Early Risers.

[jamie92208]

Morning all from a very sunny Charente on our last full day here.

 

Pete, lovely Tornado photo, I suspect my friend Dave (Supersonic f this parish) will know who took it and when.  Apparently there are selfies around taken by the pilot through the canopy.  

 

Yesterday we had a G day and demolished one remaining area of jungle.   I also mended a storm damaged gate that needs to have some new wood stained today before I re hang it.   I also went to the Mairie to enlist the help of our lady mayor with a problem that involves the electricity company.   They came into our garden last autumn when we weren't here to replace a large concrete pole and have left large gaps in the hedge either side of it with no attempt to close the gap.   Helene was most helpful and is going to take the matter up with EDF.   Apparently she will be quite happy to do this as when they did the work they disconnected power to the whole village for two mornings without any warning.   I will await developments, we just want the garden to be child and dog proof in the summer when we have visitors.

 

Anyway there are various tasks to be completed today and packing has started.

 

Good wishes to all in need.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Mooring awl, Inner Temple Here,

 

I had to go raise a smaller Tornado locomotive with a  larger Tornado Locomotive,

 

Well, I had a good nights sleep for a change, so that was good, as was watching the great fried egg rise, this time it did not disappear behind a cloud but was surrounded by a nice pink haze..

 

Ben the Border Collie's Morning Patrol revealed, The first of the pear trees is now in flower, the rest are not far behind. There is however one more fallen tree. It's an old hedgrow hawthorne covered in Ivy, that somehow survived the Beast from the East, but gave up the ghost overnight and is now leaning against another pear tree. 

 

 The trip home was a little painful, in that the road works just south of Effin Clown town, river bridge, now has a chicane at the approach and a temporary pedestrian crossing with traffic lights in the middle. So it's now causing tailbacks to both bridges at 15:30 in the afternoon, it must be evil at rush hour!!!

I'll try to remember to go home on a different route tonight, after the visit to the Big Orange shed. This visit is to collect 30 + breeze blocks to build the raised beds..

 

 Getting home last night I chased a squirel down the garden in the landrover, getting as close as I could to the future raised beds to re-deposit Horsetan's friends droppings. Another trip collection or two will be required to collect enough of the "substance"

 

 This morning was was a beautiful drive in, dodging squirels, deer, Pea Hens, Pheasants, and assorted other wild life. That being before I even left the road we live on.

 

100 Days to Norfolk Day, Quite why they have decided to Celebrate Norfolk on a Friday when most people will be at work I don't know.

 

Time to... take the next Measurement.

Edited April 18, 2018 by TheQ

[NGT6 1315]

Mawnin' awl. Caffeine level needs to be raised before I can do anything useful!

 

 

Porsche had something similar with 4 speeds called the Sportomatic - still available into the early 1980s - and Cit's DS had a 4 speed hydraulic clutchless manual.

 

NSU Ro80 also had a 3-range clutchless manual - the Fichtel & Sachs "Saxomat" - which shared the oil with the engine.

 

Those gearboxes were quite easy to use. They just weren't all that quick.

 

I remember the Skoda Citigo we had as a rental car in Ireland. Nice little motor as such but the automated manual transmission it had (we had specified AT while booking so as to not have to deal with shifting while in LH traffic) was somewhat irritating due to it having been fairly slow to shift. Clearly not a dual clutch!

 

 

 

Morning all,

 

<RANT ON>

 

As you may have picked up my morning commute generally involves sitting in traffic, with an average speed of some 12-15 mph. 

 

No real surprise, therefore, when some others can be seen glancing down at their laps. Clearly they are either mystified by what is between their legs! 

Sometimes glancing tuns to intent and extended concentration whilst the traffic ahead of them moves forward and them oblivious.

Can I just say to the middle-aged @rse-ferriting c@kw@mble idiot who took this a step further yesterday that catching up with the traffic some 20m ahead and ccelerating to about 20mph whilst STILL staring down reading your lap-mounted mobile phone is a tad frigging stupid!! 

