Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

I only used LinkedIn for some research. Aditi was being bothered by HR at her last place of work and part of her argument was that the things HR were saying to her didn’t seem right (as in having some legal basis). They assured her they did and all their policies were based on best practice. So I set up a profile for the dog,  used it to  look,at the HR team. Not a qualification between them. They had selected various people for voluntary redundancy with a a threat of compulsory redundancy with poorer compensation. 

[jamie92208]

19 minutes ago, Smiffy2 said:

I wonder if I might impose upon the worthies here for some advice, given that we have modellers of skill and resource?

My daughter-in-law's father died last year, and she was greatly upset. Last month she visited - he lived in Spain - to find some mementoes to remember him by, only to find that most had been thrown away. She did find, however, a model plane (he was a keen amateur pilot) but in packing it her mother broke it into pieces, bent pieces at that.

This is how it is now.

 

 

It is very heavy, and may have either been a kit, or has been repaired in the past - signs of superglue. 

What advice would you give a chimp who is desperately keen not to screw this up, as it would mean so much to her to see it fettled and standing on a proper plinth. The metal doesn't seem to be too brittle (I've partly straightened the airscrew with my fingers) but I know how casting metal goes...

I've also cleaned and  fettled one of his film cameras (Nikon F60) and found a film in it which I've sent off to be processed. I'm planning to use that camera to take a 'family portrait' of Dan & Rebecca and have it framed as a memento.

 

So any sound advice would be extremely appreciated. TIA.

I presume that it is metal.  If so it looks similar to some that I saw that were produced, unofficially in aircraft factories during the war.  The ones I saw were in the ho e of Beth's aunt who had worked at Castle Bromwich.  I think they were polished steel.  If the material is steel araldite may be the best solution.  If it's some sort of cast monkey metal/ It might even solder. 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

I quite liked Twitter for local information, but mine was quite locked down with lots of blocks etc, it isn’t the same at all now that it is under new management. I hardly ever look at Facebook. There are a few overseas people I use it for to keep in touch with, usually people in family WhatsApp groups that I have left because other members are irritating. If it is important Aditi will tell me. Other than WhatsApp Aditi doesn't use any social media. 

[Smiffy2]

@jamie92208 Chimp question... How can I tell if it's steel? If it is I assume it will bend?

[Winslow Boy]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

It was sold to a Canadian Pension company and by the number of cars in the car park at weekends I think financially it is probably getting back on track.  I am glad I can just walk to the place when I need to, I wouldn't want to have to try and park.

 

Mind you yesterday I got a taste of what it must be like for the poor souls who have to drive there.  Our local Sainsburys has been cut off from half of our town by gas work and we can only enter from one direction currently and it's the worse of the two directions.  Yesterday popped out to the shops not realising this work was in existence.  The car park was rammed - but not with parked cars but with cars trying to get out which in turn blocked lots of parking spaces and stopped people entering from being able to park adding to the queues. 

 

Apparently it will be like this for a week, so no Sainsburys for a bit unless on foot or I park on the nearest main road.

 

Driving used to be fun....

On the rare occasions I've been I never had a problem finding a spot. Having said that I never go on a weekend which is usually when it gets busy.

 

There does seem to be a lack of planning with road works and not just by the people doing them. Was on the East Lancs earlier today and there were signs up at the various road works all saying you can't turn right. Three guesses what all the cars were trying to do.

Edited April 3 by Winslow Boy

[Ian Abel]

14 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

"Always" used to snow the first week of April in Chicago. That was usually the last one of the season. 

Indeed, also true here in a "normal" year. We expect 2-4 inches in April, but my disappointment was mainly due to the very mild winter and the fact we'd already lost all the snow over and enjoyed a week of decent - for Minnesota - temps 🤪

 

HUMP day - and I've already got the 'ump. The latest changes to reports require something just short of magic to accomplish! Where's that bridge to jump off...

 

Outside of work today and tomorrow will see the Mrs and myself organizing and starting to gather the carp we decide on for our trip to Phoenix.

The regular attempts to pack minimally, resulting in ALWAYS overpacking, such a joy!

 

1c first thing, 8c the high today.

 

Carry on...

[Smiffy2]

36 minutes ago, Smiffy2 said:

@jamie92208 Chimp question... How can I tell if it's steel? If it is I assume it will bend?

