Early Risers.

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

For once, all posts read and rated - will wonders never cease?  And of course, the usual lock down generic greetings are on offer to all fellow ERs.

 

I ventured out a bit further today, with a trip to Home Bargains, the big one in Morecambe, as there are things that they stock which they don't carry at the smaller branch in Lancaster.  Wow, I do know how to live.  When I got back, I got the new Karcher out, and gave the garden paths a quick once over, and as an encore, I took it over the front garden walls, in part, and will finish the job off tomorrow, as we have a fairly big frontage. being on a corner plot.

 

Tired now, but Lily needs another walk, and a nice bottle of Westons is calling me.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

...Pulse generators have long been considered, but the problem is that Gangsta Scrotulator Maximus would be very keen to get hold of these and use them against those that would use them against them.

 

There's soon be aftermarket kits for sale to provide EMP hardened electronics for the chavved up Corsa/Saxo.  I suspect the cost of any damage to the electronics of a stolen vehicle might be required by the operator of the EMP device if they were not an authorised user (ie police/military/security service).

 

It also completely screws up most electronic devices, in the immediate vicinity so pointing a 'souped up' after market version at an aircraft on final to Heathrow could have a more devastating effect than one of the laser pointer pens which seemed to be all the rage a few years back.

Curses and naughty words. Another “Cunning Business Plan”tm crashes and burns.  And I was certain that I had another electronics success story, like Betamax, on my hands.

On a serious note how do you keep such potentially lethal technology out of the hands of scrotes and religious loonies? Obviously, keeping such items under lock and key is a good start. But how can you insure (assure?) that every part of the protective cordon is bribe proof and blackmail proof (Schotty is a brave and fearless guard dog, but even he can be swayed by a T-Bone Steak. And the blackmail possibilities deriving from the incident of Lucy and the postman’s ankle.... well, let’s not go there).

Presumably, there are some technologies and weapons, (weaponised Ebola?) for which the merest unofficial contact means termination with extreme prejudice.

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

 ....Temporary Neighbour (Upstairs) - she who has migrated down a level from the now-vacant top flat - needs speaking to about the volume of her music.  You might be able to hear it when I post this   Not an unpleasant selection but far too loud when SWMBO is WFH and making international conference calls right underneath...

This is one of the many reasons I will never go back to living in a flat. From the perspective of other people’s noises bleeding through the wall, a semi-detached is bad enough, but to live in an apartment block surrounded by other people’s noises; above, below, left and right... Well, I’d rather have red hot knitting needles stuck into my ear canals... As far as I am concerned, a neighbour who is a whole 500m is still too close for my liking. How I envy the Americans and Australians for their wide open spaces.
As much as Mrs iD wants to downsize from a house to a flat, the price of a decent flat in a decent area near to shops, Doctor, etc.  is equal to or more than the what Mrs iD estimates we can sell the house for. I have no problem in staying in the house, but for the sake of marital harmony, I will be looking for a bungalow in a relatively accessible location

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

One of the best devices for EMP is reputedly a Eurostar Class 373 power car - which allegedly could stop a pacemaker if the wearer happened to stand right next to one for more than few minutes.  Class 92s are as good if not better and one test engineer once described their EMP emissions as being on a par with the explosion of a small nuclear device.  Train spotters have now been duly warned

I think, Mike, your informative now explains an awful lot about the railway enthusiast fraternity...

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Been looking at garden sheds, even a small one that I require assembled and erected is just shy of £500, even more for pressure treated timber which will not be necessary as it will be easy to paint with preservative. 

[Tony_S]

23 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

On a serious note how do you keep such potentially lethal technology out of the hands of scrotes and religious loonies?

By not making it an amendment to a constitution?

[Tony_S]

I don’t have and apparently won’t require a pacemaker but after last night’s late night phonecall leap out of bed (Won’t do that again!) a normal BT ringtone could have the same effect as a class 373. 

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

1.5 sheets of lead melted plus a couple of small sash weights and part of an old battery I dug out of the garden.

As a matter of interest, what are you using for the melting process, and what are you using as moulds for the lead?

 

I have a couple of bags of airgun pellets, (used but only one careful owner) that I want to melt down and  re-cast for various jobs including use as wagon weights for my 7 mm fleet.  However, foundry work is not one of my specialities.

[jamie92208]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Bonded chassis are nothing new.  I think it was Lotus that were doing it back in the last Century!

