Early Risers.

[lightengine]

The sun has finally appeared in Teignmouth just in time for lunch.

[Ohmisterporter]

Afternoon all. Just received a letter from the hospital informing me that the lesion I had surgically removed last month was not malignant. They included a leaflet about seborrhoeic keratoses which has the interesting fact that by age forty 30% of the population will be affected and by seventy 75% will have at least one and possible hundreds. Usually they are moles or warts on the torso but can also appear on face and neck. Whilst they are usually harmless it is always wise to get your GP to check them if they change size or colour or have a discharge. Plenty of information available on line if you are interested.

Stay safe all.

[Jock67B]

Afternoon all,

Better night's sleep last night, and some chores accomplished so far!

Mal, (and others who have tried giving up the weed!), I have to agree with you on the difficulty of cracking 'the habit'. Luckily, I've never done it but I have had the dubious pleasure(?) of watching Joanna try on countless occasions - constant PMT as well! She finally managed after a heart scare which has left her with Angina, and has now not smoked for sixteen to eighteen months. She does admit to strong cravings occasionally, but the fear instilled in her by the consultant has been enough to bolster her will power so far. I sympathise as, at our age in any case, we were exposed to smoking everywhere (remember the films viewed through clouds?) but luckily I decided to spend my pocket money on girls instead - my lungs are clear if my conscience isn't!

Rick, the issue of certain words falling out of favour seems to be going mad - they are now attempting to dub the name of Guy Gibson's jet black dog (n----r) out of the original 'Dam Busters' movie! It obviously didn't have the same effect at the time of release, and though unpalatable, it remains a historical fact that it was his dog's given name during the war! An awkward issue that will doubtless lead to some discussion?

Pete(trisonic), your 'blue light' story translated well enough to raise more than a smile here!

Dave(TG), glad to hear that 'Is' and you are recording her temperature at regular intervals - my oncologist told me that it would give a sign of infection and I carry an open prescription for suitable antibiotics wherever I go. More good news on the appetite front as well. By the way, I appreciated your post on 'Kernow Today' this afternoon, and hope you soon have a chance to point your new camera at some railway targets!

Mad McCann, is your Caley 3F scratch built? I wonder what number you are modelling as I spent time on the footplate of '57650' whilst it was at Hurlford MPD, before it was withdrawn in 1961!

Geoff, great news to cheer our day on here, with the results of your biopsy!

Almost at Poet's day folks, and once again our thoughts are with the poor souls who have to negotiate a 'tube struck' city!

Kin regards,

Jock.

Edited August 6, 2015 by Jock67B

[Judge Dread]

Sorry I'm late on parade (again) but I have an excuse which I should start with "Once upon a time" and end with "And they all lived happily ever after".

Thursday is our shopping day and I admit we were a little late departing for Morrisons (other super markets are available) but whilst there we struck up a conversation with this lady and her daughter. It seems mother was a nurse and daughter still is. Mother came from the same area in Hull as my wife and served in the same hospitals as my wife, although some 10 years apart.

 The daughter was on duty in the next ward to the one I was in last February. Some of you may remember, I was in for a heart valve change and whilst there was given Tramadol with certain results. I decided to go home and not being able to evade the staff trying to stop me, set the fire alarm off to distract them. This young lady was one of the distractees. 

I asked her to assure her colleagues on her ward, I really was sorry for what happened but she told me it was a regular event but no-one had set the alarms off before.

This event plays out something I used to tell my daughters when they were teenagers, as Hull is a relatively small city, you cannot go very far without meeting some-one who knows some-one who knows me.

My words were, "What ever you do, sooner or later, some-one will tell me !" It seemed to work quite well.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Judge Dread

[Gwiwer]

 

 

Almost at Poet's day folks, and once again our thoughts are with the poor souls who have to negotiate a 'tube struck' city!

 

POETS Day has already arrived here though it's far too early for it to have dawned!  Another case of arriving home after the witching hour following yesterday's shift.

 

Will have to check if these people are open later today or whether perhaps they will take a day off out of respect.

 

http://www.thefamousarthurdaleys.com/#!our-stores-at-the-famous-arthur-daleys/c1zaq

 

Morning all.  It's approaching 01.00 hours and the "oh" stands for "Oh my goodness I'm tired!"  See you later.

