Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

I just opened my Farcebook account and I received a message that an attempt to hack my account had taken place and I had to change my sign in. This I did and everything is now OK. Apparently someone elses account has been hacked and pornographic messages have been sent.  If your on Farcebook check your account and messages.

[Chris116]

2 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I just opened my Farcebook account and I received a message that an attempt to hack my account had taken place and I had to change my sign in. This I did and everything is now OK. Apparently someone elses account has been hacked and pornographic messages have been sent.  If your on Farcebook check your account and messages.

Be very careful about reporting such things as I reported receiving a pornographic message some years ago and because their system forwarded the message to them they banned me for sending them a pornographic message. I have never tried to return and after telling them what I thought of their system I doubt that I would be allowed!

[PhilJ W]

I had to reset my password before I entered Farcebook. I had about a dozen messages from different people all with the same pornographic message. I have identified and blocked the culprit.

[PhilJ W]

12 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

 

[Dave Hunt]

I've known a few recipients of honours among senior RAF officers (my brother-in-law, ex Air Commodore being one - the successful high flier [strangely enough the pun wasn't intended] of the family, having an MBE) as well as an ex-school mate who got an OBE for doing something notable as a civil servant in the DHSS. He said it was for inventing an improved method of counting paperclips.

 

I was mentioned in Parliament once when an MP friend of James Robertson-Justice complained on his behalf about an aircraft low flying over his estate - not guilty M'lud, I was in a legal low flying area. I also featured on the front page of the Daily Sport once following an air miss with a light aircraft carrying Lester Piggott to a race meeting - again not guilty as the light aircraft was where it shouldn't have been doing what it shouldn't have and had I not taken evasive action it would have been nasty. Do they count as honours?

 

Being a BMW driver I suppose I could take exception to some of the comments posted but since I'm well-known as an all-round good guy I won't.

 

I hope that the Fraggle Rock law enforcement lot do a good job finding the guilty b*stard.

 

Dave

[polybear]

6 hours ago, TheQ said:

Awards,  I remember an RAF man getting an MBE,  while I was at RAF Neatishead,  but I didn't know him,  and I know at least on currently at the sailing club has and OBE. Though the board showing past presidents and commodores is sprinkled with awards.  Dad got a civil service medal,  there's a limited number issued,  with dead mans shoes to step into to get one.

 

Bear has a swimming certificate for 25 yards.  Does that count?

 

5 hours ago, grandadbob said:

I think I've only known two people with honours (MBEs).  The first was my old company transport manager when I first started work, I'm guessing his was for services to the transport industry.  The second is an old schoolmate who got one a few years ago for services to education.  He became Head of a failing school for autistic children in Newcastle that was threatened with closure and turned it around and eventually became Chairman of the Governors.   I lost touch with him when I left school but met up with him again about 4 years ago. 
 

 

I recall after Gulf War 1 the Government were dishing out gongs to all and sundry in Industry who'd "played a part".  The story went that the Gov. approached said companies and asked them to identify a deserving recipient etc etc.    Whilst some companies put forward Bert Bloggs the Foreman, who'd been with the company fifty years and was well respected by the workforce etc., the company I worked for put forward the Chief Engineer of the latest product.  Troops decidedly unimpressed, so much so that the Trials Dept. (of which I was a part) blanked the p!ss up entirely (unheard of) - held so that the C.E. could stand up and say "this isn't for me, it's for the team etc. etc."  What bollox.

Anyway, Dept. Head went ballistic, saying the Trials Team had made the Dept. look bad etc. etc.  One guy strolled up to her, nose to nose, and remarked "the first time any of you bvggers deserve a medal, I'll eating my 'effin hat".  She was left speechless.  He left not long after that, and associates tell me he went on to much bigger and better things, earning mega bucks.

 

3 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

Must be the most frustrating job in the world being the bloke who fits indicators to BMWs.

 

Certainly the most pointless....

