go about getting such things? I can't do those tests for toffee. I can do the first one, which is the control one that shows you what you are expected to see, but after that nowt.

Added a link to my thread at the time chick.

Do it!

Short answer, do the tests on Enchroma to diagnose exactly what type of CB, then grab some (much cheaper) Pilestone glasses with the right lens.

Enchroma are now available in the UK, which they weren't a few years ago, so wasn't worth the risk of them not working.

I'll upload the vid of me to youtube and email you a link...

[SteveStrange]

Sway said:

I'll upload the vid of me to youtube and email you a link...

Could you/would you be willing to add it to your historical thread? Wouldn't get too much unwanted attention as it would if you posted it in this Lounge thread but would be very interesting for those of us who do find it interesting.

[Ayahuasca]

SteveStrange said:

I've seen youtube videos of people getting those glasses, and getting extremely emotional when they realise what they can now see. They're brilliant, and a guilty pleasure if I ever need a bit of a happy emotional moment.

for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9B8PaQ3jsg

That is very good. Thanks for sharing.

[Doofus]

When it come to audio, does Watts relate purely to volume?

If so, how come a 50w speaker in my kitchen is more than loud enough but my car apparently needs a 1,000w stereo?

If watts aren't just about volume then what are they about?

[Sway]

SteveStrange said:

Sway said:

I'll upload the vid of me to youtube and email you a link...

Could you/would you be willing to add it to your historical thread? Wouldn't get too much unwanted attention as it would if you posted it in this Lounge thread but would be very interesting for those of us who do find it interesting.

The historical thread is in the Lounge too, but it seems I'm struggling to download it!

Lemme check if it's on my pc, if so, I'll get a link up (and give the photoshop monkeys something to work with...).

[Thankyou4calling]

Could a domestic pressure washer make a hole in my leg for instance?