Early Risers.

[brianusa]

19 hours ago, AndyID said:

Very pleasant here today. So pleasant in fact that I took the wee car for a bit of a spin -  just to exercise the oil seals and bearings, and prevent flats forming in the tires, you understand.

 

While I was gone Fed-Ex delivered some op-amps I had ordered. These ones are a bit unusual and (in theory) they should let me test a "current rather than voltage" controller idea.

 

It's all very odd. The controller only controls the current supplied to the track. The "locomotive" senses the current and uses it to determine what voltage to apply to the loco's motor.

 

The whole thing is probably nonsense but there are a few reasons why you might want to do something like that. There are probably a lot more reasons why you wouldn't want to bother, but what the heck!

 

 

We have the same problem; my car is not used much as we tend to use my wife's car more, so the battery goes flat!  I keep a charger handy but as Andy mentions, there are other things to consider.

     Brian.

[jamie92208]

5 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

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!

Better than France, we are still waiting a year after we sent off the forms for replacement  licences. The Photos have now expired and we can't renew in either country. Time for a glass of cognac.

 

Jamie

 

 

[pH]

10 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

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!

 

A serious question - if a person gets a driving ban, does that mean they can no longer fly? Or does the invalid licence still qualify as an ID?

[Ian Abel]

19 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

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!

Indeed - many states have what I consider more "sensible" qualification requirements. Some snow-birds from here have reported that it's taken then 10 minutes or less with minimal documents to get a Florida real ID!

 

What REALLY irks me is that the ultimate "Real ID" is a !^@^$%!@$^ passport, so, if you are in possession of said document the state authorities should be able to simply see/use that and determine you're therefore eligible. Not f----ing Minnesota!

 

Having taken 9 years to even agree to what the requirements would be and implement them, VERY late last year, you are required to provide;

i) One document proving identity, date of birth and legal presence in the United States, such as a passport or a birth certificate;

Passport CANNOT be expired! Birth certificate MUST be embossed original!

ii) One document proving social security number, this MUST be something that includes your current address, like pay stub with SSN on it.

iii) Two documents proving current residency in Minnesota. This CANNOT include item "ii" above, must be two OTHER documents.

Your drivers license is acceptable, BUT, if like me, one of the reasons you're renewing it is because your ADDRESS has changed, it can't be used as it's not got your current address on it - DUH!

    Also, they CANNOT be a joint name document, so a mortgage or utility bill with BOTH of our names is unacceptable

Also NONE of the documents can be photocopies! What a shite show

 

Items ii and iii must ALSO be dated less than 90 days from your application date.

 

You can pre-apply online and fill in the form/identify the documents you'll be using. This nets you a pre-approval code, that ONLY means you don't have to fill out the stupid form when you get to the licensing location, it doesn't even get you to the head of the line - most of the folks there didn't "bother" to file online, so much of the time is taken up with them standing there filling out the sodding form at the desk when their number is called

 

I DID finally get this done, it was a soul-destroying 2.5 hour wait in the queue to be processed.

Preceded by MANY of the munchkins not having any/all of the correct required documents and spending 5-10 minutes arguing with the poor folks at the desks before finally skulking away only to try again with the right shite! - morons who can't read simple instructions should NOT be allowed to apply for a license and should be summarily required to take a mandatory remedial reading course

 

Aaarrrrgggghhhhhhh…. so now just a 10-12 WEEK wait for the new license to appear.

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Ian Abel

[Tony_S]

Last time (last year) we flew into Southend from Dublin, instead of just walking off the plane through the CTA Marked door in the terminal there were quite a few Border Agency staff not in their cubicles but blocking the doorway. Everyone had to show ID. You don’t need a passport for this flight but you do have to have appropriate photo ID to have got on the plane. Single travellers with no passport, usually photo driving licence seemed to be getting questioned. 
Tony

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

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 .....

 

Frustrating in the extreme.  And one of the reasons I ceased dealing with Hattons a couple of years back.  They seemed to abandon customer service for the automated warehouse style of impersonality and grossly-oversized packaging with yards of wasted "fill".  And a terse email after they had accepted orders and then found themselves unable to fulfil them.  One pre-order for a Bachmann item just vanished without trace or notification - I know why of course but not every customer would be aware of the issue.  

