Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - Mammy told me not to come.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[ComradeCollie]

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Mellor]

In these austere times where we are beset with great economic uncertainty and the need to tighten our belts I've started thinking about Hot Tubs. Has anybody any experience with them? I see Aldi have the cheapo inflatables available this week again but surely they are hugely inefficient in terms of heating time, heat retention and therefore cost to heat so I figure there is a huge false economy attached to them. Anyway any insights out there amongst the BBV massive.

If I have a weekend away in Winter/Autumn, I try to get a place with a hot tub. I've tried a fair few at this point, and they all take ages to heat. About 2 degrees gain per hour.
The volume of water is just huge, and the element is basically the same one that is in a domestic kettle. So once you get it up to temp, it's usually set to maintain the temp rather than cool down over night. In one in my apartment common area is basically on all the time.

Air is a pretty good insulator once it's trapped. The heat retention probably isn't terrible. But the heater could potentially be much lower power than a regular hot tub.

[Guest]

The only sources I really trust are clearly reliable intergovernmental bodies and some national bodies. Plus research that provides clear data analysis.

Don't trust journalists for just about anything important, as if its important enough to matter then its important enough to have a bias. So yeah, no (failing) NY Times or Washington Post. Nothing that cites anonymous sources. I'd probably trust Irish Times over them as at least the IT is not bright enough to have a deliberate subversive bias. Reasonable trust for Reuters, but not a huge amount.

So I can assume then that you'd agree when Science reports that there are questions around the validity of the Chinese data that it is a reliable source of truth?

Obviously not trying to catch you out but I'm not referencing FB or Twitter trolls or questionable publications, it's one of the more prestigious resources we can access.

Deciphering everyday media is already exhausting enough without needing to do the same for some of the better publications.

[Mellor]

They won't be proportionally greater than the mild and asymptomatic cases of Covid that will go undetected.

Given the Italian resources to date, the 11% figure is wildly inaccurate and not remotely reflective of the reality.
The Italians may end up having one of the highest death rates in the world but it won't come close to the 11% mark.

No, they're not proportionally greater. But they're not zero either.
The 11% is just an imperfect number we have to compare for now.

If the reality is that 220k people were actually infected, and the real fatality rate is only 5%. Does that mean anything? 11,000 people would still be dead.

I do understand your point thou. A better assessment would be looking at critical cases rather than total cases. As that eliminates the mild and asymptomatic cases, and somewhat allows for different ago profiles. It's hard t get numbers on cases that were critical at one point.

[LuckyLloyd]

So I can assume then that you'd agree when Science reports that there are questions around the validity of the Chinese data that it is a reliable source of truth?

Obviously not trying to catch you out but I'm not referencing FB or Twitter trolls or questionable publications, it's one of the more prestigious resources we can access.

Deciphering everyday media is already exhausting enough without needing to do the same for some of the better publications.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/03/can-china-return-normalcy-while-keeping-coronavirus-check

I think we’re quibbling a bit here. China seem to be transitioning their strategy back to extensive testing, quarantine and contact tracing protocols as they roll back lockdown. So I take your earlier point: they may be under reporting numbers; they may have fucked up their initial response; and they may have the capability to be ruthlessly evil to their own populace: but fundamentally they seem to be genuinely on top of this and be engaging in best practice across the board.

[Strewelpeter]

I thought that the best practical option for a home built hot tub was some sort of an adapted wood burner to heat the water.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

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[Guest]

No, they're not proportionally greater. But they're not zero either.
The 11% is just an imperfect number we have to compare for now.

If the reality is that 220k people were actually infected, and the real fatality rate is only 5%. Does that mean anything? 11,000 people would still be dead.

I do understand your point thou. A better assessment would be looking at critical cases rather than total cases. As that eliminates the mild and asymptomatic cases, and somewhat allows for different ago profiles. It's hard t get numbers on cases that were critical at one point.

I don't think we'll know for quite a long time so it is hard to say.

