Early Risers.

[Tony_S]

Our refrigerator has a setting where it can become a one star freezer. This was useful when the freezer failed. Our present freezer defaults to -18C but can be altered. It is suggested if you want to freeze a lot of fresh stuff setting it to super cold which seems to be -28C. 
Tony
 

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

, the GP dropped the ball

My previous (now retired) GP didn’t like dealing with eyes and referred quickly. At the time he was my GP I developed a few corneal problems.  One GP visit had me off to the ophthalmic consultant. He said he absolutely agreed with my GPs diagnosis but would not require surgery as I wouldn’t live long enough for it to be a problem.  He estimated I would be 120 before it was a problem. Until a year or so before surgery at first appearance of such a problem was normal but the consultant said he was convinced by a Professor at Nottingham that is was better to leave. Oddly enough the professor in Nottingham was a friend of Aditi’s parents and I had been chatting with him at  their house about cricket. 

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I switched on the TV to catch the BBC news and weather at one, as published in the TV program. Instead of what I was expecting it was 'Match of the day'! As it turned out the news/weather was moved to an earlier slot. Great if you have square eyes from watching TV but I will need Dr. Who's Tardis if I wanted to watch the news. My freezer is set at -20 C. and the fridge at 2 C. and I've never had any problems. I am leaving my C*******s dinner shopping not quite until the last minute, more like the last week before the shelves are emptied by the last minute shoppers. I have decided on venison for my Christmas dinner. Looking at the vacuum packed steaks in Tesco's I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is low in every department, fats, saturates etc, a complete range of 'greens'. The recommendation is that you fry it in a pan but I prefer the grill, I then give it a 30 second blast of microwaves to make sure its cooked through. 

[Tony_S]

17 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

catch the BBC news and weather

I don’t worry about watching scheduled news anymore. It is on all day on the News Channel. 

[Gwiwer]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

different foodstuffs will have different storage temperatures (which is why, from what I understand, restaurants have different fridges for different types of produce).

True of itself but food hygiene legislation (which varies between nations) usually requires that certain products are kept separate from others.  If that is impractical then there must be a "loading plan" which specifies where certain items must go and they may not go anywhere else.  For example raw meats must go below anything else and red below white if you cannot separate them physically by other means.  Many establishments will have a dairy fridge which may be closer to 4C than the general or meat fridge at more like 2C.  All must be checked frequently and a log kept of the temperatures recorded at least in the UK.  

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

don’t ask me to hazard a guess as to when they started requiring -80°C freezers for pharmacy use

The Pfizer vaccine requires -80C for storage.  OK that's going to be the new kid on the block but if pharmacies already have a -80C facility then they will be ready to receive vaccine just as soon as it is authorised and distributed.  Our local suggests we might be in their second batch which they anticipate may arrive late in January.  The first batch will be reserved for those in close-contact medical and other emergency-service roles; we come next based on age and vulnerability plus the nature of my employment.  No chickens have been counted prior to hatching in the wording of this post.  

[simontaylor484]

Been busy for most of the day sorting various paperwork into various piles. Most important of which were receipts for stuff that are out of date/now longer have etc.

Just started to wstch a re run of midsummer murders more well known faces to shake a stick at i csnt decide who the culprit is going to be using the famous face principle i employ when watching. 

[simontaylor484]

I have just come across the receipt for a ladder i bought in 2016

[polybear]

On 21/11/2020 at 12:23, grandadbob said:

 I've been told not to order any spirits yet as I have a birthday fast approaching so that sounds promising. 

 

But shouldn't birthday spirits be "over and above the norm" and not instead of?

Hate to say it, but in Bear's book you've been swindled.....

 

Bear has finished the plasterboarding That's another milestone achieved.

Not sure what the plan for tomorrow is yet - possibly the filling of some walls where they join the floor, and also where Mr. Anglian fitted a double glazed back door many Lemon Drizzle Cakes ago - I've discovered that the upvc trim hides the bl00dy great holes in the wall where he'd ripped the old (1920's) door frame out.

[jamie92208]

Gwiwer has beaten me to it about the -80c storagecof pharmaceuticals.  I had picked that up on the Trains.com website as a potential business opportunity for the railroads in delivering box car loads of vaccine in reefers that are now tracked. They would then setve as storage units in cities.  

