Early Risers.

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Raining here and forecast to stay that way throughout the day with some heavy outbreaks.

Heard a "clunk" in the side alley earlier and on investigation found a fox that had managed to tip over the food waste bin that has a concrete block pavior on top of it. He stood there looking at me until he was told to "go away." Little sod had left a present though but it was outside neighbours front porch. I have warned them so they don't tread in it as they leave the house.

I'm still thinking about washing the car but not today. Don't think I'll go for a walk in the rain either. That just leaves me with one thing to do!

Have a good one,

F.Oxhater.

[leopardml2341]

Been at work for an hour and half.

 

Distinctly cooler this morning with evidence or rain hereabouts.

 

Not much else to report, just another day at t' mill.

 

Stay safe and well.

[BoD]

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Ah, so that's who he is   Due apologies to Bod.  And Mike Bellamy

Yes, it was indeed me.  
I won twice on the Premium bonds earlier this month and once in January too.

Still can’t say 2020 has been a good year though.

 

RMweb was the first (and only) online forum I joined, or for that matter even looked at, back then and it seemed that everyone was using ‘made up’ names so I just went along with it.  We were also being warned by employers and teaching unions to be very wary of identifying yourself on social media. It does have its disadvantages though when you introduce yourself to others at exhibitions and have to explain who you are.  Another negative was that a while ago, when RMweb was being particularly flakey, I made an effort to befriend people on Facebook because it would be nice to stay in touch if anything did happen to RMweb, however unlikely.  Many accepted but some didn’t.  I am telling myself that it was because they didn’t recognise me rather than they just don’t like me.

 

Morning all.

[TheQ]

Mooring again,  

Dull grey,  dry, cooler than yesterday. 

 

Ben the early collie has been patrolled.

She the early SWMBO has already got up. She also reports Mrs mozzie has friends but she's not been bitten.. 

 

I see the UK has had twice the normal great fried egg appearance than the normal average,  typical with us not being able to venture far from home. 

 

I also see hospitals are complaining about a great reduction in people turning up at A&E, they are saying people are not going to A&E as they frightened of the virus. 

They seem not to have considered many are leading a much less stressful life at home not at work.  There is a lot less driving,  and the children aren't out there doing stupid things.. 

 

Time to head upstairs with something lethal in a can.. 

 

 

[AndrewC]

Moaning all from the boring borough.  All quiet apart from my latest toy that is sitting on the coffee table chuffing away while being run in thanks to the rolling road.  Yes I’m talking about modelling. A very well wrapped and heavily discounted CP Royal Hudson arrived yesterday. 
 

A belated Happy Birthday to Andrew P. 

 

My last day off from pre-booked leave for a trip that didn’t happen. Looking at the calendar I don’t have a full 5 day week until the second week of June. A combination of leave and bank holidays gives me 6 long weekends in a row. 

 

Not a lot else to say. Enjoy the day. 

[Happy Hippo]

3 minutes ago, BoD said:

I made an effort to befriend people on Facebook because it would be nice to stay in touch if anything did happen to RMweb, however unlikely.  Many accepted but some didn’t.  I am telling myself that it was because they didn’t recognise me rather than they just don’t like me.

I steadfastly refused to inflict myself on others via Faceburk.

 

Instead, I prefer to send them the occasional PM via RMWeb.

 

Nothing gives me greater pleasure that the thought of the horror that causes, when some unfortunate soul finds they have a message from me in their inbox.

[Andrew P]

Some of you on here may know of Peter Midwinter / Trains12, well just to update you all.

 

He is still in Eryri Cottage Hospital in Caernarfon, having recently had to have a Leg amputation due to Sepsis and other complications.

I phoned him yesterday, and considering his current situation, he seemed in remarkably high spirits.

 

He had recently completed his new Shed / Barn / Manor House at his home on the back side of Snowdon overlooking Anglesey. The plan was and still is after my conversation with him yesterday to install and join up his former Exhibition Layouts, Great Tunsley Dale, Bridge of Muir, Glen Gillie, Loch Inch, and 2 of the old Stations from Manchester based on Whitland.