I think your 5% sounds about right, WHO are still running with the 3.4% globally I believe and if that is accurate, Italy is almost certainly above that by quite a margin.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020...onavirus-check

I think we’re quibbling a bit here. China seem to be transitioning their strategy back to extensive testing, quarantine and contact tracing protocols as they roll back lockdown. So I take your earlier point: they may be under reporting numbers; they may have fucked up their initial response; and they may have the capability to be ruthlessly evil to their own populace: but fundamentally they seem to be genuinely on top of this and be engaging in best practice across the board.

I think the crux of our disagreements lie not in our failure to agree on what works and doesn't work. We both know SK & China have handled this better than any other countries.

It's rather a case of applicability. I simply don't buy that Chinese measures can work in a Western Democracy for any worthwhile length of time.
I completely understand the merit of the Chinese measures but based on what they're currently saying, it's foreign transmission that's causing issues in China again.

That in itself immediately raises what I mentioned before; for the Chinese measures to work, you effectively need a global lockdown for an extended period of time for the virus to die off.

That's never going to happen so the SK approach of going after it offers the most viable solution, it's a war of attrition for the next 12-18 months where testing, tracing & overall modernity will beat it back.

The biggest of failure for people and media to date is thinking that this is over in the next few weeks, mid-April or whatever is being targeted. It's a short term adjustment in our way of life for the next 12-18 months.

Mini closures during the next flu season, changes in our means of socialization, huge shifts in work practices, geo-political implications (hopefully for the better). This is why I admire the Irish approach over even the NZ approach. We took an iterative approach the whole way eventually ending here, preparing people and making the adjustment digestible.

That's what people needed because that's what life will be like for the next 12-18 months.

Sure, I'd believe Science. But then again its about how we use Science. For example, the exact quote you gave earlier from Science was:

But why not give the vital next sentence in the article to give the full picture, which completely changes how the quote you gave should be interpreted?

Hmmm, not sure it completely changes the point but to be fair Hitch I did say in original post that:

Overall they're(China) beating it back, the measures are working but not to the level being reported.

I didn't quote it in the subsequent reference but I wasn't misrepresenting.

[Solksjaer!]

Remember the good old days when we hated on Lazare for overstepping the fucking 2km running limits . Ah good times. Maybe GAB will let us into his hot tub time machine and we can revisit it again just as the final looting of Grafton street begins in 4 days time. Good bless us all...(eh Laz?)

[CHDad]

Deaths against confirmed cases is a fraction of deaths versus all cases . I'd imagine we need to keep the scare tactics high to protect our health service.

I'm literally going mad here . The sense of humour of a 6 year old is not compatible with that of a 3 year old .
Society will break down after lunch some time.

Does your 4 and a half year old sense of humour not fill the gap nicely?

[Solksjaer!]

Does your 4 and a half year old sense of humour not fill the gap nicely?

I missed you. Hugs

[Kayroo]

It's Kayroo I feel sorry for.

No idea what this is referring to but I'll take all available sympathy...

[CHDad]

I missed you. Hugs

Hugs 2 u 2 m8

[LuckyLloyd]

It would be interesting of course to rank the last 40 years of UK government in terms of best to worst.

Or indeed the Irish ones.

And American.

Trivia challenge of the day

UK Governments
1979-83: Conservative (Thatcher)
1983-87; Conservative (Thatcher)
1987-92: Conservative (Thatcher-Major)
1992-97: Conservative (Major)
1997-01: Labour (Blair)
2001-05: Labour (Blair)
2005-10: Labour (Blair-Brown)
2010-15: Conservative\LD (Cameron)
2015-19: Conservative (Cameron\May)
2019-: Conservative (Johnson

Irish governments
1977-81: FF (Lynch-Haughey)
1981-82: FG\LAB (Fitzgerlad)
1982: FF (Haughey)
1982-87: FG\LAB (Fitzgerald)
1987-89: FF (Haughey)
1989-92: FF\PD (Haughey-Reynolds)
1992-97: Rainbow (Bruton)
1997:02: FF-PD (Ahern)
2002-07: FF-PD (Ahern
2007-11: FF-PD-GP (Ahern-Cowen)
2011-16: FG-LAB (Kenny)
2016-20: FG Minority (Kenny-Varadkar)

American Presidencies
1980-84: Reagan (GOP)
1984-88: Reagan (GOP)
1988-92: Bush Snr (GOP)
1992-96: Clinton (DEM)
1996-00-Clinton (DEM)
2000-04: Bush Jnr ((GOP)
2004-08: Bush Jnr (GOP)
2008-12: Obama (DEM)
2012-16: Obama (DEM)
2016-20: Trump (GOP)

Interestingly I think each list has both a clear best and worst.

