This is just a page of flight sim photos.
Flight Sim Photos
What A Shocker
You know how it goes. You’re flying along over the Netherlands and then BOOM, there’s a lightning storm in front of you. Fortunately for me I was already planning on landing before the storm but I don’t recall seeing lightning before in X-Plane.
You might need to click on the picture to embiggen it and then be able to see the lightning forks.
NVMe
I recently upgraded a part of my gaming PC where a disk drive was running out of space. The Windows drive had pretty much become full with only a few tens of GB free. I was also worried as some apps keep NEEDING to be on the c: drive for some reason.
For these reasons I bought a 2TB SSD and installed it into my PC with a SATA link. This, I now know, was the wrong move but I migrated my c: data using the Samsung software and changed the boot order of the disks in the BIOS. This all seemed remarkably straight forward and didn’t actually take that long. I was happy.
Then, one day I happened to have a look at the physical set up of the drives in my PC and I realised there was a M.2 slot and the original c: drive was based on that. It showed up in the OS as a 250GB drive which was now empty. Given the improved speeds for read and write via a M.2 slot I decided I would upgrade the PC even more and move the OS to the direct motherboard contact.
I ordered and then installed a 2TB M.2 drive into the correct slot on the motherboard. Once I rebooted the PC I had a few screens of death and that was curious but checking the BIOS it all looked good. So eventually Windows started and I went about adding the Samsung 990 Pro to the drive list. Except, it wasn’t there! For some reason Windows couldn’t see the drive. I was frustrated.
I did some internet searching but a lot of the solutions pointed to AMD chipsets and I don’t have that. I tried re-booting and looking into the BIOS settings but I couldn’t see anything wrong. I used the Disk Management tool to see if it would see the drive but it refused. I genuinely didn’t know what to do until I found something that, I think, was called Storage Space. It was using the new drive! I have no idea what it does but I stopped the service and told it to stop using my new drive for this. Once that was done the M.2 SSD showed up in disk management.
It took around forty minutes for the data migration tool to transfer the contents of the c: drive to the new drive. Then I rebooted and told the Bios to boot from the 990 Pro. The computer seemed happy to do this and worked well! This was good news. I cleared the old SSD of the Windows files and now have a good deal of spare storage. I think I might move my gaming files to the older SSD as they are currently on a physical hard drive. I’ll think about it.
Taking In The Views
I’ve spent a little time recently flying in X-Plane. Now that my journey around the world is complete I’ve decided to spend some time learning start up and shut down checklists to get a real feel for the aircraft. I’m currently playing with the T-6A Texan that the RAF uses as a basic jet trainer. It’s a good little aircraft. Here are some views that I’ve photographed recently:
I’m really enjoying the whole – potter about a bit – approach to exploring the UK. I’m trying to improve my take-off and landings at the moment, a little crucial you might think, but making them smooth and “butter” is taking some time.
Flying Setup
I was looking through this site to see if there were any current pictures of the Flight Sim setup and I couldn’t find any. So this communication aims to correct for that.
In this picture you can see the PC, desk, three monitors, and the HOTAS bits and pieces. In this flight I had just landed at Stansted in the fog, which was interesting! Maybe I need to get some rudder pedals, but then I also fancy getting the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS bundle so I’m not sure what to do. I know! I’ll set myself a target of things to learn before I reward myself with these luxury items.
London Views
Now that I’m back in the UK after having flown around the world it’s time to start learning how to fly. I’m going to spend time in the T-7 now that it’s X-Plane 12 compatible and start assigning shortcut keys and learning how to navigate. But, because that all seems like a lot of effort here are some pictures of London taken this morning.
I think I need to assign some new keys to the trim controls along with changing views etc. Let’s see what happens.
Hildesheim Travels
There was an X-Plane update and I thought I ought to “test the system”. I also found some scenery for my favourite airport – Hildesheim. I’ve been to this airport about seven times but I’ve never flown from there. When I visit it is the location of a music festival and the whole airport is a campsite. Anyway, I did a circuit. I don’t think there’s any sound, I’ve got to play with OBS settings a bit more. Also, no visuals of me! Who wants to see that!
