Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

4 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Chiddingfold brought back memories for Bear, only I couldn't recall why.  Then I did - I think we stayed there for a week whilst working at Dunsfold on Harrier back in the 80's; we stayed in a very old Hotel (in the centre?) and Bear had a 4-Poster IIRC - I recall lying in Bed looking out of the window and thinking the view probably hasn't changed for well over 100 years.

It must be one and the same place. The Crown Inn, opposite the church and at one corner of the village green. 
 

The traffic was quite ridiculous getting there. The apps suggested going by way of Hampton Court, Esher Common, the A3 and A283. Travel times were suggested at around 50 minutes. 50 minutes from home we hadn’t even cleared Hampton Court not three miles away.  Traffic didn’t clear until we joined the A3 at Esher Common but was then stationary around Wisley Gardens and again through Guildford. Luckily I had allowed for “Sunday traffic” and gave us 90, not 50 minutes. We walked into the pub at 12.27 for a 12.30 reservation and bumped into my sister and BiL who had arrived not five minutes earlier. 
 

The food was very good and fairly priced. The service was warm, friendly, timely and would get five stars in any top restaurant. 
 

Unfortunately the heating was not having a good day. The bar area was more than comfortably warm - I would say it was hot. But the dining area was cold. Two staff assured us that the heating was on but having been asked to feel the radiator near our table they agreed it was cold. Nothing they could do would persuade it to work so we enjoyed good company and good food (and the non-drivers also tell me the drinks were good too) whilst getting cooler and eventually colder the longer we were there. 
 

It seemed they could not re-seat us (and a couple of other tables) into a warmer area as those were already full. 
 

An easier drive back still brought us into stationary traffic at Hampton Court but spotting the road towards Kingston was clear I slipped the Little Red Driving Box through gaps like a knife through butter and we were only delayed by a few seconds. 
 

It’s not often I take pictures of the lavatory door in a pub but this one was - in common with the whole building - rather special. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[New Haven Neil]

Evening.  That note is getting a little donkey eared.

 

Rush out early as we had to install a bridge in the glen prior to archery starting.  This wasn't the kind of bridge you were likely thinking of, just an old aluminium ladder with some ply treads!  This stream has been little more than a trickle for months, it was three feet deep this morning!

 

 

Then the shoot, Mrs NHN did well, close to her PB, but got soundly thrashed (steadyyyy)  by Geoff, the club's best archer, who had a blinder with a PB.  The rest of us trailed miles behind.

 

On the way home the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was......at Police HQ!  Unlikely...

 

 

 

[PeterBB]

3 hours ago, chrisf said:

I have no idea.  Nothing was said about that when I bought it.

 

Chris

My new printer supposedly was Wifi 'enabled' but could not be set up.  The company response was basically 'put it near the router'.  The printer was next to the computer and ha ha not at all practical to move either anywhere near to the actual router.  A bit awkward but when connected directly 'by wire' it actually works perfectly but would still not work on Wifi once wire removed.  I think the term is turdy-curses. 

Edited November 20, 2022 by PeterBB
Typos

[Ozexpatriate]

Modern printers are strange beasts. Mine does print reliably and pretty much set itself up on WiFi. I could not however get the scanning function to deliver images to my Windows machine, though it happily accepts print jobs. It reliably makes photocopies so there is no imaging problem.

 

Apart from all the 'phone home' connectivity where it independently downloads upgrades from its corporate mothership, there are some very annoying characteristics. It frequently tells me (on waking my Windows machine) that it has genuine cartridges installed. Nice and informative, but yes, I know, I put them there! I have no idea how to turn this off.

 

A printer manufacturer (not HP) is advertising their 'feature' where they automatically send you new ink in the post whenever the printer 'phones home' that a cartridge is going low. Convenient? Yes, but also expensive and presumably results in unanticipated charges on your credit card.

[monkeysarefun]

I cant remember when I last even  turned my printer on. I know I put new cartridges in it  about 4   years ago but when I finally got around to needing to print something the magenta had an issue  so it wouldn't let me print a black and white document, which I thought was stupid and so turned it off - so its still not working but I've just never had a need to print anything since.

 

As a result its been gradually shuffled along my bench as I acquired first a laser cutter then started adding to the 3D printer collection, now Ive acquired my 5th 3D printer  the inkjet printer is  jammed up against the wall  and has become a stand for the 3D printer curing station and assorted clutter.

 

Likewise its scanning abilities - I  haven't used it for scanning in ages, the adobe scanning app on the mobile  phone does a good enough job for my needs, which is lucky given I cant open the printer lid..

Edited November 20, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

... Or is it a factor of the sampling process? ...

Still reporting here in Oregon.

 

Source: Google dashboard of New York Times data

 

Data suggests the potential for an increase with the coming of winter. It's clearly still here.

