Early Risers.

[AndyB]

38 minutes ago, Ashcombe said:

Some landlubbers are planning to gather boxes of treats for the crews for Christmas. 

Having previously worked for a maritime charity that supports seafarers I know how much that will mean to the crews.

I suspect that one impact may be that scheduled crew changes are trickier.

But not nearly as bad as if the ship is abandoned by its owners! If that happens no crew may leave without a replacement being provided. Basic needs (e.g. food) then often fall to faith-based port chaplains. 

[Andrew P]

56 minutes ago, Ashcombe said:

Some of you may be interested to know that several cruise ships (and the ocean liner QM2!!)  have been anchored in Torbay since the Spring! There just aren’t enough mooring spaces available in ports. They are regarded with great affection by the locals, not least because they have donated surplus food to our local homeless charities. Some landlubbers are planning to gather boxes of treats for the crews for Christmas. 
 

Today, there were six in sight as I walked over Babbacombe Downs! Earlier this year, some enterprising boat owners, who normally run ferries within the bay, organised trips for people to view the ships at close quarters. My son, grandson and I joined one such trip last month. 

 

47 minutes ago, TheQ said:

That stern view is another reason I don't trust those boats... stability. A floating tower block on a small base.. 

YES indeed, How do they stay upright in a Gale force wind? frightening.

[BSW01]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Out of interest, how long does the tanking solution provide protection against damp?  And what finish do you apply over the top once tanked - plaster/paint/dry line/something else?

The simple answer to the first question is I don't know. 

As for the second question, I'm putting up plaster boards and then getting the lot skimmed. Luckily my SiL is a plasterer, so does all that for me, in return I do their electrics. 

[simontaylor484]

Greetings to all

 

I have been on ferries and a small fishing boar trip in rough sea round to beachy head and back to port. 

And a river cruise in York when the Mrs was most ill

 

My Grandad had one of those gray funnel cruises Russia the med the far East  Australia the US and home on The Aquitania. 

He blamed his baldness on being scalped by Indians in Norfolk Virginia to me and my cousins .

My cousin Matt once stood up in school and told every one this

[Ian Abel]

Chewsday in the land-of-lockdown...

 

For inexplicable reasons (though not really, there are a ton of cockwombles here!!) Minnesota, even WITH strict regulations, recommendations and best efforts from the governor, are now vying daily for #1 or #2 WORST affected states in the US   4,000 deaths recorded yesterday, the population is only 5.6 million here in the state.

However, especially to our EAST, while we have closed bars and restaurants, it's only a 35 mile journey to Hudson, Wisconsin, where they have NO closure rules, and apparently half the state seem to be travelling there every evening, getting sh!tfaced and starting fights, all without masks, OF COURSE!  

Apparently the locals are "surprised" but still don't feel their state should impose any restrictions - again, can't fix STUPID!

 

Staying inside here, though will venture out for a curbside pickup of some liquid essentials today, as well as a drive-by checkup of our friends house, we're checking occasionally for them while they are in Arizona.

 

-2 here and overcast, going to be "meh" all day with a high of 5

 

Onward...

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

That stern view is another reason I don't trust those boats... stability. A floating tower block on a small base.. 

QM2 on our Atlantic crossing did 21knots in a Force 10 last year. Utterly stable. Those waves were worth watching! Our cabin was on Deck 13 , which was higher than the bridge. We couldn’t go outside in those conditions though. Unlike most cruise ships QM2 had a couple of gas turbines to supplement the usual diesel generators. 

[TheQ]

43 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

QM2 on our Atlantic crossing did 21knots in a Force 10 last year. Utterly stable. Those waves were worth watching! Our cabin was on Deck 13 , which was higher than the bridge. We couldn’t go outside in those conditions though. Unlike most cruise ships QM2 had a couple of gas turbines to supplement the usual diesel generators. 

Loose power to the four stabilisers and you'd be playing rock and roll.

 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Went down to Tess Coes and now have sufficient dinners until Friday. Also had a haircut as there is a hairdresser in the store. I'm afraid cruise ships don't shake my tree, neither do to closely organised holidays, I much prefer to do my own thing.

[polybear]

1 hour ago, BSW01 said:

 Luckily my SiL is a plasterer, so does all that for me......

 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  Plastering?  Black Magic.  Bear will do most things, but not plastering (unless it's a diddy area) or roof work (too bl00dy high for this Bear - gutters are my limit)

 

51 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

Minnesota, even WITH strict regulations, recommendations and best efforts from the governor, are now vying daily for #1 or #2 WORST affected states in the US   4,000 deaths recorded yesterday, the population is only 5.6 million here in the state.

 

 

JEEZ....

The worst UK daily death rate was approximately 1000, for a total population figure (2019) of 66.6 Million.  If Bear's sums are correct that means the Minnesota rate is currently 47 times worse than the worst UK rate.

Out of interest, if someone in the US ends up in Hospital with C-19 do they (or their insurance company) get a big bill at the end of it?  What happens for those who can't afford insurance, especially if they need ITU care?