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Task – Around The World – Status – Completed
What started as a bit of a “around the coast” trip to look at the scenery ended up being an around the world trip in short hops. I started this sometime in 2021 with a trip from Manchester Airport to RAF Valley, just to see what it would be like. Then I continued around the coastlines of all seven continents. See this communication for the start of the list. All airports landed at are listed in these communications:
- First one. Manchester to Nepal.
- Nepal to Russia.
- Russia to the Falkland Islands.
- Onwards to the Caribbean.
So now we have the final list of airports. From somewhere in the Gulf Of Mexico to Manchester.
- Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, US Virgin Islands
- JAGS McCartney International Airport, Turks and Caicos
- Providenciales International Airport, Turks and Caicos
- Leeward Point Field – Guantanamo, Cuba
- José Martí international Airport, Cuba
- Naval Air Station Key West, USA
- Florida Keys/Marathon International Airport, USA
- Tavernaero Park, USA
- Ocean Reef Club Airport, USA
- Boca Raton Airport, USA
- NASA Shuttle Landing Facility, USA
- Daytona Beach International Airport, USA
- Waycross-Ware County Airport, USA
- Myrtle Beach International Airport, USA
- First Flight Airport, USA
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, USA
- Atlantic City International Airport, USA
- LaGuardia Airport, USA
- Nantucket Memorial Airport, USA
- Beverly Regional Airport, USA
- Portsmouth International Airport, USA
- Seacoast Airfield, USA
- Portland International Jetport, USA
- Saint John Airport, Canada
- J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport, Canada
- Gander International Airport, Canada
- Narsarsuaq International Airport, Greenland
- Bíldudalur Airport, Iceland
- Reykjavík Airport, Iceland
- Vestmannaeyjar Airport, Iceland
- Hornafjörður Airport, Iceland
- Vágar Floghavn, Faroe Islands
- Tingwall Airport, Shetland
- Sumburgh Airport, Shetland
- Kirkwall Airport, Orkney
- Wick John O’Groats Airport, Scotland
- RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland
- Oban Airport, Scotland
- Glasgow Airport, Scotland
- Campbeltown Airport, Scotland
- City of Derry Airport, Northern Ireland
- Belfast International Airport, Northern Ireland
- Belfast City Airport, Northern Ireland
- Ronaldsway Airport, Isle Of Man
- Keswick Airport, England – Fictional Airport
- Warton Aerodrome, England
- Manchester Airport, England
And there we have it. All the airports visited as part of this around the world flight. It’s taken around two years but I feel a sense of achievement. The next thing for me to do is to learn how to use navigation aids rather than VFR. That’s my plan for the next set of flight sim activities.
First Flight – It’s A Place
As part of my journey around the world in a flight simulator I am heading up the eastern seaboard of the USA. I’ve just left Florida and was looking for another place to land when I saw an airstrip called First Flight. This made sense when I looked on a map as it is at Kitty Hawk Sands in North Carolina. I landed at the airport and then saw something so I taxied my plane to it.
Hopefully the plane has off-road capability. After the flight I looked this stuff up and it’s all monuments to the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight. I’m impressed with the scenery in the simulator. The only thing it doesn’t get right is the grass being a shit colour instead of green.
I’m slightly amused by the monument as there is a road in a circle around it so you don’t have to walk around the thing. Just park up somewhere and see it from a distance.
I landed on runway 21 and then taxied up to the monument which was a bit cheeky really. My next flight is going to be over Norfolk Navy base and then maybe on to Washington DC to see what the scenery there looks like. I don’t think it’s going to be too long before I’m back home and at RAF valley where this thing started.
Ron DeSantis’ Florida
As part of my around-the-world tour I have made it to Florida. Currently, the state is suffering from what we would call – WLS – or wanker leader syndrome. It’s a shame really. I really liked my time there at the Kennedy Space Center, but I don’t think I’d want to visit now. Other places with more liberal laws can have my money.
