Early Risers.

[jjb1970]

On bad smells, I remember when livestock carriers were in Fremantle, they used to use a berth opposite one of the container berths and the stink was awful. I know this is very hypocritical as a meat eater but I hate the livestock carrier segment. Animal welfare standards are terrible and the ships are in many cases clapped out wrecks converted with giant livestock pens on deck when nobody will take them in their original role anymore. Meaning safety and welfare for the crews is less than ideal either (there is unfortunately a part of the industry that exists as bottom feeders and relies on the fact there are people who need work enough or who are misinformed to sign onto anything.

[jjb1970]

On buses, I think buses often get a bad rap and are seen as some sort of alternative for people who can't afford to drive a car. We don't have a car and use the MRT (the equivalent of the tube) and buses to get around. I think if buses (and indeed public transport of any sort) offers a frequent and good quality service at a reasonable price people will use it. The buses here are spotlessly clean, air conditioned (important here), very frequent and cheap, why wouldn't people use them? I think frequency of service and reliability are key, nobody wants to be constantly looking at their watch because there's only a handful of buses, and if service is so unreliable that people lose confidence in services then they can't really be criticized for driving instead.

[BR60103]

At one point in the last century, management decided that we didn't need to upgrade to the next version of MS whatever as it offered little extra benefit for the cost.  A few months later management distributed a document that we couldn't read because it was produced in the new version.

 

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from s still dark Charente.

 

@jjb1970 you mentioned thecproblems of getting 'lakets' delivered.  By chance I came across a YouTube video the other day showing the first laker to be built since 1981.  Interlake transport I think. I can't remember the name of the ship but it made me think of your comments about the regulatory and safety issues.  I appears to have arrived safely.

 

Anyway it will be a busy day today.  The supermarket  to begin with then Beth has an appointment in Niort so we are heading up there for lunch, then onto the appointment.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

[jjb1970]

2 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Good moaning from s still dark Charente.

 

@jjb1970 you mentioned thecproblems of getting 'lakets' delivered.  By chance I came across a YouTube video the other day showing the first laker to be built since 1981.  Interlake transport I think. I can't remember the name of the ship but it made me think of your comments about the regulatory and safety issues.  I appears to have arrived safely.

 

Anyway it will be a busy day today.  The supermarket  to begin with then Beth has an appointment in Niort so we are heading up there for lunch, then onto the appointment.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

 

There were three classes built in China in the 2010's, two groups of CSL Trillium lakers built by Chengxi and Yangfan, and the Algoma Equinox ships built by Nantong Mingde. I did a lot of approval work for the engines and exhaust gas treatment systems. I was lucky, I was in meetings where I could sit very smugly saying 'well, the engines are fine for a trans-oceanic voyage' while the piping and hull structures and stat approval guys were having palpitations, oh dear.....

[iL Dottore]

14 hours ago, southern42 said:

 

… I am just opening the box... But not, you will be pleased to know, on a well known video channel!…

I have to say, I have mixed feelings about these “unboxing“ videos. In some cases they are indeed informative (what’s in the box, is it packed properly, what sort of instructions are provided, et cetera)  which is not a bad thing if you are interested in buying a very expensive “X“ (whatever “X” may be),  especially if you have two or more producers issuing the same thing (as is often the case with models).

 

But in other cases it seems to be very much an opportunity to show off how much money they can spend on their hobby. For example: yesterday I watched a YouTube video about someone unboxing a 1/32 scale bomber. The introduction which went along the lines of “I went to the local model shop to buy some plastic card and I saw this kit on sale for £385,  so I bought one to give it a try“

7 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

Last time I looked Microsoft Office default format is  basically an open  XML file, ….. xml is just .xml, you should be able to create it on whatever you feel like, security packages will just see it as .xml, not where it came from. 

 

A format is a format is a format! as my Systems Integration  teacher used to say.

 

TBH I haven’t delved into the nuts and bolts of the programming. I just go by what the clients’ IT boys tell me. It really isn’t worth my time to explore the matter in any depth: as long as the systems work and the client is happy about granting me access then I’m OK with that. (any specialised software I have to buy for the company will be tax deductible anyway)

 

Strangely enough, I used to be very computer savvy: I did computer sciences back in the 70s at uni and I was one of the first adopters of Apple computers in graduate school (thanks to a very generous – although minor to them – NIH grant). For the longest time, although perhaps not cutting edge, I really was keeping up with all the latest computer developments, then about 2001 (after the Y2K brouhaha had settled down) I just turned off. Now, the PC is just a tool which I just want to work the way I want it to perform.

 

[TheQ]

OK Who Mentioned ##Spill Error...

Never seen it before.. 

BUT....

Went to shut down the two spreadsheets I had open at the end of work yesterday and it wouldn't.

 

Eventually found on a page, one cell in Excel saying Spill Error.. !? deleted that and they shut down.. 

 

We've been all 365 in the factory for a year or two now..

But not me at home, I've stuck with the last all on the computer, Office.

 

Mooring All, 

4 hours sleep then intermittent dozing after that.

 

Ben the reluctant Collie eventually chose to come out on patrol, I think it's getting near the stage where it will be dark when it's time and he doesn't like the dark..

it was damp, very damp,, yes more wetness  from the welkin overnight... the puddles aren't very big though.

 

I'm considering building a very small unmentionable for exhibitions... I had already researched for information on the line all 1.5 miles of it, and there wasn't much around...

Then I go on a sailing Blog and... A fairly complete rundown of the line , dates, where , who owned it, drawings of the main motive power, some words on the rolling stock, and several photos.. Jackpot..

 

Time to go to the lab..

 

[polybear]

6 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

I remember that. We used to wait up to listen to it. Passing of an era when it finished.

 

Any idea when it actually finished?

 

Bear here....

It appears that I may have an issue with the new Sideboard 😭 - one of the doors is dangerously close to hitting the carcass frame; I've added a thick card spacer behind the top hinge and that's helped a lot, but of course means the door sits at an angle in it's opening, which p1sses a Bear off somewhat 😡.  It's not a loading thing (I think) cos' I haven't been loading it up with gold bars/Momma Bear's Dinner Service etc. and there's also a hidden centre support beneath the sideboard (so hidden that Bear only discovered it by accident).  How to sort it though?  Hmmm.....if it was a room door I'd plane the offending corner, but on a finished oak sideboard I kinda have some concerns about doing that as if it went wrong it could go horribly wrong very quickly and be very difficult to correct.  More thought - and a call to the supplier - are required this morning.  Rejecting the sideboard would be bad news as there seems to be very, very few available at this size (length) - a shorter one would look weird in the alcove opening and also lose much valuable storage space.  The packaging is also long-gone.  A very, very large Piggin' Turdycurses methinks.

 

Better news (hopefully) is the new TV is due around midday, so Bear will have that to play with after din dins 😀.

 

It also seems that we're not out of the woods yet regarding our Model Engineering College Evening restarting - it seems there are still some that are objecting, for reasons unknown.....

 

In other news.....

Bear is in talks with a Guy regarding commissioning a new Bear-rod:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/mechanic-builds-130mph-rat-rod-ridiculous-rides/vi-AA11uwMp?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1e182f3d14cb44ca8d7f3cfd89d662e3&category=foryou

(Not sure Rolls Royce will like the use of the Spirit of Ecstasy & Badge on one of them though - they have form for taking people to Court for that one).

 

And finally....

The Bailiffs are calling at Number 10 today - Bozo is out on his ear.  Hopefully his replacement can sort the bluddy big hole that we seem to be plummeting towards.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by polybear

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Todo today...

 

Take her indoors to collect her car

Collect prescriptions on the way back

Attend cricket match in Harrogate.. weather permitting

Attend barbecue in Harrogate.. weather permitting

If it does rain I have a day of indoor sorting out to do..pah!

 

Our poorly relative is in ICU as they are having problems getting the breathing tube out.. she is still having anaesthetic  which is known to suppress her swallow reflex.. they won't take the tube out as she isn't showing a good swallow reflex.. egg/chicken and chicken/egg comes to mind. Hopefully today will see a m9ve out of ICU.

 

Time to drink my tea and drivel off towards Breakfast...

 

Stay safe

 

Baz

[iL Dottore]

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

On buses, I think buses often get a bad rap and are seen as some sort of alternative for people who can't afford to drive a car. We don't have a car and use the MRT (the equivalent of the tube) and buses to get around. I think if buses (and indeed public transport of any sort) offers a frequent and good quality service at a reasonable price people will use it. The buses here are spotlessly clean, air conditioned (important here), very frequent and cheap, why wouldn't people use them? I think frequency of service and reliability are key, nobody wants to be constantly looking at their watch because there's only a handful of buses, and if service is so unreliable that people lose confidence in services then they can't really be criticized for driving instead.

In Switzerland, we very much have the same situation. Although where I live the primary city public transport system is the tram (supported by buses). Having clean, modern, punctual, frequent transport means that everybody uses them – even the more affluent (In fact a couple of years ago when BLT started introducing its new air conditioned state of the art trams, there was criticism that the new trams were being exclusively allocated to the number 10 tramline which serves some very affluent areas of Baselland). The Swiss also like their cars and somehow manage to fit both car driving and public transport into their lives.

 

Of course, the Swiss do like to grumble about the SBB (and it is true that there are some routes such as Zürich-Bern or Basel-Zürich that really have reached the limits of capacity - even with double decker rolling stock), but remain very supportive of government investment into public transport (as shown by the results of various referenda asking the public whether or not the government should invest in this or that public transport project).

Another thing (not mentioned in the post above) is that the Swiss manage to coordinate their various bus services with the railways. For cities like Zürich or Basel with a dense network of very frequent trams and buses, the coordination is not very tight – as another bus/tram will - quite literally - be along in a minute.  But at rural stations SBB timetables are coordinated with the local Post Bus timetables: so the Post Bus will be waiting as the train comes in and will leave shortly after the train departs.

One final comment, and the railway infrastructure savvy on this thread can probably shed light as to the why, but the SBB manages to mix train running with infrastructure maintenance seemingly without any problems. I’ve had a number of weekday journeys on the SBB where, during the trip, the train slowed down changed tracks and (slowly) passed engineers and maintenance crews working on the adjacent track, before speeding up again and arriving at my destination punctually. I don’t recall ever having had to take an SBB replacement bus service.

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Any idea when it actually finished?

 

Bear here....

It appears that I may have an issue with the new Sideboard 😭 - one of the doors is dangerously close to hitting the carcass frame; I've added a thick card spacer behind the top hinge and that's helped a lot, but of course means the door sits at an angle in it's opening, which p1sses a Bear off somewhat 😡.  It's not a loading thing (I think) cos' I haven't been loading it up with gold bars/Momma Bear's Dinner Service etc. and there's also a hidden centre support beneath the sideboard (so hidden that Bear only discovered it by accident).  How to sort it though?  Hmmm.....if it was a room door I'd plane the offending corner, but on a finished oak sideboard I kinda have some concerns about doing that as if it went wrong it could go horribly wrong very quickly and be very difficult to correct.  More thought - and a call to the supplier - are required this morning.  Rejecting the sideboard would be bad news as there seems to be very, very few available at this size (length) - a shorter one would look weird in the alcove opening and also lose much valuable storage space.  The packaging is also long-gone.  A very, very large Piggin' Turdycurses methinks.

 

Better news (hopefully) is the new TV is due around midday, so Bear will have that to play with after din dins 😀.

 

It also seems that we're not out of the woods yet regarding our Model Engineering College Evening restarting - it seems there are still some that are objecting, for reasons unknown.....

 

In other news.....

Bear is in talks with a Guy regarding commissioning a new Bear-rod:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/mechanic-builds-130mph-rat-rod-ridiculous-rides/vi-AA11uwMp?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1e182f3d14cb44ca8d7f3cfd89d662e3&category=foryou

(Not sure Rolls Royce will like the use of the Spirit of Ecstasy & Badge on one of them though - they have form for taking people to Court for that one).

 

And finally....

The Bailiffs are calling at Number 10 today - Bozo is out on his ear.  Hopefully his replacement can sort the bluddy big hole that we seem to be plummeting towards.

 

 

 

If I had to guess PB it would have the early '70's is a long time ago.

 

Just to add that both my parents grew up within the sound of the hooter. In fact my mum and her sisters were all told to stay away from that end of Regent Road as it was frequented by 'laskars' and they would do 'wicked things to little girls'.

 

It is very hard to believe that apart from my grandmothers house that entire area and we are talking several council wards so not small was cleared in the late sixties early seventies.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Winslow Boy

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Thunder and lightening again last night but bright enough with some high thin cloud. Nothing but BJ's resignation on the news. Currently they are showing his flight up to Balmoral ironically in a FRENCH built aircraft. The other thought is once he hands his resignation to her majesty and ceases to be prime minister he will not be entitled to all the ministerial privileges so how is he going to get back? Now watching the BTF film on Talking pictures, be back later.

[Barry O]

Game is on today.. with an early start time.. that's badgered my plan for today.. pah!!

 

Baz

[TheQ]

13 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Thunder and lightening again last night but bright enough with some high thin cloud. Nothing but BJ's resignation on the news. Currently they are showing his flight up to Balmoral ironically in a FRENCH built aircraft. The other thought is once he hands his resignation to her majesty and ceases to be prime minister he will not be entitled to all the ministerial privileges so how is he going to get back? Now watching the BTF film on Talking pictures, be back later.

Hitch a lift back with the new PM...

[Winslow Boy]

6 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Hitch a lift back with the new PM...

