Early Risers.

[Ozexpatriate]

11 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

I can only see the sea from home if I stand on the roof,

You need a widow's walk! (The architectural not the widows' peak hairline feature.)

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

23 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

... get up and go somewhat absent.

The response to your Facebook post is unsurprising. The democratization of internet idiocy is the triumph of truthiness over fact. People believe what feels right to them, even more so when the traditional establishment demonstrates that it is not. Anti-intellectualism, dressed up as anti-elitism is the enemy of fact and the trump card of idiocy.

 

If I may paraphrase Karl M., the opiate of the masses is now internet anti-intellectualism.

 

And you can't argue with idiots, it only winds them up.

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Gwiwer]

3 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

you can't argue with idiots, it only winds them up.

Or "Once a keyboard warrior - always a keyboard warrior".

 

There is so much truth in the statement that we possess a hand-sized device which can access our entire wealth of knowledge yet we use it to look at pictures of cats and argue with strangers.  

[Erichill16]

Happy Birthday Stewart, I bet it’s not been like last years and hopefully it won’t be like next years. Anyway hope you’ve made the best of it.

Is it me or has there been a lot of celebrations/birthdays recently?

Not much of a day here. Catching up on some paperwork. Was hoping to get toolbox out but paperwork hogged the day and by the time I’d done enough mojo had left the building. Always tomorrow I suppose until something  crops up to spoil it.

I had a garden railway at my last house but most of the stock was of the cheaper type. I moved house and intend(ed) to build another. Sold off the cheaper stock and replaced it with something better but haven’t so far got round to building a railway to run it on. It’s only been 16years! 

Goodnight and lets keep the black dogs at bay,

Robert

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

baz

[Gwiwer]

21 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Is it me or has there been a lot of celebrations/birthdays recently?

In the UK the main holiday time is July / August.  Nine months later you get .....

 

And with that thought it’s goodnight from me. And it’s goodnight from him. 

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[AndyID]

6 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

Possibly I'm in the minority being in the US, the track is a mix of LGB and Aristocraft, more Aristo, so here's the questions;

i) Will the fishplates alone provide a decent enough connection initially for the track power, given I'll use some pliers to make sure there's a lot of positive contact. I've got a honking Aristo G-Gauge controller that's going to be used to start with.

ii) With the Aristo, they have screw attached fishplates, see below;

 

will they provide good enough additional electrical route, AND how the hell do you manage to get those tiny screws installed down on your hands and knees without losing the buqqers??

 

 

As others have said " 'ere be dragons" 

 

Any electrical stuff exposed to the elephants (or hippos) will degrade PDQ and you will not be a happy bunny. To make it reliable you don't want to rely on a piece of track to transmit power much further than its own length which means, ideally, you need a copper power feed that connects to every piece.

 

Brass isn't a terribly good electrical conductor (copper is about four times better) so if you relied on the track alone the voltage will drop on long runs which will be a problem if you run analog rather than DCC. A copper distribution system should fix that.

 

That said, brass is still a much better electrical conductor that nickel-silver but you don't want to rely on fishplates to carry the current between track panels.

[AndyID]

43 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

In the UK the main holiday time is July / August.  Nine months later you get .....

 

 

Mine was last month too but I was keeping schtum    At least they didn't call me Rothesay.

[petethemole]

I didn't get anything done this evening after all; instead I watched A Bridge Too Far and the reboot of Van der Valk.  The pile of stuff I was going to put in the loft is still on my bed and the items for sale remain unphotographed and unlisted, but two bottles of Bass and one of Old Empire have been consumed. 

 

I'm over 70 and go out most days for combined exercise and shopping.  I don't think I'm an idiot.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone

 

My first job this morning was to plant up a packet of chamomile seeds, they were given away free with a magazine Sheila regularly buys. After that I decided to do a job on the car that I’ve been putting off for a while. My car has tyre pressure monitoring, but it appears that each wheel is assigned to a specific corner of the car. A while ago I had a puncture in the front off side tyre, my spare wheel is one of those tiny space saving tyres and I’m wasn’t keen on having one of those on the front, as it could effect the steering. So I put the spare on the back offside, the wheel from the back was then swapped with the punctured front tyre. A few weeks ago the low pressure indicator showed the rear off side tyre was low, so I pumped it up. The pressure on the rear tyre didn’t alter, but the front tyres pressure went up. That’s when I realised that the monitoring stays with the tyre, regardless of which wheel it’s on. So today I finally got round to swapping them over and they are now back to where they should be, a bit of a pain, but luckily the sun was shining and it didn’t take too long, I’d just finished the job in time for dinner. 

 

After dinner I went to the workshop, where I fitted the prototype limit switch to the base plate. I then tested indexing disc to see if the warp of the disc interfered with the operation of the limit switch. It didn’t, so by rotating the device by hand and using a multimeter to check the on and off function. Once I was satisfied that it was working ok, I wired the limit switch in series with the motor, so that when it operated, the motor stopped. Power was the applied power and tested the indexing wheel, which has now had a notch put in it  only one notch is required, as the stopping places are decided by the number of limit switches that are fitted. All worked well, with the lining up of the bridge, which is currently just a couple of pencil marks on the disc and plate, both clockwise and anti-clockwise is almost pin point accuracy, so I’m very pleased with that. This means that thankfully there is no need to go to plan ‘B’. The next stage will be to connect up all the different bits together and test the whole system, but that will probably not be until next weekend. 

 

Goodnight all. 

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Anti-intellectualism, dressed up as anti-elitism is the enemy of fact and the trump card of idiocy.

 

 

I see what you did there!

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

Good night owl from the Piedmont.

