Early Risers.

[Ohmisterporter]

Back after  walkies, and shopping collection. 

 

Cockwomble of the day week month lifetime was today.  Our twin villages have all been bestowed a 20 mph speed limit, which is observed by most.

 

However, on my way back from the shops, I was going on to the Post Office, and it's 20 mph all the way from the main road.  So, as I joined the road through the villages, I was followed by a grey hatchback which I've seen before, and which started to flash me from behind, even though I was already exceeding the 20 mph limit, and he tried to pass, to be thwarted by an oncoming delivery van.  So I stuck to 25 mph, and as I turned off the the Post Office, was rewarded for breaking the speed limit by a collection of gesticulation, and a blast from the horn, as cockwomble shot past me at about 40. 

 

I think I've seen this clown before, and he seems to treat the local roads as his own personal racing track. 

 

I got caught at 35 in a 30, but this idiot seems to get away with it all the time.

 

I know the one you mean Stewart, he is an accident looking for somewhere to happen but he is going to hurt someone else. A few years ago the parish council got the police to set up speed checks through both villages for a few days. All the speeders they caught were local. 

[Ian Abel]

BIN and Ides tragic combinations??

Since I'm on an away fixture the Mrs has the BINs to deal with.

 

<RAMBLE ALERT>

Nothing to report from yesterday save the apparent demise of the ORIGINAL Northrop-Grumman facilities on Long Island. Buddy of mine worked there in its hey-day and I recall passing the location (Bethpage, Long Island) when I lived in NY in the '70s and was on LI a lot. Was a thriving hub with the expected attendant security that befits a defense contractor significant facility. ...

Turns out the new client offices are across the street, literally, from the original/primary location from back then.

The SIGN still sits right by the street, but the entire plant, offices and even the later created Grumman Studios are all deserted and fenced off. Quite a shock/surprise to see that.

Sorry, just a rambling, probably of little interest to "anyone" anymore, especially ERs 

NOTE: I'm aware Northrop-Grumman are still one of the largest defense contractors in the US, but this facility used to be quite a significant/shining star, so just a surprise to see the current condition.

 

So, overslept by 10 minutes as for some reason I first woke around 4AM, then struggled to try and get a little more sleep - net result, 10 minutes late. That made a difference, encountered the sun blinded, slow driving cockwombles I missed/avoided yesterday <sigh> <groan>. SUNRISE HIGHWAY on Long Island is very definitely named correctly, the person who named it must've been an eastbound AM commuter  ....

 

ZERO (designated very chilly by the TV prat) and sunny this morning expected to reach 7 for a high, no precipitation or other weather significa announced.

 

Hope your BINs get the respect they deserve, enjoy the day.

[The Lurker]

Greetings all, from a grey but currently dry LBG.

 

Belated birthday wishes to NHN and condolences to Robert. Have I missed news of Debs?

 

Tonight I am visiting a "posh curry house", the Baluchi which is housed in the Lalit Hotel by Tower Bridge. It's housed in the old St Olave's school building. Judging by the webcam tour available on the website, the surroundings will be amazing. The school (which of course has a Schools class named after it) moved from Tooley Street to Orpington 50 years ago.

 

On the tolls front, I maintain a Dartford crossing account and put various far flung relatives of Mrs Lurker on it too. Generally they only cross if they are coming to see us and I like to keep that infrequent . We don't use it much ( 2-3 times a year) so having an account is much better than having to remember to make a payment otherwise. Like TonyS I have avoided driving into central London since the Congestion Charge was first introduced.

Edited March 15, 2018 by The Lurker

[AndyB]

Mention of dope reminds me of last night's drive home. Whilst waiting on red lights at a major intersecation a young lad started to wander across the dual carriageway...very slowly and apparently unaware of the lights changing and traffic bearing down on him. Having got to the central island he stepped out into the road again a couple of cars ahead of me. Had a look at him as I drove past - eyes glazed and most likely under the influence of something!

 

Meanwhile it's been an expensive week here with work on the roof and a large bill at the garage. Apparently my car is now old enough and in good order to rate as collectable with prices rising.

[roundhouse]

Forecast for another dry and warmish day here in Denver. A trip to the new caboose Hobbies is on the agenda this morning after breakfast then maybe some linesiding of freight just South of downtown Denver where the light rail runs alongside the line.

 

Then it will be various new breweries to try since our last visit

[Gwiwer]

Morning all.

Beware the Ides of March

.