[Ian Abel]

For those who need an alternative way to get home, may be very late tonight or not at all if you do each one on your normal tube route

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3186328/No-tube-home-Not-worry-scenic-boozy-route-using-interactive-PUB-CRAWL-map.html

Other than the fact this may be the only useful article the Mail has published in many years - judging from commentary/opinion observed here and other places about the publication rag, NOT personal experience - I thought the Circle line map offered the best options, notably that you can just keep going round and round and not worry about getting to the end of the line crawl

 

BIN day which signals the rapidly approaching POETS day also - excellent.

 

Since Dom is so prolific with his pictures, which I LOVE seeing, I though I'd post our local and fairly pathetic, by comparison, light rail in St. Paul. Shot yesterday whilst walking to lunch - ignore the prat (me!!) making meaningless comments at the beginning of the video

 

http://youtu.be/4Jqs0EqWE8Q

 

17 very grey and overcast when the BINs were put out, looks very much like rain, twirlers estimating 60% chance, I'm thinking more like 85% or better judging by the sky. Supposed to be no more than about 26 for a high.

Whoops, disregard by estimate on the rain, just as I was about to click the "Add Reply" button it's started pissing it down!

[southern42]

Good afternoon from red dragon land.

Picking up on a few things on here....

For all those with ear-worm issues:

 

Afraid I'd have to have a Babel fish... especially these days as things seem to get harder or take longer to understand...   Nah...    It's always been like that...

 

And as to getting old.  Who'd have thought I'd have my own Caledonian dock tank to put together when I retired.

Though I was tempted to walk off with Didcot's 1466 when I first saw it but it just wouldn't quite go in the back of the car.

 

The boiler hydraulic shell test was completed satisfactorily at West Shore, yesterday.

The boiler was filled with water at home before we left.  That's rainwater you see over everything though it did dry up and the sun eventually came out.

 

The boiler was first tested up to 80psi (working pressure)

 

Then up to twice working pressure

 

So, do I get the Caledonian Railway mug, then? 

 

Back in December, I mentioned going down south to pick up some railway bits .  That was it - a box of bits or, rather, parts and partly assembled components of a 3¹/₂ gauge tank engine but, as Ray has found in getting the boiler ready for the boiler inspector, there's an awful lot more to sort out than meets the eye.

 

I'll post some build pics as soon as

I get my hands on it

but you may have a bit of a wait! 

 

[roundhouse]

Ian

 

Your LRT system is still better than what you had a few years ago plus its modern and comfy compared to many older systems. Its great the uptake in LRT systems in the USA in recent years. Just wish we could have more although we do have Tramlink in Croydon near us plus the Manchester system is quite expansive now but there are plenty more congested cities here that should have such systems by now.

[station cat]

POETS day may be dawning for some of you but it will be an anti-POETS day for me. My days off are currently Wednesday and Thursday so Friday is the start of my working week. And I have, perhaps unwisely, agreed to a 12 hour shift tomorrow. But at least the manager who phoned me just now didn't suggest extending it any further, he just gave me more work to do in the existing time.

 

#livingthedream

 

And yes, I do like my job. Which is just as well really.

[Ian Abel]

Ian

 

Your LRT system is still better than what you had a few years ago plus its modern and comfy compared to many older systems. Its great the uptake in LRT systems in the USA in recent years. Just wish we could have more although we do have Tramlink in Croydon near us plus the Manchester system is quite expansive now but there are plenty more congested cities here that should have such systems by now.