 

(The orange column marks a short week when official reporting changed from daily to weekly on a Wednesday. I could readjust earlier weekly accumulated data from Fridays to Wednesdays but haven't yet.)

[PupCam]

Evening All!

 

Puppers is back from a most enjoyable mission for a few days to the South West to visit the place where I believe Southern Railway London bound trains used to pass GWR London bound trains going in the opposite direction.   Of course, both are "the wrong railway" so it may only be hearsay 😂

 

I must say, the Cathedral is rather splendid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 19/11/2022 at 17:49, Tony_S said:

I don’t know anything about ads but if you want a recommendation for almost anything DCC it is always worth checking out Coastal DCC. 
I didn’t really mind adverts about model railway stuff, but I never liked adverts that flashed or moved about. I replaced a magazine subscription with the Gold option  so adverts no longer bother me. I was somewhat suspicious of the previous subjects the Google ad server presented. I also found the usual excuse of it matching one’s interests rather irritating. I wasn’t in the least bit interested in addictive substances or fringe candidates for the London Mayoral elections for which I didn’t even have a vote!

 

Unfortunately the specific item I was after is unique to DigiTrains however an acceptable alternative should be available from Coastal.     Without going into a rather long & detailed tale in this case, suffice to say that purchasing the alternative from Kevin at Coastal would be more than acceptable particularly  as he supported us for many years at both the St Albans & Stevenage shows.

 

For those that use the forum exclusively via a phone I might hazard to suggest that this division of "Real Estate" as indicated by a screen-grab from my phone is completely unacceptable.    I'll say no more on this subject ...

 

 

 

11 hours ago, TheQ said:

Of Amazon I got asked for an ID card last night by the Amazon man.. so i showed him my very worn out driving licence, and he peered at it in the darkness... It could have been anything..

 

If the Amazon bod asked me for ID after I've answered my own front door he'd be taking the goods back with him .....

 

TTFNQ

 

Alan

 

[BoD]

Ah yes, the only things known to man than can rattle your trouser legs* in the same way as standing next to a Deltic as it pulls away can.  Both are wonderful.
 

*I guess it will be the same for skirts. I’ve never tried.

[Ozexpatriate]

Freezing temperatures again overnight and this morning. (It's now noon and about 3°C.)

 

As it's been very dry there was little accumulation of frost - just a thin sheen on the shady sides of roofs and the grass. The wind from the last few days has died down a bit. It was quiet out walking - falling leaves were quite audible.

 

The week ahead should be warmer with less rain than in the longer range forecasts. Thursday (Thanksgiving) is expected to reach 13°C - much warmer than it has been.

[pgcroc]

Some of the forum may love this.

Others not so much.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11449777/Heinz-relaunches-baked-beans-pizza-20-years-pulling-supermarket-shelves.html

[iL Dottore]

3 minutes ago, pgcroc said:

Some of the forum may love this.

Others not so much.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11449777/Heinz-relaunches-baked-beans-pizza-20-years-pulling-supermarket-shelves.html

Just the sort of thing for a certain Bear of this parish. I wonder if I could get him a pallet load for his Christmas (note: Christmas NOT Chrimbo) present?

[polybear]

Bear has just finished watching the film "Resistance" - all about Marcel Marceau and his work with the French Resistance in WW2; he is attributed with saving "at least" 70 Jewish Children in WW2.  The evil B'sterd (other words are available....) Klaus Barbie features as well - it seems that he wasn't captured until 1983.  Why?  Because the US recruited him to work in their Intelligence Service 🤬 and even (allegedly) helped him escape to Bolivia.

 

From Wiki:

During his trial, Barbie said, "When I stand before the throne of God, I shall be judged innocent."  The court rejected the defence's argument. On 4 July 1987, Barbie was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in prison in Lyon four years later of leukemia and spine and prostate cancer at the age of 77.

 

I really do hope he died screaming in agony.

 

 

[polybear]

18 minutes ago, pgcroc said:

Some of the forum may love this.

Others not so much.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11449777/Heinz-relaunches-baked-beans-pizza-20-years-pulling-supermarket-shelves.html

 

Hmm....Bear might just try that - though a DIY version; the Heinz version is somewhat lacking in Beans methinks....

[polybear]

In other news....

It seems the Comedian Joe Lycett has shredded £10K of his own money in protest at David Beckham getting a reputed £20M for being an Ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar.  Barking.

As you can imagine there are numerous Charities who have said they could've made much better use of the money.

 

And finally....

A Brit kickball supporter in Qatar was on the news - he reported that a glass of Wine was £22🤣  (edit:  that might be for two glasses).

Edited November 21, 2022 by polybear

[iL Dottore]

Printers?

 

If I would re-equip my company with new printers I would certainly go for a make that has refillable reservoirs or can use non proprietary laser cartridges. Secondly, I would use a wire connection (probably USB to USB nowadays) - WiFi is OK, but can be “touchy” (or some say - my WiFi is stable - but see below).

 

My biggest gripe and the reason I would go for a wired connection, is that my printers Wi-Fi connection is dependent on having the latest drivers installed. That, per se, isn’t a problem; the problem is sometimes when Windows does an automatic update I have to delete my printer from the computers list of connected devices, download a new Hewlett-Packard, printer driver and reinstall the whole lot. Not particularly difficult (Windows makes it quite easy), but it is tedious and time-consuming.

 

Assuming that ChrisF is not using Windows 95 on his laptop, most recent iterations of Windows, makes the installation and test of any new printer, a ridiculously simple process: basically turn the printer on, go to your settings, menu in Windows, go to “add new device“ and then follow the on screen instructions (and it’s pretty much the same whether you use a Wi-Fi connection or not.

 

And, apparently, it’s even simpler to add a printer to an Apple computer (primarily because Apple doesn’t want you to do anything with your computer that it doesn’t approve of, unlike Windows, which has a much greater degree of flexibility - especially if you are even the slightest bit computer savvy).

I would certainly recommend to @chrisf that he take an hour, introductory course to basic Windows usage – knowing one’s way around the windows settings menu makes using the computer, so much simpler, even if you don’t do anything, particularly out of the ordinary with your PC settings

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, PeterBB said:

My new printer supposedly was Wifi 'enabled' but could not be set up.  The company response was basically 'put it near the router'.  The printer was next to the computer and ha ha not at all practical to move either anywhere near to the actual router.  A bit awkward but when connected directly 'by wire' it actually works perfectly but would still not work on Wifi once wire removed.  I think the term is turdy-curses. 

Absolutely.  The current printer, which replaced its predecessor under the duress of the latter's cartridges no longer being made but which was otherwise a fine machine of its kind, should operate wirelessly.  It was bought among other things for that reason.  It did briefly operate via the wifi but with great reluctance.  It could take 20 minutes to convince it to print a simple page of text.  Ask it to reproduce any form of image or use any colour other than "PGBLK" (which I take to mean Page Black and is somehow different to "BLACK") and it would have sat there all night doing nothing.  

 

It's a multifunction device which should also scan and copy.  It would scan all by itself but not scan and save using its inbuilt software which is matched to the computer; it required me to download and use the VueScan app for everything to work nicely.  Likewise it will copy if asked but - should I require a saved electronic version of the document - then I have to go back and scan it because the copy function doesn't talk to the save function.  

 

I ended up buying a cable in frustration.  It now means the printer does as it's told reliably every time but at the cost of having to unplug my image drive - which I make quite frequent use of - because I have only one available USB port.  

 

The router is on the hallway floor.  There is no way the computer nor the printer is going to live there.  

1 hour ago, BoD said:

the only things known to man than can rattle your trouser legs

There's nothing like a 32-foot diapaison in full flight to rattle your trouser-legs 😁.  Not as smoky as a Deltic either.  

[PupCam]

9 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

My biggest gripe and the reason I would go for a wired connection, is that my printers Wi-Fi connection is dependent on having the latest drivers installed. That, per se, isn’t a problem; the problem is sometimes when Windows does an automatic update I have to delete my printer from the computers list of connected devices, download a new Hewlett-Packard, printer driver and reinstall the whole lot. Not particularly difficult (Windows makes it quite easy), but it is tedious and time-consuming.

 

Ah, I spotted your problem in just two hyphenated words ......

 

I have to say, I've been enjoying some of the MonaLisa Twins output.

 

 

Night Awl!

 

[polybear]

Bear's Sunday Funnies.....

 

 

 

 

Three women die together in an accident and go to heaven:
When they get there, St. Peter says. "We only have one rule here in heaven, don't step on the ducks!"
So they enter heaven, and sure enough, there are ducks all over the place.
It is almost impossible not to step on a duck and although they try their best to avoid them, the first woman accidentally steps on one.
Well, along comes St. Peter with the ugliest man she ever saw. St. Peter chains them together and says. "Your punishment for stepping on a duck is to spend eternity chained to this ugly man!"
The next day, the second woman steps accidentally on a duck and along comes St. Peter, who doesn't miss a thing. With him is another extremely ugly man. He chains them together with the same admonishment as for the first woman.
The third woman has observed all this and not wanting to be chained for all eternity to an ugly man, is very careful where she steps. She manages to go months without stepping on any ducks. And then one day St. Peter comes up to her with the most handsome man she has ever laid eyes on - Very tall, long eyelashes and muscular. St. Peter chains them together without saying a word.
The happy woman says. "I wonder what I did to deserve being chained to you for all of eternity?"
The forlorn guy says. "I don't know about you, but I accidentally stepped on a duck!"

 

I fail to understand why women love cats. Cats are independent, they don't listen, they don't come in when you call, they like to stay out all night, and when they're home they like to be left alone and sleep. In other words, every quality that women hate in a man, they love in a cat.

 

A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all of a sudden he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source. He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave with a headstone that reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to return with him.
By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the previous piece, it is being played backward. Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the 5th.
By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played backward. Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone in the crowd asks him if he has an explanation for the music. "Don't you get it?" the caretaker says incredulously.
"He's decomposing!"

 

A little girl was leaning into a lion's cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the collar of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to slaughter her, all under the eyes of her screaming parents:
A biker jumps off his Harley, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch.
Whimpering from the pain, the lion jumps back, letting go of the girl, and the biker brings the girl to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.
A BBC reporter, Laura Kuenssberg, had watched the whole event.
Laura, addressing the Harley rider says. "Sir, this was the most gallant and bravest thing I've seen a man do in my whole life.”
The Harley rider replies. "Why, it was nothing, really. The lion was behind bars. I just saw this little kid in danger and acted as I felt right.”
Miss Kuenssberg. "Well, I'll make sure this won't go unnoticed. I'm a BBC journalist you know and tomorrow's news will run this story. So, what do you do for a living, and what political affiliation do you have?”
The biker replies. "I'm a British Army veteran, a Conservative and I voted for Brexit.”
The journalist leaves.
The following morning the biker turns on BBC News to see if it indeed brings news of his actions.
BBC Headline: RIGHT WING UK VETERAN ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT AND STEALS HIS LUNCH.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis has stayed away for most of this afternoon but now he's waking up but the Nurofen is dealing with him. I'm making another bread pudding, the bread will be soaking overnight. Just found an old bottle of Cointreau at the back of the drinks cabinet so a dash of that will be added to the mix. My printer is all of ten years old now but I've only had to change one cartridge, the cyan, none of this only cartridges from the original maker nonsense either, Lexmark are quite happy for you to use generic cartridges and will even sell you bottles of ink to refill them yourself. Luckily my hub sits alongside the printer so a cable connection is easy.

[Winslow Boy]

42 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Absolutely.  The current printer, which replaced its predecessor under the duress of the latter's cartridges no longer being made but which was otherwise a fine machine of its kind, should operate wirelessly.  It was bought among other things for that reason.  It did briefly operate via the wifi but with great reluctance.  It could take 20 minutes to convince it to print a simple page of text.  Ask it to reproduce any form of image or use any colour other than "PGBLK" (which I take to mean Page Black and is somehow different to "BLACK") and it would have sat there all night doing nothing.  

 

It's a multifunction device which should also scan and copy.  It would scan all by itself but not scan and save using its inbuilt software which is matched to the computer; it required me to download and use the VueScan app for everything to work nicely.  Likewise it will copy if asked but - should I require a saved electronic version of the document - then I have to go back and scan it because the copy function doesn't talk to the save function.  

 

I ended up buying a cable in frustration.  It now means the printer does as it's told reliably every time but at the cost of having to unplug my image drive - which I make quite frequent use of - because I have only one available USB port.  

 

The router is on the hallway floor.  There is no way the computer nor the printer is going to live there.  

There's nothing like a 32-foot diapaison in full flight to rattle your trouser-legs 😁.  Not as smoky as a Deltic either.  

 

Your easily pleased then.

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Winslow Boy]

56 minutes ago, polybear said:

In other news....

It seems the Comedian Joe Lycett has shredded £10K of his own money in protest at David Beckham getting a reputed £20M for being an Ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar.  Barking.

As you can imagine there are numerous Charities who have said they could've made much better use of the money.

 

And finally....

A Brit kickball supporter in Qatar was on the news - he reported that a glass of Wine was £22🤣

 

Hmm bit of an oxymoron there. A football supporter drinking.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Tony_S]

All our printers are connected with Ethernet cables. That way any device (wired or wireless) in the house can print. All the printers (down to 2 lasers now) are in Aditi’s study so,she doesn’t have to walk about to retrieve her hard copy. The HP printer does scanning as well and that works over the network too. 

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

A busy day here and I think you know why.

Hovis came round at about 10:30 and various pieces of paperwork were exchanged and the tearful breeder left after showing us two of Hovis’s puppies which she is keeping.

These puppies were delivered by C section in July and poor Hovis has quite a scar to show for it.

She seems to have settled very well. After pacing around the house, possibly looking for Sydney, she spent the late afternoon watching me doing some paperwork and SWMBO doing some reading.

After tea we took her for an evening walk but she didn’t leave me a ‘hand warmers’ to pick up. We all settled down and watched a bit of tv (GP) and at 10.00pm I took her out again but still no deposit.

Its going to be a fine balancing act between comforting her over indulging her with affection. 
Anway, Goodnight from a very happy dad.