Because it is the Dragon-in-Law’s birthday!!!

 

Baz - and others - the Australian eTag is one of the smarter devices out there. Which ever of the private road owner/operators issues your tag it is valid for use on all Australian tollways and all charges are applied to the one account. You can either have auto top-up or pay as you go. Or you have a couple of days to pay up if driving without a valid eTag.

 

It works. I could drive from my home to Melbourne airport making use of Eastlink and Citylink, each of which charged for use of their roads and also apply daily caps. The trip would typically take 65 minutes each way and cost me $24 in tolls. Or I could use the VicRoads network of untolled roads which could take at least 2 hours each way.

 

It’s grey and damp. But not half as cold as is forecast. The rugby international up the road on Saturday is at risk with several centimetres of snow forecast though at ths stage with low confidence.

 

Stay well. Kind thoughts to our absentees.

[Horsetan]

We have been sorting our holiday snaps.

 

Saw this one.. GDB very rugby-ish.

 

Tui poster (1024x737).jpg

 

So many dodgy double entendres to be appreciated....

[Gwiwer]

Duck?

 

You'd better!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSKQ3ZNQ_O8

“When the sh1t hits the fan ...... “

[45156]

“When the sh1t hits the fan ...... “

 Can't you be a bit more polite - the espression is "When the excrement strikes the roatating air conditioner" in more genteel cirlcles

 

No, you were right the first time, this is ERs.

[grandadbob]

I managed to circumvent The Boss's security precautions and succeeded in making additions to the shopping in the form of extra beer and two railway modelling magazines which weren't discovered until we reached the checkout. 

I have never driven into London since the introduction of the congestion charge and now never will especially as I have the luxury of a Freedom Pass. The only toll charges I've ever  paid have been a few times on the Dartford Crossing and a couple of times on the M6.  They were still taking cash last time I went but that was a few years ago.

Edited March 15, 2018 by grandadbob

[NGT6 1315]

A‘noon all. Not a lot to report really as those antibiotics really are making me tired this time. I could drift off whenever I sit down somewhere...

 

So, may I leave it at generic C&Cs, and that the Ides of March shall pass with no incident. Cheers...

[Ozexpatriate]

Nothing to report from yesterday save the apparent demise of the ORIGINAL Northrop-Grumman facilities on Long Island. Buddy of mine worked there in its hey-day and I recall passing the location (Bethpage, Long Island) when I lived in NY in the '70s and was on LI a lot. Was a thriving hub with the expected attendant security that befits a defense contractor significant facility. ...

Turns out the new client offices are across the street, literally, from the original/primary location from back then.

The SIGN still sits right by the street, but the entire plant, offices and even the later created Grumman Studios are all deserted and fenced off. Quite a shock/surprise to see that.

Sorry, just a rambling, probably of little interest to "anyone" anymore, especially ERs 

NOTE: I'm aware Northrop-Grumman are still one of the largest defense contractors in the US, but this facility used to be quite a significant/shining star, so just a surprise to see the current condition.

The original Grumman Aircraft facility at least - Northrop being based in Southern California. Their last hurrah was the F14 which ended production in 1991. Building delivery vehicles for the US Postal Service (the LLV) kept the company in business through 1994 at which point they merged with Northrop in the post-cold war defense contractor mega-merger period.

 

Each round of mergers ultimately led to production consolidation and the shuttering of plants, even if some took longer than others.

 

The whole of what was the Reagan-era defense industry is quite transformed today and there are many shuttered plants.  The Douglas Aircraft plant in Long Beach comes to mind. Merged into McDonnell Douglas in 1967 and ultimately into Boeing in 1997, the last airplane rolled out of the Douglas plant in 2015. Another that comes to mind is the old Vultee / North American Aviation facility that later became Rockwell Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, CA which left the city with an enormous complex when it was shuttered in 1999.  It's now demolished. There are examples like this all over the US and many of them on the West coast.

 

Boeing turned their original home base at Boeing field into a museum. It is part of the Seattle Museum of Flight and worth a visit.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Ozexpatriate

[TheQ]

It's soggy out there, just the thing to wash the mud from the roads, we have both farmers loading beet now, traffic jams of sugar beet lorry's. With added cars including me.

 

We have weather warnings for snow from tomorrow evening through the weekend.

[Barry O]

Ivan

 

"double entendres" from moi? well Tui actually as Tui used to say "Yeah, right!"

Seems that was dropped when Heinecan bought Tui. Shame as they had cracking adverts.

 

Baz

[Barry O]

It's soggy out there, just the thing to wash the mud from the roads, we have both farmers loading beet now, traffic jams of sugar beet lorry's. With added cars including me.

 

We have weather warnings for snow from tomorrow evening through the weekend.

The Army have to wash the roads, vehicles etc down..no mud allowed on the roads but farmers...

well wonder what happens when someone gets injured due to mud on the road.

 

And I hope get to Nottingham, set layout up and be in the pub before the icy blast tomorrow.

 

Baz

Edited March 15, 2018 by Barry O

[Horsetan]

Ivan

 

"double entendres" from moi? well Tui actually as Tui used to say "Yeah, right!"

Seems that was dropped when Heinecan bought Tui. Shame as they had cracking adverts.

 

It's the bed references to "slotting one in", plus the stray ball, which sort of stood out.....

[The Stationmaster]

Contact with the insurers advertised by Lucy Walker in her natty seagoing outfit produced a result - very appropriate when you consider the principal reason for buying is for seagoing purposes.  Moreover a 10% discount, on an already reasonable quote, was offered when it was established that we already insure motor vehicles with them so I didn't bother to go any further.  It serves the other lot right for saying goodbye to me because I happened to pass a particular birthday as this cover is almost as good as theirs was (and plenty good enough for what we need) but somewhat cheaper.

 

On another tack I would suggest to Stewart that he gets the Reg number of the offending vehicle in order to check if it is taxed and to report it if it isn't, the MoT history might also provide some interesting reading.

[The Lurker]

It's soggy out there, just the thing to wash the mud from the roads, we have both farmers loading beet now, traffic jams of sugar beet lorry's. With added cars including me.

 

We have weather warnings for snow from tomorrow evening through the weekend.

tricky thing, beet storage, can't be too warm so outdoor storage is good but frost damages them too, so preparations for rapid lifting required

[Ian Abel]

The original Grumman Aircraft facility at least - Northrop being based in Southern California...

Dang! I THOUGHT I might get in trouble for short-circuiting that.

It was, of course, Grumman here. Figured most everyone would skip the ramble anyway and surely not even fact check    especially since the majority of our esteemed readers probably wouldn't know better/care

More careful next time for sure!

 

Chalk it up to OLD, bored, lazy!

[southern42]

' evening all from red dragon land.

 

Sunny but indoors doing a through the house job before youngest arrives. 

 

Cuppa next on the list. Teapot and kettle ready.

 

 

More later.

[Barry O]

British Gas.. lummy their call centre are a shower....the appointment they made today for today was then cancelled..but they didn't bother talking to the Service "Engineer" who turned up...The Call Centre were supposed to send him some help....When they "cancelled" the next date was ...9th May.. and did you know "Annual" means 18 months..yer wot!!

 

Feel sorry for the guys and gals at the pointy end.

 

Baz

[grandadbob]

Anyway, time to get some dinner on (you lot call it "tea", but how does one "eat" tea?! After all, it's a liquid for starters, right? )

 

 

Actually old boy some of us do call the evening meal dinner. Tea is served in a cup and can also refer to an afternoon meal with nice little sandwiches, scones with jam & cream and cakes don't you know?

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

The Army have to wash the roads, vehicles etc down..no mud allowed on the roads 

I got that T shirt!

 

We had a crossing point on the Waithwith Road west of Catterick Garrisnon which had to be kept clear.

 

When we weren't shovelling and brushing mud, it was brushing and shovelling snow!

 

Unofficially, we were quite popular with the local civilians because we had a Chieftain with a dozer blade fitted which was much better than the local authority snowplough.

 

We also used to deliver bottles of propane to folk in need.

[Barry O]

Cucumber sandwiches (skin removed), crusts removed from the bread and  one needs to raise a pinky when one drinks ones' tea.

[newbryford]

11 holes of golf negotiated with no after effects on my back. I guess the true result will be tomorrow morning, but it still feels OK 7 hours after the event.

GP surgery rung for MRI scan results from 3 1/2 weeks ago - GP note - all OK, nothing to worry about.

 

Looks like I may be on the mend and the pesky bit of disk is retiring to whence it came between my vertebrae.

 

Just need to see GP to arrange how I reduce the pain medication - gabepentin - it's one of those where you just don't give it up.

 

I'm off to wife's work for a late tea that may involve a slice of bovine or porcine origin.

 

Catch up later.

 

Cheers,

Mick