Early Risers.

[Dave Hunt]

3 hours ago, Hroth said:

The only earthquake I've experienced was one that had its epicentre somewhere near Wrexham.

The effect was of a strong Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...... for several seconds but nothing fell over, or off.  Just a bit unusual!

 

No, that was your alarm clock going off.

 

Dave

[southern42]

I remember the 1984 earthquake in the Menai Strait area, "the most seismically active area in Wales and one of the most active in the UK."* It sounded like a lorry when I first heard it but you could feel the strong vibrations indoors. Perhaps they were dynamiting at the Penrhyn Quarry, a few miles away, was another thought until it I realised it was an earthquake. I was just glad it did not get any stronger.

 

* https://museum.wales/articles/1283/Earthquakes-in-Wales/

 

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by southern42

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Forgot to mention that I won £8 on the lottery this week. What's more it was by accident as I didn't intend to buy any ticket for the UK lottery (I usually just do the Euro lottery). A bit more to spend tomorrow at the Shenfield show.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Bear here.....

 

A question for the combined wisdom of fellow ER'ers:

 

Has anyone ever used heat reduction UV window film on house windows in order to drop the temperature?  Was it any good?  The muddle railway room is an upstairs nearly south-facing bedroom so cops the sun just a tad, despite the use of vertical blinds; if the film is worth a punt then I'll give it a go - I'm thinking tinted rather than mirrored.  Thanks

 

BG

The athermic windscreen glass on my car certainly works. Our most recent replacement double glazed sealed units have a coating of some kind on the inner pane but I don’t have any experience with the uv FiL you have found. 

Edited September 15, 2023 by Tony_S

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Bear here.....

 

A question for the combined wisdom of fellow ER'ers:

 

Has anyone ever used heat reduction UV window film on house windows in order to drop the temperature?  Was it any good?  The muddle railway room is an upstairs nearly south-facing bedroom so cops the sun just a tad, despite the use of vertical blinds; if the film is worth a punt then I'll give it a go - I'm thinking tinted rather than mirrored.  Thanks

 

BG

 

 

It depends entirely on the quality of the film. Its not the tint that blocks the UV, but the polymers that a decent screen  is made from. Here you can get  virtually 100% clear film that will  still block out 84% of solar radiation.

 

Proper ones worth spending the money on have surface coatings and inner layers  that reflect the heat back away from the windows instead of letting it through to heat the house. Look for a decent manufacturer who seems to know what they are talking about, its a pretty advanced subject here due to the desirability,  European  firms possibly may be not so.  Many there may simply  be  like a big dark sticker that just makes the inside of your house gloomier, check out their websites and read reviews.

 

As a bonus they make the glass less likely to shatter if smashed because they hold the window together, and thus can add a measure of security.

 

https://www.solargard.com/au/blog-au/architectural-window-film/myth-buster-does-window-film-need-to-be-dark-to-work/

 

 

Edited September 15, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

I’ve been trying to get on-line on and off for the last couple of hours to no avail. I eventually managed to get on here about 5 minutes ago. Not a lot to report, here, so I’ll wish you all goodnight. 

[southern42]

'evening all from red dragon land.

 

I am not long back home from a couple of days on unmentionables on the SVR's Autumn St**m Gala. Mostly unpacked, fed and supped and ready for some shut eye, now.

 

Weather was damp to a bit wet, yesterday (Thursday), and dampish cold to hot in the sun, today (Friday), but it had no effect on our enjoyment. We did the self-catering cottage thing but since we could only get one night at the favoured cottage around the corner from the carpark in Kidderminster, we also booked a cottage in Bridgnorth. In the latter, I just had to take a snap of a certain personality ( @polybear ).

 

 

On the lookout for some VLDC or VCC, yesterday, one of the tearooms on the line had none but was expecting VCC** this morning. So the first trip today terminated at the appropriate place - Oh, no! VCC had not arrived! We carried on with our planned route and came back later - VCC still had not arrived. Proposed route plan adjusted to return later and - Yipeeee! - cake had been delivered but turned out to be VC&WC*** - even better! 

 

** Vegan (as in dairy free) chocolate cake

*** Vegan coffee and walnut cake

 

One interesting diversion on the way home was trying to capture a pic of a few balloons (both pics heavily cropped - and blurry! - they were that far away).

 

 

Time for some shut eye.

Night all and nos da.

 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[AndyID]

3 hours ago, polybear said:

Bear here.....

