Not (yet?) available in SA, but very handy for my UK and US readers, Please Press 1 is a genius idea. Brainchild of IT Manager Nigel Clarke, PP1 lists “shortcuts” to get through customer service hotlines’ automated menus, thus:
Very simple, very clever and a great way to get around those really frustrating delays while you wait through yet another spiel of options to direct your call.
We like.
You could literally spend hours on Mike Skinner’s Soundcloud page.
As with all things Skinner, tracks will come and go, but at the time of writing, I can’t get enough of this version of How We All Lie.
Some wonderful juxtaposition of hardcore electronica and simply-delivered lyrics. And because I have personally bought this version of the track, it can officially go in the 6000 recommends section of the blog.
Yesterday marked the 70th anniversary of Operation Chastise – better known as the Dambusters raid – on the Ruhr Valley in German Industrial heartland. A bit like Maitland, but with fewer taxis.
A new type of weapon, the bouncing bomb, was designed and tested by Barnes Wallis specifically for the mission.
Two of the dams were breached while another sustained only minor damage. In the valley, 1,600 people drowned.
The raid was carried out by 133 airmen in 19 Lancaster bombers who formed the RAF’s 617 squadron. Fifty-six men and eight aircraft did not return.
The bomb in question was tested on the Derwent dam in Derbyshire, just down the road from my hometown of Sheffield. And yesterday, to commemorate the anniversary, there was a flypast over the dam wall (which you may remember from this flickr set) in front of huge crowds.
Notably, there’s a lot less water in there than last July. And a whole lot more World War II bomber over it too.
There’s video too – click here.
All in all, the Dambusters Raid was a huge boost to the British morale at what was obviously a hugely difficult time. The effects of the actual bombing on the German war effort were soon overcome, but the bravery of those young airmen deserves to be remembered – even now, 70 years on.
How long since you last saw one of these?
This was tucked away behind the counter at the equally aging Constantia Nek Restaurant where we stopped in for a quick beer and ice cream after acrobranching.
Covered in dust and grease (again a similarity with the rest of the place), it felt clunky, awkward and HEAVY!
It was the first one I’d ever seen in South Africa. But then it’s only been 9½ years since I arrived…
www.6000.co.za
In case you need to be told
Because some of my FB friends do: Likes don’t save lives.
That’s the tagline of a new campaign by UNICEF in Sweden. They’re encouraging people do donate money rather than just click a button. Because while the clicks are absolutely lovely, they don’t actually do anything. They’re just an easy way to pretend you’re making a difference. It’s slacktivism at its worst.
Of course, far fewer people will put their money where their click was. But it’s worth remembering that even a single cent is still worth more to charity than any number of those likes.
(Oh, and while we’re on the subject, actually, “one like ? one prayer”, although both are worthless, as mentioned above, it’s likely to do about as much good. i.e. none.)