Early Risers.

[lightengine]

Like any part of the country there are plenty of pot holed, scarred roads here.  Some potholes have been 'patched' up badly by the CC several times and at last after 18 months or more the worst are getting attended to in a more severe manner.  The worst one was where buses pulling away wore a hole in the same place.

Interesting to see that a small piece of road, where I had not noticed any particularly bad \surface or potholes was resurfaced also.  Purely co-incidental that it is outside the maindoor to the Freemasons.

[Simon G]

Ok Simon, I would have been playing for The City University team from 1971 / 74.  Probably the 2nd team, probably hooker (or loose head).  There was one game at your ground where the incompetent referee sent off three players for fighting, whilst I was happily getting away with a lot of illegal activity in the scrums.

 

Bill

Bill,

I am sure that our paths will have crossed as I was usually 2nd row or No 8 for the second team as well!  I dont recall three people being sent off for fighting - that was possibly 1971, as I started at Brunel in 1972.  If it was our incompetent referee, I think I know who it was - someone who certainly liked the sound of his own voice, and went by the name of 'beef'. 

[shortliner]

I have just received this spam email, and I have to say I'm sorely tempted to buy. It was very good of them to let me know.

_________________

 

Bright Sun Publishing announces what will be our most important book this year.

 

This book is described as amazing and inspiring, and takes us on a voyage of discovery that reads like an exciting novel.

 

This is the best book on worms ever written. Now revised and updated with 6 books in one.

 

Worms for Everyone; Worms for Worm Farmers;

 

Worms for for Farmers; Worms for Greenhouse;

 

Worms Gardeners; Worms for Waste Managers.

 

Yours for A$42.00 including delivery, to anywhere in the world, AND, if you don't like it, there's a no nonsense money back guarantee.

_____________

 

Martin.

 

You'll need to be an Early Bird to pick it up!

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...most of whom appear to be hookers...

Clean living outside centre checking in. My one time rugger position is also a pretty good fit for my 'snake belly low' churchmanship, (which description I happened across and was immediately amused by in Connecticut).

 

...I have acquired, against my will, a contactless debit card. I have no intention of using it as such; travel in London is by bike or by grumpy (aka freedom) pass and monetary transactions by cheque of by pieces of paper embossed with our sovereign's head. As the debit card lives in my wallet, which lives in my back pocket, how do I avoid it being accessed by various machines adept at extracting value from my account. Do I have to wrap the debit card in lead or would some other material suffice?...

Aluminium foil is more than adequate. If you have a bill fold style wallet, and can arrange the foil so that it forms a sandwich with the card(s) as the filling that will create a near perfect faraday cage. Tried the wallet with the cards within on the Waitrose contactless payment system, doesn't read a thing.

[martin_wynne]

Just heard on the news that butter, cheese, and full fat milk are good for us after all.

 

It seems that I have been wasting my money frying my Mars bars in expensive olive oil. Where do I apply for a refund?

[railsquid]

The phrase "...left holding the baby" is taking on new meaning for me. Also learning new one-handed skills such as monodextrously typing forum posts and making up new words.

 

Well it appears I'm not the only one with that idea - OUP thinks it makes sense.

 

Toddled (hah, see what I did there) over to the in-laws earlier to give them some photos of their grandson. Lovely people, who evidently have no idea about babies despite having had at least two of their own (apparently my wife's paternal grandparents did most of the childraising). Despite living quite close by they'r not in the least intrusive, which I'm on the whole quite grateful for, so every now and again I print the latest photos out at the local supermarket and deliver them personally along with status updates. If anyone's taking notes, the little fellow is in the rudest of health and starting to bulk up, as well as emit the occasional proto-voice sound and smile. Also making feeble attempts at crawling and rolling from his back onto his side and is able to propel himself backwards using his legs if he has something to brace his feet against. Enjoys being tossed (carefully) into the air, vocally loathes water and nappy changes. The only thing I'm worried about is his sense of smell, as he keeps trying to nuzzle my armpit.

[station cat]

Where's the "Oops" button?

