Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

Never ever had a single sided toaster, well only when an element failed.

Our toaster is French and can do single sided for those who desire such a thing. For that you have to press the button with a picture of a baguette.

[Ian Abel]

Morning, start of another work week for us bread-winners. Fortunately I'm paid in $ not bread

 

Yesterday was "fun" overall.

Did some more layout wiring, only 9 point motors left before I'm done and might be able to start thinking about ballasting/scenery work <ugh>! 

 

Took Whitney to the dog park, she seems to love the place, and she is really, REALLY fast, for such a small dog, like watching greyhound races.

 

Watched the Oscars, enjoyed all aspects, some choices I liked, some I didn't as usual. Very amused/surprised by the c0ck-up at the end for the Best Picture - leave it to accountants, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, to manage a flustercuck!

They have already "apologized" but I'm sure there'll be some serious reviews of the procedures after that "little blunder"!!

 

-3 and sunny first thing here, looking at 6 for a high.

 

All together now... "hi ho, hi ho..." - except for you poor buggers who are retired and now have never ending "to do" lists  enjoy the day everyone

[lightengine]

Afternoon, not a lot to report except its stopped raining!

 

I find it strange that waste bins of the same colour are for different items dependent on where you live. Why not have the same colour  say for garden waste across the board?

 

We operate on Brown garden waste ,Blue glass/plastic etc , Grey for land fill and a small Green box for paper/ cardboard with grey emptied one week others following week.

 

Anyway enjoy whats left of the day folks

Black wheelie...waste..........fortnightly

Green wheelie...garden waste...£35 per annum (not used)

Blue bin........food scraps....weekly

Green bin.......compostable....weekly (we compost)

Green box.......card & glass...weekly

Black box.......tin & plastic..weekly

Blue sac........white paper....weekly

Thats all we have!

[Shedman5]

Anyone able to beat the bin and box count from lightengine?

[lightengine]

Anyone able to beat the bin and box count from lightengine?

I should hope not!

Edited February 27, 2017 by lightengine

[Tony_S]

Sherry's point about the legal support offered by education unions is well worth noting. Much of what you are paying for covers professional services. If something goes wrong one cannot rely on the schools insurance to have your best interests as the main concern.

When I was teaching science not only was I in a union but also in the Association for Science Education as they offered even more support if required.

Aditi was a witness at two industrial tribunals. There were meetings with legal types. She never had to pay for this. All paid for by unions. One tribunal was nasty, as she was allegedly the cold racist person who had discrimated against and bullied someone. Somehow she convinced the tribunal this was not the case.

Edited February 27, 2017 by Tony_S

[BoD]

I don't know if I have mentioned this but I have given up on recycling.  Here was me, making every effort to fill the glass recycling box with wine bottles and beer bottles when I noticed the neighbour's had just one measly jam jar in it.  What's the point when other people are just not making the effort?

[Happy Hippo]

For all it's faults, Telfland is on the cutting edge of recycling and rubbish collection.

 

Black bin for non recyclable waste  collected every other week.

Green bin(s) (free) for garden waste collected on alternate weeks to the black bin.  (We have three of these, and have been told we can have more if required!)

Blue box and bag for card and paper and a Purple bin for metals and plastics. These go out with the garden waste. (we rebel and have a green waste sack for paper and card, which the boys on the wagon are quite happy to accept instead of the blue one).

 

Less than a mile from the house we have a state of the art recycling centre where you can take all sorts of rubbish free of charge.  some does go to land fill, but the majority is sorted into other types of recycling.

 

You can even get a van and trailer permit for the site, but with these are restricted to (I think) 12 in a calendar year to prevent commercial users abusing the system.

 

They also offer personalised bulk waste disposal, but it cost £18.00 with a limit of 6 items per lift.  Yet if you have a Telford Loyalty Card (free) you get 10% discount!

 

A lot of local authorities would do well to look at the Telford and Wrekin Council (T&WC) system and benefit from the excellent system that is offered to the local community.

[Happy Hippo]

Don't all rush to move here for the free green bins! 

[lightengine]

Don't all rush to move here for the free green bins! 

Could you slice one in half, hinge it and put a layout in it. Wheel it to shows.

