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PupCam

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Everything posted by PupCam

  1. Perhaps different rather than necessarily better? Once is more than enough and worthy of applause as mentioned 😀
  2. Monty did the Hardknott Pass a few years ago. What fun! I always find it ironic that the off-road vehicles are (usually) the ones to force you off of the road ... Maybe I'm just unlucky? Wasn't certain how to rate your post but in the end I think anyone who can do the pass without an engine thingy deserves a might big round of applause!
  3. Gel batteries are lead acid, it's just that the acid has been turned into gel form to provide maintenance and spill proof characteristics so should be fine with the original system. Do not go for Lithium batteries which generally require different and carefully monitored and controlled charging regimes. As you know, Lithium batteries also have a secondary use as incendiary devices if physically abused (mechanical damage, incorrect charging etc .....)
  4. Afternoon! A mitre is cut at half the angle so (usually) 45° - that's diagonal for a square chess board so just about spot-on 😉 They do round here! BEAR STOP RIGHT NOW! Puppers does not have room in his garage for another bike, he probably couldn't reach the ground and he certainly couldn't pick it up unaided if he dropped it! Does look nice though and very shiny indeed considering it's been living in shedland for 30 years. Is the fully enclosed chain standard or a Beary add-on? A note of caution or, as the boss at the Great Empire used to say, "expectation management"; It's a buyer's market out there at the moment with prices of second hand bikes generally depressed and going down. I've no idea what it is worth other than "whatever someone will pay for it" (which reminds me, I'll mention it to my mate (Note 1) in the VJMC to see if he knows of anyone likely to be interested. ION Went for a wee thrash this morning with a couple of mates (See Note 1) first to Jordans Mill for brekkie and then on to Shuttleworth. The Cambridge Classic Car group were meant to be having a meet there today. Saw a few interesting cars but not enough to constitute a "Meet". As we were sitting in the sunshine enjoying coffee and putting the world to rights a couple Ducatis arrived and (attempted) to park up. The first one slotted in between a Harley with Ape bars (but we won't hold that against him and I think you get counselling now) and another bike. The second which looked like a race replica complete with a rider in IIRC racing leathers (I think his name may have been Richard Head) attempted to fit in the non-existent gap between his mate and the Harley. He got off and as there was no room between him and Mr HD (who had just started up with difficulty due to lack of space) over-balanced, dropped it and it fell against the HD. Mr HD was, quite rightly, "a bit p*ss*d off! There was plenty of space elsewhere to park. As I say, I think his name must have been Richard Head. On my return I collected some tools and ascended the scaffolding tower to attend to the needs of the gutter/soffit/facie/tiles. I'm definitely getting too old to be at roof level at the top of a wobbly scaffold tower. Nevertheless the mission appeared to be successful. I will leave the tower in place for a couple of days just in case I need to do any "fine tuning" and then I'll grab the neighbour and get him to give me a hand getting it down again. Apparently dinner is almost served. TTFN
  5. Green, blue or black* is the correct colour for locomotives but each colour MUST be of the correct shade and red (of the correct "Indian" shade) should of course be reserved for the wheels of blue locomotives 😀 * Three contrasting shades of grey (emulating "silver") are of course eminently suitably alternatives for certain locomotives. Simple really .....
  6. Evening! You have to ask! 🤣 ION Today I have been erecting (up to house gutter level) the scaffolding tower that a mate has lent me. That' an interesting exercise and one designed to wear a Pup out! I took the precaution of buying a couple of ground anchors so that I could tie it down to the ground and provide a bit of triangulation for stability purposes. Also arranged so that there's a slight bias of tension towards the house rather than away from it. Unfortunately it was just too tall to fit nicely under the soffit right up hard against the wall so I think a couple of spacer blocks may well be added between the tower and the wall to provide additional stability. I used to quite like heights and going up ladders .... After today's and the remnants of yesterday's exertions I feel another early night is in order. Night Awl!
  7. Evening! Well it's been a long and busy day today. Up at the crack of sparrows, set-off to drive to St Evenage before 8:00 in order to get parked and to the station in very good time for the 9:30 Thameslink service. The train started well departing at 9:31 but was parked at Welwyn Garden City for more than 30 minutes due to signalling problems between St Pancras and Blackfriars. My first appointment time "up the smoke" came and went, phone calls to the hospital to advise them that we'd been delayed but were on our way and would arrive ASAP. When the train did finally get going again it turned into a non-stop express to Brighton at London Bridge but that was OK, we were off of it by then! Anyway, when we did finally arrive at the hospital two consultations and a number of standard procedures later plus a longish wait (as usual) at the pharmacy for a specific medication I was finally free to leave ~3:00pm. Unfortunately the signalling problems were still ongoing so our return was slightly delayed but we made it in the end. Nevertheless, the news on the important matters of the day were all good and agreement on the way forward over the next few months so a big smile and even bigger tick from Puppers 😀 Completely bushed now so a very early night is on the cards. Night All.
  8. Morning! I’m a real ER today. It’s much too early …. 🤣 Back later, TTFNQ
  9. Morning! Oh, I think they are if you drive some makes of vehicles (I don't like to promote stereotypes but they are often of German origin). Which reminds me, an acquaintance of mine described themselves as a "vibrant Audi driver". Certainly had me wondering ....... Conversely, other drivers get far more of an indication of my intentions when I'm out on my bikes and two out of the three don't even have indicators! (and I think the brake light is not actually a legal requirement on one of them due to its age). You can't beat positive (legal) hand signals but of course the one problem with them is they are not persistent throughout a manoeuvre as those hands / fingers are required for other trivial things at times like changing gear, operating the throttle and the front brake. My emphasis but I think you need to add "and will be dealt with severely". Being caught, told you're a very naughty boy and released is no deterrent for people with no morals or empathy for others. Clearly the following options don't work or unacceptable. a) Letting them go free (by either failing to track them down or in, really bad cases, not bothering to look for them at all) b) Taking their liberty away and locking them up for a long(ish) while. BTW - I still have no clue as to why Life Imprisonment rarely means that but I'm a simple soul. c) Taking their lives So for a philosophical Thursday, and in the absence of a Higher Being or Authority "Doing the right thing" on our behalf, what is the answer then? The world is mostly broken* how to fix it? * It always has been and no doubt always will be and WE ALWAYS FAIL to learn the lessons of crime and war. Most of (if not all) the banks in Bank Court in Hemel Hempstead new town (yes, I know it's 70 years old now and looking like it) have gone. But then all of the fine logic used in its original planning has gone as old "new" buildings have been replaced, main thoroughfares have been pedestrianised, a half empty shopping mall built, the main entertainment venue demolished but not replaced, the Civic Centre demolished and a host of other disasters choices made. There was a good deal of thought and logic applied to its original layout all those years ago now totally abandoned with the rush to provide "more housing" and some might say** a fast Buck. When we moved to the area many many years ago there was talk of a new hospital. I moved away in the mid 70's, they are still waiting for a new, decent hospital ....... The words Fat***, Chance and Now spring to mind ** Not me of course! *** That's probably not PC perhaps it should be "larger than average"? ION A very convivial lunch was had yesterday in a Hitchin hostelry with a couple of rely-in-laws otherwise not-a-lot to report. Really, a walk should be walked this afternoon if nothing else. TTFN
  10. Morning! Good luck with that. My original surgeon's medical secretary had an answerphone with pre-recorded message/menu. If you persisted with a "No, I want to speak to you" option a further recorded message was issued "Mailbox full - Good bye" followerd by "Click, Brrrrrr". Happened numerous times so it wasn't just a one-off due to exceptional circumstances. I've said it numerous times; the NHS is one heck of a Curate's Egg! True but, the problem there is with the justice system not the punishment. Fix the justice system and retain the deterrent ...... Anyway, you can never "fix" miscarriages of justice, e.g. tell that to Sub-postmasters. Those that sadly were forced to take their own lives through absolutely no fault of their own because both the organisation and justice system were seriously flawed can not now undo their actions. And for those that didn't, once a life is wrecked you can't make out as if it never happened with any amount of compensation. ION Travel planning for my trip "up the smoke" underway (to see my very good consultants as it happens). Revised plans will mean a trip to St Evenage rather than Hitchin to catch a train that will get me there in good time and not cost two arms & two legs. I'm prepared to drive the extra few miles to halve my rail travel costs whilst retaining at least one option if the only train that would get me there in time is cancelled (Yes, I know they never do that ...) Seems like we are out to lunch down the pub today with niece and nephew-in-law. Should be good. TTFN
