Early Risers.

[roundhouse]

Talking of IT issues my main pc upstairs failed to start yesterday after the power outage on Wednesday. It’s 11 years old but still a fast machine and has a blue ray drive that most modern PCs don’t have anymore so I am trying to avoid replacing it. So yesterday I had the cover off and gave the innards a good vacuum as it’s been a year since last time I did this. Checked that the power cord was plugged in properly and unplugged then replugged in a few times (as this has cured the issue in the past) but still no go. Swapped the power lead with the older pc downstairs and voila, all working and the power lead from upstairs now working fine on the downstairs pc. It may well require a new power pack if I can get a suitable size one as the spare unused power pack I have won’t fit.

 

Crust earning has resulted in 100 O scale crates plus oil drums airbrushed with some crates still requiring weathering. Those finished may well be collected the owner today. I hope he can catch all of them .. socially distanced of course

[AndrewC]

Greetings all from a rather cool but humid boring borough. Yesterday national asshat day and nobody reminded me. 

 

@grandadbob One common problem with el cheapo ink cartridges is the chip. If that gets borked that colour ink isn't going to work. Depending on the printer, it may warn you that the ink slot is unrecognised, or it may just see the cartridge but refuse to play. I've sent back at least 1 cartridge out of every 20 or so I order because of this. At least the company I use is good about exchanging them.  

 

Little of note. So I'll just say hello and goodbye. Enjoy the weekend. POETS day I hope. 

[Simon G]

Morning all,

Damp, cool and windy here so far today, so not much will be done outside, for the morning at least.  Layout wiring looks like the first task of the day.  Hopefully it will improve later and we can get outside for a spell.  Today’s main excitement is the fortnightly Asda delivery, due this afternoon.  At least there should be no unwelcome substitutions, as I finally worked out how to turn them off for this delivery!

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

The sun is shining, but there are a few clouds about and there is a slight possibility of rain today. So, now that breakfast has been consumed I’m going to attempt to carry on painting the bench, if the weather turns, I’ll decamp to the cellar and give the slats another coat of paint. After that, I’ll return to the workshop and continue working on the turntable. 

 

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

[Happy Hippo]

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

There is a pub just north of The Wash called The King of Prussia IIRC. this is just north of an RAF bombing range. A mutual friend of Dave Hunt and I was part of a team that had been dropping practice bombs from Tornados. After the exercise they went to the pub. The Landlord asked them to inspect the outside loo and there in the pan, was a 28lb practice bomb. Apparently  one squadron member had to buy a round.  So Boise usn't the only town to be bombed by it's own air force.

 

Jamie

One presumes the gentleman concerned put in for an immediate inter-service transfer to the Dropshorts Royal Regiment of Artillery.

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

 

 

Major Cockwomble today, I had green right arrow to follow this morning and the cockwomble coming the other way came straight through  a red light at me, both of us having to brake and swerve., the other car that had been alongside him stopped correctly...

 

You should have adopted a Jack Hawkins persona and called to the engine room for ramming speed.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

There is a slight hint of blue about the mainly overcast sky today. It is quite breezy. I haven’t been outside yet though.

Aditi is off out this afternoon for a blood test. She booked it after I reported that it all  seemed very safely done at mine on Wednesday. My GP’s receptionist telephoned yesterday afternoon to make a telephone appointment for a discussion with my GP about the results from Wednesday’s test. 

We had our shopping delivered yesterday. There were a couple of substitutions, nothing really odd, just Albert Bartlett potatoes instead of Waitrose. Aditi emailed Waitrose to say they had doubled up on a couple of items and offered to pay for them. They haven’t replied yet except for the automatic acknowledgment.

I started another slot car kit yesterday. I was struggling to adjust a tiny grub screw when I realised I was trying to insert the key into the slightly cupped end rather than the hex socketed end. I wore my modelling glasses after realising. 
Tony
 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

One presumes the gentleman concerned put in for an immediate inter-service transfer to the Dropshorts Royal Regiment of Artillery.

Yes, the dropshorts, that's what my ex tanky mate called them. My son, when he was in, called them the 9 mile snipers. As to the range. I know it was Wainfleet so if I've got the wrong side of the Wash that's my fault. Marham was where Dave was based.  Apparently there was a photo of the errant missile before it was moved. It's arrival would certainly have caused an immediate evacuation of one sort or another.

 

Jamie

Edited June 12, 2020 by jamie92208

[tigerburnie]

4 hours ago, AndyID said:

This character showed up just as we were sitting down for dinner.

 

 

I think it's most likely a young Bald Eagle or possibly a Golden Eagle. MrsID has posted it on the local FB page. Someone will be able to identify it correctly.

That doesn't look like an Eagles bill, looks more like a Red Tail to me.

[tigerburnie]

Morning, GDB are you allowed near an axe...……………………..? We still have wild and windy up here, but at least it's dry for the moment, did manage a wander round the perimeter of the village yesterday, if the wind drops we might go for a cycle ride later, not been on the bikes for a week and I need to get fitter to test out my new walking boots, once we are allowed back into the Glens again, I have an appointment with a Munroe.

