Early Risers.

[pH]

1 hour ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

Those are almost always called funnelcakes, they are excellent. Frybread is probably regional?

Arizonans definitely think they’re different things:

 

https://www.expeditionfoodieaz.com/article/dont-mistake-indian-fry-bread-for-funnel-cake

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

My dear Doctor.  Surely tomato is a fruit?  

Botanically, You are correct.  However....

10 hours ago, laurenceb said:

Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that it dont belong in a fruit salard

Or a fruit salad for that matter.  But you do refer to an interesting point, and one that I’ve made before, which is the divergence between “received wisdom” and scientific knowledge. We dismiss the latter at our peril.

8 hours ago, brianusa said:

Mashed potatoes are/were available at virtually every restaurant with the entree.  All right if you like MPs but forget baked, roasted or boiled.  You may be able to substitute F fries or you will have MPs!  Period!

  Now, if the idea of a nice juicy steak swimming in watery spuds is your idea of a decent meal, then go for it, I'll take rice!

     Brian.

You must be eating in all the wrong places, Brian. Places that only offer mashed potatoes and fries are clearly just opening packets (mash) and reaching into the deep freeze (fries).  Understandable in a cheap eatery, as ready-made products save on cost and manpower. But not to be able to even properly prepare instant mash potato is pretty abysmal.  As I have mentioned elsewhere, due to the fact that I have my own consulting business I have access to a supermarket that caters “to the trade“ and it is utterly appalling to see how many items can be purchased in 10, 15 or 25 kg amounts ready to be thrown into the deep fat fryer and resold at a huge markup (Case in point: Samosas. At the place I go to, you can buy 25 kg boxes of ready-made samosas which work out at about 25 rappen per Samosa. They are usually sold in restaurants, with a little bit of salad on the side, at SFr7 to SFr.9 for a plate of three).

On the rare occasion that I do go to a restaurant (given that generally I can cook better than most middle of the road restaurants here) I go to places where the chef has a modicum of competence and doesn’t reach for the ready-made food stuffs

6 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

We'll agree to disagree on that,

Indeed. 

I would certainly agree with your basic premise: that good quality ingredients required minimum intervention (and to my mind you can’t go wrong with a good piece of artisan, not industrial, cheese, bread that comes from a baker who knows what he/she is doing and some fresh, unsalted, butter for the bread. Oh, and a pint of CAMRA approvable microbrewery beer).

Where we do disagree, is on whether or not certain additions - like butter and salt on a baked potato - enhance the ingredients. 

3 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Sounds like what we call "French toast" over here; it can be very good.

I think anywhere in the world that uses bread (as opposed to rice) as the basic food stuff and uses a cooking fat such as butter, lard, dripping or similar will have its own version of fried leftover bread. Where “bread” is a flour based baked or griddled product - such as chapattis, tortillas (no, not the Spanish egg dish, the flat breads made from corn meal), baguettes, soda bread and the like...

Whilst my “alternative timeline” diary is pretty empty for today, back in the here and now I have to walk the dogs, read a few briefing papers, take part in a teleconference for work, practice guitar and make some soda bread! I’m actually quite envious of the “alternative timeline” me, skiving off and generally being a lazy s*d.

 

Enjoy POETS day

 

iD

Edited July 10, 2020 by iL Dottore
Typo

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all, with many thanks to Lurker, Rick and Mike Stationmaster for their kind words. 

 

I should put my woes into context.  I suppose we are all in the same boat as regards suddenly losing chunks of social life.  I do – or did! – many different things.  I would visit model railway shows in various parts of the country and have the good fortune to enjoy sociable conversations at the vast majority of them.  There were meetings of several railway societies and there were musical events, be they concerts or folk festivals, which is where many of the CDs that I play in the car would be purchased from the artiste and autographed if I asked nicely.  I also take part in Pride events.  Fitting it all together could involve complex planning, much of it well in advance.  I had been getting quite excited at the prospect of visiting Dublin again, reserving one day for Pride and leaving plenty of time to rediscover that young and vibrant city.