[The Stationmaster]

6 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I have been reading with interest that as the lock in continues, alcohol sales have soared with many people in the 40-70 age bracket buying (and drinking) far more cheap alcohol.  The article also went on about the problems of social isolation.

 

The Obergrumpenfuhrer and I must be really odd because we are not suffering from any social deprivation by being physically isolated, and neither are we drinking  gallons:  In fact our alcohol consumption had gone down considerably.

 

I'd put this down to the isolation which has lowered our stress levels by removing the idiots with whom we generally had to deal with on a regular basis.

 

When this C-19 saga is finally over and social interaction once again becomes the norm, please spare a thought for those of us who will have to return to suffering from pillock induced stress and the comfort eating and drinking that this produces.

Right I have to confess about my lockdown drinking habit.  I have consumed two glasses of champagne (thus far) during lockdown - this is considerably more champagne than I have drunk in the rest of 2020 to date - two glasses more to be precise.  But it wasn't cheap alcohol - it was a  free gift from a departing neighbour (does that make it even worse because free is even cheaper than cheap?).

 

On the other hand I haven't consumed any other alcohol iuring the lockdown and will have missed one evening out which means that I have probably avoided drinking a couple of glasses of wine or cider.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[pH]

I tried to change the tires on the car yesterday. Snows aren't needed anywhere in BC after April 30 - I had kept them on in case we had gone to visit son and family in Nelson, in which case we should have had them on. First wheel - undid all the nuts, the wheel would not come off the car. Tried liberal use of a rubber mallet, but still no results. So I looked up the internet for cause and treatment.

 

Second attempt today, using advice from the net. Undid the nuts, put a couple back on, just a few turns. Lay on my side, partly under the car and booted the back of the tire - success! Apparently the problem is caused by the metal of the wheel seizing to the different metal of the hub. Any mild corrosion brushed off the hub, thin coating of 'anti seize' compound (bought yesterday) on the face of the hub, and summer tires mounted.

 

I like simple fixes. If they also involve some violence to release frustration, so much the better.

 

 

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, pH said:

I tried to change the tires on the car yesterday. Snows aren't needed anywhere in BC after April 30 - I had kept them on in case we had gone to visit son and family in Nelson, in which case we should have had them on. First wheel - undid all the nuts, the wheel would not come off the car. Tried liberal use of a rubber mallet, but still no results. So I looked up the internet for cause and treatment.

 

Second attempt today, using advice from the net. Undid the nuts, put a couple back on, just a few turns. Lay on my side, partly under the car and booted the back of the tire - success! Apparently the problem is caused by the metal of the wheel seizing to the different metal of the hub. Any mild corrosion brushed off the hub, thin coating of 'anti seize' compound (bought yesterday) on the face of the hub, and summer tires mounted.

 

 

I've had that happen too. What I do is loosen the nuts on the offending wheel then wind them back in but no more than finger tight. Then drive the car for a few yards and stomp on the brakes. Reverse and stomp on the brakes again.

 

That's usually enough to crack the corrosion and it avoids getting under the car.

[pH]

46 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

I've had that happen too. What I do is loosen the nuts on the offending wheel then wind them back in but no more than finger tight. Then drive the car for a few yards and stomp on the brakes. Reverse and stomp on the brakes again.

 

That's usually enough to crack the corrosion and it avoids getting under the car.

 

I wasn't worried about getting under the car. I was sure the two nuts I'd partially put back on were enough to hold the wheel as it released, and they were. I knew about the driving back and forward, but that would mean it being off the jack, and I wasn't so happy about that.

 

Anyway - whatever works.

[monkeysarefun]

 

 

As WInston said

 

Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.

 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

Good morning all 

 

May the Fourth be with you 

 

[TheQ]

Mooring awl inner Temple Hare, 

A magnificent 7 3/4 hours sleep I needed that.. 

 

Of course with the joys of spring and in the past people waiting for weddings at that time of year,  the other big peak of births was Nov / Dec / Jan.. 

 

I've always laid the spare tyre under the car when when working under it,  even when on stands. That last resort is wide and won't fall over like stands or the Jack. You might get bruised if the car fell but unlucky to be crushed. 

 

We had a temporary widows walk on this house a couple of years back,  when the chimneys were rebuilt,  it was the only time I've seen the sea from the house.  It shows how the coast has changed since  the house was called Seaview until 1927..

 

Time to head for the morning patrol. 

 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Yesterday could and should have been more productive.  True, the cluckbird was roasted, much of it eaten and the carcase dismantled, but not a lot else got done although there is no shortage of things to do.  I spent ages on the phone to a friend, which is always enjoyable, but the conversation went to places that I would have preferred it not to visit.  Whilst eating lunch I viewed a YouTube video of last year’s Dublin Pride procession.  The celebratory nature of the event came across loud and clear and I think – I hope! – that it reinforced my desire to attend the event next year. 

 

I realised some time ago that I am too easily distracted and reckon that I need energising.   The concept was new to me when Harry told me about it after he got the job with Amazon but before he started.  His way of energising himself involves doing exercises at the gym and does not appeal to me one little bit!  My memories of the gym at school are not at all happy and I would rather not revisit it three-quarters of a lifetime later.  There must be another way but I have no idea what it is.  Any ideas from the collective wisdom of ERs will be most welcome!

 

Today I need to stride purposefully to the bank and retrieve a statement.  Let us hope that my right knee will actually let me stride purposefully, for it is sometimes rather painful of late.  The thought that it might need replacing fills me with sheer terror.  So, for that matter, does the prospect of trying to get a GP appointment.  For now I will rely on Ibuprofen.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Shedman5]

Morning, when my brain starts to function and informs me why I am awake at this hour  then plans/news/comment  on matters will be made and reported on.

Coffee first!