Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

4 hours ago, Tony_S said:

We have had so much trouble over the years with moss and lichen on the roof (very clean air so no moss killing pollution) blocking the gutters and downpipes. After seeing a neighbours “hedgehogs” we had them installed. They do work well. However instead of blocking the drains the moss bounces off the bristles and ends up on the ground (or cars!). However a quick sweep with a broom is easier than going up ladders. 

It makes good compost though.

[polybear]

20 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

On a serious note, you really don’t want to employ anyones who comes to you from a rival bringing the rival’s secrets with them. It might bring a (short term) advantage to you - but also an incredibly high possibility that the person who brought you someone else’s secrets will go on to move on again to someone else - but this time taking your secrets with them…

 

Bear never, ever, EVER shares his secrets - s'pecially not to minions....

 

20 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Many high tech companies have both NDAs and Non Competitive clauses in their contracts which are legally binding to prevent you from taking any secrets to a rival.

 

Though I guess if the company lost £100M if you did take secrets then their chances of getting the money back from that individual must surely be diddly squat?

 

20 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Some companies even go further - when one company I worked for “downsized” my department, I was kept on the payroll at full pay for a year - even though I no longer had a job at this company. This was so that, after a year, when I was finally released and could go to a competitor, I no longer had current “state of the art knowledge” of what my former company was doing.

A bit like being suspended on full pay - but without the “being on the naughty strep” aspect.

 

Now that's the sort of job a certain Bear could do quite happily.....

In fact Bear took early retirement just as the very first lockdown was soon to come into effect; The Great Empire were very keen to "encourage" as many as possible to work from home.  About a month before I was was due to be out of the door for the very last time my Boss asked HR to send me home on "Gardening Leave" as it was commonly known (basically to f.o. on full pay until you are finally released from prison 🤣).  "Oh no, we couldn't possibly do that" they replied. 🤬

"But we can send him home on "Authorised Absence - Paid" 🤣

Bear thought to himself "I don't give a flying f. what you bunch of clowns wanna call it - but if it means being out of this hole a month early on full pay then that's good enough for this Bear...."

[polybear]

12 minutes ago, PupCam said:

FLIPPIN' HECK BEAR!      

 

Please tell me the ladder was securely lashed to the banister/some bit of structure BEFORE you ventured up it!

 

Be careful, you've got at least another 28 years of Great Empire pension to claim don't forget. 

They don't pay out to dead Bears (or Pups for that matter)!

 

Nah - where would the fun be in that? 🤣

Actually it's not as bad as it looks** - it can't slide forwards cos there's a bluddy great wall in the way, and it can't slide backwards cos' two of the banister spindles were stopping it from doing so, as was a metal carpet edging strip.

**There is a slight but, however......which is to get onto & off the ladder meant going over the top of the banister rail.  All good fun.  Wanna try it?

[pH]

You know how things break immediately after the warranty expires? Well ..,

 

I had the car in for service last week and asked them to have a look at the starter - it would sometimes stop turning without the engine having fired. They confirmed the problem and found a service bulletin describing the problem and specifying the fix, which included a new starter motor and a software update. 
 

They ordered a new starter motor, which they said would come from either Oregon or Japan(!), despite there being at least four Subaru dealers in Greater Vancouver.  It arrived yesterday and I took the car in this morning to have it fitted, which was done. The service tech then told me that today was the last day of the three year  ‘bumper to bumper” warranty on the car, so it had cost nothing.  If I had brought it in tomorrow, the cost would have been $400+. (Now, if that had happened, there would have been a robust discussion about the time it had taken to source a new motor! But hey - not necessary.)

 

Now I’m worried what karma is going to demand of me in return!

Edited October 25, 2022 by pH

[Gwiwer]

9 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

these young women are very much sort after

Do I detect an aberration of the Doctoral spill-chucker here?

 

I’m sure he knows the word is “sought”. 
 

And on that note I bid you a good night. 

[Ozexpatriate]

6 minutes ago, polybear said:

There is a slight but, however......which is to get onto & off the ladder meant going over the top of the banister rail.

Which is where, if it were me and the ladder was not lashed to the bannister, I'd manage to somehow kick the ladder up and forward and all would tumble down the stair well.

