Sorry to hear that. My birthday is in May, so the weather is pretty good then.

Hi there HASBEEN...

You don't let any grass grow under your feet do you, that's why I admire you? I couldn't imagine a more fulfilling, exciting pastime than flying radio controlled aircraft. I sighted a 'control' panel in a hobby shop, for these radio controlled aircraft and power boats, and they look quite comprehensive with their various switches, lever, and buttons. You really do actually control the plane, in all it's various flight axis, rather than have a model a/c attached to two thin wires, as it flies in circles above you.

I believe they even have R/C Helicopters as well now, they'd be really tough to fly, if they're anything like a normal rotary wing, I flew in when I was in the military? I reckon such a pastime, would be completely beyond me; I'm (generally) all fingers and thumbs and would surely pitch the plane incontrovertibly, straight into the deck!

Since retiring, I've spent more time following my long term hobby, of numismatics. Though a somewhat solitary hobby, fellow numismatists often confer, and discuss their various coins, banknotes, tokens, or medals that interest them. In Australia there's an excellent glossy magazine published monthly,'The Australian Coin & Banknote Magazine'. It's as good as any I've seen anywhere else in the world, and a thoroughly good read.

I'm Sorry HASBEEN old mate, I've rudely intruded upon your Topic.

Hasbeen,

Birthdays are over-rated. It was always city types who kept the shops and the advertisers happy.

Swap that for living in the moment, mindfulness. You were able to do that and perhaps still do, albeit with the creaks and pains of age.

I still want to spend a few years sailing the Bahamas. OK, mostly riding on the hook. Then through the canal and carry on up to Alaska. Then..

The Bahamas sounds great OTB, but not the rest. I only like warm, tropical, blue & turquoise oceans. All too often you find the ocean way up in the air, falling down on top of you. Not much fun when it's cold.

Yes o sung wu, fully remote controlled, but it "aint what it used to be". There are a huge number of aids, to make the incompetent appear less so. Hell they even have electronics which will make a R/C Helicopter home on a wrist band you can wear. They will automatically follow you doing a triathlon, taking photos of you if you like.

We should give one of these to Turnbull. With his huge ego, he'd love something following him around taking photos. Then he could sit in a corner, drooling over photos of himself, & leave us alone.

All this stuff developed for military drones is migrating to R/C Helicopters, & now into fixed wing R/C aircraft. I have one I will use for my grandson to learn with, that has automatic take off, return to the controller if asked, if you loose orientation, & a form, of automatic landing.

Another will auto take off, & is bound by a virtual fence it will not cross. Without instructions, it will turn away from it's pre set limit, & return to orbit over it's take off point. It will land where it took off from, when instructed. That one has a panic button. If out of control, heading for a crash, hit the panic button, & it returns itself to straight & level flight. Great stuff, provided you're not heading for a tree.

Not my thing, I'd rather crash than have some Chinese computer programmer save me from my mistakes.

As I said, in these days when, "oils aint oils" according to that add, remote control is becoming self control. Just as well our machines have it, many kids no longer do. Hey we even have a robot, self controlled vacuum cleaner.

Oh & take the thread anywhere, I prefer those with a life of their own.

Hi HASBEEN...

Your suggestion that Malcolm TURNBULL can use a R/C drone to carry his ego around, is logistically flawed I'm afraid? He would need something as enormous as a B52 transport, to be remotely large enough to cart around his ego I reckon! Boy he's a piece of work eh ? I couldn't imagine voting for the treacherous bastard, but what do you do? Being a dyed in the wool conservatist, what other option does a man have?

Anyway, I hope you had a good birthday HASBEEN!