Early Risers.

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Sea eagle page if I'm in time but we might have migrated to South Africa - time of posting will telI.

 

My Hornby bingo bet also goes to Richard Ames although you never know - Mr  Chairman Canham might actually put his actions where his mouth has been in the past?  Same old damp weather here and even our previously promised flurry of snow for tomorrow has turned into sunshine according to Exeter seaweed.

 

Meanwhile I do get very heartily p' off with some people on RMweb (not here I hasten to add).  Person asks question, I duly delve out the right publication and answer his question, another person comes along and adds a bit more - original poster 'Thanks' him but not me. A**sh*les like that leave you wondering why you bother so even if that impolite git asks me the time of day in future I won't be bothering to answer, he can grow up and do his own research instead of relying on others to do it for him.  Rant over.

 

Depression is a nasty illness and even worse - as it was in dad's case in his last year - when it's accompanied by  occasional paranoia about something of literally no consequence, none of it helped by him repeatedly failing to take the correct medication for his diabetes.  He even threatened to thump a next door neighbour (50 years his junior) as a  result of the paranoia which resulted in the police contacting me and asking me to keep him under control (I was far from sure how I was supposed to do that but no doubt it ticked the right book in the local police station, I would have thought they would have spoken to his GP rather than me) but the GP of course could do little more than me until dad had a fall and had to go to hospital.   Care in the community and 'treatment at home' - which our slimeball MP reckons is what is going to replace our local hospital ward - has an awful long way to go, whichever bunch of Westminster scroungers and halfwits actually believes it is running the country.  Rant 2 over.

 

Have a good day everybody

 

PS And South Africa it is I see.

Edited January 14, 2016 by The Stationmaster

[runs as required]

I ... suppose I may have mentioned before that I myself had been in that kind of place several years ago, and for me at least, group sessions – which I did try – certainly were not at all helpful as at the time, I'd been far too preoccupied with the things that had been eating at me to be able to offer any genuine support to others. In fact, having the equally real and genuine suffering of others "forced", for lack of a more fitting expression, upon me had made me feel even worse. …

Group sessions are well known to be bad; everyone wants to download their probs to the group.

 

The essential first skill to acquire as a therapist is an ability to Listen.  Most of us (me in particular) are really bad at it. We are wanting to jump in with me too! Me too!

That is of no help whatsover to a depressive, quite the reverse.

 

Some of my best therapy sessions were where I went away with a little nugget of a helpful comment/reflective remark from the therapist that I could open up and work on over the next few days.

dh

Edited January 14, 2016 by runs as required

[trisonic]

Only -6C this morning but warming up to 3C later. Flurries.

Yesterday we didn’t get above -2C as a high.

 

Global warming really sucks.

 

In haste, Pete.

[roundhouse]

London 5C and feels like 5C - positively warm T shirt weather, even have a short sleeve work shirt on today

Edited January 14, 2016 by roundhouse

[Gwiwer]

Diesel was $1.80 a gallon today. Never thought I 'd see that again.

 

(approx. 31p a liter)

 

Liters and litres are the same though gallons are as slightly different as are US$ and AU$.  My usual conversion site online, conversion.com, tells me 1 US gallon = 3.7854 litres and xe.com for real-time cross rates tells me US$1.80  = AU$2.60.  So the same diesel would be around 69 Aussie cents a litre here.  Instead it's $1.35 or thereabouts which is as cheap as it's been in ages.  It's nudged $2.00 / litre at times especially in rural areas where transport costs add to the retail price of fuel.

 

For those playing at home US$1.80 / US gallon = £1.04 / UK gallon.  Or about 27p a litre.  When did we last pay that???

 

 

depression

 

Do not mess with the black dog.  Do not under-estimate its bite.  There is a lot of help and support including among friends here.  No-one should be alone with this even if only discussed privately.  It's not as simple as saying "buck up" nor as easy as prescribing pills.  It can be a long, long haul and talking with friends is among the best ways to manage it.

 

While I'm here no-one will be turned away.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2016 by Gwiwer

[edcayton]

 

 

Trying out a new b!&$$^ device typing this as wife keeps changing her mind about what she can cope with as a phone. She has very bad arthritis in her hands and regrets the passing of those simple Nokkias with the real keys.

 

 

 

Try a Doro Phone-easy. My blind friend gets on well with his. Available at most Tesco's where you can try it, I think you can get it on most networks and fairly cheap.