  11. I don't know but it seems highly likely.
  12. That’s for me to know and you to wonder 🤣
  13. It seems like that in general it’s a Buyers Market out there at the moment. Here’s the results from last weekend’s Shuttleworth auction. https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/the-shuttleworth-spring-motorcycle-sale-2024/2024-04-07/page-1/session-113/ipp-100
  14. You just can't get the bears these days .... Whoops, I nearly became a supporting statistic for that a few years ago. My birthday treat turned out to be getting an electronic device implanted in a hurry. Perhaps the most worthwhile present I've ever had, I must get the battery checked soon 🤔 Night All
  15. It's becoming tiresome now ....
  16. Afternoon Just about anything and everything is game for counterfeiting. I've always thought the two specific examples mentioned are particularly worrying. Many years ago I was working on a job that required many Sandisk flash memory cards. The organisation responsible for purchasing them chose Amazon as the source. On arrival I tested them and found a good number didn't work correctly. After some searching I stumbled across a page on EBay detailing how to detect counterfeit Sandisk memory cards. I think there were about 12 different signs e.g. the font on the labels, the labels having square corners not round corners etc etc. I was able to tick off 10 out of the 12 on the list ....... The cards were returned with a "Please try harder and don't go for the cheapest next time" note. Over recent years with my vastly increased consumption of meds I've gone from a "Never bother reading the leaflet" type to a "Read every line on the leaflet and keep a copy of it and note how you're not meant to take Drug A with Drug B or C which is a shame because A, B, C & D (along with others) have been prescribed. A good number of those aren't really leaflets they are more "Mini books" and, with the best will in the world and the smallest of fonts. you'd never get that lot on the back of a bottle. Quite how useful the molecular structure diagram is for the average user (they are after all user notes 😉) I don't know. Maybe a case of BS B B? Oh how careless! ION Nice chug over to Woburn Saturday on the Beeza. I had an invitation to a run out yesterday which would have been a thrash on the RD but I was feeling a smidge below par and it was blowing a hooley. I don't do wet, dark ..... hooleys so I declined. However, it's been much better today so a walk (~2.5 miles) was walked and then a thrash was thrashed. The thrash included visiting a a station on the BedPan line to check out parking arrangements, cost, apps and all that carp. It might provide a useful alternative to the ECML when I go up the smoke for my next consultation. On my return I was informed that "we really must book our holiday". So we did. Fortunately no Boeing 737s (or any other 3D buses) will be involved. Puppers is in need of a scafold tower. He needs to get up to the soffit/facia to deal with some maintenance issues. He has a long ladder plus a stand-off but is basically too much of a coward these days re-enforced by statements such as "You're not going up there on that ladder, it's not safe". As a bit of a long shot a plea was placed on one of my Whats Ap groups of biking mates produced dividends. One of my mates has one. I only need one and he's going to drop it round in the next couple of days. I'd call that a result! 😀 Right, I'm off to sort out dinner. TTFN
  17. In my Beeza's case I think the butchery was far more recent as was the replacement of the standard piston with a Triumph high compression piston that took the CR from the stock 6.2:1 ish to over 11:1. It ran when I got it but it didn't keep running for long (no surprise) particularly as they failed to ensure that the plain main bearing was and remained aligned (which it didn't). 11:1 CR plus no oil to the bottom end ..... It didn't end well but it wasn't a problem; it was an "opportunity" for Puppers to have a go at building an engine from the ground up. Shame the oil passageway between the bearing and the casting is only about 1/8" diameter ... Other butchery involved replacing almost unobtainable cam followers with more common jobs. This was done by forcing the new guides into the old guides with a great degree of force resulting in bits of the crankcase casting falling off. Still, not to worry ... Making sure that the oil pump mounting face is in good condition ...... Never mind, it's all part of the fun of keeping an 80+ year old machine on the road and it's such fun to ride now. Hopefully any "butchery" that I've added for pragmatic reasons has at least been done to a reasonable and acceptable standard (it's certainly an order of magnitude better than what a previous owner managed!) 🤞
