Early Risers.

[BoD]

5 hours ago, Hroth said:

Yesterday Classic FM played "In the Bleak Midwinter".  Obviously softening listeners up for a week today when they'll go all Christmas Music...

I was most surprised. In the past they have always made ‘a thing’ of not playing Christmas music until they launch their Christmas season on December 1st. 

 

… and that was still a week or two too early for my liking.

 

To be fair to them though, they always started with one every hour or so, gradually increasing the amount played as the day grew nearer.

Edited November 24, 2023 by BoD

[Ian Abel]

Well, that's Thanksgiving done and dusted, and since yesterday was a public holiday, that makes today BIN day! Plenty to put out there, especially recycling after the wine-o'clock festivities yesterday.

The entire dinner went particularly well, everything very tasty, and the Yorkshires were as good as I've ever made, no idea why  😮

 

The Mrs requested a family photo, so here we are - the bar was deemed the appropriate locale;

 

Today is also that rather idiotic of days "Black Friday", where everyone is enticed to buy yet another bid-screen TV. I though by now pretty much everyone that could afford one had several!! Other than possibly needing to shop for milk and a couple of other items we won't be anywhere near those stores specializing in fleecing folks out of their last disposable dollars.

 

Weekend should be fairly quiet, a get together with neighbors tomorrow evening, choir for two services Sunday at 9 and 11am, them an evening Zoom with friends.

 

Weather has decided it's WINTER now, the beginning of SoDDING cold now with -7c and sunny first thing, high of -3c expected!

 

Enjoy the start of the weekend.

[BoD]

1 minute ago, Ian Abel said:

Today is also that rather idiotic of days "Black Friday", where everyone is enticed to buy yet another ….

I must admit I succumbed to temptation and made an online purchase today.  Six rolls of Modroc as I miscalculated and ran out yesterday. They weren’t offering anything off though, the cads.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

First off to have my haircut this morning. A friend cuts our hair; I usually go first and then my wife. I managed to escape to a nearby model ------- shop and came away with a couple of items...
One of our cars had its MOT/service also today. Needed a new screen washer pump  (so that's why the washer wasn't working). Also some front brake blocks. Oh, well, it's only £££.

[monkeysarefun]

47 minutes ago, BoD said:

I must admit I succumbed to temptation and made an online purchase today.  Six rolls of Modroc as I miscalculated and ran out yesterday. They weren’t offering anything off though, the cads.

 

 

I did alright, I got 6 litres of 3D printing resin for $20 more than I usually pay for 3, and because I'm in Prime it turns up today with free delivery.

[Gwiwer]

Evening all. 
 

Just a few pics from this afternoon. 
 

 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, BoD said:

7 hours ago, Hroth said:

Yesterday Classic FM played "In the Bleak Midwinter".  Obviously softening listeners up for a week today when they'll go all Christmas Music...

I was most surprised. In the past they have always made ‘a thing’ of not playing Christmas music until they launch their Christmas season on December 1st. 

I have always regarded “In the bleak midwinter” as an Advent carol not a Christmas carol. 
 

We are of course approaching the season of Advent which, strictly, starts on December 3rd this year. 
 

It was always the custom when I was a tiny Gwiwer and was dragged along to Sunday School by the older generations that Christmas carols were not sung until ten days before that day. 
 

I guess like many things time and societal shift have blurred some boundaries but it is definitely not acceptable to have Christmas tunes played or sung before December dawns. 
 

That would be premature enfestivation. 

[BoD]

25 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Evening all. 
 

Just a few pics from this afternoon. 
 

 

 

 

Is that Scillonian?

 

I have sailed on her only once*. It was a strange journey. The weather was not particularly bad but there was a swell  that .. err.. affected many people.  Apparently that swell is the result of a few thousand miles of unbroken Atlantic.  I guess I’m getting into the realms of teaching granny to suck eggs here. On the return journey, although the conditions were virtually the same, the swell didn’t affect anyone in the same way.

