Early Risers.

[Grizz]

33 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

We used to have a programme called One Man and his dog which was about collies rounding up sheep.

 

Unfortunately the BBC decided in there infinite wisdom that it wasn't popular enough and diverse enough. In other words as it showed things such as white males and working animals which the urbanites didn't comprehend it had to go. They tried to 'update it' but of course then it became like some woke game show.

 

Now of course we have all these 'oh look at nature isn't it wonderful' shows and 'how diverse the countryside is'. No wonder kiddies don't know where the milk comes from.

Erm….Looking at them, the Border Collies (BCs) were diverse. 😂

 

Such beautiful dogs and so intelligent. 
I loved watching OMAHD or ‘Singular Individual and Their K9’ ….if  you prefer. 
When I was young it was sometimes on later at night, maybe BBC2?, and my dad used to let me stay up and we’d watch it together. 
 

These days there are at least three local farmers that I know well that have working BCs.

It’s always a great treat if they drop by for a cuppa and bring their dogs. With permission of course we usually play endless games of ‘fetch’ or ‘hide and find’ with them. They are totally loyal to their respective dads and all it takes is a click of the tongue or a slight whistle and they stop complete still and focus, just staring at them.  
 

 

 

[southern42]

' morning all from red dragon land.

Showers. 3C.

 

In my inbox, an hour ago this morning, was an announcement in the Reykjavik Grapevine's newsletter:

"An eruption has started just north of Grindavík. Unfotunately it seems to be closer to residential areas than before but as far as we know the town was successfully evacuated at 5 am a couple of hours before the eruption began."

 

Update 0930: https://grapevine.is/news/2024/01/14/eruption-has-begun-north-of-grindavik/?goal=0_4518dc9d9c-2b904b845f-1393187580&mc_cid=2b904b845f&mc_eid=ae92c4a5bc

 

Multiscreen: https://www.youtube.com/live/l-5QeLIn1FA?feature=shared

 

 

Not good news for the town nor its people.

Edited January 14 by southern42

[monkeysarefun]

The late news was just on. Quick quiz - guess who I am: 

 

"Its a witchhunt" " Its unfair"  "Its never happened to anyone else on a scale like this" "its election interference on a scale never seen before"  "Many legal experts say that I am the most unfairly persecuted  person in history" blah blah *#&$*%^& blah.

 

If he was here he'd have been outed and dismissed   as a whinging clown. I imagine that if he was in the UK you'd have sorted him out using your similarly highly-tuned bullsh1t detectors.

 

Why is he still on my telly every night instead of in jail?

 

Its going to be a long year.

 

 

Edited January 14 by monkeysarefun

[Gwiwer]

49 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

kiddies don't know where the milk comes from

It comes from ASDA. Or Lidl. Or somewhere else mum parks the Chelsea Tractor, abuses others who try to take “her” double-space parking bays and then takes offspring over to the Restaurant with Golden Arches which is where dinner comes from

 

 

52 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

We used to have a programme called One Man and his dog

Perfectly good and educational but slightly niche and probably didn’t threaten the top viewing statistics.  
 

All sheepdog trials result in the dog being found not guilty. They always come back to the human. 
 

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

Yay for the humidity being back to normal again today, though the forecast is for heaps of rain between now and Thursday.

I note the forecast for Melbourne is a balmy 43C while Adelaide is expecting to receive a whopping 49C. That’s excessive even for a Sarfoztraylyan summer. 

[monkeysarefun]

6 minutes ago, southern42 said:

' morning all from red dragon land.

Showers. 3C.

 

In my inbox, an hour ago this morning, was an announcement in the Reykjavik Grapevine's newsletter:

"An eruption has started just north of Grindavík. Unfotunately it seems to be closer to residential areas than before but as far as we know the town was successfully evacuated at 5 am a couple of hours before the eruption began."

