at9

About sideways photos: https://www.howtogeek.com/254830/why-your-photos-dont-always-appear-correctly-rotated/

I do basic photo editing with Irfanview, an excellent free viewer/editor for Windows. I set it to display pictures in their actual orientation, rather than using the EXIF data to correct the orientation for display. Then I can correct them in a couple of keystrokes and save them the right way up.

5 hours ago, Shyheels said:

......something a zebra wouldn't wear on a bet.

Shyheels, I know you're very well travelled but I didn't realise that you'd observed gambling amongst zebras 🙂

Glad to say that I've never seen these horrors (the platform Crocs, not the zebras) in real life. But then I don't often go to the exotic parts where they might be worn. Peopled by semi-sentient beings with far more money than sense.

First there was the Ugg, and the Croc. None were lovely but all could claim a certain utility. For your own safety please put down your coffee and stop eating your lunch before you look at this abomination:

https://www.net-a-porter.com/en-gb/shop/product/balenciaga/crocs-embellished-rubber-platform-sandals/1053900

https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/balenciaga-platform-crocs-release-date-price/

They aren't even new. I just had the misfortune to see them for the first time today.

5 hours ago, kevloveheel said:

...... The hardness and flatness of the platform made it impossible for me to walk naturally. There was no way to roll my foot.  ....

It's hard to walk in a shoe which has a rigid sole unless there's some toe spring: https://paceathletic.com/blogs/news/15507849-the-relationship-between-plantar-fasciitis-forefoot-rocker-toe-spring

Many years ago I had a pair of kneehigh boots with about 1" rigid platform and 2.5" heel. The platform was absolutely flat. Even at that very modest height it made walking quite awkward. Had to land very conciously on the heel with the toe raised, otherwise I'd trip over tiny irregularities. No way to roll the foot forward into the next step.

24 minutes ago, mlroseplant said:

..... I went to drop off a check for my utility bill, which is administered by my city. They have a drop box about a mile from my house, so there is no need to put it through the mail, if one chooses.

 

How quaint. In the UK cheques (as we say over here) are now hardly used. I haven't written one for several years. Utility bills are usually paid by direct debit, or failing that by bank transfer.

I think mlroseplant and others involved with high power electrics will like this film. I remember it from my childhood when it was shown as a colour test film in the UK at the start of our colour service in 1967. It seems quaint now but TV in the UK wouldn't be 24/7 for a number of years so these "Trade Test" films were used to help TV dealers. We couldn't afford colour back then so I saw them in glorious black and white. The work looks more like nuclear research than a power station.

SWMBO predates Rumpole by a long way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_Who_Must_Be_Obeyed

As @Chorlinisays, it's basically Pleaser stuff.  Possible UK and EU suppliers include:

Banana shoes: https://www.bananashoes.com/

Alternative footwear: https://www.alternative-footwear.co.uk/

These first 2 should be reliable suppliers. I know people who have bought from both. Some others below. Honour are reliable but only have a small range - I've been in their shops for other stuff. I don't know about the others.

Honour: https://www.honour.co.uk/

https://pennangalan.co.uk/

https://www.schuhplus.com/damenschuhe/

Tried them again this morning. The 2nd ones https://www.asos.com/simmi-shoes/simmi-london-jemma-chunky-ankle-boots-in-black/prd/14194498 are still too tight, quite narrow across the toe box. Really liked the look of them but being synthetic they won't stretch well

The 3rd ones https://www.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-wide-fit-ellen-chunky-lace-up-boots-in-black/prd/12152117  really didn't fit. The right foot might have been OK with a little wearing in but the left was impossible. I think my left foot is slightly larger than the right. The boot may have been slightly smaller too. If theya re wide fit I hate to think what the standard fit is like.

So they are all going back.

Decided to get a pair of the ASOS Chelsea boots as mentioned above: https://www.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-heeled-chelsea-boots-in-black-leather-with-zip-detail-on-black-platform-sole/prd/20048891

Despite being sold as men's boots something was adrift on the sizing. I ordered UK9 (they are marked UK9 EU43) but couldn't even get them on my feet. Possibly because I have a fairly high instep. I could try a UK10 but they look uglier in real life than online so they're going back. Free delivery, free return so no problem.

While I was ordering, I decided to try some other chunky boots that were available in UK9. I quite like the look of these so it's  shame they are too tight: https://www.asos.com/simmi-shoes/simmi-london-jemma-chunky-ankle-boots-in-black/prd/14194498

These fit reasonably. I'll try them again in the morning. If I keep them then the price is right, though they aren't real leather: https://www.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-wide-fit-ellen-chunky-lace-up-boots-in-black/prd/12152117

Since jamie1608 is in the UK I assume he means UK8. This is equivalent to EU42, US men's 9 or US women's 10. This is always an approximate conversion since sizes differ between makes and styles.

I usually take UK9 shoes. I used to own a pair of Devious 1020 ballet boots which were marked 11. I think this was US women's size.

