Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

6 hours ago, polybear said:

Gordon S has taken a turn for the worse:

Thank you for the update.  We can only live in hope ..... 

 

In other news I was accused of being gracious today.  I've been called a few things but that's a new one.  I approached a rather elderly lady who was gazing hopefully at  an information screen and asked if I could assist her.  "Oh" she says "I'm not sure you can - I'm going to Lyme Regis but there isn't a train ..... "  Let's not go into the fact that the branch line closed what? - 50 years ago?  I directed her to the correct platform for the next Axminster service, made sure she was in the front (because the back only goes to Salisbury) and asked if she needed any refreshments for the journey because we no longer offer any on-train service.  She was fine thank you.  She was in possession of a ticket through to Lyme Regis which, in tiny print, did say "and required bus connections" under the route.  Assuring here that there was a bus (Jurassic Coaster X51 or X53) she then said I was "very gracious" as she boarded her train.

 

I got another oddball today.  A chap approached me seeking to reach Southminster.  Not a destination we serve as it's in deepest Essex.  When I had a look at his ticket I got quite a surprise. He had travelled overnight from Kyle of Lochalsh in Scotland!!!  Why was he at the House of Fun?  Because his fare was  "Not via London Terminals" and he had duly travelled via Kensington Olympia and was bound for Stratford for onward travel via Wickford. On this occasion his journey planner had found him a cheaper fare using the West London Line and the tube between Vauxhall and Stratford but not via Euston and Liverpool Street.  Curiouser and curiouser.  I directed him to the next train for Vauxhall after having a bit of a discussion about the journey possibilities over that particular route.  Seems he actually lives over to Skye so his journey began with a lift across the bridge to Kyle.  

 

He lamented the arrival of Serco and the Mk5 sleeping car stock having preferred the Mk3 version.  He could have come from Inverness direct into Kings Cross by the daily "Royal Highlander" but not at the fare he paid.  And the first morning train up from Kyle isn't at 04.55 any more (as it was for many years and which connected with morning departures to all points south) but at 06.11 and misses the London train by an hour.  You meet all sorts at Britain's busiest railway station.  He didn't seem at all surprised that I knew the timetables for the Kyle and Highland main lines so far away either.  

 

Plenty to achieve before the day ends.  It's BIN Day and there is a 35-page word document to read, edit, update and annotate before recirculating it for approval .....  I may be some time.  

 

Stay well. 

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Gwiwer

[Ian Abel]

15 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I think Ian's was accidental - unlike the hooligans in Seattle. I would have thought there were no highway overpass bridges without high fencing these days (unless the rocks are small enough to lob them over the fence).

Indeed, I meant it was throw up from a passing vehicle, some debris on the roads around here as much of the freeways we use to get to the lake are under construction and there is carp all over the place...

[leopardml2341]

Afternoon all.

 

Well today, I thought buggrit with respect to work. I bet not many of my colleagues are 'at work' ir the required 7.5hrs whilst WFH, so in between  doing 'stuff' I decided to put more emulsion paint on the kitchen walls.

 

I also decided that today would definitely be a POOT day - so I did, took Doggo for a walk and I'm now sitting with a cuppa.

 

A pork joint, which will provide hot pork wrap for tea (and lunch for the next days), is in the oven.

 

Life is good.

[Barry O]

Next door has obtained a pneumatic drill. I hope he realises that somewhere under the concrete he is attacking there is a gas main.... and not far away is a sewerage pipe.. and a mains incomer cable..

 

Doubt it! No marks on floor..no  metal detector..no drawings...

 

Just waiting for his Darwin award... what a complete eediot...no that isn't right he is a grade A doilum...

 

 

Baz

 

[Sir TophamHatt]

And now for a complete change...

 

https://www.stags.co.uk/properties/14128589/sales

 

If I had £600,000, I'd consider it but you can get bigger houses in the same area for the same price.

 

And looks a little too modern inside for me. And it pote tislly floods twice a year. 

 

But access could be fun! I don't like neighbours.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Sir TophamHatt

[Ian Abel]

BIN day, well is it or isn't it?!?!?! BAH!

 

Given Monday was a public holiday, since July 4th/Interdependence Day was on the weekend, logic dictated that, as with ALL OTHER HOLIDAYS, BIN day would be pushed to Friday!

Not to be. Imagine MY and all the rest of the neighborhood surprise as BIN trucks started parading through the area o-crack-sparrow.

Everyone rushing around in pajamas and other scanties to get their BINs out...

 

Jemma was up pre-BIN to take Whitney to the Vet for some dental work. We pick her up around 3.

Call to notify of arrival "window" for refrigerator replacement at rental house tomorrow received, also early, both the call, and the "window" tomorrow 7:30-11:30.

So those items are done and dusted best they can for now.

 

Working away at the various new items requested from afar, busier than I've been for a while for them!

 

Continued "reasonable" weather, 11 first thing rushing around with BINs, overcast, slight chance of rain and a high expected to be 23-25.

 

Onward...

[Ian Abel]

3 minutes ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

https://www.stags.co.uk/properties/14128589/sales

 

Family member sent me this.

 

If I had £600,000, I'd consider it but you can get bigger houses in the same area for the same price.

 

And looks a little too modern inside for me.

Interesting, same popped up for me on farcebook! Must be my railway interests there...

[TheSignalEngineer]

@Barry O

Are you going to board up the windows? Sounds like the type to crack the gas pipe then short out the main cable whilst looking fo the source of the leak.

[TheSignalEngineer]

25 minutes ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

https://www.stags.co.uk/properties/14128589/sales

 

If I had £600,000, I'd consider it

I wouldn't.  Except for the old platform it is Flood Zone 3, and the same height above the river as the GW main line at Cowley Bridge.

Edited July 8, 2021 by TheSignalEngineer

[Barry O]

52 minutes ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

@Barry O

Are you going to board up the windows? Sounds like the type to crack the gas pipe then short out the main cable whilst looking fo the source of the leak.

No I will keep them slightly ajar.. 

 

Baz

[J. S. Bach]

14 hours ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all ...snip... The latest that I have discovered is a series of clips showing the destination blinds on buses being wound on.  In my long-gone youth the winding on was done by the driver or conductor but the process is now automated.  There now follows an insight into Chris’s murky past.  Where there were still trolleybuses in London, some 60 years ago, my pal Johnny and I set about recording for posterity what was printed on each blind.  We soon found that there were far too many for the task ever to be completed.  Our modus operandi was to creep into a depot with a notebook.  One of us would stand in front of a trolleybus and write down what was showing in the destination screen.  The other would climb into the driving cab and turn the handle above the driving seat to show the next display.  The climber, usually me, had to take care not to step on the power pedal, for it would make a noise and cause us to be ejected from the depot.  Johnny is now in demand among authors of books on bygone buses to make facsimiles of the blinds.  For some strange reason he blames me.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris   

I have collected rollsigns (and now a few electronic headsigns) for quite a long time. As far as  listing the destinations, it is easier to do it this way if possible:

 

 

You mentioned the automatic scrolling, this Washington, DC Metro sign (VIENNA) has small bars printed at the edge on the mylar, each destination having a different pattern. The motorman selects VIENNA on the ODK (Operator's Display and Keypad) and all of the signs on the train roll around to VIENNA:

 

 

The ones in this photo are manually operated by the driver, the large one electrically and the small ones manually:

The switch for the electrically operated rollsign:

Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of the hand crank type but here is a typical ODK for an electronic headsign:

 

I programmed signs for the agency for which I worked, here is my favorite one that I created:

And a sample computer screen during programming:

 

Probably more information than you ever wanted to know! You tickled one of my main transit hobby interests, along with transit stop signs.!

 

 

 

PS: You probably could have asked the dispatcher for a sign listing, I suspect that one was available for the drivers!

 

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by J. S. Bach
To correct a spelling error.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Jabbed lunchtime with the shingles and the pneumonia jab although I wasn't booked for the pneumonia jab it was offered so I took it. The nurse also took my blood pressure 178/82! but that was with white coat syndrome but I've got to go back in three weeks for more tests.

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Next door has obtained a pneumatic drill. I hope he realises that somewhere under the concrete he is attacking there is a gas main.... and not far away is a sewerage pipe.. and a mains incomer cable..

 

Doubt it! No marks on floor..no  metal detector..no drawings...

 

Just waiting for his Darwin award... what a complete eediot...no that isn't right he is a grade A doilum...

 

 

Baz

 

 

1 hour ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

@Barry O

Are you going to board up the windows? Sounds like the type to crack the gas pipe then short out the main cable whilst looking fo the source of the leak.

Is he insured? Even if he is the insurance company will take a dim view of his actions. If he isn't and something happens you can sue him and he will possibly have to sell up. If he is making any noise with the pneumatic drill you could always report it to the councils environmental health department.

[tigerburnie]

Evening, muggy old day, dry, but looks like it might precipitate at any moment, been on another cycle ride, part of my preparation for the mountain climbing at the weekend(who am I kidding, I'll be looking at the map for the most spread apart contour lines), ruck sack is packed except for food and drink, weather forecast is iffy but not windy, I don't mind getting wet as much as being blown off your feet when up high.

