"Nom de plume," f'rexample, is cited by Wiktionary as being coined in
English by analogy to "nom de guerre," which *is* a native French
expression. English does use the literal rendering "pen name" more
commonly, but the French version still sees use essentially because it "sounds cool" to deploy foreign words - the same reason you see
gratuitous (and frequently nonsensical) English in Japanese media.
Some French words
are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far more than
what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
That's nothing new to me. Another reason is some French people don't
speak English but want to make believe they know it to sound could
and are using English words.
But what is "new" to me, I mean not from yesterday, but from a few
years, is that it works in the other way around, too. Some French
words are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far
more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
On 25/10/2025 13:49, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Some French words
are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far more than
what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Yes. 'Jus' sounds terribly exciting. 'Gravy' doesn't.
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
That's nothing new to me. Another reason is some French people don't
speak English but want to make believe they know it to sound could
and are using English words.
But what is "new" to me, I mean not from yesterday, but from a few
years, is that it works in the other way around, too. Some French
words are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far
more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Heck, French has been a “cool” language for centuries, and not just
among English speakers. What you said above about English becoming
“cool” to French people ... now that is a big surprise, and seems a
more recent development.
Heh heh ... I remember back in the late 80s or so during an "All
French" wave of fanaticism they decided to replace the word
"satellite" with what was essentially a full sentence-long
description about made objects lofted into orbits
"Satellite" or even "Sputnik" were a hell of a lot better,
but not FRENCH !
On 2025-10-25, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 25/10/2025 13:49, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Some French words are used in English because they sound cool. And
they are far more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Yes. 'Jus' sounds terribly exciting. 'Gravy' doesn't.
A popular construct on local menus is the phrase "with au jus". That one
rubs my fur backwards. Redundant prepositions!
A popular construct on local menus is the phrase "with au jus".
That one rubs my fur backwards. Redundant prepositions!
On Sat, 25 Oct 2025 22:16:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-25, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 25/10/2025 13:49, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Some French words are used in English because they sound cool. And
they are far more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Yes. 'Jus' sounds terribly exciting. 'Gravy' doesn't.
A popular construct on local menus is the phrase "with au jus". That one
rubs my fur backwards. Redundant prepositions!
You must love the US southwest with constructions like Rio Grande River.
On Sat, 25 Oct 2025 21:19:03 -0400, c186282 wrote:
Heh heh ... I remember back in the late 80s or so during an "All
French" wave of fanaticism they decided to replace the word
"satellite" with what was essentially a full sentence-long
description about made objects lofted into orbits
"Satellite" or even "Sputnik" were a hell of a lot better,
but not FRENCH !
https://www.etymonline.com/word/satellite
Several other sources also say it was a Middle French word meaning
sycophant or follower.
German leaves off the 'e'. I have a Grundig Satellit 700 shortwave
receiver. Grundig started using Satellit in '64, being all hip and space racey.
trivia: Trabant is a synonym more used for a moon orbiting a planet.
Fitting for the much beloved Trabant car which was out of this world.
On Sat, 25 Oct 2025 22:16:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-25, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 25/10/2025 13:49, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Some French words are used in English because they sound cool. And
they are far more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Yes. 'Jus' sounds terribly exciting. 'Gravy' doesn't.
A popular construct on local menus is the phrase "with au jus". That one
rubs my fur backwards. Redundant prepositions!
You must love the US southwest with constructions like Rio Grande River.
Things must be worse in the EU ... SO many languages/names to
translate so the locals "get it"
On 2025-10-26, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sat, 25 Oct 2025 22:16:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-25, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 25/10/2025 13:49, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Some French words are used in English because they sound cool. And
they are far more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Yes. 'Jus' sounds terribly exciting. 'Gravy' doesn't.
A popular construct on local menus is the phrase "with au jus". That one >>> rubs my fur backwards. Redundant prepositions!
You must love the US southwest with constructions like Rio Grande River.
I'd like it better if it were the "Big Rio Grande River".
This message has been brought to by the
Department of Redundancy Department.
England and Scotland have something like ten River Avons.
Richard Kettlewell wrote:
England and Scotland have something like ten River Avons.The classic has got to be Torpenhow Hill ...
On 2025-10-25, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 25/10/2025 13:49, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Some French words
are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far more than
what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Yes. 'Jus' sounds terribly exciting. 'Gravy' doesn't.
A popular construct on local menus is the phrase "with au jus".
That one rubs my fur backwards. Redundant prepositions!
Things must be worse in the EU ... SO many
languages/names to translate so the locals
"get it"
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
That's nothing new to me. Another reason is some French people don't
speak English but want to make believe they know it to sound could
and are using English words.
But what is "new" to me, I mean not from yesterday, but from a few
years, is that it works in the other way around, too. Some French
words are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far
more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Heck, French has been a “cool” language for centuries, and not just
among English speakers.
What you said above about English becoming
“cool” to French people ... now that is a big surprise, and seems a
more recent development.
On 10/25/25 18:03, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
Heh heh ... I remember back in the late 80s or so
during an "All French" wave of fanaticism they decided
to replace the word "satellite" with what was essentially
a full sentence-long description about made objects
lofted into orbits :-)
"Satellite" or even "Sputnik" were a hell of a lot better,
but not FRENCH !
Le 25-10-2025, Lawrence D’Oliveiro <[email protected]d> a écrit :
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
Exactly. Well, I mean that logiciel and ordinateur were words coined
well before I was born. So, at that time, only a limited number of guys
were discovering computers. And so, it was easy to coin a new term
before it was well spread.
Charlie Gibbs <[email protected]d> writes:
On 2025-10-26, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sat, 25 Oct 2025 22:16:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-25, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 25/10/2025 13:49, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Some French words are used in English because they sound cool. And >>>>>> they are far more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Yes. 'Jus' sounds terribly exciting. 'Gravy' doesn't.
A popular construct on local menus is the phrase "with au jus". That one >>>> rubs my fur backwards. Redundant prepositions!
You must love the US southwest with constructions like Rio Grande River.
I'd like it better if it were the "Big Rio Grande River".
This message has been brought to by the
Department of Redundancy Department.
England and Scotland have something like ten River Avons. ‘Avon’ was the Brythonic word for ‘river’, also surviving in modern Welsh ‘afon’ (pronounced with a hard ‘v’).
On 2025-10-26 02:19, c186282 wrote:
On 10/25/25 18:03, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land but
not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt them
than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
Heh heh ... I remember back in the late 80s or so during an "All
French" wave of fanaticism they decided to replace the word
"satellite" with what was essentially a full sentence-long
description about made objects lofted into orbits :-)
"Satellite" or even "Sputnik" were a hell of a lot better,
but not FRENCH !
What word is used for the Moon? It is a satellite.
You shouldn't. If you hear people fighting against English words coming
into French, it means, there are French guys who are using those words.
And those words are technical words, so they are used by technical guys because they don't have better words. But at the same time, they are
used by not technical guys who want to make look like they now their
stuff. So,
they are using those words just because they sound cool. That's not that
new. In shit, like advertisement, people were using English words
decades ago to make their speech look like it's serious when it's only bullshit.
Lawrence D’Oliveiro <[email protected]d> writes:
Richard Kettlewell wrote:
England and Scotland have something like ten River Avons.The classic has got to be Torpenhow Hill ...
Torpenhow is a real village in Cumbria. It may etymologize to ‘hill hill ridge’, although that is not the only theory and while it does seem to
be on a gentle slope, ‘ridge’ quite obviously does not fit.
On Sun, 26 Oct 2025 14:52:24 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-26 02:19, c186282 wrote:
On 10/25/25 18:03, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land but >>>>> not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt them
than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
Heh heh ... I remember back in the late 80s or so during an "All
French" wave of fanaticism they decided to replace the word
"satellite" with what was essentially a full sentence-long
description about made objects lofted into orbits :-)
"Satellite" or even "Sputnik" were a hell of a lot better,
but not FRENCH !
What word is used for the Moon? It is a satellite.
La lune?
Trivia: In the German the moon (der Mond) is masculine and the sun (die Sonne) if feminine. I think that's true for most Germanic languages. Lee Hollander, a translator of old Norse material, took heat for switching genders. I'm sure he knew what he was doing but thought calling the moon 'him' would be weird for English readers.
My theory is if you live in a place that's cold and dark for a substantial part of the year the nice, warming sun has a maternal feel to it, versus
the cold full moon on a 20 below night.
What word is used for the Moon? It is a satellite.
Spain has "Rio Guadalquivir" or "Rio Guadiana". Apparently, Guad means
river in Arabic. I say apparently because once I asked an Iraqi and he
said "no" ...
Chatgpt says the name was "al-wādi al-kabīr" (ٱلْوَادِي ٱلْكَبِير) (the
big river or the big valley), where "al-wādi" shifted into "guad-"
(similar pronunciation in Spanish).
On Sun, 26 Oct 2025 19:48:42 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Spain has "Rio Guadalquivir" or "Rio Guadiana". Apparently, Guad means
river in Arabic. I say apparently because once I asked an Iraqi and he
said "no" ...
There is no “g” (as you might use in “Guadalquivir”) in Arabic -- or maybe
“q” is pronounced that way in some regions (Egypt?). Thus the place we all
call “Gaza” is actually “Ghaza” (غزة).
Chatgpt says the name was "al-wādi al-kabīr" (ٱلْوَادِي ٱلْكَبِير) (the
big river or the big valley), where "al-wādi" shifted into "guad-"
(similar pronunciation in Spanish).
My understanding is that “wādi” means “dry river bed”. As in those places
that will suddenly turn into a river in a rainstorm. Places where it would
be really unwise to set up camp. ;)
Google Translate gives “nahr” (نهر) as the translation for “river”.--
On 2025-10-26 02:19, c186282 wrote:
On 10/25/25 18:03, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
Heh heh ... I remember back in the late 80s or so
during an "All French" wave of fanaticism they decided
to replace the word "satellite" with what was essentially
a full sentence-long description about made objects
lofted into orbits :-)
"Satellite" or even "Sputnik" were a hell of a lot better,
but not FRENCH !
What word is used for the Moon? It is a satellite.
Le 25-10-2025, Lawrence D’Oliveiro <[email protected]d> a écrit :
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
Exactly. Well, I mean that logiciel and ordinateur were words coined
well before I was born. So, at that time, only a limited number of guys
were discovering computers. And so, it was easy to coin a new term
before it was well spread. Now, with emails and bugs, the words are well spread before the forty morons decide they must be replaced by French
ones. And except very rare words like conteneur for container, no new
term in tech is translated as long as it stays among the tech guys. When
they start to be used by street people, things start to be different.
That's nothing new to me. Another reason is some French people don't
speak English but want to make believe they know it to sound could
and are using English words.
But what is "new" to me, I mean not from yesterday, but from a few
years, is that it works in the other way around, too. Some French
words are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far
more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
Heck, French has been a “cool” language for centuries, and not just
among English speakers.
Yes. In the past. Not so long ago French was used in English and Russian courts. But it's the past. Even if it's not that old.
What you said above about English becoming
“cool” to French people ... now that is a big surprise, and seems a
more recent development.
You shouldn't. If you hear people fighting against English words coming
into French, it means, there are French guys who are using those words.
And those words are technical words, so they are used by technical guys because they don't have better words. But at the same time, they are
used by not technical guys who want to make look like they now their
stuff. So, they are using those words just because they sound cool.
That's not that new. In shit, like advertisement, people were using
English words decades ago to make their speech look like it's serious
when it's only bullshit.
Well from an historical perspective, it's very recent. But from a
lifetime one, it's not.
Everybody invaded/colonized everyone else in
Europe/UK so often that "foreign" words and
customs aren't worth mentioning.
On 10/26/25 09:52, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-26 02:19, c186282 wrote:
On 10/25/25 18:03, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On 25 Oct 2025 12:49:55 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
As a lot of new words comes from English, mostly in computer land
but not only, French are using them because it's easier to adopt
them than to coin new ones.
You mean, nobody says “logiciel pour ordinateur” any more? ;)
Heh heh ... I remember back in the late 80s or so
during an "All French" wave of fanaticism they decided
to replace the word "satellite" with what was essentially
a full sentence-long description about made objects
lofted into orbits :-)
"Satellite" or even "Sputnik" were a hell of a lot better,
but not FRENCH !
What word is used for the Moon? It is a satellite.
But not a 'made thing' - natural - unless you
ask the UFO freaks ...
But what is "new" to me, I mean not from yesterday, but from a fewYeah - English speakers adopting French terms isn't as common as it used
years, is that it works in the other way around, too. Some French
words are used in English because they sound cool. And they are far
more than what I knew/guessed a few years ago.
In Spanish and English both are satellites.
