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May 11, 2016 22:43:59 GMT
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Somehow I'd missed the fact that Terry had died. That truly is a loss to our world. It was indeed, but take some solace that his mighty city lives on, right here, right now! Sooo, what happened yesterday? Well, we have a STRATEGY! Sounds grand doesn’t it? I can’t say too much as it’s pretty Priv and Con but I approve of it, and although on the face it’s a further delay, it could actually speed up the process over the next weeks. So whilst not exactly full steam ahead, then we are definitely stoking the boiler now. In the meantime, whilst that’s on hold a little while, one of the partner consultants on the team has been doing a bit of digging regarding alignment. One of the big issues here, and has been all along, is the terminally hopeless DOTC and now they’ve got themselves all fired up about the North-South Rail Project (coming to a station near you – for the last 20 years!). This is another DOTC, doomed to fail, PPP project and the plan is to basically privatise the southern half of PNR and at the same time, slot in a high frequency commuter line along exactly the same alignment as we are on, and this is where it gets interesting. “Ooh, all very nice” I hear you cry, and yes, on the face of it, it may be, but… It is being planned on wildly optimistic passenger forecasts, and I do mean wildly (one report I’ve seen estimates they are over double likely reality) but that’s the DOTC for you. If they’ve paid for something, they believe it and truth be damned. It’s going to be massively expensive and no-one, as yet, has been able to quantify the realistic benefits. Part of the problem is that the alignment may have been fine in 1892, but as Manila has developed, it now doesn’t go to where it’s target audience wants to. But hey, it’s new, bright, sparkly and there’s the opportunity for lots of free Mercedes to come out of it.  Now that in itself shouldn’t be an issue. The original plan was to have the whole 50-odd kilometres elevated (hence the massively expensive) so basically they’d be out of our way and we’d have pretty much dedicated tracks for our freight, apart from a two or three times weekly long haul passenger. Nice and simple, huh? Erm, no. The latest plan shows the line going up and down like a Ermita whore’s drawers, flitting back and forth between elevated and at grade – so only hugely expensive then. Unfortunately, the guy doing the design must have slipped with the tracing paper as all the bits shown at grade are in areas that almost must be elevated and those elevated could, at a pinch, be at grade. In addition, some of the elevated sections will need to be 40 or so metres in the sky. Oh, dearie, dearie me. I did ask my colleague if he thought the DOTC could actually present this as feasible. without the audience thinking it was a comedy turn. It really is that bad.  Anyway, the upshot being is that we now have several sections where I’ll need to try and incorporate the two services on the same tracks but obviously, as this thing bobs up and down like an Alton Towers ride, there’s no consistency as there would be if we shared the whole distance, and I’ve now got several junctions, with associated clearance times to take into account, as we try to avoid hundreds of empty commuter trains and, ideally, run non-stop at the same time. Still, I’ve got 7-10 day’s work there building new run-time models for commuter and freight and then overlaying them to see what we can do to make it work. Pays the bills, doesn’t it? The annoying reality is that we’ll be up and running long before the DOTC ever bring this even close to any sort of fruition and working on the “First come, first served” principle, it’ll all become someone else’s problem!  |
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Last Edit: May 12, 2016 1:28:55 GMT by georgeb
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
Posts: 2,578
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At this point I'd be thinking something along the lines of 'Oh FFS' and walking away. I could learn something from you here, my tolerance for stupidity is clearly way lower than yours. For the avoidance of doubt, that's intended as a compliment.
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,881
Club RR Member Number: 15
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May 12, 2016 11:11:04 GMT
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At this point I'd be thinking something along the lines of 'Oh FFS' and walking away. But George is a stranger in a strange land but I bet he thinks the same way as you do. |
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here |
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May 12, 2016 15:58:59 GMT
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I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be some therapeutic sessions in Adriatico as a result from this meeting.
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May 12, 2016 20:49:30 GMT
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Could you not tack a few carriages onto the back of the freight thus minimising air pollution and increasing brand synergies or some such?
Edit it's been tequila time in a Greece since lunch this may not make sense tomorrow.