 

*  actually it was twice - we came back. 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I was going to go down to Tess Coes this afternoon but decided against it as apparently it's heaving (Black Friday?). I'll have to call in on my way back from the Brentwood toy fair tomorrow. It will probably still be heaving tomorrow but I'm almost right out of supplies, just enough for breakfast tomorrow.

[New Haven Neil]

IIRC the Scillonian is a notoriously bad 'sea boat', due to her shallow draught required for the service she provides.  Having the swell astern rather than making way into it does make for a different motion, the worst is an off-quarter stern swell, gives a corkscrew motion that can sort the strong stomached out from the rest of humanity.  I was always quite unwell for the first few days at sea, but after that it never bothered me.  I never actually chucked but it was close one trip when I joined in Le Havre and the first few days were in ballast crossing Biscay en route to Brazil - that Atlantic swell you mention!

[polybear]

Bear here......

 

First mission of the day was to unpack, inspect n' test something green called a "37" - probably the most impressive packaging on any choo choo chug chug I've ever seen.  Huge Tick.

As for the item itself - stunning; certain red & blue box herberts could learn a lot.

 

But.....(isn't there always......)......

There were a couple of loose bits in the packing.  Poo.

The good news is they're clip-on parts, and they were loose because one of the securing clips had broken off, certainly during manufacture.  I could glue them in place, but one of the parts has a clear plastic lens and there's a real risk of glue sneaking where it shouldn't (or causing fogging).  So I fired off an email to the manufacturer (shhh. - Accurascale) and they replied in TWO minutes to say that a replacement part would be on it's way to Bear Towers just as soon as they are in stock.  Huge Tick.

 

As for the rest of the day, well that was yet more learnin'; getting started on the project itself didn't happen until quite late in the afternoon (attempt #457 I think.......).

 

BG

[TheQ]

Evening Awl,

tis still very windy out there, (39mph) and darn chilly, now in my pit wrapped up under duvet and blankets. It may be supposedly a positive temperature, but it doesn't feel like it when the wind is  taking a short cut through you.

Left the MRC early as the heaters were struggling to keep the place warm.

Actually making bits of metal parallel, using a hot electric stick and some PCB  at the MRC.

 

Plod parked outside a house on the way back, someone's having a bad night.

The cremated Swan, had fewer cars than normal parked outside, I'm guessing more stayed warm in London this weekend.

 

With black Friday approaching, I hold off on major orders until the week, then see if anything is cheaper, which this time was some mould silicon rubber, at 20% off.

 

Ben's feeling a bit better tonight he came to see me when I came in and scrounged a bit of cheese off me which he didn't do yesterday.

 

Muggachoccy gone

Good night Awl.

 

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Tony_S]

52 minutes ago, polybear said:

there's a real risk of glue sneaking where it shouldn't (or causing fogging).

Canopy glue is always my preferred adhesive for clear plastic items. 

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, BoD said:

Is that Scillonian?

Scillonain III

 

Now being laid up for her winter rest with the Skybus aircraft taking what passenger traffic there is, the helicopters taking the rich and famous and the freighter Gry Maritha the only surface link for the next few months plying with essential supplies and bringing in the daffodils for Christmas.  Scillonian daffs are the first to go on sale.  

 

Both Scillonian III and Gry Maritha are due to be replaced in 2025-6 by new vessels which have to be purpose-built for the crossing.  It's rough old water out there off Lands End where the Atlantic, Channel and Celtic Sea meet.  They were going to invest in a multi-hull a few years back until it was pointed out that even the best of those can't sail in more than a moderate sea.  The boats they have can get across in almost all conditions although the crockery in the canteen and mess rooms doesn't always survive!!!

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

IIRC the Scillonian is a notoriously bad 'sea boat', due to her shallow draught required for the service she provides.  Having the swell astern rather than making way into it does make for a different motion, the worst is an off-quarter stern swell, gives a corkscrew motion that can sort the strong stomached out from the rest of humanity.

I am told much the same by those who cross regularly.  She is not fitted with stabilisers.  A bad "sea boat" but a very reliable old lady who can get across in as much as a Force 8 and sometimes a 9

Edited November 24, 2023 by Gwiwer

[PhilJ W]

[PupCam]

Evening All!

 

Very late on parade.

 

A trip to B&M's (the cheapest vendor I could find) for some Really Useful Boxes (can't be doing with the cheap & poor imitators) to house the Brio railway of the the grandkids.   This has recently swelled by a donation of redundant said items from next door.

 

After lunch a thrash was thrashed on the RD.    Now the mixture has been richened by two needle notches it's going nicely and no sign of it cooking so that's  a big tick.

 

As the sky was mostly clear this evening an early start was made on the astronomy.   Fortunately I got reasonably lucky with the polar alignment and I was able to track Jupiter reasonably well with the remote control of the mount.  If the polar alignment had been spot-on no intervention should have been necessary but I was prepared to fiddle to get a decent sized set of data as in this game there is no substitute for cc's.     In all I took 10 videos totalling something like 8400 individual frames.    A quick process of just one of the videos this evening has produced this ...

 

 

I think that shows real promise and I feel like (at last!) I might be getting somewhere.  

I'll do the full processing tomorrow and it will be interesting to see how much better I can get it with a heap more data.

 

Anyway, time for bed said Zebedee

 

 

[Andy Hayter]

Winter has arrived here.  Doing the nightly rounds of cleaning litter trays, feeding cats, letting in those cats that should be in and letting out those who prefer to be out overnight etc, in my travels between the house and the grange it was noticeably snowing a fine snow.  I doubt it will settle, the ground still being a bit too warm but a couple of door mats have a light covering.  

Edited November 24, 2023 by Andy Hayter

[monkeysarefun]

33 minutes ago, PupCam said:

After lunch a thrash was thrashed on the RD.    Now the mixture has been richened by two needle notches it's going nicely and no sign of it cooking so that's  a big tick.

 

 

Meanwhile next door to you:

 

 

 

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well, apart from the two shopping trips I did this morning, I’ve not done much else today. The Trafford Centre was a lot busier than usual, but then I have seen it busier, I’m just glad it’s not like that all the time. But, I have enjoyed just sitting down and relaxing, I think I’m getting used to this retirement malarkey. 

 

This evening we had a very pleasant conversation with James, to confirm he’s able to join us on Sunday, when we meet up with Vickie, Ian and the kids, and Mike and Sarah for a curry. During our chat we arranged to visit him next month, for a pre Christmas meal at his house, so that’s something to look forward too. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[jjb1970]

No doubt Prokofiev' Lt. Kije suite will be playing for Christmas. I find it funny that a musical satire of Czarist bureaucracy became a Christmas standard. Annoying too as it is a wonderful piece.  Prokofiev is one of my favourite composers, he had that ability to combine wonderful tunefulness with real musical depth. A composer whose music is very approachable and  'listenable' yet which rewards serious listening.

[BR60103]

I did my Black Friday shopping this morning after housework. One newspaper, some hair stuff for Dayle, and a box of Shreddies.  I found that the Shreddies were redundant as there were two boxes in the pantry.

I think I've arranged a trip to the train shoppe for tomorrow. 

 

[jjb1970]

I had a look around for Black Friday deals on cameras but most of the sales were doing that thing of advertising their normal discounted prices as special sale offers, at least for the stuff I was interested in. I am leaning towards sticking with Fujifilm and at least in this part of the world Fujifilm seems to exert a pricing control on dealers as they all offer the same prices, discounts and promotions, and unless it's a run out special prices aren't discounted by much. Canon, Sony and Nikon are all much more aggressive with promotions and discount offers out here.