Rank away! You bunch of rankers....

Ranking each one is near impossible. But some thoughts below:

UK Governments
1992-97: Conservative (Major) - weathered euro skeptics and the ERM crisis, laid the hard yards for the peace process, presented Blair with a great platform, was inevitably going to be defeated no matter what he did having been in power so long and faced with a more vibrant and political savvy opponent. Major is the best of British political life imo.
1997-01: Labour (Blair) - good Tony
2001-05: Labour (Blair) - war mongering Tony, mistakes started to set in but if you look back now hard not to see this as a relatively calm and positive period for the UK domestically
2010-15: Conservative\LD (Cameron) - gets points for stabilising the economy and the Lib Dems tempered their worst urges towards the poor
1979-83: Conservative (Thatcher) - turned an ailing economy around, though the war was very convenient when it came. I assume this is your "clear best"

I stopped there because I struggle to see much positive about the rest. Cameron / May undoubtedly the worst and I expect nothing good to come from the Cummings experiment. Thatcher's policy platform during the 80's would be a matter of hot debate and I probably don't have the ability to be fully objective about it (those on the other side of the political spectrum probably don't either).

Irish governments
1992-97: Rainbow (Bruton) - similar to the above, achieved the first genuinely real economic boom in the nation's history and navigated a critically difficult part of the peace process
2016-20: FG Minority (Kenny-Varadkar) - handled Brexit exceptionally well, had an achilles heel due to being blind the losers in society caused by structural economic issues but didn't fuck anything up which is a rarity for Irish politics

After that you have a myriad of flawed governments, some much worse than others. Reading the state papers over the past half decade throws Garrett Fitzgerald's government into a better light, particularly on foreign affairs issues.

I would suggest the Cowen / Lenihan axis deserve some level of positive reassessment for handling the sheer brunt of the economic crisis and spending 30 months in a daily punishing grind. It was public service of the highest order, even though those getting the tomatoes thrown at them were involved in earlier cabinets that created the crisis.

In terms of the worst I think we have to look back at the FF chancers. Lynch was a decent man, Haughey was not and Ahern was probably the worst mixture of them all. Highly charismatic and completely unapologetic for servicing his own self interest first and foremost. It is necessary to unpick the corruption from the populism of course, but Ahern and Haughey exemplify the worst impulses of Irish politics down through the years.


American Presidencies
2008-12: Obama (DEM) - used up all his political capital on health care but achieved something genuinely transformative that has endured despite unprecedented levels of partisanship and non co - operation.
1992-96: Clinton (DEM) - good Bill: economically sound and dealt with domestic terrorism issues really well
1996-00-Clinton (DEM) - bad Bill, keep it in your pants you fucking dick: but this was a golden age of politics and discourse relative to where we are now
1980-84: Reagan (GOP) - I assume you referenced this presidency as your "clear best". Reagan reinvigorated the American economy and was a tonic following a most difficult decade that preceded his election. The seeds of the 2008 financial crisis and national debt issues that haunt current American administrations were sown during this period though

I don't think there's much argument over "worst". I think Michael Lewis's book on the administration's defunding, undermining and in some cases deliberate paralysis of essential federal functions has contributed to the extent of the crisis we now face. His trade war with China and cheapening of public discourse are also disastrous. You can leave aside the manner of the man and focus on tons of hard actions that are dangerously incompetent and short sighted.

[DeadParrot]

If I have a weekend away in Winter/Autumn, I try to get a place with a hot tub. I've tried a fair few at this point, and they all take ages to heat. About 2 degrees gain per hour.
The volume of water is just huge, and the element is basically the same one that is in a domestic kettle. So once you get it up to temp, it's usually set to maintain the temp rather than cool down over night. In one in my apartment common area is basically on all the time.

Air is a pretty good insulator once it's trapped. The heat retention probably isn't terrible. But the heater could potentially be much lower power than a regular hot tub.

that sounds like you are basically dipping in soup, dead skin and sweat soup

[Strewelpeter]

you need minimum of 4 hours lead time on this

How long would an electric element take?

