RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted February 8, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 8, 2010 Hello. It is very quiet here this morning. I did see a brief flurry of snow but it is raining now. Matthew doesn't have to go to college until this afternoon as his geography teacher is in Scotland leading the geology field trip. They don't have cover teachers for A2 (what would have been upper sixth in the old days) so Matthew will be "working from home" this morning studying the "Cold Environment" topic. I suggested he could get first hand experience taking the dog for a walk but apparently he is too busy (Matthew, not the dog). It does look as if much fun was had at Alton (and I did see Jam's photographs). It would seem Gordon got an off road experience included in the price which made the entrance ticket really good value. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 45156 Posted February 8, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 8, 2010 Hi folks, Not been on for a while as have a few fairly hectic days - braved the bus on Wednesday and went for a haircut - that was a laugh as I couldn't get sat at the wash thingy, and she had to just damp my hair down with a garden sprayer and then do the haircut. Thursday, I was at the trauma clinic for hours, as they were a Dr down, and when I checked in, was warned that I was in for a long wait - long queue at X Ray as well, so didn't get out until well after lunch time - the good news is that the fracture is healing up, I no longer need the sling at home (he advised me to wear it out, so that other people can see it, and hopefully avoid bumping onto my bad arm - also starting physio soon, and cutting down on pain killers, and have started exercises to remobilise the joint. Prognosis is that I should be back at work in a couple of weeks now provided the joint mobilises - I still can't type with two hands, and can't drive yet. Friday had an unavoidable business appointement in town, which again took ages, and the weekend was taken up with so many odds and sods that I didn't have a spare half hour for any online activities. Stuck at home today waiting for Physiotherapist to phone, and builder to visit as we are having the last of the 1970s "improvements" put back - open plan living room, stairs abd hallway has proved to be too cold and expensive to heat this year, so the rooms are being put back to the original layout - to get this house back to how it was built (or a close approximation) has taken a lot of time, and cost thousands. I have now needed work doing in just about every room downstairs to sort out the rotten DIY/building work that this hose has suffered over the last 30 years - and my builder now adds a caveat to every estimate that the costs are subject to not finding any more cowboy work underneath - this time he won't as he has aleady checked that although the wall that needs to go back was originally load bearing, but a steel was correctly placed when the open plan was done. My PC is still very slow indeed, and the cost of fettling it up means that a new machine is going to be almost as cheap. It appears that a mate (well he was, but he won't be for much longer) who did a rebuild for me some time ago when I had virus problems, used copies of much of his own software, and that seems to be part of the problem. Cheers for now - I'll try to get on again tomorrow. Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonBradley Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Good morning all. Tuesday has dawned! Zero oktas, zero wind, quite warm at about 18C at 7:00 am. Got interesting work to do so all is well in the world. Glad to hear your progress Stewart. Where can I find Jam's pictures of Alton and the famous five (less one)? How was the first day back at work? Do NOT answer on a post card but on here please. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium skipepsi Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning all survived the first day my fellow workers seem in poor health too, only 3 more get ups then a weeks holiday.Dentist today for an inspection.I am glad you are improving Stewart it could so easily have been any of us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning all! It's quite noticeable how much earlier sunrise occurs by now. Quite cold outside at about -5, too. Well - have to get breakfast now . Later . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning All, Rather a busy time for me at work too - I have got another three day safety audit. I ended up putting in a twelve hour day yesterday and it doesn't look like today is going to be a lot different. Still, I decided to come into work a little later this morning. No more snow has fallen, but the temperatures are down to around -2C so it is pretty chilly. I am just contemplating breakfast... Have a good day everyone :icon_wave: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 It's quite noticeable how much earlier sunrise occurs by now. Too right Dominik - thank goodness! It won't be long before I can contemplate cycling in the evenings again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andel Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 missed yesterday due to family hogging my office to sleep in.... anyway - this morning I am mentally preparing myself for something called "EIA" training - Equality Impact Assessment. Believe it or not, I did one on my first week. Having been there six months, I'd better to do this training and my induction too... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning all. Equality Impact Assessment sounds dangerous. I haven't had breakfast yet but have made tea. I'll go out in a moment to get my wife's car out of the garage. I put it away last night in case it was frosty/snowy overnight. It seems cold and clear though. Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDMJ Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning all, Have a later start for my delivery today so just fallen out of bed! Where can I find Jam's pictures of Alton and the famous five (less one)? The Alton show has its own thread and Jam has also posted photos on another site (which is linked in!) Haven't yet seen pictures of the five (less one) and would love to see a certain car being towed from the rugby field - Gordon! (Guess I'll have to wait a very long time for that, however! :icon_winker: ) How was the first day back at work? Tiring after a hectic weekend at the show! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium eldavo Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning All, I spy blue between the oktas but apparently that was part of a trade that included a biting cold wind. Haven't ventured out yet! Believe me the Beemer in the mud was not a pretty sight. I have no doubt Gordon would have vetoed any photograph taking. I'm still scraping mud off shoes and the car from the fun and games in Alton and I wasn't the one stuck! Cheers Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 9, 2010 If you can read German: Click. Apparently, a number of construction workers who were involved in the construction of the Waidmarkt light rail station in Cologne confessed to having stolen reinforcement bars and sold them to a scrap dealer. As some of you may remember, the station, which was still under construction, collapsed on 3 March 2009, along with a building on the surface which housed the municipal archive of Cologne. Two persons were killed in the incident and more than thirty others suffered material damage. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 That's jerry building at its worst. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 45156 Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning all This forum is likely to be my practice ground for keyboard use, as the physio has suggested that I can measure my progress on the possibility of returning to work (I use a VDU and keyboard there) from how well I type on here, and how quickly and accurately. If today's anything to go by, I should be back at work by Christmas. Some days seem better than others - today is one of the others. The physio who called me was appointed by my work - she seemed to be on their side for most things, and this came across quite clearly - end result was that I've been referred to a private practitioner who is miles away - two bus trips - or one bus and a rattle on a 142 or 153. She also made it clear that this is a stop gap, so I need to get the NHS involved again - sounds like fun. I'll see what my own GP thinks. And while I'm in a moaning mood, what is it about builders - I waited in yesterday as he said he'd be here just after lunch - turned up at 16.45 - well it was "after lunch" I suppose. Thanks again for the kind words of support from my fellow ERs - they are appreciated. Arm getting sore now, so am stopping for a while. Regards to all. Stewart ps it's cold here again - I remember the winters of 63 and of 79 but the memory of the cold fades - this is the worst since I moved to the North of England, for sure. Tiny flecks of blue showing - about 7 oktas here at the mo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Morning all....At last, managed to go a whole night without waking. Hopefully that will be the last of the 3am wanderings. No pics of the 5 minus one that I'm aware of. Nor the off road 5 Series... Next trip out will be Ally Pally on the Saturday. Not sure if they're ready for us, but ticket was booked this morning... Good grief, the sun is out. Glad to hear that you are making a recovery Stewart, albeit not as fast as I'm sure you would like. Keep smiling mate, this will soon be behind you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 The power has been off since I last posted. A steel cable tore loose and writhed its way across the garden. No injuries, thank goodness. This is the latest instalment in the efforts to put overhead cables underground. However, this was obviously a major incident for Scottish Power. Within minutes there were ten men on the site with cameras and notebooks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixoh8sixoh Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Scottish Power? Have you moved, or have the Scots invaded? Morning all (just) - been a busy few days but hopefully back to normal for the rest of the working week now. My new internal hard drive for my iMac has arrived this morning so I'm going to perform surgery tonight. Wish me luck... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 9, 2010 Nothing too exciting here, we haven't got cables from Scotland (I think they are all French round here) whizzing about, no Mac drives coming through the letterbox. Stewart. My experience with employers occupational health people was varied but any that seemed to put my health first didn't seem to stay long. Fortunately my GP was (and still is) consistent and supportive. Excitement at last, parcel and package for me (train stuff) and courier package for my wife from Amazon. Her books will either be about education by some dead French philosopher or Scandinavian murder mysteries. She is onto the Norwegians now having read all those set in Sweden. Gordon, when my brother worked in Nigeria drivers frequently used to get their 4x4 stuck in mud. He reckoned a power winch was more useful in bad conditions than 4 wheel drive! Tony Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDolfelin Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Scottish Power work with/are part of ManWeb or vice versa. A few years back freezing rain brought down ALL the local power lines and we had Scottish Power helicopters zooming down the narrow lanes. Their infrastructure teams seem very efficient to me. Except today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDMJ Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Helicopter - an interesting device - basically an inverted lawn mower! Apply phenomenal amounts of power and instead of screwing itself into the ground, it defies all known laws of physics and takes off! (with apologies to David Gunson - What goes up might come down!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium NGT6 1315 Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 9, 2010 Interesting... If you should ever come into a situation where you want to make a gift to a Japanese citizen, you should remember the following: * do not give four items, as the Japanese word for "four" (shi) is a homophone to the word for "death", * white handkerchiefs are a symbol for grief, * white flowers are only used at funerals, * scissors and knives symbolize separation, * items with images of foxes on them are no good because the fox is a symbol for malice, * items with the Imperial seal on them are taboo, * and yellow handkerchiefs or similar items symbolize treason. I know about the "4" being a symbol for death in many, or indeed all, Asian societies, but am curious as to how these other meanings came into being . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 9, 2010 I don't think I'll bother giving a gift to a Japanese person - much easier for all concerned. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 9, 2010 Interesting... If you should ever come into a situation where you want to make a gift to a Japanese citizen, you should remember the following: * do not give four items, as the Japanese word for "four" (shi) is a homophone to the word for "death", * white handkerchiefs are a symbol for grief, * white flowers are only used at funerals, * scissors and knives symbolize separation, * items with images of foxes on them are no good because the fox is a symbol for malice, * items with the Imperial seal on them are taboo, * and yellow handkerchiefs or similar items symbolize treason. I know about the "4" being a symbol for death in many, or indeed all, Asian societies, but am curious as to how these other meanings came into being . I suppose that is why "Hello Kitty" is so popular in Japan as it doesn't fit any of the above criteria! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 9, 2010 I've just had to google Hello Kitty. What I am wondering is how you know about it? (Assuming I've come across the right "Hello Kitty"). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tony_S Posted February 9, 2010 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 9, 2010 I'm not sure 4 is unlucky in south Asian countries. My Indian relatives won't give round numbers of money as a gift eg they would give GBP21 or 101 not GBP20 or 100. This was described as "traditional" rather than "superstitious". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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