And did nobody think to mention that Maglev would make it (theoretically) possible to run trains at 200mph through the shopping centre and down the main road?
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Last Edit: May 12, 2016 21:38:16 GMT by dodgerover
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May 12, 2016 20:57:38 GMT
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That makes far too much sense to possibly be workable mate.
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At this point I'd be thinking something along the lines of 'Oh FFS' and walking away. I could learn something from you here, my tolerance for stupidity is clearly way lower than yours. For the avoidance of doubt, that's intended as a compliment. My tolerence for stupidity is pretty much snake belly level as well, but as Frankenhealey correctly says, I am a stranger in a strange land and it's the price of doing business pretty much anywhere in this part of the world, unfortunately. Got to admit though, despite having contact with some pretty incompetent govenment departments in various Asian countries over the years, this lot really do take the prize for complete and utter, out and out stupidity. But George is a stranger in a strange land but I bet he thinks the same way as you do. Oh, he does, he does!  I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be some therapeutic sessions in Adriatico as a result from this meeting. Damn, you know me too well. I must admit that a few beers may have been harmed during the unwinding process. Could you not tack a few carriages onto the back of the freight thus minimising air pollution and increasing brand synergies or some such? Edit it's been tequila time in a Greece since lunch this may not make sense tomorrow. And did nobody think to mention that Maglev would make it (theoretically) possible to run trains at 200mph through the shopping centre and down the main road? To take your points in order: If, for one moment we thought that any passengers would wish to wind up at an inland container terminal miles from anywhere, we'd consider it. However... Tequila? Now there's an idea. It may help me make sense of today! Please don't mention Maglev. They can't supply enough power to run a 60W bulb, never mind a bloody Maglev. That makes far too much sense to possibly be workable mate. Anything sensible and/or workable, will be instantly rejected and thereafter ignored! Anyway, I'm off to appease my masochistic streak again this morning. Today is the day we go and re-enroll the Girls for the 2015-16 academic year and I'm not looking forward to it one bit. I say we, but I note that Madam has ensconced herself in Tondo for the day, and isn't coming out! It should be a piece of p*ss as they have all the details from last year, but I'm betting my left tit it won't be! I'm guessing it'll be around a 7 or 8 out of 10 on the Bureaucratic Nightmare Scale. The only upside is that the school is just around the corner from Adriatico, so I've promised to buy them lunch afterwards (or maybe tea, by the time we've finished) so I can damage a few more San Mig. Remind me again why the hell I do all this? |
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Last Edit: May 13, 2016 1:08:04 GMT by georgeb
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eternaloptimist
Posted a lot
Too many projects, not enough time or space...
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To entertain us George. Don't think we don't appreciate it!
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XC70, VW split screen crew cab, Standard Ten
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May 13, 2016 20:15:30 GMT
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To entertain us George. Don't think we don't appreciate it! Yes to what he has said! |
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To entertain us George. Don't think we don't appreciate it! Yes to what he has said! Well, I'm glad that's cleared that up then! Anyway, talk about falling at the first fence. Earlier, I'd asked the Girls what they thought the chances of actually arriving at school and coming out the same day with two new enrollees? The responses were't heartening. So outside the school entrance is a handy little list of four tasks to complete in order to enrol existing students:- 1) Get your forms all signed and completed 2) Get the applications registered and amount due totted up 3) Pay (obviously) 4) Collect books Job done! Task One takes place in the GMS Room. "Where's that then?" Blank looks. We ask the guard. he sets us right. Successfully navigating to the GMS Room, the lady there asks them for their report cards. Strangely, I had asked the same question only the day before. Their response to her was the same as to me. Blank looks. Lady says go to the Administrative Office. Okay then. Once outside, the eldest Bottle Opener turns to me to ask where this is. I point out it is her school, not mine. However, and guessing, I reckon it'll be near the Principal's Office. I know where that is. Hurrah, I'm correct. Is that a look of new-found