[Ozexpatriate]

25 minutes ago, pH said:

They ordered a new starter motor, which they said would come from either Oregon or Japan(!), despite there being at least four Subaru dealers in Greater Vancouver. 

They are very popular in Oregon - apparently we come in at number 6 by state-wide Subaru market share. Vermont is number 1.

 

There's at least nine dealerships within a 30 minute (or so) drive of me. More significantly is what shows up on Google maps as the "Master Distribution Center" in Gresham, OR which is where your parts might have come from.

 

There's also a very large automobile railhead on the Columbia in Vancouver, WA where cars are transshipped to auto racks to be sent east on the BNSF.

 

25 minutes ago, pH said:

Now I’m worried what karma is going to demand of me in return!

Evidently some good living there.

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Ozexpatriate

[Tony_S]

16 minutes ago, pH said:

a service bulletin describing the problem and specifying the fix,

I am sure it was more high tech than the “poke it with a stick” solution for my car. And people claim modern cars are too complicated to fix!

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon/evening all from Estuary-Land. Been out to a meeting this afternoon. Its SEERS 70th anniversary next year. I've been tasked with sorting out the drinking vessels for the punters at our open day next year, recyclable paper cups with lids is what is specified. The cost is just over 14p per cup, minimum order 1,000 ouch! Mind you there is still a lot of profit in catering at shows when you consider the cost to make a cup of tea that you can sell for 50p and a mug of tea for £1. Here is the flyer for the show.

SEERS@70

A CELEBRATION OF 70 YEARS OF THE SOCIETY

15TH April 2023

LEIGH ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH

LEIGH ROAD LEIGH ON SEA SS9 1NN

10.00AM TO 4.00PM

MODEL RAILWAY LAYOUTS, CLASSIC TOY TRAINS, MODEL ENGINEERING,

TEST TRACKS, NEW BUILD LOCOMOTIVE PROJECT

ADMISSION £3 – UNDER 18s free

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS available.

Nearest station Chalkwell c2c.

First Essex 21 passes the door. Nearby car park

www.seers-rail.org

Edited October 25, 2022 by PhilJ W

[Tony_S]

3 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon/evening all from Estuary-Land. Been out to a meeting this afternoon. Its SEERS 70th anniversary next year. I've been tasked with sorting out the drinking vessels for the punters at our open day next year, recyclable paper cups with lids is what is specified. The cost is just over 14p per cup, minimum order 1,000 ouch! Mind you there is still a lot of profit in catering at shows when you consider the cost to make a cup of tea that you can sell for 50p and a mug of tea for £1. Here is the flyer for the show.

SEERS@70

A CLEBRATION OF 70 YEARS OF THE SOCIETY

15

TH

April 2023

LEIGH ROAD BAPTIST

CHURCH

LEIGH ROAD LEIGH ON SEA SS9 1NN

10.00AM TO 4.00PM

MODEL RAILWAY LAYOUTS, CLASSIC TOY

TRAINS, MODEL ENGINEERING, TEST

TRACKS, NEW BUILD LOCOMOTIVE PROJECT

ADMISSION £3 – UNDER 18s free

LIGHT REFERESHMENTS available Nearest station Chalkwell

c2c. First Essex 21 passes the door. Nearby car park

www.seers-rail.org

I could get a bus there (the 21 ) from the end of my road. Don’t send the flyer off yet, there is a spelling mistake. 

[polybear]

21 minutes ago, pH said:

You know how things break immediately after the warranty expires? Well ..,

 

I had the car in for service last week and asked them to have a look at the starter - it would sometimes stop turning without the engine having fired. They confirmed the problem and found a service bulletin describing the problem and specifying the fix, which included a new starter motor and a software update. 

 

A starter fix requires a software update?  Has the Automotive world gone mad?

 

21 minutes ago, pH said:

They ordered a new starter motor, which they said would come from either Oregon or Japan(!), despite there being at least four Subaru dealers in Greater Vancouver.  It arrived yesterday and I took the car in this morning to have it fitted, which was done. The service tech then told me that today was the last day of the three year  ‘bumper to bumper” warranty on the car, so it had cost nothing.  If I had brought it in tomorrow, the cost would have been $400+. (Now, if that had happened, there would have been a robust discussion about the time it had taken to source a new motor! But hey - not necessary.)

