Early Risers.

[AndyB]

Ice-rink suitably seasoned.

One of the few occasions when the more salt you use the lower the risk!  

[petethemole]

Good morning from a frosty Gateway to the World. Yesterday didn't get above freezing in the shade, which covers the entire back garden at this time of year, so we too have a layer of frost on top of yesterday's. It would be a good morning to go for atmospheric frosty photography....no, I don't think so. I have to take my prescription renewal in but I don't fancy hanging around in the cold by the station. I might take the compact in case something of interest (i.e. a loco-hauled train) comes by when I'm actually at the footbridge.

 

Good to see Jock's feeling a bit better. Best wishes to all.

 

Pete

[sixoh8sixoh]

Morning all from a dry but grey and fairly low-visibility Scottish HQ.

 

I slightly fell off the diet wagon last night with takeaway vegetable chow mein. Though I figured it was healthier than my usual favourite of deep fried chicken balls with rice and sweet and sour sauce... On the plus side, I'd been for a 5k run so at least I'd earned a bit of extra food!

 

Struggled to get up this morning and struggling to find motivation... it'll come in due course I guess...

 

Good to see that Jock's back and hopefully feeling better. Hope everyone else is as well as can be expected!

[BoD]

STOP PRESS!

 

The Obergrumpenfuher has just left for Llandudno, and her final remark as she passed through the door was:

 

'Don't worry about 'Europe and You', it is not a factual document, merely a work of fiction!'

 

I've now wrapped mine up in a plastic bag and will be taking it to the next available comic book convention.

I do wish that someone would just present me with the facts rather than than the scaremongering hyperbole (from both sides) that inevitably appears when Europe is mentioned.

In that way I might be able to make an informed decision.

Anyway, that's touching on poly ticks so we must quickly run in the opposite direction.

 

Posts this morning brought back fond memories of ice slides the full length of the playground in primary school. I'm sure there will be others who don't have such fond memories. I'd guess that they are totally banned these days.

Edited January 20, 2016 by BoD

[trisonic]

Morning Jock, thanks for write up!

 

 

Only -2C this morning and we are scheduled to be above freezing today, for a change, well, it is winter............

 

TV predicting Armageddon on Saturday - with everything from no snow to 24”. Who cares? We’ve had worse. I think they are pissed because according to earlier (this year) theories we would have no snow due to El Nino - so another theory departs by the window.

Chins up everybody.

 

Best, Pete.

[shortliner]

Morning all from a dry but grey and fairly low-visibility Scottish HQ.

 

I slightly fell off the diet wagon last night with takeaway vegetable chow mein. Though I figured it was healthier than my usual favourite of deep fried chicken balls with rice and sweet and sour sauce... On the plus side, I'd been for a 5k run so at least I'd earned a bit of extra food!

 

Struggled to get up this morning and struggling to find motivation... it'll come in due course I guess...

 

Good to see that Jock's back and hopefully feeling better. Hope everyone else is as well as can be expected!

In Mexico City I had "Pollo Bollo" which is deep fried Chicken Balls and very good they were - but find them to be like rocking horse manure to obtain in UK - a lack of cockerels or maybe we export them all to Mexico!

[BoD]

At one point we were going to get the opposite - a lot of snow because of El Niño.

 

Sort of get the impression that they didnt really know what was going to happen.

[brianthesnail96]

Boing!

 

The Met Office seem to have been fairly on the ball here this year- the "coldest winter" stories seem to get trotted out every year regardless of what the Seaweed Twirlers (thanks Mike for that one!) are saying.

 

Note to self: Need to put some antifreeze in the car. I remember to check the Marina, tucked up in winter storage, but didn't think to check the Land Rover. Oops. Still, came up to temperature OK & stayed there so I don't think there's any harm done!

[45156]

Still not able to catch up, but the bookathon is almost at an end, and I have found that some of my recent buying forays have resulted in my buying copies of books I already own - DOH.

 

They will be appearing at a car boot sale near me at some stage in the spring.

 

New doors are in at the back, and the lads are now setting to with replacement of a failed double galzing unit upstairs - which has only lasted about six years, and was guaranteed for five of them.

 

Hope to get caught up and back later.

[lightengine]

Yesterday on 'The Chase' there was a student from Bath Uni. She told Brad Walsh that she was studying French and Italian. He asked her something along the lines of how do you say hello and welcome to to The Chase in French.