Rendition Flight
I’m flying around the world in my Flight Sim – X-Plane. There are communications giving my progress, but I’m in the Caribbean at the moment heading to that hellscape that is Florida. I think my last stop before USA [again] is Havana. But, and this is the most important bit, I landed at Guantanamo Bay air station from the Turks and Caicos. I was in a little private jet and somehow it seemed fitting to land there and then depart quite quickly. I left my cargo there to be abused of process and tortured.
The things the “west” have done over the last thirty years distress me immensely. I have a suspicion that if I looked at most of history I would find that it’s all rather terrible and the “west” has pretty much fucked everything up. Anyway, onto Florida where the current governor has banned medical help for women and trans people because – fuck you. I don’t understand people full of hate.
Still An Ongoing Mission
I’m still moving on with my around the world mission in X-Plane. In the last communication I was bombing around over Brazil having visited Antarctica. I’m still working my northwards at the moment to complete the east coast of the Americas. I do have some new kit on the flight sim – two desk extensions that hold the HOTAS system.
So, my last landing was in the Falkland Islands so we shall continue with the next airport visited:
Rio Gallegos International Airport, (RGL/SAWG), Argentina
Comandante Luis Piedrabuena Airport, Argentina
Santa Cruz Airport, Argentina
Puerto Deseado Airport, Argentina
Cañadon Seco Airport, Argentina
General Enrique Mosconi International Airport, Argentina
Almirante Marcos A. Zar Airport, Argentina
Antoine de Saint Exupéry Airport, Argentina
Comandante Espora Airport, Argentina
El Palomar Airport, Argentina
João Simões Lopes Neto International Airport, Brazil
Aeródromo de Belém Novo, Brazil
Diomício Freitas/Forquilhinha Airport, Brazil
Florianópolis-Hercílio Luz International Airport, Brazil
Costa Esmeralda Airport, Brazil
Joinville-Lauro Carneiro de Loyola Airport, Brazil
Curitiba-President Afonso Pena International Airport, Brazil
São Paulo/Guarulhos – Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport, Brazil
Jacarepaguá–Roberto Marinho Airport, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro/Galeão – Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport, Brazil
Joaquim de Azevedo Mancebo Airport, Brazil
Campos–Bartolomeu Lysandro Airport, Brazil
Guarapari Airport, Brazil
Eurico de Aguiar Salles Airport, Brazil
Una-Comandatuba Airport, Brazil
Val-de-Cans/Júlio Cezar Ribeiro International Airport, Brazil
Macapá-Alberto Alcolumbre International Airport, Brazil
Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Guyana
Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago
Maurice Bishop International Airport, Grenada
Canouan Airport, Canouan in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Argyle International Airport, St Vincent
Hewanorra International Airport, St Lucia
Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport, Martinique
Douglas–Charles Airport, Dominica
John A. Osborne Airport, Montserrat
V. C. Bird International Airport, Antigua
Princess Juliana International Airport, St Martin
Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport, British Virgin Islands
Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, US Virgin Islands
So, not far to go now. Heading northwards and then I’ll curve over the Arctic to get back home. I’m looking forward to it.
F-14D Over Brazil – Nothing Else To Say
All Seven Continents
It’s been a while since my last update to the list of airports and countries I have visited as part of my around the world flight in short hops. I can now confirm that I have reached all seven continents and am about to start making my way back home to the UK. There are some other communications from the first part to the second. So, here are the places I have been since the last communication and since updating X-Plane a short while ago.
Klyuchi Air Base Airport, Russia
Adak Airport, Alaska, U.S.A.
Lihue Airport, Hawaii, U.S.A.
Pacific Missile Range Facility, Hawaii, U.S.A.
Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, U.S.A.
Kahului Airport, Hawaii, U.S.A.
San Francisco International Airport, California, U.S.A.
Monterey Regional Airport, California, U.S.A.
San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport, California, U.S.A.
Santa Barbara Airport, California, U.S.A.
Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach, California, U.S.A.
