Early Risers.

[Coombe Barton]

... and meetings ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/02/24/distraction-techniques/

[Erichill16]

13 hours ago, Mike Bellamy said:

 

Father-in-law has just moved to a care home in Grantham after 6 weeks in Lincoln Hospital after a fall and fractured shoulder blade - lost his balance getting off the loo and fell backwards cracking his shoulder on the WC. That's one of many falls and as he couldn't bear any weight on his arm, he couldn't use his walking frame - end result is that he's been discharged as 'medically fit' but now stays in bed all day. As a result we have made a start on sorting out the house as we very much doubt he will ever be fit enough to go home. Like you, it was surprising how much 'stuff' he had collected - aged 88 and lived on his own for 40 years since being divorced. There were drawers full of scraps of paper with phone numbers written on but without a name so why keep them. There was however one lucky find - a Grantham Directory from 1963 which listed every street in town and who was the home owner - I found my dad's name and also a half page advert he had taken in the directory as he had just started his plumbing business.

 

Sorry to hear about fils situation, it’s a shame that he spends all day in bed.

I  think ‘we’ complain about stuff other people save but I bet when it’s our turn to have someone go through our ‘prize possessions’ they will have the same feelings. 
One of SWMBO and my concerns is that ‘stuff’ that is valuable is going to get thrown out with the genuine rubbish when something happens to us.  

Edited February 24, 2021 by Erichill16

[brianusa]

42 minutes ago, polybear said:

Can Bear ask - what happens when a person in the USA retires?  Presumably medical cover via the employer is lost, unless they have some form of pension scheme with that employer that includes medical cover?

 

In our case, the Fed covers ex employees and families.  

    Brian.

[pH]

We’ve just spent the morning with a son and grandson, with a walk along the shore and some time in a play park on a crisp, sunny day. The occasion - son’s 40th birthday. My youngest son is 40!! Where did those years go?

[monkeysarefun]

3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

He also pointed out, in what I thought was an eminently sensible manner, that an old fashioned paper international vaccination certificate was hardly appropriate in the case of Covid.  So even if the anti-vaxxers win through at our expense in their massive legal fees they might not get any further than the police patrols at the Dorset county border. when they find out that international travel is off their holiday plans

 

AIr New Zealand are to start trialling an electronic vaccine passport on their flights between Auckland and Sydney. 

 

Or they were until 3 cases sprung up in Auckland and our current travel bubble has burst for now.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/23/air-new-zealand-to-trial-covid-vaccine-passport-on-sydney-flights

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

30 minutes ago, pH said:

... having knowledgeable, logical arguments would have immediately disqualified you from active participation in the US political system.

Or anywhere for that matter.

 

Cue Douglas Adams on the man who rules the universe - by definition anyone who wants the job is ineligible.

Quote

You can sing to my cat if you like.

 

I was looking for a good sourced reference to the Churchill quote along the lines of "He is asked to stand, wants to sit and is expected to lie", only to find this one by Bertrand Russell which I found very apropos:

Quote

Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.

and

Quote

He knows nothing; and he thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.

 

[andyram]

Evening all and I hope that this evening finds you well. I have been intrigued to read that many ER's seem to have had their date with the jab over the last day or so. I, unexpectedly, have mine booked for Saturday. The invite came out of the blue this morning because I expected to be waiting until April. However, as registered foster carers, Sarah and I both count as frontline social care workers whether we currently have a child in placement or not. Since Sarah has already had her first dose (and has just about recovered) I am now booked in for Saturday morning.

 

Today has been another busy day. Home schooling with Amber, and marking assignments this morning, was followed by a drive out for deliveries this afternoon. Trips to Uttoxeter and the Burton on Trent broke up the day a little. Amber came with me and we had quite a nice drive out. Tomorrow I have a delivery over to Doncaster. I would not normally do that, but the order is a large one and I would rather drop it off myself than trust the postal service. 

 

 One of today's customers was so appreciative of the delivery and the doorstep chat, that he presented me with a bottle of Titanic Plum Porter as a thank you. This was consumed this evening whilst gluing the track down on the new modelling project.

 

 

Stay safe and sane.

 

Andy

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Can Bear ask - what happens when a person in the USA retires?  Presumably medical cover via the employer is lost, unless they have some form of pension scheme with that employer that includes medical cover?