* (It'd be interesting to trace this behavior in a global context over
time - these days, for example, most of our novel loanwords seem to
come from Japanese, post-anime boom.)
On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:09:41 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
In Spanish and English both are satellites.
In American they are “sadellites” ...
On 2025-10-27 22:23, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:09:41 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
In Spanish and English both are satellites.
In American they are “sadellites” ...
Huh? I don't get that one. :-?
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:47:21 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-27 22:23, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:09:41 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
In Spanish and English both are satellites.
In American they are “sadellites” ...
Huh? I don't get that one. :-?
Listen to them talk.
I wonder how they tell “waiting” from “wading” ... as in “I’ve been wading
for you” ...
On 2025-10-27 22:23, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:09:41 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
In Spanish and English both are satellites.
In American they are “sadellites” ...
Huh? I don't get that one. :-?
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:47:21 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-27 22:23, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Mon, 27 Oct 2025 10:09:41 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
In Spanish and English both are satellites.
In American they are “sadellites” ...
Huh? I don't get that one. :-?
Listen to them talk.
I wonder how they tell “waiting” from “wading” ... as in “I’ve been wading
for you” ...
On 2025-10-28 01:27, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
I wonder how they tell “waiting” from “wading” ... as in “I’ve been wadingOk :-D
for you” ...
I get it. :-)
I watched this weekend, maybe for the third time, the movie "Three
Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri". It is surprising the different
accents you can hear in the same area. The police chief: educated, cultivated, polite, soft spoken. Then his aide, xenophobic, violent.
"Carlos E.R." <[email protected]d> wrote or quoted:
On 2025-10-28 01:27, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
I wonder how they tell “waiting” from “wading” ... as in “I’ve beenOk :-D I get it. :-)
wading for you” ...
The American /t/ is flapped in some contexts; it's not a tap [ɾ] nor a
[d], but a voiced alveolar flap [ɿ].
When the flap is performed, the tip of the tongue is bent backwards,
and then the /underside/ of the tip of the tongue briefly touches the
palate. But some people might not be able to hear any difference
between that flap [ɿ] and the [d] . . .
My downfall is British shows. Some are okay, some are very difficult for
me to understand. After a while I sometimes can adapt.
I do better with Australian shows for some reason. There was a rumor that the first 'Road Warrior' movie had to be dubbed for the US audience but I can't confirm
it.
On 2025-10-28, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
My downfall is British shows. Some are okay, some are very difficult for
me to understand. After a while I sometimes can adapt.
Scottish accents (especially Glaswegian) must drive you nuts.
I do better with
Australian shows for some reason. There was a rumor that the first 'Road
Warrior' movie had to be dubbed for the US audience but I can't confirm
it.
Oh, stewardess! I speak jive.
-- Airplane!
And in the Barbie movie, the lead character sings "important"
with a glottal stop.
On 2025-10-28, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
My downfall is British shows. Some are okay, some are very difficult
for me to understand. After a while I sometimes can adapt.
Scottish accents (especially Glaswegian) must drive you nuts.
And 'Trainspotting'. I forget which one but one of the actors didn't have
a Glaswegian accent and came up with one that was even worse. The best
part of that was Kelly Macdonald. I recently watched the 'Dept. Q' series.
I enjoyed that one and was glad it was renewed for next year.
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:21:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-28, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
My downfall is British shows. Some are okay, some are very difficult
for me to understand. After a while I sometimes can adapt.
Scottish accents (especially Glaswegian) must drive you nuts.
I saw 'Sexy Beast' in a theater and understood little except Kingsley's 'fuck' which was a big part of his monologues. I thought it was me but as
I left I overheard several couples wishing there were subtitles.
Then there was Ken Loach's 'The Navigators'. Loach prides himself on authenticity which means you have to be a Yorkie to understand the
dialogue.
And 'Trainspotting'. I forget which one but one of the actors didn't have
a Glaswegian accent and came up with one that was even worse. The best
part of that was Kelly Macdonald. I recently watched the 'Dept. Q' series.
I enjoyed that one and was glad it was renewed for next year.
It's mixed. Henshall in the 'Shetland' series was no problem.Some of the other characters were murkier.
When we visited Scotland I noticed that the farther north you went
the less pronounced the accents were.
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even
for supposedly English speakers.
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even
for supposedly English speakers.
+1
For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the loud'ish, gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
On 30/10/2025 17:29, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even
for supposedly English speakers.
+1
For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the loud'ish,
gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
inter-modulating in your ear with the speech...
Deafness isn't just about frequency response and gain
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even
for supposedly English speakers.
+1 For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the
loud'ish,
gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
On 30/10/2025 17:29, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:inter-modulating in your ear with the speech...
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even
for supposedly English speakers.
+1 For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the
loud'ish,
gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
Deafness isn't just about frequency response and gain
I've noticed that myself. In a quiet environment, I can still hear
quite faint sounds. For instance, the hearing test where the doctor
whispers numbers from across the room is no problem for me, and on a
hike I can hear birds from a long way off.
But picking out speech from background noise is becoming more and more difficult; in a loud environment I'm functionally deaf.
I've also noticed that many young people seem to slur their words, which makes the problem even worse.
On 2025-10-29, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:21:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-28, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
My downfall is British shows. Some are okay, some are very difficult
for me to understand. After a while I sometimes can adapt.
Scottish accents (especially Glaswegian) must drive you nuts.
I saw 'Sexy Beast' in a theater and understood little except Kingsley's
'fuck' which was a big part of his monologues. I thought it was me but as
I left I overheard several couples wishing there were subtitles.
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more
even for supposedly English speakers.
On 30 Oct 2025 17:29:34 GMT, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even
for supposedly English speakers.
+1 For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the
loud'ish,
gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
I agree on that. I also don't care for the trend toward dark scenes. I
don't mean dark as in murder and mayhem but as in lighting. My theory is
low lighting levels means they can be sloppier with set construction.
Before HD that got smoothed out better.
On 2025-10-30 21:10, rbowman wrote:
On 30 Oct 2025 17:29:34 GMT, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even >>>> for supposedly English speakers.
+1 For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the
loud'ish,
gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
I agree on that. I also don't care for the trend toward dark scenes. I
don't mean dark as in murder and mayhem but as in lighting. My theory is
low lighting levels means they can be sloppier with set construction.
Before HD that got smoothed out better.
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting sources.
On 2025-10-30 21:10, rbowman wrote:
On 30 Oct 2025 17:29:34 GMT, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even >>>> for supposedly English speakers.
+1 For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the
loud'ish,
gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
I agree on that. I also don't care for the trend toward dark scenes. I
don't mean dark as in murder and mayhem but as in lighting. My theory is
low lighting levels means they can be sloppier with set construction.
Before HD that got smoothed out better.
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting sources.
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind
and activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
On 2025-10-30 21:10, rbowman wrote:
On 30 Oct 2025 17:29:34 GMT, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:47:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more even >>>> for supposedly English speakers.
+1 For several reasons -- but the major reason is because of the
loud'ish,
gratuitous music that is played over the dialogue.
I agree on that. I also don't care for the trend toward dark scenes. I
don't mean dark as in murder and mayhem but as in lighting. My theory is
low lighting levels means they can be sloppier with set construction.
Before HD that got smoothed out better.
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting sources.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:33:08 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind
and activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
Any language that has been in used in an area for centuries (like
Spanish) and was also spread around via a worlwide empire at one stage
(like Spanish) is bound to develop regional variations though, isn’t
it.
Is the Spanish spoken in the Americas very different from Spain? Not
to mention the variations within Spain itself.
There is a reporter on Al Jazeera named Teresa Bo, and I am quite
intrigued with the way she pronounces Spanish names: e.g. “Nicolas Maduro” comes out sounding more like “Nicolah Maluro” (perhaps I
should use the Vietnamese letter, since that’s what it sounds like: “Mađuro”). Or in “Cuba” the “b” sound turns almost into “w”. I think
she’s from Argentina, but I can’t be sure.
On 2025-10-29 19:47, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-29, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:21:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-28, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
My downfall is British shows. Some are okay, some are very difficult >>>>> for me to understand. After a while I sometimes can adapt.
Scottish accents (especially Glaswegian) must drive you nuts.
I saw 'Sexy Beast' in a theater and understood little except Kingsley's
'fuck' which was a big part of his monologues. I thought it was me
but as
I left I overheard several couples wishing there were subtitles.
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more
even for supposedly English speakers.
As my first language is not English, you can not imagine how reassuring
is to me what you said there, when I need to have the subtitles there (hopefully in English, but otherwise Spanish will do) because there is always a word that I don't catch every little while.
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind and activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
Reminds me, in Amazon Prime Video sometimes there is an alternative
audio track with "improved dialogue clarity" or some wording to that respect.
Electricity is being rationed and the City cannot afford therates
on peak use. I try to tune off appliances apart from the computer and refrigerator during peak use hours.
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind and activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
Is the Spanish spoken in the Americas very different from Spain? Not to mention the variations within Spain itself.
There is a fashion in modern English-speaking movies/TV for actors to
mumble. If you watch older films from the 1930s and 1940s, the actors
speak far more clearly. Actors used more of a cut glass accent, which is easier to understand.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 15:18:38 -0700, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
Electricity is being rationed and the City cannot afford therates
for
on peak use. I try to tune off appliances apart from the computer and
refrigerator during peak use hours.
I was shocked when I got my September electric bill. The usage was up to winter levels when I use electric space heaters.
The culprit was an 'energy saving' LED bulb that was trying to act as a
space heater. It finally destroyed the switch in the fixture. I thought
the bulb had failed but when I went to remove it it was red hot. I
replaced the entire fixture.
That energy saving feature cost me a lot more than any energy it ever
saved. I'm amazed it didn't blow the 15 A fuse.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:33:08 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind and
activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
We had a woman from Columbia who would sit in on teleconferences with our clients in Puerto Rico to give a running translation if they switched to Spanish among themselves. Sometimes their private discussion were heated
and rapid fire and she could only get the gist of it.
Sometimes the misunderstandings are amusing. I watch some British police
or crime shows and often the head honcho is a woman who they address as 'Ma'am'. As far as I'm concerned they are calling her Mom.
Some of the British actors also do something with 'murder'. It isn't quite 'murther' but there is more than just 'd'.
On 2025-10-30 23:20, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
Any language that has been in used in an area for centuries (like
Spanish) and was also spread around via a worlwide empire at one stage
(like Spanish) is bound to develop regional variations though, isn’t
it.
Certainly. But the actors I did not understand were from Spain and the action was taking place in Spain.
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the
future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting sources.
There is a fashion in modern English-speaking movies/TV for actors to mumble. If you watch older films from the 1930s and 1940s, the actors
speak far more clearly. Actors used more of a cut glass accent, which is easier to understand.
So it isn't just that we are all going deaf, although we probably are.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:33:08 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind and
activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
We had a woman from Columbia who would sit in on teleconferences with our clients in Puerto Rico to give a running translation if they switched to Spanish among themselves. Sometimes their private discussion were heated
and rapid fire and she could only get the gist of it.
Sometimes the misunderstandings are amusing. I watch some British police
or crime shows and often the head honcho is a woman who they address as 'Ma'am'. As far as I'm concerned they are calling her Mom.
Some of the British actors also do something with 'murder'. It isn't quite 'murther' but there is more than just 'd'.
On 10/30/25 20:29, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:33:08 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind and
activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
We had a woman from Columbia who would sit in on teleconferences with our
clients in Puerto Rico to give a running translation if they switched to
Spanish among themselves. Sometimes their private discussion were heated
and rapid fire and she could only get the gist of it.
Sometimes the misunderstandings are amusing. I watch some British police
or crime shows and often the head honcho is a woman who they address as
'Ma'am'. As far as I'm concerned they are calling her Mom.
Some of the British actors also do something with 'murder'. It isn't
quite
'murther' but there is more than just 'd'.
I have seen that "murthering bastards" in print. It is a common thing apparently.
"Ma'am" means boss because you know that is how the Queen was addressed by
people of appropriate rank.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:35:49 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the
future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting sources.
There are things you could complain about in “Blade Runner” (gratuitous violence), but surely not that: the look of the film, conceived by Syd
Mead and Ridley Scott, with advanced yet shabby and well-used technology,
the vast, towering, dirty city, the melding of Eastern and Western
cultures ... that had a major influence on other aspiring sci-fi
moviemakers, I would say on a par with “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
RIP Philip K Dick, SF novelist who wrote--and lived--right on the edge of sanity a lot of the time, and who died before production was completed.
Also RIP Rutger Hauer, who died in 2019, the year the movie was set in.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 23:36:01 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-30 23:20, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
Any language that has been in used in an area for centuries (like
Spanish) and was also spread around via a worlwide empire at one stage
(like Spanish) is bound to develop regional variations though, isn’t
it.