 

 

I know of a certain Bear that would've got very, VERY cross if they'd tried to bill me - the fault was reported inside the warranty period - so that's a free fix in this Bear's Book.

[polybear]

2 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I could get a bus there (the 21 ) from the end of my road. Don’t send the flyer off yet, there is a spelling mistake. 

 

Two, in fact:

 

SEERS@70

A CLEBRATION OF 70 YEARS OF THE SOCIETY

15

TH

April 2023

LEIGH ROAD BAPTIST

CHURCH

LEIGH ROAD LEIGH ON SEA SS9 1NN

10.00AM TO 4.00PM

MODEL RAILWAY LAYOUTS, CLASSIC TOY

TRAINS, MODEL ENGINEERING, TEST

TRACKS, NEW BUILD LOCOMOTIVE PROJECT

ADMISSION £3 – UNDER 18s free

LIGHT REFERESHMENTS available Nearest station Chalkwell

c2c. First Essex 21 passes the door. Nearby car park

www.seers-rail.org

 

[PhilJ W]

39 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Bear never, ever, EVER shares his secrets - s'pecially not to minions....

 

 

Though I guess if the company lost £100M if you did take secrets then their chances of getting the money back from that individual must surely be diddly squat?

 

 

Now that's the sort of job a certain Bear could do quite happily.....

In fact Bear took early retirement just as the very first lockdown was soon to come into effect; The Great Empire were very keen to "encourage" as many as possible to work from home.  About a month before I was was due to be out of the door for the very last time my Boss asked HR to send me home on "Gardening Leave" as it was commonly known (basically to f.o. on full pay until you are finally released from prison 🤣).  "Oh no, we couldn't possibly do that" they replied. 🤬

"But we can send him home on "Authorised Absence - Paid" 🤣

Bear thought to himself "I don't give a flying f. what you bunch of clowns wanna call it - but if it means being out of this hole a month early on full pay then that's good enough for this Bear...."

When I retired there was only one month to go before my retirement date but I had two months annual leave to come. (The current year plus some bought over from the previous year) that meant that the leave I took for the last month I was paid double.

[PhilJ W]

14 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I could get a bus there (the 21 ) from the end of my road. Don’t send the flyer off yet, there is a spelling mistake. 

 

14 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Two, in fact:

 

SEERS@70

A CLEBRATION OF 70 YEARS OF THE SOCIETY

15

TH

April 2023

LEIGH ROAD BAPTIST

CHURCH

LEIGH ROAD LEIGH ON SEA SS9 1NN

10.00AM TO 4.00PM

MODEL RAILWAY LAYOUTS, CLASSIC TOY

TRAINS, MODEL ENGINEERING, TEST

TRACKS, NEW BUILD LOCOMOTIVE PROJECT

ADMISSION £3 – UNDER 18s free

LIGHT REFERESHMENTS available Nearest station Chalkwell

c2c. First Essex 21 passes the door. Nearby car park

www.seers-rail.org

 

I spotted them almost as soon as I'd posted it and have adjusted it accordingly. I'd cut and pasted it from a draft that needs tidying up which I have also done. I see thats there's some missing punctuation as well. A bit surprising as the chap who wrote it is a retired solicitor

 

 

SEERS@70

A CELEBRATION OF 70 YEARS OF THE SOCIETY

15TH April 2023

LEIGH ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH

LEIGH ROAD LEIGH ON SEA SS9 1NN

10.00AM TO 4.00PM

MODEL RAILWAY LAYOUTS, CLASSIC TOY TRAINS, MODEL ENGINEERING,

TEST TRACKS, NEW BUILD LOCOMOTIVE PROJECT

ADMISSION £3 – UNDER 18s free

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS available.

Nearest station Chalkwell c2c.

First Essex 21 passes the door. Nearby car park

www.seers-rail.org

Edited October 26, 2022 by PhilJ W

[Tony_S]

6 minutes ago, polybear said:

A starter fix requires a software update?  Has the Automotive world gone mad?

My car does software updates without going to the dealer. They don’t seem to be very large though unlike the satnav updates which would make a nasty dent in mobile data allowances, hence downloading them from the internet to a usb drive. 
When my Freelander had a starter problem the technician had a lot of little leads to bypass all the sensors when he was investigating the fault. It won’t even start unless about 6 sensors agree all is well. 

