Obvious Things You 0nly Just Realised - 2020

[Sebastian Cobb]

The Channel 5 launch came just as UK telly was starting to feel cheap.  First, Carlton had replaced Thames with its low-budget presentation, the Beeb had got those pointless "balloon" idents, and then the Channel 5 launch (which I remember seeing, somehow) with the fucking Spice Girls.  That aged well.

I was only 7 at the time, but the Channel 4 launch seemed like a special moment.  It had a certain dignity, a quality of presentation which seems to have long since gone.  And I just loved that colourful blocky '4'.  I wish they'd kept it forever.

I think that's because technology allowed it. Channel 5 and the launch of Sky Digital were only a few years apart and they coincided with cheaper professional/prosumer equipment. Now this opened the floodgates to a torrent of shite, but at the same time it brought about a lot of experimentation, alright it was fragmented, but there was some great weird, budget stuff that I've not seen the likes of since. Things like 4-later with Vids amongst other things, and Bravo's World Famous for Dicking Around.

Some of it almost feels like a youtube precursor. But with more quality control around content yet lower production standards.

[JesusAndYourBush]

I couldn't get any other regions, but my Gran who lived a couple of miles away had a 2nd aerial fitted and there was a switch on the windowsill you had to press to switch to the other aerial to get the other region.  (Maybe Granada.)

One thing I could do was though... because I had an indoor aerial on the tv in my bedroom there were certain times a few days a year usually during warm weather... and I think it had something to do with sunspots or solar flares??... but I could see when it was happening because the horizontal lines of the tv picture went all wide and blocky... and when that happened I knew that I had to wait until Yorkshire TV closed down for the night, and once it'd closed down I was able to tune around and pick up a bunch of other regions.  Luckily YTV closed down quite early, while other regions were still going.  (It didn't work *before* closedown because the YTV signal was powerful enough to wipe out anything else, so once YTV went 24 hours a day my TV DXing was over.)  I was able to pick up Central (and was able to watch a few episodes of Prisoner Cell Block H years before YTV showed it), and I got Thames/LWT a couple of times, and one time for a few seconds I got a French channel although because of the differing standards (SECAM) the picture rolled, but I could hear people speaking French.

[Twonty Gostelow]

One thing I could do was though... because I had an indoor aerial on the tv in my bedroom there were certain times a few days a year usually during warm weather... and I think it had something to do with sunspots or solar flares??... but I could see when it was happening because the horizontal lines of the tv picture went all wide and blocky... and when that happened I knew that I had to wait until Yorkshire TV closed down for the night, and once it'd closed down I was able to tune around and pick up a bunch of other regions.

I remember that happening too. It's not solar activity but atmospheric conditions that cause it, usually when there's a strong anticyclone over the country or to the south-east over the continent. The area of high pressure sometimes causes a temperature inversion that, in effect, creates a barrier lower down in the atmosphere that causes signals to refract - or is it reflect? I'm shit at physics - and interfere with each other. Would you like to see what it's like when something interferes with another thing, Billy?

[buzby]

I remember that happening too. It's not solar activity but atmospheric conditions that cause it, usually when there's a strong anticyclone over the country or to the south-east over the continent. The area of high pressure sometimes causes a temperature inversion that, in effect, creates a barrier lower down in the atmosphere that causes signals to refract - or is it reflect? I'm shit at physics - and interfere with each other.

Tropospheric Propagation (or 'Ducting') which has more of an effect the higher up the frequency spectrum you go, so UHF TV signals are particularly prone to it.

[touchingcloth]

Root beer is a fermented - but not alcoholic - thing. I'd aways thought it was an artificially flavoured carbonated drink that they have in that America but which hasn't become common over here so far (of the non-colas, I believe the order of those things from most to least readily-available in Europe is Dr Pepper, cream soda, Mountain Dee, root beer. Gatorade and slurpies will be in there somewhere, assuming they aren't made up things I heard of in films).

[buzby]

Root beer is a fermented - but not alcoholic - thing. I'd aways thought it was an artificially flavoured carbonated drink that they have in that America but which hasn't become common over here so far (of the non-colas, I believe the order of those things from most to least readily-available in Europe is Dr Pepper, cream soda, Mountain Dee, root beer. Gatorade and slurpies will be in there somewhere, assuming they aren't made up things I heard of in films).

