User talk:Mr impossible

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== Mark Oliphant ==

Hi, I noticed you removed the following sentence from the Mark Oliphant article:

"This work enabled radar to become a practical tool to detect approaching enemy aircraft and significantly contributed to the defeat of the Luftwaffe during the 1940 Battle of Britain."

I'd be the first person to admit that I'm not a scientific expert but I gained this piece of imformation from the Pugwash site http://www.pugwash.org/reports/pim/pim22.htm and specifically the lines:

"It is the general opinion that this greatly contributed to the defeat of the Luftwaffe during the 1940 Battle of Britain, thus preventing Hitler's invasion of England. It was largely Oliphant's drive and indefatigability that made this possible."

I don't know if I have this right or not. Have I misinterpreted the Pugwash site?

--Roisterer 03:33, 23 Jul 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Anglo-American relations

I don't think "back-of-a-fag-packet scribbling" would do your contributions justice, I think we can both be proud of the page! You can probably see most of my contributions are on the military/intelligence relationship, which is my primary interest, I found your Nuclear weapons development edit very interesting. I do also have a keen interest in politics which is a particularly intriguing side of the relationship, "special" or not. Mark 11:56, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Betterton and Charke

A real article on Betterton (the 1911 EB stuff needs to be scrapped in toto, I think the people who created those "articles" did us all a disservice), and an article on Charke, that would be a delight. They've both been on my bad conscience list forever. Hey, nobody on Wikipedia is interested in Restoration theatre, I'm truly amazed to meet you! Want to take a look at Restoration comedy and John Vanbrugh (my pride and joy, a collaboration with Giano), let me know what you think? I know, I know, I'm crowding you! Bishonen | Talk 00:52, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Anyone who can do Charke would be a welcome addition, that's for sure. She's a weird one in every way, and the reaction to her is even more interesting than she is. I'm not usually one to praise Foucault, but the lack of response to her, to H. Walpole, and the extremely attenuated response to Gray (who did some Very Bad Things), tend to make me think that the age really didn't talk about or categorically react to same-sex relationships.

Behn will get done, and done properly. Someone just asked if the Oroonoko article or the First novel in English article is right, when the latter says that Oroonoko is the first English novel, and I, in the Oroonoko article, said that it was far from such. Forgetting that I would agree with myself, there is a serious impossibility of Oroonoko being first Engl. novel: it wasn't Behn's first novel! (sigh)

Just adding my voice to the chorus of those wishing for a Charke article. Geogre 02:54, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sir Robert Thompson

Have you read his autobiography "Make for the Hills"? I did some years ago, long before I became involved with this project so the notes I kept on the book are not directly relevent to the article. I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in this area. I placed one quote from his book on the Guy Gibson page. Here is another one:

The British Labour Government strongly supported the Americans [snip] there were fifty thousand British soldiers in Malya [and Borneo], when American advisors in Vietnam numbered about twenty thousand.[snip] It was my only trip to Sarawak and North Borneo. The Gurkhas were putting the fear of God into the Indonesians by night raids across the boarder without a shot being fired.

--Philip Baird Shearer 11:25, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

It was for both informational and humour. Don't know about the Black Watch band, but the Brigade of Gurkhas can come in handy. Here is a quote which is humourous and still true in the C21st:

He told us a delightful story which provides an insight into different attitudes between the British and American armies. At the end of the war in Germany he, as a Major, had taken his company down for firing practice on the range. There was also a British Guards company there. Naturally he wanted to make contact with his allies but could find no officers, only a Sergeant-Major. He asked somewhat innocently whether British officers had any duties and got the scathing reply, `It is the duty of British offices, Sir-r-r-r, to show us how to die!'

If you are interested in the man or the events he took part in, his autobiography is an easy read. --Philip Baird Shearer 12:16, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)