I agree in general, but in specific terms it's like a "slow boat to china" here. They are taking SO LONG in deciding to move ahead with the project(s). The latest new line here has had politicians, the NIMBY crews, and the 1% who even though they aren't "NIMBY" have a variety of insane reasons for it NOT to be built wherever is most useful/practical. Net result the new line will now be built missing two proposed stations, stop short of the ideal/practical/preferred original end-point, AND be about a year plus later being completed. At least the y all agreed on the budget finally, but since it's not even started to be built yet, that will obviously go out the window ANYWAY

 

Whilst there are VAST areas of this country (AndyID can attest to ) that have no sensible reason to have mass transit, the inability for the US as a nation to move away from its generally myopic view that mass transit is "socialist plot" and a "waste of time/space/money", and the continuance to worship the automobile in larger cities and areas where a network of useable mass transit would be an advantage (with a couple of notable exceptions such as the east coast corridor) is plainly idiotic - there I said it! <sigh>

 

On to an amusement for the day. I am fortunate that I get few, compared to a lot of folks, of these daft/scam emails suggesting I can claims millions of dollars, BUT for all I've seen this one is new to me, so I thought I'd share;

 

Attention

 

I am Mr. Andrew McCallister of the Storage Facilities Maintenance Department here in Colorado Springs Airport. Due to negligence or oversight, your Consignment was found lying in our private V.I.P. vault. This was found after we discovered that many vaults had been unattended to for so long and had to be cleared out.

 

From the documentation on the Consignment which is a trunk box, it was on transit to be delivered but was left here. After scanning the recovered Consignments, yours was found to contain money instruments estimated to be $10.8 million. You are required to send your details and Government certified ID to confirm that you are the actual recipient of this Consignment. Thus, you can get your Consignment after confirmation of your claim from the Ground Handling Department.

 

Yours in Service,

Andrew McCallister

 

 

apparently, there are folks out there that someone thinks are gullible enough to believe the MISPLACED $10 million and forgot about it! Good job there's someone out there looking out for them!  

[iL Dottore]

Afternoon All,

 

Just passing through, having been kept busy preparing for my hospital stay, looking after Lucy, speeding up work on Jamie's Yard Office and looking for work..

 

Afraid I’m not buying all the angst over Hiroshima (nor the revisionist history being pushed that Japan was liberating countries from “colonists”)....

 

I am a bit of a history buff, interested in Georgian England and European history 1901 - 1945, and I read widely and extensively. Regretfully, I have come to the conclusion that Nietzsche was right when he wrote "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you" and - like or not - the Allies became, at times, monsters in defeating the Axis powers. By any moral, ethical and probably military yardstick, the bombing of Dresden, the Firebombing of Tokyo, the use of nuclear weapons on Japan (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debate_over_the_atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasakifor a balanced discussion of opposing points of view) and the Soviet treatment of all they encountered in Prussia and Eastern Germany in 1945, would be considered as war crimes. World War II was such a complex and convoluted war (militarily, morally and ethically), that one can not really speak of "good guys" and "bad guys". There were allied troops who matched the worst excesses of the axis, body for body, war crime for war crime; and axis troops who behaved impeccably correctly. Perhaps the only positive thing about the Second World War was that, as it was so destructive, practically every country in the world had to rebuild from scratch (or eke out scarce resources) leading to a significant (and I think mostly positive) change in human society.

 

One of the sad things about ERs is how so many, directly or indirectly, are dealing with malignancies of one kind or another. I have recently learnt of two good chums who have been diagnosed with cancer (one, unfortunately, quite seriously advanced) and have unwilling joined this club. Jock certainly was pointing in the right direction when he mused about age playing a role. As we age, bodily systems start to perform sub-optimally (or fail) and the immune system is no different. And, of course, a lot depends upon whether or not you get great genes from your parents (for example if you get unlucky and have both BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, you are more likely to get breast or ovarian cancer than not). The bright side of all this is that with all the extensive, ongoing, research into cancer, most cancers are treatable, many curable. But then again, after avoiding cardiac disease, metabolic disease and malignancies, you'll probably get Alzheiemer's Disease or Parkinson's Disease. Frankly, we aren't built to last (there is one school of thought that once a person is old enough to be come a grandparent at about 45 - 55, then the survival of the person's genes is assured and that person is genetically redundant, so he/she can "break down" and die....[interestingly, the youngest documented grandparent is 23 years old]) And when you look at the other end of man's lifespan (conception to birth), the number of things that can go wrong... well it's amazing that so many people do get born with no, or no major, defect (Google Trisomy Defects....)

 

Anyway, enough musing, I've had a very productive modelling day and will now open a bottle of wine, heat up the Penang Fish Curry I made the other night and relax before an early bed.