Some muddling might take place later...…...toot, toot for now

[grandadbob]

38 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

One presumes the gentleman concerned put in for an immediate inter-service transfer to the Dropshorts Royal Regiment of Artillery.

 My dear old Dad was a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery.  In 1942 or 3 he was on a motor bike on an exercise and a barrage came down in the wrong place.  He was hit in the arm by some shrapnel, lost part of the use of his arm and his right leg went through the back wheel of the bike and he lost his leg below the knee.  That was the end of his war.

[Shedman5]

Morning, just stopped raining here so off out to the supermarket, still recovering from a long drive to London and back in the day (lockdown rules) to sort a couple of issues son and daughter in law  had ( not between them)  saw grandson in the flesh for the first time since March 2nd boy has he grown now 6 months old.

Supermarket beckons , it's most likely I will be back later.

 

Enjoy your day

 

[southern42]

On 11/06/2020 at 09:41, Happy Hippo said:

For those under the mistaken idea that Nos da means 'good night' in Welsh, recent research has revealed that it actually means 'it's cloudy'.

 

 

 

What else?  It IS Wales, isn't it mun?

Edited June 12, 2020 by southern42

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, southern42 said:

 

What else?  It IS Wales, isn't it mun?

I am surprised I didn’t end up with a Welsh accent. When I was very young in Somerset we used to get TWW as our commercial tv channel. I am sure all I can remember is “Ivor Emanuel Sings”. He may have read the news  and weather too at weekends. Odd how things from over 60 years ago lodge in the brain. So many of my teachers at secondary school in the Midlands were Welsh. When I started teaching in Essex I was one of the few teachers not from Wales or Yorkshire. 
Tony

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Just finishing tidying up the patio and a fodder run to do today. Been thinking about what to do with the 'wildlife corner' of the garden as when the old shed is removed it will become exposed. I will be cutting back the brambles but leave a few for the birds and I have an old wooden fence post that I will plant and grow some ivy on it, anything else will have to wait until the shed has gone.

7 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Not so, Boise City, OK was bombed in WW2 by a B-17:

You can see the placement of the monument in the lower left of the photo:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise_City,_Oklahoma

 

 

6 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Ahah, but was it intentional though? Very interesting however.

 

There has been several unintentional bombings of the USA including this one:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

Quite bright out there but there is high thin cloud across most of the sky with occasional pale v blue streaks showing through.  More rain forecast later and the wind has been giving the trees a good shaking and still is.  No attractions out for the Red Kites today unless they're into bread - some are so maybe there are chicks to feed?   I'm off for blood test next Tuesday and have again opted for the simplicity of doing ther deed outside in the tent, sorry gazebo but it still means masking up.

 

I think Tony got away lightly with the Welsh Accent thing - when i was lodging in Caerdydd we had a very mixed bunch of folk (all nice people fortunately) but BT used to run training courses in the city and some of the regular trainers lodged where I was and most of them were native Welsh speakers.  So every evening on tv we had to watch Heddlu although the rest of the time we were watching stuff in English.  As I also worked among Welsh speakers I had little option but to pick up various introductory pleasantries, no problem although it's all along time back.  One of our clerks - who invariably spoke English - had the big advantage of owning a (the?) fish & chip shop in Merthyr Vale so any occasional evening trips in that direction did have a peculiar, and pleasant, advantage.  Oddly although it was South Wales most of the clerical and supervisory folk, and a good percentage of our Drivers could speak Welsh although hardly any of the yard staff or Signalmen knew the language.  it was an interesting change coming back to England but as my boss had come off the Eastern Region we still at times had to translate things when talking to him.

 

Right time to mooch around the rest of RMweb.  Oh no it isn't - I am commanded instead to go and clean the vauum.  Enjoy your day one and all and stay safe.

Edited June 12, 2020 by The Stationmaster
Revised orders

[The Stationmaster]

4 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 

There has been several unintentional bombings of the USA including this one:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Goldsboro_B-52_crash

And elsewhere - the Palomares incident in 1966

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_Palomares_B-52_crash

[iL Dottore]

Afternoon all,

 

All this talk about printer cartridges and will they/won’t they work has awoken a perennial irritation of mine: the price of the laser printer cartridges. I bought a Hewlett-Packard colour laser printer and copier for my company and every so often I have to buy new cartridges for it, to date I have spent more on buying cartridges than I ever did on the damn printer. HP has got the Swiss printer cartridge market pretty much sewn up, at least in terms of Hewlett-Packard  compatible aftermarket replacements. The more inexpensive “no name“ substitutes you can’t find here and on Amazon, all the suppliers of such things have, in big red letters, the notice “We don’t ship this item to Switzerland” in the box indicating price/availability.

 

Fortunately, such supplies are tax deductible against company earnings, but on principle I object to paying so much for these items (especially as you are encouraged to return them for recycling, which presumably means the spent printer cartridges are returned to HP for refilling, a few new seals, a new box and are then are sent back out again to be resold at huge prices).

