Early Risers.

[jjb1970]

How cool is this! A disposable glove dispenser in the ANA lounge at Haneda airport, as you put your hand over the sensor it blows air into the glove and you just put your hand in. The glove then tears off the pile as you pull your hand away. No messing about trying to open the things, contact free, it's genius! That's why Japan is great, inventing useful stuff.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

A disposable glove dispenser in the ANA lounge at Haneda airport, as you put your hand over the sensor it blows air into the glove and you just put your hand in.

How very Japanese, and better than toilets that sing to you.

[Ozexpatriate]

15 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

the stuff that sounds like  it's from a Mary Poppins song

You don't know what you're missing. Skirt steak with chimichurri is delicious. It's a South American thing.

[Tony_S]

10 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

You don't know what you're missing. Skirt steak with chimichurri is delicious. It's a South American thing.

I did have to Google “chimichurri”. Though I had to research what chipotle was the first time I went to the US and that is everywhere now. Perhaps chimichurri will be soon too. A few years ago I noticed Nduja on a menu  in Italy and had no idea what it was. That seems to be appearing on products here now too. 

[New Haven Neil]

43 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

 

@New Haven Neil the IOM VC winner was a Major Cain he did some remarkable things at Arnhem with a PIAT despite losing sight in an eye iirc.

Jeremy Clarkson made a documentary series on VC winners he was one of them. It turned out Major Cain was his FIL at the time.

 

Thanks for that, Simon.  Yes, that is he, I had forgotten he was Clarkson's ex-FiL.  Fantastically brave man, the PIAT job made for some reading.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. When I was in Tess Coes this afternoon they had Richard Osmans latest novel on sale so I had to have a copy. I haven't opened it yet but if his previous books are anything to go by it should be a good read.

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Happy Birthday to Aditi  if you could pass on the wishes.

Wind has subsided now.

I’m constantly buying things for the ‘next project’ that invariably gets stalled usually due to lack of confidence, time or determination. I like things to be right and can’t always be sure I can get close so in the end nothing gets done and in the end decide on another project. If you recall on Saturday I mentioned buying  some points, we’ll that’s for  the ‘next project’ but I’m not sure how far it will get before I lose confidence in the plan. 
 It’s my clubs (Barnsley)  exhibition next weekend and I bet if I got my finger out over the years I could have filled the exhibition hall myself.

I’m not a great gadget fan so if I buy something of that nature I tend to use it straight away and don’t buy something that’s of a higher spec than I actually need but I don’t mind buying a quality product. 
In fact I’ve only every had three mobile phones and my ‘latest’ is a hand me down. Just looked  at the Apple website. New iPhone 14 Pro Max with 1TB, £1749. Who’d spend that on a phone, oh just a minute I do know someone. It’s obscene. Polybear, how many Deltics can you get for £1749?

Is this turning into a rant?

I think it is so goodnight.

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Erichill16
Spelling

[PhilJ W]

Belated birthday wishes to Aditi.

[simontaylor484]

14 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. When I was in Tess Coes this afternoon they had Richard Osmans latest novel on sale so I had to have a copy. I haven't opened it yet but if his previous books are anything to go by it should be a good read.

I have only read the Thursday Murder club and enjoyed it I haven't come across a charity shop copy of the man who died twice yet. I am on the lookout though. Currently reading 809 Squadron about Sea Harriers and the Falklands War.

Just finished Clive Cussler's The Devils Gate.

[Tony_S]

Just now, simontaylor484 said:

I have only read the Thursday Murder club and enjoyed it I haven't come across a charity shop copy of the man who died twice yet. I am on the lookout though. Currently reading 809 Squadron about Sea Harriers and the Falklands War.

Just finished Clive Cussler's The Devils Gate.

I borrowed the first two Richard Osman novels from the library. Essex like a few other County library services uses the BorrowBox app so online copies can be read. If they have the PressReader app it is possible to read magazines too.  For a new release novel you may have to wait a while even for a reservation. 