 

In other news:

The Media are milking the first person to be vaccinated good and proper.  What next - Maggie Keenan, This Is Your Life?

And I see that a load of Rugby players are going to sue the Rugby authorities for brain damage.  Did they not realise 20 or 30 years ago that being continually buried under a pile of All Blacks is detrimental to your health?

Rant over.

 

[BoD]

Evenning all.

 

I went out for a walk today as I was allowed out.  Didn't go that far but everything held out and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

We haven't been on a cruise. I'm not sure that I would enjoy it for reasons that others have already given here. I think I could probably enjoy a cruise in the fjords on a smaller ship or one of those river cruises.   However, Valerie wants to try one so we had decided that when she retires next April it would be one of the first things we would do.  Or at least it would have been .......

[Ashcombe]

57 minutes ago, BoD said:

Evenning all........

.......We haven't been on a cruise. I'm not sure that I would enjoy it for reasons that others have already given here. I think I could probably enjoy a cruise in the fjords on a smaller ship or one of those river cruises.   However, Valerie wants to try one so we had decided that when she retires next April it would be one of the first things we would do.  Or at least it would have been .......

That sounds like an ideal way to dip your toe in the water (pardon the pun!) Some of you may remember that Olddudders wasn’t keen but two cruises to interesting destinations in N. Europe, including the Norwegian fjords, converted him. We should have undertaken a third one last April but obviously it was cancelled. For a first cruise, I would recommend Fred Olsen, a small company with small ships. Our favourite vessel is MV Balmoral. On a well organised cruise, queuing is not an issue. 

[tigerburnie]

The idea of a cruise is alright, do they do them without other passengers? A pal years ago asked why I didn't go back to France, loved the place and he butt in and added "it's full of French people, that's the problem".......................and he was French. lol

[Oldddudders]

5 minutes ago, Ashcombe said:

That sounds like an ideal way to dip your toe in the water (pardon the pun!) Some of you may remember that Olddudders wasn’t keen but two cruises to interesting destinations in N. Europe, including the Norwegian fjords, converted him. We should have undertaken a third one last April but obviously it was cancelled. For a first cruise, I would recommend Fred Olsen, a small company with small ships. Our favourite vessel is MV Balmoral. On a well organised cruise, queuing is not an issue. 

As Mrs OD points out, I wasn't keen - until she pointed out a cruise which seemed to go to places I would like to see, and so I volunteered. We were particularly lucky with our dining companions, so often the restaurant would be empty by the time we stopped roaring with inebriated laughter, but even breakfast - very little queuing - was easy and pleasing. Since many ERs talk fondly of food, cruising should be centre stage for them! I have happily been on a second cruise, and was equally gutted to realise our 2020 cruise was a non-starter. I suppose I still have a slight unease about formal nights, when decent dress code is required, but as I wear such stuff to do FOH for Sherry's AmDram theatre, it really isn't an issue. Overall, cruising is less prescriptive than I had feared, and we do our own thing. 

[polybear]

25 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

I suppose I still have a slight unease about formal nights, when decent dress code is required

 

Does that mean I'd have to iron my jeans?

[Ian Abel]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

4 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

Minnesota, even WITH strict regulations, recommendations and best efforts from the governor, are now vying daily for #1 or #2 WORST affected states in the US   4,000 deaths recorded yesterday, the population is only 5.6 million here in the state.

 

 

JEEZ....

The worst UK daily death rate was approximately 1000, for a total population figure (2019) of 66.6 Million.  If Bear's sums are correct that means the Minnesota rate is currently 47 times worse than the worst UK rate.

Out of interest, if someone in the US ends up in Hospital with C-19 do they (or their insurance company) get a big bill at the end of it?  What happens for those who can't afford insurance, especially if they need ITU care?

@polybear et al, sorry a misleading sentence from me, there weren't 4,000 deaths yesterday, we reached the 4,000 death MARK since this began, still significant given the state population...

Certainly I'd be on a plane to ANYWHERE if it was 4,000 in one day

 

Insurance companies get the bill, and you receive whatever you're not covered by as your portion.

So, folks will limited or "high deductible" insurance could face a staggering bill, although there is also some coverage (not sure the extent) as part of the CARES Act designed to help during the pandemic.

Some folks have seen bills for $3,000 just for testing early on if they didn't have sufficient insurance cover.

I've no specifics but as an example, my emergency appendectomy 10+ years back with a 2 1/2 day stay in hospital resulted in a bill for over $25,000, fortunately most all that was paid as I have excellent insurance, however, many folks are likely to see potentially significant bills if they have little or no insurance and spend time in the ICU, depending on what CARES covers!

Edited December 8, 2020 by Ian Abel

[Ozexpatriate]

5 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

Insurance companies get the bill, and you receive whatever you're not covered by as your portion.

So, folks will limited or "high deductible" insurance could face a staggering bill, although there is also some coverage (not sure the extent) as part of the CARES Act designed to help during the pandemic.

Some folks have seen bills for $3,000 just for testing early on if they didn't have sufficient insurance cover.

