Early Risers.

[Barry O]

3 minutes ago, BokStein said:

 

I suggest you have the wrong ranks there! For 'Captain' and 'First Officer', read Sub Lieutenant and for 'Helmsman', read Chief Petty Officer.

 

But what the heck, it's only The Navy Lark!

But these are civvies,.. not RN types...

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Afternoon all,

 

Well we are done for the day with the vent. I spent about an hour banging away inside the old vent with a hammer and some chisels trying to dislodge 6 nails which had been used to hold it in there. And eventually they all came out after much shouting (no expletives were used, they are IHO useless) and a piece of insulation falling in my eye, as I forgot my safety goggles. After this dad got back from the workshop with more labor saving devices and we proceeded to struggle for another hour with removing the vent. 
 

The removal of the vent caused an avalanche of 60 year old insulation to come down as well. Yippee. Then we measured the new vent and found that it was to small, so dad is now online looking at vents. Then about a half hour was spent with our enormous 6.5 hp ShopVac vacuuming out old insulation. As one will observe we made quite a mess. So now my sibling and I will be using the guest shower for the next five days. 

[Tony_S]

50 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

Yup! Boolean operators like AND and OR work in a search. So shonna AND california should find all the pix with both of those tags.

NHN would probably be able to search for Donk using the EOR operator?

[newbryford]

2 hours ago, NGT6 1315 said:

I admit I splurged and ordered a 2000 series and the 3000 series set from Tomix after I rewatched a few videos of this line. Remedial shopping? Maybe... 

 

If you can - go and visit. Easily done on a day trip from Tokyo. (Albeit not a day trip from Europe.....)

 

I think the ticket we bought was the Hakone Free Pass offering unlimited travel on all forms of public transport in the Province including cable cars and Lake Ashi cruise

We travelled on a Shinkansen from Tokyo Shinagawa to Odawara and swapped to the 3'6" line to Hakone-Yumoto , before picking up the standard gauge Hakone-Tozan train. We bailed at  Kowakidani and caught the bus across to Lake Ashi before ferry and the cable car up and funicular down around the mountain to Gora, to catch the train back down to Odawara and an Odakyu "local" back to Tokyo Shinjuku (just around the corner from our hotel.

 

On the Tozan line, we were on a series 1000 - (the exact same one featured at 6.38) the pic is back in 2017 and masks were worn then!

 

There are 3 switchbacks on the line and the upper terminus - Gora - from about 8.48 onwards even has a bus turntable!

 

 

 

At Hakone-machi-ko, we had an hour or 2 to wait for the boat across Lake Ashi.

There we saw a most unexpected  vehicle for Japan.

A Caterham Seven

 

Quite a contrast to our earlier transport. N700 Series Shinkansen

 

[tetsudofan]

43 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 

Thats looks like one heck of a climb for adhesion only.

 

Been there, done it many times when I was living in Tokyo. Fantastic railway but at the time I was living there the trains were only comprised of two coaches. These trains were built specifically to run up and down the mountain, power and braking wise.

 

Once you got to the top you could get a cable car over the mountain down to a lake on the other side, catch a ferry to the end of the lake and then a bus to get you back to the where you started at the bottom of the mountain.

 

Took my parents there when they visited Japan and we overnighted at an onsen on the top of the mountain. Great end to the day, relaxing in the open air hot spring bath. 

 

Keith

[Dave Hunt]

Visit to No. 1 son yesterday went down very well and we were able to sort out a few things for him. His back is improving and he is due another physiotherapy session on Wednesday. Fortunately he has been working from home four days a week even before covid days and with Zoom conferencing he can manage the fifth day OK for a while. Looking after his kids on a half time basis is somewhat problematic until he has fully recovered but we're working on that.

 

Today's highlight was a family quiz on Zoom with No. 1 setting the questions helped by his two offspring (the two previous occasions have involved first me and then No. 2 doing the honours). Sadly for us we know little or nothing about superheroes, children's TV or computer games so we came an ignominious last but it was quite good fun.

 

And so another week bites the dust. I wonder what the next one will bring.

 

TTFN

 

Dave 

[J. S. Bach]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Still not put the wheelbarrow together, perhaps later this week. I've got a few things to tidy up in the garden ready for the arrival of the shed, if it arrives.

Thats looks like one heck of a climb for adhesion only.

Czech out some of the grades on Pittsburgh's former trolley system. When they got some new (read really ugly) cars to replace the old PCCs, 12% was specified; the manufacturer questiooned that as they thought it was a typo for 1.2%. No said PAT, we really do mean 12%.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[NGT6 1315]

Here I was just wondering: If someone from the Midlands wants to tear down a building, do they use a wrekin ball?  