[Guest]

I'll give RD3 a break with an "Events leading up to & including WW1" quiz.

1. Name the Austro-Hungarian Prince who's murder triggered WW1?

2. Name the city where the murder took place?

3. Name the person who assassinated him?

4. Name the organisation(s) that orchestrated the assassination? Bonus for the leader's name

5. Leader of Serbia preceding and throughout WW1?

6. Name the UK Chancellor of the Exc during WW1?

7. Name the powers of the Entente during WW1?

8. How many new nations were formed(according to Treaty of Versailles) after WW1(point for the names)?

9. What post war nation suffered the most deaths during WW1?

[Raoul Duke III]

I'll give RD3 a break with an "Events leading up to & including WW1" quiz.

1. Name the Austro-Hungarian Prince who's murder triggered WW1?

2. Name the city where the murder took place?

3. Name the person who assassinated him?

4. Name the organisation(s) that orchestrated the assassination? Bonus for the leader's name

5. Leader of Serbia preceding and throughout WW1?

6. Name the UK Chancellor of the Exc during WW1?

7. Name the powers of the Entente during WW1?

8. How many new nations were formed(according to Treaty of Versailles) after WW1(point for the names)?

9. What post war nation suffered the most deaths during WW1?

SPOILER

1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
2. Sarajevo
3. Gavrilo Princip
4. oohhhh...fuck. The Black Hand or something equally stupid. They don't make terrorists like they used to
5. hmmm, no idea. I think they fought the Austrians but no idea under who. There was a King Peter of Serbia at one stage so let's take him.
6. Lloyd George
7. The entente was triple so Britain, France, Russia
8. Ah jesus. Lots. They broke up Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman empire ffs.
9. Russia. It's always Russia.

[Strewelpeter]

SPOILER

1. Name the Austro-Hungarian Prince who's murder triggered WW1?
Franz Ferdinand
2. Name the city where the murder took place?
Sarajevo
3. Name the person who assassinated him?
Princip
4. Name the organisation(s) that orchestrated the assassination? Bonus for the leader's name
The Black Hand
5. Leader of Serbia preceding and throughout WW1?
?
6. Name the UK Chancellor of the Exc during WW1?
?
7. Name the powers of the Entente during WW1?
Russia France UK maybe a few others
8. How many new nations were formed(according to Treaty of Versailles) after WW1(point for the names)?
loads ??? All of the ex Ottoman empire Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Romania Greece, All the Balkan nations that soon became Yugoslavia must be more than a dozen .
9. What post war nation suffered the most deaths during WW1?]
Germany?

[Guest]

SPOILER

1. Archduke Franz Ferdinand
2. Sarajevo
3. Gavrilo Princip
4. oohhhh...fuck. The Black Hand or something equally stupid. They don't make terrorists like they used to
5. hmmm, no idea. I think they fought the Austrians but no idea under who. There was a King Peter of Serbia at one stage so let's take him.
6. Lloyd George
7. The entente was triple so Britain, France, Russia
8. Ah jesus. Lots. They broke up Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman empire ffs.
9. Russia. It's always Russia.

7/9

[Guest]

SPOILER

1. Name the Austro-Hungarian Prince who's murder triggered WW1?
Franz Ferdinand
2. Name the city where the murder took place?
Sarajevo
3. Name the person who assassinated him?
Princip
4. Name the organisation(s) that orchestrated the assassination? Bonus for the leader's name
The Black Hand
5. Leader of Serbia preceding and throughout WW1?
?
6. Name the UK Chancellor of the Exc during WW1?
?
7. Name the powers of the Entente during WW1?
Russia France UK maybe a few others
8. How many new nations were formed(according to Treaty of Versailles) after WW1(point for the names)?
loads ??? All of the ex Ottoman empire Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Romania Greece, All the Balkan nations that soon became Yugoslavia must be more than a dozen .
9. What post war nation suffered the most deaths during WW1?]
Germany?

5/9

[Guest]

I'll give RD3 a break with an "Events leading up to & including WW1" quiz.