That is where blue tooth headphones should be mandatory wear.  They do it at a 'silent disco' so oought to be able to do it to stop inconveniencing others

Pulse generators have long been considered, but the problem is that Gangsta Scrotulator Maximus would be very keen to get hold of these and use them against those that would use them against them.

 

There's soon be aftermarket kits for sale to provide EMP hardened electronics for the chavved up Corsa/Saxo.  I suspect the cost of any damage to the electronics of a stolen vehicle might be required by the operator of the EMP device if they were not an authorised user (ie police/military/security service).

 

It also completely screws up most electronic devices, in the immediate vicinity so pointing a 'souped up' after market version at an aircraft on final to Heathrow could have a more devastating effect than one of the laser pointer pens which seemed to be all the rage a few years back.

My late employers had a very simple way stopping errant cars. A rifled slug from a shotgun stops them instantly when it goes through the engine block.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

20 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

. A rifled slug from a shotgun stops them instantly when it goes through the engine block.

Ordinary slugs do quite a lot of damage whenever we try to grow hostas. 

[Barry O]

EMP....try Fylingdales..capable of stopping a Ford Granada passing by on the Whitby road.

 

Better to have a wifi blockers..stops the music from an internet site... or turn the mains off!

Baz

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

As a matter of interest, what are you using for the melting process, and what are you using as moulds for the lead?

 

I have a couple of bags of airgun pellets, (used but only one careful owner) that I want to melt down and  re-cast for various jobs including use as wagon weights for my 7 mm fleet.  However, foundry work is not one of my specialities.

One of these,  it's cheap and has worked wonderfully well,. For your purposes I reckon it's just what you need..   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380W-Electric-Lead-Melting-Pot-Solder-Furnace-Casting-Heads-Tin-Adjustable-Temp/383476836135?hash=item5949002727:g:k-cAAOSwIlBeeh27&redirect=mobile

 

As for moulds I've used cupcake trays for ingots,  and directly poured into a fibreglass mould for the keel shape around the ingots.  The fibre glass mould had a sheet of lead in the bottom to take the initial heat,  after that the lead in the mould took sufficient heat to stop the fibreglass melting.  For your purposes I'd use plaster of paris/ polyfilla for the moulds but make sure they have had a good time to dry before use.. 

 

 

[Simon G]

Afternoon all,

 

After Friday’s abortive attempt to set up Mrs G’s NS&I account, which resulted in a 1 hour phone call and no success, we tried again today.  After nearly half an hour in the phone queue, we got through and got the account supposedly sorted in minutes.  We then went online to try to get Premium Bonds paid automatically into the bank account.  The NS&I system wouldn’t let us enter the bank account details until we had updated the phone number held on file.  Although the phone number was correct, the system demanded that we change it!  I duly tried to change the number to be met by this error message:

 

“This Error Message does not exist”

 

Words fail me!

[Happy Hippo]

57 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

 A rifled slug from a shotgun 

 A very underestimated piece of ordnance.

 

Appreciation comes with user satisfaction especially having seen the instant acknowledgement of the recipient.

[Happy Hippo]

23 minutes ago, TheQ said:

One of these,  it's cheap and has worked wonderfully well,. For your purposes I reckon it's just what you need..   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380W-Electric-Lead-Melting-Pot-Solder-Furnace-Casting-Heads-Tin-Adjustable-Temp/383476836135?hash=item5949002727:g:k-cAAOSwIlBeeh27&redirect=mobile

 

As for moulds I've used cupcake trays for ingots,  and directly poured into a fibreglass mould for the keel shape around the ingots.  The fibre glass mould had a sheet of lead in the bottom to take the initial heat,  after that the lead in the mould took sufficient heat to stop the fibreglass melting.  For your purposes I'd use plaster of paris/ polyfilla for the moulds but make sure they have had a good time to dry before use.. 

 

 

For some reason, I have visions of you weaving through the kitchen, just failing to trip over Ben, whilst wielding a huge aluminium saucepan, full to the brim of smoking liquid lead  before stumbling, and managing to direct the molten contents over Mrs Q's best undergarments which were hanging on the airing rack!

[Chris116]

I am sad to say that for the time being this will be my last post on RMweb as my wife will not accept my looking at pictures of near naked women on the screen most of the time.