San Felipe International Airport, Mexico
Loreto International Airport, Mexico
La Paz International Airport- Manuel Márquez de León, Mexico
Los Cabos International Airport, Mexico
Mazatlán International Airport, Mexico
Tepic International Airport, Mexico
Lázaro Cárdenas Airport, Mexico
Chilpancingo National Airport, Mexico
Puerto Escondido International Airport, Mexico
Commercial Cd Ixtepec Airport, Mexico
Ángel Albino Corzo International Airport, Mexico
Toncontín Airport, Honduras
Juan Santamaría International Airport, Costa Rica
Enrique Malek International Airport (DAV), Panama
Ruben Cantu Airport, Panama
Tocumen International Airport, Panama
Enrique Adolfo Jiménez International Airport (ONX), Panama
Airport Antonio Roldan Betancur, Colombia
Olaya Herrera Airport, Colombia
Aeropuerto Antonio Narino, Colombia
Aeropuerto Mariscal La Mar, Ecuador
FAP Captain José Abelardo Quiñones González International Airport, Peru
Jorge Chavez International Airport, Peru
Aerodromo Maria Reiche, Peru
Juan Simons Vela Airport, Peru
Juan Mendoza Airport, Bolivia
Diego Aracena International Airport, Chile
San Pedro de Atacama Aerodrome SCPE, Chile
Las Breas Airport, Chile
Aeropuerto de Fiambalá, Chile
Aeropuerto Internacional Domingo Faustino Sarmiento – San Juan, Argentina
Santo Domingo Airfield, Chile
Mocha Island airport, Chile
Melinka Airport, Chile
Caleta Blanco Airport, Chile
Drummond Twins International Airport, Chile
Porvenir Airport, Chile
Almirante Schroeders Airport, Chile
Ushuaia Airport (USH), Argentina
Guardiamarina Zanartu Airport, Chile – moved to X-Plane 12
O’Higgins Skiway, Antarctica
RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands, UK
So, that’s all the continents completed. Now to head up the east coast of South America, North America and then home to good old Great Britain – not so great these days!
I Said I Wouldn’t But I Did
On Friday I was chatting to the Legend and I said I wouldn’t buy X-Plane 12 because XP 11 is pretty good and most of my payware might not transfer over. Well, it took all of about 12 hours to change my mind and buy X-Plane 12 even though it’s the development product. It took a while to download because I got the scenery for the whole world – why wouldn’t you!
I had to set up the joystick and configure the keys so they work as I like. This didn’t take a massive amount of time but it’s frustrating when all you want to do is fly around and see the world.
The scenery is amazing. I have turned most graphics settings up to maximum and this works well with my RTX graphics card. I’m getting >20fps which for a flight simulator, especially X-Plane, is pretty darn good. Also, using the taskmaster I can see that the GPU is being used at around 90% and this pleases me. It’s worth having something you’ve paid for working as it should.
I’ve added in some of my custom scenery and it seems to be working well. So, I have my airport in Keswick, which doesn’t exist in reality but it does mean I’m in the Lake District immediately and can fly around and bomb shit.
Now all I have to do is continue my flight around the world and get back to the UK so I can attempt to learn more. My payware aircraft from XP11 kinda work. I’ve tried the T-7 and as long as I keep the throttle high enough it seems to work ok. If I drop the throttle to idle the engine dies and that’s a touch embarrassing.
I’m somewhere in Chile at the moment and I’m heading to an airport on Antarctica. I have no idea what will exist when I get there and I’m only doing it so I can say I’ve “been” to every continent in my around the world flight. Here’s to many more hours of fun.
Nazca – Peru – Flight Sim
I’ve written here about my current Flight Sim challenge which is to fly around the world in short stages. Each leg is somewhere from 50 miles to 2000 miles, sometimes you have to fly over the Pacific and there isn’t a load of airports there. I’m currently in Peru and my previous journey had me landing at Aerodromo Maria Reiche in Nasca. While heading there I flew over the Nazca Lines and so I decided to download a scenery pack and go back and see what it looks like. I didn’t want to zoom over at 500 knots so decided to take a Grumman Goose out for a trip. As I’m heading to Lake Titicaca next I might make that trip in the Goose and land on the lake. It’s not very fast so I’ll have to see how much time I have. I might take the T7 to closer to the lake and then swap.
