Early Risers.

[J. S. Bach]

Yes, congratulations to Mrs NHN.

 

And Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[pH]

Today, for the first time since early November, I drove on an urban freeway - 10 minutes in each direction. Surprising how difficult it felt. 

[leopardml2341]

Why am I awake at this hour?

 

Cuppa decaff might sort it........

 

Tipping it down and quite windy here, hopefully it will blow over so the planned mornings activities can be completed outdoors.

 

See you all later

[iL Dottore]

20 hours ago, Mike Bellamy said:

...Brian and Chris - this is a known fault that only appears to affect Apple devices - but there doesn't seem to be an answer yet despite this topic now on 4 pages of advice and ideas . . . . . . 

I usually view RMWeb in the morning on my iPad without any of the above mentioned issues. I think the secret is that I am using Firefox for iPad, I studiously and religiously avoid Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer and Safari.  Unfortunately, as part of the conditions to have Firefox available from the Apple Store, a number of the great features you get on Firefox for the PC have been disabled. Nonetheless, I would recommend evaluating Firefox on your Apple device.

20 hours ago, BlackRat said:

...yours affectionately........ Mr A1 Aaron Aardvark. 

... Pronounced “Smith”?

16 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

Nah - they aren't running away..............

They know I'm from Lancashire.

... And if you are from Wales?

14 hours ago, BoD said:

I am afraid that, following recent discussions in the press regarding which roles actors are or are not allowed to play, and because of fears of cultural misappropriation, you are not allowed to tell that joke.....

And if you continue down that road, we can kiss goodbye to most of civilisation, given that all successful societies throughout history have prospered by nicking some of the good ideas and practices from other contemporary societies.  To take it to the extreme, in culinary terms, it would mean giving up pizza, pasta, chicken tikka masala and fish and chips! (All dishes “appropriated“ from other cultures!).

13 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

I have to report that despite large lashings of doubt and thoughts of subversive tactics, Mrs NHN has this minute been successful in gaining a new job, away from the grips of GDPR, SARs and FOI requests....

Well done Mrs NHN!  The icing of this particular cake would be for Mrs NHN to announce her departure in a way that most discomforts the cockwombles at her previous place of employment!

13 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

Stand clear -Rant mode engaged.

 

What part of wear a mask when you go into a supermarket don't people understand...

Well, quite.  I think the problem in the UK (and the US) especially (although seen in most of the western world) is twofold: the first is the lack of thorough enforcement of mask wearing (in those Asian countries that have almost completely stamped out the virus,  penalties can be swift and draconian for not wearing a mask or for wearing it improperly - like just below the nose, instead of over the nose!). The second, and I know this will be contentious, is that in the UK (and elsewhere) there are permitted exemptions for mask wearing.  Quite frankly, if you have a medical condition which preclude you from wearing a mask, then you should really not be out and about maskless during a respiratory disease pandemic. Furthermore, in those cases where a mask wearing is impractical due to the nature of the work done, then clear face visors should be used instead.  Only in very exceptional cases (and only for work) should a complete mask and/or visor exemption be permitted (and the conditions for that exemption should be clear, well publicised and properly policed).

This may seem drastic, but any student of infectious disease can tell you that it only takes one asymptomatic infectious person to start the avalanche...

12 hours ago, polybear said:

....though coffee flavour biscuits are a criminal offence....

It seems that Mr Bear has a serious problem with coffee. Definitely an aversion phobia (at the very least).l Therapy may be indicated!

10 hours ago, BokStein said:

...I  suggest that may not be the full declension :

 

I am idiosyncratically eccentric,

You are from an alternative Universe

He/She is wierd

We are from another planet

You are [all] peculiar

They are Bat Sh1t Crazy!...

I think, Mr Stone, that your declension is somewhat off. You are making the assumption that “weird“ is less problematic than “peculiar“.  I would argue that “peculiar“ is a relatively harmless state of being (to give a culinary example: putting tomato ketchup instead of brown sauce on your bacon butty is “peculiar”)  whereas “weird“ is so far off the right side of the bell shaped curve that it demands its own graph (again, to give a culinary example:  putting marmalade and mint sauce on your bacon butty is definitely “weird“)

9 hours ago, polybear said:

....Noooooo...you can't eat Bambi...........

Yes you can! Deeeeelicious (and Thumper is tasty too...)

 

Onto other news: work is ramping up and I am now approaching 40 hours per week of consulting work. Now, this may not seem like much, but one consulting hour (at least in my business) is equivalent to 1.5 to 2 times a regular “In the office“ working hour (If you carefully examine how much actual work you do in the office, it is considerably less than eight hours/days– once you’ve taken away the coffee breaks, the talking to colleagues and so forth).

