Black Marlin

A thicko? Absolutely not. This one goes all the way back to Latin. The verb probare means 'to test' (and we still talk about 'probation' as being a period of assessment) but it comes from probus, which means 'good' or 'virtuous' (which is why we have the word 'probity' to describe someone's good character). So the ambiguity's been around for a couple of thousand years; I wouldn't beat myself up about it. Regards, Gavin

Brilliant! I didn't know about that one, but yes, it exactly demonstrates the original meaning of the word 'proof': 'test'. Thanks, Brian :-)

And also why the US Army has an enormous, 113-square-mile facility in Maryland called Aberdeen Proving Ground. Even bigger is the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, which encompasses 1,252 square miles and is used for testing chemical and biological weapons (nowadays in a defensive context only).

Fun fact: the original meaning of 'to prove' is 'to test', rather than 'to confirm': this is why exceptions 'prove' rules - they test them to ascertain their truthfulness and general applicability. So Jesse does, indeed, prove the rule. SWMBO informs me that I may be the male version of Susie Dent. Also, I am not allowed to meet Susie Dent.

Greetings all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. I too greeted a magnificent old buzzard this morning - in fact I fetched her a cup of coffee. I also found a new book waiting for me on my desk: 'Hello World', by Hannah Fry (whom some of you may know as the female co-host of 'Trainspotting Live', among other things). Charmingly, she has signed it for me. Last night I won an eBay auction for some resin coal loads for Hornby 6-plank wagons. Since I don't have any Hornby 6-plank wagons, I expect to spend some time hunting down the ones that take my fancy to add to my 'loaded PO coal train' (currently at 33 wagons plus a brake van). Since each loaded wagon weighs ~50g, hauling it is becoming an increasingly stern test of my freight locos... Kind regards countersigned by a red-haired mathematician; Tinkety-tonk, etc., Gavin

Just remove the word 'Security'...

Greetings all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. Another quiet day, I expect (although yesterday was enlivened - I use the word in its loosest possible sense - by reviewing a Malaria course). Perhaps, as per yesterday, I shall 'keep my hand in' by fixing the grammar of Wikipedia articles. Some of the ones related to WW2 surface actions in the Med are in dire need of a tidy-up... Other than that, I have little to report. There was, however, one source of mighty amusement yesterday: someone in the office read out an instruction they'd been sent on Facebook: "Turn to the book nearest to you. The first sentence of page 45 describes your love life. What is it?" As it happened, I'd just been lent The Martian, by Andy Weir. The first sentence on pg 45 is this: "After all that work and being blown up, I'm exhausted." Hilarity ensued.... Kind regards making smutty jokes and sniggering at the benighted; Tinkety-tonk, etc., Gavin

The postie has been, bearing small joyous boxes. In this case, the most delighting is the one containing a Skaledale signal box. Although it isn't the first building bought for Girtby Sea, it is the first one I'll be able to plant: it's going onto this 5-point junction board. Probably with an allotment next to it. Since the scenic work is the thing I enjoy most, I find the prospect very pleasing indeed...

Good news - the postie has been, bringing with him a selection of post-payday goodies. 3 books - The LMS at War, LNER Sheds in Camera and The Rise and Fall of British Railways Goods & Freight - picked up for pennies while sailing across the Bay of E; and a replacement Hornby Skaledale 'Granite Station Signal Box' to govern the mainline junction board I am currently building for Girtby Sea. (I needed a replacement because the ladder on the first one I bought turned out to have been broken in the factory). I'm particularly pleased about the signal box: it's the first building I shall be able to plant on my 'layout of a lifetime'! Gavin

Greetings all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. Spent the weekend mowing the lawn (not a small undertaking), doing some painting of various model railway bits-n-pieces including baseboards and coaches, and drumming yesterday morning in church. This morning there was a kestrel sitting on the garden wall - a lovely looking little bird. Not sure what tasks lie ahead this week: with any luck I shall be able to drift through the office with as little tangible result as a small cloud. Kind regards slipping their scaly hands out from under the bed to grab you by the ankles and frighten you out of your wits; Tinkety-tonk, etc., Gavin

Its been a painty weekend. The big board has had half its undercoat applied, while the cross-piece (which combines the twin-track bridge and the junction) has been fully undercoated. I have also repainted a mk1 Pullman so that its white roof is now the same dark grey as the rest of the rake - a task eventually made straightforward by taking one of the coaches to B&Q, having them scan it, and buying a test-pot of matched silk-finish emulsion! It's hard to get a good finish with emulsion, but it's good enough for a 'layout coach'. Further modelling purchases include two left-hand bullhead points. Fortunately, given that they're £26 a pop, that's the last of them for a while - it'll be 20' before I need another (although by then not only will I need another RH bullhead point, I'll also need a single slip - a proposition I expect to be expensive...). However... 5 points will need 5 point motors, so this board - which is only 30" long - is shaping up to be one of the more expensive on Girtby Sea. I'm looking forward to being able just to lay some straightforward track - although even then, having significant numbers of parallel tracks means that boxes of track disappear rapidly. Just keep telling yourself - "It'll be worth it when it's done. It'll be worth it when it's done.It'll be worth it when it's done..."

In the end I took one of the grey-roofed coaches into B&Q and got them to scan the roof. They mixed up a testing pot of silk-finish emulsion for me for £3. The results are good enough for a 'layout coach': problem solved.

A few years ago, when all my railway modelling was of necessity done in my bedroom, I made the mistake one morning of confusing a rattle-can of matt varnish with my deodorant. I became excruciatingly aware of my error when subsequently raising my arm and undergoing a thorough and immediate exfoliation...

Already, this afternoon is dragging. I imagine I shall be fantasising about finding myself on the Cambridge Buffet Express, circa 1948, with nothing to do but sit and enjoy my book and the odd pint and the sounds and smells of a steam journey...

Greetings all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. A quiet day planned for today, so little to report. Last night, however, I went to see The Meg. It is a fabulously stupid film, although that didn't hinder my enjoyment of it: sometimes all a man needs is to see Jason Statham punch a 90-foot shark in the eye. In fairness, it wears its idiocy on its sleeve: it opens with a rescue aboard a downed missile sub and that sub, unironically, is called 'Rogue' - because if there's one word I want to associate with a Weapons of Mass Destruction launch platform, it's a word that means 'out-of-control renegade'... Kind regards engulfing whole beaches of Chinese holidaymakers; Tinkety-tonk, etc., Gavin

Good news! I have won a couple more 21t NE coal hoppers while sailing across the Bay of E. They shall bolster my Post-War Bulk Coal train, which looks like this... ...and should not be confused with the Post-War Loose-Coupled Coal train, which looks like this: Regards, Gavin

According to EDF, I'm paying for them...

Greetings all, and hello to Jason Isaacs. Been having a fight with EDF. Initial meter reading was 37991. Final meter reading was 38010. EDF attempting to charge for 4156 kWh... a difference of merely 4137kWh. Eh? I mean, seriously: eh? Even if I had a 22-yr-old on continuous vibrate I doubt I could clock up that much energy usage... Kind regards keeping the lights on all over Europe; Tinkety-tonk, etc., Gavin

A picture of one of the branchline trains, for no particular reason:

And if you're very lucky, your ability to speak coherently takes a hit too...

Where is the 'abject horror / pass the brain bleach' button?

Sometimes it's an effort to find an innuendo. But equally, there are other occasions on which it proves to be absolutely no trouble at all.

Apply to the admissions office at Big Rock Candy Mountain...