Certainly. But the actors I did not understand were from Spain and the
action was taking place in Spain.
I’m sure there are some quite wide regional variations within there, like in English in the UK. There is a saying: “A language is a dialect with an army”. Scots (lowland Scots, à la Robbie Burns, not highland Gaelic) would have been an entirely separate language from English, if it were not for
the Scottish king inheriting the English throne. How different is Catalan from Spanish? Are there other regional languages/dialects that are maybe almost as different? (And then there’s Basque ...)
Even within England, there can be wide variation. I remember watching a TV comedy/drama series called “Auf Wiedersehen, Pet”, back in the 1980s, during the time when Maggie Thatcher was 🇬🇧 Prime Minister, and whose policies had thrown large numbers of Brits out of work. The main
characters were from around England, plus an Irishman (bricklayers, carpenters etc), who got work in West Germany, which was undergoing a construction boom at the time. And they had all their different styles of regional speech.
Three of them were from north-east England, around Newcastle, aka “Geordies”. The first episode, I had to strain to make sense of what they were saying -- it was an accent I had never heard before. After that, it
got a bit easier ...
On 2025-10-31 05:51, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 23:36:01 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-30 23:20, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
Any language that has been in used in an area for centuries (like
Spanish) and was also spread around via a worlwide empire at one stage >>>> (like Spanish) is bound to develop regional variations though, isn’t >>>> it.
Certainly. But the actors I did not understand were from Spain and the
action was taking place in Spain.
I’m sure there are some quite wide regional variations within there, like >> in English in the UK. There is a saying: “A language is a dialect with an >> army”. Scots (lowland Scots, à la Robbie Burns, not highland Gaelic)
would
have been an entirely separate language from English, if it were not for
the Scottish king inheriting the English throne. How different is Catalan
from Spanish? Are there other regional languages/dialects that are maybe
almost as different? (And then there’s Basque ...)
Catalan is different, quite different, but it is a language on its own.
And there are other regional languages. I can not understand a speaker
of those languages, just some words.
But I can understand a Spanish speaker born in Cataluña, no problem.
Even within England, there can be wide variation. I remember watching
a TV
comedy/drama series called “Auf Wiedersehen, Pet”, back in the 1980s,
during the time when Maggie Thatcher was 🇬🇧 Prime Minister, and whose >> policies had thrown large numbers of Brits out of work. The main
characters were from around England, plus an Irishman (bricklayers,
carpenters etc), who got work in West Germany, which was undergoing a
construction boom at the time. And they had all their different styles of
regional speech.
Three of them were from north-east England, around Newcastle, aka
“Geordies”. The first episode, I had to strain to make sense of what they
were saying -- it was an accent I had never heard before. After that, it
got a bit easier ...
A person that learns Spanish as a second language has serious trouble understanding a person at Sevilla or Malaga, for instance. The accent is quite different. I don't know if it is a dialect or not. But we
understand them.
BR is best understood not as a literal prediction of the future, but asThere are things you could complain about in “Blade Runner”
(gratuitous violence), but surely not that: the look of the film,
conceived by Syd Mead and Ridley Scott, with advanced yet shabby
and well-used technology, the vast, towering, dirty city, the
melding of Eastern and Western cultures ... that had a major
influence on other aspiring sci-fi moviemakers, I would say on a
par with “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
RIP Philip K Dick, SF novelist who wrote--and lived--right on the
edge of sanity a lot of the time, and who died before production
was completed.
Also RIP Rutger Hauer, who died in 2019, the year the movie was set
in.
I know all that, but I do complain. I can accept the city being dark,
but interiors being dark, no way. Heck, we invented the LED. my
interiors are brighter than they ever were.
I am surprised that you tried to replace an incandescent with anLED
for
heating purposes. When was younger and spryer I would get on a
step-stool at this Time of Year and put up some incandescent bulbs in
the bathroom to be able to warm it up. Feel too unstable for some time
now to do that as being 30 inches off the floor makes me insecure.
Broken ankle does not help with that and no room for a cane.
"Ma'am" means boss because you know that is how the Queen wasaddressed
by
people of appropriate rank.
Sometimes the misunderstandings are amusing. I watch some BritishMarm. As in 'Marmite'
police or crime shows and often the head honcho is a woman who they
address as 'Ma'am'. As far as I'm concerned they are calling her Mom.
Some of the British actors also do something with 'murder'. It isn't
quite 'murther' but there is more than just 'd'.
That sound Scots or Irish.
RIP Philip K Dick, SF novelist who wrote--and lived--right on the edge
of sanity a lot of the time, and who died before production was
completed.
I know all that, but I do complain. I can accept the city being dark,
but interiors being dark, no way. Heck, we invented the LED. my
interiors are brighter than they ever were.
Catalan is different, quite different, but it is a language on its own.
And there are other regional languages. I can not understand a speaker
of those languages, just some words.
It is the same everywhere. My sister learnt her German in Bavaria and
is quite dark skinned. People think she is Bavarian though she now lives
in central Germany.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:35:49 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the
future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting sources.
There are things you could complain about in “Blade Runner” (gratuitous violence), but surely not that: the look of the film, conceived by Syd
Mead and Ridley Scott, with advanced yet shabby and well-used technology, the vast, towering, dirty city, the melding of Eastern and Western
cultures ... that had a major influence on other aspiring sci-fi moviemakers, I would say on a par with “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
RIP Philip K Dick, SF novelist who wrote--and lived--right on the edge of sanity a lot of the time, and who died before production was completed.
Also RIP Rutger Hauer, who died in 2019, the year the movie was set in.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 08:27:17 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Sometimes the misunderstandings are amusing. I watch some BritishMarm. As in 'Marmite'
police or crime shows and often the head honcho is a woman who they
address as 'Ma'am'. As far as I'm concerned they are calling her Mom.
No 'r' sound that I can detect although I think I have heard the 'r' creeping in on other shows. It's like the relatively recent affectation in the US Army of pronouncing 'sergeant' as 'sarnt'.
On 2025-10-31 05:59, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:35:49 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the
future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting
sources.
There are things you could complain about in “Blade Runner” (gratuitous >> violence), but surely not that: the look of the film, conceived by Syd
Mead and Ridley Scott, with advanced yet shabby and well-used
technology, the vast, towering, dirty city, the melding of Eastern and
Western cultures ... that had a major influence on other aspiring
sci-fi moviemakers, I would say on a par with “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
I know all that, but I do complain. I can accept the city being dark,
but interiors being dark, no way. Heck, we invented the LED. my
interiors are brighter than they ever were.
The Outer Limits episode "Demon with a Glass Hand" (1964) was shot in
the same building as the final scenes of "Blade Runner". Both works
created a dark mood that I never forgot.
People with strong accents in England are often hard to understand
unless you have been around them a long time, which is why RP -
essentially the dialect of the home counties near London ...
... - was taught as a standard all could understand. Sadly socialism
decreed this to be discriminatory against people with accents.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:41:19 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I know all that, but I do complain. I can accept the city being dark,
but interiors being dark, no way. Heck, we invented the LED. my
interiors are brighter than they ever were.
I wonder about the cop/crime shows where the cops wander around in a dark apartment using flashlights. Usually there are light switches next to the door and they lost the element of surprise when the kicked the door down.
Again I think they have one set and it's easier to recycle it if you don't get a good look at it.
The real cops would be looking for fingerprints and not touch light
switches in case there are some on the switch plate. Also for the
sake of drama they may worry about some booby trap wired to the
lights.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 19:02:36 -0700, Bobbie Sellers wrote:pmwiki.php/Main/ChekhovsGun>
The real cops would be looking for fingerprints and not touch light
switches in case there are some on the switch plate. Also for the sake
of drama they may worry about some booby trap wired to the lights.
The thing with fiction is, only put in enough detail as you need for the plot, and avoid superfluous stuff that detracts from that.
E.g. Chekhov’s gun: if it’s mentioned, then it’s going to be used later,
otherwise why bring it up? <https://web.archive.org/web/20251011120122/https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/
Another reason was mentioned on IMDB: there was limited budget to build
some of the sets, so lowering the lighting was one way to hide the fact
that they would have looked cheap.
On 2025-10-31, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 08:27:17 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Sometimes the misunderstandings are amusing. I watch some BritishMarm. As in 'Marmite'
police or crime shows and often the head honcho is a woman who they
address as 'Ma'am'. As far as I'm concerned they are calling her Mom.
No 'r' sound that I can detect although I think I have heard the 'r'
creeping in on other shows. It's like the relatively recent affectation
in the US Army of pronouncing 'sergeant' as 'sarnt'.
We make good-natured fun of our friends to the south in Warshington.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:48:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Catalan is different, quite different, but it is a language on its own.
And there are other regional languages. I can not understand a speaker
of those languages, just some words.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German
There is the 't' and 'd' shift that Lawrence mentioned for US English.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:03:27 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
It is the same everywhere. My sister learnt her German in Bavaria and
is quite dark skinned. People think she is Bavarian though she now lives
in central Germany.
Bavaria wasn't all that happy about joining the German Empire. Southwest Germany is Catholic and has the Swabian dialect that sets it off. In a way
it is closer to Austria, a country that a lot of people forget about entirely.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 19:02:36 -0700, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
The real cops would be looking for fingerprints and not touch light
switches in case there are some on the switch plate. Also for the
sake of drama they may worry about some booby trap wired to the
lights.
The thing with fiction is, only put in enough detail as you need for
the plot, and avoid superfluous stuff that detracts from that.
E.g. Chekhov’s gun: if it’s mentioned, then it’s going to be used later, otherwise why bring it up? <https://web.archive.org/web/20251011120122/https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChekhovsGun>--
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:41:19 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I know all that, but I do complain. I can accept the city being dark,
but interiors being dark, no way. Heck, we invented the LED. my
interiors are brighter than they ever were.
I wonder about the cop/crime shows where the cops wander around in a dark apartment using flashlights. Usually there are light switches next to the door and they lost the element of surprise when the kicked the door down.
Again I think they have one set and it's easier to recycle it if you don't get a good look at it.--
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:41:19 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-31 05:59, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
I know all that, but I do complain. I can accept the city being dark,
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:35:49 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the >>>> future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting
sources.
There are things you could complain about in “Blade Runner” (gratuitous >>> violence), but surely not that: the look of the film, conceived by Syd
Mead and Ridley Scott, with advanced yet shabby and well-used
technology, the vast, towering, dirty city, the melding of Eastern and
Western cultures ... that had a major influence on other aspiring
sci-fi moviemakers, I would say on a par with “2001: A Space Odyssey”. >>
but interiors being dark, no way. Heck, we invented the LED. my
interiors are brighter than they ever were.
One obvious reason is: it makes for cooler pictures. Also helped by
spreading a lot of fine smoke around.
Another reason was mentioned on IMDB: there was limited budget to build
some of the sets, so lowering the lighting was one way to hide the fact
that they would have looked cheap.
Maybe the second reason was the primary driver, and the first reason came
out of it as a happy accident. ;)
On 2025-10-31 05:59, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:35:49 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I complained of that with the original Blade Runner movie. Why has the
future to be dark? Surely they will have invented good lighting sources.
There are things you could complain about in “Blade Runner” (gratuitous >> violence), but surely not that: the look of the film, conceived by Syd
Mead and Ridley Scott, with advanced yet shabby and well-used technology,
the vast, towering, dirty city, the melding of Eastern and Western
cultures ... that had a major influence on other aspiring sci-fi
moviemakers, I would say on a par with “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
RIP Philip K Dick, SF novelist who wrote--and lived--right on the edge of
sanity a lot of the time, and who died before production was completed.
Also RIP Rutger Hauer, who died in 2019, the year the movie was set in.
I know all that, but I do complain. I can accept the city being dark,
but interiors being dark, no way. Heck, we invented the LED. my
interiors are brighter than they ever were.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:46:12 -0700, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
I am surprised that you tried to replace an incandescent with anLED
for
heating purposes. When was younger and spryer I would get on a
step-stool at this Time of Year and put up some incandescent bulbs in
the bathroom to be able to warm it up. Feel too unstable for some time
now to do that as being 30 inches off the floor makes me insecure.
Broken ankle does not help with that and no room for a cane.
I did not intend the LED bulb to be a space heater. A few years ago the electric coop sent out boxes of CFL bulbs and I replaced the incandescent bulbs with those. When CFLs went out of favor they sent out boxes of LED
bulb and I used those. They were 60 W equivalent but as my cataracts got worse I got 100 W equivalent bulbs that also had a small slider to select
the color temperature. It was one of those that failed.
I didn't dissect it but I don't know how a LED could pull enough current
to become very hot and not fail. Ultimately it was the switch that
failed.
