Early Risers.

[TheQ]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Q:   What's the difference between a Boeing 737 Max and Covid 19?

 

Why you asking Me? I'm isolating and hopefully won't experience either... 

 

Afternoon awl, 

Two hours mowing was completed in sunshine but increasing wind. 

 

Two hours spent melting lead,  the box says about ten minutes  per melt,  Chinese minutes are obviously a lot longer than UK minutes,  each melt took about half an hour.  The heating element is round the sides,  therefore it pays to keep about 1/3 of the lead in the bottom to transfer the heat. 

More to the point,  it works,  it's safe  and easy to do. 

Amazing the amount of lead sheet that disappears into a small pot. 

 

Rest of the day so far fitting steps to the radar platforms,  big fingers, little steps...

 

It's gusting 45mph, occasional intermittent  horizontal rain ..

 

[Ian Abel]

12 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I couldn't find any bleach in the house.

Have you already drunk it all for "the cure" a la sh!t-for-brains?? 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Bright sunshine earlier has now been replaced by greyness and the wind is picking up.

4 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

In real life they were usually located on the lowest boundary of each town which usually meant next to the council estates and just upwind of the neighboring towns posh area. Bradford's is nicely upwind of Rawdon and Guisely.

 

Jamie

 

4 hours ago, BoD said:

 

And this country's prevailing wind explains why, quite often the 'west end' of towns and cities is the posh end the 'east end' is somewhat poorer and industrial.

Just though I would throw that one in for free.

That brings to mind a former MP we had. The Parlimentary seat had become a very marginal marginal. A year or so before the election he had managed to get nomination for a safe seat 10 miles due east, in fact one of the safest seats for his party in the country. That was the last we saw of him until after the election he even described himself as prospective MP for S******* ***t his new seat ignoring the fact that he was still our MP. Shortly after the election a proposal was made to build a waste destructor on the eastern edge of the constituency. There was considerable objection to this including from our new MP. There was a public enquiry called and who turned up but our former MP fully supporting the building of the destructor even standing up and speaking in favour of it. The next speaker was one of the engineers who explained that given the height of the chimney (100 feet plus) the smoke and dust. would come to ground some distance away. Then a member of the audience got up and asked how far would it carry, the answer was about 10 miles. The questioner then said "Given the prevailing winds the smoke and dust would come down in W********e" The engineer agreed. W********e just happened to be the poshest part of the MP's new constituency! His face was a picture. The waste destructor was never built in the end, a change of policy nationwide to recycling made it unneccessary.

[Ian Abel]

6 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Q:   What's the difference between a Boeing 737 Max and Covid 19?

 

A:   At least Covid 19 is airborne.

OUCH - too soon perhaps!??!?!?!  

[grandadbob]

I spent time in The Shed this morning and apparently miracles do sometimes occur. After some fiddling and putting in a different blanking plug Tornado is running again on DC.  All I need now is a decoder,  which is en route at the moment,  to see if it'll work on DCC. 

Celebrated with Tribute tonight and have just demolished a very nice roast dinner of pork loin etc accompanied by an Aussie Shiraz.  Another glass of that will be attacked shortly.

Edited May 10, 2020 by grandadbob

[Ian Abel]

Afternoon all... Mothers Day here in the US, the kids are coming over later to wish the Mrs the best and bring some snacks, staying a suitable distance away <sigh>

 

Got two packages yesterday;

i) more track for the garden

ii) replacement window well covers for the basement window wells (3 off)

but it's raining here today so installing any is a no-go.

 

Of course another side-situation from our basement/sewer "event" is that after spending about 8 weeks with No-one in the house but ourselves, we were invaded by;

i) The sewer company guy

ii) Two city sewer workers

iii) A crew of 4 abatement/cleanup guys!

 

Mentioned to every one of them that it's incredible that they have to carry on "as usual" and thankfully none of them or any of their work mates for now have been infected. It's amazing the sheer numbers of vital/essential workers there are that so many of us take for granted!

 

5 and rain here, expecting a drop to ZERO overnight, still a little early to have flower planted unless you want to run the risk of frost damage!

 

Stay safe.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Ian Abel

[bbishop]

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Strangely enough, whilst I could happily observe an autopsy and then go lunch immediately thereafter, or chat with a surgeon who was elbow deep in a patient’s abdomen, I really can’t watch these things on film/TV/YouTube. It’s either live or not at all...

Curious, really.

