Oolite Bulletins

Greyth wrote:

I didn't really want to, partly because of what the answer might be, but I gotta ask, Disembodied!.. Is 'horse waltzing' the same as dressage?

That's it! I knew it had another name ... I've never understood why some activities are deemed Olympian, and others not. Why archery, for example, and not snooker – which arguably demands greater physical skill?* Being a pastime of the idle rich (various forms of equestrian prancing, various forms of rowing, various forms of skidding around in little yachts) seems to be one of the deciding factors. Not really the sorts of things I had a chance to try my hand at, at school. Still, it keeps them off the streets, I suppose.

* Although I'd like to see Bhutanese archery ... no carbon composites, no stabilisers or sniper sights, the targets are almost twice as far away as in the Olympics, and each archer is supported by his wife and family who shout creative and often literary insults at the other archers when they're taking their shots.

I think they've included Lawn Bowls for the 2014 Commonwealth games... that's up your way, ain't it, Big D? The excitement must be building already!

El Viejo wrote:

I think they've included Lawn Bowls for the 2014 Commonwealth games... that's up your way, ain't it, Big D? The excitement must be building already!

We talk of little else! Who could fail to be excited by the Diddy Olympics?

Skylon thread?....Olympics!!!
They should have thread derailment in the Olympics - Team Oolite would win Gold, Silver and Duralium

Disembodied wrote:

Being a pastime of the idle rich (various forms of equestrian prancing, various forms of rowing, various forms of skidding around in little yachts) seems to be one of the deciding factors. Not really the sorts of things I had a chance to try my hand at, at school. Still, it keeps them off the streets, I suppose.

I say! The idle rich freely roaming the streets! A prospect too ghastly to contemplate.

Quick! Give them another £12bn to keep them busy in their confinements!

Disembodied wrote:

A good programme on BBC4 tonight, called "The Three Rocketeers", about the perhaps-soon-nearing-completion (and very long-running) project to design a single-stage air-breathing spaceplane, originally known as HOTOL but now called "Skylon". The programme is repeated on Saturday 15 September, after which it'll be available on iPlayer:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... ocketeers/

Watched this programme last night. Very interesting. Not much mention about the support the European Space Agency (ESA) has been giving the project recently.

The UK Government has recently been supporting the project by trying to improve the European aerospace regulations which currently ban spaceplanes from operating in European airspace. See here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18784866

Some government funding for the Sabre engine.

Cool! Maybe we'll get somewhere within my lifetime ... £60 million "in stages", though: I wonder how far apart the stages are?

Disembodied wrote:

... £60 million "in stages", though: I wonder how far apart the stages are?

He intends to release £35m in 2014-15 and a further £25m in 2015-16 to help Mr Bond conclude the power unit's development phase.

They'll be going for private investment too, it seems.