 

<RANT OFF>

 

 

Andy, I can tell you a frightening number of motorists here happily use their phones for messaging and whatever else while driving, despite such being illegal, of course. I can tell you that because on the tram, I am sat fairly high and can look down into cars quite easily…

 

That being said, the most recent revision of the German Highway Code needed to be adapted specifically to accommodate for ITCS onboard computers on roadbound public transport vehicles, which in many cases are operated pretty much like smartphones and tablets by now and which, if interpreted strictly, might not have been legal to be interacted with - such as for ticketing and other required input - while the engine was running, or, more properly, the ignition turned on. This is also relevant with a view to hybrid or battery buses as said revision states that a non-rotating electric motor on an electrically powered vehicle is not equivalent to an ignition set to accessory power only. Pitfalls of modern technology, eh?

 

Best wishes and thoughts as appropriate to everyone…

[BlackRat]

Ahhhhhhh.....the sun has got his hat on, which means finishing of painting the fence and wall.......bugggahhhh!

[beast66606]

Ahhhhhhh.....the sun has got his hat on, which means finishing of painting the fence and wall.......bugggahhhh!

 

[BSW01]

Morning everyone

 

The sun is trying to show itself, I might not bother taking a jacket with me when I set off for the swimming baths in a few minutes.

 

People looking at their phones whilst driving, that is something that really annoys me. I used (and still do occasionally) when I used to drive about for work. Something I definitely don’t miss!

 

Back later

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

The bright is sunning shinely, the bly is skue and a wine farm day is fastcore. *

I'm aching a bit after gardening yesterday so I won't be doing any more of that for a few days. 

Kids were here after school and brightened the day up with their cheerfulness, as usual.

Looks like finding things (or not finding them in my case) to pack for our holiday will be on the cards for today. Needless to say, unlike me, The Boss is already very organised.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

* Just checking if you're all awake at the back! 

Edited April 18, 2018 by grandadbob

[81C]

Morning Peeps and Pointy Things

Today started with a senior moment SWMBO tried to turn the TV off with the telephone          

As it's warming up outside I will be spending the day working on the layout and may run some trains. 

Her is going to do some gardening, now matey next door has finally put up a new fence after it fell down at

Christmas, a cat had started to dump in the planters so I've smeared some grease on the top of this fence

to deter the thing from climbing over it was fun watching the stupid animal try and paw up cobble stones that

Her had placed in the planters     I keep telling her we need a dog but that falls on deaf ears.

 

                                                                                                                             enjoy your day  Casey J

Edited April 18, 2018 by 81C

[jamie92208]

 

First, the usual round of generic c&c's to all and sundry.

 

yesterday was a nice day for work. Normally, a fair number of 'convicts' turn up to do the 'community service' part of their sentence, but yesterday none actually showed up   As a result I was teamed up with another driver and we had a very productive day, topped with an early release by the "chief" (the planning bloke I mentioned before). After browsing the web for an hour, I did some eye-lid inspection, intended to last no more then 2 hrs, but awoke at 2, some 6hrs late. Given my size it was decreed dinner was officially skipped, but some slices of sugared loaf were consumed instead.   Went back to bed well after 5 for about 3 hrs or so, so I wonder for how long I can stay awake today

 

Today does require the completion of the weekly fodder run, but w/o an SWMBO no further plans are afoot.

 

And I found proof Cardiff isn't all doom&gloom:

https://www.nu.nl/233923/video/britten-helpen-politie-en-vangen-vluchtende-fietser.html

(if you can see the vid from a foreign IP, narrative: bystanders assist police in arresting a knive-man on a pedal bike, he gets some very spectacular introductions to the road he traversed on )

 

Nice to see it.   Of course he did choose to do his crime in a city where Rugby has the status of a religion.   Some nice tackles going on there.

 

Jamie

[NGT6 1315]

People looking at their phones whilst driving, that is something that really annoys me. I used (and still do occasionally) when I used to drive about for work. Something I definitely don’t miss!

Back later

While we do have a hands-free set in the car, I prefer only taking calls I expect and which I know to be important, and initiating calls only when they absolutely cannot wait till after arrival. Even that way, I am finding talking to someone who isn’t physically present to be highly distracting.

[grandadbob]

I have never answered or used my phone whilst driving. If I'm expecting an important call (very rare) I find somewhere to pull over and switch off the engine but most times I wait until I've got to where I'm going.

It really p1sses me off seeing people on their bloody phones when driving, they're a menace to everyone else on the road.

 

 

P.S. Forgot to mention that I've had to take avoiding action on several occasions because of these idiots.