 

Ed

[sixoh8sixoh]

Meanwhile I have been taking an inventory of all the birds who have failed to take an interest in my newly installed birds' nests. The list is quite extensive, thanks to the RSPB Encyclopaedia.

Albratros,..Manx Shearwater....Short-toed Eagle....

I've seen Manx Shearwaters... I'm afraid you won't get them nesting in your boxes! They nest in burrows. Saw some while going out to visit the Isle Of Rum a few years ago (quite amazing how they turn and dip one wing tip in the water). They burrow into the hillsides of high peaks on Rum, and the young in particular make a strange groaning noise when calling for food, which led the early Norse settlers to think that trolls lived in the hills, and one of the Rum peaks is still called Trolleval (sp?).

[The Lurker]

Greetings all - the early blue has turned to grey with a little bit of rain.

 

As Phil said earlier it's going to turn cold at the weekend. Younger Lurker was most impressed at the -10 on the weather forecast yesterday evening.

 

Preparations are turning to ensure he continues to get the same amount of supported hours next year - it's assessed annually. Time for the school to forget how well he is doing and remember how much support they have to provide to ensure that he does well ("accessing the curriculum"). We're very grateful at the way that they provide support and direct it in such a way that it isn't obvious to him that he is receiving support - he does not know he has ASD yet - and so of course he thrives. The muttering in the playground from some of the less well informed Mums is that he doesn't need the support. The school are however on board - and indeed have a specialist unit that can feed in. We shall see but our memories of Elder Lurker lead us to surmise that the step from Year 2 to Year 3 is one of the biggest steps in primary school (think infants to juniors) and one in which the support he needs will not diminish but increase.

 

I've little to add to the depression topic - a bit of me too - but it runs through the Lurker family too - it's all that hanging around, just watching that characterizes Lurker life.....it hasn't hit me although stress did, many years ago. But of course Chris has our virtual support, for what it is worth when dealing with PP

[NGT6 1315]

Do not mess with the black dog.  Do not under-estimate its bite.  There is a lot of help and support including among friends here.  No-one should be alone with this even if only discussed privately.  It's not as simple as saying "buck up" nor as easy as prescribing pills.  It can be a long, long haul and talking with friends is among the best ways to manage it.

 

While I'm here no-one will be turned away.

 

Well said and seconded, Rick.

[NGT6 1315]

Perhaps for lightening the mood on here a bit: Did I post this yet?

 

 

Pair of JR Freight ED79-50 locomotives which I managed to outfit with detail parts only now. Far as I can tell, these pairs are almost always coupled with Cab 1 to Cab 2, matching what I perceive as being a general insistence on the various Japanese railways that train formations be always aligned the same way on a given line. I chose to equip them with number plates for ED79-52 and 57.

 

These models are Tomix #9116 both, obtained from Mr Takayama at http://www.modeltrainplus.net whom I wholeheartedly recommend as I've found him to be friendly and extremely helpful on various occasions.

Edited January 14, 2016 by NGT6 1315

[Smiffy2]

Am I the only person who gets infuriated by answering a question on another thread and then being utterly ignored?

[4630]

Am I the only person who gets infuriated by answering a question on another thread and then being utterly ignored?

 

No, not at all.

 

I feel exactly the same.  So much so that I've stopped answering some questions on some threads where I feel that the original question could quickly and easily be resolved with a little bit of basic research by the poster.

[laurenceb]

I have a friend who is bi-polar and who will text at all hours when she is manic, It helps her to calm down And in helping her it helps me. I dont fell so usless.

[Ian Abel]

Morning, day after lottery and as several have already pointed out, the lottery score is Me 0 - Others 3

Actually there are THREE confirmed jackpot winning tickets. Locations are California, Florida and some town of 6,000 in Tennessee. So actually winnings (pre-tax) around $550 million each!

I wonder what sort of emotions run through you when, having seen your WON and thought of $1.6 billion, you then discover you only get a third of that? Oh well, I didn't have to "struggle" with it.

I apologies to the ERs that were hoping to

 

Next up, the Hornby result so far. Given it's already after noon in the UK, I had some small expectation that I'd hear something from someone, but so far no replies at all!

Hornby Customer service = bollocks.