 

[polybear]

 

2 hours ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

And now for a complete change...

 

https://www.stags.co.uk/properties/14128589/sales

 

If I had £600,000, I'd consider it but you can get bigger houses in the same area for the same price.

 

And looks a little too modern inside for me. And it pote tislly floods twice a year. 

 

But access could be fun! I don't like neighbours.

 

Bear will see you and raise you....

https://www.statons.com/property/totteridge-green-totteridge-london-7/

 

In other news:

Bear spent an entire day working on a corner post between two wall units.  What a b1tch.  The fun part was planing down a 720mm strip of wood  to a taper section, with the thinnest end being only 10mm thick. Holding it securely was fun; oh yes, it was being made from an off-cut that was banana-shaped....

And when the corner post was finished and fitted, with decorators caulk filling the joint (though very little was required as it was a pretty good fit) I added the two cabinet doors either side.  At which point I discovered a glaring error .  I'd copied the installation of a previous corner post that was on a base unit - the problem being that the door on that unit had a different type of door hinge to one of the doors on the wall unit.  Big, big Boo-Boo. as it meant that a large strip of cabinet carcass was visible at the edge of the door.  So the whole post had to come off again, clean off the caulk, re-position further across & drill new pilot holes and re-fix, followed by caulking again.  Now Bear is happy.

 

Incidentally, Bear's Minicraft drill proves very useful for drilling pilot holes in locations where space is very limited - such as 300mm wide cabinets.  It does protest a little at times though - so softly softly cos' I don't want to burn it out.  I've also got one of those right angle chuck attachments for putting in a leccy or cordless drill, which has proved invaluable several times now.

 

And as regards other matters, Bear has decided to promote those responsible for the latest rule changes from cockwombles to fully qualified ar5ewipes.  It'll end in tears.....

 

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, J. S. Bach said:

automatic scrolling, this Washington, DC Metro sign (VIENNA) has small bars printed at the edge on the mylar, each destination having a different pattern. The motorman selects VIENNA on the ODK (Operator's Display and Keypad) and all of the signs on the train roll around to VIENNA:

London buses (among others) have much the same system though it is somewhat more recent.  Until perhaps 20 years ago it was necessary to wind the blinds by hand.  On a very few vehicles it still is.  But most have the electronic detection system triggered by the driver entering the journey details.  They can also be re-set in the event of the journey being short-turned which happens sometimes if there has been a delay.  It's a way of getting service back on track even though it inconveniences passengers already on board wishing to go beyond the turning point.  

 

London has, almost without exception, chosen to avoid electronic destination displays.  Those have become more refined since the early ones I had the misfortune to use.  They were of the flip-dot kind controlled by small electro-magnets and displayed either a yellow or black face.  There was no refinement of font and no allowance for curved letters or numbers.  Thus we were stuck with weird abbreviated destinations at times and number displays which made no sense.  The number shown for route 4d appeared exactly the same as for route 40 give or take a couple of dots on the top corners of the 0; you wouldn't spot that without knowing what to look for.  They were very different routes but shared the same starting point.  One offered the destination "TR VIA STD RCH" which was Truro via St. Day and Royal Cornwall Hospital and the other "HAYLTWNS STIVES" which roughly translated means "St. Ives via Hayle Towans"  Yes.  As for the contortion required to use the tiny re-set control - more than one driver lost their footing from the cab step and took sick leave.  I understand it's a bit better now.  25 years on.  

 

Bins are done.  Recycling is done.  Dishes are done.  It must be time to open the packages which have arrived from points, various, but which all should contain one pack of V-skips.  A new and somewhat smaller-scale project is in the very early stages of gestation.  Enough of that here.  

[simontaylor484]

With any luck @Barry OS neighbour will hit the sewer first and get covered in sh1t before putting his Jack hammer through the mains cable.

 

Vindictive moi? 

[JohnDMJ]

Good Evening awl, for it has the makings of becoming thus.

 

Work worked; shopping shopped; what's for supper?

 

Elsewhere, the Ever Given is now reported to be in the 'open' Mediterranean and heading towards the Atlantic. (move the map to find her from under where it says Draught 15.5m)

 

12 hours ago, TheQ said:

For some reason Classic FM is playing a tune about three pussy cats sitting on someone's shirt. It has of course been arranged in a classical format and comes out quite well.

 

Are they lions, per se, or heraldic griffins?

 

11 hours ago, Andrew P said:

She never gives me instructions and only very rarely ask me to do jobbies etc.

 

I hope you clear them up afterwards if she does!

[Ozexpatriate]

12 hours ago, TheQ said:

There was a miscreant throwing stones at cars just over the border on the dark side (Suffolk) it took some months before they got him by which time many cars had been hit.. He hid behind trees and hedges to do so.

Even worse are the dark hearts that shoot at passing cars - and do so multiple times. There was a shooter in Phoenix along Interstate 10 a few years ago and one recently in the LA metro on the 91 Freeway. The latter was using a pellet / BB gun so, while there was damage, including blown out windows, and very frightened motorists, there were no fatalities to the best of my knowledge. Nonetheless, the suspect was (reasonably) charged with attempted murder.

[Ian Hargrave]

Excuse the intrusion after an absence of a considerable time but for John Buchan devotees ( are there still any alive ?) tonight on TV instead of “Our National Game “ we have a version of The 39 Steps on film followed by an appraisal by literary worthies of JB ( No,not the whisky of that name).   I too,following on from advice from the Man In Seat 61,will soon dog Hannay’s footsteps and alight in the midst of a Highland wilderness but in more comfortable circumstances. I hope no deerstalker misguidedly takes a pot shot at me…..and a comforting breakfast awaits 

 

Welcome to Sleeper Scot….Rannoch Moor style.

[laurenceb]

Our local bus co in the 80's& 90's (Stevensons of  Uttoxeter), used to list destinations alphabetically. Which was ok when they had half a dozen destinations, when they expanded changing the display on the 401 from Burton to Uttoxeter took longer & longer.... Eventually they did modify them too add more Burtons

[Dave Hunt]

Good evening from a sunny Welsh border where we are house and animal sitting for some friends.

 

It has occurred to me that although Baz is suffering from the shenanigans of his next door cockwombles he could profit from the situation by putting up some viewing stands and selling tickets for people to spend an entertaining few hours watching the goings-on. He could even open a book on how long before a disaster happens. The strap line could be, 'Watch Leeds Loonies Lose It'.

 

Just seen a TV advert for McDonalds showing people killing themselves laughing. Seems like a reasonable reaction to being offered one of their 'meals'.

 

Dave

[New Haven Neil]

Just a quick check in.

 

Yesterday was quite hard work, the ashes scattering etc, some complicated relationships to work around.

 

All well today except the bit where we went to ride the train - which currently doesn't run on Thursdays.  #sigh#  ended up driving all about the rock, and having lunch at Niarbyl, where the geological types on here would enjoy looking at the fault line, and the film buffs to note this is where 'Waking Ned' was filmed.  Good laugh if you haven't seen it.

 

Bike club in the morning, all the way south to Port Erin is the plan.  We'll see.....  

[brianusa]

12 hours ago, Andrew P said:

We are still being Weed upon, very fine misty stuff, like the stuff that doesn't look wet but gets you wet.

 

Come and wee over here, Andy, wee'll take all you can spare.  No rain in weeks and none to come anytime soon.  Reservoirs in sunny Calif are drying up - looks dodgy!  Here in WA, things aren't quite so bad especially West of the Cascades but we run our sprinklers every day as theres too much already invested in the garden!

   

     Brian.

[simontaylor484]

46 minutes ago, Ian Hargrave said:

Excuse the intrusion after an absence of a considerable time but for John Buchan devotees ( are there still any alive ?) tonight on TV instead of “Our National Game “ we have a version of The 39 Steps on film followed by an appraisal by literary worthies of JB ( No,not the whisky of that name).   I too,following on from advice from the Man In Seat 61,will soon dog Hannay’s footsteps and alight in the midst of a Highland wilderness but in more comfortable circumstances. I hope no deerstalker misguidedly takes a pot shot at me…..and a comforting breakfast awaits 

 

Welcome to Sleeper Scot….Rannoch Moor style.

I love John Buchans Hannay series i actually prefer Greenmantle which was the sequel to the 39 steps there was a further book the Island of Sheep. The Rupert Penry Jones version was on Drama earlier this week

[pH]

11 minutes ago, brianusa said:

 

Come and wee over here, Andy, wee'll take all you can spare.  No rain in weeks and none to come anytime soon.  Reservoirs in sunny Calif are drying up - looks dodgy!  Here in WA, things aren't quite so bad especially West of the Cascades but we run our sprinklers every day as theres too much already invested in the garden!

   

     Brian.

Our water restrictions allow sprinklers only two days a week, 4AM to 9 AM - different two days for odd and even addresses. Spraying with handheld hoses isn’t restricted (yet).