Edited April 18, 2018 by grandadbob

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The sunshine is nice but with it comes hay fever, just as well the car has pollen filters. When it comes to idiots using mobiles whilst driving I think the same penalties should apply as drink driving. Generic c&c's to all, be back later.

[Horsetan]

Meanwhile, it's day 3 in the orifice without any e-mail or Internet service. Can't e-mail clients; can't receive communications from them. BT still haven't got round to fixing the problem. My senior colleague is going up the wall.

 

At least the landline still works.... for now.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Sunny here.

We may go to Hyde Hall, RHS gardens today. It isn't at all far and it is quite peaceful on weekdays.

I am feeling rather tired today. I am not having any trouble sleeping, it is just that I still feel exhausted when I wake up.

Tony

[Tony_S]

 

Meanwhile, it's day 3 in the orifice without any e-mail or Internet service. Can't e-mail clients; can't receive communications from them. BT still haven't got round to fixing the problem. My senior colleague is going up the wall.

At least the landline still works.... for now.

We once had the opposite, the phone didn't work but the adsl connection did.

[Tony_S]

As well as a walk at Hyde Hall it looks as if we will eat there too. Possibly buy some vases. We have had lots of flowers and have used up every suitable container. We had a rose bush arrive this morning and Hyde Hall should have whatever it is (rhizome powder?) the roots need sprinkling with.

Neighbours have travelled to North Wales to visit their family. Raining there. I had telephoned to let them know a downpipe had come adrift on their house but I had dealt with it.

Tony

Edited April 18, 2018 by Tony_S

[Horsetan]

HT: suggest a reboot of the modem/router to enable it trying to make a new connection, as the old one was interrupted but may reside in the table until the TTL period has expired. (TTL: time to live, or how long a device may expect the connection to last before reconnecting)

Tried that.

[TheQ]

Meanwhile, it's day 3 in the orifice without any e-mail or Internet service. Can't e-mail clients; can't receive communications from them. BT still haven't got round to fixing the problem. My senior colleague is going up the wall.

 

At least the landline still works.... for now.

Got a dial up modem hidden in a cupboard somewhere?

 

Kings Lynn hospital, is putting up it's parking charges by 30% to staff and the patients bill will be also up 30% to £2:60 an hour!!! yes they do have a staff shortage...

 

Just had the buffet meal with the meeting, as usual nothing that directly affects me except, they've obviously put up the budget for the meals, I'm stuffed and there is tons left over (which, now will go into the staff canteen for anyone to help themselves).

 Luckily the major system is on semi automatic programmes at the moment, so I've only lost half an hours runtime.

 

Time to ... wait around for this resisitor to settle..

Edited April 18, 2018 by TheQ

[BSW01]

Afternoon everyone

 

I’m just off to the big orange DIY shed to get some beading etc for the radiator covers. I’m also dropping Sheila of at the doctors as she has an appointment to check her BP and to see if her altered medication is doing what it should be doing.

 

Back later.

[Ian Abel]

You do not joke with US customs/immigration/homeland security officials!  

As I recall, one of the pre-requisites for the position is a total sense of humor failure, tested during the application process   

 

I've generally found, in all the years of back and forth, that the NY area US customs/immigration are the worst of all I've encountered...

 

Item of insignifica -> The BA "all business class" 32-seater A318 flights from London (City airport) to NY, clear customs in Shannon at a refueling/customs clearing stop, specifically so they don't have to go through customs at JFK. Used to be two a day, but due to the incorrectly anticipated demand they're down to 1 a day weekdays only.

They sold these as saving "several hours" clearing customs at JFK - frankly, having flown even on busy Thanskgiving and Christmas times, I've NEVER had that long a wait...

 

HUMP day - another NOT going into the office.

Dropped the Mrs off at the airport "o'crack sparrow", she's off for 5 days in Florida, spending time in a luxury condo (the SPARE one owned by her part-time employers). She gets to work a couple of hours a day - they couldn't find any other of their helpers to go down there!! - and the rest of the day(s) to herself. Lucky Mrs

 

Me - dog-sitting Whitney, so Whitney, Bob and I fend for ourselves until Saturday evening when Jemma picks up Whitney. Then just Bob and me until Sunday evening.