Julie says 'TRY A MAGNET'... duh.

It's not steel.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Especially since the people who really care about their posh car currently park downstairs near Selfridges out of the elements and an elevator (probably wont use the escalator) away from the shop entrance.

 

One of the Hospice Volunteers saw a car being washed by the East European types in Asda car park a few days ago.  Not unusual....unless the car in question just happens to be a Lambo....

[polybear]

10 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

OK, I freely admit that baked beans, pizza and fries are not quite my cup of tea, but if I were to have a pizza I’d either make it myself (from fresh ingredients) or have one at a decent pizzeria known for the quality of its ingredients. Same goes for baked beans and fries (homemade - the only way!).

 

Why do people insist on buying and eating junk? It’s not always a time saver (spaghetti carbonara from scratch about 15 minutes, from a packet [UPF] about 15 minutes), it doesn’t work out - in the long run - to be less expensive (homemade chips are a damn site less expensive than frozen ready made). Perhaps it’s fear of cooking or a perception that it’s either difficult or time consuming (or both). 
 

Or could it be a combination of ignorance and laziness?

 

 

Tell 'im Puppers @PupCam - iD's takin' a pop at The Bear.

Again......😒

Edited April 3 by polybear

[Barry O]

1 hour ago, Smiffy2 said:

@jamie92208 Chimp question... How can I tell if it's steel? If it is I assume it will bend?

L9oks like cast pewter. You can bend that Hurricane .. gently.. using your fingers. Warming it up (warm water?) May also help.

Superglue or araldite should be ok for fixing parts together.

 

Baz

[Barry O]

Bit foggy in the Bay...

 

 

Baz

[woodenhead]

14 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

One of the Hospice Volunteers saw a car being washed by the East European types in Asda car park a few days ago.  Not unusual....unless the car in question just happens to be a Lambo....

The Trafford Centre also has a very posh car wash for those who can afford it, cars stink of 'cleanliness' once done and shine a bit too.

 

Probably used by Selfridge shoppers so concierge parking too is available with free cleaning for between £60 and £190.

[Coombe Barton]

... More on the native trees – the fellow who’s planning them has been in touch and I’ll be sponsoring him planting a black poplar, an endangered species in Britain ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/04/03/rainfall-wettest-eighteen-months-ever-sponsoring-a-native-tree/

[DaveF]

I had a very nice piece of salmon with new potatoes and peas for lunch, simple but tasty, satisfying and very easy.

 

During the afternoon I looked at Facebook for the first time in ages.  I no longer post anything, I did for a time but it attracted too many comments from people I had taught over the years and no longer knew.  Now I just look at a few local groups now and then.  Apart from RMweb and flickr that is it as far as social media goes now.

 

I had an early cuppa as I had an appointment to see the podiatrist, normally about 15 minutes away in the next little town.  The way I have been going to go to the only road out of the south side of town was no use as it has two sets of roadworks with lights (part time irregularly for the water company) and Network Rail working at the level crossing and building a footbridge with more lights. 

 

So I went the other way also leading to the same only road heading inland.  It only has one set of temporary traffic lights, the new roundabout where they are building the bridge over the railway is partly in use with a very temporary surface.  For once it only took 7 minutes to get through it and Network Rail were not working on the level crossing today which helped.  Then there was the long temporary 30 limit where another roundabout is being built at the other end of the bridge.

 

Then I only had to negotiate 3 floods where the water in the middle of the road was about 3" deep, much worse at the verges, everyone was being very careful and stopping to allow traffic coming the other way to get through.  All the fields were covered in water which was simply running onto the road, across it and into the lower fields on the other side.   Going down the steep hill into the valley was interesting, the road was like a river and very slippery so everyone drove slowly, if you go through the barrier it is quite a long drop through the trees to the river.

 

The whole journey only took 25 minutes instead of the usual 15.  The podiatrist did my nails quickly and has put kinesiotape on my sore foot, I have plantar fasciitis.

 

Coming back I wanted to avoid the floods but realised that the other obvious route is closed because a level crossing is closed all week for track renewal.  So I went by another route to get to the spine road to get home.  It is OK but the "on" slip has a tight curve so it can be difficult to build up speed to join the main road.  Then I came in to the north side of town, today there were no road works - they had moved just outside town to another level crossing which is closed to traffic.

