Early Risers.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[AndyB]

Morning all,

 

This morning's job was to catch up on a request for homework assistance that got displaced yesterday by additional requests for documentation by the solicitor; which took up a chunk of the afternoon.

 

From what I understand the homework  stems from a mock A level exam where the children were apparently tested on a bit of the syllabus that they'd not studied. What's more it didn't appear in the text books...and having read through the syllabus this morning I can't find it in there either. Mysterious. 

 

With so much teaching material prepared digitally and at pace I'm wondering if there's been a bit of pilot error and Mr Spellchecker has substituted "technology processes" for "tectonic processes". 

 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

The gas man duly came yesterday morning and did what had to be done to keep the boiler boiling for another year.  In idle conversation it emerged that his father in law is in a band that will be appearing at Sidmouth festival the week after next - not only that, but he is someone that I have known for well over 30 years.  I never cease to be amazed by how small the world is.

 

Today it would not hurt if I were to start rounding up the stuff that I will need to take on holiday.  It will be the first time that I have taken a suitcase with me.  My holiday requisites usually go in a holdall or similar, as befits my normal accommodation - a tent - which I also take with me.  I would rather tackle the packing now than rush around like a bluebottle the day before departure.  On past form it is more likely that I shall do both.

 

I suspect that a fodder run will be needed this morning but I have not yet checked.  Apart from that I have no definite plans, save to avoid watching the Olympic Games.  There must be something better to do than that.     

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris   

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, AndyB said:

With so much teaching material prepared digitally and at pace I'm wondering if there's been a bit of pilot error and Mr Spellchecker has substituted "technology processes" for "tectonic processes". 

 

Such things are not new. In the 60's, my father, a chemistry teacher had to type the stencils for his own exam papers. The reason,  the human spellchecker, aka a school typist, had "corrected" his spelling. Alkanes, alkenes and alkynes, had all become alkenes, and other such things. She thought that she was being helpful.

 

Jamie

Edited July 24, 2021 by jamie92208

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a slightly cooler Charente.  We ventured north west  to Niort and met the lady who has taken over as our financial advisor.  Some good news about money growth but the weird thing was that he brother now lives where I used to go to chapel and teaches at my old school in Giggleswick.  Not 7 stages of separation but about 2.    Anyway after the meeting she recommended a lovely little family owned Italian restaurant  near her office and we had a lovely plat du jour, washed down with some montepulciano.  Some shopping was then done and we got back home at about 5pm.  A good day out.  

 

This morning will of course start with Emily hour which we will enjoy. She's learned to count from 1 to 10 and then backwards from 5 to 1 which is followed by  'blast off'.  We hope that at some point the fosse will be emptied.  I then need to go down to our friends house to teach them how to look after their pool.  In the afternoon Beth is due to make some plum jam.  I have offered my expertise as a taster.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

Edited July 24, 2021 by jamie92208

[Barry O]

Fatchy Pog and mist here.

 

Woken by the binmen and a holiday flight off to Mahon taking off from Leeds Bradford Airport.

 

I am off to Bilton in Hattogate for my game today. I umpired them last week so they are already aware of my umpires. 

 

Have a great day!

Stay safe!

Baz

[leopardml2341]

Mornin' folks. 

 

South Derbyshire grey is back, which is good for planned tasks.

 

But first, time for domestic chores, after a cuppa and a bijout snackette breakfast. This will be followed in due course by a bacon and egg roll.

 

Later I may indulge in some beer.

 

Stay safe, well and happy!

Edited July 24, 2021 by leopardml2341

[polybear]

7 hours ago, BSW01 said:

I was surprised to se that he had almost finished applying the plaster to the ceiling and was waiting for it to go “OFF” so he could do the polishing.

 

In the eyes of this Bear anyone that can plaster a room properly can walk on water.  Those who can do a ceiling are straying dangerously close to the Dark Side, however.....

 

7 hours ago, brianusa said:

 

 

Where does this PC all end?  Nothing seems to escape; even here a humble hobby forum which seems far from such goings on!

    Brian.

 

Has Bear caused upset across The Pond?  Could it affect Cake Supplies?  As punishment I sentence myself to complete cake banishment until at least 0830 - that's a whole HOUR away, which as any Hippo will confirm is a most severe punishment.....

 

7 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

I'm feeling rather left out in this app business. Yes I can run the app, it's been working on my phone for at least two months now. I've been in several of what would be considered high risk areas on public transport, hospital and a large sporting event but still haven't managed to get pinged.

 

Apparently that's A Good Thing.

It seems that London Underground is to be severely affected this weekend, with some lines closed completely (if last night's news is to be relied upon) due to "pinging".

 

6 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I called "uncle" when the exterior reached about 27°C and switched the air conditioning on. It truly wasn't uncomfortable, I just didn't want the heavy load of trying to shift a big thermal mass as the afternoon warmed up more.  It's about 29°C now at 4:00pm. Tomorrow is hotter - around 33°C.

 

 

Unless Bear misunderstands, the rise in Air Conditioning usage is due in part to global warming.....which is made worse by energy usage......by gadgets such as A/C.  I'm wasted, I really am.....should've been a Rocket Scientist.....

Incidentally, does the exhaust of a portable A/C unit (one of those "stuff the pipe out the window" jobbies) include any noticeable degree of dampness?  I ask because a certain upstairs bedroom in Bear Towers (designated the railway room) has a disused chimney breast; the chimney was removed years ago so the top of the chimney breast is now open to the loft space.  It has real potential as a suitable vent space for an A/C unit at room level (there is already a suitable room vent opening) or perhaps an occasional spray booth extractor vent.

 

21 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Such thi gs are not new. In the 60's, my father, a chemistry teacher had to type the stencils for his own exam papers. The reason,  the human spellchecker, aka a schol typist, had "corrected" his spelling. Alkanes, alkenes and alkynes, had all becone alkenes, and other such things. She thought that she was being helpful.

 

Jamie

 

Telling the typist to type what is written sounds like less work to this Bear..

Incidentally Bear got an O-Level Grade C (i.e. the usual "reasonable pass" level - "A's and "B's" being reserved for Clever People) in Chemistry due in part to guessing the multiple choice questions;  "I haven't ticked a "B" lately - I'll try one of those...."  Seems to be a good philosophy.

 

In other news:

Apart from the finishing and fixing work on yesterday's Cornice handiwork, Bear intends to finally get the dishwasher working (all it needs is some volts).  The large bowl of washing up helped Bear decide this is a Good Idea .  I also need to plan and choose materials, sizes, styles and suitable suppliers for door linings, architrave and skirting.  All this exertion will mean that a visit to the Chip Shop may be justified - though I'm not sure it'll actually happen cos' their prices are now borderline p1sstake

I suppose I'd better post a birthday card off to big brother as well; I've not had a single phone call from him in ten years now (the last times I phoned him were back in late 2010/early 2011 and on each occasion I was left with the firm impression that he really wish'd I hadn't) - during the last call he said that he'd speak to SWMBO and arrange a visit (he's an hour away) and get back to me.  I'm still waiting.  So now it's birthday and chrimbo cards only (and they're sent by his SWMBO, not him).  Oh well.

[Andrew P]

Wowzer folks,

That was a Storm that was,

Its over let it go.

 

Thunderbolt and Lightening,

Very very frightening.

 

Started about midnight and was still raging at 04-30 this morning.

Flashing and Banging everywhere, and still quite clammy this morning but misty drizzly stuff all about.

 

Not a lot planned for today.

 

Have a good day one and all, stay safe and keep well.

[jonny777]

Cloudy and damp here in North Somerset. Thunderstorm at 0400 brought 9mm of rain and has saved me a job for a couple of days. Temperature outside is a gloriously cool 15C, something we have not seen the likes of since the 16th. 

 

I now have the excuse to watch hours and hours of 'live' Olympic rowing coverage which my box has been dutifully recording during the nights. 

 

As for brothers visiting, mine managed not to between 1985 and 2014, although we went there to see him on a regular basis. When this was mentioned after about 25 years, the excuse was 'we have never had an invite'. I had never had an invite from them, either. The unwritten rule was that we just enquired if everything would be ok to come, they said yes, and we went. 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A lot cooler this morning and persisting down until about an hour ago and the thunder has rolled off into the distance. Not sure if its worth the hassle of installing the new TV as all that is showing is the O word and the few programs I would want to watch I can on the computer. I spoke too soon its persisting down again. My brother last visited me thirteen years ago and now due to his health condition is unlikely to do so again but we talk on the phone a few times every year. Same with my sister but distance is the main reason but again we are in contact frequently by phone.

[PhilJ W]

Can we declare ER's an Olympic free zone?

[TheQ]

The cold side of an A/C if indoors normally has a water collection tray and drain pipe to somewhere suitable. This pipe needs occasional unblocking as cool water and slowly collecting dust is a good breeding place for green stuff.

Since in the UK the A/C is normally used to heat the room, the cool side is out side mostly and just left to drain to the ground. If you are sold an Air sourced heat pump that is just an A/C that only heats the room. But it sounds "Greener" and it's supposedly 3 times more efficient than a normal electric heater.

 

I've fitted a split A/C kit to the mobile home, it's quite easy, you just have to be careful getting the joints correct. The A/C kits come pre charged, and you only need some minor tools.

 

Mooring AWL, Inner Temple Hare,

 5hours plus 1 hours sleep but I feel knackered..

 

High cloud and sunshine here at the moment but the wind is increasing.

 

MRC last night was back to a full bubble, now one has returned from playing with narrow kettles in Wales.

A slight redesign of a bit of the unmentionable will involve three diabetic sugar sensor tab containers set upright upside down .

Research is going on into liquid and solid fuel supplies in the highlands, in the period I'm interested in black solid fuel for domestic use outside of the rare big town, was practically unknown , not surprising when you could dig the peat out of the ground outside your back door..

 

Breakfast was a disaster, the black puddin exploded into a crumbly mess in the bottom of the pan, followed by the egg doing the same, so it ended up mixed  together..

 

Shortly I'm heading out to work on the "keep right" buoy , that's after muggacoffee number 1.

 

Time to sup..

 

Brothers , Since him being age 5 I've lived in the same house as him for less Than a year, mainly that was school summer holidays. So I've really had little to do with him. He lives 200 miles away, other than his 50th birthday party and a couple of times transporting our parents to his, mid their holidays , I've hardly seen him. 

We are in contact through the family facefart group but that's about it.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by TheQ

[Gwiwer]

8 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

I'm feeling rather left out in this app business. Yes I can run the app, it's been working on my phone for at least two months now. I've been in several of what would be considered high risk areas on public transport, hospital and a large sporting event but still haven't managed to get pinged.

As many ERs will know I work in a customer-facing and safety-critical role at the busiest railway station in Britain. 
 

I replaced my phone with a newer model when the old one died but which also allowed me to install the app. 
 

Numbers travelling have risen from near-zero to about 40% normal levels but at some times it’s closer to 75%. 
 

I too have yet to be “pinged” and hope that saying so here isn’t tempting fate. Several colleagues have been pinged but only three, of over a hundred, have knowingly contracted the virus and all of them believe they got it at home. 
 

Am I missing something?

[TheSignalEngineer]

5 hours ago, Barry O said:

I umpired them last week so they are already aware of my umpires. 

Hope they are on best behaviour. 

 

Kerfuffle over the U13 match this week seems to have died down. After a couple of days reflection the boys have got round to thinking they had a decent season. In the 'County' competition the 'A' team won their area group then were runners up in the top group of the second phase out of a total of 23 entries. They won 10 matches out of 12 and were the only team to beat the eventual champions. They are a small village team, everyone living within about three miles of the ground. The two teams they lost to come from millionaire country with four times the number of players available and umlimited money.

They have a series of friendlies now to start building for next year as players move up in the age groups. 

 

The grandsons' U11 team were ranked 1 in their area winning 10 from 11 in the that competition.

 

Main cricket task now is to try to understand what this Hundred is about. I watched the first match and all I decided was it's just a way of trying to get more TV money. Got a live match soon, our resident Statto will be there to tell us what is going on.

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by TheSignalEngineer

[leopardml2341]

52 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Can we declare ER's an Olympic free zone?

You can declare it a completely sport free zone for me, just like the rest of my life

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dull, dismal and it was damp earlier but no flashing and banging here as far as I am aware.  However we do have a yellow alert and thundery wet stuff is forecast.  It's a bit cooler at the moment.

Declare a sport free zone if you must but I will continue to watch those that I like just as those who don't like choose not to watch.

Have a good one,

Bob.

[Gwiwer]

25 minutes ago, leopardml2341 said:

You can declare it a completely sport free zone for me, just like the rest of my life

 

Maybe we can allow spectator sports?

[tigerburnie]

Morning, dull and overcast but cooler, which is nice. More paint was applied to the living room ceiling yesterday, but of course I can't start emulsioning just yet as we all know it can take days for paint to dry,,,,,,,,,can't it?

[leopardml2341]

18 minutes ago, tigerburnie said:

 More paint was applied to the living room ceiling yesterday, but of course I can't start emulsioning just yet as we all know it can take days for paint to dry,,,,,,,,,can't it?

Methinks someone is finding excuses.......

[laurenceb]

Maybe but we are here to provide support are we not?

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

COOOoooooool! 16C. Sun later...

 

I had just put the kettle on for mudgadecaf #1, before breakfast, when the electric went off.  Phone call to supplier: It is over a wide area. Two hours before it will come back on.  So Ray got out the camping stove and I washed the dust off the kettle and, lo and behold, the electric came back on.  Well done to those out there who fixed it so quickly.

 

Mudgadecaf #1 and breakfast had, mugadecaf #2 cooling down a bit; toot on the flute and bike ride on the terrace to come. There is a root extraction job to do in a raised bed in the garden which I have been putting off because of the heat.  I may start that this afternoon. Bothersome roots mainly belong to a root spreading tall weed with pink flowers (rosebay willowherb?) and trails of ivy.  

 

Mugadecaf #2 had so time for a toot.

 

Fitt  and  Elfie not quite so limp, today.

 

Take care all and play safe.

_________

Best wishes

Polly

[southern42]

Sports free zone on here, eh? 

 

Oh dear! How will the Big Awl in the Sky deal with those who dare mention boxes that float on water or use expressions such as silly mid off? And what about comments on superfast objects on two or four rubber tyres that love roundy roundy places, or even little holes with tall flagpoles spread out over the grass ready to catch small round objects?  

 

Could get interesting...

 

[Winslow Boy]

 

I'll just leave this here in case anybody wishes to  make use of it- no charge. Bah humbug.

[PhilJ W]

I tried the TV again and this time it deigned to work. So I watched a bit of the BBC news channel, it was giving the news other than the O word so I watched it for a bit. I did not mean all sports just the Olympics, other sports hinted at such as F1 and football have their own threads anyway and no doubt the Olympics will follow suit if they haven't done so already.