 

Finally, an observation on the availability and quality of merchandise from the tribe of warrior women of South America. Has anyone noticed that, as of late, typing into the search box the name of a particular desired item (for example “pressure cooker” or “USB Flash Drive”) will bring up a plethora of no-name/unknown brand items, made in China (and of unknown quality) before it brings up a well-known reputable brand name? Furthermore, has anyone also noticed the absurd prices some sellers charge for pretty much standard items or the sometimes incredibly absurd shipping costs (to give an example: I was looking for an effects pedal for my guitar rig and I found what seemed to be a competitively priced pedal and then I checked the shipping cost: £75!)

 

Another mug of coffee awaits before I eventually trundle in to the kitchen to make my “fruit and nut chocolate bar” inspired cake.

 

Enjoy the weekend!

 

iD

Edited January 16, 2021 by iL Dottore

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl, inner Temple hare,

7 .25 hours almost solid sleep, helped by a large glass of Highland Park.. I needed that.

 

I think Mrs NHN , just needs to hang her bow and arrows on the wall behind her desk along with a target suitably impaled in the middle. With a sign underneath, "yes, any Questions?"

 

As for bambi, we get several varieties in the garden, from tiny muntjac through to big red deer. Sadly they eat the stuff we want to keep, and leave the rest of the jungle..

 

As for other food, we are getting more and more food wandering around the fields , for the last 20 years, it's been purely crops. But since the farm down the road took over the farm surrounding us, Shaun and friends have been invading. This nicely ties in with that climate history book, where I've just finished reading the section which includes using sheep to fertilize fields..

 

According to the weather radar, we are under big orange and yellow precipitation, but I'm not hearing any, this suggests, it may be landing with a lighter effect. I shall find out when Ben the sleeping Collie wakes up.

 

Today's plans include moving the keel but that depends on what I find outside, otherwise, a small amount of work on the rudder, and the shelving.

 

Time ...for further contemplation on what version of bacon and eggs shall I prepare..

 

 

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all, with congratulations to Mrs NHN on the new job

 

Today will probably be perishing cold in Whittlesey.  Were it not for that ruddy virus, this town east of Peterborough, noted for the making of bricks, would be hosting the Straw Bear Festival and I would be there.  About a dozen teams of morris dancers dance in the streets or in pub car parks and most of them are very good indeed.  In the town square lies the George, a Wetherspoons house, which tends to concentrate on selling beer rather than food on that day.  Fortunately across the square is a proper cafe which sells a proper breakfast!  Over the weekend there are concerts too but I tend to go there to watch the dancing, quite often encountering old friends in the process.  This year, as with so many things, the festival is a virtual one and the concept of a Zoom ceilidh is interesting to say the least.  Experience tells me that photographing morris teams in full cry can be tricky and hazardous and no bravery award yet devised would tempt me to take moving pictures!  Maybe I will check later on just how well the atmosphere comes across on line.

 

The missing can of grey primer has still not surfaced.  As a precaution, I descended on Halfords yesterday afternoon and bought red primer, white primer and Red Rosso topcoat.  Anyone would think that I was contemplating some m*d*ll*ng …  Anyway, I was surprised to be asked for my e-mail address when I paid for my purchases.  It appears that they do not print till receipts as a matter of course now.  This to me is better than the widespread practice of not offering them at all unless prompted.  The last time I was in the ‘Spoons pub under St Pancras station, I could not help noticing how many pints were bought with cards.  It takes a better brain than mine to keep track of purchases without supporting evidence.

 

Polly, it is so good to find another Father Brown aficionado.  I find the series very well cast and written and it is always a pleasure when Flambeau makes an appearance, as he did yesterday.  Yes, I know: I watch too much TV.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[jamie92208]

Good moaning, editor cleared so ready to type. First off, congratulations  to Mrs NHN.  I hope that a suitable amount of pleasure is extracted during thecleaving process from the old job.

 

Still quiet here and no daily orders have yet been posted, however our 0900 chat with young Emily and her mums awaits.  Yesterday was spent chasing artisans for houses that we look after. The internet 5G guy at the first, couldn't do anything as the antenna  is too high up. After lunch, an architect and joiner appeared atvthe other house to correct some snags. The architect was his usual surly self. He obviously doesn't  like the whole concept of snagging. I enjoyed his discomfort, especially when he tried to tell me that two stones that have fallen out of a wall, were thecresult if an owl roosting. My reply was not lost in translation.

 

In between times, an article was emailed off and various other emails sorted and sent.  I suspect that some donestic engineering  will be mandated today as some friends are coming for lunch tomorrow. With luck I may even head for the shed later on.

 

Jamie

[TheQ]

Ben the on time Collie arrived at the sofa, at exactly 06:00, we went for a patrol.