We see plenty of nutritious healthy food ahead for us       I'll drink to that

 

Zero and cloudy right now, expecting +3 and 1-2 inches of snow later this afternoon, though reports are it "MAY" miss us

 

Head on over the hump everyone, see you on the other side...

Edited April 18, 2018 by Ian Abel

[Horsetan]

Got a dial up modem hidden in a cupboard somewhere? ....

 

We have temporarily got round the lack of service by "borrowing" the WiFi of the office upstairs which seems to be mysteriously unaffected.

[bbishop]

A question to Mike (Stationmaster), can you recommend a firm of Solicitors and an Estate Agency branch (ideally from an outfit with a branch in Windsor as well)?  Not for me, but for a friend dealing with an estate.

 

Bill

[Horsetan]

A question to Mike (Stationmaster), can you recommend a firm of Solicitors and an Estate Agency branch (ideally from an outfit with a branch in Windsor as well)?  Not for me, but for a friend dealing with an estate.

 

Bill

 

These?

[Judge Dread]

   Some nice tackles going on there.

 

 

Several years ago now, a neighbour of mine heard the sound of breaking glass and looking out of his front room window saw his daughter's car had been broken into by a ner do well.

Rushing out side, this one time amateur rugby league player, dragged a person out of the car with a head lock. It was then that he released there was a look out near by who wasn't very good at his job! This fellow rode his bike at the two of them but was beaten by the"side step" and a "stiff arm tackle". This caused the rider and bike to each do full loops, parting company in different directions.

At that moment the police arrived (it was several years ago don't forget) and the usual questions were asked about the two herberts and my neighbour replied that the one under his arm had broken into the car and the other one had fallen off his bike.

[iL Dottore]

Afternoon All!

 

Kings Lynn hospital, is putting up it's parking charges by 30% to staff and patients the bill will be £2:60 an hour!!! yes they do have a staff shortage.....

Truly, the incompetent have taken over running the Asylum. At the hospital in the US where I worked for a number of years, parking was divided into 3 areas: that nearest the entrance (free) for the doctors, the second closest was for relatives (I can't remember if there was a small fee or not) and the area furthest away was for staff (free - carded barrier entrance). On pleasant days you walked, otherwise there was a shuttlebus service on bad weather days. In fact, I don't recall anywhere I worked in the US as charging me or my colleagues for parking. And, if Kings Lynn Hospital is typical, the parking fees will not go into the hospital's coffers but into the pockets of some wideboys and spivs running a so-called parking scam... (ahem) some "businessmen" operating a parking "service".

 

I know that by day I am a mild mannered scientist, but by night I am CAPTAIN CYNICAL dedicated to fighting cant, shoddy practice, questionable business and hypocrisy (well, I will be - once I get the superhero potion formula right). And I can tell you, CaptainC is going to have his work cut out for him on the UK stop of his world tour.

 

All joking apart, what gets me is that there seems to be absolutely NO recourse when things go t*ts up.I really think that the UK is ripe for a major shakeup. How worse can it get? You have the plod spending millions investigating dead politicians whilst claiming not enough resources to help burgled houseowners; you have a venal, cynical and incompetent Home Office deporting long standing residents who came to the UK in the 50s to rebuild the country, while allowing convicted Euro villains to stay because of their "human rights"; a political class that seems to be comprised of entitled chinless wonders, "right on comrades" stuck in a Soviet themed 70s and otherwise unemployable PPE graduates who feel that they are entitled to run the country. I could go on (and believe me I have just started...). On the continent, such a state of affairs would have - by now - lead to heads on pitchforks and bodies dangling from lamposts. The problem is that the Brits are, mostly, brought up to be mild mannered. I know that you have football hooligans - but that's just hooliganism of the body. The scary ones are hooligans of the mind: Robespierre, Lenin, Goebbels.... The European custom of decimating the ruling class when the populace has had enough really didn't catch on in the UK, did it?  You'd much rather demolish a pile of sandwiches and cake than a stately home (or the Houses of Parliament for that matter). Mind you if "grumbling" were a sport, the UK would be winning Gold across the board at every sporting event you could think of... All this really saddens me as I grew up in the UK and I think of it as a country without parallel and what I see is the ongoing, almost unopposed, destruction - by the right and the left - of everything of what made the UK unique.

 

Well, back to work. I have payiing work to complete.

 

Stay Frosty

 

iD

Edited April 18, 2018 by iL Dottore