[pH]

3 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

My car does software updates without going to the dealer.

That update had to coincide with the replacement of the starter motor.

[jamie92208]

I thought that you might all like to see the picture that I took of the spectacular sunrise this morning.

It made me feel even more glad to be alive then usual, to see it.   The sunset tonight wasn't half as good as we had a thunderstorm.

 

Jamie

[Winslow Boy]

4 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear here.....

An afternoon of washing walls down, followed by yet another go with Mickey the Miele; nice dust-free walls and a knackered Bear resulted - a dive into the Beary bath was called for - and bvgger the expense.

 

As for ladders, getting to some parts of the wall required some jugglin' with the ladder - fortunately Bear came up with a cunning scheme.......

 

 

There is a rumour that the H&S Police wish to interview a certain Bear......

 

I see you took up my tongue firmly wedged in cheek suggestion about replacing the existing stairs due to them being coated with lead paint seriously then my dear Bear.

[Erichill16]

42 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

 

It made me feel even more glad to be alive then usual, to see it. 

 

Jamie

With regards to  your last comment,

Particularly as it looks like the end of the world!

Edited October 25, 2022 by Erichill16
Hopefully add clarity !

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Busy day here but not much work been done.

Bit late so go so goodnight.

Simon, I’ve not forgotten , I’ll post some details tomorrow.

Robert

[PhilJ W]

Arthur Itis has been absent for most of the day but pills will be taken before bed as a precaution.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

We had a very nice walk through the woodland area of RHS Bridgewater. The temperature was around 13C so it was plenty warm enough to not need a coat, although Sheila wore hers, as her thyroid medication means she always feels cold, even it’s warm. The tea and cake was very welcome after the walk, we then went into the garden centre and ended up buying some more plants, 6 white hellebores. 

 

The afternoon was spent relaxing on the sofa, Sheila reading her kindle, whilst I did a few sudoku puzzles and surfed the net. I think I’m getting used to this retirement malarkey. 

 

This evening we had our weekly chat with Vickie, catching up on the latest at their house and how the grandkids are doing. 

 

I’ve included a couple of photos of our hall, taken not long after I’d finished the decorating. I’ve also done lots of work on the house, including re-wiring and re-plumbing as it still had lead pipes for the water etc. 

 

The first photo shows the front door area and the replacement meter cupboard I built, with the dining room door is on the left. 

The second photo shows the hall leading to the kitchen and the stairs leading to the first floor. 

Incidentally, the living doorway, which is only just visible on the right, had been blocked up by the previous owners. Luckily all the original framework was still in place, so I just needed to get some reclaimed architrave as modern stuff was far to narrow. Getting an exact match was never going to happen, so when I found some that was wide enough. I removed the original architrave from the hallway side of the dining room doorframe and fitted that to the front room side of the front room door. I then fitted the salvaged architrave to hallway sides of both the dining room and living room. In the 20 years since the work was done, nobody has ever noticed. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

And people claim modern cars are too complicated to fix!

But not too complicated to steal.  The internet in the US (so far!)  has discovered that Kias and Hyundai models  up to 2021  that have a key start rather than push button lack an immobiliser and  so can be stolen by simply dissassembling the ignition  lock and  sticking a USB drive into the key  slot.  As a result theft of Korean cars has gone off the scale. -  

 

While Milwaukee isn't the only city affected by the rise in thefts, it's undoubtedly one of the worst. In fact, Korean cars represent more than two-thirds of all vehicle thefts in the city, and they've increased 2,500 percent year over year. Milwaukee has even considered taking Hyundai and Kia to court over the matter, as city alderman Michael Murphy told WISN it has "a real detrimental impact on the quality of life for [its] citizens." Last June, a separate class-action lawsuit was filed under seal against the automakers and their parent company claiming that its vehicles are manufactured with sub-par security measures.

Owners of affected Hyundais and Kias may want to consider an added layer of security to prevent this from happening. For example, they may choose to purchase an aftermarket immobilizer system or wheel lock like a club. While this certainly doesn't fix the underlying problem, it does help by deterring would-be crimes of opportunity.

 

You'll be able to tell affected Kias and Hyundais because they'll have that retro 1980's look - a club-lock stuck across the steering wheel...

Edited October 26, 2022 by monkeysarefun