 

Nite awl...

[Erichill16]

Evening all, 

gardening, walk up to mils bit of modelling and watched the GP. Pleasant day weather wise. No pasties up here, salad for tea. Nothing else to report tonight so I will bid you all 
Goodnight 

Robert

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, NGT6 1315 said:

Here I was just wondering: If someone from the Midlands wants to tear down a building, do they use a wrekin ball?  

 

Nite awl...

Probably not if they want it done quickly. Going round the Wrekin was used to describe not using a direct route. Well it was when I was living in the Midlands. I left about 50 years ago so perhaps they go round something else now?

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening all,

 

Not much to say other than the pies were much better than last time. Not my mashed potatoes either. Unfortunately I didn’t get to make them since I was otherwise engaged with the fan, so mom did.  

 

Stay healthy,

 

Douglas

Edited July 12, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[The Stationmaster]

Interesting colision on the Welland canal although having delved out the navigation rules I'm surprised they don't have more because you need to be a Philadelphia lawyer to make sense of them.  If anything it could well be the case that the officer of the watch was too busy looking at the rules to apply them or find out what the signals meant although it could equally be that one vessel or the other didn't obey them.  The normal navigation rule of passing port side to port side is replaced (if i read the rules correctly) by a rule giving the vessel going with the current or tide priority and it should then signal to the other vessel what latter should do to avoid a collision.   Judging by the bow waves/lack of them the red vessel would appear to be the one which thought it had the decision and the black one ('Florence Spirit') should have complied with its signals and then passed as directed.  

 

Judging by its late turn to port and its subsequent the erratic course the 'Florence Spirit' was attempting to comply and pass starboard side to starboard side but got it seriously wrong, twice.   Although it might just having been trying, unsuccessfully, to get out of the way of the 'Alamis' Somebody not keeping a proper lookout perhaps, or maybe two somebodies?

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well today has been a bit of a re-run of last Sunday, in that we overslept, probably down to the fact that we got in bed late last night and the heating coming on, making us nice a cosy! Needless to say, by the time we actually got out of bed it was gone 10 o’clock, so after a quick breakfast and before I went to the workshop, I fitted the 2 new shelves in the wine rack and then re-stacked them. As can be seen, it’s looking better organised now, the top shelf is for white wines, next down is for rosé wines and the bottom 2 are red wines. As can be seen, my beers are stored on the next rack. However, there is 1 less bottle on the top shelf now! All 3 of the uprights for the wine/beer rack are bolted to the wall with 6mm rail bolts, I don’t want that collapsing, that would be catastrophic!

 

 

I then set off to the workshop, where work continued on the turntable, the operating arm was finished and then fitted and adjusted. Once the adjustments had been completed, tests were successfully carried out, IN THE WORKSHOP no less. I discovered that the problem I was having with the lighting was due to the fact I was working near the window and as it’s been very sunny, the natural UV light was affecting the UV sensor. So once I’d closed the workshop door and pulled the blinds down I was able to get everything working as it should and give everything a thorough test.

 

The operating pin from above, the large screw

allows the arm to slide back and forth. The              The side view shows the threaded pin which allows the

side bars ensure no sideways movement.                 height to be adjusted, the nut locks it in place when set. 

   

 

The fix I carried out yesterday to cure the play in the main drive shaft was successful and has removed the indexing error. Resulting in the turntable bridge stopping in exactly the same place, whether it’s rotating in the clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, so I’m very pleased with that. As I mentioned the other day, it’s now very quiet and a lot smoother when operating! So now the final details can be fitted to the bridge and then painting and weathering can be completed. 

 

Goodnight all 

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

 

[J. S. Bach]

Good night owl from the Piedmont.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Goodnight all, from Greencountry.

 

Douglas

[AndyID]

4 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Czech out some of the grades on Pittsburgh's former trolley system. When they got some new (read really ugly) cars to replace the old PCCs, 12% was specified; the manufacturer questiooned that as they thought it was a typo for 1.2%. No said PAT, we really do mean 12%.

 

I was held hostage by ran a project for DHL and had to spend a lot of time in Pixburd. Some of the roads there are very steep.

 

Oddly enough when MrsID's father was quite young he spent some time in Pittsburgh with MrsID's grandfather. We're not quite sure why grandfather was there but it was probably because of some engineering work. MrsID's father ended up living with his maiden aunts in Bexhill of all places. "Sit up straight George!"

 

In her later years (in her 90's) one of the maiden aunts was no longer supposed to be driving. But she still did. "What are they going to do? Lock me up?"

Edited July 13, 2020 by AndyID
moinfo

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Sometimes I think that I am a technophobe.  The latest outcrop of this sensation is going to be getting my prescriptions issued on line. Up to now I have ticked the meds that I need on a form and taken it to the surgery. Until that ruddy virus came along and messed everything up I would then call at the surgery a week later to collect the prescription and take it to the pharmacy for dispensing.  Now I take the form to the surgery.  From there it goes by e-mail to the pharmacy, where I call a week later to collect the meds that I have ordered.   I have now received an ultimatum from the surgery. They do not like handling paper any more, so any paper requests will be quarantined for 72 hours!  This threatening behaviour means that I feel forced to go on line.  I had better get Checkpoint Charlene to either explain it all to me or, better till, help me to set it all up.  Having remembered that I downloaded the NHS app to my phone a while back, I clicked on it, only to find that it needs updating.  Guess what?  It would not update when I asked it.  It is going to be a long and frustrating day.  

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Ozexpatriate]

6 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

Czech out some of the grades on Pittsburgh's former trolley system. When they got some new (read really ugly) cars to replace the old PCCs, 12% was specified; the manufacturer questioned that as they thought it was a typo for 1.2%. No said PAT, we really do mean 12%.

 

1 hour ago, AndyID said:

Some of the roads there are very steep.

Then there are the funicular railways across the Monongahela River from downtown - the Duquesne Incline and the Monongahela Incline (35°35').

[TheQ]

13 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Having spent 30+ years doing payroll I find the talk on income tax interesting. When I started doing payroll pensions and low earners paid very little if any tax. This was due to the none taxable allowance. This meant that someone on average earnings would only pay tax on about a quarter of earnings, the rest being tax free. The allowances were usually raised in line with inflation. Then starting in the 80's tax 'cuts' were all the rage but the government had to get the revenue from somewhere so the tax allowances were frozen, in the middle of a period of high inflation no less. Despite subsequent changes of government that has not been properly dealt with so the end result is now the tax allowance is only about a quarter of average earnings. 

UK personal allowance today £12,500, UK Average pay, roughly £36,000 therefore today's personal allowance is about 1/3 rd of average pay.

UK minimum wage rates for an adult mean they pay no tax. (7% of the population) .

 

For those of us between minimum and average,  it's considerable percentage of pay,   since the lowest tax rate came down from 33% to 20% in my tax life time I'm considerable better off than back in the 1970's. 

Edited July 13, 2020 by TheQ

[Ozexpatriate]

Brisbane International Airport apparently added additional runway capacity.

 

Mum let me know that a restored Spitfire was the first aeroplane to land on the new runway mentioning that "it remembered the beginning of the airport as a wartime runway". A nice commemoration, but I suspect a Spitfire never landed at Eagle Farm aerodrome during the war and nor did the airport begin during the war.

 

Sir Charles Kingsford Smith landed at Eagle Farm aerodrome in 1928 after crossing the Pacific. His Fokker aircraft remains on display in a special building at the airport. This has long been a source of pride in aviation matters in Brisbane.

 

Incidentally the Spitfire (restored in British livery) was obtained from a Texas museum and then restored. More authentically the flight included a P47 and a CAC Wirraway which were much more likely to have flown at Eagle Farm during the war which at that time was actually a US Army Air Forces base. I did not know this but during the war it hosted the Allied Technical Air Intelligence Unit where captured Japanese aircraft were rebuilt and tested. Ironically it would have been more representative to land a Zero, Zeke or Oscar at BNE than a Spitfire.

 

The USAAF had a squadron of P-39s there in 1942. Douglas MacArthur's headquarters were in Brisbane from 1942 to 1944.

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[AndyID]

7 hours ago, Tony_S said:

NHN would probably be able to search for Donk using the EOR operator?

 

I have done a bit more testing and it appears that bunging (apologies for the techno-jargon) tags on the images allows the search to work rather well. With a solid state drive the relevant icons appear instantaneously. It's also possible to select multiple image files (press shift or control) and apply a particular tag to all of them e.g california, year, etc. Then you can add more tags like people's names, location, etc, etc.

 

The only snag is that Windows prefers that you put all the photo folders under "Pictures" which doesn't seem too unreasonable. I tried searching on folders that were in a USB attached drive and Boolean operators won't work. I suspect it won't work with a mapped network drive either but I have not tried that yet.

 

 

 

 

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Today could end up being complicated. I need to buy some wood, screws, fixing corner plates and try and get my hair cut. Not complex you say..well looks like I will be visiting at least two if not 3 sales emporia (nowhere has everything "available" and the woodyard has stopped cutting wood to order no idea why).

 

Time to drink my mugate..TTFN

 

Baz