View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Friday 22 May 2009

Correcting a correction

I am a user of shipspotting.com, where people can upload pictures of ships to the Internet. They also give news related to shipping, and it is in such a news item that automatic correction kicked in - where inappropriate. Spot the fault:

Mariners may need to brush up on their skills with the #OOPS#tant. A recent report from the GAO notes that while the Air Force is in the process of modernizing the Global Positioning System, "it is uncertain that [it] will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption. If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected."

What the heck is an #OOPS#tant?

Image courtesy brasscompass.com

Well, it's a sextant.

Friday 22 May

Quiet day, with a lot of cloud but also a lot of blue in between the clouds. Rain is due overnight, and will be continuing through tomorrow. Not much fun for the runners in the Stornoway half-marathon (in which I am NOT taking part).

Revelations continue in the parliamentary expenses scandal, and the stress is beginning to tell on the Honourable Members, who knew full well that they were milking the system. One reacted by saying it was all in envy of his big house - he could be suspended from the Conversative Party - and others warn of suicides. Excuse me. Can we drop the melodrama please?

The Sunday ferry row here in Lewis has brought out the Sabbatarians, as well as all the inaccurate rumours. A gas explosion in the 1970s was divine retribution, as the owner of the house that got destroyed had opened his hostelry on the Sabbath. This coming Sunday, the ferry will be repaired - it can only dock stern first due to a mechanical failure on the bowdoor. It was nearly an hour late coming in this afternoon.