 

It's get-away day for me here, so I'll be doing a runner around 2PM heading for JFK. Weather expected to be "reasonable" this afternoon, with a temperature around +2 or +3 most of the day, a very small chance of snow flurries this morning, and clearing by noon if not sooner. Minneapolis reporting in cold at -8 with a high of -2 and some cloud cover, so no delays expected, yet.

 

Wishing the best for Jock today, hope everything goes well.

 

-4 driving in this morning and cloudy, but no wind so no wind-chill component.

 

Back to life after losing (did I actually "lose", or more correctly not win?? Chance for a philosophical discussion) the lottery.

[NGT6 1315]

I have a friend who is bi-polar and who will text at all hours when she is manic, It helps her to calm down And in helping her it helps me. I dont fell so usless.

 

I can imagine it to be difficult to be interacting with a bipolar person, Laurence. While it's something else entirely, I knew someone with borderline personality disorder over ten years ago, which characteristic, shall we say, required a lot of resilience. I guess I can thus begin to understand what it must be like for you.

[trisonic]

I decided not to buy any taxes on the poor - and therefore are 10 bucks richer this morning.

 

Best, Pete.

[Ian Abel]

I decided not to buy any taxes on the poor - and therefore are 10 bucks richer this morning.

 

Best, Pete.

Probably the sensible thing Pete.

I've only ever "participated" in these last two, mostly because of the stupid size of the prize - talk about gullible!

Only $4 each time though for two tickets, so wasn't like these folks that were spending $100's or even a $1,000 on tickets - and most of them looked and sounded like they couldn't really afford to gamble that amount of money on such long odds <sigh>

[28XX]

Afternoon, people

 

Many thanks to those who have clicked Supportive and those who have responded in detail.

 

To clarify, mum has extreme Altzheimers, nothing at all is working which interfaces with the outside world. She has been spoon fed for over a year but now won't take food to the back of her mouth and swallow. The risk of choking is very great. Unseeing eyes open occasionally. She still experiences REM sleep, which is somewhat unnerving. A touch of jaundice was noticeable today so another step closer to the brink.

 

Thanks again for your support.

[southern42]

' Afternoon all from red dragon land.

Wow! It was really sunny this morning.

Now look at it.  Rain heading directly towards us, again!  Or it could just be mist. 

 

I think, I've got myself a track plan!    

Next job will be to create a few test sections and see how it goes but in the meantime there's a few bits of etched brass on the table waiting for me to solder them together.                  

Gotta start somewhere!  Where's the GULP! button?

 

Rain nearly here.

Nope, Rain IS here!

Now to catch up on your news...cuppa first though.

[NGT6 1315]

Afternoon, people

 

Many thanks to those who have clicked Supportive and those who have responded in detail.

 

To clarify, mum has extreme Altzheimers, nothing at all is working which interfaces with the outside world. She has been spoon fed for over a year but now won't take food to the back of her mouth and swallow. The risk of choking is very great. Unseeing eyes open occasionally. She still experiences REM sleep, which is somewhat unnerving. A touch of jaundice was noticeable today so another step closer to the brink.

 

Thanks again for your support.

 

It must be one of the most awful feelings there are to see a beloved person wither away like this. I still vividly remember the last weeks of my grandmas, also severely demented when they went. Still makes me shiver, I admit.

[skipepsi]

Didn't go to work after all I felt decidedly light headed after clearing the condensation from the car windows went back inside sat down and dozed for a while.

 

I have a strange problem with my keyboard (at) doesn't give (at) it gives "  so my brain is lost any ideas? 

[roundhouse]

Didn't go to work after all I felt decidedly light headed after clearing the condensation from the car windows went back inside sat down and dozed for a while.

 

I have a strange problem with my keyboard (at) doesn't give (at) it gives "  so my brain is lost any ideas? 

 

You have your PC set to US keyboard by the sounds of it.

[Danemouth]

Didn't go to work after all I felt decidedly light headed after clearing the condensation from the car windows went back inside sat down and dozed for a while.

 

I have a strange problem with my keyboard (at) doesn't give (at) it gives "  so my brain is lost any ideas? 

Mick,

 

Have you somehow managed to switch to a non UK keyboard layout in the operating system?

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[skipepsi]

Thanks I can now @@@@@@@@ to my hearts content.... 

[NGT6 1315]

Thanks I can now @@@@@@@@ to my hearts content....

 

That @s up to something.

 

Hat, coat, gone...

Edited January 14, 2016 by NGT6 1315