1. Name the Austro-Hungarian Prince who's murder triggered WW1?

WW1 was triggered by the Anglo/French getting pissed off at the Germans bypassing them and buying oil directly from the Arabs.

[Wombatman]

Irish Open Golf postponed.

[Guest]

WW1 was triggered by the Anglo/French getting pissed off at the Germans bypassing them and buying oil directly from the Arabs.

0/9

[Kayroo]

0/9

To be fair... the first country invaded by the British during the war was Iraq if memory serves?

[Guest]

On review, it feels like RD3 should be bumped to an 8

SPOILER

1. Franz Ferdinand

2. Sarajevo

3. Princip

4. The Black Hand- Leader was Dragutin Dimitrijević ie Apis, great name for a villain

5. Leader of Serbia preceding and throughout WW1? Leader may have been misleading but it was Nikola Pašić I was after, given they had a King Peter, RD3 gets a point on review

6. Name the UK Chancellor of the Exc during WW1? Lloyd George

7. Name the powers of the Entente during WW1? Russia France UK

8. How many new nations were formed(according to Treaty of Versailles) after WW1(point for the names)? 9 according to Treaty of Versailles, I believe it didn't address the Ottoman Empire

9. What post war nation suffered the most deaths during WW1? Ottoman Empire but Russia as a Post War nation

[coillcam]

@ Lloyd - Thank you very much for posting the White Hag discount code. Almost €2 a can is phenomenal value!

[Lao Lao]

In these austere times where we are beset with great economic uncertainty and the need to tighten our belts I've started thinking about Hot Tubs. Has anybody any experience with them? I see Aldi have the cheapo inflatables available this week again but surely they are hugely inefficient in terms of heating time, heat retention and therefore cost to heat so I figure there is a huge false economy attached to them. Anyway any insights out there amongst the BBV massive.

I nearly pulled the trigger on buying one a few years ago but was talked out of it, kinda regret it somewhat although I'm not sure how much use it would have got in reality.

I'm nearly certain it was these guys that had a stall in Taste of Dublin where I saw them and was comtemplating buying from.

https://www.canadianspaireland.com/

[ArmaniJeans]

The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire-building.

[premierstone]

The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire-building.

Dave King?

[Tar.Aldarion]

The taiwan/WHO video lol https://v.redd.it/ayjgm4rzisp41

Master of deception.

[mcnugget]

I'll give RD3 a break with an "Events leading up to & including WW1" quiz.

1. Name the Austro-Hungarian Prince who's murder triggered WW1?

2. Name the city where the murder took place?

3. Name the person who assassinated him?

4. Name the organisation(s) that orchestrated the assassination? Bonus for the leader's name

5. Leader of Serbia preceding and throughout WW1?

6. Name the UK Chancellor of the Exc during WW1?

7. Name the powers of the Entente during WW1?

8. How many new nations were formed(according to Treaty of Versailles) after WW1(point for the names)?

9. What post war nation suffered the most deaths during WW1?

SPOILER

1. Franz Ferdinand
2. Sarajevo
3. Princip
4. Bosnian separatists
5. King Peter
6. Lloyd George?
7. Russia, France, Britain
8. Could get tricky here. Purely created from Versailles I would say: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
9. Russia?

[Solksjaer!]

The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire-building.

Was a simple 'you ok Hun' misunderstanding.


My 3 year old loved this one .

[SatNav]

Any Business teachers here badly require some help for Mia who's struggling with a cba, she's worrying badly over it .

I'd really appreciate any help by pm

[Guest]

SPOILER

1. Franz Ferdinand
2. Sarajevo
3. Princip
4. Bosnian separatists
5. King Peter
6. Lloyd George?
7. Russia, France, Britain
8. Could get tricky here. Purely created from Versailles I would say: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
9. Russia?

7

SPOILER

Naming all countries is hard, answer is 9, here they are: Austria, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, and Finland.

(Ottoman Empire changed its name to Turkey. Russia changed its name to Soviet Union). These weren't laid out in Treaty of Versailles

Also I wanted Nikola Pasic for leader but too ambiguous so giving it for Petar last King of Serbia

Organisation was the Black Hand, Apis the leader

[Lazare]

The video messages and projector/screen were a big success and a lovely surprise for Mrs V on her birthday. May have been one of the best pressies I’ve gotten her in a long time. I used iMovies on my iPhone yesterday morning for about 45 minutes to edit the stuff together before she woke up.