  18. Yes, but think of the wonderful toys you had to play with! All they got was a drill and a pair of pliers 🤣 No I can't remember now, too many grey cells have departed for a better life elsewhere. No, I can do wire-locking and I ain't no dentist. Actually, I really enjoy wire-locking, there's something therapeutic about doing it when it goes well.
  19. What , like this one? 😁 Although it sports an Empire Star badge it is actually a '39 B21 De-luxe. The B21 de-luxe replaced the '38 B22 250 baby Empire Star in the range. Why they dropped that famous name I have no idea although they were "pruning" the range perhaps in anticipation of the wholesale decimation of it in 1940 as the war started to bite. Bought as a project ~5 years ago, you may well recall it's been a bit of a trial as the remains of the engine were, it transpired, put together by a butcher. Still, now the bottom end has been completely re-built using bits from numerous engines including a couple from a certain Emporium in Framlingham in deepest Suffolk. The engine is now a bit of a hybrid but needs must; unfortunately now with the older style cams with live shafts and no outside support plate but no timed breather (as it's got a later mag idler gear that uses the breather on the nearside crankcase) and various other pragmatic mods "to make it work & stay working". It is also an excellent example that high-lights the nonsense about "matching numbers". The offside crankcase HAD to be replaced because the butcher had completely stuffed the original but try as I did I could only find the earlier style version. This was modified and adapted as alluded to to make a hybrid (that works). BSA chose to put the engine serial number on the nearside crankcase which of course is still in place. Now I could sell it claiming it was "matching numbers" (which it is) but that wasn't the engine it came out of the factory with by quite a long way! Now that isn't actually going to happen because, if I did sell it, I would make damn sure that the purchaser knew the (recent) back-story but far more importantly it's staying in my garage anyway! Perhaps I should name it "Flying Scotsman"? 🤔 I do enjoy riding it although some more comprehensive suspension might be useful for the roads round here. Oh yes, it cost rather more than £2 to finally get back on the road again which reminds me, I really must think about flogging some of those spare crankcases, crankshafts etc I acquired in order to build one good one. Perhaps I could invest in a couple of noisy Deltics if I got all of my money back. Alan
  20. Afternoon It's perfectly OK to use as an antiseptic solution prior to surgical incision. As for drinking, well* .... * Unless anyone wants to volunteer to educate me to show me the error of my ways 😀 We are always amazed, no, thoroughly Peed off at the incredibly short lifespan of supermarket potatoes. Just how do they do that? 🤣 I've heard everything now. Imagine the scene; 1960s, Scruffy urchin collecting Corona Lemonade bottles and cashing them in for the 6d reward. Unwanted clientele AND ahead of my time 60 years ago. Who would have thought! ION World put to rights - Tick Email addresses collated and passed on to a former colleague in readiness for the organisation of a a re-union** - Tick ** It's a sobering thought that the site closed 35 years ago this year, some of the bods were nearing retirement at the time. Some of those Email addresses may no longer work ...... Nothing else to report TTFN
