Early Risers.

[Horsetan]

.....It also turns out that President Macron visited this little hamlet of La Menereix last week and even shook our friends hand. We have bowed obsequiously....

What I find amusing is that the President clearly intends to run his new governing party along the lines of a PLC, with regular appraisals of his MPs (the majority of whom have never had any political experience, and are thus perfect fodder for him because they will be biddable), PowerPoint presentations, and no doubt all manner of corporate BS worked into the game.

 

It will be a whole new ball game for France. JFDI!

[Barry O]

Good morning from a breezy North West Leeds highlands.

Apparently I have'things to do' today...now awaiting the "wolf at the door" meeting to tel me what to do.

 

Enjoy your day.

 

Baz

[45156]

The USA academic staff ranks are different to the UK system.

 

The student's best friend, Wikipedia, offers this explanation,

 

"while "Professor" as a proper noun (with a capital "P") generally implies a position title, the common noun "professor" in the US appropriately describes anyone teaching at the college level, regardless of rank; also, as a prenominal title of address, it can be capitalized without implying the title rank."

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_ranks_in_the_United_States

 

Whereas in the UK, Professor is a position in a university marking the pinnacle of an academic career, so profs here tend to be older, whether male or female! It's unusual for someone in the UK system to reach Professor at an age under 35, unless they're absolutely stellar.

 

All the best,

 

Keith

Interestng Keith - she was a Prof in the UK, and I suspect that she was quite a bit older than my supposed age - however, even so, she was a lot more attractive than the usual Profs of my day.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A lot cooler today, in fact I had shut some windows at 6 a.m. as it was feeling so cool. Despite being cooler its as sticky as it has been over the last week or so. Not a lot else to report so bye for now, be back later.

[PhilJ W]

Just had a few spots of rain, but that has had little effect.

[AndyB]

Morning all and it's a cloudy one here. Rain is predicted in the next hour with a high of 21^oC.

I awoke at 03:38 for a call of nature; not the dawn kind. That started at precisely 04:00. 

 

Primary carer duties took over yesterday evening when I was called out to sort out "an accident".

The accident turned out to be an inverted full bottle of listerine that had been spilt over mum's kitchen, hall and bathroom floors.

My eldest volunteered to accompany me to sort out the mess, earning a couple of £s towards her savings fund. 

 

Consultation with swmbo yesterday evening resulted in a goods siding being lifted* on the layout. 

 

* euphemism for a section of Code55 being removed from a model railway, before you lot chime in. 

[PhilJ W]

Expecting the heavens to open shortly, the sound of thunder approaching as I type.

[Two_sugars]

What I find amusing is that the President clearly intends to run his new governing party along the lines of a PLC, with regular appraisals of his MPs (the majority of whom have never had any political experience, and are thus perfect fodder for him because they will be biddable), PowerPoint presentations, and no doubt all manner of corporate BS worked into the game.

 

It will be a whole new ball game for France. JFDI!

 

 

Just For Daftness?

 

 

John

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all.

 

10/10ths cloud cover at present with an occasional breeze and even more occasional showers (of very limited duration, thermometer in the porch is down to 20C.  Faux Friday shopping decisions have yet to be made by the management but in the meanwhile I have been tasked to upset the cats by making use of the vacuum cleaning machine around the ground floor.

 

Enjoy your day

[DDolfelin]

I've enjoyed the Summer.

 

Look forward to next year.

[Danemouth]

Went to Sainsburys this morning. On the way out the Guide Dogs for the Blind Charity were their thing asking people to sign direct debits and no, they were not allowed to collect cash donations.

 

I really am sick of charities soliciting for direct debits, especially when I read in the Daily Wail about some of their tactics to increase your donation and Chief Execs salaries.

 

Put a collecting tin under my nose and I am generous but forget it otherwise.

 

I really am becoming an old f@rt!

 

Dave

[NGT6 1315]

A'noon all. Scorchio Mk.2 on the agenda today, so we'll just have some salad for dinner. Did a soup last night, which was nice but really too warm.

 

Attached a new faucet to the kitchen sink and now drenched in sweat as woking in confined spaces isn't comfortable. Really little point in showering in such weather, somehow. Far as refreshment goes, that is.

 

Later.

[AndyB]

Went to Sainsburys this morning. On the way out the Guide Dogs for the Blind Charity were ###### their thing asking people to sign direct debits and no, they were not allowed to collect cash donations.