Heading South
I’m still flying around the world in X-Plane. There are a few very boring communications about this within this site. This communication is just to have my recent Avro Vulcan landing published somewhere other than my YouTube channel. I think most of my landings in that airplane had been “less than satisfactory” but this one went ok. I’m still going to keep trying. I’m starting to vary the aircraft a little to see how they are different and to stave off the boredom of another flight sitting at 35,000ft for half an hour.
Still Flying Around The World
I am still flying around the world in a series of flights on the flight simulator. I’ll have to look back through here to figure out when I started but I’m currently on the Kamchatka peninsula heading towards the Bering Straights. My most recent flight looks like this:
I’ve generally been doing flights of a few hundred miles but every now and then I put in one of a few thousand. I’m not sure if I’m going to Hawaii or not at the moment. I wonder if I head there, then California and on to South America. I honestly am not sure. I do know that once I get to Iceland I am pretty much done and then what do I do? It’s been fun planning the flights and heading around the world in this simulated world.
The last communication that covered a list of airports ended at Tenzing Hillary Airport in Nepal and so here is the rest of the list to bring us up to date:
Tumling Tar Airport, Nepal
Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Tibet
Paro Airport, Bhutan
Yonphula Airport, Bhutan
Kyaukhtu South Airport, Myanmar
Yangon International, Myanmar
Kyaukhtu South Airport, Myanmar
Dawei Airport, Myanmar
Myeik Airport, Myanmar
Kawthaung Airport, Myanmar
Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore
Brunei International Airport, Brunei
Syamsudin Noor International Airport, Indonesia
Selaparang Airport, Indonesia
Sumbawa Besar Airport, Indonesia
Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport, Indonesia
Komodo International Airport, Indonesia
El Tari International Airport, Indonesia
Darwin International Airport, Australia
Broome International Airport, Australia
Port Hedland International Airport, Australia
Karratha Airport, Australia
Kalbarri Airport, Australia
RAAF Gingin, Australia
Bunbury Airport, Australia
Albany Regional Airport, Australia
Ravensthorpe Airport, Australia
Esperance Airport, Australia
Norseman Airport, Australia
Port Lincoln Airport, Australia
Adelaide Airport, Australia
Kingston Airport, Australia
Portland Airport, Australia
Warrnambool Airport, Australia
Apollo Bay Airport, Australia
Moorabbin (Harry Hawker) Airport, Australia
Burnie Airport, Australia
Hobart Airport, Australia in the Avro Vulcan
Te Anau Airport, New Zealand
Invercargill Airport, New Zealand
Ryan’s Creek Aerodrome, New Zealand
Queenstown Airport, New Zealand
Christchurch Airport, New Zealand
Woodbourne Airport, New Zealand
Wellington Airport, New Zealand
New Plymouth Airport, New Zealand
Auckland Airport, New Zealand
Nouméa Magenta Airport, New Calendonia
Honiara International Airport, Solomon Islands
Rabaul Airport, Papua New Guinea
Lae Nadzab Airport, Papua New Guinea
Goroka Airport, Papua New Guinea
Kagamuga International Airport, Papua New Guinea
Dortheys Hiyo Eluay International Airport, Indonesia
Rendani Airport, Indonesia
Domine Eduard Osok Airport, Indonesia
Buli/Halmahera Island Airport, Indonesia
Sam Ratulangi International Airport, Indonesia
Naha Airport, Indonesia
General Santos International Airport, Philippines
Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Philippines
Lumbia Airfield, Philippines
Surigao Airport, Philippines
Panan-awan Airport, Philippines
Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, Philippines
Catarman National Airport, Philippines
Legazpi Airport, Philippines
Bagasbas Airport, Philippines
Fort Magsaysay Airport, Philippines
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, China
Wenzhou Longwan International Airport, China
Zhoushan Putuoshan Airport, China
Jeju International Airport, South Korea
Pyongyang International Airport, DPRK
Orang Airport, DPRK
Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport, China
Vladivostok International Airport, Russia
Sapporo Okadama Airport, Japan
Monbetsu Airport, Japan
Iturup Island Airport, Russia
Elizovo Airport, Russia
Klyuchi Air Base Airport, Russia
And there we have it. The list so far since the last communication. Not sure how to conquer the Pacific, will keep thinking about it.
