Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

Good Lunchtime all.  

 

It was snow joke at the House of Fun this morning.  The rain turned to slightly-solid before it became floaty little crystals.  With the relatively warm winter we have had nothing settled but it made life less comfortable than might have been ideal.  

 

I choose to work outdoors.  This is not some Third World nor Dictatorial nation where jobs are assigned.  It comes with the choice of career.  We get wet when it rains, we get baked when it's hot and we get little enough thanks at any time.  I did, however, collect several appreciative comments this morning from those who were clearly enjoying being outdoors even less and noted the white flakes* settling on my black hat and gloves.  I also stand accused of having "a very warm smile" according to a lady travelling to Axminster who was offered the option of waiting in the nice warm waiting room with coffee shop, being called when her train arrived and being advised which part of the train to join.  

 

Upon arrival at the Hill of Strawberries the wet socks were removed, the shoes placed on the radiator to dry out (in time for tomorrow's downpour ) and the fridge inspected with a view to making lunch.  I do have another pair of black shoes but they are a half-size too small for wearing with the two pairs of socks which this weather and this job often requires.  Some investment in new footwear is therefore required.  

 

* Nothing whatsoever to do with a common scalp condition - from which I do not and never have suffered  

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from LBG, where it is very cold out - the LBG downstairs concourse is colder than outside although without the wind. There are big heaters by the ticket lines so staff are catered for...

 

I have seen some snow this year but nothing approaching anything likely to settle.

 

The local sink school has been in the news for pupils having been on ski trip to Bormio. Some pupils and staff have been sent home. Hopefully it is a case of a mixture of caution and swinging the lead. There a plenty of teenagers who would fancy another couple of weeks off school just in case.

 

A few beers to be had tonight in the company of spreadsheet king. It will be interesting to see how many spreadsheets he has set up in his new place. We have been progressively dismantling or at least simplifying a lot of the ones he developed here.

 

Ads - I am not bothered by them, although if they took time to load and slowed the site down it would be irritating. I was about to type that at present I can't see any when I noticed what I thought was an advert at the top of the screen; then I realised it was the footer to Rick's post! so as you were!

 

EDIT - I do get adverts, just not in Wheeltappers or ERs. Amazon have picked up that I searched Mazzy Star albums upon reading of Dave Roback's death this morning

Edited February 27, 2020 by The Lurker

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

Upon arrival at the Hill of Strawberries the wet socks were removed, the shoes placed on the radiator to dry out (in time for tomorrow's downpour ) and the fridge inspected with a view to making lunch.  I do have another pair of black shoes but they are a half-size too small for wearing with the two pairs of socks which this weather and this job often requires.  Some investment in new footwear is therefore required.  

 

 

Having spent quite a large part of my career working outside, I found that the key to keeping feet warm, was the depth of the sole. If the solebof the foot stayed warm, most other parts did.  The warmest and driest footwear I ever had were clogs that I used when working on Locos at L'aal Ratty. I couldn't wear those at work, but my work boots always had thick soles.

 

Jamie

[southern42]

' afternoon all from red dragon land.

 

Some pics from yesterday's trip to the playground to help Ray with some work to be done on the ash pit - as weather allows! 

 

AM.  The A5, going up the Ogwen Valley

 

Tryfan, West face

 

PM.  Tryfan, East face

 

No snow at the playground but the sun is shining and the daffs are blooming...

 

And cafe visitor, Robin, fluffs up his feathers on a Blaenau Ffestiniog slate product.

 

Keep warm...

__________

Best wishes

Polly

[polybear]

That nice man Mr. J Lewis has just price-matched my new printer  thus saving me seventy quid, with an extra years' warranty thrown in f.o.c.

Happy Bunny Bear 

[The Stationmaster]

Afternoon all,

 

Snow has fallen in Oxford and the Good Doctor managed to put a picture of it onto Farcebook - apparently enough there to make snowballs.  It has also snowed in Camberley according to his ladship.  Meanwhile I think we had about three snowflakes among some very half-hearted sleet which lasted for about four minutes.

 

I joined RMweb Gold for several very simple reasons.  Firstly it is a bargain - no more than I used to give as an annual donation to help keep the site going in pre-Warners days and with my BRM sub cancelled I still get the mag but in electronic form plus a fee show ticket per annum.  So overall I am actually saving money!