 

Then the bomb dropped.  Within hours on one day in March the diary emptied.  Everything that could possibly be postponed or cancelled was.  Much of it went immediately but some cancellations have continued to trickle through subsequently and have spilled over into 2021.  I think I have now learned not to get quite so excited about a long weekend away [Dublin] but don’t quote me.  The reality that I will not now be returning from East Devon in the first week of August with backache caused by camping [Sidmouth] is quite bizarre.  For a while I was able to think positively.  If that’s off I could go there instead: no I couldn’t, that’s off too.  Instead of driving up to 1,000 miles a month I am now doing eight miles a week and that only because I do two fodder runs instead of one.  This has had a drastic effect on the amount of music I play.  I suppose I could try to find a suitable CD player for the house.  I would feel foolish sitting in the car for hours listening to music and the battery would not like it very much!  The really ghastly prospect is that there is no end in sight, for all the bullish talk of restrictions being lifted.  The chances of the 2020 events that were postponed to 2021 going ahead are diminishing rapidly.  Cheerful so-and-so, aren’t I?

 

It is no secret that I have been finding it difficult to cope with this demotivating situation.  I wish I had been made of sterner stuff but I do realise that others are in an even worse place.  For all good wishes, past, present and future, I offer my warmest and most heartfelt thanks.

 

Chris

[Ozexpatriate]

54 minutes ago, chrisf said:

I suppose I could try to find a suitable CD player for the house. 

Plenty of options for relatively inexpensive CD players, though not as many as there used to be. Most of them double as radio receivers and will now also function as Bluetooth speakers as well should you ever desire that capability.

 

I recommend versions (more expensive) with an electric CD loading tray. I have a vertical loader I bought many years ago, but these days all I could find was horizontal tray loaders.

 

I did make the mistake of purchasing a very inexpensive one. It was junk and I was remiss in taking it back to the shop before their return policy expired. (Anyone want a CD player super cheap?)

 

54 minutes ago, chrisf said:

I would feel foolish sitting in the car for hours listening to music and the battery would not like it very much!

Which reminds me of someone I see parked in church car park every afternoon while I get my walk in. Why I don't know, perhaps he needs to get away from his cohabitants, but he parks outside a little church and listens to the radio. I think he snoozes as well but I don't make a point of examining him closely.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, roundhouse said:

... Aurora IL

Famously the home of the fictional Wayne Campbell and his friend Garth Algar. I lived not far from there, within earshot of the CNW (now UP) mainline west of Chicago. once upon a time. Depending on consist, you can wait a very long time at level crossings for trains to pass - lots of auto racks and corn syrup tankers.

 

My oldest played a couple of high school basketball games at the Aurora high school.

[JohnDMJ]

8 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

I do on occasion eat a lot of my ingredients that I have caught, foraged or grown raw, just to enjoy the flavour, a cob of sweetcorn eaten raw straight from the plant is a joy that I doubt anyone has enjoyed in a restaurant. I have eaten in French city restaurants', but much prefer a country pub or café and it would seem a lot of the French I knew were of the same opinion.

 

IMHO, there is nothing better that a cob of sweetcorn to which the only preparation is to remove the leaves. More nutritious and energy-efficient than cooking it to death!

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

Still very cool for this time of year.

 

Chris, you are not alone. I could restart some cricket activities but the advice from the ECB and ECB ACO (Association of Cricket Officials) is not helping me make my mind up. A quick chat with a family member who is retired GP hasn't helped. I have missed a few exhibitions, several gatherings of friends and realatives and my annual pilgrimage to Robin Hoods Bay for walking, drinking and eating activities. Until recently I have been fine but its all getting a bit stupid coming out of lockdown.

 

I shall put wome extra music on..if you had lived in Leeds I could have supplied a cd player..two will go to the Charity Shop when that reopens.

Time for a pick me up..a nice mugatea!

 

 

Stay safe, make the best use of the day and...

 

TTFN!