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

1 hour ago, Dave Hunt said:

I've known a few recipients of honours among senior RAF officers (my brother-in-law, ex Air Commodore being one - the successful high flier [strangely enough the pun wasn't intended] of the family, having an MBE) as well as an ex-school mate who got an OBE for doing something notable as a civil servant in the DHSS. He said it was for inventing an improved method of counting paperclips.

 

I was mentioned in Parliament once when an MP friend of James Robertson-Justice complained on his behalf about an aircraft low flying over his estate - not guilty M'lud, I was in a legal low flying area. I also featured on the front page of the Daily Sport once following an air miss with a light aircraft carrying Lester Piggott to a race meeting - again not guilty as the light aircraft was where it shouldn't have been doing what it shouldn't have and had I not taken evasive action it would have been nasty. Do they count as honours?

 

Being a BMW driver I suppose I could take exception to some of the comments posted but since I'm well-known as an all-round good guy I won't.

 

I hope that the Fraggle Rock law enforcement lot do a good job finding the guilty b*stard.

 

Dave

Amusingly the only aircraft I have ever reported for low flying was an RAF Phantom.   It turned out to be from Boscombe Down Trials Unit according the RAF, who denied that it was flying too low.  But if it was low enough for me to get part of its ID number (so they then knew where it was from?) and it was flying considerably lower than our regular C130 passers-by who were definitely flying at the minimum height in order to get even lower a few miles east of us.

 

 

[jamie92208]

Strangely enough, I actually nominated some people for gongs and they got them, or rather their families collected them as they were both posthumous George Medals.   They had both died in an ice covered lake trying to rescue a 10 yr old girl.  I was tasked with writing people up for awards, so read the criteria and wrote them up accordingly.  Some stupid Tw*t of a Superintendent at HQ suggested that I had gone OTT, I refused to change my report so it went off to the Cabinet Office who approved it in full. I was very pleased, when I visited the widow of one of them later, who proudly showed me the medal.  I asked her how the investiture had gone and it turned out that the two families had been given tea with HM along with some service families where the awards were not being publicised.  HM spent several minutes with each family.  They were then invited to watch the main public investiture ceremony.   I remember thinking, when putting the report through, that these two families, who had lost a loved one, deserved a trip to the palace far more than many of the other recipients that day. For once the system worked, or so I thought. There were also some Queen's Commendations for Gallantry for some fire officers and another civilian who had survived.  They got presented by the Lord Lieutenant.

 

Jamie

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by jamie92208

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

....Being a BMW driver I suppose I could take exception to some of the comments posted but since I'm well-known as an all-round good guy I won't....

I am sure that you are careful and considerate driver, Dave. Unfortunately, BMW drivers have a certain “reputation“ not only in the UK but also in continental Europe as well. Perhaps it’s because, unlike with Mercedes-Benz or Audi, BMW has a whiff of the racing car about them, making many BMW owners believe they have the driving skills of a Formula 1 Driver. Which, when you think about it, is a bit odd because, at one time, both Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union (the precursor to Audi) fielded very successful racing cars. Strangely enough, between Mrs ID and myself, over the years we have had three of the five “Big“ German marques:  Mercedes-Benz, Audi and VW, for some reason we never acquired either a Porsche or a BMW, though we do have friends who own and drive them.

In the prewar period, national racing teams had very clearly defined colours: British racing green, Italian racing red, German racing silver and French racing blue and in my younger years – in moments of idle speculation – I often thought it would be nice to have a representative of each: a Mercedes-Benz in silver, a Bentley in British racing green (a very specific green, I’m led to understand) and a Maserati in Italian racing red. For the life of me, I’ve not been able to think of a suitable, current, French car to add to the lineup (I’ve always had a soft spot for both the Citroen 2CV and the Citroen Traction Avant, neither of which really suitable for French racing blue).