Root beer is fermented and then carbonated. Sarsapirella is basically the same thing (made from the Sarsapirella vine instead of Sassafras bark) and used to be very common here in the Victorian era in temperance bars. Some root beers are made with Sarsapirella as Sassafras was banned by the FDA in 1960 for being carcinogenic.

Gatorade isn't carbonated. Slurpees are basically Slush Puppies but made with a carbonated water instead of still.

[Darles Chickens]

Tropospheric Propagation (or 'Ducting') which has more of an effect the higher up the frequency spectrum you go, so UHF TV signals are particularly prone to it.

I'm guessing that this is the same effect that caused AM radio to become saturated with all kinds of signals at night.  As a kid, messing around with the radio, looking for new stations, I always remember there being seemingly ten times as many at night, none of which came out clean (always someone speaking some unidentifiable language in the background).

[buzby]

I'm guessing that this is the same effect that caused AM radio to become saturated with all kinds of signals at night.  As a kid, messing around with the radio, looking for new stations, I always remember there being seemingly ten times as many at night, none of which came out clean (always someone speaking some unidentifiable language in the background).

No, that's Ionospheric Propogation (Skywave), which happens because the Sun's ionising radiation goes away, which during the day causes  the D layer of the upper atmosphere to absorb AM band radio frequencies. Once the Sun goes over the horizon, the D layer cools down and radio transmissions can reach the F1 and F2 layers above it, which reflect them back down to earth.

It's for this reason most AM broadcasters have to reduce their transmitter power at night to avoid swamping their neighbours. VHF (i.e. the FM band) frequencies are able to escape the ionosphere so it does't affect them.

[Dex Sawash]

Root beer is a fermented - but not alcoholic - thing. I'd aways thought it was an artificially flavoured carbonated drink that they have in that America but which hasn't become common over here so far (of the non-colas, I believe the order of those things from most to least readily-available in Europe is Dr Pepper, cream soda, Mountain Dee, root beer. Gatorade and slurpies will be in there somewhere, assuming they aren't made up things I heard of in films).

Home brew root[nb]in midwest, root rhymes with foot for many people monstrous idiots[/nb] beer supplies were on the shelf in grocery stores in midwestern usa when I was a kid. Mom would buy it a few times a year. Can still get online/amazon. The yeast carbs it at least a bit, in my memory.

[JesusAndYourBush]

I'm guessing that this is the same effect that caused AM radio to become saturated with all kinds of signals at night.  As a kid, messing around with the radio, looking for new stations, I always remember there being seemingly ten times as many at night, none of which came out clean (always someone speaking some unidentifiable language in the background).

I used to have fun seeing how many different stations I could pick up.  The furthest (I'm in Leeds) IRL station I received was County Sound (Guildford), that one I only received in the mornings around 9-10am sort of time, and I heard a test broadcast of Network East Kent (which became Invicta) one evening that was so powerful it made the stereo light come on.

One time - and I never experienced this again - the entire FM band was swamped with Spanish stations, I think I counted around 18 different stations, the signal was so powerful the stereo light came on for many of them and all the usual stations were barely audible in comparison.  I don't know what would account for it being more extreme, solar flares maybe (I'm determined to get solar flares in somewhere!).  Date was 15th May 1988, I noticed it at 5:45pm  and it continued until 9pm when the stations satrted to fade.

[Darles Chickens]

How weird!  I can't imagine what freak set of conditions would have to present for that to happen.  Let's go with the solar flares thing.

The furthest I ever got on FM (living in Guildford) was Ocean Sound from Southampton, a fleeting moment in stereo before it just seemed to disappear again.  Back in the 80s, my dad had one of the first generation of car radios with a digital tuner, and it came with a booklet listing the FM/AM frequencies of all the UK radio stations, so I had a kind of library of things to try.  There were loads of pirate stations around that time as well - I remember one called People's Choice Radio from London which I used to listen to sometimes.  I also remember being astonished being able to pick up Radio Luxembourg with such clarity, until my parents told me what it was.

