Early Risers.

[pH]

55 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Mowing?  The second nearest neighbour is mowing again,  3 times a week since this started.. He really is bored. 

 

Was that intentional? Because, from what you've said about where you grew up, I think you may know the meaning of 'mow' in Scots:

 

https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/mow_v1_n1

 

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by pH

[tetsudofan]

7 hours ago, tetsudofan said:

Sun is shining down here in the south east corner, coffee has been drunk, lemon curd tartlets consumed (reduced at Sainsburys so had to try...), washing machine has been busy so time to get back out the garden.

 

Got to see how much more can be done to convert what was a long bridge into an embankment:

 

 

Should keep me out of trouble for a couple of hours......

 

Keith

 

 

Yibba, Dabba, Doo, am a happy bunny. by mid-afternoon got all the preparatory work done and relaid the metal stuff that goes on the top:

 

 

Next job will be to cement it all in place but got to sort out a couple of other jobs before getting the cement mixer mixing!

 

Dinner is on the way with some pork belly now in the oven to be followed by some tiramisu accompanied by a small bottle of Rotkappchen, my favourite (east) German sekt.

 

Keith

[Tony_S]

43 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

I'm not too sure about ironed cow either

A few years ago Waitrose were selling flat iron steak. I don’t recall buying it. 

[AndrewC]

Just accidentally channel surfed into channel 5. Britain’s Most Scenic Rail Journey. All plain footage with minimal commentary. Will have to find the whole 2 hours on catch up. So relaxing. 

Edited April 19, 2020 by AndrewC

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, Gwiwer said:

I'm not too sure about ironed cow either

Then it's time to enjoy a 'flat iron steak' sir.

 

EDIT:

I see Tony has beaten me to it.

 

When catching up on a day's worth of ERs I tend to forget which posts I wanted to respond to. If I do respond inevitably someone has pipped me at the post.

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Compound2632]

29 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Then it's time to enjoy a 'flat iron steak'

 

Entrecôte derbiose?

 

 

[Ian Abel]

22 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

Ian,

on the BBC website I saw a picture of a group of guys complaining about the lockdown. Some had ‘big guns’ (semi automatic rifles?) in their hands. What’s all that about? Who are they going to shoot? The virus? 
Frightening really, well at least to me in the UK.

Keep safe from the virus and the gun toting nutters.

Robert.

Ahhh…. yes! The clip you saw was probably in Michigan, as that's been one of the more "popularly" circulated. As each state has it's one variations of who can own/carry what sort of weapon(s) and when, they are somewhat more lax than here in MN (not by much though really) and the idiot element tend to parade around with guns whenever they feel their "rights" are being limited.

Indeed, in this case I have no idea exactly what the guns would be useful for, then again the mentality of these folks (sorry, but I can't be as compassionate as iD regarding their sanity or otherwise!) leaves a lot to be desired, so maybe they think they could line up and shoot the virus away

They generally conflate such events with the resurrection of the Confederate Flag and pontificate on the "rights' afforded them by the much mis-interpreted/mis-understood second amendment. None of which ever really makes any sense.

Myself and many of my friends (many who grew up with/around guns) are equally nervous/frightened by such shows of stupidity coupled with armaments.

Unfortunately, the simple answer is - you can fix stupid!

 

WARNING -> contains EXPLETIVES, but it really is a good summary of the situation

 

 

Last evening a very enjoyable happy hour with neighbors again, 20ft apart in their driveway - I'm consuming rather more wine than I probably should, but I'm happy

Today we took a very nice 3 mile walk, only saw maybe 5 people the entire time.

We're now finishing our grocery order, due to be delivered between 7-9PM

 

Nice here, at 9 sunny and crystal clear skies - High expected to reach 11.

 

Stay safe everyone.

[Gwiwer]

Ladies and gents,

 

https://mailchi.mp/299d1eb01aaf/newsletter261-247897?fbclid=IwAR3BLzcSOIl6nx7cCnZAxCzTdMy5ckWe1WOynBuWNKPfPXTzcGUPt4bWWfM

 

Just pausing out of respect for a man who has done a very great deal for the enthusiast movement and the rail industry.   Topic opened in obituaries.

 

That is all.

[AndyB]

Evening all.

A productive weekend working on the unmenationable scale model. 

 

Sweet peas have been popped in to the border. Hard work digging over the ground though. Still getting out of breath very quickly.

 

Warm wishes to all. 

[monkeysarefun]

On 19/04/2020 at 06:06, Tony_S said:

People seem to be live streaming home based events now. Perhaps you could have a 24 hour slot car race on Zoom (other platforms are etc...)

