Early Risers.

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[simontaylor484]

God January is going to be even longer than usual i shake.My head in despair 

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all.

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Weather wise, like the last few days, it’s never really got much above the 4C today, although we did have a little rain this afternoon, thankfully it didn’t last long. 

 

Sheila’s package arrived this morning quite early, so I was able to go to the workshop to get the few bits to enable me to alter the turntable control panel. Once I’d got everything, I made a start on the alterations. I’ve changed the 12v power supply to 5v, the socket is the same for both, so all I needed to do was move some of the wiring around and also the cable identification numbers. The end resulting in the panel now DOES NOT cut out, result! I’ve then changed the wiring for the new 12v power supply to the turntable motor control circuit. I then built the new 3v power supply board, it just needs testing as I’d not been able to do that this afternoon. However, once I’d packed up for the day and whilst I was having my afternoon muggertea, I decided that if I changed one of the resistors for a variable resistor, I would be able to fine tune the speed that the turntable revolves at, instead of it being a fixed speed. I’m pretty certain I have a small potentiometer in the workshop, so I’ll try and dig that out tomorrow and have a play. 

 

 Below is a photo of the turntable control panel powered up. 

 

As you all know, we’ve now entered yet another lockdown, at this rate I’ll be turning into a professional Hermit!

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

[Two_sugars]

Whya bugga!!!!!!! Ah did some Madelaine today . . . the chassis for a LNER brake van . . .surprised me . . 

 

Anyays . . . . It's been said that in a democracy, we get the government me deserve . . .

 

Surely we don't deserve this sh!t.

 

Stay safe everyone . . . .goodnight and sleep well.

 

John

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[leopardml2341]

Morning, at least the clock says it is. The sky and my head say differently; goodnight!

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

Here is a tale of missed opportunities.  One of my closest friends was due to spend the festive season with his brother in Bishops Stortford.  I did not know until last night that he had to abort the visit because someone in the brother’s household was self-isolating.  My friend did not know until last night that the Government had effectively cancelled my Christmas dinner at short notice.  We live less than half a mile apart.  Neither thought to tell the other what had happened.  Oh dear.

 

Amid the latest high level hoo-hah I have some news of my poorly aunt.  I understand that she is still in her care home and has been provided with oxygen should she need it.  I am told that she has been spending most of the day asleep.  I can’t say I blame her, for this is not a good time to be awake.  If she knew, I am sure that she would have been very touched by all the good wishes.

 

Best wishes to all, with the possible exception of the headless chickens who rule us.

 

Chris

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

For the first time in ages woken by cramp in my leg.. it still hurts...ouch! I shall try taking ann an ibuprofen tablet and some diet indian tonic water when I get downstairs. 

 

Lots of traffic outside.. lockdown? Wor lockdown?

Private jet has just landed at the airport from Antigua. I bet they don't go through customs and would suspect that they might not bother isolating, Pah!

 

Most Brits seem to understand that you need to think of others. A minority are self centred and selfish to the point of putting us all at risk. How to change that? ( and I don't think that hanging them would work at all).

 

As for today, herself is going to go in to help get the shop she volunteers in clean and secure. I shall get my cramp sorted then may do a bit of reading.. or then again I may do some modelling. Decisions,  decisions.

 

Dr Eldest Herbert is busy recording lectures and preparing to mark exam papers. He has made some progress on his book which is good news and is applying for jobs in academia as his current contract runs out this summer. 

 

Stay safe!

 

Hoping that everyone is ok. 

 

@chrisf I wish your aunt well.

 

Baz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Lurker]

9 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I understand from tonight’s PM statement that I can expect another letter. I hope it is also available online as some letters are taking a while to get here. We had a Christmas card posted in Reading on December 12th arrive today. 
Tony

Mind you some r-mails seem to be taking their time too - I have just had one telling me that one of Mrs Lurker’s Christmas presents is out for delivery; it arrived as originally arranged on 23 December!

 

Younger Lurker starts home school today for the first time at his new school; work will be released in line with the timetable. The promised extra details for Year 7 have not been forthcoming but I expect we will muddle through!

 

have a good day all!

[iL Dottore]

9 hours ago, polybear said:

...Sounds mighty fine to this Bear...apart from the hazelnuts

Oh Dear. An edentulous bear, surely not?

Or merely an inexplicable (and possibly phobic) dislike of hazelnuts and other fine cake ingredients - such as coffee, cream* and walnuts?

 

* one can speculate if this aversion to cream in cakes is due to the fact that too often in the UK, synthetic “cream” is found in the patisserie, instead of the real stuff. And as we know bad childhood experiences shape the adult...

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The sore foot has kept me up most of the night, managed to get a couple of hours sleep first thing and followed by some cat-naps. Weather is not very promising with wintery showers predicted but its dry at the moment. Time to run a bath, be back later.