 

My current car is a Skoda Yeti and of all the cars I’ve driven over the years it really is the most enjoyable car to drive. Sadly, Skoda no longer make it and the replacement models do not inspire. Should I ever have enough disposable income, I would search out an unsold Yeti (I’m sure there are still a few hanging around at dealers) and take it to a coachbuilder and convert it to a two door shooting break with the rear passenger area and the big rear compartment being amalgamated into a single fully kitted out “dog transport” compartment, complete with a shower attachment-powered off the battery - for hosing down muddy dogs.

Edited October 11, 2020 by iL Dottore

[The Lurker]

Greetings all from Sidcup where the sun is losing a battle with the grey clouds.

 

condolences to NHN and Debs. I can’t imagine how that must feel. As Neil says, the island is small and I doubt there are that many motor repair places.

 

speaking of cars, I too drive a BMW, it’s about the 6th one we have had (including 2 company cars) and is the first that is an automatic- with additional flappy paddle gear switches. I like to think that I use my indicators!

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I have now blocked the spammer who was causing the problem on Farcebook. I also reported him to them but apparently they have not removed him, good old Farcebook double standards again. One thing I did notice that the groups are back in the original order, not the greatest but what I'm used too. The date of the accident that I witnessed that put me off of helicopter flying occurred was 15 May 1977. 

 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f1bfe5274a131400038f/2-1978_G-AVSN_and_G-ANDE.pdf

My brother was with me with his (then) young family and we had observed the helicopter doing the trips and were thinking about taking a trip ourselves. I was just parking the car when I heard a bang, it sounded like a collision between two cars. I just caught a glimpse of something falling into the next field. Then all hell broke loose and those of us in the car park were asked what we had seen as we queued for the show. I told them what I had seen and gave my name and address but I never heard anything else so I assume they had plenty of witnesses.

[BokStein]

Not that I drive a BMW but,

 

19 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

speaking of cars, I too drive a BMW, it’s about the 6th one we have had (including 2 company cars) and is the first that is an automatic- with additional flappy paddle gear switches. I like to think that I use my indicators!

 

My second observer instilled observation and, as such, who would benefit from indications.

 

Thus, if there is no one in the vicinity who will benefit from a signal, why give one?

 

A former boss used to indicate that he was turning into his parking bay and usually forgot to cancel said indication. IMHO, that's driving without due care and attention!

[The White Rabbit]

I usually use them at night when turning into our road, even if no-one's visible in front or behind, as it's single tracked without pavements and the reflection flicker off the hedge/fence gives any pedestrian some warning. But yes, in daylight, I don't signal to the sparrows but save wear and tear on the system... 

 

My condolences to NHN+D. 

[TheQ]

Afternoon awl, 

First as it was nice and sunny I decided to finish painting  the boat name on.  While searching for a small brush,  I found I'd left my toolbox at the MRC,  once finished,  I proceeded there to get it... And the heavens opened.. It was supposed to be sunshine and showers,  it was sunshine and someone dumping a swimming pools of water.. The road surface disappeared under rain bouncing off the surface.. This continues sunshine and swimming pools..

 

I cleared the old shelves,  finding a wire brush among the detritus, which helped somewhat. 

On clearance I found that the shelves are in better condition than I thought, and secure to the wall.   But not using the space they could. 

Then I realized that first I had to gain access to the fuse box which had been half covered over by the shelving,  so I cut off a section of shelf, removed the fuse box on its board from the wall. 

I decided to replace the box now,  as it could be moved slightly to make it more accessible and increase shelf space. It tried to open the consumer unit, an old wire fuse Box ,  but the screws  were rusted in solid,  I ended up cutting the cables. 

 

The removed section of shelf has left a convenient double height space in the corner,  by the exit it's now home to one of the fire extinguishers. 

 

The replacement box is of course,  RCD and resettable MCBs. 