[Dex Sawash]

fee fees= feelings?

Always assumed it was genitals

[buzby]

I used to have fun seeing how many different stations I could pick up.  The furthest (I'm in Leeds) IRL station I received was County Sound (Guildford), that one I only received in the mornings around 9-10am sort of time, and I heard a test broadcast of Network East Kent (which became Invicta) one evening that was so powerful it made the stereo light come on.

One time - and I never experienced this again - the entire FM band was swamped with Spanish stations, I think I counted around 18 different stations, the signal was so powerful the stereo light came on for many of them and all the usual stations were barely audible in comparison.  I don't know what would account for it being more extreme, solar flares maybe (I'm determined to get solar flares in somewhere!).  Date was 15th May 1988, I noticed it at 5:45pm  and it continued until 9pm when the stations satrted to fade.

For ionospheric propogation to happen with FM you need the much rarer conditions for F2 Propogation, which is related to the 11-year cycle between peaks in sunspot activity and the effect they have on the Sun's EM radiation. 1988 was in Solar Cycle 22, which began in 1986 and had geomagnetic storms in March and August 1989 and peak sunspot count in November 1989. It did however have a fast recorded rise in sunspot activity from the start of the cycle, with 1988 being very active.

It has the opposite effect to Skywave on AM in that as the Sun sets and your location is shielded from it by the other side of the Earth, the F2 layer receives less radiaiton and as it 'cools down' stops reflecting VHF frequencies again. That's probably why the signals started to fade by 9pm.

[Sebastian Cobb]

It's usually for a shorter period than your usual 'lift' as well isn't it?

[JesusAndYourBush]

One time - and I never experienced this again - the entire FM band was swamped with Spanish stations, I think I counted around 18 different stations, the signal was so powerful the stereo light came on for many of them and all the usual stations were barely audible in comparison.  I don't know what would account for it being more extreme, solar flares maybe (I'm determined to get solar flares in somewhere!).  Date was 15th May 1988, I noticed it at 5:45pm  and it continued until 9pm when the stations started to fade.

And now I found the tape, here's some audio I recorded of it! (Don't be put off by the first 22 seconds, it gets much clearer after that!)
https://mega.nz/file/8c5DlarZ#MhCr_yS4_GuqZ1Y5gyJnvYouqpqrasSYn03Tp4W5X4M

[kilgore]

fee fees= feelings?

Always assumed it was genitals

I expect it is feelings.

You're probably thinking of foo foo, sometimes shortened to foof. It means vagina.

[Dr Rock]

It's from Ben Shapirong

'Facts don't care about your feelings' he usd to say.

Ridiculed by turning feelings into 'fee fees' - original usage I don't know, Hannah and Jake?

[Sebastian Cobb]

It's from Ben Shapirong

'Facts don't care about your feelings' he usd to say.

Ridiculed by turning feelings into 'fee fees' - original usage I don't know, Hannah and Jake?

How are his feelings now he's been widely ridiculed as a man who can't satisfy his wife?

[Darles Chickens]

And now I found the tape, here's some audio I recorded of it! (Don't be put off by the first 22 seconds, it gets much clearer after that!)
https://mega.nz/file/8c5DlarZ#MhCr_yS4_GuqZ1Y5gyJnvYouqpqrasSYn03Tp4W5X4M

I'm amazed to hear it in such good quality.  Sounds like you recorded Radio 3 (which is the best of the state-run stations, so well done!).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_3_(Spanish_radio_station)

[Sherman Krank]

I expect it is feelings.

You're probably thinking of foo foo, sometimes shortened to foof. It means vagina.

And sometime lengthened to foofighters if there's more than one vagina involved.

[touchingcloth]

When you hear about the fifth, seventh, eleventh or whatever "circuit courts" in America, these aren't what I imagined - like Dante's circles of hell, concentric rings of courts of increasing seniority with the Supreme Court at its centre.

[timebug]

My mate Geoff has a 'slow memory' it takes repeated attempts for something to sink in and be fully grasped. So he has been astounded three of four times, when in conversation, 'Mumbai' and 'Beijing' have been mentioned; he assumed they were both relatively 'new' cities; when I have pointed out that at our great age(s) we knew them by their former names, he fails to grasp it.
So i explain again,and realisation slowly dawns. he then 'gets it'. Until next time. When I will have to go through it all again!