 

She could drop him off at the M6 and he could hitch hike.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, from a rock that is breezy but 18c.

 

No plans yet for the day, no orders left either.  Not sure if it will stay dry, so need to investigate the weather guessers channel.  I was thinking of a ride out for lunch, but it does look a bit dodgy out.

 

Some mudelling may well take place, inspiration is improving.

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Two excursions for me today. First one is to the GP surgery to deliver a sample I bottled earlier this morning. The second is to deliver myself to Canvey Island  just before midday to have some blood extracted. 
It rained last night and may rain later. Any thunder and lightning last night dint wake me up.

Tony

[The White Rabbit]

Morning all from a damp valley. 

 

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

... But in other cases it seems to be very much an opportunity to show off how much money they can spend on their hobby. For example: yesterday I watched a YouTube video about someone unboxing a 1/32 scale bomber. The introduction which went along the lines of “I went to the local model shop to buy some plastic card and I saw this kit on sale for £385,  so I bought one to give it a try“...

 

They may be annoying but they are the sort to gladden the hearts of model shop owners and staff, especially at the moment. And if them spending money like that helps keep the shop open, I won't hate them too much.

 

37 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Hitch a lift back with the new PM...

 

Perhaps she will be hospitable and offer him a drink...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3CHmg_iS8o 

 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

Hitch a lift back with the new PM...

To be boring I believe that they always get a ride home in the Ministerial transport and get given their red box as a souvenir.   However it's a pity thst the late Whillie Whitelaw isn't in residence he might have mistaken  Boris for a deer with a blonde top knot.

 

Jamie

Edited September 6, 2022 by jamie92208

[PeterBB]

17 hours ago, The Lurker said:

Another smelly place I visited back in the early 90s was in Burton - a client printed labels. Next door on one side was Bass Brewers, on the other the Marmite factory. A quick google suggests that they are still there.

Only too true - if you were 'in the hills' of Winshill or Stapenhill the breeze brought it to you and yuh yuh!

[jjb1970]

On unboxing, and the way for some it is simply a form of self gratification I find model channels are complete amateurs next to watch channels. I have an interest in pilot and space watches, if I was ever in the super rich club it is a hobby I'd love to indulge myself in but I just have a very small collection which wasn't that expensive. I tried watching watch YouTube channels and very quickly realized many of them really are just selling a form of ostentatious wealth porn to dreamers who seem to get some sort of vicarious satisfaction from it. That said there are some nice channels on the subject which do appeal to the love of watches and watchmaking.

[PeterBB]

13 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I know its late but there's a lot to catch up with.

I grew up in Romford and when the the brewery emptied out the grains the whole town stank. I didn't mind but a lot of people hated it.

Working opposite Friary Meux Brewery in Guildford, YHA Hostelling in 'hop areas' in Kent and the Burton breweries found the smell literally sick making so totally agree.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Well I won’t be doing much outside today, as it’s raining, it’s not chuckinitdarn, but it’s wet and if I was to do anything out there, I wouldn’t stay dry for long. So, a bit of sorting stuff in the cellar and taking a box of goodies to the workshop will be the order of the day. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian

[PeterBB]

11 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

  bean-counter type decided that having our base not part of the defence contract to get classified waste disposed of by outside contractors looked messy on his spreadsheet or something so signed us up for a kings ransom again. The shredder got taken away, I assume just dumped somewhere.

 

This type is the usual accountants who look at saving pennies without looking at the bigger picture.  It has meant getting rid of quality useful stuff  because it took 'too much space' ... then required, where is it? and cost the earth (what would the value of the only King's ransome that came to mind - that of Richard in the 12th century be worth in todays monies?) to replace with inferior quality disposable stuff.  Sounds like a rant.

[jjb1970]

On the strange ways of penny counting I gave up trying to figure that out many years ago. When I worked in electricity generation I had a company credit card with a rather large limit and delegated authority to issue POs up to £25k without getting any higher counter signature. Which meant I could call suppliers and get spare parts and stuff we needed urgently very easily, but purchasing were always whinging about plants doing that. They had framework agreements which were much better, rather than calling Siemens, GE or whoever and having a part couriered over same day central purchasing would pay twice as much and get it to us next week (or maybe two weeks). Every time I highlighted the difference in the price they were paying and what I could just pay directly (in some cases it could be 3 or 4x) I always got the same answer, it was much more efficient and cost effective to go via central purchasing. At the end of the day I was just another hired hand and so if that's what our paymasters in Germany wanted who was I to argue? However it was interesting that when a unit was down the approach was to just use the company card or issue a PO directly and get the thing back online.