@Ian Abel has covered the Federal Medicare program, for which retired people over the age of 65 and people with certain disabilities are eligible. He also referenced Medicaid which can be used by people under 65 who are unable to work, or unemployed under certain conditions. My regular primary care physician (GP in British idiom) does not accept Medicaid patients.

 

People who are laid off from major corporations have the option to carry COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) insurance for 18 months. The premiums are expensive, but it is the same insurance offered to the employee while employed.

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Ozexpatriate

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Some sad news of my old friend who was taken into hospital a couple of weeks ago after a stroke. He has returned home to the nursing home where he resides not because he has made any sort of recovery but because the hospital can do nothing more for him. At 97 years old the chances of any sort of recovery are not good.

[Erichill16]

Reading about the US health care system, it does seem rather complicated when compared to what we’ve got in the UK. I’m proud of what we have here, but waste, don’t talk to me about waste.

Regards

Robert 

 

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[The Stationmaster]

G'night all

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

Well so far, I’ve had no side effects of the Pfizer drug I was given this morning, although my arm does know it’s been punctured, but I’m not in any pain from it, it’s more like I bumped into to something. 

 

Anyway, I spent the rest of the day sat at the easel and drew up plans for a small engineering company to scale that I’m hoping to fit into an unused corner. But as is always the case when you scribble sketches down, there wasn’t the room that I thought there was and I wasn’t able to get everything in that I planned. So I’ve decided to make up some 1/4 scale models of the model buildings and a 1/4 scale plan of the area and juggle things around until I’m happy with things. I did that for the locomotive shed and it send to work well, so I’m going to do the same again with this little project. If I’m not happy with it, then I’ll think of something else to fit there instead. 

[BSW01]

Goodnight all 

 

[Erichill16]

Evening All,

Had a bit of busy day so not been able to read all your posts. 
Though I didn’t  get done today what I expected I have had quite a good day. 
Sky came round and fitted a satellite dish which went a lot smoother than I expected.

Got planning permission approved for new business premises.

MY team won again, four league in on the trot. IF we win our game in hand, we would be in a playoff position!

And had fish and chips for tea.

Goodnight,

Robert

[PhilJ W]

Goodnight all.

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[chrisf]

Greetings one and all

 

During a Zoom evening yesterday the technology wobbled.  Sharing the screen is something that I have not yet tried but which I must learn how to do before I'm much older.  The basics appear to be that you click on the green thing on the screen and can then show pictures to the rest of the gathering.  Like all technology, it does not always work as it should.  It was made to work eventually last night but by precisely what means I am not sure.  Tonight I am in front of the screen again, this time for a Zoom slide show by Jack Boskett.  On past form it should be a worthwhile investment of time.  Old fashioned technology, such as the trusty 35mm slide projector, is not immune from fits of temperament.  Many years ago I was at a gathering where the projector somehow developed the capacity to eject slides from the magazine such that they ended up all over the floor.  A computer is in essence a very sophisticated moron and should do exactly what you tell it to do.  When it does not, you engage the human brain to outwit the flipping thing.  That, at least, is the theory.  Somehow I suspect that gentle readers know better.

 

One area of concern about which those who rule us have been suspiciously silent of late is that of quarantine.  During the period of house arrest I have devoted a little mental effort to planning holidays, not in detail but as feasibility studies, leaving such essentials as hotels to be identified and secured when I have some idea of when the trips will be made.  As long as requirements are in place to spend several days and lots of money in hotels on the way home the trips will just not happen.  The other weak link at present is the sorry state of Eurostar, which has lost almost all of its passengers thanks to that ruddy virus.  I am not so desperate for a holiday that I am driven into the arms of the airlines.  What can you see from a plane?  Oh look, there's a cloud.  Give me a TGV and cows rushing past at 200 mph any day.

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

[Barry O]

Ey up!

Its moreasons day.

 

The predicted problems caused by the trial meds are, as predicted, starting to disappear.  Great!

 

I have to go and buy some items from the burtchers today so I should get a decent walk in.

 

Hope you can all have a good day!

Baz

[jamie92208]

Good morning to all wherever you are. It's light enough to open the curtains by 7.30. Summer will ve here soon.  Certainly sun and 19 degrees was nice yesterday. After a morning working on the gate I ended up doing a tour to Niort and La Rochelle in the afternoon  and didn't get home till after curfew. I did eventually achieve my objective of booking Beth, myselfvand a friend in for eye examinations.  Apparently  only opthamologists can issue prescriptions for new glasses, then you take it to an optician.  Anyway all three of us ate now in the system.  Thevplan is for an expedition to La Rochelle and either a meal in a cafe by the harbour or a picnic, depending on whether the restaurants are open.

