Early Risers.

[Barry O]

what a waste of my time. Drove to Harrogate.. in the rain.. ground more marsh than grass  Home Captain said" it will dry out".. then it rained again.. home Captain said" it will dry out".. until 3:30 (we have to start before 4:01pm)  it won't dry out in time and... it is still chuckinitdarn.. Sense prevailed.. unlike at a couple of games elsewhere (youngest  herbert reminded the umpires about what happens if they  allow play to continue when it is unsafe to do so.. game ended..

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.  Missed this morning, Mrs NHN stuff...you know how it is.

 

Did the trailer collapse or did the crane drop the load on it causing the collapse?  The article seems to change half way through.

 

Re fitted the back wheel into Mrs NHN's modern bike this afternoon, after having to buy  a new tyre due to the old one having an interface with a screw.  We used to buy bikes for less than this cost.

 

have to rush, going out all the way to Kirk Michael for dinner with the now retired GM of the Welshpool.  Train talk tonight, yippee!

[simontaylor484]

If the rain there is anything like we have had today i doubt it would be dry enough by Tuesday if there was n't more rain

[simontaylor484]

13 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

 

Did the trailer collapse or did the crane drop the load on it causing the collapse?  The article seems to change half way

Yes thats what i thought its not very good journalism. 

 

The lifting equipment supplied by the crane company such as chains strops and beams will all be regularly tested and certified by an authorized test facility under LOLER lifting of loads equipment regs. The crane driver/operator must have an upto date copy with them

[southern42]

Just had the first downpour of the day. Not bad since it has been raining everywhere else around here!

[NGT6 1315]

Bit of a t-storm just discharged itself and is now rumbling off into the distance. I hope a quiet evening beckons now. I found the owner’s manual for The Replacement is available for download earlier this week, so I’m familiarising myself with some of the new gizmos already. Fundamentally, the operating principles have remained largely the same, so it shouldn’t be too much of a learning curve.

 

Add to this a sip of uisge beatha, and I’m feeling quite comfortable tonight. Had a migraine in the early hours of Friday, but thankfully, I felt sufficiently recovered to go through with the dealership appointment today.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Another eyelid inspection turned into a marathon, nearly three hours. Returning to the full English breakfast, my meal this evening will be an omelette. What about a full English omelette? Prepare the bacon, sausage and black pudding as you would for the pie adding the diced bread and mushrooms if you wish. Brown in the pan with a little oil then add the omelette mix poured evenly over the contents of the pan. The omelette mix is two large eggs with a dash of milk or cream (optional) with seasoning  to taste whipped until it is foaming and then poured quickly into the pan. Baked beans are strictly forbidden and tomatoes only if fresh thinly sliced as a garnish.

[JohnDMJ]

Evening and still confined to barracks. Tomorrow begins the preparatory potion for Monday's procedure!

 

6 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Perhaps you've forgotten that you may have revealed the method of neutralising Throat-ripper and Emasculator? All one needs is a pocket full of sausage and cheese. 

Rissoles!

Edited May 15, 2021 by JohnDMJ

[Gwiwer]

Evening all,

 

A day of Domestic Engineering has occurred in preparation for the visit tomorrow of Sister and BiL who might be spending a small amount of time inside under suitably distanced conditions.  We are allowing for the weather to be at least as inclement as forecast after today's was.  "Showers" turned into heavy downpours with thunder.  Tomorrow we are predicted to receive heavy thunderstorms ...... 

 

Some discontent has been caused Upon the Hill of Strawberries by the recent decision of the landlord to banish children from the front lawns.  Officially they have had enough of repairing damage caused by unrestrained small persons and of the parents of said small persons ignoring previous requests to take due care and responsibility for their offspring.  So now they may only play on the back lawn - which is a safe play area - but those same parents who have been, through their lack of proactive parenting, the cause of the problem now don't like the outcome.  Hey ho.  On the other hand we are aware of a rather larger number of comments in support of the policy from other tenants.  AND the kids are going to get a garden area of their own.  

 

Unsurprisingly the easing of social restrictions has occurred slightly early here.  There has been much evidence of hitherto long-absent partners in the student flats around us.  Unfamiliar faces, persons-on-arms and the first known performance of the Love Symphony in many months.  Oh to be young.  I'm still very much younger at heart than my date of birth suggests.  I'll run with that.  

