Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Sadly the F-15 pilot did not survive, details are a bit sketchy but apparently it was foggy in the area when the accident occurred. I found another forgotten plant hidden by the other shrubs in the garden this afternoon, a hebe. I tied back and pruned some of the other plants to give it a bit of room, hopefully it will be OK. If it isn't I'll have to move it.

[Dave Hunt]

9 hours ago, TheQ said:

I remember those days, we had a OIC mark the entire flight down so low, that within a week of him leaving, we all had a second set of annual reports done. In the Interview he had told everyone they were doing wonderfully well..

For those that had been due promotion, it really stuffed some of them to have 2 sets of annual reports made by him during his 18 month tour.

 

 

Sadly there were some plonkers such as that but if what you describe happened, Q, it shouldn't have. A couple of bad reports close together from the same reporting officer that were out of line with previous ones should have been flagged up to the promotions board and special reports called for. If that didn't happen it was contrary to all established procedure and unforgivable.  

 

Dave   

[Coombe Barton]

... and cushions ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/06/15/feedback-being-assembled/

[tetsudofan]

Evening all, have been busy in the garden the last few weeks starting with this:

 

 

and ending with this:

 

 

Had hoped to complete the work much quicker than happened but the disappearance of mortar mix down here in the far south east corner held up the work. Popped into Wickes on Friday after doing weekly shopping run at Sainsburys and found that they had some in stock which had only just arrived at the store. Over the weekend accumulated 18 bags (plus 7 bags of concrete mix) but when I popped into Wickes to get some building blocks this morning noticed that the mortar mix shelves were bare.

 

The metal-work in the top picture will be re-cycled, its not been wasted...…...

 

Keith

[Dave Hunt]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

The armed forces put very expensive pilots into very expensive aeroplanes and then make sure they can get out. but the arrival into the water and subsequent recovery is far from straightforward.  Aircrew  can drown because they can't release themselves from the parachute, which then takes off across the water and drags them along .

 

Damn right HH! When we first got the Phantom the parachute was attached to the lifejacket by a couple of USAF/USN type connectors known a Koch fasteners that could be swines to undo and when getting dragged by a 'chute after reaching terra firma or terra liquid following ejection if you didn't release them simultaneously you'd never get the second one undone. We therefore trained for the eventuality by first being dragged across North Luffenham airfield at 25 mph behind a 3-ton truck and releasing the fasteners when instructed (by loud hailer) then repeating the exercise behind an Air/Sea rescue launch in the North Sea. To say that the experience was interesting would be a marked understatement. After a while, though, the harness with Koch fasteners was changed to a British type with a 'turn and thump' type of release and thankfully we didn't have to do any more dragging sketches.  

 

It is also instructive to remember that the North Sea is bl**dy cold, even at this time of year, and even if you are wearing the right sort of kit survival is unlikely if you don't get into a dinghy and get the cover up toot sweet. Getting into the dinghy in anything but a flat calm is difficult at best and if you aren't wearing immersion gloves you will lose the use of your hands in a couple of minutes. All in all the poor sod in the F15 was in a poor situation from the moment he hit the water. I know, I've been there.

 

Dave  

[Ozexpatriate]

5 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

... and cushions ...

John, you might not care about American football, but might find this news article interesting*. The NFL hopes to return in the Autumn. It is one of few professional sports in the US where games were largely unaffected by the pandemic - though their customary off-season routine has been impacted.

 

* One of the players was later confirmed to be a star running back for the Dallas Cowboys.

 

Meanwhile Major League Soccer and the National Basketball Association will have abridged season tournaments, while athletes are quarantined at the Walt Disney World / ESPN Wide World of Sports facility in Florida.

 

With reopening, the rolling average of new CoViD-19 cases in many US states is up. That is certainly true here mostly due to outbreaks at a seafood processing plant and yet another nursing home.

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Paperwork was done this morning, then a quick trip to the local Coop for a few things for Mil. Dinner (lunch to some) in the garden then bit of gardening and finally a walk up to Mils with her shopping. Tea was had outside and spent the rest of the evening catching up here. That’s about it then,

Goodnight,

Robert

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[bbishop]

Toddy had a heart attack when he was 13 and was diagnosed with a leaking heart valve; his tablets kept him going for another 4½ years.  Remember the little bu99er was a Jack Russell Terrier with the ability to lock his jaw.  This left two options, the first was to  blow gently into his nostrils and to get the tablet down his throat before he bit your nose off..  The second was to wrap  the tablet in a lump of Mars Bar, and this option had a higher nasal survival rate.   Harvey would leave home about 9am and perambulate up and down the road cadging his nice hot cups of tea off the neighbours, he was so laid back that an extra NHCOT laced with a tablet just didn't bother him.  And he lived to about 20.

 

Bill

[laurenceb]

9 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think if I was being chased by a really cross bear, I'd prefer to shoot it rather than throw chocolate at it

Q. What do you call an agry bear

A. Nothing! You just run

[Barry O]

Not feeling 100% for some reason so

Goodnight all!

Baz

[Simon G]

Nocturnal ramble completed, and some driftwood found on the beach, which will eventually make its way onto the woodburner.

 

Goodnight all.

[Dave Hunt]

12 minutes ago, laurenceb said:

Q. What do you call an agry bear

A. Nothing! You just run

 

And where does a 7ft grizzly bear sleep?

 

 

 

 

Anywhere it damn well wants to....

 

 

[Gwiwer]

12 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

 

And where does a 7ft grizzly bear sleep?

 

 

 

 

Anywhere it damn well wants to....

 

 

And if it wishes to make the proverbial use of the woods are you going to argue?

 

'night all.  Hope Baz feels better in the morning.  