 

A question for the combined wisdom of fellow ER'ers:

 

Has anyone ever used heat reduction UV window film on house windows in order to drop the temperature?  Was it any good?  The muddle railway room is an upstairs nearly south-facing bedroom so cops the sun just a tad, despite the use of vertical blinds; if the film is worth a punt then I'll give it a go - I'm thinking tinted rather than mirrored.  Thanks

 

BG

 

If you are trying to exclude or conserve heat transfer through the glass, Ultra Violent light ain't your problem.  UV from the Sun will do a number on that reproduction of the Bayeux Tapestry you are working on but it won't have much effect on temperature. It's the IR (infra-red) energy passing through the glass that does that and the best way to block it is with shutters or exterior blinds, either that or plant a lot of fast growing trees.

 

 

[monkeysarefun]

33 forecast for today, finally t-shirt weather!  I have a backlog of outside stuff to get through,  grass-cutting, pruning, weeding  etc etc etc. Then whats left of the  afternoon spent sitting in the sun with a beer or two catching up on some 3D modelling tasks. Then it'll be catching   NZ Warriors vs Knights NRL (Rugby League)  semi final,  then  the Port Adelaide V Western Sydney AFL (Australian Rules)  semi-final on the telly tonight.

Life is good!

[zarniwhoop]

2 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

As a bonus they make the glass less likely to shatter if smashed because they hold the window together, and thus can add a measure of security.

 

https://www.solargard.com/au/blog-au/architectural-window-film/myth-buster-does-window-film-need-to-be-dark-to-work/

 

 

As if the deadly animules in Oz were not enough, now you're telling us you have scrotes as well ?

[skipepsi]

11 minutes ago, zarniwhoop said:

As if the deadly animules in Oz were not enough, now you're telling us you have scrotes as well ?

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree?

[Ozexpatriate]

I don't remember how many earthquakes I have experienced - mostly in California with one here in Oregon that was centered in Seattle. We have them very frequently but they are usually too small to notice. I have many different experiences of them.

 

I was in the Bay Area for the Loma Prieta earthquake (magnitude 6.9) of 1989. I was in a hotel ballroom/meeting space with 'n'* stories of concrete above me. It was terrifying. I've related the story here before. A former colleague lived (and lives) very close to the epicenter in the Santa Cruz mountains. He was in the UK at the time but his wife was home. The walls of their home threw her from side to side.

 

* n ≈ 10 ± some

[monkeysarefun]

I remember feeling the Newcastle Earthquake of 1989, I'd just pulled up in my car and the car shook a little as I turned the key off, I thought that it was something mechanical like a fuel cutoff issue, turned out to be the earthquake.

Damage occurred to buildings in a 9000km radius, major destruction was in Newcastle itself which was 5km from the epicentre.  13 people were killed including 9 who were in the Workers Club which collapsed on them.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by monkeysarefun

[roundhouse]

58 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I don't remember how many earthquakes I have experienced - mostly in California with one here in Oregon that was centered in Seattle. We have them very frequently but they are usually too small to notice. I have many different experiences of them.

 

I was in the Bay Area for the Loma Prieta earthquake (magnitude 6.9) of 1989. I was in a hotel ballroom/meeting space with 'n'* stories of concrete above me. It was terrifying. I've related the story here before. A former colleague lived (and lives) very close to the epicenter in the Santa Cruz mountains. He was in the UK at the time but his wife was home. The walls of their home threw her from side to side.

 

* n ≈ 10 ± some

Our first trip to the USA was not long before that earthquake. We were walking under the double deck freeway near Fishermans Wharf for it to collapse only a few months later.

 

I have never knowingly felt an earthquake but have often woken up thinking did the room just move or was it my imagination. Of course it could just have been my other half turning over😁.

 

Santa Barbara will be shaking a bit today as we transport the layout to the Seaboard show in Crawley.

Edited September 16, 2023 by roundhouse

[zarniwhoop]

micro-rantette: I use four desktop PCs, and an android phone. And I build new systems on the desktop PCs. Every time I login to gmail on a new build I get a notification 'was this you' ? PITA, but expected. But I've just logged in to you tube to post a comment, on a system where I was already using gmail in a different browser. Another notification, but the time in the email made me think 'WTF?' Looks like it was on GMT or UTC, when I eventually got in I realised it was indeed my post. And then google wants me to set up extra security (as in "make it harder for me to login", like the banks do).

 

Severely p155ed off.

[jjb1970]

On keeping your house cool, one of the simplest things you can do on bright sunny days with doesn't cost anything is to keep the curtains drawn during daytime, especially if you are out or a room is not being used. It's less of an issue nowadays but it's also worth remembering that filament bulbs if you still have any are effectively electric heaters. And the amount of heat from some electrical appliances and electronics can be significant (just feel the rear behind some TV screens). 

