Early Risers.

[Andy Hayter]

26 minutes ago, 4630 said:

I think I’d prefer not to get close enough to any snake to be able to tell if the eyes are round or oval. 

 

I think when I posted the advice elsewhere my comment was that if the eyes are round the snake is non-venomous.  If the eyes are oval or slit shaped, you are probably closer than you want to be.

Edited May 9 by Andy Hayter

[The Lurker]

7 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. As I have mentioned I do the NY Times *Wordl game every morning. This morning I got the word at the second attempt.😁😁😁

But most of the records were destroyed on Cromwells orders.

*In Wordl you have six attempts to find a five letter word. You have to guess the first word and if a letter from the word of the day is in your guess it lights up green if it is in the right place and yellow if it is in the word but not in the right place, letters that are not in the word show as grey. It is easier than it sounds.

I used to do wordle until they decided to require a login to access stats so I have stopped. I started with “route” every day and eventually came in 1st guess. I then switched to “orate” but that didn’t come in. 

[PhilJ W]

55 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

I used to do wordle until they decided to require a login to access stats so I have stopped. I started with “route” every day and eventually came in 1st guess. I then switched to “orate” but that didn’t come in. 

Usually less than 0.01% of participants get it right first time. Today I got three consecutive letters correct first time and it was easy to work out the correct word.

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I was going to post this

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68977469?

but @polybear beat me to it. This brought to mind a religious sect of the Cromwellian era called the castrators. They believed that having sex was evil. However they realised that it was essential to have children so each couple was allowed one child then out came the knife. Not surprisingly it didn't catch on and the sect died out.

Edited May 9 by PhilJ W

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Ozexpatriate]

4 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Mount Disappointment

We have a Cape Disappointment here. For once, not named by the plucky Yorkshireman (though he did name Cape Foulweather in his particularly prosaic style).

 

It was named by one John Meares, disappointed not to have found the Columbia River. (He actually had, but thought it a bay.) He also named Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast.

 

We have a Cape Meares named for him.

 

[jamie92208]

7 hours ago, 4630 said:

I think I’d prefer not to get close enough to any snake to be able to tell if the eyes are round or oval. 

I only ever saw one snake in the UK and that was an adder at Long Moor in 1968.  We weren't aware of them when we moved here but now are, obviously. There is a strange fascination about them and Beth sat and watched the whip snake yesterday from about 12 feet away.  Wwe have seen a viper, about 18" long and did find a young one about 9" long in the bathroom.  I picked it up carefully with some kitchen tongs and donated it to the Mairie garden next door.  They are now just part of life.  I certainly don't fear them.  Mind you I don't fear spiders or rodents either.  Such is country living. 

 

Anyway another day has dawned.  I wilbe off to the Physio's after breakfast to sort out an appointment lfor Beth. 

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

If you look at most old roads in the UK they are fairly obvious names. It's only in comparatively recent times people started " naming roads " and places with unrelated monikers.

 

Cart gap, a gap in the sand dunes for carts.

Ostend.. the East end, which is now part of Walcott, which means welshmans cottage

Bloodslat lane, red valley lane.

Stepping stone lane, low road, water lane, I'll let you work those out.

Ludgershall, place of the spear trap.. ok not obvious now but it was when it was named.

Benbecula (Beinn na Faoghla) mountain of the Ford.

Neatishead well that's ones a bit lost in time, Until recently it was thought it was from " place of the cattle herder" now it seems they think it's from "Sneats household".

 

Snakes I've seen a few on the broads swimming across rivers, when I lived in Wiltshire slow worms ( ok they're technically a legless lizard) were common.

 

 

[roundhouse]

22 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I only ever saw one snake in the UK and that was an adder at Long Moor in 1968.  We weren't aware of them when we moved here but now are, obviously. There is a strange fascination about them and Beth sat and watched the whip snake yesterday from about 12 feet away.  Wwe have seen a viper, about 18" long and did find a young one about 9" long in the bathroom.  I picked it up carefully with some kitchen tongs and donated it to the Mairie garden next door.  They are now just part of life.  I certainly don't fear them.  Mind you I don't fear spiders or rodents either.  Such is country living. 

 

Anyway another day has dawned.  I wilbe off to the Physio's after breakfast to sort out an appointment lfor Beth. 