My bro got his kids to do a re-enactment of ROGs drop goal for the grand slam as a great moment that she’d been to. Absolutely hilarious. I’ll try and post it later.

.

Scrolled back to this to see how you did your movie but see now it was over iphone.

Have 3 or 4 videos that I want to edit and stitch together, a bit from one a bit from another etc.

What would work well for this? Windows or android, preferably windows.

[DeadParrot]

@ Lloyd - Thank you very much for posting the White Hag discount code. Almost €2 a can is phenomenal value!

WTF... How did I miss the discount?
I ordered a case for 60 after keanes gushing

[DeadParrot]

White hag delivering to the door from their website. Nice range of IPAs, Little Fawn particularly agreeable and their apricot is interesting.

free delivery and you can use code LOYALTY for 20% off

I fecking thanked the Post and all...
Ah well, will just have to do another order

[Keane]

WTF... How did I miss the discount?
I ordered a case for 60 after keanes gushing

I fecking thanked the Post and all...
Ah well, will just have to do another order

I've decided to give them a spin as with the discount they seem like very good value and perhaps in these strange times I can even learn to love IPAs.

I can always order another batch of the local lager at the weekend.

[eamonhonda]

Can the likes of white hag still send out orders? They would have to go to work to process orders and surely deemed non essential?

[Lazare]

Lidl do a quite acceptable IPA for €1.39 a (330ml) can called Twisted Knot American IPA.

For the price it's pretty good.

[Lazare]

Can the likes of white hag still send out orders? They would have to go to work to process orders and surely deemed non essential?

Off licences are deemed essential, maybe they fall under that category?

[TheJiggaman]

USA Rugby look like they’re goosed.

Some bad news from USA Rugby...

They're going to declare bankruptcy, and hope for support from World Rugby (Who aren’t helpful at the best of times). Might be denied by the bankruptcy court in which case they will be dissolved.

https://www.goffrugbyreport.com/news/sources-usa-rugby-leadership-votes-file-chapter-11

[ionapaul]

@ Lloyd - Thank you very much for posting the White Hag discount code. Almost €2 a can is phenomenal value!

You legends, good work Lloyd! Ordered https://www.thewhitehag.com/product/...se-with-talti/ - only €51 delivered with that code

[rounders123]

Flushdraws. Foster and Allen in Malta in high road low road. Malta looks great in this. Surely they were up at the crack of dawn as I didn't notice a lot of people but it looks like the quiet side of town. Typical Irish oul fellas!.

https://www.rte.ie/player/series/high-road--low-road-s1-e4/SI0000006781?epguid=IP000065801

[connie147]

I seen all the quizzes going round, so I thought Id throw up an Olympics one being the year it is. 20 pts is the max score.

1--The Olympic motto is made up of 3 words. They are? (3 points)

2--5 Olympic rings. Blue, Red, Yellow, Green and __________? (1 point)

3--That same 5-ring Olympic symbol was 1st used in the 1920 games in what city? _______________(1 point)

4--Give the year and city when Andre Agassi won his gold medal? (2 points)

5--Who beat Steffi Graf in the 1992 Olympic tennis final in Barcelona? (2 points)

6--The 1st Olympic mascot was a dashund called Waldi. Name year and city? (2 points)

7--Name year and city of 1st games where women were allowed compete? (2 points)

8--Name the 2 black athletes that gave the black power salute during the playing of the national anthem at the 1968 games in Mexico City? (2 points)

9--3 Irish Olympians returned from Rio in 2016 with silver medals. Full Names for all 3 please? (3 points)

10--King Olav 5th of Norway won a gold medal at the 1928 games in Amsterdam, and King Constantine of Greece won a gold medal in the games in Rome in 1960. Name the sports in which they won their gold medals? (2 points)

[Guest]

You legends, good work Lloyd! Ordered https://www.thewhitehag.com/product/...se-with-talti/ - only €51 delivered with that code

Snap!