This is communication number 2021 and so here are some things that happened in that year of our lord:
- NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter performs the first powered flight on another planet in history.
- Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.
- The number of recorded deaths from COVID-19 surpasses 5 million.
- Barbados becomes a republic on its 55th anniversary of independence while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Tasman Sea
It’s been tough, this last term. There’s plenty to moan about and discuss. But I’ll leave that to private conversations rather than let everything be out in the open on this site. If you can believe it I have my limits. I’m typing this as my flight sim heads across the sea from Hobart, Tasmania to an airport in New Zealand. I’ve got about fifty minutes to go. This is the longest over sea flight I have done and I keep looking at fuel levels. I think I might travel the length of New Zealand and then island hop to Hawaii, after that I’m not so sure how to get to the Americas. Maybe I’ll head to Galapagos and the South America. I honestly don’t know. I’m not even sure what the maximum range of my aircraft is. I can tell you that the T7 that I’m flying seems remarkably “loose” in the sky and I’m not sure if that’s the updated aircraft or just my flight sim. I guess I’ll find out when I try and land.
Wynard to Hobart, Tasmania. Change of plane for the fun of it. Actually landed this beast [kind of]. X-Plane. #roundtheworldtrip am currently heading to NZ. pic.twitter.com/aLmiHczV86
— Ian Parish (@iparish) December 19, 2021
I’ve been tweeting the flights for a while now and I’m looking forward to whatever I’ll do when I return to the start point. I’ll need a new challenge but I’m also hoping that X-Plane 12 will be out by then. If they could make a version that uses multi-core rather then a single core then that would make me very happy. I don’t know how complicated that is but I do know they use an Apple computer for writing everything. I get a reasonable performance at the moment except over very built up areas and so multi-core could sort that out for me.
I’ve been checking online every now and then for PlayStation 5 stock. I was curious but I didn’t think I’d actually end up with a decent result, but . . . the other day I checked Argos and then Currys/PCWorld and it turned out there was a bundle in stock at PCWorld. Well, what could I do? I didn’t think I would buy one but the dream of GT7 on a 4K TV with raytracing got me and I clicked the order button. It’s coming on Tuesday. I need to rationalise AV corner now and think about getting game saves etc over from one machine to another. It’s probably time for the DVD and Blu-Ray player to go. It’s very rare that we actually watch anything on disc and the PS5 can be called into use whenever that ability is needed. I’ve promised myself I’ll try and get into more games over the next year. I want to use the games I have in the library. I will possibly report back on if it’s good or not in about a week.
The kids play mostly PC games when they are here. One on a laptop and the other uses my beast of a machine. I use my own PC for flight sim mostly. My fingers don’t really operate at a ASWD level, they are too used to a PS5 type controller. I could learn but there are other things I’m going to try and learn to push my brain a little. I guess I might reveal those things sometime in the future.
I’ve recently actually paid for a couple of albums. I’ve had Children Of The Dark by Mono Inc. in my head for ages and decided it was time to try and purge the earworm. It turns out that didn’t work and I keep getting their songs going through my head. I’m looking forward to seeing them in concert at sometime in the future. I’ve been wondering about whether it is best to buy an album or to stream music and I’ve mentioned that before on this site. For me, I thought buying an album meant more of the money I’ve spent would go to the artist. If I don’t listen to the songs many times more of the money in terms of royalties goes to the artist than if I just streamed the songs. Now, Daniel Graves from Aesthetic Perfection has said that he makes more money from streaming that album sales because I guess some people play individual songs over and over. I don’t know if it would make my contribution more to the artists as I often only play a song a couple of times and not over and over. It’s something I’m going to think about over the next week or so.
