Early Risers.

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[Erichill16]

Evening,

Havent read much today but have noted birthday wishes should be sent to Beth. So happy birthday Beth.

Having to go into work tomorrow as manager is going to be off due to a family emergency. Couple of weeks ago I was covering for the van driver,  tomorrow covering for ‘ the main man’ Unfortunately I’m not qualified to give flu vaccinations so first job will be to cancel any bookings we’ve got. Don’t like letting people down but can’t be avoided. 
Need an early night so goodnight,

Robert

[brianusa]

8 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Thoughts for those in Western USA, Stay safe if you can. 

 

Thanks, it's good to know people are thinking of us expats and locals in the PNW.  Here in GH things have improved a bit.  The yellow sky is now a grey mist and much cooler than it has been with the promise of a little rain early in the week.  Already Autumn is in the air, leaves are turning and beginning to fall and the days are drawing in, dark early!  Hopefully soon, it will be forgotten and we can return to moaning about covid and the election, etc.

   

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[J. S. Bach]

16 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

 ...snip... I also managed to scan several more batches of slides during the day.

Regards to all and may our western friends stay safe.

Jamie

I have been reading about your slide-scanning odyssey; what are you using to scan your slides? I have several thousand that I want to do and picked up a used Nikon Cool Scan IV ED. I think that I will have to put together a new XP machine to do it. I have the original XP Professional discs plus the three service packs that all came with a now-defunct laptop that I got from an IT manager. If I can go with a simpler procedure, that might be better although the XP machine will have a couple of other uses, too. Programming bus headsigns, for one; one of the signs that I created for the agency that I worked for:

 

 

[J. S. Bach]

17 hours ago, chrisf said:

Greetings one and all ...snip...

We don't want to fight, but by jingo if we do

We've got the ships, we've got the men, we've got the money too 

 ...snip...

Best wishes to all

Chris    

I recall reading that part of it sometime ago but do not remember where or what the circumstances were.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

It’s been a lovely sunny day here, blue skies and warm winds, it was so bright this morning that I didn’t need to switch the light on in the workshop!

 

plenty of progress has been made with the control panel, the extra circuit boards have now been installed and both the 5v and 12v common feeds are in, I’d already installed the common 0v line a few weeks ago. When testing the wiring I +are across a strange fault, on of the coms line was open circuit right at the last circuit board, but when I unplugged the feed and tested the wiring it was ok, plug it back in and the fault was back. So I removed the last board, and checked the onboard links and re-soldered them just in case. I also dismantled the inter-connecting lead, all looked ok, plugged everything back together and all was fine. I don’t like that sort of repair, because I haven’t actually found anything wrong and I do like to find something tangible, so that I KNOW I’ve fixed it, I just hope that it’s cured it. 

 

Best wishes to all all those who are caught up one way or another in all these fires. 

 

Goodnight all.

 

Brian

Edited September 13, 2020 by BSW01

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

 

[J. S. Bach]

Because I did not even turn on my computer at all yesterday, today I read all of the backlog of posts and rated some so now a double Night Owl from the Piedmont!

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Goodnight all, from Greencountry.

 

 

Douglas

[pH]

Apparently,  Vancouver’s air quality yesterday was second worst only to Portland in North American cities. And I was working in the yard this afternoon (nothing strenuous) and I could actually feel my teeth gritty.

 

However, this is just comment. In no way am I comparing our situation to that of people in the path of these fires. Thoughts are with them.

[Ozexpatriate]

13 hours ago, Ian Abel said:

dark-and-stormy and vino mix last evening

Rum, ginger beer and wine? Sounds nasty.

 

I am partial to a good dark and stormy - ginger beer (preferably Bundaberg) with dark rum.

[Ozexpatriate]

10 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Air quality is extremely hazardous this morning ...

In Portland we live in hope that rain on Monday evening and into Tuesday will help.