 

I got a very interesting email from one of my fathers distant cousins last night. He's a retired professorvin South Bend Indiana, near Chicago. A place that is famous for street running electric trains.  Anyway he has been working on a very comprehensive book about his family tree. He and my father did correspond though my Dad died in 2004.  He sent me a chapter of the book to look at and it was fascinating.  My paternal grandmother, who I can't remember, inherited £194  in 1931. He also found a very distant relative who was a Dr in WW1 who was killed and earned a VC.  Much research to be done. I now need to write a potted biography of my Dad for him.

 

Anyway, onto the day that needs seizing.  More gate work this morning, then an afternoon trainspotting.  Not a bad prospect.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

 

[polybear]

8 hours ago, Ozexpatriate said:

........Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act insurance ......

 

 

Now that really rolls off the tongue....

I wonder what Bozo thought that one up - if you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullsh1t.....

 

 

8 hours ago, Erichill16 said:

 I’m proud of what we have here, but waste, don’t talk to me about waste.

 

 

Bear always remembers a nurse cutting Momma Bear's name tag off as it needed replacing.  New stainless steel scissors opened, one cut made, then thrown into sharps bin for disposal.  All in the name of being cheaper than disinfecting them, apparently.

As for all the millions of ££ worth of PPE that the UK ordered and can't be used because it doesn't meet the required standards, why oh why are we not getting our money back?? 

 

Rant over.  For now.  Bear feels a paint brush coming on....

[Ozexpatriate]

20 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I got a very interesting email from one of my fathers distant cousins last night. He's a retired professor in South Bend Indiana, near Chicago. A place that is famous for street running electric trains. 

Famous as the home of the University of Notre Dame and the home of Studebaker automobiles. The last car rolled out of the South Bend plant in 1963.

 

The South Shore Line* ran interurban electrics since the turn of the 20th century.

 

* Running along the south shore of Lake Michigan.

 

The current US Secretary of Transportation was Mayor of South Bend.

[TheQ]

Mooring Awl Inner Temple Hare,

2.5 hours, long break, 1 hour, 2 hours, you're too  early Ben, 3/4 hours sleep .. got up ten minutes late. Forepaws predicting rain quite strongly.

The ten minutes was regained when Ben the scaredy Collie refused at the first hurdle, Ihe opened the door he stepped forwards heard the dawn chorus, and stopped.. Refusing to go out even with comforting and coxing..

 

Second village I come to a cockwomble car hurtles up behind me and then boot polishes for several miles. just before another village there's a small straight, he overtakes and disappears through the next town at 50-60mph in the 30 limit..

 I don't see him again until, effin clown town where he is stuck behind a non overtaking car and a Slow coach in front of that..  A conspiracy of cars and lorries coming the other way meant we were still in procession at the NDR, at that point we parted company me having overtaken  him in the queue to get onto the roundabout, He then accelerates like  lunatic overtakes on the outside of the roundabout to go straight on, while I turned right..  

just after that the heavens opened ... forepaws correct again..

 

The face off between the current and former leaders in Scotland is getting messy, since the first requirement of a politician is to lie, I don't suppose any of us will really know what happened even if it ends up in court..

 

Of NI , the side wanting to leave the UK has traditionally  out bred the side that wants to stay in the UK (and still does), Brexit may just bring that forward by about 30 years. However the population that wishes to stay in the UK has a traditional name the "Ulster Scots" and were majority originally Scots, so would they want to stay with England and Wales or go with Scotland if the UK were to break up?

The plantation of the Ulster Scots started when Scotland was an independent kingdom , (separate parliaments) though under rulership of the King of England and Scotland James 1 & 6, My family had a branch that went over from Galloway in Scotland to Antrim  in the very early 1600s.

 

The position of flags is interesting since the current Union flag is not the original one there were several changes and modifications and proposals in the early days, I suspect if there were some sort of break up the flag would be completely re jigged into a format to completely show the flags of remaining members of what's left.

 

IIRC Wales had no Capital city until 1953.

 

There, I think I've discussed the position of various things while dancing around and not expressing any politics..

 

Time to wander down to the lab and look for a some work..