The reason I can hear no precipitation is there hasn't been any, not even doggy few   foggy dew. There are heavy low clouds and a strong breeze.

[Barry O]

Ey up! Chuckinitdarn here and it has been for some time.

 

They recovered the BMW at 11pm last night.. bits of it are still there. The milepost is laid on the ground.  Wonder who will sort that out?

 

Today, the pump will be put in place to try and stop the garden overflowing.. it may be switched on all day.

 

Stay safe.. mugatea beckons!

Baz

[TheQ]

The white stuff has arrived it appears to be settling..

[leopardml2341]

Mornin' folks,

 

Managed to get some more sleep after my earlier posting but with vivid and strange dreams, wonder if it I was the decaff?

 

It's not raining at the moment and the forecast has improved somewhat, at least in %age of precipitation terms, so planned outdoor work may go ahead (when it gets light) in the meantime cuppa beckons and then some more RMweb reading before breakfast, household tasks and then to the wild outdoors - hopefully!

 

I'll report later (like it or not )

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by leopardml2341
Effin predictive text!

[Barry O]

@chrisf many moons ago an old friend let me know he would be on Heartbeat at some point. Switched on the tv one night and all I could hear was "Bobby Shaftoe"  being played on an accordian by Mike Cook. Then the Goathland Ploughstots got off the same vintage bus and did their sword dance. That one scene took a whole day to film.. then they retired to the "Aidensfield Arms" for some liquid refreshment.. it is hard work dancing or playing the accompaniment. 

 

Baz

[Grizz]

Sla...pi....raining hard in East Sussex...again. It is also that cold n damp n grey sky combination that prompts a lazy day indoors. 
Definitely not inclined to do much in the garden today, got soaked enough already this week. 
 

Offspring bemoaning the lack of snow, but I said what can you expect in subtropical Sussex. Although their protests do raise and eyebrow, in years gone by on a couple of occasions it has snowed in some of the villages either side of us and we got nothing. They were most dischuffed!
 

Might settle down to some modelling whilst watching some old films. 
 

Have a good one all.  

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, chrisf said:

It takes a better brain than mine to keep track of purchases without supporting evidence.

My brain would not recall expenditure either but thanks to online banking apps I can see all the card usage.

 

[BokStein]

Good morning (I think!)

 

Plans for the weekend include a visit to Sainsbury and washing the car (It'd be good to see out of the windows!)

 

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I think, Mr Stone, that your declension is somewhat off. You are making the assumption that “weird“ is less problematic than “peculiar“.  I would argue that “peculiar“ is a relatively harmless state of being (to give a culinary example: putting tomato ketchup instead of brown sauce on your bacon butty is “peculiar”)  whereas “weird“ is so far off the right side of the bell shaped curve that it demands its own graph (again, to give a culinary example:  putting marmalade and mint sauce on your bacon butty is definitely “weird“)

 

In my defence, yur onnor, 'wierd' and 'peculiar' are relative terms based on the perceiver's attitude. Marmalade and mint sauce are on the shopping list!

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

The sleet has arrived. It is a bit later than forecast. I don’t have to go out but Aditi has a dental appointment later this morning. She did check yesterday and the appointment is still happening.  Our dentist has an impressive helmet and respirator. He won’t do any procedure that involves a spray. I did ask Aditi if she wanted me to drive her to the dentist but she declined the offer. We can see the dental surgery from our house!

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

again, to give a culinary example:  putting marmalade and mint sauce on your bacon butty is definitely “weird“)

I don’t know where it originates but bacon jam was included when I had a burger in Dublin a couple of years ago.

 

Have a good day.

Tony

 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

It was frosty when I went to bed about 1.00am but no snow here although the forecast has been hinting at the possibility.  It has been raining steadily since about 6.00am.

A walk in the rain has been vetoed by The Boss although if she hadn't I would have!  We do need to pay a visit to the small local supermarket though as "somebody" * forgot to order something to go with tomorrow's dinner.

No rugby for the next two weekends so my Saturday and Sunday afternoons will have to be occupied by something else.  Better start looking for that mojo,  I know I put it somewhere.

Have a good one,

Bob.

 

* Not me Guv, honest. 

Edited January 16, 2021 by grandadbob

[jonny777]

Dull, wet and miserable here in North Somerset, but at least it is mild at 8C. 

 

Had a bad night. Woke at 1a.m. after what must have been some highly stressful dream, but I can't remember it. However, it left me awake and somewhat paranoid even though I was well aware of simply lying in bed. I listened to the wind and rain outside for a few hours, and pondered whether the earth had ever been visited by beings from another planetary system. 

 

Finally fell asleep around 4a.m. but don't feel too bad now. 

 

Daughter seems to have avoided covid so far, despite her outdoor exercise friends going down with it. That is good news as she has enough on her plate trying to cope with home schooling as it is. 

