Early Risers.

[TheQ]

We have lumpy gas..

 

 

 

 

Also known as flickering lights due to mains problems.

[Ozexpatriate]

35 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Also known as flickering lights due to mains problems.

There was a lot of that a week ago across the Portland area, though I was spared that. It was caused by trees falling on power lines. Tens of thousands lost power - often for days with temperatures dropping to  -10°C. At least 10 people died during the week from various causes - hypothermia, electrocution* and being crushed by a tree while inside. One woman was pinned by a tree that fell on an RV. They had been cooking with an open flame and the RV caught fire.

 

* Three people died after a tree brought power lines down on a car. I'm not sure if they were getting out of the car or getting in the car. A baby being held by one of the victims somehow survived.

[iL Dottore]

On 20/01/2024 at 03:31, Ozexpatriate said:

I would have thought all @Smiffy2 's guitar photos would have smoked out Flavio @iL Dottore. Is he on an RMweb hiatus?

 

On 20/01/2024 at 17:03, Sidecar Racer said:

 

 He appears to have de-camped to The Night Mail thread .

 

Which begs the question , who here upset him ?     😎

I have been lurking, but ER hasn't been at its most scintillating as of late: some informative and intriguing posts made, but many dull ones as well (both by the usual suspects).

 

The absence of @polybear is notable: the ongoing shenanigans involving The Bear, @iL Dottore (and his alter ego Captain Cynical) which also roped in many of the ER regulars certainly added a vibrancy that's now in short supply.

 

The Bear and CC would lock horns over a topic Chimpy, Puppers, Oz, JJB1970, Winslow Boy, TheQ, Gwiwer (and others) would weigh in and the next thing you knew was that ERs were having an erudite discussion about (say) "the hidden high costs of 'cheap' food" or "the merits of smartphones for digital photography"

 

I'll be back on regular basis when there's a bear to bait!

 

iD

[Tony_S]

We are supposed to be the least affected area for,the current storm but we can hear the wind gusts. We used to get woooo noises down the chimney but the special cowl a builder neighbour  fitted a couple of years ago has dealt with that. The storm is much worse on the other side of the estuary.

Tony

[Tony_S]

3 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

ER hasn't been at its most scintillating as of late:

I don’t always need to be scintillated, it is quite nice to know that life goes on elsewhere. I did think about subscribing to the Dull Mens Club but laziness prevailed and I didn’t bother. 
Tony

[New Haven Neil]

It's mad here, megahoolie, 8 roads closed with trees down, absolutely bonkers wind. Force10+

[Ozexpatriate]

22 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

We are supposed to be the least affected area for the current storm

Normal service has resumed with the weather here - rainy and 6°C.

 

It must have rained a heavily overnight - there was a lot of water in the creek. No doubt some of it was meltwater. The ice is gone from the roads but patches remain. The sleet drifted in the wind last weekend and there are still drifts of it under eaves where the rain does not fall on it.

 

Tree covered paths still have icy spots. I had to backtrack finding one really treacherous stretch this morning.

[Ozexpatriate]

24 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I did think about subscribing to the Dull Mens Club but laziness prevailed and I didn’t bother. 

Reminds me of the old saw about joining the "procrastinators' group counselling meeting, but haven't got around to it yet". (Many variations are available.)

[PupCam]

Windy Night All!

 

20 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

It takes  multiple long exposures and then automatically stacks  them, like theres a miniature @PupCam sitting in there  beavering away at it,.

 

Those that have met me will recall there's not a great deal of difference in size between a miniature PupCam and the full size version 🤣    But I like the idea Chimpy!

 

20 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

It's alright Puppers you are forgiven as now is the correct time to prune your Wisteria. But no more you understand or your need to be taken aside and 'spoken to'.

 

Well, how can I best put this? 🤔     Probably best just to keep schtum and hope that the Wisteria Police walk on by (Cue ...... Dionne Warwick)

 

5 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

We are prepared in the event of an extended power outage; there’s enough non-cook food available and there’s cans of soup which we can warm atop the wood-burning stove.  All our mobile devices are fully charged and the torches have fresh batteries.

 

Which reminds me .  We've been advised by UK Power Networks that they are going to be removing the supply to our area for the day in a couple of weeks time.   Something about having to replace the poles and/or mains cables that distribute the supply to most of the properties along the road.     Time to get the camping stove out then and the heating is gas powered so that'll be OK .........  Doh!   But the pump isn't.       Alright then, lets have a real fire for once.   Ah, no chimney!    Down to the Community "Warm Hub" for us pensioners then on the day?    On second thoughts,   I think the pub sounds more appealing 🤣

 

ION

 

A short thrash was thrashed this morning on the recently polished RD.      It was much warmer out today and no ice which was excellent.  Unfortunately all the roads were damp and muddy.   The "damp and muddy" was converted into a spray which then covered the RD.    This afternoon has been spent cleaning the RD followed by an extensive external clean of the Mondog followed by a slightly more superficial external clean of the Little Red Driving Box (Trade Marks acknowledged).    The Mondog has changed back to silver instead of the muddy, silver green that it has been for some time.    The natural green tint was provided by moss.  Whoops.   

 

Now to look at some of the videos from the other evening's astronomical amusement.

 

TTFN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Smiffy2]

35 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Reminds me of the old saw about joining the "procrastinators' group counselling meeting, but haven't got around to it yet". (Many variations are available.)

When I was President of the Social and Cultural Union at college (no, really...) we formed an Apathy Club. The first rule was if you turned up at a meeting you were instantly expelled. It was, of course, an elaborate excuse to go to the bar.

[Tony_S]

33 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Reminds me of the old saw about joining the "procrastinators' group counselling meeting, but haven't got around to it yet". (Many variations are available.)

When I read about the Dull Mens Club I did actually think it looked a bit  too exciting for me. I am amazed at all the things other ERs manage to do with their time, I seem to sleep more than average. 

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, PupCam said:

The natural green tint was provided by moss. 

Our Fiesta is home to various types of moss too. Shows what clean air we have I think. 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. According to the weather app the wind speed is 14 metres per second, so save you working it out thats 50.4 kph or 32 mph in old money. Fortunately my electric supply is buried underground so no problems about being cut off. No structural damage as far as I'm aware but I will be giving the roof a once over in the morning. Surprisingly the wheelie bins haven't moved even though the general waste one in front of the house is in an exposed position. 

[Sidecar Racer]

22 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

   and then automatically stacks  them, like theres a miniature @PupCam sitting in there  beavering away at it,. 

 

 

 As per ,

Iconographs

Having nothing to do with religious art, iconography is the Disc's equivalent of photography.

Unlike a normal camera, the iconograph contains a tiny imp who quickly paints the pictures (also called iconographs) of the subject at hand. If it is too dim for the imps to see, salamanders can be used as a flashgun. The iconograph is first seen in The Colour of Magic, where it is used by Twoflower, the Discworld's first tourist, to the bemusement of most other characters. By the time of later books in the series, they have also become very popular in Ankh-Morpork.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

Fortunately my electric supply is buried underground so no problems about being cut off.

This helps power supply resiliency immensely. So is mine, but that didn't me stop losing power during a bad ice storm early in 2021. Even when local power distribution is buried, at some point it usually goes up on a pole as it is stepped up to higher voltages - though I'm not an expert on UK distribution.

 

Even high voltage transmission lines can be subject to wind-related outages, but so long as they are well maintained they are usually reliable.

 

The 2018 Camp Fire which destroyed Paradise, CA was caused by the failure of a steel hook (I'm presuming that held an insulator string) on a 115kV transmission line. It failed in high winds.

[PupCam]

1 hour ago, PupCam said:

Now to look at some of the videos from the other evening's astronomical amusement.

 

Well I had a go ........

 

As the Optician would say; "better or worse?"

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

Our Fiesta is home to various types of moss too. Shows what clean air we have I think. 

 

I think it's more likely to suggest that both our cars are not garaged and indicates how infrequently we clean them 🤣

 

 

Night All!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[figworthy]

2 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

I'll be back on regular basis when there's a bear to bait!

 

 

If A Certain Bear is a sensible bear, then (like other bears), he'll be tucked up in Snoozy Bear Land until March.  In the mean time, his local Co Op will be able to improve the defences on the cake, curly fries and pizza aisles.

 

Adrian

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, PupCam said:

I think it's more likely to suggest that both our cars are not garaged and indicates how infrequently we clean them 🤣

 

I think that is certainly true in my case. The Evoque has a glass roof so it doesn’t seem to have quite as many places for the moss to lurk as the Fiests. Miss used to,block,our gutters and down pipes but after we installed hedgehog gutter brushes, moss bounces  over the gutters on to the cars or drive. I think I prefer a bit of sweeping than cleaning gutters. 
Tony

[Darlington_Shed]

For all resident Vera fans (if you missed the announcement) it was stated at the end of tonight's episode that another series is planned 👍

[Tony_S]

10 minutes ago, PupCam said:

better or worse?"

Looks great to me. Are you sure you aren’t on the ISS?

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[monkeysarefun]

31 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

I think that is certainly true in my case. The Evoque has a glass roof so it doesn’t seem to have quite as many places for the moss to lurk as the Fiests. Miss used to,block,our gutters and down pipes but after we installed hedgehog gutter brushes, moss bounces  over the gutters on to the cars or drive. I think I prefer a bit of sweeping than cleaning gutters. 
Tony

 

 

No problems with moss growing here in outside-living cars, but  if infrequently driven (eg the ute) they do accumulate colonies of redback spiders that build webs and nests in the wheel wells and between the rear bumper and the ground. I do have to warn mechanics, tyre repairers etc to keep an eye  out for them when I need work done.

Edited January 21 by monkeysarefun

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Tony_S]

30 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

No problems with moss growing here in outside-living cars, but  if infrequently driven (eg the ute) they do accumulate colonies of redback spiders that build webs and nests in the wheel wells and between the rear bumper and the ground. I do have to warn mechanics, tyre repairers etc to keep an eye  out for them when I need work done.

Spiders like living in the door mirrors here. When the mirror heaters come on they run out. 

[BR60103]

Southern42:  for those instruments of the crumhorn family, are the reeds played between the lips or fully in the mouth?  I seem to remember that the zurla/zurna of the Balkans has the reed free inside the mouth, giving a more bagpipe sound.  The place where the reed enters the instrument has a large button around it so that enthusiastic playing doesn't force the instrument down the throat.