 

Jamie

[newbryford]

18 hours ago, BSW01 said:

Good evening everyone 

 

. A few minutes later he returned with a piece of 12mm ply 21” x 20”, that was near enough for me, ........

..........This morning I cut the plywood into a 21” square 

 

 

Wonders how 21 x 20 became 21 x 21....................

 

Magic expanding plywood?

[Chris116]

2 minutes ago, newbryford said:

 

Wonders how 21 x 20 became 21 x 21....................

 

Magic expanding plywood?

I thought that but then forgot to ask the question! Thank you.

[PeterBB]

Hi Guys,

There has recently bee some comments on couriers.  We have been told by 'Home Ees' that our parcel would be picked up between 0800 and 2000 hours - but that was three days ago ...  very frustrating to say the least.   

Their 'chat' was no help  whatsoever that led me to tell them that at the end of it.  Apologies rant over and now calmness reigns as I go through all the posts.

 

Strange as it may seem 'DeePeeDee' delivered one, at the time they said they would in the beginning, on the dot!

Edited November 22, 2020 by PeterBB
Corrected sequence

[New Haven Neil]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

My previous (now retired) GP didn’t like dealing with eyes and referred quickly. At the time he was my GP I developed a few corneal problems.  One GP visit had me off to the ophthalmic consultant. He said he absolutely agreed with my GPs diagnosis but would not require surgery as I wouldn’t live long enough for it to be a problem.  He estimated I would be 120 before it was a problem. Until a year or so before surgery at first appearance of such a problem was normal but the consultant said he was convinced by a Professor at Nottingham that is was better to leave. Oddly enough the professor in Nottingham was a friend of Aditi’s parents and I had been chatting with him at  their house about cricket. 

 

We were a little disappointed, the GP is new to the island and thus far had impressed us, me in particular as he was fairly up to date with T2 diabetes care - unlike others at the practice.  He should have referred Debs on though, having seen the letter....but that's in the past.  As it is, as Debs is being seen tomorrow, it is probably earlier than if she had been referred through normal channels, but if eye damage has occurred as a result of delay we will be having a discussion.  You can't mess with eyes.

[simontaylor484]

Just watching Johnny Cash from Tennessee state Penitentiary recorded in 1976 also appear ing are Roy Clark and Linda Ronstadt it's on Sky Arts btw 

 

Missed end of Midsummer murders due to story time duties it wasn't Suzie Quattro that dun it.

[BSW01]

1 hour ago, newbryford said:

 

Wonders how 21 x 20 became 21 x 21....................

 

Magic expanding plywood?

Oops, of course it should have read 20" x20"

[Chris116]

49 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

Just watching Johnny Cash from Tennessee state Penitentiary recorded in 1976 also appear ing are Roy Clark and Linda Ronstadt it's on Sky Arts btw 

 

Missed end of Midsummer murders due to story time duties it wasn't Suzie Quattro that dun it.

I love listening to Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt and Suzie Quattro. In my book Suzie would be innocent whatever she did!

[The White Rabbit]

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I have decided on venison for my Christmas dinner. Looking at the vacuum packed steaks in Tesco's I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is low in every department, fats, saturates etc, a complete range of 'greens'. The recommendation is that you fry it in a pan but I prefer the grill, I then give it a 30 second blast of microwaves to make sure its cooked through. 

 

My experience of venison is that because it's so lean, it can be a difficult meat to cook well. Quite a few people suggest searing steaks/joints quickly in a frying pan and then putting it under the grill or in the oven, though it's never worked for me. (Cardboard territory). I've had the best results when cooking it in a casserole, giving it a long but slow cook with plenty of herbs and not letting the meat dry out. I like it with 'field' vegetables, usually carrots, parsnips, onions and mushrooms. 

 

However you cook it, the price seems to be falling, deer is no longer dear. 

 

(Hat, coat, gone...).

[Coombe Barton]

... and self-evident answer to a question about coffee ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2020/11/22/diy-sausages/

 

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Thanks for that @White Rabbit, thats given me an idea. I have a slow cooker and I might just give that a try. The problem is to try to not overcook it so that you end up with venison stew. I'm going to Google cooking venison steak to see if there's any other ideas. Now to put the kettle on, be back later.

[Gwiwer]

2 hours ago, PeterBB said:

There has recently bee some comments on couriers.