[Denny Crane]

SPOILER

higher stronger faster
Black
Athens
...
7. 1900, Dunno the city
...
9. The Two Rowers, and Alalise Murphy
Fencing?

[shrapnel]

I seen all the quizzes going round, so I thought Id throw up an Olympics one being the year it is. 20 pts is the max score.

1--The Olympic motto is made up of 3 words. They are? (3 points)

2--5 Olympic rings. Blue, Red, Yellow, Green and __________? (1 point)

3--That same 5-ring Olympic symbol was 1st used in the 1920 games in what city? _______________(1 point)

4--Give the year and city when Andre Agassi won his gold medal? (2 points)

5--Who beat Steffi Graf in the 1992 Olympic tennis final in Barcelona? (2 points)

6--The 1st Olympic mascot was a dashund called Waldi. Name year and city? (2 points)

7--Name year and city of 1st games where women were allowed compete? (2 points)

8--Name the 2 black athletes that gave the black power salute during the playing of the national anthem at the 1968 games in Mexico City? (2 points)

9--3 Irish Olympians returned from Rio in 2016 with silver medals. Full Names for all 3 please? (3 points)

10--King Olav 5th of Norway won a gold medal at the 1928 games in Amsterdam, and King Constantine of Greece won a gold medal in the games in Rome in 1960. Name the sports in which they won their gold medals? (2 points)

SPOILER

1 altius l'argus fortius
2 Black
3 Paris
41996 atlanta
5 Hingis ?
6 1972 munich
7 1952

10 shooting

[connie147]

SPOILER

higher stronger faster
Black
Athens
...
7. 1900, Dunno the city
...
9. The Two Rowers, and Alalise Murphy
Fencing?

8 points.

[connie147]

SPOILER

1 altius l'argus fortius
2 Black
3 Paris
41996 atlanta
5 Hingis ?
6 1972 munich
7 1952

10 shooting

7 points.

[Raoul Duke III]

Ranking each one is near impossible. But some thoughts below:

UK Governments
1992-97: Conservative (Major) - weathered euro skeptics and the ERM crisis, laid the hard yards for the peace process, presented Blair with a great platform, was inevitably going to be defeated no matter what he did having been in power so long and faced with a more vibrant and political savvy opponent. Major is the best of British political life imo.
1997-01: Labour (Blair) - good Tony
2001-05: Labour (Blair) - war mongering Tony, mistakes started to set in but if you look back now hard not to see this as a relatively calm and positive period for the UK domestically
2010-15: Conservative\LD (Cameron) - gets points for stabilising the economy and the Lib Dems tempered their worst urges towards the poor
1979-83: Conservative (Thatcher) - turned an ailing economy around, though the war was very convenient when it came. I assume this is your "clear best"

I stopped there because I struggle to see much positive about the rest. Cameron / May undoubtedly the worst and I expect nothing good to come from the Cummings experiment. Thatcher's policy platform during the 80's would be a matter of hot debate and I probably don't have the ability to be fully objective about it (those on the other side of the political spectrum probably don't either).

Cameron\May the worst - in terms of the long term harm they perpetrated upon the UK. Brexit is a strategic misstep of genuinely historic proportions (I heard Jamie Dimon call it 'the dumbest thing I've ever seen' and he's right). It'll be twenty years or more before the true cost is known.

Best - first Thatcher government. Dramatically reversed years of decline, unleashed capitalist growth, broke the union dinosaurs. Negative points for the mishandling of the IRA hunger strike but still a genuinely transformative government for a country that badly needed it, led by a generational political talent.

Irish governments
1992-97: Rainbow (Bruton) - similar to the above, achieved the first genuinely real economic boom in the nation's history and navigated a critically difficult part of the peace process
2016-20: FG Minority (Kenny-Varadkar) - handled Brexit exceptionally well, had an achilles heel due to being blind the losers in society caused by structural economic issues but didn't fuck anything up which is a rarity for Irish politics

After that you have a myriad of flawed governments, some much worse than others. Reading the state papers over the past half decade throws Garrett Fitzgerald's government into a better light, particularly on foreign affairs issues.

I would suggest the Cowen / Lenihan axis deserve some level of positive reassessment for handling the sheer brunt of the economic crisis and spending 30 months in a daily punishing grind. It was public service of the highest order, even though those getting the tomatoes thrown at them were involved in earlier cabinets that created the crisis.