respect in their eyes? Probably not. We ask the lady there if she has their report cards. Lady digs through a large pile of them and triumphantly brandishes the youngest's card. It all went wrong after this. There is no sign of the eldest's. "You go Registrar Office". The Girls lead the way...straight to the Guidance Centre. The eldest goes in and after a minute, pops her head out and says she is to wait there. After ten minutes nothing is happening. I go inside. I explain what we are looking for. "Ah, report card? Go to Administrative Office" I explain that we have, but with no luck. "You need Registrar Office then." I shoot a killer glance at the eldest. Lady gives us directions. At the Registrar Office, the lady shrugs with a, FA to do with me pal, look and says we should try the Administrative Office. Wearily, we return there and explain what has happened and I'll tell you, for a school that apparently conducts everything in English, hers is wibblepoo. I ask a question in English, she answers to the Girls in Tagalog. I'm none the wiser. She say's follow me. We follow to yet another, unnamed office. It is firmly shut. "Ah, empty" she says, stating the bleeding obvious. "come Monday." And that was that. Nearly two hours, with waiting, and never even made Task One! No prizes for guessing the next port of call. And I didn't need to ask directions either! Strangest thing I found is that my two chatty, outgoing Filipinas underwent a strange transformation as soon as we entered the school and turned into tongue tied mutes. Most peculiar. Was there some subliminal music only they could hear or something? Five minutes later, on arrival at Adriatico, they immediately reverted to type and we laughed and joked a couple of hours away. Very odd.  At least I know what we are doing on Monday now  |
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Last Edit: May 14, 2016 4:58:38 GMT by georgeb
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Wasting a few hours and then drinking beer?  |
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May 14, 2016 12:23:54 GMT
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Wasting a few hours and then drinking beer? The story of life here. If we could only reverse it and have a few hours drinking beer and get wasted, I'd be a happy man! |
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May 14, 2016 19:54:16 GMT
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It sounds suspiciously like someone from the DfT has been to the Phillipines to train the local government in being bloody confusing and useless! And as for contracts......
We had a passenger vehicle yesterday that was released from having some mods done and put immediately into a set ready for use, only to have the driver fail it because "some panels were missing". Yup, two panels about 3' x 2' covering the new poo tank were completely missing; not just that, they hadn't even been fitted! But, after much squabbling and arguing it turned out that bit wasn't in the contract for the contractors to fit......FFS!!!!! They were fitted today by two p*ss*d off contractors who were looking forward to a weekend at home...
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Rover Metro - The TARDIS - brake problems.....Stored
Rover 75 - Barge
MGZTT Cdti 160+ - Winter Hack and Audi botherer...
MGF - The Golden Shot...Stored
Project Minion........
Can you see the theme?
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To entertain us George. Don't think we don't appreciate it! Quite. There's not many evenings when I'm logged in here that I'm not popping in for an update on Manila life. This thread is a curio all of its own. |
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It sounds suspiciously like someone from the DfT has been to the Phillipines to train the local government in being bloody confusing and useless! And as for contracts...... We had a passenger vehicle yesterday that was released from having some mods done and put immediately into a set ready for use, only to have the driver fail it because "some panels were missing". Yup, two panels about 3' x 2' covering the new poo tank were completely missing; not just that, they hadn't even been fitted! But, after much squabbling and arguing it turned out that bit wasn't in the contract for the contractors to fit......FFS!!!!! They were fitted today by two p*ss*d off contractors who were looking forward to a weekend at home... Gotta say that, in general, I hate contractors with something approaching passion. Many years ago, I was involved in the factory acceptance trials for some control room kit, prior to it being delivered to site. Kinda the first thing that was noticeable was that the font on the signalling screens was like a bloody microdot. "You'll need to make that font larger" was met with "Oh, that'll be an enhancement, we'll price it up for you - won't be cheap mind" Enhancement? F'in enhancement? Fortunately I'd got one of Her Majesty's Railway Inspectors with me (always useful to carry one around) who took one look and said simply, "Not to an acceptable standard" in suitably final HMRI manner. Try it on with your "enhancements" now you Ba5tards!  And just don't get me started on a certain Italian manufacturer of railway equipment, I could go on for hours! To entertain us George. Don't think we don't appreciate it! Quite. There's not many evenings when I'm logged in here that I'm not popping in for an update on Manila life. This thread is a curio all of its own. Curio? Glad to hear it, I think. Oh, forgot to mention that I was down in Tondo yesterday for the (slightly delayed) grand re-opening of Madam's water station. I made a couple of short videos but then deleted then after I realised I was talking complete and utter curse word about how it worked. I'll do another, now the technician has talked me through it, with the correct information next time I'm there. Had to smile though, as when the technician was doing a back-flush of the big holding tanks, we were pumping the stuff via a hose onto the street. Within seconds there were mothers washing kids all outside the front. The sight of around 20 soapy kids in the middle of the street made me grin, they were loving it. Loads of people came to fill containers as well, to have water for washing later, so none went to waste. |
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Last Edit: May 15, 2016 1:40:09 GMT by georgeb
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skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,699
Club RR Member Number: 11
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Somehow I'd missed the fact that Terry had died. That truly is a loss to our world. It was indeed, but take some solace that his mighty city lives on, right here, right now! Sooo, what happened yesterday? Well, we have a STRATEGY! Sounds grand doesn’t it? I can’t say too much as it’s pretty Priv and Con but I approve of it, and although on the face it’s a further delay, it could actually speed up the process over the next weeks. So whilst not exactly full steam ahead, then we are definitely stoking the boiler now. In the meantime, whilst that’s on hold a little while, one of the partner consultants on the team has been doing a bit of digging regarding alignment. One of the big issues here, and has been all along, is the terminally hopeless DOTC and now they’ve got themselves all fired up about the North-South Rail Project (coming to a station near you – for the last 20 years!). This is another DOTC, doomed to fail, PPP project and the plan is to basically privatise the southern half of PNR and at the same time, slot in a high frequency commuter line along exactly the same alignment as we are on, and this is where it gets interesting. “Ooh, all very nice” I hear you cry, and yes, on the face of it, it may be, but… It is being planned on wildly optimistic passenger forecasts, and I do mean wildly (one report I’ve seen estimates they are over double likely reality) but that’s the DOTC for you. If they’ve paid for something, they believe it and truth be damned. It’s going to be massively expensive and no-one, as yet, has been able to quantify the realistic benefits. Part of the problem is that the alignment may have been fine in 1892, but as Manila has developed, it now doesn’t go to where it’s target audience wants to. But hey, it’s new, bright, sparkly and there’s the opportunity for lots of free Mercedes to come out of it. Now that in itself shouldn’t be an issue. The original plan was to have the whole 50-odd kilometres elevated (hence the massively expensive) so basically they’d be out of our way and we’d have pretty much dedicated tracks for our freight, apart from a two or three times weekly long haul passenger. Nice and simple, huh? Erm, no. The latest plan shows the line going up and down like a Ermita whore’s drawers, flitting back and forth between elevated and at grade – so only hugely expensive then. Unfortunately, the guy doing the design must have slipped with the tracing paper as all the bits shown at grade are in areas that almost must be elevated and those elevated could, at a pinch, be at grade. In addition, some of the elevated sections will need to be 40 or so metres in the sky. Oh, dearie, dearie me. I did ask my colleague if he thought the DOTC could actually present this as feasible. without the audience thinking it was a comedy turn. It really is that bad. Anyway, the upshot being is that we now have several sections where I’ll need to try and incorporate the two services on the same tracks but obviously, as this thing bobs up and down like an Alton Towers ride, there’s no consistency as there would be if we shared the whole distance, and I’ve now got several junctions, with associated clearance times to take into account, as we try to avoid hundreds of empty commuter trains and, ideally, run non-stop at the same time. Still, I’ve got 7-10 day’s work there building new run-time models for commuter and freight and then overlaying them to see what we can do to make it work. Pays the bills, doesn’t it? The annoying reality is that we’ll be up and running long before the DOTC ever bring this even close to any sort of fruition and working on the “First come, first served” principle, it’ll all become someone else’s problem! Is it just me who has visions of you running 'simulations' on Transport Tycoon? I reckon you could present it to the DOTC showing the slowness of trucks versus monorail or maglev and get extra funding |