Baz

Edited July 10, 2020 by Barry O

[Simon G]

Morning all,

I have not posted here for a couple of days, simply because I have been assembling my new shed.  When I ordered it as self assembly, I didn’t realise just how much assembly there would be!  My old shed was assembled with about 16 to 20 quite large bolts and screws.  When I checked the hardware for the new one, there were other 250 wood screws!  I started on Wednesday morning and made steady progress until about 4pm, when I started putting roof panels on.  Having got the first one on, the rain started (not as per forecast).  As the roof panels are a compressed board and don’t want to get wet, I stopped and used the old roof felt, some plastic and even a couple of slates to keep the water off.  At the end of all this, I was totally knackered!
 

I restarted yesterday morning and got the second panel on, but then the last two wouldn’t fit properly as the shed clearly wasn’t sufficiently square.  Cue a lot of swearing and then thinking!  In the end I managed to loosen the main roof truss and push the shed into being square, then held it square with some pieces of wood against a nearby wall.  The two roof panels then went on OK.  Just as I started the roof felting, the wind got up, so that was delayed a bit, but finally the job was done.  It would have been a lot easier with two people doing it, but I was relieved to have finished it before more rain came in the evening.

 

Today, I will have to start moving all the contents from the garage to the shed.  I then have a lot of accumulated firewood to be cut up and stored in the shed as well, so plenty of work still.

 

Now I am off for a brief walk before breakfast.  The walk may result in more seaweed being collected from the beach!

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Not a lot happening so far today. We watched a play on YouTube last night streamed by the National Theatre. The interval of just over a minute was long enough to run to the freezer and get an ice cream.

We continue to not go anywhere unless summoned for medical purposes. My nephew had his PhD viva yesterday. Given 3 months to make minor corrections. He seemed pleased. 
Tony

[polybear]

7 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

I wonder if there's a misunderstanding there. 

Do bears eat their onion rings deep fried in batter with breakfast? I had assumed sautéed onions rather than these.

 

Deep Fried Onion Rings or raw seal blubber for brekkies?   Not a difficult decision for this Bear.....

[Robert]

Morning All,

 

It is rather a muggy morning today.  The temperature is due to get up to around 30°C this afternoon, which will match yesterday.  Strange however, is that on Wednesday the temperature was down to 10°C and it was decidedly chilly!

 

Thankfully, the forecast has been revised since yesterday.  There was talk of a former tropical storm coming up from the South and causing super cell activity over much of Southern Germany.  That is still going to happen, but if the forecast is correct it will be further south than we are.

 

If you ask me, we should just cancel 2020!

 

Have a good day everyone...

[Andrew P]

3 hours ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all, with many thanks to Lurker, Rick and Mike Stationmaster for their kind words. 

 

I should put my woes into context.  I suppose we are all in the same boat as regards suddenly losing chunks of social life.  I do – or did! – many different things.  I would visit model railway shows in various parts of the country and have the good fortune to enjoy sociable conversations at the vast majority of them.  There were meetings of several railway societies and there were musical events, be they concerts or folk festivals, which is where many of the CDs that I play in the car would be purchased from the artiste and autographed if I asked nicely.  I also take part in Pride events.  Fitting it all together could involve complex planning, much of it well in advance.  I had been getting quite excited at the prospect of visiting Dublin again, reserving one day for Pride and leaving plenty of time to rediscover that young and vibrant city.

 

Then the bomb dropped.  Within hours on one day in March the diary emptied.  Everything that could possibly be postponed or cancelled was.  Much of it went immediately but some cancellations have continued to trickle through subsequently and have spilled over into 2021.  I think I have now learned not to get quite so excited about a long weekend away [Dublin] but don’t quote me.  The reality that I will not now be returning from East Devon in the first week of August with backache caused by camping [Sidmouth] is quite bizarre.  For a while I was able to think positively.  If that’s off I could go there instead: no I couldn’t, that’s off too.  Instead of driving up to 1,000 miles a month I am now doing eight miles a week and that only because I do two fodder runs instead of one.  This has had a drastic effect on the amount of music I play.  I suppose I could try to find a suitable CD player for the house.  I would feel foolish sitting in the car for hours listening to music and the battery would not like it very much!  The really ghastly prospect is that there is no end in sight, for all the bullish talk of restrictions being lifted.  The chances of the 2020 events that were postponed to 2021 going ahead are diminishing rapidly.  Cheerful so-and-so, aren’t I?