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, 3c again but no frost today, just...cold.

 

Jamie's mention of restorative justice brings to mind that it was one of our sharpest tools in the youth justice team, it is fair to say the young offenders hated doing it - therefore it was a good deterrent.   One of the bobbies in the team was a dab hand at getting the said young offenders working hard - he was a big lad!  It proved to be more effective as a deterrent to re-offending than any other actions, and of course didn't leave a young person with a criminal record that could be a real issue in a few years time for them.   The real recidivists of course would soon come back to our notice, and that could lead on to more severe action in the legal system, but it worked a treat for the low level stuff.

 

The hip is protesting greatly this morning, had a rough night so I can't see a very active day being had.

[jamie92208]

Good moaning from Crabtree land.  I can at least relate 1 positive result of Covid. The Cliff Richard Calendar that my supposedly darling daughter, usually sends to her mother, has not arrived due to Covid related logistical issues. As we need an appointment  calendar, the kitchen wall is now graced by the Official Union Pacific Calendar. January is a lovely photo of the Big Boy in a snowy setting.  That's a result.  The less charitable explanation for the non appearance of Riff Pilchard, is that they didn't have enough time to photoshop all the wrinkles out.

 

Anyway, the shed floor got painted, or at least part of it. The builder finished and there are no leaks, though I did have to make up a soldered joint to replace a compression fitting.  

 

This morning I'm off shopping to The Danglies and Beth is off to the GP. Her consultant changed her diabetic medication beforecChristmas and she isvhaving a torid time of it at the moment.  We hope to get something sorted.

 

Anyway, goodvluck to you all. 

 

Bon Courage.

 

Jamie

Edited January 5, 2021 by jamie92208

[TheQ]

Ah time to type this in again, again a comment from The lurker deleted what I was typing..

but the  comment from Il Dottore didn't delete anything ... why?

 

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Hare,

4.5 hours sleep when I woke with main from my left arm, I think I slept on it wrongly, then to the sofa where I got another 1.5 hours sleep as the pains subsided..

 

Ben the unsure Collie happily went out with me, but then a gust of wind tore through and he came to me for reassurance before continuing on patrol..

 

The easterly wind has piled up the North sea against the coast, so the river water isn't escaping, the Northern broads are on flood alert, it's just topping the quay in Wroxham, across the car park and just enough on the road to cause tyre spray.

The roads are slightly quieter today..

 

Cockwomble 1, polishes the boot of my car  for some distance then overtakes on Double whites.. I was doing the speed limit..

 

Cockwomble 2 on the radio, says the Vulnerable have to shield , then in the same report says, only the Extremely Vulnerable have to shield.. Now What is it? it's important as I'm Vulnerable... Since here I've looked it up and it's just the Extremely Vulnerable, which is a shame... I could do with more Keel building time..

 

Today is the 12th Night of Christmas and this evening you should take the decorations down.. It's a day of importance to the Bear, the Hippo and Il Dottore... For today King Cake aka Twelfth Cake should be eaten..

 

I've measured 100M Ohms and now Zero Ohms (0.0000230 Ohms) this morning.

 

Time to work down from 19k Ohms to 1 Ohm.

 

 

 

 

 

[polybear]

12 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

Oh Dear. An edentulous bear, surely not?

Or merely an inexplicable (and possibly phobic) dislike of hazelnuts and other fine cake ingredients - such as coffee, cream* and walnuts?

 

* one can speculate if this aversion to cream in cakes is due to the fact that too often in the UK, synthetic “cream” is found in the patisserie, instead of the real stuff. And as we know bad childhood experiences shape the adult...

 

Bear's goobers are in fine shape, thankfully.  Certainly better than his knowledge of big words, having had to Google the meaning of "edentulous".....

Bear does have a dislike of yukky, ikky tastes such as those presented by coffee (seriously ikky), cream (yukky, but see note below) and walnuts (no thanks; iddy diddy bits in small amount are passable, however, in order to achieve the greater good - i.e. scoffing what's around the nuts, namely cake).  Large walnuts in substances such as cake can always have the cake sucked off, however.  Anyone want some nearly new walnuts?

 

Note:  Buttercream is most definitely firmly "on" the yummy list, however

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dull, dismal and damp yet again.  A chilly, breezy, cloudy day with more outbreaks of rain is on offer.

Looks like a walk to the nearest shop is required as milk and bread are running out. 

The visit to The Shed was not very successful so will try again today but the little mojo I've found is stuttering. Not very happy at the moment (who is?) and the dark animal is stirring.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

P.S. Thanks Bear,  at least the offer of nearly new walnuts made me smile.