 

In other news it remains cold Upon the Hill but more of the garden maintenance has been done.  Two pathways around the block are now clear of weeds and overgrown lawn and sport neatly-trimmed borders.  It is far too wet to cut the grass and in any case that remains the preserve of the employed handyman.  

 

Night all.  Sleep well.  

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

20 minutes ago, pH said:

A serious question - if a person gets a driving ban, does that mean they can no longer fly? Or does the invalid licence still qualify as an ID?

I really have no idea but I suspect that it is still valid as an ID.

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[tetsudofan]

3 hours ago, Tony_S said:

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

 

I can vouch for that!

 

Keith

[Simon G]

Visit to the hospital today for my routine 8 weekly injections which are a follow up to my chemo in 2018.  Only one left now in April!  The only effects that I get at these are from the cocktail of drugs they give me to prevent an allergic reaction to the injection.  First it is an anti allergy drug which makes me very tired.  When this has worn off, ie now, the steroids take over, so I feel wide awake!  I don’t expect to sleep too much tonight.

 

A few days ago, I posted here about the total stupidity of Millets not allowing their store assistant to order me some size 13 walking shoes, meaning I had to order them online instead.  Well, having had text messages saying that my order was progressing through the warehouse etc, they then cancelled my order, and refunded the credit card.  As their website still says that there is some availability, I placed another order today for the same shoes.  Let’s see if they turn up this time.  It is at times like this that I really wish my feet were a more normal size!

[Tony_S]

13 minutes ago, Simon G said:

s.  Let’s see if they turn up this time.  It is at times like this that I really wish my feet were a more normal size!

My feet are not a particularly unusual size but I had the same problem last year. Ordered the boots online, in stock and then they were cancelled due to being out of stock. Ordered online instead from Go Outdoors for store collection next day and told the price had also gone down when I collected them. The original trader took a week to refund my payment too.

Tony

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land.

6 hours 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 got it wrong, the speaker was ex RN so I assumed that the vessel in question was also ex RN. The Endeavour in question turned out to be a Leigh cockle boat. Not any old Leigh cockle boat but this was the first one to be fitted with an engine from new in 1924 and was one of the Dunkirk 'little ships'. That it survives to the present day is remarkable especialy as it is largely constructed of wood.

[newbryford]

15 hours ago, leopardml2341 said:

Mornin' All

 

 

What was it please?

 

I, like you, am normally immune to the 'drowsiness warnings' even when the medicine is supposed to make one sleep; something like this might be just the trick......

 

I just love that they print a "do not drive/do not operate machinery" warning on the label for Calpol for kids......

 

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

We’ve had no snow here in the northwest, but we had a couple of showers about dinner time. Other than that it’s been sunny, but cold. 

 

Some more progress has been made in the cellar, I’ve fitted to drawer fronts and started to put things in the drawers. The last bit of paint was also put on the shelving, so once that’s dry I can make a start erecting it and then transferring stuff from the old metal shelving to the new ones. 

 

 

I also had some good news today with regard to my missing electronic components, earlier this morning I escalated my case with PayPal and by this afternoon, they’d reviewed the case and given me a full refund, RESULT! I won’t name the company here, but for those who are interested, they do have an advert in the latest BRM. It’s on the bottom left hand corner of page 135. I can’t comment on quality of their products as I’ve never actually HAD any, but their customer service is absolutely bloody awful non existent and that’s what really ticked me off. 

 

And on that happy little note, I’ll wish you all a goodnight 

[laurenceb]

5 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

How do you know?

I wondered about that but didn't like to ask

Night awl

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

Indeed - many states have what I consider more "sensible" qualification requirements. Some snow-birds from here have reported that it's taken then 10 minutes or less with minimal documents to get a Florida real ID!

 

What REALLY irks me is that the ultimate "Real ID" is a !^@^$%!@$^ passport, so, if you are in possession of said document the state authorities should be able to simply see/use that and determine you're therefore eligible. Not f----ing Minnesota!