 

I really am sick of charities soliciting for direct debits, especially when I read in the Daily Wail about some of their tactics to increase your donation and Chief Execs salaries.

 

Put a collecting tin under my nose and I am generous but forget it otherwise.

 

I really am becoming an old f@rt!

 

Dave

 

A classic one is where a TV ad will appeal for you to text a number with BONUS, HELP ME MEET MY SALES TARGETS MARMITE to donate £3 in order to feed this endangered Madagascan puffin all the Marmite sandwiches it'll need for a month.

 

Two weeks later the phone rings and the caller thanks you for your generosity. 

Then there's a set spiel about how they'd like you to set up a direct debit.

Delivered by a well meaning, low-paid youngster working in a contact centre.

 

My response is: thanks but I already sponsor a child in Africa and feel I'm doing my bit.  

[Donw]

Keith and John:

Isn't the American "professor" system something like "Captain" in the Navy? As I understand, if you command a ship, you're called "Captain", even if you're only a lieutenant.

 

 

In our small office, one of the guys received his Associate of the Society of Actuaries designation (halfway to Fellow). The other actuary asked him what title he thought he should have and he said "Associate Actuary". Caused some friction (not in our office) as "Associate Actuary" is one of the higher ranked officers in an insurance company.

 

There are some very silly titles about. Chief Constable is one all those ranks above constable but the chief constable tops the lot. In this case the difference is a Captain as a role is someone in charge of a ship whatever their rank may be. Similarly someone flying a plane is a pilot.  There now seems to be a lot of former doctors now classed as Associate Consultants however their role seems to be referring you on to a Consultant if any treatment is needed.

 

Don

[Horsetan]

.....I really am sick of charities soliciting for direct debits, especially when I read in the Daily Wail about some of their tactics to increase your donation and Chief Execs salaries.

The minimum DD tends to be about £5. This doesn't even cover the cost of paying the chugger* to accost you in the first place....

 

 

 

*CORRECTION: the agency supplying the chugger, as chuggers are not always employed directly by the charity that they purport to represent.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Horsetan

[DDolfelin]

Tend to agree about the 'charitable' sales pitches.

Take a look at the salary of the CEO and, with some, look at where their Head Office is situated.

Not to say that most don't do good works.

The cynic in me wonders why the film crew didn't step in to stop all those children drinking dirty water.

The folk on here have proved their generosity in the past and I'm sure it will continue without emotional blackmail.

[Donw]

G'night all.

 

We have a  'yellow weather warning' from the Met Office for tomorrow from 06.00 to 13.00 to tell us that it might rain.  If I look further down the page I see that the 'Precipitation Probability' during that period moves up from 5% to .... wait for it .... a highly impressive 10%.  

 

Oddly we haven't got a warning covering the period from 14.00 to 18.00 when the probability is again shown as 10%  - presumably it will be a different sort of rain (or a different sort of probability)?   

 

Confused of the Thames Valley

 

Mike my understanding is with showers the probability is the likelyhood of you getting one. The warning is not that it might rain but that if it rains it is likely to be heavy enough to cause problems. So presumably the later period showers are expected to be lighter. That is assuming they have a clear idea of the future weather.

 

Don

[Tony_S]

I must be a horrible person as I am totally immune to door to door or street chuggers. I prefer to contribute in a way that doesn't rely on giving a stranger my bank details.

My "over the road" neighbour told me about another scam. Somebody turns up and offers to relay your drive. You say no but to get rid of them accept a quote. You come back home one day to find your drive dug up, as they "assumed" you had accepted the quote. I suspect this scam is tried on the elderly and vulnerable.

Tony

[The Lurker]

I must be a horrible person as I am totally immune to door to door or street chuggers. I prefer to contribute in a way that doesn't rely on giving a stranger my bank details.

 

I find a polite "No thank you" before they can even open their mouth works nicely.

 

If it doesn't I ask them to leave me a leaflet to read or give me a link to a website as I won't make a decision on the doorstep.

 

 

The weather here is cooler than in previous days, slightly overcast, although when the sun came out it was very warm.

 

A few drinks tonight with an ex-colleague - should be pleasant and might numb the discomfort in my foot/ankle.

 

Otherwise not a lot to report. Have a good day all

[lightengine]

Much cooler here in sunny Teignmouth today.

 

Good to know that Lord Carey covered up for innapropriate behaviour by his underlings.

 

Dickie Arbiter has criticised Prince Harry. Walk a mile in royal shoes Dickie.

[Judge Dread]

I just love those people when they ring me and say "This is just a quick call". My answer is "You are quite correct because I'm hanging up now!"

Edited June 22, 2017 by Judge Dread

[45156]

Take a look at the salary of the CEO and, with some, look at where their Head Office is situated.

Not to say that most don't do good works.

I worked for an organisation which offered services to the Charity sector, and had access to the salary rolls of many of the major charities, and some of the amounts being paid were more than comparable with similar commercial opeartions - not only the CEO, but many of the other Directors and senior managers.  Also, many had extremely plush Head Offices, and I have seen more that one boardroom which would have done a major PLC proud.  After that, I found it hard to donate to any of the major charities.  Some also had very hard nosed senior people, whose attitudes were somewhat less than charitable.   I do support a number of local charities, and these are, in my opinion, more deserving of my money and other donations - there is a very well run animal rescue which is run by the founder and his wife, with only a few staff, and it does a very good job, and in my view, does a better job than many of the major animal charities.

 

Afternoon All

 

Much cooler here, and rain from time to time.  Not a great deal to report today, so greetings to all for any celebrations, ailments, and anything else.

 

Bacl tomorrow.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

[Ian Abel]

BIN day, and this one will prove "interesting".

As well as the normal BIN (no recycle it's an off week), I had the dubious pleasure of wheeling the old/dead/rusted BBQ out there too. There's a 50/50 chance the service will take it.

Unlike many places inhabited by our readers, 99% of the US BIN service is handled by private contractors. You choose which one you like of the one-to-many servicing your city and off you go - "pays your money and takes your choice".

Our choice is a good local "green" (rather too long and boring to truly justify/explain) provider, and he usually takes most ANYTHING we put out there. They all will take anything/everything if you call ahead and explain what it is, but that usually comes with a cost. Ours often will take extras such as this and sometimes adds a charge, sometimes not. We'll see.

 

Yesterday uneventful, no word from the client on the "what the HELL should this P&L report finally look like" front... <yawn> continue with other stuff.

 

Today therefore expected to be much the same, especially as I'm headed out there next week, they'll just ignore me until Monday now!

 

Need to call the newspaper again and once more ask, since they state "delivered to your door", they need to show me where the sodding DOOR on my front path 50ft. from the house is because I'm buggered if I CAN FIND THE THING!!!! This is now EVERY DAY this week...

 

Pleasant day yesterday weather-wise, 20 here now, overcast and occasional showers. High 25 and showers predicted off and on most of the day.

 

Let's move swiftly through BIN day and attack POETS with fervor, tally ho

Edited June 22, 2017 by Ian Abel

[TheQ]

This morning th trains either side of ours have been cancelled due to shortage of stock due to the heat. Luckily we were first on our service when it arrived but people are now struggling to get on it further towards London.

Be mor day and then it's the weekend. Hooray.

 

Did the stock just melt away?

 

 

 

I just love those people when they ring me and say "This is just a quick call". My answer is "You are quite correct because I'm hanging up now!"

My Answer is somewhat shorter, "Correct" then the phone goes click. Edited June 22, 2017 by TheQ

[TheQ]

Afternoon Awl, From a not very sunny Shaw near Oldham. 225 miles further northwest than this mornings contribution.

Many cockwombles seen on route, hence raised heart rate and needing a lie down.

A heavy shower of rain was had on the A17 much needed as the car was hot before then. Other rain and heavy drizzle going over the top on the M62 between Leeds and Shaw.

 

Decidedly impressed with her in the box, I was expecting to be sent my normal route from the A1M to the M62 when she suddenly told me to take a left, being well up on time I decided to obey her for a change, after a short wander around some countryside we then appeared at a junction on the M62. All I can think is she picked up some traffic report via the WiFi ( we had been near some coaches) and went into traffic avoidance mode.

 

Arcadia models, Shaw. As recommended by others on here, I'd join in the recommendation, I was welcomed into the shop, and shortly after offered a cup of tea. The shop is stuffed with N,OO and O gauge model railway stock. I spent far too much but am happy with my purchases!! I'll be visiting each time we come back here.

 

How's this for an odd connection with Arcadia's proprietor, if IIRC, his wife's brother married a girl, near where I used to live, therefore she will have attended the same school as me at some point. Where was that School or should i say Sgoil? Eochar, South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides!!!

Right time to.. inspect the eyelids...