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

... I had to research what chipotle was the first time I went to the US and that is everywhere now. Perhaps chimichurri will be soon too. A few years ago I noticed Nduja on a menu  in Italy and had no idea what it was. 

Brazilian steakhouses became very popular perhaps a couple of decades ago. I think they brought chimichurri with them. At this point it is widely known in the US. I'm a big fan of chipotles en adobo as an ingredient in chili (con carne), though I do try to remove the seeds and stems.

 

'Nduja is new to me. I haven't noticed it in the foodie magazines.

[woodenhead]

 Nduja are everywhere now, appears to be the latest hot pizza topping.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

... appears to be the latest hot pizza topping

Based on what I read, I can well imagine that.

[PhilJ W]

I knew there was something I had to do today, bake the bread pudding. 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well the weather here has been bl00dy awful, rain on and off for most of the day with the odd dry spell in between. But at least I managed to get the cellar steps cleaned. Other than updating drawings on the computer, which are now all done, I’ve not done a great deal.

Edited November 6, 2022 by BSW01

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Ozexpatriate]

15 minutes ago, BSW01 said:

Well the weather here has been bl00dy awful, rain on and off for most of the day with the odd dry spell in between.

Sounds familiar. Heavy rain this morning and overcast with light showers on and off all day. The sun was a 'no show'. More showers tomorrow and then the potential for freezing overnight temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday. This would be the first freeze of the season. Hopefully we're building mountain snow.

 

With NFL football on, I added snap fasteners (purchased a year ago) to my rain gear to shorten the legs. If it is raining tomorrow I will see how well the alteration worked.

[Ozexpatriate]

My cable television provider is infuriating. 

 

Everything was working nominally. (I have the television on a lot - it's been perfect all day). Until I sat down after dinner to watch Sunday Night Football (which incidentally is the highest rated broadcast programme in the US). With the exception of Public Television, all the local broadcast channels are intermittently dropping out after 10 - 20 seconds or so. (Cable channels are fine.)

 

I attempted the mobile text assistant. That was worthless.

 

So I called the support telephone number. The AI bot wanted to reset my cable box (this takes 10 minutes) as I witnessed on Friday after a power outage. Refusing to let the bot remotely reset the box, the bot informed me that the wait time for an agent was 118 minutes, and asked whether I would like to use the text assistant (no!) then dropped the call anyway.

 

Ultimately I reset the box, which, as expected did nothing to resolve the issue. It's not the box. It's not loose or bad wiring connections. It's on their end.

 

Generally speaking, the reliability is exceptional (except when it's not) - which is perhaps why the customer service is non-existent.

[monkeysarefun]

8 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

You don't know what you're missing. Skirt steak with chimichurri is delicious. It's a South American thing.

But on a burger? Hmmmm maybe I can insert it into my favourite hamburger memories and see if it works?

 

They'd be back in those far off days, when you left the surf, ran across the hot sand to hop  from foot to foot on the sticky molten  tar of the  footpath  waiting for a break in the traffic to cross the road to the milk bar, or better still "Send one of the chicks!" cos they always wore sandals unlike the barefoot  boys,  "And don't forget the  extra Chimichurris,.... and a chocolate milk!" and off they'd go in a cloud of coconut oil or Coppertone tan, back when the sun was for getting brown in, not hiding from.

 

Then you'd eat sitting on the tailgate of one of the boys panel vans (  "You're getting  *#$&#@*$ sand in the carpet!" )  Then back again  into the waves, feeling slightly  guilty that you didn't wait the prescribed hour after eating that your parents always enforced back in the days when you still didn't fear being seen at the beach with them. But the surf was  calling and there was always the hope of one of those dumping waves that tore off bikini tops.

 

Ah, endless summers of the late '70's and early '80's where did you go? (except for the rampant sexism and homophobia). 

