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| Are you growing older? |
| Yes, I am |
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| Sorry, I don't understand the question |
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| Total Votes : 128 |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
 Posted: 15-02-2006 20:26 Post subject: Growing Old - Death Approaches! |
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It happens to most of us, but gradually, as you become aware of increasing frailties, etc.
But sometimes you get a blast from the past which brings home how much water has flowed under the bridge...
In 1968, I was working for the Marconi Company, building the No. 2 satellite dish at Goonhilly. I have several pictures of the construction.
And today I came across this news story:
| Quote: | GOONHILLY SATELLITE DISH TO BE DISMANTLED
11:00 - 15 February 2006
One of the oldest antennae at a Westcountry satellite earth station is being dismantled. Antenna 2, the second "dish" to be built at Goonhilly, near Helston, 38 years ago, has reached the end of its operational life. Engineering teams have begun the task of dismantling the huge landmark structure which weighs almost 1,000 tonnes.
Parts of the antenna, such as the transmitters, have been recovered for use by some of other 60 dishes at the station.
A ten-tonne, ten-metre long screw, which was used to elevate the dish, will be recovered and put on display outside the Goonhilly Visitors Centre.
Alan Bradley, Goonhilly Earth Station manager, said: "When it was first built, Antenna 2 had an expected operational life of about 25 years. The fact that it has lasted much longer than originally expected is a tribute to the quality of its construction and design. But the weather has steadily taken its toll on the metal structure. It is no longer feasible to maintain it."
Mr Bradley said: "There are no plans to remove any of the other 60 Goonhilly dishes.
"All the other antennae, including Antenna 1, which has been granted listed status, continue to play a vital role.
"The demand for satellite communications continues to be very strong."
Antenna 2 has not been fully operational for over a year.
Mr Bradley said: "For most of its 38 years, this aerial has provided transatlantic communications.
"During that time it has been used to convey not only thousands of telephone calls, but live TV pictures of historic events, including the Olympics and global events such as Live Aid."
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WMN
(Mention of the Olympics reminds me that while at Goonhilly, I saw some of the first ever satellite images of the Mexico Olympics, received from Telstar by Goonhilly 1. The clips were short, as the satellite was only visible for short periods, as it was in a low orbit.)
Anyone else got any 'growing old' moments?
Last edited by rynner on 22-04-2006 08:22; edited 2 times in total |
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zardozzz Ace of Wands
Great Old One Joined: 24 Apr 2003 Total posts: 199 Location: cheshire. UK Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 15-02-2006 22:22 Post subject: |
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My growing old moment was when i heard a person asked their date of birth in a pub, saying "1984". I thought for f***s sake nineteen eighty blimmin four!. I can recal whilst in my teens in the late 1970's wondering about whether or not i would ever reach that mythical year that bowie sang of and Orwel prophecied all too truthfully about. **
**(security cameras watching our every move, forced identity cards we have to pay for, public smoking bans, and the big brother internet pervading every niche of our lives, even if we have no computer.!) |
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| Gemaki Joined: 18 Nov 2003 Total posts: 1107 Location: Lookin' back in front of me Age: 47 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 00:10 Post subject: |
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My moment came when I read the above post.... I graduated in 1984!!!   |
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| Guest |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 00:17 Post subject: |
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| Gemaki wrote: | | My moment came when I read the above post.... I graduated in 1984!!! |
Young chicks. My Fave! Hey! I'm a young chick too! Magic!  |
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| Stormkhan Disturbingly familiar Joined: 28 May 2003 Total posts: 5330 Location: Robin Hood country. Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 00:18 Post subject: |
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Blimey!
My first marriage was started, finished and divorced for a year by 1984.
Then again, it was the year of the last, truly free festival at Stonehenge at which I attended. Hawkwind were headlining, minds were free ...
Sorry - I drifted off there. That's another "getting old" moment. |
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| TheCavynaut Great Old One Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Total posts: 246 Location: Hull Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 00:28 Post subject: |
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The 30th anniversary of Punk rock can't be far off. 
That's a definite 'one foot in the grave' moment. |
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| Guest |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 00:32 Post subject: |
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| Stormkhan wrote: | Blimey!
My first marriage was started, finished and divorced for a year by 1984.
Then again, it was the year of the last, truly free festival at Stonehenge at which I attended. Hawkwind were headlining, minds were free ...
Sorry - I drifted off there. That's another "getting old" moment. |
Okay. You win Stormkham (rynner don't count - he's lost it). I am your long lost son. Hug me and kiss me and tell me you love me. |
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| drbastard Great Old One Joined: 28 Sep 2004 Total posts: 525 Location: South West Age: 71 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 13:26 Post subject: |
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| TheCavynaut wrote: | The 30th anniversary of Punk rock can't be far off.
That's a definite 'one foot in the grave' moment. |
I went to see the Sex Pistols when they briefly reformed in 1996, and I was thinking only the other day that even that was 10 years ago now. How depressing.  |
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| razorblimp Great Old One Location: The Immateria Age: 42 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 14:14 Post subject: |
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My daughter has started to ask what life was like in 'the olden days'.
I had a growing old moment when I was thirty two, when realised that my second cousin who finishing school was exactly half my age. It was probably the defining moment when I recognised my mortality. |
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| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 14:33 Post subject: |
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I realised just the other day, that when I was the same age as my youngest, Neil Armstrong was about to walk on the Moon.