 

Jamie

When we lived on the edge of the Mendips many decades ago Mum would often see them walking the dog and one day she went to pick a stick up on the riverbank where we lived. However it moved. SHe cant stand even seeing a snake on TV let alone touching one. It took her a long time to go near the riverbank again.

 

In her current home both my brothers have seen a snake basking by the pond but I havent seen one yet. They wont tell Mum about it as the fear that she won't go in the garden again.

 

Mum should be going home from hospital this morning so I will go round there to do any food shopping, etc. for her.

[Ozexpatriate]

26 minutes ago, TheQ said:

If you look at most old roads in the UK they are fairly obvious names.

Most of the names in the colonies are of four varieties:

1. Place name from the old sod
2. Anglicized indigenous name
3. Prosaic
4. A named person either of note in the old sod or pioneer/settler 

As for examples, for (1) two local cities are named Portland and Salem (the state capital). Which is more reflective of the transitive property of old sod names, the ones here being named for towns in "New" England - earlier reused there.

 

(2) Lots of these both locally and growing up in Australia. I've lived in examples.

 

(3) See post(s) above. Australia is littered with variations on the theme of <ordinal> Mile Creek. An good Oregon one is Black Butte. It's a volcanic cinder cone, and it is black. (Also an excellent porter.)

 

(4) On a clear day I can see Mount Hood. Same honoree as the HMS one. Two thirds of the Australian state capitals are named for peers and one is named for a Queen. Two Australian states were named for Vicky Reg. Six US states are named for English or British royals.

 

A couple of local towns were named after US Army officers killed in the Modoc War less than ten years after the Civil War. It was little different than genocide though the Modoc put up a good fight in lava fields where all the infantry, cavalry and field artillery of the US Army was ineffective.

 

Edited May 10 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

12 minutes ago, roundhouse said:

Mum would often see them walking the dog

😉 I know what you mean, but that just sounds funny. One is tempted to ask (a bit facetiously) how a snake walks a dog.

 

I do hope she is doing better.

 

Edited May 10 by Ozexpatriate

[roundhouse]

14 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

😉 I know what you mean, but that just sounds funny. One is tempted to ask (a bit facetiously) how a snake walks a dog.

 

I do hope she is doing better.

 

Its just my carp grammer despite doing well at it in school🙂.

 

Yes she was much brighter when I saw her on Wednesday. She has a habit of falling these days but considering that she is nearly 92 and still living at home  looking after herself, its taking a bit of persuasion to get her to accept a carer visiting once a day.

[polybear]

6 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

This brought to mind a religious sect of the Cromwellian era called the castrators. They believed that having sex was evil. However they realised that it was essential to have children so each couple was allowed one child then out came the knife. Not surprisingly it didn't catch on and the sect died out.

 

Perhaps it's time for a resurrection - there are certain members of society that shouldn't be allowed to reproduce at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[polybear]

Bear here......

 

Today sees a driving session lesson with the Bertie the Bosch (Washing Machine) once again.  Oh joy.  I also have some rather important paperwork to print off - just so long as Percy the Printer decides to play nicely, that is.  Incidentally, I've just submitted a (fair) review of the new (in January) ink cartridge that played up a few days ago immediately after I fitted it**; the supplier has immediately picked up on it (probably cos' I only gave it 2* out of a possible 5*) and responded with:

 

"We're really sorry to hear your first review isn't positive, we take product quality incredibly seriously and one of my team will be looking into it to get you sorted."

 

I don't hold out much hope though, nor do I expect the review will appear on their website.  We'll see.

 

Apart from that I have all the joys of cleaning the Bathroom to look forward to 😱  Jeez, I only did it a year ago FFS - beats me why they need cleaning so often.....🤣

 

Bear gone.

 

**It took lots of Inkjet cleaning cycles before the new cartridge gave decent lack prints; each cycle wastes ink in the process.  Poo.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, from a rock that 9once again is dry, wonder of wonders.  14c currently with 19 - truly tropical - promised.

 

Old Farts club this morning, not sure where that will take us.  There are closed roads all over the place as it is the Manx Rally today and tomorrow, these closures are more restrictive than for the TT races as there are less ways to avoid them in some places.  We're geared up for the TT  closures as it has been going on for a lot longer, the rally stages are quite long and torturous so block a lot of alternate routes.  Our village tomorrow has but one way out to go any distance, despite there being five normally.