 

Over the last four days I have marked every such advert as "Inappropiate" or some other comment that you are allowed to make if you click the X on the advert. They thank you for the comment and say they will try not to show the advert again. 

 

BUT the same adverts come up again within an hour! Either the providers of the adverts are stupid or cannot understand the difference between model railways and half clothed female models. 

 

I do not blame RMweb or BRM for this it solely the fault of the advertising programme and I know that without advertising we would not have RMweb but over the last six weeks the half clothed females have become a fixture that I cannot accept.

 

I will keep watching on my phone which is hard to post with. I wish you all the best, stay safe.

[TheQ]

5 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

For some reason, I have visions of you weaving through the kitchen, just failing to trip over Ben, whilst wielding a huge aluminium saucepan, full to the brim of smoking liquid lead  before stumbling, and managing to direct the molten contents over Mrs Q's best undergarments which were hanging on the airing rack!

This was a thought if I had used the kitchen as some do. So I have been using the garage with doors open,  a child gate, stopping Ben the inquisitive Collie from getting under my feet. But he can see where I am from under a bench. 

The melting pot is set on bricks on a bench,  I'm cutting lead sheet to the left of it,  the mould is 6inches to right of it.  Wearing leather gloves,  I dropped bits of lead into the pot till full to the brim,  when that has melted,  it needs topping up twice more.  Then using the supplied spatula,  the lead is stirred to get the slag to float to the surface,   slag is scraped off the top onto a board away from me.  The lead is then poured into the mould,  leaving about a half inch of liquid lead in the bottom of the pot, to help heat transfer for the next load of lead. 

 

A minor point aluminium and melted lead are not a good mix,  the aluminium  bottom of the saucepan will fall out after a few uses.. ( i read that one) 

[TheQ]

Afternoon awl,  I'm back, well. You may have noticed,  from the big bad world outside. 

I arrived at the back of the queue for roadworks traffic lights. 

At the front Cockwomble 1, he then drove for many miles at 5 to 10 mph below the limit,  braking at every junction, speed camera , or slight bend... And we were on the main road!! When the others cars had turned off I eventually caught up and overtook in the  landrover.

 

On arrival at B+Q a queue of 3, big signs saying cards only no cash.  Man at the front handing out the trolley you request,  saying "sanitiser is there,  and cards only no cash" at entrance more signs, cards only no cash. 

 

After collecting what I wanted, I joined the back of the socially distanced queue to pay,  Cockwomble 2 the next man walks to the till and starts arguing he wants to pay cash... Other members of staff start arriving,  he then gives up, leaving the cheap barbeque behind.

 

Tescos no queue, no problems , just still no oat based biscuits.. I've never seen that store so empty. 

 

Other notes,   

two removal lorries at different houses. 

Several more houses up for sale. 

Three separate teenage couples on bicycles in country lanes,  I suspect looking for somewhere to socially undistance. 

 

Other news for the second time in 4 days the RNLI have had to rescue people cut off by the tide in Norfolk. 

 

80 years ago, a military post van got left behind at Dunkirk,   a German soldier collected the post and held on to them till the early 1960s they then went to the Norfolk records office.  This year an archivist noticed she lived in the same village of one of the addresses.  The soldier who sent the letter  died at Dunkirk. But a couple of weeks ago the letter was delivered to the man's younger brother who still lives in the family  home. 

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by TheQ

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

(do) ... you not have any control over the size of the window you use for browsing?

Mike, thank you. My laptop screen is 15" (380mm) corner to corner. I do use a window that is narrower than the screen (about 255mm) as it happens.

 

I have no problems with the (very nice) photograph you shared. The forum software scales it to within the horizontal dimension of the window (less borders) and it appears, completely visible, at about 180mm wide and 120mm tall. The "problem" is one of aspect ratios. Very large images (with high dpi) will still get scaled horizontally to fit the window but not vertically. If they are square, or portrait aspect (rather than landscape) they won't fit.

 

Minus the Chrome tabs, borders and banners (like the "how to make sure you still receive your copy of BRM..." banner presently displayed) there is about 160mm of vertical screen real estate available for content. So a large image with a square aspect ratio, will scale down to 180mm high when presented, meaning I have to scroll through to see the whole image. Naturally for photographs this is not much of an imposition, but when it is a screen grab of text in big fonts (most of which are not that funny anyway) it gets tedious.

