AndrewC

Thoughts and well wishes to Simon & family this evening. Hopefully the witchdoctors can work out a cause & treatment. With whatsCrap being down as well, my phone has been lovely and silent tonight. Work has a "group" that tends to go off piste after hours instead of it being used for company information. Muting it frequently means missing some out of hours client support issue that is best known about before starting up the next morning. kniggggit all.

On my laptop I run an ad blocker but as I've mentioned before there is something in some of the adverts that triggers off warnings from on of my (overly sensitive at times) protection applications. If I try from phone or pad, the site is pretty much unusable now.

Good moaning all. Back to the millstone, except the system I was supposed to be working on this morning did a Monty Python, Holy Grail, Swamp Castle impersonation over the weekend. My 2 hour meeting this morning to go through the thing lasted 6 minutes. Deep Joy. I'm getting fed up with both twatter and fecesbook. I see one of our own had a BBC article about a forking squirrel hidden as offensive. Maybe something about nuts in the pic. Twatter is worse. Some of the most bat-sh*t crazy conspiricy stuff is left alone but if someone calls a politician a rude word they get sent to the naughty step. (not me I might add, I got the 3 day ban for calling a frog faced turd, a frog faced turd) Maybe I should move my January anti-social media unplug to now just to save my sanity. I know that Andy and co are just trying to keep the lights on but trying to read the forum on the iPad last night with all blockers off was a lesson in futility. I'd be happy to go to a simple ad free subscription without all the other gold stuff that is of no interest to me. In other news, a good weekend was had. Some time in the shed doing some M*****ing. Saturday was a trip out to Stonehenge. English Heritage has started offering after hours guided tours inside the circle. We had booked last year but the pre-Christmas lockdown b*ggered that up. Walking around in there was surprisingly calming. One thing we did discover is just how much of an impact all of this covid and brexit crap has had on every day life. The motorway signs were all notices that xxx services HGV diesel only, or yyy svc no fuel. Most of the services on the A303 were either empty or had queues. In Amesbury only the pizza joint and 'spoons were serving food. Even the local's café was closed. Turns out there is a dire shortage of chefs and kitchen staff. None of the other pubs were serving and the George Hotel had limited hours restricted to guests as they didn't have the staff to open the restaurant fully. Off to work and more coffee. Enjoy the day.

I wouldn't be so sure this time. There are a few high ranking cronies of Mr Gummidge who are coming out of the woodwork on this. It could also be leveraged as a way to turn a few voters at the next London election. The outer suburban and Hi-Speed services will likely remain under the central gov as that bit makes a tiny bit of money. Throwing metro which is another loss making anchor around Mr Khan's neck may be seen as a positive in political circles.

Only on Monday they held a big hurrah press release for their new 707 units. Now they are heading out the door much as Connex did some 16 years ago. I doubt the paint is even dry on the "new" City Beam units. Maybe this time TfL will finally get the metro services as originally proposed by London's previous mayor. (the blonde Worzel Gummage like one) Shapps seems to be less vindictive and petty than Failing-Grayling was. One twist to this tale is that SouthEastern turned themselves in to the old Bill. If not, likely this tax mess would never have come to light. Greetings from the boring borough. sunny, wet, sunny, wet, repeat. Off shortly for my regular spinal origami in the city. I actually look forward to the mid week break from the house. Today my twirly card will be used on a bus, tube, and DLR. Excitement knows no bounds. @Tony_S would your turkey be coming from around the way of the Fosse perchance? We received our annual "get in there quick" email this morning. Bird ordered for pickup at a nearby market closer to Christmas. Looks like there is likely to be a poultry shortage this year caused by the lack of pluckers. That is all. Enjoy the second half of the day.

Moaning all from the boring and petrol/diesel free borough. As seen on Twatter. Things are getting serious. Thoughts with @Ozexpatriate and family today. Weather: wet Work: meh Life in general: <censored> That is all.

Slap Shot with Paul Newman would have been a better choice. Poly, yes it has happened on more than one occasion. Normally in recreational leagues. The pros have enforcers who are on the team simply to get into the rough stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tie_Domi is a perfect example.

Greetings all from the boring borough. Thoughts today with Simon and his family. Little happening here. Nice weather for the weekend. Now piddliddliddling down. No queues for fuel around here. Then again, none of the 8 local stations have any fuel to queue for. I did finally manage to obtain 13kg of propane for the gas bbq. That's only taken 5 weeks of hunting and waiting. Unfortunately for us the Disco-sport is about 20l short of diesel that we need for next Saturday. Stories on twatter of fuel lorry drivers being followed on their rounds makes for a sad state of affairs. @Tony_S Hockey fights are more theatre at times. (been there, done that, lost a tooth.) Gloves come off first as otherwise the stitching can rip someone's face open. Drawing blood is a no no. It is also an automatic suspension. Helmets tend to come off fairly quickly as most blows are in an upward direction and you don't want the chin strap digging into your neck. Lastly, the object of the exercise is to get your opponent's shirt up thus trapping his arms, while you get him down on the ice. At which point the fight gets broken up. A good fight can lift a team during the game, or settle things down. Think safety valve. The alternative is more injuries from dirty hits or sticks. Enjoy the day.

I've been using a blocker for a long time. Every time I try to switch it off for RMweb, my security starts thowing wobblers at some of the embedded advert code. So, it stays on. I think the day that the site starts detecting and blocking the blockers, and very likely that will be a next step as more people get fed up with not the adverts themselves but the volume of them, will be my farewell.

Beer 52 is fine. Never had an issue with them. However, trying to cancel your subscription is like trying to leave one of those 80s record clubs. They also go 4 weeks and not monthly so at some point you'll have 2 direct debits and 2 boxes in one month. The Chicago box is quite good with a few smaller breweries.

Bl00dy hell. The price of wood. I needed another sheet of 12mm birch ply. It's gone from £62 to £91. The upside is the timber merchant hasn't changed their terms, so it is now free delivery. Saves me a schlep to Footscray. But still, nearly 50% increase in the past 6 months.

Of which the actual jokes are 50% repeats! SAGA Send All Grannies Away

To be honest I don't think it has been founded yet. Still waiting.

Think of it more like a normal round of conversation at a club house. There will always be some "in" talk. People with common interests will gravitate to sub-conversations about motorcycles, or gardening, or what ever. Just like the clubhouse, ignore what doesn't interest you and contribute + listen to that which does. Failing that, it is your turn to get the tea and biscuits.

The trouble is the people are great. Lovely bunch and (for me) a bit overly social at times. The issue is the promised project work keeps getting pushed back, so I'm backfilling with platform integration trouble shooting. Possibly one of the worst tasks there is. I'm stuck with it as my skill set is far wider than most with more knowledge around API transport protocols and other geeky crap than the rest of them.

I'm a charter member of the international procrastinators club, or will be when I get around to joining. After that, I'll eventually get to answering the quiz questions. Greetings all from a schitty boring borough. Another week with no recycling pickup, despite the fact the binmen went back to work a few weeks ago now. Likely that means schlepping to the tip on the next even numbered day. <sigh> Black dogs still roaming. Job still not what I was hoping for. 3575 days until retirement. (calendar days, not working days) My get up and go, got up and went. Permanently it seems. Sorry to be on such a downer. Just totally fed up with life, the universe, and everything. Laterzzz

Greetings all from the boring borough. This week can't end soon enough for me. The DHL saga continues with the South American river people showing it as delivered. DHL's site says, delivered, then recipient not home, then recipient asked for deferment, then to be delivered next business day. Useless bunch of <extremely censored> . No it hasn't arrived yet. Work is deteriorating quickly. At least I still have a fast escape hatch in 4 weeks if things don't improve. I predict another wasted weekend. Not a weekend spent being wasted I hasten to add. Laterzzzzz

Any hints on layouts yet?

Moaning all from the boring borough. le quiz 1: mozzers don't kill but certain plasmodiums carried by mozzers do. Malaria. 2: tax man, although Hollywood would say Sean Connery 3: Has to be shark for the raw entertainment value and victim's fear factor. The others while deadly would be boring to watch. 4: phaque pharma 5: Serco track & trace. Another day du merde yesterday (patented frenglish) I did manage one household honey do from my list between stupid meetings that overran my lunch break. The Cat6a cabling to the train shed (yes I said train, so awl me to death) has been upgraded, tested, and the junction outside the back door replaced with a better waterproof box. This is all in aid of running a 10Gbit backbone to each of the mesh routers. It will also allow me to take my office laptops and related stuff off wifi, freeing up capacity & therefore speed for the rest. Seems that DHL are in serious competition to be the most totally sh*t delivery service by giving yokel and herpes a run for their money. Monday 8am: out for delivery. 9 hours later: 'Unable to locate address'. Then: 'The recipient was not present' Next update: 'It was not possible to deliver the shipment. Checks are being made.' Still waiting for a response from the so called team. ar5ebadgering sh1tweasels. I believe the correct translation is driver running late and couldn't be arsed so put what ever excuse popped up first in his handheld device. No motion at the door from the Ring camera recorded within an hour of their supposed 'The recipient was not present' update. Much cooler this morning. Bit o rain overnight. Time to check the company email to see what steaming turds dropped in overnight. Enjoy the day.

This past week has been close. Tests last Tuesday, results on Wednesday AM. Fast phone consultation Wednesday PM. Another yesterday with a face to face, and the cherry on top is an appt with MSK in 2 weeks time. If I'm dreaming please don't wake me until after my knee consultation.

Greetings all from that most boring of boroughs. Another day another big bucket of meh. SWMBO has been commuting again and noting the trains are getting busier and busier. Still another week until SouthEastern gets its poop in a group and restores most (not all) of its pre-covid services. We've noted a complete change in bird population this year. Not a starling to be seen but there are presently 7 sparrows and a pigeon dining in the birdy buffet out back. We also seem to have a small mouse living near the greenhouse. We've called him Gerald. (Pink Floyd fans will get the reference) His occupation is to hoover up the spilt bird seed that the pigeons miss. We'll have to keep an eye on him once the weather turns cooler as the last thing we want is for him to move into the house. I don't think the cats would be pleased. @Tony_S before the boring council replaced all the small recycling tubs with full on wheelie bins, ordering replacements was practically a bi-weekly event. The bin men would throw them anywhere and everywhere. A good breeze and they'd be in the road. So far touch wood. Since this has turned into the medical forum, I forgot to mention my BP is down slightly and less of a concern to the GP. The same is true of the cholesterol levels. My poo stick came back good as well so no camera up the Khyber Pass is needed for another couple of years. For ID That is all. Enjoy the day.

@Tony_S I was just thinking the same thing as Laurence. Do you actually know any responsible adults? Quack visit was very thorough. More vampire trips. X-rays, referral for an ultrasound. The MSK clinic has already triaged my online referral and has booked a face to knee in 2 weeks. That is 16 weeks faster than I've ever had before. I'm liking this parallel universe despite John's warnings.

It really is end of days. GP phone consultation this morning. New doc at the practice. On time, no serious issues but she decided that a face to face would be better. Voila a same day appointment. What strange new parallel universe is this. Oh, and they now have a self referral portal for Musculoskeletal issues. No more 6 week wait to get an appointment to get another 6 week wait for the referral with a final 6 week wait for the actual appointment.

Moaning all. Another wasted weekend of burger all. Little to say but I did see several places now are taking blister packs for recycling. Some SuperDrug locations as well as some larger Boots outlets. That is all. Enjoy the day.

Oh no they're not. T Bone Café in Erith is a classic greasy spoon. Full of cabbies, bikers, and the occasional HGV driver. You just have to know where to look. Or in this case just follow the cloud of fried onion vapour. Moaning all from the boring borough. TFIF and all that. Decidedly autumnal around these parts. SWMBO had a late start with her planting this year so we may have to fire up the heat & thermostat in the greenhouse to ensure the tomatoes, courgettes, and cucumbers all ripen on the vine. Still waiting for my poo sticks result. No other calls from the quack regarding my blood test results which is a good sign. Just the 2 previously mentioned. Time to make an early start as I've got a Teams meeting with a client in Lithuania. Pumpkin Spice Latte to hand. (YAY) Enjoy the day and weekend.