[DaveF]

The garden beckons this morning, it's time to take the bulbs out of the tubs and put something else in instead.  I wonder how many I can do before I seize up?  Then there are some pelargoniums to pot up for the greenhouse.  After that I should...... but not today.

 

A charity bag came through the door yesterday, it actually asks for books so they will be given some, I've even identified a few r-----y books that they can have.  It is time I accepted that I am not going to re read all the books I have read before, I have enough unread ones in the house.

 

Thinking of snakes I have seen three adders that I remember.  One was in Essex, I can't remember exactly where but it was lying on a bank of earth in the sun.  Another was on a footpath by the Ffestiniog Railway, I nearly stepped on it while getting ready to take a photo.  The third was on a field trip with 6th formers in Kielder Forest with one of the forest staff.  It was in March in the year so the snake was just lying in the sun on a patch of grass warming itself up.  We were just lucky to be there on an unseasonably warm day.

 

David

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

The sun is shining and the sky is blue, so my walk to the butchers should be a very pleasant one. After that, the day takes a different course, as instead of going to the Trafford Centre, which I did yesterday, we’re off to Dunham Massey to take a walk round the gardens, then call for a drink and a slice. 
 

Back later. 
 

Brian 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I was up last night sorting out this laptop. I was in RMweb when a malware warning came up. I instructed my computer protection to block it and it promptly blocked RMweb! I therefore spent the next half hour trying to unblock it. I couldn't unblock it so I went to catch up on some other things and decided to try again this morning. But before going to bed I gave RMweb another look and it was back to normal. I can only surmise that my computer protection found the malware and blocked it.

[polybear]

1 hour ago, DaveF said:

 

 

A charity bag came through the door yesterday, it actually asks for books so they will be given some, I've even identified a few r-----y books that they can have.  It is time I accepted that I am not going to re read all the books I have read before, I have enough unread ones in the house.

 

 

It's often/usually much better to take such donations direct to the Charity if you can (Oxfam Bookshops often seem to get the best prices where books are concerned) - I've heard that many collection agencies are basically companies that take a slice of the action/sell the contents of donation bags to Charities.

[polybear]

Bear here.....

 

First load of Washing done - now it's time for the Mattress "Topper" & Pillow.  Percy the Printer seems to be playing nicely though, so that's a Tick - I got the important stuff printed off without any grief.

Sadly it seems that I've only got one clean din dins plate left in the cupboard - and that just happens to be the Pizza Plate.  Oh dear, how sad, never mind.......😁

 

BG

[The Lurker]

I have only seen one snake in the UK that I can recall; it was a grass snake that was basking in Foots Cray Meadows a couple of years ago. We did, however, visit the snake temple in Penang when I was a child

Trip advisor link:

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1193625-d454852-Reviews-Snake_Temple-Bayan_Lepas_Penang_Island_Penang.html

 

[polybear]

Oh yes.....

 

I've just had a reply from the ink cartridge supplier following my review (which hasn't appeared on their website......):

 

We appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us and we do apologise for causing any inconvenience you faced with your recent purchase of our high-capacity black cartridge.

We would always recommend performing up to 6 print head cleans and running these cleaning cycles in pairs and then following this with a print test, to help improve any print quality issues, as part of routine maintenance.

 

I've responded, pointing out that the Printer actually runs a regular routine cleaning cycle (usually during the night) to keep everything sweet; I also reminded them it was fine immediately prior to fitting the new cartridge - and the problems started immediately after it was fitted.

 

I don't expect they'll take any notice, somehow.

 

Yep, Rant.

 

ION......

 

A friend had a C-19 Jab (Modena) yesterday afternoon - and was rather ill indeed last night, which is highly unusual.  Seems some don't respond too well after having it.

 

BG

[polybear]

iD @iL Dottore - is this what you mean by a UPF?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c51n0p14y1lo

[DaveF]

I thought  some of you might find this old car of interest.  It shows my grandmother in either her car or a very early car of my grandfather's in the early 1920s.  It does also appear in the old cars thread but I know not everyone looks at that.  Someone has attempted to hand tint it.

 

 

David

Edited May 10 by DaveF