Tony

 

Here our premier motor racing series, the V8 Supercars has been postponed this year for the usual reason. It has been replaced by an eseries where the drivers compete in a virtual series against each other. This adds the novelty  of the races being held on any track in the world, and also means that the drivers who have spent more time on their playstations  have the possibility of actually finally beating the better real world drivers.

 

 

[iL Dottore]

Ian,

That’s an amazing, funny, but sadly too true, assessment of the situation in the US.

I sadly suspect that blind adherence to a partisan ideology will prevent many states from doing the right thing until it is too late.

Whilst there is debate about the true mortality rate of COVID-19, emerging data suggest that overall mortality is far less than feared (a recent study from California which tested for antibodies in a very large sample of Californians showed a hell of a lot more infected than the “official” figures, which in turn means lower mortality [deaths/infected x 100]) nonetheless the fact that the coronavirus is highly contagious and easily spread between people means that even if only a small percentage of  the population become seriously ill of whom many die, that’s one hell of a lot of people (as the YouTube video quite rightly points out) and which health service or health system anywhere has hundreds of thousands of critical care beds for such patients? 
if this medical stupidity and willingness to discard or ignore the science is allowed to go unaddressed, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a return of the plague pits and the “bring out your dead“ carts.

Evolution in action, boys and girls, evolution in action!

iD

[monkeysarefun]

48 minutes ago, Ian Abel said:

They generally conflate such events with the resurrection of the Confederate Flag and pontificate on the "rights' afforded them by the much mis-interpreted/mis-understood second amendment. None of which ever really makes any sense.

 

They also  love spouting about how we Australians got our guns taken off us by the guvmint and we are thus now helpless and scared and at the mercy of bad folks.

[Ozexpatriate]

Americans (and the British perspective).

 

British people correctly assume that (generally speaking) they know more about the US than Americans know about Britain, but that doesn't mean their perspectives are necessarily accurate any more than American stereotypes about tea drinking, "allo guv'nor" Britons are insufficient.

 

Like contemporary Britain, the United States is deeply divided. At heart is the transformation from white, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant hegemony to the potential for a society based on enlightenment era, 'rights of man' principles that the founders could never have imagined where WASPs are demographically not only a numeric minority but a political minority. It is all about fear - of change; of loss of identity, of loss of relevance, of loss of a sense of power. (The prohibition movement was exactly the same thing by the way.)

 

To understand the present politics you can draw a straight line between Ronald Reagan's famous quote on August 12, 1986:

Quote

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the Government and I'm here to help".

and the current populism we've seen evolve though candidates like former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, and former Minnesota Congressional representative Michele Bachmann to the current inhabitant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

 

There is a quasi-religious (not actually based on any genuine theological beliefs) feel to those who want to defend the status quo of WASP hegemony. It's the same sort of thing that fueled the Confederacy. It is a heady mix of nationalism, anti-elitism, cognitive dissonance, racism (both naked and oblivious) and virulent defense of the second amendment as dogma, partly encapsulated by one of Thomas Jefferson's more unfortunate remarks:

Quote

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

If you excerpt the second amendment stuff, it doesn't seem so different to some Britons I see in 'man in the street' interviews.

 

These people are not a majority of Americans. The current president was not elected by a majority. He has never had an approval rating >50%. Never. Not once in 3½ years. (He did get to 49%.)

 

These people select the news they want to watch and there are outlets that cater to them. The son of my one-time, hometown newspaper owner (Sir Keith) provides them their daily bread. Amazingly, compared to some sources his is indeed as "Fair and Balanced" (at least in the news department, as distinct from editorial/infotainment) as his network's tagline used to claim.

 

From other news sources we probably had as almost much coverage of Boris Johnson's stint in ICU as Britons did. Yes, US news predominates, (it's a big country with a lot going on - by population, about six times as big as the UK) but there is plenty of international coverage for those who look for it for a broader sense of perspective.

[monkeysarefun]

3 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Whilst there is debate about the true mortality rate of COVID-19, emerging data suggest that overall mortality is far less than feared (a recent study from California which tested for antibodies in a very large sample of Californians showed a hell of a lot more infected than the “official” figures, which in turn means lower mortality [deaths/infected x 100]

 

Here we have tested 2% of the population, probably the largest percentage anywhere in the world and have 71 deaths out of 6600 cases, giving a rate of just on 1%. Still a lot more than the flu, but a lot less than Italy, UK US  and other countries without a decent testing regime are showing,

[Ozexpatriate]

10 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

It has been replaced by an eseries where the drivers compete in a virtual series against each other.

NASCAR is doing the same thing.

[Coombe Barton]

... and cooking and DIY.

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/04/19/videos-and-teaching/

[Erichill16]

Lightening the mood a little. Here is a photo comparing an Oxford die cast oo Ford Anglia with an ‘HO scale slot car’ equivalent. It’s works out at 1/60 scale.And for those of you who don’t know the order of the winning Ford in the 66 LeMans race here’s a clue.

