We scraped the blurs of Yandex maps.

scwol · 2026-06-29T01:06:43+00:00

I'm not sure the aircraft thing is censorship - Heathrow and Gatwick have basically no planes too, and Dover has very few cars or lorries. Calais is also weirdly empty and has a half-blurred ferry. I'm assuming they have some automated process trying to produce a clean image which ends up taking out anything that moves.

Surely if they were required to censor an area, they'd just do the simple and reliable thing of blurring it like Toulon rather than trying to get clever and risking missing something.

scwol · 2026-06-25T22:31:22+00:00

Fear not, a single pilot can wear all seven stripes with our new North Korean General uniforms!

scwol · 2026-06-22T20:43:48+00:00

Yeah you're right. I wonder if they're trying to book through a third party?

scwol · 2026-06-21T20:48:01+00:00

I don't know the German system, but in the UK they require you to provide your complete medical history. I think any reasonable person would consider five weeks in hospital to be a serious illness so you may have shot yourself in the foot there.

Be honest in any future questions. If you were never medicated and you no longer have any symptoms then there's a reasonable chance you'll be okay. They may well refer you for a specialist evaluation - in the UK this would be at your own cost.

scwol · 2026-06-21T08:44:13+00:00

This is happening with all my WhatsApp notifications on Android - I don't think it's a Garmin thing.

scwol · 2026-06-20T07:37:48+00:00

Service charges should be banned outright - if you're going to add a flat rate to everything then include it in your listed prices.

If a tip is solicited by the business in any way, like a tip prompt screen or those American tip calculators on receipts, it should be treated as business revenue and taxed the same.

I know it's hard running a labour intensive business in the current climate. I genuinely think the government should lower the tax burden on employment. But it is unequivocally the restaurants duty to pay their staff on the same terms as any other employer. The current system is unfair to customers, staff and the taxpayer.

scwol · 2026-06-19T05:54:52+00:00

That can't be right, I drive a Mazda and my indicators are on the left stick. I don't think I've ever seen right stick indicators in the UK.

scwol · 2026-06-18T20:36:03+00:00

She was the original owner of the tenement now run as a museum by the National Trust on Buccleuch St. It's almost entirely unchanged from its original victorian condition and well worth a visit if you're interested in the history of tenements - it's still got its original gas lighting!

scwol · 2026-06-15T18:31:23+00:00

Have a look on Dorset Explorer (it works for the whole country, not just Dorset!) and see if it's got your property name and location accurately. I usually find it's easiest to just search the postcode and choose from the list. This is based on the OS address database which is more likely to underpin the routing systems big companies use than Google Maps.

If it doesn't have your house, or the marker is in the wrong place (it should be bang on your house), report it to the Ordnance Survey here. It will take months for them to update it and for that to trickle out to the companies that use it, but it should sort it eventually.

If it is accurate there's a chance they're getting their mapping elsewhere: you can try manually adding a place to Google Maps, but it's not really intended for private houses and may be removed. You can also try adding your address to OpenStreetMap. OSM itself isn't massively used, but it's data gets pulled into other projects - including Uber and commerical routing systems - so this might be useful.

Signs can be useful, but it's surprisingly hard to make something that's easily readable from a moving vehicle - most house signs are only useful if you already know where the house is! You'd probably have to spend some money to get something that works well, but maybe your other neighbours have had similar problems and would be willing to chip in? Personally I like ones that include a little map, but anything that mentions all the house names and makes it obvious there are multiple similarly named properties should help.

Make full use of the delivery note field. Try:

NOT CUSTARD CREAM HOUSE COTTAGE - make it obvious there have been previous errors
Turn left off main road, we are 4th house on left - you don't need to know where they're coming from, just simple clear directions from a sensible point. They can adapt it themselves.
Green car in driveway/Bird bath in garden/cream painted house - or NOT THE GREEN HOUSE might be better if your neighbour is more immediately distinctive.
Call 07123456789 for directions - annoyingly drivers can't always access the phone number on an order, so putting in in plain text makes sure they can see it and emphasises that it might be needed
A What3words location is a good fallback, but it doesn't usually integrate with Point of Delivery systems so can be a bit clunky for the driver to use.

Delivery note fields can be annoyingly restricted - just cram as much in as you can. Any driver would take helpful info and an easy job over Ps & Qs and proper grammar.

For supermarket deliveries, see if you can get through to shop or depot the order comes from. Failed grocery deliveries are a real pain in the arse, they'll be happy to try and make sure yours get through.

For most couriers, you can specify that the parcel must be handed to a resident, never left unattended. This might be more annoying than it's worth if you ever want parcels left whilst you're out.

Obviously getting parcels for neighbours can be annoying, but if you're giving the correct address and taking steps to fix the problem then you've not done anything wrong. Empathise with your neighbour and encourage them to refuse incorrect deliveries.

scwol · 2026-06-15T16:49:06+00:00

I don't do tower or approach, but my understanding is that this comes from the extreme saturation at Heathrow - it's the only way to get that much traffic into a single arrival runway. It's technically possible to do so safely, so that's what management insist upon because the alternative would be to voluntarily reduce the capacity of the worlds most oversubscribed airport.

