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Shamouti Ben Yafo

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  1. Ben Yafo here, being a nuisance about Landies yet again! I've been searching in my reference library and the Internet for interior details for a group of Military Series IIA vehicles I wish to model in 1:76; a couple of LWB GS, one LWB FFR and, perhaps, the same in SWB. I've found nothing so far. Does anyone have the dimensions - and, hopefully, some photographs or drawings - of the rear bench seats in the LWB and SWB GS, and a radio layout for both FFR?
  2. Just found Wheels and Tracks - I tried to buy the digital version of the issue, but Paypal didn't work, then my antivirus software flagged an 'unsafe site' warning...
  3. Thank you, no I haven't. I have heard of Wheels and Tracks, but I must confess that I have no idea of what it is or where to find it. Next stop Google! Thank you; I'll certainly take a look at that.
  4. Does anyone know where - or even if - I can find a stowage diagram for the SAS Land Rovers converted from Series I SWB examples? What wheelbase were they? I am sure I read 80" somewhere... Many thanks.
  5. Is that the MG shield I see on the roof, folded down? I know that the linear rangefinder would not have fitted between the holes - I considered that. But I don't know the dimensions of the other 'scissor' type. If not for one of these, or winch cables, then what else?
  6. Never going to happen with the theoretical methodology proposed by Trekkies and allied enthusiasts. The theory is that the object is utterly destroyed, following a detailed scan of its constituent particles. In some versions, the resulting energy is transmitted and reassembled, in others it is discarded and a new copy of the object assembled at the destination. Why is this not a good idea? Technology - what kind of incredible computing power would we need to scan every particle in an object? And how much energy to disassemble said object? How to transmit it without loss or distortion? Physics - Heisenberg's (quantum) Uncertainty Principle dictates that the momentum and velocity of a particle cannot both be determined. Also applies to other properties which are more esoteric. So you can't even do the complete scan. But my greatest objection: can that elusive, ineffable quality we call the soul be transmitted? Is it just a phenomenon - or delusion - arising from a set of biochemical reactions? I think not. If I step into a Transmat/Transporter/Teleporter or whatever, who comes out the other end? Not me. A facsimile - even if perfect, and with my thoughts and memories in full, he will declare "I am Shamouti ben Yafo!" - and will be lyimg. If he is a perfect me, does it matter? Yes, to the real me, now dead. No thanks.
  7. I think the advertisers were probably thinking of the Batphone, or the popular image of the Washington - Moscow hotline.
  8. I wonder if this will lead to a downturn in individual car ownership, with people opting to use a driverless taxi service which would be cheaper than buying and maintaining a vehicle? Might it even become mandatory?
  9. I would say that some of these concerns can be addressed by present law, the important term being "in charge". This still requires a valid license, so no to some of the above. At some point we may well see empty cars scooting about on all manner of errands, just as we were promised in the 1960s. Along with the first extraterrestrial colonies (Moon, then Mars) a cure for Cancer (I think we're getting somewhere with that one) Social Justice...
  10. Ooh! Jeriais! So good to see that posted. My wife (qualified technical translator) was as glad to see that as was I. In Welsh we use 'Ty bach', which also means little house - as outdoor ones were, and brick or even stone built at that. 'Toiled' (with the /e/ pronounced) is modern. There again, 'lavatory' is a fairly recent back-formation to differentiate from 'latrine', from the Classical Latin 'latrina'; in Old Latin this was 'lavatrina' - from 'lavare', to wash. Feeling a bit flushed here... Sorry Clive; disgraced myself again.
  11. Variations on 'kaka' turn up in all Indo-European languages, usually as baby talk, though it is used by adult Boers, also in Welsh (as cac, caca, cachi) and Scots ( pronounced 'keekh'). (Oddly enough, we Welsh also share the other Afrikaans word for faeces; I think they spell it 'poep', whereas we have 'pwp'). In Hindi and Farsi, 'Khaki' means dust or dirt, and in Greek 'Kakos' just means bad. It goes right back to the Neolithic, a word with the weight of centuries. Just think of that when you next... All right; I'll just apologise and depart... Sorry Clive; this is getting a bit linguistic and unsavoury - but, in my defence, what can you expect to find in a latrine?
  12. Ah! A squat toilet! Said (by gastroenterologists) to be the healthiest way to defecate, the preferred modern Western posture leading to haemorrhoids and all manner of complications. BTW, on a tangent, does anyone know the origin of 'khazi' or 'Kharzi'? I have heard that it's from Hindi, but no one I've met (all natives) know anything like it in Hindi, Urdu or Panjabi; another theory is that it comes from isiZuli 'imKhazi', but it doesn't ring a bell with the Zulu, Xhosa or Djebele I've asked.
  13. A few questions, esteemed comrades, on the lifestyles and habits of three sub-species of the native Ferret. Mk1: when used by senior officers as liaison vehicles, given the quoted crew of 2 (and the bench seat in the rear) would they really be expected to man the radio and MG themselves, or travel as supernumerary? Mk 1/2: quoted crew of 3, yet every photo I've seen of them shows but two; was this general practice, or did the radio operator never, ever pop up to take the air? This seems unlikely to me, but I wasn't there... And now, the big puzzle. One of the Mk 2 subtypes carried a Bren gun, and I have seen a photo of a vehicle commander aiming his with the weapon supported on the open roof hatch. But why was he doing this in the first place? Highly mobile and rapid Infantry fire support? Even so, what was the tactical reasoning for using a loose weapon rather than the turret Browning? What sort of units were they issued to? Many thanks, and - as always - my kindest regards.
  14. Come now, esteemed colleagues! You know better than to call that thing a tank; it's a tracked personnel carrier at best. Maybe with some uses in the appropriate setting - which isn't just to flip the finger at the underpaid.
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