 

Serving suggestion:

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[monkeysarefun]

7 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

We become very dependent on it. In the aftermath of the Florida hurricane there were fatalities specifically related to power outages and I don't mean electrocutions from faulty/downed power equipment but examples like people dependent on oxygen machines, or refrigerated medications.

 

This story has always stuck in my head as being  incredibly sad...

 

https://www.smh.com.au/world/nz-woman-dies-after-electricity-cut-off-20070530-flj.html

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[Gwiwer]

6 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

7 hours ago, Tony_S said:

 

Brazilian steakhouses became very popular perhaps a couple of decades ago.

But only for fully-shaven customers? 

[iL Dottore]

1 minute ago, Gwiwer said:

But only for fully-shaven customers? 

A rather witty reply Rick, but I wonder how many of our more elderly and/or puritanical members know what a “Brazilian“ is?

[iL Dottore]

Good morning all,

 

After last night‘s rain, things have turned distinctly chilly – which will make my trip into the village on my bike to collect some groceries rather “interesting“.

 

A fairly busy day awaits at work: I have a few hundred pages of drug coding line listings to review (a bit tedious, dead easy but time-consuming and so profitable), I then have to update an organogram for a client – putting myself and my consultant colleagues into their structure. Unusually, for the sort of small company/start-up I usually work with, this organogram is likely to remain unchanged for at least a year (one client I have been working for has gone through three CMOs just during the year I have been working with them!). I then have a database to update which will be followed by an extensive and long “executive lunch“, after which I have a short teleconference and then I am free for the evening.

 

It beats proper working for a living.😁

 

On matters recreational, Mrs iD has approved my three week post immediate retirement excursion to Japan. I will now need to suss out a decent tour organiser and one that doesn’t do the “same old same old“. I wonder if @tetsudofan or @jjb1970 have any pointers? My budget is adequately robust and I am happy to stay in less opulent hotels and hostelries in Japan in exchange for business class or first class travel. Having spent most of my life flying around the globe for work, this body just does not “do” economy long haul. I did do a long haul in economy but only once – when I was much younger, fitter and not afflicted with the aches and pains of old age – and it was a horrendous experience - I needed a few days to recover from the flight, which sort of defeats the purpose of going on a relaxing holiday in the first place: never again!

 

I have found that, in the Far East, unless you go the backpacker route even three star hotels are more than adequate to stay in - plus you are not paying exorbitant amounts for food and drink at the hotel (I mean $7 equivalent for a minibar can of Coke? Really? Someone’s extracting the urine!).

 

This also holds true for much of the US and Canada: the big hotel chains have budget lines which are more than adequate: Mrs ID and I stayed in one (a Marriott offshoot I think) which was basic (no restaurant, no room service, no fitness centre and just a basic “free“ breakfast of Danish or cereal and coffee) but the room was spotlessly clean, quiet, had a decent shower with plump, fluffy towels and was everything we expect from a hotel room – regardless of pricing (if I recall correctly, we paid $30 per night for the two of us). But you do have to do a little bit of research, not all budget hotel lines are the same – some are better than others.

 

Anyway, enough dreaming of future holidays, time to get to work.

 

Have a great Monday

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by iL Dottore
Typo

[Grizz]

Morning All

 

Monsoon season is still with us in the Deep South of Sussex. Bored with autumn / winter now. 

 

An example of which is shown in a photo of Hamsey AHBC yesterday afternoon. The run off from the fields flooding down the approach lane and then onto the track. As can be seen the water level is already well up on the UP Cess side running rail and only a fraction below the underside of the 750 DC traction current rail. Always loads of fun when that shorts out and fries the track circuits. 
 

 

Unfortunately it is still raining outside, so it is best wet weather gear on for todays track inspections.
 

Still my boots are going to be toasty warm this morning as they are in the airing cupboard. Happiness is dry and warm tootsies! 
 

Have a great day all. 
 

ATB Grizz
 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by Grizz
Spelingl