 

I'm sure many who know him will wish him a speedy recovery, and also wish him well with his project (see his Thread = The Final Dream), once he is able to return home to his wife Wendy, and try to resurrect and re organised the project as soon as he is able.

 

The Shed.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by Andrew P

[Andrew P]

8 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Mooring again,  

Dull grey,  dry, cooler than yesterday. 

 

Ben the early collie has been patrolled.

She the early SWMBO has already got up. She also reports Mrs mozzie has friends but she's not been bitten.. 

 

I see the UK has had twice the normal great fried egg appearance than the normal average,  typical with us not being able to venture far from home. 

 

I also see hospitals are complaining about a great reduction in people turning up at A&E, they are saying people are not going to A&E as they frightened of the virus. 

They seem not to have considered many are leading a much less stressful life at home not at work.  There is a lot less driving,  and the children aren't out there doing stupid things.. 

 

Time to head upstairs with something lethal in a can.. 

 

 

And a lot less Drunks / Fights for the Emergency Services to deal with every night etc.

[TheQ]

It's going to be interesting  the leave situation, because as I understand it, I'll still have the normal entitlement , even though I'm sat?  Here at home for 12 weeks.  I normally book a week for our regatta in the first week of August that I would rate as 50/50 at the moment.. 

 

There's going to be a traffic jam of leave when the lockdown is cleared. 

[Kingzance]

Good moaning,

 

It persists but thankfully I trimmed the green sward yesterday before wetness arrived. At least my local blackbird and robin families are enjoying the creatures being drawn to the surface by the moisture. It would appear that a first class bundle of electric string has got lost in the masses of packages being delivered by Royal Mail, or perhaps it was diverted via the virtual RNWeb exposition? Anyways, it still ain’t here so the planned excitation of nickel silver is still on hold. Other tasks that I thought would be required yesterday were accomplished so today doesn’t start with a backlog.

 

Talking of the virtual exposition, prize winners have been quick to respond to our Mr Y’s communications. I was lucky enough to gain one of the later places in the distribution list and was contacted last night with a choice of a few things. Having made my choice, our Mod confirmed such and life moved on, or so I thought. As I carefully composed this daily epistle, that nice Mr York returned an e-Mail to offer me sumfing else. Yes, reader, I had - somewhat embarrassingly - two numbers drawn! I have suggested to Our Glorious Leader (no not the one on a Presidential Train on the east coast of North Korea, nor the one trying to shift a load of sodium hypochlorite solution) that he pulls another rabbit number out of his Controller’s Top Hat as many others entered this good cause and also hoped that Lady Luck might smile upon them.

 

So, Tuesday it is then. The bin chorus has been heard. Later the fish man will hopefully make an appearance. Cars may be washed down to remove the streaks caused by earlier dust and the present rain and maybe, just maybe, the missing electric string will appear!

 

Be good or be careful. If in doubt then tomorrow will be another day.

[Compound2632]

10 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I see that Microsoft Word will now flag two spaces following a sentence as a grammatical error.

 

Helpful, or draconian? Discuss.

 

(Honestly I don't expect you to discuss it.)  

 

Red rag...

 

That's because Word is doing the job of a printer's compositor rather than a office typist. The compositor would insert a wider space after a full stop than after any other item of punctuation. The typist would insert a double space in crude imitation.

[Coombe Barton]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Is it me, or are others loosing track of what day of the week it is?

I have to look at the date on my Mac screen to tell me

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

The weather is dull again here, no rain as yet but we are due some around dinner time or early afternoon. 

 

The plans for today are to continue painting the old towel rail and whilst the paint is drying to do some gardening, if it isn’t raining, or to continue working on the turntable if it is raining.