With ballet boots never go too big. You need a tight fit so that most of your weight is on the instep, not your toes.

In case anyone is wondering, I got mine out of curiosity, secondhand. I could just about walk in them after some practice and then felt they weren't worth the effort.

Who didn't read until the end of the article. The customers holding those dormant account will never lose their money. " If at a later date a consumer discovers that they had a dormant account and their funds have been transferred into the scheme, they will also always be able reclaim the full amount owed to them. "

I'm not sure who would be liable to repay the customers under those conditions. For the banks who hold these accounts £150 million is a drop in the ocean. And the chance of more than a tiny amount needing to be repaid is minuscule.

I'm well aware of dormant accounts in the UK. I've had a couple I've forgotten about over the years, usually with just pennies in them, sometimes where it was more hassle to close them than abandon them.  Some notes about the UK dormant accounts scheme: https://www.moneysupermarket.com/savings/dormant-account-guide/

1 hour ago, maninpumps said:

One of the things I find rather funny are model instructions . Some of you may have figured out i do a lot of model building . The translations have taught me well . Airfix is a great company for this . Here are just a few of the translations and  pronunciations in the English language I find rather interesting . Some are misspelled intentionally . Chassis UK = Chassie US , Lorrie UK = Truck US , Fuel Bowser UK = Tanker US , Bomb trolly UK = Bomb cart / trailer US . The list goes on and on . This is just a few in English . Throw in Russian , Japanese , Chinese , German , French and Danish . Thank goodness the parts are numbered .  Not to mention color reference , here in the US we have a Federal Standard or FS number the Germans not so much in WWII . . Anyway that's my two cents for the day , please excuse any mistakes in proper grammar .    

In the UK we say Lorry, not Lorrie. We also say Truck. The words are interchangeable. I've rarely if ever heard the term "Fuel Bowser" in the UK. Tanker is the usual usage.

In the UK anyone who hasn't got a good reason to be driving far away from home is likely to get stopped by the police and fined. Two examples amongst many:

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/man-stopped-police-m1-leicestershire-4023239

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-52532267

While there have been examples of overzealous policing of the lockdown in the UK the cases I've mentioned certainly deserved their fines. Example of idiotic policing which I mentioned before. There are others : https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/bakery-employee-confronts-police-officer-after-threat-of-fine-for-putting-safe-queuing-marks-on-pave-1.498565

At least I don't think we've had any incidents like this in the UK yet: https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-michigan-family-charged-with-murdering-security-guard-who-was-enforcing-face-mask-policy-11983353

Our present Home Secretary is no stranger to garbles. I think she's been isolated for the duration.

Typically on these ballet boots the heels are about 10mm too long. I had a pair of similar ones once(same model but matt leather) and shortened the heel slightly. I could then walk in them after a fashion. They are long since gone.

You need to extract the heel tip, peel back the covering on the heel, cut off 10mm with a hacksaw or grinder, drill deeper for the pin, put back the heel covering and hammer in the tip. It's not too hard if you have reasonable tools.

I don't know if I believe this, but I've been told by a reasonably reliable source that some British banking software still runs in pre-decimal Pounds, Shillings and Pence. It's wrapped around with heaven know how many layers of abstraction to use in modern systems. There are some bits of code in older systems that nobody wants or dares to touch. Even if they still have the source code which isn't a given.

One friend of mine complains that some pieces of music have far too many notes in them. Her husband and son are both very musical (mainly classical and vintage 1920s-1950s), she just puts up with it. This is the sort of thing she really hates:

Policing in the UK is different to most countries. Our cops don't routinely carry guns. Policing is, or should be, done with the consent of the community. The police are meant to be part of the community, not "other". When this relationship break down, the whole system of policing breaks with it. There have been serious problems with racism in the police. Though that problem is hardly unique to the UK.

This story is disturbing. From 2 news outlets with very different political viewpoints:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/26/police-officer-robyn-williams-sentenced-unpaid-work-possessing-child-abuse-video

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11171358/senior-met-police-sacked-child-abuse-possession/

Example of truly idiotic police officer just a few miles from where I live: https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/28/bakery-threatened-80-fine-drawing-chalk-pavement-promote-social-distancing-12471130/

I have them in black, brown and tan. All in size UK9/EU43.

I have a couple of pairs of DM "Una" clogs. 4" heel,  just under 1" platform.  Very comfortable. Photo is from a website, not of my pairs.

A few years ago I linked to this excellent high-heeled performance on the piano. It's good enough to repeat on this thread:

Or for a very different genre of music being played in HH:

A least one of the comments in Youtube refers to her high heels. Quite incredible the way she dances over the pedalboard.

Another video of her, in higher heels, with rather different repertoire:

1 hour ago, Pierre1961 said:

The second one is probably the one Darwin would have preferred.

 

I don't think Darwin was a eugenicist. Although his theories have been abused by eugenicists.