 

Edit: Rogue Ebay wrong cable seller is ignoring my emails, and judging by some feedback he/she ignores all emails. They have not left feedback on me, despite having my money promptly as it was a 'buy it now' option. Very crafty, and shows they could be aware they send any old cables out, despite what people order. They wait with their feedback in case I give them a negative, so they can do likewise on me. It is like some form of implied blackmail. I will not leave any feedback and just take the financial 'hit' of a massive £4.99 and make sure I never buy anything from them again. 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by jonny777

[grandadbob]

Only just noticed that Ian (Roundhouse) appears to be MIA.  Hope he's OK.

[Foden]

Morning all, sufficiently crap weather here in the East Midlands. Just been into the garden to collect the dog’s dinners from last night, and although it doesn’t appear to be that bad, it’s that very fine rain that deceptively soaks you to your skin in no time at all! 
 

Feeling the effects of COVID a little more today, where as before it’s just felt like lethargy typical of that you’d get with a mild cold for me, yesterday evening and this morning there’s definitely a strange sensation on my chest, nothing like I’ve experienced before. It’s nothing severe right now, I’d perhaps liken it to having just walked into a smokey room. Wifey still showing no signs though.

 

She’s relieving her self isolation boredom by baking, and I’ve had more volume and variety of cake in the past few days than I’d typically consume in a calendar month! How have I gone 34 years and never tried the absolute delight of banana cake?! I don’t particularly like bananas, but this is my new guilty pleasure!

 

Have a nice Saturday all.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis and the sore foot were both banging the drum last night so that I didn't get to sleep until about four this morning. When I looked out in the early hours there was quite a heavy rime on the car but a couple  of hours later it had almost gone so I'd thought we might miss the snow. Not so lucky as a bit of snow had settled when I awoke this morning but it was already being washed away by the rain.

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

Well done Mrs NHN!  The icing of this particular cake would be for Mrs NHN to announce her departure in a way that most discomforts the cockwombles at her previous place of employment!

 

 

When I retired I had saved up just over two months leave. My leaving date was the 31st of March. HR had dragged their feet over getting everything ready and nothing got done until the third week in January. When they finally pulled their finger out and confirmed my early retirement there was only one day left before I had to take my leave to get it all in. When I informed them of that fact you could see the panic in their faces. In the end I agreed to stay on for February and to receive a months extra pay in lieu of my leave, effectively being paid double pay for my last working month.

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

 

Have a goo one,

Bob.

 

 

What's a goo one?

Edited January 16, 2021 by PhilJ W

[grandadbob]

Spotted that and corrected it earlier Phil 

[chrisf]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

 

I don’t know where it originates but bacon jam was included when I had a burger in Dublin a couple of years ago.
 

Must remember to check that out if my trip to Dublin ever materialises ...

 

Chris

[jonny777]

8 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

 

When I retired I had saved up just over two months leave. My leaving date was the 31st of March. HR had dragged their feet over getting everything ready and nothing got done until the third week in January. When they finally pulled their finger out and confirmed my early retirement there was only one day left before I had to take my leave to get it all in. When I informed them of that fact you could see the panic in their faces. In the end I agreed to stay on for February and to receive a months extra pay in lieu of my leave, effectively being paid double pay for my last working month.

What's a goo one?

 

I had a similar thing when I retired. About 9 weeks leave to take. Initially HR tried to ignore me, hoping I would go away; but I persevered with the help of a very clued-up work colleague who knew all about the rules and regulations. 

 

In my case, the office I worked at closed when I retired and so I demanded to be paid the excess hours, and eventually, after threatening them with a union investigation, they relented. Therefore I gained a considerable sum, which was added to my pension and lump sum (I was on a best pay total of the last 3 years) and meant I ended up with even more money than I had budgeted for. 

 

While typing this, the clouds have almost cleared and the sun has come out. It's now a dry and sunny morning in North Somerset. 

 

However, Barclaycard are determined to cut my credit limit. I don't mind but they tried to cut it to a value less than my current balance. I sent them a stroppy email, and they replied with equal rudeness informing me that they didn't consider my current financial situation warranted the credit limit. (This is even though I now live on both an occupational pension, plus the state one). Given that in the past they used to increase my limit without my permission, as if spending limit increases were a favour given by them, and that I have had a Barclaycard since 1972 without defaulting on payments; I consider their activities to be an insult. I presume they are desperately trying to avoid a mass default on their loans from people affected by the covid driven recession, but to try and pin the blame on me by suggesting they have detected a change in my ability to pay, is a corporate lie too far. 

[Chris116]

5 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I would recommend evaluating Firefox on your Apple device.

I have never had an electronic half eaten fruit for anything.