 

Today saw the combination of heavy fog combined with smoke. Visibility is very low. The increased humidity and lack of wind are helping with containing the wildfires, but not helping air quality. At least it is not hot and it is possible to close up homes and not run air conditioning. Portlanders have been confined to quarters since Thursday morning - which while frustrating, is better than those whose homes have either been destroyed or intact but exposed to opportunistic looters roaming the evacuated towns. Deputy Sheriffs have stepped up patrols and made several arrests.

 

Like the rest of Western Oregon, we continue to have the worst air quality on the planet. We'll see what tomorrow (night) brings.

Edited September 14, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

I return to the subject of diabetes and matters arising.  Flavio kindly set out the potential consequences, which are as scary now as they were when Dr Murphy, then next in line to be senior partner but now long doing other things, explained them to me at the time of diagnosis some years ago.  I would not say that I am blasé about them but all things are relative and for the past five years I have also lived with prostate cancer.  Both conditions have the potential for ending my earthly existence but just as likely to do so are a heart attack or a stroke.  The cancer is being treated by a top oncologist who reviews the treatment at five- or six-monthly intervals.  He tells me that if/when the hormone injections stop working he has plenty of other treatments up his sleeve.  I had more or less forgotten about the diabetes clinic at my local surgery, just as the diabetes clinic had forgotten about me.  When I have my hormone injection later this week I will try and find out when I was last summoned to the clinic, but it is worrying that the receptionist to whom I reported the matter had never heard of Sister Phillippa who conducted it.  I would not disagree with Mike that I have been treated appallingly.  It would probably be for the greater good if I were to follow up with higher authority what appears to be dereliction of duty of care.  Quite how I should put the boot in, and how hard, is not altogether clear.  I need to learn how to take my own pulse first!

 

In other news, I have another cheque from Ernie to pay into the bank.  Postie must have been giving it a bit of welly when he/she propelled the envelope through my letter box, given where in the hall I found it.

 

Best wishes to all, particularly those affected by forest/bush fires

 

Chris

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, Inner Temple Hare, 811/507

A poor nights sleep , too many aches and pains from the work over the week end, Pink pills for breakfast, which was a little late as I over slept..

Ben the alarm clock Collie, is now running late, he's reached the stage of I'm scared of the dark Collie , so I don't want to go out this early. Even in the dawns early light he was somewhat reluctant..

 

One cockwomble this morning, yes he had his lights on his bicycle.. but wearing all black lycra?

 

As is usual they told every one to leave the computers on over the weekend due to an update... As is also usual, as soon as you've turn the screen on and logged in, it loads in the updates and wants to reboot..

 

I should have two systems this morning, one a hang over from last week, the other this weeks scheduled system.. we cshall see.

 

Time to .. check the company spam before rebooting..

 

 

[roundhouse]

Good morning from another sunny Surrey morning.

 

A great day Saturday starting with the 6-7 mile walk via tow pubs then a train ride into Croydon where we met up with mr and Mrs Andrew C for the first time since January. A good afternoon in generally quiet Croydon drinking venues before heading home partially by train and bus. Took us longer for the normal 15 minute journey than it it for Andrew to get into London and back out again as he was home 20 minutes before us.

 

Yesterday was spent laying the last few paving slabs behind the shed, started clearing the bush next to the main house patio so that I can lay the last few slabs on the extended area. Then retired to  He shed where we used our freestanding BBQ for the first time in a decade. The smoker in the flat next door was soon peering over the fence when h saw smoke rising which he doesn’t like despite I have to put up with his cigarette smoke every 20 minutes. Luckily the smoke only lasted ten minutes till the bits of twig had lit the charcoal. Not a patch on what is going on in the West Coast USA. All the best to ERs having to live with that at the moment. I would be suffering badly as even with our much fresher air I am now getting my usual Autumn cough when I get up each morning but luckily it son clears before we go out.