For heat I use regular 1500 W space heaters. I expect my electric bill to
go up with those on but I wasn't using them in September. I also have a
hot air gas furnace but when the blower turns on it's like a 747 taking
off so I prefer electric until it gets very cold. I don't know which is
more economical. Propane isn't cheap either.
On 31/10/2025 13:48, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-31 05:51, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:It is the same everywhere. My sister learnt her German in Bavaria and
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 23:36:01 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-30 23:20, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
Any language that has been in used in an area for centuries (like
Spanish) and was also spread around via a worlwide empire at one stage >>>>> (like Spanish) is bound to develop regional variations though, isn’t >>>>> it.
Certainly. But the actors I did not understand were from Spain and the >>>> action was taking place in Spain.
I’m sure there are some quite wide regional variations within there,
like
in English in the UK. There is a saying: “A language is a dialect
with an
army”. Scots (lowland Scots, à la Robbie Burns, not highland Gaelic) >>> would
have been an entirely separate language from English, if it were not for >>> the Scottish king inheriting the English throne. How different is
Catalan
from Spanish? Are there other regional languages/dialects that are maybe >>> almost as different? (And then there’s Basque ...)
Catalan is different, quite different, but it is a language on its
own. And there are other regional languages. I can not understand a
speaker of those languages, just some words.
But I can understand a Spanish speaker born in Cataluña, no problem.
Even within England, there can be wide variation. I remember watching
a TV
comedy/drama series called “Auf Wiedersehen, Pet”, back in the 1980s, >>> during the time when Maggie Thatcher was 🇬🇧 Prime Minister, and whose >>> policies had thrown large numbers of Brits out of work. The main
characters were from around England, plus an Irishman (bricklayers,
carpenters etc), who got work in West Germany, which was undergoing a
construction boom at the time. And they had all their different
styles of
regional speech.
Three of them were from north-east England, around Newcastle, aka
“Geordies”. The first episode, I had to strain to make sense of what >>> they
were saying -- it was an accent I had never heard before. After that, it >>> got a bit easier ...
A person that learns Spanish as a second language has serious trouble
understanding a person at Sevilla or Malaga, for instance. The accent
is quite different. I don't know if it is a dialect or not. But we
understand them.
is quite dark skinned. People think she is Bavarian though she now lives
in central Germany.
People with strong accents in England are often hard to understand
unless you have been around them a long time, which is why RP - essentially the dialect of the home counties near London - was taught as
a standard all could understand. Sadly socialism decreed this to be discriminatory against people with accents.
And there are some very very bad ones. I found one tech support person
who sounded black and female to be completely unintelligible with some
sort of elided glottal stopped mush of Estuary English.
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:03:27 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
People with strong accents in England are often hard to understand
unless you have been around them a long time, which is why RP -
essentially the dialect of the home counties near London ...
Funny how that didn’t actually include London itself.
... - was taught as a standard all could understand. Sadly socialism
decreed this to be discriminatory against people with accents.
Perhaps because there is no such thing as “accentless” speech.
There was a lovely “Two Ronnies” sketch, back in the day, that
skewered this issue rather well. They did a lot of playing-on-language
skits, but this one really put paid to the fond delusion that RP was
somehow easier to understand than any other accent ...
On 2025-11-01 00:26, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:03:27 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
People with strong accents in England are often hard to understand
unless you have been around them a long time, which is why RP -
essentially the dialect of the home counties near London ...
Funny how that didn’t actually include London itself.
... - was taught as a standard all could understand. Sadly socialism
decreed this to be discriminatory against people with accents.
Perhaps because there is no such thing as “accentless” speech.
There was a lovely “Two Ronnies” sketch, back in the day, that
skewered this issue rather well. They did a lot of playing-on-language
skits, but this one really put paid to the fond delusion that RP was
somehow easier to understand than any other accent ...
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
On 10/30/25 20:33, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-29 19:47, Charlie Gibbs wrote:There is a fashion in modern English-speaking movies/TV for actors to mumble. If you watch older films from the 1930s and 1940s, the actors
On 2025-10-29, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:21:07 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-10-28, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
My downfall is British shows. Some are okay, some are very difficult >>>>>> for me to understand. After a while I sometimes can adapt.
Scottish accents (especially Glaswegian) must drive you nuts.
I saw 'Sexy Beast' in a theater and understood little except Kingsley's >>>> 'fuck' which was a big part of his monologues. I thought it was me
but as
I left I overheard several couples wishing there were subtitles.
I find myself turning on subtitles (when available) more and more
even for supposedly English speakers.
As my first language is not English, you can not imagine how
reassuring is to me what you said there, when I need to have the
subtitles there (hopefully in English, but otherwise Spanish will do)
because there is always a word that I don't catch every little while.
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind and
activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
speak far more clearly. Actors used more of a cut glass accent, which is easier to understand.
So it isn't just that we are all going deaf, although we probably are.
Reminds me, in Amazon Prime Video sometimes there is an alternative
audio track with "improved dialogue clarity" or some wording to that
respect.
I would choose that, but I've never seen it available.
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:33:08 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
But sometimes in Spanish movies or serials (and Spanish is my first
language) there is a word I don't understand, and I have to rewind and
activate the subtitles. It is rare, but it does happen.
We had a woman from Columbia who would sit in on teleconferences with our clients in Puerto Rico to give a running translation if they switched to Spanish among themselves. Sometimes their private discussion were heated
and rapid fire and she could only get the gist of it.
Sometimes the misunderstandings are amusing. I watch some British police
or crime shows and often the head honcho is a woman who they address as 'Ma'am'. As far as I'm concerned they are calling her Mom.
Some of the British actors also do something with 'murder'. It isn't quite 'murther' but there is more than just 'd'.--
You still need a fictional reason for the future interiors being dark,
like electricity being very expensive.
But in our reality, light sources are dirt cheap, the cost of
the electricity for lighting a house is negligible compared to heating
or cooking.
On 2025-11-01 03:52, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
The thing with fiction is, only put in enough detail as you need for
the plot, and avoid superfluous stuff that detracts from that.
Not if you are Stanley Kubrick :-)
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
On 31/10/2025 20:01, rbowman wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:48:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Catalan is different, quite different, but it is a language on its
own.
And there are other regional languages. I can not understand a speaker
of those languages, just some words.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German
There is the 't' and 'd' shift that Lawrence mentioned for US English.
Germanic, Dutch and German and Yiddish definitely migrate 't' towards
'd' and mangle past participles. And blow 'w' into 'v'
A lot of rural immigrants were from Holland, in the past.
On 31/10/2025 20:15, rbowman wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 15:03:27 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
It is the same everywhere. My sister learnt her German in Bavaria and
is quite dark skinned. People think she is Bavarian though she now
lives in central Germany.
Bavaria wasn't all that happy about joining the German Empire.
Southwest Germany is Catholic and has the Swabian dialect that sets it
off. In a way it is closer to Austria, a country that a lot of people
forget about entirely.
+1. They still are not so happy.
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
On 2025-10-31 20:25, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:46:12 -0700, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
I am surprised that you tried to replace an incandescent with anLED
for
heating purposes. When was younger and spryer I would get on a
step-stool at this Time of Year and put up some incandescent bulbs in
the bathroom to be able to warm it up. Feel too unstable for some time >>> now to do that as being 30 inches off the floor makes me insecure.
Broken ankle does not help with that and no room for a cane.
I did not intend the LED bulb to be a space heater. A few years ago the
electric coop sent out boxes of CFL bulbs and I replaced the incandescent
bulbs with those. When CFLs went out of favor they sent out boxes of LED
bulb and I used those. They were 60 W equivalent but as my cataracts got
worse I got 100 W equivalent bulbs that also had a small slider to select
the color temperature. It was one of those that failed.
Ah, I have never seen those.
Those that I have that can control the colour temperature do so with a remote IR or radio controller; not bulbs, but large fixtures, a flat rectangle.
Maybe bulbs via WiFI? IoT?
I didn't dissect it but I don't know how a LED could pull enough current
to become very hot and not fail. Ultimately it was the switch that
failed.
For heat I use regular 1500 W space heaters. I expect my electric bill to
go up with those on but I wasn't using them in September. I also have a
hot air gas furnace but when the blower turns on it's like a 747 taking
off so I prefer electric until it gets very cold. I don't know which is
more economical. Propane isn't cheap either.
I'm preparing to move house, and the new place will have some type of AC working as a heat pump. It is the cheapest method in terms of
electricity usage. Cost of the system and repairs might nullify that.
Probably cheapest here (doesn't snow) are space heaters with butane
bottles.
RP is clarity of diction to the extent of sounding artificial.
I think I have heard on some serial address her as "sir".
That may be normal police procedure: do not touch anything, not even the lights. The light switches have to photographed and analyzed for
fingerprints or adn. Using something else to wrap your finger and then
touch the switch may actually fudge or erase the fingerprint.
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:29:14 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
You still need a fictional reason for the future interiors being dark,
like electricity being very expensive.
Not really. You can often just handwave things away, or even not bother mentioning them. It’s called “artistic licence”.
Those that I have that can control the colour temperature do so with a
remote IR or radio controller; not bulbs, but large fixtures, a flat rectangle.
Maybe bulbs via WiFI? IoT?
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 11:15:16 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:I don't have a problem with most 'th' words like 'this' 'that' or
On 31/10/2025 20:01, rbowman wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2025 14:48:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Catalan is different, quite different, but it is a language on its
own.
And there are other regional languages. I can not understand a speaker >>>> of those languages, just some words.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German
There is the 't' and 'd' shift that Lawrence mentioned for US English.
Germanic, Dutch and German and Yiddish definitely migrate 't' towards
'd' and mangle past participles. And blow 'w' into 'v'
A lot of rural immigrants were from Holland, in the past.
Even in the colonial days there was a significant Dutch/German population
in the US. According to the 2000 census, which I think was the last time they asked, 27% of this state claimed German ancestry, followed by 14.8% Irish, 12.6% English, and 10.6 Norwegian. The Indians were 7.4% for some diversity.
A friend claimed the local Sons of Norway lodge was mostly Germans. They have a really nice clubhouse, might as well invade.
I won't claim it's genetic but I had a hell of a time with 'th' when I was
a kid.
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:44:15 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
Good luck getting everyone to talk like Kevin Costner. He took a lot of
heat for his role in 'Robin Hood' for not even trying for a British
accent.
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE
CARBON MONOXIDE !!!
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:05:24 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
RP is clarity of diction to the extent of sounding artificial.
Is that the one that doesn't have much use for the letter 'r'? In the US
we make fun of the Boston accent. "I pahked my cah in Havahd Yahd'.
On 26 Oct 2025 13:53:04 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
You shouldn't. If you hear people fighting against English words coming
into French, it means, there are French guys who are using those words.
And those words are technical words, so they are used by technical guys
because they don't have better words. But at the same time, they are
used by not technical guys who want to make look like they now their
stuff. So,
they are using those words just because they sound cool. That's not that
new. In shit, like advertisement, people were using English words
decades ago to make their speech look like it's serious when it's only
bullshit.
Do they keep the English pronunciation?
Everybody invaded/colonized everyone else in
Europe/UK so often that "foreign" words and
customs aren't worth mentioning.
Le 27-10-2025, c186282 <[email protected]> a écrit :
Everybody invaded/colonized everyone else in
Europe/UK so often that "foreign" words and
customs aren't worth mentioning.
You say that because you aren't interested in history. But when someone
is interested in history, knowing where a word is coming from, when it
came in the language and why is very interesting. Your lack of interest
is only your: you are not the only one whose opinion matters. You should avoid imposing your opinion on others. I know, here the far right and
far left are very numerous, but they are equally wrong in the belief
that everyone outside of they vision should be killed.
On 11/1/25 09:38, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-10-31 20:25, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 30 Oct 2025 21:46:12 -0700, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
I am surprised that you tried to replace an incandescent with an >>> LED
for
heating purposes. When was younger and spryer I would get on a
step-stool at this Time of Year and put up some incandescent bulbs in
the bathroom to be able to warm it up. Feel too unstable for some >>>> time
now to do that as being 30 inches off the floor makes me insecure.
Broken ankle does not help with that and no room for a cane.
I did not intend the LED bulb to be a space heater. A few years ago the
electric coop sent out boxes of CFL bulbs and I replaced the
incandescent
bulbs with those. When CFLs went out of favor they sent out boxes of LED >>> bulb and I used those. They were 60 W equivalent but as my cataracts got >>> worse I got 100 W equivalent bulbs that also had a small slider to
select
the color temperature. It was one of those that failed.
Ah, I have never seen those.
Those that I have that can control the colour temperature do so with a
remote IR or radio controller; not bulbs, but large fixtures, a flat
rectangle.
Maybe bulbs via WiFI? IoT?
Doesn't that just seem like MASSIVE over-tech/thinking ?
It's supposed to light the room decently. Pick the 5k
static color. No muss, no fuss, no remote-controls, cheap.
I didn't dissect it but I don't know how a LED could pull enough current >>> to become very hot and not fail. Ultimately it was the switch that
failed.
For heat I use regular 1500 W space heaters. I expect my electric
bill to
go up with those on but I wasn't using them in September. I also have a
hot air gas furnace but when the blower turns on it's like a 747 taking
off so I prefer electric until it gets very cold. I don't know which is >>> more economical. Propane isn't cheap either.
I'm preparing to move house, and the new place will have some type of
AC working as a heat pump. It is the cheapest method in terms of
electricity usage. Cost of the system and repairs might nullify that.
Probably cheapest here (doesn't snow) are space heaters with butane
bottles.
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE
CARBON MONOXIDE !!!
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:38:01 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Those that I have that can control the colour temperature do so with a
remote IR or radio controller; not bulbs, but large fixtures, a flat
rectangle.
I have a flat fixture like that which is why I selected those bulbs. I
don't care for the 'warm white' most default to.
Maybe bulbs via WiFI? IoT?
No thanks.
I've got a portable Mr. Heater for the shed and as an emergency backup. It can take the disposable 1# bottles but I have the hose and regulator setup for a 20# or larger refillable tank.
https://www.mrheater.com/product/heaters/buddy-series.html
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:22:21 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
That may be normal police procedure: do not touch anything, not even the
lights. The light switches have to photographed and analyzed for
fingerprints or adn. Using something else to wrap your finger and then
touch the switch may actually fudge or erase the fingerprint.
True, but they're stomping through the place yelling 'Clear!' until they
fall over a dead body or a crim tries to make them a dead body.
As an aside, the old school police didn't really like the new, small, very bright LED flashlights. Maybe you couldn't see as well but if you slap someone with a 6 D cell Maglite they stay slapped.
On 02/11/2025 00:49, rbowman wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:44:15 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
Good luck getting everyone to talk like Kevin Costner. He took a lot of
heat for his role in 'Robin Hood' for not even trying for a British
accent.
If he had done an Appalachian accent it would have been more
authentic...
On 02/11/2025 00:54, rbowman wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:05:24 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
RP is clarity of diction to the extent of sounding artificial.
Is that the one that doesn't have much use for the letter 'r'? In the
US we make fun of the Boston accent. "I pahked my cah in Havahd Yahd'.
That was an affectation of it. Largely gone.
On 2025-11-02 02:22, rbowman wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:22:21 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
That may be normal police procedure: do not touch anything, not even
the lights. The light switches have to photographed and analyzed for
fingerprints or adn. Using something else to wrap your finger and then
touch the switch may actually fudge or erase the fingerprint.
True, but they're stomping through the place yelling 'Clear!' until
they fall over a dead body or a crim tries to make them a dead body.
As an aside, the old school police didn't really like the new, small,
very bright LED flashlights. Maybe you couldn't see as well but if you
slap someone with a 6 D cell Maglite they stay slapped.
True. I have one of those somewhere, strong aluminum.
rbowman <[email protected]> writes:
I won't claim it's genetic but I had a hell of a time with 'th' when I was >> a kid.
I don't have a problem with most 'th' words like 'this' 'that' or
'these' 'those', but for some reason I've always had a hard time with
the word 'thesaurus'.
Or as my grandmother may or may not have said: "My tongue got in the way
of my eyeteeth, and I couldn't see what I was saying!"
Our butane bottles have 13 Kg of gas. <https://share.google/images/N6SlW49RFMPReaJMz>
The price of this variety of bottles is regulated by the government.
There are lighter bottles in the free market, more expensive.
I have this heater, but the link might not work: <https://www.leroymerlin.es/productos/estufa-de-gas-llama-azul-equation-eco-4-2-kw-82273485.html>
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE CARBON MONOXIDE !!!
On Sun, 2 Nov 2025 15:50:05 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-02 02:22, rbowman wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:22:21 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
That may be normal police procedure: do not touch anything, not even
the lights. The light switches have to photographed and analyzed for
fingerprints or adn. Using something else to wrap your finger and then >>>> touch the switch may actually fudge or erase the fingerprint.
True, but they're stomping through the place yelling 'Clear!' until
they fall over a dead body or a crim tries to make them a dead body.
As an aside, the old school police didn't really like the new, small,
very bright LED flashlights. Maybe you couldn't see as well but if you
slap someone with a 6 D cell Maglite they stay slapped.
True. I have one of those somewhere, strong aluminum.
I put a LED bulb in mine. It's an improvement over the Xenon bulb but not
as good as the current cheap LED flashlights. I think it's about 250
lumens.
There is a more expensive replacement that costs a lot more than a simple bulb change and a lot more than a $20 1000 lumen flashlight.
On Sun, 2 Nov 2025 15:48:38 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Our butane bottles have 13 Kg of gas.
<https://share.google/images/N6SlW49RFMPReaJMz>
The price of this variety of bottles is regulated by the government.
There are lighter bottles in the free market, more expensive.
Okay. It's a completely different design but my 20 pound tank is the same idea. There are larger ones available but humping a 100 pound cylinder
around is work. I used to be able to pick one up and head up a trail to a cabin but that was then.
I though you meant the 1 pound disposables.
https://www.target.com/p/coleman-2pk-propane-fuel-tank/-/A-12841958
Convenient, but expensive. They're $5 apiece. My bulk propane costs about
$5 a gallon, a gallon of propane being about 4 pounds.
I have this heater, but the link might not work:eco-4-2-kw-82273485.html>
<https://www.leroymerlin.es/productos/estufa-de-gas-llama-azul-equation-
It didn't like my regular browser or Tor. However searching on the
product name came up with a link that did work. It certainly looks like
the same URL to me.
https://www.leroymerlin.es/productos/estufa-de-gas-llama-azul-equation- eco-4-2-kw-82273485.html
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 20:50:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE CARBON MONOXIDE !!!
Most of the portables have a low oxygen shutdown.
The left loons started a campaign against gas ranges, all that pollution
and CO. You absolutely cannot use them as a heat source.
On 2025-11-02, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 20:50:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE CARBON MONOXIDE !!! >>Most of the portables have a low oxygen shutdown.
The left loons started a campaign against gas ranges, all that pollution
and CO. You absolutely cannot use them as a heat source.
The provincial government here in B.C. is trying to completely
eliminate gas from all new construction (although there is pushback).
They want us to use electricity for everything, presumably so they
can sell the gas overseas. Meanwhile, we're already becoming a
net importer of electricity, and between bitcoin factories and
electric cars I figure it's just a matter of time before the
brownouts start.
On 02/11/2025 14:11, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Le 27-10-2025, c186282 <[email protected]> a écrit :
Everybody invaded/colonized everyone else in
Europe/UK so often that "foreign" words and
customs aren't worth mentioning.
You say that because you aren't interested in history. But when someone
is interested in history, knowing where a word is coming from, when it
came in the language and why is very interesting. Your lack of interest
is only your: you are not the only one whose opinion matters. You should
avoid imposing your opinion on others. I know, here the far right and
far left are very numerous, but they are equally wrong in the belief
that everyone outside of they vision should be killed.
Not even the far right think that.
Only the Islamist Jihadis. And some
of the mentally unstable far left.
But it is correct that the greatest insights into people's worldviews
happen when they criticise the worldviews of others.
On the other hand, during my futile attempts I got some consolation when
I discovered I could make a similar sound farther back in my throat that
the others couldn't do. I found I could use it as a substitute for the trilled R in a Spanish class I took a while ago.
Those big torches with big batteries should power something with 3000
lumens.
On 2025-11-02 15:15, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 02/11/2025 14:11, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:
Le 27-10-2025, c186282 <[email protected]> a écrit :
Everybody invaded/colonized everyone else in
Europe/UK so often that "foreign" words and
customs aren't worth mentioning.
You say that because you aren't interested in history. But when someone
is interested in history, knowing where a word is coming from, when it
came in the language and why is very interesting. Your lack of interest
is only your: you are not the only one whose opinion matters. You should >>> avoid imposing your opinion on others. I know, here the far right and
far left are very numerous, but they are equally wrong in the belief
that everyone outside of they vision should be killed.
Not even the far right think that.
Yes, they do. I have seen them actually try.
Only the Islamist Jihadis. And some of the mentally unstable far left.
But it is correct that the greatest insights into people's worldviews
happen when they criticise the worldviews of others.
On 2025-11-03 01:12, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-02, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 20:50:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE CARBON
MONOXIDE !!!
Most of the portables have a low oxygen shutdown.
The left loons started a campaign against gas ranges, all that pollution >>> and CO. You absolutely cannot use them as a heat source.
The provincial government here in B.C. is trying to completely
eliminate gas from all new construction (although there is pushback).
They want us to use electricity for everything, presumably so they
can sell the gas overseas. Meanwhile, we're already becoming a
net importer of electricity, and between bitcoin factories and
electric cars I figure it's just a matter of time before the
brownouts start.
It is easier to distribute electricity than gas, and then burn gas at
the electricity generators instead.
They show up at events and commit murders
of Jews, Homosexuals, Catholics at mass, blowup churchs that belong
to black people. i am not talking about imaginary events but those
that have happened in the USA.
On 11/2/25 20:38, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-03 01:12, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-02, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 20:50:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE CARBON
MONOXIDE !!!
Most of the portables have a low oxygen shutdown.
The left loons started a campaign against gas ranges, all that pollution >>>> and CO. You absolutely cannot use them as a heat source.
The provincial government here in B.C. is trying to completely
eliminate gas from all new construction (although there is pushback).
They want us to use electricity for everything, presumably so they
can sell the gas overseas. Meanwhile, we're already becoming a
net importer of electricity, and between bitcoin factories and
electric cars I figure it's just a matter of time before the
brownouts start.
It is easier to distribute electricity than gas, and then burn gas at
the electricity generators instead.
Ah ... but if you're going to double or triple
the electric consumption then you have to re-do
the entire grid. NOT cheap, NOT quick.
On Sun, 2 Nov 2025 11:13:07 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 02/11/2025 00:49, rbowman wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:44:15 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
Good luck getting everyone to talk like Kevin Costner. He took a lot of
heat for his role in 'Robin Hood' for not even trying for a British
accent.
If he had done an Appalachian accent it would have been more
authentic...
I have read that RP has evolved enough that some US accents are closer to 17th century British than anything modern. I've also read that Quebec
French is closer to the French of Louis XIV than modern Parisian French.
It's interesting how accents drift with time.
On 2025-11-03 01:12, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-02, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 20:50:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE CARBON
MONOXIDE !!!
Most of the portables have a low oxygen shutdown.
The left loons started a campaign against gas ranges, all that pollution >>> and CO. You absolutely cannot use them as a heat source.
The provincial government here in B.C. is trying to completely
eliminate gas from all new construction (although there is pushback).
They want us to use electricity for everything, presumably so they
can sell the gas overseas. Meanwhile, we're already becoming a
net importer of electricity, and between bitcoin factories and
electric cars I figure it's just a matter of time before the
brownouts start.
It is easier to distribute electricity than gas, and then burn gas at
the electricity generators instead.
They do that is why the far right is so dangerous.
They spread the idea that parts of society are so evil they must be
killed and the next thing you know someone takes them as seriously
as they do themselves. They show up at events and commit murders
of Jews, Homosexuals, Catholics at mass, blowup churchs that belong
to black people. i am not talking about imaginary events but those
that have happened in the USA.
In France the events have been from your Right wing religious
nut cases who just happen to be Muslims. In other nations other
horrible events have happened based on the same Islamic-Fascism..
On Sun, 2 Nov 2025 21:34:46 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Those big torches with big batteries should power something with 3000
lumens.
https://hackaday.com/tag/cree/
The problem with retrofitting a Maglite is the Cree emitters need controllers and heatsinks. Those are the expensive replacements.
https://www.instructables.com/LED-Maglite-CREE-XM-L-Modification/
That's a DIY Here's a commercial module.
https://lumencraft.com/home/158-3500-lumen-3x-xhp50-dropin-bulb-for-magltie-6-d-cell.html
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/maglite-led-or-cree-maglite-upgrade.398018/
Nice write up discussing the cheap drop-ins versus high output.
On Sun, 2 Nov 2025 11:13:07 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 02/11/2025 00:49, rbowman wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:44:15 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
Good luck getting everyone to talk like Kevin Costner. He took a lot of
heat for his role in 'Robin Hood' for not even trying for a British
accent.
If he had done an Appalachian accent it would have been more
authentic...
I have read that RP has evolved enough that some US accents are closer to 17th century British than anything modern. I've also read that Quebec
French is closer to the French of Louis XIV than modern Parisian French.
It's interesting how accents drift with time.
On 2025-11-02 19:48, rbowman wrote:
On Sun, 2 Nov 2025 11:13:07 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 02/11/2025 00:49, rbowman wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 14:44:15 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
Good luck getting everyone to talk like Kevin Costner. He took a lot of >>>> heat for his role in 'Robin Hood' for not even trying for a British
accent.
If he had done an Appalachian accent it would have been more
authentic...
I have read that RP has evolved enough that some US accents are closer to
17th century British than anything modern. I've also read that Quebec
French is closer to the French of Louis XIV than modern Parisian French.
It's interesting how accents drift with time.
At least some of the Spanish variants in america are similar to ancient Spanish in Spain.
On Sun, 2 Nov 2025 18:49:26 -0800, Bobbie Sellers wrote:
They show up at events and commit murders
of Jews, Homosexuals, Catholics at mass, blowup churchs that belong
to black people. i am not talking about imaginary events but those
that have happened in the USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation_Catholic_Church_shooting
Too bad the shooter at the Catholic church was a trannie.
The problem with these things is that the proposed "common" solution isPerhaps because there is no such thing as “accentless” speech.
There was a lovely “Two Ronnies” sketch, back in the day, that
skewered this issue rather well. They did a lot of
playing-on-language skits, but this one really put paid to the fond delusion that RP was somehow easier to understand than any other
accent ...
If the goal is to have English as an universal language, teaching a
common accent makes a lot of sense.
On 2025-11-03, c186282 <[email protected]> wrote:
On 11/2/25 20:38, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-03 01:12, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-02, rbowman <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sat, 1 Nov 2025 20:50:35 -0400, c186282 wrote:
But remember that flames SUCK OXYGEN and GENERATE CARBON
MONOXIDE !!!
Most of the portables have a low oxygen shutdown.
The left loons started a campaign against gas ranges, all that pollution >>>>> and CO. You absolutely cannot use them as a heat source.
The provincial government here in B.C. is trying to completely
eliminate gas from all new construction (although there is pushback).
They want us to use electricity for everything, presumably so they
can sell the gas overseas. Meanwhile, we're already becoming a
net importer of electricity, and between bitcoin factories and
electric cars I figure it's just a matter of time before the
brownouts start.
It is easier to distribute electricity than gas, and then burn gas at
the electricity generators instead.
Ah ... but if you're going to double or triple
the electric consumption then you have to re-do
the entire grid. NOT cheap, NOT quick.
Yes, the local grid is starting to feel the strain. With 60-storey
condo towers springing up like weeds (or better still, the faceless
towers in the fantasy scenes in the movie _Brazil_), and each one
needing a small substation to power it, I see various crunches
happening soon.
Then there's the fact that electricity is more expensive than
gas. At least that's what we found when, due to re-modeling,
we had to switch from a gas water heater to an electric one.
Our electric bill went up more than our gas bill went down.
Most infrastructure like this, somebody many decades
back GUESSED what the future demand would be.
Almost by definition rich affluent upper classes did not emigrate to
America.
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC? tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights- Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long as
I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create
glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light source,
to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it upwards, and use
the reflection back.
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long
as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create
glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 10:12:42 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Almost by definition rich affluent upper classes did not emigrate to
America.
*Ahem* “Mayflower”
On 03/11/2025 19:20, c186282 wrote:
Most infrastructure like this, somebody many decades
back GUESSED what the future demand would be.
I think they were more precise than that.
But experience shows that engineering for today and upgrading when
needed is cheaper than over engineering for a tomorrow that never comes.
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long
as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create
glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long
as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create
glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 20:02:35 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 03/11/2025 19:20, c186282 wrote:
Most infrastructure like this, somebody many decades
back GUESSED what the future demand would be.
I think they were more precise than that.
But experience shows that engineering for today and upgrading when
needed is cheaper than over engineering for a tomorrow that never comes.
Several of the New England nuclear plants were designed for a demand that never came as manufacturing left the area. Two have been decommissioned
and the intended second unit for another was never built. Energy
deregulation was another problem since they couldn't compete with hydro generated electricity from Canada.
On 2025-11-04, Ian <[email protected]> wrote:
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long
as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create
glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
If I understand the question correctly, flashLIGHTs (hand-held
devices that emit a continuous beam of light) were (mostly)
aluminum, while flashBULBs (very brief, small fraction of a
second, flash of light for photography) were magnesium.
Of course, there were other things one could do with a flashbulb.
A friend of mine used them for pranking coworkers, his son, etc.
I found some bulbs at a thrift store and gave them to him. He
grinned. :-) He would wire up a flashbulb inside his son's
desktop computer or under a circuit board at work. When the son
powered on the computer or the coworkers powered on the board,
the bright flash of light would cause the victim to think he had
just destroyed the machine or board in question.
Of course, there were other things one could do with a flashbulb.
A friend of mine used them for pranking coworkers, his son, etc. I found
some bulbs at a thrift store and gave them to him. He grinned. He
would wire up a flashbulb inside his son's desktop computer or under a circuit board at work. When the son powered on the computer or the
coworkers powered on the board, the bright flash of light would cause
the victim to think he had just destroyed the machine or board in
question.
No.Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' useWeren't they aluminum?
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Electronic flashes may also not be good for cameras
with focal-plane shutters since the flash often does
not last long enough for the shutter to traverse
across the entire negative.
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long
as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create
glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
On 11/3/25 23:26, Ian wrote:
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/
Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long
as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create
glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
Been too long ... I think, at least earlier on, they
used magnesium fluff and the bulb was full of oxygen.
Aluminum fluff should work about as well though.
Ah :
https://filmphotographyproject.com/flash-bulbs-lowdown/
Says they used aluminum, magnesium or zirconium. Not
sure if there was a big diff in the color temperature
or light duration between those.
"For all but the smallest bulbs, the lighting power of
a flash bulbs exceeds all handheld electronic flashes
available today. The large bulbs, such as the GE#22,
are especially coveted by spelunkers who want to photograph
the cave they are exploring, and since some caves are
immense, electronic flashes are insufficient."
Electronic flashes may also not be good for cameras
with focal-plane shutters since the flash often does
not last long enough for the shutter to traverse
across the entire negative.
You can still buy flashbulbs ... Amazon even sells some
but https://flashbulbs.com has many more. As a lot of
old cameras are still in use, well, there's still a
market for the flashbulbs.
On 2025-11-04 08:19, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 23:26, Ian wrote:
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/ >>>>>>
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long >>>>> as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create >>>>> glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
Been too long ... I think, at least earlier on, they
used magnesium fluff and the bulb was full of oxygen.
Aluminum fluff should work about as well though.
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy the fluff, before use.
Ah :
https://filmphotographyproject.com/flash-bulbs-lowdown/
Says they used aluminum, magnesium or zirconium. Not
sure if there was a big diff in the color temperature
or light duration between those.
"For all but the smallest bulbs, the lighting power of
a flash bulbs exceeds all handheld electronic flashes
available today. The large bulbs, such as the GE#22,
are especially coveted by spelunkers who want to photograph
the cave they are exploring, and since some caves are
immense, electronic flashes are insufficient."
Electronic flashes may also not be good for cameras
with focal-plane shutters since the flash often does
not last long enough for the shutter to traverse
across the entire negative.
Not just focal plane shutter, but those shutters that never open
completely, but only a travelling strip, which is how a shutter would achieve high speeds, open only a fraction of the frame at a time.
frame
*****************************
* | | *
* | |-> travelling curtain
* | | *
* | | *
* | | *
******************************
A camera with a flash plug would make sure to have some shutter speeds
that opened the curtain fully. Typically 1/60 or 1/30.
You can still buy flashbulbs ... Amazon even sells some
but https://flashbulbs.com has many more. As a lot of
old cameras are still in use, well, there's still a
market for the flashbulbs.
My modern camera can not fire my old electronic flash.
On 2025-11-04 08:19, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 23:26, Ian wrote:
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/ >>>>>>
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long >>>>> as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create >>>>> glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
Been too long ... I think, at least earlier on, they
used magnesium fluff and the bulb was full of oxygen.
Aluminum fluff should work about as well though.
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy the fluff, before use.
Ah :
https://filmphotographyproject.com/flash-bulbs-lowdown/
Says they used aluminum, magnesium or zirconium. Not
sure if there was a big diff in the color temperature
or light duration between those.
"For all but the smallest bulbs, the lighting power of
a flash bulbs exceeds all handheld electronic flashes
available today. The large bulbs, such as the GE#22,
are especially coveted by spelunkers who want to photograph
the cave they are exploring, and since some caves are
immense, electronic flashes are insufficient."
Electronic flashes may also not be good for cameras
with focal-plane shutters since the flash often does
not last long enough for the shutter to traverse
across the entire negative.
Not just focal plane shutter, but those shutters that never open
completely, but only a travelling strip, which is how a shutter would achieve high speeds, open only a fraction of the frame at a time.
frame
*****************************
* | | *
* | |-> travelling curtain
* | | *
* | | *
* | | *
******************************
A camera with a flash plug would make sure to have some shutter speeds
that opened the curtain fully. Typically 1/60 or 1/30.
You can still buy flashbulbs ... Amazon even sells some
but https://flashbulbs.com has many more. As a lot of
old cameras are still in use, well, there's still a
market for the flashbulbs.
My modern camera can not fire my old electronic flash.
On 04/11/2025 10:28, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-04 08:19, c186282 wrote:Not full of oxygen neccessarily,. Mg will burn in air.. It doesn't spontaneously oxidise very fast.
On 11/3/25 23:26, Ian wrote:
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/ >>>>>>>
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long >>>>>> as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this >>>>>> profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create >>>>>> glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
Been too long ... I think, at least earlier on, they
used magnesium fluff and the bulb was full of oxygen.
Aluminum fluff should work about as well though.
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy
the fluff, before use.
No shutter does that. Except at very high speeds, which is why flash defaults to 1/25th second - then the curtain fully opens before the
Ah :
https://filmphotographyproject.com/flash-bulbs-lowdown/
Says they used aluminum, magnesium or zirconium. Not
sure if there was a big diff in the color temperature
or light duration between those.
"For all but the smallest bulbs, the lighting power of
a flash bulbs exceeds all handheld electronic flashes
available today. The large bulbs, such as the GE#22,
are especially coveted by spelunkers who want to photograph
the cave they are exploring, and since some caves are
immense, electronic flashes are insufficient."
Electronic flashes may also not be good for cameras
with focal-plane shutters since the flash often does
not last long enough for the shutter to traverse
across the entire negative.
Not just focal plane shutter, but those shutters that never open
completely, but only a travelling strip, which is how a shutter would
achieve high speeds, open only a fraction of the frame at a time.
pother part comes across and closes it
frameyes
*****************************
* | | *
* | |-> travelling curtain
* | | *
* | | *
* | | *
******************************
A camera with a flash plug would make sure to have some shutter speeds
that opened the curtain fully. Typically 1/60 or 1/30.
Plamnned bollocks etc
You can still buy flashbulbs ... Amazon even sells some
but https://flashbulbs.com has many more. As a lot of
old cameras are still in use, well, there's still a
market for the flashbulbs.
My modern camera can not fire my old electronic flash.
On 11/4/25 06:15, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/11/2025 10:28, Carlos E.R. wrote:
My modern camera can not fire my old electronic flash.Plamnned bollocks etc
Photo-diode triggered adapter for the external flash ...
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy
the fluff, before use.
On 2025-11-04 19:27, c186282 wrote:
On 11/4/25 06:15, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/11/2025 10:28, Carlos E.R. wrote:
My modern camera can not fire my old electronic flash.Plamnned bollocks etc
Photo-diode triggered adapter for the external flash ...
Sure. But I lose the automatics, the camera adjusting the flash, or the other way round.
On Tue, 4 Nov 2025 11:28:14 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy
the fluff, before use.
Like iron rusts? Aluminium is even more reactive with oxygen than iron. However, unlike iron, the oxide that aluminium forms is a very tough material, that acts as a protective covering that prevents further
reaction with oxygen. You can scratch the surface of an aluminium object,
and see how shiny the metal is underneath: but within a short while
(minutes? hours?) the scratch is shiny no more.
Not sure if this happens to some extent with magnesium, too.
And here’s another little fact I remember from high-school chemistry: carbon has a higher affinity for oxygen than hydrogen does. So why is
water so effective at putting out carbon (wood, coal etc) fires? Because
it takes away the heat. If, for example, you took out the oxygen, and replaced the atmosphere with hot steam, then the fire would, in principle, happily continue. (Should I search for a YouTube video where somebody has tried this experiment ... ?)
On 11/3/25 23:55, Robert Riches wrote:
On 2025-11-04, Ian <[email protected]> wrote:
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/ >>>>>>
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long >>>>> as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this
profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create >>>>> glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
If I understand the question correctly, flashLIGHTs (hand-held
devices that emit a continuous beam of light) were (mostly)
aluminum, while flashBULBs (very brief, small fraction of a
second, flash of light for photography) were magnesium.
Found a reference ... see immediately previous post
for this thread. Aluminum, magnesium and zirconium
were all used - not sure which is 'better'.
On 2025-11-04, c186282 <[email protected]> wrote:
On 11/3/25 23:55, Robert Riches wrote:
On 2025-11-04, Ian <[email protected]> wrote:
c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 16:30, Carlos E.R. wrote:tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80608146994090&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=94237&hvtargid=pla-4584207611058171&psc=1&msclkid=845b880d8c6f10c0171ee1049eb7dafd
On 2025-11-03 21:40, c186282 wrote:
On 11/3/25 15:04, rbowman wrote:
On Mon, 3 Nov 2025 13:05:43 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:Found a 200,000 lumen flashlight on Amazon :-)
Gosh. No idea that people were actually doing this. :-o
https://www.offgridweb.com/preparation/72000-lumen-diy-flashlight/ >>>>>>>
IMALENT MS32
https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/ dp/B0CRHRJWMC/ref=asc_df_B0CRHRJWMC?
You can shorten that to:
<https://www.amazon.com/IMALENT-MS32-Flashlight-Flashlights-
Rechargeable/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
or even
<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRHRJWMC>
(note US links may not work in the UK/EU)
Oh, they work. But it may say not available to your country. As long >>>>>> as I don't change delivery address. I block Amazon cookies in this >>>>>> profile.
But that flashlight is amazing! And expensive.
VERY expensive ... but if you just HAVE to own The Brightest
then, well, money won't stand it the way, hmm ? :-)
The 100,000 luman mini version sells for half the price.
I don't think it is practical, though. That intense light will create >>>>>> glare to the user, you have to distance yourself from the light
source, to another angle. In the videos, they have to point it
upwards, and use the reflection back.
How many lumens before you have a 'photonic weapon' ? :-)
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
If I understand the question correctly, flashLIGHTs (hand-held
devices that emit a continuous beam of light) were (mostly)
aluminum, while flashBULBs (very brief, small fraction of a
second, flash of light for photography) were magnesium.
Found a reference ... see immediately previous post
for this thread. Aluminum, magnesium and zirconium
were all used - not sure which is 'better'.
Thanks for that info and the reference in the earlier post. I
had understood all the Mag-Lites I had ever seen (including a
4-D) were aluminum.
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
Not just focal plane shutter, but those shutters that never open
completely, but only a travelling strip, which is how a shutter would achieve high speeds, open only a fraction of the frame at a time.
frame
*****************************
* | | *
* | |-> travelling curtain
* | | *
* | | *
* | | *
******************************
On 2025-11-04, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
One day in the chem lab I wanted to light a Bunsen burner but
didn't have a proper lighter or matches. So I dropped a small
piece of potassium into a beaker of water, used that to light
a piece of magnesium ribbon, and used that to light the Bunsen
burner.
The things you can do when no one is looking...
On 2025-11-04, Carlos E.R. <[email protected]d> wrote:
Not just focal plane shutter, but those shutters that never open
completely, but only a travelling strip, which is how a shutter would
achieve high speeds, open only a fraction of the frame at a time.
frame
*****************************
* | | *
* | |-> travelling curtain
* | | *
* | | *
* | | *
******************************
Back in the days when I was shooting underwater with a Nikonos II
(later upgrading to a V, which also had a focal plane shutter),
I shot what would have been a magnificent sequence, only to find
later that I had bumped the shutter speed to 1/125, from the 1/60
which was the proper sync speed for a flash. Every frame in the
sequence was exposed on the lower half only, ruining the sequence.
The duration of the flash was short enough that as long as it
went off at any time the shutter was open for the entire frame
it would have worked. When setting up the camera I would test
the TTL metering by aiming the strobe directly into the lens
and firing point-blank with the aperture wide open. If things
were working properly I would get a flash so brief it was
hardly visible.
I loved through-the-lens metering, especially when shooting macro.
Macro needs a small aperture - hence a lot of light - to get any
depth of field at all. So I would blast away at f/22 and let the
TTL sort it out - most of the time the strobe would do a full dump
or close to it, but on lighter subjects the TTL would quench the
strobe when it had gotten enough light for a proper exposure.
I briefly tried a digital point-and-shoot camera, but the loss
of TTL killed the joy for me.
On 2025-11-04, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
One day in the chem lab I wanted to light a Bunsen burner but
didn't have a proper lighter or matches. So I dropped a small
piece of potassium into a beaker of water, used that to light
a piece of magnesium ribbon, and used that to light the Bunsen
burner.
The things you can do when no one is looking...
On 11/4/25 22:44, Robert Riches wrote:
On 2025-11-04, c186282 <[email protected]> wrote:
On 11/3/25 23:55, Robert Riches wrote:
On 2025-11-04, Ian <[email protected]> wrote:
c186282 wrote:
Thanks for that info and the reference in the earlier post. I
had understood all the Mag-Lites I had ever seen (including a
4-D) were aluminum.
Ummm ... THIS subject was olde-tyme camera FLASHBULBS.
The MagLite's - the head-busting kind - are still all
aluminum alloy. The new ones are now brighter LEDs,
about 1000 lumens. They DO still sell a few 'classic'
models, about 100 lumen filament bulbs. Check their site.
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind
of power-control module too. Just leave the old ones
alone, as 'backup' flashlights. Somewhere I have a
1500 lumen 'police' flash, but it's not as robust as
the Mags. "Police", frankly you SHOULD be able to
use it as a billy club too ... the 4/5/6D jobbies
are perfect for that.
On 11/4/25 15:52, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Tue, 4 Nov 2025 11:28:14 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy
the fluff, before use.
Like iron rusts? Aluminium is even more reactive with oxygen than iron.
However, unlike iron, the oxide that aluminium forms is a very tough
material, that acts as a protective covering that prevents further
reaction with oxygen. You can scratch the surface of an aluminium object,
and see how shiny the metal is underneath: but within a short while
(minutes? hours?) the scratch is shiny no more.
Not sure if this happens to some extent with magnesium, too.
Magnesium in DRY oxygen will not react - therefore the
bulbs are good for a century plus.
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of power-control
module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as 'backup' flashlights.
On 05/11/2025 07:21, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-04, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:I used to light cigarettes off cooker rings
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use where
glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside your house
and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
One day in the chem lab I wanted to light a Bunsen burner but didn't
have a proper lighter or matches. So I dropped a small piece of
potassium into a beaker of water, used that to light a piece of
magnesium ribbon, and used that to light the Bunsen burner.
The things you can do when no one is looking...
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 01:05:58 -0500, c186282 wrote:
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of power-control
module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as 'backup' flashlights.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PB44RLP
It's not a huge improvement over the Krypton bulbs but it is a whiter
light. It's a drop in replacement and probably will last longer for a
couple of bucks more than the Krypton bulbs.
On 05/11/2025 07:21, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-04, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
One day in the chem lab I wanted to light a Bunsen burner but
didn't have a proper lighter or matches. So I dropped a small
piece of potassium into a beaker of water, used that to light
a piece of magnesium ribbon, and used that to light the Bunsen
burner.
The things you can do when no one is looking...
I used to light cigarettes off cooker rings
On 05/11/2025 07:21, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-04, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:I used to light cigarettes off cooker rings
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
One day in the chem lab I wanted to light a Bunsen burner but
didn't have a proper lighter or matches. So I dropped a small
piece of potassium into a beaker of water, used that to light
a piece of magnesium ribbon, and used that to light the Bunsen
burner.
The things you can do when no one is looking...
On 2025-11-05 07:05, c186282 wrote:
On 11/4/25 22:44, Robert Riches wrote:
On 2025-11-04, c186282 <[email protected]> wrote:
On 11/3/25 23:55, Robert Riches wrote:
On 2025-11-04, Ian <[email protected]> wrote:
c186282 wrote:
...
Thanks for that info and the reference in the earlier post. I
had understood all the Mag-Lites I had ever seen (including a
4-D) were aluminum.
Ummm ... THIS subject was olde-tyme camera FLASHBULBS.
The MagLite's - the head-busting kind - are still all
aluminum alloy. The new ones are now brighter LEDs,
about 1000 lumens. They DO still sell a few 'classic'
models, about 100 lumen filament bulbs. Check their site.
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind
of power-control module too. Just leave the old ones
alone, as 'backup' flashlights. Somewhere I have a
1500 lumen 'police' flash, but it's not as robust as
the Mags. "Police", frankly you SHOULD be able to
use it as a billy club too ... the 4/5/6D jobbies
are perfect for that.
They sell conversion kits. Basically replace the bulb part, done.
On 2025-11-05 03:23, c186282 wrote:
On 11/4/25 15:52, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Tue, 4 Nov 2025 11:28:14 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy
the fluff, before use.
Like iron rusts? Aluminium is even more reactive with oxygen than iron.
However, unlike iron, the oxide that aluminium forms is a very tough
material, that acts as a protective covering that prevents further
reaction with oxygen. You can scratch the surface of an aluminium
object,
and see how shiny the metal is underneath: but within a short while
(minutes? hours?) the scratch is shiny no more.
Not sure if this happens to some extent with magnesium, too.
Magnesium in DRY oxygen will not react - therefore the
bulbs are good for a century plus.
I found some old bulbs and tried to fire, them. They failed.
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 01:05:58 -0500, c186282 wrote:
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of power-control
module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as 'backup' flashlights.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PB44RLP
It's not a huge improvement over the Krypton bulbs but it is a whiter
light. It's a drop in replacement and probably will last longer for a
couple of bucks more than the Krypton bulbs.
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 11:54:59 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/11/2025 07:21, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-04, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:I used to light cigarettes off cooker rings
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use where >>>>>> glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside your house >>>>>> and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
One day in the chem lab I wanted to light a Bunsen burner but didn't
have a proper lighter or matches. So I dropped a small piece of
potassium into a beaker of water, used that to light a piece of
magnesium ribbon, and used that to light the Bunsen burner.
The things you can do when no one is looking...
Back in the '70s I had to go to a LNG processing plant to check out the controller for the lube system. I smoked at the time and thought it was
going to be a long day. Not so. There were little ceramic lighters
throughout the shop that when tilted lit up an element like a car lighter. Open flames were forbidden but smoking wasn't a problem.
I'm glad I stopped smoking in the late '70s before smokers began to be treated like lepers.
On 2025-11-05 17:33, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 01:05:58 -0500, c186282 wrote:
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PB44RLP
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of power-
control
module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as 'backup' flashlights. >>
It's not a huge improvement over the Krypton bulbs but it is a whiter
light. It's a drop in replacement and probably will last longer for a
couple of bucks more than the Krypton bulbs.
hardly an improvement. That lamp is heavy; I can carry in my pocket a
little torch that gives more than that light output. I have no reason to carry around the old aluminum torch, with 4 big batteries, unless for
self defence.
For instance, this replacement bulb
<https://lumencraft.com/led-upgrades-for-maglite/148-8212-370-lumen- firefly-2-6-cell-led-conversion-for-maglite-cree-xhp35hi.html#/96- hardened_scratch_resistant_glass_lens-no>
Huh, no, only up to 325 Lumen (with 6 cell torch).
This one: <https://lumencraft.com/led-upgrades-for-maglite/107-8740- conversion-kit-for-maglite.html#/95- hardened_scratch_resistant_glass_lens-yes_599/99-batteries-no/101- charger-no> produces 4200Lm on a 5-6 cell torch.
The thing is, I have lost track of that torch. I thought it was useless,
so it must be at the bottom of some old box. I can not play with it.
On 2025-11-05, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 05/11/2025 07:21, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-04, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
On 04/11/2025 04:26, Ian wrote:
Anyway, at minimum, this would be for 'open field' use
where glare would be less of an issue. Turn it on inside
your house and, remember those old magnesium/O2 camera
flashbulbs ?
Weren't they aluminum?
No.
I had a reel of magnesium tape as a boy. It didnt last long
One day in the chem lab I wanted to light a Bunsen burner but
didn't have a proper lighter or matches. So I dropped a small
piece of potassium into a beaker of water, used that to light
a piece of magnesium ribbon, and used that to light the Bunsen
burner.
The things you can do when no one is looking...
I used to light cigarettes off cooker rings
It's only a small step from there to hot-knifing hash.
On 11/5/25 11:33, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 01:05:58 -0500, c186282 wrote:$19.95 for most drop-in 'upgrades'. About 200 lumens compared to 1000
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of
power-control module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as
'backup' flashlights.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PB44RLP
It's not a huge improvement over the Krypton bulbs but it is a whiter
light. It's a drop in replacement and probably will last longer for a
couple of bucks more than the Krypton bulbs.
in the new units. Not sure about how well you can focus the beam with
the LED either.
Falls into the "MAY be worth it" range.
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 22:12:41 -0500, c186282 wrote:
On 11/5/25 11:33, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 01:05:58 -0500, c186282 wrote:$19.95 for most drop-in 'upgrades'. About 200 lumens compared to 1000
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of
power-control module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as
'backup' flashlights.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PB44RLP
It's not a huge improvement over the Krypton bulbs but it is a whiter
light. It's a drop in replacement and probably will last longer for a
couple of bucks more than the Krypton bulbs.
in the new units. Not sure about how well you can focus the beam with
the LED either.
Falls into the "MAY be worth it" range.
Did you bother to click on the link? $10.99 for two 250 lumen bulbs.
On 11/5/25 14:37, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-05 17:33, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 01:05:58 -0500, c186282 wrote:
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PB44RLP
Gotta find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of power- >>>> control
module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as 'backup' flashlights. >>>
It's not a huge improvement over the Krypton bulbs but it is a whiter
light. It's a drop in replacement and probably will last longer for a
couple of bucks more than the Krypton bulbs.
hardly an improvement. That lamp is heavy; I can carry in my pocket a
little torch that gives more than that light output. I have no reason
to carry around the old aluminum torch, with 4 big batteries, unless
for self defence.
For instance, this replacement bulb
<https://lumencraft.com/led-upgrades-for-maglite/148-8212-370-lumen-
firefly-2-6-cell-led-conversion-for-maglite-cree-xhp35hi.html#/96-
hardened_scratch_resistant_glass_lens-no>
Huh, no, only up to 325 Lumen (with 6 cell torch).
This one: <https://lumencraft.com/led-upgrades-for-maglite/107-8740-
conversion-kit-for-maglite.html#/95-
hardened_scratch_resistant_glass_lens-yes_599/99-batteries-no/101-
charger-no> produces 4200Lm on a 5-6 cell torch.
The thing is, I have lost track of that torch. I thought it was
useless, so it must be at the bottom of some old box. I can not play
with it.
I have several of the "Mini-Mags" ... and they're
damned good. The only reason you'd need much more
would be for outdoors/camping purposes (and POLICE
purposes of course).
The 4/5/6D lights are excellent billy clubs too :-)
Always use the one-shot lithiums in my lights ...
unlike alkalines they don't go bad and the little
extra power is another perk. Nobody in the USA
seems to make 'C' or 'D' one-shot lithiums alas,
so NiMH would be the possible backup but they DO
go flat after awhile. However these days most of
the smaller flashes use three or six 'AAA', on
rare occasion 'AA' batteries.
Oddly, my most-used flash is a $4.95 jobbie with
a bunch of discrete LEDs instead of a module. It's
bright and throws a broad enough beam to be very
useful for finding things and working on things -
not even TOO bad outdoors up to maybe 12 feet.
So, you don't always need that $750 200,000 lumen
jobbie to get good stuff done :-)
On 11/5/25 07:23, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-05 03:23, c186282 wrote:
On 11/4/25 15:52, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Tue, 4 Nov 2025 11:28:14 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy >>>>> the fluff, before use.
Like iron rusts? Aluminium is even more reactive with oxygen than iron. >>>> However, unlike iron, the oxide that aluminium forms is a very tough
material, that acts as a protective covering that prevents further
reaction with oxygen. You can scratch the surface of an aluminium
object,
and see how shiny the metal is underneath: but within a short while
(minutes? hours?) the scratch is shiny no more.
Not sure if this happens to some extent with magnesium, too.
Magnesium in DRY oxygen will not react - therefore the
bulbs are good for a century plus.
I found some old bulbs and tried to fire, them. They failed.
Disappointing !
I've had 50 year old bulbs fire properly. Maybe
it depends on a 'quality' brand -vs- 'discount' ?
Also, how much current/voltage in your fire-off
pulse ?
On 11/5/25 17:22, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-05, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
These days, being old, I always have a little magnifying
glass in my pocket to read the Fine Print on things :-)
The 1.25" ones that slide into a leather sleeve are ideal,
nice and flat.
On 11/6/25 00:09, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 22:12:41 -0500, c186282 wrote:
On 11/5/25 11:33, rbowman wrote:
On Wed, 5 Nov 2025 01:05:58 -0500, c186282 wrote:$19.95 for most drop-in 'upgrades'. About 200 lumens compared to
CONVERTING an old one to LED ... probably NOT worth it. Gotta
find/mount/cool the LED and you need some kind of power-control >>>>> module too. Just leave the old ones alone, as 'backup'
flashlights.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PB44RLP
It's not a huge improvement over the Krypton bulbs but it is a whiter
light. It's a drop in replacement and probably will last longer for a
couple of bucks more than the Krypton bulbs.
1000 in the new units. Not sure about how well you can focus the
beam with the LED either.
Falls into the "MAY be worth it" range.
Did you bother to click on the link? $10.99 for two 250 lumen bulbs.
What's wrong with them - why do you need two ???
USA site ... $19.95 for one.
I don't like AAA lamps, the batteries are more expensive.
On 2025-11-06 04:10, c186282 wrote:
On 11/5/25 07:23, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-05 03:23, c186282 wrote:
On 11/4/25 15:52, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
On Tue, 4 Nov 2025 11:28:14 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I never could not understand why the oxygen would not slowly destroy >>>>>> the fluff, before use.
Like iron rusts? Aluminium is even more reactive with oxygen than
iron.
However, unlike iron, the oxide that aluminium forms is a very tough >>>>> material, that acts as a protective covering that prevents further
reaction with oxygen. You can scratch the surface of an aluminium
object,
and see how shiny the metal is underneath: but within a short while
(minutes? hours?) the scratch is shiny no more.
Not sure if this happens to some extent with magnesium, too.
Magnesium in DRY oxygen will not react - therefore the
bulbs are good for a century plus.
I found some old bulbs and tried to fire, them. They failed.
Disappointing !
I've had 50 year old bulbs fire properly. Maybe
it depends on a 'quality' brand -vs- 'discount' ?
Also, how much current/voltage in your fire-off
pulse ?
No, these bulbs fired with a spring. Used on a Kodak Instamatic camera: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instamatic>
The flash came in cubes, so four shots.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Flash_(photography)#Flashcubes,_Magicubes_and_Flipflash>
On 2025-11-06 04:41, c186282 wrote:
On 11/5/25 17:22, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-05, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
These days, being old, I always have a little magnifying
glass in my pocket to read the Fine Print on things :-)
The 1.25" ones that slide into a leather sleeve are ideal,
nice and flat.
I use the phone for that. Amazing zoom. :-)
On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 11:56:45 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't like AAA lamps, the batteries are more expensive.
I've got enough AAA devices other than lamps that I keep a supply on hand.
I also have AA, D, 9V, CR2032, and other common sizes. The odd one is C. I had one flashlight that used C. I did find sleeves that snap around an AA
to make it the same dimension as a C. Obviously they don't last as long
but it's convenient.
On 11/6/25 06:10, Carlos E.R. wrote:
On 2025-11-06 04:41, c186282 wrote:
On 11/5/25 17:22, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2025-11-05, The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]d> wrote:
These days, being old, I always have a little magnifying
glass in my pocket to read the Fine Print on things :-)
The 1.25" ones that slide into a leather sleeve are ideal,
nice and flat.
I use the phone for that. Amazing zoom. :-)
So ... a $1100 high tech fix instead of
a $2.95 thin and near-indestructible
little lens ? :-)
On 11/6/25 13:42, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 11:56:45 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't like AAA lamps, the batteries are more expensive.
I've got enough AAA devices other than lamps that I keep a supply on hand. >> I also have AA, D, 9V, CR2032, and other common sizes. The odd one is C. I >> had one flashlight that used C. I did find sleeves that snap around an AA
to make it the same dimension as a C. Obviously they don't last as long
but it's convenient.
Actually, 'C' flashlights are probably the
most handy size - but you don't see many of
them, indeed not many 'C' devices at all.
Not sure why. Used to see a lot more.
Once had a 'portable' reel-2-reel tape recorder
(almost the size of a fire brick) and it used
four 'C' cells. Worked well.
MagLite DOES make some of the LED units in 'C'
size however.
c186282 <[email protected]> wrote at 22:30 this Thursday (GMT):
On 11/6/25 13:42, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 11:56:45 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't like AAA lamps, the batteries are more expensive.
I've got enough AAA devices other than lamps that I keep a supply on hand. >>> I also have AA, D, 9V, CR2032, and other common sizes. The odd one is C. I >>> had one flashlight that used C. I did find sleeves that snap around an AA >>> to make it the same dimension as a C. Obviously they don't last as long
but it's convenient.
Actually, 'C' flashlights are probably the
most handy size - but you don't see many of
them, indeed not many 'C' devices at all.
Not sure why. Used to see a lot more.
Once had a 'portable' reel-2-reel tape recorder
(almost the size of a fire brick) and it used
four 'C' cells. Worked well.
MagLite DOES make some of the LED units in 'C'
size however.
Are C batteries more common where you are? I don't remember ever seeing
one sold.
c186282 <[email protected]> wrote at 22:30 this Thursday (GMT):
On 11/6/25 13:42, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 11:56:45 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't like AAA lamps, the batteries are more expensive.
I've got enough AAA devices other than lamps that I keep a supply on
hand.
I also have AA, D, 9V, CR2032, and other common sizes. The odd one is
C. I had one flashlight that used C. I did find sleeves that snap
around an AA to make it the same dimension as a C. Obviously they
don't last as long but it's convenient.
Actually, 'C' flashlights are probably the most handy size - but you
don't see many of them, indeed not many 'C' devices at all.
Not sure why. Used to see a lot more.
Once had a 'portable' reel-2-reel tape recorder (almost the size of
a fire brick) and it used four 'C' cells. Worked well.
MagLite DOES make some of the LED units in 'C' size however.
Are C batteries more common where you are? I don't remember ever seeing
one sold.
c186282 <[email protected]> wrote at 22:30 this Thursday (GMT):
On 11/6/25 13:42, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 11:56:45 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't like AAA lamps, the batteries are more expensive.
I've got enough AAA devices other than lamps that I keep a supply on hand. >>> I also have AA, D, 9V, CR2032, and other common sizes. The odd one is C. I >>> had one flashlight that used C. I did find sleeves that snap around an AA >>> to make it the same dimension as a C. Obviously they don't last as long
but it's convenient.
Actually, 'C' flashlights are probably the
most handy size - but you don't see many of
them, indeed not many 'C' devices at all.
Not sure why. Used to see a lot more.
Once had a 'portable' reel-2-reel tape recorder
(almost the size of a fire brick) and it used
four 'C' cells. Worked well.
MagLite DOES make some of the LED units in 'C'
size however.
Are C batteries more common where you are? I don't remember ever seeing
one sold.
c186282 <[email protected]> wrote at 22:30 this Thursday (GMT):
On 11/6/25 13:42, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 11:56:45 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
I don't like AAA lamps, the batteries are more expensive.
I've got enough AAA devices other than lamps that I keep a supply on hand. >>> I also have AA, D, 9V, CR2032, and other common sizes. The odd one is C. I >>> had one flashlight that used C. I did find sleeves that snap around an AA >>> to make it the same dimension as a C. Obviously they don't last as long
but it's convenient.
Actually, 'C' flashlights are probably the
most handy size - but you don't see many of
them, indeed not many 'C' devices at all.
Not sure why. Used to see a lot more.
Once had a 'portable' reel-2-reel tape recorder
(almost the size of a fire brick) and it used
four 'C' cells. Worked well.
MagLite DOES make some of the LED units in 'C'
size however.
Are C batteries more common where you are? I don't remember ever seeing
one sold.
On 11/7/25 11:20, candycanearter07 wrote:
c186282 <[email protected]> wrote at 22:30 this Thursday (GMT):
On 11/6/25 13:42, rbowman wrote:
On Thu, 6 Nov 2025 11:56:45 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
Are C batteries more common where you are? I don't remember ever seeing
one sold.
Still see them on store shelves in the USA, even
grocery stores.
As said, a lot of the new stuff is either a LOT of
AAA/AA batteries or 'D' cells.
But I think 'C's still have their place.
What's harder to find in the USA are the rectangle
9-v batteries. I have some smoke detectors that use
those. Used to be very popular for small radios, but
now you don't see them as much. There ARE 'long life'
9Vs to be had, but you have to go to Amazon.
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