Early Risers.

[BSW01]

Thanks for the info regarding carbs. I already eat loads of veg so more should be ok. Only veg I don't like are parsnips, corn on the cob and turnips.

Cutting down on bread will be harder. So I guess cream cracker type biscuits are out also.

You could try an OAT based cracker "NAIRN" are very good and they are low in sugar.

The cheese ones are VERY nice!

Edited July 10, 2016 by BSW01

[emt_911]

Yet another good day for British sport in general. The mountain of ironing has been reduced to a hill which I'll tackle this evening.

 

I always used to enjoy the Larne - Stranraer crossing, the rougher the better. It meant less of a queue for food.

 

Polly - It looks like a good week away. Some great photos as well

[pH]

ISTR that Denver is the Mile High City (does it offer a club membership?) which presumably means the plane doesn't have to climb so high on leaving.

Perhaps, but as Andy pointed out, there are big jaggy things in the vicinity that go quite a bit higher. It's relative altitude that matters, not absolute altitude.

 

OTOH, my rudimentary knowledge of something or other tells me the air is thinner at that altitude, so the plane's engines are not at optimum power. Interesting.

I thought the problems with Stapleton were associated with weather, not the altitude. The mountains caused turbulence, and storms coming off them caused lightning, microbursts, torrential rain etc.

 

The thinner air at altitude means less lift. We once sat on the tarmac at Calgary while the pilot explained that the plane (a 747 about to fly transatlantic) was overweight for takeoff. They were going to unload some cargo and then wait for some cooler air which was rolling down the eastern side of the Rockies to reach the airport. Once the cooler, denser air got there there would be sufficient lift to get the lighter loaded plane into the air. Needless to say, the eventual takeoff run was pretty white-knuckle!

[AndyID]

Perhaps, but as Andy pointed out, there are big jaggy things in the vicinity that go quite a bit higher. It's relative altitude that matters, not absolute altitude.

 

I thought the problems with Stapleton were associated with weather, not the altitude. The mountains caused turbulence, and storms coming off them caused lightning, microbursts, torrential rain etc.

 

The thinner air at altitude means less lift. We once sat on the tarmac at Calgary while the pilot explained that the plane (a 747 about to fly transatlantic) was overweight for takeoff. They were going to unload some cargo and then wait for some cooler air which was rolling down the eastern side of the Rockies to reach the airport. Once the cooler, denser air got there there would be sufficient lift to get the lighter loaded plane into the air. Needless to say, the eventual takeoff run was pretty white-knuckle!

 

I have to think that club got it's moniker long before the days of jet engines and pressurized cabins.

 

Yes, the big problem at Denver is the turbulence created on the leeward side of the Rockies. Altitude and temperature both have an effect. It's not all that unusual for Phoenix to stop all takeoffs when the temperature on the runways gets so high it's beyond the derating charts for takeoff distance. I think that's at 120F (49C)

[AndyID]

BTW, Phoenix is the only place I know of where people kept oven gloves in their cars. GM had a nasty habit of putting a big metal shroud around the ignition key. You had to rotate it to start the engine. The gloves prevented burns on the fingers.

 

Some people did a roaring trade selling "dash mats". They are a sort of carpet things that protect the top of the dashboard. Without them a plastic dashboard could be destroyed in a couple of years.

[Tony_S]

I was tracking Matthew's flight the first time he went to Calgary. I couldn't initially work out how the plane was stationary at about 1000metres altitude. Until then I didn't realise the nature of the local geography. When we left Calgary the plane had to be de-iced twice due to delays. The second time it had to move back closer to the terminal as the weather was too horrible for the de-icing people to work. The exciting bit was that the captain said regulations insisted we did a full power test and take off.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Tony_S

[jamie92208]

The VC10 was specifically designed with very high power in order to operate off the high altitude runways on East Africa. This meant that t could get off in much less runway length than most other aircraft at sea level.

 

Jamie

[PhilJ W]

Good evening from Estuary-Land. I didn't pop in this morning as I was in bit of a rush, why does time disappear when your in a hurry? Had a good day at Sevenoaks but was only there as transport for an exhibitor it tended to get a bit boring. I'm not diabetic but I like to keep my sugar intake low but the fare provided for exhibitors seemed to be almost entirely sugar including a custard doughnut and sugary yoghurt in the morning and a chocolate mousse and a banana at lunch together with some sugary drinks, so its no vanilla cheesecake this week.

