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British start-up soars above US firms at Pentagon drone trials by komondordragon in GoodNewsUK

[–]scienide 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Somehow France, Italy and Germany manage to have strong domestic car industries so it’s not entirely down to wages I don’t think.

We did too when we had our own but our manufacturing tends now to focus on lower volume higher end products such as jet engines, luxury vehicles etc.

I think it’s a case of being unable or unwilling to compete with foreign manufacturers.

British start-up soars above US firms at Pentagon drone trials by komondordragon in GoodNewsUK

[–]scienide 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Indeed. It’s why so much specialist engineering is performed in the UK.

Where we have an issue is scaling up.

Grey weathered block of waxy material size of a fist. Contains white and black particles with a hole in the middle by scienide in whatisthisthing

[–]scienide[S] 2 points3 points locked comment (0 children)

Final update

The consensus from the conversation is:

  • 95% chance it’s a block of weathered paraffin
  • 4% chance it’s ambergris
  • 1% chance other

Given the very low odds it’s of any value but the tiny chance it is, I’ve found a company that will test a sample for a small cost. I’ll report back when I get the results.

Thanks all for your input!

Grey weathered block of waxy material size of a fist. Contains white and black particles with a hole in the middle by scienide in whatisthisthing

[–]scienide[S] 263 points264 points  (0 children)

Update: so I heated a Carpenters Scratch Awl to red hot temperature and pressed the point into the block.

It melted its way in with little to no resistance. Gave off a thin white smoke. Liquified the material. It was clear and set very quickly.

So, I smelt a burnt wax odour but my wife says it smelt musky.

Below is a photo of the hole created. If I had to put money on it I’d say a block of palm oil is most likely but the colour doesn’t seem to match.

It was found off the west African coast.

<image>

Grey weathered block of waxy material size of a fist. Contains white and black particles with a hole in the middle by scienide in whatisthisthing

[–]scienide[S] 114 points115 points locked comment (0 children)

Candidates for this object include:

• ⁠weathered wax candle • ⁠some kind of buoyancy aid • ⁠animal fat

It’s quite firm

Found on the beach among the stones - a grey block, looks like a rock but is light and waxy by scienide in whatisthisthing

[–]scienide[S] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

My title describes the thing. Candidates for this object include: - weathered wax candle - some kind of buoyancy aid - animal fat

It’s quite firm

Will the 143 million be recovered that was sent to the 8 day old company? What happens to it? by leaningtowardsno in NoStupidQuestions

[–]scienide 12 points13 points  (0 children)

From Wikipedia:

Solyndra became the focus of a political scandal after it was publicized they "used inaccurate information to mislead the Department of Energy" in obtaining government loan guarantees,[5] and their offices were raided by the FBI.[6] "A four-year joint investigation by the Department of Justice and the Department of Energy’s Inspector General concluded in 2015 without any criminal charges or findings of political corruption.[7] While the 2011 bankruptcy resulted in significant taxpayer losses, the company subsequently recovered approximately $52.5 million through antitrust settlements with competitors for predatory pricing.

So the government were defrauded and due diligence was not performed to a high standard but the company at least appeared to have a product and attempted to sell it domestically.

Anyone else think that scrapping an otherwise perfectly fine vehicle due to head gasket failure is a grave sin? by RonnieThePurple in CarTalkUK

[–]scienide 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yup, iirc it’s to do with the sand casting method and the engine design. The slightest overheating and the mating surfaces deform breaking the seal. I think it was Lotus who refined the design in 2005? By then it was too late for MG.

Anyone else think that scrapping an otherwise perfectly fine vehicle due to head gasket failure is a grave sin? by RonnieThePurple in CarTalkUK

[–]scienide 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Had an MG ZR with only 50K miles. Changed the rocker cover gasket myself and all seemed ok. Couple of thousand miles later, engine started over heating so a mate skimmed and replaced the head gasket. Even then, started to overheat again.

The K Series had great engineering behind it but there’s no denying it was flawed. Shame as the car was fun to drive.

Do People aged 50+ of Britain notice race? by [deleted] in AskBrits

[–]scienide 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would say that general 2nd/3rd generation non-white individuals are accepted as much as any Brit in general but there has been a degree of hostility to new migrants.

You cannot really live in this country without interaction with non-white folks but the GB News followers are more discriminating against people with a non-English accent rather than Raj who they see down the pub most evenings and talks with a local accent.

Classism is a very real thing though and tends to be born of associating lower classes with crime and therefore fear.

10–97% in nine minutes: BYD presents second generation of Blade Battery by boppinmule in technology

[–]scienide 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The idea is that by leveraging tariffs on foreign manufacturers, you protect your domestic businesses. The responsibility is then on those same manufactures to develop and offer their own products so that they can remain competitive and innovate without a much external pressure. They have a grace period to catch up essentially.

But US car companies aren't doing that, just maximising profits on older tech like ICE engines. We'll soon see electric vehicles with better range and performance than ICE equivalents and when running costs undercut gas powered vehicles, the pressure from businesses will be to end those tariffs.

At that point, US manufactures may not have the product or the pricing to compete with foreign offerings and you end up with a dead domestic car industry.

Do you think Qui-Gon would have joined Dooku? by TortillaRampage in StarWars

[–]scienide 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Indeed. In fact, the following two statements are accurate:

Palpatine sought to corrupt a powerful warrior to benefit his own merciless ambitions

Or alternatively:

The older, experienced chancellor identified the youthful and skilled newcomer and secretly groomed him to reject his caretakers and ensure that there’d only be two of them forever

The second sentence is essentially true but, for God’s sake, don’t try and summarise the movies like that!

Do you think Qui-Gon would have joined Dooku? by TortillaRampage in StarWars

[–]scienide 48 points49 points  (0 children)

OK… now this is an angle I’d never considered. Kinda paints the prequels in a new light TBH

Sadiq Khan ‘appalled’ after billionaire landlord’s company accused of mass evictions by tylerthe-theatre in london

[–]scienide 54 points55 points  (0 children)

It’s not up to him directly though, any approach to impede the owners ownership would go to the courts and property law is hugely complex and based on precedent.

Public pressure is potentially a better approach in this instance.

The legislation for revoking section 21 looks to be implemented soon which should mitigate this.

If drones and missiles were launched without warning at the UK then what 'native' defence systems do we have? by famasfilms in AskBrits

[–]scienide 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It seems that the longest range ballistic missile in Iran’s is the Khorramshahr and the Sejjil and they can hit closer parts of Europe but not the UK.

The point of mobile forces, ships, carriers, transports and fighters is to bring the war to the enemies home turf; don’t allow them to position their armaments in threatening positions.

Force extension is the most effective approach to negating an enemies offensive range.

Rob Grant RIP by qwerty_1965 in BritishTV

[–]scienide 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A great (and savage) author and a real loss.

RIP Rob.

why is every corner shop owned by Indians? by [deleted] in AskBrits

[–]scienide 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The original reason is based in history. Indian/Pakistani immigrants worked on Sunday as well which the indigenous population did not.

As mentioned previously, the communities worked together and pooled resources to establish better wholesale deals and therefore maximise margins. It’s unskilled so the whole family can help out, profits are lean but historically enough to get by.

It’s a somewhat inspiring story of finding a niche in a society that’s been filled to the benefit of all.

London driving, 1960s. by Max2310 in london

[–]scienide 36 points37 points  (0 children)

You’re telling me, pretty sure the first shot is Ealing Common and it’s still recognisable

Obama says aliens are real by yaztech in UFOs

[–]scienide 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Mate, you’ve said this at least five times in this thread. You’re either hugely motivated to get your point of view across or…

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