 

Today I am going to look inside the house that my brother is looking at buying a few miles from here. After my comments he will then decide the next stage. If he goes ahead I may have some work tomorrow do helping him renovate it. he wants to build an indoor pool  and also clear the wooded area so the large pond can be made accessible. I want him to cut back some of the trees to get a better view of the nearby railway line but he doesn’t like trains

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Sunny here up in the North West Leeds Highlands. 

 

@chrisf  I bought a Boots own make of blood pressure monitor. It is easy yo use and give both bp and heart rate. We checked its calibration against two of the surgery ones when I went for my blood letting..it is still as good as it needs to be.

 

Sister Drac and the Draclettes get agitated through lack of blood so even though the Marie Celeste continues to sail through Headingly they didd manage my annual review this year. My feet have been tickled..not good for anyone near at the time!

 

England cricketers are determined to get my heart racing...another dragging of victory out of the jaws of defeat yesterday!

Have a great day today! Positive thoughts to all ERs.

 

Baz

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from a rather warm Charente. It's going to get warmer still or so we are promised.  First of all, thanks for all the good wishes for Beth's birthday.  We had an excellent  day, morning at the market and meeting friends at a cafe. Then after a quick trip home we went to some other friends forva very leisurely  but superb barbrcue. Their cooker has died so they are usung their outdoor kitchen.  Lunch finally finished about 7pm having started at 1pm.  Jill is in her 80's but a superb hostess, ably assisted by Grace, her younger spouse. The conversation never flagged and Icha, their newly acquired rescue dog behaved impeccably and is obviously settling in well. He has already put on some weight and is being much loved though he tried hard to tell both Beth and I that he never gets fed and that nobody loves him.

 

An evening if good TV, the 3rdcepisode of Spy with Sacha Baron Cohen on Netflux then the last episode of Strike. All in all a good day.

 

Admin and then the post office this morning, then some initial tidying up in the shed in preparation  for a model railway meet on Friday. Fortunately there is plenty of room in there for a socially distanced social.

 

I also hope to get some more batches of slides scanned whilst doing the tidying.

 

Regards to all. And stay safe on the West Coast of our errant ex colony.

 

Jamie

 

 

[chrisf]

24 minutes ago, Barry O said:

 

@chrisf  I bought a Boots own make of blood pressure monitor. It is easy yo use and give both bp and heart rate. We checked its calibration against two of the surgery ones when I went for my blood letting..it is still as good as it needs to be.

 

 

Thank you, Barry, that's interesting.  I will check it out, though I see no reason to buy such a thing when I don't want it.  My initial view is that if the surgery want me to check my own BP they can jolly well supply the necessary machinery.  I would prefer the services of a skilled operator as well but one cannot have everything.

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

Morning to Dave (J S Bach).

8 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

I have been reading about your slide-scanning odyssey; what are you using to scan your slides? I have several thousand that I want to do and picked up a used Nikon Cool Scan IV ED. I think that I will have to put together a new XP machine to do it. I have the original XP Professional discs plus the three service packs that all came with a now-defunct laptop that I got from an IT manager. If I can go with a simpler procedure, that might be better although the XP machine will have a couple of other uses, too. Programming bus headsigns, for one; one of the signs that I created for the agency that I worked for:

 

 

I'm using an Epson V800 that I bought before we moved over here. Apart from the fact that it will do, film, slides and prints, it's main advantage  is that it does them in batches using masks that hold either 12 slides, 3 strips of 35mm film or other combinations of larger format film. If you use the masks it then separates the images and gives them individual file numbers that you can specify in advance. I bought extra masks for the 35mm film and the slides so that I can always be reloading one whilst the next one scans. At 3200 dpi jpg for slides it takes about 15 minutes per batch so I can get other work done in the shed or garden whilst bobbing back in to change over every so often. It wasn't the cheapest but it has been well worth the investment. I don't have shares in Epson. Feel free to PM me if you want any further info. I use it coupled to my Windows 10 laptop.