 

Today we have been to Tesco, twice.  The second visit was necessary because first time round 'we' forgot to buy some bread.  So back I went but fortunately without the telling off I had received earlier for buying the wrong size eggs yesterday - it should be noted that size of egg was not specified on the list I was given and as many here will know if the specification is not correct then what is delivered, obtained, produced, etc can hardly be blamed on the person executing the specification's requirements.

 

However things are clearly getting bad in respect of the coronavirus round here as can be judged from Tesco's action - seen in the photo below - to reassure customers and help trade along.  Whether it will work is another matter because the stack had not diminlshed between my two visits.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day one and all. 

 

[Ian Abel]

Moaning

 

Yesterday first - great evening (although very long) with a soup supper followed by an excellent Ash Wednesday service where the choir sang 11 pieces! After that we had a "short" rehearsal for the weekend performances. Someone ahs to explain the word "short" to the choir director

 

Re: RMWeb Gold - mostly the reason I don't pay for it is that I ALREADY pay $5.99 (about 4.60 sterling) every month for the RMWeb electronic edition, so I gain no advantage from that portion of the Gold fee.

 

<Rant #1>

Today I decided to attempt to get my drivers license renewed/address updated. Given I was going through that process anyway, I elected to get the enhanced license that also doubles/is valid as a "Real ID" (google it if necessary!). The least busy licensing agency is about a 15 minute drive away, at 8AM whyen they opened I was behind only 3 people in line when I got there - EXCELLENT... not so fast stupid.

Apparently this location doesn't have the facility to take pictures (if you're ONLY changing your address they use the picture on file). Arrrggghhh. Adding insult to injury, if you wanted a !@$!@$&!@ passport they CAN take those pictures as they were dutifully doing that for two folks while I was in line  What sort of stupid government cqck-up is THAT!!!!!!

Tried two other locations but the line was about 30+ people at each

<End Rant #1>

 

<Rant #2>

In the short time of an hour or less today I've had 4 calls, all "live" from people insisting they're from the Social Security administration and are telling me my social security number has been suspended pending fraud activity - anyone here with an IQ greater than 3 knows that your social security number can't actually BE suspended. Told all of them they're full of bqllocks and I swear if I could find any one of them I'd insert a very large garden gnome up their posteriors!!!!

<End Rant #2>

 

So, I'm off now to another licensing agency, in the vain hope that the lines have shortened as a result of handling the early morning rush, but NOT yet having the lunch time rush appear - wish me luck

 

-9 here and sunny, headed for -4 for the high.

 

Tally ho...

[Ozexpatriate]

6 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

"Real ID" (google it if necessary!)

The State of Oregon will not issue Real ID licenses until this summer. If you think that doesn't leave enough time to get one before they are required by TSA for air travel on October 1, the state agrees with you. They have advised residents to obtain a passport and use that for air travel instead of even trying to get a Real ID licence. 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. By lunchtime the sleet had disappeared and there was wall to wall sunshine. Not very warm though as the wind is from a cold direction (NW). Out this evening for a talk at SEERS, none railway for a change, its about a battleship (HMS Endeavour).

[Ozexpatriate]

5 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

its about a battleship (HMS Endeavour).

A battleship? Do please let us know which one. From the Wikipedia list there didn't seem to be anything rated as a "battleship".

 

The famousest one is actually HMB Endeavour, a former Whitby collier, the Earl of Pembroke, and ultimately deliberately scuttled in Narragansett Bay (as Lord Sandwich in private ownership) during the American Revolutionary War to protect Newport from Charles Henri Hector, le compte d'Estaing's squadron.

[Tony_S]

43 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

A battleship? Do please let us know which one. From the Wikipedia list there didn't seem to be anything rated as a "battleship".

 

The famousest one is actually HMB Endeavour, a former Whitby collier, the Earl of Pembroke, and ultimately deliberately scuttled in Narragansett Bay (as Lord Sandwich in private ownership) during the American Revolutionary War to protect Newport from Charles Henri Hector, le compte d'Estaing's squadron.

I was really pleased with the Airfix kit I built as a teenager. My Dad helped with the rigging. It looked quite scuttled after Mum dusted it. 

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The State of Oregon will not issue Real ID licenses until this summer. If you think that doesn't leave enough time to get one before they are required by TSA for air travel on October 1, the state agrees with you. They have advised residents to obtain a passport and use that for air travel instead of even trying to get a Real ID licence. 