 

The G-word has, with a minor exception, not been possible owing to the weather but Dr. SWMBO has ventured forth not once but twice on her tricycle to obtain supplies from different garden centres.  I was summoned during the afternoon to create holes for two new plants.  This being done Thor duly acknowledged their presence with a strike of his hammer and sent down the torrents.  At least she has found the confidence to go out and enter places with other people after such a long time.  It's a big positive step on her road back to normality which will also see her working from work on an increasing basis starting with once a week from the Monday the 24th.  

 

 

[polybear]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

Evening.  Missed this morning, Mrs NHN stuff...you know how it is.

 

 

 

 

Hence no Naval Bombardment then.....

[Gwiwer]

3 minutes ago, polybear said:

Hence no Naval Bombardment then

There will be no bombardment of my middle regions thank you very much.  Such an incursion might release an excess of blue fluff!!!  

[polybear]

The latest update re:  Gordon:

 

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

All this talk of rain is making me envious. It might rain here in the middle of next week, though each time it has been promised it seems to fizzle out. I don't remember the last time it properly rained - perhaps it was March or possibly even February.

 

For the time being we have to endure pitiless blue skies and high temperatures approaching 28°C day on day now. It's delightful, but with our driest April on record, May might be similar. The piper may extract payment in the form of wildfire when the real summer appears.

 

Last night, with a clear night I wandered outside to watch the international space station make a pass overhead. The moon (a bright waxing crescent) had just set and the ISS was easily the brightest object in the sky.

[Ozexpatriate]

My granddaughter had a dance recital today. Due to pandemic-related attendance rules at the school I was encouraged to watch via livestream on YouTube. I was impressed by how professionally the livestream was produced (and incidentally was thoroughly delighted to watch the five minute dance presentation, without having to watch the five minute presentations by 10 other schools, or the 45 minute drive there and 45 minute drive home again).

 

Meanwhile it has been entertaining to watch line calling at the tennis in Rome. All is being done per traditional red clay court procedure with lines-people and mark inspection examined by the umpire climbing down from their chair. At the same time, the Hawkeye system is enabled, but not used to adjudicate calls. The number of discrepancies was very large.

 

Marks in the clay that are clearly "out" are often "in" via Hawkeye. This gives me the impression that Hawkeye is very consistent with the Foxtenn 100% Real Bounce video system used in Madrid. What seems to happen is that a ball hitting the tape (which is relatively solid and 'nailed' into the clay) will then roll off and make an indent in the clay with an apparent separation between the impact crater in the powdery clay and the solid tape. A real conundrum for the ATP and WTA methinks, in terms of tradition versus technology.

[Ozexpatriate]

In the last year or so golf broadcasts in the US have adopted the process of 'playing through' perhaps 50% of their advertising breaks where a two box format is used - audio and a larger box for the advertising and a smaller box + leader board for the ongoing golf.

 

The net result of this seems to be sloppy production (even with the 'best' broadcast networks) where way too much of the broadcast (without advertising) is spent following featured groups walking from the tee to their ball or debating their next shot with their caddies. This is happening even at the 'peak' of the broadcast where the final (often leading) group is making the turn.

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

The latest update re:  Gordon:

 

 

 

Thanks for transferring the up date over to here, thinking of Gordon and his Family at this time.

[Ozexpatriate]

In CoViD news, the US CDC has declared that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks either outdoors or indoors, with a handful of exceptions including places like hospitals and public transport. Despite recent CDC pronouncements about droplets/aerosols being the primary infection transmission mode, this behaviour has been declared as "safe", and I am inevitably reminded of Arthur Dent being informed he is safely aboard a Vogon Constructor spaceship:

Quote

Ah. This is obviously some strange usage of the word "safe" that I hadn't previously been aware of.

The same day this was announced, eight members of the NY Yankees baseball staff (all fully vaccinated with the one shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine) tested positive. (While highly efficacious against hospitalization and death, the J&J/Janssen vaccine has perhaps a 63.6% efficacy against infection, according to the CDC.)

 

For those who are not fully vaccinated (X shots + two weeks) indoor mask wearing remains recommended.

 

All this of course creates a conundrum for business owners whose business is conducted largely indoors. They don't want to be (and in the absence of a vaccine passport cannot be) vaccine police and they don't want to have to deal with militant anti-maskers.

 

One is compelled to wonder if rewarding the vaccinated is an intentional hedge to try to encourage the hesitant to vaccinate in an attempt to reach herd immunity. Children, 12 years and over, are now approved for vaccinations and about 47% of the US is fully vaccinated. There are still about 35,000 new infections nationally per day - higher than the peak of the first wave.

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[Simon G]

Evening all,

Today has been a rather frustrating day.  We had an Eon engineer coming between 8 and 12 this morning to fit smart meters.  He arrived at 11.45, having had a lot of problems in his previous fitting.  He started by saying that he wasn’t confident that a smart meter would work here as we were unlikely to get the long wave signal required for the  system to work properly.  For some strange reason (cost probably), they don’t give the engineers a signal tester, but let the, fit the meters only to find that they don’t work, so they have to refit the old one!  The poor engineer did his best and tried two separate meters, but to no avail.  Old meter duly refitted.

 

Then this afternoon, I went into Specsavers to collect my new pairs of glasses.  The first girl basically just handed me them without really checking that they fitted OK.  I left the shop, and walked for 5:minutes, then decided that neither pair seemed right, so went back and had another girl adjust them.  After another half an hour and a brief bit of driving, I returned again and had them adjusted by a third person, having explained that they were sitting so high on my nose that when looking straight ahead, things were out of focus due to the varifocal effect on the lower half of the glasses.  They don’t seem to bad now, but I am really considering never returning to Specsavers again.  Their service has been simply awful.  I was due to have collected them 4 weeks ago, but apparently they were substandard when first delivered.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Best wishes for Gordon S and his family and also for all others that may be a little under the weather.

Today didn’t turn out as expected. I was left at home in charge of Sydney while SWMBO helped her bother with the ‘big project’ so this allowed me to get stuck into the books. Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan and much time was spent head scratching. I’ve just passed the year end so was having a final look at the figures before I submit them to the accountant. I noticEd an  error and it took me far too long to sort it out and even now there is a slight arithmetical error that I need to sort out. It should be obvious what it is but I’m bu88ered if I can find it. I gave up on it thinking if I come back to it later it will miraculously resolve itself or the solution will be looking me straight in the face. Progress on the first month of this financial year was more rapid.

Due to extended family member still in hospital and causing disruption to plans Sydney is here  for another sleepover.

Goodnight,

Robert

[PhilJ W]

41 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

In the last year or so golf broadcasts in the US have adopted the process of 'playing through' perhaps 50% of their advertising breaks where a two box format is used - audio and a larger box for the advertising and a smaller box + leader board for the ongoing golf.

 

The net result of this seems to be sloppy production (even with the 'best' broadcast networks) where way too much of the broadcast (without advertising) is spent following featured groups walking from the tee to their ball or debating their next shot with their caddies. This is happening even at the 'peak' of the broadcast where the leading group is making the turn.

I recall a golf tournament from the US being shown live on the BBC. About 20% action and the rest was from a camera focused on a pond on the course. I was annoyed because I was waiting for another program to come on that was delayed (and eventually re-scheduled) and afterwards it went straight to the following program, highlights of the golf tournament.

Edited May 15, 2021 by PhilJ W

[Coombe Barton]

... and letting the machine take the strain ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/05/15/theres-always-a-but/

[Ozexpatriate]

1 minute ago, PhilJ W said:

About 20% action and the rest was from a camera focused on a pond on the course.

They're not usually that bad, though they can be prone to artsy shots of bird life, the occasional alligator and obligatory overhead shots when a dirigible/blimp is present. This insurance commercial is a good take on US golf broadcasting.

[polybear]

13 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

In CoViD news, the US CDC has declared that fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks either outdoors or indoors....

 

Bear heard this on the radio this morning, and immediately thought "hang on - aren't those that are fully vaccinated still capable of being a carrier?"

 

In other news:
Bear spent some time test fitting and marking up a couple of 6ft tall decorative end panels to kitchen cabinets.  I would've liked to have spent the afternoon cutting and planing them to fit, but threats of rain stopped that.  Of course such threats proved unfounded.  Turdycurses.  The Met Office website tells me that rain will hold off until midday tomorrow, so any neighbours with thoughts of a quiet sunday lie-in are gonna be disappointed

So the afternoon was a bit of a non-event - Bear was in a bit of a flaky groove and didn't really know what to do, which of course resulted in not a lot being done.  Oh well.....

[Tony_S]

1 minute ago, polybear said:

and immediately thought "hang on - aren't those that are fully vaccinated still capable of being a carrier?"

Yes, but recent evidence seems to suggest that fully vaccinated people shed less virus if subsequently infected. 

[Ozexpatriate]

4 minutes ago, polybear said:

"hang on - aren't those that are fully vaccinated still capable of being a carrier?"

Depending on the vaccine they may well be - up to 36% of people vaccinated with the J&J/Janssen vaccine could conceivably become infected.