 

Having taken 9 years to even agree to what the requirements would be and implement them, VERY late last year, you are required to provide;

i) One document proving identity, date of birth and legal presence in the United States, such as a passport or a birth certificate;

Passport CANNOT be expired! Birth certificate MUST be embossed original!

ii) One document proving social security number, this MUST be something that includes your current address, like pay stub with SSN on it.

iii) Two documents proving current residency in Minnesota. This CANNOT include item "ii" above, must be two OTHER documents.

Your drivers license is acceptable, BUT, if like me, one of the reasons you're renewing it is because your ADDRESS has changed, it can't be used as it's not got your current address on it - DUH!

    Also, they CANNOT be a joint name document, so a mortgage or utility bill with BOTH of our names is unacceptable

Also NONE of the documents can be photocopies! What a shite show

 

Items ii and iii must ALSO be dated less than 90 days from your application date.

 

You can pre-apply online and fill in the form/identify the documents you'll be using. This nets you a pre-approval code, that ONLY means you don't have to fill out the stupid form when you get to the licensing location, it doesn't even get you to the head of the line - most of the folks there didn't "bother" to file online, so much of the time is taken up with them standing there filling out the sodding form at the desk when their number is called

 

I DID finally get this done, it was a soul-destroying 2.5 hour wait in the queue to be processed.

Preceded by MANY of the munchkins not having any/all of the correct required documents and spending 5-10 minutes arguing with the poor folks at the desks before finally skulking away only to try again with the right shite! - morons who can't read simple instructions should NOT be allowed to apply for a license and should be summarily required to take a mandatory remedial reading course

 

Aaarrrrgggghhhhhhh…. so now just a 10-12 WEEK wait for the new license to appear.

 

 

 

 

It's the same unmitigated pile of festering horse manure here. So, basically certain states are saying a US passport is inferior to their fecking driving licenses! Give me a break! Which bunch of knuckle-dragging cretins came up with this total borlocks?

 

Other than that it's a really good system.

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by AndyID

[J. S. Bach]

A couple of hours ago, I laid down for a short rest and ended up sleeping for those hours so a late good night from the soon-to-be-cold (and now sleep-less) Piedmont.

[Ozexpatriate]

3 hours ago, AndyID said:

Which bunch of knuckle-dragging cretins came up with this total borlocks?

Congress, sponsored by F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. Wisconsin 5th (Rep). Enforced by the Department of Homeland Security / Transportation Security Administration.

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

Boy do these things get around.

BAC Jet Provost in Tillamook.

 

Answering the question, "What might be the last thing you would expect in a WW2 era US Naval Air Station, dirigible hangar?"

 

A: A logging 2-8-2 (Mikado) locomotive.

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Slightly frosty and a wet and windy day is forecast.

Up early as it's Joe's 18th today and we're going for a birthday breakfast. Also going back later for an evening do but his main party will be in a couple of weeks time.

May be back here later.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

[jamie92208]

6 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

I just love that they print a "do not drive/do not operate machinery" warning on the label for Calpol for kids......

 

There are plenty of adults who should have that printed on their foreheads.

 

Jamie

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Lantavian said:

Although I don't think that's one

I believe this was built by Baldwin in 1912. The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad (which runs steam excursions) is a few miles away from the air museum. Services start (for Spring Break) on March 21.

 

The OCSR has a "facility" in the sidings of the old Naval Air Station. A casual inspection might confuse it with a junk yard with lots of wheelsets and the casings for large diesel engines lying around. There are some boarded up coaches and a steam locomotive (perhaps the three truck Heisler) tucked away. (I obeyed the "unauthorized persons" warning sign.)

 

This weathering case study is parked nearby.

Almost visible on the left side is the "No trespassing" sign.

 

The Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad ceased operations in 2007 when a winter storm washed out the line in the Coast Range. They own the right of way where the OCSR operates.

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[jamie92208]

A quick good moaning to sundry and all.  Off to The Danglies of St John this am for Beth to have an X ray.  Breakfast us being consumed and the Friday bin wagon has just done it's stuff.  Another 14 holes squared yesterday, just 16 to go.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie