Ian Abel

Since I have Rigid power tools and therefore batteries I got one of these a couple of years back, works great and also has power available from a cigarette lighter cable if the battery you're carrying is flat. Reads the current pressure, and can either be manually used or dial in the required psi and just let it do its thing. Many of the other tool companies sell similar, I liked/prefer this mostly because it has the built in display gauge and auto-setting feature.

Chooseday... Yesterday went off very quietly since the client has Columbus/Indigenous Peoples day as a holiday. info needed midday and no-one to provide it, twiddle thumbs! Today, first thing annual appointment for Bob at the Vet. He took most of the calming med hidden in his small food portion first thing, so managed to have a blood pressure, blood AND urine draw taken without maiming any vet staff for once 🤪 Mrs has a book club meeting across town early afternoon and I'm taking an early afternoon off also to go watch the Twins baseball game with my buddy while the ladies are at their book club, a win all round 😀 Brisk but sunny here, 4c first thing taking Bob to the vet, supposed to reach 14c later. Tally ho.

Monday... <yawn> An odd weekend... Friday evening the cake eating Oktoberfest dinner went extremely well. The ONLY issue was the cake, in that it "SEEMED" a slice would be perfect. Turned out a slice of that bad boy was overkill. We all regretted it either that evening or the following day <sigh> To add insult to injury, having woken late on Saturday I discovered that the COVID booster received Friday afternoon had decided to treat me to an incredible bout of aches, sore joints and general lethargy. This persisted all day, rendering me unable to participate in the neighborhood party and sent me retiring much earlier than usual! Sunday was better. Still feeling somewhat tired I did manage to replace the front security light and also enjoyed dinner at Jemmas in the evening. Back working furiously today. Weather fast heading on the downhill right to Minnesota autumn/winter with a brisk 5c and sunny first thing, expected high of only 13c later. Carry on.

That's a tough call, the Mrs isn't really a dessert/sweets fan, so the only danger is from ME until we get to the dinner - I have to admit it IS A STRUGGLE, a slice would be great with the morning coffee break 🤣

Happy birthday @BoD POETS, and yes, that's happening! Yesterday the shopping for this evenings Oktoberfest dinner went well, then off to a very acceptable pre-rehearsal happy hour and avoidance of the optional yoga effort before choir. Today a short work day then a relax and off for dinner. I WAS going to make the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte but time was a preventing factor so we are going to "make do" with this -> https://shop.kramarczuk.com/products/kramarczuk-torte I think it will work 😀 For those not wanting to follow the link and see the description in all its glory, this is what it looks like Weekend includes a couple of to-do items, including security light for the front of the house, a neighborhood party and a couple of baseball playoff games to watch! Distinct change in the weather, 6c and drizzle first thing, maybe making 10c for a high and rain off and on all day! Hope the weekend starts well for all. EDIT: WHOOPS, major reason for POETS was omitted, getting the lurgy booster at 3PM!

BIN day, and late as I've been busy, busy, busy with reports <sigh> <yawn> Re: Sheds... Ours in it's early Autumn setting today, replete with interesting background "item" - no muddling in there purely a storage facility. Nothing of note yesterday, until the evening, the Minnesota Twins won the second game of three putting them into the playoff next round. Notable since this is the first time since 2002 they've won a series. Today, some "shopping" at a local favoured deli, place does the best/closest to authentic bangers around here. Also picking up various items so we can have an Oktoberfest dinner tomorrow night with our friends who leave for their Arizona winter hideout next week. Choir rehearsal happy-hour after that, then rehearsal proper. This week there's an OPTIONAL yoga stretch beforehand, the happy-hour crew are electing to stretch our elbows and forgo the yoga. <hic> 😀 At BIN time, a rather cool pleasant 11c partly cloudy and a slight breeze. High of only 17c expected. Tally ho.

HUMP day. Yesterday was a looonnnggg discussion with the principal client contact, cleared up a lot of odd/strange/simply wrong details they'd defined/requested for the new reports. Onward now with that work, occupying plenty of "work time" yesterday and through the end of the week for sure. Item of significance (here at least), was that the Minnesota Twins (local pro baseball team) broke an 18 game post-season losing stream, we'd not won a post-season game since 2004!! Maybe we've a chance to win the whole thing this year, we live in hope - and dream A LOT!!! Today is the second game of a three game "wild card" playoff series, if we win 2 out of 3 we move on. Fired up by my win of the bus on Ebay I'm now scouring it again for other shiny things I may want - NOT A GOOD SIGN! Tokens may be expended. Weather first thing was overcast and 15c, 21c the expected high and rain later. Rain may affect the Twins game late afternoon, we'll see. We need the rain but also the game. Onward.

Chewsday... Not much to report from Monday, work Jemma dropped in for a brief visit and to collect a package delivered here, custom model of the Embraer 175 in Compass/Delta Connection livery, the first passenger jet she flew. Won an EFE RLH bus on Ebay - I blame zoom friends for me looking again and finding something to spend tokens on 🤣 Today, quiet, work that will be about it. 21c and partly sunny/partly cloudy (your choice/preference of description), high of 28c expected. Some rain possible later.

John Oliver did a good "review of the missed time" in the opening of his first "Last Week Tonight" show - very entertaining 🤣

Monday... Weekend was busy and summarized as; Friday evening very enjoyable dinner with long-time friend, partly to meet her new plus-one and partly to see her new abode, a condo overlooking one of the city lakes. Oddly, she's been in this location almost a year now, it's adjacent to the new light rail line being built, adjacent meaning the line is about 40ft from one side of the building! Unsure why she chose there, as for at LEAST three years now there's been an ongoing dispute between the building owners and the council responsible for the rail line, as to whether and how much the line constructions is damaging the condo foundations! Were it me/us we'd have NEVER considered a purchase given all the bad press and potential issues - each to his/her own I guess. Saturday, a few various to-do items/errands then Trevor and Meagan (and the dogs) over for dinner. Sunday - BLOODY HOT, they even cancelled the Twin Cities Marathon at 5:30am due to the excessive heat/humidity warnings. Reached 33c soon after noon! Jemma was over, we had a late brunch, they relaxed avoiding the heat. Back working today, busy with myriad additional work requests. 21c and sunny first thing, headed for 31c for a high! Should be closer to 18c for highs by now - NEVER MIND, expected to be a high of only 11c by Friday/Saturday 😮 Tally ho.

POETS... very welcome given the busy work week. Yesterday a very pleasant evening of happy-hour then choir rehearsal. Today more working but will POETS. Jemma is in England on a trip, unusual one, JFK to Heathrow, then tomorrow Gatwick to JFK. Her 767-400 isn't usually out of Gatwick. As a result the crew are staying in Woking. I was born there, and pretty much the entirety of our local neighborhood is "at rest" at Woking Crematorium. Jemma took the opportunity to visit, which was for me very special, as both my parents]her grandparents are there; Trevor and Jemma with the flowers at the funeral for my mum 30 years ago same location today, as she visits and pays her respects; Later today the Mrs and I are out for dinner with friends. Weekend has no plans - we all know how THAT goes!! 🤣🤣 Heavy rainstorm first thing, netted us about 1.6 inches of rain. 15c expecting 27c for the high and more rain later and overnight into tomorrow. Hope the weekend starts well for everyone.

Hopefully he had an "accident" while being arrested and lost his male appendage - seems fitting!!

HUMP day... Getting mentally exhausted with the changes needed and new reports requested, auditors are a pimple on the arrsole of the world! See above, busy all yesterday and today working away at financial cobblers, nothing much in store later, just relaxing. Mrs is off to dog-sit for a while then run some errands. Earlier some activity on the railway line as several vehicles, small, medium AND large paraded along the line cutting back branches that are growing too close. First time I've seen such a determined effort in the 4 years we've been in a sight line of the track. Of course, idiot that I am, I didn't bother to get any pictures to share <sigh> 13c first thing, overcast but doesn't look like rain clouds. 20c the expected high. Back to work...

Chewsday... Yesterday, brain teaser of a section of the new reports the client wants, my head almost exploded trying to determine how they built it out, OUCH!! Weather-wise the drizzle turned to a continual moderate rainfall for much of the day, totaling 1.5 inches time it was done, making over 4 inches since Saturday! Today, more magical report work to keep me busy and fry my brain. We're having a picture window replaced, and the replacement glass was/is defective, installers NOT happy with the QC done by the manufacturers, so we have it temporarily in place while they get a new piece manufactured. Mrs off for a walk around the lake then lunch with one of her friends. First thing 15c overcast and potentially "threatening to rain", high of 17c expected. Tally ho.

Morning... Well, Friday "wellness check" discovered I was, well, 'well" 😀 I was fasting as they always want samples even though they don't tell you to fast anymore. Last time I "didn't", I was then required to return on a subsequent day to provide the various fluids. So, dutifully, fasting AND drinking copious amounts of water to ensure I could fill the cup, they somehow, for the first time in my living memory, didn't require a sample of that sort! Saturday, slow with a few items to attend to and not much else. Sunday, choir, so up early - didn't sleep well either, so after the two services I availed myself of a decent afternoon nap, there went the weekend <sigh> We had 2 inches of rain overnight Saturday and a further inch last night, FINALLY some relief from the dry weather. Today, working. First thing 15c and drizzle, supposed to be rain all day, suspect it'll be mostly light/drizzle by the looks of it. High of only 17c forecast. Carry on.

Phew POETS... Choir happy-hour and rehearsal went well, not "too long" so we managed to get through everything in preparation for Sunday service. Today, off to the doc first thing - annual wellness check, seems I'm "well", maybe "as well as can be expected!!" 😀 All seems fine, though I drew the "time for your next colonoscopy" card , so have to now schedule that. Today should be relaxing NOW, some work then POETS. Weekend has nothing planned so far. Onward...

BIN day, all sorted. Yesterday, just busy with work and nothing else to report. Today, the Mrs is off to a meeting of friends around 2pm, I'll be dropping her off, Jemma picking her up and then dropping off Whitney with the Mrs back here. Me, off to happy hour with a few choir members before we head to rehearsal. With just three (I missed the first one) rehearsals under our belt as the seasons starts, we sing for the first time this Sunday. Tomorrow I have a six-month Dr. appointment, apparently 'required' so they can prescribe my rescue inhaler. Don't quite get the point, it's always "under control" and I only use it infrequently, though was placed in more frequent service during the severe smoke alerts this summer. Anyway, forced to go every six months for a wellness check. Pah! Weather at BIN time 16c and sunny, expected to reach 30c later, small (meaning none really) chance of showers later today/this evening. Carry on.

Wot, they didn't include Welsh!!! 🤣

I'm baaaacckkkk..... 😀 AWOL for far too long! Originally a vacation in northern Minnesota, quite delightful. Visited the always popular lift bridge and watched shipping arrivals and departures, ventured to the Lake Superior zoo, nicely done and quiet since we were there post-school return time. Wandered up the north shore of Lake Superior to the Split Rock lighthouse and also wandered through the Superior National forest. Australia exhibit at the zoo Coast guard awaiting entry to the canal/port and lift bridge Split Rock lighthouse Some happy couple at a Superior National forest scenic overlook Once home it was a case of NOT all quiet on the Western front (well, Eastern really as the client is on Long Island). They chose me being away to decide to finalize some new reports they want/need - been busy working on that little lot! We've also had a 6th Anniversary gathering for Trevor and Meagan, and I have achieved the 10yr. anniversary at the job. Weather has been a mixed bag, mostly a little cooler, but still not much precipitation. Today 16c and sunny first thing, 31c for the high. Onward.

POETS...yep. A 3 day weekend looms here, quite happy to partake, THEN, we're off to Duluth and the shores of Lake Superior for a 4-day getaway. Yesterday, only notable item was the assembly of the Mrs new purchase, an LG CordZero vacuum. She decided she finally wanted something cordless. She's yet to determine the location of the stand/charging spot, that'll then provide a to-do for my free weekend, I'm sure! Today, Brendan will be over shortly to pick up Whitney, later dinner with friends, and NOTHING (SO FAR) planned for the long weekend. I'm sure we can manage to fill it somehow 🤣 Small rain shower overnight, wish it were more. 18c and sunny first thing, expected to get hot later 34c+ and hotter over the weekend up into the 36-38 range for highs! Enjoy the start of the weekend.

Couldn't agree more, however that would require a desire to learn/teach the past, accept the fact rather than typically politically motivated bias and use reasonable judgement. Sadly, almost NONE of that is available in most of those who wish to ignore history or worse still remove it from teachable curricula. ☹️ BIN day. BINs processed without issue, rather noisy this week, again, inexplicable the variation of dbs from week to week. Yesterday passed quietly, since the Mrs was off on various errands it was up to me to take Whitney for a walk. Nice comfortable walk around the local park, almost no-one else around as it's usual population art school age kids with parents/minders. School back in session in our area, so they ankle-biters are all learning (hopefuly). Today, a VERY PLEASANT 15c and sunny at BIN time, headed for 31c as the forecast high. Tally ho.

HUMP day. Nothing much to report from yesterday, good meeting with a Property Manager - personal friend referral, very good details/information provided - . Jemma and Brendan came over to drop Whitney off, nice afternoon chat with them regarding the Property Management proceedings. Today, Mrs off doing numerous activities, me working, not anything planned for later. 13c and sunny first thing, 30c the expected high. Carry on.

There were DEFINATELY several questionable "hits" that would never see the light of day these days, and for very good reasons. Whilst they were hits and on the playlist, it surprised us they were sung, given the potential for someone deciding they weren't appropriate now!

Chewsday... Yesterday main attraction was the State Fair and grandstand concert billed as "Happy Together" featuring featuring The Turtles, Little Anthony, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Vogues, The Classics IV and The Cowsills. Anyone remembering the late '60s pop music would have recognised all that was sung, even if it wasn't from what we in the UK found as mainsteam as the local crowd. Perfect weather, we took a shuttle bus - turned out to be a brilliant idea - rather than go to the fair and park. Figures not in yet but probably around 100,000+. The concert was around 20,000. Attending, Mrs niece, her partner, Mrs and yours-truly Sunset at the grandstand Gary Puckett, no-one is getting any younger! An example of the crazy food (on a stick!!!) available - NOT anything I partook of, I don't really like olives at the best of times Today, back working, except a lunch time meeting with one of the prospective property management companies we're interviewing. 16c and sunny first thing, expected high of 31c later. Carry on.

Yeah, my BRM was easy too, Pocketmags seem to "have a clue", already changed to new card 👍