 

 

 

Agree totally.  I can deal with any amount of blood and gore in real life - but not on the TV!  Bill

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Ian Abel said:

OUCH - too soon perhaps!??!?!?!  

Unfortunately the military/medical services/police/fire brigade and others will always find some way of making a joke out of a disaster. This dark humour is, I suspect, what is referred to in psycho-babble, as 'a coping mechanism'.

 

You get 9/10 for nearly spelling my surname correctly:

 

It's Ough.................. 

 

(Pronounced as you would Dough without the D rather than Cough without the C.)

 

Ough is also a small unincorporated community somewhere to the north of Benkelman in Dundy County, Nebraska.

 

It's up a dirt road, so I can imagine that the road turns to mud when the rains come................

 

Luxury!

[Joseph_Pestell]

17 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

Unfortunately the military/medical services/police/fire brigade and others will always find some way of making a joke out of a disaster. This dark humour is, I suspect, what is referred to in psycho-babble, as 'a coping mechanism'.

 

 

 

And how! A lady friend of mine shared a flat with medics during her student days. I found their "humour" very difficult to live with.

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

Unfortunately the military/medical services/police/fire brigade and others will always find some way of making a joke out of a disaster. This dark humour is, I suspect, what is referred to in psycho-babble, as 'a coping mechanism'.

"Dark humour" is a well-known coping mechanism among those whose daily duties may be particularly traumatic or stressful.  It is something we ourselves use at the House of Fun where, sadly, a very small number of people visit us for reasons other than travel by train.  In 2½ years I have been witness to three such events though there have been others when I was off duty.  It can be lost on those not as closely involved and may seem inappropriate and insensitive.  

 

I have to say we were less than impressed by Boris tonight.  Whilst not making a political point (per rules) we both - in very different ways - felt more questions were raised than answered.  In other news comments from Cornwall have been very concerned that his form of words might open the door to long-distance trips being made to the beaches which have hitherto resulted in fines and "advice" being issued.  No doubt we shall learn more from the 50-page document due tomorrow.  We also have Boris saying "return to work if you cannot work from home" whilst Mayor Khan in London insists "Stay at home".  Tomorrow might be interesting ...... and the later part of the week even more so.  

 

From the Department of Glass Half Full there was roasted Cornish shoulder of lamb tonight with the trimmings already in the stock-pot for a hearty soup later in the week as the weather cools.  We have been able to source pasties, hog's pudding and other Cornish delights thanks to the ongoing delivery services and those businesses operating online.  Another delivery from St. Austell brewery is due tomorrow.  That'll keep me stocked for some time to come.

 

Catty McCatface remains a little poorly but continues to improve slowly.  He has nibbled food and visited the tray and has moved around rather more than yesterday and reacted to our own movements.   Fingers crossed.  

 

It is now time to make the bed - something of an exercise workout in itself as it's five feet above the floor and in a corner so you work out how to tuck the sheets in   - and hit the hay.  Sleep well, or as well as your circumstances allow.  Warm thoughts to all.  

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

... and further progress

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/05/10/spaghetti-resolved/

[pH]

9 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Ian A's problem with blocked drains reminded me of an incident that occured in one of the blocks of flats owned by the council I worked for. A family lived on the third or fourth floor of a 16 floor block of flats. They went away for a fortnights holiday and a day or two later someone on the upper floors flushed a disposable nappy down the 9 inch down pipe. The nappy got stuck and blocked the pipe just below their outlet. I leave it to your imagination what they came home to.

 

I once worked cleaning up flats in a 16-storey block before the first tenants moved in. When doing a bath, we'd fill up the bath to loosen up any dirt before cleaning it off, to lessen the chances of scratching the finish. When finished, just pull the plug.

 

We were up about the fourteenth/fifteenth floor when a guy came rushing up from the second floor. Something had blocked the main downpipe at that level and the last few bathfuls of water we'd sent down had re-appeared as fountains out of toilets and sinks at that level.

[Erichill16]

Only thing to report is I’m tired so goodnight,

all the best,

Robert

[brianusa]

5 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Indeed.  But what we want - and need for the sake of sanity - is the timeline and road out.  

 

The message, according to numerous press reports already today, changes in England to "Stay Alert" rather than "Stay Home" which implies a little more freedom of movement.  Wales is set to de-restrict the number of exercise walks per day and therefore align with the other home nations which never had a formal limit in the first place.  

 

We may learn more at 19 o'clock.  It is already known that numerous employers are bringing some staff back from tomorrow.  We expect that some single-staffed or socially-distanced coffee shops will re-open for takeaway as customer numbers grow to make it viable but not to the extent of causing a crowd.  

 

Only in America!  In spite of dire warnings about ignoring official advice, a sizable number are protesting.  A bad outcome of this is that some who abide by the law and see the the consequences of ignorance complain to authorities of violations.  This in turn bring threats , some serious, from the violators who seem to have a death wish on themselves and those who disagree with their right to liberty; which means do as they darn well please.  With these well armed individuals who delight in poncing around in their AK47s  and ammo strung around their necks, the smallest error in judgement could bring on a one sided firefight with disastrous consequences.  Of course, they are generally within the law but that is the fault of others!

Look after Catty McCatface - you may get a lick!

     Brian.

Edited May 10, 2020 by brianusa

[Gwiwer]

4 minutes ago, brianusa said:

 

Only in America!  .....

There have been smaller-scale protests here.  Fines were issued and one person arrested in London over the weekend.  A mix of civil libertarians, "covid unbelievers" and conspiracy theorists.  

[Ozexpatriate]

13 hours ago, Barry O said:

Cats like me..I can take them or leave them. I would like to have a dog but until I stop umpiring (which may be sooner rather than later) I won't get one.

 

10 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

You can just imagine it.

 

The kitchen door opens, and Baz dressed in full cricket regalia  points to the shed at the bottom of the garden, just visible through the drizzle:

 

'Out!'

Which makes me think of the 'bush' poem, "How McDougal Topped the Score" (Thomas E  Spencer).

 

Quote

Now, M’Dougal was a Scotchman, and a canny one at that,
So he started in to practise with a pailing for a bat.
He got Mrs Mac. to bowl him, but she couldn’t run at all,
So he trained is sheep-dog, Pincher, how to scout and fetch the ball.

 

This was covered in school. When a visiting reader of 'bush' poems (who somehow made a living reciting Banjo Patterson* et al) asked for requests one wag suggested "How McDougal Topped the Score". He almost lost his rhythm when the room erupted in laughter at the lines:

Quote

He held the bat the wrong side out, and Johnson with a grin
Stepped lightly to the bowling crease, and sent a “wobbler” in;
M’Dougal spooned it softly back, and Johnson waited there,

You see we had a teacher whose last name ended in "spoon", which was inevitably his nickname and used pejoratively. The wag who suggested this poem had done so quite deliberately and the teacher in question turned all kinds of red.

 

* I still enjoy "The Man from Ironbark" and "Clancy of the Overflow" as particular favourites. Read with the right metre (and accent) 'bush' poems can be quite entertaining.

 

[Barry O]

it has been a day and a half! Lots done, some success, some not quite successes. All in all a 4-1 win!  Great!

 

I notice that the BBC and the script writer for our "Leader" both think Covid is a "disease"  I feel so much safer than when it was a Virus!

 

Baz

[Ozexpatriate]

1 minute ago, Barry O said:

think Covid is a "disease"  I feel so much safer than when it was a Virus!

CoViD-19. It's all in the name.

 

Novel COrona VIrus Disease 2019

 

The virus is the organism. The disease is what it does to you.

[Barry O]

1 minute ago, Ozexpatriate said:

CoViD-19. It's all in the name.

 

Novel COrona VIrus Disease 2019

 

The virus is the organism. The disease is what it does to you.

Sarcasm is dead......

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Sarcasm is dead......

Sorry, online, it's often not obvious. I don't watch the BBC or (get to) listen to Boris.

[Coombe Barton]

6 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

or (get to) listen to Boris.

Consider yourself lucky. You can listen to your lot  - Oh ... wait ...

[brianusa]

I got lost when Corona was dropped!

     Brian.

[brianusa]

10 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Sorry, online, it's often not obvious. I don't watch the BBC or (get to) listen to Boris.

Au contraire, we watch the BBC and try not to listen to the trumphead or his cronies!

       Brian.

[Ian Abel]

2 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

4 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

OUCH - too soon perhaps!??!?!?!  

Unfortunately the military/medical services/police/fire brigade and others will always find some way of making a joke out of a disaster. This dark humour is, I suspect, what is referred to in psycho-babble, as 'a coping mechanism'.

For the record, I found it hilarious, as did Jemma and an endless chain of her pilot friends who she passed it on to

 

[Gwiwer]

8 minutes ago, brianusa said:

I got lost when Corona was dropped!

     Brian.

Waste of good indifferent fizzy beer dropping it.