woodenhead
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Status Updates posted by woodenhead
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A day of two halves: Morning my new Grainge & Hodder baseboards arrive, Afternoon a tooth snaps
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Another annual fake Christmas successfully completed.
Every year we do Christmas early as it's the best way to get the family together and I can do a full turkey roast and exchange presents.
So convincing is this day that I was driving my son home thinking why are all the pubs overflowing and why are there people with shopping walking around.
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At the end of this week my garage was so full of stuff that I could only get out of it the lawnmower and bikes - everything else was a wall of junk.
Put some items up on a local site to get rid off and began the process of chucking stuff that 'might be useful one day' into the back of the car.
I think I've removed about 50% of the
usefuljunk items now one way or another and I can actually move around the garage.As long as the wife doesn't see everything I am throwing out, she's more nostalgic than me, so I let her keep one Dennis the Menace binder from college.
Still more stuff to go, but the aim is to be able to let my wife use the garage as a home gym, so it needs to be cleared so I can paint the interior so it isn't dusty and then only return back in what is truly to be kept.
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Cannot help but think if i had spent more time doing rather than thinking I might have a model railway to play with during this lockdown.
As it stands I have a gap in the room I am filling with rubbish instead.
However, the impending isolation did make me get off my fat a*s and clear out the rubbish from my late father's flat - three trips to the tip and a lesson in reverse engineering a sofa back into wood, padding and fabric. Don't we collect a lot of cr*p throughout a lifetime that for anyone else has absolutely no value once the person who so loved them has gone. I had to be particularly ruthless as it would be easy to go "that's useful", though one week since
dismantlingdestroying his layout I am thinking I should have kept some of that 2x1 for when the lockdown comes!!Also it has become self evident that I am thriving under lockdown whilst other's are finding it a real issue. For me nothing has changed, I have worked from home since 2014, I only generally go out to shop or exercise and they are not prohibited. Ok, I do like a meal out and visits to railway exhibitions but I can live without both for the time being.
For the weekends to come I have three rooms to paint, a house to tidy and plenty of stuff to study so hopefully I don't come down with anything as I am just too busy.
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I once reverse engineered a sofa back into wood and fabric and managed to stab myself in the arm with a Stanley knife
Been breaking up old decking during lockdown and extracted some sizeable unrotten bits that might become the basis of a garden layout. Didn't stab myself but did take a direct hit on my ankle with the hammer. Been telling the rest of the household to avoid doing anything that might result in a trip to A&E, need to listen to my own wise advice.
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Channel 4 cancelling Gogglebox, to be replaced with Snooper Troopers, a fly on the wall curtain twitching extravaganza featuring everyone who has ever wanted to know what it was like working for East Germany.
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Doncaster weekend looming, but I know I will regret going, my head just isn't in a place for mingling and watching trains
The wife is away too, so what to do all by myself
I think some general fitness work might help with the mind and with trains now moving again on Port Isaac maybe i will get my platform finished and partially painted.
Maybe i will also get than N gauge plan finalised for a little Welsh colliery exchange sidings idea that I've been mulling over featuring an 04, 08 and a 37.
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Drinking pina colada under a blue sky being caressed by a gentle breeze
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I love testing data - NOT
So my colleague has written a new data extract and not only are there hundreds of thousands of records but also a ridiculous number of columns that all sound very similar.
It's a great dataset, a development of an earlier one and before it gets unleashed I am testing it on some known extracts to check the results are the same. Found an issue, very subtle, so subtle I didn't notice at first and thought perhaps it was a naming convention issue in a report.
Anyway got to the bottom of it after searching through a lot of code and a few columns have been misaligned in a derived table.
It reminded me of Andre Previn on Morecambe and Wise and Eric says "I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order" In my case "I've got the right data, but not necessarily in the right order"
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I see the birds and the bees are not self isolating.
Animals are so selfish, they never consider us humans
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We're already pointing the finger at them
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52048195
Although we're worried about some catching covid19 off us
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52036712
QuoteRobin, in the garden right at the top of the tallest tree, singing his head off.
Mainly telling all the other robins that this is HIS patch and that any robins that think otherwise will learn about self-isolation. Unless they're female...
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In preparedness for lockdown and not being able to go out:
- bought several litres of emulsion to paint the parts of the house that didn't get done in 2019
- bought some wood glue to put my new baseboards together
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Is bereft of a railway
Over the weekend I began dismantling my layout to allow me to move to a new room in the house.
As I've been a little depressed and it will be some time before I see any new layout forming I've put all my stock back into their boxes.
Oddly as I was putting the stuff away I did think if I should be swapping out the Kadees for their original couplings. It was almost as if I was resigned already to selling my OO stock and bringing my N gauge back into use.
Not sure how I am feeling at the moment so no rash decisions and I've plenty of space for storing both the N gauge and OO stock.
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Fundamental mistake, not binning the boxes when you are sure the new model runs OK. I have been refitting original couplings and finding the original boxes to stock to put on eBay for a friend who is downsizing his stock. Some of its Kitmaster and Triang and he stuck little notes of when locos were serviced inside the bodies, I found a June 1979 one last evening. Trouble is its worth sod all, and only worth half sod all without the original couplings. Should have flogged it back when he stopped using it. Trouble is sell the stock and you could find wife/ partner what ever decides the railway room would make a lovely office/ knitting room/ gymn and you find yourself taking up crochet or fly fishing or Maurice Dancing. Its a slippery slope.
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Take up Bowls; great relaxation, until you decide to play in a Competition...…..those you thought were friendly and supportive people become demented competitors who are ruthless. Great fun when you actually win and end against them though, even if it is only one in twenty one (or whatever the number).
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New favourite webcam https://www.dawlishbeach.com/cameras/free-cameras/san-remo-cam-sponsored-by-waterside-holiday-lets/
Trains and sea - what's not to like
It's background noise whilst I work from home - reminds me of the outdoors when I am stuck in a little room all day.
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Ordered myself the Iain Rice plastic modelling book last night. The urge to model is strong this month.
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Pretty sure we have an unwelcome visitor in the house and whilst I am not showing any effects from it so far it will only be a matter of time.
Front door will be out of use for a couple of weeks but business as usual in the old office for the time being.
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Question: Compare Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture
NO !
It is a soul destroying tedium and I really wish I didn't have to if you don't mind.
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Being terms I've never encountered, I did a quick google. I didn't get past the first paragraph describing EA in Wikipedia, I didn't get past the first sentence describing BA in Wiki.....
Who thought up this turgid rubbish?
Was it for some sort of bet?
Here's a better question, "Produce analyses of Sh!t Creek using Enterprise Architecture and Business Architecture". Of course it would be structurally equivalent to the original question...
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Last week I had to develop 32 console apps to demonstrate my c# skills, that took a few days but was fun. Today I just looked at various websites to write notes on Enterprise Architecture. My email was off as I knew it would take only the slightest interruption for me to find an excuse, any excuse, to do something else.
Took me back to age 18 doing 'the organisation in its environment' modules.
Never have I had so many excuses to pop down to the kitchen for another quick snack.
Next assignment is Scrum, Kansan and stuff like that which is actually more interesting as it deals with getting stuff done rather than high level strategy and management speak.
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So after my recent English diagnostic for an apprenticeship I've now completed a math diagnostic and the outcome is yet another blow to my self esteem.
Despite working in computers for the best part of 25 years I apparently need to practice my negative and positive numbers and I am not very good at working out areas, diameters and radii.
I seem to have kept myself gainfully employed for 37 years with these gaps in my skills and with me now in my last decade (if that) of my current line of work I don't think I am suddenly going to be needing to work out the width of a swimming pool when I only know the area, it's height and depth.
I really hope they don't suggest or tell me I have to do some remedial work when I meet up with my course support later this week cos I think I know where will tell them to stick it.
I am having a hard enough time of it at the moment, my job is solitary, I am not getting out of the house, my state of mind is on the edge and I cannot even garner the confidence to buy some baseboards and begin building a new model railway so I would rather someone didn't tell me that I need to improve my basic math and English.
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Hang in there - your long experience will knock spots off these daft tests that are rarely fit for purpose. If it's any consolation, I nearly thumped an HR person once for 'feeding back' that I didn't seem to know much about telecommunications despite having worked in that field for 20 years and the interviewer asking only one daft question. I was livid at the time - it added to other concurrent issues I was having.
You'll win out over it all, try to keep focussed and ignore the noise - you can do it!
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So apparently this heat is so unbearable because of the lack of pollution and plane contrails.
I thought global warming caused by the pollution and plane contrails was the problem
We just can't win
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So my full mojo is not back, only managed an hour and a half at Stafford, nothing wrong with the venue or the exhibits just me having no interest and having no patience with all the whinging people.
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Son No.1 announces he may be moving out, I only have one question in my head.
Do I build an N Gauge or 00 Gauge layout in the vacant space, or maybe I can fit both!
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He's been to university, threatened not to come back but did and now he is looking at a house share with a couple of mates.
I'm realistic when it comes to whether he will see it through but this time he actually has house viewings lined up so no harm in dreaming.
The room was recently decorated and all his worldly goods fit in that one room so I see an empty room when he goes.
One fly in the ointment, son number two may lay claim, but I think Mrs W will reject this, his online chat voice is even louder than the other and she likes an early night.
If he doesn't go this time I think his long term girlfriend will snare him when she graduates with her masters in the summer.
Also learnt today that our car insurances still have under 16s logged and taking that out took £30 off Mrs W's premium today.
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Spent a day in that there London today.
Arrived early so popped along to St Pancras where I saw a pop up Hornby shop selling Airfix, scalextric and some train stuff with a poor frozen lady miserably hoping for some custom.
Had a coffee at Pret and watched the smog from the Midland platforms drifting right up the Eurostar part of the station - thought all that was gone now.
Forgot about the 313 farewell tour so didn't visit KX on my way to East London.
Then this evening spotted a pub on Euston Road called the Euston Flyer - it's sign outside a 'Deltic' with a Euston Flyer nameboard on the front - sacrilege.
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The sound of others urinating in their toilets reminds me why I prefer a night at home to working away.
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Today I will be mainly cutting up an old model railway in situ with a circular saw
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I was sort of looking forward to using the circular saw but in the end it turned out my old man used 1.2m lengths of 2 by 1 glued together so it came apart quite easily in the end.
But my goodness does gravel not get everywhere - glad I had the vacuum at the ready.
I nearly took at load home for my own build intentions but I managed to shake off the panic hoarding of 2x1 and it all went onto the tip this afternoon
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Today, I shall be mostly cutting wood
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Well it got a little more complicated when I remembered I needed to add another track to the baseboard and wire it first.
But all the cutting is done, spot of screwing
after tea and then I can mount the baseboard at it's permanent height.
No blood was spilt cutting the wood and it's all the correct length too so not a bad afternoon.
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Today's webcam delight for background noise in the home office.
https://www.shetlandwebcams.com/cliff-cam/
Birds and waves, plus a rather large helicopter doing something nearby but out of sight!!
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Trains into their boxes this weekend.
Son #1 is moving out, I am moving my office/model room into his old room - away from the ground floor which is great for ventilation.
More space for a railway - not that I have done much with the existing one recently.
Am I sad the trains are getting packed up and the existing layout dismantled - no - that's a worry.
Been breaking up old decking during lockdown and extracted some sizeable unrotten bits that might become the basis of a garden layout. Didn't stab myself but did take a direct hit on my ankle with the hammer. Been telling the rest of the household to avoid doing anything that might result in a trip to A&E, need to listen to my own wise advice.