  21. Morning! If you can keep up with all of the characters, their changing attitudes, their motives and their real intentions you're a better man than me Gunga Din! Having said that though there is a great incentive to keep people in their own homes if possible and that is because many of them are/will be far more happy and content in familiar surroundings. Puppers' mother is still living in her home of 50+ years, with very modest local physical assistance (cleaning, gardening), some remote assistance (from Mr & Mrs Puppers) and is generally happy and content. Such safety aids as mentioned have been provided albeit in this case by me and not the council but that's perfectly fine. The topic of going into a home has been discussed many times over the years and it always comes back to the contentment of living in one's own home rather than somebody else's. While she can do it long may it continue! We'll be writing to Buck House very shortly to request a card from KC ...... ION We're being visited by SiL and hubby today. He's from a similar engineering background to Puppers albeit choose a very different career path later on. I dare say they'll be a good deal of putting the World to rights and, unfortunately, I guarantee the World won't be listening AGAIN. Its loss ..... Back later no doubt. TTFNQ
  22. Sort of but that's only about 1/50 of it .......... And I've not finished the book yet!
  23. GP Surgery? What's one of those? I best Google that ..... Yes but all calorie free don't forget! TTFN
  24. Afternoon I see what you did there but all back up and running now by the look of it. More iD than PB I'd say? Can't see the Bear paying £7-50 for "Parmesan & Truffle French Fries with Leek Ashs" as a side dish! 🤣 So, the first property Mr & Mrs Puppers purchased wouldn't have cut the mustard then. 2 up 2 down middle of terrace country cottage, ground floor area 10'6 x 18', front door opening on to the pavement. However "This deceptively spacious property" did benefit from a tumble down Privvy at the end of somebody else's garden🤣 Mind you, what it lacked in size it made up for in more than doubling its value (with a lot of hard graft from the owners as it was a Doer Upper) in the ~4 years we owned it. I think I recalled sometime ago the occasion when a double glazing salesman called with a special offer on patio doors. I told him if could find some where to install them I'd buy them. He looked, he saw, he bxggered off ... I have to say, the rating of that post could have gone either way. The trouble with the written word on social media is you never really know the REAL back story. Can lead to all-sorts of unintentional, unfortunate misunderstandings. Well you've got to have something to do while waiting for the balloon to go up. Might as well work your way through the wine rack before you kiss your ar .... ION The water company man came back slightly perplexed. The problem appeared to be the ingress of muddy carp from the semi-submerged stop-cock*/water meter into the supply pipe. After much graunchy grating of the internal stop-cock and the removal of the kitchen tap nozzle to let air locks were expelled along with various lumps of grit and stone. Once sorted we let the water run for a bit** ..... * I wonder if I'll get away with this term? ** And we'll have to pay for the flaming water I may have mentioned previously that I've been reading a book about Frank Whittle and the trials and tribulations he faced getting his invention (literally & metaphorically) off of the ground. This is the book, a truley fascinating book detailing the ineptitude, the double dealings, the "Not Invented Here" attitude of those that could and should have helped get his creation into a form fit for a service aircraft rather than try and hinder it every step of the way. The Meteor could have been around to help the war effort towards the beginning of the war rather than the back-end of it if there had been a bit of foresight and assistance rather than the exact opposite. Despicable! That maybe considered to be a bit of a historical rant if you wish. Anyway, it's an amazing story with more twists and turns than a Swiss mountain pass and thoroughly recommended for those with an interest in aviation. Meanwhile, Bonk has been busying himself reading a rather fine book that Great Uncle Neil provided on Allied Aircraft Engines of WW2. Here we find him studying a drawing of the Bristol Hercules the sleeve valve drive gear train of which makes a Napier Deltic's phasing gears look simple. Right, I'd best get a wiggle on and get the dinner cooked. TTFNQ
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