 

Cheers,

The other Mick B

 

Hit by mistake obviously

 

It appears that an RM web rugby team would be rather heavy on front row types. Guess that means I can play flanker for a change then. Oh good

[Tony_S]

There is absolutely no way I would get involved with rugby. At school the psychopaths who had managed to convince some teacher training establishment to certify them just used rugby as an excuse to hit the pupils they didn't consider to be sport orientated. At university the rugby teams used to consider it their right to spoil anyone else's weekend entertainment. I thought perhaps I had just been unlucky as I do know people who like or play rugby who are quite civilised but Matthew told me about rather gross behaviour by the rugby club when he was at Leicester. I note that the LSE rugby team has been banned for a season due to offensive recruiting materials at freshers week.

[NGT6 1315]

New ÖBB commercial:

 

 

And an older one I like:

 

[Happy Hippo]

No, plain black boots, never polished only dubbined.  Club socks should have been blue and white hoops, I wore a second pair of dark brown.  No point in the ref seeing something he didn't need to.

 

Why on earth was the Welsh hooker wearing white boots?

 

Bill

Essex boy!

[NGT6 1315]

And a bit of music quite suitable for going by train, too!

 

[martin_wynne]

There is absolutely no way I would get involved with rugby.

 

I found that I got on very well with the Rugby players once I'd threatened to do their maths homework wrong.

Edited February 10, 2015 by martin_wynne

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

... The only thing I'm worried about is his sense of smell, as he keeps trying to nuzzle my armpit.

That's inexperience. He doesn't know that relatively few of the population are personally equipped to deliver the wonderful liquid sustenance at any moment in time.

 

Just remember this, and when he turns up with  a girlfriend, warn her in his hearing to closely guard her armpits...

[railsquid]

I have to admit having had a slight preference for rugby at school, as it involved mainly running, which I can do, and the whole "aiming a ball-shaped object at a particular objective" part didn't seem so important (not quite sure how the goalposts fit into the whole scheme of things). However, overall cricket was my favourite; though there was a very occasional, somewhat alarming part involving having a small but hard ball thrown at oneself, it was easy enough to dodge and somehow damage to those fragile stick things they like to impale in the grass was a nifty way of getting oneself removed from the danger zone into a distant corner of the field unlikely to be the target of incoming spherical objects. Most of the rest of the time was spent with something called "fielding", which I believe means "inspecting the grass on the field from a comfortable sedentary position".

Edited February 10, 2015 by railsquid

[railsquid]

New ÖBB commercial:

 

 

"Grüß Gott"... where's the groan button?

[shortliner]

Clean living outside centre checking in. My one time rugger position is also a pretty good fit for my 'snake belly low' churchmanship, (which description I happened across and was immediately amused by in Connecticut).

 

Aluminium foil is more than adequate. If you have a bill fold style wallet, and can arrange the foil so that it forms a sandwich with the card(s) as the filling that will create a near perfect faraday cage. Tried the wallet with the cards within on the Waitrose contactless payment system, doesn't read a thing.

 

RBS do a small plastic CC wallet, Lidl do a sticky backed ally foil (like a wide sellotape) - wrap the sticky back foil around the outside of each section of the card-holder - works absolutely fine. If you want to go the total DIY route, Hobbycraft do a kit for a duct-tape wallet - replace the duct-tape outside with the Lidl Tape

Edited February 10, 2015 by shortliner

[The Stationmaster]

Just had a visit from three electricians in two vans to have a look at the errant street light outside, and I asked if the light was fixed, to be told that it needed a dig, which would be booked today, and as a result they couldn't do the job today.  Went out half an hour later, and they were still there, and one was using a Stihl diamond cutter to make a hole in the tarmac of the pavement, then they dug down and fixed what they said needed specialist equipment?  We now have a hole in the road, and a barrier round it, as the contractor has to attend anyway to backfill the hole and make good the tarmac.  We'll see if the light comes on tonight.

That's incredibly efficient compared with what went on here with the gas people.

Day 1. Pick-up truck 1 arrives and the Driver (working alone!!) unloads a lot of abbriers and road up signs, departs.

Day 2. Pick-up truck 2 arrives with trailer conveying mini-digger; two men get out, set-up signs, getting digging.  Third man arrives to inspect the digging; grab-lorry arrives to remove most of teh dug out spoil.

Day 3. Van arrives with two men who carry out the necessary work.  

Day 4. Pick-up truck 2 returns and a lorry delivers material to back fill the hole; hole backfilled and tarmac applied.

Day 5.  Pick-up truck 1 arrives and all signs and barriers are collected and loaded up and depart.