[DDolfelin]

' Evening all from red dragon land.

Last week (internet free) we enjoyed a few days out and about from a room with a view we've seen so often from the other side of the river..

 

We went for walks along the canal from Llangollen as well as up and down the line.  I'll sort post some more pics later.

 

I was at Carrog last week, Polly.

[newbryford]

Flagstaff is actually higher than Denver. As is Bogota and a few other South American cities. What is terrifying about Bogota is that it is literally surrounded by the Andes. Your airliner has to circle quite tightly to gain altitude. Mind you my last flight from there to Rio de Janeiro was also spectacular as it followed the Rio ###### until Manaus and then followed the Amazon for a while. The Amazon is bronze compared to the black river yet you can see the blackness for miles towards the left bank.

 

Best, Pete.

 

Mrs NB and myself flew from Lima to Cusco last year. Take off at virtually sea level and land at 11,000 feet.....

 

The runway is reasonably long, but due to the reduced performance of the aircraft at that altitude, smallish aircraft such as Boeing 737 and Airbus A319/320 were the staple. Cusco airport is surrounded on three sides by high ground.

Due to the tourist demand, they are planning a new airport at Cusco[*] The only really suitably large area, that's flat enough is about 25km away and another 1500-2000 feet higher.... The breathing was difficult enough getting off the plane at 11,000feet.

Land values in the areas near the planned airport have gone through the roof. (Not bad for being already 13000feet or so in the first place..........)

 

Virtually all of Cusco's air traffic is to/from Lima. When the new airport is built, it will be able to directly handle larger international flights, so Lima airport will suffer from much reduced passenger numbers transiting through.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited July 10, 2016 by newbryford

[Barry O]

Evening most!

 

grass cut, washing done (despite some heavy showers), tidying up complete.. earned a crust or two by regauging some wagons and then fitting them with 3 link couplings.

 

Eldest herbert has decided that as we are having yet another bus strike in Leeds ( turned down a 3% pay offer) I have to drop him off at Horsforth station before 7:50am prior to visiting Sister Drac's little helper so won't be on here tomorrow first thing.

 

 

I have had one or two dicey dos at airports - Wellington, Albuquerque, Kuala Lumpur, Orlando et al but you can get decent thrills at leeds Bradford a whole 207m above sea level and the highest airport in Europe.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2908198/It-s-skill-pilots-Amazing-video-shows-planes-battle-high-winds-Leeds-Bradford-airport-approaching-runway-SIDEWAYS.html

 

basically you point the plane at the control tower and wait for the wind sheer to get you lined up with the runway.  And they used to land Concord here!

 

Sleep well all, Rick hope Flinders isn't too cold!

 

Baz

[Tony_S]

 

 

I have had one or two dicey dos at airports - Wellington, Albuquerque, Kuala Lumpur, Orlando et al but you can get decent thrills at leeds Bradford a whole 207m above sea level and the highest airport in Europe

Isn't Innsbruck a bit higher up?

[PeterBB]

Afternoon All

 

Shaun, weclome to the world of ERs, and interesting info about your diet vis-a-vis your diabetes.  Quite a few of us on here have that particular ailment, and different ways to tackle it

 

All posts duly read and rated, and rather a lot to take on board and comment on each contribution, so as usual, blanket greetings are proferred.

 

Sat here with my back to the TV where there is a lot of grunting and popping of the tennis balls - is Wimbledon on, I wonder, and why the great cheers, has a Brit made it to a late stage?

No don't answer that one, it's meant to be ironical apathy to most sport in this quarter.

 

A little sadness here today, as though I don't think I've mentioned it, our feathered friends are cared for here daily, with a selection of bird tables and feeders to attract different species - sort of works, though the greedy starlings and pigeons seem to hog much of the provender.  We also have several nesting boxes, and usually get a family of sparrows or blue tits raised, or sometimes both.  This year we had the double nesting box with a brood of blue tits in one side, and the other side empty.  Before we went on our first holiday, the chicks were starting to show signs of fledging,  and when we got back, the box was quiet, with no mum and dad coming and going, so we assumed that the tits had already flown.  When we got back from our second holiday, there was a full blown wasps' nest taking up both sides of the box, and after getting some wasp destroyer, we today opened up the box to find that under the nest were four dead almost fully fledged tit chicks which must have been stung to death by the new occupants of the box! 