 

I looked at the Idaho requirements to get one. It's easier to get a passport! I fly so infrequently now I'm just going to use my passport.

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Ian Abel said:

In the short time of an hour or less today I've had 4 calls, all "live" from people insisting they're from the Social Security administration and are telling me my social security number has been suspended pending fraud activity - anyone here with an IQ greater than 3 knows that your social security number can't actually BE suspended. Told all of them they're full of bqllocks and I swear if I could find any one of them I'd insert a very large garden gnome up their posteriors!!!!

Would there be space for a garden gnome?

 

I'm thinking if they have been calling other like minded souls such as yourself, their back passages are probably already full of all sorts of other uncomfortable objects.  My favourite is a plugged in 100w soldering iron 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[Happy Hippo]

It is alleged that both Bill Bishop and myself have been invited to display our entries for the 'Small Layout competition' at the GOG Guildex over the August bank holiday this year.

 

I'm considering hosting an ER get together between the two exhibits:

 

Mine will look as if it's shot to pieces, whilst Bill's will be wrapped in bandages and running off a defibrilator!

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

On 26/02/2020 at 12:02, Happy Hippo said:

I've always thought that eating a pancake was the nearest thing to chewing through a used french letter.

How do you know?

[Tony_S]

6 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

 

Mine will look as if it's shot to pieces, whilst Bill's will be wrapped in bandages and running off a defibrilator!

I saw one of Bill’s layouts and one of the operators seemed convinced the fiddle yard  was capable of restarting hearts. 

[Coombe Barton]

18 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

But it's not just strings of beads. There's a similar tradition that requires skiers to whip off their brassier and festoon the bead tree with it. Thereafter it becomes known as the "bra tree".

And do you do that?

[Barry O]

Ey up from the windy city.

Time for a mugadecaf then...breakfast.

Baz

[AndyB]

---> LYC to say goodbye to a friend and much respected colleague.

 

If anyone can spare a moment at 15.00 tomorrow.

 

 

[TheQ]

Evening awl,  the only white stuff on the ground here has been from various trees that think it's time to bloom.. There will be more white stuff arriving from the trees when Jorge arrives.. 

 

Ian's phone calls match ours claiming to be from amazon prime today,  "please press one.". Any one got any spare gnomes? 

 

The hospital is expecting to send dad home on Monday,  would have been today but the care package was not organized.. 

 

I'm back from visiting my sailing compatriot,  he's reporting his leg is getting more painful,  but the doctors can't find anything getting worse... Otherwise he's OK.. 

 

Now I do have to contact the house of strong ladies,  it's time for another order.. 

 

Time for a Muggacoffee.. 

 

[AndyID]

38 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

And do you do that?

 

That's strictly between me and the tree.

[grandadbob]

We had a little bit of sleet after the rain this morning but the sun came out for a while this afternoon.

 

I got an email from Hattons earlier telling me they've cancelled my order for The Rocket LE set. No hint of  an apology, just "This is an automatic notification to inform you that order number IOPA4766561 has been cancelled from our systems, and we will not attempt to process this again." followed by details of the order. It would appear they've oversold it.

 

The Boss asked me what I'd like to eat tonight and I voted for a light snack followed by the pancakes we didn't have Tuesday that we should've had yesterday but didn't. "What sort of light snack" said She. "Well" said I, "As I'm watching my weight how about a fried egg and bacon sandwich?" Duly had that and three pancakes and am now on my second glass of Shiraz. That should do the "diet" a power of good.  

Edited February 27, 2020 by grandadbob

[jamie92208]

30 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

That's strictly between me and the tree.

I suppose if you chose the right tree you could gave a catapult assisted start.

 

Jamie

 

 

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

How do you know?

I used my imagination!

[J. S. Bach]

3 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

The State of Oregon will not issue Real ID licenses until this summer. If you think that doesn't leave enough time to get one before they are required by TSA for air travel on October 1, the state agrees with you. They have advised residents to obtain a passport and use that for air travel instead of even trying to get a Real ID licence. 

Last year my license was about to expire and South Carolina sent me a postcard stating that it was and I could click on a certain link to see if I qualified for the Real ID. I did and I did; a few mouse clicks and a credit card payment later I had the ID; a few days later it arrived via the US Post Office. So now my license has the little gold star!