She replied Bonjour and then giggled that she didnt know.

He then asked what it was in Italian. She again replied giggling that she didnt know.

Bearing in mind that she most likely studied French since primary school what exactly would the point of her further education be if she cannot say a simple sentence in her chosen languages? I do hope her Uni fees reflect her knowledge base.

[Ian Abel]

Yesterday on 'The Chase' there was a student from Bath Uni. She told Brad Walsh that she was studying French and Italian. He asked her something along the lines of how do you say hello and welcome to to The Chase in French.

She replied Bonjour and then giggled that she didnt know.

He then asked what it was in Italian. She again replied giggling that she didnt know.

Bearing in mind that she most likely studied French since primary school what exactly would the point of her further education be if she cannot say a simple sentence in her chosen languages? I do hope her Uni fees reflect her knowledge base.

Amazing!

Sounds rather like the blonde air-head mis-guided young lady Jemma had the misfortune to spend her first year sharing a dorm room with.

She'd always complain that a 9AM lecture was far too early as she didn't have time to get ready (hair and makeup "expert") for it so early, and either skipped it or was late - all this moaning to Jemma who was listening to it whilst having already attended a 7:30AM lecture! Pah!! Oh she'd also call "mummy" and complain that "daddy" was being mean because he told here she'd not get her allowance unless her grades improved!

I think fees for college/university should be inversely proportional to your grades/if you graduate at all.

"A" students get a free pass

Everyone else, a graduated scale with the most being paid by the party-goers who waste the school, professorial staff and other students time, by not being involved.

[Ian Abel]

HUMP day arriveth...

 

Condolences/best wishes to DD, OldD, et al - good to see a long post from Jock.

 

Yesterday evening saw "The Big Short".

Decided on reflection/discussion post movie that it is an excellent movie, and a fair portrayal of the bandits and robbers  professionals that are the Mortgage Banking and Securities industries here.

Very good performances especially by Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt. May not reflect what was experienced in the UK/Europe, but is almost documentary in its portrayal of the US economic experience through those times. Well worth seeing IMHO. Loved the cameos by various "stars" used to explain some of the more esoteric terms/products involved - quite a clever and funny way to provide detail and humor.

 

First time driving in to the office in three weeks, leaving just a tad earlier as there had been a dusting of snow making the roads a little slick, discovered that 90% of the cockwombles had NOT HEEDED the advice to leave earlier and the roads were remarkably free and clear of Chelsea tractors and their soccer-mum drivers, excellent result.

 

-12 and overcast first thing, wind chill at a mild (har har) -18, headed for an almost tropical -6 for todays high.

 

Enjoy the HUMP and downhill to the weekend.

[BoD]

In Mexico City I had "Pollo Bollo" which is deep fried Chicken Balls and very good they were - but find them to be like rocking horse manure to obtain in UK - a lack of cockerels or maybe we export them all to Mexico!

And very good for the diet too .....

 

...... unless they'd had one of those hernia ops too, in which case very filling.

[Tony_S]

I didn't see the Bath student but the syllabus looks quite good. Perhaps she had just started? One of the two languages can be ab initio.

Having studied French from primary school would appear not to guarantee any ability to speak French judging by the attempts many British people make to make themself understood. My excuse is that I never studied French.

Tony

[Shedman5]

Afternoon, need to catch up on todays posts as I have been busy in the shed all morning and the best part of this afternoon.

 

Radio on in the background and ticking little jobs of the to do list for my layout. One job was to start work on a scenic section which entailed lots of plaster bandage or Mod Roc as its known, have to say I found it quite enjoyable if not messy!

Given that it was a lift out section (shed door) Ive been able to bring it inside to dry out rather than leave it in the shed.

 

Just waiting now to see how long it takes for my other half to discover its whereabouts!

 

Enjoy whats left of the day

 

Alan

[Tony_S]

Until yesterday I think Gordon was the only person I have met that I have also seen on television. However my cousin was on the BBC Midlands news yesterday. I managed to see him on iPlayer when his Mum posted a comment on Facebook. He is in a football league where it isn't only goals that count, weight loss means points too.

Tony

[NGT6 1315]

Shift tomorrow:

 

 

…with two depot returns at 8.10 pm coming off Line 16 and at 1.49 am on Friday off Line 11. I'm not sure, but did I mention before that it's a frequent practice in public transport to provide times in a, shall we say, "beyond 24 hours" format if, for example, a time indication refers to a turn which is, technically, part of the previous day's timetable and goes out of service past midnight? I'd be interested to hear how British public transport operators handle this kind of detail!

 

In any case, I think it should be fun, also because as of yet, I had not taken part in the late evening interchange node at Central Station with a Line 11 service.

[southern42]

Just to say: Evening all from red dragon land.

Almost 5pm and it's still daylight - and frosty!

 

[45156]

Now fully caught up, and sorry to hear Dd's news, and also that of Ian.  It seems that not a day goes past but there is more illness/bad news/etc here - but that's what ERs are about, sharing the good and the bad, and giving as much virtual support as we can offer. 

 

Patio doors duly replaced, and what a superb job they've done, two older guys who really care about giving a quality job, and making sure that all is done to a professional standard, leaving no mess at all, and that the job is finished off to a high standard.  If anybody in the Lancaster area needs a good PVC window/door/conservatory installer, then PM me, and I'll give details of who they are and also a contact number.  The job was certainly worth while, as the dining room is now staying warm, with no draughts round the doors, and when I saw the state of them, I was disgusted, as they were just rotten through, though the surrounds weren't that bad.  In the time we;ve been here, that's all the woodwork supplied from the same source that has had to be replaced due to rot - two outside doors, and the back patio doors.  I will never buy "hardwood" from the DIY store beginning with "W" again.  It was so rotten that there were mushrooms growing in some of the crevices!  I'm just bl**dy grateful that Burglar Bill wasn't aware and in the vicinity, as one good pull with a crowbar would have put them through, and I wonder how our insurer would have reacted.  The new doors have got all the modern security, multipoint locking etc, so I feel a lot better now.

 

Now waiting for the carpets to be replaced, but heard today that there's a delay in the warehouse for the carpet (this is coming from an insurance assessor's supplies) due to the large demand for replacements due to the large volume of claims in this area.

 

Tomorrow is my six monthly visit to Dracula's daughter for my periodic diabetes check.  Can't wait....

 

Back at some stage tomorrow.

Edited January 20, 2016 by 45156

[PhilJ W]

I never done any languages at school, they were just absent from the curriculum. I always struggle with foreign languages anyway even when I have attempted to learn them. One chap I used to know used to pick up foreign languages easily, he'd be conversing with the locals as if he'd been speaking the language all his life within a couple of weeks, surprising as he could barely add 2 and 2 together, horses for courses and all that.

[Donw]

Even colder on the side of the hill than yesterday, and the heating system is not really coping - the radiator at the end of the system which is in the lounge barely warms up after hours. Add that to end of useful life double glazing in that room and you can guess we were cold.

 

 

 

An interesting problem. Often the problem arises when extensions are done and the new radiator is taken off the small feeds to an existing one so the pipes will not carry sufficient flow.

A really old place may has a single pipe system. Each radiator has both ends connected to the same single pipe. The pipe runs from the boiler round the house and back to the boiler. Hot water rises into the radiator displacing the cooler which returns to the pipe. So as you go round the pipe the water gets cooler which can mean those rads at the end get less heat.  At times of maximum demand such as first switch on or really cold days the last rad will be getting really cold water.

Most sytems now are two pipe where there is a feed pipe and a return pipe so the cold return from each rad doesn't affect the next one. However the feed starts with a 22mm pipe with branches of typically 15mm. I used to be able to work out the flow rates and pipe sizes needed but to be honest rule of thumb works ok. However when adding additional rads few people check that the 15mm pipe they are connecting to is sufficient to take an extra rad or two.

Microfbore systems usualy have a manifold from which each rad has a separate feed. so no real issue.

If the problem is not down to system design it may be due to sludge or air locks a quick trial is to shut all the other rads off except the troublesome one and see if that fixes it as the full force of the pump is on that rad.

Sticking valves is another problem if you have a thermostatic valve unscrew the big knurled ring and take the top off you can then see it the pin is free to move up and down.

Of course if it is not just one rad it could be someone has replaced a boiler and used one a bit on the small side to save money. The system will be ok except when you really need it.

 

If you have removed and replaced a rad and it fails to work there is the possibility that you have an air lock when refilling I always shut on side off and allow some through then shut off the other side and allow some through you can often hear bubbles coming through from each side. You can do the same with any rad taking out some water through the air vent from each valve in turn. Mind you the worst air lock I ever encountered would not flow from one side. In the end I had to cut the down pipe off before the valve to create enough flow to clear the airlock and then be pretty quick to reconnect it. Done over a bucket of course. After all that the customer said he would replace the foorboards to save costs. You've guessed it he put a nail straight through a pipe!

 

Anyway I hope you may find something to help in this lot.

 

Don

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all.

 

Well to the picture house we went (yes, it really is called a Picture House - and to add to old old-fashioned piquancy of the title the film's sound didn't work although the crunching of sweet wrappers from up near the front would have drowned out any piano or organ music).  Anyway sound duly restored and film - plus a couple of trailers which presumably are on the same disc - duly returned in its full visual and audio splendour.  'The Danish Girl' is in many respects a very sad film but it was beautifully acted and wonderfully shot although one or two locations looked familiar from countries other than Denmark - we both recognised one as definitely in Brussels while another, which alas wasn't credited, was in the GWS engine shed at Didcot which doubled as a station in Paris.  But sillies like that aside all in all an excellent film.

 

The audience however weren't so excellent.  Apart from sweet munching woman, who fortunately gobbled them all up fairly quickly, we had the usual ration of late comers who arrive about 10-15 minutes after the programme started and even in a couple of cases a minute or two after the main film started - these cinemagoing cockwombles then proceed to stand in a row removing hats and coats and whatever while you try to watch the screen through them.  However cockwomble award of the day has really to be decided between these two -

 

Choice 1.  A couple who arrived about an hour into the film, threaded their way past three other people in the row in front of us to reach some seats (in an 85% empty cinema) lighting their way by torch, stood and removed their coats - fortunately not blocking anybody's view, sat down for all of 90 secs, stood up, put their coats back on, passed in front of three people (and across our view of the film) for a second time, and left.

 

Choice 2,  A rather portly lady of clearly poor eyesight who stood up to leave while the credits were running, tripped over her own feet (regrettably without permanently damaging her voicebox), and proclaimed to the assembled company that 'they' ought to turn the lights on.  I do wonder if she heard my not absolutely sotto voce comment that 'the bl**dy film hasn't finished yet!'

 

Yes - we did watch the credits all the way through as we were interested in what might be said about locations, and Didcot wasn't mentioned or even the GWS.  Film thoroughly recommended, choose your own cockwombles for the audience.

[45156]

 

Choice 1.  A couple who arrived about an hour into the film, threaded their way past three other people in the row in front of us to reach some seats (in an 85% empty cinema) lighting their way by torch, stood and removed their coats - fortunately not blocking anybody's view, sat down for all of 90 secs, stood up, put their coats back on, passed in front of three people (and across our view of the film) for a second time, and left.

 

Mike, is the cinema a multiplex, as I suspect that this couple might well have been headed for a different screen where a different (or even the same) film was showing at a different time, and they just realised their error - that happened to me a while back when I went to the cinema and the same film was showing in different auditoria an hour apart.

[emt_911]

Yet another easy day and finished on time.

 

However, I got a call earlier which means that I don't have to be such an ER tomorrow and only have one meeting in the afternoon (so far). The only problem is I have to travel to the midlands after the meeting for work up there and then another meeting. The second meeting has the possibility of brining some good news and a few changes.

 

I don't know what the internet access will be and I won't get back home till late Saturday.

 

When I was a school I had major problems picking up languages although they only taught French which I still can't grasp. Since then, if I'm exposed to another language even for a short time, I find it easy to hold conversations.

 

DD - Really sad news

[Tony_S]

I used to really dislike going to the cinema when it was full of smokers and had uncomfortable seating. The new style multiplex cinemas seemed so nice but apart from going to films when Matthew was of junior school age I find it a less than enjoyable experience. Either the obsessive mutterers (anything to do with hobbits) or just as bad those who can't eat their chemical smelling pig and potato products quietly just start to annoy me, and I am quite difficult to annoy. I am happy to wait for films to be on Sky or buy the blu ray or dvd now.

Tony