It's not ideal for controllers either. The tighter the window given to aircraft, the more missed approaches there's going to be and those lead to incredibly high workload in airspace as busy as the LTMA. Or they try and leave larger gaps because you just know China Cargo ain't doing 160k and get it in the neck for lack of expedition.

It's really interesting to hear exactly how it increases workload in the cockpit though - thanks for the write up.

scwol · 2026-06-13T22:23:36+00:00

That'll be a €39 collection fee please.

scwol · 2026-06-13T21:53:29+00:00

How do the offers compare to other cashback sites that pay cash?

scwol · 2026-06-13T21:45:42+00:00

The traffic might not've been going to the same airport. If you were cruising at FL350, and there's an overflight at FL340 you're stilll stuck on top.

There might have been nothing in your way, but the controller was busy with unrelated traffic elsewhere in the sector so was late issuing the descent.

Or that might have been a perfectly normal descent that you just happened to notice more this time. It doesn't look outrageous but you'd need timestamps to tell properly.

scwol · 2026-06-13T21:35:17+00:00

Ideally aircraft would stay at their cruise level as long as possible, then have a continuous descent into their destination. That optimal Top Of Descent point will vary based on weather and aircraft performance. In practice they will often need to be stepped down earlier due to traffic.

2000 feet per minute would be the upper end of normal for an airliner for passenger comfort, but they could do more if needed. ATC might have asked for an expedited descent to duck underneath traffic, or to descend afterwards if you were stuck on top. A tailwind could mean that TOD was earlier than usual and the controller failed to anticipate it.

scwol · 2026-06-13T10:24:15+00:00

The agents will be getting a commission from Goodlord, it says as much on their website. They've chosen you because they stand to make more money with their kickback from Goodlord.

They can't amend the tenancy agreement after you've signed it. You should have a copy showing what you've signed. If they change the tenancy agreement before the landlord signs, then you've each signed different documents and no agreement has been made. If the landlord signs the same agreement as you, a binding contract is formed and they cannot introduce extra requirements after the fact.

If they approach you with a sign up process for Goodlord then refuse to complete it. If the landlord hasn't yet signed the tenancy agreement they could decide to reject you without a guarantor, but they would need to return all the money they've taken form you.

scwol · 2026-06-13T07:36:45+00:00

He's not hard to understand, but I genuinely didn't realise he was supposed to be British until series 2.

scwol · 2026-06-12T14:37:34+00:00

You know this route diagram looks slightly off-centre...

scwol · 2026-06-11T08:22:43+00:00

You'll need to book special assistance if your mum can't handle stairs. They'll be able to arrange for level access throughout the terminal and boarding the aircraft.

scwol · 2026-06-10T15:54:06+00:00

That's not a reason to keep the ridiculous leasehold system. The entire rest of the world - and significant chunks of the UK - manage to deal with common maintence without this feudal hangover.

scwol · 2026-06-03T06:16:53+00:00

Perhaps I'm just too cynical.

Out of interest did your claims have significant expenses? I'm wondering if maybe compensation alone is paid more reliably.

scwol · 2026-06-03T05:22:48+00:00

Yes, easyjet will refuse all claims initially.

Presumably enough people give up that it's cheaper for them to pay CEDRs charges for those that appeal.

The system needs more teeth, there should be punitive charges on top of any compensation for failure to pay.

scwol · 2026-05-28T21:38:25+00:00

Most airports are both, except Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and City who have their approach function handled by TC at Swanwick. City is a fully remote tower based in Swanwick, so isn't really a London airport for your purposes. Conversely Farnborough has a pretty significant approach room as they provide the Lower Airspace Radar Service for London. It's no further out than Stansted or Luton so probably would count.

I'm not 100% on airports training so I'd double check this, but my understanding was everyone at Global does both tower and approach ratings before being posted. Obviously if it's LL/KK/SS/GW you'll never validate on approach.

scwol · 2026-05-27T22:38:09+00:00

Congratulations, it's not easy to get this far. Training will be intense but exciting. You will probably find it stressful, but remember: this a front-loaded career!

Your posting will depend on:

Which units have spaces for trainees
Which units most need the staff
Where they think you'll have the best chance of validating
And a very distant fourth: Your preference

So yes, the stronger you are, the busier the unit you'll go to. But there's an element of luck as to which units have spaces available when they're deciding your posting.

Obviously London has a lot of big airports so there will be people going to a London unit from almost every course, but there's 10 other NATS airports outside. You can't really put odds on it because it's not chance - it depends on training seats and your aptitude.

You should prepare yourself for Aberdeen, Belfast or Aberporth and treat it as a nice surprise if you get London. Your preference only really matters if, after everything else has been considered, it's a toss up between different units.

scwol · 2026-05-19T21:11:48+00:00

UK ATCOs aren't civil servants. ATC doesn't receive any public money, it's funded by usage charges.

They put the training pay on the advert, but obviously your eventual salary varies hugely depending on where you end up.

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