Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

1 minute ago, Hroth said:

 

You would have thought the fuel dump would have been performed in front of the drone if the intention was to incapacitate the drones engine.

 

The quote on Sky News said the fuel dump was to blind the drones sensors.

[grandadbob]

17 minutes ago, polybear said:

Fuel dump shown - and damaged prop visible at 39 seconds:

 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/dramatic-moment-russian-fighter-jet-downs-us-drone-over-black-sea/ar-AA18HvGp?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=1065e3702376496e80ca5736acfbf603&ei=9

 Putin's spokesman:  "It wasn't us, we didn't do it.  This footage has been manufactured by the criminals of the USA and their minions to show the peace loving nation of Russia in a bad light and proves that the West is trying to provoke a conflict.  Honest Guv. "

[grandadbob]

Sainsbury's delivered and once again it was from the store we don't like.  Had to reject a pack of chicken breasts because the packaging was ripped open.  This meant a walk to Asda which was a mistake.  I know this because The Back, Knee and Hip are shouting at me in unison.  Should've taken the car Bob.  More pills being deployed.

[Tony_S]

4 hours ago, AndyID said:

MrsID buys dried beans of various types and cooks them herself in the pressure cooker. Interesting thing is they have practically no flavor at all. That has to be added.

 

BTW we use our electric pressure cooker a lot. They are so easy to use compared with the manual variety of yesteryear. My favorite is of course mince with some onion and carrot. The beef gets seriously browned in a skillet first.

We have always had pressure cookers. They get used a lot for cooking dried peas and beans used in North Indian recipes. The one we had for years was replaced with a more modern German version last year. The old one’s lid had warped slightly and wouldn’t retain pressure. We eat loads of home cooked bean/pea/lentil meals but we both like an occasional tin of baked beans. Nowadays we have the “no added sugar” or “reduced sugar and salt” versions. Sometimes when I just can’t decide what to eat beans on toast is the result. 
Tony

[Hroth]

13 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

The quote on Sky News said the fuel dump was to blind the drones sensors.

 

Does the Reaper have sensors hanging off its tail?  I'm surprised they don't get in the way of that pusher prop...

[grandadbob]

Just heard that we're getting a visitor after lunch.  Abbie is WFH today but is coming here to work as their house is on the market again and they have a couple of viewings this afternoon. (buyers who were so keen and "really really" wanted it have now dropped out for "personal reasons" whatever that means).  

Edited March 16, 2023 by grandadbob

[iL Dottore]

25 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

…buyers who were so keen and "really really" wanted it have now dropped out for "personal reasons" whatever that means).  

They’re getting divorced???

[iL Dottore]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

Let's see now.....

BB prep time:  a couple of minutes should do it.

Cooking Time: 1m 30s.

(Bear's just mentioning that on behalf of a friend......🤣)

Well, you’d certainly be an inexpensive houseguest: 1 kg tin of industrial baked beans, a couple of frozen pizzas, a loaf of sliced white, 6 eggs and a packet of streaky bacon and that’s mealtimes sorted for the weekend. Cheaper even than our “hairy houseguest” Jordi (who we used to dog-sit. Jordi liked his steak he did).

 

In a way, it would be most relaxing catering for The Bear, as I would not to have to live up to the high expectations that my regular guests have of my cooking.

[monkeysarefun]

I got the car  majorly  serviced a couple of days ago (which included a transmission service) and made the rooky mistake of not personally checking that they'd screwed everything back together properly. Thus the inevitable happened this afternoon and I lost the transmission in  the middle of a 5 lane motorway offramp. 

Getting out intending to give various bits of the underbonnet a bit of a poke -as you do when there is a problem hiding somewhere in there - my  finely honed troubleshooting skills were able to narrow the possible cause down to the massive pool of tranny fluid that was steadily edging out from under the front.

All was not doom and gloom though because I got to meet this jolly bloke called Graham and his offsider Beck, who came to spread kitty litter on my mess as my car got towed off the motorway and dumped  around the corner.

Becks attempted  smartars3ry at telling me I should have got a Holden was dispatched over the boundary as I pulled out my phone and showed her a pic of the ute. Much hilarity ensued, it certainly livened up an otherwise rather boring day!

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[iL Dottore]

Just back from the vet - where Lucy underwent an abdominal ultrasound examination.
 

The young vet (not our regular vet) found some intestinal inflammation (not unexpected), enlarged adrenal glands (although Lucy hasn’t any of the symptomatology associated with that) and - worryingly - a finding in the spleen that could be a number of things, including angiosarcoma (which is definitely Not Good News in Dogs).
 

The only sure way to diagnose it is through a biopsy - which is as risky as the surgery to remove it (which is, in this case, a splenectomy - a fairly routine surgery for the vet). As the diagnosis is tentative, we’ll wait a few weeks and Lucy will undergo another ultrasound examination and if there is the faintest hint of any change for the worse she will immediately go into surgery and have her spleen removed.

 

Of course at Lucy’s age general anaesthesia is a risk, but I’d rather that she died on the operating table free from pain and fear, than from an aggressive cancer.

Could be a rough Easter for us.

[BR traction instructor]

The attempted two day build of my dad’s tractor shed gets underway today with an inspection of his so called level base. He insists that it is only a tractor shed so level doesn’t matter 🙄…I ask why he has purchased a pre-drilled sectional metal building instead of building a rustic log shelter then…but he can’t answer. I then set about levelling the six base mount points relative to each other but get accused of making a big job out of it 🙄. Would anyone like a spare 83 year old as a pseudo father figure?

 

BeRTIe

Edited March 16, 2023 by BR traction instructor

[Tony_S]

2 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

splenectomy

My Mum needed one of those but was considered to be too frail to undergo surgery but had it blasted with radiation. Worked,rather well for her. 

[DaveF]

A dull damp morning with rain on and off.

 

Yesterday was dull but not damp.  I had to go shopping so checked that the roadworks had finished - the "one.network" site which has the local roadworks on it said there was nothing on the main road.  Needless to say there was and the turn into Aldi was half way along the light controlled section, so getting back out was quite interesting.

 

After that I went down to the estuary and had a walk along the river bank, there weren't very many birds as it was near high tide but I did see a currlew which was keeping about 20 yards in front of me by the water as I walked along the path above it.

 

On the way home I called at Lidl as I go right past the car park and bought a few other odds and ends.  The online orders I do each week work well, but now and then I need to go into real shops for things.

 

Back at home I checked the loft, there is no more important model making stuff up ther so I can take a break before moving to the next stage of the clear out.  Then I was sorting photos until tea time, followed by reading and music all evening which was very relaxing.

 

David

 

[polybear]

54 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Well, you’d certainly be an inexpensive houseguest: 1 kg tin of industrial baked beans, a couple of frozen pizzas, a loaf of sliced white, 6 eggs and a packet of streaky bacon and that’s mealtimes sorted for the weekend.

In a way, it would be most relaxing catering for The Bear, as I would not to have to live up to the high expectations that my regular guests have of my cooking.

 

Think again, Bucko.  You've forgotten the Cake...........

Oh yes, and make that back bacon (smoked)....

 

37 minutes ago, BR traction instructor said:

Would anyone like a spare 83 year old as a pseudo father figure?

 

Nottalot;  Bear already has one (last seen/heard from in 1976**) - unless the B'STERD (note the deliberate use of capitals...other far more suitable Adjectives are available but would at best get a certain Bear suspended.....) is dead and Bruvver Bear & SWMBO (last seen/spoken to in 2011 - his choice, not mine) have neglected to mention it (quite possible) in a Chrimbo or Birthday Card (which are I'm sure sent by his SWMBO).  

 

**Apart from a "Sympathy" Card from the 'Sterd & Li-Lo Lil when Momma Bear died in 2010 - I hit the effin' roof that Bruvver Bear had even told them.  Caused a big bust-up, that did.

 

Looks like this could be a Rant Day.....

[polybear]

Oh yes, and Bear's had an ear lowering session; it was scheduled for this afternoon but after a very early return from T & C's I changed it to a late morning Buzz Cut session.  The Barber couldn't remember if Bear had a No. 3 or No. 4 - and nor could Bear, so I guessed at 3.  I guessed wrong - I'll not need a return visit for a while.....

 

Right, time to clean up various white metal castings methinks.

Bear gone.

[iL Dottore]

17 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

Think again, Bucko.  You've forgotten the Cake...........

Oh yes, and make that back bacon (smoked)....

 

(a) Schloss iD is a cake and smoke-free healthy environment

(b) You can't get back bacon in Switzerland (different butchering traditions) - so it's either streaky or nuffink....

[Tony_S]

29 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Schloss iD is a cake and smoke-free healthy environment

My nephew and his Austrian partner live and work in Zurich. Fortunately Magda had managed to keep up her afternoon cake and coffee tradition in Switzerland. She does get teased about cakes, including a photo sent to us from the hotel in Mussorrie (Indian “hill station”) where the recent family wedding took place, with the caption “Magda checks out the breakfast pastries”. Actually the breakfast facilities and the hotel generally looked just like one we had stayed in next to Lake Como. Same hotel chain so not too surprising. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Tony_S

[southern42]

' afternoon all from red dragon land.

Rain earlier. Cloudy with sunny intervals and double figures WOAH! Just this minute gone up to 11C. Ah! the sun is out again. That explains it.

 

Toot on the flute getting interesting.  After the collapse of the beat from my "beat box" a few weeks ago, when I switched it on, yesterday, the whole thing shut down. Ah! Not a mechanical or techno problem but an Eediot problem....because... I had been forgetting to tell the Digital Assistant to "turn on the chargers" (automatically turned off at night) which meant the electricity was not reaching my beat box which was plugged into the extension lead and consequently, draining the AA batteries (6 of them) instead. At least, that is now sorted! 

A lead plugs in at the back.

 

So the next step yesterday, was to play along with the given tabla beat cycle of 8: only to find that I was way off the mark in a couple of places and had to examine my timing! Even slowing the tempo, it was still faster than I usually play without it! Nevertheless, I am now working on a slightly faster speed, tapped out on the ground with one foot to get those couple of places right before I return to the beat box. All good training for the olde fingers and braincells! 

 

So, best get on with it.

 

Take care. Be good (yes, yes, ER'ers are known to be good... ;) .... and... Don't forget!

Polly

 

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by southern42

[Ian Abel]

BIN day.

 

Yesterday was devoid of anything worth noting/posting.

The only activity, after work, was me rummaging through the storage unit to identify the aging PC carp that I'll be taking to be recycled/repurposed. Having thought long and hard about it, since almost all of it is 15-20 PLUS years old, bothering to fire it up seems a waste of time, so I've opted to just bin (recycle) it all. Much to the Mrs pleasure.

 

This evening we've happy hours pre and post choir rehearsal, though the "post" one may not happen as the schola have been "invited" to sing at next Wednesdays Lenten Reconciliation service. This means we're rehearsing for THAT after regular rehearsal. Last time that happened we didn't finish until 9:45pm and that's frankly too late for any of the ageing happy hour attendees to want to be awake!!

 

BINs processed fairly early today, as I was getting the newspaper. -5c at the time, overcast and we've been forecast light rain much of the day, high 6c.

 

Onward.

[jamie92208]

Good afternoon, lawns aka weed patches ironed and clothes mowed. THe Who, 1 side, The Stones 2 sides and 1 side-on Beatles LP helped the process along.  Now coffee and cake time.  

 

Jamie

 

 

 

 

[grandadbob]

You couldn't make it up!  Further to my post earlier about noisy demolition and construction work in the road another job started at lunchtime.  This time it's next door neighbour (attached) who is having work done.  The thing is I can't really complain as the work entails demolition of her existing ramshackle asbestos cement sheeting clad 50 yo garage which has been an eyesore for years.  In its place they're having a large summerhouse erected which will be a great improvement.  Apparently disposal of the asbestos cement sheets alone is costing £1800.  This rather makes me laugh as she's always pleading poverty and "has" to supplement her pension(s) with hosting foreign exchange students (sometimes 6 at a time).  I believe that this is quite a lucrative pastime.  At least the noise of the works is outside and at the bottom of her garden.

Good oh, tea and toasted hot cross bun has just been served. 😀

Edited March 16, 2023 by grandadbob

[Hroth]

Once its finished, keep an eye on how many students she's stackin'n'rackin in the "summerhouse"...

 

[grandadbob]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Oh yes, and Bear's had an ear lowering session; it was scheduled for this afternoon but after a very early return from T & C's I changed it to a late morning Buzz Cut session.  The Barber couldn't remember if Bear had a No. 3 or No. 4 - and nor could Bear, so I guessed at 3.  I guessed wrong - I'll not need a return visit for a while.....

 

 

Good Heavens Bear, you must be standing on your locks.  I usually have a 0.5!  😁

Edited March 16, 2023 by grandadbob

[Dave Hunt]

This morning I finally got fed up with the pain from my sciatica and called our GP practice expecting a long delay and having to wait days before speaking to a doctor. Instead I was very pleasantly surprised that within 15 minutes of picking up the phone I'd spoken to a doctor, been referred to an orthopaedic specialist and given a fast track prescription for painkillers that were ready for collection from the pharmacy two hours later. If only all experiences with NHS primary care were like that! At the same time Jill was having what sounds like a pint or two of blood taken to test for who knows what connected with her heart murmurings but since that was requested by a Nuffield doctor I'm not surprised that it was not long after her consultation.

 

What a fun day.

 

Dave 

[TheQ]

Much lying around on the floor, while reaching to the underside of the stairs to attach shelves.

 

A horizontal bearer was attached to each of the three support beams, tight under each step. This was also screwed to the under side of the step.

The bearer's extended out to level with what will be the doorway to the under stairs.

Then a cross bearer across the front of the three bearers was attached to those to a wall support and the door frame.

Then what had been the timber cladding to the undersides of the stars was cut to fit as shelf tops.

Repeat the above 3 times.

The workshop now smells wonderfully of pine, 100+ year old real good pine, not the plant today harvest tomorrow cheap stuff from the sheds.

 

Then two ply panels were attached to the door frame, one on the outside top, which will be the back of more bookshelves. One at the outside bottom at an angle, from the outer of the door frame to one side of the door frame to the front room. Width 33 inches,  depth 16 inches at the wide end from the other panel.

The height matches the waist level we've set for cupboards / radiator cover the other side of the hall.

The space beneath the shelves on the inside, is part of the under stairs cupboard.

 

Tomorrow, the angle between upper and lower ply panel will be filled in with a shelf and several above.

 

Ben has gone to hide in his safe place, they're playing top gun up above...