 

Day or two later - man arrives in car to inspect the finished work.

 

At least when the electric folk do a job there just appears to be two of them who do virtually all of it.

[Ian Abel]

Tuesday with an emphasis on "eeewwwww" - rather than sensible winter weather/storm here, we are at -4 overcast and just finished a brief ice storm, now it's started to snow and expecting about a couple of inches - the roads will be a cock-up mess in about an hour or less!

 

Currently listening to Jemma (listening to ATC/aircraft is legal in the US, and also easy to do via "liveatc.net") taxiing to the de-ice pad at Minneapolis as she's taking a flight out to San Antonio, bit of a mess out there right now, but not huge delays as the airport is used to this sort of weather. Biggest problem is simply having to have every airplane thread through the de-icing.

[NGT6 1315]

I never was fond of any kind of team sport (which I suppose is why I continue to not be much interested in championships of any kind), though of all we had to cover at school, I preferred hockey because the stick* gave you a means to avoid physical contact with other players.

 

(* No sniggering at the back!     )

[The Lurker]

That's incredibly efficient compared with what went on here with the gas people.

Day 1. Pick-up truck 1 arrives and the Driver (working alone!!) unloads a lot of abbriers and road up signs, departs.

Day 2. Pick-up truck 2 arrives with trailer conveying mini-digger; two men get out, set-up signs, getting digging.  Third man arrives to inspect the digging; grab-lorry arrives to remove most of teh dug out spoil.

Day 3. Van arrives with two men who carry out the necessary work.  

Day 4. Pick-up truck 2 returns and a lorry delivers material to back fill the hole; hole backfilled and tarmac applied.

Day 5.  Pick-up truck 1 arrives and all signs and barriers are collected and loaded up and depart.

 

Day or two later - man arrives in car to inspect the finished work.

 

At least when the electric folk do a job there just appears to be two of them who do virtually all of it.

altogether now...

 

Twas on the Monday morning the gas man came to call....

 

followed by

 

Right Said Fred !

[45156]

altogether now...

 

Twas on the Monday morning the gas man came to call....

 

followed by

 

Right Said Fred !

Which was running through my mind all the time I was posting

[Donw]

I have had my fair share of digging up pavements over the years for telephones. It was always dig a hole do the work and back fll it used to be that we would collect some tarmac and do a proper job but later that became just a back fill.

 

Many years later I was called out to a leak on new years eve. The lead was in the pavement so I dug  down and fixed it and just backfilled. Two days later I spoke to the council about getting it ashpalted. Oh dear I had transgressed a lot of new regulation and I was not certified to be allowed to dig up pavements. I pointed out that after 5pm on new years eve no one was available to seek authority and left for two days it could have been a real nuisance. conceding the point he said leave it with me. One happy customer when I advised there would be no additional charge for re-instatement.

 

Don

[45156]

Currently listening to Jemma (listening to ATC/aircraft is legal in the US, and also easy to do via "liveatc.net") taxiing to the de-ice pad at Minneapolis as she's taking a flight out to San Antonio, bit of a mess out there right now, but not huge delays as the airport is used to this sort of weather. Biggest problem is simply having to have every airplane thread through the de-icing.

Is she with Compass who operate under the Delta brand? 

[Ian Abel]

Is she with Compass who operate under the Delta brand? 

Indeed - actually Compass are one of several "regional airlines" that operate Delta regional services under contract.

Compass themselves are an independent company and also have a contract with American (mostly on the west coast routes) so she can/could be flying either under Delta or American colours.

Compass own the aircraft for both regional operations (Embraer 175s) and whilst 90% of the time she'll be flying Delta as she is at present MSP based, the LAX based crews are more likely to be flying the American sectors. However, it is plausible that she could fly a leg(s) out to the west, with a Delta flight then be on an American flight - odd for sure

[grandadbob]

Up until the age of eleven I was a confirmed soccer player and then I went to a rugby only grammar school. Loved it from the start and never went back to soccer. I was very lucky in having 2 excellent history masters (Favourite subject) who were also the rugby coaches. One of them, Bob Bateman, was an extremely good player who played for Streatham & Croydon, Rosslyn Park, West Hartlepool and Durham. After he finished playing he was chairman & then president of W.Hartlepool and sadly I only found out recently that he died a couple of years ago. I would have loved to meet him again to say thank you because I learnt a lot from him.