 

Have fun

 

iD
 

[45156]

Afternoon All

 

Posts read and rated, and generic greetings are offered as seems to be my norm these days.  Gordon, sadly we do have to say goodbye to the animals that we look after, and sometimes the greatest kindness is the release from suffering, much as our own viewpoint may be to keep things going for a little longer.

 

On the animal front, Lily kept us up half the night scratching and chewing until we decided to try a soothing bath with cool water, and a cool blow dry afterwards.  This was about 1am this morning, and she did calm down a bit after that, but a trip to the vet was indicated although we knew the cause to be harvest mites, but that diagnosis had to be confirmed before steroids would be prescribed.  So that put the mockers on the trip to Penrith, but it was just as well, as the cloudy but dry forecast quickly proved wrong, as it did what it's been doing all summer, and chucked it down.  Then a text on the land line from Parcel Force to say that a steam cleaner that we'd ordered off Amazon was to be delivered this morning between 10.19 and 11.19 (delivery estimate was for Saturday).

 

Anyhow, that's enough from me for now, as the computer is needed for "proper" uses. 

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[trisonic]

Sorry, I don’t buy your Second World War theory either, Flavio. There’s no equivalence to the atrocities committed by the Germans or Japanese against civilians. Plus, they both bombed “enemy” cities too - extensively. The only reason they did not kill more is that their bomber force was poor and lightweight compared to the British and American.

 

Off hand I can’t think of any Allied country that deliberately set out to murder an entire religion (not to mention homosexuals, physical and mentally afflicted and certain political views) though I suppose the Russians came closest but they had been too busy killing their own by starvation and other means.

 

Best, Pete.

Edited August 6, 2015 by trisonic

[Barry O]

Well another day goes by and the kitchen is just about complete. Fridge/Freezer has been filled up. ( well almost still space for the shopping tomorrow).

 

Test match is interesting - good job we didn't have to bat first!

 

A bit of wagon fettling going on pre Auction.... and some locos as well.. so weathering has not taken place today :-(

 

Off to have some tea then maybes some modelling.

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Well this has been a day of good news and bad news.

 

Good news: 

 

Painting finished and carpet fitter booked for Monday.

Beer & wine supplies replenished and being sampled.

SWMBO produced a very nice meal.

New shelving for model display and storage in railway room procured.

Test match score

 

 

 

 

Bad news:

 

George Cole

I managed to trap my thumb somehow in the lever of the corkscrew and take a chunk out of it as I was opening the wine.

It's still bleeding.

 

 

 

Catastrophic news:

 

Whilst maiming myself I knocked the bottle over and lost at least a glassful! 

 

 

Hopefully the stain will come out of the tablecloth and I think I've saved the carpet. I have been put on the naughty step for a while - because of the swearing that ensued.   

 

[iL Dottore]

Sorry, I don’t buy your Second World War theory either, Flavio. There’s no equivalence to the atrocities committed by the Germans or Japanese against civilians. Plus, they both bombed “enemy” cities too - extensively. The only reason they did not kill more is that their bomber force was poor and lightweight compared to the British and American.

 

Off hand I can’t think of any Allied country that deliberately set out to murder an entire religion (not to mention homosexuals, physical and mentally afflicted and certain political views) though I suppose the Russians came closest but they had been too busy killing their own by starvation and other means.

 

Best, Pete.

I'm afraid that your information is incomplete. "Bomber" Harris admitted that "the aim of the Combined Bomber Offensive...should be unambiguously stated [as] the destruction of German cities, the killing of German workers, and the disruption of civilized life throughout Germany". But you don't consider this akin to a war crime because National Socialism did far worse?

 

As for your last point, the Ukrainians (amongst many others) would claim that they too were singled out for extermination, but by the Soviets.  Stalin was reported to have said “When one person dies, it's a tragedy, but when a million people die, it's a statistic.” He was wrong. But we shouldn't make the mistake of letting sheer numbers determine culpability

 

I don't believe that you can be relativistic about this: either an act is an atrocity or a war crime or it is not. If American Marines who shot Japanese who had surrendered in the Pacific theatre were not guilty of a war crime, then the SS troops who committed the Le Paridis Massacre were not guilty either. We must be thankful that - despite the terrible situations the Allies found themselves in during WWII - very few war crimes were committed by the Allies.

 

Two of the Axis powers (and one of the Allied powers) were truly dreadful and evil societies and any statist dictatorship is but a few steps away from committing war crimes and/or genocide (look at North Korea) as part and parcel of state policy, we must be thankful that, as flawed as it may be, capitalistic democracy is still "the least worst option".

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Evenin' all,

 

The cancer centre was quite happy with Is's progress....PIC line dressing changed. Blood test on Tuesday should lead to chemo on Wednesday. We came home the pretty way and spent an hour with mum & dad in the well ventilated conservatory. These images were the first opportunity to trial the new camera in lovely evening sunshine half an hour ago, panorama format better suited to landscapes.....

 

Ipstones edge towards the Manifold valley

 

Morridge towards the Churnet valley

 

Morridge towards the Manifold valley

 

Dave

Edited August 6, 2015 by Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71

[BoD]

It has always been a truism that war crimes have only ever been committed by the losers.

[bbishop]

To some extent, I'm with Flavio. Once the Russians had captures the Romanian (?) oilfields (late 1944?), the Luftwaffe was pretty much hamstrung. The weather in January 1945 limited the bomber attacks, but once it cleared the British and American air forces went on a Thomas Cook tour of German cities. Dresden was but one of many atrocities. This is purely my own supposition, but I wonder if the purpose was to keep the 88mm guns in an anti-aircraft rather than an anti-tank role. Personally, I would have thought the air forces could have been better used in a tactical role, softening the German armies. And Bomber Harris was aggrieved that he didn't get a peerage.

 

Bill

[Mad McCann]

Yep. History is invariably written by the victors. There are on all sides, some bad guys among the ranks but invariably very few good guys among the leadership.

Only people who benefit from war are the guys who flog the weapons and those who dine out on the achievements of those they Lord over.

 

On a lighter note we survived the walk and the 300 is looking a lot more like it's meant to now. The 72 build running in parallel is about to have more work done on the tender.

I really should know better than to try and run two loco projects at once!

 

Another hour in here then it's Rooibos time.

Biggest day of the week tomorrow as I combine both my rounds (Wigton and Silloth) on a Friday. Start at 8.30 - 9.00 but if the run's good I can be done for 2.00-2.30.

If I don't report in in the morning have a good one, folks!

 

Dave.

[laurenceb]

Well this has been a day of good news and bad news.

 

Good news: 

 

Painting finished and carpet fitter booked for Monday.

Beer & wine supplies replenished and being sampled.

SWMBO produced a very nice meal.

New shelving for model display and storage in railway room procured.

Test match score

 

 

 

 

Bad news:

 

George Cole

I managed to trap my thumb somehow in the lever of the corkscrew and take a chunk out of it as I was opening the wine.

It's still bleeding.

 

 

 

Catastrophic news:

 

Whilst maiming myself I knocked the bottle over and lost at least a glassful! 

 

 

Hopefully the stain will come out of the tablecloth and I think I've saved the carpet. I have been put on the naughty step for a while - because of the swearing that ensued.   

Your not safe to be let out Bob!

[leopardml2341]

Help please!

 

How would you deal with the childish antics of a long term friend who's cut off all communication as a result of us having to pull out of a local beer festival day out because an event in SWMBO's family has cropped up and should take precedence?

[DDolfelin]

Help please!

 

How would you deal with the childish antics of a long term friend who's cut off all communication as a result of us having to pull out of a local beer festival day out because an event in SWMBO's family has cropped up and should take precedence?

 

You will know best but is this friend worth having?

[leopardml2341]

You will know best but is this friend worth having?

I used to think so, because he has been very supportive at times, but this nonsense beggars belief. I've offered a way back to an 'adult' mindset for him, but that seems to have been rejected.

[Tony_S]

I used to think so, because he has been very supportive at times, but this nonsense beggars belief. I've offered a way back to an 'adult' mindset for him, but that seems to have been rejected.

We had "friends" who took offence that we didn't attend their new years eve party. I was in hospital! I decided they were not friends.