 

I could mess with screen resolutions*, or go sit at my desk and use a large monitor.

 

* Set to the recommended 1920 x 1080 (on a 332mm x 187mm screen, which is about 5.7 pixels per mm, and on this machine is  scaled to 125% of the native resolution.)

 

Generally when I post photographs I make sure they are downsized to be forum formatting friendly.

[Shedman5]

1 hour ago, Chris116 said:

I am sad to say that for the time being this will be my last post on RMweb as my wife will not accept my looking at pictures of near naked women on the screen most of the time.

 

Over the last four days I have marked every such advert as "Inappropiate" or some other comment that you are allowed to make if you click the X on the advert. They thank you for the comment and say they will try not to show the advert again. 

 

BUT the same adverts come up again within an hour! Either the providers of the adverts are stupid or cannot understand the difference between model railways and half clothed female models. 

 

I do not blame RMweb or BRM for this it solely the fault of the advertising programme and I know that without advertising we would not have RMweb but over the last six weeks the half clothed females have become a fixture that I cannot accept.

 

I will keep watching on my phone which is hard to post with. I wish you all the best, stay safe.

 

Sad to hear your news stay safe Chris.

 

On adverts I have yet since the Russian Brides ad back in Feb not had anything remotely  connected to the female species. Garden sheds seem to be the norm I must be doing something wrong!

[jamie92208]

Good evening. I get very few adverts on my tablet but my spelli gs worse. I think Istagram cones up regularly.  On the laptop I get all sorts. I did get French Lingerie adverts on Wish along with ship models.  Chris I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.  We had a visitor this afternoon after I got back from the trainspotting  garden centre. I actually saw two proper trains with locos on them. My first since March.  Then a strange cyclist appeared  at the back door. He had had a puncture and needed help.  I took him to the shed and we got it sorted.  He found a friendly and well equipped house by chance.

 

I have a compkaint about HH.  Why should we be subjected to holiday snaps of his relatives  whilst watching  Walking with Elephants.  Lots of families of Hippos in the Okavango.  Anywzy they were soon scared away with a bear banger.

 

Jamie

[Coombe Barton]

31 minutes ago, Shedman5 said:

Garden sheds seem to be the norm I must be doing something wrong!

50 Sheds of Grey?
 

 

[Happy Hippo]

26 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Good evening. I get very few adverts on my tablet but my spelli gs worse. I think Istagram cones up regularly.  On the laptop I get all sorts. I did get French Lingerie adverts on Wish along with ship models.  Chris I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.  We had a visitor this afternoon after I got back from the trainspotting  garden centre. I actually saw two proper trains with locos on them. My first since March.  Then a strange cyclist appeared  at the back door. He had had a puncture and needed help.  I took him to the shed and we got it sorted.  He found a friendly and well equipped house by chance.

 

I have a compkaint about HH.  Why should we be subjected to holiday snaps of his relatives  whilst watching  Walking with Elephants.  Lots of families of Hippos in the Okavango.  Anywzy they were soon scared away with a bear banger.

 

Jamie

Elephants are the Caravan Utilising Nomadic Travellers of the large mammal world.

 

They turn up uninvited, pinch your grub, mess up the water supply, annoy the crocodiles, use the whole site as a toilet and then shove off again.

 

No wonder we wake up bad tempered, and remain bad tempered until we finally get our heads down for a kip.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[New Haven Neil]

I hate the day after long weekends.....crikey we're busy.  Shouldn't complain but it is hard with only half the staff to try to keep up, so sorry if there are delays to any customers on here.  I yam a Frazzled Fraggle again.

 

The banner ad at the top of my page is for some kind of financial services, money lending of course, which is odd as we don't have any debt whatsoever, nor have we any reason to need a loan.  It is Fraggle based though, so they got that right.  The side bar is leather goods.....must be the bike thing.

[Happy Hippo]

For those unable to get lingerie adverts on RMWeb. Please have this  leisure suit variety on me:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Happy Hippo
Deleted duplicated image

[Happy Hippo]

Just now somebody sent me an email containing this:

 

 

 

 

 

[brianusa]

11 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Good morning everyone 

 

 

 

 

 

Today advert is for an ‘Escape Room Experience’ delivered to your home! Just what are they trying to say?

 

I have reached the stage where the ads don't bother - I ignore them; its the only way, otherwise they get on ones nerves and it just isn't worth it!

       Brian.