 

Whilst the less than good working environment practices at the company named after a South American river are well known, the problem is that for many things this company is really the only place to get them. Small shops that stock unusual or hobby specific or “non mainstream” items have pretty much disappeared.  Certainly, changes in society have resulted in certain businesses becoming no longer viable (where, for example, do you go to get your hat re-blocked and who nowadays wears a hat?) but we must also “thank” the greed of both councils and commercial landlords (and lets not forget the pernicious influence of out-of-town mega shopping centres) for this state of affairs.

 

Now, if you are lucky, you might be able to find a non-big S American river source of what you are looking for. I am not so lucky,  Local hobby related stores stock but a fraction of what you lucky people in the UK and the US take for granted, ordering items they don’t stock is an expensive three ring circus, and if you want to order directly from a UK or US supplier you are hit with the double whammy of import fees and taxes with horrendously high shipping costs (the shipping costs from the US are utterly appalling! You’d think that the country that came up with UPS and FedEx would be able to ship things around the world relatively inexpensively). So, unfortunately, it is the big A for a lot of things.

 

Oh dear, now I’ve got myself a little bit worked up (again) about the appalling retail situation in Switzerland. At first glance, it may seem there is a lot of choice in variety available. WRONG! What you can choose from is what the importers think will make them the greatest profit (and to hell with the consumers and retailers.....I’ll stop now, because if I continue I will get quite choleric and we can’t have that)

Sun has come out, now time to head to the garden with a Cuban cigar, a wee dram and a book...

 

Cheers

 

F
 

Edited June 12, 2020 by iL Dottore

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

 So every evening on tv we had to watch Heddlu although the rest of the time we were watching stuff in English.

Didn't you get fed up looking at Brian Rolley and Rob Gunstone?

 

I think the program you had to endure was Heddiw,  which means Today, whereas Heddlu are the Feds! 

 

 

[Tony_S]

The major printer manufacturers big earners aren’t the printers it is the consumables. Hence why independent reviews look at the refill cost and cost per page. I don’t have any inkjet printers at the moment. I may have just been unlucky with the non OEM cartridges I purchased in the past. I also think I may have been sold counterfeit “genuine” ones in the past. 

[Gwiwer]

10 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think the program you had to endure was Heddiw

I remember it well.  Not that I understood more than a word or two mind.  And mother used to tell me it was "Heidi for Grown-ups".  Is it any wonder I grew up with a healthy scepticism for anything which seemed to be bulldust?  

 

Good afternoon one and all.  I am now officially on my summer holidays for two weeks.  May I say I have never been less enthusiastic about holidays in my life.  Frankly I wold rather carry on working that sit two weeks in or around home without an option to do anything much at all.  Swapping leave is not an option.  It always requires the co-operation of a colleague willing to exchange theirs.  At the beginning of this we all received a notice stating quite specifically that rostered leave could not be exchanged for future dates simply because of government travel advice.  

 

Yawwwwwnnnnnn.

 

 

Let the drinking commence.  

[tetsudofan]

Reading about all the recent racial/discrimination discussions its interesting how such discrimination can sometimes get reversed.

 

Having lived in Japan for many years there is a subtle form of discrimination against foreigners depending upon the words that are used to describe foreigners based upon the usage of the words comprised of:

 

gai = outside

 

koku = country

 

jin = person

 

If you are called a "gaijin" (the normal wording used by the average Japanese) its regarded as being rather rude as it basically means "outside person"

 

On the other hand if you are called a "gaikokujin" it is regarded as being polite as it basically means "outside country person"

 

During my trips to Hawaii with my Japanese partner at that time it would be interesting watching the reaction of the average Japanese tourist when I would say "look gaijin!!".

 

Back here at home I'm a happy bunny as at last I've been able to buy some concrete and mortar mixes (which are used when muddling in the garden) which have been unobtainable at any of the normal suppliers. Popped into Homebase yesterday - no concrete or mortar mix, no idea when stocks would arrive but on visiting Wickes I was surprised that they had some on the shelves which, I was told, had only just arrived. Bearing that in mind, I got as much as I could safely get in the car and returned twice again so that I now have six bags of concrete mix and eighteen bags of mortar mix plus some aerated (Celcon) and heavier breeze blocks in stock!! Should keep me going for some time .

 

Will be able to finish this:

 

 

so that the blocks will be completely covered by the rock facing.

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

8 hours ago, AndyID said:

This character showed up just as we were sitting down for dinner.

 

 

I think it's most likely a young Bald Eagle or possibly a Golden Eagle. MrsID has posted it on the local FB page. Someone will be able to identify it correctly.

This guy showed up in my yard this morning, they’ve returned after being driven off two years ago by vicious blue jays. He’s a Red Tailed Hawk I think, not sure about yours. 

[J. S. Bach]

10 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Ahah, but was it intentional though? Very interesting however.

Kind of intentional, the 17 was on a practice bombing mission. They flew off intending to drop bombs and they did.   Of course if they were flying over Germany at the time. it would not have mattered where they let loose.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

3 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

Kind of intentional, the 17 was on a practice bombing mission. They flew off intending to drop bombs and they did.   Of course if they were flying over Germany at the time. it would not have mattered where they let loose.

I think they rarely hit their targets anyway, it was only shear mass of bombs that achieved that.