 

Update 0930: https://grapevine.is/news/2024/01/14/eruption-has-begun-north-of-grindavik/?goal=0_4518dc9d9c-2b904b845f-1393187580&mc_cid=2b904b845f&mc_eid=ae92c4a5bc

 

Multiscreen: https://www.youtube.com/live/l-5QeLIn1FA?feature=shared

 

 

 

 

 

My  home and contents insurance policy does not cover volcanic eruptions apparently.  Which is a bit moot since all our volcanes stopped working yonks ago, but do countries like Indonesia and Iceland get insurance cover for volcanes?

[monkeysarefun]

5 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

I note the forecast for Melbourne is a balmy 43C while Adelaide is expecting to receive a whopping 49C. That’s excessive even for a Sarfoztraylyan summer. 

 

 

 

You know its a big country when at the same time this is me:

 

[Grizz]

11 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

The late news was just on. Quick quiz - guess who I am: 

 

"Its a witchhunt" " Its unfair"  "Its never happened to anyone else on a scale like this" "its election interference on a scale never seen before"  "Many legal experts say that I am the most unfairly persecuted  person in history" blah blah *#&$*%^& blah.

 

If he was here he'd have been outed and dismissed   as a whinging clown. I imagine that if he was in the UK you'd have sorted him out using your similarly highly-tuned bullsh1t detectors.

 

Why is he still on my telly every night instead of in jail?

 

Its going to be a long year.

 

 

Ah go on give us a clue…like he is orange? 

[Grizz]

Actually he might have an excuse for being Orange….according to the interweb.

 

Carotenemia is a condition characterized by yellow-orange discoloration of the skin usually secondary to excessive ingestion of foods rich in carotene. It occurs in the absence of yellow discoloration of the sclera. Carotenemia is a benign condition; hence, further diagnostic testing is unnecessary.

 

But perhaps less of an excuse for being a total W Nacker. 

[BSW01]

Good afternoon everyone 

 

Very late on parade, due to getting out of bed later than planned, but then it’s Sunday and we don’t have to be anywhere, so it doesn’t really matter. So, being late up, we decided to have a cooked breakfast, black pudding sausages, bacon, fried egg, tinned tomatoes and a has brown. This was then followed by toast, marmalade, glass of orange juice, a cup of tea, for me and cup of coffee for Sheila. Since then it’s been all go, I’ve wielded the shark over the living room, dining room, our bedroom and the hall, stairs and landings. Currently sat in the dining room with a well earned muggertea and a biscuit. 
 

Back later. 
 

Brian

[monkeysarefun]

10 minutes ago, Grizz said:

Actually he might have an excuse for being Orange….according to the interweb.

 

Carotenemia is a condition characterized by yellow-orange discoloration of the skin usually secondary to excessive ingestion of foods rich in carotene. It occurs in the absence of yellow discoloration of the sclera. Carotenemia is a benign condition; hence, further diagnostic testing is unnecessary.

 

But perhaps less of an excuse for being a total W Nacker. 

 

 

 

 

Oh Grizz mate  you have opened my eyes to reality -  I feel bad about dissing him now since it is suddenly obvious his weird colourisation  isnt due to wearing more makeup than Danny La Rue and Eddie Izzard combined, - while still banging on about trans people using ladies toilets and doing weight-lifting etc -  but is in fact a tragic by-product of his excessive consumption of carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, peas and apricots.

[Grizz]

2 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

 

 

Oh Grizz mate  you have opened my eyes to reality -  I feel bad about dissing him now since it is suddenly obvious his weird colourisation  isnt due to wearing more makeup than Danny La Rue and Eddie Izzard combined, - while still banging on about trans people using ladies toilets and doing weight-lifting etc -  but is in fact a tragic by-product of his excessive consumption of carrots, sweet potato, broccoli, peas and apricots.

Chimpy I think he actually been eating Flamingos! Yet another reason to hate him!

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Grizz said:

Erm….Looking at them, the Border Collies (BCs) were diverse. 😂

 

Such beautiful dogs and so intelligent. 
I loved watching OMAHD or ‘Singular Individual and Their K9’ ….if  you prefer. 
When I was young it was sometimes on later at night, maybe BBC2?, and my dad used to let me stay up and we’d watch it together. 
 

These days there are at least three local farmers that I know well that have working BCs.

It’s always a great treat if they drop by for a cuppa and bring their dogs. With permission of course we usually play endless games of ‘fetch’ or ‘hide and find’ with them. They are totally loyal to their respective dads and all it takes is a click of the tongue or a slight whistle and they stop complete still and focus, just staring at them.  
 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a Border Collie and although he had nothing to round up etc the instinct was still in him - he'd crouch down when he got walked near live stock and would run to my heel and sit down hard up on my foot if I called him. None of which I had trained him to do. On the negative side, he also loved jumping in every available water source from mud puddle to the Pacific Ocean and really liked rolling in poo, which was a disadvantage to ownership.

 

I am going to give a shoutout to parrots as being at least as intelligent as dogs.  Gary The Parrot knows when I am counting things in my head and says random numbers like "six!", "Nine!" and so on - it is uncanny how he does that, I'll be looking at my laptop screen and mentally totalling up my credit card or whatever and I'll  hear "seven!" from the corner of the room.

 

The weird thing about that is that I taught him to count from one to ten but didn't relate  that with anything physical, as in I didn't count things in front of him- I just repeated one two three...ten  etc like just another phrase or whatever.

 

The fact that he has worked out that those particular words are used in counting things, and that when I have my bank webpage open he not only recognises it but realises that  counting is involved is very impressive to say the least! 

 

Similarly when I'm on the phone he will detect when the call is winding down and callout "Ok, Bye!" before I get a chance to.  He also only has a bath under his terms, which is when he says "Want a bath!". If I try to offer him one at other times he refuses to get into it. 

 

He would be rubbish at rounding up cows but, I'll admit.

Edited January 14 by monkeysarefun

[PupCam]

Pre-Munch All!

 

14 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

Thanks for that, it’s come as quite a surprise really but I did know that the owners wife, Ineke has been ill for a while. They are a very friendly family and often advise me where to visit when I’m in Holland. Hopefully I’ll get to see them before they close.

Wow, things are really coming off the tracks this year.

 

Google translated for me (I don't do Dutch, some would say I barely do English);

 

"We have worked with heart and soul in and on our beautiful company for twenty years, but now the time has come for us to retire. We will stop our activities on June 29, 2024.

 

What started as a hobby with buying and selling N-Spoor trains via Marktplaats and eBay, quickly became a house-filling activity. We were quickly found as Freebit.nl and our range of used N-Spoor grew and grew. At that time we were one of the few providers with only N-Spoor.    What followed was the organization of the first N-Spoor fair. Together with all our children we set up the event at Bousema. We thought this was fantastic! After this, many more fairs followed at Bousema and for 6 years in the large church in Lochem. People still talk about this in nice words. We enjoyed organizing these fairs and it was good to see all those enthusiastic N-Spoorders together.    The idea of Freebit.nl was to form a platform of and for the N-Spoorder. In addition to supply, purchasing and sales and the organization of trade fairs, we have also set up the N-Spoorforum, which has brought many of you into contact with each other to share the hobby.    In 2008 we took the step and converted our garage into a small store, N-Spoorstore-Freebit.nl. But before long this space was too small. We never thought that the range and demand would grow so quickly. Less than two years later, in 2010, we moved to the store next to the Avia Gas Station in Lochem. An important element in the store was to bring the N-Spoorders together. The coffee was always ready. This space also quickly turned out to be too small.    More than 7 years ago we moved to our current location on Eekmolenweg in Lochem. And yes, this space has also been too small for a while. But no, unfortunately we are not going to move again to a larger space (although the plans have certainly been there).    All these years we have traveled across town and country in the Netherlands and Germany to visit trade fairs, from very local to major events. From Zelhem to Stuttgart, from Houten to Dortmund, from Dordrecht to Leipzig.   In the early years we mainly had the help of our children; Peter, Marieke and Ilse. Over the years, they spent more time building their families, which meant their help at the store became less and less.     This was followed up with the help of many (N-) track enthusiasts. We are very grateful for this. We would particularly like to mention Ilse's help; We are proud that Ilse has accompanied us to trade fairs all these years. In addition, she has often contributed to the ins and outs of our company in the background. We wouldn't have gotten this far without Ilse and we are very grateful to her for that.    We are very proud that we have built such a great company in 20 years!

In recent years we have tried to sell our company, but unfortunately this was not successful for various reasons. We regret that we were unable to find someone who wanted to continue N-Spoorstore-Freebit.nl. If anyone is interested, this is of course still possible. Please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Ineke's illness has further increased the realization that there is more to life than work. We have both reached retirement age and would like to enjoy and go out in the coming years. More enjoyment and time for our children and grandchildren, as long as it is given to us.   We thank you for your business and all the wonderful years! Hans, Ineke, children and the team."

 

ION

 

Re-arranged plans yesterday courtesy of engineering work on Thameslink & Great Northern  led to a walk being walked and now a thrash has been thrashed on the RD.      I'm sure the weather on both days here has not been as forecast last Friday.    

 

This afternoon it appears I have to become "The Repair Shop" and repair an ornament that apparently and accidentally leapt out of an upstairs bedroom window on to the ground outside (paving slab / soil combo).     After that I might amuse myself looking at the telescope's equatorial mount and try and figure out a way of improving the elevation pivot which has more slack and wobble in it than the proverbial in a bucket.    Once again I see the solution as a separation of the bearing and clamping functions in the yoke which appears to be made of something akin to cheese wrt its mechanical properties.

 

Lunch time now.

 

TTFN

 

 

 

 

Edited January 14 by PupCam

[monkeysarefun]

10 minutes ago, PupCam said:

After that I might amuse myself looking at the telescope's equatorial mount and try and figure out a way of improving the elevation pivot which has more slack and wobble in it than the proverbial in a bucket.    Once again I see the solution as a separation of the bearing and clamping functions in the yoke which appears to be made of something akin to cheese wrt its mechanical properties.

 

At the risk of recreating the 4 Yorkshiremen's  amateur astronomy sketch  can I just say 

 

One day I shall get out my circa 1970 three  inch refractor and take a photo of the mount. Basically there is a large counter weight (that came in more handy for flattening out the walls of model buildings I was gluing at the time), which I think was meant to counter-balance shudder etc,  and a couple of knobs on the end of foot-long flexible shafts, one controlled the azimuth, the other the declination. Fancy rich people could afford a clockwork motor drive instead.

Edited January 14 by monkeysarefun

[Ohmisterporter]

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

No wonder kiddies don't know where the milk comes from.

 

I though finding where the milk comes from is the very first thing a child learns.

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Just making a list of items that were still in the car when it was recovered after the accident. Small items that you keep in the car but might not use very often such as torches. One item that is very useful is a gauntlet fitted with an ice scraper so I'll have to phone the yard tomorrow morning to ask them to put them aside.

[Coombe Barton]

... Today marking. I am now behind. The urgent domestics are done, so I’d better get my mind into it. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/01/14/covid-and-influenza-data-increase-decrease-and-covid-variants/

[Coombe Barton]

1 hour ago, Ohmisterporter said:

I though finding where the milk comes from is the very first thing a child learns.

May learn, but not necessarily remember later

[Coombe Barton]

19 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Ironically Arthur Bostrom who played Officer Crabtree can speak French fluently.

I always wonder how he kept a straight face.

[Hroth]

9 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

... Today marking. I am now behind. The urgent domestics are done, so I’d better get my mind into it. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/01/14/covid-and-influenza-data-increase-decrease-and-covid-variants/

 

The "Cold Scene" is remarkably similar to the opening of "Winter" by Vivaldi! 

 

 

Purcell got there first as "The Four Seasons" was published in 1723, a little under 30 years after Purcell died.