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by grandadbob

[polybear]

13 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Today is the 12th Night of Christmas and this evening you should take the decorations down.. It's a day of importance to the Bear, the Hippo and Il Dottore... For today King Cake aka Twelfth Cake should be eaten..

 

So Bear has the all-clear to remove the bit of string stretched between a couple of drawing pins?  Oh good.  Should take all of ten seconds, and no loft ladders involved.

Cake?  Oh good.....

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A dull start to the day, there is no frost this morning and only a few bits of snow in some of the planters is all that remains, but it hasn’t warmed up greatly, it’s still only 2C out there. It was suggested that I should carry on and finish the turntable control panel and leave the cellar work until next week, I thought it a good idea and so will do so. Hopefully by the end of the week it should all be finished, although I may not have completed the lettering on the panel front. 

 

So time to head to the workshop and look for that variable resistor I'm convinced I’ve got in a box of bits!

 

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

 

Brian  (your trainee professional hermit) 

Edited January 5, 2021 by BSW01

[jonny777]

21 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I spoke too soon about the sore foot, last night it came back with a vengeance. Add to that the rest of the eczema was itching like mad. It might be due to the rain as mentioned by Tony, I'll see what its like later in the week when its predicted to be dry. The lesser spotted glass and bottle wagon was first out this morning as usual, first foray since Christmas and it was very busy. Thats it for now, be back later.

I don’t want to teach any experienced person how to suck eggs, but have you ever considered the eczema flare ups to be linked to what you may have eaten? 
 

I only ask this question because I slowly discovered that mine are. I know tinned tomatoes have that effect, probably due to the citric acid preservative. I tried an exact replica spagbol using fresh tomatoes with no skin reaction at all. 
 

Since then , I am convinced supermarket battered fish is also a culprit, and a certain brand of soy sauce. I had thought highly spiced curries might send the itchiness into overdrive, but so far there has been no reaction which is a relief. 
 

I conclude that my eczema is triggered by a very narrow set of food additives in addition to the usual stress/excitement/worried scenarios. 
 

Bright and breezy again here in North Somerset. I finished ‘Hungry’ by Grace Dent and was reduced to tears by the last few pages; so in order to have a complete change I started a 1000 piece jigsaw I had bought for my Dad prior to his sight deteriorating and care home entry. The puzzle was still in its box covered in cellophane. 
 

The puzzle picture is of a Vulcan flying over fields, which is going to be rather difficult I suspect; although with increasing lockdown, having lots of spare time is going to be the order of the day again. 
 

The March/April lockdown last year was ok, in that I spent a lot of time in the garden, but that is not going to happen during a January northeasterly.

 

I have even heard rumours of another sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), which brought the beast from the east two years ago. Hibernating with a jigsaw puzzle appears to be a very logical strategy. 

[Dave Hunt]

A rather dull and grey start to the day in North Hipposhire, which matches my present mood. Although I've got plenty to keep me occupied for the foreseeable future, the present situation is quite depressing and I am aware of the black canine trying to get out of its kennel. So far, though, I've kept it locked up. On a more positive note, since my Dad is a couple of months shy of his 98th birthday we are expecting that he will be getting his first vaccination shot fairly soon, so that should ease one of the nagging worries at the back of my mind. At the moment he is living with us and either Jill or myself are going to his house almost daily to check the mail and his phone messages for news on that front but so far nothing. Funny how things change - on New Year's Day I was feeling quite optimistic but over the last few days that has evaporated. At least I've got ERs and other RMW threads as well as visits to the workshop to keep me going; I pity the poor souls who have nothing like that.

 

Apologies for the downbeat post. I'll try to be more cheerful next time.

 

Dave

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

We actually begin the new stay at home instructions with a couple of trips out. Today to collect medication and tomorrow to visit the Heart Failure Clinic.  I think the appointment tomorrow is a reasonable excuse to travel. 
To answer Q’s query. Clinically extremely vulnerable people get NHS texts and follow up letters from Matt Hancock and Robert Jenrick .

A few little parcels are arriving this morning, batteries, Velcro and needles. All of which have been used and we don’t have spares. The needle wasn’t used so much as lost in action. 
Tony

[Two_sugars]

3 hours ago, Barry O said:

Ey up!

 

For the first time in ages woken by cramp in my leg.. it still hurts...ouch! I shall try taking ann an ibuprofen tablet and some diet indian tonic water when I get downstairs. 

 

Lots of traffic outside.. lockdown? Wor lockdown?

 

 

Baz

 

 

 

Who's lockdown?

 

Morning all . . weather changeable but generally PHILPHY.

Keep smiling 

 

 

John

[Barry O]

9 minutes ago, Two_sugars said:

 

Who's lockdown?

 

Morning all . . weather changeable but generally PHILPHY.

Keep smiling 

 

 

John

Geordies marra..