Use one for a water butt.

Cut open the front of one and fit shelves in for a wheelie toolbox.

[Ian Abel]

I don't know if I have mentioned this but I have given up on recycling.  Here was me, making every effort to fill the glass recycling box with wine bottles and beer bottles when I noticed the neighbour's had just one measly jam jar in it.  What's the point when other people are just not making the effort?

BoD, Sorry but I can't let this go. I mean no offense by the following statements, mostly trying to provide an explanation/response to "What's the point..."

 

i) Every little helps (it TRULY DOES), your contribution is far more important than NOT recycling simply because someone else isn't.

  Anecdote: I wish my brother understood this - they "can't be bothered", but they generate so much waste that could be recycled, as a result it's almost criminal. Just their circumstances and too much money to spend on too much "stuff" without considering the consequences, after regular huge parties where they literally throw in the RUBBISH BINS 50-70 wine bottles without any though of what the results are...

ii) It's always about personal responsibility and conscience and a conscientious effort to improve on the situation/condition of the planet, to help slow the issues we've created.

iii) Possibly, (unlikely I know), your neighbors have nothing more that can be recycled.

iv) What if we all felt the same about sewage for example - back to the 1800's, someone had to START to make the place more livable instead of pissing in the streets!

v) Being a pioneer (even on a local level) is never something that is easily and immediately subscribed to by others, BUT, they are likely to eventually catch on.

 

We're not recycling fascists, but do our utmost to minimize our land-fill waste, even in a place with so much open space as the US here, land-fills cause extreme environmental issues and they will only get worse without everyone pitching in.

 

Off soap-box...

[Tony_S]

I don't know if I have mentioned this but I have given up on recycling.  Here was me, making every effort to fill the glass recycling box with wine bottles and beer bottles when I noticed the neighbour's had just one measly jam jar in it.  What's the point when other people are just not making the effort?

BoD, Sorry but I can't let this go. I mean no offense by the following statements, mostly trying to provide an explanation/response to "What's the point..."

 

...

Off soap-box...

I think this may be a case of the British sense of humour not crossing the Atlantic? It is a joke about drinking not recycling.

[Tony_S]

We have

Black bags for non recyclable stuff. Fortnightly collection.

Pink bags for mixed recyclable, though card can be folded separately alongside. The other fortnight!

Pale green bags for garden waste. It was an initial free roll of bags with the opportunity to purchase more. Changing to purchasable bag or annual fee brown wheely bin. Collected weekly. Aditi has ordered a bin as it will be neater.

Food mini bin. Weekly collection. We don't have much waste food.

Blue bag for fabrics. Not used much as Aditi takes fabrics to the Sue Ryder shop.

We have a good household recycling centre. Aditi thinks the chaps there are really helpful.

Our local authority has won awards too.

Tony

Edited February 27, 2017 by Tony_S

[PhilJ W]

I only like cheese in its uncooked state, on its own. The moment you start melting it into other food, it overpowers just about everything.

 

 

I think he might mean a grill!

 

I can't eat cheese in its natural state, it has to be cooked in some fashion for me.

Try grated onion between the toast and the cheese, yummy. But watch out the onion can get very hot.

[The Lurker]

I don't think I can beat Lightengine's tally

 

We have:

General waste - large green bin fortnightly

Garden waste - large brown bin, fortnightly, alternates with large green bin - we have to pay for this.

Food waste - small brown bin, weekly. This mainly contains peelings and when the Lurker boys' eyes are larger than their tummies.

Paper waste - medium size green bin, weekly

Glass - medium size black bin, weekly. On occasion we make strenuous efforts to fill this.

Dry recyclables - medium size maroon bin. This really means tin and plastic. How much of this I get right I can't say. I suspect a lot of the plastic isn't as recyclable as I think it is.

 

Occasionally we charity clothes and books either via one of the multiplicity of charity shops on the high street, or in a collection organised via the schools. ("Phil the bag" etc)

[AndyID]

Taking my wife for a ct scan this afternoon. We have a vague idea where the scanner is but as we cannot find it on a map of the RLI we will go early and ask at the information desk: that is why they have it. No storms here but it did rain enough to flood the bottom of our sloping garden. I went to pick up a piece of wood that had blown onto the lawn and found there was a nail in it. A good bit of blood later and I now have a large plaster at the base of my thumb. You only appreciate how much you need your thumbs when you can't move it properly. Stay safe all.

If you haven't had an anti-tetanus shot recently please get one now.

[DDolfelin]

Our council issued us with a green bin for garden waste and then decided it was uneconomical to collect it.

Thousands of green bins purchased and not used.

Wonder what the environmental price was for making them.

[AndyID]

I think he might mean a grill!

I can't eat cheese in its natural state, it has to be cooked in some fashion for me.

Yes, sounds more like a grill. Our toaster has a "bagel" button that turns off the elements on one side.

 

More fascinating facts from your North Idaho correspondent later.

[Tony_S]

If you haven't had an anti-tetanus shot recently please get one now.

A few years ago I had a nasty gardening wound. I went to the surgery as I couldn't remember my last tetanus jab. However I was told that 10 year boosters were no longer necessary if you had previously had 5 tetanus treatments earlier in ones life.

I would be interested to know what others have been told, experienced etc.

Tony

[AndyID]

A few years ago I had a nasty gardening wound. I went to the surgery as I couldn't remember my last tetanus jab. However I was told that 10 year boosters were no longer necessary if you had previously had 5 tetanus treatments earlier in ones life.

I would be interested to know what others have been told, experienced etc.

Tony

I've no idea how many I might have had so I'd probably have to play it safe. Lockjaw is no joke.

[Donw]

Single sided toaster???  Really?

 

MiL used to have a single sided toaster well it did have two heating sides so you could do one side of each of two slices then do the other sides. There was just a single set of elements up the middle.  No worse than doing the toast under the grill.

Don

[Tony_S]

Yes, sounds more like a grill. Our toaster has a "bagel" button that turns off the elements on one side.

More fascinating facts from your North Idaho correspondent later.

We have a panini press for toasted sandwiches. It has upper and lower hotplates. Mainly used by Matthew when he is home.

I now fancy something toasty. I think there are muffins. Not English muffins as previously seen in the US! However I was amused to see the American style product on sale in Waitrose. So now you can buy English Muffins in England from the same shelf as the British standard Muffins!

Edited February 27, 2017 by Tony_S

[Donw]

Cant beat baked camembert. mmmmmmmm

Model Railway club dinner Friday on the menu for starters is baked camembert and crusty bread to share. If it is only me that wants it I might have to eat it all.... The other good thing for once the venue is in walking distance. Where's the wine list.

Don

[The Stationmaster]

Ah, bins r us day.

 

We have a nice simple system,

 

Black wheelie bin fortnightly for general rubbish

Brown wheelie bin for garden waste collected fortnightly, costs about £38 per annum.

Green wheelie bin (large than the black one) fortnightly for all recyclables except certain items (batteries, clothing, small electrical items  etc which go out separately on top of the 'bin of the week')  all paper, glass, cardboard, tins, and so on go in the green wheelie bin and are sorted at the recycling depot - the council view is that this is more efficient than lots of separate containers and it genuinely is sorted at the recycling centre (which is shared with two other District Councils).

 

Green caddy type bin for food waste which is collected weekly - busier here at this time of the year as the compost bin is at the far end of the garden - collected food waste goes to a bio-digester power plant.

 

And that's it apart from the contractor operated council tip.

 

PS The rain has stopped - but unfortunately it has actually stopped several times, so you can work out for yourself what has happened in between those times.

[Ohmisterporter]

Thanks for the tip Andy; my GP said I had four years to go before my next anti-tetanus top up. That was last year so I should be OK. We used to have booster shots every ten years but they stopped that so that you get a shot as and when needed and that lasts for at least ten years. On the subject of recycling, Lancashire County Council made a profit last year of twenty-two million pounds on recycling and still reckon that only half the possible waste gets recycled. I was listening to a chap on a tv phone in last week who said a friend had paid off his mortgage by recycling collecting cans and bottles around the town where he lived (somewhere in Finland IIRC). It was being quoted as though it was a great example of recycling but to me it showed the opposite. The chap could only collect all that waste because so many of his neighbours were casually discarding it. I do all I can because I believe in it.