Edited June 15, 2020 by Gwiwer

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

I managed to get a second coat of primer on the bench this morning. I’d finished the painting and cleaned my brush by 11 o’clock, so I decided to dead head some of the roses. I also trimmed some of the plants that were starting to look a bit disheveled. By the time I’d finished that I’d filled the wheelbarrow! So I had a quick walk to the front to empty it, then packed everything away. Just as I was going in for dinner, we had a heavy downpour which was accompanied by thunder and lightning.

 

After dinner we had more rain and when I completed the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix this evening I noticed the bottom of road, where some shops are was flooded! The water was half way across the pavement (about 18ft wide), went right across the road and was a few inches short of the far side kerb. I’d only been sat on the sofa for about half an hour when the heavens opened up again. It was so loud we could hardly hear the TV, it sounded like somebody was spraying the dining room skylight with a power hose! It was so severe that I went down stairs to the cellar to check to see if we had any water getting in, thankfully it was bone dry, which was a huge relief. 8 years ago, during a similar downpour, we ended up with 14”-12” of water sloshing about in the cellar, it took me a week to clear it all up. Since then I’ve had double glazed French doors fitted and thankfully we’ve never had another repeat. 

 

Yesterday whilst I was looking for a roll a emery paper, I came across an old airless spray gun that I’d forgotten about. It was given to me in non-working condition, ie, the motor worked but it wouldn’t spray. So yesterday, I stripped it down and left both the nozzle and parts of the piston soaking in cellulose thinners overnight. This afternoon I cleaned all the bits off, opened up holes with fine drills as necessary and then reassembled it, finally getting it spraying water, after a few minutes making adjustments to the spray, via a screw at the back of the machine, so now I have an operating spray gun.

 

Goodnight all 

[newbryford]

1 hour ago, laurenceb said:

Q. What do you call an agry bear

A. Nothing! You just run

 

Q. What do you call a deaf, angry bear?

A. Anything you want - it can't hear you.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening awl,

 

Hot and humid again today, haven’t left the house in 28 hours. Unfortunately I recently found out that Royal Mail shipped my Stuart Oscillator to Chicago, only for the USPS to ship it too New York, where it’s been sitting for 5 days, not very happy with them, as essentially it’s gone 1000 miles the wrong way. But on a more positive note I cooked the filling for some New Zealand meat pies, which I haven’t had since my last visit to family down there. Now it’s peacefully cooling in the fridge. Also the new regulator valve and flywheel for the Oscillator have left Guernsey,  so they should be here by next Tuesday. Had some excellent berry cobbler for a breakfast and afternoon sugar refill, which was refreshing. I added a picture of my cat who I’m guessing fell through a worm hole to end up in that position.

 

stay healthy,

Douglas

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[newbryford]

Phew!

 

Very warm in the office today - even with fans on and window open.

Not helped by having a socially distanced meeting outside in the blazing sun.....

 

Helpline calls varied from simple "that's the way to do it"

to "that isn't the way to do it" (after a 35 minute conversation)

 

What seems to becoming a regular Monday evening involved a minor detour on my way home to Gisburn Forest where mountain biking was mountain biked.

 

Same route as last week, but marginally quicker to my surprise as the first 20 mins or so felt very slow through the humidity. I found it difficult to breathe properly. My biking mate had encountered a severe thunderstorm and downpour on his way there and expecting it to be at GF - but no sign of it. The trails were dusty and dry with a couple of puddles remaining from the weekend rain. A few more PBs on Strava in the later stages of the ride as we climbed up the hill into the cooler part of the forest.

 

At one point early on, we stopped for a short rest and a couple on bikes passed us with a large dog leading the way. About 15 minutes later, we caught and passed them, but I ended up following the dog that seemingly refused to answer calls from it's owner to return. Then it suddenly stopped and ran backwards to them nearly ending up under my front wheel.

About 1 minute later and I'm in a tricky downhill threading through the trees with 110 % concentration and I hear the dog just over my shoulder and the bl**dy thing cuts a corner between trees and jumps in front of me. Swear words were issued as I took evasive action. At the bottom of the downhill, the dog stopped and waited as we carried on.

 

15 minutes later, on a long uphill and the dog passes me again, stops at the trail side and has a cr&p. Owners were about 30 yards behind me at this point and could clearly see the dog. She passes me a minute or 2 later and politely says "warm one tonight". I simply agreed. What I should have said is "your dog nearly caused me serious injury back there, it's just had a cr&p and you haven't picked it up". But as I was in the middle of a long climb (lasting 5-6 minutes of serious effort) - I had a CBA moment.

If it happens again, more forthright action will be taken.

 

On my way home after the ride, it was clearly obvious that there had been a very heavy downpour. The road went from dry to very wet in the space of about 100 yards

 

Not my video - but this is the section where the dog was definitely not man's best friend.

My personal subtitle is: "Should I really be doing this at my age?"[*]

 

[*] And the little devil on my shoulder says "get on with it and we'll see you next week"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2020 by newbryford

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

 

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Goodnight all, from Greencountry.

[AndyID]

7 hours ago, roundhouse said:

As we are talking Shay's here's two axles from my G scale one that we're replaced about 20 years ago when they split. Now that all four axles currently in the trucks have split, I have made repairs to one of these ready to be swapped in the next few days. It's had wire reinforcement glued with superglue and epoxy so hopefully they will last a while.

 

I can print new gears for you if we can get the dimensions correct.

[J. S. Bach]

3 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

 ...snip... stay healthy,

Douglas

 

Cats adopt the darnedest poses:

 

Quote

Cats adopt the damnedest poses:

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by J. S. Bach

[J. S. Bach]

Good night owl from the Piedmont.