 

Jamie

[jamie92208]

8 minutes ago, chrisf said:

 

Thank you, Barry, that's interesting.  I will check it out, though I see no reason to buy such a thing when I don't want it.  My initial view is that if the surgery want me to check my own BP they can jolly well supply the necessary machinery.  I would prefer the services of a skilled operator as well but one cannot have everything.

 

Chris

I bought a Boots one as well and it has proved reliable and easy to use. I even did a little spreadsheet for my GP when I needed to take morning and evening readings for a week.  She was very grateful that I'd also included the average at the bottom. Beth has also had to use it and even the district nurse (over here) used it when her machine was on the blink.

 

Jamie

Edited September 14, 2020 by jamie92208

[Dave Hunt]

I've just been looking at the labyrinthine rules of socialising (or not) that come into effect today. Since my Dad virtually lives with us, coming here every day and having his dinner with us but going home to sleep, and doesn't have social contact with anyone else, does he count as part of our household? The situation doesn't seem to be covered in the government's instructions but since we have a friend who lives alone and is part of our 'bubble' are we now breaking the law? I guess we'll just carry on as before and await the knock on the door from the enforcers.

 

Yesterday evening we had a very pleasant barbecue with Dad and said friend and my job this morning is clearing up the debris and chaos left on the patio. How can four people make so much mess? This afternoon we are going to take advantage of the weather with a walk along a stretch of the Shropshire Union canal and afternoon tea at one of the marinas.

 

I hope that Chrisf resolves his issues with the medical profession satisfactorily and that our PNW correspondents soon get some relief from the awful situation they are in; my thoughts and prayers for you all.

 

Have a good day everyone.

 

Dave

[Danemouth]

9 hours ago, J. S. Bach said:

I have been reading about your slide-scanning odyssey; what are you using to scan your slides? I have several thousand that I want to do and picked up a used Nikon Cool Scan IV ED. I think that I will have to put together a new XP machine to do it. I have the original XP Professional discs plus the three service packs that all came with a now-defunct laptop that I got from an IT manager. If I can go with a simpler procedure, that might be better although the XP machine will have a couple of other uses, too. Programming bus headsigns, for one; one of the signs that I created for the agency that I worked for:

 

 

 

I have the same scanner and Nikon's software is carp. I use Vuescan instead it's far better.

https://www.hamrick.com/

 

Dave

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

We too have a blood pressure monitor, not Boots though. I have an oximeter too. Aditi has a blood glucose tester that the diabetic nurse gave her but she isn’t required to regularly use it. Sometimes after a change of medication. 
I have been told it will be warm here today. 
My niece got her negative Covid result just after 6 this morning.  

We are going to have a problem with this “rule of six”. There are only two of us and no one else had been in since March. 
Have a nice day. 
Tony

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, sunny and still sur le rock, feels most odd.

 

Belated wishes to Beth, I have been a little pre-occupied this weekend and not on here much.

 

I use an Omron BP monitor, same as we used to use......in the NHS!  It is accurate enough for home use when occasionally compared with the surgery result.

 

As for diabetes blood glucose monitors, it was something that hugely annoyed me on diagnosis when told I didn't need one, but then got lectured an what and what not to eat etc.  The only way you can tell, is a check (90 to 120 minutes) after eating!  So I bought one myself as recommended on the various forums, and boy am I glad I did as my results quickly showed that many of the foodstuffs I was told I could eat were actually quite bad for me.  'Eat to your Meter' is the mantra on the forums (diabetes.co.uk highly recommended) and it enabled me to control my blood glucose very quickly without medication.  The 'Desmond' course T2's get sent on still recommends all sorts of things as OK that would have had me on medication and risking my health.  Every diabetic is different, and what one can eat the next cannot, hence monitoring is essential IMHO.  Most diabetics die of cardiac issues, rather than the other longer terms things that go wrong.  /rant.