 

I will be very pleased when the railway work is finished and the Northumberland Line opens, hopefully later this year.  I should really say reopens as it closed to passenger traffic in 1964.

 

David

[polybear]

Bear here.....

 

Busy day at the Hospice Warehouse - absolutely loads of stuff delivered to/collected from five shops, plus a load more to the Warehouse too.  It seems that Bear has walked 3 miles/8000 steps doin' that today (according to Izzy the iPhone); the warehouse manageress (the same age as Bear) walked 24000 steps a few days ago - I can believe it, she just doesn't stop all day - serious respect.

We do encounter numerous tw@ts who insist on parking in dumb (and illegal) places, which can make accessing loading/unloading bays a right PITA 🤬; today one clown in particular (on a double yellow) who delivers for the local kebab shop was parked right across the rear doors of one shop - trying to get 6ft tall cages full of stuff into the shop was a right p1g.  He reappeared then proceeded to get gobby with our driver about being blocked in and issuing all sorts of threats about what he'll do if his sh1t heap got scratched - the driver is ex. Met. and has heard it all before as he was "in the job" for something like 40 years.  Mr. Tw@t soon realised he was on a loser and bvggered off until we were finished......

 

No donuts today ☹️ - though numerous lonely Tea Cakes had appeared in their place, so all was not lost....

 

Whilst tonight's din dins did involve 3+ of Bear's five-a-day (= fresh veg) there *may* also have been a Scotch Egg plus three frozen "potato smiley faces", all of which I suspect would trigger iD's naughty radar.  Oops.

 

BG

 

BG

[Tony_S]

38 minutes ago, polybear said:

three frozen "potato smiley faces"

I did at first read that as three dozen! 
 

[New Haven Neil]

I'd agree with Baz that Smiffy's aircraft looks like pewter, or that harder version of whitemetal some USA loco kits are made of - I have several old Hobbytown loco kits made of something that looks similar.  Not that I'll ever build them..... 

 

Awful day here, never stopped raining so shopping and lunch, which found two cafes we frequent hadn't bothered opening, number 3 was thankfully.  And busy.

[Tony_S]

40 minutes ago, polybear said:

the driver is ex. Met.

I know someone who drives a school minibus. Before taking on that task (“something to do”) he had worked a driver for the Met and before that had been a Para. I asked if he had trouble with badly behaved students. He said not. 

[Tony_S]

We ate the last of the potatoes today but I think we can last out until the next delivery on Friday. I have absolutely no problem with the chips or Rösti hiding in the freezer. Might even have some baked beans, not frozen though.

[Tony_S]

11 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

made of something that looks similar. 

When I was at secondary school, one of the tasks in the earlier years was to carve something out of polystyrene and put it in a sand moulding box and pour molten aluminium alloy in. Some boys got to polish and mount their work for display. The rest of us just got it chucked back in the melting crucible. 

[The White Rabbit]

5 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Does anyone know what Linkedin is for? Other than as a platform for shameless self-promotion by lower wrung social climbers or virtue signalling by corporate big wigs?

 

In my experience, that's about it... I signed up ages ago but am very inactive. I have occasionally been approached about jobs, nothing ever came of these. Though I noticed that one approach presumably confused me with another person of the same name as he was later listed as being in the role I was asked about. (Writing about gambling in Gibraltar, as you ask...). So it might have worked for him. 

 

I don't use social media much, this is the only one I'm involved in. I won't touch Facebook with a bargepole, it's not for me. I did a bit more social media (including Twitter 🙄) when involved in restoring a self propelled railway carriage but only for that cause, it didn't appeal on a personal level. 

[The White Rabbit]

4 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Tiss amazing the things that 'parents' acquire.

 

Yes. Someone I know, when clearing father's house, found a Schmeisser and ammunition in the loft, 'courtesy' of Dad's wartime service. Caused quite a stir... 

[Grizz]

 

 

 

 

 

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, Smiffy2 said:

@jamie92208 Chimp question... How can I tell if it's steel? If it is I assume it will bend?

With a magnet.

[Sidecar Racer]

7 hours ago, pH said:

 
Is there evidence to show cause and effect here, or that this is anything other than pure coincidence?

 

Well a certain Mr D Trump is reportedly an  aficionado of McDonald's food .    😎