 

One of my pet hates at sea was people whinging about the air-con, I'd explain that it's the Persian Gulf, it's August, we're in a steel box under a fierce sun, what do you want? Especially when trying to create an excessive differential between air-conditioned room temperatures and ambient has issues of its own. Anyway the whinges wouldn't stop so I'd go to cabins to see if there was an issue with the ducting or anything and as often as not the loudest whingers left there cabins with the window open (as much I might have wanted to, the ships air-con was incapable of cooling the whole Persian Gulf region), curtains open and lights left on (as well as acting as a heater, wasting fuel). At least it made it easier for me to tell them to do the basics to keep their cabins cool before whinging about the heat.

[zarniwhoop]

20 minutes ago, zarniwhoop said:

micro-rantette: I use four desktop PCs, and an android phone. And I build new systems on the desktop PCs. Every time I login to gmail on a new build I get a notification 'was this you' ? PITA, but expected. But I've just logged in to you tube to post a comment, on a system where I was already using gmail in a different browser. Another notification, but the time in the email made me think 'WTF?' Looks like it was on GMT or UTC, when I eventually got in I realised it was indeed my post. And then google wants me to set up extra security (as in "make it harder for me to login", like the banks do).

 

Severely p155ed off.

I had logged in after receiving that email on my non-gmail account, and in so-doing I accidentally confirmed it on the primary browser, thus spreading more data to google. I've just used my android phone to check my diabetes sensor reading, and on gmail I got yet another alert because I'd not used that primary browser on gmail.

 

But WTF - if someone had stolen or hacked my phone, they would probably get the gmail notification before I did (because they were actively using my ID) and would have replied "yes, that's me, and why don't I add the extra security" before I got the alert.

[monkeysarefun]

46 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I'd explain that it's the Persian Gulf, it's August, we're in a steel box under a fierce sun, what do you want?

 

Climbing into and then driving around in  a Matilda Tank that had been parked in the midday sun of the Western Desert in 1942 must have pushed the crew to the  very  limits of human endurance!

[polybear]

5 hours ago, southern42 said:

On the lookout for some VLDC or VCC, yesterday, one of the tearooms on the line had none but was expecting VCC** this morning. So the first trip today terminated at the appropriate place - Oh, no! VCC had not arrived! We carried on with our planned route and came back later - VCC still had not arrived.  Proposed route plan adjusted to return later and - Yippeeee! -

 

Beary "Dedication to the Cake" Rating:  10/10

👏👏

 

5 hours ago, southern42 said:

.......cake had been delivered but turned out to be VC&WC*** - even better! 

*** Vegan coffee and walnut cake

 

Oh no, fell at the last fence.......

No prize-giving after all  ☹️

[polybear]

Bear here.....

Awake at 4am.  TC's.

Gave up at 04.30am so Tigger-bounced Tigger-crawled out of the Beary Pit for early brekkies.

Currently the chances of an early start + first coat of paint on Window & Frame 1 = High, so a request for a Tick Award has been submitted in advance.

After that I think I'll get the Conservatory Guttering & Drainpipe washed and re-installed - that'll be another Tick.

At which point it'll be MIUABGAD.

 

ION.....

Many thanks regarding window films; the Film I've been looking at is 3M Prestige 70 Film, so a known supplier that appears to tick most/all of the boxes that Chimpy has raised.  As regards blinds/curtains - I have interior vertical blinds that spend much of their time closed anyway in order to minimise fading on the pictures hanging in the room; exterior shutters etc. would be a right PITA to install and use - and I wouldn't want to leave them closed.  Yes, leccy ones are available but the cost & installation aggro just isn't worth it.  As I can do the 3M Film option for less than 1/3rd of a Deltic I may well give it a punt.

 

BG

[Hroth]

7 hours ago, southern42 said:

 

 

 

 

Like it!

 

Polybear has a lightbulb moment....

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by Hroth
Removal of aretfact that the tablet wouldn't let me delete.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, roundhouse said:

We were walking under the double deck freeway near Fishermans Wharf for it to collapse only a few months later.

The Nimitz Freeway, which pancaked, (Interstate 880) was on the other side of the Bay in Oakland - but the Marina district which is relatively close to Fisherman's Wharf (a bit past Ghirardelli Square as you head toward the Golden Gate) suffered extensive damage. 

[roundhouse]

2 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The Nimitz Freeway, which pancaked, (Interstate 880) was on the other side of the Bay in Oakland - but the Marina district which is relatively close to Fisherman's Wharf (a bit past Ghirardelli Square as you head toward the Golden Gate) suffered extensive damage. 

Ah, thanks for that clarification. I had assumed that most of it had collapsed but at least it did improve the waterfront area in taking it down.

[Ozexpatriate]

35 minutes ago, polybear said:

Oh no, fell at the last fence

What is the matter @polybear? Do you need a lie down. Coffee and walnut cake is delicious. It is cake. It has nice things in it. What's not to like?

 

It's not like it is liver and kidney cake. (And yes that's basically Haggis-adjacent but we are discussing cake.)