 

It is no secret that I have been finding it difficult to cope with this demotivating situation.  I wish I had been made of sterner stuff but I do realise that others are in an even worse place.  For all good wishes, past, present and future, I offer my warmest and most heartfelt thanks.

 

Chris

Hi Chris, Move house as I did, that keeps the Brain, body and Soul more than occupied, haha.

 

I do feel for you, and that is probably why my wife says I have far to many hobbies, like the Railways, real and model, Art and Music, plus I developed a handy knack of Eyelid inspection after lunch these days as well.

 

Keep well, both bodily and mentally and stay safe.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

Well we’ve had some rain this morning, I heard it hitting the bedroom window a short while ago, but it seems to have stopped now. It’s cooler than usual for this time of year, once again the heating came on this morning so the overnight temperature must have dropped quite low. Breakfast has now been consumed and I’ll shortly walk to the butchers to collect the weekly meat rations and hopefully a pastie for my dinner. Once back home I’ll make my a muggertea before heading off to the Trafford Centre to get the few items that we can’t get from Sainsbury’s, whilst there I’ll call at WHSmiths and pick up the latest RM. 

 

There are no plans for the afternoon, apart from reading the above mentioned magazine, but that could well change. 

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. 

[TheSignalEngineer]

1 hour ago, Simon G said:

My old shed was assembled with about 16 to 20 quite large bolts and screws.  When I checked the hardware for the new one, there were other 250 wood screws!

When my Dad retired from the vicarage my parents moved into a flat. I did a fitted bedroom array built from flatpack parts supplied in those days by MFI. Fortunately my 9 year old son was still small enough to fit into the tight corners with a stubby screwdriver and was an excellent DIY assistant so he negotiated a piecework rate to put all of the screws in whilst I held the parts in place and made sure they were square. 

When the job was finished he worked out that he had put in 308 screws.

[TheQ]

Mooring awl , Inner Temple Hare,

A bit later this morning as I've been setting up a 120 Amp test system, which I've just turned on.  the unit under test is a 10 to 120 Amp DC Current transformer unit, It's going to get warm, 120 A in front of me and 2 ft behind  is the system that will need it's , 50 and 100 Amp Shunts calibrated with the CT Unit . meanwhile that unit behind me is also testing a 100 Amp Shunt...

 

Dull damp and drizzly this Morning as was Ben the Unsure Collie, he seemed to need lots of encouragement to walk down the garden and he kept close to my side...

 

Cockwombles,

The council have closed off the road to the two villages including the one I live in.

The alternatives..

One is a potholed untarred mud and sand track, 

the other is officially a green lane, it is tarmac'd but very bumpy often completely covered in Sand and grass down the middle of the single track in places. It's extremely narrow with house end walls on the edge of the road and there is a 90 bend round a house..

 

Why? they are digging a hole in the road.. not this road, but one off on a junction.. So they've closed our road so they can park their vans on it....

Then when I get to my house last night I find two road signs in MY drive way, because the roads so narrow, they can't put them in the single track road..,

Did they ask permission NO,

Did they even tell us about the road works  going to happen NO...

 

And if the works is on tonight / tomorrow it will be absolute chaos as all the second homers and holiday makers try to get to their houses / caravan sites..

 

Cockwomble 2 more normal, 4th vehicle ahead at 06:20 ish turns into Garage , garage is closed, it doen't open till 06:30, cockwomble realises just as he starts turning, slams on the brakes as he's half onto the forecourt and reverses back out into the traffic . Some very smart braking from the cars in front and a loud blaring of horns.. If I'd been immediately behind he'd have had a sharp shove up the back side, old landrovers don't have fabulous brakes with ABS.

 

120 Amps measured

 

A set of Large sash clamps are now in the landrover, the biggest is 8ft almost the smallest about 4ft but with extensions. All made in the days when tools were British and good quality. They just need a clean up and re-oiling ..

 

All this talk of food is making me hungry, Some sort of full english will happen tomorrow for breakfast, maybe with a potato cake.

 

100Amps measured..

 

Another sand down of the little Barons Plinth was carried out last night, it will be interesting tonight to see if it's at all shiny..

