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Grant
Darwin NT

Drinkers being short measured?
A bit on the Sky News site today caught my eye:
https://news.sky.com/story/nearly-90-of-beer-served-in-uk-pubs-and-and-bars-is-short-measured-trading-standards-finds-13141910

In some ways I could understand (but not accept) a pint of beer being somewhat short as 500ml is not a pint but 0.88 of a pint.
But wine, that just strikes me as pubs etc. deliberately serving short measures.

As the great head/no-head on a pint debate, I'm sure some places use the inclusion of the head in the measure as an excuse to serve short measures - I've done bar work and know how easy it is to vary the size of the head on the same pump and barrel.....

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

They call that “shrink flation”. Prices go up and sizes go down.

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What doesn't go to the customer goes into the server

It may not be as old as I am, but it sounds to be in worse shape.

Four-year, billion-dollar blowout as Reserve Bank of Australia's horror renovation uncovers asbestos, cracks and death-trap lifts.

Riddled with asbestos. Almost 290 per cent over budget. More than four years late.

Renovating the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) headquarters is increasingly looking like a disastrous episode of home-building show Grand Designs.

The key difference? The budget for the horror reno is now north of $1 billion.

Documents obtained using the Freedom of Information (FOI) process detail the difficulty and unexpected expense of renovating the central bank's flagship office at 65 Martin Place in Sydney, built in 1964.

The project has become so complex and expensive, the central bank considered selling the iconic heritage-listed building and moving elsewhere.

Instead it has rented space for staff nearby and is wearing the extra costs.

As a previously unseen presentation dryly notes:

"Additional cost of $823.3M. New total costs of $1,089.9M. Extends delivery time by 4 years to November 2029.".......

Head or not?
Well in days gone by quite a number of beer glasses were had the liquid level marked clearly on them by either a line or a groove. This was great when working a quiet bar as one had time to allow the drink to settle and then top up as required. But it was not so good in a busy bar where there was no time to allow the settling. Other glasses the measure was to the brim, which was great you could pull a glass and pass it over to the customer in very little time, thus moving on to the next order very quickly, and more short measures or massive heads was a "rather inconvenient" side effect. Of course we knew that some beers, even some lines, were more prone to big heads than others, and drinkers' tastes vary from place to place. But I still prefer pouring a pint into a line marked glass, to the mark with one or to gentle pulls on a pump than having the same beer propelled at me by which ever "cellar gas" the pub chain dictates.

(** "cellar gas" is a generic name for the gas used to propel beer along the lines from barrel to tap - in the UK it is normally carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or a mixture of the two.)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Head or not?
Well in days gone by quite a number of beer glasses were had the liquid level marked clearly on them by either a line or a groove. This was great when working a quiet bar as one had time to allow the drink to settle and then top up as required. But it was not so good in a busy bar where there was no time to allow the settling. Other glasses the measure was to the brim, which was great you could pull a glass and pass it over to the customer in very little time, thus moving on to the next order very quickly, and more short measures or massive heads was a "rather inconvenient" side effect. Of course we knew that some beers, even some lines, were more prone to big heads than others, and drinkers' tastes vary from place to place. But I still prefer pouring a pint into a line marked glass, to the mark with one or to gentle pulls on a pump than having the same beer propelled at me by which ever "cellar gas" the pub chain dictates.

(** "cellar gas" is a generic name for the gas used to propel beer along the lines from barrel to tap - in the UK it is normally carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or a mixture of the two.)

In most of the USA it is CO2 period full stop. Higher end establishments CO2 for most everything except for Irish Stouts which are nitrogen. The nitrogen lines and plumbing "pumps" "valves" "handles" "taps" are different. The gasses are of substantially different molecular weight and molecule size. They also produce far different heads. Any place here that mixed gasses would be lynched.

Pepsi does offer a “Nitrogen” infused fizzy drink. No CO2. It is a much smoother drink.

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All the ingredients of a Monty Python sketch.

Why can’t Forestry find any gliders, when everyone else can?

Here is an example of someone so stupid, or just doesn't give a cr@p, that they should not be allowed out in public without a minder. Let alone allowed to drive any sort of vehicle.
A Michigan man has been sent to jail after he was caught driving while dialling into his court appearance about driving on a suspended licence.

Honestly, if someone told me about this at the pub, i'd think they were just winding me up with a load of B$.

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Grant
Darwin NT

Senator who voted for anti cellphone law while driving crashes car while talking on cellphone.

In May of 2007, after recently voting for a state bill to outlaw the use of cell phones while driving, Migden caused an automobile accident while using her cell phone. While reaching for her cell phone, she took her eyes off the road and crashed her state funded 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV (which was a replacement for her state funded funded 2005 Cadillac STS) into a 2005 Honda sedan, which was stopped at a red light. The driver of the Honda sedan and her 3 year old daughter were injured and taken to the emergency room. Because the anti-cell phone law had not yet gone into effect, police did not cite Migden for talking on her cell phone. Migden was given a breathalyzer test, which showed that she was not drunk. Although reckless driving (regardless of cell phone use) is illegal, Migden was not arrested, and she did not receive a fine, ticket, or citation.

Further investigation showed that during the 30 miles prior to the crash, more than half a dozen drivers had called 911 to report Migden's reckless driving. They claimed that she had run them off the road, sideswiped the concrete center divider, and wasn't looking where she was driving.

After the crash, two drivers criticized Migden for her reckless driving. Migden responded to them by saying, "You can't talk to me like that, I'm a state senator."

Because she was driving a state vehicle, insurance paid for by the state's taxpayers will be responsible for paying the cost of the damages to her vehicle as well as all other vehicles and other property she crashed into, as well as the medical bills of the woman and three year old child that she injured.

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Although reckless driving (regardless of cell phone use) is illegal, Migden was not arrested, and she did not receive a fine, ticket, or citation.

Some pigs are more equal than others...

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Grant
Darwin NT

Someone was bored. Very, very, very bored.

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Grant
Darwin NT

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Grant
Darwin NT

Because she was driving a state vehicle, insurance paid for by the state's taxpayers will be responsible for paying the cost of the damages to her vehicle as well as all other vehicles and other property she crashed into, as well as the medical bills of the woman and three year old child that she injured.

It's a little different in Germany. Vehicles of federal or state authorities, or e.g. state institutions like prisons, police, universities, administrations, ... have no liability insurance too. State governments pay for any damage. But different than regular liability insurance tariffs they are only obliged to pay for damage caused by "negligent driving", not "reckless driving". The line between the two is difficult to discern, depends on the judge. I know of a police commissioner who had to pay for a wrecked police car with his own money. That means drivers of state cars have this always in mind when driving. It is an uncomfortable feeling to be less well insured when driving for work than with your own car.

But clearly, folks like federal or state ministers, higher officials, their personal drivers are here also (probably) more equal than others. But at least they fear such occurrences and prefer to keep it from making the news.

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/state-senator-migden-faces-misdemeanor-in-accident-2511818.php

In California the registered owner of the vehicle has to provide insurance one of 4 ways. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/vehicle-registration/insurance-requirements/ I'm rather sure that most governments use the self insurance option.

Here are the minimum liability insurance requirements (per California Insurance Code §11580.1b):

• $15,000 for injury/death to one person.
  
• $30,000 for injury/death to more than one person.
  
• $5,000 for damage to property.
  

That's a joke, isn't it?

Here are the minimum liability insurance requirements (per California Insurance Code §11580.1b):

• $15,000 for injury/death to one person.
  
• $30,000 for injury/death to more than one person.
  
• $5,000 for damage to property.
  

That's a joke, isn't it?

It's not a joke, though I pay for full coverage which includes towing.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

That's a joke, isn't it?

Likely not changed since WWII.