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| liveinabin1 Great Old One Joined: 19 Oct 2001 Total posts: 2140 Location: insert witty comment here Gender: Female |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 14:36 Post subject: |
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| TheCavynaut wrote: | The 30th anniversary of Punk rock can't be far off.
That's a definite 'one foot in the grave' moment. |
That brings to mind the Reeves and Mortimor song:
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I Remember Punk Rock
You know, I remember punk rock ,
Like it was only yesterday,
Oh Mr Buzzcock on my shoulder singing in that extra-special way.
Oh yes, I remember punk rock I recall those melodies,
By the Clash, The Adverts, Wire, Eater,
not to mention ATV.
Well, the Generation X sang so sweetly,
While The Pistols ate their lunch,
The Damned had tea with The Lurkers,
Whilst X-Ray Specs enjoyed brunch.
You know, I remember punk rock,
Like it was only yesterday,
Oh Mr Buzzcock on my shoulder singing in that extra-special way.
Well the The Vibrators sang so tenderly whilst 999 had soup,
Richard Hell had The Slits round for coffee,
And The Slaughter and The Dogs round too.
You know, I remember punk rock,
Like it was only yesterday,
Oh Mr Buzzcock on my shoulder,
singing in that extra-special way. |
I felt old the other day when one of the girls I work with mentiond that she was born in the year I left school.
I now understand why my mother started crying when I came home from school and told her we were doing "The Beetles" in history! |
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| Peripart is only passing through
Great Old One Joined: 01 Aug 2005 Total posts: 3851 Age: 45 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 15:08 Post subject: |
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| liveinabin1 wrote: | | I now understand why my mother started crying when I came home from school and told her we were doing "The Beetles" in history! |
No, she was crying because you didn't know that you study beetles in biology, not history! Sorry.
I agree with what most are saying. Like everyone else, I have a 20-year-old brain inside the body of someone approaching middle age, and I am still shocked when I see that some person on the TV (footballer etc) was born in the late 1980s. I find the concept of any adult being nearly 20 years younger than me very hard to take. How can it be possible? |
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| theyithian Keeping the British end up
Joined: 29 Oct 2002 Total posts: 11704 Location: Vermilion Sands Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 15:37 Post subject: |
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Ye gods, what a maudlin thread.
I've a stone's throw from 30 and i'm starting to feel like this. Carpe Diem may well be a platitude but it still holds some truth.
Onward Fortean Soldiers. We'll all be over the hill at some stage but at least some of us will be trying to roll back down it! |
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| Gemaki Joined: 18 Nov 2003 Total posts: 1107 Location: Lookin' back in front of me Age: 47 Gender: Female |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 15:46 Post subject: |
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| Oh, you mean stumbling on our weak ankles, falling and rolling down the hill... in the slush and mud. Yeah. Done that. |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-02-2006 19:20 Post subject: |
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Hmm, the Mods moved my post, which resulted in me not getting any email notifs about all these new replies...
I came back here to post this timely piece:
| Quote: | How long have you got to live?
By Alice Fordham
A new lifestyle questionnaire for the over-sixties could offer clues about the time they have left
EVERYONE knows that the Grim Reaper is approaching, but by answering 12 easy questions, you can now find out how fast.
American scientists have developed a test for over-50s designed to answer the question: will I still be alive in four years? Risk factors including age, gender and disease are analysed, and the likelihood of imminent death calculated with, the scientists claim, 81 per cent accuracy.
The quiz, funded by the US National Institute on Ageing, awards points for every answer that indicates age or weakness. The greater the total score, the more likely the respondent is to die within four years.
You accumulate two points just for being male, and further points for being over 60 or having a low body mass index. Two points are added for smoking and for infirmities such as cancer and diabetes.
Once your score reaches 14 points, the chance of dying in the next four years rises to 64 per cent.
“It’s a very natural human question of ‘What’s going to happen to me’?” said Dr Sei Lee, of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Centre, who helped devise the quiz. “We also know that doctors are very cautious about giving prognostic information because they don’t want to be wrong.”
However, the worried middle-aged have been urged not to panic after taking the test at home.
Dr Kenneth Covinsky, another co-author, noted that a doctor could help to put a high score into perspective and suggest mitigating action, such as giving up smoking. Detractors have said that the test is not comprehensive enough.
Dr Donald Jurivich, 52, geriatrics chief at the University of Illinois, criticised the test for ignoring family history. His answers gave him a low score, but he remains uneasy because both of his parents died prematurely.
Obesity is another factor which seems to have been overlooked. Dr George Lange, 57, is significantly overweight, but found his score was surprisingly healthy. Neither blood pressure, nor cholesterol level, had been taken into account.
Dr Lee countered by saying that in fact low weight is a greater sign of risk in the elderly, as it often indicates illness, while a family tendency to premature death is less relevant among the over-50s.
The study, published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed 11,701 Americans from 1998 to reach its conclusions.
The test’s authors claim that it is designed to “try to help doctors and families get a firmer sense for what the future may hold”.
However, some people are cynical about the test’s likely uses. Dr Anne Moloney, a British geriatrician, said: “I’d be cautious about such tests if they were going to be used as a way of rationing resources in public healthcare.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2042508,00.html
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Quiz here:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2042938,00.html
Click the link there, and then enlarge the image. |
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