 

Sailing, it looks with the latest announcements from HMG, that sailing can recommence. I think the RYA sailing clubs are being left to their own devices on how to run the rescue boats, no guidance from HMG.

 

Not this weekend but the following one my club will start some sailing racing going.  That will give them two weeks practice before Regatta week.

Wroxham Sailing club's  regatta week, which normally would be the week before ours, was cancelled some months ago, will they resurrect it?

 

80 Amps measured.

 

Time to .. start measuring 60 Amps..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheSignalEngineer]

9 hours ago, newbryford said:

My trusty EX8 has had a bit of TLC last week via a new chain, rear cassette and bottom bracket - fitted courtesy of a very good bike mechanic

I keep my old EX8 with it 26" wheels and 3x9 in running order as I find it better than my Whyte with a 1x11 on some rides.

Nice area, we did one there a few years ago but it was winter at the time so not quite the same. The previous day we had to abanbon due to a blizzard.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Had an e-mail this morning from the printer repairs shop, my payment had been refused by my bank. I went on to the bank security straight away to find out what the problem was. Apparently a previous payment had flagged up as to a dodgy account so a stop was put on all internet and phone transactions. My bank has an automated system to contact customers about such transactions and I had in fact had two such calls. Problem was it was an electronic voice message with a female South Asian accent and whats more my name was mispronounced which immediately raised my suspicions so I put the phone down. Luckily it didn't take long to sort out and now all is well. Simon, I'm now glad that I opted to have my shed built for me even though it cost an extra £60. Only problem is that it should have been delivered and erected by the end of last month. I've now been told that I will be contacted next week to arrange delivery and construction the week after. About twenty minutes ago I heard a noise outside so I looked out to see a Spitfire heading in Tony's direction, about five minutes later I heard another Spitfire (or the same one?) this time heading in a south west direction. There's some events taking place today to mark the start of the Battle of Britain.

10 hours ago, PJT said:

 

Just had to stop myself dribbling into the keyboard at the thought of that one.

 

 

 

Pete T.

 

 The best way to fry bread in beef dripping is to melt the dripping in the pan then drop a dollop of the jelly from the dripping into the pan and drop the bread in on top of it. I will not be responsible for keyboards covered in dribble.

[PJT]

3 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 The best way to fry bread in beef dripping is to melt the dripping in the pan then drop a dollop of the jelly from the dripping into the pan and drop the bread in on top of it. I will not be responsible for keyboards covered in dribble.

 

Damn.  I was concentrating really well on my work this morning until your post beckoned me out to the kitchen again for a full-on meat fat hit.  One of our shops down the town does the most spectacular home-made pork scratchings (the sort that render you deaf within half a dozen crunches).  I bought some yesterday to last me the week and I've just this minute cleared out the last, small, really salty, really crunchy bits from the bottom of the tub.

 

My Pam's brilliant at hiding temptations from herself at the back of kitchen cupboards to help her maintain her self discipline.  I can hide things in the kitchen - like the pork scratchings - but unlike Pam I always seem to find them again a short time later.  I have no idea where I'm going wrong.

 

However I do remember one day, with tears of laughter running down my cheeks, watching Pam spending ages picking all the sellotape off a bag of fruit and nuts so she could polish off the contents, a couple of hours after binding the bag up with the best part of a roll of the stuff to try to discourage herself from doing just that.  We all have our weak spots, just some more than others. 

 

Pete T.

 

[Chris116]

Breakfast was a muffin with smoked back bacon, fried egg and cheese. A bit like the ones that McD's do but both SWMBO and I thought was better. I had a mug of tea while she had a coffee. 

 

On the subject of music, I have nearly given up with CD's and have about eight playlists on Spotify. I have a free account which means I get an advert after every third or fourth song but that does not worry me. On my computer the lists will play the songs in order or on shuffle play. On my phone it is always shuffle play. So music has now become radio or Spotify which saves trying to find a CD player that is worth having. 

 

I have been missing lots of things that I would in normal circumstances have been doing but have tried to fill the time by watching Virtual Railfan railcams on YouTube. I find Galesburg, Fort Madison, La Plata, Ashland and Revelstoke the most interesting. Also on YouTube my church has been streaming services while many of the singer/songwriters I enjoy seeing live have been streaming mini concerts. 