Much depends upon the driver(s) in ones' locality.

 

I exchanged messages with a friend in west Cornwall this afternoon.  She had "received" a delivery from Hermes which had not arrived at her home.  She was home all day and hadn't even seen a van in what is a dead-end quiet cul-de-sac.  So she might have noticed had a van been there.  Instead they emailed her a photo of "Where we left your item" which was a photo of a red leather sofa.  She doesn't have a red leather sofa and neither is there one anywhere nearby outside lurking on a street corner waiting to receive stray parcels.

 

We have concluded that HERMES stands for Hide Everything Randomly, Miss Every Street.  

YODEL would be Your Order Damaged - Everything Lost

DPD is very simply Dodgy Parcel Delivery.

 

In saying that I have had few issues here with DPD.  Hermes are a right royal pain in the Gluteus maximus and take no responsibility for their actions (or lack thereof) and are up to the same tricks as Friend in Cornwall has had from Hermes.  So far we have avoided having anything sent via Yodel that I can recall.  

 

The weekend is at its end.  We enjoyed a respectably long walk during the afternoon mostly along quiet side roads and footpaths beside the River Crane.  There were people about but not huge numbers making antisocial distancing impossible; we managed most of the time.  The biggest inconvenience was the very young children on bikes who had no apparent sense of sharing paths safely and who would come up behind us almost silently before whizzing past and in a couple of cases clipping us to get by.  They treated everyone else the same so it wasn't just us.  No parents were in evidence.  

 

The Levellers ("Levelling The Land") are providing my dishwashing and ironing music of choice tonight.  Back door open.  I don't mind who hears the recording - I hope not too many hear the off-key octave-lower Groan-a-long-a-Gwiwer that goes with it.  The days when I could perform guest spots with a band (which I have done in both London and Cornwall) or step up at kara-croaky have probably gone.  

 

Sleep well, one and all, when your turn comes.  See you tomorrow.  

[Tony_S]

I think some of the courier services that end up with the final section being delivered by what are often private cars depend very much on the individual courier. The ones who deliver round here for Hermes seem very responsible. The couriers in vans with logos seem very reliable too. It is probably slightly less stressful delivering round here than in a big city. I wonder if the ones where it is very rural wonder how worthwhile it is driving miles for the 40p they earn per delivery. 
However our local Royal Mail posties deserve lots of praise. They really do try to make an effort to leave mail with neighbours.  They all know about the strange chap at number ## who won’t take in mail but really do like how we all act like good neighbours . 

Edited November 22, 2020 by Tony_S

[BokStein]

Venison or fillet steak:

 

1 hour ago, The White Rabbit said:

 

My experience of venison is that because it's so lean, it can be a difficult meat to cook well. Quite a few people suggest searing steaks/joints quickly in a frying pan and then putting it under the grill or in the oven, though it's never worked for me. (Cardboard territory). I've had the best results when cooking it in a casserole, giving it a long but slow cook with plenty of herbs and not letting the meat dry out. I like it with 'field' vegetables, usually carrots, parsnips, onions and mushrooms. 

 

However you cook it, the price seems to be falling, deer is no longer dear. 

 

(Hat, coat, gone...).

 

Remove from freezer, grill until outside is a decent shade of cooked, by which time the middle will have thawed. Consume!

[polybear]

1 hour ago, Chris116 said:

....and Suzie Quattro. In my book Suzie would be innocent whatever she did!

 

No arguments from this Bear.  Bearing (ouch) in mind that Suzi won "Rear  of the Year" in 1982.  "Devil Gate Drive" is still a favourite....

She was in quite a few episodes of "Happy Days" too (incidentally, Henry Winkler was actually first choice for the male leading role in Grease, but turned it down so the part went to John Travolta instead.  Somehow I can't imagine "The Fonz" singing "You're The One That I Want"....)

 

14 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

We have concluded that HERMES stands for Hide Everything Randomly, Miss Every Street.  

YODEL would be Your Order Damaged - Everything Lost

DPD is very simply Dodgy Parcel Delivery.

 

 

DHL is Drop It, Hide It, Lose It.

[Gwiwer]

1 minute ago, polybear said:

DHL is Drop It, Hide It, Lose It.

It does depend on your driver.  DHL are quite good around here.  The worst which could be said of them is Darn - He's Late  

[laurenceb]

Night awl