[touchingcloth]

My mate Geoff has a 'slow memory' it takes repeated attempts for something to sink in and be fully grasped. So he has been astounded three of four times, when in conversation, 'Mumbai' and 'Beijing' have been mentioned; he assumed they were both relatively 'new' cities; when I have pointed out that at our great age(s) we knew them by their former names, he fails to grasp it.
So i explain again,and realisation slowly dawns. he then 'gets it'. Until next time. When I will have to go through it all again!

I get this. I find it hard to break away from the first thing which sank into my memory. I guess you could call it a "sticky" rather than slow memory.

For instance, one of the supermarkets here is called Continente, and another Intermarché.

We started pronouncing them both the French way - Continent-ay, Intermarch-ay - but then realised that this Bad Portuguese and the final e syllable should properly be swallowed at the end of the word - Continent, Intermarch.

I pronounced them like this for months, and then realised that what with Intermarché being a French chain and having the acute accent that the original way I pronounced it was correct, but I mispronounced the two words for so long that I have to actively think which way round the final e goes on each of them, and I end up fucking it up about 10% of the time.

As another example some of the pans in our kitchen are hung up rather than kept in cupboards. They can be hung facing to the left or the right, and I tended to hang them one way and my partner the other, the direction being an arbitrary rather than practical decision.

She's more arsed about her way of hanging than I am about mine, so I'm perfectly happy hanging them the way she prefers. However the fact that it's an arbitrary choice but one which is opposite to the way I instinctively hang them means what now when I hang them up I have to think whether I'm hanging them up the way I am because that's my instinctive way and therefore the "wrong" way, or if I've been hanging them up her way for long enough that it now feels like my instinctive way and that therefore swapping them would result in them being "wrong". I fuck this up about 10% of the time.

Yet another example is left- and right-wing politics. It took a long time for the terms to latch onto their meanings in my mind, because like with the pans they feel arbitrary in that there's nothing in inherently left or right about either position.

[Ferris]

Pinecones come from pine trees.

[olliebean]

Frankly, and this applies to life in general, if you're managing not to fuck things up 90% of the time I reckon you're doing well.

The politics thing is particularly confusing because every time you see the House of Commons on the telly, Labour is on the right and the Tories on the left. But I suppose not from the Speaker's perspective.

[gib]

menthol = mint oil

[touchingcloth]

Frankly, and this applies to life in general, if you're managing not to fuck things up 90% of the time I reckon you're doing well.

The politics thing is particularly confusing because every time you see the House of Commons on the telly, Labour is on the right and the Tories on the left. But I suppose not from the Speaker's perspective.

Is that a fixed thing for Labour and Tory, or does the government sit on one side and opposition on the other? It's been too fucking long for me to remember if it was ever any different.

[touchingcloth]

Similar to the left-/right-wing thing, I still get confused by some of the terminology used where Ireland's relationship to the UK is concerned, because words like unionist and separatist could both apply equally to each side depending on your point of view. Can't we all just get along?

[NoSleep]

My mate Geoff has a 'slow memory' it takes repeated attempts for something to sink in and be fully grasped. So he has been astounded three of four times, when in conversation, 'Mumbai' and 'Beijing' have been mentioned; he assumed they were both relatively 'new' cities; when I have pointed out that at our great age(s) we knew them by their former names, he fails to grasp it.
So i explain again,and realisation slowly dawns. he then 'gets it'. Until next time. When I will have to go through it all again!

I think most people have compartments in their mind that don't even know about one another, like different personalities; for example, you might have decided to stop drinking alcohol, but that part of yourself is not the one that picks up a couple of beers while you're in the supermarket.

[olliebean]

Is that a fixed thing for Labour and Tory, or does the government sit on one side and opposition on the other? It's been too fucking long for me to remember if it was ever any different.

You're right; the party (or parties) in government, whoever they may be, always sit on the Speaker's right (i.e., the TV audience's left). I, too, had forgotten.