 

Oddly enough, that's the third example of a bird box that we've heard of being taken over by insects, as a colleague of 30747 has a neighbour with wasps in hers, and 3074's sister has a tit box which we gave her (same as ours) and which has been invaded by bees!

 

Back later/tomorrow as we've just started a very difficult jigsaw that we got at the car boot (rubbish otherwise, thanks for asking - Geoff, tell Kath that the A6 was really bad with only about 20 stands, and Greenlands was cancelled), which depicts an unrebuilt Scot in LMS maroon at Tebay.  May be late as Sister Drac called in the week to say that my last blood test result was corrupted, and I need to donate another armful.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

Stewart

 

Stewart,

 

We have had the same problem with the nest being taken over but in our case the birds had fledged and bees took it on.  It was great to see them buzzing outside to try and keep it cool inside.

 

On a previous occasion however the reason for the dead pre-fledging blue tits was because birds of prey had scoffed the parents so they were no longer fed.

 

Peter 

[emt_911]

All chores completed and a bit of time spent catching up on various threads in the RM world.

 

Lots of scary take offs, flights and landings at numerous places around the world. Most of them were when civil charters were providing transport to military airfields.

 

A later start than normal tomorrow as I'm working from home writing a report.

 

Night all

[andyram]

Evening all. I hope you have had an enjoyable Sunday. Certainly it has been quite an enjoyable sporting day with wins for Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray and then Heather Watson. I watched the end of the Grand Prix and the first and third sets of the men's tennis final. In between there was a little bit of gardening, tackling the weeds. There was also some time to lay a couple more concrete blocks that are acting as a track bed for the garden railway. A couple of pictures of progress can be seen below.

 

The plan is for a g scale line and the first part of the route is clearly in mind. However Sarah has thrown a spanner in the works. She mentioned that she thought I was going to run "smaller" trains in the garden. I had previously considered making the layout 00 but had opted for g scale believing it to be an easier build. The foundations could easily carry either scale. As I looked at the current route I could certainly picture a 00 gauge Black 5 or Jubilee travelling around at the head of a generous train of maroon Mark 1 coaches. Now I am suddenly not sure what to do - other than continue with the laying of the foundations!

 

Earlier in the day Sarah and I enjoyed a nice pub lunch with Amber. Sarah did stick to soft drinks after yesterday's excess. Meanwhile number 3 cat is certainly happy at home. When we adopted him at Christmas, the Cats Protection staff were concerned that he may not get along with children. Well I think we can answer that question!

[BSW01]

A nice quiet evenin tonight, caught up with a few recorded TV programs and finished off a bottle of red.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to get the back of the workshop painted and maybe start painting the window. I'll have to see what the weather has install for me tomorrow.

 

All the flights we've had been pretty uneventful, although we did have a bumpy run in to Toronto airport once, when we flew in from Boston over the lake. There were quite a few squeals due to the turbulence!

 

Goodnight all.

[laurenceb]

Night all

[AndyID]

Telluride in Colorado has an interesting runway (and fabulous scenery too). Altitude is 9,000 feet. I've seen it, but I have no intention of ever using it

[bluebottle]

...  you can get decent thrills at leeds Bradford a whole 207m above sea level and the highest airport in Europe.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2908198/It-s-skill-pilots-Amazing-video-shows-planes-battle-high-winds-Leeds-Bradford-airport-approaching-runway-SIDEWAYS.html

...

 

Isn't Innsbruck a bit higher up?

 

Innsbruck's at 581 metres, but Samedan airport in the Swiss Canton of Graubünden is highest in Europe at 1,707 metres.

Stats from Wikipedia.

 

Edit: deleted unnecessary links.

Edited July 10, 2016 by bluebottle

[southern42]

A week in Llangollen continued.

Some pics of an evening canal walk back to the hotel after the last train trip.

 

The route took us past the original station entrance on the first floor which led to the bridge and stairs down to the platform.

 

Then up the hill onto the canal walk.

 

 

Looking back towards Llangollen.and the start of the Canal Boat Cruises.

 

Continuing to the hotel, passing the basin from where the narrow boat came.

 

From there on, we followed Telford's feeder canal,

 

passing the International Eisteddfod field,

 

the rear of the railway's Carriage and Wagon Works. 

 

a number of bridges

 

 

 

and barriers

 

 

Tomorrow I'll post some pics of the morning walk.

' Night for now.  Nos da.

 

[Happy Hippo]

I was tracking Matthew's flight the first time he went to Calgary. I couldn't initially work out how the plane was stationary at about 1000metres altitude. Until then I didn't realise the nature of the local geography. When we left Calgary the plane had to be de-iced twice due to delays. The second time it had to move back closer to the terminal as the weather was too horrible for the de-icing people to work. The exciting bit was that the captain said regulations insisted we did a full power test and take off.

Yes I should imagine that full power followed by a take off is most desirable.

 

Having to abort a take off after you have rotated is not pleasant, especially in ice and snow.

 

You might have a very heavy plane due to a large fuel load, and then there are all the screaming passengers to contend with.

[skipepsi]

Good night all.

[Sasquatch]

Hello again. (5pm PST)

 

If you leave carbs, such as bread, potatoes and pasta out of your diet. What do you replace them with in meals? A lot of my meals would vanish. Shepherds, pie, sausage and mash, spag bol, cheese and pickle sarnies etc.
Is it rice with everything? Roast dinner wont be quite the same with rice. Lentils arent my cup of tea nor is falafel.
Suggestions welcomed.

It's a bit like this...
Breakfast: Boiled eggs and kippers with half a grape fruit. Far more delicious than cereal or toast!

Lunch: Curried tuna salad and some blue berries and orange. No more sandwiches or veggie burgers!

Dinner: Tonight we're having roast chicken with Broccoli, carrots, green beans, cauliflower and parsnips which are only any good if par boiled and roasted! I'll miss the roasted potatoe and yorkie pud.

Snacks today included halva and grilled sardines!

So it's not no carb just low carb!!
 
Please feel free to PM me if you would like some more pointers. 
 
 

Afternoon All
 
Shaun, weclome to the world of ERs, and interesting info about your diet vis-a-vis your diabetes.  Quite a few of us on here have that particular ailment, and different ways to tackle it
 
 Thanks! I'm aware that every diabetic is quite unique. tis an awful affliction which can lead to many complications. I'm finding out that using different ways to deal with it day to day  can only be beneficial.    
 
A little sadness here today, as though I don't think I've mentioned it, our feathered friends are cared for here daily, with a selection of bird tables and feeders to attract different species - sort of works, though the greedy starlings and pigeons seem to hog much of the provender.  We also have several nesting boxes, and usually get a family of sparrows or blue tits raised, or sometimes both.  This year we had the double nesting box with a brood of blue tits in one side, and the other side empty.  Before we went on our first holiday, the chicks were starting to show signs of fledging,  and when we got back, the box was quiet, with no mum and dad coming and going, so we assumed that the tits had already flown.  When we got back from our second holiday, there was a full blown wasps' nest taking up both sides of the box, and after getting some wasp destroyer, we today opened up the box to find that under the nest were four dead almost fully fledged tit chicks which must have been stung to death by the new occupants of the box! 
 
Oddly enough, that's the third example of a bird box that we've heard of being taken over by insects, as a colleague of 30747 has a neighbour with wasps in hers, and 3074's sister has a tit box which we gave her (same as ours) and which has been invaded by bees!
 

 
Regards to All
Stewart
Stewart

 
We put up some fake wasp nests like these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wasp-Nest-Hanging-Decoration-Pack-Of-10-/152089148612?hash=item2369383cc4:g:rXAAAOSwubRXNYmu
The wasps wont go within 100 feet of them and they're kind of cool looking. 
 

Thanks for the info regarding carbs. I already eat loads of veg so more should be ok. Only veg I don't like are parsnips, corn on the cob and turnips.
Cutting down on bread will be harder. So I guess cream cracker type biscuits are out also.

 
My friend here also went on a low carb diet as his GP said he could be looking at pre type 2 diabetes. He lost 20lbs in two months.
 