 

Once that was done I moved on to splitting the lighting and power circuits.. At that point cowboys are us had struck again.  Not only were the lighting circuits fitted with sockets,  one socket was found not to have it's earth connected,  a half inch gap between incoming earthing wire and it's attachment point, no possibility of it ever being joined.  

The current sockets are now connected to the start of a proper ring  main, the lighting now is on its own.  More sockets, light switches and pattresses have been ordered to complete the wiring. 

 

The current shelves are now to be kept,  but widened from 12 inches to 21 inches.

I've decided to cut the workshop side of the garage in half with dividing walls and doors of OSB.  So the front working  half, will be smaller,  less to heat, and less area to cover in sawdust. The rear half will store the equipment trollies etc.  This also gives more wall space for shelving, or shadow boards. 

 

A bath has been accompanied by a glass of red,  a second glass is disappearing.. Eye inspection definitely is about to occur.. 

Edited October 11, 2020 by TheQ

[Happy Hippo]

33 minutes ago, BokStein said:

 

 

Thus, if there is no one in the vicinity who will benefit from a signal, why give one?

 

 

My argument against that is that if you have been taught to drive and to indicate for certain manoeuvres then do so.

 

You know where you are going, others don't.

 

If you always signal then you are not so likely to forget to signal when it's important.

 

There is a big difference between a driver who can accurately assess his signalling, positioning and speed requirements in all situations and act upon them, and the majority who can't.  (If they could there would be no RTCs.)

 

Just because you cannot see another road user does not mean they cannot see you.

 

The only time you should consider not giving a signal is if the signal could be considered ambiguous.

[Winslow Boy]

3 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

I've known a few recipients of honours among senior RAF officers (my brother-in-law, ex Air Commodore being one - the successful high flier [strangely enough the pun wasn't intended] of the family, having an MBE) as well as an ex-school mate who got an OBE for doing something notable as a civil servant in the DHSS. He said it was for inventing an improved method of counting paperclips.

 

I was mentioned in Parliament once when an MP friend of James Robertson-Justice complained on his behalf about an aircraft low flying over his estate - not guilty M'lud, I was in a legal low flying area. I also featured on the front page of the Daily Sport once following an air miss with a light aircraft carrying Lester Piggott to a race meeting - again not guilty as the light aircraft was where it shouldn't have been doing what it shouldn't have and had I not taken evasive action it would have been nasty. Do they count as honours?

 

Being a BMW driver I suppose I could take exception to some of the comments posted but since I'm well-known as an all-round good guy I won't.

 

I hope that the Fraggle Rock law enforcement lot do a good job finding the guilty b*stard.

 

Dave

There are of course, as with any statements, exceptions and I think Mr Hunt, that in lieu of your meritorious service in defence of the realm, you can be allowed a dispensation from this ruling. However I do caution you as this is discretionary and will be removed if your driving does fail to maintain a high standard as required by the ER forum.

[BokStein]

16 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

My argument against that is that if you have been taught to drive and to indicate for certain manoeuvres then do so.

 

You know where you are going, others don't.

 

If you always signal then you are not so likely to forget to signal when it's important.

 

There is a big difference between a driver who can accurately assess his signalling, positioning and speed requirements in all situations and act upon them, and the majority who can't.  (If they could there would be no RTCs.)

 

Just because you cannot see another road user does not mean they cannot see you.

 

The only time you should consider not giving a signal is if the signal could be considered ambiguous.

 

In contrast, doing things by rote suggests that you are not observing the situation properly!

 

If ambiguity be involved, adopt caution and mutually agree a solution.

 

Driving is all about the three SHUNS:

 

ObservaSHUN

ConcentraSHUN

AnticipaSHUN.

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by BokStein

[jamie92208]

10 minutes ago, BokStein said:

 

In contrast, doing things by rote suggests that you are not observing the situation properly!

 

If ambiguity be involved, adopt caution and mutually agree a solution.