 

[PupCam]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

At the risk of recreating the 4 Yorkshiremen's  amateur astronomy sketch  can I just say 

 

One day I shall get out my circa 1970 three  inch refractor and take a photo of the mount. Basically there is a large counter weight (that came in more handy for flattening out the walls of model buildings I was gluing at the time), which I think was meant to counter-balance shudder etc,  and a couple of knobs on the end of foot-long flexible shafts, one controlled the azimuth, the other the declination. Fancy rich people could afford a clockwork motor drive instead.

 

Clockwork!      Eh, I'm lucky!    I've got one of those new-fangled electric motors things.       And it's not one of those cheap dc efforts, it's a right proper stepper-motor job.    Eh, I was lucky but tell that to the kids of today and they'll not believe you.

 

Anyway, all jokes aside, it's carp. The whole thing is very cheap, built down to a very low price albeit actually a remarkably comprehensive beginners kit.   The trouble is that very cheapness means you've really, really got to persist in order to get any real results at all.    That probably explains why there are so many "Unused" beginners telescopes on Ebay, Marketplace etc etc because the majority try using them once get nowhere, get frustrated and take up puddle jumping instead.    Maybe it's designed to sort the men from the boys (can we still say that?) and I'm fortunate that I can, to an extent, build my way out of its limitations where as some other would just have to buy their way out.     One day I'll have a bigger, better telescope.  I'll draw the line at home build before it gets to trying to make DIY 12" parabolic mirrors though 🤣

 

Here's the elevation bearing, spot the slop  .....

 

 

The elevation position is set by a crude, coarse thread screw acting against a stop which doesn't work with the best mechanical advantage due to its design.   It's true that once set for the evening the whole thing is  clamped up tight and shouldn't be moved again but as one clamps it up tight it moves thus undoing the careful elevation alignment with the pole star*.  Not by much but a miss is as good as a mile so to speak and you have to try and guess how much its going to move as you tighten it up and compensate for it.    It normally takes many attempts.      Get it wrong or not bother and the telescope won't track objects accurately and they will very quickly wander out of the Field of View.   Annoying for visual observations but a disaster for astrophotography with long exposures.   

 

Additional benefits of DIY telescope upgrades is that it gives you something to do whilst waiting for the clouds to be off and gives you the knowledge to know what to look for when you finally do lash out a 4 (or 5) figure sum when you finally do a retail upgrade.

 

* To be more precise "Over from the pole star a tiny smidgen" as the pole star lies very close to true north but not quite on it.   Of course, poor Chimpy doesn't even have the luxury of a convenient star on his pole to point his telescope at in the first place.

 

TTFNQ

 

[The White Rabbit]

Afternoon awl,

 

Having had a couple of days involuntary break from ERs, on catching 'oop, it sounds like commiserations are in order to too many ERs. Best wishes to all those under the cosh, whether it's due to RTAs, orange *s, parrots (whether Norwegian Blues or otherwise...) or various health issues. 

 

I've known a few BCs and they are generally smart dogs, I've only known one who wasn't and he was as daft as a brush but very good natured. But I think the smartest dog I've known was an Alsatian - Labrador (probably!) cross, a rescue dog and occasionally nervous but with a very good brain. Not just a good reader of human body language but with v good memory and analytical abilities too. 

 

Miscellaneous gremlins have stricken this burrow recently, we also appear to have acquired something which is doing a good imitation of a poltergeist... Not just the usual IT * which can often be attributed to incompetence or corporate greed/cost-cutting. Curtains have been collapsing from rails and lights coming on/turning off, with or without an obvious explanation. Doors unlocking themselves. Clocks - both electronic and mechanical - have been reset or gained/lost significant times. A sparky has been booked but I wonder if a vicar might be more relevant. Certainly something very peculiar is going on.  

 

Spirits permitting, back later... 

[DaveF]

The usual phone calls went well, the world was put to rights and discussions were had about shops, exhibitions and our memories which go back a long way - I can just remember going to London in 1955 to see one of Dad's models at an exhibition.  By today's standards it was quite crude but back then it was considered good.

 

Church went well, today's visiting vicar was an old friend.  I may eventually not be needed to be a server so much, a couple of youing people are interested in doing it.  I am perfectly happy to make way for them, it is important to get young people involved in all voluntary activities.  I can always find something else to help with while I am able bodied enough.

 

This afternoon I've once again been sorting out the replacement photos to put on here in suitable batches - I have back up files of all the images which were lost but in folders each containing about a year's worth, not day by day so they have to be sorted out.  It's quite fun to do when I have the time.

 

I saw my neighbour for the first time since before she went into hospital after her fall.  She is the same age as me and was looking fit and well.  She now looks very frail and says she won't be allowed to drive for at least six months following her bleed into the brain.  Fortunately her family all live nearby and are helping her.  It has made me realise that I must take care and not do anything stupid or I could be next.

 

I've decided to have a day off from looking at the news, I did the same yesterday.  It makes the world seem a better place and I am more relaxed.

 

There has been some light snow this afternoon, it makes a change from rain, it hasn't settled as it is about 3C.

 

David

Edited January 14 by DaveF
To remove spaces

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl,

 

Race one. 

Course 3P, 4P, 2P, 5P, 6S, 3 laps, due to the wind angle, D was displayed which means inner and outer distance marks are in use, they were the far side of the broad from the club house.

Over 60 boats out on the water, 11 in our class. There was a Topper Traveller on today as well.

 

The starboard end of the line was still heavily favoured,  very crowded when we got to the inner distance buoys several boats were ahead of us, what we hadn't noticed was the buoys were behind the line.  We crossed the line in 9 th place the 2 others had been squeezed out at the mark.

 

We passed one boat tacking up to the first mark, from there on it was follow the leader. 4 boats had got away into the distance.

 

race 2, same course slightly more wind,

Knowing the position of the distance buoys, we were a bit more forward at the start, we made a good start. In 3rd and slightly up window the second place boat. We were the first to tack onto port, spotting a patch of stronger wind.

WHen we tacked back onto starboard, we found it had worked. Both boats had to go behind us as we arrived at the buoy.

we held that across to 4, then on the down wind run to 2, one of the two boats surged ahead leaving us behind, the other dropped back. We held that for another lap. When a different boat came up from behind. first blocking our wind before getting along side. After that it was follow the leader to the finish.

 

Coming in to moor up , just as we reached the quay, i started stepping off and the jib suddenly unfurled pulling the boat out a bit, leaving my left foot nowhere to stand.  So I fell off  landing heavily on the quay, on my left hand side, on the way down my left boot just went into the water  but only a couple of inches, so feet remained dry. 

 

Race 3, 

Walking out to the boat, left knee complaining, wind had dropped a lot which was good, same course. This was a crews race, so I took the helm as nominated crew for this year. Followed by an Allcomers B, bigger dinghies then the Toppers.

only 3 Stars and 3 Yeoman in the crews race. 

 

Amazingly we made a good clear start, by careful choice we made it to the first mark in the lead, not only that, we held that for a lap, on the tacking from buoy 6 to buoy 3 tye faster speed of the starts paid off and 2 went past us. Across the top in 3rd, then on the run from 4 to 2, the other past us.

 

BY this time we were weaving in and out of the Toppers, on reaching buoy 4, we were overtaking 2 toppers, but a third came up from behind, as i turned inside the two toppers as they exited wide on the exit from the buoy the third was shouting for water... No chance were were clear ahead 60ft ( 3 of our boat lengths from the mark , the third topper only got an overlap at about 30ft out.

 

Anyway we ploughed on finishing in 4th on the water but on handicap we have a good chance of finishing much higher.

 

Now home, left knee hip and upper arm are not happy.

 

 

 

 

 

[southern42]

5 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

 

My  home and contents insurance policy does not cover volcanic eruptions apparently.  Which is a bit moot since all our volcanes stopped working yonks ago, but do countries like Indonesia and Iceland get insurance cover for volcanes?

I googled your question with this coming up near the top of the pile.

https://island.is/en/o/nti/insurance-coverage
I did not search Indonesian insurance.