In terms of the worst I think we have to look back at the FF chancers. Lynch was a decent man, Haughey was not and Ahern was probably the worst mixture of them all. Highly charismatic and completely unapologetic for servicing his own self interest first and foremost. It is necessary to unpick the corruption from the populism of course, but Ahern and Haughey exemplify the worst impulses of Irish politics down through the years.

Worst - FF 2002-07. A Government drunk on its own bullshit and corruption, led by a corrupt shyster. All the worst decisions of the Tiger era were taken by these wasters - who turned a possible problem into a certain crash that will negatively impact the children of our children.

Best - FG/LAB 2011-16. Took an awful situation and navigated the ship of state back to calm waters. Calm, calculated governance - a model of good public service. I have a soft spot for the 92-97 Rainbow too.

American Presidencies
2008-12: Obama (DEM) - used up all his political capital on health care but achieved something genuinely transformative that has endured despite unprecedented levels of partisanship and non co - operation.
1992-96: Clinton (DEM) - good Bill: economically sound and dealt with domestic terrorism issues really well
1996-00-Clinton (DEM) - bad Bill, keep it in your pants you fucking dick: but this was a golden age of politics and discourse relative to where we are now
1980-84: Reagan (GOP) - I assume you referenced this presidency as your "clear best". Reagan reinvigorated the American economy and was a tonic following a most difficult decade that preceded his election. The seeds of the 2008 financial crisis and national debt issues that haunt current American administrations were sown during this period though

I don't think there's much argument over "worst". I think Michael Lewis's book on the administration's defunding, undermining and in some cases deliberate paralysis of essential federal functions has contributed to the extent of the crisis we now face. His trade war with China and cheapening of public discourse are also disastrous. You can leave aside the manner of the man and focus on tons of hard actions that are dangerously incompetent and short sighted.

Worst - people forget just how shockingly transgressive and appalling the current administration is. America has lost the special leadership position it held in world affairs and is instead now an object of pity, scorn and mockery.

Best - Reagan 1984-88. Turned around the pathetic wimpism of the Carter years with a focus on defeating the totalitarian menace of Communism. This was achieved within a timeframe that no-one envisaged, a victory only second to that of WW2.
First Clinton administration also gets an honourable mention.

[MrsFlushdraw]

Flushdraws. Foster and Allen in Malta in high road low road. Malta looks great in this. Surely they were up at the crack of dawn as I didn't notice a lot of people but it looks like the quiet side of town. Typical Irish oul fellas!.

https://www.rte.ie/player/series/hig...id=IP000065801

Can't get it to play. Did it say where they were?

[rounders123]

Can't get it to play. Did it say where they were?

Around Popeye's village way. They went all over though, started in Valetta. Very whistle stop tour style.
I reckon you can play it with a VPN that has an Irish server.

[Strewelpeter]

Around Popeye's village way.

One of the most underrated movies IMO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG4K5mX7jgk

[Strewelpeter]

Best - Reagan 1984-88. Turned around the pathetic wimpism of the Carter years with a focus on defeating the totalitarian menace of Communism. This was achieved within a timeframe that no-one envisaged, a victory only second to that of WW2..

That is delusional, Reagan didn't do any harm to the process but mostly he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

[Apache]

Latest modelling predictions have been published by the authorities. Green being the best case scenario and red the worst.

[Hectorjelly]

That is delusional, Reagan didn't do any harm to the process but mostly he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

He should be applauded for trusting Gorbachev, but as you say his impact was minimal.

It's so strange the way Reagon has been elevated to demi-god status, for no apparant reason. If you read any proper account his time in office he was never completely all there. Even judging him by his own standards he was a failure.

"Ronald Reagan: President Reagan increased the debt by 186%. Reaganomics added $1.86 trillion. Reagan's brand of supply-side economics didn't grow the economy enough to offset the lost revenue"

https://www.thebalance.com/us-debt-by-president-by-dollar-and-percent-3306296

Add to that you have the Iran Contra affair & massively increasing the war on drugs.

That said, he'd be a massive improvement on the current incumbent.