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later 

 

 

[Kingzance]

Re reduced numbers in A&E, sister in law is a “mature” nurse in the Newport Gwent area, usually in A&E at the RGH but occasionally elsewhere. She has been saying for ages that well over half those turning up at A&E did not need to come. Perhaps fear of WuFlu may reset their mindless / selfish clogging of what is basically a system to treat real and not virtual health issues / demand second opinions if they disagreed with their GP / expected some support for their drug cravings / get a free meal ticket if they were hungry - and yes, I kid you not!

 

Microsoft Word and typesetter? SWMBO always complains if I do NOT insert a second space after a full stop, just as she hates the phrase “your truly”. I know how to wind her up   .

[Coombe Barton]

Two spaces after a full stop became outdated fifty years ago with the IBM proportionally spaced golfball typewriter, as did the insistence on serif typefaces.

That said I go back even further and use Helvetica for my layouts. Fortunately it's native on a Mac.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Coombe Barton

[Compound2632]

25 minutes ago, Kingzance said:

did not need to come. Perhaps fear 

 

Microsoft Word and typesetter? SWMBO always complains if I do NOT insert a second space after a full stop, just as she hates the phrase “your truly”. I know how to wind her up   .

 

I take it she doesn't read your RMWeb posts!

[Happy Hippo]

Withallthischataboutdoublespacesattheendofsentences,Ihavedecidednottobothertousesspacesanymore,evenafterpunctuation.Lookathowmuchspaceitsaves.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Happy Hippo
remove spaces

[Kingzance]

5 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

I take it she doesn't read your RMWeb posts!

This is my parallel universe. SWMBO doesn’t care about it unless it interrupts her orders or my paying attention to them! 

[Kingzance]

12 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

Two spaces after a full stop became outdated fifty years ago with the IBM proportionally spaced golfball typewriter, as did the insistence on serif typefaces.

Outdated fifty years ago perhaps but still de rigour in technical authorship typing and proof reading well into the 1970s she says.

[Happy Hippo]

Just had to make a difficult decision regarding the Robin box  outside the kitchen window.

 

We saw a Jay land on the top of the box and take a look inside.  We scared it away, but it will be back now it knows there are chicks inside.

 

Disturbing birds is not something to be undertaken lightly, but I'm not a naturalist who will let nature take it's course. They are OUR Robin chicks.

 

Fortunately the box has a flat top, so a roof extender was created from a sheet of flooring, and gently placed on top of the box and secured with a brick.

 

With the aid of a step stool, the placement took all of 3 seconds.

 

The Jay now cannot land on the roof, lean over and get it's head inside.

 

I'll remove the box in the autumn,  and replace it with an improved version.

 

Customer feedback will probably ask for a small kitchen and en-suite facilities!

[BoD]

59 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

I have to look at the date on my Mac screen to tell me

Keeping track is easy. Today is April 94th.

[Shedman5]

Morning, Grey and overcast outside, no rain currently though it has done overnight.

 

Todays job is pack an item up ready for dispatch which I am selling on flea bay, bids have been made and the auction finishes later today. Very happy with what its going for so looks like a good job all round fingers crossed.

 

Otherwise not a lot to report at the moment.

 

Take care all

[southern42]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Red rag...

 

That's because Word is doing the job of a printer's compositor rather than a office typist. The compositor would insert a wider space after a full stop than after any other item of punctuation. The typist would insert a double space in crude imitation.

 

Then, has Word done the same, with a wider space between sentences than words?

 

Hat...coat...

 

I use Mac Pages...

 

[southern42]

56 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Withallthischataboutdoublespacesattheendofsentences,Ihavedecidednottobothertousesspacesanymore,evenafterpunctuation.Lookathowmuchspaceitsaves.

 

Sohowmanymorehappyhipposinthemuddypondcanyougetifyoudeleteanyspacearoundthem,then?

Edited April 28, 2020 by southern42
missed a space!

[AndrewC]

1 hour ago, Andrew P said:

And a lot less Drunks / Fights for the Emergency Services to deal with every night etc.

Partially cancelled out by the reported 40%+ increase in domestic abuse. Much of which requires the emergency services and A&E. The drunks are at home taking it out on their partners instead of starting fights outside the local 'spoons.