On our driving courses at work we were marked down if there was no other vehicle in sight that could benefit from the turn signal.   Mirror Signal manoeuvre was the mantra, but the signal had to be thought about. As you went higher up the grades and started to do commentary then you could tell the assessor why you signalled or not. However I have never driven a BMW,

 

Jamie

[Coombe Barton]

Signals are for the benefit of other road users if you are conscious of their presence or not. Not to do so is in breach of the Highway Code sections 102 to 106.

https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/signals.html

[Happy Hippo]

32 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

On our driving courses at work we were marked down if there was no other vehicle in sight that could benefit from the turn signal. 

 

Yes they did, and still do, but we have to bear in mind that you are talking about drivers who have been trained to a much higher standard than the majority.

 

Let's face it, I would expect a lot of 'drivers' to fail their driving tests if they had to retake, as their skills and general driving ability went into terminal decline the day they passed their driving test.

 

Every time I go out on my own.... in my BMW..... I commentary drive.

 

 

 

[Sir TophamHatt]

On 08/10/2020 at 18:29, PhilJ W said:

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Spent most of the day trying to sort out the mess that is Farcebook. Why do they have to make it so difficult to use? Time to get the dinner ready, be back later. 

 

On 08/10/2020 at 19:16, J. S. Bach said:

There is a third-party software program that replicates the old format. I use it and it works quite well. Unfortunately, I do not remember the source anymore.

 

On 08/10/2020 at 19:43, PhilJ W said:

Yes I'm using it, oldlayout.com . Apparently its not the only one, there are several others out there. I may have got this completely wrong but from what I understand is that many people as well as using redundant systems such as Windows XP they are also using older browsers. These browsers will not accept the new Facebook so Facebook have put something in (I think its called a patch) to enable people using these old browsers to carry on with the old Facebook. What these programs do is make Facebook think that you are using one of these old browsers when you are in fact using something like Chrome or Firefox. 

 

This isn't the new Facebook that as the tiny coloumn in the middle with wide open spaces either side is it?  I switched back after less than a minute.
It's almost like they're tying to put PC users off, considering most of us have WIDEscreens these days...

 

You could also try Social Fixer - it's an extension that has a lot more settings but works quite well in making Facebook what it should be - like displaying the most recent posts at the top of groups instead of it always defaulting to "top posts" and thus you may miss some.


Related tip: never video anything from a mobile phone portrait / vertically.  Means you can't watch it anywhere else but your phone without it looking stupid.  ALWAYS use landscape.

[J. S. Bach]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I am sure that you are careful and considerate driver, Dave. Unfortunately, BMW drivers have a certain “reputation“ not only in the UK but also in continental Europe as well. ...snip...

And over here, too.

 

BTW, I always thought that BMW really stood for Bring Much Wampum when entering the service department!

[J. S. Bach]

30 minutes ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

 ...snip... Related tip: never video anything from a mobile phone portrait / vertically.  Means you can't watch it anywhere else but your phone without it looking stupid.  ALWAYS use landscape.

True!!

[PhilJ W]

50 minutes ago, Sir TophamHatt said:

 

 

 

This isn't the new Facebook that as the tiny coloumn in the middle with wide open spaces either side is it?  I switched back after less than a minute.
It's almost like they're tying to put PC users off, considering most of us have WIDEscreens these days...

 

You could also try Social Fixer - it's an extension that has a lot more settings but works quite well in making Facebook what it should be - like displaying the most recent posts at the top of groups instead of it always defaulting to "top posts" and thus you may miss some.


Related tip: never video anything from a mobile phone portrait / vertically.  Means you can't watch it anywhere else but your phone without it looking stupid.  ALWAYS use landscape.

I use Social Fixer as well. 

[New Haven Neil]

Evening. Thanks again for the good wishes.  Mrs NHN was third in class (16 class entries) and fifth overall at the Archery competition, and.....beat the world champion soundly, who presumably was having an off day.  No further news re the accident.