[AndyID]

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

 

 but the aerial nodded at between 20 and 60 cycles per second. 

 

I'm surprised it didn't fall to bits

[Ozexpatriate]

12 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

Here we have tested 2% of the population, probably the largest percentage anywhere in the world

That's true but it helps to have one of the world's smallest populations for a developed country. Testing is a fiasco in the west. Unless supported by rigorous random sampling schemes, no real sense of mortality rate for infected cases can be established - even based on statistical estimates. Only testing celebrities, professional athletes, politicians and people who are already sick is not a basis for a random sample.

 

Australia is doing well. The big moat helps too. I had a nice chat to my brother yesterday. I'm glad for Australians.

 

To me the only statistic that we can measure meaningfully today is excess deaths per capita. The results might surprise.

 

By that measure the pandemic in the UK is twice as bad as the US. The US is not monolithic as some state-by-state comparisons will show:

It demonstrates how bad the situation in New York really is. Data for New York City is even worse.

[jamie92208]

Evening all.  It rained most of the day but the dining room got tidied and the table is clear.  A chicken was sacrificed and aftewards a home made sponge pudding with treacle and runny custard was enjoyed.  After that was cleared away some shed time ensued before we watched The Good Karma Hospital.  Not a bad evening.  I better not give my thoughts about the protesters in Michigan and others otherwise I would be be banned from this forum.

 

I am just very glad that I have such an absorbing and satisfying hobby. To see a vehicle emerge from a load of parts is always great. It is certainly helping to keep me in whatever state of sanity I inhabit.

 

Chris F, i also watched the video about the BBC weather presenters, young Owain was a regular on Look North in Leeds. Personally I always preferred his oppo young Lisa Gallagher.

 

Regards to all.

 

Stay safe out there.

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by jamie92208

[tigerburnie]

Evening, we had a lazy Sunday(I had thought it was Saturday, but that's another story), sun came out so a long leisurely walk round the quiet roads surrounding the south side of the village, found a Squirrels dray and a Buzzards nest, both looked to be in use so I'll keep an eye on them. We are needing our delivery of comestibles, the dinners are getting a bit repetitive, but we are well fed, so mustn't grumble.

G'night all

[Barry O]

Evening!

After the close run day of Saturday Sunday has been a positive day apart from the amazing Captain Tom. He has raised money for the NHS Charities (the Hospital Trust have them). They use it to help the staff by a variety of ways. It is not used to fund the NHS who currently spend 19% of the UK budget ( as does Pensions). "Welfare" amounts to another 10+%. As the biggest employer in Europe the front line staff are doing a very good job. But..its not joined up, power struggles between teams both in their own hospitals and with teams elsewhere cause problems..maybe time for a rethink to get the pointy end staff better covered for anyfurther pandemics like this.

 

Interesting enough the figure quoted for the uk are for hospitals alone. The ONS do provide data on total deaths but they are not sure about the exact figures.

 

Currently, less people have died than those due to Cancer. As my family has been badly affected by this "illness" I hope people alao note the problems this pandemic is causing in our hospice movement in the UK.

 

Sorry for the rant but its time to start looking forward.

 

Baz

[Ozexpatriate]

3 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Interesting enough the figure quoted for the uk are for hospitals alone.

Thanks Baz. Data source was a Google summary.

[Barry O]

The Office for National Statistics give daily updates. Some of the data they produce could be used by John to generate loads of graphs, pie charts etc..

Baz

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The towel rail is now stripped of paint, all that remains are the stubborn bits in all the joints etc, these will be tackled when I next do any work on it. The fact that all 4 legs each have a barley twist in them hasn’t helped, but it does look nicer now that awful paint has been removed. 

 

This evening it was the turn of my brother in Canada to ring me, we spoke for about an hour or so and as is the norm, nothing of any great importance was discussed, apart from the current CV19 situation. The situation seems to be the same as over here regarding what shops etc are open. He works in the steel industry and is working as normal, alternating between days and nights, he does 4 - 12 hour shifts, then 4 days off, then another 4 - 12 hour shifts. 

 

Tonight has been one of the rare occasions when the idiotboxinthecorner wasn’t switched on, a very pleasant change.

 

On the subject of figures, death rates etc, I’m with Mark Twain when it comes to this, as he said “there’s lies, damned lies and statistics”. Personally, I think the only way to get any sort of idea of how deadly this virus is, is to take a snapshot of the deaths for the first 3-4 months of 2019. Then a snapshot of the deaths for the same period this year and compare the 2. If there is a huge difference (which undoubtedly there will be) between the 2 sets of figures it can only mean one thing, this bl00dy awful virus. 

 

And on that cheery note, I’ll bid you all a goodnight.