My philosophy is this.. 1. Our species evolved running around on this planet eating raw food for millions of years. 2. You can go to Walmart and see some people (that are three times the weight they should be) over loading their carts with non-nutritious foods, .
 
If you look at points 1 & 2 as either ends of a spectrum and try to eat as naturally as possible most health problems can be avoided.
In the case of type one diabetes there is no cure. It's like trying to cure blindness. The organ is damaged beyond repair.
My problem has been that my treatment  consisted of what causes type two diabetes. Too many carbs!
 
So far so good. I'm feeling very calm and happy, the sort of way you feel the first week into a vacation. Irritable bowel syndrome has stopped (decent stools for the first time in months). Gall bladder not hurting. Clear head and full of energy. Blood glucose levels around normal and no sign of ketones. I did wake up with bad hypoglycemia but will reduce my night time shot and set the alarm for a blood test. Don't worry I'm not skipping injections just greatly reducing the dosages.
 
We did a huge grocery shopping run to Medford and now I'm going to get some modeling done.

 

Edit: Been on some scary cross channel ferry crossings. Mrs. S. swore she'd never get on one again.

One set down into Medford was very hit and miss once and one other (don't recall where) when not until the plane came to a complete stop did all the passengers stop gawping at each other and give a standing applause to the crew!
 
Regards To All. Shaun.

[roundhouse]

The only time I have been ill on a boat was about 10 years old on a Normandy Ferries ship. It's about the only time I couldn't eat a portion of fries!

 

Sitting here in Thunder Island Brewery at Cascade Locks.

 

Superb evening

[Gwiwer]

 

 

we today opened up the box to find that under the nest were four dead almost fully fledged tit chicks which must have been stung to death by the new occupants of the box! 

 

Far more likely that the parents abandoned as the wasps moved in.  Unless you actually found some stings in the bodies.

 

 

 

hope Flinders isn't too cold

 

Thank you Baz.  5C at sign-on falling to a "feels-like" of 2C as dawn broke and the wind got up.  Still falling as the wind rises but I'm home now and making good use of some bacon, tomatoes, sourdough bread and finishing up last night's salad-leaf, beetroot and goat's cheese side dish.  It must be healthy - there's green stuff on the plate

 

 

"There are lies, damned lies and statistics"

 

Staff newsletter this week comments on the triple level-crossing removal on our line which is apparently the largest such project ever undertaken (anywhere?).  The proper gander version has it that everyone has been majorly impressed with the connectivity of the replacement buses and the absence of delays.  "No-one has been delayed more than 15 minutes" we are proudly told.  Except that is completely untrue.  The average additional journey time is 20 - 30 minutes depending upon time of day, road traffic conditions and timetabled service frequency.  Some passengers are enduring much longer delays.  I've come through the occupation using the buses on four days (and driven to another line on the other days to avoid the blockage) so eight bus rides in total.  One has had no driver - he was found in a cafe taking his rostered meal break meaning we had to wait an extra 25 minutes, three buses have failed to start (and with no jump start on hand) and we have been obliged to wait for another bus thereby missing the onward train connection and on one occasion therefore taking a whole extra hour.  One driver has got lost.  Two have become stuck in heavy traffic.  One trip has run what I would call normally and on that run I required 25 minutes more than normal to complete my journey.  

 

C0ckwomble from DHL with whom we have had issues before has been at it again.  I was home on Friday when he didn't bother calling at the door and instead just popped a card in the mailbox down the drive suggesting no-one was home to sign for something.  I rang them.  I mentioned the previous identical incidents.  I was told I had to re-book delivery online.  "Why can't I do it by phone?"  "Because you have to do it online Sir".  "What if I don't have access to a computer?"  "That's no problem Sir, you can do it online from your phone".  "Please tell me how to do that" "What sort of phone are you using Sir - Android or iPhone?"  "It has a rotating dial with numbers around it."  "Yes but is that Android or iPhone ........... ?" What a fluffmuppet.   Heaven help anyone who genuinely doesn't have internet access.  I'm still waiting for the package to be redelivered.  Or another card popped in the mailbox by a lazy CW of a driver.

 

Morning all.  Welcome to Moan-day.