I've no specifics but as an example, my emergency appendectomy 10+ years back with a 2 1/2 day stay in hospital resulted in a bill for over $25,000, fortunately most all that was paid as I have excellent insurance, however, many folks are likely to see potentially significant bills if they have little or no insurance and spend time in the ICU, depending on what CARES covers!

To Ian's comment I would add that most plans have an "annual, out of pocket maximum" but people will pay (variably) perhaps as much as 20% of the bill up to the out of pocket maximum. A long hospital stay residual bill can be eye-watering, even on a good insurance plan.

 

There are many variables, like in-network versus out of network providers which could include the hospital down to individual physicians.

[New Haven Neil]

All of which is a stark reminder how much we should value our NHS.....

[Ozexpatriate]

19 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

we reached the 4,000 death MARK since this began, still significant given the state population...

Minnesota has a cumulative total of 72 CoViD-19 fatalities per 100,000 people. (Oregon now has 25.)

 

In all of the US there is a cumulative total of 87 CoViD-19 fatalities per 100,000 people. This is 93 for the UK.

 

UK daily diagnosis numbers appear to have dropped down significantly since the most recent peak. This is not happening in the US.

 

Recent data indicated that on an annualized basis for 2020, CoViD-19 was the number 3 cause of death in the US behind heart disease and all cancers aggregated. Reports focused on the current rate*, show CoViD-19 is currently the number 1 cause of death in the US.

 

* I don't know over what period this was determined.

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[New Haven Neil]

If I went on a cruise, it would be about the second day and I would be down here.....

 

[Coombe Barton]

... and you might have to clone me ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/sounds-of-the-season-10/

[grandadbob]

Evenin' each,

Been absent since Sunday as I've been a bit busy and possibly a bit silly for the last couple of days. In fact some may possibly say I'm completely bonkers and I wouldn't disagree but you only live once and I've decided to splash out on a new large item.  All will be revealed if the deal is completed in a couple of days time.

 

8 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Interesting comments about plastic surgery. One thing I suspect few know is that many of the procedures now used routinely in plastic surgery can be traced back to Sir Archibald McIndoe’s pioneering work in reconstructing horrendously burned pilots during (and after) The Battle of Britain.

 

Flavio, I've known about him since I was 11 years old and lived in a pub which was next to an RAF training camp.  Needless to say there were a lot of RAF personnel amongst the customers and one of them gave me a book entitled The Last Enemy by Richard Hilary who as you probably know was a young Spitfire pilot horribly burned and treated by Sir Archibald at East Grinstead Hospital.  Your post prompted me to look for the book to read it again but I can't find it which is quite annoying

 

Cruises:  Been on five, one on a smallish cruise ship and four on one very large one.  I did wonder if it would be horrific and too crowded etc but that has not been the case and have really enjoyed every one.  Were due on another one on an even bigger ship this year but that's been postponed until next May due to Covid.  We need to make a decision in January about whether or not we go and current thinking is we may well postpone again, possibly to 2022.  That will be to The Norwegian Fjords for the third time.  Love the small part of the country I've seen and the people.  

Edited December 8, 2020 by grandadbob

[PeterBB]

9 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Whilst acknowledging that plastic surgery has proved to be a life saver for some I do think that some of the procedures are more for people wanting perfection. 

And from what I generally see, apart from the life saving and essential, they look far worse for it but at great cost.

[Barry O]

Zoom pre AGM meeting accomplished.. just..

 

One of my friends from school took is to his home. I recognised that his dad had been one of McIndoes Guinea Pigs. The rest of my friends looked away. He had been burned in a fire in a Lancaster over Germany.  He talked a bit about the way saline baths really helped him.. He was a great man and was full of praise to the great surgeon. My mate said I was the first person to talk to him about his experiences.

 

Next up .. hair cut time tomorrow (but only after successful sign off of the house work completion) then our real "on line" AGM..

 

Numbers in Leeds are generally falling apart from an area which is fast becoming a police no go area..we shall see what transpires in the coming weeks.

 

@Coombe Barton yes.. a visit to gain the kudos of not actually adding value to anything may well be exactly what is happening..  

 

I shall now depart and have a bottle (or two) of Saltaire Brewery Stout..

 

Baz

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Ian Abel said:

I've no specifics but as an example, my emergency appendectomy 10+ years back with a 2 1/2 day stay in hospital resulted in a bill for over $25,000, fortunately most all that was paid as I have excellent insurance,

 

I'm sure between the ER'ers we could've sorted it a lot cheaper:

iD on the scalpel

Bear with the IPA anaesthetic

Hippo on Security

etc etc.

[Barry O]

meant to say..

 

we loved going for a gentle canal cruise when we were first married. I had to work late to sign an object which blew a hole in  a submersible object in the south Atlantic off. I eworked late which meant little sleep was had before we got up to go to Gargrave  by train to collect the hired narrow boat.  We set off, got the boat on time and set off.. to me "singing"  A Pirate King am I!!.. Luckily my work paid dividends and we had a great holiday!

 

Baz

Edited December 8, 2020 by Barry O
Making sense of an edit