Well, I arrive in New Zealand in about ten minutes so I need to head back to the flight simulator and get ready for landing. I’m really worried about the handling of the aircraft and I hope I don’t crash on the landing as by my own imposed rules I would have to start the flight again!! Keep an eye on Twitter for progress.
This is communication 1997. Here are some things that happened in the year 1997 ACE:
- Hale-Bopp makes its closest approach to Earth.
- The UK hands Hong Kong to China.
- The country went Diana mad. I was left remarkably unfazed by the whole thing and didn’t really care.
- The Prius goes into production.
Bhutan Completed
As part of my around the world trip I have reached the Himalayas and so have visited Tibet, Nepal and now Bhutan. The last of these is relatively small and only has four airports so after landing at Paro International I decided to fly past two of the airports and then land at Yongphulla.
In the above image the black line is the direct route, the pink link a route leg I didn’t activate and the red line is the route I took. I’m flying a little Boeing Saab T-7, it has good feels and has the power of a military jet and so is able to cope with my rapid direction changes and approaches.
Thankfully I now have some time off work! It has been a hard few weeks and I need the rest. As if to let me know I spent all of Saturday lying on the sofa sleeping with aches and pains and general ill feeling. Even Sunday morning I wasn’t great but am feeling back to normal now, nearly, apart from a phlegm filled chest. It isn’t Covid, I’ve done many LFTs and also a PCR when I first started showing symptoms. I did the PCR using a postal service and next time I think I will make sure I go to a drive through centre, the results will be quicker.
My summer of letters has continued with a letter to my MP although nothing good will come from that. Teachers, and many other public servants, have had a massive pay reduction in real terms over the last ten years. My union, the NEU, published some graphs showing how pay had changed over the last ten years when compared to the RPI.
Now this uses RPI rather than CPI and I’ve been over to the ONS to see what the CPI rate has been and I can say it has hovered around 2% over the last ten years being generous to the side of the government. Using that generous rate a teacher’s pay would be GBP 44,805. As you can see even using numbers that flatter the government teachers have suffered a real terms pay loss over the last ten years amounting to a current loss of about GBP 3,000. I am not saying we are more important than other professions who have had a pay freeze and I am not saying we should be given the whole amount now. What I am saying is that the government should recognise these facts and put into action some plan to help correct these issues.
Clearly given the governments we’ve had for the last ten years this won’t happen. They won’t see the unfairness of these increases and they’ll say that recruitment is going well. I would argue that while recruitment is going well it is due to the fact that the rest of the economy is fucked and people are having to retrain after losing their jobs and everyone thinks they can be a teacher. Just as a comparison MP salaries have increased an average of 2.2% per year compared to the teachers increase of 1.2% in the same time. Oh, and they can claim fucking loads of expenses and have subsidised food and drink along with massive benefits like swapping prime residence etc.
I’ve been describing accuracy of lateral flow tests to pupils as part of a conditional probability part of the statistics course and I keep forgetting a couple of the words used to describe how good the tests are. The government likes to bang on about the specificity of the LFTs and that is generally a good high number, around 99%. The specificity tells you how the probability of you having Covid if the test returns a positive result. It therefore seems there’s a 1%, or lower, chance of a false positive result. The problematic number is the sensitivity the LFTs have. The sensitivity tells you the probability of getting a false negative, if you have the disease but the LFT returns a negative result. This is a measure of how sensitive the test is to the disease. Currently, depending on who does the LFT, the sensitivity is running at 40% to 80%. So, LFTs will only be positive on around half the positive cases. This is a massive fucking problem and one the government either deliberately doesn’t mention or is just too stupid to understand. You can’t have a policy of opening up the country when the test you are using to maintain the safety of everyone only catches around 50% of the cases. The government are fucking idiots.
This is communication number 1980 [+-1] and so here are some things that happened in the year of my eighth birthday:
- Saudi Arabia beheads 63 people who did a bad thing.
- 123 people dies when a Norwegian oil platform collapses.
- The first 24 hour news channel starts.
- AC/DC release Back In Black.
- A fire in a hotel in Las Vegas kills 85.