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May 17, 2016 23:35:59 GMT
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Is it just me who has visions of you running 'simulations' on Transport Tycoon? I reckon you could present it to the DOTC showing the slowness of trucks versus monorail or maglev and get extra funding I sincerely hope so! Here it's easy to demonstrate that Mr Sanchez with his wooden cart is quicker than most trucks, just the DOTC are clueless. And we'll have no talk of Maglev or monorail just at the moment, thank you. Tiny steps, tiny steps. Unfortunately, the models I use are Excel based, take hours and hours to build from scratch and are massively memory hungry. So not much fun to be had there. On the upside, they are free, produce pretty graphs and once built, I can play the "what if" game in seconds. |
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May 17, 2016 23:47:31 GMT
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Well, that was a turn up for the books…literally! We’d skipped the school thing on Monday as Madam wanted the Bottle Openers' assistance down the old water station, so they came home that evening, ate everything in the fridge and were soon tucked up in the Hello Kitty Suite to be sorted for the morning. The youngest being ready, the eldest came out of her room all dressed. Checked with her that she didn’t want to get changed again before we left, as this can often happen two, or even three times, between the first outfit and actually getting out of the door. Receiving a negative response, I hustled them out before she could change her mind. Although still missing her report card we’d decided to see if we could plough on regardless. I’d already filled out all the forms and ticked the payment options, so ready to roll. Arriving at 10:05, we headed straight for Step 1 again and into the GMS Room, which was deserted apart from the assessment lady. Passed the forms over. She assessed. No request for card. Then… “Ah Sir George, because Tania (the youngest) has been here since Grade 7, she now receive a government subsidy of 10,000 Peso” and I’m already recoiling in horror at the thought of filling in the application form, likely to be of War and Peace proportions. She continues, “This will be deducted automatically at the cashier desk” What? Without a single piece of effort on my part? Can this be true? There's just gotta be a catch. Buoyed, we head for Step 2, the Registrar. Pass the forms through to a very smiley lady. She happily informs me again of the ten thousand deduction. Passes forms back. Job done. Step 3, the Cashier. Pass the forms through, she too explains about the 10k and I’m actually starting to believe it, furthermore, "...she get 10,000 every year until Grade 10, then it goes up to 18,000.” Top dollar Unfortunately, it only applies to Tania as she started at this school in the first year of secondary, whereas the other one did her first year in Tondo and arrived here in Grade 8, so no go there. Never mind, we still love her, just 10k less than before! Anyway, paid my money, less the subsidy, but whilst I was chatting to the money lady, my eagle eye spotted a stack of report cards on a shelf behind her. “I don’t suppose...?” “Here you are Sir George.” One reclaimed Jey-Ann type report card, from the only office we hadn’t been sent to last week! Swiftly onto Step 4, books. Found the appropriate place, given two pre-packaged bundles and trooped out into the sunlight at 10:45. Forty minutes dead, all done and ten grand better off. Oh, and you’ll want to know about their first full year’s achievement, as evinced by the now complete set of reports? Very highly bloody satisfactory! No, they’re not top of the class, but more than holding their own in a very demanding school. I ask nothing more and I’m really, really proud of them both and so can they be of themselves. Me little darlin’s.   So, only one thing we can do now, chocolate milk shakes all round, well, nearly all round, and let them order one of everything off the menu! I love the Philippines! Next up, a birthday trip out to the Enchanted Kingdom down Santa Rosa way in five days’ time, as the youngest hits the terrible teens. Wish me luck! |
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Last Edit: May 18, 2016 0:03:46 GMT by georgeb
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Just caught up from the Presidential vote.
Gotta love it.
Saving money sounds so weird, what will you do with 10k
Wishing you luck with teenagering.
I guess I had my two by proxy as Nicolas kids managed to get through it without killing us.
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What a result! Happy bunnies all round, unexpected bonuses are so much sweeter.....
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Ax GTi Turbo