 

SWMBO has kept herself busy with lots of things she has crocheted but is still missing many of her regular pastimes. She should have been in Wisconsin all this month seeing her great grand daughter who was born in March this year. Now she will not see her until next year which is not going down at all well. 

 

I had bought tickets to see Santana on 27th March but that was postponed until next year but this week I received an email saying it was now cancelled and today the refund arrived in my account so SWMBO is not happy. 

 

Have a good day, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Stay safe. 

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup where the air is cold but the sun is out. The rain seems to have departed for a few days.

 

Today has been a frustrating day dealing with colleagues from Spain - but will hopefully be dealt with in a call in 10 minutes' time.

 

Younger Lurker has been to see his new school today but I don't know how they went as they immediately set off for a walk.

 

and my dentist has just called so i have now rearranged my checkup/hygienist visit!

 

and now, coffee await before the call!

[TheSignalEngineer]

5 hours ago, chrisf said:

I suppose we are all in the same boat as regards suddenly losing chunks of social life.  I do – or did! – many different things.  I would visit model railway shows in various parts of the country and have the good fortune to enjoy sociable conversations at the vast majority of them. 

I can appreciate your feelings there Chris. So far I have missed or future cancellations of nine shows, swapmeets, club open days etc, four trips to photograph main line steam, an MTB holiday in Yorkshire, three planned visits to heritage rail sites, three exhibitions at museums (non-railway) and some sporting events. I need to get back to swimming as that seems to have the most beneficial effect for body flexibility, I can't do the Joe Wicks stuff these days as I end up needing too much recovery time between programmes.

Anne has probably found it harder than me as she goes swimming several times each week and would normally be in the tennis league season at the moment with two matches most weeks. She is also carrying an injury at the moment but can't get a face to face physio appointment.

 

Up side is I have done a bit of catch-up on the muddling side finishing off incomplete projects. Two more programmed for later today as the postie has just delivered my order from Wizard for the bits I had run out of. We have got back into walking around the countryside more than we have for the last few years. In addition the backlog of cycle maintenance is no more, the allotment is the tidiest it has been for about three years and I know where all of my tools are in the garage.

[Tony_S]

It is fortunate I wasn’t going anywhere. Aditi’s gardening supplies delivery has arrived. I found our sack trolley so she has trucked it all round to the back garden. The dark clouds that looked like rain clouds didn’t deposit any rain here 

 

[BSW01]

Just back from the Trafford Centre, WHS didn't have a copy of RM aaargg.

I'll have to hope Sainsbury’s has one when I go on Monday. 

[Coombe Barton]

Lockdown

 

I'll have plenty of time, I thought.

I planned, I started some, I have not finished any.

 

The caravan is now on the drive and is demanding my attention

 

The washing is being done, but still damply in the kitchen and there's a previously unforecast shower now forecast. Should be gone by 3, though.

 

So what's got in the way? In a word, work. Apparently i have that rare set of technological skills that allows me to do things for the rest of the Business School. However the systems don't allow me to do that very fast.

 

Can't blame everything on that' though, had a few weeks extending into months when the sleep patterns were against me.

 

 

[jamie92208]

Good afternoon from a cloudy and cooler Charente.   Much wailing and gnashing of teeth went on yesterday.  Beth and I had spent much of a very hot day sorting out the pool liner and getting it wrinkle free on the base.  I filled it to 6cm and then some friends joined us for Fish and chips  from the van.   However when I got back from the chippy two leaks had appeared onto the concrete base.   We are not happy bunnies. Photos were taken and I am off to Angouleme shortly (40 miles) to complain bitterly and see how good they are about warranties.   

 

 

As to surviving lockdown.   For the first two weeks it was non stop gardening and we now appreciate the results.  then I found my modelling mojo and several projects were completed.   The I got into scanning my old photos and that has been a sheer transport of delight a it has brought back so many good memories.  In many ways our life has not been affected too much. However we have really missed seeing young Emily growing up though video calls are now a regular part of Saturday mornings and we have watched with fascination her learning to walk.  

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie